Human Resources Management In Small and Medium Enterprises Essay

Introduction Competitive advantage to a firm accrues from the judicious employment of three basic types of resources, namely Physical Capital Resources, such as Finances, Plant and Equipment Organizational Capital Resources – Structure and systems in the organization Human Capital Resources, which include the skills, competencies, experience and intelligence of employees.[1] Human resources are among the most important resources that an organisation utilises and hence its importance to any organisation can be easily understood. Small-to-Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are no exception to this rule, although this aspect is frequently lost sight of. This paper examines the role and importance of Human Resources in SMEs, and compares SMEs from two different cultural backgrounds – Taiwan and the UK. Role of Human Resources in SMEs â€Å"The study of human resources management in SMEs needs to be strongly encouraged. CEO/founders in SMEs view human resource management decisions as very important to the growth of their enterprises†[2]   A study into the perception of important HR issues in small organizations showed that â€Å"top six issues were wage rates, availability of quality workers, government regulation, training, benefits, and job security†[3] The role of Human Resources in SMEs is to contribute meaningfully to organisational objectives in a flexible and demanding environment. Lack of strategic employee management is widely accepted as characteristic of small enterprises. Decision-making has been perceived to be of relatively short-term nature compared to larger organisations, making small enterprises more flexible and less conflict-prone. At the same time, this also means that the advantages of long-term planning such as greater efficiency and effectiveness are lost. On the human resources front, this means that such organisations tend to have reduced capability to attract, retain and motivate the best human resources. This becomes important in view of the fact that out of thousands of small businesses that are established every year, only a few manage to survive in the long-term. While long-term planning and HR strategy are not the only reasons for this, they are among the important reasons. Hence an examination of the HR function as a strategic part of business, and its relevance to long-term planning, is in order. In addition, the role of recruitment and selection, training, and performance management, are also relevant to any discussion on the role of human resources. Planning and Human Resources Management Strategic planning for the organisation needs to be linked to individual goals. In turn, this means that the job design should take into account the long-term objectives of the organisation. â€Å"A framework for strategic management incorporating HRM involves developing a mission statement that answers questions of what businesses the organisation is in; determining goals that are general and long term; and establishing objectives that are short term and measurable. It should also encompass a complete SWOT analysis that incorporates HRM as a functional unit of analysis.†[4] One of the essential requirements of Human Resources Planning is proper job design. Human resources planning involves the matching of the knowledge and skills that are likely to be required in future with those that it has or will have. Human Resources Planning will help the organisation to estimate critical resource requirements, plan training and development needs, and link individual goals to organizational objectives. Job design involves specifying the characteristics of the job and the requirements such as skills for performing these jobs. Job design will thus provide the framework for a host of HR planning activities that can be linked to organizational objectives.[5] Recruitment and Selection Once the plans of the organization are clear the next important issue that any organisation needs to address is to get the right staff to implement the plans. â€Å"Surveys indicate that about 25 per cent of small businesses view the lack of qualified workers as a threat to their expansion and very survival.†[6] The problem assumes particular importance in the case of small enterprises because they almost always have a problem in attracting and retaining the best talent. This is partly due to the fact that they are unable to compete with larger firms for quality staff, because it is impossible for them to match the rewards and prestige that come along with positions in larger firms. Additionally, smaller firms have a reputation for being oriented towards a ‘hire and fire’ culture. Training Once the plans are clear, and the recruitment of the right people has been completed, it becomes necessary to motivate the staff, as well as to enable them to perform their tasks efficiently. This requires periodic training of the employees. Training is important in the case of small enterprises because they are more prone to changing environments and higher attrition rates. This makes it necessary for people to be more flexible, and to be trained in all aspects of the business. While the need for training of staff is thus greater in the case of a small enterprise, it is also accompanied by greater constraints that make it more difficult for these organisations to implement training programmes. Small organisations face two constraints in t his respect: Their budget for training may be more limited, and they may lack the necessary resources to carry out such training It is more difficult for small enterprises to spare their people for training programmes. In spite of the above limitations, however, small enterprises need to concentrate more on training, as it is an investment that needs to be done. â€Å"It has been suggested that top performing companies are distinguished by their higher spending on training and development.†[7] Performance Management Performance Management â€Å"includes work and job design, reward structures, the selection of people for work, the training of these employees, assessment of work performance and policies associated with rewarding and improving performance.†[8] Performance Appraisals are an important part of Performance Management and are useful in improving performance, assist HR planning, and identify development needs and potential for promotion. Small businesses, in general, lack a formal performance appraisal system. The disadvantages of not using structured and formal appraisal systems are that appraisals, and the consequent rewards, are often subjective, and may promote greater dissatisfaction. Consequently, appraisal systems and Performance Management play an important role in determining the alignment of HR planning with organisational goals, and ensuring that a proper climate is available for the achievement of the objectives. â€Å"In developing formal performance appraisal systems, small businesses not only are able to ensure that performance management may become strategically aligned with organisational goals, but also increase accountability, decrease under-utilisation of human resources, address concerns of productivity, and decrease employees’ concerns about fairness and accuracy.†[9] In addition, the salaries and rewards that are offered as part of the employment and the management of diversity within the workforce are important considerations for any organisation. These have a greater significance in the case of small organisations. As can be seen from the above, the role of Human Resources management in small organisations is an important one that needs to be well understood and implemented with care. One interesting extension to the role of HR management in small to medium industries is the use of Balanced Score Cards, which are normally viewed as the exclusive tool of large industries. The Balanced Score Cards approach shifts the focus to long-term growth, and includes measures of operational efficiency, customer satisfaction and employee related measures. The Balanced Score Card method thus includes a part of HR Management to assess the overall performance of the organisation. In a case study that included three SME organisations, Gumbus and Lussier present some interesting conclusions that have significance for the HR function in SME companies. The cases also serve to highlight the importance of HR in SME companies and the link between performance and HR. One of the three companies cited in the case is Futura Industries, an international company based in Clearfield, UT with 230 employees. It has over 50 years of experience in aluminium extrusion, finishing, fabrication, machining and design. The company believes that the two competitive weapons that put them ahead of competition are â€Å"their ability to hire and retain the best people and their devotion to the customer.† Futura’s President, Susan Johnson’s belief that committed and loyal employees make the difference has led the company into using the Balanced Score Card method. In the words of Ms. Johnson, the company â€Å"had all the financial metrics, lots of customer measures, and got ISO accredited three years ago †¦ but it is our employees that differentiate us from all other extrusion companies.†[10] A Comparison of SMEs in the UK and Taiwan A study by Lin found that successful SMEs in Taiwan place greater emphasis on soft skills and attitudes rather than on hard skills. He infers that SMEs in Taiwan seemed to have a better grasp of its human resources.   â€Å"Whenever SMEs modernize equipment, alter production processes, revise compensation policies, and engage in other reorganisation activities, they take pains to handle employees’ responses and feelings with special care and invest heavily in skills development.â€Å"[11] According to Hu, the Human resource scenario in Taiwan is characterised by abundance of entrepreneurs and availability of high quality professionals. Hu traces this to the importance laid on education by Chinese, and the large-scale injection of high quality human resource into the island in the aftermath of the retreat into, and subsequent withdrawal from, Taiwan of the KMT government. In addition, the Taiwanese population has inherited from its ancestors the qualities of â€Å"hard working, brotherhood, strong family ties, competition, and similar attributes that form the basis for strong family businesses.†[12] According to McKenna & Beech, the following values characterise the Asian HR scene[13]: Politeness and courtesy Emphasis on personal relationship Not losing face Harmony- avoidance of open conflict Predominance of group interests over individual interests Discipline and respect for authority and for elders Normative, rather than externally imposed control Trust and mutual help in business relationships Centralisation and authoritarianism As against the above, the HR scenario in Europe is characterised by the following features[14]: Pluralism as against unitarism Collectivism and social orientation instead of individualism, with the emphasis being on national, rather than individual, interests Legal framework: firing is more difficult Social Partnership: Employment security, protection of workers’ rights, and representation of workforce through trade unions. Social Responsibility: Concern for environment and other social obligations Tolerance for diversity Recognition of complexity and ambiguity. The characteristics enumerated under Asian values represent the Taiwanese scene, and the scenario in Europe is representative of the UK. From the above, it can be seen that the SMEs in Taiwan are formed with reliance on individual assistance, based on respect for authority, with trust and mutual relationships as the supporting factor. In the UK, and other European countries, it is the legal framework that gives the necessary assurance and support to the business rather than trust. In Taiwan authority is enforced, and followed, because it is natural to the culture. In the UK, the legal aspects are augmented by collective bargaining with a recognized trade union to achieve this purpose. Taiwanese take great care to handle employees’ feelings appropriately whenever major decisions need to be taken. This is replaced by collective bargaining and more formal communication in the UK. SMEs predominate in Taiwan, whereas larger firms represent the more prevalent form of business in the UK. SMEs constituted 99.43 percent of Taiwan’s total manufacturing firms in 1954, the highest level ever recorded; 95.26 percent in 1976, the lowest; and 98.07 percent in 1996. Among them, the smallest firms, employing fewer than 10 persons, accounted for 90 percent of all firms in the manufacturing sector in the 1950s.[15] On the other hand, SMEs generate roughly one quarter of the GDP of the UK. The generation of employment by SMEs varies from sector to sector, the highest being in the construction sector with 84% of the employment being generated by this sector. The SME sector, which was declining up to 1970, picked up momentum thereafter, and showed a rising trend till 1994. Since 1994, the number has remained constant.[16] As can be seen from these figures, the SME sector is less dominant in the UK than in Taiwan. Why Human Resources are important in firms â€Å"The resource-based view of organisations explains variations in firm performance by variations in firms’ human resources and capabilities†[17] Firms can gain competitive advantage by generating specific knowledge and skills that are difficult to imitate. This can be achieved through human capital development. The importance of Human Resource Development in small firms is thus self-evident – they help the firms to succeed by being competitive. In a study of more than 100 small enterprises in two towns from Germany, Rauch et al found that â€Å"human resources are essentially important and an optimal utilization of skills and knowledge increases small business growth.† [18] In order to harness this important resource and ensure it gives the best returns, an organisation needs to select its employees with care. â€Å"It is expected that as firms grow, the skills and abilities required to perform various functions and activities no longer would be available from the familiar and informal recruitment sources preferred by the owner-manager†[19] Apart from recruitment, other functions such as Training and Development, Performance Appraisal, and formal procedures and documentation help the organisation in improving efficiency. According to Kotey and Slade, â€Å"Benefits of formal HRM practices include meeting legal requirements, maintaining records in support of decisions in the event of litigation, treating employees fairly, and increasing efficiency.† [20] A study by Kotey and Slade involving more than 1300 small firms in Australia showed that as firms grow they tend to introduce formal HR practices and procedures. In the words of the authors, â€Å"While the analyses show that a significant percentage of SMEs implement formal HRM practices with growth, HRM remains informal in the majority of firms, particularly in small firms. It could be that implementation of formal HR structures and procedures necessary to support growth differentiates successful from unsuccessful SMEs.†[21] In a small organisation, people need to be more flexible and undertake a greater variety of jobs. This needs both motivation and skills. In turn, many employees may get better exposure and greater opportunities to learn and shoulder higher responsibilities in a small firm. All of these underline the importance of Human Resources Management in organisations, particularly small firms. The HRM model is â€Å"composed of policies that promote mutual goals, influence, respect, rewards and responsibility between employees in the organisation.†[22] These policies are promoted by practices such as team working, aligning performance objectives with organisational goals, and a flat organisation structure, all of which can be achieved only through a proper Human Resources Management in the organisation. Survey Research findings have confirmed the theoretical position with the conclusion that good HR systems is a source of competitive advantage. One study has shown that higher performance in a number of areas is correlated to good HR systems and practices. Companies that had significantly higher ratings on their HR practices also reported better market value, higher accounting profits, higher growth rates, better sales per employee, and lower employee turnover. Another study has found that newly started companies had a better survival rate if they had good HR practices. The probability of survival was found to vary by as much as 42% between the firms with the best HR practices and rewards, and those with the worst. Yet another study found that performance of the organisation was strongly linked with practices such as acquisition and development of skilled people, better job design, better autonomy, and positive employee attitude. All these studies clearly show that good HR could positively impact organisational performance practices, highlighting the importance of Human Resources in an organisation. Apart from improving performance good HR practices result in lower costs, while poor practices increase the costs to the organization. One of the contributing factors for this is the cost of employee turnover. â€Å"Interviewing and training recruits has significant out-of-pocket costs for the employer.† Replacing an employee involves expenses for Separation, Replacement, and Training. [23] Employee turnover costs can be divided into three major elements: Separation costs: These are the costs that are directly incurred when an employee leaves the firm, and include such costs as exit interviews, administrative and paperwork costs, disbursement of separation benefits, and revenues lost due to shortage of staff. Replacement Costs: These represent the cost of replacing the employee who has left and include the costs of advertising, sourcing, interviewing and selection. Training Costs: These are the costs that the company incurs for training and induction of a new employee. Apart from the actual expenditure on these activities, the costs of loss of efficiency in the initial stages, and the time lost during the training period should also be considered. Thus employee turnover could represent a fairly high cost to the organisation. Employee turnover can be classified into avoidable and unavoidable turnover. Most of the avoidable turnover results from lack of proper HR initiatives.[24] How Good/Bad employees affect the firm â€Å"A good employee is possibly the most valuable asset a small firm or SME can possess; a bad one could ruin the enterprise.†[25] Any firm, and more importantly a small firm, can ill afford to have people who do not perform. Robert Townsend, a noted Management expert was once asked the secret behind his ability to take over loss making firms, and changing them into profitable ones. The reply that he gave will be of interest to anyone asking how good or bad employees make or mar the firm. Mr. Townsend identified three factors that contributed to his success: Releasing the potential of employees so that they could perform at much higher levels by the practice of appropriate management styles Identifying people within the organisation who were blocking progress and preventing others from performing, and either changing their ways, or dismissing them Identifying people who had the ability and drive to take the company to greater heights, and promoting them. It can be seen that this highly successful Management practitioner reduced success to three simple rules, namely, eliminating deadwood, promoting and encouraging those with potential and creating the right climate in the company. This clearly shows that apart from creating the right environment, the most important requirement for success is the quality of people. Good people could transform a loss making company into a profitable one.[26] â€Å"Whether a firm is small or large, it’s only as good as its staff.†[27] This can be easily understood because the employees of the organisation make the vital difference between good and poor performance in every area. Apart from the demonstrated effect that this has on the firm’s performance, which has been cited earlier, this also stands to reason. A company depends on coordinated working by its employees towards a common goal to achieve its objectives. In order to meet these objectives, the organisation has to do what it does well. In other words, the competence of its employees should be good if it wants to achieve results. Secondly, the soft skills of the employees are important to achieve internal teamwork as well as to nurture customers with excellent performance and service. Thirdly, the employees of the company need to work efficiently if it is to have a healthy bottom line. All these objectives can be achieved only with good employees who know their job and possess the necessary hard skills, have the necessary soft skills, and are committed to the company’s success. In other words, a company needs good employees who have the right levels of knowledge, skills and attitudes. Conclusion Human Resources Management in Small-to-medium industries has been gaining a lot of attention lately. There is increased awareness among many of the SME entrepreneurs themselves about the importance of good HR practices and policies. It has been shown that organisations having formal Human Resources practices grow faster, and are more profitable, than those that do not do so. A comparison between SMEs in two countries, namely Taiwan and the UK, shows that the SME sector is more predominant in Taiwan, which is characterized by a culture that lays greater emphasis on group working, respect for authority, and mutual trust. This is contrasted by the UK situation where the SME sector is les pervasive, and the HR climate is characterised by formal and legal supports, collectivism, and social responsibility. Although the two situations are quite different from each other, the importance of formal HR systems in the SME segment is being recognised in both cases, and seem to affect performance positively, irrespective of the background. Works Cited A Causal Analysis. Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice, 29(6): 2005: 681+. Bennett, Roger. Small Business Survival: Strategies for Delivering Growth and Staying Profitable: Second Edition. London, Financial Times Management, 1998. Burns, Paul. Entrepreneurship and Small Business. New York, Palgrave, 2001. Griffith, Roger W and Hom, Peter W. Retaining Valued Employees. London, Sage Publications, 2001. Gumbus, Andra, and Robert N. Lussier. Entrepreneurs Use a Balanced Scorecard to Translate Strategy into Performance Measures. Journal of Small Business Management 44(3): 2006: 407+. Heneman, Robert L., Judith W. Tansky, and S. Michael Camp. Human Resource Management Practices in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises: Unanswered Questions and Future Research Perspectives. Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice, 25 (1): 2000: 11. Holbeche, Linda. Aligning Human Resources and Business Strategy. Oxford, Butterworth-Heinemann, 2001. HRD in Small Organizations, Edited by Graham Beaver & Jim Stewart. New York, Routledge, 2004. Hu, Ming-Wen. Many Small Antelopes Make a Dragon. Futures 35(4): 2003: 379+. Kotey, Bernice, and Peter Slade. Formal Human Resource Management Practices in Small Growing Firms. Journal of Small Business Management, 43 (1): 2005: 16+. Lin, Carol Yeh-Yun. Success Factors of Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises in Taiwan: An Analysis of Cases. Journal of Small Business Management, 36(4): (1998): 43. McKenna, Eugene and Beech, Nic. Human Resource Management, A Concise Analysis. Essex, Pearson Education Limited, 2002 Megginson, David, Banfield, Paul, and Joy-Mathews, Jennifer. Human Resource Development. Kogan Page India Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, 2001. Rauch, A., Frese, M., & Utsch, A. Effects of Human Capital and Long-Term Human Resources Development and Utilization on Employment Growth of Small-Scale Businesses: Satava, David. The A to Z of Keeping Staff: Few Firm Employees Leave without a Good Reason-Here’s How Not to Give Them One. Journal of Accountancy 195 (4): 2003: 67+. [1] L. Holbeche, Aligning Human Resources and Business Strategy, Oxford, Butterworth-Heinemann, 2001, pp.10-11. [2] R.L. Heneman, T.W. Judith and S. M. Camp. Human Resource Management Practices in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises: Unanswered Questions and Future Research Perspectives. Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice 25(1): (2000): p. 11 [3] HRD in Small Organizations, Edited by Graham Beaver & Jim Stewart, New York, Routledge, 2004, p. 81. [4] Ibid, p81 [5] Ibid [6] ibid, p82 [7] ibid, p 85 [8] ibid, p 89 [9] ibid, p 89 [10] A. Gumbus and R. N. Lussier. Entrepreneurs Use a Balanced Scorecard to Translate Strategy into Performance Measures, Journal of Small Business Management, 44(3): 2006: p.407. [11]C.Y. Lin. Success Factors of Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises in Taiwan: An Analysis of Cases. Journal of Small Business Management, 36(4): (1998): p. 43. [12] M. Hu. Many Small Antelopes Make a Dragon, Futures, 35(4): 2003: p. 379. [13] E.McKenna and N. Beech. Human Resource Management, A Concise Analysis. Essex, Pearson Education Limited, 2002, pp.4-5. [14] ibid [15] M. Hu. P. 379. [16]   P.Burns. Entrepreneurship and Small Business. New York, Palgrave, 2001, p12. [17] A. Rauch, M. Frese & A. Utsch. Effects of Human Capital and Long-Term Human Resources Development and Utilization on Employment Growth of Small-Scale Businesses: A Causal Analysis. Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice, 29(6): 2005: p681. [18] ibid [19] B.Kotey and P. Slade. Formal Human Resource Management Practices in Small Growing Firms. Journal of Small Business Management, 43(1): (2005): p.16. [20] ibid [21] ibid [22] E. McKenna and N. Beech, p34-35 [23] D. Satava. The A to Z of Keeping Staff: Few Firm Employees Leave without a Good Reason-Here’s How Not to Give Them One, Journal of Accountancy, 195(4 ): 2003: p. 67. [24] R. W. Griffith and P. W. Hom. Retaining Valued Employees, London, Sage Publications, 2001, p10 [25] R. Bennett. Small Business Survival: Strategies for Delivering Growth and Staying Profitable: Second Edition, London, Financial Times Management, 1998. [26] D. Megginson, P. Banfield and J. Joy-Mathews. Human Resource Development. Kogan Page India Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, 2001, p. 82. [27] Satava, David. â€Å"The A to Z of Keeping Staff: Few Firm Employees Leave without a Good Reason-Here’s How Not to Give Them One.† Journal of Accountancy 195.4 (2003): 67+.

Marco Polo The Travels – The Silk Road

This is the story of a great young adventurous traveler. At the young age of 21, he embarked upon and successfully completed, the tasks seemed practically impossible to achieve in the era to which he belonged.   He was not much educated in the academic sense, but till date he continues to be the research subject for the aspiring Doctorates.   He studied everything in the college of self-education, where his mind was his Principal. His initiative, his Professors! His hard work his tutors! A man who would decide! A man who would act! A man who would start and a man who would finish! God moulds souls like Marco Polo but rare, perhaps for the specific purpose of inspiring the younger generation!The Great Khan must have given him the brief, mostly from political angle, but the self-starter Marco Polo, brought along with him the comprehensive information and details that staggers the most fertile imagination.   Marco Polo is a trader-author; not an author-trader.   The latent writi ng ability in him of which perhaps he was not consciously aware, enthralled those who read his work. Volumes have been written and discussed about his travelogues. If Marco Polo were to appear for a test on criticism/appreciation about his writings, the syllabus would be so vast, Marco Polo would not be able to cover it in his life-time.   The critics have seen so much in his writings, made threadbare analysis, which the original author would have never imagined.Another reason for the popularity of the book was—the details highlighted in it were revealed to the outside world for the first time. They were so mysterious that the readers were enthralled by the descriptions. Many refused to believe his accounts. When Marco Polo lay on his deathbed, his priest, his friends and relations clustered around him to plead that he at last renounce the countless lies he had recounted as his true adventures, so his soul would be cleansed to Heaven. The old man rose up, roundly damned the m all and declared, â€Å"I have not told the half of what I saw and did!† Remember, the people who were attempting to cross him belonged to that generation which     argued that the Earth was flat and the sun rotated around the Earth! Marco Polo was much ahead of his times!I think Marco Polo provided the greatest inspiration to the younger generation of not only Italy, but the entire world, as for adventures and travels. He was the genius, who embodied the spirit of hard aspirations and their fulfillment, under most difficult conditions. His travel experiences have all-time significance, all over the world. I do believe that Marco Polo provided positive knowledge, information that was not known to the people. He was the first Westerners to travel through the Silk Road. (It is only named as a Silk Road, but in reality there is nothing silken about it; it is a rough, rugged, treacherous route.)He is hailed as one of the most important figures from Italy. His life span from 1254-1324, was quite eventful. He highlighted the differences between Europe and Asia.   During the medieval times, religion had the greatest impact on the lives of Kings and his subjects. Marco Polo explains how secularism was practiced then. â€Å"But concerning God and your own soul do what you will, whether you be Jew or pagan, Saracen or Christian, who live among Tartars.They freely confess in Tartarv that Christ is a lord; but they say that he is a proud lord, because he will not keep company with other gods but wants to be over all others in the world. So in some places, they have a Christ of gold or silver and keep him ensconced within a shrine and say that he is the great lord of the Christians.†(Polo, 1958, p.47).The concept of unity in diversity was clearly seen and appreciated by Marco Polo.Education and trade:To Marco Polo, it must be admitted, traveling and interest in trade is the family heritage. In 1260, Niccolo Polo, the father of Marco Polo, and his brot her Maffeo went across Black Sea in search of profitable ventures.   They brought from Venice sizeable quantity of extraordinary jewels and set out from Constantinople by ship to Sudak and onward to Barku. When Marc Polo was introduced to the Great Khan, he was just 21 years old. By then, he had possessed an excellent knowledge of the letters and customs of the Tartars.Khan took great fascination for this brilliant youth and soon he was the trusted lieutenant of Khan with whom he took counsel on important issues. Marco Polo was then sent on a mission to Kara-jang (Yunnan) in the far south west, as an emissary. The mission was a great success. The trader- instincts surfaced en route, Marco Polo made the detailed scrutiny of all the curiosities and novelties. On return, the Great Khan was given a brief, about the issues and business for which he was sent. The curious customs of the people were highlighted. This young lad impressed Khan on all counts.The Silk Road is—the trave l chronicles about the arduous three years journey from Venice to the abode of the Great Khan initially through the ancient trade corridor and blow by blow account of his wonderful experiences based on facts related to the peoples of Iran, Iraq, India, Tibet, Pamir, Mongolia and China. Marco Polo made it a point to record every aspect of the life that he encountered; they were so different, peculiar and interesting from region to region, country to country.   Therefore, Marco Polo is regarded as a great anthropologist. In addition, the book contains many areas which Marco Polo covered during his epic travels as an emissary for the Great Khan, when he was in China for seventeen long years.I think Marco Polo had a great eye for the details, and nothing escaped his attention. The emporiums en route, the construction of yurt in Mangolia as residential quarters( comparable to the mass cheap housing   colonies in the developing countries), fireworks, paper currency, printing and pasta , the treatment and honor provided for the dead, glass making, the introduction of ginger in various recipes, tea as a popular form drink, Marco Polo’s statement in Persia that he had chicken cooked in pomegranate juice, turmeric,(look at the style how he introduces turmeric –â€Å"here is also a vegetable that has all the properties of true saffron, as well as the smell and the color, and yet it is not really saffron.†).Marco Polo was responsible for transfer of scientific and technological innovations, such as gunpowder, ceramics, the magnetic compass, the printing press and mathematics,   along the Silk Road to the West. I also feel that Marco Polo won the trust of Kubilai (the sixth Khan in the Yuan dynasty) and retained it for 17 long years is one of his greatest achievements. He began his journey with an empty book and returned as an encyclopedia.To complete his mission, Marco Polo traveled by foot, on horse and boat. The Silk Road is not just an histori cal entity of the 13th century. In the modern times also, this route holds fascination for the travelers. As if to pay compliments and tributes to   History, during the summer vacation, people in large numbers traverse along the original route from Shaanxi Province east to Gansu and then to   Xinjiang. En route, one can see the traces and landmarks of the ancient glory—the religious art painted in caves by art-loving travelers.The ancient pagodas stand tall and majestic side by side with the new artistically and classically designed buildings. Traveling on this Silk Road is to study the pages of an historical book.   Actual travel and experiencing is more than to study a dozen books on the subject. Columbus treasured Marco Polo’s book as a reference guide for his adventures, not without reasons.   Marco Polo provided some amazing and accurate details relating to trade routes. He did his job of amassing details and making notes with the enthusiasm of a modern MB A research scholar. He was alone on his travel and other efforts, but he never hesitated to collaborate with the local populace and authorities regularly. Marco Polo had rare insight for minutest of the details regarding a particular product or activity.Marco Polo-the legend of a name:The name Marco Polo has assumed legendary significance. That was not a jet -set age where one can travel end to end of the world within a matter of days. Grit and courage were the domineering traits. That a 21 year young lad achieved the  Ã‚   intimate trust and became the emissary of the Great Khan is an inspiration to the modern youth. He was successful in all his political, trade and cultural assignments. His name has become a legendary trademark!   Marco Polo’s name was given to a children’s game, in a story in the science fiction series of Doctor Who. A ship with three masts clipper built in Saint John, New Brunswick, in 1851 was named Marco Polo.Marco Polo was the first ship to sail around the world in under six months. Many ships of the Italian name were named Marco Polo. The International Airport in Venice is named Marco Polo. In Hong Kong also at least there are 3 Marco Polo Hotels. He is the source of inspiration to many novelists like Donn Byrne’s Messer Marco Polo (Irish Writer), Gary Jennings’s novel The Journeyer (1984). Marco Polo is one of the important characters in Italo Calvino’s novel Invisible Cities.When he was 15 years old, John Goddard, who was also known as â€Å"the real life Indiana Jones,† and one of his expeditions, â€Å"the most amazing adventure of this generation† was to follow Marco Polo’s route through all of the Middle East, Asia and China. Marco Polo continues to be the perennial source of inspiration for adventure-seeking younger generation.References Cited:Polo, Marco (Author), Latham Ronald (Author) Book: The Travels of Marco Polo. Publisher: Penguin Classics (September 30, 1958) I SBN-10: 0140440577 ISBN-13: 978-0140440577

Proper Way to Live by Confucianism and Taoism Essay

Confucianism and Taoism are ideologies that originated from China. These two ideologies have become popular even though different in their various approaches. The analysis of this paper will include introduction of the main ideologies of Confucianism and Taoism, and it is also providing a comparison between the two ideologies. Confucianism It is a word used for the ideologies of Confucius, a scholar that existed at the time of warring states. The keyword of Confucianism generally is the concept of humanism (Ritzer 37). Among the five virtues of Confucianism are Humanism, Righteousness, Principle, Knowledge, and Integrity. Taoism He was a scholar who like the others lived in the period of the warring states, and had a different approach in his ideologies. Tao is the main concept of Taoism, meaning â€Å"way.† It is described as a spontaneous, natural, external way of things, as well as the way they pursue their course (Ritzer38). The argument of many philosophies is that in case people are going to let everything in life to flow in their own way, then everything would definitely work out, like in the starts of his argument in this case it affirms the word â€Å"refrain.† While Confucianism has emphasized more on humans and their capabilities, Taoism has emphasized nature and equality. According to Confucius when an individual has faults, he should not have fear in abandoning them. Confucianism recognizes the need to be strong by shunning away any set back from other people who do not recognize the ability that you possess as portrayed by the statement â€Å"Do not grieve when people fail to recognize your ability, Grieve for your lack of ability† (Ritzer 38). The philosophy talked about not listening or be bothered with what other people think about your ability but always rise-up to the occasion and not grieve. These concepts are what Confucius was using in bringing order and peace to society and he was considered successful in doing so. Based on the facts that his argument on life emphasizes more on the importance of human relations, it is still influential. Confucius has emphasized humbleness, the philosophy describes what a noble mind aspires to â€Å"slow to speak and quick to act,† in the same way the ancient people spoke little. This is similar to Lao Tzu view about life describing life to be with little quarrels in order to avoid quarrelling with other people. Moreover, Confucius view about life is all about loyalty, ready to change whenever wrong, always standing by your words, as well as choosing only the kindred as your friends. Taoism has emphasized humbleness and gratefulness throughout life, â€Å"†¦have little and gain; Have much and be confused.† Taoism also has considered humbleness in life in another perspective affirming need for a person to stand by his own words as a way of being humble. The philosopher describes wise men as setting example to all and in order for that to happen a wise man must always stand by his own word, a character that can be desired and be emulated. Taoism view about life has been considered as perhaps too mystical. It can be criticized to be just an ideology that is trying to escape reality. Moreover, as much as Taoism could give a skeptical view, it failed to provide a realistic solution about life. However, Confucius as a philosophy is more welcomed because it has a deeper sense of life with realistic solution, especially regarding the opinion that other people have about some other people. According to Confucius, people should not just be comfortable with the way they have been described and given title, whether positive or negative. When they talk good about other people, do not just take the complement and remain comfortable, investigate and find out the reason behind being good to them. This is always more serious when they hate you. Since there are many reasons behind somebody holding an opinion about another person, it is indeed important to investigate more why other people have decided to have that opinion, this is because there may be genuine reason behind doing so or may just be a misunderstanding of what was wrongly perceived. According to Confucius just like Taoism in some aspects every individual is required to act with virtue in every social matters, family, community, state, and kingdom, mainly to ensure order and unity. Though these two philosophies may have taken different philosophies, they have in one way or the other succeeded in shaping of the society in terms of their way of life and their approach to life. Realistic or not realistic their ideologies stand to stay and the perceiving mind is what should embrace and accept the reality. Conclusion Following the rise of individualism and freedom, the modern society always forgets their manners and patience. Most of the people tend to be selfish, rude, and having over high esteem about themselves. Just as emphasized by Confucius in his time, people should learn to be calm and respectful in life. Also Taoism has pointed out the need to learn being free, empty our minds, as well as clear our souls. This is because nobody in this world that do not need peace of minds. References Ritzer, George.Contemporary Sociological Theory and Its Classical Roots: The Basics. McGraw-Hill, 2009. 37–38. Print. Source document

Present your argument evaluation and counterargument Essay

Present your argument evaluation and counterargument - Essay Example s, the factors which forms and orients a intelligence includes heredity or genetic or natural factors, which will be imbued when the child is born, and the other being environmental or nurturing factors, which can tune the child as he/she grows up. One argument is that heredity or genetics ‘naturally’ establishes the basic foundation of ones intelligence particularly the physical aspects needed for intelligence and then will function as the â€Å"blueprint† for the further development of the individual’s intelligence. However, the counter-argument is that the environmental or nurturing factors such as cultural, social, situational, and many more factors mainly influences the child’s development and the evolution of intelligence. So, focusing on this Nature vs. Nurture debate, the discussion will be about how nurture plays the crucial role in developing and orienting intelligence than nature. Hereditary or the genetic transmission of certain physical characteristics from the parents determines the physical part of an individual’s intelligence and thereby personality. That is, as the child is born, it will inherit the physical components needed for intelligence especially brain as well as other genetic materials which will be exhibited in the DNA of the offspring. So, just as the child will inherit certain physical features like eyes, color, height, hair, and others, the child could also inherit the genetic materials, which have made their parents or even their ancestors intelligent. This focus on nature being the reason for intelligence was first started in the late 1800’s, coinciding and consistent with the scientific discoveries made by Gregor Mendel and Charles Darwin regarding the role of inheritance as well as natural selection. The first prominent contributor for this psychological perspective was Francis Galton, who in his book "Hereditary Genius: It s Laws and Consequences† focused on how intelligent and talented individuals naturally tend to

Intergroup communication final paper Term Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Intergroup communication final - Term Paper Example Moreover, more women are working outside the home, or while in the home, including low-income mothers (Gassman-Pines, 2011). Around 29% of working mothers were employed in jobs with non-standard schedules (versus standard schedules of fixed daytime hours from Monday to Friday) in 2004 (Gassman-Pines, 2011). In developing countries, working mothers show an increasing trend, with some working mainly due to economic needs, while others, especially the educated ones, choose to work to attain personal fulfillment from their work-life identities and to pursue further education and upward career/business goals (Jabbar, 2014; Parà © & Dillaway, 2005). Furthermore, having the option to work, instead of staying at home, is a hallmark of the modern age, particularly, in line with feminist and gender equality movements (Parà © & Dillaway, 2005). Working women develop political power when they increase their contribution to decision-making at home, and when they rise in their organizations as top managers (Ruderman, Ohlott, Panzer, & King, 2002). In addition, they also improve social and cultural power, as they gain social approval for being independent individuals who should be able to work without being judged as neglecting their traditional gender roles and responsibilities (Jabbar, 2014). Nevertheless, working mothers continue to face work-life issues that impact career advancement (King, Botsford, & Huffman, 2009). In other words, not getting enough social support and lack of balance in family and work life can derail women from attaining topmost management positions and attaining a balanced family life-work balance (King et al. , 2009). Some studies investigated the effects of employment outside the home on working mothers and their children and found mixed results. On the one hand, Jabbar’s (2014) interviews with Jordanian mothers and teachers and maids from other countries revealed that working mothers and teachers did not agree that having

Death of a salesman - play response Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Death of a salesman - play response - Assignment Example The sound effects were perfect with echoes employed especially during the flashbacks. The director Powell also manages to shift the tome of the play depending with the occurrence especially using tonal variations of the actors. The most striking feature of the play in terms of sound is when Willy crushes his car indicating the end of the play. The lights then go off. The Director used light to depict different moods in the play. Instances of somber moods were braced with dim lights while brighter lights braced happy moments. The actor’s participation was perfect especially with stage position at the stage while Willy and His Son’s were conversing. The actor’s participation was so real that it managed to moved the audience. The play was full of laughter, murmurs, while other shed tears at the tragic death of the salesman. Willy’s participation and expressions of anger and somberness made this play look very real. Background music employed especially vocal t unes carried away the audience making the play to look so real. Use of gestures and stage movement encouraged actor’s participation. Symbolically Willy decides to plant a garden in the play, which is a symbol of satisfaction. Willy wanted to make his son achieve the American dream but his son Biff denounces him when he finds him cheating on his mum with a mistress. During this time, Willy picks a hoe and goes to the garden to pant some seeds. The actions look real even though this play is a stage performance the director Anthony Powel has managed to draw this symbolism. Willy’s action with his wife is marvelous. During the opening stage of the play, he holds his wife and tells her, â€Å"Linda people laugh at me when I tell them am feeling kind of temporary about myself and after all the highways, the trains, and the appointments, and the years, you end up worth more dead than alive†. The director of this play hints Willy’s tragic death, which still

Measuring development is an arbitrary process since all summary Term Paper

Measuring development is an arbitrary process since all summary statistics in this area are trying to evaluate economic inputs rather than economic outputs - Term Paper Example as of economic development include; health rates in a country, people life expectancy rates, unemployment and rates of poverty that are characteristic of a particular country. In actual practice, economic growth is narrow in its scope as compared to economic development. Economic growth solely takes into account the total increase in a country’s real level of national output that is often because of a boost in the quality of resources applied, for instance, education, an increase in the number of resources and the quality improvements that have been done in technology. In another words, to measure economic growth, economists make use of the GDP statistics, which shows the contributions of each country’s sector towards the overall national output. On the other hand, economic development can be said to be a normative concept, which only exists in the citizen’s sense of morality, i.e, the knowledge of something good and bad. In a general sense, economic development of a country can be explained though an increase in peoples standards of living and general way of life. Economic development ensures that people make proper decisions about their wealth creation and improves their way of life. This is done only when people realize the value of involvement in different economic activities. The best approach in the measurement of economic development is the use of human development index that gives due consideration to a country’s levels of literacy, people’s expectancy rates and how they affect overall productivity in a country. Economic development is an important concept since it often leads to creation and establishment of important institutions that determine the quality of human life like education and health care. In addition, it also contributes to establishment of important employment and environment policies. Economic development in a country means the increase in per capita income out of a single individual. When computing the levels of economic

OP-ED articles Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

OP-ED articles - Essay Example The USA president Obama has said that he will look to build consensus in the international community before intervening in Syria (Nicholas and Adam). This necessary means that all major western powers such as Russia , France and UK need to agree on the need for intervention. However whenever USA is asked to send its military to a foreign land in order to ‘liberate’ the people of the country, the voices of those who matter the most are never heard. In this article I will try to bring the spotlight on these voices – the average citizen of USA who pays for the military intervention, the soldier who has to lay down his life and the people of the country who are being ‘liberated’. ... So much amount of public money going down the drain is downright criminal when Congress is telling us that it does not have any money to spend on health, education and social security. How do the citizens of USA benefit by sponsoring these wars in distant foreign lands? What do we gain? No one has ever asked this question. It is time to do so. I think it should be made mandatory for a referendum to be held for intervening in wars which do not belong to us. The decision to bring democracy to distant lands should be a democratic one. If the people vote a yes in the referendum, then the President should be free to intervene in Syria. The people may make a wrong decision but at least it will be their decision, not the decision of NATO or a war hungry president. If we are paying for these wars, it is the USA soldiers who are dying in these wars.2220 USA soldiers have laid down their lives in Afghanistan (Icasualties.org.) and 4488 young soldiers have been killed in the Iraqi war (Antiwar. com.).As so many of them lay down their lives, it is just that they also have say in which wars to fight and which ones to avoid. Some people may say that as soldiers they have no right to have a say, it is the prerogative of the elected legislature. I agree that it is the prerogative of the legislature and the President of USA to declare wars; and I also agree that soldiers when they join the army agree to serve our nation without any question. But we have made an army to defend our country and fight our wars; not to liberate Syria or Libya. An army man will be more than happy to lay down his life for his motherland but why should he kill himself for people he has never met and who mean nothing to him. The death of our soldiers when there is no threat

Techniques to Generate Ideas Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Techniques to Generate Ideas - Essay Example Fundamentally, concept development techniques enable an organization to nurture an idea into a business adventure that an entity can pursue profitably. However, prior to the realization of an idea, it is imperative to appraise it critically (Bluemner). Diverse concept development procedures exist nonetheless, the applicability of the techniques relies on the prevailing circumstances. Consequently, identifying a concept generation methodology for Chocoberry (CB) requires prior knowledge of the entity and its industry. Additionally, prior awareness of the entity’s aspirations is critical. Chocoberry operates in the cuisine industry, which changes rapidly depending on the market trends. Accordingly, research would be an appropriate technique for concept development. Research would enable the management to make a decision based on credible facts that have culminated from studies. Particularly, Chocoberry lacks a diversified product portfolio. Therefore, poor decision-making would terminate in catastrophic results. Research presents a credible procedure to develop concepts (Gorchels 72). Transforming ideas into concept would require research. This would establish the monetary repercussions of the ideas. Additionally, it would ensure the establishment of other facts pertaining to the ideas. The facts would facilitate transformation of the ideas into concepts. The conversion of ideas into concepts follows brainstorming. The management would undertake brainstorming since they bear relevant knowledge on how to expand Chocoberry’s ventures (Bluemner). Research requires expertise hence, individuals vested with the above task ought to bear proficiency in that field. For effective study, Chocoberry would need to outsource the above service. Outsourcing is a viable option since it allows the entity to hire experts that Chocoberry may lack. Additionally, outsourcing would ensure that objectivity in the undertaking of research. Conversely, if Chocoberry’s staff undertakes the research on the concepts it would culminate in skewed findings since the employees would manipulate the study to suit their departments or career objectives. Overall, the research would demand expertise due to technicality and objectivity of the procedure. Though scholars have availed methods to evaluate business opening, it is imperative to concede that the majority of the ideas appraise the financial aspect only. The detail below exemplifies an opposite criterion of evaluating business ideas. Initially, the evaluators should establish the relevance of an idea to Chocoberry’s objectives. Secondly, the evaluator would analyze the financial implication of an idea. Chocoberry aims at boosting its profitability. Subsequently, ideas with negative financial returns are infeasible. Evaluation of the financial implication would adopt methods such as Net present value (NPV). Visibly, managements fail to analyze the operation repercussions of an idea. This aspect would reveal modalities relating to the personnel requirements of implementing the proposed idea. Additionally, it would reveal an idea’s implications on the entity’s efficiency. The three criteria would provide a procedure that analyzes an idea in multifaceted manner. Essentially, this would facilitate grading of the proposals (Allen 32). It is vital to rank ideas since it helps the management to effect well thought out ideas.

Meaning of Life and Success Essay Example for Free

Meaning of Life and Success Essay Extended Definition Essay Success The most Important thing In my life Is thought to be happiness. In order to achieve success you must adjust to very situation with ease. Success Is It the process of doing a task and receiving a positive result, or Is It simply achieving ones own personal goals. According to The American Heritage dictionary success Is, the achievement of something desired, planned, or attempt. The word success itself means to achieve your goal or get the point that you looking for. Some people success meant to them to be rich or to finish school and work high pay Jobs. But for me success means more han that. Success means to me have peace and love; also to get married and to enter heaven after this life is over. To be sure, everybody who has peace and love is a successful succeeding person. Wthout peace and love there is no success. You wake up in the morning and you dont worry about anything that day; that is success for me, because the life is short, you dont have to be concerned about anything. Also if you have a family that loves you and is always happy for what you are doing, that is success. In addition, if you take care of your old parents and they love you and they live a happy life, which is uccess tor me. Additionally, success Is also something that Is viewed differently In the eyes of everyone. This is because success means doing what I have always wanted do being where I have always wanted to be. My goal In life Is to eventually get married toa good wife and have many happy children and If I accomplished that, then I could view myself as having success. Lastly, meaning of success for me Is to enter the heaven after this life Is over. We know that life in this world is too short, and we dont know when we are going to die and what we are going to get after this life. That is a simple answer; do good deeds in this world and you are going to be successful in the Ife hereafter. That means you enter the heaven for sure and that is big reward from God to his mankind. There is no dying after this life; that means f you dont enter the heaven you will be the loser and who ever go in the heaven will be the winner. In conclusion, I still agree with the Idea I presented: however according to the dictionary and many other resources, success means to them achievement. But according to my own opinion success means to believe the ones of God, and to have eace and love in your whole life, and to get in heaven the life hereafter. Meaning of Life and Success BY elm12696 The most important thing in my life is thought to be happiness. In order to achieve success you must adjust to very situation with ease. Success is it the process of doing a task and receiving a positive result, or is it simply achieving ones own personal goals. According to The American Heritage dictionary success is, the achievement of Without peace and love there is no success. You wake up in the morning and you you dont have to be concerned about anything. Also if you have a family that loves uccess for me. Additionally, success is also something that is viewed differently in the eyes of where I have always wanted to be. My goal in life is to eventually get married to a good wife and have many happy children and if I accomplished that, then I could Lastly, meaning of success for me is to enter the heaven after this life is over. We this world and you are going to be successful in the life hereafter. That means you no dying after this life; that means if you dont enter the heaven you will be the loser In conclusion, I still agree with the idea I presented: however according to the

American Cultures Impact On The Media Cultural Studies Essay

American Cultures Impact On The Media Cultural Studies Essay None cultures are the same every nation has their own distinct and values. The American and American cultures have very vast differentiation between them. While the culture of America is a mixture of different cultures, the Bangladeshi culture is unique and has its own values and customs. One of the major differences that can be seen between American and Bangladeshi culture is in family relations. While the Bangladeshi are very much family and religious oriented, the Americans are individual oriented. In Bangladeshi culture, the family values are given more prominence than the individual values. Bangladeshi respect family and religious values. On the other hand, in American culture the individual value gets prominence than the family values. Indians are more committed to their family where as the Americans are more committed to themselves only (Difference Between, 2010). The United States is a dynamic country, covering the breadth of a continent. Many cultural currents exist and coexist within American life. The sections that follow do not attempt to cover every aspect of American culture, but instead zero in on some phenomena, like television, films and American music, that newcomers can study in order to learn more about American life. American values have developed over several centuries, affecting (and often being enriched by) successive waves of immigrants. The best way to look at it is to realize that while Americans are often open to new ways of thinking, they have a deep culture, and a deep sense of being American, one that is not always that easy to describe (Life in the USA,2010). Bangladesh has a rich, diverse culture. Its deeply rooted heritage is thoroughly reflected in its architecture, dance, literature, music, painting and clothing. The three primary religions of Bangladesh (Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam) have had a great influence on its culture and history. The people of Bangladesh have a rich fictional legacy, with the first available form of literature being over a thousand years old. Bengali literature developed considerably during the medieval period with the rise of popular poets such as Chandi Das, Daulat Kazi an Alaol (Bangladesh.com, 2010). Although, local music is still popular in Bangladeshi culture, the younger generation is influenced by the western songs. Youth of America is inspired by American artists, movies, and musical bands are becoming more popular in Bangladesh. Coca Cola and Michael Jackson are popular now in Bangladesh. Fast food, a product of American culture, is available but only in major cities and hotels. Most of the people prefer local foods and deserts. Literacy rate in Bangladesh is high compared with other developing countries. For males, it is 54% and literacy rates among Bangladeshi women are 41.4% (CIA the World Factbook, 2010). Main Body Impact of American Culture on Bangladeshi Culture, Media, and Language Culture: Culture can be described as the exclusive system of shared values, customs, beliefs, artifacts, and behaviors that the society members use to confront with their world and also with one another. Moreover, they are transmitted from one generation to another through learning. Culture also refers to the overall cumulative deposit of experience, beliefs, knowledge, values, meanings, attitudes, hierarchies, notions of time, religion, spatial relations, themes of the universe, and possessions acquired by a specific group of people during generations through group and individual striving (Bhabha, 2004). Significant differences are found between cultures of Bangladesh and America. Bangladeshi culture is a sophisticated blend of eastern culture and Islamic traditions. American culture, on the other hand, is a typical example of westernization with distinctive traditions, customs, attitudes and beliefs. It is pertinent to mention that culture is dynamic in nature. Cultures do change over time accepting new traditions while rejecting older ones (refà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦). Bangladeshi culture is increasingly becoming influenced by American culture even though the rate of transformation is considerably low compared with other neighboring countries like India and Pakistan. For example, the tradition of celebrating New Year is common feature of American culture. In Bangladesh, the upper-middle and upper class have embraced this ritual arranging functions to enjoy the events. The New Year celebrations are, however, different from those in American society. Drinks are non-alcoholic and food is prepared as per Islamic traditions. The Asian culture is evident in marriages and social gatherings. Night clubs and lounges are becoming popular in the major cities only especially in Dhaka- the capital city. These night clubs are, however, operated only in the main hotels and mostly open to the tourists. The concept of nightlife being a common feature of American culture is also experienced in the large hotels. The middle and lower class along with those living in rural areas are still hesitant and refuse to accept the westernization of culture. Media: Despite numerous symposia Media has become a significant part of daily life in Bangladesh. Fifty years ago, only radio and newspapers represented the media. Today, media plays a significant and dominant role at every level. Similar to American media, all forms including radio, the newspaper, internet, and television are playing their role. The process of change in the style of media is also not high. In America, number of channels is in hundreds if not thousands. Bangladesh Television is the main channel being government-controlled and government-owned medium (ref). Influenced by the aggression of American TV channels and the powerful role played by media to form public opinion, some satellite channels have been established in Bangladesh (Bangladesh.com2010). More than hundred and thousand different not only America they are spreading all over the world but if we think about Hollywood which utterly affecting every corner of the world. World are made about Hollywood move especi ally young star are crazy to see Hollywood movie. Globalisation demands market liberalization and the liberalization of media also. For that, though the government always heavily controlled the state owned radio and television channels but, in the early 90s, they gave permission to broadcast commercially the satellite channels. Before that, the government even started relaying the news of BBC and CNN through the state owned channel Bangladesh Television. As a result Bangladeshi audience were flooded by Immense of foreign channels. Languages: With over 1 billion speakers globally, modern English is the worlds dominant international language for business, science, medicine, communications, media, entertainment, culture, diplomacy, and countless other fields. For many, the ability to communicate smoothly and naturally in English is the first step to securing a better future for themselves and their families for generations to come (ESLA, 2010). Nowadays, English is considered the worlds most widespread second language; it is used in areas as diverse as the internet, television and radio, and international aviation. The success of English throughout the world stems from two major causes: the far reaching influence of the British Empire, and the 20th century (and continuing) dominance of the United States in the fields of business and entertainment. English is used as a second language mostly in upper and middle class of Bangladesh. The mother tongue and national language is Bangla but due to impact of American cul ture inspired from movies, music, and culture, many words of English language have entered the native language. English words like telephone, television, radio, video, and computer do not have a Bengali term and, as such, used commonly by the citizens of Bangladesh regardless of social class (Brady Bashar,2004). Of course, there are positive moments in the influence of American culture, because it is a step forward to receiving the help from the global community to develop the country, to make it more democratic, to open borders and develop society. All above mentioned processes are constructive, but there also exists the negative impact. Bangladesh may lose it cultural peculiarities, original traditions and genuine mentality. It may be a disadvantage for keeping the country really Bangladeshi; it may become American with some elements of Bangladeshi culture. As a matter of fact due to globalization American culture is influencing Bangladesh through the media, lifestyle, culture and languages and will be influencing more and more. Media shows the American style of life with its pros and cons and people may accept them. English language is absorbed by the national language, Bangla words are being replaced by the American ones. This may lead to American acquisition of the Bangladeshi society. Conclusion: American culture are historically encompasses with their traditions, customs, beliefs ideals, values, arts, history, languages and different innovation of modern technologies which adopted by domestically and globally via colonization. American formed around the world largest immigrants who extremely influence by multicultural society and world cultures are integrated through different nationalities. In the earliest 19th century, America experienced massive immigration different part of the world which is one of the important futures of American history and it has given to raise multiculturalism America. Reference/ Bibliography: Bhabha, H, 2004. The Location of Culture, Routledge Haggett, Peter (2002). The Indian Subcontinent. Encyclopedia of World Geography. New York: Marshall Cavendish. Wood, Geoffrey D. (1994). Bangladesh: Whose ideas, whose interests?. Intermediate Technology Publications Lifeintheusa (2010) http://www.lifeintheusa.com/culture/index.html[accese on 06-12-10] Bangladesh (2010) http://www.bangladesh.com/culture/[Accessed on 06-12-10] Metrolingu (2010) http://www.metrolingua.com/tips.htm/[Accessed on 06-12-10] Difference Between (2010) Difference between American and Indian culture | Difference Between | American vs Indian culture http://www.differencebetween.net/miscellaneous/difference-between-american-and-indian-culture/#ixzz17GpIsu7L[Accese on line 05-12-2010] Weekly holiday (2010)http://www.weeklyholiday.net/2008/261208/anniv08/11.html[Accesed on 01-12-2010] English as a Second Language Academy (2010)http://www.eslacademy.com/[ACCESED ON 28-11-10] Nathan Gardels and Nathan Mike Medavoy (2009) American Idol after Iraq: Competing for Hearts and Minds in the Global Media Age [1st Ed.] Maryanne Kearny Datesman, JoAnn Crandall and Edward N. Kearny (2005) American Ways: An Introduction to American Culture (3rd Edition) Douglas Kellner (1995) Media Culture, Cultural studies, identity and politics between the modern and the postmodern. What is Culture (2010) available at http://anthro.palomar.edu/culture/culture_1.htm[accesed on 30-11-10]

The Region Is The Middle East International Relations Essay

The Region Is The Middle East International Relations Essay The region is the Middle East. The cause of the Israel/Palestine conflict is the question of land and who rules it. Jewish colonization and Palestinian nationalism, both laying claim to the same territory is the basis of this long conflict.The land involved in the Israel/Palestine conflict totals approximately 10,000 square miles at the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea. The state of Israel encompasses the land from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean ocean, bordered by Egypt in the south, Lebanon in the north, and Jordan in the East. The Gaza strip is an additional141 square miles south of Israel, thatis under the control of the Palestinians. Palestine is one of the oldest agricultural sites in the world. Archeologists found wheat at Jericho dating from before 8,000 B.C. Christianity, Judaism, and Islam all have roots in the Middle East. The land has been one of conflict and shifts in power back to the days of the Bible. I believe unfair reports and incomplete information have reached the American people with regard to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The only way to find the real stories is to go looking for them. Richard North Patterson brought the lack of accurate information to my attention when I read his novel called, â€Å"Exile†. I, like most Americans, have received most of my information, and therefore the basis for my beliefs from the media. Mr. North Pattersons novel shook my beliefs enough for me to want to look further into the facts of the conflict. As the organization of Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting shows, the media does not always provide the unbiased detail to understand what the conflict involves. It is difficult to report a story without taking a side to the conflict, but one side seems to have had the sympathies of the media and therefore the rest of the world. After World War II, the United Nations recommended partitioning Palestine into two states and the internationalization of the cities of Jerusalem and Bethlehem. In this UN Resolution, the minority of the Jewish people received the majority and the better of the land. The Arabs received 43 percent of the land, the Jews 57 percent. Despite the Arab Palestinians rejection of the partition and the existence of Israel, Israel was proclaimed a state on May 14 1948. While the Jewish people obtained their homeland, there has been no Palestine and no internationalization of Jerusalem and Bethlehem. In 1948, Palestinians were driven out of the new state of Israel into refugee camps in Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon, and other regions. Approximately 750,000 people were driven from their homes in Israel; and many Jews were also driven from their homes in surrounding Arab countries. Both the expelled Palestinians and Jews often had their land and bank accounts and other property seized. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been one of the longest and has led to thousands of deaths. For both the states, the claim to the land goes back thousands of years. The Jewish peoples claim dates from Biblical times when Jerusalem was the center of the Jewish Kingdom. By 70 A.D. the Romans had claim to the land which started the Jewish â€Å"time of wandering†. The Romans lost control by the 9th century to the Arabs who were mostly Muslims and who, like the Jews considered Jerusalem one of the holiest cities. Palestine remained under Muslim rule for over ten centuries. Britain claimed control of the land in November of 1917 and the League of Nations gave the British control to govern and help Zionists settlers build a Jewish national home. In 1922, Britain divided the land, with the eastern half becoming the separate country of Jordan. The British ruled Palestine over the next 25 years until hostilities between the Arab Palestinians and the Jewish settlers became intoler ably hostile so that Britain turned Palestine over to the newly formed United Nations. The holocaust during World War I, from 1939 to 1945 was a catalyst for the Jewish people to return to Palestine. The worlds sympathies were with the Jews and creating a Jewish national homeland. As a result in 1947, the United Nations divided Palestine into two states; one Jewish the other Palestinian. The Palestinians felt that establishing Israel and the resulting Jewish settlers that displaced the original Palestinian inhabitants created the conflict that exists today while the Israelis argue that the Palestinians refusal to accept Israel and by trying to destroy it, created the conflict that exists today. On May 15, 1948, the day following the declaration of Israels independence armies from five Arab countries combined to invade Israel. After a year of fighting, Israel held more land than was originally given to them by the United Nations. Cease-fire agreements were signed but the Arabs would not sign a peace treaty because they did not consider the war to be over. Egypt and Jordan absorbed the parts of Palestine not taken by Israel. The Arab Palestinians call this war the â€Å"Catastrophe†. Approximately a million Palestinians that were left without homes or farms fled Israel but most were turned away from other Arab countries and found themselves living in United Nations run refugee camps in the Gaza Strip and on the West Bank. In 1967, Egypt, Syria, and Jordan attacked Israel. During the 6-day-war Israel took large stretches of land from the Arabs including the Sinai Peninsula and the Gaza Strip from Egypt, Golan Heights from Syria, and the West Bank from Jordan, which was the center of ancient Israel but was supposed to become the center of the Palestinian state in 1948. By winning the West Bank, Israel held most of historic Israel and the cities of Bethlehem, Hebron and the old city of Jerusalem. After the war, Israel attempted peace by returning all the land except Jerusalem but the Arab Palestinians would not negotiate on this point. The United Nations passed Security Council resolution 242 in November that called for, â€Å"Israel to withdraw from occupied territories in exchange for secure and recognized boundaries†. The Arabs rejected the resolution but over time, most Arab nations accepted the resolution as the basis for todays peace agreements and negotiations. Jerusalem is prized because of its religious history as the holy city for Christians, Jews, and Muslims. The current conflict over Jerusalem is the direct result of the United Nations Partition Plan in 1947, which would make Jerusalem an International city under United Nations control. In the 1948 war following the partition, Israel captured West Jerusalem and Jordan held East Jerusalem. The city remained divided until the 6-day war in 1967 when Israel also captured East Jerusalem from Jordan. Since 1967, Israel considers the entire city of Jerusalem to be its capital, while it was historically Jerusalem was the capital of Palestine and must be the capital of their future homeland. Peace depends on resolving the issue of Jerusalem. Palestinians have lived in the West Bank under Israeli occupation since 1967. Israel has built settlements in the West Bank which house 400,000 Jews. These settlements are illegal under International law, which Israel disputes and ignores. These settlemen ts on what should be Palestinian land are also a major factor in the conflict today. Since 1967, negotiations have centered on retuning land to pre-1967 states as required by International law and United Nations resolutions. In the late 1980s began the first Palestinian uprising called the â€Å"Intifada†. The movement was initially non-violent but the media focused on the violence that did occur. Young Palestinians confronted Israeli troops with slingshots and stones and thousands were killed by the Israeli military. In 1993 another one-sided peace accord, the Oslo Peace Accord, provided that Israel recognize the PLO and gave them limited autonomy in return for peace and an end to Palestinian claims on Israeli territory. This was one-sided because Israel gained control of the land, water and other resources, and the Palestinians really did not gain anything. Many acts of violence have occurred over the years from both sides but with little results. The Palestinians are still without a nation, have limited rights and suffer from poverty. Israel continues to increase and expand settlements into occupied territories, and are willing to give up less and less land than they promised. The Palestinians have lived under military occupation for over thirty years. Frustration and anger against both the United States and the United Nations have resulted in extremism in some cases. These militant groups from Palestine and other Arab nations have engaged in acts they see as freedom fighting but that Israel, the United States and most of the world see as terrorism. In 2002, Israel began building a large security fence in the West Bank to stop terrorists from entering Israeli cities and settlements, this fence falls on Palestinian land. The International court says the barrier was illegal but construction continued. In 2003, the United States and Palestinians pushing for peace and a two-state resolution announced a cease-fire but Israel continued to assassinate militant leaders leading to Palestinian suicide bombings and Israeli air strikes. In recent years, anger and frustration mount as poorer Palestinians find themselves with poorer and poorer land while Israel bulldozes their homes in an attempt to kill militant leaders more often killing innocent civilians including women and children. Israel has demanded that the Palestinian National Authority control the suicide bombers but then Israel bombs official buildings and compounds making it impossible for the Authority to control the terrorists. Israel is actually giving more power to the extremists such as Hamas and fueling their desire to destroy Israel. Hamas has gained power with the Palestinian people because although their means are terrorism and they are listed as a terrorist organization, Hamas spends most of its $70 million annual budget on extensive social programs. â€Å"Hamas funds schools, orphanages, mosques, health care clinics, soup kitchens, and sport leagues. Approximately 90 percent of its work is in social, welfare, cultural and educational activities.† The people depend on Hamas because the Palestinian Authority does not provide these services and because Hamas has a reputation for honesty compared to the corruption within the Palestinian Authority. The result of this conflict appears to be one-sided. The Israelis gained their homeland and the holy city of Jerusalem while Palestine lost its entire state and their holy city. Most Palestinians had their land taken, land which had been bought by or given to their ancestors and passed down through generations. The United States and other Western countries interest in the Middle East is and has been largely about oil. The United States military and financial support of Israel has been largely due to the oil to ensure a large, strong ally in the Middle East. However, the military and financial support has resulted in Israel having the strongest and most advanced military in the Middle East, which includes nuclear weapons. The United Nations has attempted many resolutions that have been critical of Israels inaction, and though the international community has been behind these resolutions, the United States vetoes them. Instead, there is more Israeli land expansion and settlements. There is no doubt in my mind that the original United Nations plan to divide the land to provide for the needs of both the Palestinians and the Jews. The United Nations plan has not been carried out, honored, or enforced by the United Nations or by the United States. Today the Palestinians are in the â€Å"wandering time† without a homeland. There is no way to end Israels responsibility in the conflict without eliminating the consequences of the â€Å"catastrophe† of the Palestinian people. The same conflict exists today because of the continued wars, occupation, aggression, and walls to glorify Israels independence and legitimacy while trying to eliminate Palestinians legitimate national rights, freedom, and independence.† One cannot exist without the other. United Nations resolutions enforcement and United States interventions could right an imbalance. In the quest for a Jewish homeland with the creation of Israel, there has been devastation of Palestinian live s. Historic Palestine was of its people whether Christian, Jewish or Muslim and they lived together in peace. Violence and force will not bring peace to either side. â€Å"Only a peaceful solution to the conflict based on mutual rights will put an end to the violence and suffering on both sides, and will lay down the foundations for the prosperity and well-being of the two peoples (Bisharat).† Shah, Anup. â€Å"The Middle East conflict—a brief background.† Global Issues, Updated: 30 Jul. 2006. Accessed: 08 May. 2010. http://www.globalissues.org/article/119/the-middle-east-conflict-a-brief-background>

Michelangelo Buonarroti :: essays research papers

Michelangelo Buonarotti   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Michelangelo Buonarotti was the most famous artist of the Italian Renaissance, and one of the greatest artists of all time.† (Encyclopedia, pg.398) Michelangelo was a sculpture, architect, and painter. He started to develop his talents, at an early age.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Michelangelo was born on March 6, 1475, in the small Italian village of Caprese near Florence. (Personal, pg.1) At age 12, Michelangelo became an apprentice painter, to Domenico Ghirlandajo. There after he started sculpting, one of the less popular forms of art during this time period. (Encyclopedia, pg.398)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Sculpting was Michelangelo’s one true passion. â€Å"Michelangelo resisted the paintbrush, vowing with his characteristic vehemence that his sole tool was the chisel.† (Sunsite, pg.1) Michelangelo’s statue named â€Å"David† is his most well known. He started creating the statue of â€Å"David† in 1501 and completed his masterpiece in 1504. The statue is carved from marble and stands at a towering 14 feet 3 inches. â€Å"The choice of David was supposed to reflect the power and determination of Republican Florence and was under constant attack from supporters of the usurped Medicis.† (Rubens, pg.1)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Even though Michelangelo loved to sculpt it was not his only artistic talent. Another artistic talent of his was painting. Michelangelo’s largest and most famous paint was that on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. It took him 4 years to complete, from 1508 to 1512. (Castela, pg.1)He also painted the â€Å"Last Judgment† over the altar in the chapel. The â€Å"Last Judgment† took 6 years for him to finish, from 1535 and 1541.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Michelangelo was also a magnificent architect. In 1560, he designed a dome to cover a massive opening, on the Sistine Chapel. They began to construct the dome that he had designed in 1560.

Essay --

The literary movement during the 1980's in Britain was heavily influenced by the state of Britain's economy at the time. The people of Britain had become infatuated with politics due to the election of Margaret Thatcher, the first and only woman Prime Minister of the United Kingdom to have held office. She was known as the â€Å"Iron lady† and the leader of the Conservative Party. Her influence on the British government with her use of Thatcherism did not leave behind a good legacy in the literature department. In a New York Times newspaper article, it is stated that, â€Å"The Thatcher years were a time of remarkable cultural ferment, in which the energies of an extraordinarily diverse roster of musicians, novelists, playwrights, critics and filmmakers — to say nothing of television comedians and puppeteers — were unleashed in opposition, glum and passionate, explicit and overt, to the prime minister herself,†(nytimes.com). Many literary figures have writ ten novels in response to the events of the society's cultural downfall in the 1980's. In Doris Lessing's, The Good Terrorist, which is set in the time period of Thatcherism, she portrays her character's thoughts on bourgeois liberalism as contradictions to their personalities. The main character, Alice Mellings, assumes that she is committing these acts of terrorism for a good reason. Alice and her band of revolutionary rejects are the manifestations of Doris Lessing's various frustrations against political advancements with feminism, communism, and Thatcherism. †¨ The political views and opinions that Doris Lessing's character accumulate in The Good Terrorist are most likely fueled by Lessing's real life experiences with communist parties and her unsatisfying life in the suburbs in Rho... ...ain. During the time of the 1980's in Britain, feminism, communism, and Thatcherism were big parts of the time period. These political advancements caused many literary responses to the downfall of the government that Margaret Thatcher ruled at the time. Lessing was a feminist but was not a feminist at the same time. In an article on dnaindia.com, it is stated that, â€Å"Lessing was able to do a great deal for women without subscribing to feminism; she did it with her life, and with (not just within) her writing,†(dnaindia). Unfortunately, not a lot of research has been done on The Good Terrorist, and it being a good fictional reference into the life of a group of squatters in 1980's Britain, Doris Lessing writes from her perspective on feminist criticism and explores her ideas, hoping to expand further into more of Lessing's works and explore the meanings behind them.

Should Doctors Be Tried in Consumer Courts

The Indian Supreme Court has ruled that doctors can be sued for medical negligence in consumer courts set up under India's consumer protection act of 1986. The landmark judgment, delivered last week, caps the nine year old controversy over whether doctors providing medical services to patients on payment of fees can be held liable under this act. Responding to appeals by doctors against earlier judgments by state high courts, the Supreme Court ruled that patients aggrieved by deficiencies in medical services rendered for payment can claim damages Should doctors be tried in consumer courts? This issue requires much debate, a lot of questioning, also a lot of introspection. But before we do that, let me ask, why do we limit ourselves to consumer courts Why are we afraid to move to criminal courts if the quantum of crime is culpable enough to be tried only in criminal courts When I say this, I wish to emphasize on the point that doctors are after all human beings. They are bound to get carried away by pleasure of life, greed for money and desire for a lavish lifestyle. This may encourage the devils inside them, they may switch over to illegal activities, may mint quick money and fulfill their hiddendesires. Somebody, at this instance, may like to raise a point that doctors are human beings also when they are performing complex surgeries. They are bound to make small mistakes, forget a glove back in the stomach of a patient, inadvertently give a wrong injection, prescribe unknowingly a useless drug. Agreed!!! I don’t suggest harsh punishment for such situations. But I wish that we do not neglect this issue in totality and that too for two reasons. One, because if we allow a doctor to got scott free after leaving a surgical instrument into a patient’s abdomen, we are encouraging his carelessness. There is one in every chance that this mistake may repeat itself and the doctor will never repent for it. Another reason I discourage this practice is- A black sheep in the herd of dedicated doctors, may, under the veil of â€Å"Non purposeful mistake†; Do illegal activities. He, for his unethical gains, perform acts as – prescribe a banned drug to his patient and when he get access to it, supply it potential buyers abroad. Not only this, on pretext of a small operation, he may remove vital organs from the body of a patient while the patient remains in dark. Unlawful activities, but with a lesser criminal intention, could be purposefully keeping a patient in ICU although there is no need of it!!! This point reminds me of a case, where in a patient’s family proved themselves smart enough for the doctors. Let me give a first hand description of this, although in brief. A patient on death bed, with serious kidney malfunction was admitted in a government hospital. Observing the serious condition of the patient, he was instantaneously recommended to a better equipped private hospital. Unfortunately, he breathed his last on the way. Promptly the private hospital issued a death certificate. Unsatisfied with the callous attitude of doctors from government hospitals he was again admitted in the government hospital. The hospital declared him dead after two days, issued a huge bill along with a death certificate. Armed with two death certificates issued on two different dates, the family published the horror story in media channels. This story is another reason why I did not blame only private hospitals and private doctors of illegal bunglings, because that would have shielded all government employed doctors. I blame this situation on the society as a whole and government policies in particular. Society because every 1 in 5 families of a patient is willing enough to have an illegal organ transplant or blood transfusion from an illegal source; if it guarantees the welfare of the patient. This encourages doctors to switch to illegal means for any need, small or big. And the government policies are equally responsible because the scenario since independence, by and large remains the same. There has been no increase in the numbers of opportunities available to this class of people whom we call doctors. Instead we expect them to serve the masses, with minimal(or sometimes even nil) infrastructure, no incentives and when compared to their better offs in IT and MANAGEMENT sectors, only a handful are able to give competition. But before blaming anyone else, Is it not the moral and ethical responsibility of a doctor to serve selflessly his fellow beings? Is this not the first thing taught in medical colleges?!! May be I am keeping my foot on one more debatable topic.!!!! ? Now let me stir the pot a bit more. People die, as sure as they are born, they will die. Its a fact of life and one had better learn to accept it. People do not die ONLY because of doctors mistakes. If my memory does not fail me, the lady, whose death caused the JJ Hospital incident, was 75 years old. No details about what she was suffering from, on how long she was ailing, or the condition she was brought to the hospital in. Despite lacking these vital dfetails, you are ready to accept that the death was due to negligence. That is being unfair. Years ago, when I was still a houseman, we had a patient brought in with a myocardial infarction. The man had suffered a couple of infarctions over the years and his family was well aware that the next one could be fatal. Despite our best efforts he died. The family accepted this and were taking the body away, when the youngest son arrived. This guy had been out drinking, and made such a tamasha, threatening to kill the doctors, screaming abuse etc. Eventually the security had to physically throw him out of teh hospital. Often these dramatic and explosive incidents take place to â€Å"demonstrate† grief, however phony it may be. I have witnessed many such incidents, and feel that even if there was negligence, the Consumer Protection Courts are available to redress any complaint. Beating up pepole is not the solution to the problem. Hi rocrab – long time no see , no hear from you on forums†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ OK so you are a Doctor right So lets first establish the fact that you are biased- right or wrong Ok second point – the JJ hospital fiasco was uncalled for thats for sure. And it also highlighted the plight of 100's of overworked doctors and their meagre stipends. But the fact remains is that you do something wrong – you get punished. I do not think Consumer courts should try Doctors. As in lawyers – they should be debarred from practising medicine if found guilty. Anyways the point I want to bring out strongly is that :-1. People do not get in on merit – they pay huge donations – eg – Manipal college. – Totally shameless. 2. You pay to get in – you can also pay to pass. 3. If you do not know what you are doing – naturally you are literally ‘playing God'. So what are we left with – QUACKS by the dozen. That is why I think if some fear is instilled such foul play will lessen. Am starting another new topic on another issue that is close to my heart after the Jessica Lal forum. The recent strike by resident doctors in Mumbai's JJ Hospital because a relative of a victim who died – slapped a doctor caused headlines for several days. My take on this matter is that the Public slaps, verbal and physical abuse,vandalising of hospitals etc is due to the fact that there is no other way to bring negligent Doctors to book in this country. That is why there are more and more instances of public outrage. What is more dangerous is the fact that these doctors who have caused such deaths – CONTINUE to treat patients and put them at risk with their ‘little' knowledge. And last night NDTV debated about this because a one Dr Saha is suing 4 Kolkotta doctors for Rs 77. 7 crore for negligence for his wife's death. So my question is Should such Doctors be tried for negligence and be punished in a court of law or not? If so what sort of court should try them – like the military have a Martial law ! How long can we allow these so called ‘quacks' to get away with murder 18 Mar 2006 07:03 pm 14 Rumhona, Totally agree with what you have said about money taking precedence over merit. Medical colleges operating out of rented premises, lacking basic infrastructure. â€Å"Deemed† universities, sprouting like mushrooms after the rains, with no one to check or monitor the quality of teh education they provide or the â€Å"doctors† they produce. What is practiced by such â€Å"doctors† is criminal, no question of negligence. Unfortunately we have two sets of laws in India, one for the rich and one for the poor, this has been amply demonstrated in the recent past. Despite all this each case has to be judged on its merits. Negligence as defined by law, â€Å"is not doing that which a reasonable doctor would do†. Now what a reasonable doctor would do, is there in black and white, in teh text books. But no text book can describe ALL the medical conditions and the complicating factors. Medicine is also subjective, so things can get tricky. Every view put forward by an expert will be refuted by another equally qualified expert. (An expert being one who knows more and more about less and less, till eventually he knows every thing about nothing. )Finally, the quality of medicine practiced in India is pretty miserable. My wife who is diabetic and hypertensive, was nearly killed by a consultant, who could not see beyond the infection he was treating. Eventually, I had to bring her down to my hospital where she began recovering in 24 hours.

Focus On Obesity Prevention Health And Social Care Essay

Fleshiness is widely recognised as a major cause of morbidity and mortality, and is a quickly increasing job in many developed states throughout the universe ( van Baal et al. , 2008 ) . Australia is no exclusion, in 2008 25 % of the adolescent population aged five to seventeen was classified as being fleshy or corpulent ( Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2009 ) and it is expected that by 2025 73 % of the entire Australian population will be corpulent, showing that fleshiness and in peculiar childhood fleshiness is a prevailing issue within Australia. Obesity consequences from inordinate weight addition which occurs when more energy is ingested than is required by the organic structure and most commonly consequences from high consumption of high energy nutrient and a deficiency of physical activity ( Pereira-Lancha, Coelho, de Campos-Ferraz, & A ; Lancha, 2010 ) . Corpulent kids will most likely become corpulent grownups without intercession and therefore it is of import to recognize that childhood fleshiness as a public wellness issue has a important impact on both the physical wellness of the person during childhood and in the hereafter every bit good as on the wellness attention system itself. Long term fleshiness entirely has a similar hazard of mortality to that of high blood pressure and high cholesterin degrees every bit good as significantly increasing the hazard of cardiovascular disease, non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus ( NIDDM ) , intestine malignant neoplastic diseases, saddle sore vesica disease and degenerative arthritis ( World Health Organisation, 2000 ) . The impact of fleshiness on the wellness attention system is merely as important and is demonstrated by the estimated $ 58 billion one-year cost of fleshiness in Australia over 2008 ( Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2009 ) . The corpulent population have the highest one-year health care costs in footings of diabetes and musculoskeletal diseases ( new wave Baal, et al. , 2008 ) and it i s predicted that in the hereafter wellness attention costs will increase by $ 5.6 billion a twelvemonth due to fleshiness related diabetes entirely ( Australian Government: Department of Health and Ageing, 2010 ) . The high cost of childhood fleshiness on society and on the person ‘s wellness throughout their life suggests that supplying support towards intercession plans focused on bar may be good to the wellness attention system and to the general population in the long term. In this essay the determiners that influence fleshiness in primary school aged kids, between five and 13 old ages old, at the person, societal and environmental degrees will be considered and schemes that address the upstream determiners will be evaluated. The societal and physical environments that a kid lives in can besides be extremely influential towards their weight. Socially, kids that are overweight are more likely to be bullied at school ( Janssen, Craig, Boyce, & A ; Pickett, 2004 ) which can do the kid psychological emphasis and may ensue in societal backdown of the kid further intensifying their weight jobs as they are less likely to be active with other kids during tiffin times at school. Furthermore, kids that come from a household of lower socioeconomic position are likely to hold an increased BMI of 0.93 for males and 1.08 for females ( King, Kavanagh, Jolley, Turrell, & A ; Crawford, 2006 ) when compared with kids from higher socioeconomic position households. This may be a consequence of the frequently high costs involved for kids to be involved in local organised featuring squads that the parents with lower socioeconomic position can non afford and therefore their kids can non take part and therefore form portion to t he 37 % of kids who do non take portion in organized athletics ( Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2009 ) . Environmentally, the two prima determiners associating to physical activity degrees among kids are entree and safety. When surveyed most parents were concerned about the frequently big Numberss of roads that their kids needed to traverse in order to acquire to play countries where no visible radiations or crossings were present. This was found to hold a direct consequence on the physical activity degrees of kids whose parents believed traffic was heavy in their local streets and accordingly they were 40 % more likely to be fleshy or corpulent ( Timperio, Salmon, Telford, & A ; Crawford, 2005 ) . Finally, handiness to safe countries in which kids could be active is besides a important factor that determines the activity degree among kids. The physical school environment such as resort areas and maintained ellipses were seen as extremely of import due to the important sum of clip that kids spent at that place, nevertheless these countries were frequently locked on the weekend significance kids could non entree the installations that enabled them to be active ( Dunton, Kaplan, Wolch, Jerrett, & A ; Reynolds, 2009 ) . Similarly, a deficiency of indoor installations meant that during the seasons where the conditions was frequently unfavorable the activity degree among kids dropped and the prevalence of fleshiness increased ( Dietz & A ; Gortmaker, 1984 ) . In many ways the current attacks to the intervention of childhood fleshiness involve similar schemes to those which need to be utilised for bar at the upstream degree. Presently, for intervention of fleshiness, kids will frequently see a wellness professional such as a general practician who can so mention them onto a specializer such as a dietician. First the eating wonts of the kid demand to be addressed and this requires the instruction of the kid ‘s parents about basic nutrition. Second, it is necessary for the kid to increase their physical activity degrees and it is encouraged that this be undertaken as a household as it has been proven to be more effectual ( Skelton & A ; Beech, 2011 ) , for illustration household motorcycle drives ( Better Health Channel, 2011 ) . However this extremely individualized intervention reflects the biomedical theoretical account of wellness ( Germov, 2005 ) and is of high cost to society, hence if bar plans can efficaciously make larger grou ps of people these intervention costs may no longer be necessary. In footings of bar, it is apparent that big scale bar schemes aimed toward motive and behavioral alteration, such as mass media runs, are non effectual merely on their ain. This is supported by the fact that 95 % of parents were cognizant of media studies on childhood fleshiness ( Covic, et al. , 2007 ) nevertheless obesity rates among kids still continued to mount. This suggests that the usage of community based intercessions combined with Government degree intercessions at both the province and federal degree may be more effectual toward bar of fleshiness in kids. In conformity with the phases of behavior alteration theoretical account ( Queensland Government, 2007 ) parents must be motivated to originate a alteration in their ain behavior every bit good as their kid ‘s before they will take notice of runs such as â€Å" Swap It † and â€Å" Travel for your life † ( Australian Government, 2011 ) . To turn to this job community based intercessions such as general instruction approximately fleshiness as, 35 % of parents of corpulent kids do non believe that their kid is fleshy ( Myers & A ; Vargas, 2000 ) , every bit good as its effects on one ‘s wellness ( Egger, Spark, & A ; Donovan, 2005 ) are necessary. Similarly, the induction of behavior alteration could be undertaken at a community degree to promote households to alter their behaviors so that it incorporates a healthy diet and physical activity into their day-to-day modus operandi ( Sargent, Pilotto, & A ; Baur, 2011 ) . Programs could include free household dietetic instruction and cookery categories which have proven to significantly diminish fleshiness degrees in kids over a 12 month clip period, as have school based intercessions focused around educating the kids themselves about cut downing the sum of electronic media that they use ( Wilson, et al. , 2003 ) . At a higher degree, the federal authorities could look at their fiscal aid to households of lower socioeconomic position, as in the United States a consequence of the societal safety net plan was a decrease in childhood fleshiness ( Gundersen, Mahatmya, Garasky, & A ; Lohman, 2011 ) . Similarly, the province authorities could take to supply more support towards the care of local featuring evidences potentially leting featuring nines to take down their fees and increasing the handiness of organized athletics to kids of lower socioeconomic position. In add-on, the execution of more policies such as the mandated clip allocated to physical activity and athletics within authorities schools ( State Government Victoria, 2005 ) would farther advance day-to-day physical activity among kids and aid in forestalling childhood fleshiness. In relation to Physiotherapy pattern, a physical therapist may handle kids who have developed jobs such as diabetes and musculoskeletal conditions as a consequence of their fleshiness. This means that physical therapists see at first hand the effects of being corpulent and this cognition combined with their wellness professional position makes them ideal members of the community to educate the wider community on the wellness hazards of their kids being corpulence. For illustration presently physiotherapists may be able to get down by sing female parents groups every bit good as speaking to their patients and educating them about nutrition early, in an effort to forestall the kids developing unhealthy eating wonts at all. In the long term, physical therapists may work together with other wellness professionals every bit good as the local authoritiess to organize free community events affecting both parents and kids that encourage healthy eating wonts and regular physical activity and therefore in bend will take to diminish fleshiness degrees among kids in the community. In add-on, physical therapists once more alongside other wellness attention professionals may take to do alteration politically at the local or province authorities degree by suggesting to these authoritiess ways in which the physical environment demands to be changed such as put ining traffic visible radiations or crossings on busy roads to increase the safety and hence handiness of countries in which kids can be physically active. These chances for physical therapists to go involved in the bar of childhood fleshiness are straight turn toing many of the upstream determiners of wellness, nevertheless there are besides challenges that they may confront. The chief challenge that physical therapists and others working towards bar may come across is the authorities, local, province or federal. While community events such as household featuring yearss can be organised by physical therapists and other members of the community it frequently requires blessing by authorities governments which can be difficult to obtain and at the least at that place needs to be an accessible country to keep these events. Childhood fleshiness is a important job in current Australian society and without intercession to turn to the development of unhealthy eating wonts and deficiency of physical activity, which cause weight addition and lead to fleshiness, the job will merely go on to increase, nevertheless the solution is non that simple. There are many determiners at both single and upstream degrees which limit the effectivity of a individual solution and ways to turn to these determiners that reach the bulk of the community must be introduced. The key to battling childhood fleshiness within the community is to increase parental engagement as this increases the opportunities that intervention and bar will be successful. Once parental engagement is gained, intercessions get downing with instruction around nutrition both for parents and as portion of the school course of study for kids have proven to be most successful, followed by supplying chances for households of all socioeconomic backgrounds to be active. Alongside the community based intercession plans at that place needs to be action by higher degree organic structures such as the local, province and federal authoritiess to ease the community plans when issues such as the physical environment demand to be addressed. Personally, from this essay I have learned that the issue of childhood fleshiness with Australia is a batch more important than I thought it was, and that behind all wellness issues there is a complex web of factors that all influence one another and to efficaciously handle the issue a balance must be found between them. The huge handiness of Australian surveies allowed me to happen information that is accurate and relevant to the Australian society in which I will most probably be working in. However, my essay was in some ways limited by the copiousness of stuff that was available. While the surveies that I researched gave me grounds back uping one scheme at that place may hold been others which I did non happe n giving grounds against that same scheme. However my usage of multiple equal reviewed beginnings that used dependable trialling methods when relevant should ensue in the information provided to be right.