Waiting for Superman Review

Waiting for Superman Waiting for Superman is a documentary that attempts to show inequalities in what is supposed to be a fair public education system. The film is primarily centered on five families and their attempt to secure a better education for their children. The movie shows several hardships the families have to endure and somewhat ironically, the most emotional moment for me involved one young girl not being allowed to attend her elementary school graduation because her mother fell behind on payments at a private school.After watching Waiting for Superman I was divided in my feelings for it. After reflecting on the movie I am not sure what exactly the underlying theme of the movie is other than saying that some public school are bad and some charter schools are good. The movie never goes into the bad schools and identifies problems (other than teacher’s unions) nor does it look at the charter schools and identifies what they are doing to stand out. Waiting for Superma n merely presents a few anecdotes and says there is a problem without ever revealing an underlying problem or a solution.The film loves to toss around numbers such a, â€Å"Fifty years ago the United States had the best education system in the world† without putting anything into context. My first thought when I hear statement similar to this is how do we know? We did not have standardized testing in the states. If there was some form of uniform testing whom got tested? Even though there was mandatory school attendance in the United States at this time, how strictly was it enforced and was it enforced equally among all schools—rich, poor, black, white, etc.Furthermore, fifty years ago most of the industrialized world was still trying to recover from World War II so to compare United States Education in 2009 to 1959 is unrealistic. Furthermore is the spending issue. Yes, we are spending more per student than we were before. However, with the Individuals with Disabilitie s Education Act (IDEA) and No Child Left Behind (NCLB) a lot of that spending is spent on students with learning disabilities.Because much of those funds have been earmarked for specific students and programs (many ineffective) and the increased level of bureaucracy, it is also not equal to compare school funding on a student to student basis from 2009 and 1959. There were several points in the movie I did agree with. I am advocate of many of Michelle Rhee’s, Chancellor of Washington D. C. ’s public school system, decisions regarding the district. I understand many teachers and students are upset about the closing of the schools. However, Washington D. C. as suffered suburban sprawl in recent years that have left many schools only partially full costing the district millions of dollars in energy costs, personnel, and transportation costs. I also advocate for her firing many district personnel. I agree with Waiting for Superman’s analysis that many school distric ts have become to top heavy. Many of these employees in the district offices make the highest salaries in the district—even more than principals. In Polk County, FL, the district office payroll is nearly 8% of the entire district budget.This adds up to over $85M which is higher than the budgets of the largest high schools in the district! I am also bewildered how any high-performing teacher would be against the proposed salary increase that is dependent on evaluations and student success. I am confused as to how teachers (or any profession) believe they have a right to their job regardless of their performance. Despite Waiting for Superman over-simplifying and essentially demonizing teacher’s unions (and I LOATHE most unions including teacher’s unions) I agree that teacher’s should be subject to performance evaluations which might result in termination.I also agree with Waiting for Superman’s advocacy for school choice. I believe parents have the r ight to put their student’s in a charter school if they believe a local community school is not sufficient. Furthermore, I believe that vouchers should be extended to private schools if those schools have met the required state standards. Currently in Florida, only students who have an Individual Education Plan (IEP) could access the McKay Scholarship Program to attend private schools.This law was extended this week to all students with 504 plans to also have access to McKay scholarships. Hopefully this bill will begin to pave the way to a state approved school voucher program in Florida. It is important to point out, and I am surprised that the movie did mention this, that only 17% of charter schools have amazing results. This leads to my biggest problem with the Waiting for Superman. The film attacks public schools as being unfair and not good enough. However, not once does it visit many of the poor charter schools in the nation.Nor does it address what studies show time an d time again is that a student’s background, including socio-economic status and family life, are the greatest indicator of a specific child’s success in school. This is no better exemplified in Anthony. Anthony is a young man that is being raised by his grandmother. His grandmother is raising him because his father died of a drug overdose (no mention was given of the biological mother). The grandmother admitted that when her son (Anthony’s father) was a young she did not understand the importance of education.Now she views Anthony’s education as the most important thing in both of their lives. All five of the families in Waiting for Superman place a very high importance on the education and want their children in the very best schools. This leads to a chicken versus the egg argument that the movie never attempts to answer. Are these â€Å"amazing† private and charter schools get the best results because they have the best faculty, curriculum, etc or do they receive the best results because they have kids in them whose parents put more of an emphasis on education. This is the movie I would like to see made as a follow up to Waiting for Superman.

Creating Realities Essay

Different reasons pull Marlow and Henderson into the jungle. Here they develop a struggle to find themselves and their own reality. Henderson and Marlow correlate individual meanings to experiences in order to gain a perspective of their own reality. In Heart of Darkness Marlow there is a real contrast between what is light and what is dark. These contrasts work within the reality of Marlow’s conception of what he considered right and wrong. Light represents for him what he is not. The light represents something unknown while the darkness was himself, knowledge of the impurity of the world and everything around him. Marlow developed an odd phrasing of what he considered his own reality. The meaning that Marlow assigned to his journey into the jungle and the knowledge about himself that he obtained from this journey developed this perspective. He discovered that what he always thought had been black referring it to the unknown was whiter than himself. The main meaning for Marlow being in the jungle was the â€Å"Fascination for the Abomination† that he developed for the something unknown. He developed this fascination for Kurtz. For Marlow, Kurtz was an idea that became part of Marlow’s reality. Marlow based his reality on ideas with individual meaning like the contact with the savages or the journey in the river that led him to find himself. Marlow, in a miserable realization, discovers that the meaning of life is personal. Only he will be able to understand himself and no one else will be able to do it. He describes his reality as one built by appearance in which the contact created between him and the outside world is based on no meaning. He’d conclusion is that† We live as we dream, alone†. (Conrad, 97) Marlow was afraid of the jungle, but more than the jungle he was afraid about what he can discover about himself inside it. Marlow was afraid of discovered what at the end he could not avoid to acknowledge, he was afraid of discovered that he can try as hard as he can to fit in the society but the fact that he will never know himself, as well as he never will know other people is not going to let him fit in. He realizes during his journey that all the knowledge that he have about others was created by appearances. Like Marlow, Henderson, went through the jungle trying to relieve the pain created by being trapped between his own reality and the one created by the larger society and his own within it. In the jungle and in the savages, Henderson finds the key to finding a way to create stability between the two realities. This involved having truth for himself. The first meaningful experience that Henderson experienced in the jungle was with Willatale, the queen of a savage tribe. This has a great impact on his effort to build his own reality. Through this experience Henderson discovers the wisdom of â€Å"being† and not â€Å"becoming†(Bellow, 160). Henderson discovers for the first time the truth that becomes the essential meaning for his reality. Henderson also realizes that there is no perfect being and that everyone suffers; but the only solution to this suffering is how much meaning one assigns to it in contrast to how much one assigns other experiences. A key to Henderson’s reality was the discovery of meaning that he found in Atti, a lion that Dahfu, the king of a second savage tribe, make him imitate her in order to learn a lesson. He absorbed form Atti a lot of things such as courage, poise, and self-confidence. The teaching allows him to awake his human longing. The thing which follows Henderson’s human longing awakening is his ability to feel that he is growing to be a newborn man as he says: his was where my heart had sent me, with its clamor. â€Å"This is where I ended up†¦. For I had claws, and hair and some teeth, and I was bursting with hot noise, but when all this had come forth, there was still a remainder. That last thing of all was my human longing†(Bellow ,267) He discovers that the importance in accepting who he was in order to relieve the pain and suffering. He created a reality in which the main meaning was the truth about himself as a â€Å"being† person not as a â€Å"becoming one. † He discovered that being human and being his own person was a good thing in the contrast to what he had thought before the meaningful experiences that he lived through. Henderson and Marlow both realize that what guides humans and their behavior are the impulse of an idea that means that ideas propose solutions for intern necessities that make beings behave in a certain way. They guide us to live experiences that build our reality. This idea was the same idea that led Henderson to Africa, led him to explore for himself this idea which was the perpetrator of his new reality. Reality is the creation of human beings based on their own experiences in which the meaning of each one can be positive, like Henderson’s, or negative, like Marlow’s. 3 Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Joseph Conrad section.

Alum Lab Conclusion Essay

The purpose of this laboratory was to use two different techniques to attempt to identify the melting point and the mole ratio of hydrated water to anhydrous aluminum, potassium, and sulfate of AlKSO4. The hypotheses were: if the alum was put in a capillary tube the melting point of alum will be able to be determined; and the water of hydration in alum crystals will be possible to determine if the alum is heated with a Bunsen burner. Results: Every compound has its own unique sets of chemical properties. Alum crystals are of great purity and are easily prepared. Because of their purity, they are often used in dyeing cloth, where the alum acts as a source of Al+3 ions which are not contaminated. These properties can be determined experimentally and in this experiment as mentioned above, a few properties of alum were being determined. The first test was to identify the melting point of the alum and compare it to the published value that already exists. The melting point of a substance is a property that indicates at what temperature it goes through a state change of solid to liquid. In order to do this, the alum was placed in a water bath and heated. In the second part of the experiment, the alum was analyzed for water of hydration. When an ionic compound is prepared in aqueous solution and isolated by crystallization, water molecules are incorporated into the compound in fixed proportions. The amount of water incorporated is referred to as the water of hydration. This amount cannot be predicted, so it must be determined experimentally. In order to do this, the alum was heated until all the water was driven off. After the completion of the experiment, it was discovered that the results extracted were very close to the expected results. As seen in the data table, the literature melting point and the one obtained in the experiment were only a little more than .5 away from each other which means pretty accurate results were taken away from this experiment. In regards to the second part of the experiment, a way to see precision in the results would have been to do a second heating of the alum in the crucible. Time, however, did not allow for this so if the experiment was to be done again, better results may be obtained by another trial of that part. This experiment overall was a very good example of how certain properties of substances can only be obtained through experiment. It also showed new techniques of determining properties like melting point and water of hydration that could be used in future experiments.

Stick Shift vs Automatic

Automatic vs. stick shiftbuying a new car might be a great experience. The question is which one is better, automatic or stick shift? It all depends in what you would prefer and what do you expect from the car. Saving gas, safety and fun are three important reasons to think before making a decision. It’s important that you know your needs are when deciding what type of transmission to get. Do you want a compact car or a larger vehicle? Do you have experience with a stick shift transmission? Will you be driving long distance, road trips, or driving in the city? Do you want to do your own repairs? Why are automatic cars so popular? Since most people drive in the city or in stop and go traffic, automatic cars are more convenient. Even though automatic cars are more expensive and tend to wear down faster. Cars with automatic transmission are a great way to drive around. They do not require much driving skills than stick shift cars. Automatic cars are made comfortable way of driving especially driving in heavy traffic. People who don’t like to drive usually choose an automatic transmission. Automatic transmission require a lot of attention to the engine and keeping up with all of the services such as oil changes, brakes, filters and transmission fluids. Automatic transmission are improving their standards and slowly catching up with to become more fuel efficient. However in some cases vehicles can still be as much as 10% increase in fuel use for an automatic transmission! Overdrive gears can help this problem also. Automatic shifts are not as fun as a stick shift because there not as challenging. On the other hand stick shift transmission saves you hundreds of dollars. Stick shifts are easier to repair and you may be able to do small repairs on your own. Stick shift transmissions have better gas mileage, they also have smaller engines, but they have a lot of power. For example racecar drivers prefer stick shift transmission because it allows them to take control and also the stick shift has more power. Race car drivers use stick shift to take driving to a higher standard. Even though stick shift saves you more money and gives you better gas mileage, if you stayed in the city like New York having a stick shift wouldn’t be your choice. Stick shifts are good for driving over a long stretches are good for road trips, driving in the city with a stick shift causes wear and tear on your clutch. Which sometimes can very expensive to fix, most people say that is just too much work to keep switching gears when you are in stop and go raffic, if you have experience driving a stick shift your transmission can last a lot longer than an automatic transmission. If you are looking for a larger vehicle or an SUV it would be hard to find stick shift switching gears to reduce speed also can save you on break repairs, stick shift transmission require you to be more active with your car and it allows you to pay attention when there is something wrong with your car because you’re not in con trol, so it’s hard for you to pay attention when there is something wrong with your car. How you feel in the car as well as you can handle the car. For a passive driver who is interested in learning how to coordinate the clutch then stick shift has a better handling for you. Stick shift has a lot of different gears and speed which require a stronger set of hands to control the wheel while driving. The automatic has normal handling on the wheel even when going at a faster speed an automatic can drive itself without the need to shift from one gear to another no matter how fast you go. The stick shift transmission requires you to learn to shift between one to five different gears. The transmissions are built differently when comparing an automatic to a stick shift transmission. With a stick shift you have to switch gears while you’re driving. The difference between an automatic or stick shift transmission, both come with different prices. When you are putting on an automatic transmission can range from a few hundred dollars cheaper than a stick shift transmission. Stick shift transmission is preferred for traditional racing. Where quick gear changes are required to exit turns quickly. Automatic transmission could not keep up with a skilled driver using a stick shift automatic transmission are preferred amongst the common drivers because of its ease of use a manual transmission requires coordination between the clutch throttle, and shifting of gears to provide a smooth ride and not damage the transmission. This decision is yours it’s your personal preference on what kind of transmission you would want to drive daily. I prefer driving an automatic car because it is much easier and comfortable for me. I live in a small town and I drive long distance to work and automatic always have been my favorite. I never wanted to learn how to drive a stick shift car even though it saves more on gas. I like to be able to relax when I drive. A stick shift requires too much, you have to switch gears constantly and it’s difficult in lots of traffic. Automatic vs. stick shift it’s your decision cars are made for driving. The choice is yours.

Reading Response on Four by Veronica Roth

To have a successful fife in the right faction when a boy or girl turns sixteen they must take the aptitude test which helps them pick their faction. However, they may choose their faction based off of opinion or interest. There are five factions to choose from. Abnegation, the ones who value selflessness, Candor, the ones that honor honesty, Amity, the ones that honor the peaceful, Erudite, the ones who honor the intelligent, and Dauntless, the ones that honor the brave. Each faction honors a certain trait. They believe that if a person was brave, or selfless, or kind, there would be no war and only peace.At the Choosing pick their factions. They may choose to stay with Ceremony the teenagers their faction and their families or they can abandon them. Later on, if they prove to be unfit for their new factions they will become factionists; these are the people that have no family, no home. They live together or alone in abandoned buildings or homes, and even on the streets. Tibias Eat on, originally from Abnegation, has turned sixteen and has to decide what he was going to do with his life and what faction he will spend it in. However, one thing is clear for him.He will run from Abnegation, and he will run from his father. Tibias has to escape his father, and find a place where he is safe, and hidden. Tibias is tired of living in fear and is ready to take on his own path in a different faction. When Tibias returns to his plain Abnegation home he goes to his room and reviews his most precious possessions that were given to him by his mother. Tibias was informed that his mother died of child labor when he was a young boy. This made his family fall apart and caused the tension between him and his father.The author made this connection teen Tibias and his mother to show how his mother was the glue of their family and that Tibias was closer to her than he is to his father. When Tibias reviews all of his possessions he is caught by his father and has it all taken away from him. His father throws all of his treasures around the room, destroying them in the process. Tibias is now deprived of the only connection he had to his mother. Yet, we are about to discover more about Tibia's and his fathers relationship. Tibias has developed a fear of his father and this is because of the abuse his father puts on Tibias. His hands oiled with my chest. I stumble back and hit the dresser. Then he draws his hand back by his face to hit me, and say my throat tight with fear ‘ ‘The Choosing Ceremony, Dad! † † tomorrow was Tibia's Choosing Ceremony. His last chance to escape, to be free of fear. â€Å"When we get there, my father puts a hand on my shoulder as we walk to the entrance, sending shocks of pain through my body. Have to get out. † The day of the Choosing Ceremony is the day Tibias changes his life and the person he will become. Tibias is desperate to escape Abnegation and to escape his father.As the ceremony goes on, Tibias is thinking of what faction he will choose. Where will he fit in the most? Where will he be safe? He decides that Candor, Erudite, and Amity are not choices that he can live with. His only choice is Dauntless. â€Å"l open my palm over the coals. Feel like they're burning in my stomach, filling me to the brim with fire and smoke. I am free. † The minute the ceremony is over, Tibias begins initiation. He and the rest of the initiates must prove their bravery by jumping on to a moving train, then jump off of a moving train on a roof, and finally they must jump off of the roof.My stomach drops and my limbs fumble in the air for something, anything to hold onto, but there is nothing, only the drop, the air, the frantic search for the ground. † As initiation goes by Tibias changes his name to Four. After facing his worst fears Tibias and his initiation instructor Mar find out that he only has four fears. This new name gave Tibias new power, a new identity. â€Å"My name is Four,† I say. â€Å"Call me ‘Stiff again and you and I will have a problem. † During initiation, Four makes many friendships and becomes close to Mar. However, he is still quite different from the rest.He likes to be alone, to have a peace of mind once in a while. The first stage of initiation is physical training and combat. Four has the drive and the practice from his childhood abuse to become the best initiate. He proves his bravery by beating the other initiates in combat fights and using his strength and his thinking skills to his advantage. By the end of stage one, Four is ranked first out of his entire class and is considered someone to look out for. In the second stage of initiation Four has to prove that he can overcome his fears mentally using critical, fast thinking and by asking decisions that may be risky but courageous.However, Four thinks differently and beats the system by being aware during his stimulations that it is not reality. By being able t o do this he gets out of the stimulation by realizing that if he jumps he won't die because it's not real. Its just a test. Later on, Mar teaches Four to go through the stimulation like any other Dauntless would; with bravery. At the end of initiation the initiates are ranked to show who has more potential and more strength than others. For Four, his rank surprised him a bit. â€Å"Instantly, some of the tension disappears. I follow he list up, and panic stabs me for just a second when I can't find my own name.But then, there it is, right at the top. 1. Four. † After initiation Four becomes a full pledged Dauntless. Finally, he is rid of Abnegation, rid of his father. When Four gets his apartment he also gets a job offer to become a dauntless leader. Even though Four wanted to have a job where he would be the initiation instructor, like Mar, he was expected to have a more prestigious job since he was ranked first. Four agrees to take the job but his heart isn't with it. Later on, Four realizes that if he becomes a leader he will eve to face his father, an Abnegation leader. My fingers start to go numb. I've faced my fears so many times in simulations, but that doesn't mean I'm ready to face them in reality. † Four has to learn what it would be like to be a Dauntless leader but he also needed to learn the basic lifestyle of the Dauntless and needs to learn that Dauntless is more ‘out there' than Abnegation with their feelings, thoughts, and emotions. When Four goes to the meeting for dauntless leadership he quietly disagrees with the way the leaders handle situations and the changes that they want to make to aunties initiation.As the days go by, Four takes multiple tests that will determine if he has what it takes to become a leader, there is still tension and competition between Four and Eric and the fact that Eric has information that threatens Fours identity, and Four still has the suspicion of an intruder coming into his apartment. Four f inally faces his new life as the new â€Å"best† initiate of Dauntless. After a day of hard work, Four returns home to find that once again somebody was in his apartment. This time they left a note. â€Å"On the day you hated most. At the time when she dies. In the place where oh first jumped on. Four figured out that someone that had some connection to his childhood wanted to meet him. Instinctively, Four thinks its Marcus, his father. Four decides that he needs to know what Marcus wants and why he risked getting caught to contact him. When Four arrives at the platform in the middle of the night, its not Marcus that shows up. Its Evelyn Eaton. His mother. Right away Fours mind races with memories of his mothers the death. The funeral, the gathering, the ashes. The only thing Four can say is â€Å"You're supposed to be dead. † Fours mother tries to explain to IM that she didn't leave to hurt him.She had to get away from Abnegation, from Marcus. Just like Four. The aut hor here shows a similarity where both the mother and the son needed to escape from Fours father and his lifestyle. This show that Marcus might hide his temper and his real self from the public and only shows and acts like him true self at home. However, Four doesn't want to hear her pity story and he acts like she is the last person he wants to talk to. â€Å"Stop wasting my time. What are we doing here? † Evelyn reveals to Four that she is a leader to the factionists and that there is a big chance of a pricing among the factions and that Four should be on her side. Our city is changing, Tibias. The factionists are coming together, and so are Dauntless and Erudite. Sometime soon, everyone will have to choose a side, and I know which one you would rather be on. I think you can really make a difference with us. † Four doesn't care about any Of the problems, really. He just can't let go of the fact that Evelyn hasn't talked or reached out to him in seven years and now she actually wants something from him. A favor. Four chooses to run from her. Like he ran from him. Now that Four is trying to find who he ally is he wants to get a tattoo that will represent him as a person.While Four is getting the tattoo, Tort, the tattoo artist tells him about being Divergent. â€Å"That's a word for people who are aware during simulations, who refuse to categorize. † Four realizes that fits the description of Mar. Mar was aware during the Simi ululations. Divergent fit Mar, and it fit him. When Four meets with the dauntless leadership group again, he proves to have a less strategic protocol for initiates than no one other than Eric. Four realizes that this is his chance to change jobs and to escape leadership. To be honest, sir, I don't think that this is the right place for me.I told you when you first asked me that I'd like to be an instructor, and think I'm realizing more and more that that's where I belong. † Days have passed by after Four's meeti ng with Evelyn. He had time to think if leaving Dauntless, betraying his faction to join the factionists is the best thing he can do right now. He decides that it's not. He has friends that support and understand him and he knows that no way is he leaving them behind. â€Å"If the factions are deteriorating, as my mother loud have me believe, this is not a bad place to watch them fall apart. Four makes the choice to stay loyal to the faction that set him free. Two years later, Four is the initiation instructor for a group of transfer initiates which means that they come from other factions. There were initiates from Candor, Erudite, Amity, and Abnegation. The girl from Abnegation sparked Fours interest. Her name was Tries. She had a small form and looked as if she can snap like a twig in a second. Whenever Four is next to her he acts a certain way. He loses his hard, mean personality and opens up to her like he doesn't veer do to anyone.

Ethical Issues of Drinking at Work Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Ethical Issues of Drinking at Work - Essay Example Due to it, drinking can be defined as contradictory of the ethical conduct at work and especially in the field of engineering as far as it is directly linked to the well-being and quality of life of the public. Prior to narrowing the following discussion to the topic of the issue of drinking in the workplace, it is essential to explain what is commonly understood under the term ethics and how it applies to the work setting. In the most general sense, ethics can be regarded as a particular system of moral principles that influences decision-making and behavior of people. Richard Corrigan in his guide to ethics reminds in this regard a definition suggested by Manuel Velasquez and Claire Andre who concluded that the notions of ethics can be associated with â€Å"well based standards of right and wrong which prescribe what people ought to do in relation to obligations, rights, fairness, benefits to society, or specific virtues†. (41-42) Subsequently, the list of ethical standards is sure to include the ones concerned with compassion, honesty, or loyalty as well as those that touch upon the freedom of injury or the right to privacy. Moreover, it is important to mentions that ethics is co mmonly associated with both the individual and social context. At this point, it would be useful to resort to the etymology of the word ethics that can, in fact, be traced to the Greek ethos which stands for character or custom. (Corrigan 41-42)The following exemplifies that by its origin, ethics is aimed at focusing on not only an individual, his/her actions and character, but on the scope of essential social rules which guide behavior and actions, such as those related to evil and good that constitute human morality. Serving as a system of morally right and socially acceptable system of the standards of behavior and conduct, ethics is recognized as an extremely important component of human

Chemistry - mechanism and synthesis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Chemistry - mechanism and synthesis - Essay Example Next, FGI agents are used to convert the methyl group to a nitrile one and the final product – scheme 1, product 2 – is formed. This lithium salt is undergoes acid hydrolysis to form the pentane-2-diol, the hydrate of the ketone, and this, in the absence of the organolithium any excess of which is destroyed by the addition of water, readily decomposes to form the ketone (Taylor, p. 95, 2002). The reagent acts as a source for , that acts as a nucleophile and replaces the leaving group in the halide. This forms the ketone. The organocopper is not strong enough to attack the ketone and the reaction stops here (Taylor, p. 103, 2002). Note to the above diagram: Grignard reagents usually react with carboxylic acid derivatives to form ketones as intermediate substances but ketones cannot be prepared in this manner because they react further with more Grignard reagents to form alcohols. Usually, to prepare ketones, a less reactive organocopper reagent that reacts with the carboxylic derivative but not with the ketone is used (Taylor, p. 84, 2002). In this case, is a nitrile with a functional group that has similar polarisation characteristics to the carbonyl group. Thus, it can undergo addition reaction with the Grignard reagent and form a magnesium salt of an imine. It is notable that the salt has no leaving group and is also negatively charged and does not react further with the Grignard reagent. Thus, it is treated with aqueous acid and the excess Grignard reagent is destroyed and the salt is now converted to the imine – pentane-2-imine. The imine is unstable in the aqueous acidic conditions and readily hydrolyses to the ketone (Taylor, p. 85-86, 2002). This is the least stable radical as the relevant carbocation is flanked on either sides by other carbocations while only one side is somewhat stabilised by the alkyl electron-releasing group (Taylor, p. 126, 2002). (Part b): The technical

Instruction Memo Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Instruction Memo - Essay Example The memo does not sufficiently tell why the action was considered valid in the first place. 2. The memo fails to mention the basis on which Amazon Services was actually selected. In most cases, such services require someone who has far-reaching knowledge of the vessel and must have provided similar in the recent past or offered the opportunity under competitive procedures. 3. A clear statement of any clearances as well as approvals received for the procurement action considered unauthorized, including the names and titles of the people who ratified the contract. In this case, none of these statements is provided or directions indicating that it is attached. In this case, nothing is actually mentioned, so it leaves people quizzing who actually was aware or who sanctioned the procurement action. In fact, what comes out looks like the author also participated in the process only to rescind upon realizing it would cost a lot. a. On Thursday, July 20, 2010 research vessel suffered a shattering failure to the starboard diesel engine and associated running gear. The starboard main engine overheated causing damage to the associated running gear; shaft, propeller, bearings and rudders. This failure rendered the vessel unable to operate in a safe manner and emergency repairs were required. b. Operations Coordinator determined that emergency drydock repairs were necessary and contracted Amazon Services. The vessel was safely stored for the weekend since the work would not commence until Monday, July 24, 2010 to surmise the extent of the damages and give an estimate for repair. c. A contracted captain for the vessel was appointed to oversee the repair in my absence. However, upon further inspection of the vessel, we discovered that the amount that has been agreed is too

Benefit Compensation Essays Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Benefit Compensation Essays - Essay Example The supporters of defined benefit plans argue that DB retirement plans represent the only, which can offer real retirement safety. The supporters of defined contribution plans state that DC retirement plans still provide more safety due to the possibility of employees to trace the facilities on their accounts. During the last few years too many defined benefits plans were changed to defined contribution retirement plans. The main reasons of that are the following: Michael Sze in his work â€Å"Which is Better for the Participants - A Defined Benefit or A Defined Contribution Plan† provides the questionnaire that helps define employees’ preferences. He made an interesting conclusion that younger workers prefer defined contribution retirement plans, while older employees often choose defined benefits plans. The survey clearly indicates that the employees are more informed than what some pension experts believe them to be. The employees may not fully understand the technical details of the DB and DC plans, but they know essentially what they need and what types of arrangements would be best to provide for these needs. The challenge is for the pension experts and plan sponsors to establish plans that will cater to their needs (Sze). It is necessary to mention that converting defined benefits plans into defined contribution retirement plans represents a problem for companies. Some people do that not because of advantages the plan provides, but to have extra funds in the situation of economic crisis. Jeff Sanford calls it â€Å"a new pension crisis† and comments: Another problem, as some companies are starting to find out, is that plan conversions may set your company up for legal problems if employees retire and run out of money faster than they expected. As lawsuits already filed in the U.S. are making clear, employees are holding companies responsible

Exercise Physiology Laboratory 6 Question Set Essay

Exercise Physiology Laboratory 6 Question Set - Essay Example It helps you to maintain Blood Pressure, Improve Cholesterol, control weight and prevent cancer. (Mayo Clinic Health Letter,January Edition 2008 ) Moderate Obesity Recommendations PHYSICA ACTIVITES NUTRITION Brisk Walking and Jogging Drink Plenty Water, avoid soda Swimming Eat Slow and consciously Prefer Stairs as much as possible Replace Milk with Soy Milk Involve more in Household activities 1 Vegetarian Meal / Day (Fruits & Vegetables) Avoid Sleeping in Afternoon (Access Sleeping decreases Basal Metabolic Rate Don't Skip Breakfast 20-25gms of fiber diet e.g. Soya beans,oats,carrots and Broccoli Eat 2 Teaspoons of Honey 4. SPORTS AS PER SOMATOTYPE AND BODY COMPOSITION Somatotype is the key element in analyzing the sports potential. The Structure or built of person is known as Somatotype. My Somatotyoe is as below: SOMATOTYPE SPORT RECOMMENDED AVOID MESOMORPHIC Decathlon,Gymnastics,Rowing and Swimming Marathoning, Mountain biking & Golf The above mentioned recommendations are on the basis of skills and body structure required for a particular sport. "Mesomorphs rank high on strength, endurance and agility and therefore is best suited for the above mentioned sports." (Sports Potential, Measurement Description, Overview) 5. AFFECT OF HYDRATION LEVEL ON DXA, BIA AND SKINFOLD A. Hydration Level and DXA Test: Ideally with a decrease in hydration there should be an increase in element content (like Na, K, Cl) leading to a higher molecular weight of the body and thus change in attenuation coefficient. In the study done by Going and colleagues, it was found that the 98% of weight change due to dehydration was measured by DXA. (Human Body Composition, By Steven Heymsfield, Pg 75) A normal variation in hydration level (1-3 %of body weight)...In the study done by Going and colleagues, it was found that the 98% of weight change due to dehydration was measured by DXA. (Human Body Composition, By Steven Heymsfield, Pg 75) A normal variation in hydration level (1-3 %of body weight) has very little affect on measurement by DXA method. Variation in Hydration level blazes DXA estimates of percentage fat only 1-2.5 %.This interprets that Hydration Level doesn't have much affect on DXA measurement. B. Hydration Level and BIA Test: "In an experiment done, with decrease in Hydration level, Bioelectric Impedance (BI) decreased from 14.4 5.3% to 12.3 5.3%, After Rehydration, BI % increased to 15.5 5.8%. Similar findings occurred when subjects were super hydrated (Normal-BI = 13.2 5.3%; Super hydration -BI = 15.4 5.6%)." (SAUNDERSM. J. (1) ; BLEVINSJ. E. (1) ; BROEDERC. E. (1) ) B. Hydration Level and SKINFOLD: With the increase level of Water in the body, the Value in Skin fold test increases. High extra cellular water in subcutaneous tissues causes thickness of and hence the value calculated is incorrect. "Martin, Drink water and Clays(1992) reported that variation in skin fold compressibility may be an important limitation of this method.

Humanities-week 2 Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Humanities-week 2 - Term Paper Example I believe that he is someone who has the capacity to lead a nation without fear of dying. He also showed how loyal he is to his friends and companions when he fought back for Patroclus. Even if he refused to fight anymore, he begged his mother to make him new armour ended his refusal to fight. Discussion 2: Greek Legacy †¢ Describe one way that you see a particular tenet of Greek philosophy reflected in the modern Western worldview One of the most influential principles of Greek philosophy came from Plato. In the modern Western worldview, we continuously strive how to live a good life. In Plato’s famous dialogue named The Republic, he talked about the central problem of how to live a good life. He also tackled about the ideal state, state with justice and the just individual. In our world today, we all know that we are still in the midst of finding the answers to these questions. Our state is still striving hard to become a just and ideal state that could serve the best t o the people. Individuals also struggle to become good to others. Modern Western worldview still reflects the quest to ideal republic and justice. Discussion 3: Roman Legacy †¢ Describe a specific example of life in Ancient Rome that is found in contemporary life in the U.S. One of the most prominent lifestyle in Ancient Rome is their desire for innovation and love for gadget.

Overcoming Shyness Via Writing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Overcoming Shyness Via Writing - Essay Example This granted me the ability to edit my thoughts and create much more informative or effective thought patterns that I often translated into effective verbal speeches. More importantly, the exercises and assignments in this course gave me an opportunity to improve myself as an analytical writer. That is because the exercises and assignments demanded that I have a thorough understanding of the topic offered up for discussion. As a writer, this class helped me improve my brain functions as well as my written and spoken speech skills. I had no idea before attending this class that there were so many different writing styles available to people. Oftentimes, I would just use the normal, everyday practice of writing notes or using text messaging when communicating with others. Through this class, I learned how to express myself through the written word in different styles. Which I will admit, made me seem like a more interesting person than I actually was. I also learned that using different styles for different occasions signifies a high sense of respect and value that one has for the person I am communicating with. Not being a native speaker of the English language, I will have to admit that the topics being discussed in class, and assigned for the written assignments were somewhat alien to me. That unfamiliarity proved to be a problem for me as the class progressed because I needed to spend quite some time familiarizing myself with the topics up for discussion. However, I will admit that this challenge also proved to be beneficial to me because it helped me improve my writing styles and skills. I learned how to write in a specific style depending upon a specific writing format and also the kind of information that I needed to present.  

Daniel Gilbert Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Daniel Gilbert - Essay Example Most of us agree when we say that college is one of the most beautiful parts of life. The endless giggles, the class bunking, the cultural concerts, every aspect of youth that we share with our friends turns out to be an experience that is to be cherished for a lifetime. Let us quickly take recourse to our youthful practices and check for the theory of super replicators that Daniel Gilbert so stoutly professes in his book. At the very start, he has suggested that the super replicator system works best in transferring beliefs from one person to another. Yes, this holds true for our school and college lives. In fact, our society is one in which we grow up believing what our parents and elders teach us ever since school. When it is time to start developing our own notions, friends and their preferences take over. Most of us like to look good amongst our friends, and the definition of â€Å"good† is also based on what they think is proper or successful. Gilbert suggests that just like genes replicate fast enough to govern our health requirements and tastes (Gilbert, 2007, p. 171), the super replicators inside us, also develop upon the existing psychology that is rampant in society. And we pick up new ones as favorable or unfavorable depending on what we observe (Gilbert, 2007, p. 172). The fact shows when we communicate with people adopting strategies of communication which will have the best favorable results with them. And if you take a quick look at college life around you, or go back to the days when you spent hours with your best buddies, you will find ample reason to agree with the theory. A friend wishes to go to an amusement park while another wants to check out the latest movie. You are stuck in between but the decision happens once you give a nod to one of the choices. As soon as there is a majority to one of the decisions, the third person falls in line freely. That is where super-replication takes place. College life is full of simple and

Technology and Cultural Connections Assignment Essay

Technology and Cultural Connections Assignment - Essay Example Technology, expansive mass media and accelerated communication has virtually removed space barrier. All these have culminated in new developments in individual and social culture. For instance, western culture is oriented towards individual autonomy, independence and differentiation hence, it is more egocentric. On the other hand, much of eastern culture attaches so much value to society i.e. family, community and land (Triandis, 2005). Thus, western culture is individualistic while eastern culture is collective in nature. Combination of these two provides hybrid cultures and new cultures altogether. Globalization has mainly been facilitated by technological advancements. Simpler form of globalization took place in Mediterranean hundreds of years ago. Technological developments in transport and navigation in this region enhanced commercial activities across borders. Globalization was further facilitated by the invention of Script in communication technology. Further developments in communication and transportation gave man greater control over space and thus globalization was spread across globe by empires such as Byzantine Empire. Guttenberg gave a big boost to globalization when he invented the printer. This was followed by invention of newspapers, telegraph by Samuel Morse, telephone by Graham Bell in 1861. Other outstanding historical developments in communication technology included the invention of radio by Hertz and his colleagues. All these contributed to conquest of new lands and introduction of uniform modes of trade and standard modes of communication such as English in non English speaking territories. Other advances in transport and communication technology that gave a boost to globalization included invention of high speed ships and airplanes, television, satellites, fiber optic cable, SWIFT and VSAT (Triandis, 2005). Electromechanical technology refers to things such as radio and television. Computer and internet

PARCELFORCE WORLDWIDE - CASE STUDY Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

PARCELFORCE WORLDWIDE - CASE STUDY - Essay Example This strategic plan yielded the desired results and the company turned around its operations in four years to register a profit of  £15 million. The formulation of turnaround plan of the company followed the gamut of strategic planning. It began with the formulation of mission and vision followed by environmental scanning and assessment, setting objectives and formulation of strategies. The company followed the differentiation strategy with customer orientation as its main theme. The implementation was done through a Management Information System with focus on outcomes and performance drivers similar to the Balanced Scorecard. Parcelforce Worldwide is a part of the Royal Mail Group Ltd. Royal Mail Group has three main operating brands; The Post Office Ltd, which provides counter services to the high street customer, Royal Mail, which manages the delivery of letters and packets and Parcelforce Worldwide, which provides express parcel delivery services for businesses and consumers. It has 23 partners across 30 European countries and access to Postal Administrations through the Universal Postal Union. It operates: The Company registered a loss of  £200 million in the year 2001 and then launched a strategic plan hinging on customer oriented strategies. This strategic plan yielded the desired results and the company turned around its operations in four years to register a profit of  £15 million. The strategy that emerged from their turnaround deliberations was differentiation with Customer Service as an important theme. The entire gamut of planning for turnaround began with the statement of vision and mission followed by Environmental Scanning and assessment, formulation of objectives and strategy evolution. The Corporate Vision is a compelling story about the story of the company. It is figurative rather than literal. It should be dramatic, enduring and compelling. The vision should make

McDonalds Cost Structures Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

McDonalds Cost Structures - Assignment Example The franchises have to pay their own occupancy costs which consist of rent, property taxes, insurance and maintenance costs. Certain corporate general and administrative expenses are fixed too which comprise of office support costs in areas of training, legal, supply chain, finance, information technology and human resources. Variable costs which vary with the level of sales include a major chunk of food and labor costs. Sales staff and countermen whose salaries are based on the number of customers they serve are also variable costs for the company. Also, packaging costs, the paper material, employee benefits, selling and general expenses are variable charges. Certain corporate general costs are variable such as training and restaurant operations. As for the fixed costs, the factors that affect them are mostly the market changes. McDonald's needs to spend more on advertising and promotion when they see that market competition is getting fiercer and bitter. Moreover, in order to retain the higher level experienced staff, they need to raise the salaries of their staff and hence payrolls and compensation of management level employees increase. However, in times of recession like the major financial crisis, all fixed costs also dwindled down. The royalty charges or franchise fee is mainly fixed at a certain percentage after a 25% down payment initially unless the franchisor wants to alter the fixed rate for some reason. The variable costs are more directly responsive to changes in the level of sales. The main factor affecting the variable costs is the demand and the number of sales that McDonald's has. The more people want to eat McDonald's, the higher will be the food supplies costs, the packaging and paper costs, the more the number of counter employees to serve the customers, the higher the selling expenses and other general expenses.

Emerging Issues in Human Resource Management and Industrial Relations Essay

Emerging Issues in Human Resource Management and Industrial Relations - Essay Example Organizations have understood that it is the human resource which crafts a difference and offers competitive advantage (Buhler, 2010, p.1). In addition to that the productivity of an organization is purely dependent upon the employees (Chandramohan, 2008, p.1). Organizations have also started to put more stress on the management of its manpower. Human resources of an organization are the people who actually accomplish various tasks for the organization by applying their skills, knowledge and abilities. Human resources are also responsible to meet the various objectives of the organization. Human resource management (HRM) is a broader term which primarily encompasses the management of human resource within an organization. It can be defined as the process of managing and controlling the workforce of an organization by means of various activities. HRM is primarily responsible for carrying out a number of functions. Some of the vital tasks include:- †¢ Attracting potential candidates for a vacant position. †¢ Selection of workforce. †¢ Employee appraisal. †¢ Rewarding the employees. †¢ Training and further orientation of the employee (Werner and DeSimone, 2008, p.10). The aforementioned factors are only the basic function of HRM. Apart from that other functions of HRM include administering the organizational culture and leadership.

Analyze the influences of internal politics in desired career path in Essay

Analyze the influences of internal politics in desired career path in criminal justice - Essay Example The only possible report to gather from jail, courtrooms and detectives will come from males. This will make the crime investigation findings biased. Second, the sheriff’s office does not have a crime scene department or even a trained person in the crime scene. This will affect the investigations since there is no one to combine forces with in the investigations. According to Braswell, 2008, since there is no crime scene unit, the findings from the investigations might look irrelevant to the office because even after the findings, there is no department that will seem interested with the findings. As an investigator, it is good to attend crime scene education training in order to work efficiently (Braswell, 2008). In the sheriff’s office, there is no one who attends continuing education training on crime scene investigation. This will affect the investigations since there will be no morale from coworkers to enhance crime scene investigation. Finally, for crime scene in vestigation to be successful there must be modern equipments to support the investigation (Braswell, 2008). In the sheriff’s office, there are no modern equipments supporting these investigations. This will influence the effectiveness of the investigations carried

Dells Supply Chain Management Essay Example for Free

Dells Supply Chain Management Essay The term supply chain management (SCM) was initially used in wholesaling and retailing to denote the integration of logistics and physical distribution functions with the goal of reducing delivery lead times. Manufacturers and service providers have used the same term to describe integration and partnership efforts with first- and second- tier suppliers to reduce cost and improve quality and delivery timing. Terms such as integrated purchasing strategy, integrated logistics, supplier integration, value chain management, supply base management, strategic supplier alliances, lean production, Just-In-Time (JIT) logistics, and supply chain synchronization have been used in the literature to address certain elements or stages of this new management philosophy (1998; 1994). Conceptually, SCM includes all value-adding activities from the extraction of raw materials through the transformation processes and through delivery to the end user. SCM spans organizational boundaries and treats the organizations within the value chain as a unified virtual business entity (1991; 1995). (1995) further expanded SCM to include recycling or reuse activities. In general, SCM seeks improved performance through elimination of waste and better use of internal and external supplier capabilities and technologies (1996). The retailing industry has focused on different aspects of SCM, namely, location, transportation, and logistics issues. Indeed, the origin of supply chain management can be traced back to efforts to better manage the transportation and logistics functions (1997; 1995; 1994; 1993; 1991; 1987). The wholesaling and retailing industries incorporate a logistics focus within their strategic decisions. In this respect, SCM is synonymous with integrated logistics systems that control the movement of goods from the suppliers to end customers without waste (1991). Moreover, integrated logistics systems seek to manage inventories through close relationships with suppliers and transportation, distribution, and delivery services. A goal is to replace inventory with frequent communication and sophisticated information systems to provide visibility and coordination. In this way, merchandise can be replenished quickly in small lot size and arrive where and when it is needed (1994; 1993). Firms that use advanced process technology to increase flexibility and involve manufacturing managers in strategic decision making alter the role of logistics in firm success (1998). A supply chain can reduce overall inventory while maximizing customer service by efficiently redistributing stock within the supply chain using effective postponement and speculation strategies (1998; 1993; 1991). New logistics technology gives businesses a complex way to make things easier for their customers and suppliers. Within logistics industry, Dell’s system is recognized as one that takes advantage of technology to decrease storage and increase efficiency. The computer companys supply and shipping networks exemplify the latest trend in logistics, that is, visibility. Companies with the money and foresight are making sure their inventories can be traced and tracked throughout their entire logistical operations, even if their systems are entirely outsourced. Executing a supply chain with full visibility gives companies better information to work with and a more agile system. Dell has a better control of their operation which has reduced safety stocks and has operate faster to get cash-to-cash conversion cycles. By producing custom products at a rapid pace, the computer manufacturer receives payments from customer before it pays suppliers. Companies can do this only if there’s a short window between receiving an order and shipping it. In addition, Dells customers can also keep track of their order status. They can trace their computer as is moves through assembly and testing, and can track its shipment due to the technology of major shipping companies. The pulse of Dells execution effort centers on increasing business velocity and eliminating waste. Dell employees are constantly focused on driving down backlogs, promoting best practices, and creating synergies among adjacent processes as seen in cross-functional initiatives such as the design-for-manufacturability effort between manufacturing and RD. This initiative successfully promoted product designs that are easier to assemble. In 1994, Dell was a struggling second-tier PC maker. Like many others, the company ordered its components in advance and manufactured to inventory. Then Dell began to implement a new business model. It converted its operations to a build-to-order process, eliminated its inventories through a just-in-time system, and sold its products directly to consumers. Dell carefully targeted corporate relationship customers that had predictable, budgeted needs and that wanted a pre-determined set of product models. The company also selected individual customers who were high-end, repeat purchasers with a preference for early technology adoption. Both account segments had the stable, predictable purchase patterns that Dell needed to make its joint build-product-to-order/buy-component-to-plan system work. In connection with this, Dell developed a set of new operations capabilities in five crucial areas (2005). First, it created the flawless make-to-order system that has been widely noted. Secondly, Dell worked at length to build an effective supplier management function in order to shorten component lead times and maintain the absolute quality standards required by the just-in-time operation. Third, Dell developed the sell what you have system that was essential to matching supply and demand. Fourth, it instituted an extraordinarily crisp set of product life cycle management capabilities that yielded great cost reductions and strategic advantage. Fifth, the company worked with its suppliers to shorten their product life cycles, extending the Dell business model to the whole channel. Together these operating capabilities formed a cornerstone for Dells business model. Moreover, to maintain its rapid growth, Dell needs to hone its just-in-time process. Dell believes that the key to JIT is integrating with the suppliers into its operation. It is important for the company to work with the suppliers to figure out how to minimize the supply chain and hold the least amount of inventory in it. Inventory can add costs, damage quality, slow production, and wreak havoc with Dells rapid response reputation. To guard against this, Dell has optimized its supply base and developed a tightly run system in which it pulls parts from suppliers just as they are needed for production. Dell has manufacturing facilities in Austin; Limerick, Ireland; and Penang, Malaysia, each of which produces PCs on a JIT basis. In order to ensure the smooth flow of production supplies into these plants, Dell has developed a two-tiered strategy that employs different sourcing arrangements and delivery schedules for custom and commodity parts. When Dell receives an order for a PC, it faxes or phones its requirements to suppliers who pick the proper parts and pack them in reusable bins with kanban cards attached. Trucks on a continuous loop between suppliers and Dell, known as a milk run, deliver the sorted parts to the computer makers plant for final assembly. This process frees Dell from having to manage inventories and the costs associated with them. However, Dell has made efforts to ensure that suppliers dont get stuck with much inventory. The computer maker allows suppliers to participate in a revolver program, where they can sell parts stored at the warehouse to other customers. In comparison with Dell’s supply chain management, Baxter, a hospital supply company, developed a powerful new type of partnership with its hospital customers. Baxter develops a strategy which is the vendor-managed inventory system, then called the Stockless System in managing its customer’s inventories within their hospital facilities (2001). The hospital specifies its stock requirements for each ward; an on-site Baxter employee counts the stock in each ward each day or every few days; the employee enters this information into a hand-held device and transmits it to Baxters warehouse, where a replenishment order is derived; at the warehouse, the order is picked into ward-specific containers; that order is delivered the next day or in a few days directly to the ward, and the Baxter employee puts the stock away; finally, Baxter invoices the hospital. Baxters Stockless System created a powerful new channel that changed the ground rules for all other hospital supply compani es. However, in the long run, the shift to service competition led to significant sales increases as conversions to Baxter products naturally occurred. The company also gained significant first-mover advantage as it tied up key accounts with this new channel. In the case of Procter and Gamble (PG), the company first partnered with Wal-Mart to develop a pioneering continuous replenishment system. Through this system, PG replenishes Wal-Marts facilities without purchase orders based on the retailers product movement data. Based on this experience, PG systematically shifted its strategic focus toward supply chain-based service innovationand in the process transformed both the consumer products and retail industries. PG also developed a careful account selection plan as part of an innovative product supply model. The company developed operating partnerships with major customers capable of linking electronically, taking full-truckload deliveries, and engaging in joint business process reorganization programs. Smaller accounts were shifted to master distributors, which in turn were selected for their ability to partner effectively with PG. PG, for its part, developed operations capabilities in two key areas ( 2001). First, it created a sweeping new set of industry-change programs such as ECR (efficient consumer response), CRP (customer requirements planning), and streamlined logistics. These programs required a solid new understanding of channel economics and the impact of supply chain innovation. Second, the company developed sophisticated IT ties to coordinate its product flow, enabling it to raise service levels to meet the needs of the new system. With regards with Dell’s, supply chain competency of the company comprises of four qualities which includes demand management, internal collaboration, leveraging partners, and financial fundamentals (2004). Dells direct model enables the company to excel at demand management. The process of selling directly to customers and building product to order creates opportunities for true real-time collaboration and synchronization between manufacturing and sales. By being in direct contact with the market, Dell can quickly see changes in customer demand. Synchronization allows Dell to respond more quickly to customer demand than its competitors can. Additionally, this true internal collaboration allows for highly accurate forecasts. Another key aspect of Dells success is its ability to collaborate internally. This competency is driven by a culture that values information sharing and empowers all employees. At Dell, direct refers not only to how the company sells but also to how team members communicate and attack issues (2004). Moreover, Dells culture and processes not only help the company collaborate internally but also help it leverage its business partners. Dell leverages its partners by linking suppliers planning and execution activities with Dells systems. The company uses information technology to gather and share a constant stream of data on supply and demand trends. On the supply side, Dell gathers real-time information about the inventory levels of its suppliers at various positions in the supply chain. Finally, Dells entire supply chain is focused on fundamental business performance. Operating margin and not just profits or growth rate is the number that Dell cares about most to ensure long-term profitability. Dell Inc.s renowned direct sales model is regularly cited as the key reason for its overall competitive prowess. At Dell, supply chain management is truly viewed as a strategic capability; it drives coordination with, and in many instances it includes, activities such as marketing, sales, finance, and information technology.

Factors Affecting Essay Example for Free

Factors Affecting Essay This paper examines the factors affecting students career choice of accounting in Nigerian university. The study was conducted using the survey with a sampling population of 300 undergraduates from three universities. It has been discovered that the factors affecting students career choice of accounting are numerous but they can be group into personal, reference and job factors. The findings indicate that personal and job factors such as students interest and motivation in the subject, job prospects and high pay, performance in secondary school are the most influencing factors of students choice of accounting. In particular, male students were found to be more influenced by the reference factors than their female counterparts in the choice of accounting. The paper recommends the need for enlightenment  and counseling of the students and their wards about career choice in accounting.. Keywords: Accounting, personal factors, job-related factors, choice 1. Introduction In recent years, the declining of accounting students has become a major concern to the accounting profession (Hunt, Falgiani Intrieri, 2004). For instance, in the US the decline has been attributed to many factors such as: change in the business environment, decrease in salary level, alternative careers perceived as more attractive to students, misunderstanding and lack of information related to the accounting career (Albrecht Sack,2000). In Nigeria, the choice of accounting tends to rank among other professional courses like law, medicine, engineering ,economics etc. Although many researchers have considered the factors affecting students career choice in accounting, there is dearth of researches in relation to accounting in Nigeria. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to examine the factors which influence students choice of accounting in Nigerian universities and determine whether there are significant differences between male and female accounting students in the choice of accounting. The rest of the paper is organized as follows: Section two reviews the relevant literature on the factors.Section three is the methodology adopted. The data analysis and research findings are documented in Section four and the overall conclusions regarding these results are presented in Section five. 2. Literature review There have been many researches carried out in both developing and developing countries to identify factors influencing students choice of accounting. Some of the factors considered were subjective factors such are social, cultural, sociological, psychological and personal factors. Others are the objective factors or both categories (Zhang, 2006). Factors frequently cited as determinants of students career choice are intrinsic values, financial rewards, job market and the cost-benefit. Some of these factors are long term salary possibilities, prestige of the profession, job security and starting salary. It has been found that students consider stereotype about the different careers when making their decisions .Yayla   Cengiz (2005) find respondents own choice, family, environment, interesting profession, earnings  expectations and job opportunities play a significant role in choosing an accounting career. These factors are grouped into personal, reference or and job related factors and considered in subsequent sections. 2.1 Personal Factors Many researchers have identified that the choice of accounting is influenced by the stud ents interest. For instance, Zhang (2006) finds students interest in the subject and ability very important in making choice to study accounting. Other factors like quantitative skills and intellectually challenging also influence students choices (Mladenovic,2000, Zhang, 2006).When students see accounting as interesting and enjoyable, they are more likely to choose it (Saemann Calero, 1999., Adam et al 1994., Mauldin et al, 2000).This finding was supported by results of Jackling Calero (2006) where intrinsic rewards such as enjoyment of the topics in accounting influence career in accounting. Kaur Leen (2006) establish that students choices of major is influenced by factors such as gender, race, quantitative skills, interest in the subject, expected marketability, performance in major classes, the approachability and teaching reputation of faculty member. Cohen Hanno (1993) conduct a survey of 287 students who had either declared or intended to declare themselves as accounting majors and those who had either declared or intended to declare themselves as major in a field other than accounting. The results indicated that non-accounting majors may choose accounting because they believe accounting to be too number-oriented and boring. 2.2 Reference Group Previous studies confirmed that referent group such as: parents, parents occupation, instructors in high school and friends could influence students  choice of major (Pimpa, 2007, Kim et al, 2002, Paolilo Estes 1982, Geiger Ogibly 2000, Mauldin et al, 2000, Kim et al,2002). Family plays a critical role in a childs career development (Guerra Braungart-Rieker, 1999). High school teachers and college instructors play a significant role in students final choice of business major. However, Hardin et al (2000) find high school educators to have a relatively low opinion of accounting as a career option for high school students.Similarly, parents and instructors had a strong influence on students choice of majors (Inman et al, 1989, Mauldin et al, 2000., Tan Laswad, 2006). Mauldin et al (2000) investigate the choices of accounting major and find the largest percentage of students who chose accounting as their major during the first accounting course in college (41%) followed by selection during high school (34%).They also find twelve factors that influence the students decisions to include: career opportunities, interest in the subject, instructors, money, parents, enjoyments, previous experience, life style opportunity because of the career, challenge, prestige, usefulness in rating a business and other students. Among referents, the instructor was found to be the most influential factor. 2.3 Job Related Factors Job attributes are the most important factors that influence the choice of career among undergraduates. The job related include: the job itself, compensation or security and the company or work environment (Moy Lee, 2002, Teo Poon (1994). The influencing factors are job satisfaction (Paolilo Estes,1982), higher earnings, prestige and career advancement (Kim,et al, 2002). Lowe Simons (1997) study the relative importance of 13 factors influencing the choice of business major. They find that the most important criteria influencing the choice of major business students are: future earnings, career options, initial earnings and ability/aptitude. Moreover, they find distinguishable differences among majors. For example, accounting students were influenced by external factors such as: long term earnings, initial earnings and career options whereas marketing majors highlighted interesting subject matter and management majors rated self employment opportunities highly. These findings support the results that students choice of business major are influenced by earnings, prestige and career advancement (Tan Laswad, 2006, Maudlin et al 2000, Felton et al, 1994). Noland et al (2003)  find the factors influencing major selection by accounting and information systems majors are long- term salary possibilities, prestige of the profession, job security, and starting salary; the influence of a professor, family members and difficulty of the subject matter are rated much lower. Kim et al (2002) conducted a study on business majors (accounting, finance, general business, management, marketing, management information system and double major). They discovered that the top five reasons for choosing a major were: interest in a career, good job opportunities, good fit with respondents abilities, a desire to run a business some day and projected earnings in the related career. The least selected reasons for choosing a major were the  reputation of the major at the university, the perceived quality of instruction, the parents influence, the amount and type of promotional information and the influence of friends. 2.4 Perception of Accounting Accounting education has been the subject of considerable debates since 1980s. Prior researches document that introductory accounting students have negative perception of accounting. Accounting is attractive to the students in terms of profession but the negative views regarding the nature and role of accounting persist (Fisher Murphy, 1995:58). Societys perception of the legitimacy of the accounting profession and its members is grounded in the verbal and visual images of accountants that are projected not only by accountants themselves but also by the media. How accountants are portrayed in media have a significant impact on the accounting profession. Typically, accountants have been referred to as number crunchers, focusing on numerical accuracy, routine recording and calculation methods. Abrecht Sack (2000), Cory (1992), Garner Dombrowski (1997) attribute the negative perception to misinformation or lack of information about accounting and the duties performed by accountants. To date, efforts by professional accounting bodies and firms to change the negative and inaccurate perception of accountancy and accountants have yielded limited success (Jackling Calero, 2006). Byrne Willis (2005) maintain that the public view of accountants is generally negative and that this perception might discourage potential students from studying the subject. Similarly, Cohen Hanno (1993) find that the perception of accounting as boring and excessively number- oriented might lead student to choose other majors than accounting. Furthermore, the traditional view of accounting as involving precision and order has been found to drive creative people away from the profession. In addition, many bright young people are seeking careers in professional fields other than accounting as a result of the poor image of the accounting profession (Saemann Crooker 1999, Cohen Hanno,1993).The personal image of accountants and how they market themselves are more important than the price, product and Smart.Anyone whose success depends upon or requires the cooperation of another individual or group needs a positive personal image. Unfortunately, high-quality students hardly ever perceive accountants as they perceive themselves. People regard accountants as boring, middle- aged men sitting in a back office with a calculator and a stack of flies. As a consequence, the accounting profession does not always attract high quality students. Whether a person chooses to pursue an accounting career may be determined by the image of accountants in the media. Byrne Willis (2005) find that perceptions of accounting are influenced by factual media. Mathus Fowler (2009) find that the portrayal of accountants in the media could be recalled by the sampling group. Tan Laswad (2009) in an extension of their 2006 study survey university students at the beginning and end of their degree. The comparisons between accounting and non accounting students reveal that those who intended to major in accounting generally hold positive attitudes towards the accounting profession. Tan Laswad (2009) found that a higher proportion of accounting students decide on their major  prior to university study. Therefore they recommended that the accounting profession should promote the positive aspects of accounting career not only to pre-university students but also to the public as this strategy would enhance the public profile of members of the profession. 2.5 Status of accounting compared with other professions Students are more likely to aspire to a career that is held in high esteem by society. In the Byrne Willis (2005) study, accounting students ranked accounting ranked 5th and non-accounting students ranked it 7th among ten professional courses. Irish high schools ranked accountants behind doctors, lawyers, dentists and architects as professionals. In the United States, the Gallun organization (1991) reported that both high school and university students rated the accounting profession last among six professions of law, medicine, teaching, engineering, financial planning and accounting. In a New Zealand study, the accounting profession was ranked lower in social status compared to the profession of law, medicine and engineering by high school teachers. This was also the view of high school teachers in the United States (Hardin et al, 2000) and Japan (Sagahara et al, 2006) 3. Methodology The population of interest comprised all accounting students in three (3) universities: University of Benin (UNIBEN), Igbinedion University Okada (IUO) and Ambrose Alli University (AAU). The sample size was made up of three hundred (300) full and part-time accounting students from these universities. The total number include: two hundred (200)  accounting students from UNIBEN, fifty (50) from IUO and fifty (50) students from AAU. The data for this study was mainly from the administration of questionnaire. A total of 300 questionnaires were administered and retrieved from the respondents representing a response rate of 100%.The likert scale  type close ended questions was used .The data was analysis using percentage analysis, independent t-test and regression analysis.The t-test was used to find out if there was significant difference between male and female accounting students in the choice of accounting. The descriptive statistics of the respondents is shown in table 1 below.

Relationship Between Globalization And Fashion Cultural Studies Essay

Relationship Between Globalization And Fashion Cultural Studies Essay With the first articles of clothing begin fashion. In the caves in the Middle Ages, then France, the high heel shoes were a sign that the person who wearing them belonging to aristocratic circles. This type of class affiliation when it comes to fashion can be seen today. Expensive fur coats and leather handbags are symbols of wealth and high fashion, financially inaccessible to medium and lower classes. The creators of the courts throught Europe have the force and made clothes for personal requirements of members of aristocratic circles. As the desire for beautiful, colorful and later grew, grew and the number of creators and the annual production of fashion items. Fashion has been passed on medieval Europe across borders through marriage contracts of the royal family and through retailers. However, it was hard to imagine a variety of fabrics, colors and designs of one part of Europe people at the other end of the continent. Development of fashion starts with chancing style and human trips all around the world. In Western Europe people start to change styles rapidly. In countries, which includes Japan, Turkey, Iran fashion is the same as last ten decades. Reasons are culture and religion. But on the West, globalization and money are reasons for every change in fashion industry. Many towns are recognized as a centers of global fashion because of all events in that towns. Some of them are Pariz, Milano, New York, London. The biggest names like Armani, Gucci made shows and revias in before named cities. London significant global city and it is considered as one of the biggest financial centers of Europe. Historical and cultural contributions maded on the whole of humanity is almost immeasurable, and it is known as a world center of fashion. With New York, Paris and Milano, London dictate the flow of movement in the fashion industry. The famous London Fashion Week is just one in a series of events whose fashion novelties copied the rest of the world. Burberry, Twenty Twelve, Vivienne Westwood, Topshop, Paul Smith, Stella McCartney are just some of the designers and fashion houses that have been heard almost everyone, and came from London. London is a city of casual atmosphere, perfect organization, innumerable cultural resources, but also a city known for great hospitality of its citizens. Globalization, in which the main task is to create a unique world, has a great influence in the creation and dissemination of fashion trends and general fashion. FASHION TRENDS Here are examples of some global trends, trends which are recognized in the whole world. The Converse All-Stars are popular shoes produced by the Converse company. They were produced for the first time it 1917 and were originally intended for the basketball players. The shoes were first popularized by basketball player Charles Hollis Chuck Taylor, and named after him. He became the first athlete whose name was protecting a fashion brand. The Converse All-Stars became very popular after World War II, and started to be produced in many different forms. The shoes became soon a symbol of youthful rebellion and an indispensable part of punk-rock culture. Benetton is a global fashion brand based in Italy. The name comes from the Benetton family, who founded the brand in 1965. Benetton has a network of 6000 outlets in 120 countries. Their range of clothing, footwear, fashion accessories is one of the most popular and best-selling worldwide, the company generates a total turnover of 2 billion euros. Benetton is known for its design, intense colours and is worn by all generations. The global fashion and lifestyle brand Ecko Ltd was established in 1993. by the fashion designer Marc Ecko. Although he started with only 6 ordinary T-shirt and spray paint, today this brand is focused on the global market and commercial success. Marc Ecko footwear combines high fashion and sport ideas into something completely new and original. His logo is a rhinoceros. Bershka is a Spanish brand of the street fashion for young people. It offers them a wide selection of clothes, shoes and accessories. Bershkas collection for girls is more oriented towards punk, rock and dance style. This type of clothes is for people with strong personalities and great courage to experiment with fashion wearing unusual styling. The most famous creations of the popular French fashion house Hermes Birkin has been a subject of desire of all celebrity trendsetters, but for many people it is unattainable. The story of the luxury handbag begins with the name of the British fashion icon, singer and actress Jane Birkin after which it was named. During an airplane flight in 1984 Jane Birkin was sitting next to Dumas, the director of the fashion house Hermes. Birkin placed her straw bag in the overhead compartment of her seat, but the contents of her bag fell to the ground, leaving her to struggle with finding her belongings to put back in her bag. Birkin explained to him that it was difficult to find a leather bag giving him an idea how it should look like. Shortly after that, the described bag arrived at her address with the message of Dumas. Today, the 61-year-old, Jane Birkin admits that The Birking bag become more glorious than herself. The prices of The Birking bag growth as well as the demand for them. The bags can be ordered in various sizes and colours. All The Birking bags are hand made respecting the specific regulations and using only the best quality leather, mostly the lizard skins, crocodiles, ostrich, buffalos, oxen, deer and goats. The metal parts of the purses are always made of gold, silver or other precious metals, a small padlocks and keys are coded and numerical. The Birkin bag is a confirmation of wealth and prestige and a symbol of the luxurious living. It is very popular among the celebrities. Three years ago one bag was sold for a whopping $ 64.800. The Spanish fashion house Zara is a global giant with more than 1600 stores in over 70 countries worldwide. This brand was founded by Spanish tycoon Amancio Ortega in 1975. Their annual earnings are now measured in billions of Euros. Zara produces clothes and shoes, fashion accessories and cosmetics. The owners of this fashion house announced an online shop to be in function soon. Croatia has now 3 Zara fashion houses. The British fashion house Burberry was founded in 1856. Burberry is known for its beige, red and black fabric design and expensive handbags. The company sells as well perfumes, sunglasses and watches. Burberry has currently over 70 shops worldwide. The brand is well-known and popular among British celebrities. The LOrà ©al Group is the worlds largest beauty and cosmetics company with the main office registered in Paris. Concentrating on hair colours, skin care, sun protection, make-up, perfumes and hair care, the company is active in the dermatological and pharmaceutical fields. LOrà ©al currently markets over 500 brands and many thousands of individual products in all sectors of the beauty business: makeup and fragrances, hair colour and hair styling, body and skin care, cleansers. LOrà ©al has five centers worldwide for research and development. LOrà ©als famous advertising slogan is Because I deserve it. FASHION MAGAZINES Fashion magazines are usually published once a month and they follow fashion trends around the world, criticize fashion shows and advertise products related to the world of high fashion. They have a big impact on the creation and expansion of fashion. First fashion magazine was published around 1586 in Frankfurt. The idea of leaflets with pictures appeared to show to one part of the world what was fashionable in another. That were usually one sided flyers with black and white illustrations of dresses or shoes. Later, fashion magazines had been pressed with included painted illustrations of dresses, hats, shoes, etc. That was a way of presenting fashion before photography was invented. With the development of color photography, fashion magazines have become more colorful and attractive. Every year, the creators and designers present their latest creations in fashion magazines. Topics in magazines range from high fashion to the latest make-up, perfumes and fashion bon-ton. World fashion magazines are published in many countries in different languages. This is a list of some fashion magazines aimed at female audiences: Vogue Cosmopolitan Elle Essence Ettelaat-e Banuvan Femina Flare Girlfriends magazine Glamour Harpers Bazaar In Touch Weekly Jane Life and Style Their goal is to affect their readers to choose the latest styles. People and times change so quickly and fashion magazines are becoming increasingly important in todays world of fashion. Something about Vogue magazine: Vogue magazine was launched in 1892 in the United States. It is considered as the most popular magazine in the world. Vogue is widely published fashion and lifestyle magazine, it is published in 18 countries and one region. Every month, announces theme of fashion, design and life. It is famous as a presenter of high fashion and society, it provides reports of a very popular fashion brands such as Dior, Prada, Chanel, Gucci, and its latest trends, but it also provides reports of lifestyle, politics, family, etc. It is so important to promote clothing in fashion magazines because fashion styles are continuously changing and consumers need to be informed. Fashion trends change and globalization is responsible for their rapid spread worldwide.

Can A Suspect Be Interviewed Without Legal Representation?

Can A Suspect Be Interviewed Without Legal Representation? A suspect is in custody for robbery and the OIC wants to interview him as soon as possible without legal representation. The custody officer declines this request and a solicitor is brought to the police station. During questioning, it became necessary, in order to clarify the interviewees account, to pose questions which had already been asked. The solicitor argued that this is not permitted. There is then a break in the interview and when it is re-commenced the solicitor reads out a pre-prepared statement. Consider the above paragraph and paying particular regard to legislation, case law and the PACE Codes of Practice comment and critically evaluate under what circumstances can a suspect be interviewed when legal representation has been withheld. Secondly whether the solicitor is correct in his assumption that questions which have already been posed cannot be repeated. Thirdly the dangers for the defence in submitting a pre-prepared statements. Word Limit 2500 Word Count 2415 Circumstances under which a suspect can be interviewed when access to legal advice is withheld: In order to look into circumstances in which a suspect can be interviewed in the midst of delayed legal advice access, the criteria which must be met to make this delay must first be explored. The relevant legislation which governs the delay of legal advice comes from s.58 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984(PACE), in particular part (6) of the section, which states; Delay in compliance with a request is only permitted (a) in the case of a person who is in police detention for a serious arrestable offence; and (b) if an officer of at least the rank of superintendent authorises it. The request, for the purposes of this section, is a request to have legal access delayed for the suspect. The legislation is succinct; however, the codes of practise which need to be followed in order to successfully prevent legal advice from attending the interview, presents an officer of rank equal to or higher than superintendant, with a number of criteria which must be fulfilled before the delay is granted. Failure to follow these codes could bring the relevant officers up for disciplinary proceedings. Such failure occurred in the case of R v McGovern  [1]  , where the defendant was of limited intelligence and was unable to understand the caution. She was denied legal advice, and as such the subsequent confession she made was not admissable in court. Following from this breach of s.58 PACE, the second interview in which she was granted legal advice resulted in a confession. However, the conduct in the first interview was deemed to have tainted the second, and so this confessi on was also denied. Delay can only be made for a time period of up to 36 hours, after which legal advice must be granted, regardless of circumstances.  [2]   Under Annex B(Para.1) of PACE, there are 4 criteria from which an officer must find good reason to request a delay; Failing to exercise the delay would: (i) lead to: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ interference with, or harm to, evidence connected with an indictable offence; or à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ interference with, or physical harm to, other people; or (ii) lead to alerting other people suspected of having committed an indictable offence but not yet arrested for it; or (iii) hinder the recovery of property obtained in consequence of the commission of such an offence  [3]   Specific circumstances must be in place to delay access to a solicitor, and there must be clear evidence that the solicitors presence will result in one of the four criteria above occurring. This was the case in R v James Ors  [4]  , where confessions were obtained whilst in the absence of legal advice. The court heard that there was no specific evidence with regards to the unlawful conduct under part (ii) (above), of the individual solicitor, and that, with regards to the decision making process in passing this delay the number of times that a police officer could genuinely be in that state of belief will be rare. Furthermore, the suspect must not have been charged with the offence  [5]  , before the delay can be enforced. This was the case in R v Samuel  [6]  , where the original conviction was quashed on the basis that at the time of the interview of the defendant, at which the presence of a solicitor was denied, there had already been a charge of the offence. In addition to this, and in relation to the criteria above, it was deemed that access to a solicitor could not be denied simply by the belief that access might lead to other suspects in connection with the offence being alerted; the probability had to be high. A well-referenced quote was made in this case, from Hodgson LJ, which stated that entitlement to free legal representation was one of the most important and fundamental rights of a citizen. Equally, a breach of s.58 PACE does not always result in a quashed conviction. In R v Alliadice  [7]  , the grounds for refusal of legal advice for an interview included the worry that the solicitor may inadvertently warn other persons linked with the offence. The appeal against conviction was refused, as although there was a poor decision on the part of the officer for delaying advice, it was at the judges discretion to reverse the conviction. The judge decided against excluding the evidence under s.78 PACE, as the defendant was aware of his rights, exercised them (including the right to silence), and as such the presence of legal advice would not have changed the outcome of the interview. Finally, the offence with which the suspect is under question for must be a serious arrestable offence. S.116(1) of PACE lists the offences which fall under this category, and any factors which may cause a normal arrestable offence to become a serious one. Robbery is not normally an arrestable offence, and so for the delay in legal advice to be allowed, there must be exceptional circumstances as detailed in the section.  [8]   Providing that these criteria have been met, and that correct evidence is present, a suspect interview is permitted to be conducted under Code C (para 6.6) of PACE, a part of the code which otherwise would prevent such interviews from taking place. Is repeating questions previously posed, permissible? There is no mention of limits on repeating questions in the PACE codes of conduct; However, guidelines on the subject of investigative interview aims and techniques were published by the Home Office in 1992. Amongst these guidelines were the seven principles of investigative interviewing.  [9]  Following these guidelines, which were devised with existing Human Rights legislation in mind  [10]  , interviewing officers have a framework within which they can work without overstepping the line with regards to the treatment of suspects. In particular, there is one guideline which influences how repeat questioning can be posed. Principle number 4 states; Investigators are not bound to accept the first answer given. Questioning is not unfair merely because it is persistent. Therefore, persistent questioning, considering these guidelines, published under the title of The National Investigative Interviewing Strategy 2009  [11]  is permitted. But at what point does persistent questioning become oppressive? Oppressive behaviour can amount to inadmissibility of evidence; examples including confessions  [12]  . In R v Fulling  [13]  , Lord Lane CJ said that oppression occurred following behaviour which included excercise of authority or power in a burdensome, harsh or wrongful manner  [14]  . In R v Paris  [15]  , also known as the case of the Cardiff Three, over the course of 13 hours worth of interview time, a statement was put to the defendant forcefully, along with the question of whether he had committed the offence detailed, over 300 times. Despite no violence being used, this conduct was deemed to be oppressive. Another case which illustrates when questioning becomes beyond what is expected of the police officer, is that of R v Hero n  [16]  . In this case persistent badgering and questioning along the lines of getting a confession for the murder of a 7 year old girl resulted in the case being thrown out of court. This was despite the tone of the questioning not being aggressive or harsh; It was merely the style and purpose of the questioning with which the judge took issue. The result of a report into the actions taken during this enquiry found that the line between robust questioning and oppressive questioning was difficult to draw  [17]  . However, these are exceptional circumstances in which repeated questioning has been deemed to have gone too far; there are few reported cases. For the main part, the investigative guidelines are the key to allowing repeats of questioning. Code C (para.11.5) of PACE also guides the police officer to not use oppressive behaviour whilst conducting an interview. For the PEACE model of investigative interviewing, repeats of questions mentioned previously are a fundamental of the account clarification section of the model. The model is the standard start point from which all policing interviews are carried out in the United Kingdom, and as such, the guidelines must be clear. Without the freedom to ask questions repeatedly which may have either not been answered fully previously or without any conviction, then it becomes harder to ascertain the truth behind events; the main aim of investigative interviewing. Another of the principles of investigative interviewing confirms this; When conducting a suspect interview, police officers are free to ask questions in order to establish the truth The Dangers of Submitting Pre-Prepared Statements The purpose of handing in a pre-prepared statement is to provide a written copy of the details of the case, from the defences point of view, usually at the beginning of a suspect interview. If the statement contains adequate levels of detail, and covers any facts which are mentioned in court fully, then it has the power to negate the drawing of adverse inferences. An instance of when such inferences can be drawn can be found under s.34(1)(a) of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994(CJPOA), which reads; Where, in any proceedings against a person for an offence, evidence is given that the accused- at any time before he was charged with the offence, on being questioned under caution by a constable trying to discover whether or by whom the offence had been committed, failed to mention any fact relied on in his defence in those proceedings. As questioning under caution is mentioned, the statement should be handed in once the caution has been given. But what happens when the statement fails to give sufficient evidential value? Mentioning a fact in court which was not mentioned in the pre-prepared statement, but would have been reasonable to include in such a document, is one danger. In R v McGarry  [18]  , the defendant relied on facts which were not present on the statement which was handed in. There was merely flesh on the bones of that account, and an adverse inference can be drawn based on the reliance of such evidence in the proceedings, as in s.34(1)(a) CJPOA. Failure to mention basic facts which would have been reasonably expected in a vital piece of evidence is another danger in submitting a pre-prepared statement without thorough planning. Planning can be done prior to any interview in private between defendant and legal advisor, as the pre-prepared statement is a legally privileged document, and as such the police have no right to enforce access to it. In R v Bourgass  [19]  , the appellant had picked up a knife and stabbed 4 officers. He was convicted of murder, and then appealed based on admissibility of evidence. When analysed, the pre-prepared statement which was given at the beginning of the original interview provided no insight as to the reasoning behind why the appellant wished to escape, nor did it try to persuade that the use of the knife was in self-defence. In court the appellant relied solely upon this statement, and gave no other testimony in front of the jury; yet it contained such little in the way of a defence of his actions that the statement proved pointless, and the appellants conviction was held. It is not the failure to answer questions which can introduce the possibility of adverse inferences; but rather the failure to provide sufficient answers in the prepared statement, as in R v Knight  [20]  . In this case, despite failing to answer any questions in interview, the defences pre-prepared statement was enough to negate any wrong doing under s.34  [21]  , and so the appeal was allowed and the conviction was overruled.  [22]  However, this ruling came with a warning from the presiding judge; We wish to make it crystal clear that of itself the making of a pre-prepared statement gives no automatic immunity against adverse inferences under section 34  [23]   Adverse inferences can also be avoided providing what is said in the interview is in line with evidence found in the pre-prepared statement, as in R v Ali Ors  [24]  . The credibility of the suspect can be put under question if 2 statements which do not match in character and account are put to the court; A pre-prepared statement and an oral statement. Under s.119 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, (1) If in criminal proceedings a person gives oral evidence and- (a) he admits making a previous inconsistent statement, or (b) a previous inconsistent statement made by him is proved by virtue of section 3, 4 or 5 of the Criminal Procedure Act 1865 (c. 18), the statement is admissible as evidence of any matter stated of which oral evidence by him would be admissible. This legislation means that both types of statement must be taken into account by the court, and both are admissible when the jury are making their decision. The decision must be made in light of the ruling in R v Argent  [25]  , where 6 guidelines were put in place to decide when an inference could be inferred; There must be proceedings against a person for an offence; The alleged failure to mention a fact at trial must have occurred before charge, or on charge; The alleged failure must have occurred during questioning under caution); The questioning must have been directed to trying to discover whether or by whom the alleged offence was committed; The alleged failure of the accused must have been to mention any fact relied on in his defence in those proceedings; The alleged failure must have been to mention a fact which in the circumstances existing at the time the accused could reasonably have been expected to mention when so questioned. Bibliography Cases: R v Argent [1997] 2 Cr.App.R. 27 R v Knight [2003] EWCA 1977 Paragraph 13 R v Ali Ors [2001] EWCA Crim 683. R v Knight [2003] EWCA 1977 R v McGarry[1998] EWCA Crim 2364 (16th July, 1998) R v Bourgass[2005] EWCA Crim 1943 (19 July 2005) R v Fulling[1987] 2 WLR 923 R v Paris (1993) 97 Cr. App. R. 99 R v George Heron, (November 1993) Unreported R v Samuel [1988] 1 QB 615 R. v Alladice[1988] Crim. L.R. 608 R v James Ors [2008] EWCA Crim 1869 (30 July 2008) R v McGovern(1991) 92 Cr. App. R. 228 Case Study: Depression and Dementia Care Case Study: Depression and Dementia Care Introduction Mr X is a 78 years old gentleman who has been admitted to a busy dementia unit six months ago. He was admitted from home following increasing lethargy, depression and reduced mobility. Prior to the admission he was diagnosed inter alia with Vascular Dementia. He communicates verbally with no difficulties, using very wide vocabulary however can mix up words and situations. He was assessed as lacking capacity to make informed decisions. Mr X has one daughter who is of the opinion that her father lacks insight into the difficulties he was having at home believing that he was managing fine. Mr X’s wife (Eva) died few months ago, in a hospital suffering from breast cancer. Mr X was very involved into her care throughout the illness and cannot accept the loss. Problem assessment Mr X, does appear to have an understanding of the sourroundings albeit he is very quiet most of the times almost like having no intrest of what is happening around him. He appears unable to generate any enthusiasm. Mr X remains independent in terms of personal care, use of facilities, eating and drinking and requires minimum assistance and maximum encouragement and prompting. He is able to mobilize with a zimmer frame, though seem to feel best sitting in a chair in his room, even at â€Å"meals or activities times†. In relation to the above three main problems that interlock have been identified 1. Depression and its effects Mr X cannot reconcile yourself to the loss of his wife, changes in life his physical and mental health resulting in depression and progress in dementia. He appears isolated, lost a lot of weight; apathy and withdrawal are present affecting seriously his ability to perform everyday tasks. According to him, to his daughter and to the information gained on assessment using Initial Dementia Assessment (IDA) he used to enjoy reading books, travelling and had an outgoing personality. The IDA indicated that the dramatic change and deterioration in his condition was noted when his wife passed away and he was told that he is having dementia. On the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) Mr X scored 20/30 which could suggest that his dementia is not severe and that there may be other reasons for his withowal. His score could have been slightly inflated because well educated people like Mr X find thequestions â€Å"easy† to answer (Marshal at al 1983) but he could be described as â€Å" mildly confused†. One of the MMSE questions related to language skills was about writing a sentence about anything. Mr X wrote a short statement â€Å"Eva is not here and I have dementia†. Research show that coping and getting along with the diagnosis of dementia is a time-consuming process often related to a range of emotions such as: fear, shame, guilt, sadness, bitterness, isolation and helplessnes. (Alzheimer Europe, 2009) Mr. X appeared to feel overwhelmed by those emotions. Paying attention to non verbal signs of Mr X bevaiour helped staff to investigate his case further. He often avoided eye contact, showed no inattentiveness his appetite decreased and his posture expressed â€Å"tiredness of living†. Studies of nonverbal behaviour indicators in show that this type of signs are often related to post traumatic stess disorder ( PTDS) and that men are more likely to show depression in a form of isolation and withrowal (Stratou at al, n.d.). 2. Upset family relationships Assessment tools demonstrated that family was very important to Mr X. When communicating with the daughter lack of understanding dementia, depression and PTDS were identified as an important factor contributing to Mr X situation. Evidence show that above named health issues have an impact on family members; relationship difficulties are common and it it not easy to understand the â€Å"loved one†. ( Alzheimer’s Society, 2013). The main concern was no communication with the father and unwillingness to spend time with him to enable him to accept his chalanging situalion. She could not imagine that her normally happy and sociable father was so depressed, and in addition diagnosed with dementia which meant he became â€Å"a stranger† to her. 3. Challenging behaviour Whilst staff members were doing their best trying to motivate and encourage Mr X to get more involved into his care and the care home life, Mr. X refused everything or simply ignored them. The efforts had a negative impact on him and caused reactions such as pretending to be dependent and irritating staff. These types of reaction have been identified by Wallbridge as types of aggression called â€Å" active resistance† ( Wallbridge, n.d.). Staff then presented negative attidude and disaffection towards Mr X. Evidence suggests that behaviours, including uncooperativeness, staff find difficult to cope can lead psychological stess amongst staff and discourage them to deepen knowledge related to the health problem of the patient. ( Brodaty at al, 2003) Planning From the above assessment a list o goals have been created in order to improve the quality of life for mr X which is aimed to be archived through: creating an environment where Mr X could feel emotionally safe, supported and understood helping him understand, manage and accept his condition . Lowering the level of lethargy and depression and stimulate functional ability, social contact and activity by encouraging him to talk and listen to what he is saying Stimulating and motivating Mr X to create new habits related to maintain his physical independence, eating and help him use his potential involving Mr X’s daughter into care and help her understand the complexity of her father’s condition to make the psychosocial interventions better and improve Mr X behaviour and mood as well as increase his acceptability of the care home settings. Encourage her to let Mr X know that she cares about him and to stay in contact with him by visiting him, taking him out, calling etc to minimise the isolating experience training for staff in relation to challenging behaviour and dementia awareness, communication, behaviour and work related stress management The desired outcome is partially based on the outcomes from the research done amongst people with mild dementia and suffering on depression that have successfully managed to improve their lives, that was done was done by the social work department of University of Stirling for the Scottish Executive. (Scottish Executive Social Research 2005) Implementation In relation to problem 1 Assessment using IDA and MMSE indicated that Mr X condition is affected by depression. Further investigation has been done. GP and the Liason Psychiatric Nurse have been contacted and involved. Mr X scored 23/30 in the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) indicating severe depression. (Yesavage et al, 1982) It has been decided that his depression should be addressed first because it was the major factor preventing Mr X from enjoying life similarly to like he used to. It is known that the effects of depression go far beyond the mood ( Smith at el. 2014). In Mr X case this had an impact not only on his energy, appetite, and physical activity but also on his relations with family and staff. In relation to the weight loss Malnutrition Universal Screening Too (MUST) (BAPEN, n.d.) has been used. Initial MUST score was 0 with healthy BMI but due to his poor appetite the score rose to 1 within 3 months. Therefore his dietary intake was documented in a form of Food and Fluids Record Chat ( Care NHS UK, n.d) and his weight was monitored every two weeks. In relation to diet intake Mrs X was offered meals according to his likes suggested by his daughter and accepted by himself which significantly increased the likehood of an â€Å" consumed meal† . After 2 months his weight stabilised. He remains â€Å" poor eater† and therefore his meals contain more calories. His weight is currently monitored once a month and is not a concern anymore. Changes are documented in his care plan that is evaluated every month. Studies show an association between depression and increased mortality in older adults. Factors identified in Mr X case included poor adherence , lack of physical activity, cognitive impairment. ( Gallo et al 3013) From the point of his medication, a rviewd was requested by the GP and and it has been suggested to discontinue Paroxetine(Seroxat) and commence on Amitriptyline. Both belong to antidepressants but vary in side effects. ( NHS Choice, 2013). In addition it has been requested to commence Mr X on regular laxatives as episode of constipation have been noted. Currently Mr X bowels are monitored and documented on bowels chart on daily basis. No concerns have been noted. In relation to problem 2 Reduced sense of purpose was identified as the main co-existing factor To help Mr X overcome this problem (which he expressed clearly during the MMSE mentioning the loss of his spouse and dementia diagnosis) his daughter was asked to participate and although she was initially sceptical she brought meaningful memoralia and small pieces of furniture to help him feel like home. Staff gave her assistance and explanation in relation to dementia and depression. She was also offered help and given reassurance in a form of Family Support Meetings organised by the home. The initial scepticism disappeared with gaining awareness of the illness. She became Mr X advocate and currently holds medical and financial power of attorney for him. ( Office of the Public Guardian, Scotland, n.d.) Furthermore her two sons come regularly to visit Mr. X, they often take him out for a meal or call him to find out how he is. Staff has also managed to discuss one the most sensitive matters related to Mr. X’s End of Life such as DNACPR certificate that is present in Mr X file in the event of need. Mr. X’s relationship with his daughter and grandsons appears happy. The daughter stated that this helped also her to resolve personal problems she feels acknowledged by her father and therefore valued. There is a Family/Relatives Communication part in Mr X care plan and a book in Mr X room where any suggestions, complaints or comments can be made by staff members or by the family .(U.S National Library of Medicine, 2011) The relation with staff can be defined as very good. A person’s family is often the most important, long-standing connection in their life. Therefore, the ability of staff to work positively and inclusively with families and carers is a core staff skill. In relation to problem 3 Most of the staff required training to help them understand the nature of behaviour that challenges. The importance of the training this became so vital that it is now one of the mandatory trainings every member of staff has to attend. Skills that were aimed to be improved included addressing challenging behaviour, person centred approach and communication skills (Skills for Care, 2013) Many staff showed the need to be trained in related to stress management (Wallbridge, n.d.) The future aim is to create a team that focuses on people’s assets and life outcomes. A team that is confident of their roles and impact on Mr X and any other client, willing to contribute and encouraging new members of staff to learn. Evaluation Summarising, Mr. X case has been an example of mostly successful process of assessment and implementation of the planned actions. There was and so called â€Å"multi agency† approach to Mr X needs. Assessment tools helped in the identification and articulation of the needs and contributed to positive changes leading to holistic, personalised approach to them. Recent changes to the social care management and the need to comply with the Public Services Reform Scotland Act 2010 contributed to the awareness in relation to staff due to the accent on the importance of systematic and sensitive assessment. Mr X’s continuing care did not require up to now any specific nursing interventions. The difficulty consisted of identifying the roles and the division of work. Mr X’s case proved that there are different functions staffs have to complete that contribute to the optimum health and overall wellbeing of older people such as: psychosocial and emotional support enabling life review – where the family support was crucial but required time to function work aimed at maintaining his independence and functional ability that continues to be improved through the aspiration of a well functioning team work. educative teaching self-care activities by encouraging physical activity managerial- directions in terms of who and when undertakes the administrative and supervisory responsibilities could have been improved. All the above reduces to good knowledge, awareness, and experience, will power to change things for the better and to a well functioning team work. Many things would have been done sooner or could have been dealt with better if we were aware of the need and knew how. This is why it would be recommended to pay more attention to training needs in relation to new regulations, staff assessments, achieving and evidencing outcomes, person-centred care planning. References Office of the Public Guardian( Scotland)( n.d.) http://www.publicguardian-scotland.gov.uk/whatwedo/power_of_attorney.asp Care NHS UK ( n.d.) Food and Fluid Record Chart http://www.glos-care.nhs.uk/images/Food_and_Fluid_chart_-_attachment_31_copy_copy_copy.pdf (BAPEN, n.d.) Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool http://www.bapen.org.uk/pdfs/must/must_full.pdf Skills for Care (2013) Supporting staff working with people who challenge services Guidance for employers http://www.skillsforcare.org.uk/Document-library/Skills/People-whose-behaviour-challenges/Supporting-staff-working-with-challenging-behaviour-(Guide-for-employers)vfw-(June-2013).pdf U.S National Library of Medicine (2011) no author Communicating with families of dementia patients Can Fam Physician Joulrnal Vol 57(7): 801–802 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3135450/ NHS Choice ( 2013) Antidepressantshttp://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Antidepressant-drugs/Pages/Introduction.aspx Melinda Smith, M.A., Lawrence Robinson, and Jeanne Segal, Ph.D. Last updated: February 2014. Depression in Older Adults the Elderly http://www.helpguide.org/mental/depression_elderly.htm Gallo, J., Morales, K.H.,Bogner, H.R, Raue, J.P, Zee,J, Bruce M.L and Reynolds C.F(2013) BMJ Helping doctors making better decisions Long term effect of depression care management on mortality in older adults: follow-up of cluster randomized clinical trial in primary care http://www.bmj.com/content/346/bmj.f2570 Scottish Executive Social Research (2005) Effective Social Work with Older People http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/47121/0020809.pdf Wallbridge, H. ( n.d.) When pushed to the limit:Moving beyond a difficult situation http://www.alzheimer.mb.ca/handouts/When%20Pushed%20to%20the%20LimitMoving%20Beyond%20a%20Difficult%20Situation.pdf Alzheimer Society (2013) Understanding and respecting the person with dementia file:///C:/Users/GEORGE/Downloads/Understanding_and_respecting_the_person_with_dementia_factsheet.pdf Stratou,G., Scherer,S., Gratch,J. and Morency, L.P. (n.d) University of Southern California, Institute for Creative Technologies, Los Angeles Automatic Nonverbal Behavior Indicators ofDepression and PTSD: Exploring Gender Differences http://ict.usc.edu/pubs/Automatic%20Nonverbal%20Behavior%20Indicators%20of%20Depression%20and%20PTSD-%20Exploring%20Gender%20Differences.pdf Alzheimer Europe (2009) no author Facing the diagnosis Diagnosis of dementia http://www.alzheimer-europe.org/Living-with-dementia/After-diagnosis-What-next/Diagnosis-of-dementia/Facing-the-diagnosis Marshal F. Folstein, MD; Lee N. Robins, PhD; John E. Helzer, MD (1983) The Mini-Mental State Examination JAMA Network Journal Archives of General Psychiatry Vol 40, No. 7 http://archpsyc.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=493108 National Chronic Care Consortium and the Alzheimer’s Association (2003) Tools for Early Identification,Assessment, and Treatment for People with Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia http://www.alz.org/national/documents/brochure_toolsforidassesstreat.pdf