Personal statement media Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Personal statement media - Essay Example The media today is a powerful tool in this age of communication and its magnanimity is appealing to me. The growth in the media in the past few years has been immense as there have been ventures in coverage of all sorts of events and stories from world news, local news, politics, sports, art, music, culture and generally anything of human interest (Thussu 2009, Pg. 22). It is an exciting time to join the media especially due to the changes and the innovation that is going on at the moment; I would like to be part of this industry and inject my ideas into it as well. I have an ambition to start my business in media later on in life and entry into media school is the first great step in starting that journey. By studying media in the university, I will learn the fundamentals of media as well as discover means of channelling my passion of music and poetry into the media. I hope to realize my dream and would appreciate you granting me the chance to study media in your

Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of youth justice policies in England and Wales since 1997 Essay Example for Free

Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of youth justice policies in England and Wales since 1997 Essay Introduction When Labour took office in 1997 they claimed that they would be tough on crime and the causes of crime. The first 6 months were unprecedented, with six consultation documents being released on youth and crime each containing its own proposals these were first published in Tackling Youth Crime, Reforming Youth Justice (Labour 1996). To start this essay I will first discuss Labours 1997 White Paper, No more excuses: A new approach to tackling youth crime in England and Wales, where policy was laid out and then later legislated in The Crime and Disorder Act 1998. From this I will evaluate the weaknesses and strengths of the various elements of this policy which will include the aims of the youth justice system. Then in the second part move to evaluate the abolition of the doli incapax, the reparation order and parenting order. Thirdly I will evaluate the child safety order, local child curfew, final warning scheme, action plan order. The fourth part will be an evaluation of the detention and training order and new arrangements for secure remands of 12-16 year olds. And finally the establishment of the Youth Justice Board for England and Wales, Youth Offending Teams and the duties of the local authorities and other agencies to make sure the availability of the appropriate youth justice services. And then finally bring all my findings together to produce a clear and comprehensive conclusion; which I believe has many strengths and some weaknesses. The Labour governments 1997 White paper, No more excuses: A new approach to tackling youth crime in England and Wales is a document which sets out labours programme of reform for the youth justice system in England and Wales, it aims are a clear strategy to prevent offending and re-offending, that offenders, and their parents, face up to their offending behaviour and take responsibility for it, earlier, more effective intervention when young people first offend, faster, more efficient procedures from arrest to sentence, partnership between all youth justice agencies to deliver a better, faster system Home Office (1997). According to the Home Office (1997) the aim of the youth justice system is to prevent offending by young people. And the Crime and Disorder Bill has in it a requirement that it is the duty of all people working in the youth justice system to uphold these. The requirement covers all the youth justice agencies in England and Wales like the police, social services the probation services and others working in the Youth Offending Teams, the Crown prosecution service, defence solicitors, the prison services and courts and the way they deal with young adults. The claim is that this will provide unity between them all and that everyone is striving for the same purpose. The government will also complement this with a new proposal for a new Youth Justice Board for England and Wales who will give advice on how to set standards and how to monitor performance. Also this will not take over or supersede practitioners previous roles, but will support them to understand their actions and choices when they deal with young people this can help to stop offending and can prevent avoidable delays; such as the chances of offending when awaiting sentence can be reduced, also making young people responsible for their own behaviours which can help youths understand and change their behaviours. Also community and custodial penalties whose priorities are on the causes of offending which can be enforced can help. This duty that has been stated is a clear strength bringing the various agencies and services in the same line and having one clear aim of what the task ahead is this also eliminates any confusion that might have existed. The government according to the Home Office (1997) proposes that an aim of youth justice system and the duty discussed previously and their practitioners would be supported by more complete, non statutory objectives for these agencies. These would support the proposals made by Jack Straws Youth Justice Task Force which is a variety of people and groups that have a high knowledge of the system and have now issues of victims and representatives of the governmental departments. The Task Force stated their recommendations for preventing offending which were, a speedy administration of justice so that the accused matter can be sorted out quickly, confronting offenders with the consequences of their actions, for themselves their families, victims and their communities. Punishment which reflects the seriousness and the persistence of the offending. Also to support reparation to victims by the offenders and to strengthen the responsibilities of parents and to help offenders to fix their problems and to build a sense of the personal self. This is also strength as all involved have a good knowledge of the problems and the system and would be a good resource to the system to have. And also what the Task Force has recommended is also a good step forward as it is these that have stopped the system from being efficient. Moving onto the abolition of the doli incapax the reparation order and parenting order. The doli incapax according to Muncie (2009:275) In England and Wales, children fewer than 10 could not be found guilty of a criminal offence, and the law for many years believed that those under 14 were incapable of criminal intent. But during the 1990s the doli incapax, which had been in the law since the 14th century, was being challenged by both the right and the left. This was due to the Bulger case, the policy was put under review by the conservatives after the 1994 High Court ruling. Three years later it was abolished in the Crime and Disorder Act, the reasons given for this were so that they could convict young offenders who wreaked havoc on communities this was based on the fact that they believed that 10 and 13 year olds could capable of knowing between right and wrong. This was against what the UN had recommended for The UK which they had made in 1995 then 2002 to come in line with the rest of Europe but the government went totally in the other direction. They gave no direction to the courts and to the youth offending teams that overall child welfare is the main consideration. This is a weakness as it contradicts what Labour had said in there White Paper, and the fact that the YOTs would be confused with conflicting policies. This legislation manages not to take the childs age into consideration and this can be seen just by looking at the rest of Europe are the children in the UK not the same. The reparation order is for young adults to understand the cost of their actions and to take responsibility for them. What is asked is that they repair the damage caused directly to the victim through mediation if they both agree or to the community indirectly cleaning up graffiti and other tasks around the community. This would be managed by the YOT, this can be a real strength in the rehabilitation process giving something back to the victims and the community and being able to see the damage they have caused helping to change their lives around. Also the parenting order which has been stated by the Home Office (1997) to be created so that it can give support to parents so they can control their children. The order requires parents attend a counselling or guidance session once a week for 3 months and if the courts think that it is needed then a requirement to make sure that children attend school and to see that they get home on a certain time. This is also a strength as it forces parents to be responsible as some parents let their children do what they want to and so this is a good way of making parents act so that they can help their children from offending. Now moving onto the child safety order, which according to the Home Office (1997) has been developed to safeguard children who are under ten where there is risk that these children will be involved in crime or signs of anti social behaviour can be seen. This could be available to local authorities in the family proceeding court. A court would be able to make a child stay at home at a certain time or ban them from going to certain places. They could also stop certain behaviours like truanting; this could also be combined with a parenting order. And if these are not obeyed then the local authority can start proceedings. The strength of this is a the combination of the two orders as it can be most effective this way by handing responsibility 2 both parent and child giving maximum results. Then there is the Local child curfew which is for the Childs own good and to stop neighbourhood crime and disorder and states that children should not be out without supervision at night. This can be used by the local authorities and police but they would have to get permission from the Home secretary. Also the council could then bar children under 10 from certain public places after certain times. These can last for up to 90 days and if these are to be extended then police and local community. The strength of this is that it involves the local community so determining whats best for the members of their own community. Then there is the final warning where the Home Office (1997) has replaced the cautioning with a statuary police reprimand, what happens is that the police can decide to reprimand a child and give them a final warning or to bring criminal charges to the offender. What then happens is a community intervention programme is forced which makes the offender and his family address the causes this behaviour which can help solve the problem. What the final warning entails is that the first offence the offender can receive a reprimand by the police if the crime is not that serious and if it carries on then a another final warning or criminal charges can be pressed. But on no grounds must 2 final warnings be given. The strength of this is that it lets the offender know that they will be strict and will not put up with it again a final warning is a final warning. Also an action plan order which is like a community penalty for young offenders, this is a small, rigorous programme where community intervention is used combined with punishment and rehabilitation so that the offenders behaviour can be changed and more crime can be stopped. The strength in this lies in the way that it uses various methods simultaneously like community intervention, punishment and rehabilitation which can only increase the chances of success. Moving onto and new arrangements for secure remands of 12-16 year olds. The Home office (1997) state that the government should have undeniable powers to remand to secure accommodation. For young people who are of the age 10-16 and are awaiting trial. And so The Criminal Justice Act 1991 and the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 included in its provisions to amend the Children and Young Persons Act 1969 which was to allow courts to remand 12-16 years olds directly to secure local authority accommodation with certain conditions. But this was not put into operation. The conservatives had started a building programme which was for 170 new local authority secure places, there completion date was 1998. But Labour said that these would be not enough. And so declared to use the Crime and Disorder Bill to implement court ordered remand power on some groups of youths. Priority would be gives to 12-14s then girls of the age 15 and 16 and also boys of that age when places become available. This is due to courts believing that these children are vulnerable and they are emotionally and physically immature and so there is a danger that they could harm themselves, this is also strength as it recognises that they are still young but this also does contradict other policies in this White Paper which it does on many levels. Also detention and training orders, these will give powers the Home Office (1997) states can be used for 10-17 year olds and courts can use these only if it is a very serious crime and if they are persistent offenders and the court believes it is needed to protect the public. This will also added to 10-11 year olds but would only be permitted by parliament if seen to be needed. The length of the sentence will be divided, half of it will be in custody and half in community supervision and this also could be adjusted if good behaviour is seen. This is a good as it does not just impose a detention where by this can harden the youth and in some cases lead to further crimes but with the community supervision would let the offender know that they have been given a chance to mend their ways. Then Maguire, Morgan and Reiner (2002:560) discuss Labours new youth justice which is the forming of the Youth Justice Board (YJB) and the Youth offending Teams (YOTs); and also what takes place through this legislation is a restructure of non custodial penalties in the youth court. So considering Labours main aim of having a youth justice system which prevents offending by children and young adults, the way labour went about this is to impose order from the centre. There tools to enable this was a catalogue of legislations, also the then Home secretary Jack Straw formed a youth justice task force the aim of this was to keep a tight link with all the other agencies involved with young offenders. Due to the section 41 of the Crime Disorder Act the YJB had turned into a non departmental public body which was then sponsored by the Home Office. The job of the YJB was to monitor the running of the youth justice system and the provision of the youth justice services and also the national standards and establishing the right performance measures. What also the 1998 Act made possible was for the home secretary to give the board more powers which included the YJB becoming the commissioning body of all the placements that are under 18 in a secure facility on remand or have a sentence from the courts. The YJB was also given control over commissioning places including prison services YOTs, secure training centres (STCs) and local authority secure units. This is also strength as it brings together all the agencies under one roof you could say and so the aims are understood by all and are the same this can only help. This brings me to managerialism, the reason the YJB and the YOTs were set up in the first place was because according to Muncie (2009:297) investigations from the Public Accounts Committee, Audit commission and the National Audit Office recommended and supported subjugating professional skills independent managerial ideals of what works, which could attach certain resources to credible and successful outcomes and which could initiate responsibility to law and order from a central state to a sequence of semi independent local partnerships which will include privatized bodies and voluntary agencies. Words such as individual need, rehabilitation, reformation, penal purpose and due process are replaced by techniques of classification and actuarialism, risk assessment and resource management changes all the earlier understanding of law and order from understanding motivations of crime to making crime bearable through universal coordination. This is a total difference from earlier ways and managerial system is thought to lower the standard or expectations of what a government can achieve in the youth justice system. This to me is a weakness as it is being run like a business which always has its priorities in cost and reduction, but also I can see strengths to as it can be more efficiently run with professionals running it with the right knowledge. The Act also contained anti social behaviour orders. Muncie (2009:317) explains that they are usually refer to a variety of things such as youths that hang out causing trouble making a nuisance of them and to their neighbours, making noise, vandalising property, littering, and causing graffiti to public property and drunkenness. This has been a priority in England and Wales, the key to New Labour was to strengthen the ability of the criminal justice system so they could treat disorder and the lack of respect but serious crimes too as it was clear that disorder was rising and was affecting neighbourhoods and also that it was a sign of times to come more serious crimes. The police and courts were said to be powerless against the nuisance and the anti social behaviour that was being caused and that this was being mixed in with impunity. Second at the centre was a program and wish not just to reduce crime and disorder, but to encourage a process of civil renewal and civic responsibility. Third the broken windows theory was taken aboard a it was believed that a failure to accept zero tolerance policing of lesser serious offending and signs of disorder could only further destroy already deprived and marginalized communities. The Anti social behaviour order (ASBO) was the flagship of New Labour in their 1998 Crime and Disorder Act. Muncie (2009:318) explains that this is a civil not a criminal order and can be given by the police and local authority to anyone that is over 10 years of age whose behaviour can cause alarm, distress or even harassment. The minimum time an order can last is two years. But if you breach the order it will be treated as a criminal offence and the punishment for this can be up to two years in prison for juveniles and five years for adults. Certain local authorities went even further and started to experiment with Acceptable Behaviour Contracts (ABCs) which were for even lower levels of behaviours and for lower ages those below for ten years of age. And if they are given an order then they must agree and to take steps to correct their behaviour, the steps will be decided by local youth offending team (YOT) and their parents must also agree on the steps. Initially when the ASBO was introduced it was said that it was for adults that were nuisances to their neighbours, but this statement was later changed and became for young people and areas that high crime rates became the targets of this order. The Home office review, 58% were made on under 18 year olds and a further 16% on those aged between 18 and 21. There are certain steps in this that are positive but to me there are inherent weaknesses to, like to give anti social behaviour order and lock youths in their houses and stop them from going into certain locations can work but does not address the real problem, and Labour could try and find the cause of these problems as this to me is just breeding further adult criminals and as we have seen lately getting an ASBO is something t o show off so demoralising it entirely. So to conclude I have found that Labour have a lot of strengths in their Youth Policy but have inherent weaknesses which stem from various contradictions in the policy. The strength that I have found are first of all is the duty that has been put into the legislation, which brings various agencies and services together, which unifies them and sets a main agenda that all must adhere to as it is in the legislation to follow the duty and eliminates any confusion that might have existed, and another strength is to support these by the task force which comprises of professionals and people in the field that can offer the best advice. Also the reparation order is a strength as it forces parents to be responsible as some parents let their children do what they want to and so this is a good way of making parents act so that they can help their children from offending and make them responsible. Then the child safety order, the strength of this is a the combination of the two orders as it can be most effective this way by handing responsibility 2 both parent and child giving maximum results. Then the local child curfews strength lies in the way it involves the local community so determining whats best for the members of their own community. Then there is the final warning where the strength in this lies in the way that it uses various methods simultaneously like community intervention, punishment and rehabilitation which can only increase the chances of success. Which brings me to secure remands of 12-16 year olds which is also a strength as it recognises that they are still young but this also does contradict other policies in this White Paper which it does on many levels, the detention training programme has strength because it does not just impose a detention where by this can harden the youth and in some cases lead to a life of crime but with the community supervision would let the offender know that they have been given a chance to mend their ways. The forming of the YOTs and YJB is strength as it brings together all the agencies under one roof you could say, and so the aims are understood by all and are the same this can only help, and managerialism is strength as it can be more efficiently run with professionals in charge. Now I will just conclude my findings of the weaknesses which are; the abolition of the doli incapax to me is a weakness as it manages not to take the childs age into consideration and this can be seen just by looking at the rest of Europe, are the children in the UK not the same. Another weakness is the ASBO to lock youths in their houses and stop them from going into certain locations can work but does not address the real problem, and Labour could try and find the cause of these problems as this to me is just breeding further adult criminals and as we have seen lately getting an ASBO is something to be proud off and to show off so demoralising the order entirely. There are strengths and weaknesses in this policy but I have found the strengths outweigh the weaknesses. Bibliography Home Office, (1997), White Paper, No More Excuses: A new approach to tackling youth crime in England and Wales Muncie, J. (2009), Youth and Crime, 3rd edition, London, Sage publications Maguire, M. Morgan, R and Reiner, R. (2002), The Oxford Handbook of Criminology, 3rd Edition, Oxford, Oxford University Press. Goldson, B. Muncie, J. (2006), Youth Crime and Justice, London, Sage Publications Baldock, J. Manning, N. and Vickerstaff, S. (2007), Social Policy, 3rd edition, Oxford, Oxford University Press.

Race-Based Traffic Stops in the US Essay -- racial profiling, police st

Imagine driving home, on a pleasant evening, after a tedious day at work. Just as you are about to arrive to your neighborhood, you notice blue and red flashing lights and pull over. It seems the police officer has no reason for stopping you, except to search your vehicle because of your suspiciously perceived skin tone. This unnecessary traffic stop, designed for people of colored skin, happens on numerous occasions and has been termed Driving While Black or Brown. Racial profiling is the act of using race or ethnicity as grounds for suspecting someone of having committed a crime. Race-based traffic stops are dangerous for people of color, since they can happen anytime; various African Americans and Latinos modify their driving habits in uncommon ways. For example, some completely avoid predominately white suburbs, in fear of police involvements for looking out of place. Some intentionally drive ordinary vehicles or change his or her dressing style, and others who drive long distances even factor in extra time for the inescapable traffic stops (Harris). â€Å"From 2005 to mid-2008, approximately eighty percent of total stops made were of Blacks and Latinos, who comprise twenty-five percent and twenty-eight percent of New York City’s total population, respectively. During this same time period, only about ten percent of stops were of Whites, who comprise forty-four percent of the city’s population† (â€Å"Restoring a National Consensus†). Ray Kelly, appointed Police Commissioner by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, of New York in 2013, has not only accepted stop-and-frisk, a program that allows law enforcers to stop individuals and search them, but has multiplied its use. Kelly argued that New Yorkers of color, who have been unevenly targeted un... ...inspired action at the state and local level. The ACLU calls on legislators in every state to pass laws that will allow the practice of traffic enforcement to be statistically monitored continuously. Fourth, the Justice Department should ban racial profiling in all federally funded drug interdiction programs. Fifth, the fifty largest cities in the United States should voluntarily collect traffic stop data (â€Å"Restoring a National Consensus†). Earl G. Graves said, â€Å"Fifty years after Dr. Martin Luther King expressed his dream that African Americans would someday be judged not by the color of our skin but by the content of our character, the line between the suspect is a black male and black males are suspect remains dangerously thin.† Our nation needs to follow the five-step plan outlined by ACLU to allow our members of society safety and equal rights for one another.

V for Vendetta

Brainwashed or Truly Embraced? V for Vendetta By Alan Moore and David Lloyd â€Å"16. Was Evey brainwashed by V or did she truly embrace V’s ideals† A teenage girl saved by V while she became involved with a gang of London’s secrete police while looking for a way to escape her social, economical and emotional needs. That’s how Alan Moore and David Lloyd introduce Evey Hammond, a fictional character and one of the protagonists of the comic book series V for Vendetta. Growing up on Shooters Hill in southeast London, she lost both her parents, and was struck by poverty.Trying to escape poverty she became a prostitute at only 16 years old. When she approached her first potential customer, which happens to be a Fingerman, a member of Norsefire’s secret police the man tried to rape her, but she was saved by a mysterious man in a Guy Fawkes mask and black cloak, which calls himself V. Being a naive young women, Evey falls for this V character and from that day on shows what could be questioned as a brainwashed by V, or a loyal follower of his unique ideals.If we divide the book into three different sections, we can see how Evy Hammond changes her point of view towards V ideals throughout the comic book. At the beginning we can see how she wasn’t totally convinced by his ideals, way of manipulating and spreading his thoughts but was still loyal to him even though she stayed at his house for convenience and protection rather than for loyalty. Since V appeared and saved her from those Fingerman, Evey showed an expression of gratefulness and relief him.In page 11, panel 3,8-9, we see how sad, nervous and lost she felt in the presence of the secrete police thanks to the sexual tension between them. After V appears in page 12, panel 6 we see how Evey expression changes, showing relief and emotional stability compared to her previous face expressions and gestures. Even though she realizes what she is leaving behind, she doesn’ t think its valuable enough to turn down V? s proposal about going to live with him even though she knows she might be getting involved with a potential terrorist. When she arrives to V? s ? house? he had an idea of what kind of person V was and still didn’t fear or ran away as a regular 16 year old girl would have done. In page 18, panel 2–5 we can perceive she was in her comfort zone regardless of the situation she was passing through. The act of staying not only shows us the instantaneous loyalty and gratefulness she feels towards V, but the desperation in which Evey was before being saved by him. As time starts passing, Alan Moore and David Lloyd, starts to modify Evey Hamond character, revealing a doubtful, confused side, which the readers did not know of.This personality trait is reflected when she doubts about V’s person under the masked, having the bravery to ask him if he might be her father. Through the second thirds of the book we see how Evey loyalty start to increase each time regardless of the physical or psychological distance that is between these two characters. When she is kicked out of The Shadow Gallery, she is left in the streets with nothing but V’s memory, because who thought they were going to see each other in a not so far away future?She goes to a friend’s house who gives her a place to sleep, food, and comfort, which is more likely what a teenage girl needs. Around this time was that we started to notice the strong connection there was between these two characters. Even after he had the nerve to kick her out she was still loyal to V, this is the point where we start to believe it’s a true loyalty instead than a game of manipulation and brainwashing as V’s common games. In page 124, panel 7-9 we see how even in a daily basis, she keeps thinking of him even though she tries to hide or forget it.When V captures Evy, someone who supposedly he loves, he tortures her physically and psycholog ically, until her breaking point. When asked to testify against V, her loyalty was so pure and profound, that she preferred to die for him that to say the reality of where he was hiding. Distracted and brainwashed by the emotional weight of Valerie’s story (pg 154,panel 6), we question again if her loyalty is pure or if it might be one of V tricks. If her loyalty was all a mind game, V was managing to do a great job do to the fact that not everyone would risk his/her life to say no words about the location of a terrorist.V keeps Evy locked up until she is tortured and manipulated to the extreme where she finally sees justice through V? s point of view. When she does, she is finally allowed back to the Shadow Gallery. Using such extremes to convince Evy of his perspective makes the reader question, once and for all if she is brainwashed or truly follows his ideals. Reaching the conclusion of truly embracing his ideals thanks to her strong determination about dying instead than revealing about her sentimental partner.When she is finally free from the cell, she embraces V ideals completely, to the extent that she even plans to execute his cruel plan, and to respect his death wishes about leaving his mask on regardless of his state. The moment one is completely sure about this loyalty is in my own favorite panel, located in page 251panel 8, a panel full of symbols that convey a unique message to each reader. Mimicking V? s smile, this final panel, close to the end demonstrate that even though Evy Hamond might not have believed in V? ideals at the beginning of the book, she grew to adopt them as if they were of her own. She got so involved in her new life living with the guy in the Guy Fawkes mask that she forgot her complete identity thanks to his manipulation, torture and charm. Giving V the tranquility of dying knowing that the idea survived his death rather than dying with him. —————————†”————– [ 1 ]. Potential terrorist, considering the fact he just blew up the House of Parliament in her presence.

E-Hr in P&G

Introduction to Procter & Gamble Procter & Gamble (P&G) is a multinational corporation that provides consumer products in the areas of pharmaceuticals, cleaning supplies, personal care, and pet supplies. The global consumer goods company was started by William Procter, an English candle maker & James Gamble, an Irish soap maker in 1837, and has been well established since then, ranking fifth place of the â€Å"World's Most Admired Companies† by Fortune Magazine . P constantly strives to provide branded products and services of superior quality and value that improves the lives of the world’s consumers , where P brands serve 4. billion people in more than 180 countries. A High Performing Organization Being a multinational corporation, P values its people as the company’s most important as-set and source of competitive advantage, and understands that its success greatly depends on the strength of the talent pipeline. The Human Resources department inevitably plays an im-portant role to the company, responsible in attracting the top talents, managing P talent globally to enable career development and growth across businesses and geographies and de-veloping leaders at P around the world in every business, in every region and at every level. In view of the fast technological advances, P continues to stay at the global frontline by in-corporating e-HR into its everyday processes such as selection, recruitment and training. The use of the Human Resources Information Systems (HRIS) was also able to increase administra-tive efficiency and produce reports that have the potential to improve decision making for managers. E-HR not only provided human resources departments with the opportunity to make information available and accessible to managers and employees, but was also able to improve the company’s overall efficiency and effectiveness. With all its efforts over the years, P has been widely recognized as the industry’s global in-novation leader and brand-building leader of the industry, being consistently ranked by leading retailers in industry surveys as a preferred supplier and generating $82. 6 billion dollar of sales in 2011 alone. The HR department was also awarded the â€Å"2010 Asian Human Capital Award from Singapore's Minister for Manpower†, a highly recognized award in the industry. Technology in HR Functions Training & Development Early 2000s Being a global company that has hundred years of history, P&G owes its success partly to its large pool of capable and well-trained workforce. P&G trained its workforce on a regular basis. Since early 2000s, P&G sees the need to share product information and knowledge to its em-ployees quickly, while keeping its employees skilled and knowledgeable. P&G thus appointed Saba Learning Enterprise to develop an Internet-based learning system to be used by over 100,000 of its employees in over 70 countries . Through the collaboration with Saba Learning Enterprise, P&G were able to have a scalable system which featured various functions through its web compatibility. Powering the RapidLEARN initiative , Saba had helped P&G to consolidate multiple Learning Management Systems (LMSs) into one that improved the company’s global learning pace, thus reducing its costs greatly . New strategies and direction could be passed on to its employees with great consistency. Through the development of such integrated system, P&G was thus able to meet the needs of various business requirements. As a result of this, number of employees that utilized e-learning had increased from less than 5% to over 25% . It was estimated that such initiative had resulted in cost savings of around $14million after 5 years. In 2003, P&G moved on to engage BrightWave, UK e-learning developer, to transform its in-house presentation materials into an online training program, a 2-hour stand alone modular course, for its employees . Late 2000s With the success of Saba since early 2000s, the system had undergone multiple upgrades and customization. By 2009, the Saba system provided online training to over 90,000 of its em-ployees. There was an average of 16,000 individuals among P&G’s employees that made used of its online training each month. Such success leads P&G to expect an online training growth in the near future. To support such anticipation, P&G planned to improve its learning management system in terms of its availabili-ty, tracking, learning process governance and application support . As a result, P&G decided to assign Accenture in developing its learning management system for 6 years. Prior to the transformation, P&G had over 200 training administrators that provided decentra-lized Tier 1 support, with multiple vendors providing support on more serious application issues on Tier 2 and Tier 3 . Over a period of 3 months, all support services from Tier 1 to Tier 3 had been successfully migrated to Accenture to meet several objectives such as creating a consis-tent development on its application system, having a reliable learning system with high availa-bility, as well as improving the control of its learning process . To meet the increasing demand that P&G was expecting, it moved its Saba-based RapidLEARN to a clustered environment. Today, P&G had a reliable LMS which was scalable to meet the increasing need of web-based training across the globe. More than 90,000 of P&G’s employees now have access to the system. Today †¢Online system To enable all its employees be updated with the most up-to-date trainings, all of P&G’s em-ployees have access to a website (P&G’s online system) listing all the available courses, with details such as timing, course descriptions, and illegibility. P&G’s employees are to sign up for all the trainings online through a common online system. With online registration, em-ployees are able to understand the details of the course as well as select the suitable sche-dule for the courses quickly through a simple click. New courses can be search and signed-up courses can be dropped through the same online system. Aside from the course listings, the webpage also has other information (guidelines) that guides its employees through their own learning path. The system contains detailed infor-mation on the career stage at which certain trainings should be taken. Trainings are categorized into â€Å"General Trainings† which covers soft skills such as leadership and business communications and â€Å"Functional Trainings† which covers expertise knowledge such as finance and marketing. All these trainings are also categorized according to different career stage. As a result, the availability of the guidelines aims to help its employees sign up for the suitable courses during different career stage. E-learning For online trainings or the so-called â€Å"e-learning courses†, employees are able to complete the course at the leisure of their own pace. The system will track the attendance and progress of each employee in the trainings. In fact, employee’s attendance record for all courses attended is readily available online. Some of the common e-learning courses include training on procedures, standard business models , and business ethics. Upon completion of such courses, there will be compulsory tests which the employees have to pass. According to one of the employee’s experience, while such e-learning courses provide them with the necessary information, the knowledge absorbed is very much short-term. Some-times, employees will end up skip the on-line courses and move on directly to the tests by guessing the correct answers so as to pass the tests. Such ‘short-cut’ approach defeats the company’s purpose of having online trainings and wastes the resources of the company. †¢Trainings across the globe Being a global company, the company carries out its e-learning globally. The same trainings are made available to all of its employees at different countries. For other trainings that are not carried out online, the company provides the same content to be used globally. The ac-tual trainings will, however, be carried out by P&G at different regions and offices separate-ly. The trainers for such courses often come from P&G’s employees. These are keen employees who sent to external trainers to receive trainings. As a result of that, the training content of non-online trainings (despite having the same content across the globe) may vary slightly depending on the trainers’ style and expertise. In any case, not all trainings can be attended by all employees. Some training has specific requirements of having to meet certain career stage. Hence an approval status is needed before the employee can attend it. There are also certain trainings which can only be at-tended by certain employees upon recommendation from the managers. Therefore, em-ployees have to take note of such details as well as the location of trainings as an employee in Singapore could not simply attend trainings that are held in United States. The overall benefit of having such a complete online system in its training system is to allow P&G’s employees to realize their own learning progress and to direct them into knowing what kind of skills they need to develop further in the future. It also serves to save employees time by providing the employees the flexibility of completing the trainings at the own time. E-Recruiting With nearly 300 brands worldwide, P&G places high importance in the people and values the talent of every individual. The company spare no effort in attracting suitable talents into its company and promises to offer exciting new challenges, tremendous growth and support, and a chance to touch and improve lives daily for every of its staff. In the modern era, there have been an increasing number of people who are dependent on technology and the internet. In the past, people used to flip through job ads in newspapers. However in this age of internet technology, more people are increasingly turning to online job portals such as monster. com, recruit. et and efinancialcareers. com. USA Today reports that 95% of the college graduation class of 1997 used the Internet as the medium of choice for their job searches while a recent study by JWT Specialized Communications found that 70% of active job seekers are more likely to use the Web than traditional job hunting methods . The increasing popularity of these new and rising recruitment channels provide fresh and innovative ways that P&G can tap onto for thei r recruitment efforts, instead of relying only on personal network or head hunters. One example of such a channel is the increasingly popular use of online job por-tals (e-recruiting) in a candidate’s job search. P&G’s human resource team was able to identify the fast and moving trends of technology and in turn capitalize on the accessibility and availability of the internet to incorporate into its hiring process, making e-recruiting a part of their overall recruiting strategy. The key to successful e-recruiting is by providing a good job site which would make it easy for candidates to understand and apply and for the company to accomplish its goals of attracting the right talent. McKinsey & Company, the global consulting firm, identified recruiting as a critical issue in its 1998 report, The War for Talent, where McKinsey points to various demographic and industrial changes that are making it harder to recruit and retain good employees . A Fast Company article on the report also reiterated the importance of talent, stating that â€Å"The most important corporate resource over the next 20 years will be talent: smart, sophisticated businesspeople who are technologically literate, globally astute, and operationally agile. And even as the demand for talent goes up, the supply of it will be going down. By providing a good e-recruiting website, P&G is able to benefit as the website has acted as an effective filter, making it easy for the correct candidate to apply and deter the wrong applicants from applying. Other benefits of e-recruiting include huge cost savings. Research has shown that e-recruiting is not only faster than traditional channels but the efficienc ies of e-recruiting can also cut the amount of time needed to identify, interview and hire for a vacant position, in turn helping a company to save as much as $8,000 per hire over traditional hiring channels . Considering the scale of P&G with more than 129,000 employees worldwide, the amount of cost savings is substantial by just making 10% of it hires through e-recruiting. A unique website domain was devoted to P&G’s career centre: http://jobs-pg. com/, with a link to a similar interface easily accessible, appearing on the home page just beside the â€Å"Investor Relations† tab, signifying that P&G values e-recruiting as much as it cares about its investors. This career website has been designed in a very user friendly manner, where one is able to search jobs by category, location or groups, enabling candidates to be able to identify the area of interest or job they would like to apply quickly. P&G’s hiring process is then spilt into 5 gen-eral stages, namely application, assessment, initial interview, final interview and the offer, with specific instructions on what is required for every individual step. †¢Application This simple application process instituted a â€Å"paperless† online application system allowing electronic applications to be submitted 24 hours a day and helping the company to find ap-plicants in a timely manner. The information required in the application stage includes con-tact information, education, resume, questionnaire, confirmation and a summary. Appli-cants are also able to save the application as a draft first before completing it at a later time, allowing greater flexibility. †¢Assessments P&G uses online assessments to measure skills and accomplishments that generally do not emerge from interviews. These assessments are beneficial and well received by the appli-cants as it not only allow the company to assess the abilities of the applicant, but also help determine if it is equally beneficial for the applicant to continue through the hiring process, in turn acting as a screening stage for both parties. Examples of the online assessments are: oSuccess Drivers Assessment: â€Å"Assess your background, experiences, interests and work related attitudes and measures your compatibility against P&G compe-tencies for defining successful job performance† oReasoning Screen: â€Å"Measures your cognitive ability. This is important because the nature of our work is complex and continually changing† †¢Initial Interview Behavioural based interviews used to know more about the applicant’s previous accoplish-ment and the applicant relate to, compare with and connect with the company’s Success Drivers. †¢Final Interview One-to-one or panel interviews to find out in greater detail about the applicant’s skills and capabilities. This is also an opportunity for the applicant to get a more in depth understand-ing of P&G’s unique culture, values and endless opportunities. †¢Offer An offer of employment will be first notified through a phone call before a confirmation with details is given through the electronic mail. The comprehensive and descriptive steps of e-recruiting has allowed P&G to achieve a competi-tive advantage in attracting global talents to its company by making job postings available and conducting a firsthand filter of the job applicants through the several stages of recruitment in place. The advantages of e-recruiting for P&G include the ability to reach a wider range of audience, being cost effective and achieving a faster recruitment cycle. With cost effectiveness and a faster recruitment cycle being discussed previously, the ability to reach a wider range of audience is especially important for a global company with job openings suitable for people from all over the world. Opportunities/ Recommendations P&G faces many opportunities that it can tap onto for growth. With the constant increase in the use of internet revolutionizing the way people communicate and interact, majority of the companies today have incorporated e-recruiting into their recruitment strategy. Therefore there is a need for P&G to tap into new opportunities to further enhance and improve its current e-recruiting strategy. In conducting the field research of e-recruitment in P&G, it could be seen that technology was greatly used in the application, assessment and offer process, but not applied in the initial and final interview process. Hence P&G could actively test alternative methods of recruitment such as using audio and video conferencing or a real-time virtual Business Game Challenge in the interview stages to continue develop its recruitment strategy. For training wise, our group believes that P&G could have regular pop-up quizzes which test its employees on the general contents of the past trainings that the employees have attended. This serve to add on the recall on the employees and reminding them about knowledge taught such that it will prevent the employees from forgetting the training content after attending them. This is to ensure that all the resources that P&G develop are put into good use. Such pop-up quizzes, though simple, could serve as a constant reminder about the need of being aware of such knowledge even though they may not use them directly on a day-to-day basis. Conclusion Based on the above discussion, we see that talent is the key resource that drives P&G forward and helps the company to remain on top in today’s competitive market. Realizing this, P&G never let loose its effort in finding the right talent and providing them with proper trainin. The company want to ensure that all of its employees share the same values and are equipped with the most up-to-date product knowledge in a consistent manner. In order to do this efficiently, the use of technology in its e-HR system has proven to be an ef-fective and efficient method that keeps the company ahead globally. With change being the only constant in today’s world, the continuous upgrades in its HR system as well as review on recruitment process are some of the key efforts which require great efforts and are of high importance to the success of the company. Considering the size and global positioning that P&G has, keeping its e-HR competent is therefore the key to success. ? References Fast Company (1998). â€Å"The War For Talent†. Retrieved 22 December 2011 from http://www. fastcompany. com/online/16/mckinsey. html Mark. H & Jakob. N (1999). E-Recruiting. Creative Good Inc. McKinsey & Company (2001). â€Å"The War For Talent†. Retrieved 22 December 2011 from http://autoassembly. mckinsey. com/html/downloads/articles/War_For_Talent. pdf CNN Money (2011). â€Å"World’s Most Admired Companies†. Retrieved 20 December 2011, from http://money. cnn. com/magazines/fortune/mostadmired/2011/snapshots/334. html Procter & Gamble (2011). Purpose & People†. Retrieved 20 December 2011, from http://www. pg. com/en_US/company/purpose_people/index. shtml National Center for Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (January 2002) â€Å"Asia-Pacific e-learning Alliance: A Report on e-Learning and Best Practices† Retrieved 19 December 2011, from http://unpan1. un. org/intradoc/groups/public/documents/APCITY/UNPAN011272. pdf SABA Customer Overview (Se ptember 2001) â€Å"Procter & Gamble†. Retrieved 21 December 2011, from http://www. betacom. com. pl/files/other/PnG_v4. pdf National Center for Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (January 2002) â€Å"Asia-Pacific e-learning Alliance: A Report on e-Learning and Best Practices† Retrieved 19 December 2011, from http://unpan1. un. org/intradoc/groups/public/documents/APCITY/UNPAN011272. pdf Training Press Releases (11 April 2003). â€Å"Procter & Gamble use BrightWave†. Retrieved 20 December 2011, from http://www. trainingpressreleases. com/news/brightwave/2003/procter-gamble-use-brightwave Accenture (2009). â€Å"Helping Procter & Gamble strengthen a culture of high performance through its learning program†. Retrieved 21 December 2011, from

buy custom Understanding Gene Therapy essay

buy custom Understanding Gene Therapy essay Introduction Genes are the basic physical and functional units that enhance heredity. They are capable of encoding instructions that guide processing of proteins by the body (Yashon Cummings, 2012). The processed proteins facilitate most of the life functions and form a better percentage of the cellular structures. When genes are altered, the encoded proteins are rendered ineffective and unable to function normally. This is what causes genetic disorder in a person. According to studies that have been conducted, almost everybody unconsciously carries some defective genes (Giacca, 2010). Lately, there has been increasing attention to the treatment of genetic metabolic diseases. These are diseases that develop as a result of defective genes that cause enzymes to be either absent or generally ineffective and inefficient. Enzymes function in the human body to catalyze metabolic reactions (Giacca, 2010). When these enzymes are ineffective, metabolic processes are slowed down or just fail to take place . This paper seeks to discuss gene therapy, illustrate examples of this treatment approach, discuss the risks and complications, associated with it, and outline some of the ethical principles that guide gene therapy as a method of treatment of genetic disorders. Definition and Understanding of Gene Therapy Gene therapy has been developed to help treat the genetic disorders that result from dysfunctional enzymes. Gene therapy is, thus, a treatment approach that involves replacement of faulty or absent genes with working ones so that the body is able to effectively process and produce correct enzymes or proteins and consequently be able to deal with the root cause of a genetic disease (Kelly, 2007). It is a process that involves introduction of normal and functional genes into the cells of a person, which carry the defective genes so as to enhance reconstitution of the missing protein product. It is a medical treatment process that helps in the correction of a deficient phenotype so that the normal amount of gene products is synthesized by the body. The first gene therapy trial was performed by French Anderson and R. Michael Blaese on a four year old girl in 1990 (Kelly, 2007). In order to perform gene therapy, somatic cells are modified by transferring desired gene sequences into the ge nome. However, for this to succeed, somatic cells are required to ensure that the genes that are inserted to correct the disorder are not carried down to the following generations. Examples of Gene Therapy Gene therapy has been applied widely in the treatment of genetic disorders. This is because almost all cells in the human body contain genes. This makes genetic therapy feasible in virtually all cells of the human body. Gene therapy has been performed in the cells of the body and the ovum or sperm cells. There are, thus, two broad examples of gene therapy; the somatic cell gene therapy and the germ line cell therapy. Somatic Cell Gene Therapy Somatic cell gene therapy entails introduction of genes into body cells or tissues in order to treat a disease in an individual that has been medically diagnosed to have genetic associations or origin (Wintrobe Greer, 2009). This enhances expression of an exogenous functional gene into another persons somatic cells. This genetic therapeutic approach is considered to be non-reproductive since somatic cells, where it is involved are not reproductive cells. There is consensus that this gene cell therapy is safer than other approaches because it only has influence on the targeted cells in the patient. The introduced cells are not, therefore, passed down to the future generations. The effects of a somatic cell gene therapy end with the individual who is treated. This implies that the genetic disorders that are treated through the application of somatic cell gene therapy do not have a bearing on the children of the patient. Somatic cell gene therapy is used to correct errors, relating to metabolism. For example, phenilketonuria has been treated through somatic cell gene therapy. This disorder results from the bodys inability to metabolize phenylalanine. The therapy facilitates elimination of the amino acid. Although this therapy is applicable, it does not address all inborn errors, related to metabolism (Kelly, 2007). In the case of a disorder resulting from abnormal alleles for an essential enzyme that leads to deficient metabolic functions, somatic cell gene therapy has been successfully applied as a treatment strategy. In this treatment practice, a copy of gene, capable of expressing the essential enzyme and enhancing the required metabolic function, is introduced. The cloning genes that are involved in the genetic metabolic dysfunction/disorder are identified. The normal genes are, then, introduced into the prover cell within the body, especially in the area, where metabolism is required, while cont rolling the expression of the gene within the limits of the therapeutic and safe levels (Brown, 2010). There are two sub-examples of the somatic cell gene therapy; the ex vio and the in vivo. The in vivo method involves changing of the cells within the body of the patient. The genes are transferred to cells within the body of the patient. This transfer of desired genes inside the patients body led to the derived name of this method. The ex vivo somatic cell gene therapy involves exterior-focused therapeutic approach (Benigni Remuzzi, 2008). The cells of the body are modified outside the body before they are transferred back into the body again. In some therapeutic trials, the cells from the patients own blood or even the bone marrow are removed, grown in the laboratory for some time before they are transplanted back. During this process, the cells are exposed to the virus that carries the targeted gene. The entry of the virus into the cells enhances insertion of the target gene into the DNA of the cell. The cells are, then, given time to grow in the laboratory before they are again t ransferred into the body of the patient through venal injection (Kelly, 2007). This example of somatic cell gene therapy is referred to as ex vivo because the cells are treated outside the body. Germ line Gene Therapy Germ line gene therapy is a treatment approach that involves delivery of gene to sperm or egg or directly into the cells that are responsible for their production. This example of gene therapy might help in preventing defective genes from being transferred to the subsequent generations. The act of modifying genes at the initial stages of embryonic development is also preferred since it serves as a way of correcting defective genes both in the germ line and within the cells of the body (Wintrobe Greer, 2009). In cases when the germ line gene therapy is carried out in the early embryologic stages like during pre-implantation diagnosis and in the vitro fertilization, genetic transfer could be affected in every cell within the developing embryo. However, there are reservations with the germ line gene therapy. This is because of its risks, especially with the possibility of a permanent therapeutic effect that may affect the following generations through genetic inheritance. Risks, associated with Gene Therapy The risks, associated with gene therapy, are various. These risks relate to the way, in which the genes are delivered. The normal genes that replace defective ones, in a gene therapy process, are usually delivered through carriers, which are normally vectors. Most of these vectors are viruses, which researchers use due to their unique ability to carry genetic material into the cells of a gene (Hutter, 2010). This poses a great potential for risks. To begin with, since gene therapy involves introduction of new foreign cell into the system, the body is bound to react through its immune system. The virus that is introduced into the body through gene therapy may cause the immune system to react and attack the new cell in the same way it reacts to other pathogenic and disease-causing organisms or cells. Such immune responses may not only cause complications in the bodys immunity but also lead to other medical and health complications such as inflammation, toxicity and organ failure in som e extreme instances. Gene therapy can also lead to viral spread. The process involves use of viruses to transfer the desired gene into the body. Hutter (2010) cited that since viruses have the capability of affecting more than one type of body cells, there is a possibility that viral vectors that are used in genetic transfer may end up infecting cells other than the targeted cells. All the cells that contain mutated or missing genes may, thus, be affected. This can be a very unfortunate occurrence since even the healthy cells may end up being affected by the vector-carrying virus. Thus, gene therapy may lead to viral spread, which, in turn, might cause other health complications and spread diseases or illnesses including cancer (Hutter, 2010). Perhaps, one of the greatest risks, associated with gene therapy, is the possibility of the virus to reverse to its original form. Viruses are used to transfer the required genes into the body cells to replace the defective ones that are causing enzyme and other somatic dysfunctions. However, the viruses that are used as vectors or carriers of the desired gene may recover their initial viral and infection ability and cause diseases, once they are introduced into the body through gene therapy (Abraham, 2008). This possibility is quite unfortunate given that gene therapy in itself is originally meant to be a treatment method, which should not lead to the spread of other diseases in the process of treating another disease. The risks of gene therapy have been registered, especially with regard to the ability of the virus to spread and induce tumor formation within the genome (Kelly, 2007). Scientists and researchers have registered their reservations and concerns that if the new genes get inserted or introduced in the wrong spot within the genome, there are chances that the insertion may cause tumor formation (Kelly, 2007). This has been observed by geneticists and scientists in some of the laboratory clinical trials. Besides, the new DNA that is introduced into the body during treatment through gene therapy may end up affecting the reproductive cells of the patient, especially where germ line gene therapy is involved. This may cause changes in the genetic composition and affect the children that are born after one is treated through gene therapy. Complications with Gene Therapy Although trials of gene therapy have significantly been successful, there are a few reservations that have been reported. The few complications that scientific and genetic researchers have realized with gene therapy relate to the medical and health issues that gene therapy as a treatment procedure might cause in a patient. For example, gene therapy has been associated with T-cell leukemia (Abraham, 2008). When the retroviral vector was inserted inappropriately near the proto-oncogene LMO2, the result was a proliferation of uncontrolled mature T cells, which causes T-cell leukemia in a patient. This complication is caused by the lack of both the B and T cells (Gibbs, 1996). Such a complication that result from gene therapy may expose a patient to further medical complications, including the use of bone marrow transplant that is retrieved from a histocompatible sibling of the patient. Unfortunately, this is often not easy to secure or procure. Thus, gene therapy may lead to other compl ications, some of which are very severe and can even be fatal. Gene therapy may lead to interruption of important genetic sequence and harm the cell instead of resolving the genetic and cellular defects that the treatment targets. This is because the retroviruses that penetrate the immune defenses into the target cells often affect the cells in an unpredictable manner. Abraham (2008) cited that the retroviruses may even insert the therapeutic gene at unpredictable position within the cells DNA. This is what might lead to interruption of very important genetic sequences that might have been going on within the cells DNA. Even in the cases, where gene therapy succeeds, the new genes always end up in the dormant parts of the cells DNA (Brown, 2010). In the dormant stretches, the new genes often do not get switched on as frequent enough to be able to make the much required genetic difference in the patient who is undergoing treatment (Gibbs, 1996). Ethical Concerns, surrounding Gene Therapy Gene therapy is a medical treatment involving alteration of the bodys set of basic genetic messages. Since it touches on the very processes that guide life and its characteristics, this treatment approach has raised and continues to raise various ethical issues. One of the ethical concerns that gene therapy is raising is its fairness in terms of the use of the genetic information that is disclosed during the diagnosis and treatment procedures. There are concerns, relating to the use of the genetic information (Cummings, 2009). For example, many people are in a dilemma with regard to the person who should be entitled to the access to the personal genetic information of the patient and how such information will be used. There are concerns about the privacy and confidentiality of the genetic information that is retrieved in the course of gene therapy. Since it is private and personal information, pressure is piling on the need to keep genetic information very private and confidential un der all circumstances. Genetic therapy is often associated with stigmatization. The psychological impact that is created by a persons genetic difference should, thus, be well taken care of before gene therapy is approved. For example, there are concerns about the perceptions of the society towards an individual who undergoes gene therapy. The members of the minority communities are particularly vulnerable to social stigma, associated with gene therapy. Besides, being a complex procedure that has great potentials for risks and complications, there is need to seek adequate informed consent from the patient and the family members before gene therapy is carried out on a patient. This is because gene therapy has very close link and relationship to the reproductive aspects of an individual (Cummings, 2009). The healthcare personnel, thus, need to carefully counsel the patient and the family members about the risks, the limitations and the implications of gene therapy. This ethical aspect is very essential given the clinical issues, uncertainties, complications and risks that are associated with gene therapy. Conclusion Gene therapy is increasingly becoming acceptable and a popular method for treatment of genetic disorders and gene-related diseases and illnesses. Although germ line gene therapy exists, it is still outlawed in most states like the entire European Union because of its implications. Somatic cell gene therapy is, however, acceptably practiced as a treatment method. However, the complications and risks that are associated with gene therapy still limit its use considerably. Thus, there is a need for scientists to evaluate further the safe, effective and efficient ways of using gene therapy as a treatment procedure for genetic disorders giving careful attention to the ethical concerns that this procedure raises. Buy custom Understanding Gene Therapy essay

Free Fall essays

Free Fall essays Objective: To measure the acceleration of gravity using a tape timer DC power supply Mass Piece Procedure: We started by calibrating the tape timer. We do this so that we know how long it takes for the hammer to strike down each time. We did this by starting the tape timer and pulling a sample piece of tape through it while someone timed how long it took for the tape to be pulled through. We did it three times, however, we never adjusted the voltage, as that would change the period of the timer. Afterwards, we counted the dots and found the average. The average that we found is the period of the hammer arm. Afterwards we found the period of the hammer it was time to measure the acceleration of gravity. We constructed a support to hold the tape time in the air (like the one above). We then ran a strip of paper through the time and attached a mass to it. We made sure that there was no slack in the paper, and that it could fall uninhibited to the floor. Then we started the tape timer and let the mass fall. Finally we measured the distance between the dots on the paper strip and recorded it in our data tables. Data: We used a ruler to measure the dots, and a ruler only measures to 1/10 of a cm (.1). We had to estimate to get the hundredth place. 1) Why would you have to remove the slack before letting the mass fall? A: We had to remove the slack before letting the mass fall because if we didnt, then the pa ...

Elizabeth Key and Her History-Changing Lawsuit

Elizabeth Key and Her History-Changing Lawsuit Elizabeth Key (1630 - after 1665) is a key figure in the history of American chattel slavery. She won her freedom in a lawsuit in 17th century colonial Virginia, and her lawsuit may have helped inspire laws making slavery a hereditary condition. Heritage Elizabeth Key was born in 1630, in Warwick County, Virginia. Her mother was a slave from Africa who is unnamed in the record. Her father was an English planter living in Virginia, Thomas Key, who arrived in Virginia before 1616. He served in the Virginia House of Burgesses, the colonial legislature. Accepting Paternity In 1636, a civil case was brought against Thomas Key, alleging that he had fathered Elizabeth. Such suits were common to get a father to accept responsibility to support a child born out of marriage, or to ensure that the father would help to get the child an apprenticeship. Key first denied paternity of the child, claiming that a â€Å"Turk† had fathered the child. (A â€Å"Turk† would have been a non-Christian, which could affect the slave status of the child.) He then accepted paternity and had her baptized as a Christian. Transfer to Higginson At about the same time, he was planning to go to England- perhaps the suit was filed to ensure that he accepted paternity before he left- and he placed the 6-year-old Elizabeth with Humphrey Higginson, who was her godfather. Key specified a term of indenture of nine years, which would bring her to the age of 15, a common time for indenture terms or apprentice terms to expire. In the agreement, he specified that after 9 years, Higginson was to take Elizabeth with him, give her a â€Å"portion,† and then free her to make her own way in the world. Also included in the instructions was that Higginson treat her like a daughter; as later testimony put it, â€Å"user her more Respectfully than a Common servant or slave.† Key then sailed for England, where he died later that year. Colonel Mottram When Elizabeth was about ten years old, Higginson transferred her to a Colonel John Mottram, a justice of the peace- whether it was a transfer or sale is not clear- and he then moved to what is now Northumberland County, Virginia, becoming the first European settler there. He founded a plantation he called Coan Hall. About 1650, Col. Mottram arranged for 20 indentured servants to be brought from England. One of those was William Grinstead, a young lawyer who indentured himself to pay for his passage and work that off during the term of indenture. Grinstead did legal work for Mottram. He also met and fell in love with Elizabeth Key, still held as a bond servant to Mottram, though it was by that time 5 or more years beyond the term of the original agreement between Key and Higginson. Even though Virginia law at that time forbid indentured servants from marrying, having sexual relations or having children, a son, John, was born to Elizabeth Key and William Grinstead. Filing Suit for Freedom In 1655, Mottram died. Those settling the estate assumed that Elizabeth and her son John were slaves for life. Elizabeth and William filed suit in court to recognize both Elizabeth and her son as already free. At the time, the legal situation was ambiguous, with some tradition assuming all â€Å"Negros† were slaves no matter the status of their parents, and other tradition assuming English common law where bondage status followed that of the father. Some other cases held that black Christians could not be slaves for life. The law was especially ambiguous if only one parent was an English subject. The suit was based on two factors: first, that her father was a free Englishman, and under English common law whether one was free or in bondage followed the status of the father; and second, that she had been â€Å"long since Christened† and was a practicing Christian. A number of people testified. One resurrected that old claim that Elizabeth’s father was a â€Å"Turk,† which would have meant neither parent was an English subject. But other witnesses testified that from a very early time, it was common knowledge that Elizabeth’s father was Thomas Key. The key witness was an 80-year-old former servant of Key, Elizabeth Newman. The record also showed that she had been called Black Bess or Black Besse. The court found in her favor and granted her freedom, but an appeal court found that she was not free, because she was a â€Å"Negro.† General Assembly and Retrial Then Grinstead filed a petition for Key with the Virginia General Assembly. The Assembly formed a committee to investigate the facts, and found â€Å"That by the Comon Law the Child of a Woman slave begot by a freeman ought to be free† and also noted that she had been christened and was â€Å"able to give a very good account of her fayth.† The Assembly returned the case to a lower court. There, on July 21, 1656, the court found that Elizabeth Key and her son John were in fact free persons. The court also required that the Mottram estate give her â€Å"Corn Clothes and Satisfaction† for her having served many years beyond the end of her term of service. The court formally â€Å"transferred† to Grinstead â€Å"a maid servant†. That same day, a marriage ceremony was performed and recorded for Elizabeth and William. Life in Freedom Elizabeth had a second son by Grinstead, named William Grinstead II. (Neither son’s birth date is recorded.) Grinstead died in 1661, after only five years of marriage. Elizabeth then married another English settler named John Parse or Pearce. When he died, he left 500 acres to Elizabeth and her sons, which allowed them to live out their lives in peace. There are many descendants of Elizabeth and William Grinstead, including a number of famous people (the actor Johnny Depp is one). Later Laws Before the case, there was, as outlined above, some ambiguity in the legal status of the child of a woman who was in bondage and a free father. The assumption of the Mottram estate that Elizabeth and John were slaves for life was not without precedent. But the idea that all of African descent were permanently in bondage was not universal. Some wills and agreements by owners specified terms of service for African slaves, and also specified land or other goods to be granted at the end of the term of service to aid in their new life as fully free persons. For example, a woman, Jone Johnson, daughter of one Anthony Johnson identified as a Negro, was given 100 acres of land by the Indian ruler Debeada in 1657. Key’s suit won her freedom and established the precedence of the English common law about a child born to a free, English father. In response, Virginia and other states passed laws to override the common law’s assumptions. Slavery in America became more solidly a race-based and hereditary system. Virginia passed these laws: 1660: the term of indentured servitude was limited to five years- for servants from a Christian country1662: a child’s status as free or bond (slave) status was to follow the mother’s status, contrary to English common law1667: being a Christian did not alter status of bondage1670: prohibited Africans from importing any bonded laborers from anywhere (Africa or England included)1681: children of a European mother and African father were to be in bondage to age 30 In Maryland: 1661: a law was passed making all African Americans in the colony slaves, and all African Americans slaves at birth whatever the status of the parents1664: a new law outlawed marriages between European or English women and African (Negro/black) men Note: while the term â€Å"black† or â€Å"Negro† was sometimes used for Africans from the beginning of the presence of people of African descent in colonial America, the term â€Å"white† came into legal usage in Virginia about 1691, with a law referring to â€Å"English or other white women.† Before that, each nationality was described. In 1640, for instance, a court case described a â€Å"Dutchman,† a â€Å"Scotch man† and a â€Å"Negro,† all bond servants who escaped to Maryland. An earlier case, 1625, referred to a â€Å"Negro,† a â€Å"Frenchman,† and â€Å"a Portugall.† More about the early history of black or African women in what is now the United States, including how laws and treatment evolved: Timeline of African American History and Women Also known as: Elizabeth Key Grinstead; due to spelling variations common at the time, last name was variously Key, Keye, Kay and Kaye; married name was variously Grinstead, Greensted, Grimstead, and other spellings; final married name was Parse or Pearce Background, Family: Mother: not namedFather: Thomas Key (or Keye or Kay or Kaye) Marriage, Children: husband: William Grinstead (or Greensted or Grimstead or other spellings) (married July 21, 1656; indentured servant and lawyer)children:John GrinsteadWilliam Grinstead IIhusband: John Parce or Pearce (married about 1661)

Cases for Analysis Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Cases for Analysis - Coursework Example 2. It is understandable why Yellowstone wishes to settle all the claims out of court. A trial would inform public opinion about the low quality of the mowers and would harm the company’s image. It is also understandable why the company’s lawyers keep the claims out of the court. Considering the fact that this is an abnormally dangerous defect, Yellowstone should act ethically and just publicly admit its fault, retrieve all the mowers from the shops and work on repairing them. However, the ones that should go to court and accept no settlement are the injured parties, the consumers who have suffered because of the defected products. 3. Again, it is understandable why Yellowstone would like to include the secrecy clause in the settlement agreements. If one party were to start talking about the defect of the mower and about the fact that the claim was kept out of the court in change for an impressive sum, Yellowstone would be forced to deal with one of the two situations: 1 . Their sales would grow, as a result of people looking at this like at a business opportunity: buy one defective mower, wait until it explodes, threaten the manufacturer with a lawsuit and get a refund from Yellowstone, or 2. Their sales would be drastically reduced as a result of the bad publicity. None of the situations looks good so that is why secrecy clauses are included in the settlements. The morality of this is doubtful and the reasons why the affected consumers accept this are even more questionable. Legally, such clauses are not prohibited and are, on one hand, acceptable. However, cumulating the fact that none of the defection cases is made public, the products continue to be sold, in spite of their obvious defects and the insertion of the secrecy clause in the settlements, the situation, on the whole, is not legal and the company’s marketing policy is based on deceiving the clients. 4. As it has been stated before, the answer to this question is No; the injured p arties are not acting ethically when agreeing not to disclose the products’ defect to others. They are consciously accepting the fact that somebody else may be injured. Moreover, in legal terms, these people are liable under the law of tort, as acting with recklessness towards the possible hundreds of victims. The Restatement (Second) of Torts defines reckless conduct as it follows: â€Å"The actor's conduct is in reckless disregard of the safety of another if he does an act or intentionally fails to do an act which it is his duty to the other to do, knowing or having reason to know of facts which would lead a reasonable [person] to realize, not only that his conduct creates an unreasonable risk of physical harm to another, but also that such risk is substantially greater than that which is necessary to make his conduct negligent.†2 Although this definition is close to negligence, no matter what tort is applicable, all the parties that agreed to the secrecy clause did not act ethically or legally correct. CHAPTER 2 CASE 4 In my opinion, the right guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment to the USA Constitution is violated in this case by Mississippi University for Women. Section 1 of the Fourteenth Amendment stipulates: â€Å"All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they

The Role of Consumer Behavior in Marketing Decisions Research Paper - 2

The Role of Consumer Behavior in Marketing Decisions - Research Paper Example From this study it is clear that  nearly every respondent attested to the fact that McDonalds is a big market player in food products. This is because with regard to the food products that do well in the summer across the various market segments, every respondent gave an indication of having bought them in less than a week. The young market has a higher preference for McDonalds’ products than in the older market segments. It is clear that the older age segment still has a significant attraction to the McDonalds’ range of products. The most elaborate choice for McDonalds’ ice cream products in the summer has however been among the children, youths and young adults. All the respondents had a recent purchase experience with a McDonald’s product.  This paper outlines that  in order to find out the actual brand preferences that the respondents had for the various products offered at McDonalds, personal opinion was from each of the respondents. A question was asked regarding the specific brand choices and the decision making process behind them from each of the respondents. The three children and one adult bought vanilla ice cream cones from McDonalds while one young adult and two adults had chocolate dipped ice cream products.  Two of the remaining young adults bought strawberry yoghurt from McDonalds. Some of the reasons behind the decision to purchase the preferred product from McDonalds included identity with the company for all the children while one of the adults was having fun with his young son.

Cuban Missile Crisis and the International System Essay - 1

Cuban Missile Crisis and the International System - Essay Example Cold War – this pair of words was perhaps one of the most often used political terms in the last fifty years. Today this phrase is widely accepted in historical writings referring to the period between 1947-1948 and 1989-1990. Usually scholars associate it with nuclear confrontation between the Soviets and the United States, and the arms race that put the whole world on the brink of a devastating military clash . The Cold War was characterized by mutual mistrust and misunderstanding when the United States accused the USSR of attempts to swell the Communist doctrine throughout the world while the Soviets, in its turn, charged the United States with imperialist ways. The nature of the Cold War, its causes and outcomes are not yet clear: any scholar who explores the theme will inevitably face a series of controversial issues, such as inevitability of the Cold War, the role of personalities in escalation of the tension, the factors, economic, political or ideological that played the key role in the War, etc. The ideological aspect of the communist – capitalist confrontation was apparently the core thread of the Cold War. The wider notion of this conflict posits â€Å"†¦ as a distinctive period into the ideological struggle, originated in 1917-18, between the Wilsonian Impulse and Lenin's urge for peoples' democracy as the basis for securing peace† . Being the first impulse for emergence of the bipolar world, the ideological antagonism played the key role in changing threat perceptions and shifts of balance throughout confrontation. The Cuban Missile Crisis represented an important milestone in this confrontation: it was probably the first time in modern history that the two world leading superpowers realized their high vulnerability and mutual dependence.

Compare constitutional protections of aboriginal rights in Canada to Essay

Compare constitutional protections of aboriginal rights in Canada to comparable rights protections in another country with an indigenous population - Essay Example dispensation in Canada indicate that the Canadian government has demonstrated interest in creating clauses that would not only promote the rights of the aboriginals, but also group them under a special category which would enable the community to enjoy government protection. In a bid to illustrate the involvement of various governments in protecting the rights of aboriginals, the paper would compare the constitutional protection of the aboriginal rights in Canada and Australia. Both Australian constitution and Canadian constitution recognizes the aboriginal community and the Torres Straight Islanders. This step is critical in strengthening the rights of the aboriginal community in the two countries. However, the constitution of respective countries seems to project or define the extent of protection that it can provide to the aboriginal community. For instance, in both cases, the constitution of the two countries stipulates that it will promote the culture and tradition of the aboriginal community in the present time and in the future. According to the provision of this clause, the constitution defines the protection of the cultural activities of the aboriginal community (Uribe, 2004:1-18). The cultural right includes indigenous practices and traditions that are synonymous with the indigenous community. The enactment of the section 35(1), Constitutional Act 1982 of the Canadian constitution does not only recognize, but also affirms the existence of the aboriginal treaty rights. The Supreme Court decision in the sparrow case indicated that the section 35(1) has set new dimension of protecting the rights of the aboriginals. Available literature indicates that it supersedes the colonial landmarks, which barred the Canadian aboriginal from some fundamental rights (Uribe, 2004:1-18). On the contrary, the Australian constitution fails to demonstrate the protection of the Indigenous rights. The Kruger’s case is one of the historical instances where the protection of

House of Representatives Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

House of Representatives - Essay Example Although it is necessary to be active within the campaign as a means of maintaining notoriety and engaging with the stakeholders at home, seeking to spend two large a share of time on the campaign trail opens up a distinct vulnerability within the reelection campaign itself. In such a way, the opponent is able to point to the fact that the representative is somehow shirking his or her duties and not being present at the job and votes for which he/she is paid for. In such a way, even if it disproportional level of time to spend seeking to listen to and gain stakeholder feedback with regards to the campaign trail, such a tactic and easily backfire upon the representative due to the fact that missed votes and lack of participation within the House of Representatives has the potential to lead the voter to understand that the particular representative in question does not value or take very seriously their role within the process of representation. As a function of this reality, the best strategy to pursue is with regards to seeking to adequately balance the amount of time is spent on the campaign trail as well as serving within the House of Representatives. ... As a function of proving to the populace that they value and take seriously their role, it is the responsibility of the representative to also seek to engage with stakeholders while on the campaign trail as a means of listening to, identifying, and seeking to ameliorate their specific concerns rather than merely campaigning in seeking to generate votes for a future term. †¢ b. What issues might you emphasize over the next few months as you campaign and give speeches on the House floor? How are these issues related to your constituency, their demographics, and their values? Give at least three examples. (20 points, 300 words) Ultimately, the question of what issues to support and few months prior to election is ultimately an issue of visibility. In such a way, the representative is able to make themselves known on both a nationwide in domestic platform as a prominent advocate of values that resonates with the populace that they represent. Although this technically should be pract iced at each and every juncture of a House of Representatives member’s career, it cannot and should not be ignored in the final few months leading up to an election. One of the current issues that is bound to generate a degree of residence, whether for or against, is the issue of gun control. In such a way, if the representative seeks a liberalization of current gun control measures, they can of course rely upon the Bill of Rights, various political action groups, and social conservatives as a means of providing a level of residence with regards to this particular topic. Conversely, if they seek to support a further level of gun control as a means of averting violence within the United States, they can

Compare constitutional protections of aboriginal rights in Canada to Essay

Compare constitutional protections of aboriginal rights in Canada to comparable rights protections in another country with an indigenous population - Essay Example dispensation in Canada indicate that the Canadian government has demonstrated interest in creating clauses that would not only promote the rights of the aboriginals, but also group them under a special category which would enable the community to enjoy government protection. In a bid to illustrate the involvement of various governments in protecting the rights of aboriginals, the paper would compare the constitutional protection of the aboriginal rights in Canada and Australia. Both Australian constitution and Canadian constitution recognizes the aboriginal community and the Torres Straight Islanders. This step is critical in strengthening the rights of the aboriginal community in the two countries. However, the constitution of respective countries seems to project or define the extent of protection that it can provide to the aboriginal community. For instance, in both cases, the constitution of the two countries stipulates that it will promote the culture and tradition of the aboriginal community in the present time and in the future. According to the provision of this clause, the constitution defines the protection of the cultural activities of the aboriginal community (Uribe, 2004:1-18). The cultural right includes indigenous practices and traditions that are synonymous with the indigenous community. The enactment of the section 35(1), Constitutional Act 1982 of the Canadian constitution does not only recognize, but also affirms the existence of the aboriginal treaty rights. The Supreme Court decision in the sparrow case indicated that the section 35(1) has set new dimension of protecting the rights of the aboriginals. Available literature indicates that it supersedes the colonial landmarks, which barred the Canadian aboriginal from some fundamental rights (Uribe, 2004:1-18). On the contrary, the Australian constitution fails to demonstrate the protection of the Indigenous rights. The Kruger’s case is one of the historical instances where the protection of

Things Fall Apart Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Things Fall Apart - Essay Example They knew that they would capture the natives in their trap which was in form of assistance (Okpewho 32). With respect to the coming of the white man in the village, the white religion started. The villagers thought that it was good to adapt, follow it and this caused them to continue changing with time. Could not withstand the forces of the changing people who could not stick to their traditional way of living Okonkwo followed the community’s traditions strictly all the times. For example, he beat his wife Ojiugo who failed to do her duty of preparing a meal for her husband and the entire family because she came late after plaiting her hair. The wife adapted the British lifestyle whereby women had the rights to do what they wished because they had power while the African culture, the role of a woman in the society was to make sure that she handled all the responsibilities assigned to her with great commitment. For example, according to the religion, during the peace week, no one was right to beat anyone. Okonkwo did it because according to his culture it was right to beat a woman any time when she wronged. Probably, he forgot that it was against the practices of the African culture to do it during the peace week. According to the beliefs, he committed an offence unacceptable to the gods. (33).The introduction of the white’s religion caused so many changes to the natives of t he Lbo society for it prevented them practice their culture and beliefs. In addition, the coming of the white man in the society caused confusion to Okonkwo’s traditions and ended committing suicide. This was an abomination in the African culture and beliefs. Ibo villagers’ way of living continued to show great diversity as by 1900’s because of the British who wanted their culture to dominate in the area and the villagers started absorbing it. Native values of the community went on diminishing. Okonkwo’s son, ‘Nwoye’ was always calm, cool,

Graphical Analysis Essay Example for Free

Graphical Analysis Essay This part of the experiment looked at a pendulum to see the relationship between the length of string and the time it took to do ten full oscillations. Unlike the rubber band experiment the results produced a curve. The best-fit curve was produced from a power regression using the Graphical Analysis software and the Ti-83 plus calculator to cut down on systematic error. This fit was much better than the linear regression because more points lie on the curve and it also supports what the textbook says. In both experiments the possibility of errors are a concern; a concern that must not be forgotten. Systematic error is caused by the mis-collection of data or an improper model. One type of error that is always found is random error. It is the combination of errors that are important and calculated differently depending on the circumstances. Relative error gives more meaning to the importance of a random error. It is much easier to see the influence of a particular error when it is compared to the whole to make a percentage of error. The general function to determine error is a derivative of the function multiplied by the error. For example the error formula of y = x5 then the error formula is 54 ? x. The error formula for y = VX is (1 / (2VX)) ? X. Shortcuts can be used when determining the relative error of z when z = xy by adding the relative errors of x and y (? z = ? x/x + ? y/y). This can be done because of the following proof: ? z = x? y + y? x and z = xy then ? z/z = (x? y + y? x) / xy. The shortcut ? z/z = ? x/x + ? y/y is the same equation when a common denominator is calculated as xy. The same holds true for division z = x/y with the same result being ? z/z = ? x/x + ? y/y. Traditionally the equation would initially look like ? z/z = ((x? y + y? x)/y2) / (x/y), which is also the same as saying ((x? y + y? x) / y2) X (y/x). After the y/x is multiplied through then the same equation as the former is produced which is ? z/z = (x? y + y? x) / xy therefore proving the results. Method Part D Part D of the experiment looked at the quadratic function and its unique properties. The quadratic function of y = 10 + 30t 4. 9t2 was graphed using Graphical Analysis. This function represents a ball thrown upwards at 30 m/s with gravity working against it causing a downward motion. Figure 3 shows the resulting graph. This is just a theoretical situation and does not represent data collected. Analysis Part D The graphed quadratic function helps to understand the quadratic relationship more closely. It is a very useful function in physics because it is often seen when using motion. The roots are a very important part of the function. These are the points at which the curve crosses through the horizontal axis when y = 0. To figure this out the quadratic function can be rewritten as: x = -b/2a i Vb2 4ac / 2a. The graph is helpful to quickly see where the roots are. The Graphical Analysis software allowed me to zoom into the roots closer than what figure 3 allows to be seen. Visually the roots looked to be -0. 32 and 6. 44 but with a calculator the equation was a little more accurate for the first root at -0. 317. Using the proper number of significant figures then the answers would be the same whether calculated or visually enhanced. Looking at the equation more closely shows an interesting equation within the bigger one. Before the i symbol is -b / 2a, which is the same for both roots. This is important because the quadratic equation is symmetrical and the -b / 2a equation points to the apex of the curve, like a mid-point. Another note on this point is that the point is also where the slope = 0, which is when the ball would begin falling back to the earth. Conclusion This lab looked at some of the different physical relationships that are current theories or laws. The experiments verified these relationships.

Risk Management and Patient Safety in a Hospital

Risk Management and Patient Safety in a Hospital This essay will present an interaction that took place in practice that captured the multi-disciplinary team discussing a service user. This interaction shows the concept of risk management, patient safety and leadership within a hospital setting. These concepts will be explored and critically reviewed to establish how important leadership and advocating for a service user is. It will also demonstrate how important a good multi-disciplinary team can work together for patient safety with least restrictive practice. Interaction in practice A mixed 20 bedded ward in acute mental health for adults aged 18 to 65 received an informal admission which is lease restrictive practice (Scottish Government, 2006). The service user has a diagnosis of borderline personality disorder who was known to staff on shift. As it was a weekend none of the service user’s medical team was on shift, which meant they would meet with the duty doctor, and duty consultant. The duty consultant arrived and went to one of the interview rooms to chat with the service user. On return the consultant stated that the service user would stay until they met with their own team. When asked about passes off the ward the consultant said nurse escort passes only. The coordinating nurse then stated that this would not be acting in the service user’s best interest and history has proved this to be non-beneficial. The nursing multi-disciplinary team (MDT) then proceeded to state the service user was informal and attended voluntary. This will cause di stress and anxiety to service user when staff cannot facilitate the time off the ward. The consultant stood by his recommendation but the coordinating nurse got in touch with the coordinating charge nurse (CCN) and pursued the decision. It was then talked over by the coordinating nurse, consultant and CCN as well as the staff on shift. After the MDT had discussed the matter the result ended with the service user gaining 15 minutes passes which worked out well over the weekend for the service user. Leadership The definition on leadership is one in a position or function as a leader to direct or guide a group or party (Waite and Soanes, 2007). Nicolson et al, (2011) states there is more ramification with being a leader such as: communication, emotions, and the relationship between followers and the leader. However if professionals in a leadership role are not performing to the high standard this can impact on the team reducing their commitment to the care and treatment of service users (Kilfedder, Power and Wells, 2001). Researchers have not only been tasked with finding a definition for leadership but also evidencing the characteristics that make a good leader. (Wangensteen, Johansson, Nordstrom, 2008) state that an individual constantly producing a high level of practice above recommended standards as well as displaying a caring interest in other colleagues performance, and sharing information or guidance at the correct time has all the characteristics of a leader. Professional socialization according to (Clearly et al. 2011) states leaders will engage in conversation to explore values, beliefs and attitudes of individuals they work with as well as initiating team building interactions and offering support towards the team members. Alimo-Metcalfe (2003) states that individuals are most effective when they are competent and confident and aware of their own strengths and behaviours and can work well with other team members. This was displayed in the scenario as the coordinating nurse was confident and showed their strength by pursuing the matter with the backing of the MDT. (Hogan, 1994) states leadership is persuading colleges to set aside individual concerns for a short period of time to support a mutual goal or responsibility for safety and welfare of a group. On the other hand (Fowler, 2012) states leadership is projected through role modeling. Role modeling according to (Fowler, 2012) is an individual who is â€Å"good at their job† and competent within their role with the ability to carry out tasks with ease. However there are some clinicians that practice on the edge within ethical dilemmas that could be deemed unprofessional therefor would not make good role models. (Bosman et al. 2012) also agrees with role modeling and its importance with leadership and states there are four aspects that experienced members of a team lead from. These are inspiration and motivation, self-efficacy reinforcing junior’s beliefs to achieve more. Learning by example of real life practice situations and a support for other members of the team. The leadership skills displayed in the scenario above was to advocate for the service user and be their voice. This took confidence and knowledge with a compassionate and empathetic approach so the service user would not be distressed or agitated over the weekend. It also demonstrates how connected the team was to get involved in the discussion to reinforce the initial statement. By displaying communication skills and introducing an outside party to evidence reasons why this would be the best course of action for the service user the pass was granted, and there were no incidents over the weekend involving the service user. However the service user could have went out on pass and not returned and the scenario could have been much worse even disastrous. But the staff member had evidence based knowledge about the individual and practical experience with care and treatment for the service user. Although there was a risk with this scenario all parties were following the 10 essential shared capabilities (ESCs) by working in partnership, promoting recovery, providing service user centred care, making a difference and positive risk taken (Anderson and Burgess, 2009) this guided all members to reach a decision. Kean and Haycock-Stuart (2011) argue that policies and interactions put in place to deliver a high standard of care can suggest that the individual in the leadership role is solely responsible for its success. This singular approach fails to report the relationship between the leader and followers and the prevalence of the followers contributions (Kean and Haycock-Stuart, 2011). The Scottish Government (2009) acknowledges that the leadership development for National Health Service (NHS) Scotland is achieving its goal. This is regarded as a priority for (NHS) Scotland and is prioritized at a local level (The Scottish Government, 2009). This has been introduced to insure healthcare professionals can practice nationally and local with leadership qualities and behaviours to deliver a high standard of care that is safe and effective. Policy within (NHS) Scotland states all employees are made clear and understand exactly what their role is. As they have a duty of care to provide the best care possible, and leaders have the responsibility to ensure this is happening to the correct standards but allow participation in the decision making process (The Scottish Government, 2009). The NHS has a model (Leading Better care, 2011) that can direct leaders to consider leadership qualities and develop positive attitudes and set out goals. How leaders behave within National H ealth Service (NHS) Scotland can make or break their agenda for health care. Research suggests that an effective leader can have a positive impact on service user care. There has been many cases of bad practice in healthcare that has been publicized for the public such as; The Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust which produced the Francis Inquiry (Nolan, 2013) which explored what happened and were the trust failed. The report stated that all healthcare workers working within the health care system will be held accountable for their actions and the care they provide. The report addressed staff from all positions especially senior positions who neglected their basic leadership skills (Nolan, 2013). (Blegen and Severinsson, 2011) state mental health nurses are always advancing their practice with change while working in environments that are challenging. By developing leadership skills that are motivating and encouraging colleagues to work responsibly and respectively with service users. This demonstrates the importance that leadership skills have when tasking or directing a colleague to have reassurance the task will be carried out correctly (Cleary et al. 2011). This can depend on the relationship of the followers and the leaders as this has an important bearing on the success of the healthcare environment. However (Kean and Haycock-Stuart, 2011) states that the followers are over looked as the framework for leadership focuses on the leaders as individuals. Kean and Haycock-Stuart (2011) state there is more to being a follower than following a leader, if judgements are made that disagree with a leader this can make or break the relationship of leader and follower. Good leaders hip takes opinions into consideration and work with reciprocity built on trust (Kean and Haycock-Stuart, 2011). Along with leadership is patient safety as described in paragraphs above leadership has been the emphasis for NHS Scotland locally and nationally but these two concepts work in partnership with each other (The Scottish Government, 2010). The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) acknowledge the importance for individuals to continually update skills and experience in leadership and patient safety and working in partnership with universities have implemented a new domain constructed for leadership. This domain will be part of student competencies that will be expected to be adhered to when they become registered nurses. Registered nurses must now lead and challenge in a bid to improve services to provide the best possible care (NMC, 2010). Patient Safety Safety is the most important part of the healthcare service, safety for service users and safety for healthcare professionals. The drive for safety within the healthcare services are one of the three ambitions by the Scottish Government which will strive to deliver and support safe and effective healthcare. All service users will receive care and treatment in a clean, safe environment free from preventable harm or injury in any NHS Scotland healthcare facility (Scottish Government, 2010). Patient safety is the foundation that nurses construct their practice around and is a professional value that the Nursing and Midwifery Council stipulate is a requirement with the code of conduct (NMC, 2015). All registered nurses must safeguard the health and well-being of all individuals for as long as there are receiving care (NMC, 2008). Ferguson et al. (2007) states when patient safety is compromised and errors transpire the role of the clinical practitioner can be scrutinized when there are numerous factors that threaten patient safety. Some factors such as; work load pressures and staff shortages can count for miner mistakes happening within the healthcare system. However (Ferguson et al, 2007) also states good communication within a positive and motivated working team are factors that are effective in building a good safety culture. General hospitals are subjected to the same safety risks with patient safety as in a mental health hospital such as; pressure sores and medication errors. However, additional risks to staff and patients are unique in the mental health area (Bark and Tingle, 2011).The management of violence and aggression and the use of seclusion are to support patient safety as mental health hospitals use restraining techniques which can increase the service user’s vulnerability. However mental illness can cause individuals to become suspicious, disorientated, paranoid or delusional that can cause anger or difficulty with instructions (Bark and Tingle, 2011). This can generate a more complex case for patient safety even though risk assessments are carried out daily within mental health wards. Staff predicting and planning for every preventable event that could happen, due to human behaviour is only effective with the information they possess at that time (Tate and Feeney, 2012). Langan (2010) states that violence in a mental health facility with service users were a risk may be prevalent to themselves or to staff, argues that this can exacerbate anxiety and increase pressure that is required when assessing a service users risk. Service users can be unpredictable when first presenting and with lack of knowledge of what is happening for that service user at that time presents numerous changeable factors that can transpire (Langan, 2010). There has been many attempts to build an assessment tool for mental health services but they have failed to reach the standard required (Langan, 2010). (NHS Lothian, 2012) state that the policy within mental health for risk assessments must be carried out for every service user that is admitted to hospital and becomes an inpatient this should be in conjunction with the service user. When filling out the risk assessment current information should be included such as; relevant history, associated behaviours, clinical diagnosis and information from the service user’s perspective as well as information from family this will ensure a robust risk assessment and support patient safety (NHS Lothian, 2012). A risk assessment is always being amended and is never complete it is an ongoing procedure that is effective at the time it is carried out (Tate and Feeney 2012). Risk assessments that are updated daily support patient safety. The mental health setting can highlight complexities with patient safety and emphasises how staff work in partnership with service users and using reciprocity keep patients safe (Tingle and Bark, 2011). When managing patient safety within the scenario this can present challenges as the coordinating nurse was basing her evidence on previous history but had a good knowledge and rapport with the service user. By working in partnership with the service user and promoting recovery on previous admissions the nurse already had a basic plan for a risk assessment and was thinking of patient safety and what could have transpired if the passes were not granted. However ever admission is different so nothing should be assumed for example; that last admission the service user got aggressive, that does not mean this will happen this admission. Conclusion The scenario that was introduced was not uncommon at the week end for an inpatient in mental health services. The service user could have had a different scenario if that individual was not on shift advocating for the patient and displaying leadership qualities. By checking legislation, frameworks, local policies and training which is available to support staff to deliver a high standard of care and ensure patient safety. By understanding what traits aid with leadership and just how important the skills to lead are and developing and nurturing them to provide a high standard of care from you and your team. Patient safety will always be identified as an important part of healthcare and by carrying out risk assessments will insure service user receive the best care for them. For more complex situation within mental health settings staff must follow polices and legislation and support each other fully as a team and with proper planning and applying daily risk assessments can support in minimizing harmful events from transpiring. References Waite, M., Soanes, C. (2007) Oxford dictionary and thesaurus (2nd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. Alimo-Metcalfe, B.(2003) Leadership Stamp of Greatness. 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