Social Services Structure And Function Social Work Essay Essay Example

Social Services Structure And Function Social Work Essay Essay There are many different constructions for different administrations. I am traveling to be explicating the current construction of societal services and am traveling to explicate the consequence of the direction construction whilst looking at the chief services that chief sectors have to offer. I will explicate the operation of one societal work scene and analyze the impact of societal work with respects to a peculiar group. I will utilize a recent instance for my chosen sector and measure the weaknesss of the societal services, who those weaknesss effected and what has been done since to guarantee it does non go on once more. We will write a custom essay sample on Social Services Structure And Function Social Work Essay specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Social Services Structure And Function Social Work Essay specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Social Services Structure And Function Social Work Essay specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer hypertext transfer protocol: //www.nhssb.n-i.nhs.uk/structures/social_services.gif Above is an illustration of how the Social Services Hierarchical construction looks. It follows the layout of a pyramid and derives into the base of staff degree employees with normally the Chief executive officer or manager at the top. There are many pros to holding an administration construction like this. It allows employees to see clearly who it is they need study to and makes obvious their degrees of duty. This is critical to a societal service administration to safeguard non merely themselves but their service users. A priestly system, nevertheless, does besides hold its disadvantages. It promotes competition which could deflect some who are peculiarly competitory. Martin, J and Fellenz, M ( 2010 ) suggest Often Hierarchies are created non because they are functionally required but because they provide a locale for forcing unwanted people up in the administration or for supplying promotional avenue. These dysfunctional hierarchies are in fact the cause for decreased organizati onal effectivity Another common illustration of organizational constructions is Matrix. The matrix construction groups its employees by map and merchandise. The design of this construction is instead level in comparing to that of the hierarchy. They normally work under the caput of a undertaking director but besides have a functional caput who they would describe to. An advantage of this is that it allows employees to specialize in a specific field but can sometimes besides cause confusion as to who to describe to. Ealing societal services offer many different services: child care and early old ages, bluish badge strategy, kid protection and safe guarding, public assistance benefits low income, furthering and acceptance and attention places. Im traveling to look at Child protection and safe guarding. Below is the hierarchal construction that Ealing usage for their Children in demand squad: Again it is clear to see who is in charge and who each employee needs to describe to. At the top there are the squad directors ; below them is the deputy squad director. The deputy would be responsible for describing to the squad director. Below the deputy there the societal workers and senior societal workers who are both responsible for describing to the Deputy squad director. Below them there are societal worker helpers who report to the societal workers and senior societal workers. Ealing Social services kids in demand squad ( 2011 ) province on their web site: Children in Need squad offer a societal work service to households where kids are deemed to be in demand as defined by subdivision 17 of the Children Act 1989. They work preponderantly with: Children whose names are on the kid protection registry, kids deemed to be in demand of household support services due to an assessed degree of demand and kids with a disablement that is non deemed to be severe and profound the latter are referred to the Children with Disability Team. Social workers will measure household demands and pull up a household support bundle with parents to enable kids to be safely and efficaciously cared for within their households. The squad are seeking to better the lives of their service users by supplying a support which can be authorising. They have a duty to guarantee kids and immature people who may be marginalised are safeguarded whilst advancing their public assistance. They ha ve other squads who they work in partnership with such as the Youth Offending squad who try to forestall re piquing among young persons and supply support for victims of young person offense. These statutory administrations are funded by the authorities. Although these squads do the best they can to better the lives of marginalised kids and young persons, errors can and make go on. This can take to drastic effects on non merely the service user but the administration as a whole particularly if one has non followed the codification of behavior provided by the societal services. There was an question made intro the decease of Victoria Climbie Who died aged eight on the 25th February 2000. She died from multiple hurts. Marie-Therese Kouao was Victoria s Aunt and career she lived with her Boyfriend Carl Manning from whom Victoria received barbarous maltreatment from. In 1999 she was foremost taken to the infirmary by her child-minder who suspected the miss had non inadvertent hurts but the physician accepted Kouao s narrative that the lesions were self-inflicted by rubing at itchs sores. The kid protection governments were alerted as a safeguard. Social worker Lisa Arthurworrey and PC Karen Jones were assigned to the instance and conducted a place visit. Subsequently the same twelvemonth Victoria was admitted to hospital once more. This clip for scaulding to her caput and face. Immediately physicians suspected that these hurts were intentionally inflicted. Kouao told Arthurworrey and Jones that the hurts were due to her pouring hot H2O over Victoria s caput to halt her from rubing her scalp and that other hurts on her were caused by Victoria utilizing utensils. These accounts were accepted by the kid protection governments and Victoria was collected from infirmary by Kouao. Evidence reveals that Victoria was forced by Maning to kip in the bath with merely a bin line drive. In the same twelvemonth of 1999 Kouao advised societal workers that Victoria had been sexually assaulted by Maning but withdrew her statement the following twenty-four hours. Personal computer Jones was to look into this but after no answer to the missive she sent to Kouao she took no farther action. Early 2000 Victoria was once more admitted to the infirmary. This clip for a combination of malnutrition and hypothermia and she was transferred to an intensive attention ward. She died the following twenty-four hours. DR Nathaniel Carey, the place office diagnostician examined Victoria and found 128 different hurt s and scars many of which were coffin nail Burnss. He desc ribed what he saw as the worst instance of kid maltreatment I ve of all time encounter. Both Marie-Therese Kouao and Carl Manning were charged with the slaying of Victoria Climbie. When they were interviewed they both claimed that Victoria was possessed. They were sentence to life in prison for what Judge Howkins described as Victoria s lonely drawn out decease . The decease of Victoria could hold been avoided had the right determinations been made from those assigned to protect her. There were gross failures of the system. The inquiry study confirms that there were at least 13 occasions where relevant services could hold intervened and assist Victoria but they failed to make so. This intercession would non hold put heavy demands on staff, or required great accomplishment so it is flooring to all that no action was of all time taken. Another failure was adequateness of the system. Lord Lamming argued that had Ealing, in my position, done the occupation they should hold done on the 2nd twenty-four hours that Victoria was in this state, it is likely that all of the other bureaus would non hold needed to be involved. He besides pointed out that at the clip of Victoria s instance Ealing Social services were passing significantly below their Standard Spending Assessment ( SSA ) on services for kids. Child protection services besides failed Victo ria by failure to implement the Children Act 1989. This was described by Crippling as a fundamentally sound statute law . The chief purposes of the Act are: to convey together private and public jurisprudence in one model ; to accomplish a better balance between protecting kids and enabling parents to dispute province intercession ; to promote greater partnership between statutory governments and parents ; to advance the usage of voluntary agreements ; to reconstitute the model of the tribunals to ease direction of household proceedings. Had this act have been implemented it is about certain that Victoria s terminal would non hold been the calamity that it was. Not merely did these weaknesss have a profound consequence on the service user taking to her decease. It besides impacted the administration as a whole. An enquiry was called after the strong belief of Kouao and Manning. There were inquiries that had been raised about the engagement of societal workers which Carole Baptiste, the Senior societal worker for Victoria s instance, failed to go to. She was tried for intentionally transgressing an enquiry biddings and was fined ?500. Henry ( 2008 ) states the tragic decease of Victoria Climbie, in Haringey, at the custodies of her grandaunt and the adult female s fellow, sparked an independent enquiry by Lord Laming, a kids s measure and structural alterations to societal services sections across the state A database suggested by Crippling was to be introduced which will hold all the necessary inside informations of 11million kids including GP s, Schools and Social workers working with them. There was besides the assignment of a kids s co mmissioner, the meeting of council instruction and societal services sections and the constitution of local safeguarding kids boards, made up of senior council functionaries, societal workers, constabulary, instruction and wellness staff. The review of kids s services has besides been brought under Ofsted s remit. If a kid protection system has different constructions, systems and working in different countries, it has the possible to do serious complications. Because of this there were new local authorities constructions introduced. There was besides a suggestion for a national kid protection bureau but this was rejected. There was besides a recommendation for a new Social services construction which is below: Ministerial Children and Families board National Agency for Children and Families ( Children s Commissioner for England ) Regional Office Local Member Committee For Children and Families Management Board for Services To Children and Families Local Forum Director of kids and households Servicess Social Servicess Safeguarding Children Other Polices Health Servicess In decision the administration construction for the Social Services is critical to the smooth running of the services they offer and to the safe guarding of their service users. If statute laws and policies are non followed so the construction can neglect non merely the administration but the service users. The Hierarchy system is still in topographic point with the Social Services to day of the month and with the alterations that have been implicated to non merely the construction but the administration as whole should guarantee smooth running in the hereafter with right determinations being made by those who need to do them.

Cashless Society essays

Cashless Society essays One article that caught my attention recently was one presented in the November 21, 1998 issue of The Economist. The article was about a cashless society and how well alternative forms of tender were catching on. According to the article, some forms of the "smart card" haven't caught on as well as expected. Smart cards have information embedded in them, essentially allowing a consumer to purchase things quickly and conveniently. It was the hope that these cards would supplant paper and coin money forever. However, that has not been the case. Smart cards do exits, however. In the article, it is mentioned that smart cards with chips embedded in them allowed a customer to quickly swipe the card through the reader. Thirty-two cents is then deducted. Simple and easy, right? Well, it hasn't caught on. One of the main reasons that smart cards have struggled a bit is that it has competition in the form of current debit cards. People can purchase anything they desire with these cards already. Therefore, there wouldn't be any added value of having a debit card. A survey of 2,400 North Americans by Smart Card Forum gives some interesting results. According to the survey, more than three-quarters would have liked to have a card that stored vital medical and car-related information. Less than half wanted a card that they could use to purchase things with. Another problem facing smart cards is compatibility. Current smart cards utilize only on a small range of readers. For example, a smart card for parking meters in Boston would not work for ones in New York. And since local governments control those areas of jurisdiction, it has to take a national effort to make it work. This means that the U.S. government must implement and lead the way. When this happens, then we will truly see the fall of paper and coin money. ...

Apple iphone 5 Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Apple iphone 5 - Research Paper Example In its early days of introduction unto the world market, the Apple iPhone 5 received so much patronage because of some feature qualities that the product had over other competitive products and other iPhones that had been introduced unto the market by the same company. But as it is now, there is decline in supply to meet increasing demand. Causes of the shift Basically, there is one running cause of the shift in supply of Apple iPhone 5 and this is directly linked with rate of production. Sources close to the company actually indicate that the Apple iPhone 5 is one of the most labor and skill intensive products that the company ever produces (Birks and Sinclair, 2010). To this end, it actually requires the company so much time, cost, skill and resources to produce a single brand of the Apple iPhone 5. But as a company that wants to hold up to its reputation of quality and standard production of phones, the company is not in any way ready to compromise on the quality of products in th e name of meeting its demand to produce as many pieces of the iPhone as the market pressure demands for. There are other causes that has to do with the presence of competition, that makes the company highly reserved on the need to keeping so much inventory when it cannot be perfectly guaranteed of the willingness of the market to opt for their product. Effects of this change on Apple iphone 5 According to the law of demand and supply, decrease in supply subsequently leads to an increase or a rise in prices. This principle is likely to be the effect of the Apple iPhone 5 especially from the perspective of retailers from who consumers make direct purchases. For example once retailers have access to limited products and they are aware that consumers would compete for these few products they will increase prices so that those with the highest bid of purchase can own the product. There could also be the negative effect whereby the increases in prices will make consumers opt for other com petitor products; especially if they can be guaranteed to have similar features from those products. In the worse case scenario, the Apple iPhone 5 will loss its popularity and market share because consumers who may be frustrated with its absence on the market will loss interest in it. Effects within the market Operational Operational marketing is basically centered on the consumer whereby the consumer is expected to receive maximum customer satisfaction by meeting their needs and demands within the shortest time frame (De Cenzo and Robbins, 2011). In a situation whereby there continue to be decline in supply for the Apple iPhone 5, it is very clear that the customer is not going to receive the needed satisfaction with prompt customer service. Subsequently, market operational is going to be affected negatively in the sense that there are going to be high levels of market dissatisfaction expressed among cunstomers. As it has been stressed already, this is likely to bring about the wo rse case scenario whereby the company may loss out on a number of customers. Financial Effects The financial effects of the prevailing situation whereby there is shortage in the supply of Apple iPhone 5 could be viewed from two major perspectives, which also answers the question of whether the effects are long term or transitory. Indeed, on the short term basis where the demand for the product continues to be

Analysis for Isle of Wight Food Show Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Analysis for Isle of Wight Food Show - Essay Example Wiley Events has been the leading event organising company in the IOW. Micro-environment 1.1 The Isle of Wight (IOW) Food Show The IOW has organised the food show for the 3rd time, generally taking place in the first weekend of May. The IOW food show is jointly organised by Isle of Wight Tourism, Isle of White Chamber of Commerce, the Island Traders’ Association and Wiley Events. It is a two-day event taking place from 1pm to 6 pm. Entry to the festival is free as per the Needles Park pay per attraction policy. Exhibitors are charged ?200 for the services rendered to them. Venue of the food show is Needles Park, Alum Bay in the North West of the island. Various stakeholders to the food show include accommodation providers, event organisers, transporters, visitor attractions, the local council and DMO. 1.2 Wiley Events Wiley Events has been the leader in the line of bespoke event management since 2001. Teddy Toddington and Pippa Powell, the partners of Wiley Events carry 20 yea rs experience in event organising. Both are experts in their own right and divide job functions as per their acumen in different event management functions. Wiley is also into advisory role of offering consultancy services to other companies particularly in the areas of sales, operations and administration. 1.3 Isle of Wight Tourism There are 21 specific touring sites, as identified by tourism data. Caravan sites also organise touring and camping, capturing 8% visitors of the event market. Summer is the peak season of tourism in the IOW when occupancy rate is 80%, which reduces to 37% in the spring and 19% in the autumn season. There are 60 worth-seeing sites, as per the Attractions Mini-guide 2005 and places of interest could be 200, as taken from the Tourism Baseline Audit 2003. Macro-environment 1.4 The Isle of Wight – Tourism destination – economy, social, cultural trends, physical environment, business environment Measuring 23 miles by 13 miles, the Isle of Wight boasts of near about 2.6 million visitors each year with an approximate tourism spend of ?352 million a year, tourism being 24% of the Island’s GDP and the first tourism destination to encourage quality and supervised stay facility; Once reaching to the Isle of Wright, one finds the transport infrastructure fully customised for visitors’ comfort. Cultural trends include such events as Taste Festivals, which are held at various places to celebrate local culinary talent. Business environment is very competitive with the Isle of Wight remaining on the top by getting awards for organising festivals, just to name the winning of music festival as the ‘Best Major Festival’ while the award for ‘Best Medium Size Festival’ was cornered for the third year consecutively. Business on the island depends on the initiatives of the stakeholders to use tourism as a tool to re-energise the economy. Success in leveraging this tool can be doubtful if only the trad itional niche area of the tourism portfolio is given attention by focussing just on summer holiday customers and coach and school group market. To reap the benefit, investment on facility and quality staff provision is mandatory otherwise actual contribution of tourism in the local economy would slow down. Negative outcomes can appear in traffic snarls to the displeasure of local people and affecting environment and standard of living. Businesses won’t be able to expand to raise the quality benchmark. Public sector can withdraw support if any of the symptoms

Movie write-up Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Movie write-up - Essay Example It should be noted that the first movie entitled Ghana- Women in Politics is very inspiring to me. It is because the activist Helen Koranteng, being a political actor has spread awareness regarding women right in Ghana. The movie includes variations of facts regarding Ghana and the female population who are more likely to be a changing factor for the country. This is one of the reasons that the movie can be used as a guide for people who wants to know the role of women in Ghana or the policies that are available for the women to practice in case they want to gain social mobility in their society (Stromberg,P., 2011). The fact remains that there has been a gap of research conducted to understand the respective roles of women in the politics of Ghana. The ideology and methods that have been applied by the leader to reach out to the population of Ghana is another important factor that has been missing in other videos based upon the same subject of matter. I am very cynical when it comes to understanding the mandate of political leaders because not all of them are able to cater the basic needs of the nation. In this regarding, the political actor namely Helen Koranteng is quiet focused as she knows the targeted population. There are many insight facts that were also brought forward to allow people to understand the international forum of women. A comparative understanding has been presented in the movie which shows that a lot of efforts are still needed to be made (Council on Foreign Relations, 2011). The second movie that I watched was Liberia’s Sirleaf: Reform in Africa that I did not like. It was because I do not affirm with the ideology of the Liberian president named Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. She was continuously stressing on the point that there is an avid need of investment in the country. It should be noted that this is not the need of the people. It is an evident fact that

Is Use Of Language Restricted To Humans English Language Essay

Is Use Of Language Restricted To Humans English Language Essay Chomsky (1968) claimed that language in specific to humans as only humans possess a language acquisition device to acquire language the universal grammar. It is a hard matter to define what language really is. According to the layman definition by Cambridge University Press (2008), language is a system of communication that consists of sounds, words and grammar. In the past literature, there have been claims that non-human primates like chimpanzees and bonobos are capable of comprehending human language (Benson et al., 2002; Brakke and Savagerumbaugh, 1995). However it is doubtful whether comprehension constitutes a comprehensive use of language. In this essay, we would discuss whether non-human animals are capable of commanding the comprehensive use of language by critically evaluating whether they show some of the design-features of human spoken language in their speech documented in Hockett (1960) and whether they are able to acquire syntax and morphology (Laidrem, 2008). The first design-feature is the vocal-auditory channel, where communication occurs whenever the producer speaks and the receiver hears (Harley, 2001). There are communication systems using other channels, for instance gestures, bee dancing (De Marco, Gurevitz and Menzel, 2008) or the courtship ritual of sticklebacks. Having a vocal-auditory channel enables primates to free up much of their bodies to carry out activities other than communicating language simultaneously. Primate calls and the singing of a western meadowlark possess this design-feature. The second one is arbitrariness, where abstract symbols do not necessarily resemble what they stand for, for instance salt may neither mean salty nor granular (Hockett, 1960; Harley, 2001), except a few onomatopoeic exceptions. It has a shortcoming of being arbitrary, but advantageous in the way that what can be communicated about is limitless. In a semantic communicative system, ties between meaningful message-elements and their meanings can either be arbitrary or non-arbitrary (e.g. salt would mean salt instead of sugar or pepper) there are relatively fixed associations between elements in messages, like words, and recurrent features of our world. The western meadowlark song holds semantic arbitrariness whereas gibbon calls hold a general arbitrariness design-feature. The third one is discreteness, where vocabulary comprises of discrete units and contrasts with the use of sound effects by the vocal gestural way (Harley, 2001). Human vocal organs produce an array of sounds, but in all languages only a relatively small set of ranges of sound is sound, and differences between these ranges are functionally absolute, e.g. pin and bin are different to the ear only at one point. The hearer can either compensate based on context, or fails to understand. However, in some systems there may be effectively continuous scale of degrees to which one may raise his voice as in anger or lower it to signal confidentiality bee-dancing is continuous rather than discrete. Grylliade (e.g. crickets) and tettigoniidae (e.g. bush-crickets) and primate calls carry discreteness. There are a dozen or so distinct gibbon calls, each appropriate vocal response, or vocal part of the whole response, to a recurrent and biologically important type of situation, for instance discove ry of food, detection of predator, etc. The fourth one displacement design-feature is very evident in humans, where we are able to talk about things remote spatially and temporally from where the conversation begins. It seems lacking in vocal signaling of primates, however it does occur in bee-dancing bee dances convey information about how far the food source is (De Marco, Gurevitz and Menzel, 2008). A parrot is unable to demonstrate displacement (Pepperberg, 1987). Monkeys are also limited to chattering and squeaking about immediate threats like snakes in the grass and eagles overhead (Muncer, Malone and Ettlinger, 1982), therefore they also fail the displacement criterion. Concerning traditional transmission design-feature, it refers to the fact language can be taught and learned. In humans, imitation and teaching occur together smoothly. A chimpanzee mother could not teach her infant anything because, although the infant watches her problem-solving skills intentionally, she never returns the infants observation. Similarly, if a vervet monkey gives a leopard call and its recipient, say its offspring, takes countermeasures for python, there is no evidence that monkeys correct errant listeners or that their communication is intentional (Premark, 2004). It was noted that Washoe, another chimpanzee, adopted a younger chimpanzee Loulis as his son. He spontaneously acquired signs from Washoe and was also seen to be taught by Washoe. Although this is a clear indication of what is known as cultural transmission, it is unclear whether it is a language that has been transmitted, or just a sophisticated communication system (Premark, 2004). At first sight Washoe appears to have acquired the use of words and their meanings, and at least some rudimentary syntax-that is, being sensitive to word order in both production and comprehension. However, Washoe did not show learning of functional words like prepositions and inflections, neither was he able to differentiate between different parts of speech like conjunctions, nouns and verbs. Productivity is one of the most important design-features of human spoken language, which refers to the capacity to say things that have never been said or heard before and yet to be understood by other speakers of the same language (Hockett, 1960). One would be able to coin new utterances by incorporating pieces familiar from old utterances and assembling them by patterns of arrangement also familiar in old utterances. In human speech where blending exists, a speaker would hesitate between two words or phrases, both reasonably appropriate to context, a combination of parts of each. It is also involved in slips of tongue which would assist infants in switching from a closed to an open system productivity also known as openness, the ability to invent new messages, where syntax, the grammatical arrangement of sentences, plays an enormous rule (Shostak, 2009). It can be demonstrated using syntax, where in humans, there is a finite number of grammatical rules and a finite number of word s, but humans are able to combine them to produce an infinite number of sentences once they associate the words with particular meanings or concepts, and put them into different orders (Chomsky, 1957; Marshall, 1970). Primate calls constitute a small finite repertory of familiar calls, therefore they are considered having a closed call system and do not demonstrate productivity. According to Hockett (1960), bee dancing shows productivity. However, this is questionable as types of dancing bees do may barely be repertoires. There is a belief that whales and dolphins possess language. However, there is no current evidence suggesting that dolphins employ sequences of sub-units conveying particular messages, which is in the same way we combine words to form sentences to convey messages (Pearce, 2008). In early research by Evans and Bastian (1969), dolphins carried on making sounds even when other dolphins were absent, where communication with each other in carrying out cooperative tasks to obtain fish seems to be explicable by conditioning (Holder, Herman and Kuczaj, 1989). There is no evidence that dolphins can produce even the simplest sentence in language (Pearce, 2008). By now, there is no animal communication system that can satisfy the four properties of syntax identified by Kako (1999) and iteration and recursion properties of language (Hauser et al., 2002). Herman, Richards, and Wolz (1984) taught two bottle-nosed dolphins, Phoenix and Akeakamai, artificial languages. One artificial language was visually based using gestures of the trainers arms and legs, and the other was acoustically based using computer-generated sounds transmitted through underwater speakers. However, this research tested only the animals comprehension of the artificial language, not their ability to produce it. From the point of view of answering our questions on language and animals, it is clearly important to examine both comprehension and production. Even just testing their comprehension, the dolphins syntactic ability was limited, and they showed no evidence of being able to use function words (Kako, 1999). Although others have claimed that chimpanzees could comprehend spoken English, they have failed to present adequate data to substantiate such assertions (Pearce, 2008). In repeated tests since 1977, Sherman and Austin, two chimpanzees, consistently failed comprehension tests of spoken English though they have constantly been exposed to it from infancy. Kanzi, however, was displaying a remarkable comprehension of spoken English, where Kanzi was not being reinforced nor trained to do the experimental task (E. Sue Savage-Rumbaugh, et al., 1985). Kanzi is a pygmy chimpanzee, and it is claimed he has made a vital step in spontaneously acquiring the understanding that symbols refer to things in the world. He first acquired symbols by observing the training of his mother on lexigrams devices that produce word sounds when pressed. He was sensitive to word order, and understood verb meanings- he could distinguish between get the rock and take the rock, and between put the hat on your ball and put the ball on your hat. He also formed spontaneous utterances. Petitto (1987, cited in Pearce, 2008) argued that Kanzis understanding of names is not like that of humans. Kako (1999) argued that Kanzi shows no signs of possessing any function words, nor any indication of being able to use morphology: he does not modify his language according to number, as we do when we form plurals. Pepperberg (1987) embarked on an elaborate formal programme of training of her African grey parrot called Alex. After 13 years of training, Alex developed a vocabulary of 80 words including object names, adjectives, and verbs. He could even produce and understand short sequences of words understand concepts of same and different. Alex showed evidence of being able to combine discrete categories and use syntactic categories appropriately, but was unable to relate objects to verbs, and knew very few function words (Kako, 1999). Therefore, Alex had limited linguistic abilities. The last design-feature to be mentioned, the duality of patterning, means that only combinations of meaningless units are meaningful, and this is applicable to both the sound and word level, and word and sentence level (Hockett, 1960). It provides much efficiency and flexibility to human language. When a vocal-auditory system carries a larger and larger number of distinct meaningful elements, they become more similar to one another in sound, where there is a limit for any species to how many distinct stimuli they are capable of distinguishing between, in particular they have to be made under noisy conditions. This design-feature is illustrated by English words tack, cat and act, which are composed of only three basic meaningless sounds in different permutations, yet totally distinct in meaning. Very few animal communicative systems share this design-feature of language none among other hominoids (e.g. apes, monkeys), or maybe humans are the only one (Harley, 2001). To conclude, none of the animals mentioned seemed to be capable of possessing the above mentioned design-features of human spoken language (Hockett, 1960). They were also unable to command the complicated syntax and lexical competences that humans possess. This may be due to humans having large and convoluted brains acting as better storage units for conventions of a complex communicative system as language (Pinker, 1994). Though many animals possess rich symbolic communication systems enabling them to convey messages to other members of the species which would influence behaviour and possess many of Hocketts (1960) design features, they all lack the richness of human language, which is manifested in our ability to limitlessly talk about anything and using syntax. The failure to teach apes to speak is partly due to the fact that their vocal tracts are incapable of producing all sounds of human speech, where according to Duchin (1990, cited in Pearce, 2008), a major constraint on the ability of the chimp to produce sounds of human speech is its tongue which is unable to move to correct positions for creating sounds that are necessary. It is possible that by reducing methodological flaws in language learning paradigms and more investigations of different animals, we would be more informed about whether animals are able to use language comprehensively in the humans do.

Current State Laws on Human Cloning :: Argumentative Persuasive Topics

Current State Laws on Human Cloning California Cal. Health & Safety Code,  §Ã‚ §24185 to 24189. Bans efforts to create a human being by utilizing somatic cell nuclear transfer "for the purpose of, or to implant, the resulting product to initiate a pregnancy that could result in the birth of a human being." Ban is to expire January 1, 2003 unless extended by legislature. Louisiana La. Rev. Stat. Ann. tit. 40  §Ã‚ §1299.36 to 1299.36.6. Forbids any person to "clone or attempt to clone a human being," and forbids a health facility or agency to "allow any individual to clone or attempt to clone a human being in a facility owned or operated by the health facility or agency." "Clone" is defined as in California law, to involve an intent to initiate a pregnancy. However, a separate state law prohibits intentionally destroying a viable fertilized ovum, and requires that "[n]o in vitro fertilized human ovum will be farmed or cultured solely for research purposes or any other purposes." La. Rev. Stat. Ann. tit. 9,  §Ã‚ § 129, 122. Whether this prohibits use of cloned embryos for research depends on how courts will interpret the phrase "fertilized human ovum." Michigan Mich. Comp. Laws  §Ã‚ §333.16274, 333.16275, 750.430a. Forbids any individual to "engage in or attempt to engage in human cloning," applying civil penalties (up to a $10 million fine) and criminal penalties ($10 million fine and up to ten years in prison). "Human cloning" means "the use of human somatic cell nuclear transfer technology to produce a human embryo."  §333.16274(5). This law clearly forbids creating a cloned human embryo for any purpose, including research. A separate state law also forbids using a live human embryo "for nontherapeutic research if... the research substantially jeopardizes the life or health of the embryo..." Performing such research is a felony.  §Ã‚ §333.2685 (1), 333.2691. Rhode Island R.I. Gen. Laws  §23-16.4-2 to 23-16.4-4. Bans use of somatic cell nuclear transfer "for the purpose of initiating or attempting to initiate a human pregnancy," as well as the creation of "genetically identical human beings" by "dividing a blastocyst, zygote, or embryo." The law seems to ban cloning by nuclear transfer only if done to initiate a pregnancy. However, a separate law prohibits the use of "any live human fetus, whether before or after expulsion from its mother's womb, for scientific, laboratory research, or other kind of experimentation.

I.T. Project †Converting a Card Index System to a Database Essay

The present system is based on the manual card index system so most of the work is done by hand, however due to the ever increasing growth of technology, and the internet, a wide range of resources are now being made easily accessible. British Airways has recently introduced booking online, where customers can book a flight and accommodation all over the Internet. Being such a big company as British Airways, most of their bookings are made through travel agents who book the flights and pass the information on to them. Question 1 – Could you describe the current system being used by Question 2 – How are these cards stored? Question3 – What problems do you encounter at the moment? Software Available MICROSOFT OFFICE 2000 WORD PROCESSOR – MICROSOFT WORD 2000 A word processing package is a program or set of programs used to edit, format, store and print documents. Word processors have many important unique features: * Spelling and Grammar Checker Misspelt words, or grammatical errors can be identified and corrected by the words in the computers dictionary. Correct words, identified by the spell check as wrong can be added to the dictionary. * Automatic creation of index and table of contents Any word in the text can be marked for inclusion in an index. Headings and subheadings in a given style can be included automatically in a table of contents, which can be updated at any time. * Import Files Tables, photographs, graphics, video and sound files can be imported from other sources and inserted in a document. * Mail merge A document and a list of names and addresses can be merged to produce personalised letters. * Creation of templates with preset text styles. Margins, formatting, letterheading etc. * WYSIWYG This stands for ‘What You See Is What you Get’, and refers to the ability to display on the screen. And enables the user to see their work on the screen exactly as it will be printed. SPREADSHEET – MICROSOFT EXCEL 2000 Spreadsheet packages allow a user to create worksheets (spreadsheets) representing data in column and row form. Spreadsheets are used for any application that uses numerical data, such as budgets, cash flow forecasts, profit and loss statements, student marks or results of experiment. Spreadsheet features: * Format cells, rows and columns, specifying for example, the alignment of text, number of decimal points, height and width of cells. * Copy cell contents to other locations, with automatic adjustment of formulae from an area to another location. * Determine the effect of several different hypothetical changes of data; this facility is called ‘what-if’ calculation. * Insert, move or delete rows and columns. * Use functions such as sum, average, max, min in formulae * Create a simple database and sort or query the data to produce a report of, say for example, all males gaining over a ‘C’ grade, for a list of students. * Write macros to automate common procedures * Create templates – Spreadsheets with formats and formulae already entered, into which new figures may be inserted. * Create ‘multi dimensional’ spreadsheets using several sheets, and copy data from one sheet to another * Create many different types of chart and graphs DATABASE – MICROSOFT ACCESS 2000 A database is a collection of data. It may be something as simple as a list of names and addresses or details of the CDs in your personal collection, or it may contain details of all the customers, products, orders and payments in a large organisation. When made reference to, the word ‘database’ is assumed to be data held on a computer, but manual databases also exist. Some smaller business (a garage) may hold a card index file with details about a customer and their car. The main difference between a manual and computerised databases is the speed at which data can be accessed. PRESENTATION GRAPHICS – MICROSOFT POWERPOINT 2000 Presentation graphics software such as PowerPoint is useful for putting together a presentation which can be delivered using a computer attached to a projection device, using transparencies and an ordinary overhead projector or as a self-running presentation in, say a shopping centre or cinema. The software allows the user to quickly create ‘slides’ combining text, graphics and pictures and to create animation or sound effects and ‘transition’ effects between slides. OPERATING SYSTEM – MICROSOFT WINDOWS 98 Hardware Available These are the specifications of the PC I am using at Home: OPERATING SYSTEM WINDOWS(r) 98 PLUS! CPU INTEL(r) CELERONTM / 333MHZ RAM 64MB FOR WINDOWS(r) 98 SCREEN DISPLAY 800 BY 600 PIXELS TRUE COLOUR (32 BIT) CD-ROM SPEED 32-SPEED AVAILABLE SPACE ON HARD DRIVE 2.4GB AUDIO 16-BIT SOUND CARD OTHER LOUDSPEAKERS These are the system specifications for the systems at school: OPERATING SYSTEM WINDOWS(r) 98 CPU 433MHZ RAM 32MB FOR WINDOWS(r) 98 SCREEN DISPLAY 640 BY 480 PIXELS 256 COLOURS CD-ROM SPEED 24 SPEED AVAILABLE SPACE ON HARD DRIVE 10MB AUDIO 8-BIT SOUND CARD PRINTER HP LASERJET All systems should have Microsoft Office 97/2000. All systems must have Microsoft Excel 97/2000. End User’s IT Literacy The end user of my system will already have basic IT skills and will have already had experience with the Microsoft Office Package. As they are working for a big trans-national company, they would have already undergone training in the secretarial sector, of which IT skills are a key part. To even have the job, they would have to be able to type quickly, answer calls and transmit data efficiently. Therefore, training costs will be kept to a minimum. Final Choice Having looked at the current system and the software and hardware available, I have decided to use Microsoft Excel, a spreadsheet program to design my booking system. Spreadsheet packages allow a user to create worksheets (spreadsheets) representing data in column and row form. Spreadsheets are used for any application that uses numerical data, such as budgets, cash flow forecasts, profit and loss statements, student marks or results of experiments. Spreadsheets offer a wide range of facilities making the task easier to perform. SKILLS: Current/To be acquired I have a good understanding of the Microsoft Excel package. I have done quite a few calculations and performed basic macros. Having looked through the coursework of former students, and reading through the coursework guide, I realise that I need to improve my knowledge of Excel. Excel is a powerful package and can carry out many tasks easily if instructed correctly. I have already started to go through sample projects showing me how to go about certain tasks with a book titled ‘Successful I.T. Projects in Excel’, written by P.M Heathcote. End User Requirements > Provide detailed reports showing customer booking for every working day. > Produce summary reports for flight bookings in order of popularity. > Allow data entry for new customers. > Provide easy access for amendments to customer details and flight details. > Automatic backup for all centralised records daily and weekly. > Provide an exception report for outstanding customer debts or extreme bank credit limits. > The system should record financial details concerning money in/outstanding. > Allow queries on the current flight availability. Quantitative Criteria > Printed tickets are to be generated within 15 minutes. > Accessing and amending customer/Fight/Airport details should be instantaneous. > Queries are processed promptly on customer request. > Backup should occur automatically every 24 hours. > Flight details processed every Friday (1 hour max) > Exception reports are produced quickly on demand within a minute. Qualitative Criteria > The system should provide a workable Human Computer Interface system according to different users, i.e. simple menu selections or buttons > The company logo is consistent on all forms and reports. > Amount of available screen data is kept to a minimum (increase usability) > Help systems are easily accessible.

McDonalds Essays

McDonalds Essays McDonalds Essay McDonalds Essay McDonalds is the largest corporation globally which deals with a chain of the fast food restaurants. The company has been steadily expanding thus leading to its large global market base. The company has a competitive advantage over its competitors and this is due to its strategic management choices which have been made in the recent past.SWOT analysisMcDonalds has a very strong market position since it is the largest food service and the fast food retailing chain globally that is strengthened by the strong all round growth that is witnessed by the company. It is also important to note that the there is a growing health consciousness among the consumers and this has however added to the adversities of the company are brought to the business by a market that is saturated. With the combination of the rising beef prices there could be pressure margins for the company.Strengths.McDonalds has a market leading position in the industry and it also has a vigorous all round growth together wit h very strong brand equity. The company is also known for its consistency in its food industry and it also has very successful items such as fries and the Big Mac promotions. (Aaker, David 1984)Weaknesses.McDonalds also has some weaknesses which includes the operating losses in the Latin America region as well as the non McDonalds brand businesses. Similarly the company also has some relatively low productivity from the employees. The company also has some increased expenses in Europe. The company is also experiencing a decline in the market share and it also has a weak product development.Opportunities.McDonalds has very many opportunities including the alliance with the Warner home video as well as the new innovations in the menus which will further attract more consumers to visit the company’s chain stores globally. Similarly there is a rising Hispanic population in the United States of America and they are known as the best customers to the McDonalds chain stores because of the Hispanic foods which are prepared by the company. (Rowley Tashiro 2006)Threats.McDonalds is also faced with some threats such as the rising prices of the raw materials which further leads to the price increment of the food products and this further lowers the company’s consumer’s consumption. Similarly there exists a threat since most of the consumers of the company’s food products are becoming more health conscious and thus if the company fails to upgrade its products with health consciousness in mind then it might loose out on most of its consumers. On the other hand the company is further faced with a threat of market saturation and this will stiffen the competition that is experienced in the industry especially from McDonald’s main competitor Wal-Mart.Strategic choices for McDonaldsThe company has a growth strategy that is based on three main elements which areAdding the restaurantsMaximizing the profits and the sales at the existing restauran tsImproving the company’s international profitabilityBy the company maximizing its profits and also sales at its existing restaurants it can accomplish this through better operations, product refinement and development, reinvestment, effective marketing and also lowering the development and operating costs. This will however lead to the realization of an improved profitability internationally and the achievement of the economies of scale in the individual markets. This will also make the company highly benefit from infrastructure globally. (Arndt 2007)At the functional level McDonalds has adapted strategies which will lead to the expansion of the production of a wide range of food products by the promotion of new menu items. The company is also focusing on maintaining its quality and consistency of its food products as well as launch higher end restaurants under the new brands which would not be saddled with the company’s fast food image.At the global level McDonalds h as a strategy which has a global perspective thus the company has strategies which effectively integrates the three global forces which are the global business, the regional pressures and also the worldwide functions. The company at the global level wants to add more restaurants globally and this will expand its market base. (Anthony 1998)Comparisons between growth strategies at McDonalds and Wal-MartMcDonaldsThe company has a unique growth strategy which allows it to strategically locate its new stores across the nation in a leapfrogging manner unlike the other stores.The company’s growth strategy is not homegrown but rather international since it has bought some of its existing retail chains so as to preserve its control over its corporate culture.The company has a new strategy of leveraging its brand equity.The company’s strategy of product development focuses on the core business and it also covers the quality and taste issues.Another strategy that has been adapted by the company is the joint ventures and McDonald has changed the methods of dealing with its franchisees.McDonalds has a market penetration and development strategy that will allow it to continue with its international expansion.Wal-MartThe company has a unique growth strategy which allows it to strategically locate its new stores near the smaller towns and the distribution hubs.The company has a continued expansion of the super center format as well as the market share gains that are in the food business.The company has a strategy which focuses on the international growth and acquisitions.The company has a growth strategy that focuses on the expansion and the upgrading of its units in the Sams club division.The company has a strategy that is an eventual roll out of the neighborhood drugs store and market food format.The company has a strategy that leverages its productivity of the declining base in the discount stores with the food additional.The company also has a strategy of th e methodical approach to the on-line retailing. McDonalds Essays McDonalds Essay McDonalds Essay McDonalds has been a family name for the last many decades. It operates on a franchise based model which has enabled it to spread all over the globe. Its operations have been largely profitable. In fact, it was only in 2003 that McDonalds reported its first ever quarterly loss. Since then a lot has changed in the way McDonalds reaches out to the customer. This is the focus of the discussion here. James R. Cantaloupe, Chairman and CEO, McDonalds said in 2003 The world has changed. Our customers have changed. We have to change too. This laid the foundation for the change which McDonalds went through. A key aspect of understanding what strategy to follow is to re-assess the needs of the market. Also the companys relationship with the internal stakeholders like the franchisees needed to be reviewed. During the process of evaluation, McDonalds used the latest technological tools like the internet to enable their brand managers to communicate with the franchisees and compare and improve their services. McDonalds studied demographics to identify which customer profiles visited there franchises and for what reasons. They realized that kids were their biggest customers but to get the kids to come in to the restaurants the parents had to be convinced also. During the study they also identified health consciousness as a major factor driving people away from McDonalds. Another factor affecting sales was the products offered as customers were looking for options other than the complete meals offered. Delivery times also came up as important determinants of customer satisfaction. Based on the studies, McDonalds conducted SWOT analysis and came up with a new marketing strategy based on the marketing mix consisting of 4Ps Product, Price, Promotion and Place. They decided to focus on expanding the product range to include healthy and low cost options. They also reviewed their promotion strategy to target kids who belonged to the biggest consumer category. They also streamlined their processes to reduce delivery times. 2) Using relevant examples, evaluate how successful the organisations environmental scanning strategy is. Suggest how this strategy can be improved. The steps taken by McDonalds to change their marketing mix have been highly successful in getting the customers and the profit back. In 2006, McDonaldss had its best sales performance for 15 years in Europe. McDonalds decided to go in for a health conscious image. They offered a range of healthy food selections on their menu. They also started to publish the nutritional content details of the food items on the packaging. New Saver products were offered which promised a quick bite for a low price. These changes in the product offerings were supported by promotional campaigns designed win back the lost customers. The processes required for getting the product to the customer were also reviewed. This resulted in tie-ups with local vendors to ensure freshness of the inputs. McCafes were introduced as exclusive coffee shops to attract the young crowd which needed a meeting point to get together with friends. The advertisements which addressed kids specifically helped bring the kids back. Availability of healthier food options and information about the nutritional value of the available products has helped them win a large number of health conscious consumers. To increase customer satisfaction they also focussed on the time taken to deliver their products. McDonalds can take a number of steps to get a better understanding of the environment theyre a part of. This, if followed by appropriate changes to the marketing mix, can help enhance the sales performance and profitability in the future. Some of these possible steps are discussed below. The internet can be a very effective tool to reach the masses. McDonalds can use the internet to run online promotion and research campaigns. Also the use of the social networking options like Twitter and Facebook can be beneficial to understand their customers and their requirements better. Improved analysis of the supply chain processes can help in increasing their efficiency. This can result in reduced costs and therefore reduced prices for the customers thus increasing sales. McDonalds can also analyse the franchise locations so that they can be spaced more evenly compared to the current situation where the distribution is not so even.

Breaking into the Lucrative Magazine Market with the Big R Game

Breaking into the Lucrative Magazine Market with the Big R Game Many people have a tremendous amount of baggage when it comes to one of the smallest words in the English language: no. Its mostly a learned behavior. As Ive watched my daughter growing up, the first few years she didnt seem to have a problem with rejection. For example, while learning to walk, balance rejected her countless times. Each time she fell, shed sit there for a few moments, then giggle and start all over. This is not the case for many fledgling writers. In fact, Ive talked to quite a few who have so much fear of being rejected they wont submit their material. While thats one way to avoid rejection, it will stop you from building a writing career. But what if you could turn the process of rejection to your favor? When I decided to write for magazines, I created a writing game. I call it the Big R Game. The rules are simple; in fact, theres only one, and its summarized in the object of the game: Collect as many rejections as you can, as fast as you can, while writing as well as you can. I set my target for 100. This might sound crazy. Why would anyone set a goal to collect a hundred rejection letters? Arent rejection letters to be avoided? Well, maybe in a perfect world, but the writing and publishing world is far from perfect. My rationale for such a game was simple. I knew that if I won at this game Id do at least two things right: Id write a lot, and Id submit what I wrote. These are the two most important activities a writer needs to do if he wants to succeed at the larger game of being a published and profitable writer. Playing the Big R Game also took the edge off of receiving rejection letters. Each time one arrived in the mail, I was winning the game, not only the Big R Game but also the much larger game of becoming a successful writer. Each rejection carried me one step closer to learning my craft. If you have a problem with rejection, try a game or two of the Big R. You may find it lifting your spirit and dissolving the resistance youve added to writing. The other big benefit of the game is that if you set out to collect 100 rejections, you’ll surprisingly receive a fair amount of acceptances. Since playing the Big R Game, Ive published over 350 magazine articles in such publications as Unity Magazine, AARP (then Modern Maturity), Body and Soul (then New Age Journal), Yoga Journal, and Better Homes and Gardens, to mention just a few. Many of them have been part of my pet writing project, Project Purpose: to write and publish articles about people whose lives are dedicated to a bold and inspiring purpose or vision. But more about that in a future article.

Monitor and control Project Work Speech or Presentation

Monitor and control Project Work - Speech or Presentation Example The reasons that justify proper control and monitoring of projects and the inputs and outputs of a project that are managed are to be discussed. The Project Control Cycle is also explained during the presentation which ends with concluding remarks on the when, where and how of project monitoring and control. Reasons For Project Monitoring and Control Because it is not realistic that things will at all time progress in accordance to the laid down plan, project monitoring and control becomes necessary for all projects (Watt 9). This is so especially for large projects which are likely to face more changes, recommendations and requests during the process of implementation. Even if there are a lot of preparation and planning for a project, it is necessary to prepare for twists within the initial plan because this is bound to be experienced. More importantly, the monitoring and controlling projects are necessary because it enables the project manager to detect any alterations, changes or deviations from the initial plan of the project. Through this detection, the project manager is allowed to react to the deviation of the plan through proper decision making. The changes which are to be expected to the plan of a project include the human resource, materials, equipment, time, tasks, money and space. The people or expertise that is responsible for implementation of a project is likely to change in terms of motivation, creativity and overall performance. Therefore project monitoring becomes important because project managers are able to detect such changes and as a result employ ways in which the human resource can be motivated to be more creative, communicative and interactive. Through the motivation of the human resource, the project manager will promote the efficiency at which the completion of the project is to be achieved. Changes in equipment or machines include technological changes which may affect the speed at which the project is to be completed. Additionally, new equipment may be required to execute specific aspects of a project. This reflects changes in cost which must be anticipated by the project manager and dealt with due consideration of the cost benefit factors of the project. The time at which the project is to be completed may be extended (Maheshwari and Howard 15). Therefore project motoring and control is necessary to detect the changes and constraints in time and ensure that the deadlines of implementing the project do not deviate significantly from the time that was allocated for the project in the initial plan. Tasks are also likely to change in the course of the project. This will lead to change requests from the stakeholders of the projects. The requests for change include extension of space, change of equipment and increased compensation. This is a justification of project monitoring and control. It is argued that â€Å"the change requests are evaluated and approved or rejected in the Perform Integrated Change Control p rocess† (Mulcahy 122). It is necessary to screen a project through a procedural process to aid decision making for possible abandonment, pursuance, acceptance or rejection of the project proposal idea (Olawale and Ming 513). This is another significant justification for monitoring and co

Marine Fisheries Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Marine Fisheries - Research Paper Example Due to marine fishing, the number of stock that is available for the fish breed to ensure their sustainability for the next years has always reduced. Therefore, there is need to ascertain whether marine fishing has reached to a point where it threatens the extinction of some species of marine fish and relate these to environmental ethical issues. The main aim of the study is to ascertain the impact of marine fisheries and how it relates to some of the environmental ethical theories. The following research questions will assist in attaining these research objectives. Is the level of marine fisheries threatening the sustainability of some marine fish? How does these relate to the environmental ethical theories like utilitarianism? Any entity that is engaged in harvesting or rising of fish is referred to as a fishery. The terms that typically define a fishery are types of fish or species, individuals involved, the area of seabed or water, fishing method, the activities, purpose or the class of the boats. Fishers as well as fish are usually combined in the definition with the latter utilizing similar gear types to fish similar species. Aquatic culture, fish farming or capturing wild fish may be involved in a fishery. Fish stocks are continuously being reduced due to overfishing that has led to fish being taken beyond sustainable levels. (Jennings et al, 78)