Competence in the Work Environment Essay

2.1Compare the strengths and weaknesses of assessment methods. Assessment can take place in a variety of settings, such as classrooms, lecture rooms, workplaces (or in a simulation of workplace conditions), community and training establishments or examination halls. No matter where it takes place or what form it takes, assessment always involves observation, evaluation, or questioning or a combination of some or all of the three. There are many different methods of assessment, a few regularly used are:-observation, evaluation or questioning. Whether they are used formatively or summatively, the most important issue is whether the assessment is appropriate for the intended outcome. Each learner is initially given a learning styles questionnaire to complete. From this questionnaire the assessor can establish which from assessment may suit the learner best. Observation The assessor observes the learners as they carry out tasks defined in the standards for the qualification. This observation often takes place in the workplace, or the conditions of the workplace, but it can also be carried out in any other place where the learner is undertaking practical activities which is a positive. Assessors should ideally plan observations to take advantage of any skills or activities that occur naturally in the learning environment, and to make the best use of the available resources. There are times however when an assessor may spontaneously observe a learner carry out a task which can be written up as an observation. One of the weaknesses of observations is that some learners amy beome self –concious or shy/embarresed and feel they are ‘being watched and graded’. The residents or clients may also act differently if they are aware that an observation is taking place and can lead to a distorted picture of the true nature of the learners role . Evaluation In some areas, as learners work towards achieving their qualifications they will generate evidence in the form of products of their work. This is the case in qualifications in Health and Social care for instance which is primarily a work-based or practical qualification. Learners may produce CVs, diet plans, weight charts, reflective accounts which can all be used to assess their knowledge in a chosen subject area. These can be incredibly posistive and allow the learner to reflect and be proud of his/her practices and positives. The weakness with evalution is that it has to be done correctly, with enough time to explore areas that may need extra work and encourage the learner in a positive way. Questioning and discussions with the learner Questioning can be used whenever an assessor wants to assess knowledge and understanding and the various different applications of knowledge such as reasoning, planning, analysing and evaluating. Questioning can be used to: * confirm knowledge and understanding where it is not apparent from performance * Address gaps in knowledge and understanding in performance based units * Authenticate evidence by asking learners to explain part of the evidence and/or describe the process of producing it * Assess contingencies where it would not be practical or safe to wait until the skill or activity can be observed * You can use oral or written questions, depending on the requirements of the outcomes of units being assessed and the circumstances of the assessment. Your choice of method should reflect any special assessment requirements your learners may have. For example, some learners do not respond well to written questions — in any case, you should always ensure that the appropriate reading level is used Discussions give the assessor the opportunity to gauge the learner’s knowledge and highlight areas lacking which can be taught at a later date. A weakness in discussions and questioning is that the assessor has to be careful not to lead or prompt or give the answer to the learner as it may not be valid. Outcome 3Understand how to plan assessment 3.1Key factors when planning assessment When planning an assessment there are a number of factors to be considered. Who are you assessing? What do you want them to achieve? Where will the assessment take place? How long do you have? Once you have answered these you then need to look at applying a holistic approach. Using a holistic approach means that many areas of work and outcomes can be covered at the same time. The assessment process isn’t just about watching a learner complete a task it is about, discussion, planning, implementing and reflection. Areas of risk that may be involved when I assess a learner in the care setting are minimal but may still arise. An example of this would be assessing a learner carrying out a manual handling task. Has the learner had the appropriate training to carry out the task? Is there a piece of equipment involved and has it been tested for use. Is the learner competent and confident to carry out the task? Do I feel that I have assessed any risk involved and am I happy for my learner to proceed? If I am not happy at anytime then the assessment will be stopped and a further risk assessment carried out. During the initial meeting the learner will have completed a Learning Styles Questionnaire, this should have highlighted any areas such as advanced learning needs or dyslexia and the planning of an assessment should take this into consideration. 3.2 Benefits of using holistic assessment Using a holistic assessment enables the assessor to cover a large range of outcomes in a number of diploma units with one piece of evidence. Holistic assessment may for example cover infection control and manual handling. By referencing outcomes well the learner will see that good progress is being made and opportunities area taken. It saves time from both the learners and the assessor’s point of view. 3.3 How to apply holistic assessment when planning assessment As the assessor meets with the learner and plans each technical certificate or unit of work they should be thinking about how best a holistic assessment would fit into the plan and how it can be cross referenced. The learner must then be in agreement and sign the plan. 3.4Summarise the types of risk that may be involved in assessment When talking about ‘risk’ there are a number of different kinds. There is physical/environmental risk to learner, client and assessor and there is emotional/psychological risk. Environmental issues in care setting such as fire, health and safety, trip hazards, the clients themselves. Emotionally learners could feel they are being pushed if too much work is given at once or they may not feel they are being challenged enough. This creates unrealistic and unnecessary risk stress on the learner and is far from beneficial and conducive to good work being produced. 3.5.1 How to minimise risks through the planning process. Plan number one that is produced with the learner will have ensured that the learner is working in safe conditions and if needed any risk assessments have been done, i.e. if the learner is under 18 years old. The plan will also check that the employer’s insurance liability is up to date. The assessor will discuss with the learner how best to handle their work load to cause minimum stress. Some learners prefer large assignments whilst others prefer small chunks at a time. By knowing your learner you will know whether their work is authentic and justifiable, it is important that they are told about not copying and pasting articles as their own work and explain to them what plagiarism is. Outcome 4Understand how to involve learners and others in assessment 4.1 Explain the importance of involving the learner and others in the assessment process There are a large number of reasons why it’s so important to involve the learner in assessment. The diploma is for the candidate, it’s their work, and there goals and they need to feel as if they own it. By clear involvement the learner will know what is expected from them and clearly understand the standards and criteria. By involving others in the planning such as senior colleagues and managers then witness statements can be provided, time allocated for learning and support. 4.2 Types of information available to learners. In order for a learner to complete their diploma they should be given any necessary teaching and resources. This may include handouts, oral teaching sessions and websites to look at. Other types of information are items such as standards and the criteria they need to meet. The learner will be told how the evidence is gathered an in what format such as written accounts, reflective accounts, observations. 4.3 How can peer and self-assessment be used to promote learner involvement and responsibility? 4.4How can assessment arrangements be adapted to meet the needs of the individual learner? Each candidate’s assessment needs must be considered in relation to the assessment being undertaken. Most candidates will require more than one assessment arrangement. For example, candidates who have a visual impairment, hearing imparient or advanced learning needs . Outcome 5Understand how to make assessment decisions 5.1 When judging evidence we use the following terms:- Valid, authentic, current and sufficient. When assessing a learner’s evidence as an assessor I have to be satisfied that the work submitted is the learners own work and not plagiarised from a book or the internet. It is often easy to tell when this happens as the terms used and flow of the writing changes. Within the realms of health and social care the standards, policies and procedures are continually updated to ensure national standards are met, with this in mind it is important that the learners work is current and up to date with knowledge that his relevant and not historical. I also have to consider whether the work submitted is sufficient, has it covered the entire outcome required and does it show an understanding of the subject. 5.2 In order for assessment decisions to be reliable and fair between learners there are a set of learning outcomes and criteria that have to be achieved. Each learner is made aware of these outcomes and criteria and their work should demonstrate this. Each learner is assessed against the criteria and outcomes. Outcome 6Understand how your assessments contribute to the quality assurance of assessment 6.1 6.2 6.3 There is great importance of quality assurance in the assessment process as it shows whether the performance targets are being met against national standards that are in place. Within my workplace all work is quality assured by an Internal Verifier (IV). The IV is qualified and occupationally competent in the subject that they verify. The role of the IV is to provide support, advice and guidance to the assessing team. The IV holds regular standardisation meetings with the assessors and also gives one-to-one support and feedback on learner’s portfolios. When the portfolios of learners have been assessed and internally verified, and all the assessment criteria have been met, the IV should arrange for the centre to apply for certification for those learners. This will prompt a visit from the External Verifier to confirm the assessment and verification decisions made at the centre. The IV is responsible for ensuring that the details of the learners applying for certification, the assessor(s) involved, and the IV activity in relation to those assessors. The EV will visit the centre to verify the assessment and internal verification decisions made by centre staff. Where there are large numbers of learners this is normally done on a sampling basis. The sample is selected by the EV, to allow them to verify the work of all assessors across a range of evidence types and performance criteria and is based on the IV’s sampling plan. It may be necessary for the EV to sample more portfolios than was originally planned, or all the portfolio s in the group, so all portfolios should be available on the day of the EV’s visit. If a learner feels †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Outcome 7Understand how to manage information relating to assessment of occupational competence 7.1 7.2 It is important to follow procedures for the management of information relating to assessment for a number of reasons. The assessor should regularly update learning records to provide accurate information on the learner’s achievement. At my place of work we use a computer system called ‘Zylab’ which tracks each learner’s progress through a colour chart system. The up to date information contributes to evidence of quality assurance and standardisation, pointing out learners that need extra help or who are falling behind. I use the Zylab forms to show my learners how they are progressing, to see a visual representation of progress and can be extremely rewarding and increases willingness to learn and achieve. The use of feedback and questioning during the assessment process allows me as an assessor to clarify and judge the learners understanding and knowledge in certain areas. Giving critical feedback to someone is a delicate process. It is very important to assure that you approach the task with sensitivity to the person’s feelings to avoid the common problem of a very defensive reaction. An example of giving positive, negative and positive feedback is:- You really did an excellent job with that ‘Communication’ essay – everybody has been very impressed! In the future, it would be better to avoid naming people that haven’t accepted all the methods you outline. It’s great that you put so much thought into this and a lot of people are going to benefit from it!† This is often referred to as a feedback sandwich. Outcome 8Understand the legal and good practice requirements in relation to assessment 8.1 The organisation that I work for has legal requirements, polices and procedures in relation to assessment. Each visit to see a learner I ask whether there have been any incidents that have occurred, either emotionally or from a health and safety perspective. If there has been then I check an incident form has been completed (if appropriate), what measures have been put in place to ensure it doesn’t happen again and I take time to listen to the learner express themselves. All work undertaken is dealt with in a confidential manner. No names of places, clients, service users or staff are used in portfolio evidence and the learner knows that they can talk to me in a confidential manner. Clear records of learning are kept for all learners as mentioned before we use Zylab sheets which must be updated every Friday. The organisation has a responsibility to ensure that all learners are given equal opportunity to develop and learn and the organisation recognises the diversity in each on e. 8.2 The use of technology can make in the assessment process is invaluable. I have a learner with advanced learning needs who really struggles with writing and spelling. To overcome this we use a Dictaphone and use the recording as oral evidence. The organisation now offers on line training which for many learners is ideal as the use of computers within day to day lives and workplaces becomes far more common. It has to be remembered though that there are older learners that we assess that don’t have the computer skills and would rather use a paper portfolio. Each learner needs to be assessed as an individual. 8.3 There are legal and best practice requirements that have to be met in relation to assessment with regards to gender, disability, race/culture/religion and language. Each learner that enrols on a course is initially assessed as to any factors which could lead to advanced learning needs. These needs may be due to language barriers, religion or culture. For every learning need identified the organisation has a duty to ensure each one is recognised and the appropriate support is given.

Gwen Harwood “Sharpness of Death” and “At Mornington” Essay

Through a critical study of Gwen Harwood’s poetry, the responder’s personal response has a significant effect on their judgement towards her poetry. In The Sharpness of Death, Harwood explores the inexplicable link between life and death, as well as the value of memories in response to the inevitable passing of time. Similarly in At Mornington, Harwood accentuates the value of appreciating life to overpower death and the importance of memories to lessen the effects of time passing. These aspects, which reoccur throughout Harwood’s poetry are universal, timeless, and prevalent to human existence and society. As a result, Harwood’s poetry has been able to endure varying contexts and continue to captive and create meaning for readers. The varying interpretations of Harwood’s work influence the judgement of responders to both the individual poems, and Harwood’s poetry as a whole. The Sharpness of Death explores differing perspectives on death and its irrefutable link with life, encouraging contemporary readers to question their value of death and develop a judgement on the poem and Harwood’s poetry as a whole. Part one of the poem establishes the personas desire to bargain with death, through the demanding tone that is used to address it, â€Å"Leave me alone.† For the contemporary reader, this highlights the desperation to evade death, something many modern responders are able to identify with. As the poem continues, Harwood renders the philosophers attempts to undermine death through analysis, as meaningless. The use of the oxymoron â€Å"complex logic,† highlights the futility of this act, suggesting that death cannot be explained, only experienced. This challenges the value of attempting to understand death for the responder as even those considered the most intelligent living, cannot provide sufficient answers. As the poem continues, the importance of life, rather than explanations, to overcome death is explored. The personification of blossoms in the line, â€Å"blossoms to hold the light that’s gone,† highlights for responders that the beauty of life, as represented by the blossoms, needs to be appreciated and understood in order to come to terms with the darkness that comes after death. The  final part of the poem returns back to first person, giving the poem a cyclical nature, common in Harwood’s poetry. This depicts to audiences the cyclical nature of life and the subsequent inevitability of death. In the final two lines of the poem,â€Å"If I fall from that time, then set your teeth in me,† the negative imagery depicts the persona’s view that only when she has lost the fulfillment that comes with life, will she be able to accept death. This creates a positive judgement for the responder, depicting that their fear of death can subside if their life has been lived with joy. The exploration of the connection between life and death throughout The Sharpne ss of Death, encourages responders to challenge their perception on the connection between to two. The response of audiences towards The Sharpness of Death, brings up questions in relation to the value of memory in response to the passing of time, inevitably impacting upon the judgement of the contemporary reader. In the second part of the poem, â€Å"I hope he found some light beyond that field of black everlasting flowers,† the positive connotation of light highlights the power of memories in overcoming the darkness that is death. For responders, this leads them to accept that their memories are what will alleviate them from the effects of times passing. This image of black flowers is juxtaposed by the description of the Nasturitums in part three of the poem, â€Å"Purest of colours, how they shone.† The metaphor of the flowers depicts the power of positive memories to overcome struggles that have been faced as time has progressed. The personification of light where Harwood says, â€Å"light like a noble visitor stayed with us briefly and moved on,† emphasis es the power of memories which often fade as time goes on. This encourages the contemporary reader to consider what their prominent memories are and thus, consider how their perception of them has changed over time. The rhetorical question, â€Å"How would you ever know me now†¦unless I brought these flowers,† enhances the idea that it is remembered past experiences which enable us to draw a connection between the past and present. For the contemporary reader, this accentuates the value of memories in appreciating life, a consistent theme of Harwood’s throughout her poetry. The sexual imagery in the final part of the poem, â€Å"my tongue sang with his juices,† depicts the strong influence of memories in relation to love in giving power to accept death, when the  passing of time is over. This places death in perspective for responders, as being only one aspect of life, with memories and friendship enabling people to transcend it. Throughout The Sharpness of Death, Harwood’s exploration of the power of memor ies in accordance with the passing of time influences the responder’s perception to a large extent. The connection between life and death is further accentuated through Harwood’s poem, At Mornington, which, similarly to the The Sharpness of Death, challenges readers to develop a judgement towards this inexplicable connection. The first part of the poem depicts the fearlessness and uncertainty of childhood, deriving from a lack of understanding of death. In conjunction with this, the simile, â€Å"was caught by a wave and rolled like a doll among rattling shells,† suggests the powerlessness of the persona to control her direction in life, at a stage where there was no understanding of death. This concept has been experienced by an array of responders, and thus impacts upon their judgment to a large extent. The metaphor which Harwood uses to describe the graveyard the persona is standing in, â€Å"avenues of the dead,† emphasises that everything in life is temporary, with death being the only definitive part. This asserts to the contemporary reader that death doe s not need to be focused upon as it is certain. Therefore life which is temporary and changing, should be valued. In the second last stanza, â€Å"We have one day, only one, but more than enough to refresh us,† the repetition of one highlights the power of even a small part of life being able to assist in overcoming the struggle that thought of death places upon our existence. As the poem progresses, the persona is able to develop a changed perspective on death. The irony in the line, â€Å"at your side among the graves I think of death no more,† highlights the personas acceptance of the cycle of life as a result of the strong friendship they have developed, enticing readers to do the same. Water is used as a powerful motif throughout the poem, highlighting the persona’s acceptance of the inevitability of death, in particular, â€Å"waters that bear me away forever†. This encourages the contemporary reader to also accept this inevitability in order to appreciate their own life. The response of readers to the value of life in accepting death throughout At Mornington, h as a significant impact upon their opinion as it is a concept that is universally experienced and  understood. In accordance with The Sharpness of Death, Harwood’s At Mornington, encourages audiences to develop a judgement in regards to the value of memories in response to the passing of time. The poem begins with Harwood’s memory of her early childhood where she â€Å"leapt† from her father’s arms into the sea. The alliteration to introduce this, â€Å"They told me,† highlights her lack of personal memory of the uncertainty of her childhood and the need of others to reinforce this memory. For many responders, the uncertainty of their childhood was not realised until adulthood, allowing them to appreciate Harwood’s poetry as relevant to their lives. The high modality to describe her memory of believing she could walk on water, â€Å"Indeed I remember,† depicts the prominent memories of the innocent child. This brings responders to consider that while the memory of invincibility is strong, the sense of invincibility itself has been lost as time has progressed. The motif of water is also continued, this time referring to memories, â€Å"on what flood are they borne.† This metaphor highlights that memories are able to cross the boundaries of time, thus emphasising the importance of them to responders who are experiencing the effects of times passing. This motif is continued in the fourth stanza, â€Å"There is still some water left over.† This depicts to the contemporary reader that even when time seems to have reached it’s end, memories still retain the ability to bring back the sense of abatement attached with them. In the final stanza, the metaphor, â€Å"rolled in one grinding race of dreams, pain, memories, love and grief,† highlights that memories are attached to varying emotions and are apart of the race that is life, where the inevitable end is death. This causes readers to consider the importance of the varying memories within their life, to make the journey to the end worthwhile. Through the appreciation of memories in response to times passing throughout At Mornington, responders are able to identify with Harwood’s poetry and thus develop a significant association with it. Throughout Harwood’s poetry, in particular, The Sharpness of Death and At Mornington, a variety of universal and timeless concepts are explored, sparking varying responses from responders. In both these poems, the  connection between life and death, and the value of memories in response to the passing of time is explored. This exploration by Harwood is one that can be related to by a variety of readers, influencing these readers to a large extent, to develop a judgement towards Harwood’s poetry as a whole.

The Cons of Marijuana Usage

The legalization of marijuana is one of the most highly debated about subjects facing Americans today. Advocates of legalization use two major arguments in their effort to have marijuana legalized. First, which is by far the biggest argument is that marijuana has a significant medical use. The second argument is that marijuana does not cause harm to those that smoke it. Both of these arguments can be easily discounted by the numerous studies that have been done on the effects of marijuana both medicinal and recreational. In the following paragraphs we will explore the hard facts of marijuana that will discount the validity of the previously mentioned arguments as well as some common fallacies. I will focus first on the medical fallacy. There currently exists a great debate concerning smoking marijuana as a medicine. Many well-intentioned leaders and members of the public have been led misled by the well-financed and organized pro-drug legalization lobby into believing there is merit to their argument that smoking marijuana is a safe and effective medicine. A review of the scientific research, expert medical testimony, and government agency findings shows this to be erroneous. There is no justification for using marijuana as a medicine. The movement to legitimize smoking marijuana as a medicine is not encouraged by the Federal Food and Drug Administration, health and medical associations, or medical experts; but instead by groups such as the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) and the Drug Policy Foundation (DPF). These organizations have little medical expertise and favor various forms of legalizing illicit drugs. The studies cited by the marijuana advocates have been found to be unscientific, poorly researched, and involved pharmaceutical THC, not marijuana. An advocate that claimed he was an expert, testified at the 1987 federal hearings to reschedule marijuana, was in fact a wellness counselor at a health spa who admitted under oath to using every illegal mind-altering drug he ever studied. Another â€Å"expert† admitted he had not kept up with new medical or scientific information on marijuana for over 18 years. Another doctor claimed there was voluminous medical research on the effectiveness of marijuana but under oath, when asked to cite the number of the studies, he replied, â€Å"I would doubt very few. † The fact is that there is not one reliable scientific study that shows smoking marijuana to be a safe and effective drug. The majority of the marijuana advocates’ â€Å"evidence† comes from unscientific, non-scrutinized or analyzed anecdotal statements from people with a variety of illnesses. It is unknown whether these individuals used marijuana prior to their illness or are using marijuana in combination with other medicines. It is also unknown whether they have had recent medical examinations, are justifying their use of marijuana, experiencing a placebo effect, or experiencing the intoxicating effect of smoking marijuana. The main psychoactive ingredient in marijuana (THC) is already legally available in pharmaceutical capsule form by prescription from medical doctors. This drug, Marinol, is less often prescribed because of the potential adverse effects, and there are more effective new medicines currently available. Marinol differs from the crude plant marijuana because it consists of one pure, well-studied, FDA-approved pharmaceutical in stable known dosages. Marijuana is an unstable mixture of over 400 chemicals including many toxic psychoactive chemicals, which are largely unstudied and appear in uncontrolled strengths. The manufacturers of Marinol, Roxane Laboratories Incorporated, do not agree with the pro-marijuana advocates that THC is safe and harmless. In the Physician’s Desk Reference, a good portion of the description of Marinol includes warnings about the adverse effects. Seriously, doesn t common sense dictate that it is not good medical practice to allow a substance to be used as a medicine if that product is ingested by smoking, not FDA-approved, made up of hundreds of different chemicals, and self-prescribed and administered by the patient. The federal government, over the last 20 years involving a number of administrations from both political parties, has determined that smoking marijuana has no redeeming medicinal value, and is in fact harmful to health. These governmental agencies include the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Food and Drug Administration, and the U. S. Public Health Service. Their latest finding, as recently as 1994, was affirmed in a decision by the U. S. Court of Appeals in Washington, DC Since the pro-marijuana lobby has been unsuccessful in dealing with the federal government, they have targeted state and local governments to legitimize smoking marijuana as a medicine. A careful examination of their legislative and/or ballot proposals reveals they are written to effectively neutralize the enforcement of most marijuana laws. Crude, intoxicating marijuana under their proposals would be easier to obtain and use than even the most harmless, low-level prescription drug. Major medical and health organizations, as well as the vast majority of nationally recognized expert medical doctors, scientists and researchers, have not accepted smoking marijuana as a safe and effective medicine. These organizations include: the American Medical Association, the American Cancer Society, National Sclerosis Association, the American Glaucoma Association, American Academy of Ophthalmology, National Eye Institute, National Cancer Institute, National Institute for Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institute of Dental Research, and the National Institute on Allergy and Infectious Diseases. There are thousands of studies available documenting the harmful physical and psychological effects of smoking marijuana. The harmful consequences include but are not limited to premature cancer, addiction, coordination and perception impairment, a number of mental disorders including depression, hostility and increased aggressiveness, general apathy, memory loss, reproductive disabilities, impairment to the immune system, numerous airway injuries, and other general problems associated with intoxication. So far I have shown why marijuana should be disregarded as medicinal now I intend to discount some more common fallacies that marijuana advocates like to throw around as well as the argument that marijuana causes no harm to the smoker. First, advocates for marijuana like to say laws against alcohol and drugs don t work so why have them. They often use prohibition in the early 1900 s as an example. Even though prohibition was unpopular and only in effect for about fourteen years, it did impact the use of alcohol. Alcohol use, alcohol-related deaths, and admissions to hospitals for other alcohol related illnesses were all reduced approximately 50 percent. Also, contrary to what you hear, there’s no evidence of a big increase in crime. That probably makes for good gangster movies, but little else. Prohibition was rescinded because alcohol historically had been part of our lives, and the majority didn t support prohibition. Drugs, on the other hand, have not been part of our everyday lives, and over 80 percent of Americans favor drug prohibition A second fallacy is that legalizing marijuana would reduce the number of crimes and would free up prison space for more violent offenders. First of all there are 12 million arrests made annually out of which 1 million are for drug violations, of these only 12 percent are sentenced to prison. Most of the criminals that are locked up already have rap sheets a mile long for different crimes anyways. Now if we legalize marijuana the arrests would stop because of the change in the criminal code but the criminals wouldn t change their behavior and become law-abiding citizens. They will continue to commit crimes to pay rent, buy cars, go to concerts, buy clothes, eat, and buy legal drugs. Thirdly, most advocates like to use the Netherlands as an example of marijuana being legalized and not having any problems. The Netherlands has begun experiencing a variety of problems including a rise in crime, welfare, unemployment, and addicts from other countries migrating there to indulge their drug appetites. A fourth common fallacy is that if we legalize marijuana we would save at least 20 billion dollars annually that is now used towards law enforcement. What this fallacy assumes is that there would be no governmental costs associated with distribution, regulation, and control of legal drugs. Using alcohol as a model, we know these costs can be substantial. Knowing government, there is very little they do that is cost effective. In 1965, when we started Medicare, Congress projected that it would cost this country $12 billion by 1990. The actual costs that year were $110 billion. In 1968 food stamps cost $173 million annually, and now, less than 30 years later, the price tag is $24 billion. And, finally the greatest fallacy that marijuana does not harm the user. The fact remains that marijuana and hashish are intoxicating substances that make the user high. The degree of mental and physical impairment depends on the amount and strength of marijuana smoked. There is a substantial difference between the 2 to 5 percent THC weed of the ’70s and the 10 to 20 percent THC in today’s weed. There is a definite reason why the higher grade is more desirable and expensive, and that’s simply because it gives the user a more powerful high. Studies show marijuana can and often does cause apathy, diminishes mental capacity, causes difficulty in concentrating, decline in performance, and lost motivation. Thousands of studies also show marijuana use adversely affects the brain, reproduction process, immune system, respiratory system, cardiovascular system, and remains in the body for extended periods of time. In addition, marijuana use often impairs normal thought processes, distorts reality, reduces self-control, and releases inhibitions, all of which increase the chance of harmful and criminal behavior. Many times the user is unaware he or she is being affected unless told by others. A Stanford Medical School study showed pilots to be impaired 24 hours after smoking one joint, even though they felt they were functioning normally. In conclusion, the bottom line is, whenever persons are under the influence, they pose a threat to themselves and others. We don’t need more intoxicated people on our streets, at public events, or driving on our highways. Traffic fatality studies clearly demonstrate a disproportionate number of deaths caused by drivers under the influence of marijuana. Why would we want to make a substance like that legal, inexpensive and readily available to satisfy he desires of a few who already choose to violate our laws? Haven’t the advocates learned anything from our experience with drunkenness?

Morality of Abortion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Morality of Abortion - Essay Example Therefore, the debate between the two groups continues endlessly. Since either party fails to shake off the context-specificity of abortion, the groups on either side of abortion makes them vulnerable to each other’s critiques (Marquis 183-187). Personhood, right to life, and ethics are several recurring keywords in both the pro and contra abortion debate. Often these themes serve as the grand principles of the attempts to validate the arguments of either party on the issue of abortion. But unfortunately, these themes themselves have been contaminated by the context-specificity. In his article, â€Å"A Defense of Abortion†, though Jarvis Thompson attempts to deal with the permissibility of general abortion, he mostly hovers around some specific contexts of abortion that may draw the readers’ emotional support, and then rational, to his stance on the issue of abortion. Indeed Thompson’s approach is to establish a person’s or a woman’s right to abortion from a pure ethical point of view. He argues that since an unexpected conception of a baby in its mother’s womb due to a rape or other cases is in direct conflict with its mother’s right to choose, the mother’s choice to abortion may proved to be mean and selfish according to the existing morals of a society, but she has the right to abort the baby. Thompson’s success lies in drawing a clear dichotomy between morals and ethics on the issue of the abortion. According to him, a mother’s right to choose to deprive her unborn baby from its right to life through abortion should be based on ethics, whereas her choice to allow the baby to live in her womb is a question of her and her society’s morality. Thompson’s propounded ethics asserts that if one’s right to choice does not come into direct conflict with another’s right to life, he or she cannot be held responsible for the violation of

Communism Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Communism - Research Paper Example It also promotes the fact that every worker should be rewarded for all his work and also holds a share in the profits. Communism is broadly defined as a movement which aims to fulfill all these aims. It tries to end wage labor and private property in terms of economics. Hence it is considered by many to be a form of governance which provides equality to all the people. The word communism is derived from the community which means that this type of governance takes the whole community when taking decisions. The rich do not get richer in a communist society and the poor do not get poorer. Moreover the state decides as to how the resources have to be allocated in the society. This creates a state of equality in the society because of which people do not have to fight for supreme power. Karl Marx defined communism in the following words â€Å"Communism is for us not a state of affairs that is to be established, an ideal to which reality [will] have to adjust itself. We call communism the real movement that abolishes the present state of things [emphasis in original]† (Holmes 2009). The workers in a communist government are not trapped to a single job as they have the freedom to change jobs whenever they want to. According to Karl Marx â€Å"Society regulates the general production and thus makes it possible for me to do one thing today and another tomorrow, to hunt in the morning, fish in the afternoon, rear cattle in the evening, criticize after dinner, just as I have a mind, without ever becoming a hunter, fisherman, shepherd or critic† (Fandel 2008). Over the years it is seen that many leaders have come who believed in the stability that communism could provide to the whole society. Vladmir Lenin of Russia provides a suitable example of a leader who believed in the roots of communism. He broadened the views of the general society regarding the difference between socialism and communism. He stabilized the roots of communism

AICPA Ethics & COSO Framework for Internal Controls Essay

AICPA Ethics & COSO Framework for Internal Controls - Essay Example The first issue is about how Harold Potter gained employment and shares with Dumbledore Enterprise, a public company. Being supported by his uncle to gain entry to the company is not a serious issue. However, once he gained membership to the AICPA, there were implications that made his continuous involvement in Dumbledore risky. Section 101.01 states that a person should be independent in performance of professional services (Independence, 2011 para 1). This therefore means that once he was connected to Dumbledore as a previous employee and a shareholder, he would lose his independence and could not provide services for the company. Upon graduation, Harold decides to describe himself as 'Accountant' on his business card. Section 57 Scope & Nature of Services states that Members â€Å"...should observe the principles of the Code of Conduct in determining the scope and nature of services to be provided.† (Scope & Nature of Services, 2011 para1). There are issues with this descri ption because although he was qualified, he did not have the required level of experience to be considered a member. This therefore means that it was unethical for him to present himself as an accountant when he was not a full member. Section 191.65 forbids people to use the title CPA when they are not qualified members in Public Practice to use the designation of 'Accountant' without making disclosure of his capacity (Ethics Ruling, 2011 para 65). Clearly, Harold was not in public practice then so again, it was inappropriate to use the title of Accountant without specifying the scope of this designation. Using the Firm Name Aaron, Potter & Zzucker (3) For the sake of getting popularity and exposure in the phonebook, Harold decided to use the above name. According to Section 501.10 False Misleading or Deceptive Act in promoting or Marketing Professional Services members should not use false or deceptive means to promote their firms (Acts Discreditable, 2011 para11). Clearly, Harold Porter was working alone. There were no Aarons and Zzuckers in the firm who were CPAs. This therefore means that the use of the name was misleading. Further instruments in the Code of Ethics go against Harold in this direction. Section 502 prohibits members from advertisment, that is false, misleading and deceptive. Section 505.1 Form of Organization & Name says that members shall not practice public accounting under a name that is misleading (Form of Organization & Name, 2011 para 2). Providing Tax Services & Audit for Dumbledore (4) Although Harold did not have any experience in tax and auditing, he took the offer of his uncle to provide tax and auditing services for Dumbledore. There are two major components of the AICPA code which makes it unethical and potentially illegal for Harold to take these options. Section 201.2 Competence requires members to undertake professional services that they are reasonably expected to complete with professional competence (Competence, 2011 para2 ). Since Harold had never done tax and auditing before, it was wrong to do the books of a public company without any supervision because there was no assurance that he had the necessary professional competence. Section 57 Scope & Nature of Services states that members should observe the principles of the Code of Professional Conduct in

Coordinated management of meaning theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Coordinated management of meaning theory - Essay Example It is but natural that the two cannot walk together, unless they are agreed. No coordinated action is possible when the viewpoints are divergent. No one is individually responsible to construct a social situation. A problem surfaces on account of friction and interaction of conglomeration of issues in a group situation. Proper response to such issues can only be through consensus. But social realities often hinder such a possibility. A symposium was held recently in the Community Hall at Houston(TX). Local politicians, police officers and some NGOs who represented the interests of women participated in the symposium. The issue for discussion in the symposium was â€Å"Women safety, how to challenge increasing rape cases.† Initiating the debate the women representative said, â€Å"The politicians and police are responsible for the present state of affairs. No woman feels safe in cities. Police have no control on the issue and the politicians are not serious about it. The judiciary is helpless and the cases in courts linger on for years.† Even as she continued with her angry outburst, the senior police officer intervened. â€Å"Our department is not responsible for increase in rape cases. The moral fabric of the society has been torn asunder. The available security force with us is totally inadequate. The above observations were immediately contested by a police official. â€Å"We are not corrupt. If we receive a complaint against any police personnel, we take action as per disciplinary proceedings rules governing the police department. We are only the investigating agency in rape cases. For delay in the cases and for awarding punishment, we alone are not responsible. Often political pressure stalls the speedy investigation.† Here is a situation that explains the manner in which social words are created. This juncture can be as the point of creating social words. Our social words are created as per the demand of the

Narrative Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 3

Narrative - Essay Example I escorted her to the wardroom where she would stay for the time she would be at the hospital. She was hurt badly, had broken limbs and cuts in her body. The first thing to come out of her mouth was â€Å"take care of me, please† and I responded by saying â€Å"do not worry, you are in good hands.† This was the last conversation before she went unconscious. She was then taken to the theatre for several hours before she was put in intensive care unit. I spent about a month taking care of her. During this time, I helped her bath every day, dressed her and helped her feed and take her medication. She could not do this by herself. during this time she developed confidence in me and talked about her private life with me to relieve her stress. I told her, â€Å"whatever you want to share feel free because it will only be between me and you† and she responded by saying â€Å"Thank you, you really are helping me recover fast.† Sometimes she would ask me for certai n needs and I would advocate for her especially those that were to be provided by other personnel such as her therapist, dietician, activities director and the pharmacist. At one point her medicine had delayed and I had to have a conversation with the pharmacist. I Told him, â€Å"My patient has not received her medication, yet the bill is paid.† The pharmacist responded by saying, â€Å"sorry, I had forgotten.† I had to make it clear to him that patients medicine are not be joked with. I told him, â€Å"You ought to do your work or resign because patients cannot suffer because of your forgetfulness.† This ensured that my patient had her medicine in time always until the time when she was discharged. This aspect implies that the patients regard caregivers as their immediate representatives and as such, we should see to it that their views are well catered for during their stay (Reinhard & Young, 2009). My patient once narrated her experience at the hospital to me when she was a child, and it

How you would attempt to keep a business from suffering a similar Essay

How you would attempt to keep a business from suffering a similar attack - Essay Example Key words Packet attack; juveniles; distributed denial of service (DDoS) What was Learned There is a lot that I have learned from the attack on grc.com. First of all, this attack was carried out by a 13 year old! He mentioned that together with his friends, he decided to attack the website following a â€Å"disparaging† remark that was made by the website in its newsgroup. Let me go back to my point. The logic here is not whether the attack was carried out by a group or an individual, but that a 13 year old was at the mastermind of the attack and even bragged about it. What I learned from this is that â€Å"internet terrorism† is no longer a preserve of college students or people aged 16 and above (as previously thought). Maybe the 13 year old kid and his friends are very good at computers, but that is also beside the point. The fact that they took time to learn how to design and launch packet attacks is very worrying indeed and must be looked into. Overall, what I lear ned from this is that there is a new breed of hackers in town. These new breed is aggressive, smart and, surprisingly, unapologetic. This calls for a revision of cyber terrorism combat strategies and techniques. What is also clear from the attack is that law enforcement agencies and authorities are not only ill-prepared but also poorly augmented to deal with the new class of hackers. For instance, the author reveals that when he approached the FBI after establishing that the individual who masterminded the attack was a 13 year old, he was met with the following responses: a) Until the damages done amounted to $5,000, no crime had been committed. That is the law. b) Even if the damages done amounted to $5,000 and a crime was deemed to have been committed, their staffs were not only swamped but also overloaded with cases concerning firms that had incurred huge monetary losses caused by internet/cyber crime. c) Considering that the chief suspect was just 13 years old, there was not muc h that could be done to him, even if the amount of evidence confirmed that the attacks were planned and orchestrated by him. The most that could happen was a chat between some agents and his parents at his place of residence. In essence, his youth gave him an impenetrable armor. This was a major discouragement of the costs likely to be incurred from any kind of investigation. These points prove my earlier assertion that law enforcement authorities and agencies (in this case the FBI) are not only ill-equipped but also poorly augmented to fight cybercrime that is perpetrated by juveniles. How I would Attempt to keep a Business from Suffering a similar Attack I would institute a number of effective measures to combat attacks similar to the one that was directed at grc.com. These measures include the following: Developing effective commands that will counter the possibility of suffering a similar attack. This will work by helping businesses verify that their systems are not infected by any of the existing IRC Zombie/Bots. Since all the IRC Zombie/Bots usually trigger and maintain static links to remote IRC chat servers anytime the host computer is connected to the internet (Yang & Wanlei 22). An active link/connection can be detected using the following command; netstat –an | find â€Å":6667†. Detection will pave way for termination. Encouraging businesses and firms to perform regular tests and checks that allow them to detect and consequently terminate harmful connections. Since IRC

Recess at school Essay Example for Free

Recess at school Essay Psychology helps marketers understand why and how consumers behave as they do. Psychological concepts such as motivation and personality; perception; learning; values, beliefs, and attitudes, and life styles are useful for interpreting buying process and directing marketing efforts. Motivation- is energizing force that stimulates behavior to satisfy a need. Personality- Refers to a person’s consistent behaviors or responses to recurring situations Perception- The process by which an individual selects, organizes and interprets information to create a meaningful picture of the world. Learning- refers to the behavior that results from (1) repeated experience, (2) reasoning. The way we perceive ourselves in relation to the rest of the world plays an important role in our choices behaviors and beliefs. Understanding social psychology can be useful for many reasons. First we can better understand how groups impact our choices and actions. Additionally, it also allows us to gain a greater appreciation for how our social perception affects our interactions with other people. Claustrophobia is an abnormal dread of being in closed or narrow spaces (Jeffrey, M. K., 2002). This paper will examine if the claustrophobia could have occurred through classical or operant condition or cognitive social learning. Most people who suffer from claustrophobia do not like being in tight, narrow places such as elevators or small rooms without any means of escape (Jeffrey, M. K., 2002). Studies show that most claustrophobic patients have had an experience when they were younger that have left an impression on them causing them to become claustrophobic when they became older. For example, an individual could have been trapped in an elevator for a period of time with no means of escape as a child. Individuals also have fears of being in small rooms with no means of escape and therefore do not like to close the doors to these rooms such as bathrooms (Jeffrey, M. K., 2002).

Regency Hotel Business Case Study

Regency Hotel Business Case Study EMPOWERMENT AND CULTURAL DIVERSITY INTRODUCTION The case study is about Regency Grand Hotel, a five star hotel in Bangkok. It was established by local syndicate of investors 15 years ago and was manage by Thai general manager. Regency is Bangkoks most prestigious hotel having 700 satisfied staff members. Lately, Regency was obtained by big American hotel chain. Due to this the old general manager took premature retirement an American John Backer with ten years of management experience was appointed as new general manager. Becker is a strong supporter of empowerment soon after his appointment as a general manager Becker implied empowerment to achieve success as in the past. ISSUES AND CONSEQUENCES AFTER EMPOWERMENT Empowerment can be described as People having the skills and the self-belief to proactively deal with issues and make the most of the opportunities available to them. but soon after the execution of empowerment new general manager realise that things are not going according to his expectation because staff of regency grant dont know what is empowerment? Because they use to work as per their manager order in the previous management they are not allowed to innovate generate anything new ,and were discourage by the senior managers and after all this they dont want to take risk and get punished by the management but general manger in America was working in a empowered environment where staff has a power of decision making can take minor decision on their own .basically its a cultural difference between management and staff where is from Thailand where they believe in team work and management is from America who believes in individuality they believe that they can do anything unaccompan ied which was the first issue. According to Hofstedes index Country Power Distance Individualism Masculinity Uncertainty Avoidance Thailand 64 20 34 64 U.S.A 40 91 62 46 Power Distance The extent to which large differentials of power for example between a boss and a subordinate or between a higher status and lower status are expected and tolerated. Autocratic behaviour by a boss would be much better tolerated in a high power distance country Uncertainty Avoidance-The extent to which the culture emphasizes focusing on way to reduce un certainty and create stability-for example having clear written rules and procedure to guide action. Formal organisational procedure may be much more necessary in the high Uncertainty avoidance country. Masculinity/Femininity- The difference between the traditional male gaols of ambition and achievement and female orientation to nurturance and interpersonal harmony-for example the balance between seeking promotion at work and having good relations with others. Individualism- In individualism culture people are most concerned about the consequences for the action for themselves, not others. They prefer activity conducted on ones own or in relatively private interactions with friends. Decision are made by the individual according to the judgement he or she makes as to that is appropriates and the individual rewards that will accures. Other reason for the failure of empowerment is staffs dont have proper training about empowerment .They doesnt know how to use this decision making power for guest satisfaction and for companies profit because they are not properly trained about empowerment. General manager told that staffs has power to make minor decision but major decision has to be taken by supervisors but staff was unable to distinguish between minor and the major problems. It was not clear that what decisions can be made by staff members? These boundaries must be defined or employee empowerment efforts fail. In regency grand supervisor dont trust staff to make good decisions. Staff members know this and either craftily makes decisions on their own and hides their results or they come to you for everything because they dont know what they really control .Supervisor can dont motivate the staff for decision making. And without motivating the staff it is impossible to execute empowerment properly. From last 15 years the staff member of Regency grand hotel were working under hierarchy management but suddenly after the arrival the new general managers Empowerment policy come under existence without any prior notice and any proper training to the staff so it is natural for the staff to resist this change because they are in habit of working as per the manager order ,they were not allowed to take their decision or do any pioneering and its a human tendency to first resist the change some staff dont want to take responsibility of empowerment, (Bacal 1996 ) they like to work as per the old system in which managers have to take the decision and staff has to blindly follow that order and if anything goes wrong managers are there to help them out but in empowerment nobody will take responsibility if a error is committed by you and you are the one who is going to pay for it. We can say that empowerment is not properly applied on the staff member which lead to the failure of the empowerm ent. OUTCOMES OF THE FAILURE OF EMPOWERMENT Due to failure of empowerment hotel Regency grand was losing its profit, clients and status in Bangkok. Becker thought that empowerment will help his hotel to earn more profit and guest satisfaction. Overall Performance of the hotel begins to decline. Increase in number of written guest complaints both verbally and in written. Disgrace in the news paper as one of the Asias nightmare hotel. Criticism about service standards of the hotel. Staffs were also not happy raise of nervous tension level among the employees. Good working atmosphere has been harshly strained. Lack of team spirits among the employees now they were against each other when mistakes were made by any employee. POTANTIAL SOLUTION FOR THE PROBLEM New general manager comes with a great idea of empowerment but the way he put into practice it was inappropriate,followong can be some of the potential solution of the problem. They have a uncertain view that employee empowerment means you start a few teams that address workplace employee morale or safety issues. The staff should be encourage to take their decision and to believe in their decision they should provide proper training before giving them decision authority. (Heathfield, 2000) John Becker move from American work culture to Thai work culture which are totally different from each other. In America they believe in individualism but in Bangkok the believe in team work and John Becker fails to understand that .he try to impose his American work culture which prove to be a disaster before implementing Empowerment in the hotel he should study about their work culture and try to fill that communication gap between him and the employees. He should be ready to accept the changes that he have to make according to work culture he is working for. CONCLUSION Empowerment is a good weapon to increase the decision making power and leadership quality among the employee but it should be implemented in a proper manner and procedure otherwise if its not executed properly it can destroy the organisation just in case of Regency Grand hotel and John Becker. Beckers intension was good to implement empowerment but the way he executed was wrong. REFERENCES Bannon ,G ,Guy,v ,dr.Omari,J ,Pooley,R ,Reed,B ,White,N 2003, Cross Cultural communication ,UK Ron,C 1998, Structured empowerment: an award-winning program at the Burswood Resort Hotel Leadership Organization Development Journal, vol. 19, no.5 Bacal,R 1996, Empowerment Difficulties, Work911.com -Workplace, Business, Career Help, viewed 15 August 2008, Heathfield,S 2000, Employee empowerment, About.com; human resource , viewed 16 August 2008, Thomas,D ,Inkson,k ,2004,Cultural Intelligence people skills for global business, Berrett-Koehler Publisher ,Inc. ,San Francisco. Hunt,J ,1979,Managing People At Work ,cox and Wyman Ltd. Great Britain