Independent Study Unit

HRE 4M1: INDEPENDENT STUDY UNIT This -A clear explanation of the issue -various ethical positions in society. (minimum -> 2 opposing positions) -consequences of each position (results of adopting this position) -underlying beliefs of each position (why this position is right) -explain why some positions may be stronger than others -quotes(or paraphrase) from the Catechism of the Catholic Church -includes a mix of at least 4 examples (case studies or questions to stimulate discussion. -any multimedia that enhances the presentation) Students must inform the teacher of needs at least one week before the presentation. Essay:The essay requires the author to adopt a position on the issue (researched for the presentation) and defend it with a logical and well researched argument. The argument should involve principle and practicality. The essay will be 4-5 pages long excluding title page, bibliography etc. A bibliography and referencing must be included or the essay may receive a grade of Z ERO. Topics: 1. Is capital punishment moral or immoral? 2. Is euthanasia moral or immoral? 3. Can child labour ever be ethical? 4. Is there such a thing as a just war? (Just War Theory) 5. What is the general population’s moral responsibility to the poor/homeless? . Can doctor assisted suicide ever be moral? 7. Is genetic engineering in human beings ever moral? 8. Are there any circumstances where abortions are justifiable? 9. Is animal testing moral justifiable? (medical/industrial) 10. Is genetic engineering of plants and animals justifiable? 11. Is stem cell research morally justifiable? 12. Is poverty in developing nations the moral responsibility of developed nations? 13. Is pornography (making/viewing) moral? 14. Is censorship ever morally correct? 15. Is prostitution ever moral? ( legalization of) 16. Is homosexuality a moral issue? (Why do some make it one? 17. Should there be limits on reproductive technology? (IVF) 18. Who is morally culpable for the use of performa nce enhancing drugs in sports? Is this practice justifiable? 19. What is our moral responsibility to the environment? 20. Is surrogacy morally permissible? 21. Is in vitro fertilization morally permissible? 22. Is food consumption a moral issue? (ie. Vegan/vegetarianism) 23. Other topic (rarely approved) Topic Selection: -must provide 3 sources (for websites print a page that demonstrates relevance) (5 Marks) -complete a sheet listing sources and a preliminary thesis. Essay |Presentation | |Outline *15 |Conference | |First Submission * (10) |Note Submission* (30) | |Conference |Presentation * (50) | |Final Submission * (100) | | * for marks Topics and Seminar Dates HRE 4M1-01Period 3/4 |Topic |Student(s) |Date | |1. Capital Punishment | | | |2. Euthanasia | | | |3.Child Labour | | | |4. Just War | | | |5. Resp. to the Poor | | | |6. Doc Assisted Suicide | | | |7. Gen. Eng. Human | | | |8.Abortion | | | |9. Animal Testing | | | |10. Gen. Eng Plant/Animal | | | |11. Stem Cells | | | |12. Poverty Dev. Nations | | | |13.Pornography | | | |14. Censorship | | | |15. Prostitution | | | |16. Sexual Orientation | | | |17. Reproductive Tech. | | | |18. Perf. Enhance drugs | | | |19.Environment | | | |20 Surrogacy | | | |21. In Vitro fertilization | | | |22. Food Supply | | | |22. Other | | | Topics and Seminar DatesHRE 4M1-04Period 6 |Topic |Student(s) |Date | |1.Capital Punishment | | | |2. Euthanasia | | | |3. Child Labour | | | |4. Just War | | | |5. Resp. to the Poor | | | |6.Doc Assisted Suicide | | | |7. Gen. Eng. Human | | | |8. Abortion | | | |9. Animal Testing | | | |10. Gen. Eng Plant/Animal | | | |11. Stem Cells | | | |12. Poverty Dev.Nations | | | |13. Pornography | | | |14. Censorship | | | |15. Prostitution | | | |16. Sexual Orientation | | | |17. Reproductive Tech. | | |18. Perf. Enhance drugs | | | |19. Environment | | | |20 Surrogacy | | | |21. | | | |22. | | | |23. | | Religion ISU Seminar Name: _____________________ |Note |Level R |Level 1 |Level 2 |Level 3 |Level 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |The note is poorly |The note is poorly |The note is organized |The note is well organized|The note is well organized and | |Comm. |organized and laid out. |organized and laid out. The|and laid out with some |and well laid out. The |well laid out. | | |The important info is |important info is not |competence |important info. is easily |The important info. is easily | |Org. |not available. easily accessible |The important info is |accessible |accessible and well highlighted | | | | |not easily accessible| | | | | | | | | | |/10 | | | | | | |Knowledge |The note contains |The note contains some |The note contains most|The note contains all |The note contains all information | |Content |little info. on most |info. on most aspects of |info. on most aspects |info. on every aspect of |on every aspect of the i ssue | | |aspects of the issue. |the issue including the |of the issue incl. the |the issue including the|including the Catholic view. | | |Some of the info. is |Catholic view. Some of the|Catholic view. The |Catholic view. All the |Every point is accurate and | |/20 |correct |info. Is correct |info. is mostly correct|info. s correct |presented in detail with | | | | | | |underlying beliefs and | | | | | | |consequences of each position | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |Presentation | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |Knowledge |Lacks 3 or more of the |Lacks 2 or more of the |-Opp. Viewpoints Church|-Opp. |-Opp. Viewpoints/ | |Content |following: |following |view are presented with|Viewpoints are presented |Church view are presented in | | |-Opp. viewpoints |-Opp. iewpoints |some detail |in detail |detail with accurate analysis | | |-detail |-de tail |-Questions/ Case | |-Questions/Case studies are | |/10 |-Church view |-Church view |studies have some |-Church view |relevant to the topic and serve to| | |-Questions |-Questions/ Case studies |relevance | |illuminate the aspects of the | | |-Case Studies |are not relevant | |Questions/Case studies are|issue | | | | | |relevant and insightful | | |Communication |Voice is monotone. |Voice is monotone. |Voice is clear and |Voice is clear and |Voice is clear and confident. | | |Reads the pres. with |Pres. |confident. |confident. |Speaks with clarity with | | |clarity with a lack of |lacks focus & clarity & an |Speaks with clarity |Speaks with clarity with |appropriate vocabulary | | |under. |understanding of the issue |with an appropriate an appropriate vocabulary |Use of different media to engage | |/10 |Uses little to no media|Use different media to |vocabulary |Use different media to |the class in the presentation | | |to engage the class in |engage the class in the |Use diffe rent media to |engage the class in the |Little to no checking of notes | | |presentation |presentation |engage the class in the|presentation | | | |Reads notes |Frequently reads notes |presentation |Infrequently checks notes | | | | | |frequently checks notes| | | |Application |Student is unable to |Questions are answered |Questions are answered |Questions are answered |Questions are answered with | |Questions |answer any questions |without clarity and with a|with little clarity and|with clarity, with little |complete clarity, without | | | |great deal of hesitation |little attention to |hesitation, and in some |hesitation, and in great detail | | | | |detail |detail | |/10 | | | | | | DUE DATES: Outline: First Essay: One week after the outline is returned Final Essay: December 19, 2008 Submit Outline/ 1st Essay as well Presentation Date: Essay Outline: Genetic Screening Ian Gogolek: While there are possibilities that genetic screening procedures could provide great insight into def ects and disease in humans, the process (who has control and access to the information) needs to be very tightly controlled. The way genetic screening is currently used and promoted is immoral. Point One:Pre-birth genetic screening, how it is currently used is immoral because it leads to abortion based on gender and prejudice towards those who have special needs. Abortion based on gender: 7999/8000 abortions performed in the Bombay area between 1978-82 were on female fetuses. (Kimbrell, pg. 122) Abortions based on disabilities: Poll in New England 1% based on gender 6% based on Alzheimer’s in old age 11% based on obesity (Rifkin, pg. 147) -can lead to a genetic-based eugenics program (sterilization of those deemed unfit to have children) -violation of the integrity of the human being and a child as a gift (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2344) Point Two:Genetic Screening has the strong possibility of being used by corporations to determine hiring practices and insurance pre miums. Example: Reggie Lewis: Boston Celtics died of a genetic heart dysfunction Eddy Curry: Chicago Bulls had heart problems. Bulls wanted him to undergo genetic testing before signing him to a new contract The Bulls had insisted that Curry take a DNA test to determine whether he's a potentially fatal heart problem. Curry, who missed the final 13 games of the regular season susceptible to and the playoffs after experiencing an irregular heartbeat, balked, saying it violated his privacy. (www. nytimes. com/2005/10/03/sports/basketball/04curry) Employers may demand the right to genetic tests before hiring or promotion 981, the Bureau of labor statistics reported that occupational illness costs private sector employers 850,000 lost workdays. (http://www. scu. edu/ethics/publications/iie/v4n2/genes. html) Corporations looking to improve their profits could demand that genetic tests be applicable to reduce waste. This could create a permanent underclass of the unemployable. predispositi on to genetically-based disease is often associated with race or ethnic background. For example, the sickle cell trait is found in 1 out of 12 blacks, but only in 1 out of 1,000 whites. (http://www. scu. edu/ethics/publications/iie/v4n2/genes. html) Insurance companies could deny access after a genetic screenGenetic screening may be performed on current or prospective employees when it is clear that the genetic trait directly affects job performance (http://www. acoem. org/guidelines) Point Three: Genetic Screening can be useful but most genetic diseases are untreatable or not properly diagnosed. Gen. screening often only demonstrates a predisposition or susceptibility to a certain disorder not a definitive Results can be misinterpreted Problems in diagnosis – both parents must have the gene Tay Sachs disease Cystic Fibrosis Sickle Cell Anemia Useful to inform couples concerning marriage (accepted by the Catholic Church) Conclusion: While there are some possible benefits to g en. screening, many of its current uses are unethical.For genetic screening to be ethical, access to results must be seriously restricted and must not be used to deny people health care, employment or other basic rights available to all people. Tips On Writing an Argumentative Paper Step One: Choose a Topic Choose a topic that is of interest to you. This will make the process of research much less painful. Step Two: Find Research Materials Gather information from as many sources as possible. You will need information(arguments, statistics) from different perspectives. Do not completely decide what your full argument will be before you complete your research. Step Three: Develop a Thesis Determine your stand on the issue. Be sure your stand can be defended by logic and/or statistical analysis.All your arguments for your essay must flow logically from your thesis. The claim in your essay may be a positive or negative claim. Step Four: Make An Outline Before you start writing it is imp ortant to make an outline. The outline should sketch out all your arguments and the structure of your paper. Each argument should logically flow from the argument before it. Expect to encounter problems with logic and flow. You will most probably have to revisit this more than once. Step Five: Take a Break Take a break from the work for a few days. This is important to gain some perspective on your arguments. Step Six: Revisit Your Argument With a Critical Eye Look at your argument from an opposing viewpoint.What objections would they raise to your arguments? Also, seek someone who has a skeptical mind who can evaluate your arguments objectively and without prejudice. Step Seven: Write Your Paper Write your paper following a revised outline. Write in a concise and formal manner. Your introduction should include your thesis and your reasoning behind your argument. Be sure to avoid common problems in language use, spelling, grammar etc.. Ex: tense agreement Step Eight: Proofread Your Paper After you finish writing your paper let it sit until the next day. Proofread it orally. Do not be afraid to rewrite sentences and restructure paragraphs to improve clarity. |Level 1 |Level 2 |Level 3 |Level 4 | |Thinking |This paper is unclear, or reflects |A clear position, but may not |A clear position, responding |A strong well articulated position, | |Soundness of |partial understanding or some |articulate it very clearly; |competently and comprehensively |responding precisely and | |Argument |distortion of the topic; exhibits |responds in a general way to the|to the topic, showing some depth|comprehensively to the topic: | | |faulty logic and/or stereotypical, |topic, showing broad |of thought; some claims may not |demonstrates excellent understanding | |30 |superficial thinking in some of its |understanding of major issues, |be strongly supported but this |and depth of thought supported by | | |supporting arguments, analysis and |but may address some ideas more |only sli ghtly undermines the |compelling and logically sound | | |examples; little or no effort to |effectively than others; support|main argument; some success at |arguments, analysis and examples; | | |anticipate and address problems |of main points is inconsistent, |anticipation of counter |Anticipates and addresses problems and| | | |sometimes adequate; minimal |arguments |counter-arguments effectively | | | |anticipation of counter | | | | | |arguments | | | |Comm. |This paper reads poorly, exhibiting a|This paper reads well showing |This paper reads well for the |This paper reads very well, exhibiting| |Focus, Organization |lack of control of focus and/or weak |some control of focus, |most part, exhibit control of |command of focus, organization and | |and Development |organizational and developmental |organization and development; it|focus, org. nd dev, but its |development | | |patterns; may ramble, be repetitious,|may rely to some extent on |elements are not as well managed|Its int roduction draws the reader into| |15 |hard to follow in places, or locked |formulaic devices for its |as at the command level (eg. The|the discussion, which presents a | | |into an organizational formula |structure, and it may wander or |intro. /concl. may be |sustained and logical progression of | | | |shift topics abruptly at times. |ineffective, or the argument may|ideas leading to an effective | | | | |not flow consistently) |conclusion. | |Comm. This paper exhibits a lack of control|This paper exhibits some control|This paper exhibits control of |This paper exhibits command of | |Clarity of |of expression, grammar, punctuation, |of expression, grammar, |expression, grammar, |expression (word choice, tone, | |Expression |and mechanics; many and significant |punctuation, and mechanics; may |punctuation, and mechanics; some|sentence structure, and sentence | | |errors, some of which interfere with |contain numerous errors, but |minor errors |sense), grammar, punctuation, and | |15 |the reader’s understanding or require|they are not such that they | |mechanics; no errors, or at most a few| | |the reader to supply meaning to make |interfere with the reader’s | |minor ones | | |the text intelligible |understanding | | | |Knowledge |Referencing |Referencing |Referencing |Referencing | | |Bibliography |Bibliography |Bibliography |Bibliography | |30 |Evidence |Evidence |Evidence |Evidence | | |Catholic Church |Catholic Church |Catholic Church |Catholic Church | Seminar Presentation Sign-Up | | | | | | | |Sun |Monday |Tuesday |Wednesday |Thursday |Friday |Sat | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Preliminary Sheet Name: __________________ Thesis: | | | | | | | | Sources:Include title/author(website)/ how info is relevant to the topic at hand/ pages that are relevant | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

Data Summary and Discussion

The data presented shows the amount charged on credit cards by households of a given size and income. This data shows that while the amount spent by households varies depending on the size and income, the combination of both might also have an important bearing on the amount of that household’s debt. The debt range for the entire data set of 50 households is $1,864 to $5,678 per year, while the incomes in the set range from $21,000 to $67,000 per year. The households’ sizes in this data set range from one (1) to seven (7). When each variable is taken singly, one finds that each does to a significant extend predict the amount of debt that the household carries. What is specifically shown in this data is that households tend to have a higher amount of debt depending on the number of persons who live in the house, as it largest households generally carry a debt amount that lies on the higher end of the spectrum. For example, the average debt for the three seven-person households lies at $4,911, which is only about seven hundred dollars below the highest debt amount of $5,678. The data also shows that the average debt for the five one-person households is approximately $2,781. However, what the data also shows is that even though debt rises as the household size rises, it does so at a decreasing rate. The fact that the average debt for one-person households is significantly higher than the lower end of the range demonstrates that the low end might represent an extraneous amount, and indeed it does. This is the debt carried by a two-person household. A better comparison of the one-person household average debt could be made with the calculated debt per head for the entire data set. The total number of persons in all households is 171, and the total debt for all households is $198,203. The average debt per capita for this group of persons is about $1,159. This, compared with the average debt for the one-person households, shows that the debt for the one-person households does represent a disproportionately high size of twice as much as the overall per capita debt. This might be explained by the fact that the fixed costs for households generally remain relatively the same regardless of how many persons may live in the house. Other factors that bear on this are extraneous, such as the spending patterns and financial awareness of the persons in each household. However, another major factor to consider in predicting household debt is the annual income of the persons within each house. Which is a Better Predictor: household size or income? However, further analysis shows that even household, by itself, does not predict the amount of debt very well. In fact, the data points toward the fact that household size predicts the annual credit card charges better than household income. Looking back at the previous example, one sees a household that earns $26,000 producing debt comparable to most of the higher-end earners. Part of this debt size has to be attributed to the fact that the household earning such a small income in comparison to other household is faced with the challenge of supporting seven persons. Another household earning $23,000 supports six persons and shows credit card charges of $4,127 per year. Other households of comparable earnings ($21,000 and $27,000) show smaller credit card charges of $2,448 and $2,477 respectively, and this can be attributed to their smaller household sizes. Combination of Household Size and Earnings The income range for the data set has already been stated as $21,000 to $67,000. The total income for this group is $2,174,000 and the average income is $43,480. The average debt for each household is $3,964 which falls approximately in the middle of the $1,864 to $5,678 range. However, what one notices is that though the average debt for the three 7-person households is shown to be $4,911, the highest debt in that segment goes to the household with the highest income. Therefore, the $5,301 debt goes to the household that earns $55,000 per year, while the lowest debt of $4,603 goes to the household that earns only $26,000 per year. This demonstrates that the combination of household size and household income is an overall better predictor of credit card charges that any of those variables alone. According to this, a household made up of three persons and earning $40,000 should show a credit card charge within the median range of about $3,800 – $4,100. This would be expected to be comparable to any other household of three persons, yet slightly below those households of three that have higher earnings. Other Data Necessary to Make Accurate Predictions Other information concerning these households’ loans, mortgages, and neighbourhood locations would also be requested of the client. According to the discussion above, though, it would appear that despite the fact that household size predicts the annual credit card charges better than household income, other factors also affect the size of credit card debt. What one notes is that most of the low-earning households do still show a disproportionately higher amount of debt than their counterparts of high-earning households with similar household sizes. Households that, for example earn twice as much as another do not generally show twice as much debt in this data set. Neither is this so for households that have twice as many persons. One contributor to this is the existence of fixed costs, as mentioned above. However, this does not account for all the discrepancies. Therefore, other factors that might contribute to credit card charges include the amount of previous debt (such as university tuition loans, mortgages, etc) that each household has incurred. They may also include the household’s attitude toward its finances and toward debt in general. Other factors involve the cost of living within the geographical area of the particular household and the general lifestyle to which the household is accustomed. Work Cited Professor’s Name. â€Å"Data Sheet.† Name of Class. City: University, 2007.

Responsibility for Personal and Professional Development Essay

Effective personal and professional development is the result of co-operative and co-ordinating working at all levels in the University and also with the individual members of staff. At the strategic level the personal and professional development implications of strategy and vision must be recognised and resourced. Overall responsibility for the development and delivery of Personal and Professional Development policy and strategy rests with the Director of Human Resources and the Personal and Professional Development Unit. The Director of Academic Professional Development and the Academic Professional Development Advisory Group, convened by the Director of Human Resources, acts as a central focus for the co-ordination, planning and provision of a range of learning and teaching development activities. The Deans and/or Associate Deans for Learning & Teaching, as appropriate, liaise with the Director of Academic Professional Development in order to consider appropriate ways in which de velopment needs can be met, including delivery at department/section/unit or Faculty level, or through central delivery. The link between centrally delivered and Faculty-based development activities is supported by regular and ongoing contact between the Director of Academic Professional Development and Faculty contacts for Academic Professional Development, normally the Associate Dean for Learning & Teaching. Heads of department/section/unit ensure that all staff employed in their area receive appropriate advice so as to ensure direct and substantial benefits are achieved for staff undertaking any development, support towards identifying their developmental needs through the review process and by other means, and ensure that adequate time is made available within workloads to allow staff to engage in identified and agreed development activities, as appropriate, to address these needs. Faculties and departments/sections/units are expected to expand upon the centrally delivered personal and professional development programme by making effective use of any monies devolved to them for this purpose. Day-to-day management of university-wide generic personal and professional development and training, as well as management training and development, is the responsibility of the Director of Management and Personal Development. Generic personal and professional development and training comprises those  activities which serve a widespread need in the university such that is efficient and effective to provide them centrally, either in-house, bought-in or externally provided, rather than ask departments or Faculties to source them. They include interpersonal skills, administrative skills and management skills. They do not include skills narrowly applicable to only one specialist function or discipline, which are best sourced through a department’s or individual’ s links, perhaps to the research community or a professional society.

Principles of Business Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Principles of Business - Research Paper Example The company also encourages its employees to volunteer in community outreach activities. The foundation supports Grace Foundation, World Vision and Asia Society in China, Taiwan and Hong Kong respectively. Hong Kong Council of Social Service awarded JP Morgan Chase foundation â€Å"The Caring Company†. Apart from external undertakings, CSR is also concerned with improving organizational management, mitigating overall risks facing the organization and stress proper use of company’s resources. Therefore, it is an activity meant to support company’s positioning to enable it take advantages of both foreseen and unforeseen opportunities. Connection between CSR program and its importance to bank According to Werther and Chandler (2010), CSR is an activity performed by banks and other companies to the community and environment to impact positively to the society and increase their overall competiveness. It integrates legal, ethical, economic and discretionary actions th at affects overall economic performance of the company. CSR seeks to provide the bank with sustainable competitive edge as it improves the reputation of the bank in the eyes of the governments and societies. Financial contracts and agreements executed by banks are characterized by uncertainty and asymmetrical information that makes good reputation and trust condition for conducting business. Therefore, CSR improves banks reputation and increases the level of trust. How does the CSR program apply to today’s trends and current issues in the global marketplace? Customers are increasingly getting versed with the need for investment in societies. Therefore, such customers are less likely to be customers of companies that exploit employees or that pollute the environment or those that are corrupt or carrying out illegal activities. Therefore, it is important for companies to maintain good relationship with the community in which it operates. Whom is the company responsible to? The company is responsible to the society in which it operates. Therefore, it must ensure that it operates business that improves lives of the people. Why a company implements a CSR program First, CSR protects shareholders and improve relationships with banking and investors. Shareholders understand that their investments gain better values not only through profit maximizing behavior but also operating in a responsible manner. CSR encourages companies to appoint board of directors who will deliver exemplary returns according to expectations of shareholders as well as protect company’s wealth and investments. With CSR programs, activities will contribute to bank’s strategic plan and shareholders will be assured of increased wealth emanating from steady dividends. CSR program demonstrates improved organizational management as well as improved processes in the bank. It also acts as channel of communication and reinforces relationships between shareholders and bankers as well as bankers and the community at large. Companies that have good reputation have undisputed advantage in convincing investors and other company stakeholders to support the company achieve its objective. Most investors prefer companies with strong CSR programs. Secondly, CSR improves stakeholder perceptions. Company’s stakeholders are many and varied. It is necessary to portray a good name for the company so that stakeholders of the company could be respected, trusted and liked. When stakeholder

Health Care and Intellectual Property Laws Essay

Health Care and Intellectual Property Laws - Essay Example In a knowledge economy where knowledge is considered private property and is thus deserving of full protection under the law, Intellectual Property laws play a fundamental role in ensuring stability and predictability. However, it has been suggested that these laws undermine public health by tending to put the cost of essential medicines far beyond the reach of those who desperately need it most. Intellectual property ownership is a relatively new concept of ownership with staggering social implications. For large pharmaceutical companies investing billions of dollars to continually develop new medicines against diseases, it provides the necessary incentives in the form of patents to provide wider latitude in the development, promotion, and distribution of new drugs to recoup their investments and earn significant revenues for years of research and hard work. It also serves as an incentive for pharmaceutical companies to develop new products for the prevention or treatment of common as well as dreaded diseases. But for low-income countries struggling to provide basic healthcare services and affordable drugs to their citizens, intellectual property is an onerous imposition that threatens to wreck lives in the wake of killer diseases. The law on intellectual property rights allows pharmaceutical companies unrestricted rights to manufacture and distribute medicines at prices they command. Recent free trade agreements have extended extremely generous patent rights to multinational pharmaceutical companies, and have limited access to generic equivalent drugs. Analysis The first level of analysis is to ask whether or not it is actually necessary to prioritize patients' rights, and if the current system has indeed been inadequate in arresting the problem. Without access to the drugs in the treatment of HIV, for example, to combat the spread of the dreaded disease, people from many countries in Africa experiencing an HIV/AIDS pandemic will die in record number. AIDS has killed more than 25 million people since it was first recognized on December 1, 1981, making it one of the most destructive pandemics in recorded history. According to current estimates, HIV is set to infect 90 million people in Africa, providing an enormous market for an anti-HIV medicine. There is currently no vaccine or cure for HIV or AIDS. The only known method of prevention is avoiding exposure to the virus. However, an antiretroviral treatment, known as post-exposure prophylaxis is believed to reduce the risk of infection if begun directly after exposure. Current treatment for HIV infection consists of highly active antiretroviral therapy, or HAART, an expensive procedure that many poor countries in Africa are forced to take. The second level of analysis is whether or not pharmaceutical drug companies can afford to take the pay cuts. It has been argued many times over that these drug companies need the money to innovate and to develop new techniques and new formulations. The evidence, however, militates against this. According to a paper written by Oxfam International: In 2000, for example, the ten biggest companies in the US spent more than twice as much on marketing and administration (34%) than on R&D (14%). Pfizer spent $22.2 billion on dividends and share buybacks in 2003 and the first half of 2004, over twice the amount spent on research. Merck returned $7.3 billion,

Impact of hyperinflation on investors and ordinary citizens Essay - 1

Impact of hyperinflation on investors and ordinary citizens - Essay Example or collection of data and determination of the process for analysing the accumulated data and information in order to arrive at a realistic solution of the research problem (Alexander and Dhumale, 2012). Such research methodology will be framed on the basis of the theoretical framework and ongoing economic circumstances in Zimbabwe. Research philosophy strikes an association between the theoretical aspects of the study with its practical exposure. Therefore, selection of appropriate research philosophy holds utmost importance for the successful completion of a research work. According to Alexander and Dhumale (2012), in order to derive the best research philosophy, its three distinct attributes should be analysed, such as; ontology, epistemology and axiology. The concept of ontology deals with realism and thus, it tends to analyse the social entities and social variables associated with the research objective so that research outcome becomes highly correlated with the practical world. Epistemology concentrates on the study of knowledge and attempts to apply the conjectural aspect for understanding the real world situation. Finally, axiology indicates the importance of value judgements (Alexander and Dhumale, 2012). As this particular research is conducted for academic purpose, epistemology is considered to be the most relevant philosophy for analysing the impact of hyperinflation on the general inhabitants of Zimbabwe. Under the research epistemology, interpretative research paradigm will be adopted. Excellence of interpretative research philosophy is reflected in its ability to study the accumulated data and information explicitly and interpret the inherent implications of such theoretical information as well as the underlying the responses of the selected sample group accordingly, through application of the credible knowledge level (Maxwell, 2012). Research approach aids the researcher to precede the research work in a comprehensive manner. Conventional

Elecitation and pretexting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Elecitation and pretexting - Essay Example It is the use of publicly available information to in order to creates ones new identity and using it to acquire information needed to convince their target to take a specific action. The tools of social engineering can be used to detect criminal activities by tracing the conversations of the suspects before they engage in attacks. Elicitation has aided in the fight against global challenges such as terrorism through the tracking of conversations using modern communication gadgets. It can be used to get some vital information that may lead to the hideouts of criminals. The tool is used by politicians and other leaders to make inroads into the camps of opponents for safeguarding the nation. Pretexting can be used to gain vital information on the operations of illegal business ventures and bringing them to the public for legal measures to be undertaken. Intelligence services adopt the use of elicitation to track down hackers who use similar techniques in propagating criminal activities (Hadnagy,

Leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words - 4

Leadership - Essay Example You can identify whether someone is an effective leader or not while working with them, however, it is not easy even for effective leaders themselves to specify the attributes that make them so effective. I’ve had the privilege of working with an effective leader, named Dr. Dan, at the very beginning of my medical career. His leadership style was an integration of transformational leadership, exceptional skills, and his dynamic personality. I believe his leadership style not only inspired me at the workplace, but his influence will always stay with me for the rest of my life. Due to his highly effective leadership, he was not only revered in the organization he ran, but throughout the professional medical circles. The objective of this research paper is to analyze and investigate transformational leadership as a framework of highly effective leadership, with DR. Dan as my exemplary leader. I’ll apply my transformational leadership framework to the performance of Dr. Dan . I’ll conclude this research paper with a brief summary about highly effective leadership, in addition to the facts that I found interesting and surprising. Moreover, I’ll list the factors that have limited my ability to undertake a thorough and unbiased analysis of the leader of my choice. After my concluding remarks, I’ll reflect back on my own leadership style, its strengths and weaknesses, and the ways to improve it. Moreover, I’ll discuss the results of various self-assessments I completed throughout this course. Last but not the least, I’ll discuss the lessons I learnt during the research project as a current or future leader/manager. Transformational leadership is an effective style of leadership that can be easily distinguished from traditional style, called transactional leadership. According to Yul (1999), transformational leadership refers to the practice of leadership that inspires team members and employees to rise above self interest and

BHS 455 (Computer & Information Systems) Module 2 SLP Essay

BHS 455 (Computer & Information Systems) Module 2 SLP - Essay Example Now the aim of this module is to select the better information system communication technology that will involve the data and information collection and processing areas. Here I will describe the information exchange procedure and its purpose. This research will also outline the key Inputs, Processes and Outputs that are used in the overall communication system. UHB (University Hospital Birmingham) is the healthcare organization I have selected for the assessment for which we are going to implement the information technology system. UHB (University Hospital Birmingham) Foundation Trust was honored a excellent ranking for excellence of service as well as outstanding for utilize of resources regarding the patients life safety, this rating is established by the Healthcare Commission yearly Health repot 2007. Here I will outline the main departmental and organization structure of the University Hospital Birmingham. This departmental division will provide a great help regarding the technology needs assessment and technology implementation areas. This will also help us to outline the important data and information areas from where we can access the data for the better organizational data and information utilize. The basic aim of development of health care management and handling system is to provide a better working platform to the business and managing the hospital in a better way. For the University Hospital Birmingham it is really essential, because for such huge business we need a system that can centralize the whole working departments and management areas. The manual management of such system is really difficult so we need a system with better management capabilities, so there is great need of inter-departmental communication for the effective management of staffing, resources, treatment, finances, and demand, need and supply. We have planned an information system structure that will comprise the organizational LAN (Local

Changing Nurse-Patient Ratio Staffing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Changing Nurse-Patient Ratio Staffing - Essay Example Several studies have also shown a correlation between nursing staffing and improved patient outcomes (Aiken et al. 2010). As a result, there has been a growing need to improve the nurse-staffing ration in the country to prevent the deaths that occur due to lack of enough nurse personnel. Currently, California became the first state to introduce a threshold on nurse-patient ratio in all general acute care health care institutions as noted by Aiken et al. (2010). Many states have failed to pass this critical legislation due to the nature of politics involved in any legislative process. Abood (2007) argues that any health care issue such as the legislation of nurse patient ratio has to go through different phases of policy processes, beginning with proposal all through to implementation phase. These stages are impacted largely by elected officials, organizations, individuals, and special interests. The divergent views and competing interest of the different factions normally make it dif ficult to pass any legislation regardless of how beneficial the health issue might be to citizens. As a result, a nurse must use effective strategies to influence the different factions to accept and pass a given legislation. Below are the strategies that will be employed to influence legislators to pass the nurse patient ratio bill. ... Having a direct lobbying with the legislators and committees at the legislative arena offers a good opportunity for persuading all members regardless of their party affiliation to adopt a common stand that will ensure the passenger of the nurse-patient bill whose aim is to improve the quality health care delivery in the country as did Maggie Flanagan. Maggie Flanagan managed to convince legislators at the legislative arena to pass the Safe Patient Handling legislation by using her musculoskeletal injury to educate them on the importance of the legislation. In another case, after Karen Daley suffered a needle injury at her workplace, she courageous went all through to the legislative arena where she advocated for Safe Needle Protection policy, which was overwhelmingly passed by the legislators (Abood, 2007). Therefore, I intend to adopt a similar strategy to influence the passage of the nurse-patient ratio law. To influence the passage of nurse-patient ratio, I will also have to know the key players in the legislative arena, both at the state and local levels, who have strong ability to influence the outcome of my proposed legislation. Voting decisions are impacted by many factors other than the issue itself. These include party politics, preferences of district voters, personal interests, and pressure from organized interest groups. In this regard, influencing the outcome and content of the intended policy change depends on how well the supporters and non-supporters of the bill are identified among the legislators. This is important because it offers the opportunity to have directed contact with them and lobbying for their support in the passage of

Evidence based practice Essay Example for Free

Evidence based practice Essay American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Family Physicians. [Clinical practice guideline:]. (2004). Source Of EvidenceThis evidence meets the criteria for a filtered source. It was sourced online from the Official Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics and Family Physicians. Specialists from multi medical disciplines assembled to create an integrative systematic study and review of the current evidence- based literature available for the treatment and management of Acute Otitis Media (AOM). The conclusions and findings were utilized to devise guidelines and a practice protocol that recommended early diagnosis and makes recommendations for the management of AOM in children aged between 2 months and 12 years old. Quantitative data such as randomized, controlled trials and comparative cohort studies were to ensure quality of the evidence. The guideline was reviewed by a number of professional peer groups prior to introduction and publication. Appropriate For Nursing Practice The evidence in the article is applicable and appropriate for nursing practice. The guideline clearly defined the care and best practice treatment options for children with AOM and also the situations when the guideline is not appropriate, like children with a reoccurrence with in 30 days. The recommendations act as a template to guide clinician’s treatment options using evidence based standardized protocol, which can be shared with anxious patients to give validity to help understand their child’s diagnosis and treatment. Source of Evidence Classification This articles source is classified as evidence-based guidelines and research. Specialist and peer recognized experts jointly convened and defined the subject for the study and developed a theoretical framework to review the literature and developed a guideline for standardizing the diagnosis, treatment and management of pediatric AOM using research based knowledge. Block, S. L. (1997). Causative pathogens, antibiotic resistance and therapeutic considerations in acute otitis media Source Of EvidenceThe source of this article is classified as unfiltered and was retrieved from a medical database -PubMed. The article published in The Pediatric Infectious disease Journal offers a synopsis of the research of the author on  identifying the common the bacterial pathogens isolated as the causative agents in children presenting with AOM. The author also discussed traditional treatment with antibiotics and the problem of microbial resistance and the availability of newer antibiotics as treatment options. Appropriate For Nursing PracticeThe evidence in this article is a ppropriate for nursing practice, as it raises awareness of increased incidence of microbial resistance to the traditional first line management and treatment of children with AOM and offers treatment options with newer more effective antibiotics. Source of Evidence ClassificationThis article is classified as a research evidence summary. The author collected quantitative data related to the incidence of the pathogens that most commonly caused AOM infectious in children and the microbe demonstrating increasing resistance. The article made recommendations for treatment of AOM based on the findings and made recommendations such as increase antibiotic doing for certain bacterial strains of AOM. Kelley, P. E. , Friedman, N. , Johnson, C. (2007). Ear, nose, and throat. In W. W. Hay, M. J.Levin, J. M. Sondheimer, R. R. Deterding, Current pediatric diagnosis and treatment. Source Of EvidenceThis source is classified as general information. It was sourced from the Ear Nose and Throat chapter of the textbook â€Å"Current Pediatric Diagnosis and Treatment†, which discusses the general presentation, signs, symptoms and course of AOM infections. It also details the management, treatment and prognosis. Appropriate For Nursing Prac ticeThis source has relevance to nursing practice as it clearly gives an overview of AOM in pediatric setting. Although given in medical model format, nurses need to have knowledge of the pathogens, symptomology, treatment and course of the infection to be able to formulate nursing care plans and actions. They need to have an awareness of the most current treatments to be able to advocate for their patients. Source of Evidence ClassificationThe source of this evidence is classified as â€Å"none of these. There is no primary research, literature review, experimental studies or clinical trials. The authors are experts in the field of Ear Nose and Throat specialty and provided an accepted general overview of the care and management of AOM as appropriate in 2007. McCracken, G. H. (1998). Treatment of Acute Otitis Media in an Era of Increasing Microbial Resistance. Source Of Evidence This article can be classified as an unfiltered source. The article was sourced from the medical database, PubMed and published in Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal, a professional peer reviewed journal. The researcher conducts a search of the data base and screens and evaluates primary research related to the topic. The article discussed the common pathogens that cause AOM and distinguished between simple and complicated presentations and made recommendations for differential diagnosis and antibiotic treatment options. Appropriate For Nursing PracticeThis article is appropriate to nursing practice, as provides a very good overview AOM in particular related to the history and incidence of the problem and the difficulty for providers in diagnosis and the pressure to prescribe antibiotics. Treatment recommendations are made and rationales for when antibiotics is not the first line of treatment in view of rising rates of microbial resistance Source of Evidence ClassificationThis source of evidence is classified as an evidence summary, the author reviews the research on AOM pre 1997 and evaluates the data to make a recommendations and provides a guideline for AOM treatment and diagnosis. The author cites multiple sources and references. Parent Interviews: Source Of EvidenceThis source of evidence is unfiltered, general information gathered from parents with children with AOM. It is retrospective, anecdotal accounts of signs, symptoms and course of the illness that they observed and related to the nurses. It can’t be quantified or validated but is useful to gain insight into the experience and perceptions of parents coping with a sick child Appropriate For Nursing PracticeThis data while appropriate information for nurses to gather, does not meet the criteria for research. There is no framework or theoretical model that was designed and followed and no uniformity of information collected. Interviewing the parents can give some insight into activity of the child and the onset of the symptomology that could lead to observing some commonalities and then research could be instituted. Interviews are also appropriate clinically as parents can offer insight in to coping or lack of coping skills with their sick child and can lead to parent education on care of the child with AOM. Source of Evidence ClassificationThe source of this evidence is classified as â€Å"none of these. Parental interviews can’t be classified as evidence and is not a legitimate source; It does not meet the criteria to be called evidence or research. The parents’ responses are personal and anecdotal and are not objective and the interviews were conducted informally with no structure framework for data collection. B1. Watchful Waiting: Acute Otitis Media, (AOM) an ear infection commonly diagnosed in children and by age three, 50% to 70% of children will have had at least one incidence of the infection. In the year 2000 sixteen million visits to doctor’s office with thirteen million prescriptions at indirect cost of $1. 02 billion were attributed to AOM. (Diagnosis and management of acute otitis media, 2004) The rise in resistant strains of bacteria has made the medical and nursing profession search for answers on the appropriate use and dispensing of antibiotics. For many years family practitioners and pediatricians have spoken about parental pressure to prescribe antibiotics for self-limiting viral illnesses. Many doctors, who refused, could be frustrated by colleagues who bowed to the pressure to prescribe. (Marcy, 1999) It was recognized that there was a need for research and guidelines to develop a standardized approach. Evidence was needed to formulate what was best practice that would deliver rational evidence based care in a cost effective reasonable manner. In response to these concerns, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Family Physicians convened a panel of experts to review the research and data available and to analyze and summarize the facts and statistics to create a guideline for the management, diagnosis and treatment of AOM in children from 2 months to 12 years. The data collected indicated that an observation protocol was needed if the use of unnecessary antibiotic therapy was to be curbed. Results from controlled clinical trials that were done with placebo control groups validated the data collected over a 30 year time span. They found that in 75% of cases, the condition resolved without prescribing antibiotics, within seven days. They also recognized in certain incidents that observation and symptomatic management of fever and pain was not appropriate and treatment should be immediate, and an exclusion criterion was included in the guideline. These included children who represented with AOM that was obviously severe and there were certain clinical signs that lead to a certainty or severity of the diagnosis or if there was a reoccurrence within 30 days of initial consultation. The guideline was not designed to supplant the clinical judgment of the practitioner but to support it and provide validated evidence to corroborate the observation protocol, AKA ‘Watchful Waiting’ It gives practitioners rational for treating uncomplicated AOM and preventing the masking of other symptoms more serious conditions by unnecessary antibiotics. In addition doctors have validated information to share with parents to reassure them that the illness will resolve without antibiotics and educate them on symptomatic management of their children symptoms. C. Application of Findings: There are many reasons why healthcare organizations are motivated to introduce new practices procedures or guidelines some of these reason include to achieve certification, like Magnet status or become compliant with health regulation. Sometimes changes are for cost savings are to improve market share of certain health consumers. Nurses look to research to improve patient care or the effectiveness of practice. Most hospitals and organizations use certain change management models like Six Sigma or DMAIC to introduce new policies, procedures and practices. Clinical practice councils or shared governance councils identify issues and staff has the opportunity to bring forward practices identified that could be improved. Some people find change difficult and are offer resistance and put up barriers. How a process or suggestion is framed and managed is vital to success if the change is to be achieved and sustained. In the case of a multidisciplinary group in a clinic, having research based evidence to support getting group support for the introduction of the guideline is fundamental. Getting physician buy in and agreement would be an important element. Barriers at clinic level have been recognized by other change adopters including â€Å"a lack agreement about the care process changes desired and little engagement of physicians† (Horscikoski, 2006). The efficacy and the credibility of the sources such as the of the research by American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Family Physicians lends standing to the proposal for adoption of the guideline. Once the nurse leadership had reviewed the research and the team approves the findings as best practice, the next step is to have the other disciplines review and approve and provide input in to translation of research guideline into a workable clinic protocol that has the support of all stakeholders. A plan, a time line and education are formulated prior to implementation of the guidelines and follow up and data is gathered post implementation to monitor success. D. Ethical Issues: Ethical considerations in healthcare research have been sensitive subject in the research community for many years. Unfortunately wise and ethical choices have not always been exercised. Few can be unaware of the case of the Tuskegee syphilis study (1932–1972), a study by the United States Public health Service, that knowingly did not treat a group of poor African American men for syphilis. When this was discovered it led to the founding of The Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP) under the provisions of the 1974, the National Research Act. (NRA) Its role is to deals with ethical oversight of human clinical trials and studies in conjunction with the National Institute of Health. (Wikipedia, 2014) Unfortunately even today ethical concerns continue to be of concern. Recently the OHRP found that â€Å"23 academic institutions authorized a research project that failed to meet the most basic ethical standards :†(NYT Editorial Board, 2013). The NRA mandated that research participants must give informed consent. They must be told of any risks and benefits. If there is a control group they need to know that they may not receive the investigational treatment. They must be aware that they have the right to leave the study at any time. Their privacy and health information must protected at all times. To meet NRA ethical requirements, the study should be to benefit patients and the knowledge should not be available by other means. Unnecessary mental or physical suffering is not permitted; it should do no harm, and be for a laudable purpose.D1. Ethical Issues in Vulnerable populations: Ethics in research is always of special concern but it is heightened when the target participants are unable to speak for themselves or give consent. In these vulnerable populations like the children, the mentally ill, the intellectually disabled or developmentally delayed the risk of abuse and the desire to protect is equally strong. Other grou ps that are considered vulnerable are the poor, the illiterate, non-English speakers and prisoners which sometimes are discounted as vulnerable. Special considerations are needed when these populations are the subject of research studies. As these populations can’t not give consent for themselves another entity or person consents on their behalf be it parent, guardian, institution or state. It raises moral questions about the motivation of those who have the power to consent for others to be in experimental trials and other forms of research. For this reason the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) have developed special safeguards for children. The parents must give informed consent and the child must give age appropriate assent. Confidentially is another complicated issue, the Health Information and Portability and Accountability Act Privacy Rule instituted in 2003 states that records from research studies are confidential and release to subjects need be done if the conditions are justified. Parents have the right to receive information and reports on all their child’s records but often do not know about the 2003 laws provision. In addition, when a child reaches 12, State and Federal law limits parental access to certain medical information, which can cause conflict, discomfort and conflict of interest. Institutional review boards, to which research proposals must be submitted prior to the approval of any study, holds researchers to higher standards regarding the necessity and benefits of studies on the more vulnerable groups in society. They must ensure that risks to subjects are minimized and rational in relation to expected benefits and that the choice of participants is impartial.

Crossing to Safety and The Sweet Hereafter Essay Example for Free

Crossing to Safety and The Sweet Hereafter Essay The long summer has led me to produce a few thoughts on the assigned summer reading. While reading the books The Sweet Hereafter and Crossing to Safety I have discovered the importance of first person. By comparing the books I have found how the first person viewpoint relates to the characters, the action, and how the novels differ by author in their style of writing. The Sweet Hereafter has an interesting approach to sending us on a journey through the story. By having four narrators we get to see all the angles around the main event. One narration in particular, Billy Ansel, gives us an eye witness account of the featured action in the novel. The swerve off the road to the right, the skid, the smashing of the guard rail and the snow bank; and then the tilted angled plummet down the embankment to the sand pit, where, moving fast and somehow still upright, the bus slid across the ice to the far side; and then the ice letting go and the rear half of the yellow bus being swallowed at once by the freezing blue green water. Here we see how the first person can be used for action sequences. Because Billy Ansel was the only eyewitness, it is imperative that Russell Banks puts in his account in his own words, thoughts and feelings. Using the first person is one way to depict action, but it is also an efficient way to describe characters. Wallace Stegner takes a drastically different approach to his novel Crossing to Safety. The book is primarily told through the eyes of Larry Morgan. Throughout the book we get Larrys thoughts and feelings on events and happenings from beginning to end. Wallace Stegner uses Larrys character to describe the other characters and issues. Charity I was prepared for more or less-the fine narrow head, the drawn back hair, the vivid face, the greetings that managed to be excitedly personal even while she was dividing them among eight of us. but right then, in her doorway, crying greeting, she looked simply tall, beautiful, exotic and exuberant. These excerpts are a good example of Stegners use of the first person to describe a character as Larry saw it. Wallace does a good job of making sure not to overindulge the reader with pointless details and leaves the description short and sweet. Banks and Stegner both use the first person to tell their tales, but it is evident that their traits and s tyles vary significantly. Banks and Stegner have almost two completely different approaches to their novels. Russel Banks broke his story into four character chapters where we see one angle on the tragedy and surrounding events. By doing so, Banks invokes a different feeling from the book. Russell makes it seem as if the characters are actually talking to the reader, as if they were right across from you telling the story. The use of dialect and vocabulary also give the story a personal touch, to continue the exclusive feeling. Wallace Stegner uses one main character to take us through the book, inserting thoughts and dialogue when necessary. Wallace uses the first person viewpoint very differently than Banks. While reading Crossing to Safety it emits the feeling that the reader is actually there in the scene, watching it all take place as the story goes on. Stegner makes the book feel more like a movie than a story because of his vast descriptiveness in every scene and thought. Wallace makes the story flow s lowly building to climax whereas Banks has short thoughts with a peak at every turn of the page. The Sweet Hereafter and Crossing to Safety are both very-well written books and deserve the credit they get. While both books encompass the first person point of view, it all comes down to the personal choice of the reader, the literary connoisseur. Works Cited Stegner, Wallace. Crossing to Safety. New York, 1987. Banks, Russell. The Sweet Hereafter. New York, NY, 1991.

Marketing concepts: Qatar airways

Marketing concepts: Qatar airways Advertising is an indirect way of communication which influences the target segment to consume their product or enjoy their services. The study of this advertisement will help us examine the concepts of consumer behaviour used in the promotion of the Premium Terminal of Qatar Airways. This will help us determine the reasons for requirement of a premium terminal and also study key elements used which attract the passengers. Most of the passengers travelling by first and business class could relate to this advertisement, hence resulting in its success. Qatar Airways is the national airline of Qatar and has its headquarters based in Doha. According to Mr Akbar Al Baker, CEO of Doha International Airport and Qatar Airways For a visitor, the first point of contact with Qatar is generally the airport and it is their driving priority to ensure that the best-ever facilities welcome first-time and return visitors. It gives all its first class passengers an access to the top end spa facilitie s and even body massages to relax themselves. The new Doha Airport will set a benchmark for all the future airports. It will be an international signature for the vision of Qatar, he declared in London during a ceremony to unveil the Master Plan of new Airport. This advertisement is a part of multi-million dollar global campaign designed to demonstrate the assets of the airlines and to increase its awareness among masses. Its one of the three advertisements which are a form of extensive brand campaign launched by the Qatar Airways for its extensive promotion which include the Lounge, the Appetizer and the Journey. However we are going to analyse the Lounge Commercial. We shall now look into background of the product which is Qatar Airways. Background The background is going to give us an insight about history of the airlines and an overview of its current position. Qatar airways is among the fastest growing airlines with an unmatched in-flight service based on what Porter (1985) would refer to as the competitive differentiation (Porter, 1985). Initially the airlines were privately owned by a royal family of Qatar. It became operational from 20th January 1994. But at present, this airline is partially owned by private investors, while the government holds 50% stake. Qatar Airways has managed to push the boundaries in aviation industry achieving what other airlines have been unable to do. The company follows a long term growth strategy, which includes addition of a new aircraft every month to their growing fleet size and inauguration of the New International Airport at Doha by 2011. Qatar airways have a unique Privilege Club which is one of the most generous loyalty clubs in the world. Its members have an access to a range of exclusive services and benefits designed to make their travelling experience comfortable and rewarding. Since we have a rough idea of the product, we will now study the association of this advertisement with different cultural dimensions used by Hofstede, as this will shape a path for the application of other relevant theories. Hoftedes dimensions :- Geert Hofstede introduced the five dimensions of culture which distinguish between different cultures across the world and help the marketers in the development of advertisements. This advert satisfies the Hofstedes dimensions of Culture. High Power Distance- Since the premium terminal at the Doha International Airport is exclusively for the first and business class passengers and not for the economy class, it relates to the Hofstedes high power distance. Its so because there is a lot of difference in the quality of services provided to different classes be it economy or first class. It even relates to the culture of Qatar. Masculinity- According to Hofstede, Masculinity stands for a society in which gender roles are clearly distinct: Men are supposed to be assertive, tough, and focused on material success; women are supposed to be more modest, tender, and concerned with the quality of life. The main elements portrayed in this advertisement are ego, high status and comfort. The high level positions are mostly held by men in Gulf countries like Qatar. Thus Qatar is a highly masculine country which is very well depicted here. The business class is still considered to be male dominated. Thus we see a man enjoying the premium services at the Qatar lounge. The people in such social cultures give a lot of importance to status and money and are ego-oriented. Thus this brand helps its customers to associate themselves with high status and power. Individualistic This term refers to a culture in which everyone is expected to look after themselves. As we can see, the man shown in advert is individualistic because hes independent. Further the use of a mobile phone and laptop enhance his individuality. As perceived, all the first and business class passengers have the privilege to enjoy unique services like spa, sauna, Jacuzzi etc. Thus as an individual, they like pampering themselves. Now since the idea of advert has become pretty clear after studying the Hofstedes dimensions, we can now focus on some more theories to explain the whole concept in depth. To start with, lets understand the purpose of using some specific objects and signs in this advert. Semiotic Analysis Semiotics can be defined as the study of the correspondence between signs and symbols and their roles in how we assign meanings (Solomon, 2007, p 103). Every advertisement demonstrates a symbolic meaning. Semiotics is an apt way of understanding an advertisement and is often used to analyse it. If we talk in terms of marketing, it is thus the study of how these marketing environments and advertisements of their products make efforts to re-create the meaning of acting on peoples sensual awareness of tastes, sounds, smells, images, and words. Rather, we would not exaggerate the point if we say that as humans, we are the meaning machines in that human beings tend to get through everything that is sensed with meaning (Desmond, 2003, p 183). It is interesting to know that meaning of an ad is based upon the interpretation of the viewer, as much as on the people creating it (Langrehr Caywood, 1995). As a result of this, the people will think at an individual perspective and therefore will interpret the advert in many ways based on their socio-cultural environment, personality and knowledge. However from the semiotic point of view, every marketing message has three components: an object (product), a sign (symbol), and an interpretant or meaning, and is commonly used for analysing different types of advertisements (Schiffman Kanuk, 2004) as a result of which it is selected for this purpose. Many symbols have been used as semiotics in this advertisement each of which defines something different. The object is Qatar Airways, the Iphone is the symbol. It can have different meanings based on the individual interpretations. It can be taken to represent the luxury and high social class of the passengers travelling through the Qatar Airways. Whereas on the other hand, it could be thought to help its passengers connect to their loved ones. While from another perspective it may represent a person as an individual as many scholars consider the use of cell phones as individualistic. They have shown the passenger, a porter and an air hostess in the advert. But if we analyse carefully, they have not shown the face of any of them. This is so because they dont want their target audience to deviate from the product, rather they want them to concentrate just on their product and amazing services they provide to their customers. There has been the use of various elements which can be interpreted to be associated with royalty and high class, like the laptop, iphone, comfortable chair, vintage items, porters carrying the suitcases of first and business class passengers. The market research measures are mostly based on the visual elements, and not verbal elements, used in the advert. The quality work and giving personal attention to each of their customers is their main objective and trademark. The premium terminal at Doha International Airport provides exclusive services to its first class and business class passengers. These services include fine dining and spa facilities and even massages. The passengers can unwind themselves by pampering themselves with a relaxing Jacuzzi, sauna or a soothing spa and even indulge in some rejuvenating treatments from facials to body massages given by strained therapists perfecting in the aromatherapy (See Appendix 1). The whole process of sauna or spa is depicted in a segment of this advertisement (See appendix 2). The use of objects like Gardenia flowers, bamboo, aqua marine stones for massage, steam, bath tub, and wind chimes relate to the exquisite royal services provided at the terminal. The wind chimes can be perceived as a symbol of relaxation and peace of mind while the other elements used relate to the materials used during a spa or sauna. This demonstrates the extra effortsl made by the authorities at the premium terminal to give the highest standard facilities to their current customers and to attract the potential customers. There has been an extensive use of the purple colour in the advert which leads us to give a thought to why they have used purple as the primary colour. Colours:- The colours convey meanings mainly in two primary ways which can be either the natural association or the psychological or cultural symbolism. The association of colours may arise from the political beliefs, superstitions, religious beliefs, historical reasons, cultural beliefs etc. The purple colour relates to the self knowledge. It is the union with your higher self (Colour Therapy). Qatar being a royal country associates well with the colour. The Qatar Royalty Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani and his better half Sheika Moza bint NaseerAl-Missned have been seen supporting this colour many times. In a recent event, the Royalty wore a tie of purple colour while his wife wore a purple dress (See Appendix 3). Thus there has been the use of Purple colour in the logo of Qatar Airways as well as the uniform of the crew. One of the reasons can be that this colour is used in their country flag (See Appendix 4). The use of purple as the primary colour has its own significance (Color Wheel P ro) -The flowers like lilac, orchids are purple in colour and are very expensive and rare, thus signifying wisdom and extravagance. -The purple colour represents the royalty as this colour has been used by people of high rank or authority since ages. Thus implies visionary leadership. It symbolises luxury, comfort, power, wealth, respect and independence. This use of purple colour represents the royalty and high class passengers travelling by Qatar Airways. It also explains the luxurious and comfortable services provided by the airlines at their premium terminal at the Doha International Airport. It shows the passion and dedication towards their customers. The premium terminal of Qatar Airways in Doha is a luxurious brand in itself. It gives us a royal feel and demonstrates a life of luxury and comfort. We are now in a condition to associate the high class and luxurious social life with the behaviour of the consumers. Social class and Consumer Behaviour The behaviour of the consumers differs a lot across different social cultures. This depends highly on their socio-cultural values and their economy as well. Qatar is one of the fastest growing economies and continues to grow at an astonishing pace. It continues to deliver a wide range of high standard products to the International community. Its nominal Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth has averaged surprisingly 27.2 % over the time period of 5 years (2005-2009). The Qataris have second highest GDP per capita incomes in the world and hence Qatar is the second richest country in the World. According to the Qatar Economic Review 2010, the people in Qatar spend the second largest amount of money on transportation after their housing. Qatar is a premium brand. The consumption of such a prestigious brand is viewed as a status symbol and whose price, even when higher by the normal standards, is considered to further enhance the signal of wealth. It has been revealed by the researchers that perceived limited supply of products enhances the consumers value and preference for a brand (Verhallen 1982; Lynn 1991; Pantzalis 1995). Items that are in limited supply have high value, while those readily available are less desirable. Rare items command respect and prestige (Solomon 1994, 570). As we know that the number of seats in Business and First class is very less, therefore the rich people take pride in travelling by these classes as it makes them unique. Qatar is a country of royal and high class people. Thus the premium terminal is devoted to this higher and royal segment of the society where they are facilitated with all the desired comforts. We have analysed the product and its features by now. The next step involves the relevance of the product to consumer and how the consumer relates to the brand. Kapferer Brand Identity Prism The branding has now changed from just identifying the product to dealing with the meaning of different brands through expanded brand identity systems. The entry of new system of brand identity is considered to be a great advancement towards a much more sophisticated version of branding, which suggests that in order to be successful and to stand out, different brands need to be imbued with human characteristics and traits (Aaker 1996; Kapferer 2004). Brands are thought to have a personality that consumers use as an avenue for expressing themselves or to experience those emotional benefits which differentiate the brand from others. We will now discuss the role of a consumer in influencing how brand personality is perceived. This is formulated on the basis of the fact that as consumers using a brand tend to build trustworthy relationships with it, they reinforce the positive attitude towards that preferred brand (Phau, L. Lai, K.C. 2000). Now Kapferer has explained the brand identity prism in the form of a six sided prism shown below :- Physical Appearance :- Every brand contains an external specificity which is physical appearance. This is the core of the brand and its value. It is the first step towards the building up of a brand. It represents the product features and attributes. The logo of the Qatar Airways is the head of Oryx gazelle which is an African antelope which lives in herds consisting of dominant males. This goes with the masculine society of Qatar. Since most of the country of Qatar is made up of deserts, therefore they have used this animal to represent the geography of Qatar as well. Use of purple colour is another way of identifying the brand as a status symbol. As mentioned earlier, this colour is perceived as used by royal and high class. So the people travelling by first and business class are able to connect to it. Brand Personality :- This is a way in which the brand talks about the quality of services offered and at the same time, it indicates a human being. Thus it measures those characters of the consumers which relate to the brand. Some of the features as perceived in this advert are high class, status and superiority. Relationship :- Every brand has the aim of maintaining healthy and long term relations with their customers. Thus it stands on the trust and associations. This is achieved through the great ambience, royal and comfortable environment provided by Qatar Airways. As seen in this advert, the facilities like spa, dining facilities with world class wine, porters carrying your luggage, etc add to the ambience and make customer feel special by providing superior customer services. Culture :- This refers to the aim and values of brand. In this advert, the brand i.e. Qatar Airways possesses the culture of Qatar, country of its origin. Most of the brands possess not only personality but also culture. Thus we can see the elements of high standards in this advert. There is commitment to work and hospitality towards their customers. Reflection:- The reflection shows the customers view of product. The reflection has to be such which helps the consumer relate to that particular brand. The Qatar Airways have been awarded the status of 5 star airlines, thus associated with high social class and prestige. For e.g. the passengers travelling by first and business class will consider themselves to be from a rich background as they get all the special and unique services. Self image: The self image relates to the features of advertisement of the brand which the customer can relate to. It goes hand in hand with the personality of brand. It is very helpful when it comes to understanding the behaviour of consumers as they will buy or consume the product corresponding to their self image. Thus it is the internal reflection of customer. The premium terminal for first and business class passengers gives them a feeling of inner satisfaction and thus makes them feel special by providing them out of the world facilities both on and off the ground. Despite the advert being quite apt, there are still a few things that could make it somewhat better. Limitations The advertisement focuses on only the first and business class passengers leaving aside the economy class. This biased behaviour might receive some mixed reactions from the people travelling in the economy class. Then we have noticed that as perceived by the advertisement, the culture represents an individualistic side, whereas Arab countries like Qatar are collectivist countries. Therefore, it may happen that the people may not connect themselves to the individualistic man shown in the advert. Hence they wont interpret the advert as the marketers want them to. Moreover the word count prevented me from interpreting the advertisement on basis of Maslows Hierarchy of needs. Conclusion The advertisement is designed in such a way that helps the target audience to connect to it. The people interpret these adverts differently on the basis of their culture, knowledge and beliefs. We made use of the Hofstedes dimensions in order to get a clear idea of the cultural associations with the advert. Later we studied the semiotics used in it and how it relates to the consumer using the Qatar Airways. The colour theory was explained to emphasize on the importance of the purple colour used for the uniform of the crew and the logo. We can also analyse that how it gives an insight about the culture of Qatar and also associates with the passengers. Last but not the least; Kapferer Brand Identity Prism was used to judge the way a consumer perceives a particular brand as this model says that a consumer is what he consumes. REFERENCES Aaker, D.A. (1996) Building Strong Brands, New York. The Free Press. Bear, Jacci H. Purple Color Meaning Colors That Go with Purple and The Meaning of the Color Purple. Available at: http://desktoppub.about.com/cs/colorselection/p/purple.htm. [Accessed 18 December 2010]. Brand Identity Prism | mba4you.net. Available at: http://www.mba4you.net/index.php/2009/04/11/brand-identity-prism/. [Accessed 9 December 2010]. Brand Identity Prism by Kapferer. Available at: http://ezinearticles.com/?Brand-Identity-Prism-by-Kapfererid=1215591. [Accessed 9 December 2010]. Color Wheel Pro: Color Meaning. Available at: http://www.color-wheel-pro.com/color-meaning.html. [Accessed 8 December 2010]. Color Matters Symbolism and Emotions. Available at: http://www.colormatters.com/symbolism.html. [Accessed 8 December 2010]. Corporate Travel a 5-star experience | Qatar Airways Qatar. Available at:http://www.qatarairways.com/qa/en/corporate.html. [Accessed 4 December 2010]. Desmond, J. 2003. Consuming Behaviour. 1st ed. Palgrave Macmillan. p 183. Fredric W. Rohm J. 2010. Inner Resources for Leaders. American and Arab Cultural Lenses. Available at: http://www.regent.edu/acad/global/publications/innerresources/vol2iss3/rohm.pdf. [Accessed 11 December 2010]. Hofstede (2001), Cultures Consequences, 2nd ed. p 297. Hofstede Masculinity / Femininity Traits. Available at: http://www.andrews.edu/~tidwell/HofstedeMasculinity.html. [Accessed 7 December 2010]. Hofstede, G. 1991. Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind, London: McGraw-Hill Book Company. Kapferer, J.N. (2004) The New Strategic Brand Management, Creating and Sustaining Brand Equity Long Term, 2nd ed. London. Kogan Page. Langrehr, F. Caywood, C. (1995). A semiotic approach to determining the sins and virtues portrayed in advertising. Journal of Current Issues Research in Advertising. 17 (1) pp. 33-47. Land a Great Career with Qatar Airways | Qatar Airways. Available at: http://www.qatarairways.com/global/en/careers.html. [Accessed 7 December 2010]. Lundrigan, B., Biology of Mammals and S. Sanders. 2005. Oryx gazella, Animal Diversity Web. [Accessed December 9, 2010]. http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Oryx_gazella.html. Lynn, Michael (1991), Scarcity Effects on Value: A Quantitative Review of the Commodity Theory Literature, Psychology and Marketing, 8 (1), 45-57. Manchester United re-financing: Is Qatar closing in? | Mail Online. Available at: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1337936/Manchester-United-financing-Is-Qatar-closing-in.html. [Accessed 8 December 2010]. Porter, M.E. 1985. Competitive Advantage. New York. The Free Press. Pantzalis, Ioannis (1995), Exclusivity Strategies in Pricing and Brand Extension, Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation, University of Arizona. Phau, L. Lau, K.C. (2000) Journal of Targeting, Measurement and Analysis for Marketing, Volume 9. Number 1. Palgrave Macmillan pp. 52-69(18). Qatar Airways Spends Over US$ 2 Billion To Create A First Impression Benchmark Airport | Qatar Airways Press Release. Available at: http://www1.qatarairways.com/global/en/newsroom/archive/aboutus_news_07dec03.html. [Accessed 8 December 2010]. QATAR Airways premium terminal ad wins top accolade. Doha Business, classified,, Travel, Advertising, B2B. Available at: http://doha.biz/2010/04/19/qatar-airways-premium-terminal-ad-wins-top-accolade/. [Accessed 4 December 2010]. Qatar Airways Privilege Club. Available at: http://www.qatarairways.com/privilegeclub/en/homepage.html. [Accessed 4 December 2010]. Qatar Airways rebrands 360east | design, media, technology. Available at: http://www.360east.com/?p=353. [Accessed 11 December 2010]. Qatar Economic review. July 2010. p 10-14 QNB Capital. Available at: http://www.qnb.com.qa/csportal/BlobServer?blobcol=urlenglishdocblobtable=QNBNewDocsblobkey=idblobwhere=1276061427064blobheader=application/pdf. [Accessed 18 December 2010]. Qatar Airways India Qatar Airways Profile Qatar Airways History. Available at: http://www.iloveindia.com/airlines-in-india/international/qatar-airways.html. [Accessed 9 December 2010]. Rich Quotes Business Quotations about being rich. Available at: http://www.woopidoo.com/business_quotes/rich-quotes.htm. [Accessed 11 December 2010]. Schroeder, J.E. (2006) Brand Culture, New York. Routledge p-106. Schiffman, L.G Kanuk L.L. 2004.Consumer behavior, 8th ed. New Jersey, Pearson Prentice Hall. Solomon, M. 2007. Consumer Behavior: Buying, Having, and Being, 8th ed. Pearson Education International. Solomon, Michael R. (1994), Consumer Behavior, (2nd ed.), Boston, MA.: Allyn and Bacon. Using the Colour Violet in Colour Therapy. Available at: http://www.colourtherapyhealing.com/colour_therapy/violet.php. [Accessed 4 December 2010]. Verhallen, Theo M. (1982), Scarcity and Consumer Choice Behavior, Journal of Economic Psychology, 2 (2), 299-321. Appendix 1:- Appendix 2- The narration of the advertisement- Its 36 to 38 degree Celsius No higher, no lower Its soft but not too soft Its just enough to smooth things out Its all of this Half way to anywhere With plenty of time to spare With Qatar Airways premium terminal in Doha Five star service for first and business class passengers Qatar Airways- The Worlds five star airlines. Appendix 3

Cybernetics and the Security-State :: Wiener Government Mechanics Papers

Cybernetics and the Security-State The mastery of nature, so the imperialists teach, is the purpose of technology. But who would trust a cane wielder who proclaimed the mastery of children by adults to be the purpose of education? Is not education above all the indispensable ordering of the relationship between generations and therefore mastery, if we are to use this term, of the relationship and not of children? And likewise technology is not the mastery of nature and man. Men as a species completed their development thousands of years ago; but mankind as a species is just beginning his. In technology a physis is being organized through which mankind's contact with the cosmos takes a new and different form from that which it had in nations and families. . . . The paroxysm of genuine cosmic experience is not tied to that tiny fragment of nature that we are accustomed to call 'Nature'. In the nights of annihilation of the last war the frame of mankind was shaken by a feeling that resembled the bliss of the epil eptic. And the revolts that followed it were the first attempt of mankind to bring the new body under its control. -- Walter Benjamin, One Way Street, 1925-26 Garry Kasparov lost to Deep Blue on May 11, 1997. The event itself had almost no affect on the daily life of the general populace in and of itself, and in fact had been considered inevitable for some time. Even so, commentators read awful portent into the fact that the chess grandmaster, dubbed "Humanity's Champ," was beaten by the IBM computer. USA Today was not alone in asking, "Are computers backing humans into a corner?" With rare exception, after the initial hype died down the media reassured us that we were in no immediate danger of computers turning against us and taking over the planet, at least not actively. Chess, we were assured, is susceptible to the type of "simple" brute force calculations a computer can do. Understanding natural language, recognizing speech and handwriting, and analyzing images require work of a different sort, a "common sense" that has so far eluded most artificial intelligence researchers. Unlike human babies (an admittedly loaded example) , computers have trouble interacting with and learning about the "real world" except within strictly defined parameters.

The World Trade Organization Where It’s Been and Where’s It’s Going? Es

The World Trade Organization Where It’s Been and Where’s It’s Going? Even dating back to times of Aristotle there has always been some form of trade and along with trade came rules and regulations. In the time of Aristotle trading took place on a smaller scale and between people much like bartering. In the modern world trade is what makes the world function on a broader and larger scale. We have become globalized as a world and we now are engaged in free trade, among many countries. There still needs to be regulations for each individual country and for trade in general. For the past century the GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) has been the one to deal with issues that would arise, between countries. The GATT wrote rules and regulations on things that were acceptable and not acceptable in the trade arena. Then about a decade ago at the Uruguay Round, the GATT was meeting and decided that there needed to be another organization to meet the needs and enforced the articles written by GATT. This is way the World Trade Organization cam e about. The WTO has come under both praise and criticism for the work that they do, these ideas will be further discussed in the pages to come. They have had issues brought to their table that have no doubt been hard, but they must try to please all parties involved using the articles of GATT. Pleasing all parties is impossible since the WTO must follow those regulations, therefore they cannot make all parties content. Today and in future, cases will continue to be brought to their table, where they are expected to give the best response based on the articles, but also on research and past cases. Countries have battled amongst each other as how to solve a problem such as The... ...ppen in the push for globalization and the fight against it. The WTO will have to become stronger players in world markets in order to help things truly progress. BIBLIOGRAPHY Diao, Xinshen, Terry Roe, and Agapi Somwaru. â€Å"Developing Country Interests in Agricultural Reforms Under the World Trade Organization.† American Journal of Agricultural Economics, v.84, no.3. (August 2003): 782-790. Wallach, Lori. Global Trade Watch. Whose Trade Organization? Public Citizen 1999, 19. Irwin, Douglas. Free Trade Under Fire. Princeton and Oxford: Princeton University Press, 2002. Josling, Tim. â€Å"Key Issues in the World Trade Organization Negotiations on Agriculture.† American Journal of Agricultural Economics, v.85, no.3. (August 2003): 663-667 Working Group on the WTO/MAI. â€Å"A Citizen’s Guide to the World Trade Organization† (July 1999): 1-28

Iago’s Use of Rhetorical Strategies to Manipulate Othello in Shakespear

Iago’s Use of Rhetorical Strategies to Manipulate Othello in Shakespeare’s Othello Rhetorical strategies are continually used to get a point across or to manipulate another. Iago uses many devices to put false accusations into Othello’s head. In lines 330-447 in Act 3 scene 3, Iago uses rhetorical question, imagery, and sarcasm. He questions Othello and makes him think the worst between Cassio and Desdemona, and then his use of words adds color and a picture, so it has to be right. Last his sarcasm creates the assurances Othello needed to be duped. To start, Iago uses rhetorical questions favorably to cause Othello to question Desdemona’s love for him. When Othello finishes with â€Å"†¦Than answer my waked wrath!† Iago comes back with â€Å"Is’t come to this my lord.† Later he goes into â€Å"Are...

Negotiations and Alternate Dispute Mechanism

Alternative Dispute resolution encompasses distinct forms of dispute resolution through arbitration and mediation. Arbitration is a method of dispute resolution involving one or more neutral third parties who are usually agreed to by disputing parties and whose decision is binding.[1] Arbitration generally proceeds in a similar fashion to that of the court with opening statements, the presentation of witnesses and evidence, cross-examination, and closing arguments. Arbitrators then decide cases based on the evidence, and their decision is final binding on the parties. Mediation on the other hand is an informal dispute process in which the third party – the mediator helps disputing parties to reach an agreement. A mediator, unlike the arbitrator, has no power to impose his decisions on the parties. Therefore, the mediator’s role is to bring the parties closer together through discussions of weaknesses in the case for both sides, in an effort to convince each to settle the dispute. Arbitration and mediation are voluntary mechanisms- that is the parties are only required to mediate or arbitrate if they agree to do so. The absence of such an agreement will see the parties go to the court of law; therefore the parties in contention cannot be hauled into private mediation and arbitration against their will. It is at the disposal of the parties to decide how they will go about to do it. Alternative Dispute Resolution mechanisms have advantageous such that they are cheaper and quicker than court proceeding and permit parties to resolve their differences more efficiently. Studies have shown that arbitration proceedings in the employment discrimination area to take an average of 8.6 months to be resolved, whereas the average court cases involving alleged employment discrimination takes almost two years.[2] This has seen businesses and employees placing mediation and arbitration in the employment contracts or agreements thus discrimination conflicts can be solved amicably without going to the court of law. Arbitration Arbitration proceedings are like informal court proceedings. They take place in conference room and not in the courtrooms at date scheduled by the parties. In African traditional setting arbitration proceedings take place under a tree called a baraza[3]. Generally during the proceedings of the arbitration the parties select a particular rule to apply to the arbitration and are free to modify such rules by agreement. The reason parties prefer arbitrations to court is because they are more streamlined and friendly. Discoveries in arbitrations tend to be less comprehensive and persistent, with arbitrators frequently imposing limits on the number of depositions each party can take. The arbitrators equally understand that the parties select arbitration in part to avoid the cost of court proceeding and issue rulings considering these goals. While arbitrators make evidentiary rulings and can bar evidence and testimony they deem improper, arbitration rules generally shun strict compliance with rules of evidence.[4]   In conforming to the informal nature of the Alternative Dispute Resolution mechanisms, the arbitrators generally make mistake on the side of admitting all the evidence and when they are weight to particular testimony and exhibits. Therefore due to the informal nature the arbitration process give a loophole for some biasness in the process of making decision among the arbitrators. Unless parties’ arbitration provides otherwise, arbitrators generally are chosen with the help of designated arbitration organization. The process entails the organization submitting names of the arbitrators to the parties then the parties will strike the names they consider lowly ranked. The highly ranked names by the parties will be then asked to arbitrate the dispute. Various formats of arbitration can be highlighted in this sense. Most traditional is for a single arbitrator to act as the judge of the case, that is, to preside over trial and then issue a ruling based on the evidence. This varies slightly from the use of panel of arbitrators –rather than a single arbitrator- to hear a dispute. A single arbitrator handles small to medium-sized disputes, with a panel of arbitrators used to solve more complicated disagreements. Sometimes parties can decide the number of arbitrators they want in resolving their dispute. Parties can also select other forms for arbitrating dispute. For instance, parties can use â€Å"baseball-style† of arbitration where the one party, which table its proposal for example of a salary to a panel of arbitrators and the employer for example, tables his/ her proposal too.[5] Then the arbitrators go through each party’s proposal and come up with an amicable figure or solution to the dispute. This is a case where the winner takes it all since the arbitrators do not have the ability to split their decision but to choose one side’s proposal. This kind of scenario is equally done in business settings where each party endeavors to offer the best possible offer, as the more aggressive a party’s submission, the less likely it is to be chosen by the arbitrator. Another variation from traditional arbitration is the so-called â€Å"Party arbitrators†. This is contrary to the traditional arbitrators who are unbiased and must be free of conflict of interest. Parties’ arbitrators are not neutral and instead are appointed by one of the parties. In this case each party appoints its arbitrator to join a third neutral arbitrator who serves as the chairperson of the panel. This can be depicted in sport disputes, which handle players’ grievances, for example. This form of arbitration is also common in boarder labor environment, with a union and management each appointing its own chosen representative to join a neutral chairperson. Party arbitrators complicate the process of reaching an amicable solution to a problem because the representatives of the parties of course support the position of the parties that appointed them. Some even go ahead and act  Ã‚   as advocates by questioning witnesses. In this effect, arbitrations involving party arbitrators tend to hinge on the vote of the lone neutral arbitrator, with the two party arbitrators generally ruling in favor of the party that appointed them. Mediation Mediation, on the other hand, entails the effort of a single and neutral party- the mediator- to act as an intermediary between parties to help them resolve disputes. Most of the mediation proceedings are nonbonding with the mediator having no authority to compel the parties to reach a resolution. In this sense the mediator considers each parties point of view and their reasons in the light of settling the dispute. This therefore is a case where a skillful and a man of high integrity can act as a broker between the parties and help each party to see the case from a neutral perspective. The mediator can save the parties time and money by pushing them to accomplish their resolution in a day what would have taken weeks and months. Mediation comes in various facets. One form of mediation is the facilitative mediation. In this form the mediator uses the best efforts to convince each side the reasons to settle. The mediator does this by highlighting the weakness of its case, the strengths in its adversary’s case, the cost of litigation, the downside risk of not prevailing, and any other factors that the mediator believes the parties should focus on in properly assessing the case. A good mediator- by the fact that he/she is respected by both the parties- can be suited to soften each side’s position. He can ascertain the strongest and weakest points in each side’s case and may be able to advance each side’s position with the opposing party. Facilitative mediation sessions begin in a conference room where the mediator and the all parties are present. Each parties counsel is given an opportunity to make an opening statement in support of its case (the party’s case). After this opening statement, the parties break into different rooms, separately meeting with the mediator who shuttle back and forth to bring the parties closer. The mediator tries to convince the defendant when he is in the defendant’s room and give him the reasons for not pursing further the case. The mediator also brings out the expenses that the two parties will incur in the process of fighting in the case. He shows how difficult it would to prove her case. In facilitative mediation the mediator does not formally evaluate the case or promote any particular settlement. His goal is to find areas of potential compromise between the parties, and creatively search for a resolution acceptable to each party. On the other hand evaluative mediation, the mediator does not only facilitate the discussions between the parties but also evaluates the claims in the issue. The mediator in this examines the case, by looking at the pleadings and damages modes and arrives at specific recommended settlement- based on his assessment of the likely result of the prospective trial. Even if this does not lead to  Ã‚   an immediate settlement, it may focus on the parties on middle ground and form the starting point for negotiations in the ensuing days. As in the case of facilitative mediation the mediator ought to be a person of integrity in the society if not so no party will accept his judgment thus making the whole exercise to be in futility. There is also the kind of mediation referred to as binding mediation. This is where the mediator not only evaluates the parties but also ultimately imposes a settlement on the parties. This method is less prevalent since it the mediator takes the position similar to the judge at the law court. Parties prefer to discuss through their dispute but not to trust third parties. So instead of taking this form of mediation, parties just decide to go for full-blown trial. In preparation of mediation sessions, as an initial matter the selection of the mediator is very important. In most instances it is the parties that select the mediators. It is important to choose a mediator respected not only by one side but the two sides.   The goal of the of mediation is to use the mediator as an instrument to prod the other side to settle on favorable terms, and only a respected mediator   is likely to have that ability. In the preparation of mediation process the parties concerned have to prepare and submit confidential mediation statement in support of their position in the case. The statements are confidential and only accessible to the mediator and not to the other party. They are meant to orient the mediator in the case so that he can be a more effective intermediary.   The mediators’ objective is to reach settlement- and not to reach the result he believes is most equity- and he is mostly likely to succeed if he knows in advance what potholes to avoid. Negotiations In the endeavor to negotiate effectively, negotiators require a thorough knowledge of client’s case. They also have to know their clients priorities with the respect to the item in dispute. Negotiations require tact and skills, the understanding of the personalities and interests at play, and the trust and respect of the other side. The main mistake in negotiating is to be caught in a bluff, threatening to take certain action then not following through. Once this happens, it diminishes the opposing side’s trust in the counsel and makes favorable settlement far more difficult settlement far more difficult to achieve going forward. Negotiations sometimes can be long so synchronizing the negotiations is paramount for the success of the processes.[6] Generally, a claimant will make a demand before ever initiating alternative dispute response mechanism; it is the respondent’s rejection of this demand that leads to arbitration. Most arbitration organizations offer voluntary mediation to the parties and arbitrators. Thus effective counsel advocates never fully  Ã‚   give up on the possibility of settlement, even if a negotiation resolution does not seem realistic in the near term.   Effective negotiations require careful preparation by counsel. The main element of negotiations is to accurately express a client’s view of the case and properly set opposing counsel’s expectations. None of the mechanisms of resolving disputes –arbitration, mediation or private negotiation are exclusive and independent on their own. Therefore none can work without the backing of the other. If for instance a counsel is doing her job properly, she is not just focused on arbitrating or just on negotiating; rather, she is at all time considering the best and most efficient way to get her client form the point of dispute to a satisfactory resolution. If the counsel feels that there is another good mediator who will help to bridge the gap between the parties then she should steer the case toward mediation. Works Cited Lewis, Maltby. Private Justice: Employment Arbitration and Civil Rights, 30 COLUM.HUM.REV.29, 55 (1998) Wax, Robert. Staying Out of Court: Using Alternative Dispute Resolution Can Save Time and Money. Journal (2006) Whittlesey, Dave. Baseball-Style Arbitration: Don’t Strike Out, Broadcasting & Cable (Jan. 30, 2006). [1] See Black’s Law Dictionary [2] See Lewis L. Maltby, Private Justice: Employment Arbitration and Civil Rights, 30 COLUM.HUM.REV.29, 55 (1998) [3] Baraza- a meeting of elders aimed at arbitrating a conflict in East Africa. [4] The parties may offer such evidence as is relevant to the dispute and shall produce such evidence as the arbitrator may deem necessary to an understanding and determination of the dispute. Conformity to legal rules of evidence shall not be necessary. [5] See R. Rabin and D. Whittlesey, Baseball-Style Arbitration: Don’t Strike Out, Broadcasting & Cable (Jan. 30, 2006). [6] See Wax, Robert. staying Out of   Court: using Alternative Dispute Resolution can Save Time and Money (2006)