Democratization of Uruguay

Giancarlo Orichio Dr. A. Arraras CPO 3055 20 November 2008 Democratic Transition and Consolidation: Uruguay A study of democratization presumes that the meaning of democratization is self-evident: defined simply as a transition of a political system from non-democracy towards accountable and representative government practices. (Grugel 3) A concept that is valid in Uruguayan politics however, has an element of potential risk that will be the topic of further analysis. Assessment of the latter will enable us to determine why Uruguay is the only one of the four former â€Å"bureaucratic-authoritarian† regimes in South America that includes Chile, Brazil, and Argentina to attain this debatably political status quo. Guillermo O’Donnell described this type of regime as an institution that uses coercive measures to respond to what they view as threats to capitalism, whereas, the only means of opposing this repressive government is by an â€Å"unconditional commitment to democracy. (O’Donnell xiii) The hierarchically lead bureaucratic-authoritarian regime as a political actor poses a possible advantage to democratization insofar that the military-as-institution may consider that their interests are best served by extrication from the military-as-government. However, seizing power to a new governing body without imposing strong constraints is improbable and has occurred predictably in Uruguayan democratic transition. Understanding th e obstacle faced by the newly fragile democratic government in managing the military and eliminating its reserved domains brings us to the task at hand. First, I will analyze the political history in Uruguay that lead up to the no doubt controversial argument that it has attained democratic consolidation. Secondly, I will analyze the factors that either contributed or hindered its journey to representative democracy; ultimately, arriving to the conclusion that Juan J. Linz and Alfred Stepan describe as a â€Å"risk-prone† consolidated democracy. On 25 August 1825, Juan Antonio Lavalleja, at the head of a group of patriots called the â€Å"treinta y tres orientales,† issued a declaration of independence. After a three-year fight, a peace treaty signed on 28 August 1828 guaranteed Uruguay's independence. During this period of political turmoil and civil war, the two political parties around which Uruguayan history has traditionally revolved, the Colorados and the Blancos, were founded. â€Å"Even by West Europen standards, [Uruguay] had a tradition of high party identification and a clear sense of a left-right index. † (Linz 152) Uruguay's first president, Gen. Jose Fructuoso Rivera, an ally of Artigas, founded the Colorados. The second president, Brig. Gen. Manuel Oribe, a friend of Lavalleja, founded the Blancos. The 19th century was largely a struggle between the two factions. However, it was not until the election of Jose Batlle y Ordonez as president in 1903 that Uruguay matured as a nation. The Batlle administrations (1903–7, 1911–15) marked the period of greatest economic performance. A distinguished statesman, Batlle initiated the social welfare system codified in the Uruguayan constitution. From then on, Uruguay's social programs, funded primarily by earnings of beef and wool in foreign markets, gave Uruguay the revered soubriquet â€Å"Switzerland of South America. † After World War II, the Colorados ruled, except for an eight-year period from 1958–66. It was during the administration of President Jorge Pacheco Areco (1967–72) that Uruguay entered a political and social crisis. As wool declined in world markets, export earnings no longer kept pace with the need for greater social expenditures. Political instability resulted, most dramatically in the emergence of Uruguay's National Liberation Movement, popularly known as the Tupamaros. This well-organized urban guerrilla movement adopted Marxist and nationalist ideals while on the other hand, most nationally important actors were disloyal or at best semi-loyal to the already established democratic regime. Their revolutionary activities, coupled with the worsening economic situation, exacerbated Uruguay's political uncertainty. Gradually, the military-as institution assumed a greater role in government and by 1973 was in complete control of the political system. By the end of 1973, the Tupamaros had been successfully controlled and suppressed by the military-as-institution. In terms of systematic repression, as Juan J. Linz and Alfred Stepan stated, â€Å"Uruguay was the most deeply repressive of the four South American bureaucratic-authoritarian regimes. (Linz 152) Amnesty international denounced Uruguay for human rights violations; in 1979, they estimated the number of political prisoners jailed at a ratio of 1 per 600, Chile and Argentina were respectively 1 in 2,000 and 1 in 1,200. (Linz 152) By 1977 the military announced that they would devise a new constitution with the intentions to â€Å"strengthen democracy. † The new constitution would be submitted to a plebiscite in 1980, and if ratified elections with a single presidential candidate nominated by both the Colorados and the Blancos and approved by the military would be held the following year. The post-authoritarian transition to democracy began in Uruguay when the democratic opposition won the plebiscite. By the 1980’s the military did not have an offensive plan to lift Uruguay from its uninterrupted bad economic performance, the Tupamaros had in fact been defeated by 1973, so a defense project against urban guerrilla was unnecessary. The military had no civil or political support, and with there loss in the plebiscite, whose results they said they would respect, tarnished the military’s political leverage significantly. Thus, the democratic opposition in the form of the two major catch all political parties that have governed de jure since the 19 century presented a non threatening alternative despite their disloyal behavior before the authoritarian coup d’etat . As previously touched on, the opportunities presented by a hierarchical military favoring democratic transition is the possibility that the leading officers of the military-as-institution will come to the conclusion that the cost of non democratic rule is greater than the cost of extrication. With the main interest resting in a stable state that will in turn allow the military to become a functioning sector of the state apparatus. However, this does not preclude the possibility of non democratic prerogatives in the transfer. The party-military negotiation called the Naval Club Pact disqualified Wilson Ferreira of the Blanco party to be nominated as president, pushed for guarantees concerning their own autonomy, and the most damaging to democracy was the curtailment of human right trails for military officials. Elections were held in 1985 were Julio Maria Sanguinetti from the Colorado party became the first democratically elected candidate in the 1977 constitution. Because of strong public discontent with Military Amnesty granted during the transition, the curtailment was sent to a referendum in 1989, were it approved the amnesty and gained democratic legitimacy by 57%. It has to be stated that the majority of Uruguayan opposed the amnesty, however the fragile democratic government confronted a troubling decision. They could have breached the Naval Club Pact and tried military officer for heir human right offenses and risked military refusal and therefore a crisis in their own authority. Or they could have hastily granted them amnesty at the cost of lowered prestige in the new democracy. It is safe to assume that the electorate voted to let the amnesty law stand not because it was just but more so to avoid a crisis. By 1992 the left-wing Frente Amplio was integrated into Uruguayan politics without any other major party leaders deeming them unacceptable arriving to the quarrelsome argument that Uruguay became a consolidated democracy. Uruguay's economic development can be divided into two starkly contrasting periods. During the first period, when it earned its valued sobriquet â€Å"Switzerland of South America,† from the late 1800s until the 1950s, Uruguay achieved remarkable growth and a high standard of living. Expanding livestock exports; principally beef and wool accounted for its economic development. The advanced social welfare programs, which redistributed wealth from the livestock sector to the rest of the economy, raised the standard of living for the majority of the population and contributed to the development of new industries. When export earnings faltered in the 1950s, however, the fabric of Uruguay's economy had begun to unravel. The country entered a decades-long period of economic stagnation. It was during the administration of President Jorge Pacheco Areco (1967–72) that Uruguay entered a political and social crisis. As wool and beef demands declined in world markets, export earnings no longer kept pace with the need for greater social expenditures causing bad economic performance that lead to the bureaucratic-authoritarian take over of government. Although the old democratic regime was not able to lift economic prosperity neither was the military-as-government. Bad economic performance still plagued the nation throughout authoritarian rule. By 1980 the military had no agenda in combating the bad economic performance that helped unveil the inadequacies of the non democratic regime. In fact, economic performance has been in a decline since 1950’s until today. Although the legitimacy that the democratic system posses in Uruguay is strong, the capacity, or as Stepan and Linz say, the â€Å"efficacy† of the democratic system in resolving the stagnant economy is low. Thus, making Uruguay’s democracy risk-prone due to an unsolved economic performance. Since the economy has been the number one issue affecting Uruguayans since the end of their golden era in the early 19 century. A public opinion poll was asked to upper class respondents weather a political alternative from the authoritarian regime at the time would speed rather than slow economic recuperation. By a margin of 2 to 1 they believed it would, more surprisingly was a 7 to 1 response to the question if a new democratic regime would bring more tranquility and public order. In 1985, of the nine institutions evaluated in terms of trust, political parties ranked highest with a net score of 57 and the armed forces with a net score of negative 73. Only 5% viewed the military sympathetically while 78% viewed the military with antipathy. (Linz 153) In my studies concerning democratization never did democracy start with such rejection of the political role of the military from all class coalitions alike. During the first half on the 19th century the norm was a two party system similar to that of the United States in that there was â€Å"low fragmentation and low polarization. † (Linz 163) However, contrary to the American vetting process the Uruguayan had a peculiar electoral system known as the double simultaneous vote that allows all parties to run multiple candidate for the presidency. This did not present a problem until after the 1960’s when presidents routinely were elected with less than 25% of the vote because of the amount of candidates running. This creates party fragmentation that can hinder democracy. The fact that the old regime political structure remains untouched means that the opportunity for constitutional change was missed and this presents a potential democratic upheaval. Behaviorally, by 1968-73 political elites were at best semi-loyal to the democratic system that soon caused the authoritarian regime to take over government, and one thing that can be done from previous failures in democratic attempts is to learn from their missteps. Stepan and Linz clearly state that for the consolidation of democracy loyalty to the system as well as the perception that all other parties are loyal to the democratic process plays a crucial role. (Linz 156) By 1985 not one of the twelve major factions of the three leading parties perceived the other parties to be acting disloyal. As well as the mere fact that the once unacceptable left-wing party, Frente Amplio, held the mayoral position of Montevideo by 1989 and then the presidency by 2004 demonstrates the positive elite choices that contributed to democracy. Since Uruguay’s troublesome and long fought battle for independence in August 25, 1828 Uruguay did not encounter any â€Å"intermestic† stateness problems. As far as Washington relations to Latin America and in particular Uruguay, the United States continues to pursue hegemony over the region. The neo-liberal reforms in place in the region are bound by the restraints of the global market and for a country like Uruguay it is very difficult to compete with such superpowers. These reforms have often left the lower classes impoverish and desperate while the upper classes and Washington feed their gluttonous appetites. The civilian government in Uruguay has found it increasingly difficult to enforce these foreign economic influences that can potentially result in authoritarian means of accomplishment. As a member of MERCOSUR, Mercado Comun del Sur, Uruguay faced foreign political influences to liberalize its economy during the 1990s, as economic giants, and MERCOSUR partners Brazil and Argentina had done. This can be potentially devastating to democracy except that Uruguay in the 1980’s had a gross national product (GNP) per capita income of 2,820, higher than any of its MERCOSUR counterparts. However, we must remember that Uruguay has been experiencing a downward economic performance since the mid 1900’s and is a potential risk that needs to be addressed to preserve democracy. United States foreign policy in Uruguay and in the rest of Latin America has encouraged for the liberalization of markets. The side effect of neo-liberal reform is the zero-sum element that produces excessive amounts of losers. Essentially the contrary to what it is intended to produce. These superpower polices implemented creates few winners most of which are â€Å"elites with government connection [that] have been the primary beneficiaries of the sweeping economic transformation. † (Kingstone 196) This transcends business when the only means of preserving this market economy is through potential authoritarian means. The contentious claim that Uruguay is a consolidated democracy since 1992 is threefold, first, because of the reluctance to fix the already proven failed double simultaneous vote electoral system. Secondly, because of civil-military relations concerning human rights violation during authoritarian rule, although was legitimized by democratic referendum, but more importantly budgetary cuts that have been implemented as a result of bad economic performance. Finally, and most importantly, Uruguayans accept democracy as the most legitimate political game, but also recognize its incapacity to fix the troubling economy, producing this efficacy-legitimacy gap that can be potentially destructive for democracy. These three factors give Uruguay the title of a risk-prone democracy. Works Cited Kingstone, Peter R. , ed. Readings in Latin American Politics. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006. Linz, Juan, and Alfred Stepan. Problems of Democratic Transition and Consolidation. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996. O’Donnell, Guillermo. Modernization and Bureaucratic-Authoritarianism: Studies in South American Politics. Berkley: Institute of International Studies, University of California, 1973.

Displaced People

Myanmar is a country located in Central Asia that has experienced massive refugee migration in the last two decades. The displacement of Myanmar nationals, specifically the Rohingya Muslim group, is mainly due to three factors. Firstly, these residents have fled to other countries and even continents in order to avoid further conflict within the state (UNHCR 213). The nature of conflict is based on human rights abuses, while others are centered on religious differences.It should be understood that Myanmar has been mainly run by the military for at least 30 years and any rebellious acts against these forces immediately result in massive killings and other forms of persecution (UNHCR 59). In addition, the principles and beliefs of the Muslim Rohingya group are largely different from that of the military. Thus, to these refugees, migration appears to be the only solution for safety and ultimately, survival. There are reports that describe entire villages burned down by highly aggressive members of the military.Two of the most documented villages in Myanmar that have experienced massive migration are the Kanyi and Karen villages. The closest country to Myanmar is Thailand and thus this neighboring country has seen a great influx of refugees in the last few decades. Thailand has been very supportive to displaced Myanmar nationals as they fully assist in providing shelter to these helpless individuals. Unfortunately, refugees from Myanmar often reach Thailand in a very deplorable state, as they have traveled by foot or by sea for several days or weeks to simply cross the border.To date, there are approximately 200,000 Myanmar refugees who currently reside in camps around Thailand, with most of them having settled there almost 20 years ago. Other Myanmar refugees have moved to Bangladesh for temporary shelter, as there were particular groups in this country that has close linguistic ties with Myanmar. By the 1990’s, approximately 270,000 refugees have been docu mented to move out of the northern state of Rakhine in Myanmar and were directed to two Bangladeshi refugee camps, namely Nayapara and Kutupalong.The current government of Myanmar has earlier expressed their refusal to include the Rohingya group as their citizens and would only recognize this as an ethnic group. Fifteen years later, most of the Rohingya refugees have returned to Myanmar, yet a small portion of this population made up of around 26,000 refugees have continued to refuse to return to their home country. Since Bangladesh is also a developing country, the exile of these Myanmar citizens was not as simple as could be imagined.These refugees had to adapt to their new environment for the next 15 years and eventually, through the help of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, these individuals were transferred to Ontario, Canada. Other Myanmar refugees have also been reported in Malaysia, Indonesia, The Philippines and the United States. Another reason for displac ement of Rohingya Muslims is political, wherein this indigenous group was poorly treated simply for the reason that they have are considered to have no social status in Myanmar.The military government considers this group at stateless and that they have no capacity to pay for the issuance of Myanmar identification cards, which is the requirement for citizenship in the country. Another cause for displacement of Myanmar nationals is environmental disaster, such as the tsunami that was generated after an earthquake that occurred in the Pacific Ocean in 2004 (UNHCR 11).The strong waves emanating from the earthquake resulted in a tsunami that left Myanmar, India, Indonesia and other Southeast Asian countries under water for several months. Myanmar residents were thus pushed to move to higher ground and farther from the sea, in order to avoid any additional effects that may come after that strong earthquake. The tsunami of 2004 has resulted in the migration of the Myanmar nationals to nei ghboring countries such as Thailand, Bangladesh and Malaysia.

World Hunger And Poverty

The population of Brazil is growing rapidly. If its present rate of growth of 2. 8 percent continues, it will soon become the most populous country in the Western Hemisphere. Although Brazil is rich in natural resources and has significant economic growth, most of the benefits have gone to the rich. Forty percent of the population is under fifteen years of age, and unemployment is high. Population growth in the cities has made it difficult for the government to provide education, health care, water, sanitation, food, and housing for the poor. What steps if any, should be taken to provide for the poor and needy people in this country? The current economic crisis shaking the global economy has prompted many nations to review their economic policies to cope with the challenges of minimizing the impact of recession brought about by instability of securing markets, associated demand and questionable production supply and raw materials. As it stands, the world’s leading nations are in trouble of entering an even greater crisis brought about by. It must be understood that the resources that are provided are finite in relation to the needs and wants of human beings. This mismatch is a problem that must be dealt with immediately and effectively because if this is allowed to continue there will not be enough for everyone and the basic needs for survival cannot even be provided adequately. As the Brazilian model has shown, the country does not even have the basic provisions that are necessary for survival. The population is suffering and the government is unable to make any lasting progress because of the problems that it is facing. Key to finding a lasting solution is in understanding the root cause of the problem. A quick look at the world population reveals that while global economies are reeling from one economic uncertainty to the next, the need for goods and services of their respective populace are increasing as rapidly as their population increases and matures. Putting this in the context of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs an upward pressure is placed upon the demand for the basic necessities such as food and natural resources and the aspiration for self-actualization becomes more and more undeniable. This brings to mind the fact that as long as there is poverty, peace is hardly attainable; and if governments do not secure the basic needs, peace and stability may never become a reality (Issit 2). From this, it is clear that there is an urgent need for the governments all over the world to curb if not control the growth of their respective populations. The first reason is because of the enormous strain that this is putting on the world’s resources could trigger over inflation (Issit 2). This can be best explained by a simple supply and demand model. When there is a shortage of supply and the demand for the good remains constant. This simply means that there is less of the good that is available and the same number of people wants the good. This can be likened to a bidding war where there is only one item and people offer the seller as much as they can to be able to attain it thus raising the price and eliminating all those who do not have enough resources to compete. Conversely, when there is an oversupply and the demand remains constant, the equilibrium price falls. Analogous to this would be the growth of the population and the increase of demand with the supply remaining the same or even decreasing. As such, if the governments are unwilling or unable to deal with the problem there could be widespread hunger and not amount of welfare or government intervention would then be able to alleviate the situation for it would already be too late (Issit 2). This concern comes on the heels of the recent UNESCO report showing that while the world is recovering from crisis it still has not addressed the fact that more and more individuals are suffering from hunger and unemployment. The recent studies on population growth reveal that in the next couple of years the increase of human beings per country will exert so much pressure on the demand for natural resources and on the environment that it will cost more to feed each person than it ever has. With there being to emphasis on plans for rehabilitation or a move to more sustainable methods, it remains to be seen whether or not the world will be able to recover from the damage that is projected to be caused. The second reason is because of the fact that the population of the world is growing at a very rapid pace, most especially in the developing countries. As can be seen in the graph below, the exponential increase in population without the corresponding increase in food supply will lead to an imbalance. These are the problems affecting Brazil and in order to solve these, there is a need to implement programs that provide sustainable development. Brazil is currently one of the leaders in methane capture technology and biodiesel. Using this as a springboard, access to cheaper alternative fuels could allow the country to make significant progress in manufacturing. Having cheaper and cleaner energy can provide a two-fold revenue stream that can eventually be used to finance much needed infrastructure projects in the area. The carbon credits from the sale can be used to build schools and training centers while the cheaper energy can be used to boost certain industries within the Brazilian economy as well as bring in foreign companies and investors. Increasing the country’s exports and reducing the imports remains to be the key for Brazil. The highly competitive global market is in constant search for the lowest priced goods and at this point in time Brazil is able to offer that. It is imperative, therefore, that Brazil take advantage of this global sourcing trend and further build on the lead that it has there. Other economic avenues that Brazil could also explore would be in outsourcing. While most of the Asian countries have become highly competitive in this field (e. g. India and the Philippines), there is still a lot of potential in this market. The geographical location of Brazil makes it an ideal investment choice for American firms. One other factor that makes this a viable option for this country is its financial network with the United States makes it easier for capital to enter the country.

The Netflix Financial Statement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

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Gender Bias in Education - Essay Example This essay approves that in today’s world of visual communication a company uses the media as a tool in selling its products. Advertising agencies, as media options is often found to use the female image to sell off its clients products and to achieve rapid turnovers. The picture of women portrayed in the advertisement commercials have become of a stereotyped nature. It depicts each and every woman to be bold and extrovert in relation to the models portrayed with bold attires and appealing make up. Different commercials use women rather to fulfill the selling motives of the company’s products and services. It takes no concern while tarnishing the image of womanhood for which the need for censorship has risen as regards to advertisements. Further, women have started to occupy senior positions in the media houses. However, the unfortunate part of the game is that the qualitative approach at looking over the female work force has still not undergone any change. The gender bias is evident in the journalism profession as regards to the gender view of the sources gathering the information. This report makes a conclusion that women resorting to menial and low paid jobs are often the subjects of sexual exploitation. Even, the society as a whole views the women creed as items of sexual fervor. Thus commercials explicitly using the above female image do call for limited censorship. These practices must be curbed at the very outset so as to reduce the gender bias emanating from such and in bettering up the social environment.

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Urbanization - Essay Example This had led to sprouting of skyscrapers and tall building to house the many people residing in the towns and cities. Similarly, many people are building business empires to provide space for businesses and other economic activities. Therefore, urbanisation in the current world has been significantly improving. However, urbanisation has led to a number of adverse conditions and effects. One of the most dreaded effects of urbanisation is air pollution (Vallero, 2008:13). With an increase in the number of people, businesses, industries and other economic activities, the air becomes polluted. This creates an environment that is not conducive for human existence. There are different types of pollutants that enhance air pollution in the world. First, primary pollutants are directly linked to air pollution. These pollutants are directly involved in making the air impure after the missions. For example, sulphur dioxide is emitted into the air by factories in many urban places. This is considered as primary pollutant, since it is directly linked to polluting the air. Other primary pollutants include emissions from cars, automobiles, trains and offices (Sajimon, 2010:11). Secondly there are the secondary pollutants, which are instrumental in making the air impure. When the primary pollutants react together, they cause a tertiary form of pollution. For example, smog created after reaction of two or more primary pollutants results into secondary pollution. Both secondary and primary pollutants are a threat to life, as they affect the air in the atmosphere. A number of activities have been cited to be the major causes of pollution in the world. The first cause of pollution that is prevalent in the world is burning fossil fuels. In many parts of the world, different people use different sources of energy. In many instances, people burn coal, petroleum and other combustible fuels to produce energy. While burning

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Medicating Children - Essay Example there is a broad spectrum of behavioral problems in children as they are still undergoing psycho-emotional changes and coming to terms with their true identity. Some behavioral problems that are frequently observed in children include aggression towards animals or others, hostile behavior and anger issues for a period of at least six consecutive months (Rubin, 21). Hence; in some cases the use of medication may be completely unnecessary. There is a wide range of therapies that have been found to be effective in addressing behavioral problems and in some situations behavioral therapy has found to be equally effective with fewer side effects than use of medications. Therefore, parents, students, teachers and medical practitioners should work together towards devising interventions that do not include medication. Since these measures have been found to be equally effective, research should be dedicated towards improving these methods and creating new ones for therapeutic purposes. This paper will discuss the negative attributes of utilizing medications and the benefits that are attained from alternative therapy. The prevalence of behavior problems among children is substantial and under diagnosed as it is often mistaken for normal childhood mischief. However, the implications on the child’s life can be serious if the appropriate measures are not taken to help the child. Furthermore, these implications would also extend to problems within the community as the levels of crime may increase subsequently (Rubin, 21). Children with behavior problems may also become isolated making them prone suicide and depression. Therefore, intervention for these children is inevitable and this should be accompanied with early diagnosis and the appropriate treatment plans. The problem however lies in the side effects that have been discovered from using these drugs. The side effects have been found to supersede the benefits that are attained making their use questionable especially

In the near future,cities will need to become increasingly energy Essay

In the near future,cities will need to become increasingly energy efficient. Outline at least three strategies for energy efficiency and their advantages for modern cities.Refer to one or more cities - Essay Example It is leading the world by example in energy efficiency despite being the home of one of the best mass rail transit networks, holding dense urban population and a high-tech neon-lit lifestyle. Their wide usage of electric heat pumps (EHP) gives them the ability to maintain low carbon emission profile. Furthermore Tokyo also utilizes water and thermal energy using EHP, which is broadly accessible around Tokyo districts. If things go as planned, Tokyo could possibly be among world’s lowest carbon emitting cities. Tokyo’s energy efficient ways are different and somewhat better than western conventional simulations (Hitoshi & Yoshitaka, 2008. Page; 1). This small essay looks at various methods employed by Tokyo which is one of the most populated cities of the world. And looks more closely at some selected methods those stand out from the rest that Tokyo incorporates to save energy. First one is the reduced consumption of gasoline and reduction in greenhouse gases. The second factor for energy efficiency is Thermal Power production and the last factor in this essay is the Lifestyle of the people of Tokyo. Tokyo is a jam packed city and this is a compliment. The city is well equipped with railway transit system which considerably reduces fuel consumption; people either use public transport, ride a bicycle or simply walk to their work. Preference to buy a house near railway station is significantly high and apartment prices drop if they are located far away from such public facilities. Transit Oriented Development (TOD) is well on its way in Tokyo. Moreover the structure of buildings is such that it accommodates more people by occupying less space. Road network throughout Tokyo is dense and is made for the primary purpose of walking. People of Tokyo are accustomed to this style of life which enables them to efficiently use their energy resources (Hitoshi & Yoshitaka, 2008, page; 2). Other factor that contributes to energy efficiency is Tokyo Metropolitan

BUS LAW wk3 dq Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

BUS LAW wk3 dq - Assignment Example Rudy becomes irate and tells Marie she will be hearing from his attorney. Is there an enforceable contract in this situation? Identify and discuss the elements of a valid contract and predict whether Rudy can legally compel Marie to surrender the paint sprayer.   No, there was no enforceable contract since Marie and Rudy did not have a written agreement which transferred the paint sprayer to Rudy. An enforceable contract would require two important aspects that are associated with statue of frauds and concept of acceptance. Hence, in this case if one party only agreed to the contract without signing it, Rudy cannot legally compel Marie to give her paint sprayer. aâ‚ ¬? Felipe Underwood is a famous artist whose portraits are in demand nationwide. Doris Williams thinks it will give her prestige to own an Underwood portrait, so she pays Felipe $50,000 to paint her portrait from a photograph. Unknown to Doris, Felipe gives the photograph to Malina because he has accepted another com mission to paint the portrait of the president, and Malina completes the portrait. When Doris has a party to unveil her portrait, an art critic guest tells her that although the portrait is painted in the Underwood style, it is a fake. Dorisaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s attorney files suit against Felipe for breach of contract and for seeking specific performance.

Parents vs. the Media Essay Example for Free

Parents vs. the Media Essay Due to childrens fascinations with violence, recent massacres at schools have been linked to media influence. Often troubled children use the news to gain attention. Many of the children committing these crimes are children that are being teased in school. Most of the children involved in school shootings have never had a past criminal record. Psychologists believe that these troubled children are using the media merely because no one else will listen to their problems. The reoccurrence of copycat crimes is on the rise, and it seems at times we overestimate how much violence is really occurring. The constant struggle between the media and those who feel it is saturated with violence continues on. However, it is difficult to determine whether there is a strong correlation between the two. Parents are uniting around the country to form groups against violence in the media. They believe that the violence in entertainment and the media is to blame for the copycat syndrome. Psychologists believe that children are vulnerable to feelings of psychological injury. Therefore, when children are being tormented they feel a sense of rage and worthlessness. This feeling causes them to look upon society as an enemy. For instance, The Trenchcoat Mafia was a group of teenagers that formed a violent gang, and turned against killed their classmates after seeing the movie Basketball Diaries. They felt isolated from the rest of the school, and believed the only way to gain popularity was through displaying acts of violence. This type of behavior has drastically increased and is seen all over the media. Parents blame the media for over-exposure of school violence. The parents see the media lacking in follow-up stories. These stories should show how it affected the lives of the killers, the victims and their families. Furthermore, the follow-up stories can present a better understanding of the consequences. Rather, the news seems to be showing their viewers almost how to carry out such crimes. On the other hand, the media is simply providing the public with current events. The media reports both positive and negative events. The news provides coverage on the issues that are most appealing to the public. For example, the first school shooting at Columbine began a major controversy. The public became extremely concerned, and safety in schools became a hot topic. The media simply reports on these events, they are not to be held responsible for violent occurrences. Their responsibility is to give coverage on events that affect our society as a whole. Parents should not view the media negatively, but see it as a source of information. Such information can give parents reasons for teaching their children morals. Children that come from broken homes may have been exposed to violence, and use this as a solution to their problems. Parents of these children should provide special psychiatric help to prevent them from becoming violent. If teachers are aware a students extreme misconduct, they should inform the childs parents as well as the schools counselors. Therefore, the school can solve the problem before it gets out of hand. Different approaches have been used to prevent these shootings from reoccurring. The most obvious solution has been increasing the security in schools, such as metal detectors and surveillance cameras. Some schools are simply educating their students about respecting each other, and have seen an improvement in the conduct of the students. When these issues improve, a healthier school will prevail.

Environmental Impact Of Plastic Bags

Environmental Impact Of Plastic Bags Plastic bags are a true menace to our ecosystems and our waste diversion goals. Barely recyclable, almost all of the 400 plastic bags used per second in the state are discarded. Once discarded, they either enter our landfills or our marine ecosystem. People think of plastic bags as being free. Instead, they actually cost taxpayers millions every year. In San Francisco alone, City officials estimate that they spend $8.5 million annually to deal with plastic bag litter. That equates to around 17 cents for every bag distributed in the city. Additionally: It costs the state $25 million annually to manage plastic bag pollution. Public agencies in California spend in excess of $303 million annually in litter abatement. Southern California cities have spent in excess of $1.7 billion in meeting Total Maximum Daily Loads for trashed in impaired waterways. Cities and recyclers spend incalculable amounts removing plastic bags from their recyclables stream, where they jam machinery and add to the manual labor costs of recycling. At least 267 species have been scientifically documented to be adversely affected by plastic marine debris and it is estimated to kill over 100,000 marine mammals and turtles each year. Plastic bags are considered especially dangerous to sea turtles, who may mistake them for jellyfish, a main food source. 86% of all known species of sea turtles have had reported problems of entanglement or ingestion of marine debris. Plastic bags that enter our marine environment eventually break down into small fragments. Plastic bags, which are made from natural gas or oil, consume an energy equivalent of thousands of barrels of oil a day just to meet Californias consumption. Numerous recent international, national, state and local reports have called for the banning or drastic reduction of plastic bags due to their environmental damage. Achim Steiner, head of the UN Environmental Program, recently said there is simply zero justification for manufacturing [plastic bags] any more, anywhere. Home / Plastic Bags / Why Plastic Bags are a Problem Why Plastic Bags are a Problem Plastic bags are popular with consumers and retailers as they are a functional, lightweight, strong, cheap, and hygienic way to transport food and other products. Approximately 6.9 billion plastic bags are consumed annually in Australia: 6 billion of these are high density polyethylene (HDPE), such as supermarket singlet bags or supermarket checkout bags. 0.9 billion are low density polyethylene (LDPE), such as boutique bags. 67% of HDPE 25% of LDPE bags are imported with the remainder locally produced. There are two major environmental problems associated with our use of plastic bags. Firstly, plastic bags are one of the most damaging forms of litter. At least 80 million plastic bags end up as litter on our beaches, streets and parks each year While they are estimated to only be 2% of the litter stream, they have a significant environmental impact because they can take up to 1,000 years to break down. Their persistence in the environment means that they can entangle and harm marine life and other animals. In fact, the World Wide Fund for Nature estimates that more than 100,000 whales, seals, turtles, and birds die every year as a result of plastic bags. For example, on 24 August 2000, a Brydes whale died in Trinity Bay, 2 km from central Cairns. An autopsy found that the whales stomach was tightly packed with plastic, including supermarket bags, food packages, bait bags, three large sheets of plastic, and fragments of garbage bags. There was no food in its stomach. When the dead animal decays, the plastic bags are freed to be re-ingested by other animals in years to come. On land, plastic bag litter can block drains and trap birds. They also kill livestock. One farmer near Mudgee NSW, carried out an autopsy on a dead calf and found 8 plastic bags in its stomach. The loss of this calf cost the farmer around $500. Cleaning up this litter is expensive. Australian local and state governments spend over $200 million a year picking up litter (all forms). Source: Federal Department of Environment HYPERLINK http://www.deh.gov.au/industry/waste/plastic-bags/HYPERLINK http://www.deh.gov.au/industry/waste/plastic-bags/Heritage website Secondly, the plastic shopping bag, a single use item, is a symbol of a wasteful society: 20 million Australians used 6.7 billion plastic checkout bags this year (down from 6.9 billion the previous year). Thats nearly 1 plastic bag per person per day or 345 bags per person per year. A persons use of a plastic checkout bag can be counted in minutes however long it takes to get from the shops to their homes. The amount of petroleum used to make one plastic bag would drive a car about 115 metres. The 6.9 billion plastic checkout bags we use every year is enough to drive a car 800 million kilometres or nearly 20,000 times around the world i.e. 4 round trips to the Sun. Less than 3% of Australias plastic bags are currently being recycled, despite recycling facilities being available at major supermarkets. Only an estimated 19% of the 3.7 billion plastic supermarket shopping bags handed out in Australia every year, are being reused by households as kitchen bin liners. In many council areas, plastic bags are the single main contaminant of kerbside recycling. Plastic bags are not free to consumers they are actually adding an estimated $173 million a year to Australias grocery bills. Source: Planet Ark While these facts paint a grim picture, an October 2003 Roy Morgan study showed that 87% of Australians were concerned about the impact plastic bags have on the environment. In addition, action is being taken to reduce the impact of plastic bags, for example: Coles Bay in Tasmania have successfully banned plastic checkout bags in all their retail stores. Under an agreement between the Federal Government and the Australian Retailers Association (ARA), retailers have until December 2004 to reduce their consumption of lightweight single use plastic checkout bags by 25%. This rises to 50% by December 2005. More and more people around the world are becoming aware of the environmental issues surrounding plastic bags. Considering their somewhat placid appearance, the impact of plastic bags on the environment can be devastating. Here are some facts about the environmental impact of plastic bags: Plastic bags cause over 100,000 sea turtle and other marine animal deaths every year when animals mistaken them for food The manufacture of plastic bags add tonnes of carbon emissions into the air annually In the UK, banning plastic bags would be the equivalent of taking 18,000 cars off the roads each year Between 500 billion and 1 trillion plastic bags are used worldwide each year Approximately 60 100 million barrels of oil are required to make the worlds plastic bags each year Most plastic bags take over 400 years to biodegrade. Some figures indicate that plastic bags could take over 1000 years to break down. (I guess nobody will live long enough to find out!). This means not one plastic bag has ever naturally biodegraded. China uses around 3 billion plastic bags each day! In the UK, each person uses around 220 plastic bags each year Around 500,000 plastic bags are collected during Clean Up Australia Day each year. Clean Up Australia Day is a nationwide initiative to get as many members of the public to get out and pick up litter from their local areas. Unfortunately, each year in Australia approximately 50 million plastic bags end up as litter. Fortunately, some governments around the world are taking the initiative to deal with the environmental impact of plastic bags by either banning plastic bags or discouraging their usage. Under current city law, large supermarkets and chain drugstores, such as Safeway and Walgreens, only may provide three kinds of bags to customers at the checkout stand: recyclable paper bags, compostable plastic bags and reusable bags. All single-use disposable bags are banned under the old law. In the new law, Mirkarimi crafted a few exemptions, which include using plastic bags for produce or for garments. He is contemplating a companion piece to his legislation that would impose a 10-cent charge for paper bags. Currently, retailers dont charge for paper bags in San Francisco, though some, such as Whole Foods and Rainbow Grocery, give customers credit for using their own bags. Mirkarimi estimates that broadening the law would remove tens of millions more bags from the environment. Plastic bags are a clear example of excess run amok, he said. People dont necessarily realize the composition of the plastic bag or the consequences of the plastic bag. Theyre omnipresent. Shari Jackson, director of the Progressive Bag Affiliates of the American Plastics Council, said Mirkarimis proposed legislation would have unintended consequences, chiefly increasing the use of paper bags, which have their own environmental problems, and taking away jobs of people who manufacture the plastic bags

Role Of The Registered Nurse

Role Of The Registered Nurse Registered Nurses (RNs) provide many different services to health care consumers in a variety of settings. Some things nurses do on a daily basis offer a unique contribution to health care, whereas others can be done by other health team members. Professional nursing offers a specialized service to society. Professional nurses use a broad approach when considering holistic health need of the people they serve. Because of the broad nature of the discipline, nurses assume multiple roles while meeting health care needs of clients. For this reason, this paper would be discussing the role of the registered nurse in health care delivery. We would also discuss the professional standard and expectations for registered nurse. The quality assurance and confidentiality issues would then be discussed. In addition, this paper would explore the responsibility of the employers in hiring new health care staff. This would then include the employers expectation regarding competencies. Finally, a conclusion would be provided in order to highlight important details discussed in the paper. Different Roles of the Registered Nurse Primary Caregiver As a caregiver, the nurse practices nursing as a science. The nurse provides intervention to meet physical, psychosocial, spiritual, and environmental needs of patients and families using the nursing process and critical thinking skills. The nurse as a caregiver is skilled and empathetic, knowledgeable and caring. RNs provide direct, hands on care to patients in all health care agencies and settings. They also take an active role in illness prevention and health promotion and maintenance (Chitty, 2005; Australian Nursing and Midwifery Council, 2006; Masters, 2009). Nurse Leader/Coordinator The Nurse Coordinator role is unique. It is a vital part of the multidisciplinary care team for patients and contributes to improved patient outcomes. The core functions of the Nurse Coordinator role centre around the patients physical and psychosocial assessment, care coordination, education and support, from coordinating the patients diagnostic work-up tests to assisting them to navigate the hospital system, and referring them to allied health professionals. The Coordinator is an important resource for the patient and family and acts as a focal point of contact throughout their time in the hospital (ANMC, 2006; Hood Leddy, 2006). Incorporated in this advanced practice role, the Nurse Coordinator is responsible for maintaining clinical competencies and participating in those activities that contribute to the ongoing development of self and other health care professionals. The Nurse Coordinator contributes to the educational needs of clinical nurses and participates in both informal and formal education programs at a national and international level (ANMC, 2006; Hood Leddy, 2006). Patient Advocate The purpose of this role is to respect patient decisions and boost patient autonomy. Patient advocacy includes a therapeutic nurse-patient relationship to secure self-determination, protections of patients right and acting as an intermediary between patients and their significant others and healthcare providers (Blais et al., cited in Masters, 2009). A patient advocate is mainly concerned with empowering the patient through the nurse-patient relationship. The nurse represents the interests of the patient who has needs that are unmet and are likely to remain unmet without the nurses special intervention. The professional nurse speaks for the patients interest as if the patients interests were the nurses own (Chitty, 2005; ANMC, 2006; MacDonald, 2006: Masters, 2009). Nurse Educator Nurse educators teach patients and families, the community, other health care team members, students and businesses. In hospital settings as patient and family educators, nurses provide information about illnesses and teach about medications, treatments and rehabilitation needs. They also help patients understand how to deal with the life changes necessitated by chronic illnesses and teach how to adapt care to the home setting when that is required (Chitty, 2005; ANMC, 2006). Nurse as Collaborator Collaboration is important in professional nursing practice as a way to improve patient outcomes. Multidisciplinary teams require collaborative practice, and nurses play a key role as both team members and team leaders. To fulfill a collaborative role, nurses need to assume accountability and increased authority in practice areas. Collaboration requires that nurses understand and appreciate what other health professionals have to offer. They must also be able to interpret to others the nursing needs of patients. Collaboration with patients and families is also essential. Involving patients and their families in the plan of care from the beginning is the best way to ensure their cooperation, enthusiasm and willingness to work toward the best patient outcome (Chitty, 2005; ANMC, 2006). Nurse Practitioner A nurse practitioner is a registered nurse educated and authorized to function autonomously and collaboratively in an advanced and extended clinical role. The nurse practitioner role includes assessment and management of clients using nursing knowledge and skills and may include but is not limited to, the direct referral of patients to other health care professionals, prescribing medications and ordering diagnostic investigations. The nurse practitioner role is grounded in the nursing professions values, knowledge, theories and practice and provides innovative and flexible health care delivery that complements other health care providers. The scope of practice of the nurse practitioner is determined by the context in which the nurse practitioner is authorized to practice. (ANMC, 2006; Carryer, Gardner, G., Dunn, Gardner, A., 2007). Professional Standards and Expectations for Registered Nurses Standards within a professional practice are known as statements of an authoritative nature through which the profession to which they relate to provide a unique description of the responsibilities of all practitioners within that profession (Campbell Mackay, 2001). Further, the standards and expectations are in place to ensure that all practitioners are also accountable for the work and duties they perform. When it comes to nursing, this is done in order to create boundaries and to provide a level of care that is equitable for all patients. Further, the priorities and values of nurses must be common to each nurse within the profession, and the standards and expectations outlines this as such (Campbell Mackay, 2001; Pearson, Fitzgerald, Wash, Borbasi, 2002; American Association of Critical-Care Nurses, 2003; ANMC, 2006, 2008; Schiemann, 2007; Furaker, 2008). While standards will vary in specifics across nursing specializations, and across countries, there is a general mindset as to what is expected of nurses in terms of expectations and standards. They are intended to provide daily guidance to nurses as they practice. Accountability, ethics, competence, knowledge, and the practical application of knowledge are key elements that are common to all nursing standards and expectations (Campbell Mackay, 2001; Pearson, et al., 2002; AACN, 2003; ANMC, 2006, 2008; Schiemann, 2007; Furaker, 2008 ). Nurses are required to be held accountable for every action that they take on a daily basis. This requires constant documentation of every element of their daily job, and following a chain of command within their select position. They are also required to maintain ethical standards within their practice, and to follow all ethical guidelines as set forth by their governing body of nursing. Furthermore, nurses are expected to have a set amount of knowledge before they enter the field of practitioner work, and with that knowledge set come an expectation of competence and practical application. Nurses are expected to be competent in their knowledge base such that they know and understand what they are supposed to in the medical field, and also, are supposed to know how to apply that knowledge in a practical manner (Campbell Mackay, 2001; Pearson, et al., 2002; AACN, 2003; ANMC, 2006, 2008). Quality Assurance Quality Assurance is another issue that is common across all standards and expectations for nurses. Through this, quality assurance standards ensure that nurses are practicing with quality efforts which in itself promote their competence and practical applications. This will require continuous education on the part of the individual nurse, as quality assurance standards across many medical centers, cities, and countries are in a constant state of evolution. It is the responsibility of the nurse practitioner to understand their quality assurance expectations at all times (Ellis Hartley, 2004; Hood Leddy, 2006). Confidentiality Confidentiality is another element of most standards and expectations for nurses. This is a requirement that nurses do not have an option to practice or not. Legislation and privacy concerns are in effect all across the globe, and nurses have the expectation that they will maintain confidential and private information for their patients within the patient doctor realm. Patients use medical services under the understanding that their information and medical records are not being seen by the wrong person, or found in the wrong hands, and because nurses have the most contact between patient and doctor, these are standards of paramount significance to the nursing profession (Deshefy-Longhi, Dixon, Olsen, Grey, 2004, Ellis Hartley, 2004; Chitty, 2005; ANMC, 2006, 2008; Masters, 2009). Employers Responsibility in Hiring New Health Care Staff The employer of an organization has an inherent duty to employ competent staff. This is not only cost-effective on the part of the employer but also guarantee in some ways that the products and services provided by the organization are competently given to the end-users. In the context of health care employees, such as the RNs there is an accreditation scheme to ensure the capacity of the RNs to carry out his/her job. In this manner, the employers responsibility to screen the professional capacity of the RN is significantly simplified. Seeking only the certification of the newly hired RN will guarantee that he/she has satisfied the minimum requirements of training, licensure, and communication proficiency to carry out his/her role as health professional. Having the employer check the credentials of the newly hired RN as well as his/her certification with authorities will allow the employer to measure the RN capability to perform his/her jobs in the organization (Ellis Hartley, 2004; Hart, Olson Fredrickson, McGovern, 2006). Employers Expectations Regarding Competencies Registered nurses should appraise their strengths, weaknesses and preferences. The RNs must ensure that there is a good match between their abilities and employers expectations. Ellis and Hartley (as cited in Chitty, 2005) suggest that RNs examine themselves in seven areas in which employers have expectations. Theoretical knowledge should be adequate to provide basic patient care and to make clinical judgments. Employers expect RN to be able to recognize the early signs and symptoms of patient problems, such as an allergic reaction to a blood transfusion, and take the appropriate nursing action, that is, discontinue the transfusion. They are expected to know potential problems related to various patients conditions. (p. 212) The ability to use the nursing process systematically as a means of planning care is important. Employers evaluate nurses understanding of the phases of the process: assessment, analysis, nursing diagnosis/outcome identification, planning, intervention and evaluation. They expect nurses to ensure that all elements of a nursing care plan are used in delivering nursing care and that there is documentation in the patients record to that effect. (p. 213) Self-awareness is critically important. Employers ask prospective employees to identify their own strengths and weaknesses. They need to know that new nurses are willing to ask for help and recognize their limitations. New graduates who are unable or unwilling to request for help pose a risk to patients-a risk that employers are unwilling to accept. (p. 213) Documentation ability is an increasingly important skill that employers value. Employers expect RN to recognize what patient data should be charted and to know that all nursing care should be entered in patient records. (p. 213) Work ethic is another area in which employers are vitally interested. Work ethic means that prospective RN employees understand what is expected of them and are committed to providing it. Employers expect new graduates to recognize that the most desirable positions and work hours do not usually go to entry-level workers in any field. In the nursing profession, a nurse cannot leave work until patient care responsibilities have been turned over to a qualified replacement; therefore, being late to work or â€Å"calling in sick â€Å" when not genuinely incapacitated are luxuries professional nurses cannot afford. (p. 213) Skill proficiency of new graduates varies widely, and employers are aware of this. Most large facilities now provide fairly lengthy orientation periods, during which each nurses skills are appraised and opportunities are provided to practice new procedures. In general, smaller and rural facilities have less formalized orientation programs, and earlier independent functioning is expected. (p. 213) Speed of functioning is another area in which new nurses vary widely. By the end of a well-planned orientation period, the new graduate should be able to manage the average patient load without too much difficulty. Time management is a skill that is closely related to speed of functioning. The ability to organize and prioritize nursing care for a group of patients is the key to good time management. (p. 214) Conclusion Through time nurses have advanced their roles into various spheres of practice, and this progression seems set to continue as healthcare continues to evolve. Whatever the reason, central to role extension should be the delivery of safe care to all patients, with the support of the multi- disciplinary team to ensure good standards of patient care. Nurses should ensure that each activity performed when advancing a role should complement the current job, one which they are competent in. Nurses should guard themselves against litigation and carefully consider what they really want to do, as each practitioner is accountable for their actions and should be aware of the legal implications of practice within the process of advancing professional practice. Reference American Association of Critical-Care Nurses. (2003). Safeguarding the Patient and the Profession: The Value of Critical Care Nurse Certification. Retrieved May 5, 2010 from http://0-web.ebscohost.com.library.vu.edu.au/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=4hid=11sid=a5993293-dc81-4e26-93ec-1fec6430d3b1%40sessionmgr4 Australian Nursing and Midwifery Council. (2008). Code of Professional Conduct for Nurses in Australia. Retrieved May 5, 2010 from http://www.anmc.org.au/userfiles/file/New%20Code%20of%20Professional%20Conduct%20for%20Nurses%20August%202008(1).pdf Australian Nursing and Midwifery Council. (2006). National Competency Standards for the Registered Nurse. Retrieved May 5, 2010 from http://www.anmc.org.au/userfiles/file/RN%20Competency%20Standards%20August%202008%20(new%20format).pdf Campbell, B., Mackay, G. (2001). Continuing Competence: An Ontario Nursing Regulatory Program That Supports Nurses and Employers. Nursing Administration Quarterly, 25(2), 22-30 Retrieved from http://0-web.ebscohost.com.library.vu.edu.au/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=4hid=11sid=42ae05a5-ab95-46df-976e-9c3eaa7b6092%40sessionmgr12 Carryer, J., Gardner, G., Dunn, S., Gardner, A. (2007). The core role of the nurse practitioner: practice, professionalism and clinical leadership. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 1818-1825. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2702.2006.01823.x Chitty, K. K. (2005). Professional Nursing: Concepts Challenges(4th ed.). St Louis, Missouri: Elsevier Saunders Deshefy-Longhi, T., Dixon, J. K., Olsen, D., Grey, M. (2004). Privacy and Confidentiality Issues in Primary Care: Views of Advanced Practice Nurses and their Patients. Nursing Ethic, 11(4), 378-394. doi: 10.1191/0969733004ne710oa Ellis, J., R, Hartley, C., L. (2004). Nursing in Todays World: Trends Issues Management (8th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams Wilkins Furaker, C. (2008). Registered Nurses views on their professional role. Journal of Nursing Management, 16, 933-941. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2834.2008.0872.x Hart, P. A., Olson, D. K., Fredrickson, A. L., McGovern, P. (2006). Competencies Most Valued by employers-Implications for Masters-Prepared Occupational Health Nurses. Business and Leadership, 54, (7), 327-335. Retrieved from http://0-web.ebscohost.com.library.vu.edu.au/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=7hid=11sid=42ae05a5-ab95-46df-976e-9c3eaa7b6092%40sessionmgr12 Hood, L. J., Leddy, S. K., (2006). Leddy Peppers: Conceptual Bases of Professional Nursing(6th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams Wilkins MacDonald, H. (2006). Relational ethics and advocacy in nursing: literature review. Journal of Advance Nursing, 57(2), 119-126. doi. 10.1111/j.1365-2648.2006.04063.x Masters, K. (2009). Role Development in Professional Nursing Practice (6th ed.). Sudbury MA: Jones And Bartlett Publishers Pearcey, P. (2008). Nursing Roles: Shifting roles in nursing does role extension require role abdication? Journal of Clinical Nursing, 17, 1320-1326. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2702.2007.02135.x Pearson, A., Fitzgerald, M., Walsh, K., Borbasi, S. (2002). Continuing competence and the regulation of nursing practice. Journal of Nursing Management, 10, 357-364. Retrived from http://0-web.ebscohost.com.library.vu.edu.au/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=4hid=10sid=1e5abd6f-0fce-4667-af73-c2cfe7c90ba5%40sessionmgr11 Schiemann, D. (2007). Expert Standards in Nursing as an Instrument for Evidence-based Nursing Practice. Journal of Nursing Care Quality,22(2), 172- 179. Retrived from http://0-web.ebscohost.com.library.vu.edu.au/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=7hid=10sid=1e5abd6f-0fce-4667-af73-c2cfe7c90ba5%40sessionmgr11

Simon as Silent Prophet of Lord Of The Flies Essay -- Lord Flies Essay

Simon as Silent Prophet of Lord Of The Flies  Ã‚        Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The role of the prophet changes with the society in which he lives. In Modern America, a prophet is a visionary, telling his people what they can become; in Biblical times, a prophet was the voice of God, telling his people what they had to become to fulfill their covenant with God. In William Golding's Lord of the Flies, though, the prophet told his people nothing; he realized what they had already become, and he dared not tell them because he knew they would turn against him. Simon lived in knowledge and fear because his society denied the role of the prophet, and he did not fight it because he wanted so much to be part of that society.    The basic premise of Lord of the Flies is that humans naturally live in savagery and ignorance, without any idea of how to live together. It is the story of boys stranded on an island who must develop a government to survive. Every detail of the story holds symbolism. For example, each character represents an aspect of society : those who represent human nature survive, and those who are self-actualized--the scientists, the religious, the leaders--all die. The most terrifying death is that of Simon, who symbolizes the eyes of a blindfolded and stumbling people. He alone saw that the jungle, which represented freedom and the lack of civilization, was not to be feared but to be understood; he alone knew that the mythical Beast of the island, feared by all the boys, was in fact their own inherent savagery. (The title, Lord of the Flies, is in fact a translation of "Beelzebub," a name of the devil in the Judeo-Christian tradition).    In a vision, the Beast told Simon: "Fancy thinking the Beast was something you could hu... ... his fear, his compatriots' savagery justifies that weakness. If his flaw was his desire to be accepted, then he was no different from any of the other boys. Simon was just as human as all the children on the island, abandoned to "the end of innocence, the darkness of man's heart" (202). If the truth died with Simon, it died because human nature hates prophets, because humans naturally live in savagery and ignorance.    Works Cited Epstein, E.L. "Note on Lord of the Flies." Lord of the Flies. U.S.A.: Puntnum Publishing Group, 1954. Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. U.S.A.: Puntnum Publishing Group, 1954. Golding, William. "Lord of the Flies as Fable." Readings on Lord of the Flies. Ed. Bruno Leone. Sand Diego: Green Haven Press, 1997. Riley, Carolyn, ed.   Vol. 1 of Contemporary Literary Criticism. Detroit: Gale Research Company, 1973.   

Technology - NEXRAD Radar :: Exploratory Essays Research Papers

NEXRAD Radar    In the 1950's, the government appropriated money for the building of  Ã‚  Ã‚   weather radar (also known as WSR-57) stations at strategic locations,  Ã‚   usually airports, all across the U.S. Those performed well for the era in which they were used. In the 1990's, new technology was updating  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   everything except weather radar. While Pentium-run computers were plotting scientist's data on color monitors, meteorologists were guessing the movement of thunderstorms on monochrome screens. Because the radar needed to be updated, the Federal Airline Administration and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration pulled together money to create a better radar system. This new radar was called NEXRAD (Next Generation Weather Radar) or WSR-88D. Because of this change in technology, more aspects of the weather can be seen and analyzed that in turn save lives. NEXRAD technology is amazing. It can show the motion of rain, sleet, hail and even dust or insects moving towards or away from the radar's antenna. It can detect strong changes in wind direction inside a thunderstorm that could indicate the beginning of tornadic activity. The WSR-57 could never do this. The 88D can track precipitation totals over various periods of time and locations and can track wind speed and direction at various altitudes. The new radar has improved sensitivity and resolution. It can make the invisible wind of a storm visible even if there is no precipitation present. The old radar never had these capabilities and also left 33% of all tornadoes unnoticed. Now that NEXRAD is in place, the percentage has dropped to 13% nationally. Also, offices with WSR-88D radar are issuing fewer severe thunderstorm and tornado warnings that turn out to be false alarms. In Norman, Oklahoma, the false alarm rate dropped from 80% in the 1980's to 18% in 1992 (Williams 43 -46). To understand how NEXRAD receives its images, it is important to know how NEXRAD works. First, it sends radio waves into the surrounding area. Once the radio waves hit something, they bounce back. If precipitation is moving towards the station, it increases the radio waves' frequency. If the wind is blowing precipitation away from the station, the frequency of reflected radio waves is lowered. Doppler radar (NEXRAD) detects these frequency changes and uses them to show wind and precipitation patterns (Williams 176-179). Technology - NEXRAD Radar :: Exploratory Essays Research Papers NEXRAD Radar    In the 1950's, the government appropriated money for the building of  Ã‚  Ã‚   weather radar (also known as WSR-57) stations at strategic locations,  Ã‚   usually airports, all across the U.S. Those performed well for the era in which they were used. In the 1990's, new technology was updating  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   everything except weather radar. While Pentium-run computers were plotting scientist's data on color monitors, meteorologists were guessing the movement of thunderstorms on monochrome screens. Because the radar needed to be updated, the Federal Airline Administration and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration pulled together money to create a better radar system. This new radar was called NEXRAD (Next Generation Weather Radar) or WSR-88D. Because of this change in technology, more aspects of the weather can be seen and analyzed that in turn save lives. NEXRAD technology is amazing. It can show the motion of rain, sleet, hail and even dust or insects moving towards or away from the radar's antenna. It can detect strong changes in wind direction inside a thunderstorm that could indicate the beginning of tornadic activity. The WSR-57 could never do this. The 88D can track precipitation totals over various periods of time and locations and can track wind speed and direction at various altitudes. The new radar has improved sensitivity and resolution. It can make the invisible wind of a storm visible even if there is no precipitation present. The old radar never had these capabilities and also left 33% of all tornadoes unnoticed. Now that NEXRAD is in place, the percentage has dropped to 13% nationally. Also, offices with WSR-88D radar are issuing fewer severe thunderstorm and tornado warnings that turn out to be false alarms. In Norman, Oklahoma, the false alarm rate dropped from 80% in the 1980's to 18% in 1992 (Williams 43 -46). To understand how NEXRAD receives its images, it is important to know how NEXRAD works. First, it sends radio waves into the surrounding area. Once the radio waves hit something, they bounce back. If precipitation is moving towards the station, it increases the radio waves' frequency. If the wind is blowing precipitation away from the station, the frequency of reflected radio waves is lowered. Doppler radar (NEXRAD) detects these frequency changes and uses them to show wind and precipitation patterns (Williams 176-179).

What Was Revolutionary About the French Revolution

What was revolutionary about the French Revolution? Since the beginning of history itself, several and numerous people, inventions, ideologies or behaviours were immediately attached to a particular and self-explanatory concept such as revolutionary. As the time goes by its outreaching characteristics and meaning remains the same. A revolutionary is an individual who either actively participates in or advocates revolution.When used as an adjective, the term revolutionary refers to something that has a major, abrupt impact on society or on some aspect of human endeavour. The tern – both as a noun and adjective – is usually applied to the field of politics and is occasionally used in the context of science, invention or art. [1] One of the themes in modern European history which can be directly linked with this concept is the French Revolution.The main interrogation remains in â€Å"What was revolutionary about the French Revolution? † In order to answer to this qu estion it is necessary to acknowledge the reasons or origins of the revolution, which initiated or motivated this event and finally, which was the impact and importance of it. The French Revolution is considered one of the greatest social and political upheavals in European History and its tremors can still occasionally be felt.In the popular imagination, the magical figure 1789 conjures up conflicting images of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity alongside the â€Å"tricoteuse† and the â€Å"guillotine†, of a revolution that offered individual choice and freedom, but that was transformed first into terror and subsequently the caesarism of napoleon. [2] These events continue to fascinate historians and the causes and consequences of the French Revolution continue to be a rich source of debate. The revolution started in 1789 and the exact date of its end it is still uncertain but studies believe it lasted almost ten years. 3]A series of political and social crises led up t o it: widespread of popular discontent because of poverty which was highly influenced by the taxation system implement by the king Louis XVI in order to maintain his own luxurious and extravagant lifestyle, the wave of unemployment, the growth of the bourgeoisie , an agricultural crisis which left the population in a state of hunger and resentment, the royal treasure’s state became desperate because of help given to The American revolt against Britain which lead to drastic solutions such as educing the privileges of the aristocracy and clergy producing revolt on their part among several other origins.The king offered no lead and the result was a government trapped by the Estates General. The political initiative was not so much lost as given away, and it was considered the perfect opportunity to ambitious or radical deputies such as Mirabeau, Lafayette, Sieyes and Le Chapelier to come to the front. [4] Under their influence the third estate, representing a minimum of 98 per c ent of the population, declared itself the National Assembly on the 17th of June. 5] Due to this action, the deputies broke the umbilical cord connecting them to the society of orders marking the birth of the sovereign nation and the death of the old regime. The revolution had begun officially. By the end of June, effective power was draining away from the monarchy and the political failing of Louis XVI (who reigned from 1774-92) was observed once more after the violence in the capital culminating in the storming of the Bastille on the July 14th.The fall of the Bastille was nevertheless highly noteworthy equally as a political Symbol and as a result of the municipal revolutions that followed. In Paris, order was restored by the newly created National Guard, headed by another ambitious aristocrat – Lafayette – , and effective power passed into the hands of the elected municipality (leaving royal officials with little more than their titles). Throughout France, the conve ntional power of governors, parliaments and intendants dissolved.Between the 14th of July and the formal promulgation of a new constitution in September 1791 France was witness to an unprecedented wave of reform. As for Louis XVI, he was largely excluded from the process of national restoration and it symbolized one of the revolution’s most striking achievements: the transfer of sovereignty from the king to the National Assembly. [6] As calm was being restored in Paris, information regarding rural revolution began to reach the city.The peasantry proved itself to be much more persistent and determined than the revolutionary politicians and by July 1793 had won a complete victory as seigneurialism and tithes disappeared from the French countryside forever. The night of 4th of August was considered essential for the upcoming path of reform in a way that it removed the particularist obstacles and corporate mentality that had so often impeded the monarchy. Nevertheless, it was the Declaration of the rights of man, adopted by the National Assembly on 26 ofAugust, which most clearly indicated the new philosophy of government. Written by Lafayette, the Declaration was a manifesto for liberal revolution. Men were assured equal in rights and such fundamental values as freedom of speech and of the press, religious toleration, equality before the law, freedom from arbitrary arrest and open competition for public office, decreed in a series of imposing articles. No less imperative was the claim that sovereignty belongs to the nation, ideology that justified everything accomplished afterwards. 7] Jointly, the night of the 4th July and the Declaration of the rights of man are a symbol of a revolution that literally destroyed the old social and institutional map of France and sought to apply rational and enlightened principles to the construction of its successor. Internal tolls and duties were abolished, free trade in grain restored and guilds and professional monopol ies damaged, old provinces were replaced by eighty-three departments of comparable size and identical administrative structure.Those departments were divided into districts, which in turns were sub-divided in communes. In August 1790, the parliaments were abolished and legal hierarchy reconstructed. Under the old regime, offices in the parliaments and several of its inferior courts had been nought on the open market. That abuse was reformed and the democratic principle was put into place as future judges were to be elected. One final example of their power was the abolition of nobility in June 1790, which came to reassure that only equal citizens remained.Despite all these significant and revolutionary reforms, it was the financial crisis that had been the immediate cause of the monarchy’s collapse and the revolutionaries were expected to provide a solution. It became even more complicated to achieve it due to the integral collapse of the existing administrative and fiscal sy stem and the disturbances in the countryside where taxes were not being paid. In order to meet its obligations, the state began to print money which benefited from the public confidence in the National Assembly.Numerous tangible grounds for confidence were provided in November 1789, when the Assembly, voted to confiscate the lands of the church. The effective nationalization of between 5 and 10 per cent of the land in the kingdom provided collateral for state credit and a source of income when the decision was taken to sell these â€Å"biens nationaux†. By continuing to print paper money against the value of the land seized from the church, their financial worries were solved – at least in the short term. The revolution gained another primordial asset by selling the â€Å"biens natiounaux†.Those who had invested had a vested interest in the consolidation and defence of the new regime. [8] Another revolutionary reform included a complete transformation of the chu rch. Aided by Jansenist priests, the Civil Constitution of the Clergy was drafted and unveiled in July 1790. Rational enlightened thinking was brought to bear upon the workings of the Catholic Church and like judges and officials in the administrative and political hierarchy, parish priests were subject to elections by district electoral assemblies.As this brief survey which clearly explained the significant changes occurring in France and the impact they possessed in society, has indicated, the National Assembly was responsible for a programme of reform which transformed the social and institutional life of France. â€Å"The patchwork quilt of particularist rights and privileges was replaced by a greater emphasis upon the rights of the individual and the concept of equality before the authority of the state. †[9] Although, revolutionaries were not satisfied as they wanted to merge the world into their sea of values, ideologies and revolution.The revolutionaries of 1792 began a war which extended through the Imperial period and forced nations to marshal their resources to a greater extent than ever before. Some areas, like Belgium and Switzerland, became client states of France with reforms similar to those of the revolution. National identities also began coalescing like never before. The many and fast developing ideologies of the revolution were also spread across Europe, helped by French being the continental elite’s dominant language. If the National Assembly had actually reinvigorated France, the constitution created to improve the country was a disaster.Within twelve months the monarchy had been defeated by the second revolutionary wave of August 1792 resulting in the execution of Louis XVI in January 1793. Another example of the extremely radical path the revolution was taking is the treatment of the church. The reality was that not satisfied, the revolutionaries proceeded to execute the nonconformists. As the revolution slid into Terror a fter 1792, the clergy was increasingly seen as the agent of counter-revolution. In the short-term, the religious policies of successive governments after 1790 created unnecessary enemies for the revolution.Revolutionaries started to then use war as a way of forcing the king, and any other â€Å"enemies†, to declare themselves whole-heartedly for the revolution. It was therefore; with mixed motives the French began their battle to export revolution to Europe. It can be considered that the use of Terror was simply a form of political strategy but in the minds of the revolutionaries it had a deeper reason. They believed they were creating a new society, a new man and to do so they needed to destroy the idea, beliefs and patterns of behaviour of the old.Terror was paving the way to a republic virtue and those who would stand in the way of the march of progress would be discarded. It was the integral part of the vision and ideology of a revolution. [10] Between 1789 and 1799, the French Revolution offered a spectacle which inspired and horrified the people of France and Europe ever since. The overthrown of the monarchy, the attack on the church, the declaration of the principles of civic equality and national sovereignty along the destruction of seigneurialism were an admonition to the other monarchies in Europe and an example to their rivals.For liberals the values and ideas of 1789 and the Declaration of the rights of the man continue to possess repercussions nowadays. Throughout the nineteenth century the radical revolution was the source of inspiration for republican and left-wing movements all over the world. On the other hand, conservatives remained fearful of a further outbreak of revolutionary passion. It influenced and leaded to other revolutions in most of the European nations, America and several other countries around the world.The French Revolution was a defining moment in the development of all shades of political opinion, changed views and val ues, implemented new laws and behaviours. It left no one indifferent and for that reason it can be considered one of the most revolutionary procedures of modern history.Bibliography †¢ Soanes, Catherine, Compact Oxford English Dictionary of Current English, Oxford University Press, 2008 †¢ Hillis, William, A metrical history of the life and times of Napoleon Bonaparte, G. P. Putnam's sons, 1896 †¢ Blanc, Louis, History of the French Revolution of 1789 – Volume 1, 1848 Pilbeam, Pamela, Themes in modern European History 1780 – 1830, Routledge, 1995 †¢ Baker, Keith, The Old Regime and the French Revolution, University of Chicago Press, 1987 †¢ Gardiner, Bertha, The French revolution 1789-1795, Longmans, Green, 1893 †¢ Lough, Muriel, An introduction to nineteenth century France, Longman, 1978 †¢ Salvemini, Gaetano, The French Revolution, 1788- 1792, Holt, 1954 ———————– [1] Soanes, Ca therine, Compact Oxford English Dictionary of Current English, Oxford University Press, 2008 [2] Hillis, William, A metrical history of the life and times of Napoleon Bonaparte, G. P. Putnam's sons, 1896, page 48 [3] Blanc, Louis, History of the French Revolution of 1789 – Volume 1, 1848, page 480 [4] Pilbeam, Pamela, Themes in modern European History 1780 – 1830, Routledge, 1995, page 19 [5] Baker, Keith, The Old Regime and the French Revolution, University of Chicago Press, 1987, page 148 [6] Gardiner, Bertha, The French revolution 1789-1795, Longmans, Green, 1893, page 46 [7] Pilbeam, Pamela, Themes in modern European history 1780-1830, Routledge, 1995, page 22 [8] Lough, Muriel, An introduction to nineteenth century France, Longman, 1978, page 55 [9] Pilbeam, Pamela, Themes in Modern European History, New York, 1995, page 24 [10] Salvemini, Gaetano, The French Revolution, 1788- 1792, Holt, 1954, page 186

Don’t get me started on fast food restaurants

How could I start? Fast Food restaurants: Your one way train to all the marvellous maladies such as cancer, obesity and diabetes. Upon entering the restaurant, you are greeted by a so-called â€Å"happy, kind, caring† waiter who afterwards, decides to escape before you have a chance to place your order. After spending what seems like an eternity waiting for him, you are now free to await your meal for an equally lengthy and agitating period of time. Don't like the useless waiters- well the only other alternative is the exhausting queue. Enjoy! So, perhaps I should start with the staff: the group of people who make it all happen. Is it in the job description to be temperamental and uncooperative? I often suspect this to be the case. Moreover, that you must answer a phone call when the queue is at its longest during the rush hour when everyone is already late. Recently, I was made late for school due to the fact that the sloth â€Å"working†-behind the counter- decided to answer a phone call which lasted only fifteen minutes before attending to any of us : I left without my donuts and late. I was infuriated! It is fine for them-they are already at work; on the other hand the rest of us are late and annoyed. Due to this, I get extremely frustrated when the item you decide to buy shows up with a different value at the cashier than at the menu so they haggle to get you to pay the higher value which wastes even more time : All that for an extra 60p or so. How pathetic! Having battled your way through the queue, or waited ages for the waiter to take your order and get your food: You are now expected to sit down and enjoy your meal. I don't think. The next challenge you have to face is with everyone else in the restaurant: the â€Å"General public†. Why people choose restaurants to play loud, exasperating, annoying music to infuriate the dead and pop their own ear drums is beyond me. More than that, I wonder why people view restaurants as an ideal location to make the most pointless phone calls I have ever heard in my life. I will never know. However the â€Å"general public†, never seem to reach the high standards of infuriation that the young people aim to set. They are the members of this generation who seem to set it a target to annoy others! They're the ones who scare the elderly and think that an ASBO (Anti social behaviour order) is a good thing to go down your CV. The â€Å"Chavs†. Restaurants seem to be infested with them, which is partially the staff's fault for not taking strict action against them. It is becoming an increasingly hard task to find a restaurant without â€Å"chavs†; it is like trying to find a needle in a haystack-pretty much impossible. They are rude, imperious, riotous hooligans who freely leave behind their exotic, wide collection of litter which includes: Sticky chewing gum, Soft drink cans, cigarette butts and other delightful gifts for the next lucky customer to find. How thoughtful. Even more thoughtful of the staff to leave it festering there for weeks so other customers can experience the delight of sitting on littered seats- Lovely! Away from the annoying people and service, is the preposterous advertising that restaurants air. I challenge you to find a restaurant that doesn't air ads about how healthy its food is and that it makes up a good diet when in a matter of fact it isn't. Of course it is a good diet if you wish to live a life crippled with diseases! The food-high in sugar and fat- they sell is highly associated with the condition we all aim to reach: Obesity. Their ads exploit children through the promise of pathetic gimmicks and toys: They manipulate children and harness the power they possess; their â€Å"pestering power†! It seems that they brainwash children to become missionaries from Satan and give their parents horrible headaches until they finally give in and eat at the cursed restaurants. Despite all these reasons I mentioned, some still fail to see just how bad they are thus the restaurants still exist which proves how much of a nuisance they can be. They claim to provide outstanding service which I find unsatisfactory. They air lies, provide the worse service ever, allow complete hooligans to eat in their restaurants and recruit the worse staff possible. I believe that I represent the views of many people when I say that they are over-rated, over-priced and are a rip-off. If they expect us to eat at their restaurants then they must address these pressing issues! Until that happens I'm afraid that more and more people will revert to eating at home instead of at fast food restaurants. As someone who has to have food on the go, I must say I do not blame them- these restaurants need to clean up their act.