Case Study: System Development Essay

System development is a process in which programmers with organization contribution write codes to solve a problem that face the organization system or automate a procedure. There are three major systems development techniques that been used to solve systems’ problems. The system development techniques are SDLC (Systems Development Life Cycle), JAD (Joint Application Development), and RAD (Rapid Application Development). SDLC provides tools for controlling details within large development projects that solve structured problems. JAD enables the identification, definition, and implementation of information infrastructures. RAD supports the iteration and flexibility necessary for building robust business process support(Osborn, 1995). In this case study, the manager been asked to design, develop, and install a Patient Management Information System for a medical clinic in which three physicians practice general medicine. This system has to be operational in 6 months. There is one individual in the clinic staff who is reasonably well informed about information technology. Thus, the manager needs to determine which system development methodologies will use to solve this problem. To choose the appropriate development system, the manager need to use a process which consists of s (1) defining requirements, (2) designing an information system to fit those requirements, (3) building the code to deliver that system, and (4) testing to see whether the code works and the system does the job it was intended to do(Osborn, 1995). The requirement for this case study is to design and develop and install a Management Information System for a medical clinic that has three physicians within 6 months. Based on that, this process will take longer if we use the SDLC which is the traditional method that need narrative descriptions, data definitions, and sample screens. Moreover, producing a thorough, often multi-volume description of system requirements can become such a time-consuming task that it begins to extend the expected life of a development project. On the other hand, JAD tends to rely on data models to provide requirements definition and prototypes to capture final design details. The data modeling can produce thorough system specifications more quickly than SDLC narratives, especially through the use of computer-aided software engineering (CASE) tools. The RAD relies on a series of iterative prototypes to specify and document requirements. The technique reverses the scheduling emphasis normally found in SDLC projects by setting a rolling series of release dates and dynamically adjusting system features to fit. Iterating prototypes gives requirements the opportunity to evolve and the flexibility to change if needed(Osborn, 1995). Since the project is for small clinic, which mean that the budget is limited. SDLC to the use of expensive mainframes to understand transactions, JAD to the need for managing data distribution following the advent of minicomputers, and RAD to the development of business process support based on networked client/server workstations. SDLC provides tools for controlling details within large development projects that solve structured problems. JAD enables the identification, definition, and implementation of information infrastructures. RAD supports the iteration and flexibility necessary to building robust business process support. Thus, based on the information that discussed earlier, I recommend using the RAD method because the clinic is small one which needs inexpensive system and the system will need support especially that there is only one person who informed about using information technology. In addition, the time limits that clinic has will fit also the RAD method. Literature showed that RAD proves most useful for systems support of unstructured business processes. This not means that this system will limit the business because when the business grows up the system can move for more structure system(Osborn, 1995). References Glandon, G., Smaltz, D. & Slovensky, D. (2012). Information Systems for Healthcare Management. Chicago, IL: Health Administration Press. Osborn, C. (1995). SDLC, JAD, and RAD: Finding the Right Hammer. Center for Information Management Studies, Working Paper 95-07.

Family Planning Essay

In the past 50 years, family-planning programs have been heavily promoted across the developing world. A vast academic literature now tests both the intellectual rationale for these programs, as well as their impact on a wide range of demographic and economic outcomes. In recent years, the availability of new methods and new datasets from the developing world has intensified the academic research on these issues even though the support for family-programs themselves has diminished. This paper examines the economic and demographic literature on family planning programs and summarizes evidence of their impact on fertility as well as additional outcomes such as child mortality, investments in children’s human capital, the economic status of households and the macro-impacts on communities. The goal is to provide policy-makers with an understanding of the strengths, limitations and points of agreement that emerge from this vast literature. PRELIMINARY AND INCOMPLETE DRAFT 1. Introduction In the past 50 years, family planning (FP) programs have been heavily promoted across the developing world as a means to reduce fertility rates and promote economic development. The central assumption behind such programs is that the decline in birth rates during the early stages of demographic transition can promote economic growth, reduce environmental pressures, reduce dependency ratios and strengthen a societies’ ability to invest in health and education (Coale, Hoover, and Press 1958). At the micro-level, it has been assumed that a decline in fertility would relieve women of the burden of repeated child-bearing and free up opportunities for them to increase schooling and participate in the labor-force. A significant literature – shaped by economists and demographers – now tests these assumptions (Kelley and McGreevey 1994; Kelley 1995). Much of the literature however, remains either theoretical or focused on macro-correlations between variables such as fertility or population growth and indicators of development such as GDP growth or female education. The causal impact of declining fertility and/or the impacts of FP programs on fertility have proved to be difficult to find. One of the main challenges faced by researchers is that fertility decline is affected by a wide range of variables, including socioeconomic variables such as income, education (particularly female education) and female employment. Changes in these variables can affect the demand for FP, the structure of the programs, and their ultimate impact. There is also the issue of policy itself. FP programs are rarely rolled out randomly. Placement of programs in areas with distinct characteristics made it di fficult to identify the precise policy driver of any observed change in behavior. In recent years, the research has been enriched by the availability of new methods and new datasets from the developing world. This includes cross-sectional surveys such as the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS), panel datasets such as the Family Life Surveys, and the use of random assignment evaluation methods that study causal relationships under careful scientific experimental structures. This paper examines this literature and summarizes evidence of the impact of FP programs on fertility as well as additional outcomes such as child mortality, investments in children’s human capital, the economic status of households and the macro-impacts on communities. We define an FP program as any organized effort to encourage couples to limit their family size, and space their births by using contraceptive information and services. This includes legislative, regulatory, and programmatic efforts to supply contraceptives to a population as well as efforts to reduce the demand for children and/or increase the demand for contraception through information and/or social marketing campaigns. The paper is organized as follows: Section 2 provides a brief history of FP programs in the post WWII era and argues that FP programs have declined in priority after the ICPD conference in Cairo in  1994. Sections 3 and 4 provide an overview of two strands of the literature on FP programs: non-experimental studies that use cross-sectional or panel data to evaluate large-scale FP programs in states, countries or regions; and experimental studies that analyze random or pseudo-random pilot projects. Section 5 examines the literature on the cost-effectiveness of FP programs. Section 6 provides some perspectives that are likely to interest policy-makers. PRELIMINARY AND INCOMPLETE DRAFT 2. Family planning programs: A short history Family planning (FP) programs emerged after World War II. The world’s first major program was established in India in 1951 and was soon after followed by Pakistan, the Republic of Korea, and China. By 1975, about 74 developing countries had established them (Seltzer 2002; Cleland et al. 2006). Most programs fall into three general groups: (a) those that specifically aimed to curtail population growth through explicit policies such as promoting contraception and/or establishing incentives to have fewer children; (b) those that did not aim to curtail population growth, but promoted FP for other purposes; and (c) those with no explicit population policies but allowed outside donors to run programs that were mostly small in scale (Nortman and Hofstatter 1980; Nortman 1985). The first group was dominated by Asian countries, mainly East Asia and some South Asian countries (Mauldin, Berelson, and Sykes 1978; Lapham and Mauldin 1985; Mauldin and Ross 1991)1. In China and Vietnam for e xample, the governments formally announced in the early 1960s that couples should have no more than two or three children and began a wide-range of interventions that either directly or indirectly contributed towards this goal. Many governments provided citizens with incentives to meet these targets. In China, couples with more than two children (or one child in some parts of China) were subjected to fines and penalties, though the enforcement of this program varies significantly (Short and Fengying 1998; Attane 2002). Permanent methods of contraception (mainly sterilization) were often provided for free.2 In Korea, Indonesia and Thailand, FP programs focused heavily on the expansion of usage of IUDs and other temporary methods in addition to permanent  methods. In South Asia, the programs were less strong than in East Asia but large in scope. India for example, established a vast network of clinics that were to provide contraceptive services. In the 1960s, this was followed by a public health–based outreach program which emphasized education and awareness particularly in rural areas (Harkavy and Roy 1997). A common feature of almost all programs in this group was that they were generally led, funded and managed by domestic governments, and involved a broad range of mini stries and mass organizations that focus on educating, promoting, and encouraging couples to use FP methods. Another common feature of programs in this group is that they were typically one component of broader development policies that aimed to increase access to health-care, education and industrialization. These authors have developed quantitative measures of family planning program strength, or â€Å"effort† that are based on the number and quality of institutions that are involved with family planning programs. The measures of effort came from the belief that strong family planning programs must possess some essential features: (a) It should offer a full range of contraceptive methods and deliver them through several delivery systems, particularly in rural areas; (b) It should have a corps of full-time fieldworkers and educated the public about contraception; (c) Prominent leaders should issue frequent statements favoring the use of contraceptives; (d) The program should have a full-time director, placed well up in the government structure, and various ministries and private agencies should provide technical, logistical and financial assistance. More will be said about these criteria, and the studies that support them later in this paper. In Vietnam, Bryant (1998: 246) writes that right before fertility declined, thousands of health workers were given basic training and sent to villages to promote use of mosquito nets, distribute locally made drugs, deliver babies, administer vaccinations, and carry out other standard primary health care functions. PRELIMINARY AND INCOMPLETE DRAFT The second group of countries was dominated by Latin America.3 Until about 1960, governments in this region remained strongly pro-natalist in their ideals (Mundigo 1996). This changed due to a concern about the high incidence of unsafe abortions in the mid-1960s. Abortions performed in unsanitary conditions by unqualified personnel were believed to contribute to maternal mortality and also resulted in large public expenditures as women with abortion-related complications sought care en masse from public hospitals (Mundigo 1996). To minimize disagreement with the Catholic Church however, FP programs in Latin America began as small private initiatives that were largely funded by international donors and NGOs. In most countries, particularly Brazil and Peru, these programs were ultimately incorporated into national public health programs. By the 1980s, countries in this group generally had broader goals than simply reducing fertility and/or the practice of unsafe abortion. They generall y aimed at improving maternal and child health through greater birth spacing, access to pre- and post-natal care. Some Asian programs also fall into this category. Bangladesh is particularly noteworthy. Its national program, launched in 1976, aimed to provide women with a wide a range of contraceptive methods through home-visits by a network of locally recruited female-health care workers. Sterilization was included in the package of options and in the first few years of the program, compensation was offered to those who chose the procedure (Cleland and Mauldin 1991). Yet the program remained largely voluntary and focused on maternal and child-health more broadly. A similar effort is seen in Iran, which launched its program in 1989. Free contraceptives were distributed through a network of village health workers, who also advised women on a broad range of maternal and child health issues. The third group of countries was almost entirely dominated by Sub-Saharan Africa. Some countries did establish programs early on. Kenya and Ghana for example, established FP programs in the late 1960s. Tanzania established a FP program in 1970. Senegal established an urban FP program in 1976 and a rural program in 1979. Much of Francophone Africa however, remained largely untouched by the wave of interest in FP programs throughout this period. A 1920 French law that banned advertising and distribution of contraceptives  continued to prevail. Across most of Africa, issues of population growth remained sensitive and highly politicized throughout the post-war period. Nigeria for example, adopted a national population council to study the issue of population growth but did not adopt any national policies to lower fertility (Caldwell and Caldwell, 1983). This was at least in part because census data that formed the basis of such decisions was regarded as too controversial. The results of the 1962 and 1973 census were actually nullified due to dispute and controversy over accuracy of the size of minority groups. Even when they were adopted, African FP programs differed significantly from their counterparts in other countries in several key ways. First, the focus was almost entirely on temporary methods, since permanent methods were regarded as culturally unacceptable (J. C Caldwell and P. Caldwell 1987; J. C Caldwell and P. Caldwell 1988). The establishment of robust supply chains for temporary contraceptives Only five Latin American countries fell in the first group – Mexico, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador and Guatemala. Mexico is the largest among these. In 1974, access to family planning was declared as a constitutional right for all couples. In 1977, a national coordinating body was establish to expand the supply of contraception and a demographic target of population growth of no more than 2.5 percent per year by 1982 was declared. A wide variety of methods, including oral contraceptives as well as permanent sterilizations, were offered and the contraceptive prevalence rate doubled within a span of less than five years (Rodriguez-Barocio et al., 1980). PRELIMINARY AND INCOMPLETE DRAFT however, proved to be very challenging in the African context. The health-care infrastructure in this region was weak and burdened with a high demand for curative services. Moreover, most rural women resided far away from clinics or health centers (Caldwell and Caldwell 1992). Stringent eligibility criteria also made it difficult to reach women. In many cases, a woman’s access to contraception required the written consent of husband,  proof of marital status or age, blood tests (for oral contraceptives), frequent follow-up visits, and non-evidence based requirements that she be menstruating at the time that she starts using certain methods such as IUDs or hormone-based systems (Campbell et al., 1996). Cultural preferences for high fertility often made women unwilling to be seen attending these clinics. Moreover, since consumers did not receive adequate information about contraceptives, side-effects were often misinterpreted and rumors were propagated. These factors combined to cause discouragement and discontinuation in the long-run (Campbell et al., 1996). Across Asia and Latin America, the spread of primary healthcare services, rapid increases in female schooling, the processes of socio-economic development and the use of marketing campaigns to promote awareness of FP programs may have alleviated some of these problems. A second distinctive feature of African programs is that they were supported by a large number of international donors who rarely coordinated their actions with national governments or even between themselves. Since the weakness of domestic health infrastructure ruled out the establishment of â€Å"vertical† programs that packaged FP with primary health services, donors preferred to fund standalone programs that they could establish, manage and monitor themselves (Seltzer, 2002; Robinson and Ross, 2007; Mayhew, Walt, Lush and Cleland, 2005). The programs thus often remained small-scale. The goals used to evaluate the programs were often short-term in keeping with the demands of short budgetcycles. This approach stands in stark contrast to Asian and Latin American programs that were typically run by Ministries of Health and were backed by long-term budget commitments. Donor retreat International interest in FP programs lost momentum in the early 1980s. The intellectual shift behind this is often referred to as â€Å"revisionist thinking† and refers to a retreat from Malthusian fears about the crippling effect of population growth on economic growth as well as the concern with the adequacy of supplies of food and natural resources (Kelley 1995; Kelley 2001). A wide range of factors fueled revisionist thought: the rapid pace of fertility decline in Asia, the success of the green revolution, the lack of convincing academic evidence for a negative relationship between population growth and economic growth, etc. Economists emphasized that the long-run impact of population growth in economic development may not necessarily be negative. On the contrary, investments in human capital and innovation in growing populations can even have positive effects on growth and development outcomes (Simon and Lincoln 1977; Boserup 1981). Critics of FP programs used this literature to make the case that many FP programs in the developing world had been conceptualized and implemented with a false sense of urgency after World War II, without sufficient internal debate, deliberation and consensus (Kelley 1995; Kelley 2001). Revisionist intellectual thought was also reinforced by the voices of NGOs in international policy. These groups highlighted examples of FP programs that had not gone well in parts of China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Peru, etc (for a summary, see Seltzer, 2002: 62—70). In India for example, the controversial PRELIMINARY AND INCOMPLETE DRAFT HITTS model (Health Department operated, incentive-based, target-oriented, time-bound, and sterilization-focused) was so unpopular that it contributed to the collapse of the Indian government in 1977 and prompted India to launch a significant critique of FP programs in international policy circles (Harkavay and Roy, 2007).4 Feminists argued that women in particular, paid a high price for population policies, for they had often been viewed as passive â€Å"targets† who needed to become â€Å"acceptors† of contraception (Dixon-Mueller, 1993). They demanded that policies recognize women as key agents in the process of reproduction and must empower them – through education, information and access to health services (that include but are not limited to FP) – to have establish control over their bodies. The impact of the rights-based approach was visible at the Vienna Conference on Human Rights in 1993 where there was an explicit recognition of the importance of reproductive rights and the need for national and international development policies to be built around these rights. The biggest shift however, occurred in Cairo at the International Conference on Population and Development in 1994. The definition of reproductive rights was took center-stage and included not only issues of reproductive decision-making,  but sexual health and female empowerment more generally.6 Delegates explicitly called for dropping demographic and FP program targets in favor of a broader policy agenda that included a range of reproductive and sexual health measures. FP thus became embedded into a broader set of policy-goals. In the words of the UNFPA, â€Å"[The ICPD Programme of Action] places human rights and well-being explicitly at the centre of all population and sustainable development activities. The Programme of Action moves discussion beyond population numbers and demographic targets: its premise is that development objectives — including early stabilization of population growth — can be achieved only by basing policies and programmes on the human rights, the needs and aspirations of individual women and men. Human-centred development -in the sense of investing in people generally, and particularly in health, education and building equity and equality between the sexes — is seen as a firm basis for sustained economic growth and sustainable development (UNFPA, 1995:9).† The representatives of 179 governments agreed on the need to ensure universal access to reproductive health services by the year 2015. These governments also agreed to increase spending on population According to Harkavy and Roy (2007), the government’s Department of Family Planning estimated that more than 20 million births were averted between 1956 and 1975. Calculations based on the number of births averted concluded that the annual birthrate fell from about 42 live births per 1,000 population in 1960–61 to about 38 in 1970–71 and about 35 in 1974–75. The critique of FP programs also came from health advocates who argued that despite the strides made in the safety of technologies such as oral pills and injectibles, safety issues remain. They did not agree that the benefits of choice outweighed the risks and argued that contraceptive safety needed greater attention (Seltzer, 2002). Other health advocates argued that FP had absorbed far too much policy attention and development assistance, neglecting other critically important issues. This includes the right not to be alienated from their sexual or reproductive capacity and bodily integrity through coerced sex or marriage, denial of access to birth control, sterilization without informed consent, freedom from unsafe contraceptive methods, from unwanted pregnancies or coerced child bearing, from unwanted medical attention. PRELIMINARY AND INCOMPLETE DRAFT  and related programs. The needed resources were estimated at $17 billion a year by 2000, climbing to nearly $22 billion by 2015.7 This agenda was however met with resistance by several groups. First, there were those who challenged the coupling of a gender ideology with issues of reproductive health. In Jordan for examples, elites felt that the proposals regarding reproductive health were acceptable, but proposals that aimed to reduce gender-based violence, deliver sex-education to adolescents, spread information about STIs and the promote gender equality conflicted with existing cultural norms and could not be implemented quickly (Luke and Watkins, 2002; Seltzer, 2002). A second challenge to the Cairo agenda came from religious groups felt that the expanded definitions of reproductive health and reproductive choice tacitly included abortion and more controversial methods of fertility reduction. Even though the Cairo agenda was carefully worded to not support abortion in any circumstances, many people believed that the two issues were too deeply related to be separated in practice (Seltzer, 2002).8 In 2001, with support from the Vatican, the United States publicly opposed abortion, once again implemented the â€Å"gag rule† and thereby withdrew association with all organizations that offer women abortion services as a part of their general effort to expand reproductive choices for women.9,10 A final challenge came from the sheer breadth and language of the agenda itself. Some have argued that the focus on sexual health and reproductive rights was so broad that it simply failed to gain traction in parliaments  and chambers of government across the developed world (Glasier et al. 2006; Fathalla et al. 2006). While Cairo advocates emphasized the importance of rights, donors were most interested in arguments that demonstrate a clear economic return on investment (Fathalla et al. 2006). The loss of focus also led to a fragmentation of academic and policy research. Many turned their attention to new competing priorities, such as HIV (Glasier et al. 2006; Fathalla et al. 2006, Blanc and Tsui, 2005). A visible sign of just how divisive the Cairo agenda was comes from the UN’s Millennium Development Goals, agreed to by nearly all nations in 2000. The only goals that were related to reproductive health were the reductions in maternal and child mortality. Reproductive choices and reproductive rights were completely sidelined. In fact, the Cairo goal of universal access to reproductive health services was possibly the only goal that had been agreed to through a series of global conferences that did not make the final list of eight Millennium Development Goals (United Nations, 2000). In 2007, these goals were modified to include â€Å"universal access to reproductive health† by 2015. Progress was to be measured by  www.unfpa.org The Program of Action stated that â€Å"in no case should abortion be promoted as a method of family planning,† and elsewhere that â€Å"in [such] circumstances in which abortion is not against the law, such abortion should be [made] safe.† This was intended to be a compromise between those who opposed abortion on all grounds and those governments and NGOs who permitted abortion in varying degrees. 9 This was one of President George W. Bush’s first acts in office in January, 2001. 10 A cap of $15 million was placed for foreign NGOs and multilateral organizations who could not certify that they will not support any abortion-related activities, even if they use their own funds for these activities four indicators: the contraceptive prevalence rate, the adolescent birth rate, antenatal care coverage, and the unmet need for FP (United Nations 2007; UNFPA 2011)  Another sign of the damage from Cairo is seen in the international HIV policies. In the late 1990s, policymakers in the United States and indeed much of the world, were compelled to focus on the challenge of HIV. Rather than building services into FP programs however, donors chose to establish entirely new programs. One of the biggest examples is the establishment of President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) under US President George W. Bush in 2003. This was one of the largest efforts in history to address the challenge of one disease. The only relationship between this program and FP was i ts attempt to encourage abstinence as a form of prevention of HIV.11 Some have argued that the focus on HIV and AIDS simply replaced the Cairo agenda, when they should have in fact simply reinforced and complemented it (Blanc and A. O Tsui 2005). In summary, the global interest in FP programs has swung from extreme interest after World War II to disinterest at the turn of the century. The weakness of such programs is most pronounced in SubSaharan Africa. The rate of contraceptive prevalence remains only 26%, less than half of the world average, despite significant investments in treating sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV (WDI 2010). At the current time however, there appears to be a renewed interest in the role of FP, particularly in approaches that are broad-based, female-focused, voluntary and respectful of basic human rights. In the section ahead, we review the literature on the effectiveness and impact of FP programs with the goal of demonstrating that such programs can have impact on not just fertility but a variety of other aspects of women’s well-being. 3. What do we know about the impact of FP programs? Perspectives from the non-experimental approach FP programs in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s were mostly established in the  absence of scientific evidence or agreement about program â€Å"best-practices†. This is mainly because detailed time-series data on economic as well as demographic variables was scarce at both the micro- and macro-level. Over time however, data was gathered and researchers began to test some of the fundamental assumptions underlying FP programs. The first wave of studies used a non-experimental approach, i.e. they evaluated the impact of FP programs involving using cross-sectional or panel data from a country, region, or set of regions to test the hypothesis that FP programs impacted contraceptive use or fertility. As more data became available, and FP programs were rolled out, these studies were updated and expanded. The research continues to evolve today, even though the interest in FP programs has declined among policy-makers. Most of the research in this area faces two key challenges. The first is the challenge of measurement. Given that FP programs are heterogeneous in goals, quality of services, delivery systems and implementation strategies, researchers must construct a measure of program strength and not rely 11 The following conditions were imposed in the United States Leadership against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Act of 2003: 20% of funds were to be spent on prevention, 15% to be spent on palliative care, and starting in 2006, at least 55% were to be spent on treatment, at least 10% be spent on orphans and vulnerable children, and at least 33% of appropriated prevention funds be spent on abstinence-until-marriage programs. REFERENCES Amin, S. 1995. Socioeconomic change and the demand for children in rural Bangladesh. Population Council, Research Division. Angeles, G., Jason Dietrich, David Guilkey, Dominic Mancini, Thomas Mroz, Amy Tsui, and Feng Yu Zhang. 2001. A Meta-analysis of the Impact of Family Planning Programs on Fertility Preferences, Contraceptive Method Choice and Fertility. Measure Evaluation Project. Carolina Population Center. Attane, I. 2002. China’s family planning policy: An overview of its past and future. Studies in Family Planning 33, no. 1: 103–113. Bauman, K. E. 1997. The effectiveness of family planning programs evaluated with true experimental designs. American journal of public health 87, no. 4: 666. Becker, G. S, and H. G Lewis. 1973. On the Interaction between the Quantity and Quality of Children. The Journal of Political Economy 81, no. 2: 279–288. Bertrand, J. T, M. E McBride, N. Mangani, N. C Baughman, and M. Kinuani. 1993. Community-based distribution of contraceptives in Zaire. International Family Planning Perspectives: 84–91. Binka, F. N, A. Nazzar, and J. F Phillips. 1995. The Navrongo community health and family planning project. Studies in Family Planning 26, no. 3: 121–139. Birdsall, N., and D. T Jamison. 1983. Income and other factors influencing fertility in China. Population and Development Review 9, no. 4: 651–675. Blanc, A. K, and A. O Tsui. 2005. The dilemma of past success: Insiders’ views on the future of the international family planning movement. Studies in Family Planning 36, no. 4: 263–276. Bongaarts, J. 1987. Does family planning reduce infant mortality rates? Population and Development Review 13, no. 2: 323–334. ———. 1994. The impact of population policies: Comment. Population and Development Review 20, no. 3: 616–620. Bongaarts, J., T. Bà ¼ttner, G. Heilig, and F. Pelletier. 2008. Has the HIV epidemic peaked? Population and Development Review 34, no. 2: 199–224. Bongaarts, J., and S. Greenhalgh. 1985. An alternative to the one-child policy in China. Population and Development Review 11, no. 4: 585–617. Bongaarts, J., W. P Mauldin, and J. F Phillips. 1990. The demographic impact of family planning programs. Studies in Family Planning 21, no. 6: 299–310. Boserup, E. 1981. Population and technological change: A study of long-term trends. University of Chicago Press. Caldwell, J. C, and P. Caldwell. 1987. The cultural context of high fertility in sub-Saharan Africa. Population and development review 13, no. 3: 409–437. ———. 1988. Is the Asian family planning program model suited to Africa? Studies in Family Planning 19, no. 1: 19–28. Caldwell, J. C, Barkat-e Khuda, Bruce Caldwell, Indrani Pieris, and Pat Caldwell. 1999. The Bangladesh fertility decline: an interpretation. Population and Development Review 25, no. 1: 67–84. Chowdhury, M. E, R. Botlero, M. Koblinsky, S. K Saha, G. Dieltiens, and C. Ronsmans. 2007. Determinants of reduction in maternal

Microsoft Office Word, Excel, and Powerpoint in the Business Enviornment.

In most work environments, Microsoft Office Word, Excel, and PowerPoint are being used on a daily basis. From being a Loan officer to a front desk cashier these three apps are very helpful in our work place. Microsoft Word is good with writing business letters and business cards, Excel is good with making spreadsheets or charts for your business, and lastly, PowerPoint is good with making presentation audio and visually. In the following paragraphs below I will explain why these three are most helpful and useful in the work place. For one, Microsoft Office Word is mostly used to writing business letters to their clients. From one paragraph or 4 pages it’s where they will have their letter written up and printed. There are also different tools like spell check and grammar, formatting tab, paragraph selection and etc. that also become useful. Business cards can also be used on Microsoft Word and then printed out which also is being used in the work place environment. (office Microsoft) Secondly, Microsoft Excel is mostly used because of its layout and widespread availability, it is often used as a tool to create and maintain a list. More users use it to store database records, create charts or graphs. A lot of organization uses excel to manage their budgets, business planning, customers records, business intelligence, analysis of sales data, customer data, performance dashboard, etc. (advanced excel) Lastly, Microsoft PowerPoint presentations utilize both audio and visual techniques, making for easier understanding. Normal teaching and training is interactive and more effective by using PowerPoint presentations instead of simple lectures. Many executives and managers use PowerPoint for this reason. Executives use this as a strategy to increase sales. Using PowerPoint in front of a potential client shows that you are up with the time. Plus, projecting charts that all can see also makes the presentation more interactive for the client. (powerpoints and apps) So all in all I hope you find Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint useful in the work place. Not only will it help you and your business be successful but also have that professionalism. ? Reference Microsoft office np November 1, 2011< http://www. baycongroup. com/powerpoint> Baptiste, Jason np November 1, 2011 < http://jasonlbaptiste. com/startups/microsoft-excel>

Monetary and Fiscal Policy in the Euro Area Essay

Monetary and Fiscal Policy in the Euro Area - Essay Example At its beginning stage, in 1990 the EU has made the free capital movement within the euro area and formation of a single market certain. In the second stage the EU introduced the formation of the European Monetary Institute (EMI) in the period of 1994-1999, which is the pioneer of the European Central Bank (ECB). The third and final stage has been traced by introducing the euro currency along with a single and common monetary policy of the European Central Bank in the euro area. It is noted that though each of the member of the EU are also the elements of the EMU, however, the euro area does not consist of all the EU countries. Only the members who have considered the euro as their currency have been incorporated in the euro area. Only these countries are liable towards the ECB’s monetary policy. Except the UK and Denmark, all the member countries of EU have been entailed to become a part of the euro area by meeting the criteria regarding the specific economic convergence stan dards. The policies regarding the economic surveillances under the framework of the EMU demand that all members should guarantee the harmonization of their economic policies. Beside they are required to grant their mutual supervision of the union and reveal the regulations related with their financial as well as budgetary policies. With the provision of monetary policy, the stability of the single currency, the euro, is supported and emphasized. However, considering the strategy requirements towards the arrangements of pensions, labor or capital market, the fiscal policy, the policies of taxes and expenditures, remains under the control of the individual state governments of the member countries. But for functioning of the EMU directions effectively in accordance with its requisite, a supportive public finance is necessary along with supple and assimilated labor, product, and financial markets. Governments of all the member countries are required to sustain their

Sustainable Consumption Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4250 words

Sustainable Consumption - Essay Example Globalization is a process of integration among people, governments and companies through the mode of international trade, which is aided by the information technology. The procedure has an impact on culture, environment, economic development, political systems and the society. Globalization has helped to form an interdependent and interconnected world, where free transfer of capital as well as goods and services take place across national boundaries (Blowfield and Dolan, 2014). During the middle-ages, individuals, followed by corporations, bought and sold goods through the eminent Silk Road across Central Asia (Hill, Cronk and Wickramasekera, 2013). Likewise, globalization has substantially supported corporations to invest in other countries. Constant technological and policy developments over past few decades can be attributed to globalization. It has spurred a rise in the cross-border migration, investment and trade massively (Young, et al.,2014). The rapid globalization has enabled the world to enter into a new stage of economic development. Since 1950, the volume of trade globally has increased by almost 20 times (Gwynne and Cristobal, 2014). From 1997 to 1999, the inflow of foreign investment has nearly doubled from $468 to $4827 billion (Gwynne and Cristobal, 2014). The entire process of globalization has become cheaper, faster and deeper in the recent past (Daly, 2013). The fresh wave of globalization is driven by policies that have opened the econo mies internationally and domestically. Since the Second World War, the governments of various countries have adapted to the system of free market economy, which has facilitated improvement in their productivity, thereby creating innumerable new prospects for investment and international trade (Hall and Vredenburg, 2012).

Soft Systems Methodology and Activity Theory (System Thinking) Essay

Soft Systems Methodology and Activity Theory (System Thinking) - Essay Example Whereas AT inspires theoretical thought in many disciplines – psychology, culture, information systems, education, and management, disciplines that generally apply strategies involving human activity. Many researchers have cited AT as being holistically rich when it comes to understanding how humans conduct activities together with the aid of advanced tools in very dynamic and intricate settings (Adebowale, 2010). The aim of this paper is to critically evaluate how soft systems methodology and activity theory can be used to understand organisational problems. As part of this objective, the essay will also compare and contrast the two approaches and discuss relative strengths and weaknesses. SSM has undergone various modifications and revisions to become more practical, flexible, and relevant to different disciplines and organisational problems. However, SSM’s suitability to various fields has remained the most important asset, one which has not required numerous modifications to remain relevant (Bell, 2013). In addition, SSM is currently used by people who lack a technical background but want to solve complex organisational problems. At the moment, SSM is applied in several main organisational settings or disciplines. For example, in performance evaluation, it is used to develop performance measures, quality assurance processes, and to monitor the organisation. In education, it is used in defining course designs, training requirements, causes of absenteeism and to analyse language teaching. It is also used in project management, personal life decisions, risk management processes, organisational strategy, and industrial tribunal cases (Bozalek and Ambi, 2014). The first stage often involves recognising, exploring and defining the problem in some way. Firstly, the organisation must decide what it is actually investigating. At this stage,

Hyundai Auto company and GM Auto company Research Paper

Hyundai Auto company and GM Auto company - Research Paper Example With these, the company embarked on restructuring its brands in a manner that they were responsive to market needs yet still competitive. It has focused on restructuring its brands while still focusing on their core business: that is they have focused on strengthening the core businesses which are Buick, Cadillac and Chevrolet, while reducing focus on other lesser brands which are not the core of the business (GM Company 2010 Annual Report, 2010; Norton, 2008). Hence, while focusing on high quality and exciting vehicles, they have also focused on affordability and fuel efficiency. The key focus is mainly providing high quality and affordable vehicles to the market (General Motors Corporation, 2008). Over the past decade, GM has weathered a dip its US market share, with the key reason for this for this being that most of the company’s vehicles did not seem to appeal to younger buyers, nor was it responding fast enough to the changing customer needs. In most parts of the market, the cars were mostly irrelevant (Szczesny, 2009). While sales for some of GM’s cars such as Buick, Cadillac, and Chevrolet were high, performance for other brands such as Hummer, Saturn and Saab were lagging behind. Furthermore, brands such as the Hummer did not fit the new GM business model of cost and fuel efficiency (GM Company 2010 Annual Report, 2010; Norton, 2008). In essence, GM reduced focus on non performing brands and increased its focus on the performing brands, while also shifting its focus to production of vehicles appealing to a younger demographic such as Grand Prix, G6, and Grand Am, as well as production of fuel efficient vehicles such as hybrid, electric and FLEX that respond to high fuel cost pressures and environment consciousness pressures (Norton, 2008). These changes have resulted to improved contribution margins in various new models as well as increased fuel efficiency where the cars use $6-$8 per gallon gasoline, 15%-55% fuel improvement than other vehicles. For instance, the Chevrolet Volt and Chevrolet Malibu have won car of the year awards in 2010 and 2008, while Cadillac CTS and Chevrolet Malibu generated contribution margins of more than 30% and 50% respectively in 2008 (General Motors Corporation, 2008; GM Company 2010 Annual Report). These changes have positively impacted the GM’s brand value enhance its new business model (GM Company 2010 Annual Report). However, cutting the non performing brands also resulted to loss of jobs in the divisions that were cut. On the other hand, Hyundai motor company, one of the largest Korean automobile companies, has undergone changes in its brand strategy where it has mainly focused on fuel efficiency and fluidic sculpture in its products in response to changing competitive pressures in the market place (Cho, 2012). Years after Hyundai had launched its vehicles in the US market, it was still viewed as a â€Å"cheap car suitable for the lower class† customers. Over the pas t decade, Hyundai has undergone massive changes in its brands to appeal to a wider customer base in the US. They have over the past ten years not only focused on

ADOLESCENCE ADDICTION Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

ADOLESCENCE ADDICTION - Essay Example She smokes marijuana twice a week, drinks alcohol one to two weekends a month, and she is starting to get addicted to cocaine. Maria’s diagnostic criteria would involve clear communication, intervention and treatment by various parties concerned. The type of substance use diagnosis that may apply to her involves the use of structured devices to accurately identify the type, of disorder or addiction she is suffering. Secondly, withdrawal effects might also have an effect in her alcohol and cocaine habits. Signs/symptoms showing that Terry is an addict are easily identified from his inability to perform his task at the workplace. He is a heavy drinker who often suffers from blackouts, he experiences mood swings that make him violent and angry, thus suffers from relationship problems with his girl friend. Lastly, Terry suffers from withdrawal problems as he unsuccessfully tried to limit his heavy drinking behavior with no success. Terry’s diagnostic criteria for alcohol abuse are that he has been a heavy user for more than three years resulting to failure in accomplishing outstanding obligations at work (Rosner, 2012). The use diagnosis that might apply to Terry involves the development of tolerance to help him reduce the effects of the taken alcohol and cocaine. Withdrawal might also apply in Terry’s alcoholic and cocaine case. In my opinion, DSM-IV is not effective in the above cases since it raises a lot of confusion in its remission effects. DSM-IV will have negative impacts when applied on Maria and Terry because of the stigma associated to patients who are subject to its labeling. Secondly, the method might also lead to misdiagnosis since it has not been certified as being the best method for treating patients who experience similar conditions to Maria and Terry (Fauman, 2002). Conclusively, adolescence addiction is an emerging issue in the society affecting both the society and the individual who indulge into the addiction. Most

ADHA with young and adult. discussion 3 Coursework

ADHA with young and adult. discussion 3 - Coursework Example ion, research indicates that children who continue with treatment into adulthood have better outcomes than those who stop intervention measures at childhood. It is difficult to predict long-term outcomes for young children undergoing intervention, and for that reason, there is a need to focus on strategies that are help young children transit into adulthood. For adults, recent reports of misbehavior and transgression are being reported. Adults offer a range of intellectual abilities, which often depends on their social setting (Martin, 2005). The same way that lack of intervention measures affect the education and social relationships of young children, is the same way that adults expose themselves to problems at work and management of families. Adults with ADHD who failed to receive treatment as young children remember similar problems during their childhood. Attention focuses on adults with ADHD because it is extraordinarily challenging to predict the long-term benefits of treatments (Friend, 2004), and for this reason, the need for a long-term perception on treatment. The need for separate intervention measures for adults, concerning changes in social lifestyle, call for the focus on ADHD in adults (Martin, 2005). In my opinion, intervention measures must be mindful of the need to change intervention measures as a young child transits to adolescence, and finally to adulthood. Students at a young age have fewer academic and social demands as compared to adolescents and adults. In the main, this means that although an intervention measure maybe effective for a child, the same intervention may fail to work for an adolescent who encounters a different social environment from that of a child or an adult. If the transition does not happen appropriately, young children and adults may lose the benefits they gained during early childhood intervention measures. This is detrimental to an adult’s development as they may face such challenges as the inability to maintain

Organizational Theory & Research Essay Example for Free

Organizational Theory Research Essay Organization is a â€Å"concept used in a variety of ways such as (1) a system or pattern of any set of relationships in any kind of undertaking; (2) an enterprise itself; (3) cooperation of two or more persons; (4) all behavior of all participants in a group; and (5) the intentional structure of roles in a formally organized enterprise† (Koontz, et. al. , 1980, p. G-11). Organization development is a â€Å"systematic, integrated, and planned approach to improve the effectiveness of people and groups in a enterprise through the use of techniques for problem discovery and various intervention techniques for solving these problems† (Koontz, et. l. , 1980, p. G-11). One of the key aspects of managing is â€Å"organizing† and it is a skill required of any manager if he or she is to be effective and successful in attaining organizational objectives and effecting change (see Koontz, et. al, 1980, p. 330). Management literature has acknowledged that people tend to cooperate with one another in the face of a crisis because man has learned that it is better to cooperate than to compete with one another. In cooperative activities, goals or objectives are achieved much easier than when individual persons act separately in attempting to achieve a group goal or objective. Organizing involves identifying the right people to involve in the design, development, and implementation of the process of problem identification and problem solving. One requirement of effective organizing is knowledge of the fundamental nature of group dynamics. When two or more people are formed to work on a particular task, they usually undergo certain stages of group development. These are forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning. During the â€Å"forming† stage, group members tend to be cautious and almost become aware of each word that each says to others; in the â€Å"storming† stage, members become impatient of formalities and tend to express themselves and demonstrate antagonism and sarcasm; in the â€Å"norming† stage, members learn to tolerate frustrations and become more acceptable of other members of the group; in the â€Å"performing† stage, team members has put aside their differences and concentrate on the objectives of the group, thereby performing to the fullest and achieving their preset goals and objectives; in the â€Å"adjourning† stage, group members have achieved their objectives and disbands themselves and return to their home organizations or department.

Looking At Womens Sexuality In Cane English Literature Essay

Looking At Womens Sexuality In Cane English Literature Essay The Harlem Renaissance was a time period when the African American art and culture started to thrive. This time period many African American people started feeling more assimilated with American culture then before. The migration from the suppressed south to the north is what ushered in the Harlem Renaissance period. This was also a time where African Americans had let down their inhibitions which in turn paved the way for the culture to come through. Still, many black people had to go through challenging times. Many of the southern blacks had to deal with racial beatings and lynching. The author who really drew a vivid picture of the lives of southern black people was Jean Toomer. Toomer wrote his famous novel Cane at the beginning of the Harlem Renaissance which further inspired other African American artist. In Cane, Toomer uses vibrant imagery of Georgia and symbolism to show the lives of southern black people. His stories Portrait in Georgia and Georgia Dusk mention lynchings th at white people use in attempt to show black people who the powerful race is. Other stories like Song of the Son and Cotton Song echo the past history of slavery. One prominent theme that seems to be relevant in Cane is sexuality, or more prominently black womens sexuality. In the first story Karintha, Toomer tells of a girl who Men had always wantedà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦even as a child (Toomer 1). The lust of Karintha at a young age was one so tempting that even older men wished for youth so they would have a chance with her. This changes though when She played home with a small boy who was not afraid to do her bidding (Toomer 1). This line seems to imply that Karintha married a man who could provide certain things to her. Further lines that talk about the old men who remind Karintha of when they use to lust after her, mentions that she Smiles, and indulges them when she is in the mood for it, which supports the idea that Karintha has turned into a prostitute. This is also evident when Toomer explains: The attention given to Karintha was only used for her sexuality. Ultimately, the lust for Karintha dehumanized her existence and The soul of her was a growing thing ripened too soon (Toomer 2). This quote reinforces the idea of Karintha being a prostitute. From these actions it could also be implied that Karintha had a stillborn baby when Toomer writes But Karintha is a woman, and she has had a child. A child fell out of her womb onto a bed of pine-needles in the forest (Toomer 2). At the beginning of this story, Toomer shows the innocence of a young Karintha, he then contrasted that to an older used Karintha. Another story Carma is about a black woman who is strong as any man (Toomer 10). Carmas promiscuous sexuality is what ultimately lands her husband in a chain gang. The story goes on to explain that Carma has an extramarital affair She had others. No one blames her for that (Toomer 11). She might not be blamed for that, but she is blamed after her husband finds out about the affair. This leads to Carma shooting herself to gain more sympathy from him. This does nothing but anger her husband who states Twice deceived, and one deception proved the other, then kills a man next to him (Toomer 11). Toomer portrays Carma as somewhat of a she devil for her promiscuous sexuality that angers her husband who ends up serving his time. Toomer shows the opposite of the sexual promiscuity in the last two stories with Fern. Fern is a black woman whose body is sexualized by other men but she purposefully remains a virgin. While men thought that Ferns eyes said to them that she was easy, really she did not feel obliged to satisfy their needs. Men could not believe that she would not have them and A sort of superstition crept into their consciousness of her being somehow above them. Being above them meant that she was not to be approached by anyone. She became a virgin (Toomer 14). It the story it says that while being a virgin is normal, not wanting to reproduce is not and that black folks were made to mate (Toomer 15). It could be assumed that Fern is portrayed as a Madonna, which would coincide with a line in another one of Toomers stories that mentions a Negress who drew a portrait of a black Madonna on the courthouse wall (Toomer 21). After the narrator spend time with Fern, he breaks down the real Fern who ended up fainting in his arms. The men in the town hear about this and the narrator is given dirty looks because they felt he had in some way threatened their black Madonna. Toomer uses vivid images of the landscape in the story. At the end, he connects Fern with the detailed landscape. Toomers next story Esther, is a about a black girl who looks like a little white child (Toomer 20). Through the story Esther badly wants to associate herself to the black culture but finds it hard because she is lighter and her dad is the richest black person in town. Esther in not portrayed as a black temptress like in the other stories in Cane; she is considered not attractive. Esther dreams of being accepted into the black culture. In one, she dreams there is a fire in the town which could be seen as a metaphor for her desire. When the fire starts the women scoot in all directions leaving Esther with a baby who is Black, signed, woolly, tobacco-juice baby-ugly as sin. Once held to her breast, miraculous thing: its breath is sweet and its lips can nibble (Toomer 22). This can be interpreted as Esther thinking that she needs a dark skinned baby to feel less light skinned. While the people in her dream might see the baby as ugly, she sees it as her bond to darker skin, forgetting her own color. Esther knows that men do not notice her and even says I dont appeal to them. I wonder why (Toomer 22). This is when her obsession with a black man named Barlo begins because it helps her forget she is lighter. She wants to offer herself to Barlo so she will be able to conceive her dark skinned child she had dreamed of, thus becoming more darkened. When Barlo returns to town she seeks to meet him face to face to give her body to him which does not turn out well as he recognizes her lighter skin tone. With the failed disappointment Esther tells herself The thought comes suddenly, that conception with a drunken man must be a mighty sin (Toomer 25). Her dreams to reproduce with Barlo failed, she becomes completely disembodied. At the end of this story, the town disappears along with her dreams. While the men in African American culture tried so hard to get away from the view that white people had, believing black people to be over sexualized beings, Toomer portrayed his black women just as that. While there has been a social stigma surrounding the false belief that African American women are over sexualized, some of the stories such as Karintha, Carma, and Fern do nothing to discredit that belief. Granted, this was not a stronger theme in these stories that lynching or slavery was. That being said, the Harlem Renaissance period was a time when white people had started to notice African American art and Toomer tried to accurately display the real lives of African Americans in Cane.

What Is the Point of the House of Lords?

What Is the Point of the House of Lords? The House of Lords is a fundamental part of the UKs bicameral legislative system, being an appropriate check and balance to the House of Commons in legislative matters. However, this has been brought into question after the Recent Welfare Reform Bill. This essay aims to examine ‘what is the point in the House of Lords?’ It will first look into its history, then its role in Parliament and how it has changed over time. It will focus on the welfare reform bill and the ban on hunting with hounds as its main examples. The House of Lords are also called the Upper Chamber and are a part of the legislature. Legislature is the part of government that discuss and pass laws (Jones, 2010). It is made up of the Commons, Lords and the Queen, only the Commons are elected. The executive is the party in power and is responsible for implementing the laws and policies made by legislature (Jones, 2010). The Houses of Parliament are divided up into two parts, the House of Lords and the House of Commons. The House of Lords is one of the two chambers of HM Parliament. The House of Lords is the second chamber of Parliament and is also called the Upper House (Jones, 2010). The House of Lords is separate to but works alongside the elected House of Commons. The House of Lords are made up of inherited Lords and Life peers. Modern Lords are appointed by the PM. The appointed peers tend to have a specialist area of knowledge, for example health or education. The House of Commons is made up of elected members (Budge, 2004). The House of Lords has 736 members, 86 more than the House of Commons. There are only 92 hereditary Lords left after they were thrown out by the Labour Government in 1999 as it was deemed undemocratic (Knight 2010). The first part of the House of Lords is the remaining hereditary members, the second part are appointed by the Prime Minister and they are given their titles, for example ‘Lady Margaret Thatcher’ so as she was given the title by the Prime Minister who took over from her she had a seat in the House of Lords. The third part is made up of the court system and the church and people in positions of expertise (Monroe, 2002). Before taking a seat in The House of Lords the peer has to swear an oath of allegiance to the monarch (Jones, 2010). The House of Lords is a combination of tradition and modern legislature (Monroe, 2002) Laws are only made if the Commons, Lords and the Monarch can agree. An unwritten constitution (a convention), states that the Monarch has always got to agree to new laws made by Parliament. The Lords can also only suggest amendments too legislation but does not actually have the power to make the changes, meaning the Commons hold the power (Budge, 2004). The legislative process starts with the draft papers, white and green papers. They are published to allow consultation from interested parties such as professional bodies and voluntary organisations before the bill is introduced into the House of Commons (Jones, 2010). They have their first reading in which it is just read out and then a second reading where there is a debate and a vote to move on to the committee stage which is pre-legislative scrutiny where the draft bill is considered by a departmental select committee this allows the MPs and members of Lords to have an early influence on the Bill (Jones, 2010). In the committee s tage they vote for amendments and send it to the report stage. In the report stage they discuss the amendments; they then go to the Third reading which in the House of Lords. The key purpose of The House of Lords is voting on whether to accept or reject legislation drawn up by The House of Commons (Jones, 2010). Suggesting amendments to legislation drawn up by The House of Commons and debating legislation drawn up by the House of Commons, they can also introduce new laws to be debated. Although the important laws start the legislative process with the Commons, the House of Lords do draw up some legislation, for example ensuring children with special needs and disabilities have access to mainstream education or protecting the right to legal aid in welfare cases and insisting on equality of the NHS treatment for physical and mental illness (www.parliament.uk). Members spend nearly half their time in the House considering draft laws. All bills have to be considered by both Houses of Parliament before they can become law (Jones, 2010). The House of Commons send legislation to the House of Lords, in the form of the white paper, but the 1911 Act has taken away the ability for The House of Lords to stop legislation sent down by The House of Commons. This started when the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Lloyd George, suggested in 1909 the introduction of the first old age pension and a majority of the Lords voted against (Knight, 2010). The main purposes of the Act was 1) The House of Lords can only delay a money bill for one month, and 2) Limiting the time the Lords can delay a bill, meaning if it was rejected three times the Bill could receive Royal Assent without approval from The House of Lords (Gillespie, 2013.) This has only been used four times in the last twenty five years. One of these was to pass The Parliament Act of 1949 which was an amendment of the 1911 Act making it so the Lords could only reject the bill two times rather than three before it could be passed with Royal Assent (Gillespie, 2013). These Acts t ook a lot of power away from the Lords. The current PM is allegedly preparing to use the Parliament Act for the first time in ten years to push through the EU Referendum Bill into Law before the next election (Holehouse, 2014). â€Å"The Act is sometimes described as the nuclear option of parliamentary to break stalemates between the Commons and the Lords† (Holehouse, 2014). An MP was quoted saying â€Å"It shows that they really, really want it to happen. It also shows the Lords that they can’t mess with it†. Although the Lords have been stripped of a lot of their power, there are advantages to the Lords. There can be a lot more individual expression in the House of Lords (Knight, 2010). Many of its members have a lot of experience in different areas of life; with this experience making an important contribution to the progress of legislation and serves to caution the government of the day (Jones, 2010). The House of Lords are also responsible for holding government to account. Members in the Upper Chamber scrutinise the work of the government during question time and debates in the chamber. â€Å"In the 2012-13 session, members held the government to account with 7,324 oral and written questions and 193 debates on issues ranging from child poverty to immigration† (www.parliament.uk). The Lords can also moderate the Commons using their expertise and making sure nothing too radical is put through (www.parliament.uk). Peers have less to lose, being free thinkers. If an MP was to go against their party leader then they could be ignored when looking for a job although some do still have party affiliation and will vote on side of their party (Knight, 2010). Some people however, would argue that having the House of Lords is healthy for our system as it means it isn’t led by political machines with party agendas (Knight, 2010). ‘Ping ponging’ is the toing and froing of amendments to Bills between the House of Commons and the House of Lords. A good example of this is The Hunting with Hounds Act which experienced seven years of ‘ping ponging’ between the two houses. Three private members Bills were introduced by Labour MPs between 1992 and 1995 to ban hunting with no success (Garnett, 2007). However, in a 1997 manifesto Labour offered a free vote on the subject. In 1998 the Bill got its second reading in the Commons and was ‘talked out’ by the third reading (Garnett, 2007). In 2000 a new bill was proposed with a compromise of hunting with a licence, this was rejected by the commons and thrown out by the Lords. The Bill had been introduced too late to meet the terms of the Parliament Act of 1949. After Blair was re-elected in 2001 the ‘ping pong’ effect still continued, with the Commons passing a new Bill and the Lords rejecting it, until 2004 when the conditions of the Parliament Act 1949 had been met and the Bill was given Royal Assent (Garnett, 2007). The House of Lords Reform draft bill was introduced in 2011. The Reform wants to outline the powers and responsibility of the relationships between the two houses. This would define the point of ‘financial privilege’. This could be hard to reach an agreement on when it could be rejected and what kind of amendments the House of Lords could make before they were ‘wrecking amendments’ and what circumstances the Lords would be able to reject secondary legislation (draft house of lords reform bill: report session 2010-12, Vol. 1: Report). Originally ‘Financial Privilege’ was seen as something dealing with Bills dealing with supply and taxation. However in the recent reform bill it was used to reject a lot of the amendments by the Lords and to prevent the bill ‘ping ponging’. The financial implications were seen as big enough by the Speaker to grant financial privilege (Crampton, 2012). Financial privilege is being used a lot more reducing the effect of the Lords scrutiny. Despite the fact the House of Lords do not appear to hold much in the way of power, the House are specialists in different fields offering expertise advice. Also, peers do not have a party agenda and therefore pose employability risk in going against their party. This is useful as these limitations can prevent any radical changes in law. But without any power to have their amendments noted there is really no point in the House of Lords if they can be over ruled completely. Budge etal (2004). The New British Politics. 3rd ed. Essex: Pearson Education Limited. Crampton, C. (2012). Whats the point in the house of Lords?. Available: www.totalpolitics.com/blog/293317/whats-the-pont-of-the-house-of-lords.thtml. Last accessed 6th Jan 2014 Egawhary E. (2010). What is the new face of the house of commons. Available: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/8672770.stm . Last accessed 6th Jan 2014. Garnett M (2007). Exploring British Poitics. Essex: Pearson Education Limited. Gillepie A (2013). The English Legal System. 4th ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Jones etal (2010). Politics Uk. 7th ed. Essex: Pearson Education Limited. Knight, J (2010). British Politics for Dummies. West Sussex: John Wiley and sons Peele G (1995). Governing the UK. 3rd ed. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers Ltd. What the Lords does. Available: http://www.parliament.uk/business/lords/work-of-the-house-of-lords/what-the-lords-does/. Last accessed 6th Jan 2014. Munroe, T (2002). An Intoduction to Politics, Lectures for first year students. 3rd ed. Mona Kingston 7, Jamaica: Canoe Press. Holehouse, M. (2014). David Cameron prepares nuclear option on EU referendum. Available: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/david-cameron/10526825/Cameron-prepares-nuclear-option-on-EU-referendum.html. Last accessed 6th Jan 2014 Draft house of lords reform bill: report session 2010-12, Vol. 1: Report . Y8158485

F. Scott Fitzgeralds The Great Gatsby Essay -- The Great Gatsby

Man dreams of living the life of the elite social class and of the power and admiration inherent within. F. Scott Fitzgerald comes to terms with this American dream in The Great Gatsby, a novel about social life in the 1920’s. The social hierarchy of the times plays a very important role in this novel. Here Fitzgerald illustrates three specific social classes: old money, new money, and lower class, with old money and new money taking center stage. Gatsby himself personifies new money; he made himself into a rich man through shady dealings. Tom Buchanan, on the other hand, represents old money. He received everything he has on a silver platter. He earned nothing but his inheritance. At the time, it was extremely desirable to be old money, because people looked at new money as vulgar and uncivilized. By illustrating social-economic class differences, Fitzgerald depicts the illusion of the corrupted American dream. Old money, living in the guise of the American dream, denies the entrance of new money and the lower class into their social hierarchy. In the novel, Tom has a mistress who lives in the "valley of ashes," where most of the lower class citizens reside. Tom has been seeing her for years even though he married Daisy. No one objects to this because of his old money status. On page 19, Jordan Baker informs Nick of this scandal, "Why- Tom’s got some woman in New York." Jordan also informs Nick of the commonality and wide acceptance of this fact. Tom’s ...

Teens Parental Friend Essay -- essays research papers

â€Å"It’s okay what you do here. I’m a cool mom.† That’s a quote from the latest teen movie, Mean Girls. Most parents think that being their teen’s best friend is something that will help them understand why teens do what they do. Unfortunately that’s not the case. Parents who give their teens whatever they want at whatever cost are wrong. They are teaching their teen to spoil their own child in the future. They also can start teaching their teen bad habits by not giving them chores to do or making them do homework. When parents become close friends with their teen the role of the authority figure is lost, which causes the teen to become lazy, dependent, and prevents them from succeeding to their highest performance.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Parents who give their teen whatever they want at whatever cost is spoiling their child. Yes, we all understand that parents want to stay active and participate in their teen’s life. If a parent spoils his teen with new clothes, shoes, video games, and money that gives the teen the impression that it’s okay to ask for whatever they want, in reality that’s not possible. The teens have to work for what he wants. In a research 40 percent of parents said that they would buy their child everything they wanted if they could (USA Today). Sampson Lee Blair said, â€Å"Trying to play to every little whim or desire will create problems for the child later in life.† I have to agree. A parent can still be his teen’s friend, but in a different way, a par...