Patterns of Democracy Essay

The book Patterns of Democracy: Government Forms and Performances in Thirty-Six Countries compared consensus democracy vis-a-vis majoritarian democracy as society’s backbone towards social and economic development. Through its discourse, it made evident that consensus democracy exhibits a more mature type of democracy as it better responds to many of the contemporary community’s social and political issues such as women’s rights, environmental awareness and voter’s turnout. The books presented ideas that broadened my perception of sociopolitical and socioeconomic issues. It has effectively demonstrated the complexities of our society and the dynamics of democracy in particular. For this, the book is a good baseline for building our political awareness and ideological stance. However, I find consensus democracy, as presented in the book, a very debatable concept. As the book relates, consensus democracy is a type of government where every sector with a valid purpose is given due representation in the socio-civic segments of society. It has been practiced and seen success in Switzerland, Belgium and even international organization such as the European Union among others. Among its identified key characteristics are the formation of a grand coalition where elite leaders of each sector recognizes the dangers of non-cooperation; exercise of mutual veto which requires consensus to confirm the majority rule; proportionality where representation in the national and civic segments of the society is equal to the sector’s population; and segmental autonomy which creates a sense of individuality and allows for different culturally-based community laws (www. wikipedia. com). Popular literature credits Arend Lijphart as is the primary promoter of this type of democracy. Lijphart sees consensus democracy as â€Å"kinder, gentler† approach compared to majoritarian democracy. The book advocates this type of democracy – also called consociationalism – not only as an antidote to countries in conflict but also as the supreme state of society. The way he presented and navigated his evidences into asserting the numerous advantages of consociationalism is obviously coming from a one-track mind. Understanding his standpoint as an avid and pious promoter of this political theory as evidenced in his early works such as Democracy in Plural Societies (1977), he must have been so immersed and engrossed on this concept. There is no question that this type of democracy works, in some situations far better even, than other democracies. Yet, as a reader, one may not help but feel overwhelmed by the bombardment of too-good-to-be-true attributes and then start to look for flaws and critique the concept. In his narration on how idyllic consensus democracy is, he missed out on several obvious contentions which real life circumstances may pose on its actual implementation. He may also have overlooked some contextual considerations that had served as crucial factors in the success of consociationalism. Therefore as a review of his work – Patterns of Democracy – it would be insightful to mention several observations from an outsider’s point of view. Consensus democracy is ideal; in fact it’s too ideal it seems too good to be true. Operating from a realist point of view, consociationalism is a fantasy. It is difficult to imagine sectors of the society – each with its own agenda and interest, some with contrasting views as the other – would come together and work for a policy that may not have any effect on their cause. There will always be an opportunity cost which one or several sectors should be willing to pay. The question now is how much each sector is willing to sacrifice for the common good. Also, the sectors which they intend to integrate in policy-making initiatives are largely issue-based. This introduces another complexity since some of them are ad-hoc groups that disintegrate once their mission has been realized, unable to sustain the support of its subordinates. Except for some constant concerns such as labor, health and education, sectors with less important concerns need not to be raised on national level regardless of its populace. Institutionalizing a long term sectoral representation and compromise agreements in a much diversified society is a serious challenge to meet, and even harder to maintain. Consensus democracy dreams of a welfare state with less violence, more equality, and greater environmental concern, and all the good things every government aspires for its people. However, the book discussion of consensus democracy makes it seem so easy to realize, eliciting false hopes, leading to unrest and eventual breakdown of the society. There is nothing wrong in setting goals but it should also be practical and pragmatic as to not mislead the people into an overnight change. The goals of consociationalism could also be interpreted as being preachy. As in the case of consociationalism in Lebanon which was tagged as â€Å"confessionalism† due to its religious linkages, consensus democracy defies the separation of church and state – a characteristic common to most democratic states. Aligning the government’s policies with that of the church’s is a U-turn back to the conservative ages which democracies have long tried to break from. Another comment on the book is that it had the impression of being too imposing. Though it may have seen several successes in some countries as in the Netherlands and Belgium, this type of democracy cannot be forced upon other states. Again, operating from a relativist’s perspective, one must realize that each sovereign state is a unique entity. In fact, recognizing pre-conditions for better application of consensus democracy is in itself a recognition that it cannot be function as effectively in other states. This is precisely the purpose of comparative politics where various forms of governments are studied to determine which would work best in a particular society. Contrasting consensus democracy with majoritarian democracy was Lijphart’s way of highlighting the positive facets of the former. However, the manner on which the comparison was presented seems to be discrediting the latter in order to elevate the status of consociationalism. It is ironic that consensus democracy calls for tolerance for unparallel views for various sectors yet he is maligning majoritarian democracy to forward his thoughts. This manner of persuasion holds no chance in a consensus democracy for it will only stir more conflict and cleavages among disparate groups. As sectors are represented by elites in a consensus democracy, it manifests an imbalance in the society; elites who have their own interests to protect, have secured places in the society and have nothing much to lose should they fail to forward their cause. This leaves the sectors they represent helpless should the elites decide go with the majority. The minority will have no power against the majority in fear of retaliating on them with a bigger impact. This scenario is highly hegemonic. Lastly, the federalism by means of identifying the racial and cultural backgrounds is not cohesive, rather it’s the opposite. Continuously referring to them as the minority will not improve the chances of garnering greater support. This will allow the so called ethic groups to detach from the coalition and pursue their own initiatives in some other venue that may not be as diplomatic as consociationalism suggests.

Beautiful Tragic Love (Creative Writing)

g Beautiful Tragic Love I never asked my life to be a FAIRY TALE or PERFECT, all I wanted was a normal life, and I didn't have a very happy childhood living with my parents as an only child. As I was growing up all my life it revolved around men, every time I would fall in love with one, they would leave me after 3 months. I was beginning to feel like a hopeless romantic just like my mum when my dad had left her when I was beginning to experiment with love. I felt cursed. I kept asking myself â€Å"WHY, WHY DOES THIS KEEP HAPPENING TO ME All men are dogs! I am almost twenty one and I don’t know if the problem lies with me or my family, all I know is that I have given my parents so much problems and so much  pain, I guess my life is a long journey and am finding myself in it everyday. My story began last summer of 2009; I could feel that there was something in the air that day. Birds were chirping, the wind was blowing leaving me shivers down my spine and everything felt so alive. I had been  depressed  for about a year before that day.I was  walking  along  the beach  with my bare feet buried in the sand and the waves of the sea crushing into my feet when my life started to take a turn for the best†¦ From a distance I saw a handsome young man admiring me from far. Our eyes met and it was like nothing I had ever felt before with any of the men I had been with. It was something special. We began  walking  closer together like something out of a movie. I felt on  top of the world for once, my eyes were sparkling and my  stomach  was fluttering with butterflies, as we walked closer and closer to each other.When we became close enough to talk about our personal lives, Will would get on his knee and speak my fluent language, French and say the most  romantic  things. At that point I knew he had my heart. We talked until 2. 00 a. m. The next  morning it turned out that he lives only about ten minutes from where I was living. We started seeing more of each other, Will begin to get serious about us. I fought the depression  that I had and soon I was glowing with life and he was the world to me, he became my anything and everything. We had been going out for about six months when he met my mother.My mother disapproved of Will mainly because she thought I was too young to be in a serious relationship and that I wasn’t ready because this relationship might end up like the rest of my other terrible relationship. Just like any mother she was worried about me but I kept reassuring her that this time it was something different. She soon banned me from seeing him. For a while we went out against her will and had four more months of endless happiness. I had finally met someone whom I loved and wanted to spend the rest of my life with. One day when I finished from work he had texted me to meet him at the same beach we met a year ago.When I got there I saw him standing on one of the big rocks beside the sea , he waved from far and yelled my name â€Å"LAKE, AM OVER HERE! † my heart was beating so fast as if I was in a race. When I got on the rock with him, it was nearly sunset time; he took both of my hands (Oh My God) I screamed quietly inside with excitement hoping that he would say something along the lines of marrying him. He looked at me straight in the eye to show that he was serious, and started saying â€Å"Lake ever since I have laid eyes on you, it’s like you have awaked me from my soul, and I don’t see life without you. He moved on from saying â€Å"Would you like to move in with me? † All I could feel was special, wanted, happy, in love, and emotional all at the same time. Few tears dropped down my cheeks without realizing because I kept repeating what he had just said. No boy had ever said anything like what Will had said. Holding me closer to him I looked him deep in those amazing emerald green eyes and answered â€Å"YES!!! † as I fall in to kiss him. Life couldn’t have got any better; we were so madly in love that we couldn’t wait so we got married a few months later.It has been two years since we got married and it feels like it was just yesterday. On our two year  anniversary, I was 4 months pregnant with our first child, so that night he had planned to take me out to a fancy  French Restaurant. As we were leaving we both looked up at the big beautiful moon, it was shinning like a bight, bright light, it was just the perfect moment in my life where I could hold pause forever. When suddenly a man came out of the shadows with a gun, he came took my purse and Will's wallet. Someone saw the crime taking place and screamed â€Å"STOP† at the man.Everything became a blur as Will threw himself in front of me as the gun went off. I couldn’t believe my eyes, what I hadn’t envisioned in a million years seemed to become a reality. The robber ran off into the night and left Will to d ie in my arms. I looked down at him and tears started to explode down my cheeks as I screamed â€Å"HELP! † â€Å"SOMEONE CALL THE AMBALANCE! † I held him closely for the longest time as he bled to his death. Right before he died he told me â€Å"We will be  together again†¦ I promise†¦ I love you and the baby†¦and both of you will be always in y heart. † He looked so peaceful and handsome just like the first day I had met him; my heart was torn into pieces as he drew his last breath. He lay there dead in my arms staring at me with his emerald green eyes. I felt helpless as I held him even closer and kept screaming and crying â€Å"NO†¦ NO THIS CAN’T BE HAPPENING†¦NOT TO ME†¦NOT AGAIN!! † He will always be in my heart; whenever the wind blows I can still hear him whispering sweet things in my ear. Sometimes when you find happiness again in your life, it turns into your worst nightmare.

Anti-discriminatory practice Essay Example for Free (#5)

Anti-discriminatory practice Essay The problems that can be encountered within staff training and development is that Betty may want the training to take place on a Saturday but the carers who have the day off on Saturdays may not want to go because it may be the only day off they have in a week. Betty could then rearrange the day and have staff training during the week but the downside of that is that there will be no carers left to care for the residents and also there will be a funding problem because Betty will then have to try and get other carers in just for that day. Funding The problems that can be encountered with funding is that if quite a few staff members take the same day off like a Wednesday then Betty will have to ring the staff who shouldn’t be in on Wednesday and see if they will come in, but they don’t want to. Betty will then have to ring and ask see if she can have agency staff to come in and work which will then be costing money that they probably haven’t got. Discrimination The problem with discrimination is that people have their own beliefs and values. A carer doesn’t like black people and there are 1 or 2 black people in the care home where she works. This carer takes in their own beliefs and values before their line of work; this means that the carer will be nice to the â€Å"black† residents when another carer is around but when they are on their own with them they call them names and are just discriminating against them because of their own beliefs and values. If the â€Å"black† residents complain about this carer then she will get assessed and if it is still going on she will end up with the sack and also taken to court. Manager There are problems with managers like funding because some carers may want a pay rise and if there isn’t enough money then obviously the carers cant have their pay rise and they may quit their job as a result of this. Another problem for a manager is that the care home could be an old building. Old buildings are more likely to have damp and to start falling down. This could link into the funding because if there wasn’t enough funding then the care home would have to get closed down because they wouldn’t be able to re-damp proof the walls/ceilings and also they wouldn’t be able to afford building works. Cooks There are a few problems for cooks because if they haven’t got enough staff working in the kitchens then everyone would have to be fed at different times which could be a problem with service users if they had a set feeding time. Storage is a problem because if it was a small kitchen then the cook wouldn’t have enough room to store appliances and food. Under trained staff is another problem because if staff wasn’t trained properly then germs could be passed on and also food may not be cooked properly. Cleaners A big problem for cleaners is that they could be denied access to a room by a service user. The reason this is a problem is that the cleaner may not get paid if all rooms are not cleaned properly although it wouldn’t be the cleaners fault. Cleaners can also have problems with respect because some carers think they are better than the cleaners because they don’t have to do the dirty jobs other than changing some residents. Receptionist Problems for receptionists is that if there is a client on the phone and there was a problem then the receptionist would get a mouth full although it wouldn’t be there fault. The reason the receptionist would get an ear full is because they are the first person that the client is going to speak to on the matter and the client will think it’s the receptionists fault because they answered the phone. When actually all the receptionist is there for is to make and/or receive calls and also to book appointments. Communication can be a problem especially if the service user doesn’t speak English. The reason this would be a problem is if the service user didn’t speak English then the receptionist will not understand what they rang up for. Carer Carers get a lot of problems because they could be discriminated against especially if they were male. The reason for this is that there are more female residents in a care home than there are males and some women don’t like to be washed by a bloke even though that is what they were employed for. Anti-discriminatory practice. (2017, Sep 10).

Criminal justice Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 9

Criminal justice - Assignment Example The result is strong bonding that sees them survive through their term in jail. Women and men who commit crimes are sent to prison according to sex. Serious offenses such as sexual assault prompted creation of separate prisons for males and females. Female prisoners are quite different from male prisoners as they are less violent and rarely fight prison wardens or there inmates as compared to men (Schmalleger, 2008). Furthermore, women easily form bonds as a way of helping each other to survive through the prison sentence. Men have concrete hierarchy basing on gang relations, connections, and physical superiority. It is because of this that women prison has a lesser number of prison officers compared to men. Though the prisons are heavily fortified, those of men require 24 hours surveillance while female prison is not heavily guarded. Female prisons have special units where they can report assault as they are they tend to be verbally expressed than men who tend to solve issues physically. Women are less involved in crimes than men are; therefore, not much study has been conducted. Prison staff is charged with the responsibility of curbing violence among the inmates (Schmalleger, 2008), surveillance to control prison breakouts, quelling riots and offering first aid services. Officers also write reports on overall prison condition, new cases of violence, deaths, and diseases. In addition, the prison staff deals with alcohol and drug dependent inmates. They deal handle sexual offenders within prison, facilitate religious beliefs activities and understanding of diverse backgrounds. Prison staff also deals with different patients including psychiatric cases, offering necessary treatment. Prison rioting is a way of complaining to the authority of the injustices and demanding certain services (Schmalleger, 2008). Inmates often agree

Effect of Reducing the Production Defective Rugs Assignment

Effect of Reducing the Production Defective Rugs - Assignment Example Also, the president wondered whether the suggested program would have the desired effect of reducing the production of defective rugs. If each employee produced about 20 rugs per month, what statistical technique would you use to help answer these questions To answer these questions, we must create and analyze an appropriate statistical model. This model should give formalized and clear description of studied random processes with the most important factors and probabilistic parameters. First of all, it is necessary to note that the proposed policy has no effect on the quality of manufactured rugs. Indeed, a non-zero () probability of producing defective rugs is caused by the defects, which are due to factors beyond employees' control. Therefore, any stimulation of employees (receiving a citation, providing parties in the honor, getting a half day off, etc.) to make no defective rugs is ineffective because of an absence of real mechanisms for quality control by employees. Let's disclose this proposition. Let the probability of producing defective rug is formed by two additive probabilities, and: Here, the probability is caused by all factors beyond employees' control, e.g. malfunctions of automated equipment facilities. Another probability is caused by factors which can be controlled by employees, e.g. managing errors or keying mistakes when operating non-automatically.

CONCLUSION - A Short Summary in Terms of the Foundations of the Essay

CONCLUSION - A Short Summary in Terms of the Foundations of the Ordained Ministry Based on the Overview I Have Written - Essay Example In addition, he solemnly affirms that preaching Christ at any cost is the duty of the minister and the servant. When one reads the initial chapters of the epistle to Philippians we find the apostle rejoicing that Christ is being preached even though out of jealousy and competition. That the ministerial ordination does not stop with just Paul himself is evident in the passages where the Apostle asks Timothy to rekindle the Holy Spirit, which has been received through the laying of hands by the Apostle himself, in his epistle to the ardent disciple. (2 Tim: 1/6) This laying of hands is a charism through which God communicates. This charism is found ‘in’ them whom the hands were laid. So in the epistles, the laying of hands brings about the induction into the office of the ministry. We find a close link between the transmission of the right doctrine and the laying of hands. We find the first seven deacons being inducted by the twelve into the ministry by laying of hands. Thus we find the transmission of ordained ministry as well as its institution (Part 3). Now we come to the ultimate question of the aim of this ministry according to Paul, which has also been dealt with in his letters. Paul says that as an Apostle he has been selected by the Lord with the â€Å"ministry of the uncircumcised† as Peter had been entrusted with the â€Å"ministry of the circumcised†. Even at the council of the apostles, Paul argues that the message of Christ is universal, for the righteousness of the faith imparted by Christ (Gal: 2/1-10). He did not desist until John, Cephas and James extended him that â€Å"right hand of fellowship† (Part4). The minister is always doing the work of reconciliation. (2 Cor: 5/18). Therefore, every minister is called to this ministry. The â€Å"steward of the mysteries of Christ† (1 Cor: 4/1), Paul knows that he is invested with the authority of God (2 Cor: 13/10) to build up the Church. How faith is handed down and

Globalization Strategies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Globalization Strategies - Essay Example This essay stresses that sophisticated ERP models are obligatory if the operation wishes to incorporate material planning with customer demands and supplier subsidiaries, both internal and external, as well as various means of distribution channels. While there are numerous strategies that can help an organization become successful on a global scale, the best strategy to use is highly dependent upon the individual company. Some, such as Nike, are built almost exclusively on close relationships with subcontractors while others, such as Zara clothing, excel thanks to a highly integrated, centrally located headquarters. Strategies will depend upon how the organization expands its base, whether through the acquisition of other firms, the development of subcontractors or the building of new facilities, as well as the type of products or services the organization has to offer. This paper makes a conclusion that locations will have an effect upon best strategies as well, as different laws, taxes, incentives and regulations will all determine the resources and practices allowable in a given area and the overall cost of production. In the end, the best way to determine best global strategy for an individual organization is through careful analysis of the company’s goals and ethics, products offered, supply and distribution chains, resources, level of technology, legal and regulatory considerations and production processes before determining which strategy will provide for the most efficient, economic and ethically balanced combination as a means of attracting and retaining consumers.

Quality management (Shell company) Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Quality management (Shell company) - Assignment Example 321). It is necessary for managers to think of an integrated management system which encompasses the elements of quality management (QMS), environmental management (EMS), and health and safety management (OHSMS). Since an integrated management system can involve different facets of corporate management, it is vital to identify the different aspects associated with it. In order to implement an IMS in the Shell oil company, it is better adopt a five-phase implementation process which includes phases such as preparation, planning, implementation, monitoring, review and certification. During the initial phases, an effective, quality policy and environment policy must be developed to give the implementation process a clear direction. This paper will specifically outline an implementation plan for a new IMS in the Shell Oil Company. Integrated management system Integrated management system can be simply defined as a management system that integrates all systems and operations of an organis ation into an extensive framework, assisting the organisation to operate as a single entity with shared goals and objectives. The integrated management system greatly aids an organisation to become a unified entity and link each function to a single common goal (Pardy & Andrews, 2009, p.107). Evidently, such a centralised system would assist the organisation to improve its overall performance. â€Å"An integrated management system is the most effective way to discharge an organisation’s obligations to its employees, customers, and the wider community†. (Freiberger Forschungshefte, Issue 526. 2008, p.39). In simple words, this system gives stakeholder a clear idea on what the organisation expects from them. Another major feature of integrated management system is that it provides the organisation with a genuinely co-ordinated system instead of mere ‘silos’ (Emea.bsi-global.com). Experts suggest that this management system is greatly helpful for the organisa tion to obtain a clear and comprehensive picture of its all aspects, the way they affect each other, and the associated risk factors. As there is less duplication in an integrated management system, it is easy to implement the new system in the future. Through this technique, the management team is provided with a single structure which would enable them to deliver the organisation’s objectives efficiently and effectively. The potentiality of an integrated management system ranges from managing employee needs to monitoring market competition and maximising resources. The most fascinating feature of this system is that it is relevant to all types of organisations regardless of their nature and size (Driving.myfoxcharlotte.com). Under this approach, two or more management systems are integrated into one cohesive system with a common set of policies, procedures, processes, and documentation. Shell Oil Company Shell Oil Company is the Royal Dutch Shell’s US based subsidiar y, and it is one of the largest oil companies in the world. The US head office is located at Huston in Texas, and nearly 22,000 employees are from the United States. The Shell Oil Company together with its consolidated companies and its share in equity firms is one of the largest oil and natural gas producers, gasoline distributers, natural gas suppliers, and

Barclays Retail Banking in India Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Barclays Retail Banking in India - Essay Example Analysis of Environment 5 1.1. PEST Analysis 5 8 1.2. Industry Life Cycle 8 2.0. Competitive stance of Barclays in India 9 2.1. Porter’s Five Forces 9 Section 2 13 2.1. Scale and Scope 13 2.2. Analysis of Strategy 14 2.3. Evaluation of Sustainability 15 References 17 Bibliography 21 Introduction After realising the potential of the emerging markets, many internationally operating business institutions have shifted their focus from developed economies to developing economies, such as China, Russia, and India (Raman, 2009). Following the trend, Barclays Bank Plc, which is by its origin an England-based financial institution, decided to expand its business in India in the year 2006. Conversely, the organisation had already entered the market almost 30 years before the commencement of retail banking in the economy (Barclays, 2011). The paper focuses on the business environment of Barclays Bank Plc in India and services rendered by the company in the economy. With this concern, the paper discusses the macro-economic factors existing in the Indian Banking Sector through PEST analysis. It also intends to identify the strategic alliances adopted by the company with the assistance of Porter’s Six Forces analysis and evaluate its appropriateness in overcoming the challenges existing in the economy. With the objective to analyse appropriateness of the strategies adopted by the company, the discussion of the paper presents a comprehensive outlook of the current status of the industry in the economic region. It also represents the various facts regarding the strategic behaviour of the company. Section 1 1.0. Analysis of Environment 1.1. PEST Analysis Political Factors The Indian political system has a great influence on the commercial sector of the economy. The current scenario of the political environment in India possesses few advantages and disadvantages which in turn can affect the banking sector to a large extent. For instance, the economy possesses a wel l-structured regulatory framework to control commercial banking and on the contrary a high inflationary rate which is most likely to have an effect on the growth of the banking industry (The Times of India, 2010). Moreover, in the current fiscal year the government of India have subscribed to recapitalise the public sector banks in order to assist them in achieving a target of 15% in terms of outstanding loans (Scribd, 2011). One major reason which can be identified in this context is the growing concern of the political leaders in the economy to improve the financial market trends with an objective of stimulated economic growth. This reformation will certainly make the competition fiercer in the market and thus affect the operations of Barclays in India. Economical Factors The GDP rate of the economy is recorded to continuously increase and currently figures around 5.75% (as was recorded in March 17th 2011). According to the economists, the economic growth rate shall persist to inc rease in the next few years (Ganesh, 2011). The interest rate of the economy is forecasted to continue on a high percentage (i.e. 5.75%). However, the inflationary rates of the economy are also recorded at an increase with 9.30%. Interest Rates of the economy currently figures to 5.75% and thus reflects a challenging business environment (Ganesh, 2011; Trading Economics, 2011). The economic situation of

On Becoming A Leader Essay Example for Free

On Becoming A Leader Essay Nowadays, the title of â€Å"leader† seems to be sloppily thrown here and there. For the inexperienced eye, if someone seems to be the dominant individual in a group, people automatically ascribe the term to the person. Nowadays, it seems to be more of having a title than meeting that title’s responsibilities. It is imperative for a leader to know what enables his leadership; he should know how he had come to that position. In retrospect, a good study of the great leaders has amounted to a list of qualities that they innately possess. Bennis, (2003) in his book, â€Å"On Becoming A Leader† talks about what it takes to become a leader. There are different so-called â€Å"ingredients† that the author attributes the greatness of those people who have been worth enough to be called leaders of their generation. He speaks of ingredients such as guiding vision wherein a leader knows where he is going and knows how to get there. It is the proverbial horizon that the leader looks to. Another ingredient is passion—it is an enduring love for what he is doing. The author also speaks about integrity and being honest to oneself. He talks about the importance of doing away with self-deception and aligning one’s thoughts with one’s words and actions. He adds curiosity and a daring attitude to the mix as he stresses the importance of learning how to not be satisfied with the status quo by taking on challenges which have real-life risks. Finally, he closes with one of the most poignant traits that a leader must have. He bases his findings on a simple, yet hard-to-define element: trust. The author gives several reasons why it is important for a leader to be trustworthy. This trait essentially speaks of a leader’s integrity and how he deals with other people. Bennis says that it is one of the qualities that can only be earned and not acquired. It is given freely by the leader’s peers and followers. (Bennis, 2003) Trust is said to be one of the essentials that a leader needs in order to have his or her group up and running. Like a car without fuel, a leader will not be able to function if those under the leadership do not trust him. More than anything, this is the most vital part of any type of leadership. If the people are unable to follow the leader because they do not trust him or her, then it would be better if there was no one to follow at all. Apart from trust, all of the other ingredients are learned. Ordinary people will eventually learn how to look at the big picture and become accountable to themselves and to others. Leaders-to-be will eventually engender a love and a passion for what it is that they do but on of the things that cannot be learned is the trust that comes with responsibility. To be able to look at one’s follower and have that person say to you, â€Å"I trust you† is one of the most precious ingredients a leader can ever have. It is the cherry on top of everything else—the so-called icing on the cake without which everything will simply be ordinary and out-of-the-box. With all of the talk of having certain qualities that a leader needs to have, all of the ingredients are important but none as important as the trust that is earned by a leader.

Investigating Corruption In The Construction Industry Construction Essay

Investigating Corruption In The Construction Industry Construction Essay Corruption is a longstanding issue within the Construction Industry worldwide. What Effects have the Recent Bidding Scandals had on the UK Construction Industry and what are their Implications for the Future Worldwide, the construction sector is regularly rated as one of the most corrupt industries and the UK has not escaped these unlawful practices. In fact, in 2006 the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) published a survey entitled Corruption in the UK Construction Industry, which showed that corruption was present to some degree in many areas of this sector and that more should be done to tackle this issue. The industry was further rocked by the Office of Fair Tradings (OFT) Investigation into Bid Rigging in the Construction Industry. This topic is current and on-going and the main focus of my project. The aim of my project is to investigate the widespread effects and outcomes of bid rigging on the UK Construction Industry and how companies can tackle such problems. Scandals have included many large, high profile companies within the UK, damaging both reputations and trust. The project concludes that corruption in the form of bid rigging appears to be long standing and endemic in the construction industry and, often, an acceptable practice. Even though legislation against such practices exists and new legislation has/is coming on stream, this has not managed to stamp out these illegal practices. If the UK finds it difficult to control corrupt practices with legislation in place it most certainly follows that worldwide where practices are not subject to the same legislation, the problem is huge. There is a need for monitoring, greater transparency and staying within the law. Introduction (292) There are many reasons why corruption takes place including greed, a lack of transparency and accountability, bureaucracy and a lack of law enforcement. Corruption is fuelled by the enormous sums of money involved in carrying out projects and wherever money changes hands practices are open to corruption. Corruption is illegal and causes serious problems. Corruption in construction takes many different forms, from bribery or misuse of power/position to obtaining large sums of money through fraud or other dishonest behaviour. In order to win contracts companies would normally not have won, corrupt practices take place. This has an effect on the decision making and independent processes and causes costs to rise. Corruption in the construction industry is a world-wide problem; it is not just confined to developing countries, as there is extensive evidence of corruption taking place in developed industrialised countries. The United Kingdom has extensive experience of corruption in the construction industry and, as a consequence, advanced systems of corruption have evolved. High profile, leading companies have been involved in corruption scandals provided by large public sector contracts being issued to the private sector, which often means that taxpayers are likely to have been massively overcharged. Politicians have been found guilty of improperly accepting cash from businesses. Scandals such as cash for amendments and cash for favours have been uncovered in recent years. Public sector contracts and concessions are the single greatest source of corruption in the UK and the majority of corruption cases in the UK are connected to the award of contracts. The use of illegal payments for contracts is widespread. A report by Transparency International listed the construction industry as the business sector most prone to bribery ahead of even the arms, defence, oil and gas industries. Research Review (2134) This review focuses on reliable primary and secondary sources. Very little speculative information has been used in this study. Corruption is an illegal practice and by its nature is difficult to establish and to accuse companies of such practices without circumstantial evidence would likely lead to cases of slander or libel as the companys reputation would be at stake. No company is going to admit freely to adopting an illegal practice. Speculative information is therefore in short supply. What is corruption? Corruption, with reference to the construction industry, is the abuse of power or resources for personal gain by extortion or offering bribes. This includes collusion, i.e. an agreement between two or more people. It is used to limit open competition by deceiving or defrauding others of their legal rights, leading to gaining an unfair advantage. In a Global Corruption Report produced by Transparency International in 2005 it was estimated that the cost of corruption in the UK could be circa  £3.75 billion per annum, a vast sum of money. At the time they drew up an anti-corruption code for individuals in the construction and engineering industry. Tendering The main purpose for the principal contractor, the sub contractors and suppliers is to win contract work on a competitive basis and to ensure that the profit margin placed within the tender is maintained or exceeded. If the reverse occurs, where a loss is made, it can be made up during the trading period of the company with other projects; however large losses cannot be maintained indefinitely and could lead eventually to the closure of the company. Some companies will submit to tender with no intention of winning the work, solely to maintain the reputation and references of their company. This can have adverse effects on smaller companies who need the work however are beaten by larger companies. There is a cost to the contractor for tendering. Construction firms have to survive in a high risk market and losing contractors lose their costs of tendering. Illegal Practices within the Construction Industry affecting the tendering process Cartel A formal agreement among competing firms to fix prices, marketing and production. [The European Unions competition law explicitly forbids cartels and related practices. Competition Act 1998 and Article 81 of the EU Treaty] Bid Rigging Bid rigging is a form of fraud in which a commercial contract is promised to one party even though several other parties also present a bid to make the process look acceptable. This is a form of price fixing and illegal in most countries, including the UK. Cover Pricing Cover pricing takes place when companies join together to overbid for a contract they have no intention of winning. One or more bidders tenders an inflated bid with an intention not to win the contract This is misleading to clients as it gives a false representation of the real extent of the competition as the client is unaware of the contact between the bidders and cheaper firms are less likely to be invited to tender. Often builders do this to avoid being taken off the tendering list of contractors. Compensation payments known as bungs may take place in exchange for a cover price Both these practices can have the effect of inflating the final contract price. Blacklisting A blacklist is a list or register of persons who, for one reason or another, are being denied a particular privilege, service mobility, access or recognition. SCANDALS Case Studies One very large scandal to hit the UK construction industry recently was the Office of Fair Tradings investigation into bid rigging and cover pricing. A primary source of information. The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) started one of the largest investigations in its history against the construction industry in April 2004. The investigation into the cartel behaviour which it claims artificially inflated the cost of  £3 billion of public and private sector contracts. 112 companies were accused of years of price fixing. It formally accused the industry of bid rigging and cover pricing, contrary to the Competition Act 1998. The contracts investigated included several public sector projects to build schools, hospitals, universities and social housing. This bid rigging often involved the use of false invoices. The OFT reported that in the course of its investigation it found evidence of cover pricing in thousands of tender processes in the construction industry involving many more than those named. The inquiry involved dozens of investigators and lawyers and firms had their offices raided during the process. The industry admitted privately that the practice of bid rigging and cover price fixing was widespread for some time before the OFT intervened. Among those named were large companies such as Carillion, Balfour Beatty and the Kier Group but many small family run businesses were also involved. The OFT had the power to fine the companies up to 10% of their global turnover for breaches of competition rules and several firms admitted their guilt in order to reduce their fines to 1% or 2% of turnover. The Information Commissioners Office (ICO), also a primary source of information, uncovered serious breaches of the Data Protection Act and served Enforcement Notices on 14 construction firms who had paid for illegal information on potential employees. Firms including Balfour Beatty and Laing ORourke paid annual fees of  £3,000 to obtain sensitive information on workers and over 40 construction companies were accused of flouting the law by paying for personal information on blacklisted construction workers. Construction firms would use the illegal list to vet potential new employees. The data included information on personal relationships, trade union activity and employment history. The ICO said that companies paid a  £3,000 annual fee to a firm known as the Consulting Association to use the service. Consulting Association was owned by Ian Kerr, who faced prosecution by the ICO for breaching the Data Protection Act. According to the ICO the firm operated for 15 years. Deputy Information Commissioner, David Smith, said: This is a serious breach of the Data Protection Act. Not only was personal information held on individuals without their knowledge or consent but the very existence of the database was repeatedly denied. The covert system enabled Mr Kerr to unlawfully trade personal information on workers for many years helping the construction industry to vet prospective employees. Smith said the ICO was considering what regulatory action to take against the construction firms who had paid for personal information from the blacklist. I remind business leaders that they must take their obligations under the Data Protection Act seriously. From 16 March the ICO said it will operate a dedicated enquiry system for people who believe personal information about them may be held on the database. Prosecutions for such corrupt activities are not new. A famous corruption case from the 1970s was the Poulson case, involving public works contracts, which led to the resignation of a Government Minister, the then Home Secretary, The Right Honourable Reginald Maudling. This case was very well documented legally and is a primary source of information. Architect John Poulson was jailed for five years in 1974 for corruption after being found guilty of bribing public figures to win contracts. After his business failed in 1972 an investigation showed it had been making payments to several MPs, police officers, health authorities and civil servants. This case was one of the longest for corruption in legal history. Scandal of  £19m rigged building tenders An investigation by the Office of Fair Trading found that two firms colluded with each other on tendering for the  £8.3m project to renovate Bradfords Eastbrook Hall. Bidding processes designed to ensure clients and, in many cases taxpayers, receive the best possible choice and prices were distorted, creating a real risk of increased prices. This decision sends a strong message that anti-competitive and illegal practices, including cover pricing, must cease. Five charged with corruption over  £66m engineering construction Five men have been charged with offences of conspiracy to corrupt following a two year investigation into allegations of corruption in the energy sector between January 2001 and August 2009 and it is alleged that inside information was being offered to companies bidding for contracts in high value engineering projects in return for a percentage of the contract value. The case will be heard during November 2010. Local examples Last year, Regional Development Agency Advantage West Midlands withheld  £511,046 of funding from Stoke-on-Trent council due to concerns over the procurement procedures of the North Staffordshire Regeneration Partnership (NSRP), for which Stoke-on-Trent Council is the accountable body. AWM finally released the money last month after NSRP agreed to address procurement issues over the engagement of consultants identified by an audit and independent review by KPMG. The council insisted that no deliberate wrong-doing had taken place. In March this year, Staffordshire Police began an investigation into the award of the contract to  demolish the former Westcliffe Hospital site, which was re-tendered following an internal investigation which found that the correct procedures had not been followed. The meeting also heard that the council had paid a company  £3.2 million for building maintenance over the past three years without tendering for the work. The above are a few example cases of which there are many. These practices have still taken place despite the existence of laws governing conduct. It is recognised that it is up to each individual company to comply with the law and there are severe penalties in force for those that do not. The UK construction industry is committed to compliance with UK and EU competition law. Competition helps to lower prices and give more choice. There are established laws in the UK on anti-competitive behaviour. The Competition Act 1998 This law prohibits anti competitive agreements such as cartels between businesses and also anti competitive behaviour. The OFT is there to enforce competition laws but does rely on complaints to help enforcement. A wide range of information published by the OFT is available to companies on the Competition Act. Enterprise Act 2002 This is an Act passed to give legal powers to the Office of Fair Trading, the Competition Appeal Tribunal and the Competition Service. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦to create an offence for those entering into certain anti-competitive agreements; to provide for the disqualification of directors of companies engaging in certain anti-competitive practices à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) Available advice from the SFO includes a list of corruption indicators. Some of these indicators can be applied to the construction industry both in the UK and worldwide. Abnormal cash payments Pressure exerted for payments to be made urgently or ahead of schedule Payments being made through 3rd party country, e.g. goods or services supplied to country A but payment is being made, usually to shell company in country B Abnormally high commission percentage being paid to a particular agency. This may be split into 2 accounts for the same agent, often in different jurisdictions Private meetings with public contractors or companies hoping to tender for contracts Lavish gifts being received Individual never takes time off even if ill, or holidays, or insists on dealing with specific contractors him/herself Making unexpected or illogical decisions accepting projects or contracts Unusually smooth process of cases where individual does not have the expected level of knowledge or expertise Abusing decision process or delegated powers in specific cases Agreeing contracts not favourable to the organisation either with terms or time period Unexplained preference for certain contractors during tendering period Avoidance of independent checks on tendering or contracting processes Raising barriers around specific roles or departments which are key in the tendering/contracting process Bypassing normal tendering/contractors procedure Invoices being agreed in excess of contract without reasonable cause Missing documents or records regarding meetings or decisions Company procedures or guidelines not being followed The payment of or making funds available for high value expenses or school fees etc on behalf of others. Another Act coming into force in April 2011 to help clean up corruption is the UK Bribery Act which will have a significant effect on the construction industry. The UK will reinforce its reputation as one of the least corrupt countries in the world, when the Bribery Act comes into force in April 2011. Such conduct is not without significant consequences. If such practices go undetected companies can benefit from huge financial rewards at the expense of the client or tax payer; if caught, the guilty can face huge fines or even imprisonment, not to mention tarnished reputations and blacklisting for breaching trust. Discussion/Development/Analysis (2518) What Effects have the Recent Bidding Scandals had on the UK Construction Industry and what are their Implications for the Future? An internal audit of building projects commissioned by Nottingham University Hospital NHS Trust in 2004 developed into a major OFT investigation with serious implications for the Construction Industry. This became the biggest investigation the OFT had ever conducted into cartels and price fixing. The OFT focused its investigation on approximately 240 alleged infringements even though evidence was uncovered on cover pricing being undertaken by many more companies. Evidence was uncovered on cover pricing in over 4000 tenders involving over 1000 companies. The effects of the scandal resulted in one hundred and three companies being implicated in the OFTs investigation into bid rigging, including some very high profile companies. This was scandalous as many of these projects were for the public sector, involving schools and hospitals. It was all the more scandalous as the companies involved were some of the biggest names in the construction industry Carillion, Balfour Beatty, Kier Group, Interserve and many more. In some cases the winning bidder made payments of several thousand pounds, known as compensation payments (kickbacks), to the others submitting high bids. Companies were visited under the Competition Act during the investigation and several of these companies admitted breaking the law and assisted in the investigation in the hope of their fines being reduced. Fines totalling c. £129.5 million were imposed on those companies involved in the scandal. The Kier Group received the largest fine at  £17.9 million. A table listing those involved and the amount of fines imposed is attached as Appendix 2. The construction industry showed it could not be trusted. The effect of the recent scandal has exposed high profile firms in the UK cheating. Until corruption is regulated in the UK/EU how can UK companies be expected to bid legally/successfully for overseas contracts? The companies that were found guilty of these offences also risked being barred from taking part in future contracts but Government intervention ensured that these firms were not blacklisted by the public sector and the OFT issued an information note for the guidance of those involved in procurement in the public and private sectors, which included a recommendation that these companies should not be automatically excluded from tendering in the future (see below). Extract: The OFT considers that the following factors are relevant to the above: The Parties have received significant financial penalties appropriate to the infringement findings in the Decision; It would be wrong automatically to assume that construction companies that are not named in the Decision have not also been involved in bid rigging; As a result of the OFTs investigation, the Parties can be expected to be particularly aware of the competition rules and the need for compliance and, if anything, are more likely to be compliant; and Many of the Parties have cooperated fully with the OFTs investigation and a significant proportion have taken measures to introduce or reinforce formal compliance programmes and to ensure that their staff are aware of their competition law obligations. For the avoidance of doubt, this recommendation is only intended to apply to this case. It should not be assumed that the OFT would take a similar view in future cases. Did the Government intervene due to the involvement of such high profile national companies? It certainly gave them a second chance. The fact that cover pricing has been common in the construction industry is certainly a contributory factor. The OFT operates a policy where financial incentives of up to  £100,000 are available in return for information on cartels and illegal practices. This, however, raises the issue of whistle blowing and protection for those who come forward with information. The recent bidding scandals have raised the profile of ethical conduct in the construction industry where many people did not realise that their unethical behaviour was a criminal offence which could also lead to losing their job or even their professional status. Not everyone was sympathetic to the bid rigging scandal. In 2008 Sir John Egan, who chaired the construction industry task force that produced the 1998 Egan Report (Rethinking Construction) was openly critical of the OFT investigation saying that public sector clients only had themselves to blame for the alleged bid riggings, blaming the culture of public sector lowest price procurement. I have little sympathy for government over this OFT investigation. What do they expect if they persist in procuring based on lowest price? I am very sad the public sector is still using this short cut approach. It is still procuring on lowest price and as long as this is the case, proper tendering cant happen. It is not illegal to submit an inflated bit but it is the communication between the bidder and its competitors that infringes the law. On a smaller scale following a discussion with the proprietor of a local building company, who preferred to remain anonymous, it was apparent that cover pricing was common even on a small scale. He admitted that he had obtained quotes from colleagues that enabled him to ensure he was submitting the lowest quote, usually in the case of insurance quotes or small works for local authorities and had provided quotes for colleagues in the same way.. However, in his defence, in the case of insurance claims he stated this was sometimes done on behalf of the client who wanted to ensure they secured the services of the contractor they knew and trusted by trying to ensure the preferred contractor submitted the lowest quote. It was also said that in hard times this act of cover pricing was seen as a survival technique and a way of keeping the business going. Collusion is not only confined to large companies. Small companies and the self employed are at a greater disadvantage when tendering due t o limited resources. On speaking to a Quantity Surveyor who works for a national company she told me that late bids were never considered and negotiations with tenderers was illegal. In order to achieve fair competitive tendering it is essential that any unauthorised amendments to or qualifications of the tender documents by a tenderer render the tender non-compliant and subject to rejection, although the tenderer should be given the opportunity to withdraw the amendments/qualifications and stand by his tender. It is also essential that unsolicited alternative bids, either in terms of price or time, are considered non-compliant and rejected. How might bid rigging be prevented? A tender is the construction industry method whereby clients choose the main contractor. The practice of building firms quoting for free is a problem. It takes a lot of time and effort to produce an accurate quotation. Costs for tendering for contracts that are not won have to be absorbed by the company at its own expense. Cover pricing has been seen as a means to ease the loss. For every amount lost in unsuccessful bids more work must be generated to cover those costs or the profit is lost through the lost tenders. Bid rigging has been seen as a method of compensation. Each construction project is individual and there is no guarantee to companies that they will win any work at all through the tendering process. Perhaps procurement policies and/or tendering processes are in need of overhaul as it is not the tender price that matters but the final building cost, which is subject to all manner of variations due to delays, weather, etc. The scandal of bid rigging and the subsequent high profile media coverage has undoubtedly affected client thinking. Firms should now be more aware that suspicion and whistleblowing has been made easier to act on, which may act as a deterrent. There are measures which can be promoted to try to combat the perceived need for bid rigging, although there is probably none so attractive as financial gain! One of the most obvious measures is regular and appropriate training which can be used on a local and national scale so awareness is raised as to what types of behaviour are illegal. This can also be used to reinforce moral obligation to do what is correct. Again, the self employed small contractor is highly unlikely to be able to afford the time or the additional cost for training. It maybe that small firms cannot bypass bid rigging. Where firms are able to employ professionals to prepare bids and tenders the likelihood of bid rigging reduces as they would run the risk of losing their professional status if found to be undertaking illegal practices. Practical steps can be taken to help reduce the risks, such as the use of non-collusion clauses and careful design of procurement processes. In 2009 the National Federation of Builders (NFB) and the UK contractors Group launched a competition law code of conduct (see extract below). This highlighted the need for construction companies to establish internal procedures to prevent anti-competitive practices. It remains to be seen whether this Code will have a lasting effect on contract practices. Codes have to be adopted together with training and evaluation on a continuing basis and made an integral part of the companys culture. The Competition Law Code of Conduct Extract The UK construction industry is committed to compliance with UK and EU competition law. The industry understands that the purpose of competition law is to preserve free, fair and efficient competition for the benefit of all companies operating in the industry and their clients. The industry agrees at all times to commit to ensuring the highest standards of competition law compliance within the sector by adhering in all of its business practices to the principle of fair competition and to ensure that construction companies do not engage in conduct which is anti-competitive. Construction companies must: not restrain competition amongst themselves through agreements, arrangements or understandings that restrict competition; bid for contracts and tenders independently from and without any agreement or arrangement with their competitors; or not exchange competitively sensitive information or engage in discussions that may lead to the co-ordination of competitive behaviour and, in particular, must not share information about current or future pricing intentions for tenders, or any element that might affect prices or pricing practices, including the exchange of cover prices. Construction companies understand that co-operation with a competitor is justified only under the exceptions permitted by the competition rules or where they have been expressly required to enter into such arrangements by the client, for example, certain joint ventures and framework agreements, in which case such arrangements will be fully disclosed to the client. The industry understands that each individual construction company is responsible for its own compliance with competition law and that the consequences of breaching competition law are severe including possible penalties, director disqualification, criminal sanctions and damages actions. Construction companies will therefore endeavour to: ensure that competition law compliance will be achieved through implementing effective competition compliance policies and guidelines throughout their businesses; and promote an understanding of and compliance with competition law throughout their supply chains, including with their sub-contractors. This may or may not prove to be effective in cleaning up the industry as it is non-binding. In the light of recent problems clients may not be happy with verbal reassurances on competition law compliance. An overhaul of tendering processes in light of new regulations could help to avoid bid rigging. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), together with the assistance of the OFT has issued the following best practice guidelines: Guidelines for Fighting Bid Rigging in Public Procurement Designing Tenders to reduce bid rigging Detecting bid rigging in public procurement A checklist includes: Bids received at the same time or containing similar or unusual wording. Identical prices. Bids containing less detail than expected. The likely bidder failing to submit a bid. The lowest bidder not taking the contract. Bids that drop on the entry of a new or infrequent bidder. The successful bidder later subcontracting work to a supplier that submitted a higher bid. Expected discounts suddenly vanishing or other last minute changes. Suspiciously high bids without logical cost differences (e.g. delivery distances). A bidder betraying discussions with others or with knowledge of previous bids. The construction industry has been badly affected by the recession and competition is fierce. It has put itself in the spotlight and faces further scrutiny. It may be sensible for companies to carry out their own evaluation of project procurement to check for any anti-competitive behaviour. Corruption has a cost both in terms of reputation and uneconomic projects, raising the cost to the client. The Future The OFT also published a report in June of this year on the evaluation of the impact of its investigation into bid rigging in the construction industry. The research was based on surveys of construction contractors and procurers; first phase 2008 and second phase 2010. Nine in 10 construction firms now recognise that bid rigging, including cover pricing, is a serious breach of competition law with associated penalties. Approximately two in three procurers have introduced a new mechanism in the last two years to detect or prevent anti-competitive practices. A recognised way forward is the adoption of a company competition compliance policy to minimise risk, together wit

Sickle Cell Anaemia :: Free Essays

Sickle Cell Anaemia The disorder affects the red blood cells, which contain a special protein called haemoglobin . The function of haemoglobin is to carry oxygen from the lungs to all parts of the body. People with Sickle Cell Anaemia have Sickle haemoglobin which is different from the normal haemoglobin. When sickle haemoglobin gives up its oxygen to the tissues, it sticks together to form long rods inside the red blood cells making these cells rigid and sickle-shaped. Normal red blood cells can bend and flex easily.Blocked blood vessels Because of their shape, sickled red blood cells can't squeeze through small blood vessels as easily as the almost donut-shaped normal cells. This can lead to these small blood vessels getting blocked that then stops the oxygen from getting through to where it is needed. This in turn can lead to severe pain and damage to organs. Everyone has two copies of the gene for haemoglobin; one from their mother and one from their father. If one of these genes carries the instructions to make sickle haemoglobin (HbS) and the other carries the instructions to make normal haemoglobin (HbA) then the person has Sickle Cell Trait and is a carrier of the sickle haemoglobin gene. This means that this person has enough normal haemoglobin in their red blood cells to keep the cells flexible and they don't have the symptoms of the sickle cell disorders. They do however have to be careful when doing things where there is less oxygen than normal such as scuba diving, activities at high altitude and under general anaesthetics. If both copies of the haemoglobin gene carry instructions to make sickle haemoglobin then this will be the only type of haemoglobin they can make and sickled cells can occur. These people have Sickle Cell Anaemia and can suffer from anaemia and severe pain. These severe attacks are known as Crises. Over time Sickle Cell sufferers can experience damage to organs such as liver, kidney, lungs, heart and spleen. Death can be a result.

The Origin of Fencing, Rowing, Tennis, Cock-fighting, Swimming, Golf, Badminton, Boxing and Bullfighting :: Sport Sporting

The Origin of Fencing, Rowing, Tennis, Cock-fighting, Swimming, Golf, Badminton, Boxing and Bullfighting It is thought that the Egyptians began fencing as a sport and this is derived from images on walls and relics from that time. The images show fencers wearing forms of protective clothing, earflaps and having covers on the ends of their swords. It is also thought that they may have been used to let fighters practice their swordsmanship, without any danger of being harmed. Fencing will take place at the Helliniko Olympic Complex However, modern fencing is claimed by the Italians, Spanish and French and it is in the 18th Century the current system of rules, scoring and equipment came into place. The equipment was prescribed as the Foil, a metal mask with eye slits and a protective vest or jacket. Fencing has been included in the Olympic program. Duels were commonly used to settle disputes and its popularity developed in public schools and universities during the nineteenth century. Today fencing is practised throughout the world with three weapons: The foil which was produced for sporting purposes. The epee which was produced for infantry fighting. The sabre which was produced as a cavalry weapon. The women's foil was first contested at the 1924 Games, but it was not until 1996 that women's epee followed. WHO began fencing as a sport? When was women's fencing included in the Olympic program? What equipment is needed? ROWING Rowing began as a utilitarian activity, when it provided the power for transport in industrial towns and warships. By the 18th century there were over 40 000 watermen and frequent contest were common. By the 19th century the standard of rowing was increasing. Professionalism was also increasing and as this did so rowing races attracted an enormous following. However the professionals soon began to coach amateur crews and it is due to this rise in amateurism and the power held by middle class administrators that professionalism declined. The firsts were heavy and wide, with fixed seats and oars rested on

My Hospice Volunteer Experience Essay -- Contribution to My Community S

My first encounter with hospice was on the receiving end and I remember asking the hospice nurse that first day, â€Å"How can you do this every day?† I will never forget her answer, â€Å"Hospice is not about dying, it’s about affirming life, helping people live their last days to the fullest.† During the next several months, I began to understand how true her words were. Today, as a volunteer, those words echo in my mind each time I’m about to meet a new patient. I was so excited to get my first assignment; I had taken all the volunteer classes, listened to countless stories from other volunteers. I was trained and eager †¦until I received my assignment. Anna was a 92 years old lady with colon cancer given only a few days to live. Anna was bedridden and mute. Mute†¦none of the stories I had heard ever mentioned their patients being mute. A thousand questions came to mind along with a mild panic attack. How would I ever know what she needed? Would I know the right words? How would I give her support and companionship if she couldn’t tell me what she needed? Would I be enough? I was a nervous wreck! Getting ready to walk into Anna’s hospice room, my anxiety level was escalating. Saying a quick prayer, I asked God to help me find the right words to comfort Anna and her family. Upon knocking on her door, a young lady in her middle 20’s answered the door. Opening the door for me, she informed me Anna was her grandmother and she would like me just to sit with her and that she would return after work. And she left. No get to know you introduction here, very formal, matter of fact, serious kind of girl. No one was going to invade her space. Oh well, I thought, I’m here to help Anna, hopefully Julie will open up later. Turning my attenti... ...slightly. The disease seemed to loosen its grip on her body with each stroke. I was rejoicing when Anna’s head finally rested on her pillow, something that hadn’t happened since I had gotten there. By the time Julie returned her grandmother was ever so lightly snoring. The look of gratification and appreciation of Julie’s previously stern face melted my heart and again my eyes welled with tears. The fence Julie had built around her heart slowly disintegrated as she observed the bond I had developed with her â€Å"mom†. With a quivering voice, Julie revealed the stress and emotional turmoil of watching this devastating disease imprison the only mother she had ever known. Volunteering for hospice has been one of the most gratifying things I have done. Every patient is different and sometimes you’re just there to support the family, but every family is so appreciative.

Nordstrom Case Analysis Essay

Former Nordstrom employees accuse them of using unfair labor and discriminatory practices to intimidate employees and force them to perform tasks like stocking and picking up merchandise during non-working hours . Nordstrom employees receive little formal training when hired or promoted to new positions, but they are expected to perform their duties consistent with the â€Å"Nordstrom Way† which is customer service above and beyond the call of duty. Training is informally provided through on-the-job communication, which increases the opportunity for miscommunication. This communication can be deliberate due to peer competition and pressures to succeed from managers, or lack of knowledge by co-workers and managers from whom they are encouraged to seek training. Management skills are not required to manage employees, nor is training provided to employees who achieve management positions. There is no real evaluation system in place to measure employee performance. There is no goal setting process that requires â€Å"manager – employee pair sets benchmarks for measuring progress, particularly when the employee is new in the role† (Harvard Business School Press, 2007). Goals help to define what managers expect from their employees. The only employee metric used that is measurable is Sales per Hours (SPH) even-though there are other performance criteria such as customer service and teamwork which are part of the employee evaluation process. Employees who do not achieve the minimum required SPH are categorized as under-performers. If SPH is consistently below the minimum standard set by the department manager, this can lead to termination or isolation as employees feel uncomfortable and inadequate. Upon being hired by Nordstrom employees are told that â€Å"the three Nordstrom performance criteria: customer service, productivity and teamwork† (Buller, Paul F. and Schuler, Randall S. , 2003) are needed to be promoted. However employees are not advised as to how the criteria will be evaluated. The only evaluation employees receive is from their manager, there is no secondary layer of management to review the employee performance evaluation to ensure fairness. Nordstrom does not have a formal company-wide evaluation form, therefore there is no consistency in the evaluation process. The evaluation technique is different for each manager, making it difficult to compare employee performance across the different functional areas in the company. Employees performing tasks not directly related to merchandise sale, are not compensated for hours worked. Observational learning was used to encourage employees to work non-selling hours off the clock â€Å"If one employee is donating a lot of time it forces others to do the same† (Buller, Paul F. and Schuler, Randall S. , 2003). Employees are forced to adhere to the informal organizational culture or they are not considered team players. Nordstrom should establish formal and consistent Standard Operating Procedures, to which their employees can resort to for guidance. Managers should be required to attend training programs. This would enable managers to provide their employees with formal training base on the company’s policies and procedures. Formal training along with on-the-job training would help to alleviate some of the obstacles faced by current or new employees who are promoted to new positions within the organization. Employees should be provided with handbooks and/or training materials that specifically outlines how performance criteria will be measured and evaluated. Managers and employees need to establish goals and ways to achieving them. They should meet on an on-going basis to discuss employee progress for each performance criteria. Nordstrom has used their decentralized management approach to build a very successful and profitable retail empire. They encourage entrepreneurial opportunities among their employees. New employees are given business cards and encouraged to build relationships with their customers, by creating personal â€Å"thank you† letters, and keeping records of merchandise they sell. They are also encouraged to develop a solid customer base. Nordstrom allow employees to be involved in the decision making process, by not restricting them with lots of rules, for instance â€Å"Nordstrom replaced its 20-page rule book with a one-page sheet and few words of wisdom: â€Å"Use your best judgment in all situations† (Buller, Paul F. nd Schuler, Randall S. , 2003). This allows employees to do whatever it takes to ensure their customers are satisfied. Self-motivation courses are offered to both employees and managers with emphasis on setting daily accomplishments. Employees are allowed to set their own personal goals and the pace at which they achieve those goals. For example one employee stated â€Å"the first year I consciously set quarterly goals to achieve the Pacesetter requirement†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦and closely monitored my progress† (Buller, Paul F. and Schuler, Randall S. 2003). Employees are given the flexibility to essentially manage themselves and track their own progress with one objective: keep sales per hour high relative to hours worked. Employees are duly compensated for their hard work and dedication â€Å"Nordstrom employees earn some of the highest salaries in the retail business† (Buller, Paul F. and Schuler, Randall S. , 2003). They also encourage hard work by promoting from within which motivates employees to work hard as a promotion could lead to a higher salary and other incentives. Nordstrom uses positive reinforcements by providing various incentives to employees to encourage them to achieve high SPH, for example free dinners, cash rewards and store discounts. Employees who achieve the highest sales are recognized by having their picture displayed in the store and also having their names broadcast over the store’s loudspeaker system. Employees can track how they are performing in relation to their peers on a regular basis, as SPH figures are displayed for all to see via charts and electronic printouts. The problem arose because Nordstrom did not have any formal company policies which are necessary in order to establish required behavior from individual employees. Employee expectations were not explicitly communicated and expectations were established by managers without employee involvement. Managers did not take the time to â€Å"find out what employees think of the proposed expectations† (Harvard Business School Press, 2007). Their only focus was ensuring that Sales per Hour (SPH) remained high, employee development was not important to managers. Nordstrom’s hiring policy requires employees to be innate â€Å"Nordies. † Nordies are â€Å"nice, motivated, hardworking†¦.. self-empowered people who have an entrepreneurial spirit† (Buller, Paul F. and Schuler, Randall S. , 2003). Employees and managers never collaborate to set individual goals, instead goals were set by departmental managers or store managers, but employees are still expected to achieve goals. Outstanding performance was expected from all employees even-though goals were not individually tailored. Employees who â€Å"regularly had trouble meeting sales quotas or coping with pressure to improve performance were dismissed† (Buller, Paul F. and Schuler, Randall S. , 2003). Steep negative consequences were suffered by employees that did not perform up to par with their peers. Setting individual employee goals and ways to achieve them will yield the most desired result in the long term. By providing formal training to employees, and explicitly stating what is expected from the employee, will result in more productivity from employees in the long run and reduce the company’s turn-over rate. This will also reduce the cost for hiring new employees, as replacing employees cost one and a half times the current employee salary to hire a new employee, therefore saving Nordstrom money in the long term. On-going review of employee progress will help to level the playing field and relieve some of the pressures and intimidation some employees feel working at Nordstrom. Formal training of employees is both costly and time consuming. The time spent training employees lowers SPH as this time would be considered non-selling hours. Employees who are successful under the current system might resist changes. Employees might not have the educational capacity to learn new techniques. Employee training is the best option, and will yield the most desired long term results. Develop and roll out a company-wide Standard Operating Procedure handbook using input from outside sources in order to achieve desired results. Develop a company-wide evaluation form enabling standardization of the way employees are evaluated by managers. Roll out on-the-job training for all employees, ensuring that all employees understand how to perform their job functions. Provide employees with written job descriptions. Establish consistent company-wide goals. Goals can then be tailored for each department. Collaborate with each employee to establish how the goals will be achieved and the milestone dates for achieving those goals. Establish a specific time frame for reviewing employee goals. Offer employee feedback on an on-going basis.

The Marketing of the PlayStation

The PlayStation consoles produced by SCEI built a good reputation among the community of gamers: 3% of PS3 users experienced technical problems, while 42% did with the Xbox. Only 9% say they want to change their PS3 for an Xbox 360. 90% of the PS3 users voted having a satisfactory experience compared to 66% for the Xbox 360 users. % of the PS3 users have problems with the reliability of the console compared to 20% of the Xbox 360 users. These surveys have been made by vgchartz, gamespot and psu. All these strengths allowed SCEI to be placed in the stars in the BCG matrix.Weaknesses But SCEI has also few weaknesses from its internal environment: They don't market a lot to children and prefer to aim a mature public. They lose many potential customers who would turn to the Nintendo company that always targeted an immature public: the parents choose a Wii console for their children because they are afraid that the PS3's violent games will have bad effects on their ids according to Halocr ossing. Products from SCEI are also considered as expensive due to the high technology involved in their consoles: The PS3 was sold $599 at its launch compared to $399 for the Xbox 360 and $299 for the Wii.This high price made the buyers hesitate according to vgsales. SCEI has opportunities from its external environment: The culture in the U. S. for the violence increases every years: gun crime goes up by 89% in a decade according to the Dailymail. The violent american movies motivate the population to act in the same way. The video games allow these people to fulfill heir wish for destruction and violence by giving them a virtual control. The PlayStations always targeted that population and have the reputation to welcome violent games.The population's trend to seek for a highest display definition for their home cinema contributes to the success of the Blu Ray technology from SCEI: The PS3 is the only console equipped with a Blu Ray player so consumer may want to choose the PS3 ove r the other consoles so that they can play games and watch high quality videos from the same device. The HD dvd technology competed with the Blu ray one but failed because it was inferior according to the Inquirer. But SCEI has also threats from its external environment: The threats come essentially from the hard competition with the Nintendo and Microsoft companies.Nintendo seduces the children that SCEI doesn't. Microsoft targets the same segment than SCEI. Microsoft is the main competitor of SCEI. Anti-violence movements in U. S. criticize the violent video games and force the government to impose restrictions like age ratings from the Motion Picture Association of America. The violent video games have been accused to be the cause of the increasing violence in U. S. according to the Christian Science Monitor. 3. Market segment and positioning a. Segment SCEI targets gamers who like violence and complexity.

Marcel Duchamp Pablo Picasso and Andy Warhole

The artistic exchange of ideas and influences can profoundly affect the art world'- Explore this statement with reference to a range of artists and artworks. Artistic exchange is a conceptual idea involving the exchange of artistic methods, ideas, and other elements of an artist's practice; and if an artist is a pioneer or an innovator, their ideas can resonate through exchange to transform the entire art world. Throughout the 20th Century the shaping of the art world came into play through ideas, expression, education and one result of this was the age ofModernism. There was much social ad political unrest sweeping through Europe, during the beginning of the twentieth century which contributed to the breaking of the traditional art barriers. The works of Pablo Picasso, Marcel Decamp and Andy Warhol strongly affected the art world with their individual yet diverse techniques and styles. These artists broke away from traditional art and its boundaries in order to exchange ideas and co nventions regarding the aesthetics which opposed accepted societal standards.These ideas were profoundly influenced the art world. Marcel Duchess's art making practice was characterized by its humor, variety, the unconventionality of its media and its persistent exploration of art's boundaries. Decamp was involved with the avian-garden movements during the Modernist period, and as an iconoclast, he abandoned these artistic principles, with the aim of rejecting convention such as his distaste for art that was pleasing to the eye'. Works exemplifying these beliefs include Bicycle Wheel (1913) and L. H. O. O.Q (1919) which caused controversy over their acceptance as ‘art'. Bicycle Wheel is a redeemed (a tool supporting an upside-down bicycle wheel) that Decamp has decentralized as well as displacing its original function, thereby transforming an industrial, mass produced object into a work of art. Duchess's art making approach could be considered satirical, as it often ridiculed the ideals established by society. L. H. O. O. Q is an altered postcard of the Mona Lisa that Decamp has satirized by drawing a moustache and goatee on the face of this iconic figure.This notion of ‘defacing' a Ad Vinci masterpiece was very shocking to the art world during the early 20th century, revoking controversy as it was not handmade, but redeemed and ridiculous, thereby questioning what really defined art. The avian-garden character of Duchess's work influenced the art world by encouraging the critical question of what constitutes art. The influence of Duchess's ideas an practice have been imprinted in many of the works of American modernist Andy Warhol.Whorl's Campbell Soup Cans (1962) and Marilyn 1962 build on Duchess's concept of the redeemed and have inspired a genre of artworks that employ the techniques of reclassification and appropriation. As a leading artist of the sass's Pop Art movement, Warhol was revolutionary in his appropriation of popular culture. Whorl' s work explored the processes of silk screening, and for the first time was using assistants to produce artworks. The process of silk screening enabled Warhol to investigate mass- production techniques, which is evidenced in his work through his use of repetition, cropping, overprinting and the use of the grid.Warhol used a â€Å"ready made† image of Marilyn Monroe from a commercial publicity shot, and then altered this appropriated image. Warhol plays with reclassification in a similar fashion to Decamp. Warhol takes this idea further than simply rejecting past values by persuading the audience to question the relationship between culture and the media, and to define the sass's perception of celebrity. Whorl's artworks mimic the processes and subject matter of mass production. This artwork signals a loss of individuality for Marilyn Monroe: she is a multiple and she is banal, yet Marilyn is symbolically a most potent American icon.Whorl's artworks, particularly portraits, ar e a social chronicle of the time. Whorl's work titled Campbell Soup Cans(1962) also stems from the concept of appropriation and the redefining of context. ‘Campbell Soup Cans' appropriates images from popular American culture, exploring the idea of combining art and centralization. Warhol has used polymer paint and silkscreen ink on plywood to replicate the once mass-produced sales product. In making this decision, Warhol has consciously blurred the line between art and consumerism.This particular concept had a profound impact on the art world due to its disputed classification as art – categorized by some as ‘merchandise'. The similarities between the thought processes of Marcel Decamp and Andy Warhol how a distinct exchange in artistic ideas, resulting in profound works which question the established standards of the art world. In exploring the evolution of these artists and their ideas, the profound impact and importance of artistic exchange becomes clear. Artw orks by Pablo Picasso show a clear breach of artistic boundaries to form new ideas.One of the most important roles in the development of modern art was Cubism. The origins of cubism started off with one of the biggest paintings that he had ever done and featured five women, each whose head looked as if it was on backwards. The painting was named Less Demolishes Davidson (1907). The five women portrayed were very ugly and distorted; causing controversy with the audience because they believed that it should have been depicted realistically and professionally, rather than â€Å"creating a mockery to art itself†.Picasso had broken all â€Å"the rules† while creating this painting, but his main goal was to paint the women from more than one angle at a time, hoping that the audience saw more than what meets the eye. This work was heavily criticized by the art world but Picasso broke away from convention, for what he believed was art. What made Picasso different from other ar tists of his time was that his art reflected his emotions in his personal life and the outside world. He was not afraid to push the boundaries reflecting on contentious and controversial issues such as war and peace.One of the issues that he painted from the Spanish civil war depicts a military revolt against the Republican government of Spain; which had polarize Spanish life and politics over previous decades. In April 1937, Germans who sided with the current dictator of Spain at the time, General Francisco Franco, bombed the town of Queering in northeast Spain, not far from where Picasso grew up. More than sixteen hundred people were killed and almost nine hundred more were injured.Outraged by the murder of all these innocent people, Picasso created his famous, Queering (1937), in blue, black, and white oil tones. The painting portrayed the suffering of people, animals, and buildings and the chaos. It showed a screaming horse, a fallen soldier, and a screaming woman on fire fallin g from a burning house and a mother holding a dead baby. According to Picasso, it was not up to the painter to define the symbols; otherwise, he would have Just written it in words. Queering overall represented the brutality of war in general.It's significant because people actually had to think about the image that they saw, and each perceived it in a different way. Picasso style of painting led people to look deep into the meanings of art rather than Just a superficial aesthetics. The audience were able to relate to Picasso tormented scene. Artistic exchange is a phenomenal act that allows ideas ad techniques to be shared between the art world and the audience. By comparing Marcel Decamp, Andy Warhol and the work of Pablo Picasso one can see how a visionary can affect the art oral.The many accomplishments of these artists not only impacted on the history of their time but the future of how the world saw art. They were involved in different movements in the art world which created a certain vitality for the artistic exchange of ideas and influences. The interchange of ideas and influences greatly affected Picasso , Decamp and Warhol , their artwork and their audiences. Artists shared artistic language allows them to build upon past concepts to produce innovative qualities which resonate through exchanges to greatly influence future generations of artists.

Problem Cell Phones Essay

A mobile phone (also known as a cellular phone, cell phone, and a hand phone) is a device that can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link while moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile phone operator, allowing access to the public telephone network. By contrast, a cordless telephone is used only within the short range of a single, private base station. In addition to telephony, modern mobile phones also support a wide variety of other services such as text messaging, MMS, email, Internet access, short-range wireless communications (infrared, Bluetooth), business applications, gaming and photography. Mobile phones that offer these and more general computing capabilities are referred to as smartphones. Disadvantages & Advantages of Cell phone According to : http://vidyaprakash. expertscolumn. com/article/disadvantages-cell-phones Cell phone is playing an important role in this modern world. It is very hard to see a person without a mobile phone. Even a little kid have the ability to access the cell phone fluently without any problem. Kids are very much interested in playing games in mobile phone and spending a lot of time with it. As we know too much of cell phone usage is not good for us and it will give some unwanted health issues. Cell phone will create some unwanted radiation which is not good for our brain. A person who is using cell for a long time will surely get health issues due to it. We must control our cell activities. Avoid using it for a long time and use it whenever necessary. Listening music using the ear phone is the new trend of the youngsters and most of the persons are interested in listening music with their hands free while riding their two wheeler. Really it is a dangerous thing which causes a lot of unwanted accidents. Most of the two wheeler accidents are happened due to this activity. Now we are living a fast life and don’t have enough time to meet our friends and family members. Simply we make a call to them and ask about their updates. Previously people will meet their friends and beloved persons directly and ask about their present status, but now it is easy to communicate with anyone using the phone and most of the persons are converted to this trend it reduce the get together and social reunions a lot. Students will get diversion with cell phones, they are spending a lot of time with cell phone chatting and browsing online through their smart phone and reduce their studying activity. Most of the students are turned as cell phone and online addicts which is a great disadvantage. There is nothing wrong in using cell phone, we must use it in a limited manner to avoid unwanted issues due to it. Statement of the problem Cell phones have recently become an asset to society. Because of this, many of the negatives to cell phone ownership have been overlooked. Just a few of these problems are : Increases the likelihood of traffic accidents Increases the risk of brain cancer Scope and Limitations The research that I will conduct is only limited to students, particularly 4th year – Springtime batch 2013-2014 II. Review of related Literatures This section presents a summary of previous research materials. Information found within this section is all found in the web and journals. Cell phones do more harm than good According to: http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Mobile_phone A hand-held mobile radiotelephone is an old dream of radio engineering. Arthur C. Clarke in a 1959 essay, where he envisioned a â€Å"personal transceiver, so small and compact that every man carries one. † He wrote: â€Å"the time will come when we will be able to call a person anywhere on Earth merely by dialing a number. † Such a device would also, in Clarke’s vision, include means for global positioning so that â€Å"no one need ever again be lost. † Later, in Profiles of the Future, he predicted the advent of such a device taking place in the mid-1980s The most commonly used data application on mobile phones is SMS text messaging. The first SMS text message was sent from a computer to a mobile phone in 1992 in the UK, while the first person-to-person SMS from phone to phone was sent in Finland in 1993. Mobile phones are used for a variety of purposes, including keeping in touch with family members, conducting business, and having access to a telephone in the event of an emergency. Some people carry more than one cell phone for different purposes, such as for business and personal use. Multiple SIM cards may also be used to take advantage of the benefits of different calling plans—a particular plan might provide cheaper local calls, long-distance calls, international calls, or roaming. The most advantage of having mobile phone is you can communicate with your family, and friends no matter where you are. Cell phones also have applications for listening to music, playing games, and surfing the net. Besides that, there are lots of disadvantages. Using mobile phones can harm our brains, especially for those who are under the age of sixteen. Excessive use of mobile phones has been accused of causing dizziness, and â€Å"radiations emitted from the phone are harmful for the eardrum†, say many scientists. In addition, when we use mobile phones while driving it causes unwanted accidents. Negative effects of cell phones on our brain Radiation from mobile phones may cause brain tissue damage, a two-year study has found. Scientists discovered that emissions from handsets affect the delicate make-up of cells in blood vessels, and could be a health hazard to regular users of the UK’s 50million mobile phones. The radiation might disable a safety barrier in the body which protects the brain from harmful substances in the blood, they believe. It is the first time scientists have used cells from human blood vessels rather than rats, bringing researchers closer to the truth about long-term mobile phone use. Despite the millions spent on research in the last decade, the health implications of sustained use are still unclear. The biggest British study, led by Sir William Stewart, found two years ago that there was no evidence of a risk to health. A study published last year by the American National Cancer Institute also could not find a link between increased risk of brain cancer and mobile use. III. Research Methodology Research Design Name: Age: Sex: 1. How often do you use your cell phone ? 2. Do you know that using cell phone too much causes unwanted damages to the brain ? If yes. Do you believe that children below 10 years of age shouldn’t use cell phones ? 3. Is it really necessary for a person to have a cell phone ? Explain. 4. Is cell phone a disadvantage or advantage to your life ? Explain. Data Gathering Procedure The researcher will randomly ask ten (10 ) representatives out of the 37 students in the 4th year. A questionnaire was prepared by the researcher that will be used as a reference. The survey was conducted through the net. IV. Analysis and Interpretation of Data This chapter presents the findings, analysis and interpretation of data gathered by the researcher whose main objective is to find out the different perspectives of people and to find out what kind of damage our cell phone will do to our brain and also to state some advantages of it. Through my research I’ve found out that many scientist have and will conduct research about the radiation that we can get from cell phones. Mostly scientist from America conducts these kinds of researches. I also found out that the radiation of the cell phone emits is dangerous to all of us. Especially those who are 16 years of age and below. I also found out that there is not enough proof that cell phones can really damage our brain. Someone said that it is early for us to conclude that cell phones are bad for our health. Because even scientists can’t really find the right answer to our questions. A scientist said that we don’t know what will be the impact of the radiation of the cell phone emits will do to us if we still use it for the next 10 or even 20 years. He also said that that is the reason why we need to conduct more studies. According to my survey 9 out of 10 said that they always use their cell phones. 9 out 10 said that they know that using cell phone too much causes unwanted damages to the brain. 10 out of 10 said that having cell phone is necessary because it’s time for us to upgrade and use the cell phone to communicate and because it is easier to do, it also takes less of our time if we use our cell phones as I have said in my introduction cell phones are wireless, we can use them anywhere. 5 out of 10 said that cell phones are advantages to their lives. Because it makes almost everything easy. 1 out of 10 said that it is a disadvantage because is makes us lazy. 4 out of 10 said that they pick advantage and disadvantage.