Rhetoric in the American Immigration Debate Essay

According to Aristotle, a speaker could frame any debate using three approaches: an appeal to logic, an appeal from credibility, or an appeal to emotions. All speakers and writers use the tripartite approach to rhetoric in varying degrees and ultimately the audience judges their effectiveness in the context presented. In America, few topics are as hotly debated as that of undocumented migration, and it can be difficult to pick through the partisan and often vitriolic rhetoric in order to come to a rational conclusion. Politicians frame the debate using elements of the American mythos. While the evidence they present to back their conclusions may be factual, it necessarily omits the full truth in order to present a partisan political front.†¦show more content†¦Nazario undertook the writing of Enrique’s Journey—an account of an undocumented migrant boy trying to reunite with his mother who had left him for a job in the States—to herself better understand the human aspect of the debate. The story of Enrique is fundamentally a story that stirs the emotions. While we may find reasonable the logical arguments laid out by the Nazario’s sources, and while Nazario’s ethos is backed by extensive notes, the tale is fundamentally an anecdotal account in the larger debate over immigration. Its appeal is pathetic in that it viscerally shows the life and travails of an immigrant from Central America, following the protagonist through drug addiction and beatings, danger and deportations, poverty and exploitation, and finally the thorny reunion with his mother. Nazario intentionally writes an engaging adventure (or misadventure) story using a third person narrative instead of focusing on Enrique’s own words. The writing and organizational style of Enrique’s Journey walks a thin line between ethnography and creative non-fiction, a choice that deliberately increases the emotional and imaginative appeal. Even with the imaginative aspects of the story,Show MoreRelatedImmigration : A Concept At Odds American Culture998 Words   |  4 PagesImmigration: A concept at odds in American Culture On any given day, any media connected American will be bombarded by numerous views and commentaries on the immigration debate. On this Saturday morning, the 30th of January 2016, a perusal of CNN main homepage leads to 6 direct or indirect (political due to the upcoming election) references to the immigration debate. It is a hot topic in the media and it is a source of constant argument and rhetoric for and against with very little resolutionRead MoreIllegal Immigration and the Economy Essay1414 Words   |  6 Pagesnational debate rages over U. S. government control of immigration and the impact foreign workers exert on the country’s economy. Sometimes the rhetoric reflects on the benefits but more often it focuses on the burdens being forced on society. While conversations range from bland indifference to outright hostility, the loudest and most incendiary opinions drown out the more moderate voices and dominate the tone and tenor of the dialog. Americans are uncertain about how immigration is affectingRead MoreUse of Language in Immigration1615 Words   |  6 PagesUSE OF LANGUAGE IN IMMIGRATION RHETORIC 1.0 Introduction American society has developed as a result of continued waves of immigration. It therefore seems logical that Americans should have positive attitudes towards immigration. Immigration allows for sharing of ideas and cultures within society. However, in recent years, the trend of undocumented immigration has taken an effect on the economic and social development of American society. During the debates in the fun up to the 2013 electionsRead MoreMulticulturalism As A Racial Project900 Words   |  4 Pagesthis as largely a push aided by (perhaps alarming) immigration patterns to understand Germaneness without old concepts of nationhood, I attempt to put new emphasis on what this new Germanness meant. While attempting to perhaps transcend nationhood, multiculturalist movement in Germany predominantly attempted to understand Germaneness through reorganizing and interpreting new racial and ethnic makeup, which were the consequence of continued immigration and new refugee waves. Ultimatel y it is an ethno(-racial)Read MoreThe Immigration Act Of 19241732 Words   |  7 Pagesbecame, and still is, a promised land for many. As a result, immigration has become a pivotal topic in the American culture and with time, the dynamics of immigration has changed due to a shifting of focus between different immigrant groups. From the Chinese exclusion act in 1882 to the Immigration Act of 1924, which restricted Eastern European immigrants’ access to the USA, different groups of people have been the principal focus of immigration reform (HISTORY Corporation, 2009). Since the early-20thRead MoreShould Borders Be Closed?1193 Words   |  5 Pagesclaims from proponents of closed border Another popular claim by proponents of a closed border is that immigrants are criminals and therefore will increase the crime rate and so the American borders should be closed to them. On the contrary, reports have shown that immigrants are less likely than native-born Americans to commit crimes. Jacob Stowell et al. found that areas where large numbers of immigrants were present, crimes in these areas were reduced (Stowell, Messener and McGreever). The CatoRead MoreThe Political Economy Model Of Migration Policy1419 Words   |  6 PagesGary Freeman suggests the gap between rhetoric and reality is best described in a political economic account of migration policy. The political economy model of migration is modelled on the interests of three sets of rational actors: voters, organised groups and state actors who attempts to maximize their individual goals subject to state interests in different contexts (Freeman, 2002). The first is post-industrial change, which suggests stances on immigration policy are better viewed as interestsRead MoreThe Effects Of Mexican Immigration On The United States1252 Words   |  6 PagesRUNNING HEAD: IMMIGRATION POLICY Immigration Policy in the United States: The Effects of Immigration on the Legal, Native Workforce Christopher R. Surfus, MBA, MPA Western Michigan University School of Public Affairs and Administration PADM-6840 Management of Public Financial Resources Professor Robert Peters, Ph.D. December 3, 2015 Immigration Policy in the United States: The Effects of Mexican Immigration on the Legal Workforce ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION ImmigrationRead MoreThe President Of The United States1611 Words   |  7 PagesIn every presidential election, political debates occur with the political party’s main candidate where they offer their views on running the country then citizens decide who should be the president of the United States. In 1984, President Ronald Reagan and Walter Mondale participated in their second debate against each other. Four panelists on the topic of defense and foreign policy issues would prompt the two candidates to certain issues of their concern. Some issues in the dispute that were discussedRead MoreThe United States Reception Of Immigrants Through Policy855 Words   |  4 Pagesand the local populace does not see the harm in having them within their city. Varsayani describes sanctuary ordinance as a cities declaration of noncooperation with federal immigration authorities. These cities will choose to deal with unauthorized immigrant as a citizen of that city and will only contact fe deral immigration authorities in case of a felony. On the other hand, there are the exclusionary policy approaches that are undertaken by state and local level governments. Varsayani explains

Child Abuse And Children All Over The World - 1689 Words

Child abuse happens to children all over the world. There are four different types of child abuse. physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse and child neglect. Approximately 5 children die everyday because of child abuse. child abuse can physically and mentally harm a child by having Symptoms of nightmares, depression, and isolation. These symptoms can continue into adulthood. â€Å"one out of three girls and one out of five boys will be sexually abused before they reach age 18†. nobody knows what s going on at home because the children are scared or either threaten by the abuser to not tell anyone anything. Physical abuse is when a parent or caregiver causes any kind of physical injury to a child. physical abuse includes whipping , biting , kicking and choking. physical abuse can result in broken bones, brain damage , emotional and psychological harm. There are several reasons why adults or caregivers abuse children . one reason can be that the adult or caregiver was abu sed by their parents when they were children so when they grow up they choose to abuse children like they were abused. another reason can be as in a form of punishment or disciplinary action . some parents or caregivers think pain to kids can get them to listen and act right when they have bad behavior. â€Å"Signs of physical abuse in a caregiver or parent are , can t or won’t explain injury of child, or explains it in a way that doesn’t make sense , keeps child from school , claims that the child is a liarShow MoreRelatedChild Welfare And The United States Department Of Justice1692 Words   |  7 PagesAccording to the United States department of Justice, Over sixty percent of American children are exposed to a type of violence every year (Finkelhor, D., Turner, H., Ormrod, R., Hamby, S., and Kracke, K. 2009). These forms of violence can be perpetrated by a victims home, community or school, with majority of children knowing the perpetrator(s). These experiences wi th violence whether primary or secondary, can cause serious psychological trauma to a child and in worst case scenarios death. The 2009 surveyRead MoreChild Abuse- a Child Called It1727 Words   |  7 PagesUnfortunately, child abuse is one of the major issues that our country is plagued with, yet we neglect to bring this to the attention of the entire nation. It is often over looked because everyone has a different view of what exactly defines child abuse. The International Child Abuse Network (ICAN) uses four basis catigories to docunment the child abuse cases. They are: emotional abuse, neglect, physical abuse, and sexual abuse. I will be describing the first three. Emotional Abuse, (also knownRead MoreEssay Child Abuse in A Child Called It by Dave Pelzer1710 Words   |  7 PagesUnfortunately, child abuse is one of the major issues that our country is plagued with, yet we neglect to bring this to the attention of the entire nation. It is often over looked because everyone has a different view of what exactly defines child abuse. The International Child Abuse Network (ICAN) uses four basis categories to docunment the child abuse cases. They are: emotional abuse, neglect, physical abuse, and sexual abuse. I will be describing the first three. Emotional Abuse, (also knownRead MoreIt Is General Knowledge That Being Abused As A Child Will1332 Words   |  6 Pagesabused as a child will leave lasting impressions on them even into their adult life. The severity of the abuse does change how much of an impression was made, but, nonetheless, abuse leaves nothing but negative results. It will affect how children handle issues and communicate with others. It will likely worsen their grades in school and, if the child’s relationship with their parents is still bad, they will continue into a downward spiral later on in life. People who have experienced abuse as childrenRead MoreChild Abuse Is The Most Important Part Of Today s Society1302 Words   |  6 Pagessociety. These young children are the body and minds that will inherit the nation and its problems. The parent also has a very important responsibility in preparing youth for the world. However, poor parenting skills are too often being transferred to the youth. Poor pa renting involves the use of excessive violence as a form of punishment. Children are placed in a horrific situation through abuse instigated by their parents that damages the child physically and psychologically. Children everywhere areRead MoreIs Discipline A Child Abuse?969 Words   |  4 PagesIs Discipline Child Abuse? What does the word child abuse mean in your own words? Some people believe child abuse includes neglect, punishment, physical or emotional maltreatment. Child abuse is all over the world. Every day a child is either abused or neglected. Since the late 1900’s child abuse was commonly used in the United States (Gale). Now it is slowly coming to its ending point. Since 1992, only two states, Delaware and Oklahoma, have experienced consistent increases today. Is disciplineRead MoreChild Abuse1192 Words   |  5 Pages Doug mikel Child Abuse Sociology 111 Tues./Thurs. 8a-9:15a Tina Harrell 9/21/2014 Imagine living a life you fear, one you have to keep a secret. Always pretending to be happy and carefree when deep down thinking, Please don t let this day be the last. Living in a house where painful marks and scars are hidden by long sleeves, and jeans. Looking over your shoulder wondering when the next assault is going to be. â€Å"Almost five children die every day as a result of child abuse.  Ã‚  More than threeRead MoreChild Abuse Prevention And Treatment Act1017 Words   |  5 Pageseveryday reporting missing children, sexual abused children or children killed at the hands of the parents. Every parent or caregiver at some point in time get upset, disappointed, or exhausted, but should they result in hurting our children. There are far too many children unprotected in the world today, unexplained and often the intervention too late. Abuse and maltreatment of children have similar faces that may go unknown, silent or unseen. Is child abuse different from the toda y thatRead MoreThe Legal Repercussions Of Child Abuse1112 Words   |  5 PagesChild abuse. A term that most of us believe to be aware of, but one ought to wonder, are we really aware of it? how one recognises child abuse ?, What are the legal repercussions of child abuse ? How common is it in countries less developed? Is it common in the United States? Does it intervene with â€Å"old style† parenting? What entities provide such information? Well before answering any of this question is imperative to acknowledge the very basic of such topic. The webpage Childabuse.org (a governmentalRead MoreThe Effects of Alcohol Abuse1472 Words   |  6 PagesIn the world we live in today, people have quite easy access to things that can corrupt them. These things cloud one’s judgment and coerce people into doing things they should not. Alcohol is one of those things. Alcohol is extremely easy to get ahold of. It can be attained from anywhere; there are bars and liquor stores on every corner. One can get alcohol in grocery stores, gas stations, people can even brew it themselves if they know how. Alcohol that is commonly abused comes in a large variety

Partnership Law Assignment Free Essays

string(118) " there may be additional clauses within the agreement which have not been seen that could impact on the advice given\." Introduction and Issues The facts presented here indicate that a partnership has been set up between three individuals and that there is a partnership agreement in place to deal with the operation of the business. Several factual situations have arisen and this will require the partners to look at the agreement entered into between the parties, as well the statutory provisions that are contained within the Partnership Act 1890 (PA). When looking at the situations being presented here, it is recognised that there is a partnership agreement in place and this would need to be seen in its entirety, in order to advise fully. We will write a custom essay sample on Partnership Law Assignment or any similar topic only for you Order Now Based on the above, this discussion will look at the facts presented and the extract of the agreement, alongside the statutory provisions, in order to determine ultimately the way in which the various issues raised can be dealt with. This will depend on a combination of the statutory provisions and anything that may be in a partnership agreement. As the partnership agreement has not been seen, the basis of this advice is that the partnership agreement is in keeping with the statutory and common law provisions. Four key issues have been identified and will be discussed in turn. Firstly, there are queries in relation to the potential appointment of either Tina or Helen, both of whom are related to Andrea and for slightly different reasons she wishes them to be included in the partnership. Secondly, there is a question in relation to the potential expulsion of Julia from the partnership. Thirdly, a suggested arbitration clause has been requested and is contained below. Finally, there is the query of the liability of Michael to the supplier and his relationship with the partnership and the supplier, i.e. whether he was acting as an agent. Therefore the supplier could legitimately bring an action against the partnership for the money owed or the question as to whether Michael would be liable personally. Appointment of Tina and / or Helen There are duties placed upon partners by virtue of their entering into partnership arrangements. These are stated in the Partnership Act 1890. Firstly, there is the duty to act in the utmost good faith towards the other partners. Secondly, there is a duty for the partners not to make a personal profit and not to place themselves in a position when the interest conflicts with their duty. As there are three partners within the current partnership arrangements, a majority i.e. two of the partners would be able to agree the inclusion of another partner. In principle, therefore, if Catherine remains unhappy about the proposition, she alone could not block this appointment. It is however argued, particularly in the case of Tina, that Andrea is acting in breach of her fiduciary duties to the partnership by attempting to include Tina, simply so that the partnership could remain within her family, in the future. There is a strong argument that putting Tina forward is a conflict of interest and therefore should not be allowed by virtue of the Partnership Act. Therefore, Catherine could present this argument, even if she remains in a minority. The position in relation to Helen is somewhat more complex, as it could be argued to be in the partnership’s best interests to recruit a much needed bookkeeper who is suitably qualified. As it would seem that Andrea and Julia would vote in favour of including Tina and Helen in the partnership, it would then be up to Catherine to argue that Andrea is acting in breach of her duties. It would be considerably easier for Catherine to prove this in the case of Tina who seemingly has no purpose in the partnership save as to further Andrea’s interests. In reality, however, it would be necessary to look at the provisions of the partnership agreements, in order to ascertain what would happen in the event of a dispute. The ultimate sanction for a partnership that is no longer tenable is the winding up of the partnership and this may not be desirable to any of the partners (section 26). In that case, consideration should be given to any arbitration of the possibility or the opportunity of one party to buy another out. It is not clear what provisions are contained within the partnership agreement for this and therefore the rules established in the Partnership Act 1890 prevailed on the partnership, with the danger of being wound up, if no agreement can be reached. It is also noted that, in accordance with clause 20, a notice of expulsion could be issued upon Andrea stating that she has breached her duties as a partner within the partnership. Although Catherine is unhappy with their actions, there is no indication that Julia is insufficiently unhappy that she is likely to be willing to pursue this route, although it does present a potential option in the event that both Catherine and Julia feel sufficiently strongly that Andrea is breaching her duties, in attempting to ensure that the partnership stays within her family, in the future. Expulsion of Julia Firstly, it is noted that, in accordance with section 25 of the 1890 Act, there is no immediate right for the majority to expel a fellow partner within the partnership. Therefore, it is necessary for Andrea and Catherine to look at the provisions of the partnership agreement, in order to ascertain whether or not they have any legitimate way to expel Julia, based on recent events. An alternative would be to look at the dissolution of the partnership and there are certain conditions within the Act which allow for this, although at this stage it is not perceived to be the desirable route and instead both Andrea and Catherine are looking towards the clauses within the partnership agreement, in order to expel Julia. An extract of the partnership agreement, namely clause 20, has been provided and it is recognised that there may be additional clauses within the agreement which have not been seen that could impact on the advice given. You read "Partnership Law Assignment" in category "Essay examples" However, for the purposes of providing this advice, clause 20 will be looked at. It is possible for the remaining partners to provide a notice in writing to the partner who is in breach of clause 20, terminating their position within the partnership, if the partner acts in a way that is a breach of their duties, or if they have acted in a way that is contrary to good faith between the partners, such notice may be provided. In this case, Julia has been convicted of a criminal offence namely drunk and disorderly behaviour, with a recognition that Julia is undergoing difficult personal circumstances. The question here would therefore be whether this conviction is such that it breaches one of the partnership duties, or creates a situation where it cannot be said that Julia is acting in good faith, going forwards. It is suggested that, due to Julia’s current level of distress, there is a strong argument that the necessary good faith between the partners has irretrievably been eroded and that clause 20 is then utilised in order to expel Julia from the partnership. In the alternative to taking a litigious approach and given Julia’s existing unhappiness with the attempted changes from Andrea, a form of settlement may be possible, or arbitration to resolve the situation. It is unclear as to whether these situations are dealt with within the partnership agreement and further investigation is necess ary to prevent a potential dissolution or battle in relation to the expulsion of Julia. It is, however, concluded that the actions of Julia are sufficiently severe that they could be used in order to expel her. Arbitration Clause As evident above, it would be advisable for the partnership agreement to have some form of dispute resolution mechanism in place. A suggested wording for such arbitration or dispute resolution mechanism is as follows: â€Å"Except as otherwise provided, any dispute arising out of or in connection with this agreement, including any question regarding its existence, validity or termination, or the legal relationships established by this agreement, shall be referred to and finally resolved by arbitration under the Rules of the London Court of International Arbitration, which Rules are deemed to be incorporated by reference into this clause. (a) The number of arbitrators shall be one. (b) The seat, or legal place, of arbitration shall be London. (c) The language to be used in the arbitral proceedings shall be English. (d) The governing law of the contract shall be the substantive law of England and Wales. 33.2 This clause shall be without prejudice to the rights of any party to seek any injunctive or similar relief from the courts to protect its intellectual property rights, confidentiality obligations, restrictions on the activities of any Partner or former Partner or other rights of any description.† This offers a dispute resolution mechanism that is both certain and efficient in dealing with such disputes and does not require the dissolution of a partnership unnecessarily. Liability of Michael as Agent Finally, there is the issue of Michael who did not become a partner who was sufficiently involved at the outset that his name has been placed on stationery. The firm purchased equipment from a personal friend of Michael, based on this personal relationship, with the belief that Michael was a partner in the firm. The question here therefore is whether it is reasonable for the company to be taking action against Michael personally, or whether he was acting as an agent for the firm. Typically, where an individual is acting as an agent between the firm and the supplier and this is known by supplier, it is the firm that would remain entirely liable for any agreement entered into. However, in this case, it would seem that Michael was acting as for an undisclosed principal and the supplier was not aware that they were in fact contracting with the firm, which was a partnership which did not include Michael. The supplier seemingly believed that he was contracting directly with Michael as a partner within the firm. When this is the case the third party i.e. the supplier, has a choice as to whether they enforce the contract against the principal, i.e. the firm or the agent, i.e. Michael. The actual discussion or arrangement with Michael is not clear; however, it is known that Michael had his name on the stationery used to communicate with the supplier. Therefore, it would seem reasonable to suggest that the supplier would have felt they were dealing with Michael personally or at least as part of the firm. On this basis, and with the fact that the supplier is now concerned about the financial validity of the firm, it would seem likely that the firm is going to look towards Michael personally to be liable for the contract. Conclusions and Summary The position within this partnership remains volatile, with three separate partners all of whom have agreed to the partnership agreement, all having disputes of some nature with each other. Fundamentally, however, in accordance with the Partnership Act 1890, it is necessary for each partner to be acting in good faith and to the overall benefit of the partnership and not on their own account. This standard will need to be borne in mind when looking at Andrea’s proposition of bringing on board both of her daughters. There is seemingly little argument in favour of the partnership bringing on board Tina; however, this is slightly less obvious with Helen, as she brings necessary skills to the partnership. The majority of the partnership cannot vote to expel an individual, in this case Julia, unless such conditions are contained within the agreement. According to the extract of the agreement provided, an expulsion is possible where the partner was not acting in good faith. A crimina l conviction does not necessarily indicate bad faith and this would be a matter of fact to be determined by the two partners looking to expel Julia. Finally, there is a strong argument that Michael, by virtue of the firm stationery and potentially any discussions with the supplier, will be held personally liable, having acted as an agent for an undisclosed principal. Bibliography Atwood v Maule (1868) 3 Ch App 369 Blisset v Daniel (1853) 10 Hare 493 Partnership Act 1890 section 24 r.7 Partnership Act 1890 section 25 Maillie v Swanney (2000) SLT 464 Morse, G (2010) Partnership Law, Oxford University Press. p.153 Sealy, L Hooley, R Commercial Law: Text, Cases and Materials, OUP. P.122 Watteau v Fenwick, [1893] 1 QB 346 How to cite Partnership Law Assignment, Essay examples

Jean Piaget (2099 words) Essay Example For Students

Jean Piaget (2099 words) Essay Jean PiagetIntroductionNow known as one of the trailblazers of developmental psychology, Jean Piaget initially worked in a wide range of fields. Early in his career Piaget studied the human biological processes. These processes intrigued Piaget so much that he began to study the realm of human knowledge. From this study he was determined to uncover the secrets of cognitive growth in humans. Jean Piaget’s research on the growth of the human mind eventually lead to the formation of the cognitive development theory which consists of three main components: schemes, assimilation and accommodation, and the stage model. The theory is best known for Piaget’s construction of the discontinuous stage model which was based on his study of children and how the processes and products of their minds develop over time. According to this stage model, there are four levels of cognitive growth: sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational. While a substantial amount of psychologists presently choose to adhere to the constructs of the information processing approach, Piaget’s ground breaking cognitive development view is still a valuable asset to the branch of developmental psychology. Whether or not Piaget uncovered any answers to the mysteries of human knowledge is disputable, but one belief that few dispute is that Jean Piaget did indeed lay a strong foundation for future developmental psychologists. Historical BackgroundIn 1896 the summer in Switzerland was just an ordinary, uneventful three months. However, during this ordinary and uneventful span of time, a child was born who would become an extraordinary developmental psychologist and fulfill the future with ground breaking events in the field of cognitive psychology. He was the son of an intelligent man and a stern, smart religious woman, and the godchild of respected epistemologist Samuel Cornut. With such scholarly surroundings, there is little surprise that Jean Piaget developed into such an intelligent individual. At age eleven, young Piaget wrote a paper on albino sparrows and got it published. This publishing provided him with the opportunity to meet a man who would turn out to be very influential, Paul Godet, the curator at the local museum. Young Piaget also benefited highly from his prestigious high school in Neuchatel, along with the aforementioned godfather Samuel Cornut who introduced him to one of the two fields he would grow to love, epistemology, and the most of all Jean Piaget’s parents who not only instilled an academic home environment but also provided a solid religious background. Another big moment came in the from of a book. Piaget names Henry Bergson’s L’Evolution Creatrice as the most influential piece of writing he has ever read in his adult life. From this book Piaget developed a desire for biology to go along with his existing interest in philosophy, epistemology to be exact. Piaget stated in his first two books that he had ambitions of constructing a structure that addressed the basic questions of epistemology. However, Piaget’s strong initial interest in philosophy declined somewhat when he discovered that the philosophers did not really know any factual answers to questions that have plagued humanity. Piaget now became equally interested in biology and epistemology. This dual interest attracted him to psychology, yet he still was unsure of what direction he should take in his career. It was not until Piaget traveled to Paris to hear his favorite writer of the time, Bergson, that he began to get an idea of what he wanted to do. There Piaget met James M. Baldwin who would motivate him and teach him the importance of imitation and of reversible operations. Both of these qualities would play a key role in the formation of Piaget’s development theory. However, Piaget’s major turning point came when the co-worker of the late Alfred Binet, Dr. Simon, requested that he standardize an intelligence test. Piaget flourished in the role of answering complex philosophical questions. Yet, Piaget did not go along with the traditional epistemologists who simply laid back and tried to conjure up answers. Piaget opted for the more biological-type of experiments with epistemology topics. This method of biological experimentation with epistemology gave Piaget the motivation to begin testing children and to do what he felt he was destined to do, determine how the mid grows. His result was the cognitive development theory. Theoretical ConstructsThe cognitive development theory is Jean Piaget’s attempt to explain how the human mind develops. A common description of Piaget’s view of the mind is that it is and active biological system that uses environmental information to fit with or adjust to its own existing mental structures. Now, to describe how this biological system develops, Piaget breaks the development process down into three main components: schemes, assimilation and accommodation, and the stage model of cognitive growth. Schemes are the structure or organizations of actions as they are transferred by repetition in similar or analogous circumstances. In simple terms, schemes guide thoughts based on prior experiences, thus, serving as the building blocks of cognitive growth. Except, with simple schemes, which are the first schemes to develop in a child’s life, the child has very li ttle, if any, past experiences to guide his or her thoughts. Therefore, early thoughts depend almost entirely on the new born child’s reflexes to senses. These basic schemes later combine with each other in order to develop more complex schemes that are more capable of guiding the child than reflexes. However, the complexity of the schemes depend upon how well and how much an individual either assimilates or accommodates information that is new to the mind. If schemes are considered building blocks, then the assimilation and accommodation processes can best be describes as the construction crews. These two processes aid in cognitive growth by arranging the new information with schemes that are already present in the individual’s mind. The more new information the child assimilates or accommodates, the less his or her schemes will have to rely on physical objects to create cognitive operations. Of course, according to Piaget’s stage model, this reliance on physic al objects will not decrease until the latter stages of the child’s cognitive growth. While both the assimilation and accommodation processes are responsible for establishing a perfect cognitive fit between the scheme and the information, each completes the process in different manners, hence the need for two different terms. Assimilation reconfigures the new data to fit with existing schemes, and the accommodation process restructures a child’s schemes to accommodate the new environmental information. As Piaget states, â€Å"Accommodation is the adjustment of the scheme to the particular situation.† He goes on to give an example of the two processes: An infant who’s just discovered ha can grasp what he sees (will then assimilate) everything he sees to the schemes of prehension, that is, it becomes an object to grasp as well as an object to look at or an object to suck on. But if it’s a large object for which he needs both hands he will (accommodat e) the scheme of prehension. The main component of Jean Piaget’s development theory has been addressed somewhat, but a factor of this importance requires much more attention. The key component is the stage model of cognitive growth. Piaget makes it clear that these stages are not determined by age, but cognitive development in this very brief explanation of the model, â€Å"The stages are an order of succession. The development isn’t according to the average age.† He goes on to describe the model as a â€Å"sequential order† of cognitive growth. The stage model is made of four stages and as one may infer from the statements form Piaget, these stages are discontinuous. The first stage the child goes through is the sensorimotor. During this stage there is â€Å"the existence of an intelligence before language.† While age does not determine the stage of growth, the average age of children in this stage is birth to two years old. Piaget’s conclu sion on this stage is that â€Å"the child is tied to the immediate environment and motor-action schemes, lacking the cognitive ability to represent objects symbolically.† The main task during the sensorimotor stage is for the child to control and coordinate his or her body. While in the second year, most children begin, â€Å"to form mental representation of absent objects.† Finally, at the end of the sensorimotor stage the child moves rather easily, can identify family members, has developed an understandable language level, yet the child is still â€Å"illogical, egocentric, and unaware of his self.† The next stage is the pre-operational which ahas an approximate range of age from two to seven years old. During this time, unfortunately, the child still can not carry out logical operations. However, to reach this stage the child must increase the speed of his or her manipulations, and become involved with more complex tasks. The child also creates mental symbo ls for physical objects during this phase. Most importantly, though, are the three features that preoccupy the mid during this stage: egocentrism – focus revolves around themselves and no one else; animistic thinking – believing inanimate objects have life and that they think; and there is centration – in which the child is often too focused on one characteristic of the perception, thus, the child is prevented form understanding the entire perception. Jean Piaget also notes that by the end of this stage the child develops, â€Å"language, symbolic play, and mental images (which) permit the representation of thought, but it is a preoperational thought.†The approximate age for the third phase of cognitive development is seven to eleven years of age. The child can not think in abstracts during the concrete operational stage, but can maintain mental operations which allows them to solve problems that are concrete such as addition and subtraction. During this stage, the child has a general knowledge of the requirements and guidelines for a complex task but the child can not complete the task because he or she can not visualize any possibilities. This is because all possibilities are represented by abstractions and the child can only represent objects in the concrete form. However, the child does begin to focus on the entire perception, slowly breaking away from the centration feature that is prevalent during the preoperational stage. Also, the egocentrism that was so obvious during the preoperational stage is usually left behind at that stage. One last improvement in the child’s cognitive development is that the child now understands the idea of matter conservation. The last stage of cognitive growth according to Jean Piaget is the formal operational which usually consists of individuals on the average of eleven years old. The child’s cognitive formal operations, â€Å"no longer related directly to objects.† The chil d can now think in abstracts and he or she realizes that their reality is not the only one that exists. The child also has â€Å"all the mental structures needed to go from being na?ve thinkers to experts.† Piaget described this stage best when he said that â€Å"The great novelty of this stage is that the adolescent becomes capable of reasoning correctly.† Overall, the schemes, the assimilation and accommodation processes, and the stage model all are constructs that not only support Piaget’s brilliant theory, but they themselves are innovative theoretical components. Of Mice And Men_imagry EssayImpact on SocietyJean Piaget was the leaning experimental epistemologist, thanks in some part to Simon and Binet’s work, but he set the standard that would not be accepted by the ethnocentric Americans until they were desperate during the Cold War and decided to open their eyes and accept his findings. Once they did this, they implemented Piaget’s theory into many American school systems which would have had a much more beneficial outcome had the powers that be implemented the great man’s work more carefully. Yet Piaget and his theory have survived and he is labeled as â€Å"the dominant force in shaping the cognitive-field and perceptual-field theories.† His theory was strong because he placed intellectual development over the child’s emotional, social, and moral development because he viewed the intellect as having influence over these other developing entities. In conclusion, Piaget summarized the cognitive developme nt theory best in this statement: â€Å"My secret ambition is that the hypotheses one could oppose to my own ill finally be seen not to contradict them but to result from a normal process of differentiation.† Biographies

asian am 160 Essays

asian am 160 Essays asian am 160 Essay asian am 160 Essay asian am 160 BY kihong1963 Lecture (12. 4) Film How important is the impact of environment The Latehomecomer Asian American Literature Does not have the privilege to merely exist as fiction or literature Rather, it functions as a documentary of a people and a culture. It is read as a piece of social history Often Ethnic Literature such as Asian American Literature documents the marginal or minoritized status of Asian Americans in U. S. society given how it can only begin by telling us who/what Asians Americans are like Defining Hmong Opening Vignettes Hmong meant contained Without a Country Residents of many countries Always in between countries War (displacement), Camps and Processing Center Skin deep A group that no one knows about a name that elicits questions after questions A group that no one wants Not even a footnote in history Where do the Hmong come from? Author Kao Kalia Yang define Hmong through the historical circumstances that have allowed Hmong to enter into the U. S. consciousness She defines Hmong through the alues that have defined their marginalization in U. S. society She insists that the study of Hmong begins not Just with a study of who they are and what they have been through but also with a keen awareness of why we dont know who they are She defines Hmong through Silences (Skin Deep) the Clouds Camps and Processing Centers Silent vs. Silenced page 146-147 page 151 The Gift of Writing Gender Yang defines Hmong through the stories about women Yang defines Hmong through what Hmong culture has silenced Freedom page 188

The Great Gatzby essays

The Great Gatzby essays The Great Gatsby is a story, told through an observer, about a mans trials and tribulations who tries to regain what he had in the past. The whole focus of the story is on Gatsbys dream, his desire to rekindle the flames of a previous fire. Daisy, the fire, is along for the ride. A ride that contains many twists and turns that only lead to corruption. Nick, the narrator of the story, has just moved from the Midwest to New York. Knowing that Nick is the narrator, it is important to realize that some of the things he says or feels could be swayed by his own emotions. Also living in New York and near to Nicks house is the Buchanans. Tom Buchanan is an acquaintance from Nicks days in college and Daisy is Nicks cousin. Nicks move is going very smoothly and his cousin is getting him used to the high-class lifestyle. Being from a middle class society Nick, at times, enjoys the elegant parties that are thrown almost every day. At Daisys house is where Nick is informed about Toms affair. Jordan, Daisys friend, catches Nick up on the latest gossip and hopes Nick would be able to help the situation. Jordan also asks about Nicks neighbor, Gatsby, whom he has not yet met but decides to later on. One afternoon Tom invites Nick out for an evening in the city. This is when Nick realizes the severity and the careless nature of the affair. Along the way they pick up Myrtle, Toms second lover, and head off to another party. At the party we find out that Tom and Daisys relationship is not going to last. Nick is finally introduced to his neighbor in chapter 3. Gatsbys driver invited Nick to a party at Gatsbys house. There were many people in attendance and few knew the host. Everyone was gossiping about the mysterious Gatsby and Nick took it upon himself to find the truth. By wondering through the party he meets Gatsby a ...

Controlling Organized Crime Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Controlling Organized Crime - Research Paper Example 3). Apparently, organized crimes raise a number of issues to the American society. Organized criminal groups have taken steep root that they even influence the media, win votes in the election, and influence and use officers who are in charge of law and order. In a democratic government, sometimes the political leaders also become the key elements in such organizations by providing as much support to the members. When such criminals get into the political institutions, the entire political system gradually becomes undercut, and nobody gets benefited from it except those schemers and manipulators. The money that is derived from the organized crime is so huge that can create a parallel economy in the country. Once this situation continues longer, country’s economy may suffer from inflation and price hikes. The illegal supply of arms can cause subversive activities and subsequently a kind of chaos unless the scenario becomes under control. Altogether, organized crime is a potenti al threat that can raise numerous challenges to a nation’s existence. According to Shelley (2002), today terrorism and transnational crime are the two central threats to our national and international safety. According to the author the linkage between the two is highly evident, for both use the similar mean to exploit the modern technology, use the same operators and same systems to move their fund, maintain a good network, and involve in crime in order to meet fund for their activities. Organized crime is the main source of income for the modern terrorist groups. They always want to conceal the source of money. As Schmid (2006) points out, according to the general concept, terrorism is aiming at certain changes in the political scenario; whereas organized crime looks at fiscal benefits through the illegal means (p.3). Admittedly, the author’s findings on terrorism seem rather weak in the present global scenario because the real objective of the modern terror organiza tions is ambiguous. However, the aim of the organized crime is explicitly monetary profit. Yet to make their task easy, as Forest (2007, p. 116) points out, they often involve in combined venture with the terrorists especially in international trade and trafficking of drugs and weapons. Admittedly, despite the genuine efforts made to address the over presence of the illegal organizations in the US, organized crime has been becoming one of the leading threats to the federal law enforcement officials for the past few decades. The major advantage the transnational criminals enjoy is that there are no universally accepted measures to fight the organized crime. The organized crime is so powerful enough to influence the industrial sectors and even the economy of many of the developed countries. Berdal and Serrano (2002) put forward a good example for this. According to them, the legal industries rely on the precursor chemicals in large quantities for the cocaine and heroin processing; and attempting to restrict these chemicals can hinder legal trade and have been resisted by the chemical manufactures in the US and Europe (p.43). Effective prosecution often becomes difficult once the culprits are the members of the political institutions or because of the technical skills they possess when compared

Postmodern in planning theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Postmodern in planning theory - Essay Example Examining the philosophies of town planning in regards to postmodernism then provide different insight into the approach which is taken to build and reconstruct a town with ideologies of the modern city. When looking at the concept of postmodernism, it can be seen that the identity of culture and society is the driving force of implementing new developments with cities. The philosophies of postmodernism are then defined by forces in society which are creating the changes and the new systems and pieces of architecture which are being set in urban developments. The concept of the postmodern is one which is identified as the celebration of difference and suspicion of the truth (Allmendinger, 25). Many consider it a paradox, specifically because it identifies art, creativity, culture and other facets of life in multidimensional respects. These dimensions are based on creating a definition of completeness to a given arena. This is combined with the idea of creating completeness from the sense of the modern, which is based on post – industrial methodologies of production as well as information as a driving force in society. The changes which society makes in relation to these dimensions then becomes the celebration of difference and the acceptance of diversity within a given area. These driving forces then create an understanding of the conditions of modern life, which is what becomes attributed to the making of the postmodern city (Allmendinger, 28). The concept of postmodernism and the main philosophies then become directly attributed to the building of a city, art, architecture and other applications within society. The main concept is to promote the same modern principles of what it means to be a contemporary city while creating a collage of social and cultural differences which can be celebrated. These are combined with various types of diversity and practices in the city, all which can be developed and

Leadership approach Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Leadership approach - Essay Example the aforementioned students, the animal owners who seek the services of the veterinary college as well as the clinicians. The Problem: Given the considerable job descriptions of the staff, coupled with the lack of resources and the need to provide excellent services, the staff finds itself in the classic low morale conundrum; too much work and effort required for a job description that is become less enviable by the day. This, in short, can be categorized as the crux of the problem that I face under the leadership aspect of my role as the finance manager. ... The major weakness of this concept is ironically related to its major strengths in that the rather malleable nature of production does not allow the firm to establish a solid ground in any of the different businesses that it participates in i.e. its becomes somewhat of a jack of all trades and master of none. Due to this lack of immovability, the firm is not able to continue a specific production practice for a large period of time, hence, is unable to ascertain best production practices and any other cost cutting techniques, thus, it always produces at a level that has to be considered in optimal for the firm. (Yinghong, 2006) McDonald’s is a pertinent example of the correct use of moving competencies as they have been able to strike the perfect balance between the usability of moving competencies and defining their basic company objectives and areas of expertise. Therefore, despite the fact that McDonald’s is expanding both is scale of operations and in its product ra nge, it is still intrinsically a fast food joint which it has been able to maintain due to its best practices and strong adamancy on quality assurance. From this description, it can be easily surmised that the need of the hour for the manager is to implement the system of moving competencies in a way that would oversee the creation of synergies and the institution of best practices in the form that ‘every job is done by that specific person who does it best’. Therefore, the creation of conjoined skills development becomes a necessity and the onus lies on the finance manager to institute the change that is needed for the creation of an open learning and

The Pillars Of The Tourism Strategy Tourism Essay

The Pillars Of The Tourism Strategy Tourism Essay Definition of the World Tourist Organisation (WTO): Tourists are those who are travelling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes not related to the exercise of an activity remunerated from within the place visited In  other words: A tourist are those who goes to different place for private interest or who is sent there, but is not employed at this place. Business tourists may go to this place for meetings or further education. Private tourists may go there for adventure, recreation, pilgrimage or many other purposes. Eco-tourism stressed on local cultures, wilderness adventures, personal development and learning new methods to live. It is defined as travel to different areas where the flora, fauna, and cultural heritage are the major attractions. Responsible ecotourism includes practices that lessens the negative impacts of regional tourism on the natural environment, and flourishes the cultural integrity of local communities. Hence, in addition to evaluating environmental, social and cultural factors, initiatives by hospitality providers to positioning recycling, energy efficiency and the creation of economic opportunities for local people are an integral part of ecotourism. Historical, biological and cultural conservation, sustainable development etc. are some of the sectors closely linked to Eco-Tourism. Large number of professionals have been involved in formulating and growing eco-tourism programs. They come from the fields of Geographic data Systems, Wildlife authorities, Wildlife Photography, and Oceanography, National and State Park authorities, Environmental Sciences, Women in Development, and Archaeologists, etc. Ecotourism is widely considered as a nature-based type of alternative visitors that embodies the virtuous traits that tourism supposedly lacks. Therefore, the notion of mass ecotourism is often seen as a contradiction in means or oxymoron. This article, however, argues that ecotourism as both reality, an ideal can logically be perceived as a form of mass tourism, and not its opposite. The first sector provides a working definition of ecotourism, and the remainder of the paper then raise the rationale for the above contention, and considers its applications for the tourism industry and for ecotourism destinations. Meaningful travel to natural areas to understand the culture and natural facts of the environment, taking care not to change the integrity of the ecosystem, during the production of economic opportunities that make the preservation of natural resources profitable to local communities. Hence, ecotourism is a form of tourism to relatively undisturbed natural locations for the main reasons of admiring them and knowing more facts about their lives. Ecotourism also tries to decrease its effects on the locations visited. It also supports to the preservation of natural venues and the sustainable development of adjacent locations and communities, spreading further awareness among habitants and nearby populations and tourist. Although a relatively new part of the tourism sector, ecotourism has diffused vastly all over the world. The most popular ecotourism destinations are spread relatively evenly all over the world and involve sites in Central and South America and the USA and Australia. Another vital ecotourism area is Africa. For example, Kenya employs approximately 55,000 people in its wildlife tourism sector. The Kenya Wildlife Service recorded $24 million of profits from wildlife tourism in 1990. For 1995, it was about $54 million with 25% of earnings paid to people in destinations adjacent to parks and reserves. A latest study of Amboseli National Park in Kenya states that each lion there was worth $27,000 and each elephant herd as much as $610,000 in tourist profits per year. Cultural tourism tends to stress on the indigenous of an area and their customs, arts, crafts, architecture, religion and lifestyles or on visits to art galleries and temples Historical tourism mainly stress on the glories of the past in the form of monuments, museums, and historical sites There are number of different profits that can be derived from Ecotourism if local people use it as a tool rather than number of outside visitors.   However, the results are a direct image of the encouragement behind the program.   Since these motivations are mostly mixed it follows that the results are often mixed too. Sometimes called nature tourism or ecotourism and educational travel based on natural attractions is a promising way of flourishing social, economic, political and environmental objectives in developing countries. It offers countries new ideas for small-enterprise investment and employment and developing the national stake in conserving their biological resources. However, making ecotourism a strong positive economic and environmental tool needs activities that foster responsible nature tourism growth, broad-based and active local participation in its profits, and conservation of developing countries biological heritage. MAIN BODY The ecotourism circumstances are currently entering a significant phase of its development in Kenya. In the past five years, ecotourism has attracted important attention from consumers, conservationists, economic development specialists and others. However, they are entering a period during, which ecotourism will undergo more careful scrutiny to determine whether it provides as many benefits as its proponents suggest it should. For this to be done information has to be made available on nature, performance and characteristics of ventures operating under the ecotourism label. Ecotourism Society of Kenya is at this time working on a project to develop a national record of all existing ecotourism projects in the Kenya, with a view to establishing the extent to which ecotourism has contributed to improved livelihoods for local people and aided conservation. The first phase of this project involved reviewing existing literature on ecotourism enterprises in Kenya, both for existing and pot ential ventures. The second phase will involve a questionnaire survey of the listed projects and others that may be discovered during such visits. This is going help to, among other things, to verify facts, get people views, and fill- in gaps of information missing from writ ten. Kenya  is best known for its wide savannas teeming with lions and elephants, but most travellers dont know that its also home to mountains, lakes, rain forests, deserts and beaches, each with its own unique ecosystem and wildlife. Kenyas incredible natural diversity is protected in some 50 national parks and reserves across the country, from the virgin rain forests of the Kaka mega Forest Reserve to the wildebeests who migrate to the Maasai Mara National Reserve every July and August. On the coast, travellers can walk down pristine white beaches or go diving along colourful coral reefs. All tourism occurs under the watchful eye of Ecotourism Kenya, which works to protect the local environment through community outreach and education projects. The organization also rates lodges throughout Kenya based on their environmental policies. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18215130/ns/travel-active_travel/ Three Pillars of the Tourism Strategy In this term pillar means goals in combination with opportunities and strength. Therefore it is a plan with greater development than the term objectives which is conventionally used in the context of project formulation to detail the achievable aims of a project. For instance, one of the goals of this tourism strategy is to make stakeholders of the western region of Kenya to re-discover and advertise their wealth of natural and cultural heritage as things that bewilder other humans, and that cannot be missed by adventurous visitors and travellers coming to Kenya. Diversification in the context means strategic improvement of product development in order to gain a more competitive stance of tourism in the western region in regards to quality products and tourism amenities as compared to the competition in other regions. Given the above definition of terms, this strategy rests on three strategic pillars of tourism development for the western region of Kenya, namely: a. Product development and diversification b. Integrated promotion, marketing and institutional development from below c. Local tourism education and marketing as a tool of poverty eradication (a) Product Development and Diversification The abundance of unexploited tourism resources including nature, culture and infrastructure means there are many opportunities and options to improve the quality of old products and services or to develop new products. The highest priority, however, should be given to options for improvement of Mt. Elgon National Park and assistance for the community based ecotourism ventures. For example specific options for the improvement of Mt. Elgon National Park are given in a set of recommendations in Table1. They include opening of a second gate at Kaberwa, road improvement for specified park roads to all weather condition. Another priority product development option exists in the form of community based ecotourism ventures. (b) Integrated Tourism Promotion, Marketing and Institutional Development The following facts derived from interviews with top officials of tourism stakeholder organizations at national level illuminated a changing scenario and a new pattern of players for the key roles is emerging as can be seen from the following observations: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ KENYA WILDLIFE SERVICE will totally devolve marketing of its tourism products including handling of visitor services in national parks, national reserves, sanctuaries, etc, to the private sector and communities and concentrate on conservation of wildlife. KENYA WILDLIFE SERVICE will participate in community based tourism development in advisory capacities only. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ KATO, a membership organisation that was formed in 1974 and has 250 members, controls 90 per cent of the traffic and destinations of international tourists in Kenya. (c) Local Tourism Education and Marketing as Tool of Poverty Eradication At the beginning of this report it was mentioned that tourism is a strategic industry that has potential for eradication of poverty in the whole of Kenya. In view of the unexploited tourism potential in the western region of Kenya this vision should be taken seriously by sensitizing the entire population about the need to cultivate the right attitudes, hospitality skills and public relations in readiness for participation in viable tourism activities. National stakeholder organizations namely KENYA WILDLIFE SERVICE, KTB, KTDC, KTF, TD should be challenged to take the lead in popularizing tourism to the Kenyan population like KENYA WILDLIFE SERVICE has done in the last decade. According to this trend of thought, the government has two options to decide upon concerning the Mt. Elgon area: to support the communities of the Mt. Elgon ecosystem to participate in sustainable conservation and development of natural resources and environment; and to maintain vigilance as was done previously to evict the Elgoni people from the caves and forest. We recommend the former option, which implies willingness to support viable community based ecotourism ventures and to support the county council initiative of a conservancy and development of tourism activities based at the Chepkitale moorland. It is based on complementary inputs from two sources. The first input is derived from the empirical evidence collected by observations and discussions with local stakeholders during the field-work in the region and that has been presented and analyzed in chapters three and four. This group of stakeholders consists of private enterprises; local government authorities, NGOs and community based groups. Their main concerns are product development, marketing, sales and provision of services and infrastructure. The second input to the strategy is derived from consultations with the key national stakeholders of the tourism industry in Nairobi. This group of stakeholders comprises of Government of Kenyas parastatal agencies and departments namely KEN YA WILDLIFE SERVICE, KTDC, KTB, Tourism Department, and also Kenya Association of Tour Operators (KATO) representing the private sector. Their main concerns include product development, policy development and administration, international promotion and marketing and financing. Over the next five years or so, it is necessary to identify the feasibility and responsibility for tourism development in the western region. As already mentioned above, it is unlikely that KENYA WILDLIFE SERVICE will be playing any promotion or marketing of tourism in future. Therefore the foreseen main role of KENYA WILDLIFE SERVICE is to develop and improve Mt. Elgon National Park including the establishment of a second gate and an access road at Kaberwa in collaboration with the Forest Department and the Mt. Elgon County Council. Concerning the roads networks outside the national park it as assumed (but probably it required to be specified) that their development and improvements is the responsibility of the central Government of Kenya and local government authorities. The KTB and the Department of Tourism have an important role to play in development, promotion of globally marketable themes and packages for the new products to be developed. Such market-oriented themes are required for Mt. Elgon National Park itself and for the cultural attractions that will emerge from community ecotourism initiatives. Since both KTB and DoT are relatively new, in the field of destination marketing and operations at regional and grassroots level, new tourism oriented research and design and development capacities will be needed. General Recommendations Develop/promote an exclusive market for cultural tourism through services and appropriate linkages with individual tour operators, MENOWECTO and the KTB. Support diversification of high quality tourism products especially cultural products e.g. dancing, gift and curio products for sale by retail shops as well as bulk sales or consignments to major towns. Encourage participation of visitors in community services around Mt. Elgon National Park and in the nearby towns of Kapsokwony and Kitale. Assist Mt. Elgon County Council to initiate a conservancy for tourism development in the Chepkitale moorlands, including development of an access road through, and a gate at Kaberwa under a new partnership deal between KENYA WILDLIFE SERVICE, Forest Department and Mt. Elgon County Council. Develop institutional linkages for marketing of community based ecotourism through local home stay operators. Create general public awareness and popular support of tourism. Support training of community based dancing groups and tour guides in appropriate skills including: Technical names and skills for identification, handling of plants, animals etc. Camping, first aid and emergency techniques; and Public relations, public presentation, marketing, negotiation and packaging, Institutionalize community ecotourism groups and ventures for sustainability. Support the specified improvement and expansion of park infrastructure including making road circuit all-weather, camping site improvements, second gate at Kaberwa and supporting the Chepkitale conservancy. In order to increase local tourism and visitation to Mt. Elgon National Park in particular, KENYA WILDLIFE SERVICE should launch a lightly scheduled bus service to familiarize residents and visitors in Kitale with the availability of regular and reliable public transport to and from Mt. Elgon National Park on certain days of the week. CONCLUSION Kenya is known as an international tourist place, but the Western Region of this country has very little tourism activity. There is no particular factor that is well known to be the main hindrance to tourism in the region. The Lack of awareness of tourism by the local communities, negligence or mismanagement of tourist facilities, lack of technical knowledge and insecurity are commonly mentioned. Situated 30 km west of Kitale town and gazetted in 1968, Mt. Elgon National Park is an area of 169 sq. km and is managed by a staff of 75 persons including 9 officers, 45 rangers and 6 drivers. The park receives 3000 visitors yearly. According to Edin Kalla, the Regional Assistant Director, the main challenges of the park are security for wildlife and visitors, increasing human-wildlife conflict along the border with the former ADC farms around the park, now sub-divided and settled by formerly landless people and with non-residential cultivation in the forest reserves, as well as shortages of human and financial resources. Occasionally wild forest fire is a big threat. Ecotourism may seem to have a positive way to it, but in contrast, it has a very grim reality joining it. While having reaped economic benefits from ecotourism, there are instances where people are forced to leave their homes, instances of gross violations of fundamental rights, and increase in the number of environmental hazards. Eco tourism is held as important by those who taking part in it so that coming generations may experience exposure of the environment relatively untouched by human development, and by becoming a part of this brigade, you are doing your bit to keep the planet the way it should be. Hence to make our trip as nice as possible, look into all the aspects that seem significant to you. Duty is backbone on which eco-tourism is based, and performed in the right direction, can to make sure a guilt-free, remember able holiday. In this  Industry  in many countries or the regions big industrial sectors as well as the  Economic industry of today, eco-tourism as an ideal way, it has made some growth in our country and in many local societies and planning a unavoidable item. Nearly two series of ten, the industry at home and foreign, and scholars define the eco-tourism, and noted the need in according with the development strategy, highlighting on the long-term development of   bionomics tourism resources, and established a plan of development, supporting the plan of eco-tourism. In this paper, the original eco-tourism to further examines its definition, and the economic importance of eco-tourism to be.   Ecotourism is undoubtedly a key feature in Kenyas economy. However, this study reveals that the ecotourism sector faces several challenges which include the need to respond to local community development and aspirations, meeting visitors varied expectations, improving management and planning efforts as well as developing effective and efficient infrastructure and services. According to Gakahu (1992), Kenya has a policy that emphasizes those habitats and wildlife populations are to be maintained in a reasonably natural state while catering for economically important activities. This is important for the tourist industry because the naturalness of amenities is what attracts tourists and is what they pay for. Appropriate planning and management is necessary to redress past mistakes and ensure the future welfare of ecotourism. One cannot rule out the possibility that at some point, conservation and economic exploitation, through ecotourism, might become incompatible unless appropriate me chanisms of reconciling them are worked out. Today, the ecological integrity and attractiveness of the Amboseli and Mara conservation areas is being impaired by visitor use. In conclusion, immediate, short-term and long-term planning and management actions need to be taken in order to stop the current poor use and localized overuse of the Amboseli and Mara. The best use of visitor attitudes and use impacts outlined in this study could guide management. This study clearly demonstrates that simply calculating visitor figures is insufficient for management, planning and monitoring responses. If the management cannot deal with the identified problems, then there is need to establish visitor capacity. Visitor impact management programmes therefore can minimise visitor impacts before costly restoration and rehabilitation programs become necessary.

The Healthcare Environmental Checklist Essay -- Healthcare

The built environment undoubtedly affects the quality and care to the patients and family members. Patients and family members are expecting from a health care organization a well built environment that is suitable and accessible, caring for family, encouraging or beneficial to wellbeing, confidential, considerate, secure and safe. The environment checklist is an assessment tool that will help healthcare organizational designers and health care administrations accumulate information about consumer’s needs, measure satisfaction, and provide facility comparisons for molding the industry’s best practices. I reviewed the environmental checklist in my facility and discussed with my nursing manager the areas that need improvement and the areas that performing well. The three most important areas that I would address that needs to recover are 1.Information systems in place, 2.Staffing requirements and 3.Patients discharge. 1. Information systems in place. The rising cost of healthcare and the lack of health insurance coverage for over 15% of the U.S. population have appeared as important political, economic and policy concerns. Hospitals have to find ways to develop effectiveness to drive down the cost of their services. Hospital organizations in United States are facing pressures to control costs, and to improve quality outcomes. Information systems (IS) have an integral role in addressing these challenges. Successful presentation of Information systems (IS) in the healthcare industry can create new professional models. Dramatic improvement in technology improves the availability of clinical data with no time and so improves patient outcome and care management. Information technologies can assist in the reform of organizations and h... ...tcomes. Works Cited Fichman, R., Kohli, R., & Krishnan, R. (Eds.) (2010). THE ROLE OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS IN HEALTHCARE ORGANIZATIONS: Synergies from an interdisciplinary perspective. Retrieved from http://www.informs.org/Pubs/ISR/Special-Issues/Special-Issue-on-IS-in-Healthcare Health Information Technology. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.kaiseredu.org/issue-Modules/Health-Information-Technology/Background-Brief.aspx?&lang=en_us&output=json Healthy Work Environments: Standards. (2011). Retrieved from www.aacn.org/WD/HWE/Docs/HWEStandards.pdf Heller, B. R., Oros, M. T., & Durney-Crowley, J. (2011). The Future of Nursing Education: Ten Trends to Watch. Retrieved from http://www.nln.org/nlnjournal/infotrends.htm Hughes, R. G. (2008). Patient Safety and Quality: An Evidence-Based Handbook for Nurses. Retrieved from http://www.ahrq.gov/qual/nurseshdbk/

Mirrors of sylvia plath and claribel alegria

The impact of dark poetry on the reader is made predominantly through correspondingly dark   language- this is a common view on the source of such kind of poetry’s effect. In this essay I wouldn’t like to argue this point of view but I would like to broaden   the understanding of dark poetry’s linguisic and semantic tools . I’m going to use two poems sharing a common symbol– â€Å"I am Mirror† by Claribel Alegria and â€Å"Mirror† by Sylvia Plath- to prove that they appeal to the reader not so much through explicit means like the choice of words but also implicitly.I will expose the existence of two poles in each poem and stress an essential role,   which semantic oppositions like alive-dead, internal-external, body-soul, action-passivity, depth-surface, reflect- hurt,   human-monster and human-mirror play. Besides, I will observe how the traditional motif of a mirror as a person’s of alter-ego is transformed in both poe ms into an effective   poetic tool, which ,on the one hand, forms a number of oppositions, and on the other hand, implies the idea of   pain reflection as pain replication and multiplication.First, let us consider the poem â€Å"I am Mirror† by Claribel Alegria.. The mirror is a second self of the woman, the self that was born in the course of some immense suffering. It is a double-sided mirror. Her pain is reflected in the external world, and vice versa, the world’s pain is reflected in her soul.   But the pain is so enormous that the mirror switches on as a protection mechanism.   The mirror turns into a brilliant wall, which defends her from pain. Now she can see everything perfectly but she cannot perceive. To stress the state of hers the phrase â€Å"I don’t feel it† is repeated a number of times.Like a silver screen, she scans what is going on around very accurately and impartially, â€Å"tanks that approach, raised bayonets, bodies that fa ll†¦children who run†. The intense external action is contrasted to the internal catalepsy). She wants to get back life because as she says â€Å"I hurt therefore I exist†.  Ã‚   Her ability to feel hurt is reduced to its physical aspect.   That is why she pinches and pricks herself.   Only through physical pain, she can bring back her ability to perceive world’s pain but only for a while. In a few moments, she turns back into the â€Å"blank mirror that nothing penetrates†. She is again a fleshless phantom protected from the pain by a brilliant wall. What is left is just â€Å"a vague memory of pain†. What is specific of the poem is that it does not reveal the pain itself but the pained mirrored, reflected, remembered. Pain sliding on the smooth hard surface.Let us make these two mirrors reflect in each other by comparing the two poems.   As I have already said, Alegria has a kind of wall mirror, a luminous barrier to protect her from pain. It only reflects external world but nothing can penetrate the surface. It is devoid of depth, it is flat, two-sided but not two-dimensioned. On the contrary, Plath’s mirror’s feature is to swallow immediately whatever appears in it.   It has another dimension behind it. Depth, not surface is its main attribute. This depth is meant to search there and to be afraid of.  Ã‚   It is a lake where a terrible fish lives.This fish is the woman’s frightening future. It is someone into whom she is going to turn in the course of time. In both poems mirror is impartial, it implies â€Å"female passivity, subjugation† (Freedman 1993). However, Plath’s mirror’s truthfulness is seen a kind of rebellion against what woman is seeking in it. In both cases, internal passivity is contrasted with external action. In Plath’s poem the concept of time is of great importance. It is another dimension but the surface and depth of the mirror.   The s tillness of a mirror lake is contrasted with the running river of time.This river flowing through the woman transforms a young beautiful girl into a horrible fish. Hence, being a water creature, an old woman is claimed to belong to the river of time and eternity more than a young girl, still alien to it. Gradually, deep waters of time absorb a woman. A terrible fish is in fact a dead girl, who drowned in the lake of mirror. This is a kind of terrifying reincarnation a woman would prefer to ignore. That is why she turns to such â€Å"liars† as the moon and candles. Meanwhile, the mirror reflects her back faithfully.   She cannot see her back mirrored, and that is an important idea.   We cannot see our back, i.e. the opposite, dark side. What does it look like? Maybe it IS a monster fish? We are scared to death by our own monsters.I would like to dwell on the language used in both poems and how it works toward a certain effect. What correlates with the image of a mirror in Plath’s poem is the use of visual language without any occurrence of audible one. Words like ‘darkness’, ‘pink with speckles’, ‘faces’, ‘flicker’ etc. create a visual picture. The opposition between the pink wall and the darkness is crucial to the poem. Black water has been always associated with hidden, subconscious, uncontrollable forces inside a personality. Hence, I can say that Plath’s mirror is not a medium between internal and external world, like Alegria’s one. It seems to be located within the human soul itself.While in Plath’s poem the attention is drawn to the visual aspect, in Alegria’s one the emphasis, however strange it may seem, is on the physical aspect, on taction. Or rather it is on the ability or inability to perceive the world through touching it. That is why visual pictures, which take enough space of the poem, are deliberately detached and serve to stress the absence of the woman/mirror’s feeling behind them. The opposition is ‘reflect’ vs. ‘hurt’ That is why the dominating mood is the feeling of stifled pain. This context is suggested by the choice of words: prick, pinch; tortured, frightened, weeping, bleeding, stumbling, panic etc. On the otherpole of the opposition are words like ‘phantom’, ‘fleshless’, ‘vague’.The poem’s inner plot is a transition from being a woman looking at her reflection into the mirror itself. Let’s read this passage at the beginning:I pinch myself in the arm  I don’t feel  frightened I look at myself in the mirror  she also pricks herself  I begin to get dressed  stumbling  from the corners  shouts like lightning bolts  tortured eyes  scurrying rats  and teeth shoot forth  although I feel nothingHere is the starting point of this transition. Frightened by her lost ability to feel, she looks at herself in the mir ror and sees a woman with tortured eyes and teeth shoot forth but she feels nothing because she turned into a mirror. This mirror woman leaves home and wanders through the streets reflecting horrible pictures of war. She hurts herself physically to turn back into a living person again but another terrifying scene prevents her from doing so – and she is a fleshless phantom again.The same transition can be observed in Sylvia Plath’s poem, although it is proceeds according to a slightly different pattern. The woman is not replaced by a mirror but she is swallowed by it. Being swallowed, she acquires the attributes of the object, which swallowed her. But two mirrors go on existing simultaneously- a still and eternal one and a moving mortal one.   As I said before, it is running river reflected in a lake.She comes and goes.  Each morning it is her face that replaces the darkness.  In me she has drowned a young girl, and in me an old woman  Rises toward her day after day, like a terrible fish.  This passage suggests how a recurrent action of everyday life is correlated with transcendental eternity.The two poems share the ambivalence of the symbol of mirror. Let us turn to what William Freedman writes about the concept of the poem. â€Å"In this poem, the mirror is in effect looking into itself, for the image in the mirror is woman, the object that is itself more mirror than person. A woman will see herself both in and as a mirror. To look into the glass is to look for oneself inside or as reflected on the surface of the mirror and to seek or discover oneself in the person (or non-person) of the mirror†¦ the poem becomes a mirror not of the world, but of other mirrors and of the process of mirroring. When living mirrors gaze into mirrors, as when language stares only at itself,only mirrors and mirroring will be visible†¦ â€Å"The speaker sees herself â€Å"in† the mirror †¦in two senses: She is the fearful image in the depths beyond the glass and she is the mirror itself† ( Freedman1993).BibliographyLye, John. 1996. Critical reading: a Guide https://brocku.ca/english/jlye/criticalreading.phpMcManus,Barbara.1998. Readings and Assignments. http://www.cnr.edu/bmcmanus

The Need to Restructure Gender Identies essays

The Need to Restructure Gender Identies essays In her novel To the Lighthouse Virginia Woolf explores love as a construct of gender systems. Being good to someone, a simple, basic definition of love, has a destructive effect on both the giver and receiver of the love. These destructive tendencies of love are shaped by gender identities, which Woolf establishes early in the novel; Mr. Ramsay is fixed as hard and logical and Mrs. Ramsay as soft and emotional. In the novel Mr. and Mrs. Ramsays love is destructive, such that it is wearing each of them individually because of their strict gender identities. Woolf focuses on this damage their love does because of their gender identities, yet also provides a sound basis for promoting loves benefits, for although they are draining each other as individuals, their love produces a functional marriage and happy family. Also many of the summerhouse visitors reap benefits from their love. Woolf emphasizes the need for individuals to not restrict themselves to a single gender identity, b ut blend both male and female traits into their personalities. Although love cannot exist without some harmful consequences, love is more constructive for the individual this way. Mrs. Ramsays version of love, determined by her gender identity, is giving too much sympathy. Mr. Ramsay is worn by her love because by giving him comfort, she weakens his self-esteem or self-assurance. He relies on her for reassurance. As Bankes points out, It was astonishing that a man of his intellect . . . could depend so much as he did upon peoples praise (22-23). During the Last Supper, somebody poses a question, inquiring about the Waverley novels staying power (lasting ability). Because of Mr. Ramsays . . . temperament, which must have praise, which must have encouragement, naturally [he] began to be uneasy; to want someone to say, Oh, but your work will last (107). Even when the topic is not...

Media & Culture - Sign Symbol Essays - Philosophy Of Language

Media & Culture - Sign Symbol Essays - Philosophy Of Language Media & Culture - Sign Symbol A sign system is representation through communication which in turn leads to a shared meaning or understanding. We hold mental representations that classify and organise the world (whether fact or fiction), people, objects and events into meaningful categories so that we can meaningfully comprehend the world. The media use sign systems through newspapers, magazines, television,internet, and the radio etc. The conceptual map of meaning and language are the basis of representation. The conceptual map of meaning, are concepts organised, arranged and classified into complex relations to one another. The conceptual map of meaning although allows you to distinguish your own individual interpretation of the world, at the same time as holding similar views to that of other people in your culture. As the meaning is produced and constructed and in turn learned by a particular group of people. Therefore sharing conventions and codes of their language and culture. Signs can only convey meaning if we possess codes which allow us to translate our concepts into language. These codes are the result of social conventions which lead to the shared maps of meaning. These shared meanings are learnt unconsciously as we become members of a culture.If we have a concept of something in our minds we can say we know the meaning of this concept. However we cannot express or communicate this meaning without the second system of representation, language. Language is the only way in which meanings can be effectively exchanged between people, as people within the same culture are able to interpret the sign of language in the same manner. As the meanings become natural through the conditioning of culture. For example the word white in Australia represents a colour of purity, however in China it is the colour of death. Demonstrating that different cultures have not only have different meanings in their shared conceptual maps, but a different language to express it. As meanings change rapidly throughout cultures to really understand another culture you must live there and speak the language for some time. Cultural, social, political, and linguistic conventions are learned over time. The three theories of representation, reflective, intentional and constructionist approaches explain how representations through language work. The reflective approach is where language functions as a mirror of the particular elements perceived meaning. The intentional approach, is where the authors individual views of the world are expressed. Whereas the constructionist approach is where we the audience construct the meaning through our shared conceptual maps and language. The media use these sign symbols so that an association can be made to the object, person, event, or idea etc. With this information of representation and language the media can familiarise people with many things, such as cultural knowledge. As advertising surrounds consumers, concern is often expressed over the impact on society, particularly on values and lifestyle. While a number of factors influence the cultural values, lifestyles, and behaviour of a society, the overwhelming amount of advertising and its prevalence in the mass media suggests that advertising plays a major role in influencing and transmitting social values. In his book Advertising and Social Change, Ronald Berman says; The Institution of the family, religion and education have grown noticeably weaker over each of the past three generations. The world itself seems to have grown more complex. In the absence of traditional authority, advertising has become a kind of social guide. It depicts us in all the myriad situations possible to a life of free choice. It provides ideas about style, morality, and behaviour. While there is general agreement that advertising is an important social influence agent, opinions as to the value of its contribution are often negative. Advertising is criticised for encouraging materialism, manipulating consumers to buy things they do not really need, perpetuating stereotyping, and controlling the media. The media must consider the cultural variables of each country, such as the complexity of learned meanings, norms, language, customs, tastes, attitudes, religion, traditions, education, lifestyle, values, and the ethical/moral standards shared by members of each society. These variables must be learnt by the media as not to offend the group they are portraying. Cultural norms and values offer direction and guidance to members of a society in all aspects of

Mobile security' (cell phones, laptops, tablets) Research Paper

Mobile security' (cell phones, laptops, tablets) - Research Paper Example bile devices for carrying out different tasks has grown to a massive extent. At the present, people like to use mobile in carrying out a variety of tasks that were once carried out using the computers and laptops. In other words, the technology has become more and more ubiquitous. The use of mobile devices such as iPads, iPhone or tablets offer a large number of advantages for all kinds of people. These devices can be used for various purposes such as entertainment, for business tasks or communication. In this scenario, these devices provide a number of benefits. On the other hand, these devices also raise a variety of security issues for business organizations and individuals. This paper has presented a detailed analysis of mobile security issues. This paper has discussed a number of security issues from different perspectives. For instance, what security issues can occur due to software, or network service or physical threats? This paper has discussed various types of all these iss ues. This paper has also considered the concept of â€Å"bring your own device (BYOD)†, which is a latest emerging business trend. This trend allows business employees to bring their devices for carrying out official tasks. This paper has also talked about the issues raised by BYOD trend. This paper has also presented recommendations to deal with these issues. 26 Works Cited 27 Introduction This era is known as the era of information and communication technologies (ICTs). In the past few years, there have emerged a large number of innovative ICT based tools and technologies. Without a doubt, these innovations and advancements of information technology have brought a large number of opportunities and benefits for business organizations and individuals. In other words, these devices have become more ubiquitous. Though these mobile devices are smaller in size but they encompass powerful computing capabilities, which allow business organizations and individuals to carry out their daily tasks regardless of their location and time limitation. In fact, these devices also integrate a wide variety of functionalities and applications to carry out a number of tasks. For instance, using these devices business employees can access their office from anyplace at anytime. They can perform their office related tasks at home. In the same way, students can use these devices to get access to a mountain of educational data and material. Though, these mobile devices and technologies bring a large number of benefits and opportunities for all kinds of people for all kinds of tasks. On the other hand, they also cause a variety of se

Living Wage Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Living Wage - Research Paper Example Some people would state that employees who live below the poverty level should increase their skills that are set to increase their value to the organization. In the American magazine, the article â€Å"is a living wage just a wage† on the 19th February 2001, addresses the issues revolving around the wage bill. The article states that legislation on the living wage requires businesses, agencies and some organizations, which offer acceptance to government contracts to make payments to their full time employees as a living wage (Melden, 1967). The most vulnerable ethics theory that applies to the above incidence is the deontology theory. This theory states that people should keep their roles obligations and responsibilities when analysing an ethical dilemma. However, this theory lacks the issue of employees’ rights, which is much important. The choice of decision creates a state of dictatorship since no one is entitled to provide his/her views, but only entitled to his/her duties. Ethics provides equity among people who are given a living wage. Employees feel that they at times discriminated against when they apply for jobs. If an employee is denied a position, which he is qualified for, he/she tends to think that it has to do with his social class. A call for employers to follow the â€Å"uniform guidelines on employee selection procedures† should be availed to take into consideration the protected classes on the basis of race, sex, disability, age or religion. In response to the utilitarianism theory, which is found on the basis of predicting the impacts of a given decision or action. The article â€Å"What You Should Look for When Selecting among Employer Health Coverage† published on 16th November 2008 is related to this theory. If an employer selects an employee on racial, religion, age, nationality, sex and disability bases, he is practicing unethical activities, which are discouraged by the utilitarianism theory (The Washington Post

What you should know and consider in order to make a wise decision Essay

What you should know and consider in order to make a wise decision about how to assist someone in deciding whether or not to commit medical suicide - Essay Example nt example is that of Phillip Nitschke, an Australian medical practitioner who had his practicing license retrieved for his involvement in a case where the patient who had sought for information from him went ahead and committed suicide. The email conversation was used to convict him. This essay will therefore establish the ethical issues in assisted medical suicide as supported by given philosophical theories. Personal liberty defenders have been at the forefront claiming that one should be allowed to end their lives any time they want. In some cases one may be subjected to too much pain especially in terminal diseases such as cancer that they consider ending their lives. A good case is of Mathew Donelly who had worked in an x-ray laboratory for the better part of his life. He later got caner which led to amputation of his hand, his nose and a number of his fingers. His pleas to have his life ended fell on deaf ears until his brother shot him dead to end his agony. His brother was however charged with murder. There are various bases that have been proposed to be considered in cases of medical suicide that should be considered if it is to be allowed. The first one is the terminality of the disease. In some cases the doctor can establish that the patient will not recover and so it is just a matter of time to have him dead. Second, in many of such cases, the patient may be in too much pain that it is prudent to end the pain in consideration of the first factor that they will not recover. Cancer is one disease that causes such misery to the patient especially if it is recognized at a developed stage. The third factor to be considered is the patient’s opinion. If the patient feels that he wants his life ended, then that should be adopted and the doctor should assist in that. The implementation of such ideas is hard due to the legal aspects involved. Medical suicide is classified in various categories according to how it is performed. Voluntary one is done with the

Corporate Social Responsibility in India Essay Example for Free

Corporate Social Responsibility in India Essay The basic principle of the sustainable development and Corporate Social Responsibility is the combination of needs important both from the point of view of an institution, as well as a group of entities operating in its environment (employees, shareholders, stakeholders, borrowers, local society) within its business policy. Thus, the goal of a contemporary organisation should be to maximise its shareholders’ value satisfying, at the same time, expectations of other stakeholders (stakeholders’ value) by integrating economic, social and environmental operations. There are many factors that make us interested in Corporate Social Responsibility 2: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ New problems and expectations of citizens, customers, public authorities and investors in the context of globalisation and significant industrial changes; Social criteria have bigger and bigger influence on investment decisions made by units and institutions playing both the role of consumers as well as investors; Bigger and bigger care for damages caused to natural environment by business activities; Transparency of business activities supported by media and IT technologies. Corporate Social Responsibility principles, as well as the quality of information in their web sites and annual reports, the main sources of knowledge about the company for potential investors, counterparties and local communities. In the near future, we should also expect that as a result of the globalisation of financial markets, Polish listed companies will meet investors that are more aware of Corporate Social Responsibility and consumers that invest and co-operate better with companies supporting environmental and social development. The analysis of awareness rates and progress in implementing the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility in the sector of Polish companies covered all joint stock companies listed in the Warsaw Stock Exchange4, excluding listed banks (covered in the analysis of the banking sector) and national investment funds. Results of the study are based on information disclosed and presented in web sites and annual reports of the analysed companies and they refer to the following aspects: †¢ †¢ †¢ reporting on Corporate Governance principles adopted by the company, including audit rules; reporting on the company’s environmental policy, reporting on the company’s social policy. The study covered possibilities of an access for investors, local communities, potential business partners to the information about the company’s financial standing, and strategies in progress. The principles for reporting on Corporate Governance were stipulated in the resolution of the Stock Exchange Council of October 16, 2002 (58/952/2002) on best practice in public companies in 2002. Pursuant to this document, companies were obliged to publish and deliver, by July 1, 2003, their first statement confirming their will to observe the newly introduced rules. The study carried out by the Institute shows that over 90 percent of companies publish their reports on incorporating (adopting) principles of Corporate Governance in their business strategies. However, we have to point out that the quality and availability of the information presented in web sites and in annual reports of companies for potential investors and society is relatively low. 4 The analysis was carried out from August – October 2003. 5 The Gdansk Institiute for Market Economics Among the listed companies under the study, only 40 percent disclose and publish detailed information about the structure of their Corporate Governance, and mostly in web sites, where companies present the information about the composition and structure of their management board (74. 4 %) and the composition and structure of their supervisory board (62. 2 %). Chart 1. 1. 1 Do domestic companies publish detailed information about the structure of their supervisory bodies? 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Board structure Supervisory board structure Responsibilities of board member Definition of independence 25,6% 37,8% 51,7% 87,2% 99,4% 99,4% 74,4% 62,2% 48,3% 12,8% 0,6% Any supervisory board Commities 0,6% Individuals responsible for implementation, oversight and audit of economic, social and environmental policies YES NO Source: Own study based on research carried out by the Gdansk Institute for Market Economics. The Institute’s studies on the companies’ informing about the structure and responsibilities of their main bodies in charge of Corporate Governance also show that: †¢ domestic listed companies have not appointed persons in charge of implementing and supervising their policy related to Corporate Social Responsibility, yet (only 0. 6%), †¢ companies usually do not disclose the information about the existing committees at their supervisory boards. Potential investors and business partners willing to establish co-operation with a given entrepreneur want to know external auditors analysing the company’s financial statements and know whether they are reliable. 6 The Gdansk Institiute for Market Economics The Institute’s study shows that 88 percent of domestic public companies presents information related to their audit policy in their web sites. The companies usually give procedures for selecting external auditors, principles for rotation (changes) of external auditors and point out that external auditors are independent of the company. Nevertheless, in Poland, companies still do not present statements on audit costs and costs of other services performed by auditors. The Institute’s analysis also shows that most listed companies under the study (86. %) have undertaken to respect such shareholders’ rights specified in the Best Practice like: †¢ †¢ right to express their opinion and make motions to the company’s management board; right to see minutes and reports from previous meetings (usually available to the shareholders at the company’s office); †¢ publishing information on future General Shareholders Meetings and their agenda. Chart 1. 1. 2 Do domestic companies publish information about audit, shareholders’ rights, implemented principles of their Code of Business Conduct / Code of Ethics? 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 12,8% 13,3% 98,9% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 87,2% 86,7% 1,1% 0% Does the Company disclose audit related Does the company disclose its policy on information? shareholder rights? Does the company disclose and report on its internal Code of Business Conduct/ Code of Ethics? YES NO Source: Own study based on research carried out by the Gdansk Institute for Market Economics. Assessing the awareness and progress in implementing the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility by Polish listed companies, it is worth underlining that still a small percentage of companies has developed and adopted the Code of Ethics and the Code of Business Conduct, 7 The Gdansk Institiute for Market Economics where the companies define, for example, principles for social, environmental policy, issues related to the protection of human rights, employment policy. The managements have to guarantee that the Code of Business Conduct is effectively implemented, monitored and improved. Therefore, the European Commission promotes companies which adopt and implement the Codes of Business Conduct prepared by international corporations. In the opinion of the European Commission, the Code of Business Conduct should 5: †¢ Be based on guidelines of the Convention of the International Labour Organisation, defined in the Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work from 1998 and OECD’s guidelines for international companies related to social partners and their stakeholders; †¢ †¢ †¢ Incorporate mechanisms required to assess and verify the Code implemented; Involve social partners and other groups of stakeholders influencing the company’s operations in the dialog about the shape of the Code; Expand the experience related to best practice in European companies. The concept of Corporate Social Responsibility also assumes that the company should purposefully get involved in environmental protection. The study shows that domestic listed companies do not find it purposeful to present information about actions taken to protect t e natural environment. On the one hand, it h results f rom the fact that the companies are not aware of potential benefits they could obtain, according to the assumptions of Corporate Social Responsibility, for example if their environmental actions are positively perceived by their stakeholders. The research carried out by the Market and Opinion Research International (MORI) under the CSR Europe campaign on the sample of 12 thousand citizens representing 12 countries shows that around 70 percent of consumers buying a product or a service take into account the level which a given producer is involved in social and environmental activity to. At the same time, every fifth consumer is ready to pay more for goods produced by a socially responsible company. On the other hand, the lack of information about environmental actions taken by the companies results from relatively low financial expenses borne by these companies for environmental purposes.