A Taste of Honey How does Shelagh Delaney present the changing factors of Jo’s character? Essay

In this essay I am going to be looking at the play a taste of honey and looking at the factors of Jo’s character. This play was written in 1956 the writer Shelagh Delaney was only a teenager when she wrote this play Helen and Jo are mother and daughter and they live in tatty flats. Helen meets a man named peter and they get married. Helen leaves goes to live with peter. Jo meets a boy who is in the navy. They spend Christmas together Jo gets pregnant and the boy leaves. Jo meets another boy called Geof and they set up home together. Geof is bisexual. Helens marriage breaks up because peter goes off with a younger woman. Helen comes back to and moves back in and get rid of Geof and he leaves and then it is mother and daughter again In the play Jo is the main character as she is always present in the play. In the play Jo meets Jimmy who is the father of her child and she also meets Geof who is bisexual and they have a relationship, Jo also has relationships with her mother Helen. Jo and Helen doesn’t get on well with each other and Helen leaves Jo at home when she goes out in the play a lot happens too Jo her mother leaves she gets pregnant, she lives with a bisexual and her mother returns Thought out the play Jo’s character changes at the start Jo is critical as she says to her mother â€Å"your knocking them back worse than ever† she is capital and organised as she says â€Å"I hate to see an un-shaded electrical light bulb I will put my scarf around it†, â€Å"im not just talented im jeanious† When Jo meets peter her character changes she becomes as she says â€Å"she’s jealous† she says this because she is jealous of her mother. Jo becomes quarrelsome when she says â€Å"I can’t bear to see me being affectionate with anyone† Jo also becomes annoying. When her mother Helen leaves Jo becomes resentful of her mother as she says â€Å"you don’t half knock them back these days† this is her being resentful of her mother. Jo is also hurt as her mother has left her when she says â€Å"you like to leave me alone† she says this because she does not want here mother with her because she has hurt her. When her mother leaves she also feels unloved by her mother. Jo changes again when she meets Jimmy she becomes flirtatious when she says â€Å"I love you† and when Jo says â€Å"I can’t resist myself†. Jo also becomes coy when Jo says â€Å"it’s my school girl complexion† and â€Å"anything might happen† Jo also likes attention because she did not get any love of her mother. Jo also says to Jimmy â€Å"you enjoyed it as much as I did† she says this because she is getting the attention she wants. Jo character changes again when she meets Geof she becomes insulting my calling him â€Å"a big sister†. Jo also becomes cynical â€Å"it’ll always be number one by itself† and becomes frightened when she is heavily pregnant, she is frightened when she says â€Å"I don’t want this baby I don’t want to be a woman†. When Jo’s mother Helen comes back she gets rid of Geof this is when Jo is in labour and becomes less assertive when she says â€Å"are you coming back† Jo becomes resigned â€Å"by baby will be back† she becomes less assertive when she can’t argue back when she is in labour. Shelagh Delaney uses dramatic devices to show the changes into Jo’s character, the first one I am going to write about is Conflict and fights that take place between all characters; there are quarrels between Helen and Jo there is also quarrels and fights between Jo and Peter. When Jo physically attacks peter this is because he is taking her mother away from her. Helen and Jo have had another argument about Helens engament to peter. There is also conflict between Helen, Jo and Geof when they argue about the care of Jo. When Helen and peter are about to split up there is arguments’s between them. It is to avoid conflict that Geof leaves to avoid conflict as he is very selfless. In the play there is a lot of contrast there are love scenes juxtaposed with quarrels with Helen and Jo; Helen and peter and which Jo and Jimmy where they say â€Å"Will you marry me† and â€Å"I love you† and Helen shows love to Jo â€Å"why don’t you lie down† which is another love hate relationship In the play there are two very different people Jo is frightened, Critical, Determined and insecure; Helen is Selfish, bossy, neglectful, and disorganized. There are also 3 different men who visit the flat they are Peter who drinks, insults, and is homophobic; Geof who is bisexual, caring, supportive, and hard working; and finally there is Jimmy who loves, immature, persuasive, and reliable. In the play there is a use of music and dance, each character is introduced with some music can suggest aspects of there character the music gives a surreal effect and can help gives the time gaps in the play Use of dramatic unities is clear unity of place is shaven when everything in the play is in of near the flat people visit the flat, and leave. The only person who stays in the play the whole way thought is Jo. The unity of time is clear when in the play everything happens in a year Jo moves from a school girl to a working loving partner into a loving relationship to a parent. The unity of action is shown when the play comes full cycle. It is cyclical that Helen and Jo are alone in the flat and the cycle of deprivation continues but there is a new life on its way. Jo mirrors Helen in that they have both a failed relationship. In the play the use of language reveals the factors in which cause Jo to change; there are insults between the characters. There is also a use of expletives like â€Å"Silly Bitch† and â€Å"little bastard† and â€Å"sour faced old bitch†. The educated language of Helen shows her using impressive vocabulary like when she says â€Å"The only conclusion I can find in your immediate presents is your ultimate absents†. Jimmy also has an educated language as he has knowledge of Shakespeare. The social conclusions manifest aspects of Jo’s character. Poor housing is clear in Jo’s character; Jo lives in a small 1 bed-roomed flat and it has a shared bathroom with the other flat. The flat is in Manchester and it is by the ship cannel which is polluted; the flat is also by the gas works which smells, this means that the cost of housing in the area is low. Helen has a low income as she is a prostitute and Jo has 2 low paided jobs. Geof has a student grant from the government and he makes clothes for the baby as it is cheaper than buying them. Helen is a prostitute she properly became a prostitute because she might have had no money and she also had a child to support.

Never Let Me Go: Film vs Novel Comparison

Can a movie ever be as good as a book? While it is true that books allow the readers to plunge into the narrator’s thoughts and perceive the events through a particular point of view, films themselves are a masterpiece in their own kind of way. The boat scene in the novel Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro, which reunites Kathy, Ruth, and Tommy, after so many years of leading separate lives, plays a significant role in both the book and the film. Though the film adaptation certainly modifies this passage by adding and omitting certain features, the film adaption still stays very true to the book.Perhaps the strongest difference is the emphasis of Kathy and Tommy’s relationship in the film, which appears a few chapters later in the book. Moreover, the film, with its beautiful scenery and music, manages to embellish the melancholic mood of the scene, in order to make it more powerful than in the book. The passage in the novel starts by giving vivid descriptions of the sett ing, which are used to establish the desolate atmosphere displayed throughout of the scene. The author’s particular diction plays a key role to emphasize this feeling.Phrases such as â€Å"there was open marshland as far as we could see†, â€Å"the pale sky looked vast†, and â€Å"it reflected every so often in the patches of water breaking up the land† are the main indicators that help us picture the setting. The syntax is primarily lengthy and detailed sentences. These sentences help establish the mood as rather isolated and passive. The expression â€Å"ghostly dead trunks poking out of the soil† even goes further than this passive mood by providing a sense of gloominess.Little details, such as â€Å"you could hear the squelch in our shoes† add a touch of realism and provide a better picture of the scene. The description of the boat that follows makes the reader wonder upon its symbolism and the character’s struggle for identity th roughout the book. Here, once more, the word choice implies that it is old and dilapidated. The boat, described as having â€Å"cracking paint† and â€Å" timber frames [†¦] crumbling away† demonstrates that it is trapped on the shores of the beach and is devoid from its freedom.This very much relates to the lives of the characters, in the sense that they too do not have the freedom to lead the life they dreamed of living. As readers, we start to question the purpose of the clones’ life. It is their role to keep â€Å"real† people alive, but does their role stop there? It is clear to see how the characters struggle upon finding their own identity and the meaning of their lives throughout the book, in the way in which they attempt to create art and keep a collection box, which they use to distinguish themselves from their classmates.As the novel progresses, it is evident that this search for identity ultimately leads the characters to spending more ti me searching upon the meaning of their lives rather than actually living their lives. We would like to see Ruth work in an office, Kathy and Tommy doing something they like and build up a true life. Unfortunately, the characters  ¬Ã¢â‚¬â€œlike the beached boat– cannot serve their â€Å"true† purpose. Just like we would expect a boat to sail the sea, we would expect the characters to live their life. The last part of the passage involves a dialogue that shows both Ruth’s fear of completing and the theme of complacency in the book.Indeed, as the characters start talking about Chrissie completing on her first donation, Kathy mentions that Rodney is â€Å"okay†, and that â€Å"he thought Chrissie wouldn’t have minded too much† completing on her first donation. Ruth responds angrily that â€Å"how could he possibly know how Chrissie would have felt? † as it was not him that was â€Å"clinging to life†. The author adds that her exp ression is â€Å"hard† and â€Å"stern†. Ruth shows by defending Chrissie so ardently that she is tired of people assuming clone’s feelings, and wants to cry out that completing is something that scares her, and that probably scares a lot of clones too.Disturbingly though, at the end of the passage, Ruth states herself that â€Å"It felt right† to become a donor, because â€Å"after all, it’s what we’re supposed to be doing. † Tommy, on his part, also states that he â€Å"didn’t mind, really† becoming a donor. It is frustrating for the readers to see how easily these characters accept their fate. Even Ruth –who seems deeply affected by the idea of completing– has no trouble saying that it is what she is supposed to do anyways. It is almost as if she is the one to blame for her fears, not society, as she is the one who is not strong enough to deal with her responsibility.The movie, by contrast to the book, u ses film techniques to communicate a much more melancholic environment. We see a long shot of the setting, and as the camera pauses on the panoramic view of the marshland, the moment resembles a frozen picture. We see in the fist plane the marshlands, then to the side and further away we can distinguish the characters standing in a corner, staring at the beach beyond them. In the middle of this vast beach, the abandoned boat standing alone can be distinguished, behind it, a flat blue sea, and above, a dark grey sky.The incidental music that evokes sorrow stops playing at this point, and is instead replaced by the soothing sound of the ocean and seagulls. While it is true that the descriptions in the book give us a pretty good image of the place, nothing can replace the beautiful, deserted view displayed in the movie. This not only accentuates the feeling of isolation, but also gives rise to a sense of melancholy that affects the desolate mood of the passage. The scene then cuts into a mid-close up of Tommy longingly running towards the boat, which marks another difference with the book.As the camera zooms in, we notice the boat resembles the one depicted in the book (old, paint coming off, etc. ) and Tommy, as he sits on the boat, smiles and waves at the girls beyond. However, though Tommy feels happy, we cannot help but feel pity and sorrow for him. First, the way he is panting and pressing his hand against his chest makes us feel concerned about his deteriorating health. Then, the way he pretends to sail the boat like a little kid shows that despite being a complacent donor, Tommy longs to sail the world, to live his life.The reality is that he will never be able to. Again, this is tied to the symbolism found in the book: the characters are like beached boats, deprived of their freedom and their ability to live their life. At last, as the characters are discussing in the beach, a bigger emphasize on the love relationship between Kathy and Tommy is present in the film. While the book mentions that Ruth and Tommy are sitting next to each other on the beach, it is Kathy and Tommy that are shown next to each other in the film.As the characters engage in conversation, the camera shifts back and forth in a close up between Ruth –displayed alone– and the two others. This allows us to focus more on the characters’ facial expressions, which helps us decipher how they feel. In the scene, Kathy’s expression shows she is rather sad, Ruth looks more distressed, and Tommy is the happiest of them all. While talking about donors completing on their first donation, Ruth, just like in the book, makes a bitter remark that â€Å"it happens more often than they tell us.†And just like in the book, Tommy adds smilingly that he makes a good donor. So though the theme of conformity is present by the way Tommy smiles, the fact that Ruth doesn’t show that she is also complacent lessens the frustrated feeling we get in th e book when Ruth complains about being a donor yet later adds that â€Å"It’s what we are supposed to do. † Instead, the film incorporates a dialogue that occurs later in the book. It is Ruth’s apology to Kathy and Tommy for having kept them apart all these years, because she was jealous and scared no one would love her.To make up for her mistake, she has found Madame’s address with the hope that they will apply for a deferral. The melancholic mood mentioned in the paragraph above combines perfectly with Ruth admitting that Kathy and Tommy should have been together all along. As Kathy looks away from the camera and replies â€Å"It’s too late for that now, Ruth† the mood becomes even more tragic. However, the fact that Tommy accepts the paper with Madame’s address arises a spark of hope into us; hope that they will manage to get a deferral, and live a few years happy without worrying about their obligation to society just yet.In all, the film does incorporate some elements not present in the book, but the overall message depicted remains the same. The film though, due to its visual means as way to communicate with the public, blends in the beautiful view of the sea with melancholic background music to intensify the regretful mood of the scene. It incorporates Ruth’s apology and emphasizes Tommy and Kathy’s love relationship to add significance to the passage. In both cases, the boat can be seen as the finite nature of true freedom.Though it was once new and could sail the world, the boat is now trapped on the shores of the beach, just like the characters are trapped in their society, and unable to change their fate. In both mediums, the characters show their complacency towards completing, the book, however, gives a stronger emphasis on the fact that Ruth is scared. We can very well imagine her fear of completing, but we cannot understand why she later calls it â€Å"alright. † This in turn makes us wonder if it is better to suppress our emotions and live accepting of our fate, however unfair it may be, or if it is better to rebel and respond to our rage.

Managing and Developing People: Team Working and Management Styles

Unit 9: MANAGING AND DEVELOPING PEOPLE Task 2: TEAM WORKING AND MANAGEMENT STYLES Introduction As part of my unit 9, managing and developing people, I will be discussing and assessing the management styles and team work of a recent event I have been involved in. The event that I have chosen to base my assessment on is the Christmas disco. I have selected the Christmas disco as it was a recent event I have been involved in, where as a team we planned, organised and ran the event. By using this event, I am able to gather in depth data and draw on my own personal experiences. Team’s task The team’s task was to plan and organise and event that would be feasible within the school. The event held must make a profit, which would then be donated to a chosen charity. The event must be suitable for a school and its pupils. For this task, each member of the team was assigned and allocated a job role with each member having individual responsibilities. Team work in this assignment was vital in the organisation of the event as we not only needed to ensure that the event was successful, and that we provided and enjoyable experience for the pupils, but also we needed to make sure that we communicated well within the organisation. In order to ensure the event was a success, we also needed to work well with each other, which would create an enjoyable atmosphere for those attending the event. Brainstorm It was important for us to decide on the choice of event at an early stage, which would allow us to have plenty of time to research and organise before the event was staged. As a team we thought of a number of suggestions for an event that was feasible. After we had thought of the basic ideas we discussed each idea. This was important as we had to be sure there were good enough reasons for holding the event and that there wouldn’t be too many constraints during organisation process. Disco This type of event can cater for the whole school, which in theory could probably raise the most money. A disco can be held in the school hall as it is big enough, meaning that we don’t have to hire a venue which would be quite expensive. This event can be carried out any time of year and will not be dependent on the weather as the event will be held indoors. As well as selling tickets to the pupils to raise money, we can also sell snacks and drinks to increase the profits. We can also hold competitions for the pupils, and include the teachers in the entertainment. However for this type of event we will need extra staff to monitor the behaviour of the pupils at the disco. There will also be various health & safety procedures that will need to be followed, which is crucial to get right. Another issue is that it may be quite chaotic when the pupils are arriving at the hall and trying to take pupils tickets. This will have to be controlled and may need to stagger classes to avoid crowding at the doors. Also it may be quite expensive to hire a DJ and we may find it hard to cater for everyone’s music tastes. For this type of event there will need to be contingency plan put in place, encase we run out of snacks or drinks. Prom Prom is a very popular and enjoyable event that all involved look forward to. As this is an enjoyable event there will staff who want to attend and able to monitor the pupils. Also for this type of event we would be able to charge more for the tickets as it would be an exclusive event for the pupils. However, this event will only be available for year 11 pupils which would mean that we will not make as much money as the other events. We will also have a problem with the venue for the event. Prom is usually held at a different location, which could prove expensive or the usual venue may not want the pupils there. As it is only year 11 at this event, there is a chance that they may bring alcohol, or manage to get hold of alcohol at the venue as there is a bar. Teachers will have to attend the event to ensure that pupils do not misbehaviour at the prom. This type of event needs a lot of organising and will prove to be quite stressful and confusing. Fete For this type of event, we have the facilities available to us to hold the event, as we have a large school yard. As the event will be held on school ground there will be staff available to monitor the event and the pupil’s behaviour. We can easily make profit from selling confectionary. Also health & safety procedures can be monitored as all facilities needed are easily available through the schools caretaker. However, as this type of event will be held outside it will depend on the weather. There is a risk that we may not make money. We cannot ticket the event as it will be held on the school yard, which cannot be cordoned off and is too large an area. Also if nothing is sold at the fete we will not make any profit. Conclusion After we had looked at the reasons for and against organising each type of event, we decided that the most feasible event for us to hold would be the school disco due to the fact that business studies in previous years held one every year, and it was a successful event, with the majority of pupils attending. From this it showed us that it was an event that the majority of pupils at St. Albans enjoyed. Another reason for holding the school disco, is because we already had the facilities available and we would not have to spend money on initial equipment. We decided to organise the event around Christmas time, so we would be able to set up the Christmas disco for the years 7-11. We then created a name and logo for our chosen event. During a meeting, as a team we came up with a few suggestions and suitable logo ideas. The name and logo needed to symbolise and reflect the type of event we were going to organise. As a group we discussed all ideas and voted on a final logo design and name. We decided on the name ‘iDisco’ as it reflects what type of event we were organising and we feel plays on the idea of the well known mp3 product, iPod, as this is a musical product and music is the main feature of our event. As a team we believed that the name was different, simple and unique. Our logo is a combination of ideas. We wanted a logo that was simple but reflected our business. We agreed that our logo was eye catching and symbolised our business well. Teamwork Team working is relevant to all industries, from manufacturing to the service sector, and it is very useful in small businesses. Team working involves working cooperatively and making use of individual strengths within a group to achieve a common goal. Teams can be based around a particular product or be part of a process or service. They often cut across organisations' structural and functional divides and it is to an employer's advantage to try to recruit staff who works well in a team. Working in a team has many benefits and can give employees: * Exposure to a variety of tasks using several skills Autonomy in deciding the order or pace of work * Identity, as the task forms a whole job or a large part of the whole job * Responsibility, so team members are accountable to each other for what is produced * Valuable feedback on their work * Social contact and an opportunity to interact with colleagues * Balanced workload, as team members can help each other to even out peaks and trough s in their work * Clarity on their roles so the team can deal quickly with any problem of ‘who does what' * Achievement and satisfaction with a job well done Development opportunities, such as improving interpersonal or leadership skills There is no strict rule on the size of a team, but most successful teams have six to 15 members. If it is any larger, the team tends to split into sub-groups. Advantages of Teamwork Team working can increase product quality, encourage product innovation and make team members more autonomous and accountable. The varying skills of team members can better support the introduction of new technology and teams are often able to adapt to differing customer expectations. It can also boost employee morale, motivation, commitment and encourage employees to work collaboratively and share their skills and knowledge. As well as improving productivity, team working can maximise team members' strengths, improve delegation and reduce some levels of management. Teamwork is often introduced when costs are being cut and the workforce is being reduced, for example because of redundancies in a recession. For more information see our guides on reorganisations, restructurings and other major changes and making an employee redundant. Features of the team From the start of any enterprise, it is important that all the participants are allocated clear responsibilities for various aspects of the operation. These roles do not have to be set in stone for the whole life of the project, but can be changed around so that everyone gets experience of more than one area of responsibility. There needs to be someone who is clearly in charge, someone who chairs meetings, has the final say on decisions and to whom all the other members involved in the event. Someone must also be allocated responsibility for the role of secretary – the really important role of keeping a record of all meetings, setting agendas and communicating between all members of the enterprise. Finance is also an important area of responsibility that must be clearly allocated and managed meticulously from the outset. Other areas of responsibility might include market research, sales, publicity, logistics (booking the venue, checking electricity supplies, checking the availability of equipment and organising the post-event clear-up), catering and any other areas that are key to the event’s success. If a role is particularly large or an area of high risk such as finance then more than one person may wish to take on the role so that the area is always covered even if one member is unable to make a key team meeting or take care of an activity. Within each role, there ought to be a clear set of responsibilities. The team member carrying out that role should be set objectives and targets. There should also be regular opportunities for team members to reflect on how well they are meeting their individual targets and how they can improve their performance. Individual roles Managing Director – Aron Roden A Managing Director is the person responsible for planning and directing the work of a group of individuals, monitoring their work, and taking corrective action when necessary. For many people, this is their first step into a management career. Managers may direct workers directly or they may direct several supervisors who direct the workers. The manager must be familiar with the work of all the groups he/she supervises, but does not need to be the best in any or all of the areas. It is more important for the manager to know how to manage the workers than to know how to do their work well. Sales Manager – Christie Watkins Irrespective of the kind of business being carried out, an effective and efficient sales manager is required for higher sales values and ultimately higher profits. Be it the food industry, control panel accessories, cosmetic, automobile or even insurance industry, they all depend on the efficiency of their sales managers as they form the face of the company and are the ones dealing with the final consumer. This is why this position holds a very important place and is a crucial one for the future of the company. However, what exactly does the job description for sales manager entail. * Setting Objectives * Planning and Organizing * Overseeing Sales Team * Inventory Control Production Manager – Dominic Rowles The term â€Å"production†, is mostly linked to engineering industries and factories, and production managers are related to the management, co-ordination, planning and successful execution of the production plan, so that productivity of the firm increases and production targets are met in time. No doubt that production manager’s are key people who have the responsibility of overseeing the production process, managing the budget, ensuring the supply of raw materials and monitoring the quality of the products. Production managers can decide about the purchase of the equipments and the instruments for a firm, if they're need replacement. A production manager is involved in all the stages of production. Be it the pre-planning stage or the stage of production control and evaluation of the plans. Legal Officer – Jason Roynon Legal officers fulfil an important duty of viewing, interpreting and deciphering legal documents. Legal officer’s work within government legal departments, as counsels for corporations, and within profit and non-profit organisations. Legal officers are tasked with reading legal jargon and providing advice to the company they work for on a course of action in legal cases. In some instances, they handle court cases on behalf of their employer. They oversee real estate purchases, compliance with tax laws and state regulations, draw up contracts, and in some cases oversee company budgets and projects. Finance Manager – Wing Hong Lau A financial manager is responsible for providing financial advice and support to clients and colleagues to enable them to make sound business decisions. Financial considerations are at the root of all major business decisions. Clear budgetary planning is essential for future planning, both short and long term, and companies need to know the financial implications of any decision before proceeding. In addition, care must be taken to ensure that financial practices are in line with all statutory legislation and regulations. Secretary – Sophie Price A secretary or administrator provides both clerical and administrative support to professionals, either as part of a team or individually. The role plays a vital part in the administration and smooth-running of businesses throughout industry. Secretaries/administrators are involved with the co-ordination and implementation of office procedures and frequently have responsibility for specific projects and tasks and, in some cases, oversee and supervise the work of junior staff. Human Resources Manager – Jordan Meaney Human resource management is concerned with the development of both individuals and the organization in which they operate. HRM, then, is engaged not only in securing and developing the talents of individual workers, but also in implementing programs that enhance communication and cooperation between those individual workers in order to nurture organizational development. HRM consists, often with the help of other company areas, the nature and responsibilities of various employment positions. This can encompass determination of the skills and experiences necessary to adequately perform in a position, identification of job and industry trends, and anticipation of future employment levels and skill requirements. Staffing is the actual process of managing the flow of personnel into, within (through transfers and promotions), and out of an organization. Once the recruiting part of the staffing process has been completed, selection is accomplished through job postings, interviews, reference checks, testing, and other tools. Marketing Manager – Joe Norris Marketing executives are involved in developing marketing campaigns that promote a product, service or idea. The role includes planning, advertising, public relations, organising events, product development, distribution, sponsorship and research. The work is often challenging, varied and exciting. The responsibilities of a marketing executive will vary, depending on the size of the organisation and sector, and whether the focus is on selling a product or service or raising awareness of an issue that affects the public. Why the needs of individuals and teams conflict Sometimes the individual needs and motivating factors of employees may conflict with the needs and aims of the business. For example, in a small business there maybe few opportunities for promotion. There will be therefore be little incentive for people whose main motivation is career development. However, if the business can provide valuable experience and skill development, perhaps through job rotation, then working for that business might be seen as an important step in a career. Conflict may also arise when employees look for higher salaries and wages. Labour is often one of the largest costs of a business. If a business is trying to reduce expenditure, it may keep increases in salaries and wages to a minimum, which can have an adverse effect on employees’ motivation. Management Theorists In practise, management styles do not always fit neatly into the tree categories of autocratic, democratic or laissez-faire. There have been many other attempts to characterise different management styles and to offer advice to managers on how they can adapt their approach to get the best from their staff. Rensis Likert (1903 – 1981) Dr Rensis Likert has studied human behaviour within many organisations. After extensive research, Dr. Rensis Likert concluded that there are four systems of management. According to Likert, the efficiency of an organisation or its departments is influenced by their system of management. Likert categorised his four management systems as follows; Exploitive authoritative – system 1 In this type of management system the job of employees/subordinates is to abide by the decisions made by managers and those with a higher status than them in the organisation. The subordinates do not participate in the decision making. The organisation is concerned simply about completing the work. The organisation will use fear and threats to make sure employees complete the work set. There is no teamwork involved. Benevolent authoritative – system 2 Just as in an exploitive authoritative system, decisions are made by those at the top of the organisation and management. However employees are motivated through rewards (for their contribution) rather than fear and threats. Information may flow from subordinates to managers but it is restricted to â€Å"what management want to hear†. Consultative – system 3 In this type of management system, subordinates are motivated by rewards and a degree of involvement in the decision making process. Management will constructively use their subordinates ideas and opinions. However involvement is incomplete and major decisions are still made by senior management. There is a greater flow of information (than in a benevolent authoritative system) from subordinates to management. Although the information from subordinate to manager is incomplete and euphemistic. Participative – system 4 Management have complete confidence in their subordinates/employees. There is lots of communication and subordinates are fully involved in the decision making process. Subordinates comfortably express opinions and there is lots of teamwork. Teams are linked together by people, who are members of more than one team. Likert calls people in more than one group â€Å"linking pins†. Employees throughout the organisation feel responsible for achieving the organisation’s objectives. This responsibility is motivational especially as subordinates are offered economic rewards for achieving organisational goals which they have participated in setting. Likert’s Ideal System Likert believes that if an organisation is to achieve optimum effectiveness then the â€Å"ideal† system to adopt is Participative. Meredith Belbin (1926 -) In the 1970s, Dr Meredith Belbin and his research team at Henley Management College set about observing teams, with a view to finding out where and how these differences come about. They wanted to control the dynamics of teams to discover if – and how – problems could be pre-empted and avoided. As the research progressed, the research revealed that the difference between success and failure for a team was not dependent on factors such as intellect, but more on behaviour. The research team began to identify separate clusters of behaviour, each of which formed distinct team contributions or â€Å"Team Roles†. The co-ordinator. Any group needs a leader, an overall chairperson who can co-ordinate the efforts of all members in the team. This role calls for someone who is an effective and well disciplined organiser. The co-ordinator must be able to communictae well with others, to focus their minds and efforts on the objectives of the group as well as the job in hand. They must be able to work with and through other group members. In formal project and work teams, the co-ordinator is often appointed before a team is formed, although in informal groups a leader or co-ordinator is likely to quickly emerge. The shaper. In many ways, the shaper acts as the co-ordinator’s second-in-command, and will often take charge in their absence. The shaper can be the catalyst who turns plans or ideas into action. The role of shaper suits someone with an outgoing and dominant personality, ideally a person who is committed to the successful performance of the group and enthusiastic about the task. The plant. The innovator of the group, the plant tends to be intelligent and imaginative. It is the plant who comes up with original ideas, suggestions and proposals. Often the role of plant suits a more introverted personality who needs to be encouraged in order to contribute fully. The monitor-evaluator. Someone who analyses the ideas and plans of the group to point out inconsistencies, difficulties and flaws. The monitor-evaluator may remain on the periphery of the group, stepping into make a contribution before final decisions are made. The resource investigator. Someone who identifies and locates the resources needed to complete a task, often from sources and contacts outside the group. The role of resource investigator suits an extrovert personality keen to take on the ideas of the group. The implementer. An implementer is usually a good organiser and administrator. The implementer sees to the practical planning and scheduling of the task. The teamworker. By themselves, teamworkers do not take a leading role in a group, but rather support and encourage other group members in their roles by listening and helping. A teamworker will often help to smooth things over if there is a disagreement within the group. The completer. The group member who consolidates the effort of the group as a whole. It is the completer who ensures the group meets its targets, both in terms of time and quality. The completer is usually finicky about details, checking that the task has been completed fully and on time. The specialist. People with the specialist knowledge and skills required for the task or parts of the task. Belbin stresses the importance of each role being fulfilled in a group. If too few of the roles are fulfilled, there will be a risk that tasks may not be completed satisfactory. In small groups with a few members each member may have to fulfill more than one role. Fred Fiedler (1922 -) Fred Fiedler, an American management consultant, suggested that the ability of a manger or leader to manage or efficiently depends upon the situation facing the team. According to Fiedler, there are three critical â€Å"dimensions† or factors which have to be taken into consideration: * Position power – the power and authority given the leader by the organisation. * Task structure – the extent to which tasks and outcomes can be clearly defined to * those responsible for carrying them out, as opposed to tasks that are unclear or ambiguous. * Relations between the leader and the other team members – the extent to which the members of a team like and trust their leader, and are willing to follow his/her lead. Fielder also identifies three conditions (or sets of conditions) which can affect the effectiveness of management styles. Condition 1 where position power of the manager is high, the task highly structured and relationships with team members are good. Fiedler suggested that in this condition an authoritarian, task-centred management style is most appropriate, as relationships are already good and the manager is able to maintain control. Condition 2 in which the position power of the manager is relatively low, the task is poorly structured or ambiguous, but relationships between the manager and the team members are moderately good. In this condition, Fiedler suggested that a democratic, employee-centred management style is more appropriate in order to maintain relationships and to enable the manager to exert some influence. Condition 3 where again the position power of the manager is low and the task poorly structured, but relationships between the manager and team members are also poor. In this condition, Fiedler suggested that an authoritarian, task-centred management style is more appropriate, giving rise to more positive action and better performance than a more conciliatory democratic, employee-centred style. Victor Vroom (1932 -) An alternative contingency theory has been proposed by the US psychologist Victor Vroom. In his model, Vroom identified these five stages of management from which mangers can choose the most appropriate to their situation. 1) The manager makes all decisions and solves problems without reference to team members. 2) The manager obtains relevant information from team members, and them makes the decision or solves the problem. 3) The manager consults team members individually for opinions and suggestions, and then makes the decision or solves the problem. ) The manager consults with a group as a whole, and then makes the decision or solves the problem. 5) The manager consults with the team, and a decision is taken or the problem solved by the team as a whole. Team’s Management There are many management strategies that a business can choose to run its organisation by. However many of these strategies focus on the authoritative figure, (managing director), of t he organisation. Within the team, communication is key to ensure the success of the business, allowing information to reach all members of the team, in particular with management. Rensis Likert’s theory asserts that the most successful leaders are those who are able to establish work teams that are fully co-operative and have a high level of job satisfaction. Relating to his theory, the teams management strategy could be seen as consultative. All major decisions were first of all made and discussed by the team, but ultimately made by the managing director. This showed the confidence and trust the managing director had in the team. Using meetings to make constructive use of team members ideas and opinions, allowing participation in decision-making from the team. In this instance communication is two-way between the managing director and the rest of the team. However the strategy I agree that represents the team’s management the most, is Likert’s system 4, participative. This team management strategies states that the manager demonstrates complete trust and confidence with the team. Also through meetings, full use was made of team participation in decision-making and setting targets, as we regularly used our gantt chart to set deadlines, and discussed the issues we faced to resolve them effectively. I felt there was a supportive atmosphere as the managing director helped and advised rather than dictating and commanding. As communication flowed freely in all directions, responsibilities for decisions and performance were shared throughout the team. Meredith Belbin’s theory identifies nine basic roles which must be fulfilled for a group to be fully effective. Team roles are rarely allocated through a conscious decision process. Some roles are adopted because a member wants that particular role, either because they feel most comfortable in it, or because it fits in with their personal agenda. Other roles are adopted by members subconsciously, because their personality or temperament best suits them for the role. During our first team meeting job roles were allocated, and with many of these job roles can be instantly related to Belbin’s team management theory. The co-ordinator was instantaneously adopted by the managing director as he was an effective and well disciplined organiser. As the co-ordinator, the managing director communicated well with the team, to focus on the objective of the group as well as the job in hand. The monitor-evaluator, I feel was adopted by the sales manager as she analysed ideas and plans of the group and pointed out inconsistencies. Also the sales manager adopted the role of the plant, as she is an intelligent and imaginative individual who came up with original ideas and suggestions. Logically I think the role of the implementer was taken on as the secretary, myself. I feel as the implementer I had good organisation and administrative skills, and I planned and scheduled team tasks. The role of the shaper was taken by the production manager as he stepped in if the managing director was absent. I feel that the shaper was committed to the successful performance of the group and enthusiastic about the task. I would regard the finance director as the specialist within the group as he used his specialist knowledge and skills required for the task. The teamworker was a role that was adopted by the human resources manager. Although he did not take a leading role within the group, he supported and encouraged others in their roles. Furthermore the teamworker often helped to defuse any difficult situations or disagreements. The legal officer, I believe, took on the role of the resource investigator as part of his job was to locate resources from outside contacts, such as contracts and insurance policies. Finally, I would consider the role of the completer was adopted by the marketing manager. One of the marketing managers tasks was to create the logo for the team. Using the teams ideas, he consolidated their work to produce the logo. He ensured that the group met deadlines and checked quality of the teams work. However I feel that Belbin’s roles could have applied to each individual member of the team. Many aspects of his theory could have applied to individual tasks as well. On the other hand, I see the significance of these roles, as it allows team members to be identifiable and recognise their roles. Teams and Management Styles Ultimately, the performance if the team is the responsibility of the leader. However, any team is only as effective as the combined efforts of its members, and all members must play their part. A leader must therefore be aware of and sensitive to the varying needs of the organisation, the team and individual members. So a team leader must draw out contributions from all members by co-ordinating their activities and by making sure that they work positively towards the team’s objectives. A good leader will listen to the opinions, ideas and concerns of members. If conflict exists, the leader must decide on a course of action that is in the interests of the team and organisation. The style of leadership or management adopted by managers has an impact on employees. It can affect employee motivation and morale, and therefore affect their work, with consequences for the performance of the organisation. Obviously, any business organisation wants to get the best performance out of its workforce. A considerable amount of research has therefore been undertaken into the effectiveness of different management styles and approaches to business leadership. The underlying goal of this research is to find the style – or styles – of leadership which is more likely to encourage subordinates to work better. Theories of management have usually contrasted three styles: Autocratic In an autocratic management style, power and authority are exercised by the manger without reference to others within his or her department or team. The autocratic manger plans and controls the activities of the team, dictating what is to be done and spelling out how it should be done. Autocratic management tends to be task-centred, and more focused on the satisfactory completion of the task than on the welfare or motivation of employees. Democratic In a democratic management style, on the other hand, while power and authority still lie with the manager, plans and decisions on future activities are made by the team as a whole. A democratic manager may even delegate some power and authority for making decisions to others in the team and may encourage staff to take some independent action. Democratic management is employee-centred, being based on the theory that employees will be more motivated and work better when they are involved in decision-making. Laissez-faire A manager who adopts a laissez-faire management style allows members of the team to carry out their functions and tasks without interference. This type of manager will remain in the background, co-ordinating and supporting the work of the team members, and representing them at management settings. Leadership style analysis Initial, my first analysis of the leadership style for the team would be that our Managing Director adopted a very laissez-faire style. As this was the first team we had worked in a team with each other, but we all knew each other from the previous year, the leadership style was quite laid back and everyone was left to carry out their roles and responsibilities. Yet through regular meetings, as a team we were able to come together, review our work and our managing director was then able to co-ordinate our work. However I would now say that there was more of a democratic leadership style by the managing director. Although the managing director was the authoritative figure within the team, everyone is given a seat at the table, and discussion is relatively free-flowing. The ideas and decisions were discussed openly and final decisions were made as team. This style meant facilitating the conversation, encouraging the team to share ideas, and then synthesizing all the available information into the best possible decision. I believe that this type of leadership allowed the managing director to trust the team to make their own decisions. Through our meetings we knew what our tasks were, and our deadlines as they were organised by the managing director, yet I felt that we were encouraged to make our own decisions with our work and we were not required take their ideas. Also I felt that as a team we all involved in making the decisions and it was our company, not just the managing directors. Because of this, I believe that our business was more of a success as we were all motivated to achieve more than was expected. Meetings A meeting are called together to discuss or investigate problems, give information, consult the views of others, take decisions or plan courses of action, when more than one person is involved. As methods of communication, involving employees in the management of the business, and spreading information, meetings have an important part to play in motivation. They are, therefore, an important management tool, and any manager needs to have the skills and experience to use meetings. Meetings are an important part in the management of any business and are called on several levels. * At director level, meetings are called to discuss and take decisions on the future strategy of the business and to set aims and objectives. * At senior management level, meetings are called to decide on plans of action to implement strategy and achieve objectives. * At department or team level, meetings are called to disseminate or given information, investigate problems or ways of doing things, consult the views of team members, and plan the work of the team to achieve its targets. As with any team activity, the effectiveness of a meeting is also affected by the style of leadership and decree of control exercised by the person chairing the meeting. ————————————————- ————————————————- ————————————————- Below is a copy of the minutes from a team meeting. 1st October 2010 Meeting started at 2:30 – ended 2:40 Agenda 1. Decide food 2. Questionnaires 3. Welsh Bac group. Present at meeting -All. Food discussed. Discussed what food and drink we want to supply at the disco. With each ticket purchased, pupils will be provided with a free drink and packet of crisps. Prices of products have been researched, as a group have decided to purchase the cheapest product. Have decided that we will not be giving fizzy drinks as the free drink, but will be selling them throughout the disco. Also we have decided to offer other crisps, chocolate and sweets, although products will need to be checked for nut allergies. Questionnaire discussed. Production manager to produce a questionnaire to find out what pupils want at the disco. We have decided to issue two questionnaires, one for lower school and one for upper school. By doing this we can cater the for both disco’s effectively. Welsh Bac group discussed. Along with the disco we need to include a Welsh Bac group for their business enterprise. We have decided on a group who will be selling glow sticks at the disco. All profits made from sales of their products will be added to total donated to our chosen charity. Date of next meeting: 12th October 2010 ————————————————- Detailed discussion of meeting Throughout our task, we regularly held meetings on a fortnightly bases. This enabled the team to review the task and deadlines. During meetings the team were able to communicate ideas and discuss problems. In the meeting included above, the reasons for holding the meeting were to discuss the agenda: * Decide food * Questionnaires * Welsh Bac group. During this meeting we were able to decide that we would give pupils a free drink and packet of crisps with their ticket purchase. We all agreed that this would be an incentive for the pupils to attend the disco, and thought that it was fair to provide one free drink and one free packet of crisps as the disco would only last an hour and a half. After looking through research from the production manager, we decided that the free products would be the cheaper of our stock. From the research we concluded that we would be purchasing small squash cartons and space raider crisps, as the free products. As these were the products that all pupils would be given, we decided that they shouldn’t be full of additives, like a fizzy drink or sweets. As well as the free products, at the disco we sold additional snacks and drinks. We decided that these products should be named brands and widely recognised by the pupils, which we felt would persuade the pupils to purchase them. At this meeting we decided that extra research was needed to guarantee all products sold would not contain nuts, ensure we would not cause any allergic reactions to any of the pupils. The second topic on the agenda was the questionnaires. We needed to gather data and primary research for our event. We concluded that the best possible way to do so was through a questionnaire, getting answers directly from the target market it was aimed at. During this meeting we discussed what types of questions needed to be included in our questionnaire. To begin with we discussed what needed to be included in the questionnaire. We wanted to find out what products the pupils would want to purchase at the disco and if the products we were researching would be suitable. Also we wanted to ask the pupils what types of music they wanted to listen to at the disco, and if they would like to hear Christmas songs at the disco, as this would enable us to cater for all their music tastes. We had previously discussed inviting a band to our event, but we needed to know if the pupils wanted this along with any items they would like available at the event. As we were having two discos’ we needed to cater for both. We decided that we would need to produce two questionnaires, for both upper and lower school. This would allow us to design the discos around the pupils. After discussing the questions, the managing director delegated the task of producing the questionnaire to the marketing manager. We all felt that he was the right person for the task. We have been approached by a Welsh bac group, who as part of their course need to include business enterprise. This group would like to be a part of our disco, and wish to sell glow sticks during the event. As a team we decided that glow sticks would be an ideal product to sell at a disco, and agree that the pupils would enjoy them. We agreed as a team and with the welsh bac group that the profit they make will be contributed to our total, and donated to our chosen charity. Analysis of the meeting It was important to have regular meetings through our task, as it allowed us to come together as a team, to evaluation our work and organise tasks. I would consider these meetings beneficial to the team, as it motivated us to work together and focused us on the job at hand. The advantages of the above meeting: * Analyse individuals work. * Make decisions as a team. * Able to keep track of progress. Resolve problems as a team. * Discuss future tasks. * Easy way to communicate within the team. * Problems resolved quickly and efficiently. * Agenda was met. The disadvantages of the above meeting: * Meetings quite short. * No future deadlines set. * New ideas were not discussed. * No alternative agenda’s were discussed. * Welsh bac group was discussed without their presence. * Meetings were not set on regular bases. Even though I regard our team meetings as an effective means of communicating within the team, I feel that there are areas that need to be reviewed and improved. Initially the length of the teams meetings is an area I believe could be improved. The majority of our meetings would last 10-15 minutes. I personally believe that this was not enough time to discuss all topics on the agenda, and allow team members to raise additional topics. Also by having meetings at 2. 30, didn’t leave us much time in a normal school day to get tasks done that have been discussed. If we held all our meetings first thing in the morning, it would leave us the rest of our lesson (and free lessons) to address issues raised in our meetings. On many occasions deadlines were set during meetings, however this did not happen at all meetings. I believe that by not setting team deadlines during meetings, team members did not know what their tasks were or how to address them. Also this meant that progress was slowed, which lead to work being rushed as we came closer to the event. If we had set deadlines and tasks during every meeting, I feel that progress could have been made earlier, allowing us to concentrate on the more important issues. Furthermore it would have enabled team members to identify their progress what they need to do next.

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Essential - Essay Example Key aspects of PDSA cycle revolve around its ability to allow change agents to test an idea by trailing the entire process and evaluating its impact bit by bit (McFadden, Lee, Charles & Sharp, 2014). In others, words key aspects of PDSA cycle involves opportunity to develop, test and implement change ideas. The three vital steps that deserve particular attention in PDSA cycle when you strive to translate evidence into practice are the Plan, Do and Study Stages. The Plan stage provides the opportunity to define goals, predictions and objectives of the change process. The Do stage allows time to undertake data collection and analysis of the data while Study stage allows for comparison of data before and after change process. 2. It is worth noting that practicum experience was an integral part of fieldwork experience as it availed an important opportunity to work closely with a variety of leaders in different healthcare setup key among them doctors, nurses and administrators. Through practicum experience, undoubtedly I gained unmatched confidence and experience in performing different roles in a multitude of hospital environment. Additionally, I have improved my teamwork and interpersonal skills significantly as the practical experience provided an opportunity to communicate and collaborate with different healthcare staff frequently on a variety of tasks. Despite the great opportunity to work with different professional healthcare workers I still need to work on my leadership abilities relating to network development as well as health policy and advocacy during this course. 3. The healthcare service delivery has been a subject of dramatic change overtime owing to a number of aspects key among them being advancement in technology, knowledge explosion, increased diversity and change in disease patterns (AACN, 2012). This implies that there is significant need to focus on building professional attributes and skills that are future

Ethical issues related to blogging and the internet Research Paper

Ethical issues related to blogging and the internet - Research Paper Example Internet is an ever-increasing community of approximately 10 million blogs that range from teenage rants to aggressive corporate promotion and from political discussions to election campaigns. This paper brief outlines ethical issues of blogosphere and analyse the accuracy issues of blogging world. Perlmutter and Schoen (2007 as cited in Debatin) list potential ethical issues of blogging as: 1) Editorial oversight and lack of accuracy/fact checking 2) Absence of systematic coverage of topics 3) Creation of tunnel vision 4) Circular and self-referential spin-doctoring 5) Dissemination of lies, rumours, and hoaxes 6) Practice of trolling, character assassination, and libel 7) Invasion of privacy 8) Stalking and harassment 9) Plagiarism and copyright violation 10) Lack of integrity and accountability facilitated by anonymity, false identity, and pseudonymity 11) Lack of independence and unrevealed conflicts of interests; and 12) Manipulative and deceptive blogging funded by corporations , governments, and individuals.(46) Increasing authority and influence of blogs has empowered bloggers like never before, whether it’s power to make public opinion, drive a revolution, sell a product, or establish an image. However, power always comes with responsibility. Open accessibility, anonymity, zero accountability, and greater influence of blogs and bloggers have raised ethical concerns among blogosphere which need our attention.Here, a question arises that whether bloggers are journalists, and if so, do they abide by the journalistic ethics? However, Jay Rosen of New York University believes that categorization of bloggers as journalists is not as important as defining their ethics. It is quite shocking for most journalists that people may trust the commentary of an average blogger more than a professional investigative journalist (Burkholder). According to the annual Public Trust barometer, organized by the Edelman global public relation firm, people trust other peo ple who are â€Å"just like them† above all others irrespective of their credentials. One slot ahead of CEOs, Journalists are ranked sixth on the list (cited in Burkholder). The reason behind such faith is the belief that bloggers have no hidden agenda or promotional concerns. Moreover, if we disagree with some blogger, we have every right to comment, says Clare Hart of Factiva in an interview with Sean Hargrave(cited in Burkholder).Therefore, bloggers are becoming increasingly powerful in this modern age. In most cases, bloggers don’t have original news and fact gathering sources as they rely on professional news channels. They pick the news and present their analysis and commentary on a certain issue. Publishing unsubstantiated information may not be an issue if blogging remains a form of personal diary; however, concerns arise when it takes the form of journalism (Burkholder).Former CNN-TV reporter Rebecca MacKinnon believes that this struggle between bloggers and j ournalists is not a â€Å"zero-sum-game† because they can co-exist. Blogger analyse and comment on the facts and events that journalists report (Burkholder). Bloggers define their services as citizen journalism which is better suited to today’s information needs. By moving away from main stream media, they claim to weaken the control of major capitalism driven media. Citizen journalists took pride in becoming ‘watch-dog’ of the mainstream watch-dog media. Major objective of their efforts are to provide readers with reliable and

Load Shedding Essay Example for Free

Load Shedding Essay As far as people are concerned, everyone in Karachi and outside Karachi is just fed up of the catastrophic conditions of load shedding. It leaves a very drastic impact over the minds of the people suffering from load shedding but on contrary this load shedding, very quietly and nicely played its role in bringing people closer and increasing the socialization, without the use of any telecommunication medium. Load shedding has much more benefits which cannot be presented on the fore and can not be considered as a benefit because on whole the load shedding is considered to be the worst process people had to pass through. Some other benefits of load shedding includes the rest in this hustling bustling world .people living in such world do not have time for themselves they live their life only for the sake of money. They just work like a machine, early rising 9 to 5 job then part time business, dinner with family, early to bed to rise up again early. In such routine life men forget him and lost him somewhere in this life .He had no time for himself, load shedding provides that leisure time to him to think for himself. A 19 years old teenager rise up at 7 o clock after breakfast leaves for the high school then after the routine timing he goes to tuition or any sort of part time job to earn his living or to get for his semester fees. Then he came back to his home by almost 9p.m just eat the dinner and get ready for chatting but as soon as he reaches the pc the light went off and he eventually decided to visit any of his friend near his house .then that one hour or more than an hour is the only time which aware him of the happening near to him. Although he was aware of what is happening in America or in Islamabad court but unaware of his neighbor conditions .hence the load shedding provides a Muslim the time to perform his duties for his neighbor as prescribed by Islam.

Child Abuse And Child Protection Criminology Essay

Child Abuse And Child Protection Criminology Essay The objective of this paper is to deliberate the role the Internet has on the sexual exploitation of children today. The central premise is the crime of online child sexual exploitation with the specific attention on sexual predators online grooming behaviours for procurement of children for sexual abuse. The paper begins with a brief overview of child sexual abuse and sexual exploitation, followed by a short background of computers and the Internet. The paper shall examine and discuss sexual predators, online grooming, accessibility, anonymity, content, and victimisation and highlight an opposing view. During the course of the paper, the term children implies the ages 12 to 17 years, and the expression sexual predators applied to define adults who habitually seek out sexual situations that are deemed exploitative while the use of the word Internet encompasses the terms World Wide Web and cyberspace. Throughout the course of this paper, I intend to demonstrate that, compared to previous generations, technology and the Internet has exposed children of the digital and virtual generation to the immeasurable vulnerability of becoming a victim of child sexual exploitation. Child abuse is universal; it is an extensive social phenomena on a global level that occurs through four methods; neglect, physical abuse, emotional abuse or sexual abuse (Rivett Kelly, 2006 and Lancaster Lumb, 1999). Child sexual abuse occurs when an adult uses their power or authority to involve a child in sexual activity (Child Rights International Network (CRIN), 2012). Child sexual abuse is a multi-layered problem; astonishingly complex in its characteristics, dynamics, causes and consequences with no universal definition (Hobday Ollier, 2004; Price-Robertson, Bromfield, Vassallo, 2010 and Browne Lynch, 1995). Therefore, child sexual abuse can be understood to encompass physical, verbal or emotional abuse (Barber, 2012 and Friedman, 1990) and can involve exposing a sexual body part to a child, and talking in a sexually explicit way (Finkelhor Hotaling, 1984). With the introduction of the Internet, online child sexual abuse has subsequently entered the perplexing realm of child abuse. Child sexual abuse now encompasses; sending obscene text messages or emails, or showing pornographic photographs to a child, solicitation, and online grooming to facilitate procurement of a child for sexual contact (Davidson Gottschalk, 2011; Stanley, 2003). Choo indicated that a study showed that 85 to 95% of child sexual abuse cases, the child knew the perpetrator as an acquaintance or family member in real life but had used the Internet and other technology to further their grooming activities (2009, p. xiii). Therefore, it could be suggested that technology has enhanced opportunities of child sexual abuse for offenders. The first personal computer became available in 1975 (Peter, 2004), and a new phenomenon entered the global landscape in 1969, but it was not until 1993 that it became a commercial product the Internet (Jones Quayle, 2005 and Peter, 2004). The Australian Bureau of Statistics, (2012), revealed Internet access exploded from 286,000 Internet households in 1996 to an incredible 13.1 million in 2010/2011. In almost two decades, the Internet has moved from an ambiguous communications vehicle to a vast virtual world and a ubiquitous fixture in homes, schools and workplaces; an indispensable component of millions of peoples lives (Davidson Gottschalk, 2011 and Quayle, Vaughan, Taylor, 2006). The universality of this technology revolution has changed lives in dramatic ways by shortening the geographical distances and facilitating ways to share information (Stanley, 2001). Computers and the Internet are valuable tools for childrens learning, but like all revolutions, the Internet has simul taneously brought about a darker side (Won, Ok-Ran, Chulyun, Jungmin, 2011; Jones Quayle, 2005 and Stanley, 2001) including the establishment of online child sexual exploitation from sexual predators. Child sexual exploitation is an umbrella term for a spectrum of negative sexual experiences including exposure to unwanted sexually implicit material and uninvited requests for sexual conversations (Burgess, Mahoney, Visk Morgenbesser, 2008 and Jones Quayle, 2005). The Internet created a portal for sexual predators to further facilitate child sexual exploitation. The Internet has become is a double edged sword (Won et al, 2011), although it is an indispensable element of life with the average Australian child spending between 11 to 21hrs per week online (Irvine, 2009), it also delivers new prospects for sexual predators to sexually exploit young Internet users. Sexual predators have been part of society throughout history (Choo, 2009), and now the Internet provides an opportunity for sexual predators to employ grooming behaviours online for solicitation, harassment, exploitation, production of abuse images and participate in abusive acts (Dombrowski, LeMansey, Ahia, Dickson, 2004 and Quayle, Vaughan, Taylor, 2006). Feather (1999) acknowledges that the internet has been shown to act as a new medium through which some commonly recognised forms of child maltreatment, sexual and emotional abuse may be pursued. Australia, in 2006, had 130 completed prosecutions for online child sexual exploitation offenses, in the same year the United Kingdom ha d 322 cases while the United States case reports grew from 4,560 in 1998 to an astonishing 76,584 by the end of 2006 (Choo, 2009, pp. xi -xii). The Internet has provided an accessible gateway for sexual predators to enter the homes of children previously unattainable as prior to the Internet the act of grooming by sexual predators would have required the predator to physically stalk their victims or to know them through legitimate reasons (Armagh, 1998). Child grooming typically begins through a non-sexual, manipulative approach to assist the enticement of a child through active engagement, and by utilising their skills of power and control to lower a childs inhibitions, to desensitise them and to gain their trust before luring them into interaction (Australian Institute of Criminology Online child grooming laws, 2008; Choo, 2009; Davidson Gottschalk, 2011; Beech, Elliott, Birgden Findlater, 2008 and Gallagher, 2007). Child grooming is not a new phenomenon; it dates back to when child sexual abuse was first identified and define (Martellezzo, cited in Davidson Gottschalk, 2011, p. 104). The traditional process of child grooming entailed close physical proximity to a child and many sexual predatory selected jobs as child-serving professionals or volunteers, this enabled them to have positions of authority and to gain childrens trust more easily (Berson, 2003, p. 10). The conventional methods placed the sexual predator at significa nt personal risk as they were exposed to suspicion of any special attention or affection directed towards a child (Armagh, 1998 Gallagher, 2007). The Internet aids sexual predators to shorten the trust building period and to simultaneously have access to multiple victims across the globe (Berson, 2003 and Davidson Gottschalk, 2011). Sexual predators utilise the Internet to groom a child for either immediate sexual gratification or to persistently groom a child online to lay the foundations for sexual abuse in the physical world (Davidson Gottschalk, 2011 and Quayle, Vaughan Taylor, 2006). Choo (2009, p. xii) stated that in the United States in 2006, there were 6,384 reports made regarding online enticement. The advent of the Internet facilitates sexual predators a formidable utopia of opportunity for sexual abuse through easier, simpler and faster instant access to potential child victims worldwide. The central differences for sexual predators in the physical world and the online world are accessibility and anonymity. The Internet changed the way people interact, and online communication has become an integral part of society. Instant messaging and chat rooms are readily accessed by sexual predators to discover and target potential victims (Berson, 2003; Choo, 2009; Davidson Gottschalk, 2011 and Stanley, 2001). Choo (2009) indicates that studies have shown 55% of sexual predators utilise social networking sites to enable quick, effective and ostensibly with confidentiality. Sexual predators employ their skills by exploiting search engines to locate publically available information on children and their activities, and acquiring personal information from participating in chat rooms which, then permits them to attract, manipulate and build long term virtual relationships with potential victims (Berson, 2003; Choo, 2009; Davidson Gottschalk, 2011 and Stanley, 2001). According to Choo (2009) a study in the United States in 2006 indicated that 71% of children have established an online profile on soc ial networking sites with 47% of them allowing their profiles to be public- viewable by anyone. 40% of sexual predators will read online profiles of children in an attempt to identify potential victims according to a study conducted by Malesky (2007). Social networking sites, chat rooms, and instant messaging support sexual predators access to children through real time open access to specific subject forums, searchable profiles, display of personal information, message boards and instant contact (Aiken, Moran Berry, 2011; Calder, 2004; Davidson Gottschalk, 2011; Dombrowski et al, 2004 and Marcum, 2007). Before the Internet, this type of information and access would have been almost impossible for a predator to acquire. The Internet provides a previously unattainable degree of anonymity and this allows a sexual predator to hide behind their masquerade personas to entice interaction with children (Choo, 2009). One of the main attractions of the Internet for sexual predators is the anonymity. A child does not always know who they are interrelating with, and they may think they know, but unless it is a school friend or a relative, they genuinely cannot be sure. Utilising concealment of identity, many sexual predators are more inclined to behave deviant; uninhibited through anonymity and the depersonalised isolation of the virtual world with little risk of detection (Aiken et al, 2011 Burgess et al, 2008). Feather (1999, p. 7) specified that many child sexual predators lurk in chat rooms they remain in the background intensively reading chat room posts without actually commenting themselves, they monitor the rooms looking for potential victims or they use a pseudonym to facilitate interaction. In 2006 , there were 850,000 cases of children receiving unwanted sexual approaches in chat rooms online in the United Kingdom, many anonymously or posing as a child (Choo, 2009). The main aim of concealing their identities is to gain the trust of a child to facilitate the eventual physical contact. A study by Malesky (2007) revealed 80% of participants frequented chat rooms geared towards minors and used pseudonyms to improve their chances of making contact with a child and to eventually generate an offline meeting. Technical advances have introduced sexual predators to protocols and programs that enable them to conceal their identities which makes it difficult to trace and locate them (Choo, 2009). The proliferation and ease of accessibility has allowed for child sexual predators to electronically creep into the bedrooms of children where they engage in sexually explicit chat, cyber voyeurism and exhibitionism over the expanding Internet. Since the Internet is largely uncensored and only partially regulated (Stanley, 2003) it has enabled sexual predators to expose children to negative content such as pornography and sexually explicit material. The unprecedented ease of access to the Internet introduced a vehicle for the flow of digital and electronic data of sexually exploitative material including sexual imagery. The Cyber Tipline in the United States advocates that in 2002, 51 million images and videos of pornography were on the Internet depicting children and indicated that between 1998 and 2012, there were 1.3 million reports regarding sexual inappropriate conduct and material these included child pornography and unsolicited obscene material sent to a child (National Center for Missing Exploited Children, 2012). Sexual predators use pornography and sexually explicit materials to desensitise children to deviant sexual stimuli to encourage them to participate in sexual activities. 1 in 25 children have been asked t o send sexual pictures of themselves to someone on the Internet (Mitchell, Finkelhor Wolak, 2007). Children are the targets for most sexual predators as their social skills are generally incomplete and they are less likely to pick up on the relevant clues of grooming such as inappropriate remarks (Choo, 2009). Children in the higher age brackets are more likely targets for sexual predators due in part to their greater mobility, sexual curiosity and autonomy (Choo, 2009 and Davidson Gottschalk, 2011). These children have an intense interest in expanding social networks, taking risks and forming emotional bonds with others. They share more personal information, interact with strangers via chat rooms, email or post pictures online, visit adult content websites and chat rooms and agree to meet with someone in person when they met online. Examination of literature for this paper indicated that the Internet poses real dangers to children and they can be vulnerable to sexual predators (for example see, Bersen, 2008; Choo, 2009 Davidson Gottschalk, 2011; Jones Quayle, 2005; Malesky, 2005 and Stanley, 2001). Even though Byron cited in Moran et al indicated that sexual predators may be increasingly moving online, given the increasingly restrictive real world access to children, it is impossible to determine the full extent of the numbers of children who have experienced online child sexual exploitation due to most cases not being reported but an Australian study estimated 28% of girls and 9% of boys have in some form been sexually exploited online (Choo, 2009). Wolak, Finkelhor, Mitchell and Ybarra (2008) argue that the Internet has only provided a new avenue for an old crime and suggest that through their research Internet initiated sexual abuse numbers are largely inaccurate. They suggest that the majority of the physical offline encounters is between adult men and underage adolescents who used online communities and were aware they were conversing with adults who rarely deceived them about their sexual interests and that the estimated 500 arrests in the United States for statutory rape occurring from internet contact 95% are non-forcible the adolescent was a willing participant. Richards (2011) suggests that situational and environmental factors play a key role in sexual offending and research has shown that most sexual predators are known to their victims; they are not targeted by strangers. Tomison (2001) specifies that in Australia it was not until the late 1900s did welfare groups begin to recognise that most perpetrators of child s exual abuse were from within the family; known as intrafamilial sexual abuse (Smallbone Wortley, 2001). In the 1920s child sexual abuse became characterised as abuse committed by strangers; known as extrafamilial sexual abuse (Smallbone Wortley, 2001). Today it appears to be seen as a mixture of both. In conclusion, child sexual abuse is a multifaceted problem, and the Internet has now contributed to the complexities of this. Child sexual predators are those who take unfair advantage of some imbalance of power between themselves and a child in order to sexually use them either online or in the physical world. Sexual predators predominately utilise the art of grooming to entice the trust of a child and while has been a part of the physical world of sexual predators in previous generations, the Internet has facilitated the use of grooming to a whole new level on the next generation. The Internet is a continuous, evolving entity that has become part of mainstream life. It has evolved from humble beings in the late 1960s to an immeasurable phenomenon way into the future, millions of families have instant, fast access the Internet daily and this too shall continue to grow with the introduction in Australia of a national broadband network. This paper demonstrated that most sexual predators, who commit sexual abuse on a child in the physical world, initially become acquainted with the child by communication over the Internet and employed more advanced grooming techniques to gain a childs trust. The paper established that the Internet has had a dramatic impact on the evolution of child exploitation by providing an avenue for sexual predators to seek out potential victims and to communicate with them. The rapid development and explosive use of the Internet have allowed for increased opportunities for recruiting children for sexually purposes through social networking sites and chat rooms and the paper identified the Internet as an ideal setting for child sexual exploitation through anonymity and the ease with which one can masquerade. Finally, this paper has identified and ultimately demonstrated that through the revolution of the Internet it provided new tools for sexual predators to sexually exploit children in the digi tal and virtual generation.

Environmental Problems Derived From Modern Societies Environmental Sciences Essay

Environmental Problems Derived From Modern Societies Environmental Sciences Essay Global warming is probably one of the most talked issues of our generation and ironically it is probably one of the most misunderstood subjects. Everyone talks about it without truly understand what it means for our future or what its horrifying consequences are. The dictionary defines global warming as the rise in the average temperature of Earths atmosphere and oceans since the late 19th century and its projected continuation.  [1]   This essay will analyze with more depth this definition and also make the students understand how serious this subject is about to become and how it is in our hands to slow down this process before it is too late. Environmental problems derived from modern societies The comfort we have in our modern life is leading us to use up many natural resources. So, it is important to understand what controls the fragile and complex climate on Earth. The Earth temperature is controlled by the greenhouse effect. This effect is a process by which thermal radiation from a planetary surface is absorbed by atmospheric greenhouse gases, and is re-radiated in all directions. Since part of this re-radiation is back towards the surface and the lower atmosphere, it results in an elevation of the average surface temperature above what it would be in the absence of the gases. Life on Earth is only possible because of the green house effect. Actually, if this effect did not exist, the temperature on the surface would be around 34 °C colder than it is in the present days. With the rise of gas emissions of the green house effect, as in the gases which absorb and emits radiation within the thermal infrared range, the fragile and complex system that controls Earth climate is affected and consequently, the surface becomes warmer. As Derek Markham states: The main greenhouses gases are carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and other halocarbons, ozone (O3) and nitrous oxide (N2O). These gases are not only produced by human action but there are also natural causes aggravating the situation. Starting by stating the main ones, such as, our ever-increasing addiction to electricity from coal burning power plants releases enormous amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.  [2]   Every day, more electric gadgets flood the market, and without alternative energy sources, we are highly dependent on burning coal for our personal and commercial electrical supply. Other big issue is the demand for more cars and consumer goods, which increased the use of fossil fuels for transportation and manufacturing caused its growth at an alarming rate among the population. Other cause derived from the grown of the population is the enormous quantity of methane released into the atmosphere by the creation of animals in a large scale. The process of anaerobic decomposition that takes place in the intestines of herbivorous animal produced methane. Furthermore Markham says: The use of forests for fuel (both wood and for charcoal) is one cause of deforestation, but in the first world, our appetite for wood and paper products, our consumption of livestock grazed on former forest land, and the use of tropical forest lands for commodities like palm oil plantations contributes to the mass deforestation of our world. Forests remove and store carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and this deforestation releases large amounts of carbon, as well as reducing the amount of carbon capture on the planet. Analyzing the consequences Although there are countless alarming consequences  [3]  there are a few that deserve more attention. For instant, with climate change, areas where precipitation was relatively constant now cease to be. With time, this situation generates a low irrigation of soil and consequently the desertification of soil. What happens it that the soil of these certain areas starts to become increasingly sterile and which means that the land does no longer have enough nutrients to grow new vegetation, both natural and planted by men. Without vegetation, less will rain, the soil becomes barren and lifeless and, of course, survival is very difficult. Also, as global warming is associated with the rise of the planets average temperature, this increase passes on the heat to water sources present on Earth and therefore it is a reason of alarm because it is believed to be the main cause for some Fauna and Flora extinction once present in the deep ocean. Also, Joe Romm says: It is predicted more intense monsoons with climate change. Warmer air can hold more water and puts more energy into weather systems, changing the dynamics of storms and where and how they hit.  [4]   Considering this scenario, what it is more likely to happen is that cities and towns will not be prepared for this impact in terms of infrastructures. Another issue, and that might be the scariest, is the general reduction in food production: Due to this Natures immoderate behaviour and climates conditions, the profits in average crop will vary depending on its geologic location. This effect on productivity will lead to a reduction in global food production, resulting on the increase of cases of malnutrition.footnote! http://www.carebadges.com/?p=15 This will also be followed by the fact that mosquitoes are extremely sensitive to climate variations and global warming will allow these species to travel to parts of the world that used to be too cold for them to survive, which means that tropical diseases will spread south from South East Asia and Africa to other places. Lastly is the fact that the polar ice (ice accumulated on top of the land on both poles) is melting at an increasingly fast pace, a process triggered by surface heating. The problem is that our Planet has about 38 million cubic kilometres of ice, of which 85% are in Antarctica. Because ice is less dense than water, around 33 million of cubic kilometres of water would obviously go to the ocean. Considering that the oceans surface is 360 million cubic kilometres and if this surface remains constant, it would mean an increase of 60 meters of the sea level. Of course this is an irrealistic and extremist point of view and we can only predict based on results of the UN Climate Panel an increase of the sea level about 18 to 60 centimetres in the next century, which is not a big problem. What have we been doing to minimise global warming? Up to date, there have been major worldwide congresses and Talks to discuss the Global Warming issue and spread the word. From all of them, there are two that deserve attention: The World Summit River in 1992 which took place in Rio de Janeiro, was the first major conference focused on this topic and to debate solutions to combat global warming. 117 representatives of countries around the world were present that day to sign the most important measure called Agenda 21, which committed these signatory nations to adopt the new methods of sustainable development, creating an economic background to serve as financial support in order to achieve the target set to cut carbon emissions by the year 2000, when carbon dioxide in atmosphere was 355 ppm. In the following years the involve countries did not accomplished the targets and in 1997, when the carbon emissions where 365 ppm at atmosphere according to IPCC, it was called the Kyoto summit. In the Kyoto summit there been established new targets to cut up 5.2 per cent below 1990 levels before 2012 and again the countries did no achieve this. So it is understandable that we have been doing climate change policy but failed over and over again. It is time to realize the current approach is broken and we have to think about other solutions. The solutions As consequences, solutions are countless and should be put into practice more actively. The solutions presented next are the most important ones: Starting by fossil fuels, probably the most difficult one to achieve because of its presence in society is to continually eliminate the burning of coal, oil and natural gas and replace them by other sources of energy such as solar energy, wind energy, water splitting, algae fuel, terra power, wave energy, urban cooling and geo- engineering Infrastructure Upgrade is another measure that needs attention, buildings in cities contribute to about one third of all greenhouse gas emissions, even though investing in thicker insulation  and other cost-effective, temperature-regulating steps can save money in the long run. But energy-efficient buildings and improved cement-making processes could reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the developed world and prevent them in the developing world. Transportation is another major source of greenhouse gas emissions, so one action that could make all the difference for this situation is moving near to work or use other ways of transport such as walking, cycling or some other way that only requires human energy. Avoiding long-distance flights would be of great help too, for instant there are distances that can be achieved by train instead. Consuming less should be the number one rule in developed countries. Consuming less results in fewer fossil fuels being burned to extract, less production and less shipping of products around the world. Following this thought, every citizen should do more with less and try not to waste our resources so easily, such as leaving the tap open or the lights turned on. The same applies to choose carefully what you buy, for instant choosing local food because it does not need to be transported. Following this thought, consuming less would have a big impact in cutting the trees and would help preserving the few existing forests because right now 33 million acres are cut down per year. One option is to set a global tax on carbon, which is applied consistently across the globe. This would mean the biggest polluters pay the appropriate cost for the damage they are doing to the environment. Proceeds of this tax could be reinvested in renewable energy solutions and energy efficiency schemes. Tax credits could also be given for research and development schemes focused on reducing energy use, conserving water and other energy efficiency initiatives. . What should we expect from the future? Is there still hope? As everyone heard before, the future is in our hands, especially in the leading governments. There is still no absolute idea about solutions probably there is no definite solution to solve global warming but there are solutions to gain time and make things last for longer. Countless organisations and scientists believe that every day. We are not yet saved or doomed, which should be more than a motivation for us, citizens of the world, to act more efficiently and start thinking about new ways of living. I believe that we are not yet prepared for the possibilities of having to adapt our livings standards and probably the need to survive rather than living comfortably in our cosy homes. But again it all depends on our governments and us all.