The Arrest of Shiite Cleric Nimr Al-Nirm Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Arrest of Shiite Cleric Nimr Al-Nirm - Essay Example Analysis The cleric has always been critical of the government. In fact in 2009 he had called for the secession of the Eastern province. As things stand now Nimr’s role has been elevated from a mere regional cleric to the main focal point of the many disgruntled Shiite youths. The matter is complicated further by the fact that he resides in the town of Awamiya which is a hotbed of radicalism and is rife with weapons (Matthiesen, 2). There has been some information that the rise and prominence of the cleric had been instigated, boosted and funded by elements within the ruling family itself. It is believed that Nimr has been covertly encouraged and even financed by the hardliners in the royal family in order to scuttle the attempt by the king to reach out to the Shiite through the interfaith dialogue that he had initiated. Hardliners in the inner circle like Prince Naif bin Abdullazziz. The Interior Minister did not want to see this peace initiative succeed (Press TV, 1). The part that raised questions is the timing of the arrest. It is more than two years now since he started his so called campaign against the ruling family. Protests that had been taking place in the Eastern province had all but died down. Much of the mass actions in terms of demonstrations had fizzled out. In fact, there had been no significant protests in the region since November 2011.The protests had largely lost steam and the region was relatively calm. So it is difficult to comprehend the decision to arrest the cleric now.

The Importance of the Opening in Enduring Love Essay Example for Free

The Importance of the Opening in Enduring Love Essay The opening of a piece of literature is very important as it is responsible for creating the interest and anticipation that will drive the reader to carry on and enjoy it. Readers expect openings to include a couple of key areas like the setting, the introduction of characters and interest through a form of enigma or tension. Ian McEwan’s Enduring Love both conforms and challenges what a reader would expect of an opening through opening on what seems to be a climactic point of the book. Opening with the balloon incident immediately creates tension. McEwan’s choice of opening sentence is particularly effective. â€Å"the beginning is simple to mark† firstly because this foreshadows that the event will be colossus, and that the reader is the lucky one how gets to discover what happens. And secondly that starting a story with â€Å"the beginning† links quite strongly to religion and creates this biblical tone right from the start. This is interesting because religion is what Joe seems to disagree with seeing as he is very scientific and this choice of wording seems to ominously suggest a link between Joe and Jed and in fact how similar they are. The opening also introduces the narrative voice in enduring love which is particularly important because the story is told through the first person retrospective narrative of Joe rose. This causes the reader to form a sense of reliability and truth as is required as the story is told through only one person’s experience. The inclusion of words like †labyrinth† implies that confusion and complication are a part of the story and causes the reader to rely even more on the narrate voice of Joe. The reference to various senses heightens verisimilitude as every detail felt through the senses of the character is described. â€Å"As the cool neck and the black foil touched my hand†. Furthermore including such fine details creates an early sense of reliability in the narrative voice. There are numerous references to the wind in the opening which is involved with the tranquil setting but stands out as â€Å"strong gusty wind† suggests danger and creates tension. There is also the personification of the wind â€Å"the wind roared† linking the wind to animalistic foreshadows that it will be a danger. The image of the buzzard is also significant as it creates a filmic perspective on the event, like the buzzard is the omniscient creature that observes the already highly anticipated event. The buzzard’s image of being all-seeing and free can be linked to the image of God and once again further to Jed.

Expression is Not Free :: Writing Writers

Expression is Not Free It is said that writer's block is the inability to write because of a loss in creative thought about a given subject. It is entirely possible that this term can be attributed to other aspects of writing and life in general; it is this area I will explore. Virginia Woolf explains the angel in her house as the pure spirit that would come between her and her paper when writing reviews about men. ' You are writing about a book that has been written by a man. Be sympathetic, be tender, flatter, deceive, use all these arts of our sex.'; She was able to slay this angel because of a trust fund left to her by family, which paid her a handsome living. These payments liberated her from the need to use charm and the arts of her sex to provide sustenance and lifestyle maintenance. This mentality was widely held during her career. As society changed, it paved the way for other female writers to be less encumbered by gender, and appreciated for their works. I wonder how the writings of Joan Didion would have been accepted fifty years earlier during the start of Woolf's career. Would she posses the same confidence in her work? Orwell writes 'What I have most wonted to do throughout the last ten years is to make political writing in to an art. One can write nothing readable unless one constantly struggles to efface one's own personality.'; Society dictates what is and is not readable, what is and is not acceptable, what is expected and what are success and or failure. We are all shaped and trapped by the popular opinions of our time. We are not free to indulge in art, literature, or even our daily lives with out the watchful eye of society's scrutiny. It is necessary to test these opinions in order for society to grow up and accept change. From a small child we are sculpted by our experiences. Our opinions are formed by exposure and hard lessons learned. We are dependant upon others and this dependence is paid for with sacrifice in order to for fill the expectations of our benefactors. Many will never be liberated by wealth, fame, or status, and thus even in adulthood we are required to meet standards and expectations or follow the beat of society's drum. Yet others are shackled and restricted by wealth, requiring that they have social responsibilities and requirements of class structure to be met.

Jeffrey Smart

JEFFREY SMART ESSAY An Iconic and well-known Australian artist, born in Adelaide in 1921 and moved permanently to Italy in 1963, often found using his work to depict industrial urban landscapes, he is Jeffrey Smart. Smart’s work has been part of Australian culture for more than half a century, he is Australia’s master of the urban vision; seeing beauty in the landscapes of modernism, his works feature industrial wastelands and concrete streetscapes he pays close attention to clean lines, composition and geometry.This essay will critically analyse Jeffrey Smart’s painting ‘Autobahn in the Black Forest 1’ which was created in 1979/80 using oil on canvas, it measures 100 x 65cm in size. Smart's work is influenced by urban landscapes, an example of one of his works is ‘Autobahn in the Black Forest 1’ this piece is an example of many influenced by urban landscapes. On the right hand side of the painting it shows a series of road barriers on a road going off into the distance, they are painted red and white diagonally.The first barrier seen has a vertical pole attached with a rust texture, added is a shadow on the right side of the pole to make the painting more realistic. The left hand side shows a road, painted onto the road are yellow lines; these lines get more vibrant into the distance. The sky is dark though gets brighter into the distance of the painting. Forest trees are surrounding the road. The main shapes used are rectangles.The lower right of the painting has a signature ‘Jeffrey Smart’. Many of Smart’s paintings are focused on the element of shape. In this painting he uses simple rectangles; he has painted the road lines dark yellow which gets more vibrant into the distance of the painting. There is an obvious repetition shown in the painting, the road barriers, these barriers are also coloured brightly. Smart admits that it's a painstaking process for him â€Å"getting the right shapes in the right place. The gloomy sky seen in the painting is used in many of Smart’s paintings, and when asked why his skies are always so gloomy and smog-laden, Smart replied with, â€Å"I need a dark sky for the composition, because the pale blue at the top of the frame loses nothing. â€Å"I work on the basis that †¦ our eyes go from left to right, left to right, left to right, always. So I always have something for the eye to start with on the left there, brings it across, and then something to bring it back again†. These dark, gloomy skies re found in most of his paintings, including â€Å"Autobahn in the black forest 1†. â€Å"Although Smart agrees composition is central to his paintings, he says the play of light and shadow is equally important, along with stillness and silence† The elements Smart has used and evident in this piece are colour, repetition, space and shape. Smart chooses his art to portray scenes of modern architecture. Since chi ldhood, where his first ambition was to be an architect, he has harboured a fascination for the subject.Which he finds exciting and beautiful, and he has based his style around the strong, simple, geometric shapes and lines that can be seen in them. He strives in his artwork to achieve the perfect composition of shape, balance, colour and light and what he calls the â€Å"fundamental aesthetic principal† of absolute stillness in his paintings. Smart's environment has been his most important influence; he spent his early years discovering the back lanes of the city's inner suburbs. Street signs, apartment blocks and construction sites then had become his subject matter.It was in Italy that the colours, shapes and designs of a country rebuilding itself after World War Two inspired Smart. And in 1965, he moved to Italy and bought the house where he has still resided for about 40 years. Smart decided early on in his career what he wanted to work with â€Å"My attraction to urban life, factories, trucks and vacant lots came in my early 20s when I decided that I had painted my last billabong scene forever. † Travelling to Europe and Italy in particular allowed Smart to experience and study works at first hand.One reason for Smart to buy a property and establish a studio near Arezzo was that the Church of San Francesco in that city contained the great fresco ‘cycle the legend of the true cross’ by the Quattrocento artist, a work which has continued to inspire Smart throughout his life. Jeffrey Smart is without doubt one of the most outstanding Australian painters of the modern age. â€Å"I like living in the 20th century — to me the world has never been more beautiful. I am trying to paint the real world I live in, as beautifully as I can, with my own eye†.

Linux Security Final Review

Allows the connection of hub to hub or switch without having to use a special cable 2. Which data speed and maximum cable length is not used for Category e/6 cabling? Anything other than mezzo/mobcaps (Caste) and up to mezzo, class E/mobcaps, Gossips but at a distance less than 100 meters (Cat) both up to 100 meters. (Page 59. ) 3. What do the links lights on a hub or switch represent? That the transmit and receive pairs are properly aligned and the connected devices are communicating . 4. What does the link light on a NICE present?Connectivity to the network. 5. What is an echo request relative to computer networking? It Is part of the IGMP protocol that requests a reply from a computer. (Page 40) 6. What Is the command used on a PC to display the MAC address? Upcoming/all 7. What is the command used on a Linux machine to display the IP address? Facing 8. What is the maximum length of a horizontal cable run that still allows for the length of the patch cables and extra cabling on ea ch end? 90 meters 9. A data problem is reported to the network administrator. The problem Is found to be tit the HTTP network connection.What would the network administrator do to isolate the problem. Test the link, perform a traceries command, depends on what type of problem is occurring with the cabling. 10. Describes interconnection of Lana within a limited geographic area. MAN (Metropolitan Area Network) (page 5) 1 1 . Which describes an Ethernet system operating at 100 Mbps? Fast Ethernet or Bassett (page 32) 12. What is another term for network congestion? Bottleneck (page 59) 13. A network address of 192. 168. 6. 0 and a subnet mask of 255. 255. 254. 0 can be Ritter In CIDER as? 92. 168. 168. 0/3 (page 180) 14. The three packets exchanged at the beginning of a TCP connection between two ports are: SYNC, SYNC*JACK, & JACK (page 1 59) 15. IP addresses are assigned by which of the following? ARIN (American Registry for Internet Numbers (page 173) 16. The connection to a router's console port input is typically which of the following? RSI-232 serial communications port using an RAJA-45 lack to connect to Its Interface (page 201 ) 17. What is the help command In the CISCO ISO? â€Å"? † is the universal help command (page 207) 18.AAU stands for: Attachment unit Interface (page 141) 19. The router interface most commonly used to Interconnect Lana to a campus network Is: Fast Ethernet (Chapter 9) 20. Serial Interfaces on a router are typically used to: used to interface to other serial devices (page 214) 21 . Clocking on the serial port of a router is set at the DATE end: False, it is DCE (page 215) 22. The purpose of a gateway is to allow data to enter and exit a LANA. True (page 145) 23. The command for saving the router's running-configuration to non-volatile memory Is: copy run start page 235) 24.The administrative distance of a static route is: 1 (page 246) 25. EIGRP is classified as which of the following: link-state protocol (page 257) 26. What a rea ID should be used for the Network backbone? Area O (page 251) 27. What does OSPF use to verify that two router links are communicating? â€Å"Hello Packets† (page 251 ) 28. Which file allocation table system Is best for very large multi gigabit drives today? NETS (New Technology File System (page 1 1 5) 29. Which of the following bus types 1 OFF roving similar services including server functions identifies which type of network?Peer-to-peer (page 510) 31 . Dynamically assigns IP addresses to machines as needed: DDCD Server (page 513) 32. A red â€Å"x† on a users account in Windows 2003/2000 indicates which of the following The user is locked out for having too many login attempt failures (page 553) 33. This server is used to service information requests from clients. Proxy Server (page 513) 34. Computer Viruses and Worms cause all of the following except: Virus causes annoyance, clogging up the mail server, denial of revive, data loss, open holes for others to acc ess your machine.Worms attack computers and can deny service to networks, they establish a â€Å"back door† in the infected computer enabling an attacker to access someone's computer (page 393) 35. â€Å"War Driving† is a term used to describe: someone driving with an antenna out the door of a vehicle, connected to a mobile device running Windows or Linux (page 394) 36. A true Firewall â€Å"Access Control List† is used to: Access list can be configured on a router, on a true dedicated firewall, or on the host computer (page 396) 37. AnIntrusion Detection system is designed to look for: (Select 2) looks for signatures and probing (page 404) 38. Telephony identifies which of the following technologies? Poi (Voice over ‘P) (page 488) 39. Which of the following have the greatest wireless data rate? 802. 1 In provides rates over 200+ Mbps (page 420) 40. What are the two North American and International optical standards? (Select two) SONNET (Synchronous Optica l network and SAD (Synchronous Digital Hierarchy) (page 468) 41 . What is the meaning of the â€Å"2-Deep† rule?That the distribution in a building should only have he main distribution and the intermediate distribution that feeds the horizontal distribution to the work area (page 472) 42. True or False: Voice Over IP and Telephony are synonymous with each other. True (page 488) 43. Which Poi protocol provides for end-to-end secure communications by requiring user authentication: SIP (Secure Session Initiation Protocol) (page 489) 44. The following are all So concerns for Poi except: These are concerns: Jitter, Network latency and packet loss, & Queuing (page 495) 45.Using Linux, the command that lists the basic files in a rectory is: Is (page 565) 46. Using Linux, the command that deletes a files is: arm (page 571) 47. To display the previously entered commands stored in the Linux history buffer you would use: history (page 583) 48. Using Linux, the command that is similar t o the find or search command in Windows is: Greg (page 585) 49. The three major differences between industrial and commercial networks are: Hierarchy, Redundancy, & Determinism (page 619) 50. The Ethernet protocol developed for large industrial use is: Ethernet/IP or UDP or TCP (page 629)

Martin Guerre essays

Martin Guerre essays During the period of the Renaissance in France in the sixteenth century, people had renewed interest in learning and values. Writers began rejecting accepted religious beliefs and focused more on human nature. This brought about a new way of life for people in France. In Natalie Zemon Davis The Return of Martin Guerre, an account of a man, Arnaud du Tilh, impersonating Martin Guerre shows us first hand the way of life during this time. An imposter, at this time, would be particularly frowned upon in society and would face rather harsh consequences. Davis proposes many possibilities regarding the story of Martin Guerre. Firstly, had the two men met? Davis proposes that Guerre and du Tilh had, indeed, met in their travels, whether it had been brief or extensive. Had they conspired? Perhaps Guerre trained du Tilh to be like himself. Yet, it seems to Davis, Guerre had never met du Tilh. As Davis says, a man du Tilh met who mistook him for Guerre sparked his eccentric idea to forge the identity of a somewhat well-off peasant with an estate left to him. Whatever the case may have been, du Tilh went along with this scheme. Regardless of the answers to the previous stated questions, people in the town took this imposter in as the real Martin. Perhaps this was because he told his accounts of the past so accurately, so precise, that no one could truly deny it was him. With that in mind, Davis also presents the perplexing question as to how his own wife didnt detect he was a phony. Another credible and realistic point is made by Davis. Most likely, Bertrande knew he was not her real husband, as Davis believes she is a somewhat intelligent woman, yet she did not care. For many years, there was a missing role in their family as a father, husband, brother, son, and nephew. Now that he returned this void is filled. Life is made easier on Bertrande, and the rest of the family as well. Davis th...

The Evolving Definition of Justice in Platos Republic essays

The Evolving Definition of Justice in Platos Republic essays Just as Polemarchus inherited the argument with Socrates concerning justice from his father, he also inherited a traditional definition of justice from Greek culture. Through their argument, Socrates shows Polemarchus that justice is more than just a balance of the pluses and minuses of debts; instead, Socrates illustrates that justice is a force that does good for all people. Through Polemarchus changing definitions of justice throughout the argument, the readers definition of justice also changes. In the end both Polemarchus and the reader come closer to grasping the true nature of justice. After taking over the argument, the first clear definition of justice Polemarchus presents is one given by the Greek philosopher, Simonides. It states, that it is just to give to each what is owed(331e). This definition is clearly part of the Greek ethos, and is similar to the definition of justice presented by his father, Cephalus. Socrates counter to this definition is shown when he asks Polemarchus if it is just to give back gold or weapons to a friend who has entrusted him with their care when they are not in sound mind. Polemarchus answers that returning the goods would be the wrong thing to do. Polemarchus goes on to say, friends owe it to friends to do some good and nothing bad(332a). It is in this exchange that both Polemarchus and the reader begin to see the good that must be inherent in actions for them to be considered just. In his original definition of justice Polemarchus would have done harm to his friends if he had simply returned the goods that he had been entrusted with when their owner was not in sound mind. This is clearly an unjust action. It is easy for the reader and Polemarchus to accept that justice should never harm someone one considers to be a friend. This first argument also paves the way for the realization that for actions to be just they must be backed with good inte...

The Important Role of Athletics in Schools

The Important Role of Athletics in Schools The value of athletics in schools is significant and cannot be overlooked. It has a profound impact on individuals, the school as a whole, as well as the community. Athletics is powerful and transcendent. It can bridge gaps, bring people with relatively nothing in common together, and gives many participates unbelievable, life-altering opportunities. Here, we examine several of the key benefits of having an established, successful athletics program in your school. Many Meaningful Opportunities Virtually every little boy dreams of playing professional baseball, football, or basketball. Very few realize that dream, but it does not mean that athletics cannot provide them with other meaningful opportunities. The top tier athletes often receive a scholarship to attend college and continue their athletic career. For many, this may be their only opportunity to go to college. This opportunity, if taken advantage of, can be life-altering. For the majority, high school is the last time they will participate in organized athletics as a player. However, there are still other opportunities that may result because of their participation in and passion for school athletics. Coaching is a terrific way to stay involved with athletics. Many successful coaches were average high school players with both a passion and understanding of how the game was played but without the individual talent necessary to succeed at the next level. Athletics can also provide opportunities through relationships. In a team sport, players are typically close to one another. These relationships can span the length of a lifetime. Staying connected may provide you with a job or investment opportunity. It may simply provide you with life-long friends who have your back in any situation. School Pride Every school administrator and teacher want the student body to have pride in their school. Athletics is the building block of promoting school pride. Pre-game events such as homecoming, pep rallies, and parades are intended to show off that school pride. We love to support our team no matter whether we win or whether we lose. We hate our rivals and despise them, even more, when they beat us. School pride is about coming together for every game- putting individual differences aside and yelling and cheering loudly together in support of your team. It is about painting our faces and wearing school colors. It is about the student section coming up with creative chants that get in the other teams heads before the game even begins. School pride is about staying after the game and singing the alma mater, no matter whether you win or whether you lose. School pride creates a bond between an individual and the school. This bond spans the course of a lifetime. It can be measured by the sense of pride that you feel when your high school wins a state championship twenty years after you graduate. It is the joy that you feel when you have a child attending and playing for your alma mater. It is a connection that can be both deep and meaningful. School Recognition Teachers and schools rarely receive positive media attention. When you see a story on those subjects, it is typically negative in nature. However, the coverage of athletics is the exact opposite. Sport sells! Having a successful athlete and/or team will likely give you positive media coverage within and around your community. While a teacher with a successful academic program will garner little to no attention, a team with a 10–0 record will be followed closely by the media and the community. This type of notoriety is celebrated. It makes the school attractive to families looking to move into a community that values an outstanding athletics program. It also puts fans in the stands, which translates to more money being poured into the athletics department. This allows coaches and athletic directors the freedom to purchase equipment and training tools that may continue to give their athletes a competitive advantage. Most schools do not want to have an athletic team. Instead, they want to have an athletic program. A program is continuously successful year after year. They build and nurture talent at an early age. Programs garner the most athletic success and, thus, attention. A good player at a well-known program will have a better chance of  receiving a scholarship than a good player on a lesser known team. Student Motivation Athletics can serve as a powerful academic motivator for athletes who would otherwise underperform in the classroom. There are many students who see school as secondary to athletics. As adults, we realize that academics are of far greater importance than athletics. However, as teenagers, the academic side was probably not the center of our focus as it should have been. The good news is that schools require their student-athletes to maintain a certain grade average (typically 60% or above) to participate in athletics. Many students stay in school and keep their grades up only because of their desire to compete in athletics. This is a sad reality but may also provide the greatest reason for keeping athletics in schools. Athletics also serves as motivation for staying out of trouble. Athletes know that if they get in trouble, there is a reasonable chance that they will be suspended for games or parts of a game. This does not mean that every athlete makes the best decision every time. However, the prospect of playing athletics has been a powerful deterrent from making wrong choices for many student-athletes. Essential Life Skills Athletics provides athletes with several benefits including the acquisition of valuable life skills that will benefit them throughout their life. These skills are more beneficial than the games themselves, and their impact can be powerful and transcending. Some of these skills include: Effort - This is defined as giving it everything you have in both practice and games. Effort can overcome the lack of talent in many cases. A player who gives 100% effort is said to have heart. Life lesson: Give your best no matter what and you cannot question yourself in the end.Hard work - It is the preparation you put into becoming a better player before the game is played. This includes strength and endurance training, individual practice time, and film study. Life lesson: Preparation is the key to success. If you work hard to prepare, mistakes are less likely to occur.Self-discipline -  It is the ability to maintain and carry out the role the coaches have determined within the game plan. This includes understanding your own individual strengths and weaknesses. Life lesson: Stay on task to get the job done no matter what distractions there may be.Teamwork -  This is the ability to work with others to complete a goal successfully. A team will only be successful if each individ ual fulfills their role. Life lesson: Working with others is an essential part of being successful. Doing your own thing can be detrimental and lead to many problems. Time management - This is the ability to fulfill all obligations including practice, homework, family, friends, etc. Life lesson: You must be well-balanced and adept at handling all aspects of your life so that you are not overwhelmed and stressed out.

Macroeconomics Environment of Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Macroeconomics Environment of Business - Essay Example Moreover the population and area of India is much larger than the combined area of all countries under EU. On the other hand there is the example of USSR breaking up into 14 smaller countries. Ruble was the currency of a unified USSR, but now the newly formed countries have come out with their own currencies while still accepting Ruble. This system as working fine as well. In fact success of any unified currency depends largely upon the sincerity and integrity of member states. In the case of EU the member countries don’t have a history of fierce rivalry or enmity like between Israel and Palestine (or other gulf countries), India and Pakistan or the cold war between US and USSR. So far each member has displayed maturity and commitment towards the unification move, recognizing the potential of unity for all. Moreover these are early days and initial hiccups are bound to crop up. To think that there should’ve been multiple currencies only because there have been such an a rrangement in past means we’re not taking lessons from history. Think about the multiplicity of efforts and resources that are required to maintain two types of currencies simultaneously. Under such circumstances, if all 12 member countries use their own currency together with EMU, at times the chauvinistic feeling also crop up which may bring up the thought of putting one’s country’s currency over that of the unified currency (which in totality means nobody’s currency).

Stress distribution in the ankle joint, Ideal requirement for ankle Essay

Stress distribution in the ankle joint, Ideal requirement for ankle arthroplasty - Essay Example However, the dynamic stability to the joint can be attributed to the ligamentous support and balanced muscular forces acting around the joint. Although end-stage degenerative joint disease in uncommon in the ankle joint, in contrast to the previously offered ankle arthrodesis, with the newer designs of total ankle arthroplasty implants, the later has become a viable alternative. However, given the complex mechanism of the joint in terms of force distribution, any successful implant must be congruent with the biomechanical properties of this unique joint. To this end, stress distribution and other mechanical forces are the most important considerations, and in this assignment, some current total ankle replacements systems will be investigated as to whether they conform to the ideal requirements of stress distribution (Alvine, 2000). Studies have supported the clinical choice of total ankle replacement despite its complications since in comparison to arthrodesis, the ideal patients undergoing indicated total ankle replacements can experience a near-normal gait, greater range of movement, symmetrical timing but a slower gait, and restored ground reaction pattern. In actual clinical conditions, thus stress distribution across the implant becomes the most important engineering issue to be considered while choosing an implant. This is important more so, given the fact that there is indeed a higher reported incidence of frequent failure of the ankle implants. These have been ascribed to the designers and surgeons inability to reconstruct and restore the stabilising ligaments, to a poor simulation and reproduction of the normal mechanics of the joint, and due to these reasons, leading to a lack of involvement of the subtalar joint while the entire ankle complex need a coupled pattern of motion. This makes the total jo int replacement challenging, but also indicates that there is space for improvements in implant design

The value of leadership in the contemporary healthcare organisations Essay

The value of leadership in the contemporary healthcare organisations - Essay Example The research paper â€Å"The value of leadership in the contemporary healthcare organizations† highlights the leadership issues of human resource management and the leadership of clinicians and other stakeholders. The National Health Service (NHS) in the UK is faced daily with issues that make service delivery more and more challenging. These problems bare a direct effect on the health of every individual, because if the Healthcare organs function in a strain it would transcend into less quality services provided. Healthcare workers include various professionals from Doctors, nurses, administrators and sundry other stakeholders who are relevant to the delivery of good Healthcare are affected by the issues of funding, inadequate or shortage of manpower. However in the NHS one major clog in the wheel of adequate, humane healthcare delivery is the issue of personnel. Due to the nature of synergistic collaboration needed to provide adequate services at these organisations, human r esources management must be at the most efficient level. Bickering among stakeholders from Government agents to Medical staff has escalated, assuming alarming proportions. Therefore the importance of rightly qualified persons to handle all aspects of healthcare institutions is all too clear. Every healthcare worker should know what values they are supposed to believe in and strive for. Leadership will be seen to be failing if it is not setting the right examples. A good manager must know how and when to use any style of Leadership.

History of Science - review a chapter of Peter Bowler and Iwan Morus's Essay

History of Science - review a chapter of Peter Bowler and Iwan Morus's textbook Making Modern Science (Chapter on Science and - Essay Example In fact, however, scientists and historians have argued for many centuries about the differences between the two, suggesting that pure science is hierarchically different from its applications in the world of work. The chapter explains how some thinkers place science above technology, and others place science below technology, in importance. The authors finally come to the conclusion that the best way to think about these two things is to observe examples and conclude that â€Å"little practical distinction is made between the two.† (p. 401) The authors start with recent times and argue that the most common view in the twentieth century was that science was more pure, and more important because it dealt with ideas and truths. Technology was considered a lesser area of study because it was concerned with merely things. It could be said that this is an idealist position, because it is theoretical, and imaginary, rather than concrete and applied. An interesting aspect of the auth ors’ approach is that it also brings in cultural and political factors. Scientists often see things through a narrow lens, in terms of numbers and theories, as if these things are absolute, but this chapter shows that ideas like Marxism influenced science. This ideology strongly favors a materialistic view of things, and stresses the usefulness of ideas in the real world. For scientists in Soviet Russia, then, technology was seen as more important. Scientists in the Capitalist western countries, on the other hand, continued with old ideas from the Enlightenment, which favored the theoretical over the practical. Another useful comparison is drawn (pp. 396-397) between French and English government approaches to the funding of science in the nineteenth century. In France the government wanted to promote science for its wealth-bringing potential, and funded research very generously, while in Britain there was a more relaxed attitude which left research to be more of a gentlemanà ¢â‚¬â„¢s hobby which was funded by private money. Looking at the world of science today it is interesting to see that these same old debates are still very relevant, because scientists always have to seek various sources of funding for their work. The American contribution to this debate was to emphasize the importance of inventors like Morse and Edison, who used their craft skills and intelligence to improve existing designs and create completely new ones. These men referred to traditional scientists, also, when they needed to solve some problems, which goes to show that theory and practice need to work together if progress is to be made. The chapter contains a number of headings, some of which are indicators of a particular example such as â€Å"steam culture† while others are more fancy such as â€Å"the chicken and the egg† and â€Å"invisible technicians.† These fancy headings do not help the reader to work out what the next topic is going to be. Unlike mos t historical textbooks, this one does not present the facts in chronological order, since it jumps back and forward through the ages, following the arguments for and against the supremacy of science or technology. This can be confusing, since at first it is not clear which way the authors wish the reader to follow. This is a weakness in the chapter, because a lot of the time the reader feels lost, and wondering what the point is that the authors want to make. After

REFLECTIVE REPORT OF PRESENTATION Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

REFLECTIVE REPORT OF PRESENTATION - Essay Example I came to learn quite a number of things through my own presentation as well as those of my colleagues. The presentation was scheduled for the 28th of February 2014, an aspect that happened. Both the students and the assessors were seated in the year one classroom ready for the presentations at 11:00 a.m. Due the number of students that had presentations the time, some time was spent which led to the culmination of the presentations at 16:30 pm. The timing allowed scheduling of the presentations into two sessions; the morning and afternoon sessions. Personally, I was scheduled to present in the afternoon session, which kicked off at around 14:30 pm, immediately after the lunch break. I specifically took the stand at around 15:45 pm and did the presentation within the ten minutes that were set by the assessors. The team of assessors included; Bernadine, Dr. Paige, Florence and Dr. Tukasi. The feedback from the assessors provided a challenge for me to improve on my presentation skills. The preparation for the presentation was a daunting task for me. I understood that I needed to give my best especially based on the poor performance in last year’s presentation. my determination was evident; I made quite a number of consultations with friends and educators. In addition, I visited the British library where I visited a number of books and journals that expanded my understanding on the inspirations of the Bible and how they affect the life of a Christian. Some of the materials visited included; All these sources among others that were not directly quoted provided meaningful insight while laid a good platform for understanding of the topic. In addition, some other books as well as the internet provided some guidelines on public presentation. During my research and preparation phase, I came across a lot of literature. There was so much information that was available in the books as well as the internet sources. However, the internet sources lacked

History of Science - review a chapter of Peter Bowler and Iwan Morus's Essay

History of Science - review a chapter of Peter Bowler and Iwan Morus's textbook Making Modern Science (Chapter on Science and - Essay Example In fact, however, scientists and historians have argued for many centuries about the differences between the two, suggesting that pure science is hierarchically different from its applications in the world of work. The chapter explains how some thinkers place science above technology, and others place science below technology, in importance. The authors finally come to the conclusion that the best way to think about these two things is to observe examples and conclude that â€Å"little practical distinction is made between the two.† (p. 401) The authors start with recent times and argue that the most common view in the twentieth century was that science was more pure, and more important because it dealt with ideas and truths. Technology was considered a lesser area of study because it was concerned with merely things. It could be said that this is an idealist position, because it is theoretical, and imaginary, rather than concrete and applied. An interesting aspect of the auth ors’ approach is that it also brings in cultural and political factors. Scientists often see things through a narrow lens, in terms of numbers and theories, as if these things are absolute, but this chapter shows that ideas like Marxism influenced science. This ideology strongly favors a materialistic view of things, and stresses the usefulness of ideas in the real world. For scientists in Soviet Russia, then, technology was seen as more important. Scientists in the Capitalist western countries, on the other hand, continued with old ideas from the Enlightenment, which favored the theoretical over the practical. Another useful comparison is drawn (pp. 396-397) between French and English government approaches to the funding of science in the nineteenth century. In France the government wanted to promote science for its wealth-bringing potential, and funded research very generously, while in Britain there was a more relaxed attitude which left research to be more of a gentlemanà ¢â‚¬â„¢s hobby which was funded by private money. Looking at the world of science today it is interesting to see that these same old debates are still very relevant, because scientists always have to seek various sources of funding for their work. The American contribution to this debate was to emphasize the importance of inventors like Morse and Edison, who used their craft skills and intelligence to improve existing designs and create completely new ones. These men referred to traditional scientists, also, when they needed to solve some problems, which goes to show that theory and practice need to work together if progress is to be made. The chapter contains a number of headings, some of which are indicators of a particular example such as â€Å"steam culture† while others are more fancy such as â€Å"the chicken and the egg† and â€Å"invisible technicians.† These fancy headings do not help the reader to work out what the next topic is going to be. Unlike mos t historical textbooks, this one does not present the facts in chronological order, since it jumps back and forward through the ages, following the arguments for and against the supremacy of science or technology. This can be confusing, since at first it is not clear which way the authors wish the reader to follow. This is a weakness in the chapter, because a lot of the time the reader feels lost, and wondering what the point is that the authors want to make. After

Poverty and social violence Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Poverty and social violence - Essay Example Los Olvidados, The Young and the Damned; tackles the unethical behaviours that destroy the children who are linked to the future of tomorrow. The problem is aggravated by the poverty levels in the society; Bunnel captures the vices experienced in the big modern cities. Los Olvidados depicts Mexico at the doorsill of modernization where moral values of the Mexicans appear compromised. There appears use of vulgar language in the story where Eljaibo calls a young boy a ‘pansy’ for refusing to smoke. El Jiabo symbolizes the extent of evil in the modern Mexico; the society there appears that the Mexican society disregards respect for peoples’ opinion (Wilcox, 112). Peer pressure: The meeting between Pedro and ElJaibo appears a wrong decision for Pedro. Most of the times El Jaibo commits crimes; Pedro is usually his scapegoat. Pedro killed Julian; because, Julian, reported him to the police, who came and arrested him. Pedro hoarded the information from the police; this costs him a lot in the end. Pedro became an accomplice when he refused to talk it to authoritative people to clear the air. Pedro got a job at the blacksmith; El Jiabo heard of it and paid Pedro a visit where he stole from the blacksmith destroying Pedro’s new job and sent to prison. ... The issue of theft is dealt within the film; evident when El Jaibo organizes robbery against Don Camel, a blind man. The society foregoes the needs of the less fortunate and oppresses them further. El Jaibo proves wrong influence when he stole from Pedro’s boss; the result was nasty as Pedro lose his job and is taken to prison. While still in Prison, Pedro encountered El Jaibo, who steals the money he had been given to run the principal’s errands. This time Pedro feels that he had tolerated enough with El Jaibo and pursues him. El Jaibo ended up murdering Pedro and flees. These episodes emphasize the need to stay away from peer pressure. The issue of theft comes in from the character El Jaibo who steals everything he comes from everyone he meets including his friends (Wilcox, 134). The theme of death proves evident in the story when El Jaibo started by killing Julian. Pedro saw what happened and kept quiet thinking that he was being a friend. Later on in the scene El Ja ibo ends up killing Pedro. El Jaibo proves a tough criminal who ended up dying in the story (Wilcox, 187). Terror and loneliness: The author symbolizes this by referring to the satisfaction of a mother’s milk. Carmelo the blind man consumes goat milk with the hope that it cleanses the body. Meche, cleans her legs using milk with the hope that it rejuvenates her beat whilst big eyes sucks the teat of a cow when hungry. The characters display an element of desperation and the hunger of comfort from the nest available living thing which is the domestic animals in this case. Pedro tragically pleads for her mother’s love; the mother feels betrayed by Pedro’s lazy behavior of stealing. She wonders why she should love someone who humiliates her in the eyes of the society. Pedro’s actions prove

A Review of the Literature Essay Example for Free

A Review of the Literature Essay Introduction Because the focus on market orientation has steadily increased over the last decade, academicians and marketing managers have begun to debate the effectiveness of market orientation as a profit enhancing strategy. Researchers and marketing managers are attempting to measure the benefits and costs associated with the implementation of market orientation. For researches and managers, the key questions that surround market orientation are whether or not it increases performance, and if so, in which circumstances should market orientation be implemented. In order for market orientation to become a cornerstone of business practices in years to come, these questions must be answered. This review will focus on three articles which address these key questions: Market Orientation and Company Performance: Empirical Evidence from UK Companies by Greenley, G (1995), Market Orientation: Antecedents and Consequences, by Jaworski and Kohli (1993) and The Effect of a Market Orientation on Business Profitability by Narver and Slater (1990). Summary of The Effect of a Market Orientation on Business Profitability by Narver Slater (1990) In The Effect of a Market Orientation on Business Profitability (1990), Narver and Slater address the lack of empirical evidence surrounding the effectiveness of market orientation. They begin the article by stating: market orientation is the very heart of modern marketing management and strategy ? yet to date, no one has developed a valid measure of it or assessed its influence on business performance? as a result, business practitioners have had no specific guidance as to what precisely a market orientation is and what its actual effect on business performance may be. Their study attempts to develop a valid measure of market orientation and its effect on the profitability of the firm. Narver and Slaters study is designed to test the hypothesis that there is a strong correlation between market orientation and profit levels for both commodity and non-commodity businesses. Narver and Slater  hypothesize that market orientation is a one dimensional construct consisting of three behavioral components: customer orientation, competitor orientation and inter-functional coordination. Additionally, they hypothesize that there are two decision criteria: a long term focus and a profit objective. Based on these criteria, Narver and Slater developed a questionnaire which was given to a sample group of 140 strategic business units in the same division of a major Western corporation. They then used statistical analysis to try to determine the correlation between the adoption of market orientation and the increase in profit and overall performance. In order to obtain accurate results, the researchers attempted to limit the influence of the other forces that impact a businesss profit margin; by doing this, they were able to isolate two key variables and find the relationship between them. Based on their data and analysis, Narver and Slater concluded that there is a monotonic relationship between profit and market orientation for the non-commodity business, whereas the relationship with commodity business was only apparent above the stated median in market orientation. Narver and Slater also concluded that market orientation is economical in all environments, and the question was finding the optimal level of market orientation. Critique of The Effect of a Market Orientation on Business Profitability by Narver Slater (1990). Narver and Slaters study is one of the first major empirical studies on the subject of market orientation and its impact on the firms profit. This ground-breaking study offers empirical validation to theories that were unproven prior to the study. However, based on the results of Narver and Slaters study, there are still many questions that remain unanswered. I found that the most significant problem with the study is that their sample was taken from a single corporation, meaning that the data they used was limited to only one industry and one region. As Narver and Slater noted in their conclusion, a sample this limited means that their results can be influenced and skewed by many variables, including corporate culture and regional practices. It is also possible that their findings are industry-specific and do not pertain to other companies outside of foresting. However, in the articles conclusion, Narver and Slater acknowledge these shortcomings and are eager for others in different regions to conduct further research in this field. Although the limited nature of the study makes it difficult to draw any large scale conclusions about the effectiveness of market orientation, Narver and Slater have created a useful model for an empirical study of market orientation which can now be applied to other industries and regions. The most interesting part of the study is not necessarily the results, but the fact that they were able to design the first successful empirical study. Another problem with the study is that Narver and Slater concluded that an equilibrium existed: the point at which the level of market orientation reaches a point at which its cost is equal to its benefit. At this point, any increase of market orientation would only be detrimental to the firms profit margin. Although the study states that the equilibrium is present, the authors offer no guidance on how marketing managers can identify this critical point. Further studies should be dedicated to answering this question in order to make market orientation a more effective strategy for businesses. Additionally, in the articles conclusion, Narver and Slater neglected to discuss a very key finding which surfaced in their data. Their study revealed that market orientation can have a detrimental effect on a companys overall performance when certain market forces and internal conditions apply. In my opinion, this finding was largely ignored in the conclusion in order to validate their original hypothesis: that market orientation has a positive impact on the performance of an organization. Although this finding was acknowledged in the article, I felt the conclusion was somewhat misleading with regard to the outcome of the study in this respect. Summary of Market orientation: Antecedents and consequences, by Jaworski and Kohli (1993) In Market orientation: Antecedents and consequences (1993) Jaworski and Kohli set out to empirically build upon Narver Slaters study. Jaworski and Kohli attempt to study the relationship between market orientation and its effect on numerous aspects of the firm. The authors lay out a series of 13 hypotheses which they attempt to prove within their study. The four hypotheses that dealt directly with the key questions noted in the introduction of this review are: A. The greater the market orientation of an organization, the higher its business performance. B. The greater the market orientation, the greater the (1) esprit de corps and (2) organizational commitment of employees. C. The greater the market turbulence, the stronger the relationship between market orientation and business performance. D. The greater the competitive intensity, the stronger the relationship between market orientation and business performance. The other nine hypotheses are related to the antecedents of market orientation, including managements role on market orientation and the impact the organizations structure and communication has on market orientation. Although these questions are important, I am primarily interested in Jaworski and Kohlis conclusions on whether or not market orientation affects overall performance and profit/return on equity. Jaworski and Kohli set up two samples from which they derived their data. The first sample was made up of executives from 102 companies; the second sample was made up of 230 executives taken from the membership roster of the American Marketing Association. The authors gathered data via a questionnaire that was sent to participants by mail. Based on the data reviewed, Jaworski and Kohli concluded that market orientation is an important determinant of overall performance regardless of factors such as market turbulence, competitive intensity or technological turbulence. However in both samples, the authors found little correlation between market orientation and return on equity and market share. Jaworski and Kohli also found that the commitment of top management towards implementing market orientation is an important factor on the strategys overall performance, as are the levels of interdepartmental coordination and interdepartmental conflict. Critique of Market orientation: Antecedents and consequences, by Jaworski and Kohli (1993) Jaworski and Kohlis study measures the value that market orientation creates for a business. In their introduction, the authors state their intentions quite clearly: The purpose of this research is to address the voids in knowledge [in the Narver and Slater study]. (Jaworski Kohli 1993) In this study, Jaworski and Kohli build upon and answer many of the questions left unanswered in Narver and Slater (1990). In my opinion, one of the most important aspects of Jaworski and Kohlis article is that they attempted to explain their study in an accessible manner by including a section that dealt with the implications of their findings for market managers. Unlike Narver and Slater, I felt that Jaworski and Kohli went to great lengths to try to answer the key questions that managers might have and attempted to lay down guidelines that managers could use in the implementation of market orientation. Jaworski and Kohli also realized the importance of one of the findings Narver and Slater neglected in their conclusion: that market orientation could be detrimental to a business in certain circumstances. Jaworski and Kohli explained the relationships between market orientation and certain environmental contexts including market turbulence and competitiveness. The aspect of the study that I found most interesting was Jaworski and Kohlis discovery that there is neither an association between market orientation and return on equity nor a relationship between market orientation and market share. Although the two authors still concluded that market orientation was beneficial for overall performance, the finding that it does not help return on equity is very significant. Return on equity, for many firms, is the guiding factor in the decision-making process, especially for private equity groups and investment banking firms. Having worked for a private equity firm, where return on equity is the principal goal, I can confidently say these findings are a huge blow to the advocacy of market orientation. However, I would not feel comfortable ruling out market orientation based on one study; further research must be done on this topic. Additionally, I found one aspect of Jaworski and Kohlis conclusion problematic: the authors concluded that market orientation had a direct relationship with overall performance, organizational commitment and esprit de corps, yet they stated that it did not influence return on equity and market share. This finding seems to be contradictory to common business beliefs, which would suggest that if market orientation had a positive impact on commitment, overall performance and esprit de corps, it would therefore have an impact on profit or return on equity. This finding is either misleading or it indicates that common beliefs regarding performance and employee motivation are incorrect. Summary of Market orientation and company performance: empirical evidence from UK companies by Greenley, G (1995) In the article Market orientation and company performance: empirical evidence from UK companies Greenley identifies a clear need for an  empirical study in the United Kingdom. As of 1995, no major empirical research had taken place anywhere but the United States. Greenley created his study based upon this research gap. His basic hypothesis, that market orientation is positively associated with performance, is taken from the aforementioned studies by Narver and Slater (1990) and Jaworski and Kohli (1993). Greenley also tested additional hypotheses from Narver and Slaters 1990 study. The hypotheses Greenley tested dealt with the relationship between market orientation and cost, size of the company, market entry, customer power and competitive hostility in the market. Additionally, he tested hypotheses pertaining to market growth, turbulence and technological change. To obtain his data, Greenley used a slightly altered version of Narver and Slaters 1990 questionnaire, adapted for UK business culture. The questionnaires were sent to 280 top level managers, mainly CEOs. Of those 280 questionnaires, he received 240 usable responses, which made up the data for his study. Based on the analysis he conducted, Greenley concluded that market orientation does not have a direct affect on performance. (Greenley 1995) He also concluded that with high levels of market turbulence, market orientation is negatively associated with return on equity, whereas with low levels of market turbulence, market orientation is positively associated with return on equity. Critique of Market orientation and company performance: empirical evidence from UK companies by Greenley, G (1995) Greenleys study is the first major empirical study of market orientation in the UK, and quite surprisingly, his results were very different than the previous findings of studies conducted in the United States. Any reader of Greenleys study Market orientation and company performance must immediately question whether or not business culture and practices in the UK are so different from their United States counterparts that one strategy empirically proven to work in the United States will be rendered ineffective in the UK. If Greenleys results are accurate, multinational corporations using a centralized control method would have to rethink using market orientation. This, however, does not seem to be the case. Proctor and Gamble (PG) appear to successfully implement global strategies, including market orientation, profitably. Therefore, I propose that Greenleys inability to find a positive relationship between market orientation and performance is a result of a problem in his data collection process. As Greenley stated in his conclusion, his data was gathered during a recession, and therefore a managers thoughts on a long-term profit schemes such as market orientation might have been skewed. Also, Greenley obtained nearly 60 percent of his data from top level CEOs and Chairmen, a different sampling base than previous studies in the United States. For instance, Narver and Slater used CPUs and Jaworski and Kohli primarily used market managers for their samples. The difference in sample bases significantly impacts the results of Greenleys study; typically, CEOs and top management, like those that Greenley questioned, are not as involved in the day-to-day implementation of market orientation and tend to be short-term profit oriented. Managers lower on the organizations hierarchy, such as marketing managers, might have a more direct involvement with the implementation of market orientation. For future research, I think it would be more prudent to take a broader sample of managers at all levels, thereby eliminating any bias that can occur when only sampling a certain section of the managerial hierarchy. Another problem that I found in Greenleys conclusion was the fact that he did not make the individual participants aware of the studys purpose. Although he intended for this to be a tool for gathering accurate and unbiased data from participants, I believe this strategy actually had the opposite effect, given the timing of his article. During a recession, CEOs and Chairmen are attempting to regain short term profitability and/or attempting to scale down costs in order to survive until the recession ends. At such a time, market orientation would not be a viable option and it is unlikely that the top management Greenley questioned would consider it a useful strategy. Therefore, the data collected by Greenley during this period would have little or no relevance for the measurement of the effectiveness of market orientation outside of a recession. Conclusion All three of the articles discussed deal with the task of empirically studying the relationship between market orientation and its effects on businesses. Narver and Slater produced the first major study in this field and their research became a significant starting point for future studies. Narver and Slaters article stated that they found a direct relationship between marketing orientation and performance; however, the study also brought to light many holes in their research and aspects of this relationship which needed further study. Jaworski and Kohlis 1993 study attempted to answer some of the key questions that arose from Narver and Slaters article. The questions Jaworski and Kohli addressed included why some organizations are more market oriented then others and whether or not the linkage between market orientation and business performance depend on the environmental context. The Greenley study in 1995 was the first major study done outside the United States. Greenley followed Narver and Slaters model in his attempt to empirically study market orientation in the United Kingdom. While his methods were the same, Greenleys research produced very different results than that of Narver and Slater, and only agreed with some of Jaworski and Kohlis conclusions. In my opinion, Greenleys research only added to the confusion that surrounds the study of market orientation; the differences in his results can be attributed to many factors, including gaps in previous research, differences between the United States and the UK, or differences in the economy at the time of the studies. The ambiguous results of this study confirm the need for more research in order to answer the key question of market orientations relationship with performance and profit. Therefore, after reading and critically reviewing the above articles, my conclusion is that further empirical research must be done in order for there to be any confidence in the use of market orientation as a performance-enhancing strategy. A multi-national study or the study of multiple multinational companies would provide valuable insight into whether market orientation is exclusively suited to companies operating in the United States or if its implementation in different countries can also be profitable. Further research must also be done in order to affirm or refute Jaworski and Kohlis claim that market orientation has no positive relationship with market share and return on equity. I believe that if Jaworski and Kohlis claim is true, managers, especially those operating publically traded companies, will inevitably need to rethink the use of market orientation within their corporations. List of References Greenley, G. (1995). Market orientation and company performance: empirical evidence from UK companies. British Journal of Management, 6:1-13. Jaworski, B. and Kohli, A. (1993). Market orientation: antecedents and consequences. Journal of Marketing, 57(July): 53-70. Narver, J. and Slater, S. (1990). The effect of a market orientation on business profitability. Journal of Marketing 54(October): 20-35.

Health and safety hazards to workers

Health and safety hazards to workers In Mauritius, we have five regional hospitals namely: SSRNH, Victoria Hospital, Nehru Hospital, Jeetoo Hospital and Flacq Hospital and other small specialised hospitals such as ENT Hospital, Moka Eye Hospital and Brown Sequard Hospital. Each regional hospital consists of a CSSD unit respectively which cater for the provision of sterile items to the hospital and to health centres which falls under the catchment area of that regional hospital. Although, the CSSD is a small unit in that hospital, its presence and service is of great importance to the healthcare staff, patients and to the public in general. The role of the CSSD is to prevent cross- infection and contamination of the patients, staff and visitors by sterilising all equipment and instruments which aid in providing the best care to the patients. It is time to think about the health and safety of the workers of Central Sterile Supply Department (CSSD). In order to protect and to prevent the staff of the CSSD from injuries and illnesses, it is important to identify the health and safety hazards that are present at each level and in each area of the CSSD. After identification of these hazards is carried out, appropriate preventive measures must be adopted if not to eliminate the hazards completely, but at least to minimise the exposure of the staff to these hazards so that they can work in a safer environment free from injuries, accidents and occupational diseases. For the purpose of this project, the Hazard Identification was carried out at the CSSD of SSRN Hospital. Abbreviations CSSD Central Sterile Supplies Department SSRNH Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam National Hospital PPE Personal Protective Equipment EtO Ethylene Oxide HIV -Human Immunodeficiency Virus OSHA 2005 -Occupational Health and Safety 2005- HBV Hepatitis B Virus MSD Musculoskeletal Disorders 1.0 INTRODUCTION Hospitals are such places where people get treatment for their illnesses, injuries and diseases. Many of these diseases are caused by biological agents such as bacteria, viruses and fungi. Thus, in hospitals there is high incidence of disease-causing micro-organisms which can spread from patient to patient or from patient to health care personnel or from the equipment and other materials that are used while giving care to the patients. It is the duty of the staff not only to cure the diseases of the patients but at the same time to prevent the transmission of diseases from one person to another. An effective measure to prevent spreading of the diseases is in making sure that all the items that are used in the care of the patients are sterile. Many of the instruments and materials used in the hospitals are quite expensive and are so designed that they can be reused. The importance of a CSSD in a hospital is to provide sterile items at the required time and place in the hospital. The CSSD of a hospital receives stores, sterilises and distributes to all the departments including the wards, outpatient department and other special unit such as the operation theatre. The main duty of the CSSD is the sterilisation of items such as catheters, tubings, surgical instruments, treatment trays and sets and dressings materials. Although, CSSD aims at providing sterile items so as to prevent the spread of infection and in some ways to protect hospital staff and patients from biological hazards, the CSSD itself is prone to various hazards. So, to be able to identify the health and safety hazards that workers face, we must first know the activities that are carried out in the CSSD. 2.0 The objectives of the CSSD: To provide sterile gauze packs cotton wool and equipment to all units of the hospital and to Area Health Centers, and Community Health Centers within the catchment area of a regional hospital. To ensure that proper cleaning, disinfecting and sterilising process of items is being carried out in the department. To keep an inventory of all supplies and equipment. To meet the demand of its customers, i.e. different units in supplying the needed amount of sterile items to them. To contribute to a great extent in preventing cross-infection by effective running of the department. To take some of the work of the nursing staff so that they can give more time to the patients. To make expensive equipment which are not used so often reusable. To provide a safe working environment for the staff. 3.0 The organisational structure of the CSSD at SSRNH: The CSSD has manpower of 26 workers: 1 Superintendent, 2 Supervisors, 17 CSSD Assistants and 6 CSSD Attendants. The Head of the Department is the Superintendent and is the one who liaises with other heads of different departments. The supervisors are responsible for monitoring the duties of the assistants and to ensure the smooth running of the unit. They are also responsible for the effective delivery of sterile items to the required units. The CSSD Assistants are those workers who perform most of the duties in the unit. The attendants are mainly concerned with manual handling, collecting and delivering items to other departments of the hospital. An organisational chart is as below: CSSD Superintendent CSSD Supervisors CSSD Assistants CSSD Attendants 4.0 CSSD Design F:ImagesP2108_26-04-10.JPG 5.0 The Sterile Supply Cycle 6.0 The different areas of the CSSD The CSSD is divided into four major areas: Sorting and Decontamination Assembly and Packaging Sterilising Sterile Storage and Distribution 1. Sorting and Decontamination Area: Here the instruments are cleaned and washed. For the purpose of cleaning and washing, chemical detergents and disinfectants such as javel, alcohol and soaps are used. The instruments are washed in basin using plenty amount of water. It is only after this process that the instruments are safe to be handled. Also, sorting of instruments is carried out, disassembling of the instruments is done when needed and the CSSD assistants inspect the items for cleanliness and damage. 2. Assembly and Packaging Area: Following decontamination, the items are further sorted, reassembled and packaged. Here, reusable linens such as surgical gowns, green sheets drapes are packed in individual special wrapping paper. Cotton wool rolls are place in carton boxes. Gauze pieces are cut into smaller sizes and are wrapped individually. Clean instruments are placed in trays (either small or large depending on the surgical intervention during which they are going to be used) and are then packed in double wrapping papers. Autoclave tapes are used to hold the surgical items packed for sterilisation intact. These tapes have white indicator lines which turn to black lines after sterilization, thus helping the user to make sure that the pack is sterile. 3. The Sterilising Area Here the packed items then undergo a process known as sterilization. This involves the killing of any potential pathogen on the items. Normally, several methods of sterilisation exit but steam and ethylene oxide sterilization are most commonly used. 4. Sterile Storage and Distribution Area The sterile items are then stored in the storage area arranged neatly on different shelves. From there, the sterile items are then distributed to respective units. 7.0 The Sterilising Process: The CSSD attendants collect used instruments and equipment, empty carton boxes for cotton wool and the CSSD book (in which the head of the unit jots down the number of each sterile items he needs) from respective units of the hospital. With the introduction of new technologies, old methods of sterilisation such as boiling and vaporization have been replaced by two main methods of sterilization namely: 1. Autoclaving, i.e. steam sterilisation 2. Gas sterilisation using ethylene oxide. The items that are sterilised in the CSSD are: Cloth, i.e. green sheets drapes Gauze Cotton wool Instruments Pre-sterilisation Prior to sterilisation, all the items must be prepared through a process known as pre-sterilisation. The pre-sterilisation process for the items that have to be sterilised is as follows: 1. Cloth The clean linen are folded, and then wrapped in a special paper. The packed linen is then sealed with autoclaves tape. 2. Gauze The gauze are cut into uniform pieces and made into either large gauze or small gauze. They are then packed in paper into individual packs and are sealed with autoclave tapes. 3. Cotton wool The cotton wool is made into small rolls from large bundles and placed in small carton boxes which are then sealed on the sides with autoclave tapes. 4. Instruments The instruments are first checked for soil, they are then washed and placed in trays or individual sets depending on the requisition of the respective unit. They are then packed in double special paper wrappers and sealed with autoclave tapes. Sterilisation It is a process used to make a medium free from micro-organisms including bacterial spores. Sterilisation can be done through heat, chemicals, irradiation and high pressure. In the CSSD at SSRNH, two types of sterilisation is being used: Gas Sterilisation Steam Sterilisation Gas Sterilisation Using ethylene oxide. This method of sterilization can be used to sterilise those items that can withstand temperatures of 50-60ËÅ ¡C. A long period of aeration is required to remove all traces of ethylene oxide. Autoclaving, i.e. Steam Sterilisation It is the most reliable process of sterilization. It sterilises with steam under pressure. The high pressure also ensures saturation of wrapped surgical packs. Autoclaving is one of the most effective methods for destruction of all types of micro-organisms. The amount of time and degree of temperature necessary for sterilisation depend on the articles to be sterilised. 8.0 LITERATURE REVIEW The aims of Occupational Health and Safety are: To promote and maintain a high degree of physical, mental and social well-being of workers in their respective workplace; To prevent adverse effects on the health of the workers that can be due to the working conditions; To protect the workers at their workplace from risks resulting from factors adverse to health; To provide the workers with such working environment that suits their physical and mental needs; the adaptation of work to humans. We can thus say that occupational health and safety englobes the social, mental and physical well-being of workers. A healthy workplace means a safe workplace where the workers will be in an environment where the hazards exposure is quite minimised if not eliminated completely. Occupational health and safety is important as: Work plays a major role in peoples lives, since most workers spend at least eight hours a day in the workplace. Therefore, work environments should be safe and healthy. But, this is not the case for many workers. Every day workers all over the world face many health hazards, such as: dusts gases noise vibration extreme temperatures. As a result of the hazards and a lack of attention given to health and safety, work-related accidents and diseases are common in all parts of the world. Appropriate and effective workplace health and safety programmes can help to protect the workers by reducing hazards and their consequences. Health and safety programmes can also have positive effects on both worker morale and productivity and can thus be beneficial to the organisation. At the same time, effective programmes can save employers a great deal of money. There are many hazards that might exist in any workplace such as: chemical hazards in the form of liquids, solids, dusts, fumes, vapours and gases; physical hazards, such as noise, vibration, unsatisfactory lighting, radiation and extreme temperatures; biological hazards, such as bacteria, viruses and fungi; psychological hazard as a result of stress and strain; hazards related to the non-application of ergonomic principles, like badly designed machinery, mechanical devices and tools that will be used by workers, improper seating and workstation design, or poorly designed work practices. Workers often get work-related health problems and do not realise that the problems are related to their work, particularly when an occupational disease, for example, is in the early stages. Besides the other more obvious benefits of training, such as skills development, hazard recognition, etc., a comprehensive training programme in each workplace will help workers to: recognise early signs/symptoms of any potential occupational diseases before they become permanent conditions; assess their work environment; insist that management to make changes before hazardous conditions can develop. Previous research on CSSD shows that: According to Linda Clement, Items processed in the decontamination areas are potentially pathogenic and pose a potential exposure risk to employees working in these areas. She also stated that to prevent cross contamination, good infection prevention processes must be put into practice. Also, the housekeeping procedures should be the same as those that are used in operation theatre and delivering rooms and that all horizontal working surfaces and the floors should be cleaned daily. The medical equipment poses a risk of exposure to blood and bodily soils, and other safety hazards before or during processing. So, appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) should be worn by the workers, they should adopt good work practices and have to follow the manufacturers instructions. Whether it is a sterilizer, a washer/disinfector, an endoscope or a surgical instrument, it is best to follow the device manufacturers instructions found in operator manuals and other product documentation for h andling, operation, cleaning and disinfecting medical equipment. As per John Brown, All personnel working in the decontamination area should wear clean, facility-provided uniforms that are donned at the facility. Also, workers should use general purpose utility gloves, gown, a surgical face mask and goggles while working in the decontamination area. During maintenance procedures, additional PPE is necessary including eye protection and steel-toed shoes should be worn at all times to protect from sharp and heavy objects from causing injury to workers feet. Leather gloves while handling potentially sharp objects, stainless steel panels and plumbing piping gloves and heat-resistant arm sleeves must be worn while working around steam piping and face shield when using cleaning chemicals. (Infection Control Today-Jennifer Schraag April 08) 8.1 HEALTH AND SAFETY HAZARDS: 8.1.1 Safety The primary areas of potential hazards include environmental, electrical, mechanical, chemical, biological, fire and physical. The work performed in the CSSD need special attention to avoid injury to the workers and sometimes visitors such as nursing staff. Most workplace injuries and accidents are caused by neglect, carelessness or lack of understanding of the principles of safety. Safety is every workers responsibility so as protects oneself and also the equipment in the CSSD which is governments property. 8.1.2 Chemical Hazard These hazards are present when a worker is exposed to any chemicals in the workplace, be it solid, liquid or gas. Some of these chemicals are safer than others, but some workers who are sensitive to chemicals, even those that are commonly used solutions can cause illness, skin irritation or breathing problems. In the decontamination area, the use of chemicals for cleaning purposes is necessary. These chemicals are caustic soda, javel, methyl spirit, soaps and detergents. Exposure may result when the workers do not use necessary personal protective equipment (PPE) while handling these hazardous chemicals found in soaps, disinfectors and cleaners. Exposure to these substances can cause contact dermatitis, excoriation of the skin and ulcers. Prolonged and persistent exposure may end up in allergic reactions or hypersensitivity. 8.1.3Ethylene Oxide (EtO) Hazards EtO possesses several physical and health hazards that really need much attention. EtO is a liquid below 51.7ËÅ ¡ F, or a gas that has ether-like odour at concentrations above 700 parts per million (ppm) and is both flammable and highly reactive. The current OSHA Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL) to EtO is 1ppm for an 8-hour time weighted average. Normally, EtO sterilization is done for items which cannot be exposed to steam sterilization. Exposure hazards normally results from improper ventilation in ethylene oxide chamber after the sterilising process, during off-gassing of sterilized items or due to leakage from pipe connection. Hazards can also occur when removing sterilized items from the sterilizer or even when changing bottles of EtO gas. Health effects of EtO are: Eye irritation and injury to cornea, frostbite and on prolonged skin exposure, severe irritation and blistering of the skin can happen. Gastric irritation and injury to the liver can result from accidental ingestion of EtO. Inhalation of EtO vapours may cause respiratory irritation and lung injury, headache, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, shortness of breath and cyanosis. Risk of cancer, adverse reproductive effects and chromosomal damage can result from prolonged exposure to EtO. 8.1.4 Biological Hazard In the decontamination area, workers may be injured from contaminated sharp instruments such as needles and scalpels, while sorting, cleaning and washing. Soiled, reusable instruments are considered to be contaminated with bacteria and other micro-organisms, which can cause illness to the staff. Exposure to infected material can cause diseases such as Viral Hepatitis and HIV. Contamination is liable to occur due to presence of blood borne pathogens found in soiled drapes and pointed objects, e.g needles. Hepatitis B is transmitted through contact with the blood or body fluid of an infected person on soiled drapes or surgical instruments which in turn land up in the CSSD for sterilisation. 8.1.5 Ergonomics related hazards When the physical requirements of a job and the physical capacity of a worker do not match, it can cause in work-related Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSD). Ergonomic hazards occur when the type of work, body position and working conditions put strain on the body. A worker will not notice the strain immediately .For short-term exposure, a worker can get sore muscles the next day or in the days following exposure, but long term exposure can end in serious long-term injuries. These hazards may be due to: bad lighting not properly adjusted workstations and chairs frequent lifting bad posture repetitive awkward movements too much force is needed to do a work and it has to be done quite often. In the CSSD, workers are exposed to repetitiveness of works, prolonged standing and reaching out while sorting instruments, uncomfortable sitting postures on chairs which are non-ergonomically designed during trimming of gauze and putting cotton wool rolls in boxes. The workers have to bend frequently while lifting heavy loads, need to reach high storage shelves or need to push or pull heavy carts loaded with sterile or unsterile items, all this can lead to MSD. Contact trauma to forearm can also occur if the workers the wrists are placed on hard surfaces. 8.1.6 Physical Hazards These are the most common and can be present in most workplaces at anytime. They include unsafe conditions that can cause injury, illness and death. Sometimes bad working practices are used so often that they become the routine works habits and might be not considered as hazards to workers. But still these hazards cannot be accepted in a workplace. Physical hazards include: electrical hazards constant loud noise high exposure to heat slips/trips and falls. Burns and cuts Workers are exposed to burns and cuts during handling of hot sterilised items or sharp instruments when removing them from autoclaves. Slips/Trips/Falls Exposure to slippery floors can occur to spills of detergents and presence of water on the floors while cleaning and washing of instruments is being done in the decontamination area. In the sterilizing area because of the use of steam in autoclaving processes, the environment inside the room will be humid and may cause the floor to be slippery. Electrical Hazards All electrical devices should be inspected upon arrival in the CSSD. Improper grounding and earthing facilities can prove to be dangerous. Regular maintenance and repairs of the equipment in the CSSD should be documented and proper records should be maintained. Electrical cords lying on the floors can cause workers to trip over them and the cords can also be exposed to wet floors and cause electrocution. The use of extension cords should be avoided and electrical sockets should not be installed next to washing basins or near any source of water. Unsafe electrical installations by incompetent persons can give rise to electrical hazards. All electrical installations should have protective devices such as circuit breakers, fuses, Residual Current Devices so that the electrical equipment are safe from overvoltage and excessive current. Unsafe work practices can lead to electrical accidents. Heat Exposure to hot environment can lead to heat stress, heat exhaustion, and cramps. This can happen when workers are unloading items once autoclaving is completed. As autoclaving uses steam, the atmosphere in the sterilising area becomes very moist and the temperature in that unit is quite raised when the autoclaves are in operation. The workers feel very hot and also very uncomfortable to work in such conditions. Sweaty palms, fogged-up safety glasses and dizziness caused by the heat can increase risk of injuries in workers. Burns can also occur due to accidental contact with hot surfaces of autoclaves or with accidental opening of the autoclave door or due to improper closing of the door causing steam to escape. Fire Hazards EtO is used for gas sterilising. EtO is a highly flammable gas and improper ventilation system and leakage of the gas-line can cause accumulation of EtO in the CSSD, the use of cigarettes by staff in addition to the EtO in the air may cause a fire outbreak or even an explosion. Improper storage of flammable gases and liquids can have adverse effects and may result in fire. Improper maintenance of electrical equipment and aging electrical cords, with the presence of water can be a source of static electricity, sparks or minor combustion which can ultimately lead to a fire due to presence of large amount of combustible materials such as gauze, linen cotton, boxes, and paper wrappers in the CSSD. 8.1.7 Latex Allergy Workers normally wear latex gloves during handling and sorting of contaminated instruments and equipment is done. Some workers can develop allergy to the latex. 9.0 LEGISLATION The only legislative body concerned with the health and safety of workers in Mauritius is the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2005. The Superintendent, Supervisors and all the CSSD staff should be familiar with this Act as each worker will know about his rights and what work he should or should not do as per law and what protection he should have for doing a particular task. 10.0 RECOMMENDATIONS General Recommendations: An effective measure to prevent workers from hazards exposure is regular job rotation to different areas of the CSSD. The employees should be provided with gowns, hair covers and shoe covers while at work. During cleaning and washing of equipments, the workers should be provided with rubber gloves and aprons. While removing carts and trays from the hot sterilisers leather gloves should be worn by the staff. Frequent hand washing with good hand washing techniques will contribute to a great extent in preventing cross-infection. It is highly recommended to the workers not to wear any jewels, e.g. rings and nail varnish while washing the instruments and while packing the items for sterilisation. Workers must adopt safe work practices so as to prevent accidents, injuries and illnesses. Taking the necessary safety precautions while performing the required task can practically eliminate associated dangers. It is the duty of all workers to comply with specific health and safety precautions so to protect themselves from any hazard that might be present in the CSSD. Recommendations for Chemical Hazards: Goggles must be worn when washing and cleaning instruments as there is risk of chemicals being splashed into the eyes. Appropriate PPE such as gloves, goggles, splash aprons should be worn by workers so as to protect them while using detergents and chemicals in the decontamination area. In case of splash of chemicals into the eyes, the workers should flush the eyes immediately for at least 15 mins. Thus, suitable facilities for eye flashing should e situated within the working area. Recommendations for EtO Use proper ventilation especially for the Eto Room Local exhaust ventilation system should be installed. Workers exposure to EtO should be minimised when sterilization is being carried out The door of the sterilizer should be opened no more than two inches to allow the load to off gas before transferring them to carts. Installation of a ventilated exhaust hood installation would be very useful. For changing of cylinders, appropriate PPE such as butyl apron, gloves, and a canister respirator is recommended. Recommendations for Biological Hazards: Use protective glove for cleaning and decontamination, shoes should be closed and resistant to puncture, goggles for eye, face mask or face shield and plastic apron. Training in of handling of sharp equipment should be given to the workers. Engineering and Work Practice Controls must be the primary means used to eliminate or minimize exposure to blood borne pathogens. Engineering Controls are measures (e.g., sharps disposal containers, self-sheathing needles, and safer medical devices, such as sharps injury protections) that isolate or remove the blood borne pathogens hazard from the workplace. Use of resistant puncture sharp containers with biohazard symbol. Container to be filled to the mark and the container should not have any leakage. Recommendations for Ergonomics Related Hazards Workstation need to be redesigned so packaging and equipment are within reachable levels and the elbows are maintained close to the body. The wheels for the carts should be such that they are easily rolled. Prolonged overhead activity need to be minimised (e.g. storage shelves should be lowered to shoulder height). Height-adjustable work surfaces should be used or tables have to be lifted to minimise head tilt. Repetitive tasks should be prevented by rotating workers to different work area. The edge of the working surfaces which come into contact with the elbow or forearm should be padded to prevent contact trauma. Sit/stand stools may be provided in the working area. Anti-fatigue mats have to be used. Shoes with well-cushioned insteps and soles should be worn by workers in case there is no floor mats. Foot rest bar should be provided to the staff so can they continually alter their posture by raising one foot. Padded Work Surfaces Padded Work Surfaces Recommendations for Burns and Cuts Good work practices should be established to prevent hazards: Hot items should not be removed from sterilisers until they are cooled. Handling of sharp ends of instruments should be avoided. Forceps should be used to remove sharp instruments from baskets and autoclaves Leather gloves should be provided to workers for handling of hot items. Recommendations to prevent from burning with Autoclave: Unloading Autoclave Heat-insulating gloves, safety glasses/face shield and closed toed shoes should be worn while unloading autoclaves. Workers must make sure that the pressure of the chamber is 0 before they open the door. Workers should stand back away from the door as a precaution and carefully open the door not more than 1 inch (2.5 cm) so as to allow residual steam to escape and to the allow pressure within the liquids and containers are back to normal. Sterilised items should be allowed to stand for 10 minutes. This will allow the steam to clear and also allow trapped air to escape from hot liquids, reducing risk . (Note: This is built into the operating cycle on some of the autoclaves). Containers of super-heated liquids should not be agitated and caps must not be removed before unloading. When hot items are removed from the autoclave, they should be marked with warning sign (e.g. Caution: Hot. Do not touch.) till the items cools down to room temperature.. Recommendations for Slips, Trips and Falls: Floors should be kept clean and dry. For wet floor areas warning signs should be placed. Proper drainage should be done during wet processes and floors mats, dry standing places should be available and waterproof footgear can also be worn by the workers. All working area should be kept clean and in an orderly manner. All aisles and passageways should be and free from any obstruction. Floor plugs for equipment to prevent power cords from running across pathways. All exits should be free from any obstruction. Access to exits doors should be easily reachable. Slip resistant shoes should be worn. Spills need to be reported and cleaned immediately. Uneven floor surfaces should be eliminated. Recommendations for Electrical hazard: Avoid using extension cords. All cords should have a grounded, three-prong, hospital-grade plug. A cracked cord should be replaced immediately. No accumulation of water should be allowed near an electrical outlet. According to OSHA 2005 Clause 73,all electrical apparatuses and conductors including machines, equipment and fittings shall be sufficient in size and power for the work for which they are used and shall be constructed, installed, protected, worked and maintained so as to prevent danger. Recommendations for hazards related to Heat: Since, the place of work is quite hot; workers should wear light-coloured and

My favourite and least favourite characters from The Canterbury Tales :: English Literature

My favourite and least favourite characters from The Canterbury Tales My favourite character from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales is the Reeve. The Reeve comes across as a 'shady' or 'dark' character who's intentions are not fully recognised even when his prologue is finished. We don't get too much about his background but a lot on his appearance and the way he works. We already know that he is the farm bailiff. His appearance already gave a gripping edge to his personality, "His berd was shave as ny as ever he kan; "His beard was shaved as close as could His heer was by his eris ful round shorn; His hair was cut round his ears His top was dokked lyk a preest biforn. The top of his head was like a priest Ful longe wre his legges and ful lene," He had very long and skinny legs" His appearance gives the impression of an almost 'evil' looking character, with skinny, no calf legs and the phrase.. "His berd was shave as ny as ever he kan" gave the impression that he had a 'rugged' look to his face, a rough look which gives the impression that the others on the pilgramge might have looked up to him not in a role model way but rather a respectful and weary one. But then again he is given a holy like look as the top of his head is cut short like a priest giving the Reeve a holy look, which gives a clash of two worlds, the holy and the dark rugged side of life, but from examples from "The Summoner" and "The Monk", the chuchmen of the time were not see as very respectful men either and some could say the dark world was the world of the holy. This rugged, dark and ominous look is one of the things that makes me admire the Reeve, it is as if he is hiding his own real feelings, opinions on life within himself and that his face, this rough face is a mask hiding those feelings inside of him. It is as if you need to crack him to find more from him and his face gives no answers aiding to that. He also has a very clever and cunning nature which I admire in The Reeve. "Wel koude he kepe a gerner and a binne; Ther was noon auditour koude on him winne." "He could keep a granary and a cornbin well; No auditor could catch him out." This shows that the reeve had a cunning edge, clever at his job and also very stable in his job and with money as no accountant could ever

Most Power In Modern Western Societies Essay

Assess the view that most power in modern western societies is held by people who have not been democratically elected. It is believed that people who have not been democratically elected hold most power in western societys, however how true is this? Throughout history people have been born into positions of power, if your father was a lord, you would most likely also be a lord. Marxists believe that this division of power still exist in modern society today. Unlike Functionalists who believe in a fair merocratic society, Marxists believe that the social class you are born in is where you’ll most likely end up staying. However this theory is critised for being far to deterministic as many people from the working classes are able to make there way up the social ladder. Marxists believe that everything designed in society is there to favour the bourgeois, from the State to the legal system. Althusser believes that economic determinism needs to be rejected. According to Althusser, societies comprise of 3 levels: The economic, the political and the ideological. Although the economy is ‘determinant’ in the last instance’, the political and ideological levels are not mere reflections of the economy but have ‘relative autonomy’ and don’t have effects on the economy. Stephen Lukes identified three ways in which sociologists have approached the study of power. Each involves studying a different dimension or ‘face’ of power. He argues that an understanding of power requires an awareness of all three faces. The first face of power is success in decision-making (this has been adopted by pluralists). The second face of power is managing the agenda and the third is manipulation the views of others. Weber is usually considered the starting point in the study of power. Unlike Marx he believed that power was not automatically linked to ownership of wealth. Ordinary people with little or no money could exercise power by joining parties, not only political parties but pressure groups. He defined power as ‘the chance of a man or a number of men to realise their own will in a communal action even against the resistance of others’. Weber defined 3 types of authority: Charismatic Authority (The type of authority based on charisma), Traditional Authority (The type of power based on established customs) and Rational-legal authority (The type of authority devised from impersonal rules). Weber saw rational-legal authority as the dominant form of authority in modern societies, not only armies but also political, religious and educational organisations. He believed that they were organised on bureaucratic lines with structures of authority and rational rules designed to ensure that power is used to achieve the goals of organisations. Weber’s work has been critised as the types of authority he described are ideal types. Ideal is a model of the purest type and in reality ideal types do not exists. Political scientist Robert Dahl developed Weber’s ideas into what has become classical pluralism. Classical pluralism represents the way in which many people believe liberal democrats such as the UK and USA operate. It suggests that such political systems are truly democratic and that power is distributed throughout society. Classical pluralists except that they have very little direct involvement in political decision-making however this doesn’t mean that these societies are undemocratic. They are seen as representative democracies where citizens elect political leaders who are charged with carrying out the wishes of those who elected them. Pluralists see political parties and pressure groups as crucial for the democratic process, as through political parties we seek to gain power by putting up candidates into elections with the aim of forming a government and through pressure groups seek to influence those in government to follow policies which individual groups favour. Robert Dahl conducted a study of local government in New Haven and found that no-one group is seen to actually dominate the decision-making; power is therefore shared among a range of groups. The idea is rejected by pluralists that democracy is possible in a one-party state, since there must be opposition parties and a range of pressure groups to represent the views of those who disagree with the governing party. Pluralists claim to have solid evidence for their view of the distribution of power from case studies of decision-making on a local level (Dahl) and at a national level (Hewitt) There have been many criticisms of pluralism, first of all it is believed that measuring power by examining decisions ignores non-decision making. It also ignores the fact that that people may accept and even welcome decisions which are against their interests and its is shown that some groups exercise more power than others and so is an unequal representation of interests and many interests may not be represented at all. Marxists also argue that the pluralists’ focus on the decisions taken by local and national governments ignores the possibility that the real centre of power is elsewhere. As a result of the criticisms of pluralism many classical pluralism supporters modified or changed their positions. Robert Dahl has accepted that the unequal distribution of wealth and income in the USA makes equal political influence impossible. David Marsh describes this position as elite pluralism. Elite Pluralists accept that many political interests are under represented. However, since they constitute a significant number of voters the government will eventually be forced to take note of their interests. It is accepted that some groups have greater access to the government than others, however they point out that governments must minimise conflict by consulting with a range of interest groups. Elite Pluralism answers some of the criticisms of classical pluralism. It acknowledges the existence of under-represented interests and accepts that power is to some degree concentrated in the hands of a few elites. However there are also criticisms of this theory. It’s said to undermine the pluralist position that power is widely dispersed in capitalist societies. Also the assumption that elites or leaders act in the interests of their members is also open to question. Finally Elite pluralism like Classical pluralism fails to take into account the third face of power the ability to shape and manipulate the desires of others. Elite theorists reject the pluralist view that power in liberal democracies is widely dispersed. They argue that power is concentrated in the hands of a small minority called the elite. The elite theory was originally developed as a response to Marxism, which claimed that democracy was only possible under communism. They asserted that rule by elites was inevitable in all societies, even communist ones. However not all views of elite theory are so pessimistic. Many modern elite theorists argue that rule by elites results from the way in which societies are organised, rather than being n inevitable feature of human society. Vilfredo Pareto and Gaetano Mosca rejected the idea that real democracy was possible in either liberal democracies or under communism. They argue that in all societies and elite, a minority of individuals with superior personal qualities, would monopolise power. While Pareto and Mosca saw the elite as an inevitable thing Wright Mills saw the elite rule as a result of the structure of society which allowed a disproportionate amount of power to be held by a few individuals who occupied what he called the command posts. These individuals are called the power elite. He identified 3 key institutions as the centres of power, The Federal government, the major corporations and the military. Mills believed that these 3 elites are closely related because of their similar origins, education and kinship and because there interests are in twined. Critics of Mills argue that he only showed that the elites in the USA have potential for control, he failed to show that they had actual hold control. In addition pluralist disagree with this theory and argue that there are many other elites such as pressure group leaders, religious, trade unions and so on, who can provide a counterbalance to these more powerful elites. Marxists also reject the notion of a power elite, arguing that real power in capitalist societies derives not from positions in institutions but from ownership and control of the means of production. In conclusion it seems as though there are many different approaches to the view on power in society, whether the people are in power because they were democratically elected or whether there, there because they were born into it. However many of the views tend to ignore the problems with black people and women. Why are there only 25% of women in parliament and why are there only 6 black MP’s? Although functionalist believe we live in a fair merocratic society it’s becoming fairly obvious that we don’t. Though many views have may have some truth behind them it extremely hard say that one person’s opinion of power in society is wrong. It really depends if you believe in the power of the people or not.