Letters to the President free essay sample

â€Å"Letters to the President† is Hawk Nelson’s debut album. This group is so new to the scene you might be asking, â€Å"Who the heck is Hawk Nelson, anyway?† Well, they are a Christian punk-rock band that has hit it big! With their chart-topping hits â€Å"Take Me† and â€Å"Right Here,† you can’t help but fall head-over-heels in love with them. Their punk-rock music styling, mixed with Christian lyrics, has created an ,ber-genre which will attract teens from all over. Every song has an underlying message that basically says to follow God. Most punk rockers complain about how hard life was, is, or will be, but Hawk Nelson takes a different approach. Instead of complaining, they teach you to follow God. Hawk Nelson’s style is mostly punk rock, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t branch out: â€Å"From Underneath† and â€Å"36 Days† are both soft-rock songs that teach you to cherish every minute since you never really know what will happen. We will write a custom essay sample on Letters to the President or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page And then there is â€Å"Like a Race Car,† which is sort of like Linkin Park minus the rapping. Hawk Nelson is probably going to end up in the hands of not only Christian music listeners, but punk rock listeners, too. Their music is universal. Buy the album, listen to it, and have your friends listen, too. Trust me, the word will spread. .

Astro-Hoaxes You Shouldnt Take Seriously

Astro-Hoaxes You Shouldnt Take Seriously Every year we see stories about how Earth is going to be hit by an asteroid, or that Mars will be as big as the full Moon, or a NASA probe has found evidence of life on Mars. In fact, the list of astronomy hoaxes is never-ending. One way to find out whats really happening is to check out the debunking site Snopes. Their writers are usually on top of the latest stories, and not just in weird science. Earth as a Target: Maybe, but Not the Way You Think The recurring story about Earth and an incoming asteroid  usually shows up in the supermarket press, often with a projected date, but few other details. It almost always cites NASA, but doesnt name a scientist who is making the prediction. In addition, the story rarely mentions amateur astronomers and their observations. There are thousands of these people around the world watching the skies, and if an incoming asteroid were to be on a collision course with Earth, theyd see it (unless it was really quite small). It is true that NASA and a world-wide group of both professional and amateur observers are monitoring the space near Earth for any possible Earth-crossing asteroids. Those would be the most likely types of objects to pose a threat to our planet. Announcements of Earth-crossing or Earth-approaching asteroids would show up at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory Near Earth Object Program web page. And  such objects are usually spotted pretty far in advance. The known Potentially Hazardous asteroids have very, very small chances of colliding with Earth in the next 100 years; its less than one tenth of one percent of a chance.  So, the answer to whether or not theres an asteroid homing in on Earth is No. Just no. And, for the record, supermarket tabloids are not scientific journals. Mars Will Be as Big as the Full Moon!   Of all the astronomy hoaxes to circulate on the web, the idea that Mars will look as big as the full Moon on some given date is one of the most inaccurate. The Moon lies 238,000 miles away from us; Mars never gets closer than 36 million miles. Theres no way they can look the same size, not unless Mars wants to get a lot closer to us, and if it did, it would be pretty catastrophic. The hoax began with a poorly worded email announcing that  Mars - as seen through a 75-power telescope - would look as big as the full Moon would look to the naked eye. This was supposed to occur in 2003, when Mars and Earth were closest to each other in their orbits (but still more than 34 million miles apart). Now, the same rumor comes around every year. No matter where we are in our orbits with respect to each other, Mars will look like a small point of light from Earth and the Moon will look big and lovely. NASA Is (Not) Hiding Life on Mars The red planet Mars currently has two working rovers on its surface:  Opportunity and Curiosity. They are sending back images of rocks, mountains, valleys, and craters. Those images are taken during daylight hours under all kinds of lighting conditions. Occasionally an image shows a rock in the shadows. Due to our propensity to see faces in rocks and clouds (a phenomenon called pareidolia), its sometimes easy to see a shadowy rock as a form, a crab, or a statue of a debutante. The infamous Face on Mars turned out to be a rocky bluff with shadows that looked like eyes and a mouth. It was a trick of light and shadow playing across rock outcrops and cliffs. Its like the Old Man of the Mountain in New Hampshire in the United States. It was a rock overhang that, from one angle, looked like an old mans profile. If you looked at it from another direction, it was just a rocky cliff. Now, because it cracked and crashed to the ground, its a pile of rock. There are already some pretty interesting things on Mars that science can tell us about, so theres no need to imagine fantastic creatures where only rocks exist. And, just because Mars scientists debunk the existence of a face or a rock that looks like a crab does not mean theyre hiding life on Mars. If they had found any shred of evidence of living beings on the red planet now (or in the past), it would be huge news. At least, thats what common sense tells us. And common sense is an important factor in doing science as well as exploring the universe.

Current Challenges Facing IT & Recommendations Essay

Current Challenges Facing IT & Recommendations - Essay Example Failure of a business organization may as well arise due to problems caused by IT failures. These organizations can be used as cases to learn more concerning Information Technology (IT). Failure always comes because of challenges affecting a particular organization. One of the companies in the US that has been facing challenges is Otisline, a company that specialized in the distribution and provision of elevators. The essay will look into details, the overview of Otisline, challenges facing it, as well as, the recommendations required to make Otisline better. Case overview Otisline Company improved the performance of different business organizations. The company, other than the supply and provision of elevators, also provided regional, district and NAO management with the required amount of quality information. When a problem arose, the management was the first to know from the customer complaints. Different managements responded differently to the clients’ callbacks. This dep ended on the number of callback, for instance, district managers handled three or more callbacks in a month. The company made corrections using these callbacks. Otisline had many impacts on NAO’s business including customer service, information service, dispatching, and controlling of mechanics. Otisline had several impacts in NAO in different sectors such as information service, which involved the use of sms database with an IBM 3083 computer (Stoddad & Harvard University 198). This was meant to make response to the clients as fast as possible. An example of a place where the Otisline was applied was in the customer service whereby it recognized buildings in four distinct ways: telephone number, building identification number, building address as well as the building name, state and city. The Otisline service center was also organized in a way that it easily promoted dispatcher efficiency. Otisline software was applied in other areas such as marketing services, and control a nd dispatching of service mechanics. The following describes the factors that brought about the problem in Oisline. The factors explain succinctly the challenges that the IT controlled company is undergoing. The factors are unsatisfactory consumer services, lack of enough human resource, obsolescence, IT complexities, poor marketing and public relations, poor data storage and retrieval methods, and poor budgeting. Challenges Facing IT Customer service: IT is affected by bad reputation when taking customer need satisfaction. As evidenced by the Otisline, there is a high chance of doing the work incorrectly according to the customer’s requirements (Stoddad & Harvard University 218). This is what leads to several callbacks. This is the same in the corporate field. The customer normally wants and expects to be told what they want. The automated recommendation tone always seems arrogant. This may always lead to infusion of negative mentalities and attitudes towards the IT. This ch allenge can be corrected or recommended by listening to customer needs and making them the number one priority; not allowing them to be controlled by the IT system or software like that of Otisline, in this case. It leads to lose of human resource. There is always a normal trend of worker lay off when a new program or software that can replace the employees and do the work efficiently is discovered. The same has affected Otis Corporation whereby six workers were laid off after the realization of the company’

ENVIRONMENT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

ENVIRONMENT - Essay Example This brings us to the first reason which highlights the notion of the existence of environmental racism – that of social inequality; the one that exists and widens the margin between the upper and middle white class and the lowly minorities; hence the formulation of a basic criticism which looked at how the low income and the minority Americans had to face the clearly disproportionate burden of environmental issues. These comprised of the existence of basic landfill which were located near their residence as well as the unsafe and risky environments in which these individuals held jobs (Bullard, 2000) Studies conducted on the placement of hazardous toxic waste sites went to show that the primary locations selected for the dumping of unsafe agents were mostly in the South. It showed how the hazardous waste sites were located primarily in the communities where the black resided. This brings us to the second reason that contributes to environmental inequality, that which pertains to racial inequality and discrimination being a major reason why it is mainly residential areas in which the low income black reside are primary locations for the dumping and disposal of hazardous toxic wastes (Gaventa, John and Willingham, 1990). The aspect of residential segregation along with racial income inequality falls to be the key reasons as to why environmental inequality in societies prevails. Even since 1987, research has focused on these aspects looking at the reasons behind why it was that the minorities were at higher risk as compared to whites to be living in areas which had more pollution, health risks, and unsafe environmental aspects. They were able to chalk down residential segregation as one of the top reasons as to why societies showed such disparity when it come to the allocation of environmentally unsafe locations being near the minority or African-American residential areas. GIS based socio-spatial analysis is just one way that we can see the

Absorption and Marginal Costing Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Absorption and Marginal Costing - Assignment Example This technique of costing is also known as the full-cost technique (Sikdar, 2008). In reality, the technique of marginal costing takes into consideration the behavioral features of costs by segregating the costs into fixed and variable elements. The segregation is done because per unit variable cost is fixed and total costs are variable in nature but actually total fixed costs are fixed and per unit fixed cost is variable in nature. In addition, variable costs are handy in nature, whereas total fixed costs are unmanageable in nature. Short term planning makes use of the Marginal costing technique. Control and decision making in particular reference to the production of multi-products also uses marginal costing (Sikdar, 2008). The contribution in marginal costing technique is computed after taking away variable costs from sales value. This is the way in which the total share of all products/services incurred towards the total fixed costs by the business is also taken into account. Since the fixed costs are dealt with as period costs they are subtracted from total share to compute net profit (Sikdar, 2008). From the perspective of cost for a product/service, an absorption costing regards a share of all costs incurred by a business with regard to each of its products/services. Costs are segregated based on their functions under absorption costing technique. Apart from this costs which are incurred with reference to other business functions are subtracted to compute the net profit. Thus we can infer that absorption costing is a better info give to price products since it takes into account both variable and fixed costs (Sikdar, 2008). The costs that fluctuate with a resolution should only be included in decision analysis. For many decisions that engage comparatively small fluctuations from accessible practice and/or are for comparatively restricted periods of time, fixed costs are not applicable to the decision.  

Limitations In Social Work Practice Social Work Essay

Limitations In Social Work Practice Social Work Essay There are many competing pressures to direct the service in ways that may not be consistent with Social Work principles towards greater penal and correctional models. It is therefore essential to have a clear understanding of the policy and legal framework that creates the remit and legitimacy for the operation of Social Work in the Criminal Justice process (Whyte, 2001, p.7). As Whytes views indicate, to practise effectively, it is necessary to have a critical understanding of the law and to recognise limitations as well as strengths in Social Work. The law can lack clarity and can be open to interpretation. This essay aims to discuss Social Work roles and responsibilities in Criminal Justice settings in relation to the increasing number of women involved in the Scottish Criminal Justice system. The law can make the Social Work task complex and issues related to assessment, decision-making, accountability, discrimination and oppression will be considered and the impact on services users, their families and the community. Social Work involves working with marginalised and disadvantaged service users who can be both vulnerable to crime and susceptible to criminalisation and subsequently, practice involves work with victims or offenders. Local Authorities (LAs) have a statutory responsibility to provide Criminal Justice Social Work Services to support the Criminal Justice process through assessment of individuals, information to the Courts and supervision of offenders. Scotland differs from the rest of the UK in that there is a unique cultural and political heritage and a separate legal system. Social Work therefore, has a central role within the Criminal Justice process in Scotland which is in contrast to England and Wales. As McAra (2005) suggests a more welfare orientated approach has been adopted due to Scotlands legal culture and political history. The legal framework outlining powers and duties of Criminal Justice Social Work is the Social Work Scotland Act 1968 (as amended). Section 27 of this Act outlines the duty by LAs to provide specific Criminal Justice services (for example social background reports, supervision of offenders on an Order or Licence) in respect of central government funding however, it does not explain the objectives of these services or provide guidance on their exercise. Section 12 gives LAs discretion to provide additional services for example to victims, as part of the general responsibility to promote social welfare. Probation or offender services became the responsibility of the LA Social Work Departments in 1968 and had a general duty to promote social welfare in their locality (S12, Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968). This was due to the Kilbrandon Committee (Kilbrandon, 1964) being appointed to investigate increasing juvenile crime. The Kilbrandon Report recommended a new approach to childrens services with children who offend being treated the same as children requiring care and protection. Kilbrandon also suggested diversion and early voluntary intervention as crime prevention and one department for children and adults. This merge of work with adult offenders was pivotal in recognising work with offenders as having a welfare component admittedly with a level of control. The Kilbrandon philosophy advocated rehabilitation and treatment of offenders and an awareness of the social causes of crime which is still relevant to todays practice. From the 1980s onwards Criminal Justice in Scotland has undergone major legislative and policy change. As there was concern for public protection and community disposal effectiveness in 1991, 100 per cent central government funding was introduced and the National Objectives and Standards (NOS) were published which set out core objectives, service provision and guidance on their delivery (Social Work Group, 1991). This resulted in the government committing to Social Work delivering this role. Due to recent rising prison populations, there has been growing political concern that custody rates need to decrease and should be replaced with community based alternatives. Women are only a minority of the prison population but their imprisonment is increasing more than that of men (McIvor, 2007), although their offending is less serious and less frequent. Prison sentences are inappropriate for female offenders, with the exception of serious or violent female offenders as their fragile situation in the community can be exacerbated and this can have a long-term negative impact on women and their families (Corston, 2007). Social Work with offenders should aim to address and reduce offending behaviour. Whilst the law provides a framework for practice, effective work with offenders requires skills such as communication, therapeutic relationships in supervision, assessment and risk management. The task is varied and complex as Social Workers have the power to control the individuals who are referred via the Courts and enforce Court Orders but must also work with an offender in a holistic, inclusive way to have a positive impact on their offending behaviour (Scottish Executive, 2004a). This can be through support and assistance in relation to personal and social problems but also the individual taking responsibility for their actions. Effective and ethical practice is therefore, about considering and managing the needs and rights of the Courts, the general public, victims and offenders. Although Social Workers have statutory duties and powers to intervene in peoples lives this is not always welcome but is necessary in promoting public safety. Under the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) Code of Practice, Social Workers have an obligation to uphold public trust and confidence and the Criminal Justice Authorities (CJAs) are required by Scottish Executive guidance to develop a strategy to address this (Scottish Executive, 2006b). This strategy includes both offenders and their families and Social Workers should engage these individuals and recognise their views in the development of services. Both Criminal Law and Social Work recognise the autonomy of individuals choices on how they lead their lives and with this capacity is criminal responsibility. Those who lack capacity e.g. children and the mentally disordered, are not culpable in the eyes of the law and may be treated differently. It is therefore recognised that criminal behaviour is not just a choice but may be about social circumstances to which they have minimal control. Social Workers should assist in allowing individuals to improve their capacity for making choices together with consequences to their actions (ADSW, 1996a). Although Social Workers are obliged to protect the rights and interests of service users there is a belief amongst the general public that they have forfeited these rights when they have offended. All Criminal Justice agencies must comply with the Human Rights Act 1988 which incorporates into domestic law the fundamental rights set out in the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR). Public Authorities are required to respect all of the provisions however, the two articles with particular relevance to Criminal Law and Social Work are the right to liberty and security (Article 5. ECHR) and the right to a fair trial (Article 6, ECHR). However, restrictions can be imposed on those who breach criminal law or are a threat to public safety as long as the detention is authorised by law and there is balance between the individual, their victims and the general public. The Social Worker must assess this balance through rigorous assessment and analysis of risk. The role requires respect to o ffenders as individuals and ensure that the offenders ability and right to function as a member of society is not impaired to a greater extent than is necessary in the interests of justice (ADSW, 1996a). Criminal Justice Social Work services are delivered in partnership with various statutory and non-statutory agencies and this presents challenges due to conflicting professional values and aims. The Management of Offenders etc. (Scotland) Act 2005 was introduced to improve joint working and co-ordinate the management of offenders in the transition from custody to community supervision and places a duty on Criminal Justice Authorities (CJAs) to have an information sharing process in order that relevant information is shared between agencies (s.3 (5)(g)) for improving offender and risk management. However, sensitive personal information must be handled carefully and be under the principles of the Data Protection Act 1988 and local agency protocols. Practitioners must ensure that any information sharing decisions are fully explained and understood by the offender even when their consent to disclosure is not required. Organisations who deliver public services have general duties to eliminate unlawful discrimination and promote equality of opportunity on the grounds of race (Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000), sex (Equality Act 2006), and disability (Disability Discrimination Act 2005). Individuals who are involved with Criminal Justice organisations are entitled to the protection of discrimination laws which relate to sex, race, disability, religious beliefs and sexual orientation, with exception to exercising judicial functions or carrying out Court orders. In these circumstances, it may be within Article 14 of the ECHR which prevents to the right to liberty and security of the individual or the right to a fair trial being interfered with on a wide range of discriminatory grounds. Criminal Justice is still influenced by prejudicial and discriminatory views. Research carried out by both the Social Work and Prisons Inspectorate for Scotland (1998) highlighted concerns about the treatment of female offenders in the Criminal Justice process. In addition, several inquiries in England and Wales in relation to racial discrimination by the police and prison services have subsequently raised public awareness (Macpherson, 1999; Keith, 2006). The Scottish Government has a duty to publish information of discrimination of any unlawful grounds (s.306 (1)(b) Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995) and therefore, all workers need to practise in an anti-discriminatory way. The law outlines the limits of Social Work intervention and knowledge of the law is essential to anti-oppressive practice. The only legitimacy for intervening in the life of the individual within the criminal justice process is the individuals offending behaviour†¦if individuals have social needs which require to be met but are not crime related or crime producing, or if the offence is not sufficiently serious to fall within the criteria of the twin-track approach, services should be offered, as far as possible, through voluntary provision†¦No-one should be drawn into the criminal justice processes in order to receive social work help (Moore and Whyte, 1998, p.24). Risk assessment and offence based practice is an ethical approach. It aims to ensure that the most intensive and potentially most intrusive services are focused on those service users who pose the greatest risk of causing harm to others'(ADSW, 2003) and prevent socially disadvantaged individuals being taken further into criminal justice control which can result in further social exclusion. There is often a complex relationship between social exclusion and offending behaviour and often the Criminal Justice process displays existing injustices within society. It is important that issues in relation to class, age and social context should be recognised together with vulnerability to discrimination. The Social Workers role should be to address issues of social exclusion and empower individuals to lead law abiding lives by addressing their offending behaviour. Social Work can help offenders develop capacity to make informed choices by actively encouraging engagement with improving their current situation and their participation in the supervision and change process (McCulloch, 2005; McNeill, 2004). Assisting offenders to focus on their strengths as opposed to their risk and needs can have a positive impact as they learn to recognise the value in their own lives and respect the value of others. The sentencing stage in the criminal justice process generates the majority of Criminal Justice Social Work through provision of information to the Court in the form of Social Enquiry Reports (SERs) and the administration of community disposals, with the exception of liberty orders (tagging). SERs have no legal basis but there is a statutory duty on criminal justice social work to provide reports to the Court for disposal of a case (s.27(1)(a) SWSA 1968. Reports provide the court with the information and advice they need in deciding on the most appropriate way to deal with offenders. They include information and advice about the feasibility of community based disposals, particularly those involving local authority supervision. In the case of every offender under 21 and any offender facing custody for the first time, the court must obtain information and advice about whether a community based disposal is available and appropriate. In the event of custody, the court requires advice abo ut the possible need for a Supervised Release order or Extended Sentence Supervision on release. (Scottish Executive, 2004d, para. 1.5) The Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 sets out when the court can or must obtain an SER. Failure to request a report, where required by law, can result in a sentence being quashed on appeal. The Court is not obliged to follow recommendations or opinions in the SER however, Social Workers can have a direct influence on the sentence passed. Preparing SERs demands a high standard of professional practice. It requires skilled interviewing, the ability to collect and assess information from different sources, and the art of writing a report which is dependable, constructive, impartial and brief (Social Work Services Inspectorate (SWSI), 1996). The law imposes time limits in compiling reports, which in practice creates more demands on a workers time and places increased pressure in the preparation of SERs especially if there are high numbers of worker absence or whether the offender is known to the worker and their individual circumstances. Whilst conducting interviews the worker must ensure that the offender understands the purpose of the report, the relevance of questions (health, addiction issues, and personal relationships) and the limits to confidentiality of this information. Social workers must balance between an informed recommendation and an awareness of the severity of the offence. The report author should be impartial and not minimise the seriousness of the offence and its impact (NOS, Scottish Executive, 2004d, para 5.5) and phrases that imply moral judgements, label or stereotype offenders should not be used (para. 5.1). When compiling an SER workers are required to consider the suitability of disposals in relation to the risk posed by an offender and to target appropriate resources which are most appropriate and successful in addressing offending behaviour. Risk assessment is complex and there has been a shift from concern for the offender and their needs to concern about public safety and the offender being a potential source of risk to others. Although the legislation is not explicit about offending behaviour, NOS state that SERs should provide information and advice which will help the Court decide the available sentencing options†¦by assessing the risk of reoffending, and†¦the possible harm to others. This requires an investigation of offending behaviour and of the offenders circumstances, attitudes and motivation to change (Scottish Executive, 2004d, 1.6). The most widely used assessment tools are The Level of Service Inventory Revised (LSI-R) to assess risk of re-offending and the Risk Assessment Guidance Framework (RAGF) to assess risk of harm. However, workers vary in their use of risk of harm assessment tools, with some workers using the Risk Assessment 1-4 (RA1-4) due to lack of training on the RAGF assessment tool, lack of confidence or personal choice and in personal experience some workers fail to address the risk of harm in SERs for fear of being questioned about the validity and reliability of the assessment. LA Criminal Justice Services have opted for one or other, or a combination of both approaches in their offender management. However, the national implementation of a common tool is now planned, with the proposals for The Level of Service Case Management Inventory (LSCMI) (Scottish Government, 2007). These risk assessment tools are inappropriate for women offenders, as their development is based predominantly on populations of men (McIvor and Kemshall, 2002: Maurutto and Hannah-Moffat, 2006), tend to over predict the risk of re-offending and fail to identify health and other needs that are of particular relevance to women. Even where needs are identified it is unclear whether or how they relate to womens offending. Actuarial calculations can result in inappropriate and harsh responses from the Courts but can also deny that a woman is in the process of desisting from crime or that her offending is a symptom as opposed to a cause of other additional problems in her life. It could be argued that focus should be more about needs which stablise an individuals lifestyle than on offending, which results from that lifestyle, and could be seen as a better way to inform both sentencer and practitioner decision making. Professional judgement also varies widely depending on the assessor. Differences can emerge due to workers age, length of service and experience and some use their professional judgement more than actuarial methods (Barry, 2007a). Risk assessments are standardised tools which fail to take into account how appropriate interventions are or the availability of services but form the basis on which the need for and access to interventions is determined. These differing needs and circumstances mean that available interventions are not appropriate for a lot of women. The assessed needs of women are not always taken into account in the sentence they receive. Women predominantly, are given harsher sentences that are disproportionate to the offence in comparison to the treatment of male offenders. Community Service is a high-tariff disposal which is legislated to serve as an alternative to custody. However, research carried out in Scotland concluded that women were more likely to receive a Community Service Order in their involvement in the Criminal Justice system than men (McIvor, 1998; McIvor and Barry, 1998). Community Service is traditionally male dominated, is mainly heavy manual duties such as painting, landscaping and joinery and many women struggle with this disposal for several reasons. Firstly, in terms of child care arrangements whilst undertaking their placement, women can be wary due to past experiences with Children and Families Social Workers even although they have no access to childcare through their own social networks and therefore, organising childcare facilities becomes the responsibility of the Social Work Department. Additionally, there is lack of female supervisors to oversee Community Service placements for women and many women are reluctant to be supervised by a man and this greatly reduces the number of placements appropriate to their skills and capabilities. The use of effective and appropriate sanctions for female offenders presents some challenges. Interventions and services are typically developed for male offenders but are unlikely to meet female offenders needs and there is increasing recognition that gender appropriate provision is required. As argued by Sheehan et al. (2007) gender specific responses may encourage a reduction in imprisonment for this vulnerable group as women tend to offend through necessity than choice (Barry, 2007b; Home Office, 2004). Support from Social Workers should be given to reduce involvement in offending, but underlying problems must also be addressed such as low self-esteem, mental and physical health, financial restraints and limited educational and employment opportunities. A study of probation with female offenders in Scotland, found that practitioners recognised that interventions with women need to be more informal, less structured and more focused on issues other than offending behaviour. Community sanctions work more effectively if there is flexibility as women tend to breach orders as a result of non-compliance as opposed to further offending (Scottish Government, 2007). Probation can be seen as access to a package of welfare measures which might not otherwise be available to women who need support as opposed to punishment (McIvor and Barry, 1998). An ongoing challenge for practitioners is the absence of alternative welfare orientated disposals and that some women view probation negatively based on previous episodes of supervision or involvement in relation to child care issues and may not embrace support made available. Probation Orders vary in length and this can cause difficulties in client motivation over a long period of time and increases the risk of non-compliance resulting in Breach. Although the law is crucial in framing Social Work practice in the Criminal Justice process it is equally important that Social Work skills and values are central to effective interventions. Crime has become increasingly prominent both in the public and political agenda and therefore, Social Work has become more prominent and complex. Social Workers have a professional responsibility towards victims, the Court, community and offenders however, community based resources are scarce for women as their offending rarely presents a significant public risk (Scottish Office, 1998). The needs presented by women appear to be less about offending and more about the underlying problems in their lives such as former or current abuse, poverty, parenting difficulties, mental health and addiction issues and this can increase the likelihood of offending (Carless, 2006). These problems due to their nature and complexity often make it difficult for professionals to work effectively within the confines of the Criminal Justice system. Priority should be given to offering practical and emotional support to women rather than focusing on their offending behaviour and their ability to comply with strict requirements. The Criminal Justice system cannot solely provide effective responses to vulnerable women leading often chaotic and damaged lives within an increasingly risk averse and punitive environment however, Social Workers need to have a critical understanding of the law to practice effectively and to recognise its limitations as well as strengths.

Employee rewards Essay

Employee reward is about how people are rewarded in accordance with their value to an organization (Armstrong, 2001). It is concerned with both financial and non financial rewards and embraces the philosophies, strategies, policies, plans and processes used by organization to development maintain reward systems. An employee reward system consist of an organizations integrated policies, processes, practice, structures and procedures which will provide and maintain appropriate type and levels of pays benefits and other forms of rewards. The main components of a reward system include processes for measuring the value of jobs, the contribution of individuals’ in those jobs and the range and level of employee benefit to be provided, these processes consist of job evaluation, market rate analyses and performance management (Armstrong,2004). Practice for motivating people by use of financial and non-financial rewards, the financial reward rewards consist of base and variable pay and employee benefits and allowances and non-financial rewards are provided through effective leadership, the work itself and the opportunities given to employees to develop their skills and careers. Structures for relating pay and benefit levels to the value of positions in the organization and for providing scope for rewarding people according to their performance, competence, skill and experience (Gephart&Caroll, 1998). Employee rewards are an effective way to drive performance and reinforce the behavior that helps a company meets its objectives. Pay bands are profiled in terms of the level of required competence, which describe the typical or minimum requirements of the roles allocated to each band. Individual roles are then slotted into the appropriate band by the company their profile with the band profiles. The purpose of pay structure is to organize and demonstrate organizations compensation philosophy and to reflect and support the advancement of the company culture. An effective pay structure allows employees to attract and retain the people who can help achieve our business goals (Jones, 1991). Broad banded pay structure is one in which the range of pay is significantly higher than convectional graded structures. The progression is appropriate because they provide for more flexibility in making and administrating pay decision. Broad banded structure recognizes that in flat organizations career are more likely to develop within more broadly homogenous areas of responsibilities rather than progressing up a number of steps in a clearly defined hierarchy. This structure has few broad bands which reduces the problem of grade drift. More authority is developed to managers to manager rewards in their departments which they can view them as their kingdom. The broad banded pay structure posses a problem of controlling pay decision so that a fair degree of equity and consistency is achieved. Broad banded pay structure requires that the line managers are literate on the issues of pay otherwise the process will be badly managed and complains will arise in the organizational of discrimination in pay. Broad banded pay structure can only succeed in sophisticated organizations with a tradition of good pay practices if this is not adhered to misunderstanding may occur due to irregularities in pay of employees doing the same job. Broad banded pay structure enable line mangers the freedom to manage the pay of their staff within their budget but this can become disadvantageous especially if the managers create their own kingdoms in these departments. Also too much scope for pay progression. The control mechanism in broad banded pay structure can be provided but can be difficult to mange and costly as job evaluation of no longer drive grading decisions (White&Drunken, 2000). Broad banded may pay structure create unrealistic expectation or scope for pay rise as it seems to restrict the scope for promotions making if difficult to understand equal pay progress. All these issues can cause potential problems in an organization that operates a traditional narrow banded structure. Narrow banded structure has ten or more graded and progression is expected to occur in small but relatively frequent steps. Progression is usually linked to performance. It is more appropriate in an organization when the organization is large and bureaucratic with well defined and extended hierarchies. In narrow banded structure pay progression is expected to occur in small but relatively frequent steps (Thrope&Homan, 2000). The culture in the organization having narrow banded structure is one in which mass significance is attached to status as indicated by grindings. This pay structure is appropriate when same little scope of pay is wanted as it facilitates control and clearly indicating relativities. In a narrow banded structure the hierarchy is tall as all the jobs are allocated into a salary grade within the structure on the basis of an assessment of their internal and external value hence it will be difficult for a broad banded pay structure when being introduced in the organization as it is mostly appropriate for flat organization not all hierarchy organization. Each salary grade consists of a salary range in narrow banded structure which can be 10 or more grades while in a broad banded pay structure. It is more flexible and can consist of five to six broad bans. In a narrow banded structure the rate of salary progressive is determined by performance as well as length of service while the broad banded pay structure progression is linked to contribution and competency of the employee. In narrow banded pay structure the number of salary ranges required depends on the lower and upper salary level of the jobs in the structure of an organization, the differentiate between the ranges, and the number of distinct levels of responsibility in the hierarchy which need to be catered for by separate grades. This will create many pay grade which if a broad banded pay structure is introduced in the organization implementation will be difficult as it will be possible to design and differentiate them more accurately as an aid to better precision when grading jobs.

Rehabilitation Paper Essay

As I am told to write this rehabilitation paper and to quote a definition, I understand that rehabilitation basically is a word of hope in the prisoner life not only for prisoners but as well for the selected individuals that strive to make prisoners better members of society. So, with that being said, my definition for rehabilitation is as follows: the idea or concept of making a prisoner better. The purpose of rehabilitation is almost with no form. It’s supposed to correct or bring an end to criminals’ wrong doing so that criminal offenders can emerge as useful members of society. The basic idea derived from the idea that a person who has been incarcerated will never want to be sent back to prison after they have been set free. Well, as we can see that is not the case. Most prisoners go through these rehabilitation programs and are released and just as soon as they are released go back to the way they were before and become criminal offenders and prisoners again. The origins of rehabilitation focused on forcing an inmate to consider both the error of his or her ways, the gravity of the crime committed, and why good conduct and further avoidance of crime would be beneficial. The initial origins of the penitentiary were created by the Quakers, and reinforced by religious fervor for a ‘black and white’ application of the law. â€Å"What the Quakers believed in was penance, the suffering of punishment inducing the prisoner to express sorrow for his sins and to promise to do good to make up for his evil acts-social change based on the religious transformation that took place within the penitentiary. The penitentiary was a place for penitents to do penance. This was intended to take place in isolation, as one might meditate alone in one’s room (Foster, 2006).† Rehabilitation affects the prisoners as well as general society because it’s supposed to make prisoners more acceptable in society. These programs strive to make criminals better citizens with this being said,   criminals as less likely to be an oppose threat to other citizens’ or members of the general society. I think that you can improve rehabilitation by starting rehabilitation as soon as a prisoners become a prisoner and making better choices on what types of programs that will help prisoners personally and individual ly. I think that rehabilitation can make a big difference in prison as well as having prisoners go through rehabilitation when they are released too. References Foster, B. (2006) Corrections: The fundamentals. Upper Saddle River.NJ: Prentice Hall.

Writing Special Educational Needs Essay

Writing Special Educational Needs Essay Writing: Special Educational Needs Essay The effectiveness of leadership and management of the early years provision The leadership team have demonstrated a very high standard of leadership and management through careful analysis of the pre-school’s needs and the implementation of improvements. This enables the children to access an exciting range of stimulating and imaginative activities that contribute significantly to their all round excellent progress and development. Detailed planning that takes account of the six areas of learning as well as children’s individual interests ensures that they are well motivated and are developing into confident young learners. The manager has developed a strong team, who along with the committee, and taking account of parents’ views, are closely involved in evaluating in detail the provision’s strengths and areas for development very thoroughly. Over the last year they have incorporated the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage, by ensuring all staff have received training in the new framework and through extensive revisio n of their planning and assessments procedures. Regular staff meetings are held to evaluate practice and for further planning to ensure the individual needs of all children are being met effectively through the provision of challenging and interesting activities. The key person organisation enables staff to monitor progress closely and to communicate regularly with parents how well their children are doing. All staff have access to further training to regularly update their skills, especially in first aid, food hygiene, special educational needs, managing behaviour and child protection matters. Annual appraisals ensure that staff maintain high standards and that any training needs are identified and met. Parents are seen as very important partners and their views are closely canvassed through questionnaires, newsletters and discussions. The optional lunch club was implemented following a suggestion from a parent. Home booklets enable parents to record activities and achievements mad e by children at home, sometimes using photographic evidence, which is then shared with pre-school and included in their assessment information. Parents describe the provision as ‘brilliant’ because of the good level of care provided and because their children enjoy attending so much. Parents are particularly pleased with the excellent transitional arrangements made with the school which allows many visits for children to get to know the staff and other children through joining in a range of activities like plays, assemblies, and story time. Parents are

Plato The Allegory of the Cave Essays

Plato The Allegory of the Cave Essays Plato The Allegory of the Cave Paper Plato The Allegory of the Cave Paper Plato was a Philosopher who used a story based on people imprisoned in a cave to explain the way in which he thought humans formed ideas based on their senses. The story is known as the Allegory of the Cave and is one of Platos most famous passages. The allegory has different meanings at different levels; therefore there is not just a single moral in this story. Plato believed that there were two worlds, the world of appearance, the world we are in, and another world known as reality a world we were all in before we entered the world of appearance, however we cant remember it. Plato suggests that the body is a kind of prison in which the soul is trapped. The allegory begins with several prisoners tied up and trapped in a cave with little light. Plato uses this to show how he feels the soul is trapped in the body, as if it were imprisoned. The only light comes from a small fire, which is also used as a projector to show images of puppets on a wall in front of where the prisoners are positioned. The prisoners are only aware of one thing in the cave, the shadows created by the puppets. They believe that the shadows are a form of real life; to them they are real images but according to Plato they are very mistaken. The prisoners have lived in the cave all their lives and know no different. Plato uses this to show how we build up knowledge based on what we see. As the prisoners have never know any other form of life or even another world they are forced into thinking that there experience is normal, because that is all that their senses have ever experienced. Furthermore, Plato claims that the prisoners would assume that the echoes made by the people came from the shadows of the puppets, and that these echoes would also be taken as reality. As is now evident, the shadows are highly (and deliberately) analogous to everyday beliefs held to be true by the majority of people, which in reality are no more than mere illusions. Plato is here demonstrating, by use of the shadows, what he believes to be the lower level of intellect, i.e. belief, as opposed to the higher level of intellect, i.e. knowledge {or dialect}. On what grounds might Platos understanding of human knowledge be criticised? Platos understanding of human knowledge may be criticised on a number of grounds, the first and most fundamental of which in my opinion, would be the abstractness of his theory of knowledge, specifically, the theory of the forms. Many may argue that the idea of having a non-temporal, non-spatial, universally perfect form for every object in the phenomenal world is, quite plainly, ridiculous, on the grounds that perfect form is only relative to the person or standard judging that form. Take for example, Platos perfect form of beauty. We see numerous examples in everyday life of peoples perceptions, and differences of opinion in matters of beauty; in relation to art, sexual partners, cars, in fact almost anything. The idea that the amount of beauty in the above things can be agreed upon by every single person seems absurd enough, never mind the absurdity of a universal form of beauty being agreed upon. The elitism of Platos understanding may also be criticised, as it may seem immoral to some because of the arrogance portrayed by him. What Plato is actually claiming is that only a tiny minority of people like himself have true understanding, and that the rest are ignorant and wrong. Platos attitude is summed up by his quotation of Homer, to illustrate his point, effectively saying how he would rather be a surf in the house of some landless man than live and think as they do. A further criticism would be that Platos understanding of knowledge has no practical relevance, as it gives no indication or guide as to how to achieve the higher levels of intellect or, more importantly, how to apply his theory to the moral field of making everyday decisions.

IFRS ( international financial reporting standards) Essay

IFRS ( international financial reporting standards) - Essay Example Resulting from this difference, IFRS gives the management flexibility and discretion in preparing the financial statements of a company. In the recent past, most nations have moved towards adopting a common globalized accounting standard. As such, use of IFRS in many parts of the world has gained widespread prominence and popularity. Regions such as the European Union, Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore and Russia, and other countries have adopted the use of IFRS. In January 2011, Canada adopted the use of IFRS officially; consequently, many countries switched from their accounting standards and adopted the IFRS standard of Canada. The widespread acceptance of International Financial Reporting Standards portrays a fundamental change in the accounting profession. This stems from the fact that the use of IFRS has become a common phenomenon in the accounting profession (Nandakumar et al 2011, p. 3). About 100 countries either allow or require publicly held companies to use IFRS while preparing their financial statements. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in America has considered setting a date in order to allow U.S. public companies to adopt the use of IFRS. The process of setting international standards started several decades back. Industrialized nations saw the need to devise standards, which could be adopted by small and developing nations unable to come up with their own standards for accounting. With the globalization of business, investors, regulators, auditing firms and large companies realized the vitality of adopting common standards that could apply in all aspects of financial reporting (Kirk 2008, p. 2). The adoption of IFRS has some considerable benefits to the company and the investors who adopt these standards. The adoption of international standards allows the governments, and investors and organizations to have a comparison of the financial statements

Negotiations And Business Strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Negotiations And Business Strategy - Essay Example This will require the negotiator to prepare effectively before engaging into any negotiation (Van Heerden & Barter, 2008). During the preparation, the negotiator should learn the goals and objectives of the company for use in the negotiation. Preparation will also equip the negotiator with useful skills and tactics that are required during the negotiation. Negotiations are not competitions although they appear to be. An effective negotiator should utilize the negotiation meeting to discover the values, beliefs, and interests of their partners. This will help them improve their negotiation strategies and prepare for future negotiation meetings. A good negotiator should be proactive. This requires the negotiator to raise issues of contention, rather than supporting or criticizing their partner’s views. Been proactive enables the negotiator to develop opportunities and additional value for themselves and their organizations. A good negotiator should be in a position to separate p ersonal issues from negotiating issues. This is of particular importance since most failed negotiation result from mixing personal and business issues. Separating personal issues from negotiating issues enables the negotiator to overcome potential barriers that might affect the agreement (Van Heerden & Barter, 2008). ... Lastly, a good negotiator should have the capacity to close a deal. Closing a deal is the most significant aspect of negotiation. Your company is about to take a team into Beijing China to negotiate a 3-year supply contract. What should you know about advantages and disadvantages of negotiating terms of a contract in China? Cross-cultural negotiations require thorough groundwork on cultural disparities. In particular, when dealing with the Chinese community cross-cultural understanding becomes essential. It is a well-known fact that most negotiations fail not because of a common ground but because of ignorance and lack of cross-cultural understanding. Unlike Westerners, the Chinese consider themselves superior in many ways and therefore an effective negotiator should be concerned about cultural difference (Marin, Ruiz, & Rubio, 2009). Negotiating with the Chinese is advantageous and it enhances development of negotiation skills. Firstly, the Chinese are confident and they are not qui ck to sign contracts as westerners do. The team will acquire this essential negotiation skill. The second advantage of negotiating contracts in China is the two-phase negotiation process. In China negotiation are conducted through a technical and a commercial phase. The technical phase contains most of the terms of the contract and it usually comes before the commercial phase (Marin, Ruiz, & Rubio, 2009). The Chinese consider a contract to be a commercial document rather than a legal document. This is of particular importance since most negotiation fail to distinguish between commercial and legal aspects of negotiations. Lastly, the Chinese community has a centralized leadership system. This applies to most of their