Night World : Spellbinder Chapter 17

They walked out to Eric's jeep. The night air was very cold and there was no moon. Thea kept her hand on Eric's back, ready to press if he hesitated. But he never did. At the door of the jeep, Thea looked at Blaise. She was afraid to show any expression. Could Aradia see them? She wanted desperately to give Blaise a last hug. Aradia said, â€Å"Is there a window from the shop onto this street?† Thea looked at Blaise. Blaise said, â€Å"No.† â€Å"Then you can say good-bye. After this you're going to have to pretend not to know each other.† Thea stared at her, then felt a wild choked giggle well up. â€Å"Now I know why you're Maiden,† she said, in a bare whisper. â€Å"But-does anyone else realize?† â€Å"l don't think so. Some may wonder, but I think they'll keep their mouths shut. Say good-bye quick.† Thea hugged Blaise, couldn't make herself let go. â€Å"Thank you. Oh, Eileithyia, Blaise, I'll miss you.† â€Å"Now I'm the last of the Harman line,† Blaise said in a bad imitation of a smirking voice. â€Å"I'll have a bedroom to myself,† she added in more believable tones. â€Å"And I'm going to get Sheena good.† â€Å"Who?† â€Å"That's right, you didn't hear. She was the one who turned us in. She's one of Tobias's little girlfriends, Circle Midnight. It seems he's been spying on us. He told her enough that she understood we were doing forbidden spells, and she told Gran.† â€Å"It doesn't matter now.† â€Å"Are you kidding? I'm getting sent to the Convent. I'm going to kill her.† The bells rang as Blaise tossed her head. Then she tightened her grip on Thea. â€Å"I don't know why you want to be with a human,† she whispered. â€Å"But I hope you keep on wanting it now that you have it.† â€Å"Blaise, when you get back-please don't hurt them anymore. They're people. Really.† Blaise sighed noncommittally; Thea could feel it. But all she said, almost too softly for Thea to hear, was, â€Å"I'll miss you-sister.† Then Thea could let go. When she was in the jeep, Aradia leaned into the open door. â€Å"Two things,† she said rapidly. â€Å"And they're all the help I can give you. Mother Cybele mentioned Circle Daybreak. I've heard rumors that there axe witches somewhere who are starting it up again. Witches who want to forget the Burning Times, and who don't hold to Night World law. I don't know if it's true. But if it is, maybe you can find it.† Thea's breath was taken away. The possibility leaped inside her like some unimagined joy. â€Å"And the other thing,† Aradia said, with a rare smile-almost a brief grin. â€Å"Word is that some of your Redfern cousins have started going peculiar. I've even heard that they're talking about finding human soulmates, just like you. You might try and contact them and see what the story is.† Thea's breath came back, and with it, tears. â€Å"Oh, Aradia. Thank you.† â€Å"Good luck, Thea. And Eric. Both of you, wherever you go.† Eric, who had been sitting quietly behind the wheel, reached out to touch her hand lightly. â€Å"And you, too.† Thea could tell by his voice that he was puzzled and dazed, but he was trying not to show it. Then they drove away. Thea turned around to watch Blaise getting smaller and smaller. A little wind blew Blaise's hair, and she looked like a dark and mysterious Aphrodite, a goddess who always did what you least expected. Eric drove fast until they were a good distance from the shop, then pulled to the curb on a tiny residential street. He looked at Thea and said cautiously, â€Å"Am I immune to this stuff? Because I'm not forgetting anything. Or is it going to kick in any minute now?† Thea kissed him. Then she began to laugh hysterically. â€Å"No. No.† â€Å"You mean we're really safe? You're going to keep your powers?† â€Å"Yes! Yes!† She had to keep telling him over and over to convince him. But finally he got it and his face changed. Was transformed by his lightning-bolt smile. He squeezed her and shook her and finally jumped out of the jeep and yelled â€Å"All right! Way to go, Blaise! All right! Yes!† â€Å"Eric!† He pounded the jeep. â€Å"Eric, get back in, you idiot! There might be Night People around.† Then, still laughing uncontrollably with love and gratitude and the relief of tension, she said, â€Å"Come in here.† And she held out her arms. He jumped back in. They fit together perfectly, his arms around her, his breath against her hair. â€Å"I'm so happy,† he said. â€Å"I love you, witch.† Thea was laughing and crying at once. â€Å"I love you, too.† He kissed her temple. She kissed his cheek. Then he kissed her mouth and stayed there for a long while. And Thea forgot about laughing, forgot that there was a world outside the two of them. And then they sat together in the darkness, resting against each other, just breathing. Safe. Connected. Thea was with someone who knew her, who saw what she saw. Her soulmate. And they were free to be with each other, without being hunted, without fear. She was filled with joy and tranquility. And with quiet sadness, too. It wasn't as if this new beginning came free. She still was an exile, cut off from her family. Gran was lost to her. If she saw Blaise, it would have to be in secret. She'd given up a lot. Almost everything. But she didn't regret it. Not with Eric warm and solid in her arms. Not with the Night World saved from civil war, and the threat to the humans here over. And what now? she wondered. Strangely, even though there was no clear answer, she didn't feel afraid. She could visualize many futures, and they all seemed equally likely. Now they would go to Eric's house, and Eric's mother would be puzzled but generous, and Roz would be ferocious but delighted. And next week Thea would go back to school and transfer into honors zoology. She would get a scholarship to Davis and become a vet and use her powers to find out what was wrong with sick animals. Or she would find herself interested in wolves or elephants and would become a naturalist and visit faraway places to study them. Or she and Eric would adopt a puppy like Bud and write a book together to help people understand their dogs. Or she would find Circle Daybreak and meet witches who wanted to forget the Burning Times. And they would be the first to reintroduce humans to magic, and Rosamund would grow up fierce and proud, knowing all the legends of Hellewise. Or she would find her vampire cousins and see if the soulmate principle was really coming back. And their group would be like a magnet, attracting other young Night People with radical ideas, starting an underground revolution. Maybe a new generation of Redferns and Harmans were forming alliances with humans. Maybe it was time for hatred to stop. Maybe the old powers were waking and new times were coming. Maybe the world was about to change. Only one thing was sure. There were infinite possibilities. She held Eric and felt his breathing and was at peace with the night. [The End]

Managers responsibility Essay

The mangers most basic responsibility is to focus people toward performance of work activities to achieve desired outcomes. A manager is someone who works with and through other people by co-ordinating their work activities to accomplish organisational goals. (Robbins, Stagg, Coulter, 2003, p.10) This definition states, the fundamental responsibility of a manager, is to accomplish the organisations objectives by ‘getting things done through people’. There are however several ways of conceiving managerial responsibilities, as a ‘manager’ can be viewed from many different positions. Kontz (1999:179) argue that management is the process of setting and achieving goals through the execution of four basic management functions that utilize an organisation’s resources. These functions are planning, organizing, directing, and controlling. Goshal and Bartel (1995:89) however argues that the responsibility of manager cannot be clearly defined as planning, organizing controlling etc, and are better described by looking at the managers responsibility in their working environment. According to Goshal and Bartel (1999:183), the responsibility of managers varies according to their level of status within the organisation and the skills required in performing managerial duties change accordingly. I will discuss that managerial work can be classified into both organizational levels, basic skills and the four management functions that lead to the fundamental responsibility of a manager, – to effectively accomplish organisational goals by focusing people toward performance of work activities. cofa far sefafaw orfa Wood (1998:402) argue that the most important asset in effectively achieving desired oraganisational outcomes is people. It is argued that people are flexible, versatile, intelligent, durable and appreciate in value to the organisation through learning experiences. According to Wood, (1998: 397) the best way people can be used in an organisation, is through the decision making process directly related to management functions, – planning, organising, directing and controlling. It is a managers resposibility to understand the significant effect each sub-ordinates commitment has to these  functions, and actively carry out the functions of management in a way that best achieves this. Planning involves defining organisational goals and proposing ways to reach them. Managers establish an overall direction for the organisations future, identify and commit the resources required, and focus people towards their working activies to reach organisational objectives. After managers have prepared plans, they must translate these abstract ideas into reality. Organising is the process of creating a structure of relationships that will enable employees to carry out management’s plans and meet organisational goals. By organising effectively, managers can better coordinate human, material, and information resources. The manager has to make sure each sub-ordinate knows their individual goal and how they are going to achieve it. A successful plan may only be reached if management can utilize the organisations resources efficiently and effectively. Foucault After management has made plans, created a structure, and hired the right personnel, someone must direct the organization. Directing involves communicating and motivating others to perform the tasks necessary to achieve the organization’s goals. Interraction between the manager and sub-ordinate is the key for creating a focused working environment, and is critical in achieving a desired outcome. Directing provides leadership that from a manager/employee working relationship perspective is the raising of an employees performance to a higher standard, – beyond its normal limitations. The process of managerial leadership can be thought of as influencing others to direct their efforts toward the pursuit of specific goals. Knouse, Stephen, and Giacalone, (1992:375) back up this statement by claiming that managers who lead effectively establish three initiaitves from employees that is crucial in improving their work activities and decision making capabilities. Initially they gain the trust of sub-ordinates, – allowing people more freedom to act on instinct and make decisions. Second, leaders must clarify the direction in which people should be headed to satisfy organisational outcomes, through clear, consistent communication. This effectively helps employees feel confident in their decision making  abilities. Finally it states that effective leaders encourage others to take risks, further enabling peoples ability to think, create and make decisions. Control is verifying the actions of the organisation’s subordinates in accordance with the plans, instructions, and the established standards of performance. A manager should attempt to prevent problems, or to try to determine and solve them as soon as possible, if they happen to occur. Through constant control of focusing people towards work activities, the manager keeps the organisation working effectively.cofe fe As it can be seen, managers are required to be able to plan, organise, direct, and control. Goshal and Bartel (1995: 91) argue however that deviding a managers responsibility into tidy, discrete functions such as planning and organising is not relevant in todays working environment. It is argued that management is ‘messy and continuous’, particularly planning which is conceived as an ongoing process, rather than a separate bounded activity. According to Goshal and Bartel, the nature of manegerial work is better classified in terms of organisationl levels and basic skills. Robert L Katz identified three types of skills, – technical, human and conceptual which he writes are required for all levels of management. Robbins, Stagg, Coulter, 2003, p.13-14) Technical skills are those needed to perform the work in a specialised area. These skills involve the knowledge and ability to apply techniques, procedures, methods, and tools in a specific field. Interpersonal skills, include the ability to work with, understand, lead, and motivate others, and effective managers require interpersonal skills to get ‘the best out of their people’. Conceptual skills include the ability to plan, coordinate, and integrate all of the organization’s interests and activities. Also involved is the ability to understand how a change in a given part of the organization or its environment, can positively or negatively affect the focus of employees in their work activities which interrelates with the organisation desired outcomes. Katz found the relative importance of these skills varied according to the managers level within the organisation. Organisations can be viewed as having three basic levels of management with operational employees not requiring any manegerial duties. The manegerial jobs at the first level are known as first level management and are charged with overseeing operative employees. Technical skills are important at such lower organisational levels in which the manager needs to know the mechanics of how the work is done. Ghoshal, and Bartlett (1995:92) argue that first line supervisors (first level managers) are responsible and accountable for directing the workforce and for meeting production and service scheduals and quality standards. The responsibilty of first line managers to ensure employees are focused on work activities is therfor crucial in achieving a desired outcome. Middle managers are usually responsible for the performance of a particular organisational unit and direct the activities of other managers and sometimes those of operative employees. They implement strategic plans set fourth by top managers by establishing divisional objectives and operational objectives that will guide unit perormance to achieving desired outcomes. Technical and conceptual skills are required for effective middle management, but as is the role of first level management with operative employees, their basic responsibilty is to ensure these first level managers and to a lesser extent, operational employees are aware of what is required in achieving set objectives. Top managers have the broadest responsibilities and have the authority to develop plans that shape the overall direction of the organisation. Ghoshal and Bartlett (1995:93) argue that the time of a top manager is typically devoted to human relations and conceptual tasks. From a survey of some of America’s most effective corporations Goshal and Bartell (1995:93) found that leading executives of these firms spent approximately 85% of their time interracting with people on the phone or in meetings. It is also argued that of this 85% a large proportion of time is spent updating and ensuring middle managers are informed and focused on the work activities required to ensure the objectives of the organisation are achieved. In conclusion, managers are very important in a structured organisation. All  organisations operate in complex social working environment conditions where managers need to be developed in their interpersonal or people skills if they are going to be effective. Technical and conceptual skills vary in importance according to their managerial heirachy, however the one skill that remains constant at all levels is interpersonal. Goshal and Bartell (1995:93) argue that progressive organisations only look for people who possess a special predefined set of competencies relating to attitude, personality and behaviour for employement in management-leadership positions. These competencies guarantee that formulating business strategees and organisational goals will be met through the ‘coaching’ and interraction of managers and employees. Managers have the responsibility of planning, organising, directing and controlling the organisations activities that can only be effectively achieved through the use of efficent working employees. The four management functions require creativity, reasoning, and judgement to make decisions and it is the basic responsibility of a manager to direct people towards their specific role or task to ensure organistional goals are achieved. When a person is familiar with the subject and has the required data, they have the confidence to make effective decisions. This is the most basic responsibility of a manager, to focus people towards performance of work activites to ensure a desired outcome is achieved. References Ghoshal, S. and Bartlett, C. A. (1995), â€Å"Changing the Role of Top Management: Beyond Structure to Process†, Harvard Business Review, p 86-94coec ecr Knouse, Stephen B. and Giacalone, Robert A. (1992), â€Å"Management Decision Making in Business: Employee Issues and Concerns.† Journal of Business Ethics. 11 (51) pp.369 381. 6QbDHfKG ndd fodd dd! Kontz, H, (1999) ‘The Management Theory jungle’, Journal of the Academy of Management, 4, p174 -188codc dcr sedcdcw ordc dck indc fodc dc. Robbins, S, Bergman, R., Stagg, I. & Coulter, M. 2003, Management 3rd edn, Pearson Education Australia, French Forest Wood, D. J. (1998), â€Å"Social Issues in Management: Theory and Research in Corporate Social Performance†, Journal of Management 17(2), pp.383-406cocb cbr secbcbw orcb cbk incb focb cb.

Study of Customer Service in the Largest Telecommunications Companies Essay

Study of Customer Service in the Largest Telecommunications Companies in the Sultanate of Oman - Essay Example The current global business atmosphere presents a very competitive atmosphere than it has ever been. Therefore, if an organization is unable to offer goods or services when clients need them then there are other multiple companies instantly ready to rise and fill the void. Organizations have only one opportunity to make their first impression; however, when business leaders fail to clinch onto this fact or remain unwilling to offer appropriate resources for meeting the needs of customers, then the organizations are prone to finding themselves struggling for business. According to James (2000), quality is customer’s general view regarding the relative strength or weakness of service; hence, customer satisfaction relies on experiences of personal service transactions and opinions regarding the general service accorded. Therefore, prior experience by a customer can significantly increase or diminish the level of customer expectation; therefore, the largest Oman telecommunication companies have an opportunity for improving their value by the way they present customer care. The research objective for the project is the evaluation of the customer service within the main telecommunications businesses in Oman. Literature Review According to Robin (2007), as a part of making sure customer services is enhanced, it is very essential for companies to see the degree to which their own goods or services gratify the customers. Berry Moller (2006) established that organizations in both service and manufacturing industries seek to be in good terms with customers with regard to customer care; therefore, the organizations introduce service innovations in order to develop value and remain competitive. Relationship value is essential, and can be gained by offering the best services such as customer care together with relationship quality among others that are able show strong impact on satisfaction (Michel & Gallan, 2008). According to Koumar (2008), measure of sales, the nu mber of people in relation to them taking into account other services such as technical ability, knowledge, as well as pricing requirements may establish strength of relations with customers. According to Brose (2008), the pace of response, the rates of customer contact as well as the scale of cooperation among others are considered as one of the most necessary services a client can anticipate for from a vendor. Paul (2008) stated that people who possess positive experiences in corporations’ customer service department are likely to inform two or three other people regarding the experience, as Consumer Affairs website successfully established; therefore, superior quality customer service serves as a source of endorsement for organizations. According to Rogers (2003), 82% of customers move from one company to another because of customer service issue; therefore, if this is anything to go by, then offering superior quality customer service ought to be taken seriously by all bus inesses including the largest telecommunication companies in Oman. An exemplary customer service acts as an essential value-added service to businesses in an attempt of offering customers of any organization an

A brief idea to identify the structural differences in the application Essay

A brief idea to identify the structural differences in the application of the separation of powers between the united states and the united kingdom in Law - Essay Example The purpose of this paper is to identify the structural differences in the application of the separation of powers between the United States and the United Kingdom in Law. Separation of Powers tends to be a feature of a republic with a President and is a feature of the current U.S. model. The other model is a fusion model that exists in the U.K.and is more common in parliamentary systems. A main difference between the two systems is the way in which the different branches of governments are created and the choices presented to the electorate. The main characteristics of this is that the legislative branch creates the executive branch, where complete separation of power exists stipulates that the executive, (most of the time- a president) is elected by the electorate. It is explained that in a fusion based model, the electorate elects the legislative branch with subsequently creates the executive branch. â€Å"As Professor Cheryl Saunders writes, "...the intermixture of institutions [in the UK] is such that it is almost impossible to describe it as a separation of powers." In a separation of powers, the national legislature does not select the person or persons the executive; instead, the executive is chosen by other means (direct popular election, electoral college selection, etc.) In a parliamentary system, when the term of the legislature ends, so too may the tenure of the executive selected by that legislature. Although in a presidential system the executives term may or may not coincide with the legislatures, their selection is technically independent of the legislature.† 1 Another major difference in the two systems are the way in which and the number of checks and balances in place. In the U.S., at the time of founding Madison argued that restraints should be place on both the minority and majority to prevent the majority from ruling with an iron fist. This makes the U.S. system

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The Increasing Cost of Health Care as New Technologies are Introduced - Research Paper Example Moreover, implementing new medical technologies in any hospital or clinic is not an inexpensive procedure. This is because medical innovations in the medical sector are taking place at a time when the healthcare sector is also suffering from the scarcity of resources. This has resulted in a need for more rationing of resources, priority setting, and technology management elements. The economic assessment of medical technological innovations is important because it will likely expose the costs as well as consequences of using these innovations in a practical medical setting. Even though individual new medical technological innovations can, by themselves, decrease or increase spending and health care, it has been established that when combined together, they have caused the rise of healthcare costs. Technological innovations in the past decade have resulted in the use of new treatments for formerly incurable conditions such as A.I.D.S. and diabetes, while also effecting the use of new medical procedures for tackling secondary diseases as is the case with dialysis patients (Miller & Sim, 2004). Technological advancements have also resulted in the discovery of better quality methods of treating long-term medical conditions. Whether a newly discovered medical treatment will hike healthcare costs or decrease them is something that is dependent on factors such as its effect on the expanse incurred in taking care of an individual patient. The cost per patient also includes the reality of whether the patient will be hospitalized during the duration of the treat ment or not. The increase or decrease of healthcare costs when medical technologies are used is also dependent on how often the new technology will be used. For instance, new medical technologies created to cure untreatable diseases or survey the population for certain symptoms will mean that the technology will be used

Reflection Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 72

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International Operations Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

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The Evolution of Groups Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

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Narration and description Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Narration and description - Essay Example My grandmother was a college professor with a doctoral degree in education, in addition to being a good cook, a relentless laundry woman, an intelligent consultant, a loving mother to an only child (my father), and the dotting granny at her best. I found her unusual and unpredictable since, despite her age, she manifested vigor and strength analogous to my mother. At one time I see her cooking and an instant she was dressed in flashy gold outfit ready for an evening party with members of her favorite civic organization. She wore extremely large earrings and fixed her hair high with the help of a hair spray. She was gregarious, highly sociable, cunning, intrusive and sometimes, impossible. She would give me and my brothers’ daily tasks to comply such as watering the plants, cleaning the yard, picking out withered leaves in the middle of our play time. She would demand to be taken to almost forgotten scheduled itineraries by my apprehensive father, with us crying siblings driving along. What I loved most about my grandmother was her genuine love for the family. She would go out of her way to prepare lavish dishes and buy special gifts for each of us to commemorate extraordinary days. She loves setting the dining table in intricate and elaborately designed table cloths and chooses the daintiest dishes, depending on the occasion. Christmas and New Year are the best holidays due to the diversity in foods prepared and the number of colorful and shiny gifts wrapped in ribbons of red, green and gold under the tree. She told me when I was grown up and she has immensely aged that what matters most in life is that we have identified what we want to pursue and that we have designed ways and means to fulfill our goals. Also, she told me to remain steadfast in our faith and to believe in the ethics of reciprocity: that of doing

Controlling and Harmonising Brand Identity, Image, and Personality of Essay

Controlling and Harmonising Brand Identity, Image, and Personality of Apple 03041 - Essay Example Brand identity helps a company to bring out its individualism and for this reason; management and employees help to bring out the real brand image. The Apple Brand competes across the markets, while evolving and expanding its range of products and services. Aaker and Kaprer’s Brand identities Models are popular in the business world, and apple successfully continues their application as discussed below. Brand identity and brand personality remain contentious issues hence the need for Apple Brand to introduce new and effective branding strategies in this competitive market. As Viot (2011) reveals, a brand is the presentation of the product that goes far beyond its intrinsic characteristics. It provokes emotional feeling and attraction when the target clients sites such a product. Brand identity involves the visible elements of a brand including design, colours, name, logo, and symbol, which together identify while distinguishing the product in the client’s mind (Ghodeswar 2008). Identification of the brand roots on the brand produce, the individual, the corporation, or the symbol. There are diverse advantages that comes along with brand identity. Differentiation of the products heightens the products identification to the consumers (Chaudhuri & Holbrook 2001). Furthermore, the target users will have an informed opinion about the product, hence an already created product preference. Eventually, there is creation of value perception to the product users (Madhavaram et al. 2005). Most primarily, brand identity leads to the formation of intellectual property, an element that escalates the product value hence the firm has the mandate to controlling the value of purchase and utilization (Janonis et al. 2007). There are different models of identification including Aaker’s and Kapferer’s Brand identity Model. When it comes to strategic analysis of any company,

William Blake Essay Example for Free

William Blake Essay Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience appear to be quite simplistic on first reading. Explain how Blake uses imagery, form and language in these poems, and what their content reveals about the times in which they were written and Blakes beliefs In many of the poems from his Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience collections, William Blake writes, at first sight, somewhat simplistically and often in nursery rhymes about life in the 18th century. However, a disturbing picture of poverty, exploitation, hypocrisy and moral decay emerges from the stories of ordinary people and, in particular, children, some of which is hidden and only becomes apparent when we analyse Blakes imagery and language more closely. William Blake was born in London in 1757 to a poor family. He grew up without a formal education but later studied drawing at a school on the Strand. In the early 1770s, he became a student at the Royal Academy where he studied Arts and then was apprenticed to a famous engraver, James Basire. Even though his engravings were good, he was only moderately successful with his work. However, his English skills were amazing for an autodidact. Historically, he witnessed many different events such as the Industrial Revolution, French Revolution and American Independence, which in turn influenced him, his writing style and his radical Christian and political views. Indeed, this can be seen in his legacy, and he is constantly referring to the struggles of London and its people during the industrial revolution in his poems. The Industrial Revolution was the major shift of technological, socioeconomic and cultural conditions in the late 18th and early 19th century that began in Britain and spread throughout the world. During that time, an economy based on manual labour was replaced by one dominated by industry and the manufacture of and with machinery Blake was well aware of the changes around him and saw them as a change for the worse rather than the better. Child labour increased, the population increased, churches promoted the wrong ideals, and Blake was angry and frustrated. He wanted a different kind of change and could not get it, thus he begun working on his poems most of which have a hidden or subliminal message to them. His first set of poems were published in 1783, entitled Poetical Sketches and was seen by many as an immature set. His second volume of poems were then published in 1789 and were entitled Songs of Innocence. This set contains some of his most famous work and is still read by many. His third set was published in 1793, entitled Songs of Experience, and it includes many poems that have to be seen as the counterparts of those published in 1789, for example the pair The Lamb and The Tyger. The Lamb is from Songs of Innocence and The Tyger is from Songs of Experience. A lamb symbolises innocence because it is pure and white, a colour which is usually associated with heaven and God. For example the alliterative term meek and he is mild, is used this shows that the lamb is vulnerable. Within this poem there are lots of examples of pastoral imagery and repetition with L in Little Lamb shows that he is only small like a baby and has to rely on someone or something else, lamb can also be linked to Jesus the lamb of God. The l sound is a very soft sound and this is why it can be linked back to vulnerability. The Tyger in the poem Tyger represents evil and the damage that the industrial revolution was causing at the time. In the very first line of the poem it says burning bright, this represents the fire inside the belly of the industries; the effect of the harsh sounding alliteration of these two words is that it makes the reader feel very fearful at the fact that the industrialisation is becoming stronger and stronger. These two poems are different because they use different symbolisms; The Lamb poem uses symbolism linking to innocence and pastoral imagery of streams and meads in the countryside, whilst The Tyger poem uses symbolisms of a strong and scary creature that symbolises the industrial towns that crush things that get in their way, for example What the hammer? What the chain, In what furnace of thy brain? shows materials that would have been used during the industrial revolution. These two poems both have different structures as well because The Lamb has two stanzas and The Tyger has five stanzas, the effect that this has is that it makes the Tyger poem seems longer and not as connected as the Lamb poem. These two poems are similar in the way that they both seem to be asking a lot of questions, although The Lamb does not have any question marks you can still make out questions that are asked, for example Dost thou know who made thee. The Tyger asks a lot more questions and you can pick them out because they are punctuated which makes them stand out more, also a major difference is that the questions in The Lamb are answered, whereas the ones in The Tyger are not and the effect that this creates is one of doubt because you do not know what the answers are. These poems illustrate that during the time that Blake lived there was an industrial revolution and the countryside, the meek and mild lamb was being destroyed by this fearsome Tyger (the industrial revolution) I will now focus on the two poems The Chimney Sweeper one of which is from the book the Songs of Innocence and the other from the Songs of Experience. In the Songs of Innocence book the poem called The Chimney Sweeper, explores the life of a young child, a chimney sweeper and also contains pastoral imagery that is similar to those used in The Lamb for example Bright key and wash in a river and shine in the Sun which create an effect of purity and peacefulness in the world. Similarly to The Lamb, a child is used by the poet in order to establish a sense of innocence with the reader, this can be identified when the narrator says I was very young and the fact that the boy is a chimney sweeper. This effect of a child as a narrator is that it can be used as a sign of innocence. The mood and tone of the poem is then helped, which evokes sympathy from the reader and reveals how faith is restored into the child through God. The positive mood and tone of the poem is created by help from the pastoral and bright imagery. In the Chimney Sweeper religion is portrayed in a positive light and Blake shows this through the dream of a chimney sweeper. In the dream, an Angel who had a bright key, And he opend the coffins set them all free; which was Blake trying to express that new life is given to people and that if you follow Gods rules, you will be happy in your afterlife no matter how miserable your current life is. He also gives more pastoral imagery of a green plain which is less industrial and more natural. In addition, in The Chimney Sweeper religion is degraded as the narrator, who has had experience now, blames the God his Priest King for his misfortunes, as well as his parents. Darker imagery and language is now used by Blake such as little black thing among the snow to describe the children, showing how a once pure and innocent child can be turned into the opposite through experience and society. The narrator then reflects upon how harsh the times were for him as a child by revealing They clothed me in the clothes of death which means he was left for death by his parents. Religious hypocrisy was one aspect Blake was strongly against, this was the idea that the Church was trying to tell people the right thing to do, but in fact were doing the exact opposite by neglecting the children and imposing fear into people using God. The Chimney Sweeper has six quatrains but the sentences are shorter in comparison to Holy Thursday. The poem also has rhyming couplets and this continues the song-like rhythm that Blake creates in his Songs of Innocence poems. The speaker is a young boy, a chimney sweeper, and the poem is written from his point of view. By having the young boy as the speaker it allows Blake to evoke pity from the reader and allows Blake to describe how life was for a young chimney sweeper through a first-person perspective. Similarly to the two sweeper poems, there is another set of poems that carries the same tile, Holy Thursday and, thus refers to the Thursday before Easter, the day of the Last Supper of Jesus Christ with the Apostles. The Holy Thursday included in the Songs of Innocence consists of much longer lines than the other poems and could almost be described as a narrative poem. The tone and rhythm however is similar to all of those previously featured in the Songs of Innocence section like a nursery rhyme. The first stanza opens positively and cheerfully, with children attending a service, their innocent faces clean. This once again reminds us of the childrens innocence and how they can still get close to God, in particular when Blake later likens them to lambs again. However, we somehow also get an image of happy children who have made an effort to be clean for their church visit and/or whose faces are not stained yet by the loss of innocence, and the colours of their clothes, red blue green, also sound cheerful. However, the colour imagery continues and we soon realise that the children have only been dressed up for church because they are chimney sweeper groups following their Grey- headed beadles. In contrast to the children who are unlikely to even grow up, they have had the chance to grow old. The reference to the colour white in the simile with wands as white as snow is ironic. While white usually stands for innocence, we know that wands are a symbol of oppression and control, and the snow might well represent the coldness of the beadles hearts. Once again, the children are depersonalised in the simile they like Thames waters flow into the church. There are multitudes and Thousands of them, and there is no room to pay them individual attention. However, Blake also describes them as the flowers of London, perhaps ironically to remind us that we should allow children to bloom and that flowers are usually growing and beautiful, in contrast to the children who will die early. In addition, when the whole experience seems rather regimented because the children have to walk in two two and sit in companies. It almost is an image of military discipline. It is highly ironic when Blake describes the beadles as the childrens wise guardians, when any wisdom they may have gained is only used to oppress the children and their actions overall show everything but wisdom. The strength of the childrens voices is shown when Blake describes their voices as a mighty wind they raise to heaven. Metaphorically, wind can blow bad things away, and perhaps the children could change society if given the chance. They certainly seem to have the energy and drive. Blake also uses a biblical reference in the last line of the poem, Then cherish pity, lets you drive an angel from your door. This is a reference to Hebrews 13:2, Be not forgetful to entertain strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. This powerful quote implies that we must be good to our fellow man as they may have just been sent by God to test us. Thus, the innocent children should of course be treated particularly well. I will now focus finally on one of his most famous poems London from the Songs of Experience. The whole of the poem shows William Blakes view of London during the 18th Century, he describes the oppression inflicted on the civilians both by themselves and by others. Blakes attitude to society, as he describes it in his poem London, shows London to be controlled by bureaucratic laws. This is shown by the mentioning of charterd streets, charters were given to people who were richer or more powerful than most and it allowed them to control the streets of London. Blake also mentions the Thames at this point to emphasise the extremity of the control by saying the charterd Thames, obviously it is ridiculous attempt to control the river. Blake puts a large emphasis onto the depair affecting everyone by the repetition of every there is also an exaggeration of of the negative feeling by the repetition of cry. In the third stanza Blake places some of the responsibility onto the church, the church is metaphorically described as blakening to represent the guilt. There is also a juxtaposition in this line, appalls is exaggerating the blame of the church as well as meaning goes pale which is a juxtaposition with blackening. Blake also connects the chimney-sweeper with the church because they are often in need of the churchs help but are oftened turned away, this is why the blakening church also represents the smoke and soot. During this time many feared a revolution as one had occured recently in France, it is obvious that Blake also feared a revolution as he mentions the hapless soldiers blood running down the palace walls this shows he believes that if the unhappiness of the soldiers is continually ignored by those running the country a revolution is inevatable. The final stanza concentrates on marriage and new-life, both of which should bring happeness, instead Blake sees new-life as just continueing the cycle of the corruption, and he critisises the reasons for marriage, believing that many marry for convenience rather than marrying for love. Blake also critisises the youthful harlot and uses the word plaugue to suggest STDs which will be contracted and passed on. Blake uses immagery to put across his view, with the main idea being the constraint and lack of freedom for everyone within London. The poems from Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience have more meaning than the reader might first imagine due to mainly the events that were surrounding their author William Blake at the time of their writing. By the harsh reality of London at that time Blake incorporates the Chimney sweeps, Charity schools, London in general and the industrial revolution into his poems. He does not openly state what each poem is about but within in writing we can pick up on ideas and themes that influenced him to write these poems. While reading these poems people pick up on the things happening at the time due to the detail in which they are described in poetry. These poems are not just poems, they are more like Blakes autobiography on his life through the form of media he liked best, poetry.

Software piracy: An overview

Software piracy: An overview SOFTWARE PIRACY IN AFRICA Software piracy is a combination of two different words which are software and piracy. Software can be defined as generic term for computer programs which operate the computer itself; Also Microsoft Encarta dictionary defined the word software as programs and applications that can be run on a computer system. Piracy can simply be defined as the unauthorized reproduction, doubling and distributing or use of copyrighted materials; as for this software piracy can be the illegal copying of software for distribution within the organizations, schools, homes or to friends, clubs and other groups, or for duplication, selling, and installing multiple copies onto personal and work computers. Citizens duplicate or copy software illegally from Macromedia, Adobe, Symantec, Autodesk, Microsoft, Grisoft e.t.c. Africa happens to be the worlds largest and second among the most heavily populated continent after Asia; it has different ethnic group. According to the piracy rate, Africa is one of the highest continents that has or make pirated soft wares in the world. With a 36% piracy rate, South Africa has the lowly piracy rate in Africa, where Nigeria and Kenya are the highest within the region as for 2000-2001 with 71% and 77% respectively as Zimbabwe has the highest in the world where South Africa has just one proportion above the overall average of 35%, according to the 3rd yearly International Data Corporation (IDC) and Business Software Alliance (BSA) overall software piracy study unconfined recently. South Africas piracy rate has decreased one proportion point in the current year, however still represents a 1.2b rand thrashing. The minor decrease in software piracy is qual ified to government act and the obtaining of renowned laptops other than desktop computers full by local assemblers. According to Stephan le Roux, the chairman of the Business Software Alliance (BSA) in South Africa in the following site: http://www.ibls.com/internet_law_news_portal_view.aspx?id=1516s=latestnews Editor, Maricelle Ruiz, IBLS Director Africa Wednesday, June 14, 2006 Software piracy ruins one of the main hurdles to understand the possible of the information economy in South Africa, on the continent and certainly roughly the world, As we are happy that piracy levels are dropping, there is still an anxiety for our local economy that over a third of software in use is against the law. This anxiety rises when you look at some countries in Africa, where as few as one in ten copies of packaged software are legally paid for. Due to the analysis made, the average rate for the African countries reviewed surpassed 70%, in Zimbabwe 90% of the software used is illegal and banned. Jointly with Vietnam, Zimbabwe has the maximum software piracy rate in the world. The mainstream of the African countries for which exact data is available Cameroon (84%); Botswana and Ivory Coast, Algeria and Zambia (83%), Nigeria and Senegal (82%), Tunisia and Kenya (81%) have a piracy rate above 80%. The study estimates that the rest of the countries in Africa, incorporated under the entry of extra Africa, have an average piracy rate of 84%. Egypt has been running to turn out to be a center for Arabic software, but also it has a 64% piracy rate with proportion point lower than the preceding year; while Morocco, which has just been highly praised by the humanity Intellectual Property Organization for adopting dealings to improve its IP system, contained a 68% piracy rate four proportion points lower than the preceding time. Morocc o is among the four countries with the leading proportion point in the preceding year. According to Angola press, quoting Hlatshwayo in http://www.warsystems.hu/?p=189 by bodo on 16/10/06 Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Botswana and Kenya are named as the principal culprits; and As a result of piracy in Africa Microsoft lost $31 million between 2004 and 2006. Many African developing countries need to have IT staffs and implements ICT to joint the todays global world, but to purchase single software is too expensive where they use this reason and makes piracy or uses pirated software; what ever be the case, reasons for copying or making piracy are categorized into 3: 1) purpose of use, 2) economic reasons, and 3) legal reasons. Purpose of use Reasons in this compilation transmit to the reason of use (non-commercial use, running purposes at home, studying, testing) or to the method of using the software (momentary use, compatibility reasons). The subsequent examples demonstrate these views: It is satisfactory in non-business use (for example, studying); it is not satisfactory for trade purposes. You preserve not research by means of costly software earlier than you purchase it experimenting previously makes executive simple and gives self-assurance, I experience the licensing cost for many equipment foolishly patronize while I work at home in addition to at work. Economic reasons In this compilation, the purpose for the illegal duplication of software is based on economic issues. According to respondents, the motives after these reasons are paucity (lack of money) and the wish to accumulate or save money (cost-benefit/efficiency). The subsequent extracts demonstrate these views: In a family there is a jobless computer professional who needs to preserve and keep up his professional Skills, but the family has no money, so the only opportunity is unlawful or illegal copying of computer software. The cost-benefit association does not arrive up to hope. think, for example, games, which one can only play from first to last once, and which outlay 250-350 Finnish marks 50-70 USD/EURO. Legal reasons In this compilation, the purpose for illegal duplication of software is based on legal issues. According to respondents, the rule was measured conventional, or it does not believe duplication as illegal doings. Examples follow: It is not unlawful for personal persons (in Finnish rule this subject is not an illegal offence as far as persons are concerned) the accessible rule is bad, hard and conventional concerning this issue. Software piracy is an act that is against the law and has many problems or harms; among the problems of software piracy are: Software companies compact with very high losses due to software piracy. Pirates expand a lot of money from their software piracy. People are not attentive that what they are doing is a crime. Reasons why the unauthorized copying of software is unacceptable are clustered into three different content categories: negative consequences, free software available, moral and legal reasons and other reasons. Negative consequences The reasons under this compilation are based on the perceived negative consequences of the unauthorized doubling of software. According to respondents, the duplication of software brings on the following kinds of harmful penalty: the worth of software grow weaker, Systems run out since people in all-purpose are not paying software, the cost of software rises and the motion affects sincere and truthful users. Some respondents wrote in ACM Digital library p-siponen: It is possible that the software will weaken in quality, if the software does not bring in anything (widespread copying). The producers of programs lose money and their future production [of software] will suffer. The price of software stays high because only a few buy software. Moral and legal reasons The respondents alleged wickedness at the same time as reasons against illegal copying of Software. Examples are as follows: dishonesty; if unlawful software is used on behalf of earning then that work is morally wrong. If software is duplicated destined for earning money or if it is copied in huge amounts or if individual earns ones income through repetition or copying, I believe those actions wrong I have lawfully bought some of the software I use, but I also have copies of software. If I ever need program/programs for purposes of earning my living, I will definitely buy it/them. The question here is Why Do Piracy Rates Differ? Generally unspecified factors to clarify piracy were grouped into four categories: economic factor, technical factor, regulatory factor and social factor. By looking at each of them individually: Economic Factors. Researchers have long documented the consequence of software price in piracy. According to Shin et al after his research in ACM Digital Library p-bagchi suggest that Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita is inversely related to software piracy level. Given the decrease in software prices, it may be that a countrys GDP has less of an effect on piracy than it did some years ago. GDP was bringing into being to be a major marker of piracy in 1996 however not in 2001 or in 2003. More, GDP only might give explanation barely 62%à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬63% of the difference in piracy. These findings may help clarify why dissimilar studies have indoors at dissimilar conclusions regarding the Role of GDP. It appears that the shrink in comparative cost of software has pointed the need for piracy. Specified the raise in piracy above this time, nevertheless, it follows that supplementary factors are concerned, and promote that these factors are rising in shock. Technical Factors. Software piracy is assumed to be more widespread in nations with low IT infrastructure given that the eminence of existing software is minor. Thus, people frequently copy and work with pirated software. The difficulty is compounded as software revisions occur. While the necessitate to remain ready for action in the course of upgrades is essential, it is meaningful only if reasonable lots of researchers also consider that software piracy has also flourished through the beginning of the Internet given that some Web sites offer a complimentary software or at prices cheaper than the manufacturers. Regulatory Factors. By commanding elevated tariffs, therefore ever-increasing the cost of software, governments may innocently support piracy. Developing nations repeatedly enforce elevated tariffs on computer products and thus their piracy rates are superior. It is also thought that low censures for import and elevated accessibility of pirated software are also reasons for piracy growth. Copyright rules are well thought-out foreign-induced, without problems understood and outlying fewer strictly forced. According to Meso et al in ACM Digital Library p-bagchi he identified enforcement of copy write laws as a salient issue in the development of a sound national IT policy. However, governments do not consistently implement such rules, partly because of lax law-enforcement facilities and institutional traditions that tend to ignore corruption. Thus, while enforcement of intellectual property rights and proper education may alleviate the problem, in reality few offenders are caught or pr osecuted. Occasional raid s from law-enforcement authorities have seldom disturbed the flow of pirated software. In nations that allow pirated software to be sold at lower prices, black markets have flourished. Individuals and companies in these nations may not even be aware that buying pirated software is illegal since the software has an aura of legitimacy. The overall effect of low censure and easy availability can be captured by the indicator of corruption. Corruption can be defined as the charge of obtaining rights that merely the State can lawfully award, such as preference in loans, taxation, subsidies, tariffs, regulation, and government contracting. Social/Cultural Factors. These factors pass on to the established social or construction of a country and the attitudes joint by members of that society. Single assess of social or public structure is the merit between independence, an insecurely joined social network where people take care of themselves and collectivism, a strongly joined social network where the group reaction is strong. Software piracy is popular in collectivistic societies where people tend to create a psychological detachment among members of the in-group and the out-group. Obligations or devotion to in-groups are measured awfully essential, and in switch over people look forward to that members of in-groups will look after them. Out-groups, on the other hand are not deemed valuable of esteem, given that they do not donate to the broad comfort of the in-group. In such societies, software purchased by a person is estimated to be collective among members of the in-group. given that nearly all collectivistic societ ies lean to be third-world or developing countries, software producers in overseas nations are viewed as out-group Even though software piracy is against the law there are certain companies that benefit from software piracy; according to the president of Microsoft Corps business division within a question at Morgan Stanley Technology Conference the president Jeff Raikes, he admitted to facilitate the companys benefits on or after software piracy in an obvious tilt of the hat to the open basis software giving out replica; he also added by saying there was a well line among seeing high numbers of consumers and making sure that they are using genuine products. He said our favorite objective is that we would like people to use our product. If theyre going to plagiarize someone, we would like it to be us to a certain extent than someone else, he further says. And thats because we appreciate that in the long run the basic benefit is the install foundation of people who are working with our products. Also in addition to that, according to Adrian a technology journalist and author who has devoted over a decade to helping users gets the most from technology. He also runs a popular blog called The PC Doctor. http://blogs.zdnet.com/hardware/?p=111 on 4 October 2006 said I have a propensity to control my property here to hardware related matters, but I experience forced to remark on the newest twistsin theWindows Genuine Advantage saga. This newest twist is the declaration that Windows Vista is to containtechnology comparable to WGA intoit.This statement came out on 4 October 2006viaMicrosoft Press Pass in the form of a press release announcing software protection platform (SPP). Now, whileI dont overlook software piracy for a minute, I use to get it tough tomake much compassionfor the Redmond monster. The method that Microsoft has implemented SPP and WGA doesnt formulate it obvious that the judgment agreed on a PC can be flawed. As an alternative they areforcing individuals who by mistake accused of software piracy to excavate bottomless hooked on their pockets and come up with an additional $149, all because of a software virus. That isnt just incorrect, its wickedness. Allow me suggest the subsequent reaction to career: mistakenly condemning somebody of software piracy is in addition not victimless. See, the thing that bothers me concerning Windows Genuine Advantage and Software Protection Platform is not so much the technology but rather the Draconian way Microsoft is wielding this power over users. Microsoft is confidently dedicated to the perspective that everyone flagged as running a duplicated copy of Windows have to be running a duplicated copy. If the system works and just picks up on individuals running non-genuine copies of Windows, thats great. The world believes that everything that has advantages must have disadvantages; after the advantage of software piracy according to some communities and companies; software piracy disadvantages many people through different ways like the pirate, manufacturers, permanent consumer. If the pirate is caught, he or she spend time in prison, faces rigid and the company also decides to force down charges; a pirate is very liable to download a Trojan or even spy ware, but due to the fact that he likely does a lot of downloading in general, and also because many invented cracks and keygens are actually malware in costume. If pirates are pirating software from a particular company, the company does not receive as much money for their product. To manufacture software can be very expensive, and the cost needs to be recouped in the shear bulk of sales. Due to lack of revolving large profit, they cannot have enough money to finance another round of development, research and also cannot produce new and enhanced versions. The consumers has to deal with the improved anti-piracy safeguards, such as entering product activation key code, and sometimes even a special dongle one must plug into their computer; categorize the company who makes the software to offset the effects mentioned above, they have to increase the per-copy price of the software. Even Microsoft is not immune to this, thats why they created a $300 version of windows vista, even though XP professional only cost perhaps $200. Software piracy has different issues like ethical, professional, social, and legal. Looking at the ethical and professional issues we have: Programmers and the theater artists lose income when copying and repetition is frequent; due to extreme software piracy software companies loses a lot. Certainly we have the freedom to make a copy for a friend, but are duplicating of software an act of sympathy on our part or an act that need kindness reaction from the programmer? Even though large-scale marketable piracy is inferior, individual duplicating is still not ethical. Pricing that is far lower than the manufacturers price can be a warning, but lots of people believe they are getting a good buy not a pirated program. Social issues are: There are lots of things we cannot find the money for; so not being able to afford software is not an excuse for duplicating it. The amount and success of a company do not give reason for enchanting from it. The quantity of people copying software does not verify if it is right or not. People buy pirated software without realizing what theyre doing i.e. without knowing the implications of doing it. Customers use to buy products, such as books and CDs that can be shared with friends and family. There are lots of ways customers can be fooled; in the sense that a pirated software dealer can sale many soft wares with a single key to the customers and within some days the software will request for original key. Legal issues are: But if you buy Windows, it doesnt belong to you, its Microsofts; theyre just leasing you use it. Software piracy gets 7 years in prison Is against the copyright law There are certain options to reduce software piracy; the solutions are categorized into four, namely ethical, social, legal, and market. We have protection under ethical, applying laws under legal, education under social and detection under market. Make sure the protection of leisure industry, publishers and software companies savings expected, or hoped-for revenues. Apply on hand laws, policy, guidelines or increase new ones to protect copyright owners, but also to look after fair use, sensible community access, and the chance to use new technologies to the fullest to supply new services. Technical, executive and lawful solutions include technologies to frighten duplication, selling and contractual changes that reduce the motivation to duplicate unlawfully. Educating with reference to the purpose for copyright guard, enforcement and reconsideration of copyright law. Ensure that citizens who work in manufacturing, marketing, and management are paid for the time and exertion they put to produce the vague academic property we benefit from. Also in addition to how to reduce or avoid software piracy in Africa on Monday, 30 July 2007 an article was released in http://www.mmegi.bw/index.php?sid=4dir=2007/July/Monday30 with the following heading: China in Raids to Limit Software Piracy in Africa The fight against computer software piracy in Africa has received a boost following raids and arrests made in southern China over the last two weeks, the result of the largest investigation of its kind in the world. The Public Security Bureau (PSB) in China, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and hundreds of personal companies and allies have been functioning as one to crack a most important software forging association. The association was supposedly liable for distributing US$2 billion (about P12.3 billion) value of forged Microsoft software to 27 countries around the world, as well as Nigeria. Not only did this putting off software resellers from making lawful revenues, it also bare users to the risks related with using pi rated software. The forged goods detained in the raids comprised 13 of Microsofts most well-liked products, counting Windows Vista, Office 2007, Office 2003, Windows XP and Windows Server. Microsoft appreciates the work of Chinas Public Security Bureau in taking such burly enforcement action with these arrests and raids in southern China, said Abednego Hlatshwayo, Anti-Piracy Manager at Microsoft East and Southern Africa. This issue is supposed to serve as a come around call to forgers. Consumers and other organizations in the region of the world are revolving you in, and important act will be taken to defend intellectual property. In conclusions I learn that the software company is an area where home businesses can compete well with multinationals in both local and foreign markets. Yet, without suitable security in less-developed countries mainly African countries where piracy rates are reasonably higher, software pirates can devastate the income streams of small companies that have managed to effectively create particular niches in the companies. That piracy could be helpful to companies without the occurrence of Network effect. If customers have major dissimilarities in their minor value of Money, piracy can shrink competition and increase companys earnings. The solution to the Assessment is the fact that the same amount of money represents different worth to different customers. Poor customers usually value money more than rich customers. The companies therefore need to appoint in more excited competitions to attract these customers, which could be harmful on the whole profits of the company. And all softwa re companies should joint Hand and tackle the pirates via applying laws, educating and detecting them. REFERENCES: www.google.com www.about.com http://www.ibls.com/internet_law_news_portal_view.aspx?id=1516s=latestnews http://blogs.zdnet.com/hardware/?p=111 http://www.warsystems.hu/?p=189 Multi Agency Working: Child Vunerability Multi Agency Working: Child Vunerability There is a wealth of governmental documentation and policy reforms upholding the notion of agencies working in partnership to support vulnerable children. Previously to these reforms there had been a history of fragmentation between agencies and the therefore a inherent failure to share information resulting in catastrophic gaps in the support of vulnerable children. This was emphasised by Lord Laming (2002), and then the subsequent investigations and publication of the Climbie report (2003) post the preventable death of Victoria Climbie. The perceived importance of early identification and intervention as demonstrated in Every Child Matters. (2003, p3), DoH/DfES. (2004) We have to do more both to protect children and ensure each child fulfils their potential and the need for more co-located, multi-agency service in providing personalised support. The Childrens Act. (2004) was the culmination of the Green Paper DfES. (2003) Every Child Matters:Change for Children Agenda, which dictated that every local authority has power to administer grouped budgets and implement a Childrens Trust in order to pull together services to meet the specific needs of an individual child. Wilson, V. Pirrie, A. (2000) states that although partnership working is upheld as extremely beneficial for all children, those children with special educational needs and/or disabilities have formed the focus of much of the educational multi-agency activity. The aims of coordinating these services through a shared working practice across the health and education arena whilst providing a therefore seamless service of support and a one-stop shop for all provisions, supported with the collaboration of Multi-agency working, are strongly emphasised within a plethora of governmental literature DfES. (2003/2004). Joint working is therefore unequivocally viewed as the m eans of providing a more cohesive and therefore effective integrated approach to addressing the needs of the child and family, and in doing so, overcoming many additional stresses that are imposed on families through fragmented support and services and therefore giving the child the best possible start in life DoH. (2006). Although no one argues against the benefits of integrated services Stiff. (2007), and there is clear decisive backing and direction for local restructuring and reorganisation to shape services to meet the needs of the most vulnerable children more effectively, the detail surrounding the configuration and delivery of local services has not been prescribed Rutter, M. (2006). There is minimal research-based evidence regarding the efficiency of multi-agency practice or suggesting which activity carried out by those agencies is most useful, with no absolute model of the many factors influencing its success Salmon, G. (2004). However, the Government has demonstrated a s ubstantial commitment to local authorities developing multi-agency partnerships, providing considerable flexibility for those local authorities and communities to develop their own multi-agency activities, tailored to meet specific needs of their individual areas. However it has often proved difficult to establish the exact impact of multi-agency working, mainly because of the difficulty of isolating why and how a particular outcome has been achieved. This is changing as major programmes are evaluated, Atkinson et al, (2002) states that other commonly identified outcomes of multi-agency work are an increase in access to services not previously available and therefore a wider range of services, easier or quicker access to services or expertise, improved educational attainment and better engagement in education by pupils, early identification and intervention, better support for parents, childrens needs addressed more appropriately, better quality services, a reduced need for more spe cialist services and benefits for staff within those services. Introduction to the SEN Team (SENCo) There are many teams working within the umbrella of education and child services, one particular team is that of the Special Educational Needs team, this case study will focus on the role of the Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCo). The role of the SENCo has been formally established Cowne, E (2003) since the 1994 code of practice DFE (1994) when all schools in England and Wales were required to have a designated teacher in the role of special educational needs coordinator (SENCo). But many schools had SENCos before that date, as the role had been developing since the mid 1980s when training of SENCos had begun in most LEAs. The 1994 code of practice DFE (1994) detailed the tasks that should be covered in the role of the SENCo. These tasks included liaising with external agencies including the educational psychology service and other support agencies, medical and social services and voluntary bodies DFE (1994, para 2.14). A revised code of practice Dfes (2001) added the resp onsibility of managing the SEN team of teachers and learning support assistants within the educational establishment where recently publications.parliament.uk (2006) its significance was re-affirmed. SENCos play a key role in building schools capacity and skills in meeting childrens SEN because of their crucial role in advising other members of staff on SEN matters, linking with parents and working within the multi-agency arena. There is substantial literature related to SENCos authored by researchers, academics and practitioners, in particular, the nature, remit and working conditions of SENCos have been the subject of considerable interest. At school-level, the expectations on, activities of and working condition of SENCos remain highly variable. Barriers how are they overcome (Theory and practice) The achievement of effective multi-agency working within the SEN arena has proved more difficult to achieve than was initially anticipated. In order to create a climate of change where SEN professionals and agencies can work effectively together it is needed that the participants understand what the barriers to change are. Some of the barriers to achieving more effective multi-agency working within the SEN environment that have been identified by DFes (2007) are professionalism; conflicting priorities of different agencies; dealing with risk and the need to change the culture of organisations. Working in collaboration with other professionals and agencies involves SEN and multi-agency workers moving out of their comfort zone and taking risks. Anning, A. (2001, p.8) highlights, However, little attention has been given to two significant aspects of the operationalisation of integrated services. The first is the challenge for SEN workers of creating new professional identities in the ev er changing communities of practice (who I am). The second is for workers to openly communicate and share their personal and professional knowledge in order to create a new version of knowledge (what I know) for a new multi-agency way of working. Lownsbrough, H. and OLeary, D. (2005) states that Despite the genuine support of Every Child Matters, all SEN professionals are faced with the constant challenge of not reverting back to their comfort zone of their organisational boundaries, their professional authority and life inside these traditional boundaries can be far less complex and threatening, and after years of working in a particular fashion they are not easily forgotten. Although no one argues against the benefits of integrated services of multi-agency working Stiff, R. (2007), and there is clear strategic backing and direction for local restructuring and reorganisation to configure SEN services to meet the needs of the most vulnerable children more effectively. There is still little research-based evidence regarding the efficiency of multi-agency strategies or suggesting which activity is most useful, with no comprehensive model of the issues influencing its success Salmon, G. (2004). However, Government has demonstrated substantial commitment to local authorities developing multi-agency partnerships of which SEN is part of, and also providing considerable flexibility for local authorities and communities to develop their own multi-agency activities, tailored to meet their own local needs.Joined-up working has deep implications for the professionals working within the SEN teams, and for the agencies that commission their services. In multi-agency team work, professional knowledge boundaries could have a tendency to become blurred, professional identity can become challenged as roles, and responsibilities change. Some SEN team members may struggle to cope with the fragmentation of one version of their professional identity before a new version can be bui lt. Moreover, the rapid pace of SEN reform leaves little time for adjustment as SEN teams move (often within tight time scales) from strategic planning to operational implementation, with little time for joint training Birchall, E. Hallett, C. (1995). However, it could also be said Freeman, M, Miller Ross, (2002); Harker, Dobel-Ober, Berridge Sinclair, (2004) that SEN team members are more likely to deliver on their objectives with sufficient planning and support from partnering agencies that established the teams in the first place which inturn leads on to empower inter-professional collaboration which include not only enhancing coordination structurally, but also establishing a culture of commitment at a strategic and operational plane to overcome professionally differentiated attitudes. 4. The Way Forward It has been said Bowlby, J. (1988) that children need a secure base from which to explore the world. SEN practitioners also need a secure base in the knowledge that has been acquired though training and practice. Perhaps there is a need for an individual to value what they know and be confident about their knowledge. At the same time to be aware that their professionalism relies on constant updating of working practice and skills via work training and further education, and being aware that there is always something new to be learnt or shared. SEN Professionals now and in the future need to be able to draw on the professional skills that they have, but not to be dominated by them. If they are secure in what they know it could be said that this should enable them to have the confidence to challenge their own thinking and to be open to the different perspectives of other multi-agency professionals. Therefore it can be said that If SEN professionals are to challenge themselves and other s through collaborative dialogue they would also need to be emotionally contained themselves Bion, W. (1962). This act requires good honest SENCo leadership and a culture where trusting relationships can be built. Harris, B. (2004) described trusting relationships as broadly taking place within three dimensions, based in conceptions of emotionality. Effectively these dimensions add up to conditions in which staff first experience a sense of their own value within an organization, in which they feel comfortable about their own abilities and needs; second that through supportive relationships within the organization they reflect upon practice, in dialogue with colleagues, and thirdly they work together to create change and improvement in the setting, or organization, confident of support. Clearly, in order to build effective and trusting relationships SEN team members would need to understand themselves and to have the confidence to share more with others. This process of cultural cha nge is essential if multi-agency working is going to be able to provide better services to children and their families alike.

The Problems Of Human Population Levels Environmental Sciences Essay

The Problems Of Human Population Levels Environmental Sciences Essay Suppose the world population stopped growing today (whew!) What environmental problems would that solve? Which ones would remain? What remaining problems would get worse? The biggest problem facing our environment today is the population of our planet. If the population of the world stopped today it would help improve living standards and perhaps facilitate more time to improve technology plus help balance the natural resources we have available. Taking steps to preserve or stop the abuse of our environment will largely depend on stabilizing the population. Serious concerns remain if we do not adopt some method of slowing the population. Birth control is one step in slowing down the worlds population. Education in developing countries is paramount. Many of these countries continue to have large families to ensure a sort of social security. However, the health of these families does not insure the longevity of the individuals. Many children die early as the result of poor nutrition and the lack of public health programs. However, even if we were able to contain the population from growing exponentially our environment still needs improvement in almost every sector. No one knows for sure just how many individuals mother earth can support. What we do know is that major problems such as public health, food supply, fresh water and the continued degrading and destruction of our woodlands and rain forests will remain. Plant biodiversity and climate control are also major issues that need our attention. Finally we need to look at what major problems would still remain after a cap in population came into effect. According to the article How Global Population Growth is Creating Serious Problems by Larry West posted at www.environmentabout.com the largest fear is that in coming decades the population of the planet will be faced with serious water-stress or water-scarce situations. These conditions will continue to intensify in meeting the needs of all individuals. The most serious of these overpopulation problems include starvation, pandemic diseases or warfare to secure a means of survival. Describe a way in which you use the scientific process in your life? The scientific process involves the following: identify a problem you would like to solve, formulate a hypothesis, test the hypothesis, collect and analyze the data, make conclusions. Three years ago we purchased an above ground swimming pool. My husband and I have owned two other such swimming pools. Although far from being experts we are both well versed in the care and cleaning of a swimming pool. We were talked into purchasing a paper cartridge type of filter. We had always used a sand filter and they had always performed well. Thinking that this new technology was better than sand we purchased the new filter. What should have been a fun project turned into a real nightmare. The problem was we could not keep the water clear. Although we knew what the problem was, the hypothesis was determining what was causing the water to go from clear to white. We tested the water; we had other people test the water. No one could come up with a reason why this was happening. Finally after using numerous chemicals and gallons and gallons of chlorine we stumbled upon a pool company near us. They also tested the water and low and behold we had phosphates or the common term, white algae. I had always thought that algae were green or black. However, as we learned there is also a variety known as white algae. The material was coming from our well water as well as in the air from farmers in the area spraying fertilizer. Our wonderful new filter that we had purchased could not handle the problem. Last year we finally gave the original filter the heave-ho and purchased the reliable sand filter and the results have been no more problems! A problem that I would like to solve is that of a cat spraying. It has to be the most disgusting thing I have ever encountered. One would have to wonder why cats do this. According to an article at www.iams.com Is your Cat Potty Naughty this is a rather common problem especially for certain cats. After observing cats in general, there are actually several reasons why this happens. First and foremost they do it to mark their territory. This is why it is important to spay or neuter animals especially males. The other issues concern the health of the animal or perhaps a behavioral issue. We have a cat that had both a health issue and a behavioral issue. We got the health issue taken care of with the help of our veterinarian. The behavioral issue was something that was going to take some time. At the suggestion of the veterinarian we secluded this animal in a cage by himself. In addition we tried all kind of cleaning chemicals to get rid of any remaining odor. Thank goodness none of it was on any of the carpeting! What we found however was certain cleaning solutions made the naught potty problem only worse. Any p roduct with ammonia only attracted the animal right back to the spot. So after trial and error we finally found that only cat cleaners that our vet recommended worked. 3. Describe two specific ways that microbes are important environmentally speaking, outside of the areas of health and food. Describe one way that microbes are beneficial in health. Just what is a microbe? Microbes play a very important role in our environment. According to www.library.thinkquest.org microbes are very small organisms belonging to various groups; Bacteria, Fungi, Protozoa and viruses. According to this article they play a significant role in our life on this planet. Without them there would be no earth as we know it. Phytoplankton is one microbe which resides in the ocean. Its role is to provide oxygen and help slow global warming by removing some of the carbon dioxide produced when we burn fossil fuels such as coal, natural gas or gasoline. In addition microbes provide a natural repellent to control pests on food crops and other vegetation. Perhaps if we relied more on this natural pest control we could reduce the use of harmful chemicals that end up on our food. Microbes are also present in our bodies. The friendly bacteria present in our bodies help to break down the food we eat and also prevent us from succumbing to serious illness by preventing harmful bacteria from entering our bodies. 4. Explain what could happen to the ecosystem where American Alligators live if the alligators went extinct. Name a plant species and animal species that would be seriously affected and describe how each might respond to these changes in their environment. The American Alligator is known as a Keystone Species. One might wonder just what a Keystone Species is. These species are those that play a critical role in the maintaining of the ecosystem where those species reside. Keystone Species such as the American Alligator have a very particular niche in the area where they reside. According to an article at www.atlss.org/gator the American Alligators role is one that has a major effect on the plant communities and associated aquatic animals. The alligators have survived where others have been come extinct. At www.exploringnature.org it was cited that alligators were put on the endangered species list back in 1967 and protected from hunting. After the alligator has hatched its young, the alligators nesting mounds provide a nesting area for other species such as herons, egrets and red-bellied turtles. In addition alligators keep in check the population of certain predatory fish such as the Gar. Perhaps the most important role they play is by keeping the wetlands open thereby sustaining the area by providing a home to many other plants and animals. It important to realize certain species even though thought of as annoying pests are quite important to our whole ecosystem. Take the same approach that you used in Question #4 and research and discuss the arrival of the Asian Carp into Lake Michigan. What are Asian Carp and where did these fish come from? According to an article at www.time.com these fish are related to what are commonly called bighead and silver carp. The Asian Carp are native to China and parts of Southeast Asia. These fish were originally used by American catfish farmers to eat the algae in their ponds. The Asian Carp have slowly found ways to make it into the Mississippi River and are now threatening Lake Michigan. According to the article these fish even though they are not particularly dangerous to people, grow quickly and adapt very well to their new environment. What makes them dangerous is that they feed on plankton which removes the bottom layers of the food chain of native fish species. Their potential presence is a very serious problem that has multiple effects. Their entry into Lake Michigan has the potential to ruin the fishing and tourism industries of Lake Michigan and the surrounding states. After all what fisherman would like to be smacked by on e of these huge fish that seem to love to go airborne when disrupted! From another ecological perspective, the Great Lakes are a key mid-continent migration rest stop for hundreds of thousands of waterfowl according to an article at www.ducks.org. Because these fish have such a huge appetite they can eat their weight in vegetation daily leaving the wetlands degraded and destroyed for these migrating waterfowl. This problem demonstrates what can happen when an invasive species find its way into a new area, allowed to reproduce and destroys the original ecosystem. Identify a major local, national or global environmental problem and research and describe the role of population growth on this problem. Lake Manitou is a 735 acre manmade lake located in Rochester, Indiana. This lake is home to many residents of Fulton County, Indiana and also a hot spot in the summer to many individuals living outside the Fulton County area. In 2006 it was discovered that Lake Manitou was being threatened by an invasive fast-growing aquatic plant. The name of this pant is Hydrilla verticillata. Hydrilla is a noxious plant according to www.plants.usda.gov. In addition, according to an article found at www.rochsent.com Hydrilla invades lake this plant is commonly found in southern states. What makes this plant so serious is that it invades the water ecosystem and has the potential to choke out other aquatic plants. There are several ways that this plant may have made its way into this lake. Since this lake is a popular boating lake it is possible that a boat was contaminated somewhere else and when launched into Manitou it released the plant. The second reason according the Indiana DNR is that individ uals who live or rent cottages at the lake unintentionally tossed water garden or pond plants into the lake. My husband and I live on a private lake in Fulton County. This lake has been used in the past by many residents for fishing. However, we are very picky and do not allow any boats to come on our property especially after this incident at Lake Manitou. It is very important to my husband and me that we maintain the quality of the lake and protect the ecosystem right in our own backyard. Explain in a detailed way why most of the animals in tropical rainforest live in trees. Tropical rainforests are defined as dense forests with high amounts of rainfall and are located in tropical regions of the world. These forests are home to all kinds of animals and insect life. In fact there are probably many animals and or insects that have yet to be discovered in the rainforests. According to Rainforest an article located at www.rainforestanimals.net there are several layers to the rainforest. These layers are known as Emergent Layer, Canopy, Understory and the Rainforest floor. The top layer known as the Emergent Layer is home to a variety of insects, some species of bats and some species of birds. The next layer known as the Canopy is composed of trees that grow to heights of 100 150 feet. It is in these two areas where most of the animals make their home and find their food. The lower levels of the rain forest do not receive much sunlight however; these levels still provide an environment conducive to a variety of life that inhabits the rainforest floor. It does make one wonder how so many species can live in harmony and find the food and water to survive. The main reason is because they have adapted to living on specific plants or animals which other species are unable to eat. I found a very interesting article at www.ran.org. that explains how these species often help each other by supplying fruits and vegetation by droppings etc. However, these species have become so dependent on each other that if one does not survive the other will often become extinct as well. Using the bird example as a model, identify another species that your lifestyle (or that of our community) could directly or indirectly contribute to its premature extinction. What are three things that could be done to mitigate that? Extinction is forever. There is no turning back the clock to save the species which in the case of the passenger pigeon was directly the result of human intervention. It is our human activities that have the most profound effect on species animals and plants alike. By degrading and destroying our environment we are the prime reason why species are becoming extinct. One species that could be in danger is migrating waterfowl. By degrading and destroying wetlands and marshes we are limiting the areas where these animals take refuge. On a local perspective we all become annoyed at the growing population of the Canada goose. They seem to be everywhere. But have you ever thought that perhaps we have taken away the areas that once belonged to them? In our local community the golfers are upset because there is a large population of geese. Well what do you expect down the road is a large 735 acre lake and wetlands next to the gold course. It really makes me angry when we take areas away from these animals and then complain about their presence. Where are they supposed to live? Another area that is in danger is located in Western Canada and Central Alaska that is home to one of the largest forested regions in the world according to the article Western Boreal Forest Canada Region #5 located at www.ducks.org . This massive forest area is home to many species of waterfowl including; ducks, loons and sandhill cranes. It is where they migrate, molt and breed. These pristine areas of lakes and forests have in the past been immune to outside degradation and destruction due to the remote area where it is located. However, it is evident that humans are moving into this area in search of ways to feed our growing oil consumption. It will have a profound effect on the land, the species and the climate of this region. There are many things that can be done to protect these wonderful areas. One of the most important I feel is education. Ducks Unlimited strives to do just that by educating individuals and maintaining existing wetlands. In addition we need to use proper forest management to protect these areas. Lastly we need to find solutions to decrease our huge appetite for petroleum. In doing so we alleviate several problems, cut down on destroying pristine areas which are home to many species, lower water and air population and slow down the process of greenhouse gases. All of these are important to sustain our environment.