The Revolutionary War Essay Example for Free

The Revolutionary War Essay The first spawn of the American Revolution came from the gentry or in other words from the rich and wellborn. These were the first to resent Parliament’s efforts to curtail their rights within the British Empire. They voiced their unhappiness in published statements and in speeches before elected assemblies. These influential planters, wealthy merchants, and prominent clergymen discovered that the revolutionary movement generated a momentum that they could not control. As the relations with the mother country deteriorated, the traditional leaders of colonial society were forced to invite the common folk to join the protest as rioters, petitioners and then as soldiers. Newspapers, sermons, and pamphlets helped transform what had begun only as a squabble among the gentry into a mass movement. Once the common people had become involved in shaping the nation’s destiny they could never be excluded again. No one in 1763 consciously made their mind up on fighting for independence it just happened. What Americans came to believe to be â€Å"common sense† in 1776 would have been thought of as madness or treason just a decade before. The bonds of loyalty that had glued the British Empire were dissolving slowly. It is only with the benefit of hindsight that the confrontations of this period seem to have led to the Revolution. The men and women who lived through these difficult years did not know what the future would bring. At several points British rulers and American colonists could have compromised. They could have attempted in some ways to ease growing tensions. Their failure to do so was the result of thousands of separate decisions, errors and misunderstandings. The Revolution was a complex series of events, full of unexpected turns, extraordinary creativity and great personal sacrifice (Bailyn, 1967). In 1760 George the III, only 22 was given the ultimate responsibility for preserving the empire. In the public eye they praised the new monarch, but in private they expressed great concern. The king had led a very sheltered life that lacked many of life’s experiences. He had not gotten a good education, but had an aptitude for mechanical ability. He was basically considered stupid and slow witted. He had a difficult time in grasping the concept of imagination, generosity and wisdom during a difficult period in history. He decided to play an aggressive role in government this did not sit well with England’s political leaders. For decades a powerful group of men who called themselves â€Å"Whigs† had set policy and controlled patronage. George the II was ok with this but when George the III came into power he dissolved this relationship. He placed people in charge that had absolutely no political knowledge and the only relationship for the job would have been just to have known someone. The Earl of Bute was selected as chief minister and this totally outraged the â€Å"Whigs†. They accused George of trying to instill a personal Stuart monarchy that was free from traditional constitutional restraints (Morgan Morgan, 1953). The king does not bear the sole blame for England’s loss of the empire in America. The members of Parliament, the men who actually drafted the statutes that drove a wedge between the colonists and the mother country, failed to respond creatively to the challenges of events. With rare exception, they clung to the principle of parliamentary sovereignty and when Americans questioned whether that legislative body in London should govern colonial affairs, parliamentary spokesmen provided no constructive grounds for compromise. The establishment of a separate American commonwealth bound to British only by commerce and common allegiance to the monarch received no support in the House of Commons, this a huge problem for American colonialist (Higginbotham, 1971). Parliament’s attitude was in part a product of ignorance. Few men active in English government had visited America. For those who attempted to follow colonial affairs did not get accurate information for the best decisions. Getting any kind of mail or information took a four week boat trip. To get a response took about three months. The result of the lag in communication between England and America became rumors that passed for factual events and a misunderstanding is the influence parliament took for the formulation of colonial policy. At the end of the French and Indian War, is seemed impossible that the colonists would challenge the supremacy of Parliament. But the crisis in imperial relations that soon developed forced the Americans first to define and then to defend principles that were rooted deeply in the colonial political culture (Morgan Morgan, 1953). For more than a century, the colonist’s ideas about their role within the British Empire had remained a vague bundle of assumptions about personal liberties, property rights, and representative institutions. By 1763 certain fundamental American beliefs had become clear. Colonists affirmed the importance of representative government. They also accepted the authority of local assemblies to tax their constituents. To declare that the House of Commons in London enjoyed the same right made no sense to them. Parliament was too far and its members could not possibly understand what American interests were. Political thought in the colonies contained a strong moral component, one that British rulers and American Loyalists never fully understood. The origins of this religious perspective on civil government are difficult to locate with precision (Bailyn, 1967). The Great Awakening raised men’s and women’s consciousness of an obligation to conduct themselves according to scripture in public as well as in private. At the same time many Americans who were not swept up by the evangelical fervor adopted the â€Å"commonwealthman† tradition. Insistence on public virtue such as sacrifice of self-interest to the public good became the dominant theme of revolutionary political writing. Media took center stage, colonial newspapers spread the word and ideals throughout the new nation and this was true for the northern part of the country were most were literate. Following the Seven Year’s War more than seven thousand British troops, members of the regular army remained in North America. Their alleged purpose was to protect Indians from predatory frontiersmen and to preserve order in the newly conquered territories of Florida and Quebec. But no one person in the British government actually made the decision to keep an army in the colonies. This unexpected circumstance occurred because various officials in London assumed that someone else had issued the order and what was in facet a no decision resulted in bureaucratic confusion and inertia that provided the initial catalyst for Anglo-American hostility. The war had saddled Britain with a huge national debt. It cost quite a lot to maintain scattered troops and military posts on the American frontier. This burden weighed heavily on the English taxpayers and this made government officials search for different avenues to gain revenue (Shy, 1976). Meanwhile back in America the colonialist was beginning to believe that the revenues spent on the army were too high, because of the inadequacies of the troops. Another factor that played into the make up of the war was that colonialists wanted to move west of the Appalachian Mountains and British refused. The colonialist saw this to be the army’s fault and a problem stopping them from economic development. It was soon after this that George Grenville proposed the first bill that would tax the colonialist to pay for the military there in the states, the Sugar Act. This was soon by the Stamp Act, Quartering Act, Declaratory Act, Townshend Revenue Act, Tea Act, Coercive Acts and the Prohibitory Act. The last being what drives the Continental congress closer to a decision for independence (Morgan Morgan, 1953). The war lasted longer than anyone had predicted in 1776. While the nation won its independence, many Americans paid a terrible price. Indeed, a large number of men and women decided that however much they had loved colonial society they could not accept the new government. Over one hundred thousand men and women permanently left America. Americans turned their attentions to the business of building a new republic. Congress appointed a delegation to negotiate a peace treaty. According to their official instructions, they were to insist only upon the recognition of the independence of the United States. The peacemakers drove a remarkable bargain to say the least, a much better one than Congress could have expected. The preliminary agreement signed on September 3, 1783 guaranteed the independence of the United States and it also transferred all the territory east of the Mississippi River, except Florida which would remain under Spanish rule, to the new Republic (Rankin, 1964). The American people had waged war against the most powerful nation in Europe and come out victorious. The treaty marked the end of a colonial rebellion, but it left them to work out their new country. Many new questions would need to be answered and through difficult times were worked out to what we have today in America. Many referred to the American Revolution as a play with many acts that led up to its historical standing. Works Cited: Bailyn, Bernard. The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution. Cambridge: Harvard University press, (1967). Higginbotham, Don. The War of American Independence. New York: MacMillian, (1971). Morgan, Edmund S., Morgan, Helen M. The Stamp Act Crisis. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, (1953). Rankin, Hugh F. The American Revolution. New York: Putnam, (1964). Shy, John. A People Numerous and Armed. New York: Oxford Press, (1976).

Equality is promoted in Sikhism

Equality is promoted in Sikhism The word Sikh means student in the Punjabi language. Sikhs are students and followers of Guru Nanak (b. 1469), the founder of the Sikh tradition. Guru Nanak was succeeded by nine Gurus or holy teachers. Since 1708, the Sikh Guru has been their religious scripture, the Guru Granth Sahib. There are over 20 million Sikhs worldwide, making Sikhism the fifth largest organized religion in the world. (http://www.sikhnextdoor.org/students/learn) This essay will attempt to evaluate ways in which equality is promoted, to achieve this, is vital to overlook at some of the teachings of Sikhism . One of the main aspect of Sikh practical response to equality can be found in the teachings of the Gurus starting with Nanak, the first Guru, who after he had a powerful mystical experience, in which he received a divine calling to bring people to an awareness of God, said there is no Hindu, there is no Muslim. This brief statement give us a glimpse of a new starting process towards equality, starting from understanding oneness ( Shackle and Arvind,2005,pg.43.). The teachings of the Gurus are not set as philosophical treaties or codes, but as poetry with a strong devotional prominence, which is designed to be sung or recited. Sikhism does not derive from any established creed, it does not fight any preceding one. Sikh philosophy and religion are enlighten from within the Indian heritage. Far from dissociating it completely from Hinduism ,they have accepted the Hindu pantheon of Gods without any dispute. Lakshmi, Durga, Brahma, Shiva and Vishnu are celebrated deities in the songs of the gurus. There is no attempt to deny their existence or divinity. The effort is only to put them as lesser deities serving the supreme Lord. (KAUR RAIT, 2005,pg.17) Sikhism preaches a message of devotion and remembrance of God at all time , truthful living, and equality of mankind. Because of this Sikhism is open to all through the teachings of its ten Gurus enshrined in the Sikh Holy Book and the living Guru Sri Guru Grand Sahib . The Sikh philosophy and teachings put great emphasis on the importance of putting others before oneself. where self exists there is no God. Where God exists there is no self.(Guru Nanak) It promotes a classless society, giving more importance to virtue than wealth. The status of an individual should be determined by deeds or merits not by class position. All should be treated as equal irrespective of their material resources. Guru Arjun Dev said, The wisdom of God looks upon all alike, such as the wind that blows alike for the commoner and the King.(W.H. McLeod, 1999,pg.32) The Sikh concept of equality applies naturally to both man and women and is promoted through the teachings and practises of the Gurus. Sikhism advocates sex equality and accords women an equal place in society. At the emerging of Sikhism the Gurus condemned practices prevalent in India in the fifteenth century which undermined women, such us the veiling of women, sati and female infanticide. Sikhs allowed women to remarry, and Guru Nanak condemned the custom to wear the veil. in India sati and female infanticide were only legally abolished in the nineteenth century. Sikh Gurus allowed women free, unrestrained and equal participation in the spiritual as well as social life, in fact they give women what should always been theirs anyway; full equality to participate to religious services, to be equal partners in marriage and family life. If some of the men protested that women were ignorant, the Gurus said let them express their ignorance. Sikhism is a practical religion and has nowhere ignored facts. It recognises that women can speak out of ignorance, but so can man. (Nanak,2006, pg.150.) The achievement of equality is further demonstrated in the ceremonial custom of the Khalsa a form of baptism. New Members, male and female alike are committed to upholding the Rahit (Sikh code of ethics and rituals) and help the community. The importance to Sikhs for equality is also manifested in the Langar Meal (Community Kitchen) is part of the act of worship and is a very important aspect of Sikh life, it was instituted for a social issue , as the society was divided into many castes and the difference between Hindus and Muslims. It was made mandatory by Sikh Guru that only when one would sit down at the same level as the other and eat together that one can join the Sangat (Company of Holy).Thus, the cooking, cleaning of dishes and serving of food happens with everybody involved irrespective of their background. All of them sit on the ground, as it is consider to be leveled and eat food. These public activity were considered unimaginable amongst the principle of the class conscious Indian society. Where according to purification system, sharing of food, drink and utensils touched By someone from a lower caste was considered as made impure. (Nesbitt, 2005, pg 32.) The practice of Langar meal is still in effect at Gurudwara (Sikh place of worship). Another given name for langar is Pangat, Sikh families consider its a privilege to provide the langar and serve it to others.( Mayled, 2002,pg.12) On human rights, Gurus principles of equality was a natural thing that came from their faith. God loves us without distinctions of caste, creed, colour and sex. Equality implies tolerance of differences, existing in dress, food, custom and so on. For Sikh the state as a vital role to play in the formation of an ideal society. It is always stressed that whoever roles over the state should always be a dispensers of justice and equality and must never wield their authority despotically. They are responsible to God the Supreme Sovereign, for all their actions. They are only agent commissioned to govern in the manner of Platos; with justice, kindness, sympathy and promote the welfare of their people. They are to conduct their functions, as a mandate from God. To this last view the Sikh Gurus gave a revolutionary turn by emphasising that whoever rules is not responsible to God alone, but to the people as well, for whose good they are set up by God. Therefore if a ruler deviates from the path of justice and duty, it is just to offer resistance to his wrong doing.( O.P.Ralhan,1997,pg.72) The Sikh religion teaches that life continues after death in the soul and not in the physical body. Therefore the last act of giving and helping others through organs donation is both consistent with and in the spirit of Sikh teachings. (Benedetti, 2008,pg.57) To resume we can definitely say that from the beginning, Sikhism give women equality with men not only in religion`s affairs. Both attend services as equal members and conduct services, to work together In preparing and serving for the communal meal. They share equal responsibilities in all the social and cultural activities at the gurdwara. Sikh women and men take part on equal terms as president, secretaries, and activities organizers. The Sikh Gurus never said that man and women should play exactly the same role in every area of life. They thought that men and women should respect and value equally the different roles that each undertakes. In the Sikh marriage vows emphasis is on mutual faithfulness, and this again brings to our minds in another practical contest the word equality (Singh,1998,pg.22.). In view of all that has been presented so far, to many of us the ideal of equality to which Guru Nanak appealed the people in the fifteenth century significantly could serve as a model in our own day an age, and could give a new meaning, a new direction, a new authenticity to our own cause of equality chartered only in recent decades in the west. BIBLIOGRAPHY: ENRICO BENEDETTI ,2008,Living Donor Organs, McGraw Hill companies USA CHRISTHOPHER SHACKLE and ARVIND PAL SINGH MANDAIR,2005,Teaching of the Sikh Gurus, Published by Routledge,70 Madison Ave, New York. KANWALIJT KAUR SINGH, 1998,Sikhism for today, oxford University Press, Oxford, England NESBITT E., 2005 ,Sikhism A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press, Oxford, England NIRMAL NANAK, 2006, pg.150, Sikh philosophy and religion, New down press group publisher, Slough, Berkshire, England O.P.RALHAN,1997, The great Gurus of the Sikh, Anmoul publications, New Delhi India. SATWANT KAUR RAIT, 2005, Sikh women, Trentham books Limited, Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire, England. W.H. MCLEOD, 1999,Sikhs and Sikhism, Oxford University press, New Delhi) http://www.sikhnextdoor.org/students/learn.html ACCESSED ON 7/04/2010

Strategies to Develop Patient Centred Care

Strategies to Develop Patient Centred Care Sneha Praveen MIS Practicum Final Report Analysis of online patient reviews and its effect on healthcare providers Introduction With the advent of social media, online forums have become a major platform where users share their views and these platforms affect all the involved stakeholders sometimes positively and sometimes adversely. Word of mouth has become an important tool for publicity and sometimes a bad review posted without ulterior motives can do much damage. Most of such reviews and posts that we read on platforms like twitter, Facebook and online forums affect our decision making as we tend to trust judgment of others. But healthcare as an industry is still not very patient centric and not enough importance is given to patient’s opinion. This case is even more valid in the context of USA as there is no official channel for patients to leave their reviews and experience about a healthcare provider. This is very surprising as all other industries food, retail, and consumer industries revolve around what customers have to say and millions of dollars are spend on â€Å"customer satisfaction†, whereas, healthcare industry still relies on their processes without bothering to collect feedback from patients they serve. The main reason accredited to this could be that as payers, insurance companies and as service providers, physicians play the most important role. Patients in this context are mere subjects of treatment who are assumed to be not very vigilant of their own health condition. But is this situation same all around the world? And if not, then US healthcare needs to adapt and learn from such countries to improve its care and service quality. One such online forum implemented in the United Kingdom is â€Å"Patient Opinion†. This forum acts as a bridge between patients and healthcare providers to help improve the healthcare quality provided by National Health Service (NHS) to its citizens. In this paper, I will analyze data collected from patient opinion forum and present by findings answering how USA can benefit from a review outlet like Patient Opinion and how this forum has helped NHS to improve their quality and service. Why Patient-Centric Care: It is well proven that any industry benefits from customer reviews and helps in reducing cost and improve service. Slowly, healthcare needs to move towards Patient-centered care which supports active involvement of patients and care givers. It means being responsive to patient’s preferences, needs and feedback to ensure that service quality improves and slowly there is more involvement of patient in healthcare delivery and design. [1] A patient centered care has below attributes [2]: Whole-person care. Coordination and communication Patient support and empowerment Ready access Autonomy A patient centered care focus on guiding patients by giving them information about options and risks. It means considering patient’s preferences and background and valuing their feedback. According to 2001 Institute of Medicine a focus on patient centered care is one of the factors constituting high quality health care. Source: http://hcca-act.blogspot.com/2011_11_01_archive.html The current system is physician centered which means that effective care is defined by physician’s standards and skills instead of centering on patient’s satisfaction from the service rendered. For example- orthopedic surgeons use the Harris Hip score to judge the success of a hip replacement. This was designed solely by physicians and does not include any feedback from patients to include their satisfaction from the procedure [3]. Thus, it is impossible to correctly define the output of any model in healthcare until the patient experience has been taken into account for. What Patients Want Most tools that we use to judge patient satisfaction or outcome of a medical service cannot be accurately quantified. Also, the success metric for a medical care varies from physician and patient’s point of view. An example of such tools was administered by Steward.et al in 2000 where many physician-patient interactions were audio taped and patients rated these conversations. After analysis, it was deduced that patients recovered faster, had better emotional health and perceived the care as satisfactory if the care was patient-centered. The faith of patients on their healthcare providers increased when there emotional needs were taken care of by the physicians leading to less number of diagnostic tests and fewer referrals. A similar methodology can also be used to study physician empathy. Researchers at Jefferson University developed the Jefferson scale to test physician’s empathy where physicians rated their own empathy but this scale could not be used to judge patient satisfaction. Thus, a new scale called Jefferson Scale of Patient’s perception of Physician Empathy was used which judges patient’s rating of physician’s empathy which correlated to patient’s satisfaction. Mostly what patients want is a relationship of empathy with physicians, who can help them communicate with the problem and develop a personal relationship with them. The perception of care is different from physicians and patient’s point of view and we need to move our focus from â€Å"what’s the matter† with our patients to â€Å"what matters† to our patients. [1] Hindrance in achieving true patient centric care One of the most crucial factors stopping US in achieving true patient centric care is the current reimbursement system and focus on physician practice model. There is no measure in US to gauge the quality of care, empathy and relationship of a physician with patients. Reimbursement is not correlated to these factors, instead it is based on per patient encounter. Due to this, primary care physicians focus on increasing the volume of patients and reduce the time spent with each patient. Most physicians are in a hurry and under stress which leads to misdiagnosis, useless tests and referrals, decrease in quality of care and a very formal relationship between physician and patients. [6] Next important factor is that physicians employed by hospitals are incentivized or prized depending on number of patients that they bring but there is no measure to the quality of care they impart. The volume of patients precede quality because the financial benefits are huge e.g.- Each lab tests physicians’ order, each referrals they make, benefits hospitals in terms of huge monetary benefits which in turn becomes a basis of primary care physician’s salaries. Thus, understandably what drives physicians is to employ methods to increase volume of patients, decrease time spent with each patient and other ways to monetize each patient-physician interaction. [3] The third hindrance is hospitals hiring generalists called hospitalists to provide care to patients with the goal of reducing patient days per admission. This might lead to improve in care for a certain amount of time but the reason behind hiring such individuals is not to improve patient care but instead to benefit hospitals financially. The Patient Centric Approach model Patient Centered Medical Home Patient Centric medical home helps address the patient centric approach by emphasizing on high quality patient care and lower the healthcare cost. They reorganize primary care practice by recognizing the importance of patient’s experience and works on system based approach to transform health services being offered. PCMH centers their service on elderly with acute care needs, patients with physical disabilities and with specific preferences in terms of culture and values. The care offered is comprehensive and designed to meet patients’ needs including physical and mental attention, chronic care and long term assistance like help in performing daily ablutions for patients with functional limitations. [8] Accountable Care Organizations ACOs have been set up with the goal of ensuring high quality of care is given to patients at the right time to prevent medical errors and reduce medical costs. Mostly ACOs are formed by group of doctors and hospitals who voluntarily come together to serve Medicare patients. [9] The basic promise that ACOs hold is to have patient centered care and treat patients with empathy, care and work towards avoiding unnecessary costs and develop a personal relationship with patients. Thus, government should incentivize formation of more ACOs to ensure more patient- centric approach. Strategic IT investment IT is the obvious answer to increase efficiency, reduce medical errors and improve quality of care in US. Though there are many facets of IT that can be used, use of Electronic Health Records (EHR) and Electronic Medical records (EMR) are the most important tools to use. EMRs are digitized version of patient record keeping for a physicians. EMR has been instrumental in reducing medical costs overtime by enabling better interactions between departments and monitoring patient’s visiting time and medical information. Patients can also log on and know about their health records and be better prepared. EHRs stores patient’s records so that if needed emergency departments can access it before giving them any medicines. This saves the cost of duplicate tests because all the data needed to prescribe medicines are present in EHRs. Feedback and review model: Patient Opinion Patient opinion was founded in 2005 and is the leading feedback platform for healthcare in UK. They allow patients to write their reviews/ stories about their experience and tag the particular provider. Other users can then favorite the post if they have experience the same thing. Patient Opinion also has an analytical engine which does sentiment analysis for each hospital and show what areas need improvement and which departments received positive reviews. The hospitals can read these reviews posted about them and respond to the complaints and praises. This helps them to improve their quality of care and address the issues raised by patients. Patient Opinion is a social enterprise and a NGO which is independent of NHS but share the same values. It is funded through user subscriptions, healthcare providers and healthcare Commission. Providers subscribing to Patient Opinion get the access to all patient feeds and can respond to the reviews. Though, use of patient opinion by patients is free. Patient Opinion is available across England but not (yet) the rest of the UK. It covers all acute trusts. As of today, 600 hospitals are registered with patient opinion and working together to improve the healthcare quality in UK. [5] How Patient Opinion fits the review model: It allows patients to give feedback on their health services and to see what others are talking about. It also acts as a platform to hear and respond to reviews and complaints posted by patients. They can compare their ratings with other hospitals and find out which of their departments are doing good and bad. All the opinions are reviewed before publication and editorial policies are public. The critical reviews are marked and directed to the healthcare providers while maintaining patient identity. Below are some feedback posted by patients for â€Å"King’s Mill Hospital† over a period of 2 weeks: Taking â€Å"King’s Mill Hospital† as our example for this study, let us look at some figures which help us better understand the Patient Opinion model: *Data collected is for the month of April: Analysis: Analysis: As of now, for the entire Patient Opinion database, feedback opinion so far is around 50% positive, 30% mixed and around 20% critical. Below is data of number of posts till date: In the last month, of all the posts, 53% had a response from hospital staff and 6% of responses actually lead to change. The numbers do look small but in the larger picture, it is an incremental change which slowly is changing the face of UK healthcare. Conclusion: Patient centric healthcare is the answer to the problems of rising cost and low quality of healthcare in USA. A patient centered communication gives more satisfaction to patients and increase their faith on the physician and treatment. Emotional health is better when patients feel that they have a personal equation with their physicians and their preferences, culture and values are being considered while treatment. It is very important to increase emphasis on physician’s empathy towards patients and introduce feedback model to increase efficiency of hospitals. Patient Opinion is bringing change into the healthcare scenario of UK by making patient reviews an important tool of decision making. Hospitals are responding to these reviews, trying to make amends and improve the quality of care. Currently, healthcare of USA is financially driven and patients are not treated as a valued customer. In future, if we want the healthcare cost to go down and expect better service, it is very important to bring the focus on patients and build the system around them. References: [1] Jo Anne L. Earp, Elizabeth A. French, Melissa B. Gilkey: Patient Advocacy for Health Care Quality [2] Bechtel, Christine.If You Build it, Will They Come? Designing Truly Patient-Centered Health Care.Health Affairs [3] http://healthaffairs.org/blog/2012/01/24/patient-centered-care-what-it-means-and-how-to-get-there/ [4] Moira Stewart, Judith Belle Brown, Allan Donner, Ian R. McWhinney, Julian Oates, Wayne W. Weston, John Jordan, The Impact of Patient-Centered Care on Outcomes [5] https://www.patientopinion.org.uk/info/about [6] Improving Patient Opinion Mining through Multi-step Classification, Lei Xia, Anna Lisa Gentile, James Munro, Josà © Iria [7] http://www.ncqa.org/Programs/Recognition/PatientCenteredMedicalHomePCMH.aspx [8] Ensuring That Patient-Centered Medical Homes Effectively Serve Patients With Complex Health Needs, AHRQ [9] http://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Medicare-Fee-for-Service-Payment/ACO/ [10] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC64755/

Internet Censorship Essay - Censorship and the Internet :: Persuasive Essay, Argumentative

Censorship and the Internet As the First Amendment states, we as Americans are given numerous freedoms. These freedoms become a constitutional right which no one can take away from us. Among these rights are the freedom of speech and freedom of the press. Many people feel that with these two freedoms combined they can post on the Internet whatever they want. However, the First Amendment does have limitations. Contrary to what some people may believe, our freedom of speech is not protected when it comes to indecency. This fact, along with several other reasons, is why cyberpornography should no longer be present on the Internet. My friend was recently doing a report on black holes, so she decided to take her search on the web. What she got as her reply was a black female and her "hole." Although this may sound humorous at first, we must look at the larger picture. Imagine a young child who does this same search and gets the same reply. It is hard enough for a parent to explain the topic of sex to their child. Once they do the parent wants the child to think of this as something special. Not as something which is depicted on the Internet sometimes in extremely distasteful manners. We must think of a way to limit the replies that people get back. I do not agree with censorship over the Internet. As in all media people are allowed to speak freely. This is one of our rights. If we do not agree with what the government is currently doing we can speak out against them, and not be punished. It is important that we maintain some control of this freedom. However, I do not feel that pornography falls under this category. When the topic of taking pornography off of the web comes up people become very angry. These people feel that their rights are being taking away, but in reality this type of "censorship" is already present in today's media. Although, programming on television has changed greatly over the years, there is still a definite limit on what can be placed on the air. If you want to see detailed sex acts you must pay, often very expensive prices for these channels. You also will never see these vivid pictures in newspapers or news magazines. These graphic pictures are limited in this type of media and for good reason.

Essay --

Conclusion ​The execution of the above recommendations (Appendix D) will aid in resolving issues in the implementation of the new systems. These recommendations will create change and generate further discussion on how C&B can improve execution of their new systems. ​​Word Count (Report Only): 1182 Appendix A KAT SWOT Analysis STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES †¢ Specialists can give in depth, technical advice to customers, customers have detailed information about product o value proposition o tailors to customers needs and questions o gives more credibility to products by having specialists give expert knowledge †¢ Tasks can be divided up, more efficient †¢ Team serves as members’ incentive to boost sales in area of specialization o Specialists can devote time to knowing own product better o Figure out strategies to best promote and sell product †¢ Customer’s have more complicated transactions o have to deal with multiple specialists instead of one generalist o complex chain of communication †¢ Specialists not used to teamwork since they worked independently before o don’t have effective group dynamic and communication skills †¢ Team attitudes o Members have varying viewpoints on new organization both negative (Callahan, Oates) and positive (Jen) o Nominal head Callahan is pessimistic, could affect group perceptions and behaviors †¢ Limit’s employee’s abilities, natural strengths may be in selling genera products †¢ Commission based on sales volume for specialist’s specialization o Individual motivation may decrease OPPORTUNITIES THREATS †¢ More attention to firm wide priorities leading to increased profitability †¢ Sharing customers makes tasks faster †¢ Specialized knowledge on products, especially emerging products, may increase customer base beca... ...ships. Staff members who usually don’t get along well should be put together. Tank Driving: A handful of light objects that are easy to throw (paper balls or beanbags) should be placed randomly around on the ground of a large room. Participants would then be paired off into groups for this activity. One person from each group would be the â€Å"tank† – they are blindfolded and are not allowed to talk. The partner would be the â€Å"tank driver† and they control the tank through communicating verbally. Once the game starts, the tank driver would direct the tank to pick up the objects scattered around the room and throw them at the other tanks. However, the tank drivers are to stand along the walls of the room and are not allowed to move. If a tank gets hit by an object, they would sit out until all the other tanks are eliminated. The last pair to survive would be the winners.

Environmental and Ethical Issues Essay

The main issue that is reverberating these days throughout the world is of Sustainable Development. Sustainable development is â€Å"the development in way that meets the requirements of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs† (IAEA, 2005). It has three main dimensions: Social, Economic, and Environmental (Stevens, 2005). The ratio of pollutants whether they are liquid, gaseous, or nuclear are being dumped into the natural resources that are water and air, is increasing sharply. This concern is considered to very crucial since the environmental degradation is on its way, or in other words the process of global warming is on its way. The ice caps are melting, ozone layer is depleting, and the degree of naturalness in the environment is decreasing. Though there are many sectors and industries that need to be rectified, but airline industry is the one over which the paper would emphasize on. Moreover, discrimination has become a part of many organizations where minorities or women are discriminated in terms of sexual harassment, glass ceiling, and low salaries. The paper would discuss about the how KLM Royal Dutch Airlines communicates its Ethical and moral principles and through what channels. Airline Industry Airline industry is one of those industries that have been under severe criticism by the critics. The reasons are quite simple; the airline industry is held responsible for the emission of huge amount of greenhouse gases into the air by the airplanes that damage the quality of air, and as well as deplete the ozone layer. When such gases are emitted into the air they cause the temperature to increase, which further results in the melting of ice caps and rising up of sea levels. KLM’s Ethical Principles KLM Royal Dutch Airlines does consider such ethical and moral issues in conducting its business and has shaped its business culture, procedures, and policies in line with the moral and ethical principles that need to be appended with the business activities. KLM has a strong vision and mission that highlight the core of their business i. e. Corporate Social Responsibility. Not only this, the airline company also have other ways of communicating those values and principles such as, Code of Conduct guide, employee’s manual, and supervisor’s manual of responsibilities. Let’s discuss its mission and values that are designed for abiding by the CSR and ethical principles of conducting business. Company’s Aim The aim of KLM is to â€Å"achieve profitable growth that contributes to its own corporate aims as well as to economic and social development† (KLM, 2010). Strategies Adopted â€Å"The company offers a reliable and health dose of Dutch pragmatism, where innovative and safe products that are efficient, and also paying proactive attention to the environment and corporate social responsibility† (KLM, 2010). Not only this, it also gives special attention to its employees by providing them mobility, flexibility, better working conditions, better health, and equal opportunities. Corporate Social Responsibility KLM has shaped its policies that not only benefit the customers, but also the employees, environment and overall society. It strives to become leader in the airline industry in terms of CSR. Since KLM flies all over the world so it considers it mandatory to function in a sustainable fashion. Optimal health, security, and safety measures are taken for the passengers and employees; moreover, KLM works with charity organizations to serve the community as well. As far as the code of conduct is concerned, ‘the company values and prioritizes ethically responsible activities and honest conduct’ (KLM, 2010). Communication of Ethical Principles The company communicates its corporate values and principles through several ways such as, it has embedded the Corporate Social Responsibility principles in its business culture that is totally based on providing the customers, community, and employees with quality products/ services and working conditions. The vision and mission of the company along with some core values are communicated through organizational communication channels such as, wall hangings, symbols, slogans, success stories, newsletters, and quarterly guides to the employees working within the organization (Robbins & Judge, 2007). When it comes to communicate such ethical and moral values to other organizations, press releases and newsletters are issued that build and maintain the image of the company. Those press releases and newsletters often emphasize on the business practices adopted by the company and the achievements made through them. As far as the general public or customers are concerned, they are made aware of these principles and values through website where comprehensive information regarding the business practices and values is given; moreover, those who subscribe them with KLM services often receive brochures and newsletters that keep them aware of all the happenings. Community or other areas of the country also get to know about KLM, since the company takes an active role in offering charities to and participating in charitable programs. When employees are hired, they are provided with extensive guide to study that talks about the fundamental values, norms, beliefs, and practices that should be abided by when working for the company. Moreover, quality surveys are also conducted from the passengers or potential customers regarding the quality of service level and other aspects of the company through research tools such as, questionnaires, focus groups, and informal interviews (Zikmund, 2006). Room for Improvement Although the company does its best to implement by the social, cultural, legal, and other international laws along with business practices that are suitable for the customers and environment, but still some improvement can further be made. New technologies related to aircrafts and other software solutions must be introduced. If efficient fuel that costs lesser and fuel efficient technologies are used, there would be many advantages of doing so. The industry would have to bear low costs of fuel, better fuel management, and high revenues due to increased sales that would result due to low fare prices. Policies of the companies towards the environmental sustainability should be rigid and must ensure the due care for the customers and the environment as a whole. The company must ensure that it abides by almost all the ethical principles such as, utilitarian principle, distributive justice, Kantian rights, due care theory, etc. (Velasquez, 2006). Benefits That Can Be Achieved Introducing and implementing such environment-friendly and ethical principles within the organizational practices and business activities would definitely result in lucrative outcomes. The company would gain appreciation from the side of government, grab attention of the investors who would invest more, gain customer loyalty which would increase market share and sales, and eventually result in huge profits and opportunity to expand the business. Implementation of Improvements If I were a leader of KLM, I would bring on some improvements by signing contracts with certain IT outsourcing companies for the implementation of better networking and software structure. Utilizing efficient-fuel would be my second strategy that could save huge amount of costs and also prevent the atmosphere from getting contaminated. Another change that I would have made was to bring on base the overall business on the environmental-friendly and sustainable practices. Better customer service would be ensured by keeping in touch with them and taking feedback after flights. As far as the organizational structure is concerned, I would have ensured equal opportunity for everyone in every job-related aspect, and improving the internal processes, management, strategies, and measures of performance to maintain the environment. And finally, contracting or partnering with other organizations – whether in the same industry or not – that specialize and possess mastery in sustainable development and providing modern solutions to meet the requirements of this dynamic environment. Conclusion Therefore, sustainable development has become a vital requirement for the businesses to incorporate in their policies. The airline industry can adopt certain measures that favor going green; this will not only benefit the industry but also the environment and society as a whole. References IAEA. (2005). Energy Indicators for Sustainable Development: Guidelines and Methodologies. August 4, 2010. From http://www. oecd. org/dataoecd/60/41/35407580. pdf KLM. (2010). Corporate Social Responsibility. Retrieved on August 4, 2010. From

Effects of capitalism

Capitalism West has been an important destination in American history. First it was a discovering target for Louis and Clark, later it became a spot for people to seek riches in gold rush. Whether it was for money or establishing settlement west has become an important place for American people. For these reason, one of the family who moved out west were the loads. During 1930's, Midwest was hit hard by the great- depression. And to aggravate these effects dust bowls were sprawling all over Midwest. The Joads were immensely devastated by these conditions in ‘The Grapes of Wrath' by John Steinbeck.First the author shows how the all over Midwest families were the target of dust bowls because the land was over used and crops weren't rotated. Because people couldn't grow their own crops, they had to borrow money from lenders, only to end up in debt they couldn't pay. Since the debt wasn't paid their land was taken away by the banks and corporation leaving them without Job or income . To coup this process The Joads decided to head out west looking for an opportunity to feed their family. But their hopes will be overturned by the misery that awaits them. In chapter 19 of ‘The grapes of wrath', Steinbeck summarizes howCapitalism has left man-kind to turn Inhuman. During the 30's the rich were becoming richer and poor were becoming poorer. There was a distinct line between upper and lower class. Whether it is Oklahoma or California, the wealthy showed no gratitude for the poorer. In Oklahoma the banks wanted to make profits from land by combining thousands of acres together. Same situation applied in California. But the land in California was stolen from Mexicans by the early â€Å"tattered feverish† squatters. Steinbeck uses distinct diction to assert that early settlers in west can be compared with incoming Okies.As time went on, these squatters' children had lost their lust for land. Even though their forefathers had earned the land through hostili ty, But for newer generation â€Å"the hunger was gone, the feral hunger, the gnawing, tearing hunger for land†. Author uses this run on sentence to explain how the lives of the land owners were effortless, because hunger is one of the instincts that motivates mankind. Since their predecessor had left them wealthy, the owners didn't value the land. These owners had distinct themselves from farming. They had lost their lust for â€Å"a shining blade to plow it, for seed and a indmill beating its wings in the air†.Steinbeck uses imagery to demonstrate the importance these tool would hold for a farmer, but the owners did not recognize them because they had separated themselves from farming. Since their connection with land is lost, the owners turned their attention to making money and profit. Steinbeck illustrates the shift from man-power to machines during the 30's. One man on tractor can replace twelve families on a farm. With this revolution the man shifted from a farm er to a ‘shopkeeper' and ‘manufacturer'. This transition made the land owners less sympathetic to land.Farming is no longer their main occupation because â€Å"the crops were reckoned in dollars, and land was valued by principal plus interest†. Steinbeck compares rich owners with banks in Oklahoma. The owner no longer tarmed tor teeding their tamily or tor survival, but tor making solely profit. In contrast of rich owner the Okies only want to farm to feed their family and for their love of land. Steinbeck shows the owners in California had become so powerful â€Å"crop failure, drought, and flood were no longer little deaths within life, but simple losses of money'. But this reason would be death within life for a farmer in Oklahoma.If a farmer had experienced crop failure or drought, it could mean they had to go into debt for feeding their family. The banks took the land from the farmers because of the debt. This resulted in mass migration from Midwest to Calif ornia. Since the rich owner treated farming like industry, they did not care for their workers. Steinbeck shows that the â€Å"Owners followed Rome†. He compares the migrants with slave because the owner gave low wages only enough for surviving and not living. This shows the greediness of the farm owners. This also portrays the affect that capitalism has had on the rich owners.In ‘The Grapes of Wrath', Steinbeck shows the unpleasant conditions of working class during the 30s. During those times people from Midwest suffered socially and economically. Thousands of people migrated west to seek a better life, only to be left devastated. In difference from the misfortune farmers, the banks and rich land owners took advantage of new machine age to increase their wealth and profit. This in turn lead to industrial farming and left the farmers Jobless. It shows the selfishness of upper class and hardship of the farmers. The result of capitalism led to a chaotic situation between landowners and the poor.