Informal Caregiving

Caregiving Policies and Programs Aleesha M. Mullen University of Louisiana at Monroe Proposed Reference List & Outline: Topic: Care giving: The study of Informal Caregiving Outline: The Social Framework: Who are the Informal Caregivers? How does Caregiving affect their lives? The Ideological Framework: The Meaning of Informal Caregiving The Social Policy Options for Caregivers The values of Informal Caregiving Introduction This text will be exploring the profile of caregivers in today’s society.The profile of a caregiver ranges from the working mother to the wife with three children. There are no boundaries that can fit into this profile. Along with this, the text will explain the ways in which informal caregiving will change a person’s life and how it affects them personally. The different programs and policies that contribute the caregivers in our society will be discussed in dept. These will include private sectors and government sectors that offer support to caregiv ers. There are always good reasons on why informal caregiving should be focused on as an important task.For example, these caregivers come from a diverse demographic background, and their cultures, financial situations, and other aspects play a big role in how they provide care. This is why support should always be offered and administered to make sure the best value and quality of care is given. Therefore, in conclusion this text will be completed by expressing the values of informal caregiving and the changes that could be produced to help improve this line of work. The Profile of In Informal CaregivingThe term caregiver refers to anyone who provides assistance to someone else, who is, to some degree, handicapped, and unable to care for themselves. This could include persons providing care for: a husband or wife who has suffered a stroke, a spouse with Parkinson’s disease, a father-in law with cancer, a grandparent with Alzheimer’s disease, a loved one who is sufferi ng from a traumatic brain injury, a friend with acquired immune deficiency syndrome or AIDS, a child dealing with muscular dystrophy, an elder who is very frail. All of these can demonstrate as a caregiver.Many caregivers are unpaid individuals involved with assisting others who are u unable to perform certain normal activities. The caregivers range in gender, and age. The caregivers in our society today are majority women. There are an estimated 66% of caregivers who are female. Out of this percent, one-third takes care of two or more people, and the average age of a female caregiver is about forty-eight. (â€Å"Selected Caregiver Statistics†, n. d. para. 3). The interesting fact is there are usually more women who are caregivers and when a caregiver is thought of they think about an older female.According to Gary Lee, Jeffery Dwyer, and Raymond Coward, â€Å"Analyses show that adult children are more likely to provide care to a parent of the same gender, and infirm elders are more likely to receive care from a child of the same gender. Because the substantial majority of elderly parents requiring care from children are mothers, this tendency toward gender consistency in the caregiving relationship partially accounts for the fact that daughters are more likely than sons to be involved in parent care. † (Lee, Dwyer, Coward,. 1993). The tasks that are detailed in caregiving include bathing, toileting, and dressing.Among the caregivers, majority of the women population have to handle these most difficult tasks. It can be difficult for caregivers to think about their selves as they have to spend time thinking about another person. Female caregivers are more likely to endure more stress than the male caregivers. Caregivers also have to provide a stressing number of hours to the needy, and this can play a large role on they deal with other issues of life. According to the graph presented below provided by, â€Å"Partnership for Solution†, shows the average number of hours caregivers provide, can range from about fifteen hours to thirty-five hours.The ages range from fifteen years old to seventy-five years or older. Caregiving can affect and change a person’s life in a vast way. The act of providing care to an older family member is a highly personal activity. This is more than likely conducted in the privacy of a family’s home. Informal caregivers go about rescheduling their lives and daily activities to make sure that their loved ones receive the best care they possibly can. There are some caregivers who will go as far as quitting their jobs, or picking up a part-time job to take full advantage of the care they provide.There are people at all points in their life that give and receive informal care. The most common type of relationship is the one between the child and the elderly parent. Along with this relationship, the young caregivers are the ones who are more likely to care for the other family members such as; aunts, and uncles. Takamura and Williams(1998) states, â€Å"Caregiving to other relatives declines through middle age as other familial responsibilities take hold, but increases in the late fifties and early sixties.Over the age of 60, women frequently report providing care to a sibling† (Takamura & Williams, 1998. P. 7). During the middle age years there are usually life altering events that occur. For example, some women may have to deal with the natural act of menopause, and some male caregivers may have midlife crises. Middle age years are the times when the children are growing up or grandchildren are being born, and the immediate family needs the most attention. Although these are all factors that may yield a caregiver to give quality care to a loved one, there are other situations that might occur.For example, there may be an ill child, or disabled child that a parent or loved one will have to provide care to. All ethnic groups have a certain way and culturis t style of providing care. Both black and White Americans share equal amounts of time providing care, although, black women are more likely to be caregivers than white women. Black women may be also more likely to provide care to a disable relative other than an immediate family member than are white women. (Takamura & Williams, 1998. P. 8).Caregiving affects many groups in many different ways and varies by marital status. Caregivers also tend to be a little healthier than the general population. This could be because they are more aware of the health of the people around them and they try to focus on their selves as much as they can. Being a caregiver makes a person more conscious about health. Even though, states early that many caregivers have less time to care for their selves, their consciousness of health is higher. Providing informal care to disabled or ill family or friend is an important normative experience.Most Americans will become a caregiver as point of their life and many will provide informal care at multiple times in their live. Policies and Programs to Support Informal Caregivers Many of all of the types of carers previously listed are in the group of informal caregivers. It is true that these caregivers are not paid, but some are able to receive some sort of assistance from government agencies in different areas of our country. For example, Sweden is a country that focused on the informal caregivers and the things they need to provide quality care for their loved ones (Wacker & Roberto, p. 28). Wacker and Roberto also state, â€Å"Families provide direct and informal care to their elderly relatives, but the government also supports family caregivers through services that help carers directly and by providing compensation to carers†(Wacker. & Roberto p. 228). For example, there is a program entitled, Family and Informal Caregiver Support Program in Maryland, and Hawii. It was a developed explicity for innovative and evidence-based comm unity projects that help friend and family care for chronically ill or disabled and moderate income older adults. (Jeanett Weinberg Foundation, 2012).This is a great example to see how different areas of the world and of our society to offering the much needed support, even around the globe. In figure 1, it explains that Sweden focuses largly on the informal cargivers. Other countries are more focused on the government sectors of formal cargivng mainly due to the fact that a profit is involved. The Sweden government gives what is called, Carer’s allowance,to family who provide informal care to elderly recipient. These are what the Sweden’s government call, voluntary and nonprofit. As you can see in the figure as well the overnment of Sweden does provide help to the universal and local delivery of services for cargiving. It is always great to see the informal caregivers have a part in this government funding a well. Caregivers have to have some kind of support to be abl e to provide quality care. The question is, how do they receive this support and from where do they get it from? Service-based forms of support for carers help offer a large and import form of care. Service-based forms of support are typically emphasized on services that are available in all or most localities, or mainstream services.However, there are certain policies that are referenced based on innovatory or special needs because this is the form that is more widely needed. When looking at service-based forms of support for carers, it is always important to understand the definition of what is meant by a service for carers (Twigg, 1992, p. 60). Twigg says that carers reside in an ambiguous position within the field of social care, being neither patients nor clients. The help that come from carers does so from services aimed primarily at the person they look after.Therefore, the service provided is based on the personal need of the family member or person in need of care. Due to t he close relationship between the cared-for person and the carer, there care needed for the care-for person is relevant to the carer. This means that what counts as a service for carers need to be foreseen widely. There are two main forms of service for carers (Twigg, 1992). The first is specific carer services. These are services that are unequivocally provided to carers, for example respite care and support groups. The second form of service is carer allocations.Carers also receive help from some services that are aimed primarily at the person they look after. Sometimes the allocation is open, for example when a day care place is provided for the cared-for person with the intention of relieving the carer. Sometimes it happens less overtly, as a by-product of assistance to the cared-for person (Twigg, 1992, pp. 60-61). Both forms of service will be included when looking at service-based forms of support for carers. The research of this informal caregiving diffidently shapes policy and how programs are conformed for caregivers and the cared-for person.The respite form of care is one that was developed due to the fact there was research completed. The conclusion for informal caregivers who have jobs, children and other daily activities to be completed, is respite care. This is the most important form of support and specifically for carers. This is a form that can be defined as ‘an interval of relief’ (Tinker et al. , 1998). Of course this can come in a number of forms, although the most commonly available are day care and short-term breaks. Other types of home care relief services and sitting are available, although not in all areas (Tinker et al. 1998). In addition to specific carer services, home care service and community nursing services are aimed primarily at the person that is being looked after. These are both forms of in-home assistance, and they cover a help with in housework, nursing task and personal care. Every service has to be evaluat ed annually or in intervals of time. Many evaluations of services are based on aces to services, the views of carers and the outcomes for the carer. The purpose of the evaluations of services is to draw some conclusions from the details about each service and examining the services as a whole.Historically carers have had problems in being able to access community services. Community social services have been focused primarily on unsupported elderly people who live at home alone. This was a finding that was borne out by a number of studies undertaken during the late nineties. Davies et al. described this as reducing the ‘horizontal target efficiency’ of the service in that it reduced the proportion of people in high priority groups who received services (Davies et al. , 1990). Figure 1: Figure 2: References: Davies, B. , Ferlie E. , Hughes, M. and Twigg, J. (1990). Resources, Needs and Outcomes in Community-Based Care.A comparative study of the production of welfare for elderly people in ten local authorities in England and Wales. PSSRU, University of Kent at Canterbury, Avebury. Lee, G. R,. Dwyer, J. W. , Coward, R. T. , (1993). Gender Differences in Parent Care: Demographic Factors and Same-Gender Preferences. Retieved from http://geronj. oxfordjournals. org/content/48/1/S9. short Partner for Solutions. (2004). Chronic Conditons: Making the Case for Ongoing Care. John Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD. (2004). Retrieved from http://www. caregiver. org/caregiver/jsp/content_node. jsp? nodeid=401 Roberto, K. amp; Wacker, R. (2011). Aging Social Policies: An International Perspective. SAGE Publication, Inc. , Thousand Oaks, CA. Takamura, J. , Williams, B. , (1998). Informal Caregiving: Compassion in Action. Retrieved from http://aspe. hhs. gov/daltcp/reports/carebro2. pdf Tinker, A. , Wright, F. , McCreadie, C. , Askham J. , Hancock, R. and Holmans, A. (1998). Alternative Models of Care for Elderly People. Age Concern Institute of Gerontology. Twigg , J. (1992). ‘Carers in the service system’. In Twigg, J. (ed. ). Carers: Research and Practice. London, HMSO. Loading†¦ Loading†¦ Loading†¦ Loading†¦

Drug Test Benefits

Recent increases in the use of illegal drugs and problems related to that use have raised a variety of public health and safety concerns. These concerns have led many to propose drug testing as one of the best ways to combat the proliferation of drug use. Although the focus is testing for drugs, it is worth noting that similar calls for increased testing has risen due to the spread of HIV and the threat it poses to those exposed to it. Clearly, these public health and safety concerns conflict with privacy claims of those being targeted for testing. Nevertheless, many view the public safety threat as serious enough to override completely any individual privacy interests. Indeed, public opinion polls indicate that there is widespread support for a variety of testing programs, even those that are random and mandatory. Although drug abuse should not be tolerated in the workplace, care must be taken to limit the extent to which drug testing intrudes on people=s privacy. The idea is to use the technology carefully, with adequate justification, and with enough safeguards and precautions to ensure that testing is done thoughtfully and responsibly. Both the government and private business argue that they have a significant interest in testing citizens and employees for a variety of reasons. First, they can fight the Adrug [email  protected] by weeding out users and stopping drug use. Second, they can ensure safety by revealing conditions that pose a serious threat to co-workers or the public. Third, they test employees so they can maintain a fully responsive and effective workforce. Fourth, they can identify those who will be unable to work in the future. Fifth, it will help reduce the cost of employee health care plans. Finally, drug testing will help maintain public confidence in the integrity and trustworthiness of their operations. Many insurance agencies argue that testing is necessary because it fundamentally causes the healthier employees to pay higher premiums to cover the costs of the coverage for those who are at greater risk levels. All of these arguments provide strong reasons to consider drug testing. In some industries, such as health care and transportation, even casual drug or alcohol use can result in not only increased costs, but also in lawsuits and loss of life. Even if the employee is not chemically dependent, a spouse or family member using drugs or alcohol can mean missed work, extensive personal phone calls and increased dependent medical benefits. Supreme court justice Antonin Scalia found drug testing to be an invasion of privacy and a practice of A needless indignity. @ He states that if a blood test is used, it involves puncturing the skin. If a urinalysis is utilized, the sample must sometimes be gained under direct observation to guard against drug-free substitutions and falsification of results. He feels that there are more effective methods of identifying drug users. For example, a daily observation of moods, behavior, and productivity, can detect drug use and be dealt with immediately. Many employees feel that implementing a drug testing program will prove to the lack of trust between the employer and employee. They feel that this will cause high turnover rates from year to year. It will also lower employee morale and effectiveness while on the job. These problems could be avoided by just utilizing the observance plan mention earlier. Opponents of drug testing also focuses on the limitations of the testing procedures, arguing that the tests are highly inaccurate. One worry is the sensitivity of the tests. Many types of tests procedure inaccurate, innocent parties will be harmed because most tests produce a large number of false positive results, indicating that there has been drug use when there has actually been none. Such false positive results can rise from the use of medications, passive inhalation of marijuana smoke, or the technology employed for many drug tests. Drug testing opposers cite the human error of lab personnel that further implicates the accuracy of results The first two cases on drug testing to reach the Supreme Court were argued in 1988. From the decisions issued the following year, it is clear that the court held that urine tests are a significant intrusion into a fundamentally private domain. Since then, every court that has addressed the issue has found that urinalysis and blood tests intrude on privacy as a search and seizure forbidden under the fourth amendment. Courts have mainly focused on the privacy invasion involved, first, in the process of urination and the manner in which the specimen is obtained, and second, in the individuals interest and safeguarding the confidentiality of the information contained in the sample. While drug tests might also violate the fifth amendment protection of due process and constitutional privacy interests, courts have taken the privacy claims of the fourth amendment to be the most forceful constitutional threat. Some surveys show employees strongly support drug testing because it promises greater safety and harmony at work. However, scores of civil suits in the early and mid 1980's challenged the procedure as an invasion of privacy. The courts have upheld most testing programs, and fewer suits are now being filed. In a study conducted by the society for Human Resources Management, human resource professionals most consistently favored the use of drug and alcohol testing, soliciting criminal record checks, and monitoring visual display, terminal keystrokes and phone activity. While employers may deem these activities as essential to preserve workplace safety and productivity, many employees would argue that they violate their privacy, both on the job and at home. Employees may not be invaded by having to participate in drug tests with the urinalysis. Technology has advanced so that any impairment in a workers performance while on the job due to drugs or alcohol will be monitored on computers. It is called performance or impairment testing by its creators, and is a game-like device that can test judgement and motor coordination through the ability to manipulate a cursor on a VDT screen. The benefits reveal the cause of an employee impairment. Performance tests would offer more privacy to the worker and promote a less hostile environment People have objected mostly to random drug testing, which is mainly limited to government and private jobs that effect public safety, like those at nuclear power plants, airlines, railroads and trucking companies. More than 90 percent of the testing is of job applicants. But most of these same companies also test after accidents and when suspicions are aroused through erratic behavior. Fewer than 10 percent of the companies test randomly or at the time of annual physicals An employer has an extreme amount of influence on an individual to receive some type of treatment for their addiction. They are in the position to provide incentive for accepting treatment, as well as emotional support afterwards, because the job usually is of extreme importance to the addicted individual. The management should offer and accessible health insurance plan so that when the employee needs to receive the treatment that they can easily do so without having to involve several other people Once the addict has received the needed care, their job structure should be altered by management. They should be placed in a less stressful atmosphere. Their amount of work decreases for a certain amount of time, and they should not be placed on a demanding quota schedule that could trigger an emotional swing back toward the addiction The key to this success is having a good prevention program in place to detect problems at an early stage in their development. @If these problems can be detected early then outpatient treatment can be successful,@ says Maureen Whitmore of Occupational Health Services in Larkspur, California. Once a company has invested their time and money in rehabilitation of the employee, there are steps that must be followed to keep the employee from returning to their addiction. First, a peer support group should be provided where open discussion is encouraged in trying to cope with a new life and the new found pressure of work. Second, management should help their employees reintegrate back into the workplace. They will be confused and easily persuaded by stress that might have led to the problem in the beginning. Third, the company should hold AA meetings on-site and provide a crisis number to call in case of an emergency. Fourth, supervisors should be educated to watch for returning signs that the person is under stress. Fifth, management should involve family members and provide lifestyle education. Finally, stress reduced activities should be offered on-site, such as aerobics and fitness classes, and workshops on how to improve interpersonal skills. I feel that employee drug testing in some manner is essential to the performance and effectiveness of an employee in a company. Management needs the assurance that every employee is doing their job without any type of impairment from an outside source. However, I also feel that urinalysis testing is an invasion of privacy. As an employer, I will not be concerned with what types of drugs the employee is taking, but he is impairing the performance of the company. As I mentioned earlier, technology has advanced in such a manner that there will be no need for urinalysis tests. Performance or impairment testing programs will test the employee=s judgement and motor coordination through the ability to manipulate a cursor on a VDT screen. This will provide the employer with accurate information on the abilities of the employee to perform their job. It also keeps the employees addiction private and not for their employers to know. I feel that the increased health insurance coverage and the increased ease of access for employees will help them seek treatment for their addiction. However, there will need to be severe disciplinary actions for those who continually test positive. Once an employee has received treatment, the follow-up plans must be persuaded by management. This should help the employee to receive the needed attention for their problem, and help the company continue to have an effective employee. Drug testing has many benefits and set backs for both employers and employees. Certain types of drug testing are necessary in to days workplace for there to be an increased effectiveness of a company on their industry. However, employees still have privacy rights that cannot be infringed upon. A good and successful detection program and rehabilitation program are essential to the survival of the employee in the workplace. Eventually, the drug addiction will impair their abilities for life.

Foreign Literature Essay

Youth marketing is a term used in the marketing and advertising industry to describe activities to communicate with young people, typically in the age range of 12 to 34. More specifically, there is the tween marketing, targeting people in the 8 to 12 year-old range, teen marketing, targeting people age 13 to 19, college marketing, targeting college-age consumers, typically ages 18 to 23, young adult marketing, targeting young professionals, typically ages 22 and above The youth market is critical because of the demographic’s buying power and its members’ influence on the spending of family members. In addition, teens and young adults often set trends that are adopted by other demographic groups. The youth market is viewed as a difficult group to connect with and sell to, based on the fragmented media landscape and young people’s keen ability to identify and reject marketing messages that lack credibility. Nonetheless, many brands market to youth by offering relevant products and services while communicating a brand message in an appropriate voice and tone. Successful brands marketing to youth have a foundation in or association with key interests and drivers among youth: music, sports, fashion, video gaming and technology, among others. While frowned upon for preteens and younger teens, another common way advertisers target the older youth market is through product placement. Product placement occurs when a brand name product appears in a medium not necessarily related to the product itself. Companies often pay for their products to be placed in a movie or on a television show. This act, while not an overt form of advertising, seeks to target youth in a subtle manner. Youth marketing strategies commonly include television advertising, magazine advertising and online marketing. Today young people expect to be able to learn about, interact and be entertained with brands or services targeting them online. Other common youth marketing tactics include entertainment marketing, music marketing, sports marketing, event marketing, viral marketing, school and college programs, product sampling and influencer marketing. Examples of brands embraced by youth and used as examples in marketing cases are: Vans Footwear, it used youth marketing tactics to grow from a niche sneaker brand to a successful international business and Mountain Dew, a well- known soft drink brand that expanded market share through youth marketing tactics in the 1990s. Consumer behavior and attitude towards youth marketing This section possibly contains original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations. Statements consisting only of original research may be removed. (February 2012) Since the 1980s, the marketing industry has seen an increase in research as well as an increase in spending. The marketing industry’s budget in 1992 was $6 billion and by 2003 this figure had risen to an estimated[by whom?] $15 billion in marketing efforts. According to Tim Kasser of Knox College, there is little that is known about youth marketing opinion. He states that since the late 1990s there have only been two large-scale opinion surveys conducted. The first of these surveys was sponsored by Center for a New American Dream, which consisted of 400 random parents nationwide. The second was sponsored by power exchange and took its survey participants from people who make a living off of youth marketing. The purpose of this survey was to assess a participant’s attitude towards a variety of youth marketing issues. Respondents to the survey were asked a range of questions regarding the ethics of youth marketing. The public opinion on youth marketing ethics according to this survey was mostly negative. An overwhelming 78% of respondents agreed that the current practices used in youth marketing were harmful to children, whereas 3.7% believed that the current practices were fine the way they were, while the remaining 85.1% didn’t believe that youth marketing had any ethics. The results of this survey shed light on youth marketing’s pros and cons. But this survey has shown that respondents clearly view the current tactics being used as potentially harmful and in need of structure.[citation needed] By the end of this survey, Tim Kasser concluded that a large portion of respondents to his survey felt that youth marketing morals were unacceptable and that they contributed to a range of youth-oriented problems. Also he found that marketing that took place in public schools was unacceptable and that governmental regulations should be put in place to prevent marketing groups from advertising to eight-year-olds. Even though this is just the tip of the iceberg,[according to whom?] talks on youth marketing have been ongoing; there have been few changes to policy or law in regards to marketing to youth. The results of the survey done by Tim Kasser suggest that people are ready to change public policy and legal initiatives in regards to these issues.[2] Youth trends On the other end of the youth marketing spectrum, you[who?] could say that the traditional definition of â€Å"youth† doesn’t really exist. This assumption was based upon consumer behavior in a study done by Viacom Brand Solutions International called the â€Å"Golden Age of Youth†. This case study was designed to focus on adults from 18 to 34 years old who primarily delayed their adult responsibilities in favor of staying younger in all aspects of life. According to this study, 16- to 19-year-olds are considered to be going through the discovery period. As people grow older they usually phase out of the discovery period and into the experimentation period, when they hit the age range of 20 to 24 years old. Usually those that don’t fit into the groups above are part of the golden category, which consists of anyone 24 to 34. Some of the key results that were produced from this case study were that 24–34-year-olds usually don’t respond to the same marketing techniques as teens and those that think so are being fooled, whereas in reality only 8% in the study were actually true teenagers. It also showed that the golden youth were the happiest out of all the categories and drawn towards expensive brands compared to teens. Based on the categories provided by Viacom and the results of the case study, it goes to show that over 52% of adults from 25 to 34 still have a lot of growing up to do. Youth trends are part of an environment pertaining to information that we[who?] know as youth marketing and is rapidly evolving and is interconnected with the evolution of transmission systems and content quality.[citation needed] It is easy to give very little weight to these new trends that are evolving in this information environment, but these changes should not be taken lightly[according to whom?] because it will affect how youth communicate and absorb this information. These changes can easily be shown through various media such as smart phones or social networking sites like Facebook, allowing youth marketing to occur on a sensory level. Morals and education of marketers: Youth marketing is under increased scrutiny by many public-oriented establishments such as government agencies, academia, and the media.[citation needed] The increased inquiry into the marketing industry has occurred because of the increased commercialism towards kids and marketing in schools. These are just a few of the ideas that have become more saturated in mainstream society.[citation needed] Recently[when?] in youth marketing there has been much information and misinformation on this topic despite the issue of youth marketing. In regards to the public opinion of youth marketing, one side that has not been represented is that of the youth marketing industry. This point of view is crucial[according to whom?] to understanding the basics to making positive progress on issues related to youth marketing. John C. Geraci, who wrote the article â€Å"What do youth marketers think of selling to kids?†, gives an insight as to the mindset of those working in this industry by conducting an online polling. This polling consisted of 878 interviews each around 30 minutes. The interview covered topics such as educational background to ethics in youth marketing. According to the polling, those that work in youth-oriented careers are 92% more likely to have a four-year degree and less likely to have academic skills specifically for dealing with children. Most of these people also feel that the ethical standards are on par with other industries. But at the same time they feel that ethics can be a matter of intentions and not results. Usually companies will invest time in producing ad campaigns and products to make sure they are suitable for a youth-oriented market, which means that these ideas can easily be turned over because they are deemed not suitable. In addition, they usually spend large sums of money on market research to ensure products have some educational value for youth and are acceptable to those buying the products.[citation needed] Most ethical procedures in the youth marketing industry occur behind office walls and are usually not seen by the public, media, or politicians, which means that problems that arise with youth marketing don’t originate from the people creating the ads but are the result of multiple causes. For example, childhood obesity has not been caused by one ad or product brought out by a marketing company. But it is a health concern that has developed due to multiple factors, that influence how the public reacts to certain ads and products brought out by these companies. Youth consumer behavior The Internet has ushered in a new digital media culture that allows different forms of media to converge. What once used to be multiple separate devices such as a telephone, television, or computer are now able to converge as one form of technology. Smart phones are the perfect example[according to whom?] of this hybrid technology that the new digital media culture has ushered in. As early adopters of new technologies, the youth in many ways are the defining users of the digital media that are embracing this new culture. â€Å"The burgeoning digital marketplace has spawned a new generation of market research companies which are introducing an entire lexicon of marketing concepts (e.g., â€Å"viral marketing,† â€Å"discovery marketing†) to describe some of the unorthodox methods for influencing brand loyalty and purchasing decisions.† The research that is done on youth marketing quickly becomes outdated by the time it’s published as a result of the growth of digital media as educators and health professionals continue to get a grasp on the situation. Youth advertising is an important determinant of consumer behavior; it has been shown to have an influence on a youths’ product preference and purchase requests. There are some scientists[who?] that believe studying youth consumer behavior is a negative thing because it impacts their beliefs, values, and moral judgments. They argue this because they believe that youth are more influenced by advertising messages than adults are. Advertising impacts usually are conducted by focusing on three specific effects: cognitive, behavioral, and affective. Usually cognitive effect studies are more focused on children’s abilities to distinguish commercials from reality and their ability to understand the difference between the two. When cognitive studies are being done they will follow Piaget’s theory to track the concrete development of children. Piaget’s theory is divided into stages; these stages are known as the pre-operational and concrete operational stage. The first stage focuses on the age group of 2- to 7-year-olds whereas the second focuses on 7- to 12-year-olds. On the other hand, there are some scientists[who?] that believe youth marketing is a good thing because it helps to define who they are as a consumer. On that note, it has been proven that requests by youth for advertised products decrease as they mature (1,14,24,26). Youth-oriented audiences tend to become more critical about their purchases and less susceptible to media advertising as they grow up. Gender also tends to have a role in a youth’s thought process when requesting an advertised product. In most cases, boys are more persistent in their requests than girls. Other factors that may co-determine children’s consumer behavior include socioeconomic level of the family, frequency and kind of parent–child interaction, and involvement with peer groups. These are just a few of the issues regarding youth consumer behavior and it is not going on in just our country[clarification needed] but in other countries as well such as the Netherlands. The Netherlands is a perfect example[according to whom?] to show how youth marketing is viewed in another country. In the Netherlands youth advertising may not mislead about characteristics or the price of the product in addition to this products aimed at children cannot have too much authority or trust amongst children. But there are loopholes in the way the Netherlands protects children from direct youth marketing. These loopholes usually question concepts such as â€Å"misleading†, â€Å"authority†, and â€Å"trust†. Social responsibility and how it affects consumer behavior Studies of social adolescents in social marketing media are usually concerned with activities that have heavy consequences. For example things like smoking, violent entertainment, alcohol abuse, and fast food consumption are all things that are negatively going to affect a young consumer’s consumption behavior. Recently though the de-marketing of these harmful behaviors has started to occur slowly over the years, the focus of social and youth marketing has shifted from reinforcing positive behavior in favor of discouraging abusive behaviors. Since social and youth marketing are trying to head in this direction it indicates to the industry that youth marketing can be used for positive benefits. For example, rather than just a company associating itself with a non-profit or global aid organization is easy to understand. But youth more often than not want to actively get engaged in experiences that directly affect the world such as world hunger for example. Which indicates that companies should not just associate themselves with non-profit but actually offer their own non-profit experiences that young consumers can get involved with. Overall this idea and how it relates to youth marketing might seem a bit abstract[according to whom?] but it potentially links to a young consumer’s behavior. This idea of creating cause-related experiences is important for the industry to take note of when it comes to youth marketing. By influencing a young consumer view of a specific company as a well known supporter of a positive non-profit can create brand loyalty beyond traditional brand utilities. This loyalty to the brand in a sense makes the volunteer or youth-oriented customer are aiding in the production of more loyal customers to the brand. In the long run, these non-effort opportunities can become embedded in a generation and become self-producing for the company as long as they maintain the events that cause consumer loyalty. Real-world examples In order to understand the public’s opinion on youth marketing, one must be able to understand the experiences that each generation has been exposed to while growing up. Generation Y is very similar to the baby boomer generation especially at different points in life. So it is essential to see what experiences each generation has experienced while growing up. But different formative experiences affect each person of Generation Y. For example, the events that made the biggest impression on members of Generation Y who graduated from school in 2000 were Columbine, the war in Kosovo, and Princess Diana’s death.[8] Targeting the Demographic Social Status and Brand Loyalty Products and brands with Social Power encompass the notion that â€Å"Corporate cool hunters are searching for teens that have the respect, trust, and admiration of their friends.† The American Psychological Association said, â€Å"Advertisers understand the teen’s desire to be â€Å"cool,† and manipulate it to sell their wares, a concept that’s been offered to marketers by psychologists including James McNeal, PhD. Marketers assume a silent role as manipulators and the role they manage to play is not only in the purchases of teens but also in the social statuses of teens. A key aspect to youth marketing or any targeted demographic marketing is that these products are supposed to fulfill the needs or desires of the consumer. A large portion of sales promotion is dedicated to accomplishing this. However, according to Ainsworth Anthony Bailey of University of Toledo in â€Å"The Interplay of Social Influence and Nature of Fulfillment: Effects on Consumer Attitudes,† not much of this research has focused on non-fulfillment of promotional promises which in turn, breaks the trust of the consumer and hurts the entire image of the brand and its product. The role of brand loyalty and/or belonging to a brand becomes a primary act for the young consumers. Promotion is always positive; commodities are presented as the road to happiness. In short, advertising uses existing values and symbols rather than reflecting them. Child psychologist, Allen Kanner states that, â€Å"The problem, is that marketers manipulate that attraction, encouraging teens to use materialistic values to define who they are and aren’t.† It’s key that we acknowledge the need for teens to not only identify but to let the brand identify them. It’s what feeds into the notion that Marketing and Branding effects teen consumerism. Salancik & Pfeffer’s (1978) Social information processing theory addresses mechanisms by which peers influence individuals’ behavior and attitudes. According to this theory, social information consists of comments and observations made by people whose views an individual considers relevant. The literature on social influence suggests that this could impact consumers’ perceptions. Classroom According to the Media Awareness Network, a huge space where young adults can be targeted is in the setting of education or classroom. Whether it be through sponsored health educational assemblies, or as simple as the vending machines in the lunch room, or contests/incentive programs, and the companies that supply the schools with new technologies such as Mac computers. The academic setting becomes a prime marketing tool in reaching our youth because the classroom provides a captive audience for any product or brand to be modeled in front of. One example that the Media Awareness Network provides to explain how the academic environment can be used to silently speak and market to the youth is contests and incentive programs like the Pizza Hut reading incentives program in which children receive certificates for free pizza if they achieve a monthly reading goal. Similarly, Campbell’s Labels for Education project, in which Campbell provides educational resources for schools in exchange for soup labels collected by students. Internet According to the director of Saatchi & Saatchi Interactive, â€Å"This is a medium for advertisers that is unprecedented†¦ there’s probably no other product or service that we can think of that is like it in terms of capturing kids’ interest.† Advertisers reach the young demographic by eliciting personal information. It’s as easy as getting them to fill out quick, simple surveys prior to playing these games. They offer prizes such as T-shirts for filling in â€Å"lengthy profiles that ask for purchasing behavior, preferences and information on other family members.† Advertisers, then take the information they obtain from these polls and surveys to â€Å"craft individualized messages and ads† in order to draw and hook them into a world centered around a certain product or brand. The ads that surround the individual in these â€Å"cyber worlds† are meant to keep a firm grip on each individual. It provides the setting for them to be completely consumed by the advertisers messages, products, and brands around them. These games are not just games. They’re â€Å"advergames†, CBS News correspondent John Blackstone reports for â€Å"Gotta Have It: The Hard Sell To Kids.† Advergames allow for marketers to incorporate brands and products into a game-like setting where the child playing it, is exposed constantly to these brands and products. A 10-year old girl who was interviewed by CBS, says she can score with Skittles, race with Chips Ahoy or hang out with SpongeBob. â€Å"You think about that 30-second commercial, basically a lot of those games are pretty fun to play and kids really get engaged in them,† Ted Lempert, president of Children Now, a group that has successfully pushed for limits on TV advertising to kids, says. â€Å"So really it ends up becoming a 30-minute commercial.† Kids in an Adult World The influence that our youth have on purchases made in a household are extremely high, shockingly, even on high-end items such as what vehicle the family decides to purchase. For example, one study estimated that children influenced $9 billion worth of car sales in 1994. One car dealer explains: â€Å"Sometimes, the child literally is our customer. I have watched the child pick out the car.†[12] According to, James U. McNeal, author of â€Å"Kids as Customers: A Handbook of Marketing to Children,† car manufacturers cannot afford to ignore the children in their marketing. Nissan is one of many companies know to do this. They sponsor the American Youth Soccer Organization and a traveling geography exhibit in order to promote and get eyes on their brand name and logo in child-friendly settings. There’s analysis of the process of the development of a child and how it relates to how marketers know they can have a great deal of power in the field of persuasion on them at such young ages. At the age of five or six, children have trouble distinguishing fantasy from reality and make-believe from lying. They do not distinguish programs from ads, and may even prefer the ads. Between seven and ten years-old, children are most vulnerable to â€Å"televised manipulation†. At age seven, the child can usually distinguish reality from fantasy, and at nine, he or she might suspect deception. This could come from any personal experience where products have turned out not to be as advertised. However, they cannot fully decipher this logic and continue to have â€Å"high hopes† for future products produced by a particular brand. By the age of ten, the individual starts to have a cynical perception of ads, in that â€Å"ads always lie†. Around eleven or twelve, a toleration of adults lying in advertisements starts to develop. At this stage, it’s the true coming of the adolescent’s â€Å"enculturation† into a system of social hypocrisy. Product Placement Product placement, or embedded marketing, is a form of advertisement, where branded goods or services are placed in a context usually devoid of ads, such as movies, music videos, the story line of television shows, or news programs. The product placement is often not disclosed at the time that the good or service is featured. Factors Affecting Consumer Behavior Consumer behavior refers to the selection, purchase and consumption of goods and services for the satisfaction of their wants. There are different processes involved in the consumer behavior. Initially the consumer tries to find what commodities he would like to consume, then he selects only those commodities that promise greater utility. After selecting the commodities, the consumer makes an estimate of the available money which he can spend. Lastly, the consumer analyzes the prevailing prices of commodities and takes the decision about the commodities he should consume. Meanwhile, there are various other factors influencing the purchases of consumer such as social, cultural, personal and psychological. The explanation of these factors is given below. 1. Cultural Factors Consumer behavior is deeply influenced by cultural factors such as: buyer culture, subculture, and social class. Culture Basically, culture is the part of every society and is the important cause of person wants and behavior. The influence of culture on buying behavior varies from country to country therefore marketers have to be very careful in analyzing the culture of different groups, regions or even countries. Subculture Each culture contains different subcultures such as religions, nationalities, geographic regions, racial groups etc. Marketers can use these groups by segmenting the market into various small portions. For example marketers can design products according to the needs of a particular geographic group. Social Class Every society possesses some form of social class which is important to the marketers because the buying behavior of people in a given social class is similar. In this way marketing activities could be tailored according to different social classes. Here we should note that social class is not only determined by income but there are various other factors as well such as: wealth, education, occupation etc. 2. Social Factors Social factors also impact the buying behavior of consumers. The important social factors are: reference groups, family, role and status. Reference Groups Reference groups have potential in forming a person attitude or behavior. The impact of reference groups varies across products and brands. For example if the product is visible such as dress, shoes, car etc then the influence of reference groups will be high. Reference groups also include opinion leader (a person who influences other because of his special skill, knowledge or other characteristics). Family Buyer behavior is strongly influenced by the member of a family. Therefore marketers are trying to find the roles and influence of the husband, wife and children. If the buying decision of a particular product is influenced by wife then the marketers will try to target the women in their advertisement. Here we should note that buying roles change with change in consumer lifestyles. Roles and Status Each person possesses different roles and status in the society depending upon the groups, clubs, family, organization etc. to which he belongs. For example a woman is working in an organization as finance manager. Now she is playing two roles, one of finance manager and other of mother. Therefore her buying decisions will be influenced by her role and status. 3. Personal Factors Personal factors can also affect the consumer behavior. Some of the important personal factors that influence the buying behavior are: lifestyle, economic situation, occupation, age, personality and self concept. Age Age and life-cycle have potential impact on the consumer buying behavior. It is obvious that the consumers change the purchase of goods and services with the passage of time. Family life-cycle consists of different stages such young singles, married couples, unmarried couples etc which help marketers to develop appropriate products for each stage. Occupation The occupation of a person has significant impact on his buying behavior. For example a marketing manager of an organization will try to purchase business suits, whereas a low level worker in the same organization will purchase rugged work clothes. Economic Situation Consumer economic situation has great influence on his buying behavior. If the income and savings of a customer is high then he will purchase more expensive products. On the other hand, a person with low income and savings will purchase inexpensive products. Lifestyle Lifestyle of customers is another import factor affecting the consumer buying behavior. Lifestyle refers to the way a person lives in a society and is expressed by the things in his/her surroundings. It is determined by customer interests, opinions, activities etc and shapes his whole pattern of acting and interacting in the world. Personality Personality changes from person to person, time to time and place to place. Therefore it can greatly influence the buying behavior of customers. Actually, Personality is not what one wears; rather it is the totality of behavior of a man in different circumstances. It has different characteristics such as: dominance, aggressiveness, self-confidence etc which can be useful to determine the consumer behavior for particular product or service. 4. Psychological Factors There are four important psychological factors affecting the consumer buying behavior. These are: perception, motivation, learning, beliefs and attitudes. Motivation The level of motivation also affects the buying behavior of customers. Every person has different needs such as physiological needs, biological needs, social needs etc. The nature of the needs is that, some of them are most pressing while others are least pressing. Therefore a need becomes a motive when it is more pressing to direct the person to seek satisfaction. Perception Selecting, organizing and interpreting information in a way to produce a meaningful experience of the world is called perception. There are three different perceptual processes which are selective attention, selective distortion and selective retention. In case of selective attention, marketers try to attract the customer attention. Whereas, in case of selective distortion, customers try to interpret the information in a way that will support what the customers already believe. Similarly, in case of selective retention, marketers try to retain information that supports their beliefs. Beliefs and Attitudes Customer possesses specific belief and attitude towards various products. Since such beliefs and attitudes make up brand image and affect consumer buying behavior therefore marketers are interested in them. Marketers can change the beliefs and attitudes of customers by launching special campaigns in this regard. View as multi-pages

Forensics project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Forensics project - Essay Example Other applications entail investigating whether there was a breach of network within an organization. In the technical aspects of the investigation, digital forensics has several sub-branches that relate to the digital devices that have been in use. They include the network forensics, mobile data computer, and forensics data analysis (Oriyano & Gregg, 2011). Apart from the provision of direct evidence relating to digital crimes, digital forensics has vast applications in authenticating documents, confirmation of alibis, identification, and determining the intent of the breach in the information. To sum it, all digital forensics entails the preservation, extraction, and analysis of the evidence relating to digital content for appropriate legal actions. The field concerns with apprehending criminals who use digital technology in committing crimes. Some of the crimes committed through digital technology include hacking of emails to retrieve important information, retrieving information from the government agencies and institutions in an illegal manner for personalized use or terrorism (Oriyano & Gregg, 2011). Gone are the days when criminals used excessive force to get what they want. They have shifted to the use of technology in wiring money to their accounts especially from banking institutions without the use of force. Digital forensics is of relevance to these cases and helps in averting such crimes (Marcella & Guillossou, 2012). In this project, Digital Forensic Evidence Files will be investigated using the Forensic Toolkit that is available within the Lab. The evidence files have been collected from the suspect’s computer. The files for investigation are true images retrieved from the hard drive of the computer (Marcella & Guillossou, 2012). Three files are available for investigation namely, Thumb drive. E01, Mantooth.E0, and Washer.E01. The files under

Sociological View of the Gender Wage Gap Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Sociological View of the Gender Wage Gap - Essay Example This fact when established was exasperating to many working women since even though the education and training of a neurosurgeon may be a highly cumbersome process, the significance of a neurosurgeon is not hard to determine. The establishment of this fact has shown that the wage gap between men and women is not based on qualification, but is indeed founded upon prejudice based on sexual discrimination. Overtime, the wage rate difference between men and women has decreased so much so that women are now being recorded to make 80% of what men make as compared to the startling 60% that was recorded in 1970. Over time, laws and clauses have been introduced to tackle this problem and to extract and eliminate the element of sexism influencing pay scales in the work place, yet the issue still prevails (The Council of Economic Advisers, 1998). Some critics and analysts choose to deny the wage gap between the two sexes, yet as more and more women join the work force the gap only appears more clearly every year. Congress took stern note of sexual discrimination influencing wage rates when in 1963, through the Equal Pay Act, an amendment to the Fair Labor Standards Act. But this was not the first time discrimination in the work place had been addressed in the corridors of power. Before 1963 came the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990, and then later in 1964 The Civil Rights Act also addressed the issue as did the Discrimination in Employment Act later in 1967. These laws were put into place by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and adherence to them is overseen by the same (The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 2008). Legislation has addressed wage discrimination very specifically. Pay differential factors have been outlined to be merit rather than sex and it has been specified that a difference between the job content and the job title is to be observed. Jobs are not to be judged or remunerated by the title that they entail but by the contents, responsibilities and the nature of those responsibilities that they necessitate. Also, it has been delineated that the skills required for the job are to be considered a factor contributing to the pronouncement of the wage rather than the sum of skills that a person possess. The wages can differ based upon working conditions such as environmental hazards and mental or physical exertion but not under any condition upon the gender of the employee. Influenced by an increase in the wage gap observed by the U.S. Census Bureau, it has been suggested that the wage gap between the sexes can be eliminated by increasing the minimum wage level and enforcing acts such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Acts more assertively. It has also been suggested that women should be entitled to more family friendly work environment policies so as to allow them to bear and balance the burden of the responsibility of their families as well as of the work place (Longley, 2004). Certain multinational organizations have heeded this suggestion and have established programs such as day care centers for the children of the female employees and special paid maternal leaves to allow women to exercise their role in

Diversity in Society Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Diversity in Society - Essay Example This is evident from the legislative measures and Disabled Children Act 2000. According to Moss & Petrie, "Our construction of childhood and our images of the child represent ethical and political choices, made within larger frameworks of ideas, values and rationalities". (Moss & Petrie, 2002, p. 55) There is a need to ponder as to why such children suffers discrimination throughout their lives, what can be done morally and socially to detect the negative influences, how the outrageous behaviour can be avoided and what measures can be taken in order to accept them as a part and parcel of our society. We shall explore how the image, which we have created within our minds of the disabled child, can be changed and prolific while utilising the best of public policies and provisions for disabled children. According to Keogh's research, "we should look for subtypes of students with particular patterns of difficulty while examining social, cultural, and environmental explanations for these differences. If we are truly going to provide the most effective services for students and their families with special needs, it will only occur when we understand individual differences". (Bernheimer et al, 1999, p. 8) Developmental disabilities can affect individuals on a temporary or lifelong basis depending upon their capabilities or sometimes the positive utilization of those capabilities. Individuals (children) also move across the spectrum of disability or involvement in their lifetime, depending on several factors, which include the nature of the disability, developmental achievements, individual differences, rehabilitation services, and the environment in which they function and grow. Where individuals are in reference to the spectrum of their disability is an approach that social workers need to be adjusted to because individuals might need different services and support across the life span that vary in need and duration. This has implications for practice, programming, advocacy, and social policy. (Gitterman, 2001, p. 205) Like it is not necessary that every individual require the same kind of assistance and help from social workers, the requirement varies. Similarly the developmental disabilities that affect individuals and their families are not limited to particular ways, instead they affect individuals in different ways, ways that depend on the nature of the disability, ability level, coping and stress, individual differences, culture and belief systems, society's response to a specific condition, and attitudes and value system. (Gitterman, 2001, p. 205) Recent Services It is seen over the last few decades that individuals with developmental disabilities and their families have been profoundly affected by social, economic, philosophical, political, and scientific changes. These changes have included scientific discoveries about drug treatment and prevention of certain conditions, medical technologies to keep at-risk children alive, deinstitutionalisation of the disabled and mentally ill, cash benefits to the disabled and their families, physical and employment access to public places, public special education, legal protection of civil rights, and the rise of self-help movements for both the disabled and their families. (Gitterman, 2001, p. 206) The onus is on the shoulders of social welfare system to identify measures

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Managers should adapt their leadership style according to the context. Discuss - Essay Example he or she might inspire or motivate the employees or followers towards his decisions thereby amplifying their level of performance and devotion towards the assigned tasks. This might prove effective for both the manager as well as the organization to enhance its reputation and brand image in the market among other rival players (Northouse, 2010, pp. 768-781). This essay is divided into three parts that mainly highlights the importance of leadership and the types of leadership style. Along with this, it also highlights the reasons for which, a manger need to get adapted to situational or different leadership styles so as to manage the impacts of the situations in an effective way. Finally it is concluded with a conclusion at the end of the essay. Leadership is a style that is used to influence other followers or employees to get attracted towards the decisions and actions taken or implemented by a leader or manager. With the help of this style, a leader or a manger very easily motivates or inspires others to enhance their level of performance and devotion towards the assigned jobs or tasks. As a result of which, the level of productivity of the organization gets enhanced resulting in amplification of its brand image and market share in the market among others. Therefore, it might be clearly stated that, in this age of competitiveness, an organization may retain its sustainability and competitive position only if an experienced and tactful manager or leader is present within it. Otherwise, it may not be possible for the organization to cope up with varied types of business challenges such as oil hick, recession, excess attrition, employee conflicts and many others. All individual may not comprise of the inherent quality of being a leader, but might attain such a position through vigorous experience and talents. However, in order to do so, it’s extremely essential to know about behavioural, situational and contingency dimensions of leadership. Among all these

The Industrial Revolution in England Personal Statement

The Industrial Revolution in England - Personal Statement Example But this is the story of the working class. Enclosure meant that the poor, rather than the rich, constituted landless labourers. The working class had therefore lost their independence, their soul and dignity to work. But my quality of life despite this may have improved in general. The Industrial Revolution changed Manchester from a rural, and agricultural society, to an urban and industrial society. The Industrial Revolution has bought significant benefits. The spinning jenny has reduced the amount of work needed to produce yarn, the Industrial Revolution has also bought to us the steam engine, and the power driven machinery in the textile industry, in our mills, for steam-powered looms for weaving. Importantly, families are now able to generate a greater income, as the wife is now able to stay at home and work the fields whilst the husband can work freely in the factory. But a Manchester once made up of peasant farmers, enjoying rural England, became unfortunately a Manchester soaked in sap and tar that so vehemently attacked our lungs. Despite technological advances, Manchester factories turned into breeding grounds for slave-driven worker standards. Revenue took over from efficiency; employer standards took priority over employee standards. But improvements in travel conditions, such as stronger bridges and roads, and the other inventions that we can now exploit, such as the st

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Case Study( Paramedics assessment) - Essay Example However, it should be realized that this is not the sole cause of chest pain, and that it may be due to â€Å"classical angina† (Devonshire Lodge Practice, 2011) whose symptoms generally appear during, or immediately after exercise and subside after resting. However, it must also be said that where someone complains of â€Å"discomfort across the center of the chest coming on during exercise that stops on rest and then GTN [glycerine trinitride] tablets relieve the pain within 5 minutes he/she is going to have ischemic heart disease almost without doubt† (Devonshire Lodge Practice, 2011). ... It is hoped that the task will be made easier by paramedic assessment, which should be thorough enough to eliminate many uncertainiies. That is why a systematic stepwise series of protocols such as those advocated by Domanovits et al. (2002) and Anderson (2002) is essential. 2. Case History of paramedic’s assessment of ischemic chest pain Complete History & Assessment of Patient Presenting Complaint Chest Pain Allergies None Communicable Diseases None PHx- Past History O/A – On Arrival O/E – On Examination Med’n- Medication Patient’s Name: William Templeton: Age 57 Address: 12 Andover Terrace, STAINES Bucks. SL4 3TR O/A - Emergency services called by patient’s family at 0956 hrs, arrived at patient’s home 1015 hrs..William, a white male, complained of severe chest pain, breathlessness, nausea and dizziness. He also appeared pale and slightly sweaty. PHx – Patient was normally in good health, a non-smoker, moderate drinker and at e healthy meals at home. He also took regular exercise. His grandfather had been gassed in WWI and his grandmother had suffered intermittent asthma attacks in her later years. As to childhood illnesses, William reported German measles, two bouts of chicken pox, and tuberculosis at the age of 6, which had affected stomach and neck glands and also the lungs. Chicken pox and TB raised alarm signals since the former could have returned as shingles (pain comes some time before the rash, and lung damage may have contributed to ischemic heart disease. O/E – The assessment procedures followed the guidelines established by the York Region Base Hospital Program (Anderson, 2002). For clarity and consistency during patient questioning the following mnemonic

Merit Pay For Teachers Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Merit Pay For Teachers - Research Paper Example (3) Pay for performance, or merit pay, for teachers can solve both problems. â€Å"Money plays a major role in educating America’s students,† state Kaplan and Owings in American Education: Building for a Common Foundation. â€Å" For the 2008-2009 school year, nation-wide public education at all levels cost one trillion dollars...When it comes to quality education, we as a society can pay now or we can pay later...It is a critical investment in a community’s—and our nation’s—infrastructure.† (Kaplan 2010) Assuming that we want to take the wiser course and pay now, thus avoiding future economic catastrophes, one of the things we need to do is to increase teachers’ salaries while also encouraging them to be more effective in the classroom. Texas Six years ago student scores at Audelia Creek Elementary School in Richardson, Texas, were among the worst in the district. More than a third of the teachers left. Now, thanks to TAP, the Teacher Advancement Program, Audelia’s students have some of the highest scores and teachers seek to work at Audelia. TAP is a national teacher evaluation and training program that includes annual cash bonuses for high-performing teachers. Teachers of each grade level meet regularly and are led by a master teacher who trains and evaluates them. One meeting, for example, focused entirely on how to teach students to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. â€Å"It’s not the sandwich, it’s the process,† the principal explained. For a teacher to know whether a student understands a reading assignment, she needs to ask the student to re-tell the material. But that's not a process that comes naturally to many kids. So the teacher has to "pre-tell," modeling the steps that students would take to organize their thoughts in order to re-tell material they've heard. For the Richardson district, teachers who hit the minimum TAP targets get an extra $2,000. But the b onus could be as much as $3,500. Over the past two years, most of Richardson's TAP teachers got around $2,800. "It's the best teaching model I have ever seen," one teacher said. "But it's not for the faint-hearted." In 2010 Audelia was awarded the annual $50,000 TAP Founder's Award by the California-based National Institute for Excellence in Teaching. The State of Texas gave its blessing to districts to find their own ways to strive for excellence. District Awards for Teacher Excellence (DATE) programs were first implemented in Texas districts during the 2008-09 school year. The program is currently in its third year of operation with approximately $197 million in annual state funding. All districts in the state are eligible to receive grants, but participation is voluntary. The National Center on Performance Incentives at Vanderbilt University found that student achievement has improved and teacher turnover has declined in schools participating in the Texas state-funded DATE progra ms. Colorado Denver’s move forward in 2005 has been called both â€Å"the nation’s most ambitious teacher pay plan† and â€Å"making pure dumb luck work.† In 1990 the Board of Education first negotiated into labor agreements the formation of committees to study merit pay. There was not much enthusiasm. On November 1, 2005, Denver voters approved a $25 million property tax increase tied to ProComp, a program of merit pay for teachers. ProCamp has four components: student growth, market

The Intensification of International Migration Essay Example for Free

The Intensification of International Migration Essay 1. INTRODUCTION Migrant flows are always from the poorest countries with a low probability of employment towards less poor and more dynamic countries where there is an opportunity to find some sort of job. Over the last few years international migration has intensified, with the media referring to the â€Å"regionalisation and globalisation† of migration. The major centers of attraction are the same: United States and the European Union, with countries in southern Europe gradually becoming immigrant receiving countries. The third major region that attracts migrants is the oil-rich Middle East. The fourth major region set to be the target for increasing numbers is Asia/Pacific, including Australia and New Zealand. What are the effects of migration on the countries of origin? Funds sent by migrant to families back home often play a considerable part in the development of the local economy. However, when highly qualified people leave their home country, the investment made by the developing countries in their higher education is lost. To remedy this, programmes have to be set up to encourage immigrants to return, so that they can contribute to the economic development of their home country. The political environment in some African countries must be conflict free for African professionals overseas to return home. Africa is certainly experiencing a debilitating flight of professionals and skilled people escaping their countries’ economic crisis. The level and trend of brain drain has reached unsustainable heights. In the last few years, the brain drain has escalated in magnitude to levels that have serious implications on economic growth in countries like Zimbabwe. Why have African intellectuals and professionals left or thinking seriously of leaving their countries? Previous studies have discovered extremely high levels of dissatisfaction with the cost of living, taxation, availability of goods, and salaries. The number of poor living below the poverty datum line has surged progressively in the last few years because of economic crisis and spiraling inflation. The situation has been exacerbated by declining  real savings compounded by high levels of taxation and rising unemployment levels. The decline in real gross domestic product(GDP), is reflective of failure to attract foreign direct investment(FDI) and increased external debt due to chronic foreign currency shortages to procure raw materials, fuel, electricity and spare parts, against a background of rising production and labour costs due to high inflation have led to declining savings. The contraction in the formal sector, owing to companies’ downsizing, reducing working periods and closure, have led to significant fall in employment levels. Growing lawlessness and politically-motivated violence are some of the push factors for many intellectuals and professionals. The dissatisfaction goes deeper than economic and political circumstances to include housing, medical services, education, education and a viable future for children. Against this background, many skilled persons and professionals have migrated to other countries and the potential for emigrating among African university students and other is most probably very high. There is therefore need to enact policies in Africa to curb these massive brain drain and offer incentives to make staying and working in African countries attractive for professionals and skilled people. The broad objective of this paper is to highlight African brain drain, its causes and consequences. Brain drain is seen in this paper as a complex problem created by both endogenous and exogenous factors, which prey on the disparity between technologically developed and industrialized world, and the poor developing countries. The structure of the papers is as follows; Section I gives a general Introduction to the problem of Brain drain. Section 2 attempts briefly to conceptualize and categorize international migration and the possible causes of international migration. Section 3 gives a detailed analysis of Causes for African Brain Drain. Section 4 attempts to show the Impact and Consequences of African Brain Drain, giving Zimbabwe as an example. Section 5 Conclusion and Future Prospects and Policy Options. . 2. THE CAUSES OF INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION Some theories of international migration: There is no single, well-developed theory of international migration. Among the various models attempting to explain why international migration begins, five major approaches can be discerned: These were offered by Sharon Stanton Russell 2. Neoclassical economics: macro theory (arguably the body of theory most familiar to World Bank staff) views geographic differences in the supply and demand for labor in origin and destination countries as the major factors driving individual migration decisions. Among the assumptions of this model are that international migration will not occur in the absence of these differentials, that their elimination will bring an end to international movements, and that labor markets (not other markets) are the primary mechanisms inducing movements. Government policy interventions affect migration by regulating or influencing labor markets in origin and destination countries. Neoclassical economics: micro theory focuses on the level of individual rational actors who make decisions to migrate based upon a cost-benefit calculation that indicates a positive net return to movement. In this approach, human capital characteristics that raise the potential benefits of migration, and individual, social, or technological factors that lower costs, will lead to increased migration. Differences in earnings and employment rates are key variables, and governments influence migration through policies that affect these (e.g., through development policies that   raise incomes at the point of origin, decrease the probability of employment at destination, or increase the costs of migration). The new economics of migration views migration as a family (i.e., group) strategy to diversify sources of income, minimize risks to the household, and overcome barriers to credit and capital. In this model, international migration is a means to compensate for the absence or failure of certain  types of markets in developing countries, for example crop insurance markets, futures markets, unemployment insurance, or capital markets. Dual labour market theory holds that demand for low-level workers in more developed economies is the critical factor shaping international migration. To avoid the structural inflation that would result from raising entry wages of native workers, and to maintain labor as a variable factor of production, employers seek low-wage migrant workers. In this model, international migration is demand – based and initiated by recruitment policies of employers or governments in destination areas. World systems theory focuses not on labour markets in national economies, but on the structure of the world market-notably the â€Å"penetration of capitalist economic relations into peripheral, non-capitalist societies, â€Å"which takes place through the concerted actions of neocolonial governments, multinational firms, and national elites. International migration is generated as land, raw materials and labour in areas of origin are drawn into the world market economy and traditional systems are disrupted. 3. CAUSES OF AFRICAN BRAIN DRAIN. In the 1960s most of the African countries became independent, with the former Portuguese territories in 1975. In 1995, the last colony in Africa – South Africa – achieved majority rule. With accession to independence there was a marked change in the pace of migration. The first development plans and those subsequently adopted, accentuated existing disparities between urban areas which enjoyed the benefit of investment and rural areas. In some countries the most elementary freedoms were denied, giving rise to mass exodus of people unprecedented in the history of Africa. The gap between the economic and social development of different regions within countries and of different countries inside and outside Africa, has continued to widen over the years. Brain drain is a migration of professional people(as scientists, professors, or physicians) from one country to another, usually for higher salaries or  better living conditions. Despite the clarity of this definition, most efforts to halt the brain drain or reverse the process, especially in African countries, seem to pay little attention to economic and social imperative to brain drain, and instead, centre on appeals to the spirit of nationalism and patriotism. In extreme cases, some governments threaten to hire foreign professionals as replacement labour for those who left-a more complicated and costly option. Political Turmoil: Political turmoil is linked to the failure of economic development. As pressures of poverty, rapid population growth, disease and illiteracy and environmental degradation mount, they produce a volatile cocktail of insecurity. Resulting war, civil strife, state – sponsored terrorism, riots and other forms of political violence can lead to the displacement of large numbers of people as migrants, refugees, or asylees. In the late twentieth century, compared to previous centuries, more wars are taking place, and they are lasting longer and causing more devastation. According to Papademetriou both internal and regional conflicts, often based on religion and ethnicity, are precipitating unprecedented high levels of international migration. Economic and Political factors: The economic and political factors associated with international migration that have so far been discussed so far forces on the lack of economic development and political stability in many Third World countries. They are the major push factors in migration. The push factors are circumstances in the home environment that make a person think about leaving his normal place of abode for another part of the same country, neighbouring countries, or for a more distant place like the United Kingdom of the United States. Pull Factors i.e. those that draw people to particular destinations, are equally important. The post – World War II expansion of the industrial economies of Western Europe and North America (especially the United States) has led to immigration policies in these countries designed to meet a  burgeoning demand for cheap labour. Globalization has made possible a massive transfer of resources like technology and capital; labour has become another form of large-scale resource transfer; Although more than half of recent international migration flows are between developing countries, the flow from the Third World to industrial nations has grown to unprecedented levels. That developed countries are a magnet for the world’s migrant is evident from statistics. In 1990, half of the world’s migrants (excluding those naturalized, which would increase even more than the number in developed countries) were in industrial countries: 15-20 million were in Western Europe, 15-20 million were in North America, and 2-3 million were in the industrial nations of Asia (e.g. Japan, Taiwan).7 This globalization phenomenon has not escaped the attention  of Deepak Nayyar, who observes that: the process of globalization is bound to exercise a significant influence on the push-factors underlying international migration. It would decrease emigration pressures if it leads to a convergence of levels of income between the industrialized countries and the developing countries. But it would increase emigration pressures if it leads to a divergence in levels of income between the industrialized countries and the developing countries. Similarly, it would decrease emigration pressures if it leads to a reduction in poverty, an expansion of employment opportunities and an improvement in the quality of life for the people in developing countries. But it would increase emigration pressures if it leads to rising poverty, growing inequality, worsening employment prospects and deterioration in the quality of life of people in development countries.8 In summary it should be realized that the globalization of economies, lack of development and political stability in Third World countries, and immigration policies that reflect the need for labour in the receiving industrialized countries have thus far been proposed as the major factors explaining international migration from the Third World to the developed countries e.g. USA, UK., etc. But these alone do not adequately explain why certain countries or individuals, not others, dominate migration flows nor do they explain the particular destination choice of migrants. As earlier discussed, economic globalization, lack of development and political instability, industrial nations’ immigration policies, and linguistic and  historical ties are major factors that account for Third World immigration to developed countries in general. The same factors enable us to understand African immigration to Europe and the United States of America. Sub-Saharan Africa, like most other developing regions, has been integrated into the global economy primarily as a source of cheap primary goods and cheap labour. Initially, African labour was exploited within colonial boundaries but after World War II African labour was often actively recruited by ex-colonial European powers as competition for more expensive European labour. For example, France gave its former African colonies favoured nation status and formed agreements with such African states as Senegal, Mauritania, and Mali to promote labour migration. By 1960, about 20 000 Sub-Saharan Africans were in France; 12 000 in the late 80s. The British were less hospitable to immigrants from their former African colonies. Beginning in 1962, Africans in England were denied full social and political rights. They were subject to four immigrant control and three race relations outs that gradually withdrew their citizenship rights. Pass laws and voucher systems were introduced in order to â€Å"terminate black settler immigration and to introduce repatriation. In 1971, the British passed an immigration act to expressly limit immigration from its former colonies. It can, therefore, be said that Sub-Saharan Africa has generated significant global flows of migrants in the post-war era, mainly to ex-colonial states: Nigerian, Tanzanian, Ugandan, Asians and of late Zimbabweans have migrated to the U.K., Central and West Africans to France; Zairians (Congolese) to Belgium. However, the OECD has argued that these movements are dwafted by regional migrations within Africa. Regional labour have flowed primarily to Nigeria, South Africa, Gabon and the Ivory Coast. The main countries of emigration have been Zaire (now Congo), Angola, Mozambique, Cameroon and Botswana as well as all of the North African Nations, though rarely have their emigrants crossed the Sahara.

The major purposes of financial statements Essay Example for Free

The major purposes of financial statements Essay The major purpose of financial statement is to provide an overview of the company’s overall performance of the company’s operations and also assess the company’s worth during the year. Financial statement not only assists the financial managers but also the outsiders like creditors, stockholders etc. After reviewing the financial statements of the company all the stakeholders assess the company growth, investment opportunity ,dividend profile etc after that note all the stakeholders made appropriate decisions regarding the firm’s future’s perspective. . Financial statements are also helpful in submitting the tax return of the year (Besley, Brigham, 2001). In basic terms financial statement is comprises on Profit Loss Statement, Balance Sheet, and on Statement of cash flows. There could be several reasons which signify the fact that it is gravely essential for one to understand the business or the industry in order to understand the financial statements better. Some of them may be: 2. The type of information financial statements provides. There are mainly three types of information is available in Profit Loss Statement, Balance Sheet, and Statement of cash flows. All the statements have own importance. Profit Loss Statement debates over the company’s revenue generation power, cost behavior and structure and in the end on Net Income. The balance sheet provides an overview regarding the company’s financial position. In the same time the balance sheet also discussed about the company’s assets, liabilities and owners equity. Cash flow statement discussed over the company’s operating, investing and financing activities during the year. It also discussed on the in flow and outflow of the cash and also on the cash equivalents. 3. The limitations of financial statements. The limitations of financial statements are stated below: †¢ Financial statements are debates over the historical facts they can’t address the trends like inflation, growth rates etc (Erich A. Helfert, 2001). †¢ The qualitative factors are not evaluated in the financial statements and often neglected because no organization discussed the qualitative factors in the monetary terms. Like reputation of the company, employees performance etc (Erich A. Helfert, 2001). †¢ It is the reality that out dated information of the company’s financial profile is not worthy especially when the company’s management is willing to take more debt from bank (Garrison, 2004). †¢ Whenever the financial statements are presented with out the notes then all the reported figures are picture less. 4. The outside factors upon which the conclusions drawn from these statements are reliant. The most relying outside factors that makes an impression on the financial statements are stated below: †¢ Frequently changes in the tax percentages make an impact on the firm’s net income, dividend, EPS, owner’s equity, stock price, etc (Besley, Brigham, 2001). †¢ Government’s regulation on any appropriate business slight distorts the financial statements of the company (Besley, Brigham, 2001). †¢ Events happening after balance sheet dates like case filed in the court of law make a negative impact on the reported figures of the company (Garrison, 2004). †¢ Fluctuation the interest rate percentage makes an impression on the interest expense of the company and also on the prices of the bonds. 5. How items in common-size statements are presented. In order to create common size statements we express it in the form of percentages rather than dollar amounts. It is easier to understand that we take the differences of amounts year by year and divided that difference amount with the total amount. Let’s assume: 2008 2007 Difference increase/ (decrease) Cash $150,000 $100,000 $50,000 And Total Assets is $500,000. Then Difference Amount/Total Assets x 100 50,000/500,000 x 100 10%. Means there is an increment of 10% is reviewed from the year 2007 to 2008. 6. How ratios in ratio analysis are computed and used. The formula of some important ratios is stated below: †¢ Average collection period (in times) = Net Credit sales / Average debtors †¢ Inventory turnover (in times) = Cost of goods Sold / Average Stock †¢ Current Ratio = (Current Assets / Current Liabilities) †¢ Total Debt Ratio = (Total Liabilities / Total Assets) †¢ Return on Equity = (Net Income / Average Equity) †¢ Return on Assets = (Net Income / Average Total Assets) The uses of ratios are sated below: †¢ Dividend yield which expressed as a rate of return on the market price of the stock. †¢ Interest coverage ratio shows the debt servicing ability and capability of a company and also indicator of a company’s ability to meet its interest payment obligations (Myers, Brealey and Marcus, 2001). †¢ Debt ratio shows the percentage of total asset financed by debt, from a creditor / bank’s view point, the lower debt ratio gives a positive signal to the creditor. †¢ Current ratio also suggest the firms liquidity position lower current ratio gives alarming and negative signal to the creditor that firm is financial crises and on the edge of financial crunch (Myers, Brealey and Marcus, 2001). 7. Why most financial analysts prefer ratio analysis to common-size statements. It is quite easy to assess the financial performance of the company at a glance. It is the shortest way to get an appropriate result. Moreover, common size statement is slightly tenacious and complicated to examine the different accounting heads (Erich A. Helfert, 2001). Reference Besley, Brigham, Scott, Eugene F. (2001). Principles of Finance. Florida: Harcourt College Publishers. Brealey, Richard A. , Stewart C. Myers, Alan J. Marcus, (2001). Fundamentals of Corporate Finance. New York. McGraw Hill Helfert, Erich A. (2001). Financial Analysis Tools and Techniques: A Guide For Managers. McGraw-Hill. Noreen, Eric W. , Peter C. Brewer, Ray H. Garrison. Managerial Accounting. 11. 2004.

Effect of Social Media on the World

Effect of Social Media on the World Social Media and how it changes the world Introduction What is social media? If you are or have been a user of Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, Youtube or any other similar stuffs like that, congratulations, you are a part of the social media. Yes, those mentioned above are social media. There are many different definitions given to what is social media however, all of the definitions given are similar to each other and all of them defined social media as a tool, a website or an application for users to create and share contents or to participate in social networking. It is like using Instagram, where you can create contents by capturing photos or recording video clips and sharing them by posting the photos or video clips you have just captured or recorded. As for social networking, in Instagram, users are able to leave comments and also leave a â€Å"like† for the contents posted if they think it is good or worthy or even if they just like it without any particular reasons. Social media has evolved throughout the years and t he number of users has increased drastically compared to when it just started. Social media has changed the world in many ways. Method of Literature Selection I have conducted an electronic database search through Tunku Abdul Rahman University College’s digital library. I have utilized the ACM Digital Library. The keywords used in the online database include social media, charity and fund raising. I have also conducted searches on the Measuring Media-based Social Interactions Provided by Smartphone Applications in Social Networks archive, Rethinking Measurements Of Social Media Use By Charities: A Mixed Methods Approach archive and Social Networked Media: Advances and Trends archive. I have chosen only the articles that were published within 5 years ago. The three articles which I have chosen to reference on were selected based on the relevancy to the topic of the essay. Connecting with people, raise funds like no other Social media is vastly used nowadays. The number of social media users increases so rapidly. The age of social media users gets younger and younger. Nobody really knows the real age of the youngest social media users. Social media is so widely used that any information including articles, videos, photos and etc. can be quickly transmitted to the world through the net. It is just a ‘share’ button away from letting people know what you have done today, letting people know about your opinion towards something, in short, it is just a button away from letting people know about your life and thoughts. Due to that, social media is used for various things. It is not only used just for social, it is also being used for business, advertising, as a customer relation management tool, global exposures, as an online meeting space, for entertainment purposes, educational purposes, fund raising, online shopping space, a space where people can get feedback about things, places, services, experience and food. The usage of social media is unlimited. It can do so many things that if I were to list them all out here, it would be a never-ending list. Users can do so much just by using a social media. A plus point for social media is that, it is free most of the time. For example, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Blogspot, WordPress, Tumblr, Youtube, Vine, Myspace, ChurpChurp, Schoology, Wechat, Whatsapp, Foursquare, Waze, Line, Friendster, Pinterest and etc. are all free to use. All of those mentioned above are free of charge. No fees are needed for registration. That is one of the main reasons why everyone chooses to use social media as it is free unless of course if anyone wants a premium or a special service, there would be an amount of fee being charged upon them depending on different social media. Although there are so many things social media can do, I am just going to focus on one thing that social media could do which is to help promote fund raising campaigns or a ctivities. According to Ebroul Izquierdo, internet has brought a great impact to our modern life. Human is a social animal. This is being reflected in the internet age too. Since the birth of online communication system, social network has become the most crucial thing in life. Social networking has become a must and a habit in mankind nowadays. As mentioned by Alan Keller Gomes and Maria da Graà §a Campos Pimentel, there are so many different applications for smartphones that allow users to connect to the social network or media even when they have only their smartphones in hands. Nowadays, it is rare to spot people without a smartphone that can let them connect to all kinds of social networks to connect to their friends online. As I was saying, social media helps a lot in raising funds nowadays. As mentioned by Christopher Phethean, Thanassis Tiropanis and Lisa Harris, social media services are being used to help and operate charities. The reasons why social media services are us ed continuously until today is because first and foremost, the low cost and unique opportunities that they are able to provide us and not just that, social media services too provide us with easily targeted and viral marketing that are unbelievably quick and very eye opening. It is something that we have never seen before to this scale. So, instead of the traditional way of raising funds which are maybe going around to ask for it which most of the time would not work as people like myself would think that it is a scam or advertising about it using banners, radios or television which people might ignore since we would still need to go to certain places to do certain charities which would be really troublesome, fund raising has revolutionized into something which we would need to just maybe leave a like or a comment or maybe just a view to do a charity. For example, they would have an agreement that the charity video can raise fund of 1 dollar for every 500 views which means if that v ideo has 300,000 views, the fund raised would be 600 dollars. This has been done by many famous Youtubers such as the most subscribed for now on Youtube, Pewdiepie, a gamer who records himself play games as an entertainment for us viewers, has done this kind of charity fund raising to raise fund to fight against water crisis and Michelle Phan, a makeup artist who teaches viewers especially girls on how to apply makeup, has also done this kind of charity fund raising as well but hers was to raise fund to help the victims of human trafficking to rebuild their lives. The examples mentioned are both using videos to raise funds, some other people would use a Facebook post or an Instagram post or even a blog post to raise funds. In my opinion, social media being used as a fund raising tool is by far the best way as it is the easiest and the most convenient way to raise fund as users would only have to click ‘like’ or type a few words in the comment box to leave a comment or r epost a post or other ways which involve mostly just clicking about to do a charity. There is no need for us to drop by a center just to do a charity anymore. It is also the fastest way to raise fund as well. Conclusion In conclusion, social media has changed the world in many ways and one of it is that it has revolutionized fund raising for charities into something easier and more convenient to be participated by users. Everybody can now do a good deed and participate in charities at home without the need to go out anymore. Even lazy people like me are able to help others just by clicking a button. Referencing Alan, G Maria, G 2011, ‘Measuring Media-based Social Interactions Provided Smartphone Applications in Social Networks’, SBNMA 11 Proceedings of the 2011 ACM workshop on Social and behavioural networked media access, pp. 59-64. Christopher, P, Thanassis, T Lisa, H 2013, ‘Rethinking measurements of social media use by charities: a mixed methods approach’, WebSci 13Proceedings of the 5th Annual ACM Web Science Conference, pp. 296-305. Ebroul, I 2011, ‘Social networked media: advances and trends’, SBNMA 11 Proceedings of the 2011 ACM workshop on Social and behavioural networked media access, pp. 1-2.