Neonatal Ethics Essay

In this paper, I have described all sides of neonatal ethics and have presented my view regarding the topic. I have also managed to integrate philosophical and historical perspectives regarding neonatal care and ethics. In the end, I have given my personal opinion concerning the solution of the issues at stake. The ethical debate regarding the proper care of severely unwell infants is one of the oldest debates in medical sciences. In the present times, approaches that are extremely unusual have been taken to decide about the care of such newborns. This is the reason why it is exceedingly important to analyze the ethical concepts and arguments about many issues concerning the neonatal medicine. Such ethical debates revolve around â€Å"the value of human life; the role of best interests; the deliberate ending of life; and the withholding and withdrawing of treatment† (Brazier). It is a known fact that mankind has been facing ethical concerns since the dawn of civilization. As far as clinical situations are concerned, physicians also face ethical questions on a regular basis regarding one case or the other. However, those involved in neonatal care face a lot of ethical controversies. It is not an untold secret that ethical and moral issues regarding the treatment of neonates have penetrated into a number of features of such cases (Pueschel). When the newborns are within the first 28 days of their lives, they are known as neonates. As far as neonatal intensive care units are concerned, they frequently accommodate and look after for babies who fall in any of the three categories i. e. babies born premature having birth weight that is very low, babies born after nine months (full-term babies) having severe conditions or babies born with inherited abnormalities (â€Å"Bioethical Issues – Neonatal Ethics†). However tremendous changes have taken place in the modern times and it is now more than five decades that â€Å"neonatal medicine has been practiced to provide specialized and intensive care measures aimed at improving the health and survival of premature and critically ill newborns† (Carter). In the contemporary world, the ethical issues generally revolve around the decision making for the betterment of neonates. Such decisions entail the consideration and evaluation of treatment and assessing whether it would be helpful or ineffective for the wellbeing of the little individual. Thus both short-term and long-term scenarios related to the health of the child are considered while taking any certain decision. The two issues that are of main concern in the process of decision making are the likelihood to survive therapeutic/remedial involvement and the quality of life in the future. It is important here to mention the most renowned case of neonatal decision-making regarding Baby Doe. The child was born with Down’s syndrome and a tracheal-esophageal fistula in 1982. The parents opted for the hard choice and agreed to not repair the fistula with surgical intervention. They decided so because it was in the best interest of the child. They did not want their child to continue living a depended and quality-lacking life given by Down’s syndrome. In the end, starvation ultimately took Baby Doe’s life (â€Å"Bioethical Issues – Neonatal Ethics†). When neonatal context is discussed, decision making in this regard is rather multifaceted and difficult. The parents of seriously ill neonates have to consult with the care providers and in most of the cases, have to make decisions concerning the newborns’ life-and-death treatment. It is too difficult to decide about the fate of a child who is being awaited for so long. At the same time as it is burdensome for parents to decide the outcome of their child’s life, parents are put in a difficult position to decide so with no clear decision-making process. As a consequence, parents are often given assistance by providers and make illogical, stress-laden and uninformed choices that are not based on systematic analysis but on intuition. As a matter of fact, majority of the opted methods do â€Å"correspond with what is in the best interests of their newborn† (Panicola 723). On the other hand, in few cases, the decisions made by parents result in non-treatment decisions for babies who must be given a chance for survival and treatment decisions for neonates who must not be given a chance to survive due to their extremely poor physical condition (Panicola 723). There may be mandatory, elective or ineffective treatment based on the neonatal cases’ unique aspects. However, the physicians and parents decide to continue with a particular kind of treatment after observing the prognosis of a newborn. If the prognosis looks good, they eventually decide for medical intervention necessary to keep the newborn alive. On the other hand, there are a number of cases where parents refuse to involve medical intercession for the treatment of their child. In such occasional circumstances, hospitals take the help of their ethicists for seeking a court order so that the decisions of the parents may be made ineffective and treatment can be initiated for the betterment of the newborn. The situation turns out to be more notorious when there is no adequate knowledge regarding the prognosis of a neonate and the parents are given the choice to discuss their options about the treatment with the physician (â€Å"Bioethical Issues – Neonatal Ethics†). Thus, it is when bioethics comes into scene that deals with the limitations, commitments and responsibilities of all the people who are a major part of the decision-making progress. As a final point, there are also a number of cases when medical intervention is considered pointless and unsuccessful, nevertheless the doctors and parents insist to treat the newborn. In such circumstances, treatment is regarded as tremendously troublesome and tentative thereby pointing out that there are small chances of surviving treatment with quality of life in the least. As far as bioethics evaluation is concerned, it considers the patient rights, parental rights and physician duties and responsibilities (â€Å"Bioethical Issues – Neonatal Ethics†). It is important to mention here that in the last four to five decades, there has been a momentous development in the technology, skills and medicinal/therapeutic interventions in the neonatal intensive care unit (â€Å"Bioethical Issues – Neonatal Ethics†). Also, technical capabilities have been improved drastically allowing more speedy and accurate diagnosis, efficient scrutiny and supervision and unambiguous treatment. Special-care nursery beds are now available in large numbers and the number of important people including the professionals and specialists has also increased for the successful treatment of God’s susceptible population (Carter). Although such a notable development in neonatal care has brought up stories of joy and miraculous recovery of the newborn, there have been depressing and painful stories where the newborns ended up with severe disabilities (â€Å"Bioethical Issues – Neonatal Ethics†). As a consequence, bioethics can be helpful and facilitate both physicians and parents in solving issues related to the â€Å"regulation on use of experimental technological developments and by providing guidance in controversial situations† (â€Å"Bioethical Issues – Neonatal Ethics†). If the pages of the past are turned, it is rather obvious that the percentage of premature babies who managed to survive was very low. However, in the last three decades, the advancements in technologies and medical developments at the beginning of life have totally revolutionized the likability of babies’ survival that born before 28 weeks of gestation. In the current times, it has been recorded that in developed countries like United Kingdom, more than eighty percent pre-mature babies manage to survive and a good number of the little creatures even survive at gestation period of just twenty-three weeks. Such advancements and developments are rather exciting. However, at the same time, concerns have raised regarding the human and financial cost of such progressions in the care of neonates. According to the research, more or less twenty percent of the survivors who were born extremely premature have ninety-nine percent chances of having disabilities like cerebral palsy. A majority of such survivors are also likely to be challenged with academic and behavioral problems once they are in schools (Wyatt 1). Therefore, a lot of people are concerned whether attempts to save the life of such weak neonates is a sensible utilization of resources or not. Another contradiction in this regard is that even as huge investments are made for making it possible for a newborn to survive, the abortion of fetuses is also tolerated for social reasons. Thus, as far as ethical dilemmas are concerned, they are not only raised by the premature babies but also by babies who have grave complicated congenital malformations at the time of birth. These malformations may be in heart, nervous system, brain, lungs etc. Thus, the ethical concerns regarding neonatal care is that whether such babies must be treated or medical intervention be withheld? (Wyatt 1). As far as the historical perspective and philosophies regarding the issue of neonatal care is concerned, a number of different societies all over the world have considered newborn babies as being less valuable when compared with the adults. In Greek and Roman societies, infanticide i. e. the deliberate killings of newborns and the exposure of infants was a practice that was acknowledged commonly and practiced far and wide. As the mentioned societies characterized themselves for athleticism, power and strength so it was not a surprising thing that those people looked down on and hated babies who were weak, dependent and immature. Thus, an individual child was given importance on the basis of his likable future contributions to the society as a mature adult. Regrettably, no rules and regulations and laws were there that prohibited people from murdering the helpless and ill babies. Sorry to say, in some cases, even the newborn babies who were in good physical health did not have protection by social custom or lawful decrees. It is a bitter reality that killing of malformed babies was considered important for the maintenance of the quality of the civilians. Similar practices were also common in some parts of the Eastern world (Wyatt 1). As far as the secular perspective in this regard is concerned, a number of contemporary philosophers today have accepted the fact that unwanted babies were killed or allowed to die and it was not an abnormal practice in many of the societies in the historical times and societies. It is also claimed that even today people do not consider the murdering of unwanted babies as unethical and this is evident from the fact that prenatal diagnosis and abortion for fetal abnormality is now accepted by a lot of people and societies. Thus, this acceptance crystal clearly demonstrates that even the modern societies of today value the life of a child on his/her physical strength and healthiness and his/her prospected future contributions as an adult citizen for the society (Wyatt 2). Neonatal care raises a number of ethical issues including the deserving neonates who must be given prenatal and neonatal specialty care, the person/group responsible for paying for the care, whether neonatal intensive care costs are acceptable or not, the assurance and equitable distribution of the care, whether babies require intensive care or not, the burdensome consequences of neonatal intensive care, the decision-maker and on what basis decisions are made. These mentioned issues create dilemmas for the healthcare professionals as they obstruct the process of provision of neonatal intensive care. To some extent, these ethical issues concerning neonatal care throw light on the values of the healthcare professions, patients, parents and families. It is important to mention that that these issues are not to be ignores as the failure to acknowledge them may devalue the cultural influences that may shape up a society and human interactions. As already mentioned, neonatal medicinal advancements have provided more options to the physicians and parents. However, what must be done is still a complex decision for them as risks of deaths and disabilities have also increased. This ethical issue has been the factor of conflict between parents and doctors and in a number of cases; guidance was required through courts (Laurance 42). The research suggests that neonates must not be given medical aid and be allowed to breathe their last â€Å"when the struggle to save them results in â€Å"intolerable† suffering that outweighs the baby’s interest in continuing to live† (Laurance 42). As far as my opinion is concerned, I believe that it is the obligation of a doctor to preserve the life of a human being wherever and whenever possible. As far as neonates are concerned, these babies always have a chance to survive in the future and there have been cases when extremely premature babies were enabled to live a full life. One of the most encouraging aspects in this regard is that in the last decade, the rate of survival of exceedingly weak babies has more or less doubled. I strongly believe that the physicians and parents/guardians must not attempt to do anything that may put a stop to the continued existence of a little one simply for the reason that he/she won’t be a healthy and contributing adult in the future due to his unhealthy severe physical condition (Laurance 42). However, it is unfortunate that all the answers of the mentioned dilemmas are rather difficult as there is always a clash between values conflict and principles of morality. In addition to this, it is also not easy to agree upon a consistent situation where beneficence can be chosen over autonomy and vice versa. A majority of people hold on to both the sides of the conflict i. e. â€Å"the respect for persons principle and to the principle of beneficence† that helps them to decide about the particular actions that may result in the best consequences for the patient and the family. Unfortunately, there is no special recipe that may facilitate the involved people to decide about what is the best thing to do in situations when there is a conflict between these principles. This is also not fair to stick to one decision and disregard the other options. Thus, the best thing that can be done by a decision maker in the occurrence of such conflicts is to do a deep analysis of the situation in the most cautious manner and try to identify the values at risk and all people who may be affected by the outcomes of the decision. For sure, the patient’s interests must be the top priority before the interests of others involved (Macklin). To cut a long story short, it is better not to utilize the neonatal intensive care â€Å"when the death of the baby can only be postponed temporarily, at the price of severe suffering, or when survival is associated with severe disabilities and an intolerable life for the child and the family† (Orzalesi). This is because in some unique circumstances, the best alternative for the betterment of the child is to withhold or withdraw intensive treatment.

Mood Swings Essay

Have you ever felt that feeling when you hate every single thing around you? Or the feeling that even someone breathing can annoy you? And lets not forget that feeling when you’re just sad and you just feel so empty, for no apparent reason? Well, being a girl it kind of comes naturally being hormonal and all at that certain time every month and no it doesn’t immediately mean that were bipolar. But, not only girls experience these kinds of hormonal activities even boys do. Studies show that everyone can experience mood swings due to the daily factors in our lives like stress, for girls PMS, sometimes even the food we eat, sudden changes and many other factors. Needless to say mood swings cannot be avoided yet it can be coped with. 1. Make sure you get enough sleep. A recent study by the U.S. Mental Health Association and the Better Sleep Council identified a relationship between positive moods and sleeping between 6 and 8 hours a night. Regular bedtimes were also important. 2. Keep your bedroom as dark as possible as this stimulates production of melatonin. (Low melatonin levels are linked with depression.) 3. Make sure you have a diet that supports brain health. For example, the following nutrients have been shown to promote more stable moods: B-complex vitamins, vitamin E, calcium, magnesium, zinc and fatty acids. Also, rapid changes in blood sugar can also precipitate changes in mood, so watch your consumption of refined sugar products, and make sur e you eat lots of complex carbohydrates. 4. Try some natural remedies. Chamomile, lemon balm or valerian root tea are recommended for helping with anxiety. St. John’s wort is said to soothe the mind and relieve irritability. In terms of homeopathic remedies, lycopodium is believed to help with anger, and feelings of agitation; tarentula hispanica is used for mania; and chaste berry, red raspberry, black cohosh and sarsaparilla may help with female hormonal mood swings. 5. Include some regular exercise in your daily schedules. This releases endorphins, the feel good hormones. It also helps with insomnia. 6. Try and identify coping mechanisms that can ward off or soothe fluctuations in mood. Also, keeping a journal of negative triggers can help you interrupt a pattern early on, and work on strategies for coping with these triggers. I have yet to try these remedies because at the point where I experience a lot of stress and don’t get enough sleep and of course PMS, I can honestly say that I am a very moody person and well to avoid arguments and false misconceptions I will definitely try the remedies I stated earlier.

Advantages and disadvantages of nationalising mines

Advantages and disadvantages of nationalising mines The Freedom Charter signed and preserved in June 1955 affirmed that the people shall share in the country’s wealth and more significantly ‘the mineral wealth below the soil, the banks, and monopoly industries shall be transferred to the ownership of the people as a whole†. There has been a lot of debate for the nationalisation of South African mines by members of the ANC who deem that it is now the ideal time to cement this item onto the ANC’s agenda for the 2012 Centenary Conference and for this to at last become government policy. According to a variety of reports, it is not the ANC’s national executive committee’s concern and as things stand today it is not government policy. Not everyone is as keen as Julius Malema to have mines nationalised (Mpho, 2011). Foreign investment has already declined due to Malema’s uncertain statements regarding the nationalisation of the South African mines. Advantages of nationalising mines A sector th at is nationalised, allows the government to have direct control over that sector. If the mining sector is nationalised, this would entice the government to sell more minerals within the South African borders rather than export these minerals to foreign countries. If mines were to be nationalised, then the revenue generated would be part of national revenue, and thus would benefit the entire country. Economic development and the total well being of the individual will be improved. South Africa has an unequal distribution of income, this extra revenue will allow government to redistribute income more equally, thus reducing poverty as well as lowering the unemployment rate. There will, however, be a substantial amount of legal and economic costs as well as costs which the government would have to face from the transferring of funds. All of these costs would occur in the short term, increasing government debt. However, in the long run, if the government flourishes, nationailasion of th e mines will benefit the entire nation. Disadvantages of nationailsation Nationalisation would create panic among foreign investors. South Africa has a history of state owned enterprises that haven’t been very successful, this would place more doubt in the mind of the foreign invertor. The mining sector, after nationalisation, could take a very long time to boast a profit. Resources are scarce, therefore during this time, resources may become depleted, resulting in huge losses for the South African economy. There are very large and vast costs that government would have to encounter if the mines of the country are nationalised. Some of these costs include the general operation and running of the mines, possible shutting down of the mines as well as developing the mines. If the government has not shown any signs of profit, these costs will still have to be incurred which could be detrimental to the economy and the well being of the individual South Afrrican. Debt of the governm ent would increase at tremendous rates and this will spill over and result in great fiscal deficits. Clive Coetzee, Kwazulu-Natal Treasury economist stated that the mining industry supports the four macroeconomic goals, economic growth, employment, a low inflation rate and a surplus in the balance of payments. He further states that in 2008 around 500 000 people were employed in the mining sector which contributes to 6, 1% of total non-agricultural formal employment. This is without the indirect effects of mining, if these effects are taken into account another 500 000 jobs are likely to exist. I believe that the private sector already has the necessary capital as well as human resource proficiency to maintain and sustain this sector. Therefore there is no reason to nationalize the mines in South Africa. Nationalisation has been tried in many countries. By looking at countries like Botswana, Zambia and Venezuela, one can clearly see that the nationalisation attempts of these countri es have failed.

Facing Poverty with a Rich Girls Habits Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Facing Poverty with a Rich Girls Habits - Essay Example As the paper highlights the bankruptcy of her father did expose her to poverty, but traumatized her father because he was compelled to move to America lest him being jailed in his native South Korea. Later, upon settling in New York, Ki came to face the realities of life especially when she had to attend public school. The reporter would like to point out that Ki provides a true picture of what was happening in the American society at the time. Indeed, as she says, America has been a stratified society. It is highly segregated into the rich, poor, privileged, natives and immigrant groups. Since each of these occupies a different position in the society, they have diverse rights and privileges to enjoy. For example, when it comes to education, children from poor families only attend public schools as compared to their privileged counterparts who go to high cost private ones. This is the misfortune that befell Ki when her life became prone to hardships after her father losing all his r iches.

Suicide Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Suicide - Research Paper Example Sixty-seven percent of sample population (n=20) reported maximum suicide attempts among people in the age group of 15-25, 19% (n=5) was in the 25-35 range. Suicide attempts among the other age groups, i.e., 5-15 and above 35 was relatively low at 7% each. Secondly, almost half of the sample population reported maximum suicide attempts among females, at 47% (n=14), followed by men at 30% (n=9). About 17% of the psychiatrists reported equal number of suicide cases from both genders. Thirdly, about 53% (n=16) reported that their patients who had attempted suicide had used either pills or unspecified drugs as the method. About 27% (n=8) had attempted poisonous substances. However, there were cases using other methods of suicide attempts too. An assessment of reasons for committing suicide highlighted social pressures (30%) and failure in relationships (30%) as the most common ones. Other reasons like family and economic conditions were also reported. The most common impact of suicide attempts was greater depression, reported by almost 74% of the psychiatrists. This could probably be due to stigma and fear of facing the society and family members. Fear and avenging behavior have also been noticed. Increased attachment towards family was reported by few psychiatrists. The outcome of the survey pointed that depression leading to suicide was more common among adolescent females. This survey indicates that suicides attempts were reported maximum among the girls between the age group of 15-25 years, as this is the age where female face a lot of problems and pressure from school, university, their economic condition, love failures or their general hormonal changes, and even sexual harassments. Reasons for attempts of suicide can be attributed to their level of maturity and ability to handle their own growing emotions towards new relationships. Clash of sociocultural expectations and adolescent

Finance For Managers Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Finance For Managers - Assignment Example 1 Profitability Ratios â€Å"It is impossible to assess profits or profit growth properly without relating them to the amount of funds (capital) that were employed in making the profits. The most important profitability ratio is therefore return on capital employed (ROCE), which states the profit as a percentage of the amount of capital employed† (BPP 2009). Profitability ratios are usually calculated in order to perform vertical analysis or to compare one year with another. These ratios include net profit margin and gross profit margin, return on capital employed (ROCE), earning per share (EPS) and price earning (P/E) ratio. The net profit margin, gross profit margin and ROCE are the only ones that are relevant for this exercise. The calculations for the four divisions are shown in Table 1 in the Appendix. Profitability The ROCE may be used to assess how well the management of the divisions have performed (BPP 2009, p. 306). Two ratios may be used to help explain ROCE. They a re profit margin and asset turnover. These ratios are described as secondary ratios while ROCE is described as a primary ratio. Profit margin is calculated under profitability while asset turnover has been included with efficiency ratios. ROCE can be used to determine whether the divisions are getting value for money from borrowings to make it worthwhile. Quality Products Division The figures for ROCE suggest that there have been consistent improvements over the three year period. The figures have increased from a negative 6.9% return to a 7.7% return in 2008 and a 9% increase in 2009. However, management indicates that the division needs to achieve a 10% return on investment (ROI) and it is currently below that level. The figures also indicate that the profit margin of the Quality Products Division has improved over the past years from a negative 5.7% in 2007 to 5.7% in 2008 and 6.4% in 2009. The gross profit margin has also increased consistently from 38.9% in 2007 to 40.4% in 200 8 and then to 41.4% in 2009. Kitchen Division There was a significant decline in the ROCE from 16.9% in 2007 to 11.9% in 2008, followed by and small decline to 11.4% in 2009. This is above the 10% ROI that the division needs to achieve. There have been inconsistencies in the profit margin over the period. The profit margin declined from 5.3% in 2007 to 3.6% in 2008. However, there was a marginal increase to 3.9% in 2009. The gross profit margins for the period declined from 39.2% in 2007 to 36.2% in 2008 and increased to 37.6% in 2009, which is not consistent with the changes in net profit. This was due to a more than proportionate increase in cost of sales. Bedroom Division The ROCE declined from 11.8% in 2007 to 11.2% in 2009. This is above the 10% ROI required by management. However, the profit margin is very small even though it increased from 3.5% in 2007 to 4.1% in 2008 and declined to 4% in 2009. This was in spite of the consistent decline in turnover. The gross profit margin increased from 26.4% in 2007 to 31.4% in 2008 and a decline to 29.8% in 2009. This was so because the ratio of cost of sales to turnover was proportionately higher in 2007 then in 2008 and 2009. Office Division The ROCE declined for 14.2% in 2007 to 11.2% in 2008. However, it improved during 2009 to 12.5%. These percentages are above the ROI of 10% required by the management. There was a decline in

Federal Funding For Emergency Management Solutions Essay - 1

Federal Funding For Emergency Management Solutions - Essay Example During the fiscal year 2008, most of the federal funding for emergency management was focused on the research purposes(Moore, 2008). This was because of many of the hazard areas needed to be tackled with equal measure. For example, after the revision of the presidential budget from operating plan FY 2007, most of their funding changed positively towards the research activities as compared to the first-responder preparedness(Moore, 2008). The U.S government was under war with terrorism and most of the funding was spent on this activity(Bullock, Jane, George, and Damon, 2012). However, little research was being done on other areas that would affect the American citizens in equal measure. For instance, not much was done to combat the never-ending effects of natural disasters. The change in weather, Katrina, and drought really had a greater toll on people as compared to the government’s activities in Afghanistan and Iraq(Bullock, Jane, George, and Damon, 2012). Such disasters prov ed to be more dangerous by killing many citizens and destroying properties of great monetary value(Meade, Charles, and Megan, 2003). If not undertaken or solved in appropriate manner will have a huge negative impact to the economy of the country. Therefore, the American public would be served well by transferring funding from the first-responder preparedness to research and  development.

Bhopal Gas Tragedy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Bhopal Gas Tragedy - Essay Example   Union carbide had 50.9% share in UCIL, the company which caused this huge tragedy. The Indian government had control over the remaining 49.1% of the shares. Supreme Court of India allowed Union carbide to sell out its shares to Eveready Industries India Limited in 1994 even though the compensation cases were pending in the Civil and criminal courts in Bhopal, India. In 2010, one of the district court of Bhopal convicted seven ex-employees of UCL along with its chairman Warren Anderson. The court declared 2 years imprisonment as punishment and $ 2000 as fine to these culprits. However, Anderson refused to accept these punishments, citing the reason that Indian courts do not have the authority to punish him since he is an American citizen. Anderson’s argument has caused many controversies and debates with respect to international law. It should be noted that plenty of companies operating internationally at present. It is quite possible that these companies may create problem s in overseas soil and the question of compensation arises then. Moreover the compensation distributed for the victims also created controversies in India. There are plenty of people who believe that the compensation given to the victims are not sufficient. To get more insights into the topic of compensation, while companies operate internationally, this research analyses Bhopal gas tragedy compensation case. Out of 10,29,517 registered cases claiming compensation, 5,74,376 have been awarded compensation after adjudication, said Minister of Chemical and Fertilizers, Srikant Kumar Jena. "A total sum of Rs. 15500.9 million (Rs.1549.19 crore) has been disbursed in 5,73,920 cases upto 31.3.2012. A further sum of Rs. 15105.3 million (Rs.1510.53 crore) has been paid as pro-rata compensation to 5,62,789 of these cases upto 31.3.2012, as per the orders of the Supreme Court. In the remaining 11,587 cases, pro-rata amount is yet to be disbursed," said Srikant Kumar Jena in Lok Sabha (Singh). After reading these statistics presented by the Indian minister one would believe that the compensation dispersed in this case was more than fair. However, a person who analyses this case more deeply may arrive at different conclusions. It should be noted that nobody has any idea about how many of unaddressed victims are there in this tragedy. It is a fact that majority of the victims in this tragedy was those who were waiting for trains in the nearby railway stations. Moreover, many others who died in this disaster were yet to be identified. Government is dispersing compensation only to the identified victims and that also after around 28 years from the tragedy. Majority of the victims who survived this tragedy have already died within this 28 years of period. Under such circumstances, how the government can claim that justice is given to the victims. It should be noted that only the relatives of the victims are currently getting the compensation since the victims are no more to re ceive this compensation. It is difficult for the government to justify the delays caused in this case to disperse the compensation. The major objective of giving compensation is to provide some kind of relief to the victims.

Pursasive speech on why woman in the united states Navy should be on Essay

Pursasive speech on why woman in the united states Navy should be on birth control - Essay Example Women that have been enlisted are being trained in the same facilities as men and record almost similar scores in areas such as military intelligence and sharp-shooting. With the Navy’s positive stand on the use of oral contraceptives, the link between effective female personnel; at par with their male counterparts; and use of contraceptives cannot be understated. A survey conducted in September 2010 interviewed women deployed in the Navy and Marine Corps on how they dealt with the challenges associated with menstruation during deployment. A common theme noted was increased pain experienced, and many cited the difficulty of complying with the pill; with only 21% on the pill (Skouby p.32). The reasons as to why women in the Navy use birth control pills vary. Some refuse to use birth control pills for fear of mood swings and weight gain while others counter the menstrual cycle with contraceptives. Most of the women interviewed preferred using the contraceptives. The use of the birth control pill causes biological and chemical changes in women’s bodies. When they are on the pill, there is no ovulation and therefore the uterine wall is not as inflamed as usual (Cassaza p.11). This result in less bleeding attributed to the decline in hormonal levels where the uterine lining breaks down in response to the changes. The effects of the use of pills such as Seasonique are that there is little or no cramping, lighter menstrual flow and reduction in the menstrual periods. Women in the U.S. Navy are increasingly being deployed in combat zones and the DOD’s estimates that 15% of military personnel on active duty are women. The use of the pill is, therefore, advisable in enabling them to conduct their duties even during the menstrual period (Armstrong p.57). According to Thomas et al., (p. 20), human nature is tied with a need for companionship and emotional connection regardless of the situations at hand. Men and women in the Navy cohabit for long periods of time

Poverty and the World Food Security Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Poverty and the World Food Security - Essay Example This essay discusses the fundamental human rights, such as the right to sufficient quality and quantity of food. In the subject, of assessing the conditions of poverty and food security, this essay is exceptionally extensive, and it also assesses the relation between the two factors. The researcher of this essay focuses on the obligations of the international and states human rights to poverty alleviation and food security. It exhibits the social and policy aspects that coherently reduce the chances of people attaining sufficient food and living standards at the household level. There is proper examination of the requirements of the nations to include and implement policies to increase food availability consequently alleviating poverty. It also addresses the various aspects that can be employed to alleviate poverty through attaining stable food security such as addressing income sufficiency, fulfillment of state responsibilities to human rights, application of antipoverty strategies, and the application of research recommendations on food security. This essay mainly intends to capture the attention of policy makers and institutions dealing with food security. It is also aims to address the general public and inform them about their rights and responsibilities of the state towards their food requirements. In conclusion, the researcher presents this essay as broadly expressive of the issue of food security in alleviating poverty, and it is in a clear and straight forward language that is easy to understand.

The primary signs of a great preschool Essay Example for Free

The primary signs of a great preschool Essay The use of Learning Center Approaches (LCA) in early education has for long been the subject of ardent debate. Teachers still lack unanimous agreement as for the relevance and usefulness of LCA’s in classroom. LCA’s have a number of advantages and are also characterized by a set of serious pitfalls; however, these types of learning activities can be rationally used to enhance the overall quality of the learning process at school, offering children a unique opportunity to integrate their personal experiences with the curriculum-based objectives. Statistical research suggests that â€Å"in 1965, just 5% of 3-year-olds attended preschool or nursery school. Today, 41% of 3-year-olds regularly attend a center-based program† (NAEYC, 1995). As a result, the process of developing more effective curriculum strategies becomes more responsible and requires teachers to satisfy individual needs of children. When dozens of children are divided into several learning groups, it is always difficult to organize the learning process in a way to account their individual peculiarities and needs; that is why teachers have come to realizing the importance of LCA’s as the effective tools of individual preschool and school learning. One of the primary signs of a great preschool is when children spend most of their time playing and interacting with other peers (NAEYC, 1995); furthermore, for a kindergarten and preschool to be an effective tool of learning, children need to have â€Å"access to various activities throughout the day such as block building, pretend play, picture books, paints and other art materials, and table toys such as legos, pegboards, and puzzles† (NAEYC, 1996). In these difficult learning contexts, the LCA’s may supply teachers with an opportunity to develop an unlimited number of individual tasks and activities that will engage children into active learning. In general terms, â€Å"learning center refers to a place (usually a small area) within the classroom where children interact with materials and other children to develop learnings and skills† (Bickart Jablon, 1999). Thus, LCA’s facilitate the process of achieving the two basic goals of effective education: delivering knowledge to children and satisfying their individual learning needs. LCA’s allow teachers to organize the classroom space in a way that makes children interested in what they are doing, and integrates their personal experiences and talents with the need to achieve the basic curriculum objectives. An LCA classroom looks like a space divided into small areas defined by shelves and tables; materials are attractively displayed so that children are able to make a reasonable choice. Self-directing charts help children find the area of interest and decide where children would like to work. In these classrooms, children are usually divided into small groups, with each group focused on a particular activity and moving on to the next center as soon as the activity is finished. The use of LCA’s is advantageous in several ways: 1. LCA’s promote the sense of autonomy among children. Piaget states that autonomy is the ultimate goal of education (Bickart Jablon, 1999). â€Å"Autonomy is developed because children are active; they learn at their own pace; they make choices; they are self-directed rather than teacher-directed† (NAEYC, 1995). 2. In LCA’s, children learn by interacting with real objects; regardless whether the child participates in a table game, or chooses to be an actor in a dramatic play, all these activities move children closer to the real world, providing them with objective and truthful knowledge about reality. 3. In LCA’s, children are required to verbalize their oral experiences, to speak, to communicate, and to express their needs and concerns to teachers and other children. As a result, LCA’s become indispensable elements of effective reading, writing, and literacy education. The use of LCA’s is particularly important to enhance children’s reading and writing skills. NAYEC (1998b) suggest that â€Å"with the increasing variation among young children in our programs and schools, teaching today has become more challenging. [†¦] Classes include both children with identified disabilities and children with exceptional abilities†, and all groups of children should have equal access to the learning opportunities in class. LCA’s provide children and teachers with a chance to minimize literacy-related disparities in learning, and to guarantee that all children regardless the specific level of their reading and writing proficiency are able to achieve standard curriculum objectives. The use of LCA’s helps align the standard requirements to early childhood education programs with the benefits of the individualized learning process: LCA’s combine developmentally appropriate curriculum and instruction with responsiveness to cultural diversity and strong professional development opportunities (NAEYC, 1998a). Ultimately, LCA’s are extremely flexible in addressing the changing requirements to instruction and maintaining stable organizational relationships between teachers, families, and children. The problem is in that LCA’s may not always be easy to organize; teachers and education professionals require extensive knowledge and skills to guarantee that LCA’s address specific educational needs of children in class, and help them develop reliable communication linkages with teachers and other children. LCA’s represent a kind of education philosophy, with commitment to individualization and loyalty to constructed knowledge in its center. However, to turn this philosophy into a relevant tool of child’s education, teachers should be prepared to working with room arrangement and room organization, to monitoring center choices and governing children in the process of their interaction with LCA materials. While teacher roles in LCA’s are limited to those of facilitators, that does not mean that teachers are no longer responsible for the learning outcomes. On the contrary, assessment, planning, set-up, interaction, and arbitration turn into the five central teacher responsibilities while children are making their choices and are trying to integrate their personal experiences with the learning needs in class. LCA’s can promote effective learning through the variety of educational strategies, including art, blocks, discovery, dramatic play, library, muscle, music, and table games. Art centers help children express themselves; art centers teach children to evaluate their art skills and the art skills others. Art centers successfully combine cognitive skills with aesthetics and language, helping child develop several cognitive skills simultaneously. Blocks provide children with the constructive vision of reality; in blocks LCA’s, children are offered a chance to explore their experiences and perceptions about reality.. Discovery LCA’s are integrally linked to science: children make scientific solutions and have almost unlimited opportunities for exploring the major scientific discoveries. Dramatic play learning centers are the relevant tools teaching children to socialize and interact on the scene. In other words, dramatic play is an art of pretending. Pretending is the link between the abstract and real that further leads children to realizing the difference between their realities and their fantasies. Literacy LCA’s are the central elements of effective education. Literacy is the key to the child’s success in all major disciplines, and literacy LCA’s provide children with immediate access to reading, writing, communication, and discussion. Library centers are integrally linked to literacy circles: â€Å"many children are not exposed to literature in their homes, severely limiting their print knowledge. The library center provides these children with regular and active interactions with print† (Bickart Jablon, 1999). Muscle center helps children balance their physical and mental activities. Music centers organize children into small listening groups, where young learners are actively engaged into various types of group activities (e. g. , singing). Finally, table games teach children to follow the already established rules. Table games form a new vision of discipline and help children realize the importance of discipline in other subjects and centers. Table games are used to develop logical thinking and teach children to use their analytical skills. Objectively, LCA’s may become less effective due to the fact that teachers are not always able to evaluate their roles and potential in various group activities. While teachers are expected to facilitate the process of learning, children may not adequately react to independence and autonomy they have in LCA’s. The boundaries of autonomy may often be blurred, turning independence into chaos. Games should be reasonably combined with discipline; teachers should be able to monitor all learning centers at once; ultimately, the structure of LCA’s should be changed at least once in several weeks, to guarantee that children are able to reveal their full learning potential. Despite these difficulties, LCA’s remain an effective tool of learning, promoting autonomy of the child’s decision-making, and providing children with unlimited opportunities for applying their skills and knowledge in practice. LCA’s reflect the need for giving children sufficient freedom of choice, with this freedom being closely tied to and reasonably limited by a set of predetermined curriculum objectives. Conclusion The use of learning center environments is justified by the need to provide children with more autonomy during the class, and to help children use their talents in studies. The design and construction of LCA’s may be time consuming, and teachers require extensive knowledge and skills to promote continuous learning. Although public school teachers frequently lack sufficient space and are not always able to develop structured LCA’s, learning center approaches foster creativity and encourage the child to explore the hidden facets of knowledge in class. LCA’s promote unlimited opportunities for communication, socialization, and interaction between children; as a result, children become better prepared to applying new knowledge in various real-life contexts. References Bickart, T. Jablon, J. (1999). Building the primary classroom: a complete guide to teaching and learning. Teaching Strategies, Inc. NAEYC. (1995). 10 signs of a great preschool. Retrieved November 15, 2008 from http://www. naeyc. org/ece/1996/01. pdf NAEYC. (1996). Top 10 signs of a good kindergarten classroom. Retrieved November 15, 2008 from http://www. naeyc. org/ece/1996/12. pdf NAEYC. (1998a). Guidelines for developmentally appropriate practices. Retrieved November 15, 2008 from http://www. naeyc. org/ece/1998/05. pdf NAEYC. (1998b). Learning to read and write: developmentally appropriate practices for young children. Retrieved November 15, 2008 from http://www. naeyc. org/about/positions/pdf/PSREAD98. PDF

Impact of Public Debt on the Economic Growth Essay Example for Free

Impact of Public Debt on the Economic Growth Essay Government debt is also known as public debt. It is the debt owed by a federal government to the internal or external sources. It is required when the stocks of government securities are insufficient to cover previous budget deficits. Budget deficits occur when the level of government expenditures exceeds its revenues. Based on macroeconomic theory, the level of government expenditure must be positive with the economic growth. The higher the expenditure, the higher will be the economic growth. Government expenditure can be divided into productive and unproductive expenditure. Productive expenditure will be contributed to the economic growth in a few years’ time. Meanwhile, the unproductive expenditure will lead to the decline in the economic growth. Productive expenditure comprise of education and health. Besides, the unproductive expenditure consists of expenditure like pension and subsidies. Meanwhile, high budget deficit will reduce the level of economic growth. In order to finance additional expenditures, the government will borrow money from internal sources. Since the demand of the loanable funds is also derived from the private sector, additional demand from the government will boost the interest rate. Consequently, high interest rate will distort the level of investment. Finally, the lower level of investment will lead to lower economic growth for the country. In addition, high public debt will also result to a financial crisis. If a country is experiencing a trend of an increasing public debt, the investors may be worried about the capabilities of that country to pay its debt. Apart from that, they will ask for higher interest rate as a safety and profitable measures for them to keep financing the deficits. An increase in interest rate can distort the level of economic growth and would create financial crisis. Besides, it is also acts as an obstacle to the development because it will weakens the government’s ability to achieve macroeconomic stability. It comprises the stability of inflation, interest rate and exchange rate target. It will also create adverse incentives associated with future taxes. High debt also will stop the social and developmental progress. Malaysian economy may not be able to achieve high and sustainable economic growth in the long-run if the federal government keeps borrowing money from the domestic sources in order to finance the budget deficit. However, there is no such evidence to conclude that the external debt can distort the economic growth in the long-run.

Urinalysis of Four Urine Samples

Urinalysis of Four Urine Samples Urinalysis Practical Background: As you have learned, the urinary system performs many vital functions in the body including: Regulating blood volume and pressure by regulating water excretion, Regulating plasma ion/solute concentrations by adjusting urine composition, Assisting blood pH stabilisation, Removing nitrogenous waste, Conserving water and important nutrients and Assisting the liver in detoxifying poisons. Therefore, analysing a sample of urine from a person can provide important information on the health of that person. Urinalysis can reveal diseases such as diabetes mellitus, urinary tract infections and renal (kidney) infections such as glomeronephritis and kidney stones (renal calculi). A medical professional may perform a urinalysis for several reasons: As a general health check-up, Diagnosing metabolic or systemic diseases that affect renal function (heart failure will lead to decreased blood flow to the kidneys, pre-eclampsia during pregnancy will lead to increased protein in the urine), Diagnosis of endocrine disorders e.g. infertility (low levels of FSH and/or LH), Diagnosis of urinary system disease, Monitoring of glucose levels in patients with diabetes, Testing for pregnancy (hCG levels secreted by the embryo), Screening for drug use. Urinalysis is a technique involving physical, chemical and microscopic analyses of a sample of urine. Physical parameters: Normal urine is a clear yellow colour due to the presence of uribilin. Abnormal urine may be dark orange, red or brown and cloudy in appearance. This can be due to the presence of red and/or white blood cells or pigments and may indicate a urinary tract or renal infection or disease, liver or gall bladder disease. Normal urine has a specific gravity of between 1.002 – 1.028 (this is a measure of the number of particles/solutes in the urine, its concentration). A urine sample that has an elevated specific gravity can indicate dehydration, diarrhea/vomiting, glucosuria, inappropriate ADH secretion. A diminished specific gravity may indicate such diseases as renal failure or pyelonephritis. Chemical parameters: The chemical analysis of urine is routinely performed using an inexpensive and relatively accurate dipstick test (Uristix from Bayer or other brands). The test uses a reagent-coated plastic stick that is placed or dipped into the urine sample. The reagent areas change colour according to the presence of glucose and/or protein. (a) Figure 1. Colour chart (a) for determination of glucose and/or protein.   Ã‚   The glucose test on the dipstick is based on a double sequential enzyme reaction. One enzyme, glucose oxidase, catalyses the formation of gluconic acid and hydrogen peroxide from the oxidation of glucose (if present in the urine). A second enzyme, peroxidase, catalyses the reaction of hydrogen peroxide with a potassium iodide chromogen to oxidise the chromogen to colours ranging from green to brown. Normal urine has less than 0.1% glucose concentration. The protein test on the dipstick is based on the protein-error-of-indicators principle. At a constant pH, the development of any green colour is due to the presence of protein. Colours range from yellow for ‘negative’ through yellow-green and green to green-blue for ‘positive’ reactions. Normal urine has a protein concentration of less than 100  µg/ml. Although the dipstick test is semi-quantitative, significantly more accurate levels of glucose and protein can be determined by other means. In this practical you will use a BCA Assay (discussed later) to quantify the amount of protein present in a sample of urine. Urinalysis may also include assaying for levels of ketones (an indicator of diabetic ketosis, fasting or starvation), blood cells (indicating infection or kidney stones), bilirubin (liver or gall bladder disease), drugs and many other substances. Microscopic parameters: The urine sample can also be analysed by a microscope, often after staining to reveal any pathogens such as bacteria, urine crystals, cells and/or mucous. The presence of any of these may indicate infection or disease and further medical investigation will provide a thorough diagnosis. Aim: The aim of this practical is to perform glucose and protein urinalysis techniques on five samples of ‘urine’ provided by five ‘patients’ and use this information to provide an initial diagnosis for each patient. Part One: Using Dipsticks To Provide A Qualitative Measure of Protein And/Or Glucose. Materials: 5 samples of urine labelled A – E (these will be required for Parts One and Two), 5 Uristix dipsticks. Method: Perform a basic physical analysis of the urine samples noting the colour and cloudiness of each sample: Urine A Urine B Urine C Urine D Urine E Colour Cloudiness Immerse a dipstick into each of the samples, wait 60 seconds and record your results using the colour chart in Figure 1 to determine if the sample contains glucose and/or protein or neither substance: Urine A Urine B Urine C Urine D Urine E Glucose Protein Ketones Negative Negative Negative Negative Strongly positive Blood Negative Negative Trace Negative Negative Part Two: Using A Commercial BCA Assay To Provide A Quantitative Measure of Protein. Background: The BCA Protein Assay exploits the chemical reduction of Cu2+ to Cu1+ by protein in an alkaline medium with the selective colorimetric detection of the cuprous cation (Cu1+) by bicinchoninic acid (BCA). The first step is the chelation of copper with protein in an alkaline environment to form a blue coloured complex. In this reaction, known as the biuret reaction, peptides containing three or more amino acid residues form a coloured chelate complex with cupric ions in an alkaline environment containing sodium potassium tartrate. Single amino acids and dipeptides do not give the biuret reaction, but tripeptides and larger polypeptides or proteins will react to produce the light blue to violet complex that absorbs light at 540 nm. In the second step of the colour development reaction, BCA, a highly sensitive and selective colorimetric detection reagent reacts with the Cu1+ that was formed in step 1. The purple-coloured reaction product is formed by the chelation of two molecules of BCA with one Cu1+. The BCA/Cu complex is water-soluble and exhibits a strong linear absorbance at 562 nm with increasing protein concentrations. The rate of BCA colour formation is dependent on the incubation temperature, the types of protein present in the sample and the relative amounts of reactive amino acids contained in the proteins. Figure 2. Reaction diagram for the bicinchoninic acid (BCA) protein assay. Materials: The 2 samples of urine from Part One that were positive for protein, Protein stock standard (BSA, bovine serum albumin) at 1mg/ml, 0.9% Saline (diluent) BCA (bicinchoninic acid) Working Reagent (labelled BCA WR), 6 Tubes for dilutions for the standard curve, 96 Well microtitre plate, P100, P200 P1000 pipettes tips, Marker pen, 37ËÅ ¡C Incubator, Microtitre plate reader set to read at a wavelength of 562 nm. Method: Set up the dilutions for your standard curve, Label your tubes as 1,2,3,4,5 6, Prepare your standards according to the table below: Dilution tube # Volume of diluent ( µl) Volume of BSA or from tube # ( µl) Final BSA (protein) concentration ( µg/ml) 1 0  µl 300  µl BSA 1000 2 250  µl 250  µl bsa 500 3 250  µl 250  µl Tube 2 250 4 250  µl 250  µl Tube 3 125 5 800  µl 200  µl Tube 4 25 6 Blank 250  µl 0 0 Label your microtitre plate so that you know which wells hold your standards and which contain your samples (perform in triplicate), Pipette 25  µl of each standard (in triplicate) and sample (in triplicate) to each well, Add 200  µl of the Working Reagent to each standard or sample and shake for 30 seconds, Cover the plate and incubate at 37ËÅ ¡C for 30 minutes, Cool the plate to room temperature, Measure the absorbances at 562 nm on a microtitre plate reader, insert the average values in the table below: Dilution tube # Average absorbance at 562 nm (add 3 values divide by 3) Subtract blank (Tube 6) from value in previous column Final BSA (protein) concentration ( µg/ml) 1 1000 2 500 3 250 4 125 5 25 6 Blank 0 Sample 1 Sample 2 Prepare your standard curve: use the corrected absorbance readings for standards 1 – 6 (in column 3 in the previous table) and plot them against the amount of BSA in each tube, Once you have plotted your standard curve, you can determine the protein concentration in your samples, enter this value into the table above.   The patient scenarios are outlined below. You now need to match the urine samples with their corresponding patient scenarios and include justification for your decisions in your practical report: Patient Scenarios: Kidney Stones: Nida is a 17 year old student. She arrives at her GP feeling nauseous, feverish with acute pain in her lower back. She is also passing large amounts of blood in her urine. Glucose Drink: Thomas has just started a new job but is feeling quite stressed has lost weight. He arrives to see his GP but has had to skip lunch so drinks a litre of cola to maintain his energy levels. Diabetic: Jenny is studying for her A levels. Recently she has been losing weight although she is eating much more than usual is always hungry. Athlete: Dave is a professional athlete requires a blood urine test before competing in his next event. His test results are negative for drugs but are positive for another substance. Nephrotic syndrome: Keely is a 20 year old student. She has been feeling very unwell for some time with general fatigue, listlessness, weight loss puffiness around her eyes ankles. Her urine is very sparse very dark in colour

Bach :: essays research papers

The Baroque Age Johann Sebastian Bach Born: Eisenach, March 21, 1685 Died: Leipzig, July 28, 1750 Regarded as perhaps the greatest composer of all time, Bach was known during his lifetime primarily as an outstanding organ player and technician. The youngest of eight children born to musical parents, Johann Sebastian was destined to become a musician. While still young, he had mastered the organ and violin, and was also an excellent singer. At the age of ten, both of his parents died within a year of each other. Young Sebastian was fortunate to be taken in by an older brother, Johann Christoph, who most likely continued his musical training. At the age of fifteen, Bach secured his first position in the choir of St. Michael's School in LÃ ¼neburg. He travelled little, never leaving Germany once in his life, but held various postitions during his career in churches and in the service of the courts throughout the country. In 1703 he went to Arnstadt to take the position of organist at the St. Boniface Church. It was during his tenure there that Bach took a month's leave of absence t o make the journey to LÃ ¼beck (some 200 miles away, a journey he made on foot) to hear the great organist Dietrich Buxtehude. One month turned into five, and Bach was obliged to find a new position at MÃ ¼lhausen in 1706. In that year he also married his cousin, Maria Barbara. Bach remained at MÃ ¼lhausen for only a year before taking up a post as organist and concertmaster at the court of the Duke of Weimar. In 1717, Bach moved on to another post, this time as Kapellmeister at the court of Prince Leopold in Cöthen. During the years Bach was in the service of the courts, he was obliged to compose a great deal of instrumental music: hundreds of pieces for solo keyboard, orchestral dance suites, trio sonatas for various instruments, and concertos for various instruments and orchestra. Of these, the most famous are the six concerti grossi composed for the Duke of Brandenburg in 1721, and the Brandenburg Concerto no. 3 exemplifies the style of the concerto grosso in which a small group of instruments (in this case a small ensemble of strings) is set in concert with an orchestra of strings and continuo. Of Bach's music for solo instruments, the six Suites for violoncello and the Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin are among the greatest for those instruments.

The Pros and Cons of Collective Bargaining Essay -- Collective Bargain

　Discuss the pros and cons of Collective Bargaining and explain their significance for improvements in labour productivity. 　　 　　â€Å"Collective bargaining can be defined as a process whereby trade unions, representing workers, and employers through their representatives, treat and negotiate with a view to the conclusion of a collective agreement or renewal thereof.† (Morris L. 2002). Collective bargaining may also include the process of resolving minor or major conflicts between labor and management or their agents. Therefore it essentially can be seen as a mutually recognized system of industrial jurisprudence creation. Collective Bargaining can act as an introduction to civil rights in the respective industry, but that can only happen if management is conducted by rules and regulations an not by arbitrary decision making processes. It defines and restricts the traditional authority exercised by management by the establishment of rules. 　　 　　Collective Bargaining has a number of objectives that are geared towards work life improvement. The first objective of collective bargaining is Workers’ participation, in the organizational decision-making. collective bargaining gives the worker an opportunity to participate in some areas of company direction such as the formation of rules and regulations. Participation leads to the enhancement of the quality of the enterprise condition thorough the employees’welcomed productive suggestions, as the are the ones who are familiar with the actual working realities of the enterprise. This also can assist in the boosting of the employees’ morale, self-esteem and cense of belonging, thus leading to an enhanced feeling of commitment to the organization. The second objective is the resolution of ind... ...e-of-collective-bargaining.html>. http://www.shvoong.com/business-management/human-resources/1923283-collective-bargaining-objectives/#ixzz30HKnBRdH References Dessler,G. and Varkkey,B. (2009) Human Resource Management. Eleventh Edition.Pearson Education. Howell, C. (2007) Trade Unions and the state: The Construction of Industrial Relations Institutions in Britain, 1890-2000. Princeton University Press Khan, J. and Soverall, W. (2007) Gaining Productivity. Arawak publications. Morris, R. L. (2002)"Chapter 2 The Collective Bargaining Process." New Issues in Collective Bargaining: A Caribbean Workers' Education Guide. Port of Spain: ILO. Pp 12-22. Print. Salamon, M. (2000). Collective Bargaining. In: Harlow: Financial Times Prentice Hall (ed), Industrial Relations: Theory and Practice. 4th ed. (pp.321 - 368.) England: Pearson Education Limited.

Robert Bolt :: Essays Papers

Robert Bolt Over his lengthy, distinguished career, British screenwriter and playwright Robert Bolt has been thrice nominated for Academy Awards and has won twice for Doctor Zhivago (1965) and A Man for All Seasons(1966). Born and raised in Manchester, Bolt served in the British Air Force during WWII and afterward attended Manchester University. Following graduation, Bolt became a teacher of English at the prestigious Millfield private school in Somerset. He remained there between 1950-58. In his spare time, Bolt wrote radio and stage plays, but gained little recognition until he penned the script for his play Flowering Cherry (1957). His third play, A Man for All Seasons opened in 1960; the original production made actor Paul Scofield a star and was a hit on the London and Broadway stage. The publicity surrounding the production attracted the attention of movie producer Sam Spiegel who hired Bolt to completely revise recently exiled writer Michael Wilson's script for David Lean's Lawrence of Arabia. (1962). The result was an Academy Award nomination for Bolt's script. Throughout the decade, Bolt would specialize in adapting literature to the screen. He would not have an original script produced until Lean directed Bolt's Ryan's Daughter (1970). Unfortunately, the film bombed at the box-office. After that, Bolt spent a while working on his playwrighting career and found success with Vivat! Vivat Regina! (1970). His next script was for the costume drama Lady Caroline Lamb (1972) starring Bolt's wife Sarah Miles, who had also starred in Ryan's Daughter. In 1976, Lean approached Bolt with a new idea for an epic reworking of the story of the Bounty mutiny. With funding by Dino De Laurentiis and Paramount studio, Bolt set to work on the script. Over the next two years, Bolt concentrated most of his energy on the script, creating two versions. Robert Bolt :: Essays Papers Robert Bolt Over his lengthy, distinguished career, British screenwriter and playwright Robert Bolt has been thrice nominated for Academy Awards and has won twice for Doctor Zhivago (1965) and A Man for All Seasons(1966). Born and raised in Manchester, Bolt served in the British Air Force during WWII and afterward attended Manchester University. Following graduation, Bolt became a teacher of English at the prestigious Millfield private school in Somerset. He remained there between 1950-58. In his spare time, Bolt wrote radio and stage plays, but gained little recognition until he penned the script for his play Flowering Cherry (1957). His third play, A Man for All Seasons opened in 1960; the original production made actor Paul Scofield a star and was a hit on the London and Broadway stage. The publicity surrounding the production attracted the attention of movie producer Sam Spiegel who hired Bolt to completely revise recently exiled writer Michael Wilson's script for David Lean's Lawrence of Arabia. (1962). The result was an Academy Award nomination for Bolt's script. Throughout the decade, Bolt would specialize in adapting literature to the screen. He would not have an original script produced until Lean directed Bolt's Ryan's Daughter (1970). Unfortunately, the film bombed at the box-office. After that, Bolt spent a while working on his playwrighting career and found success with Vivat! Vivat Regina! (1970). His next script was for the costume drama Lady Caroline Lamb (1972) starring Bolt's wife Sarah Miles, who had also starred in Ryan's Daughter. In 1976, Lean approached Bolt with a new idea for an epic reworking of the story of the Bounty mutiny. With funding by Dino De Laurentiis and Paramount studio, Bolt set to work on the script. Over the next two years, Bolt concentrated most of his energy on the script, creating two versions.

National Security Council Essay

The recent trend characterizing the US security policy is the gradual strengthening of the National Security Council. Under G. Bush administration this body gained significant power and influence. In this paper I’m going to investigate the reasons for this trend as well its advantages and disadvantages. In the international practice, National Security Council is generally defined as an executive body coordinating national security issues. National Security Council consists of the heads of departments involved in diplomacy and defense with a relatively small number of staff members. The US National Security Council was established in 1947 and substantially amended in 1949; the same year it was placed in the Executive Office of the President. The powers and influence of the US NSC has been gradually increasing during the second half of the 20th centuries; this trend is evident presently, too. As for the structure of the council, it is chaired by the President and encompasses Vice President, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, the Secretary of Defense, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff as the statutory military advisor to the Council, the Director of Central Intelligence as the intelligence advisor. The Chief of Staff to the President, Counsel to the President, and the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy have a right to be present at any meeting of the Council; others can be invited to attend NSC meeting if appropriate. The functions of the NSC are â€Å"considering national security and foreign policy matters with his senior national security advisors and cabinet officials. † (National Security Council official website, http://www. whitehouse. gov/nsc/) Every President made major or minor change in the powers and functions of the NSC in order to adjust it to his own management style. The ultimate goal of the NSC under Bush administration is to ensure collegiality among different departments coordinating military and diplomatic issues. But the functions of the NSC nowadays are much wider. The expert report that â€Å"the NSC today conducts ongoing relations with the media, Congress, the American public, and foreign governments. † (Daalder & Destler, 2000, A New NSC for a New Administration, http://www. brookings. edu/comm/policybriefs/pb68. htm) Even the official sources define the Council as â€Å"as a means of controlling and managing competing departments† and it’s functioning â€Å"depended in no small degree upon the interpersonal chemistry between the President and his principal advisers and department heads. † (Office of the Historian, Bureau of Public Affairs, History of the National Security Council, http://www. fas. org/irp/offdocs/NSChistory. htm) The NSC is refered to as the â€Å"key foreign policy player in every administration since John F. Kennedy’s. † (Daalder & Destler†¦) I strongly deem that the trend of NSC becoming more influential reflects the general trend of Presidential power becoming more authoritative. The fact that Condoleeza Rice rivals Colin Powell in influence is to a certain extent causes to the relations between Condoleeza Rice and the President. Another reason is that she had been an influential public figure in academic and political circles before joining the NSC. Karl Inderfurth and Loch Johnson (2004, p. 180) in their book Fateful Decisions: Inside the National Security Council states that â€Å"Rice perhaps most closely resembles McGeorge Bundy, of the Kennedy Administration, who was the first non-invisible national-security adviser†¦Ã¢â‚¬  George Bush in the first National Security Presidential Directive stated that â€Å"The NSC shall meet at my direction. † (National Security Presidential Directive, 2001, http://www. fas.org/irp/offdocs/nspd/nspd-1. htm) The positive side of it is that the President can quickly obtain a qualified advice when needed. The negative side is that the NSC is an easy tool for controlling and redefining diplomatic and military policy of the county without consulting other major defense bodies. The same Directive states: â€Å"Except for those established by statute, other existing NSC interagency groups, ad hoc bodies, and executive committees are also abolished as of March 1, 2001, unless they are specifically reestablished as subordinate working groups within the new NSC system as of that date. † George Bush adjusted the Council to his own needs approximately after a year in the office. This is one more important reason why the President relies more on the NSC than on traditional bureaucracy. The structure of the NSC is relatively transparent and clear; it includes a limited number of members, although it has grown in size recently and resembles a governmental agency rather than an advisory committee. I would like to elaborate on another factor that contributes to the situation with the NSC. After the tragic events of 9/11 George Bush established the Office of Homeland Security under the governance of Tom Ridge, the President’s close friend. The functions of the NSC and the OHS often overlap; the possibility of the NSC becoming hegemonic in the sphere of homeland security decreased. Still, its role in the national security is hard to overestimate. Daalder & Destler (2000) propose a clear list of reasons why the NSC evolved in the key agent in defence and foreign policy. They state that it was caused by â€Å"the half-century development and legitimization of the NSC as presidential coordinator for mainstream national security issues†¦[and]†¦the post-cold war expansion of the foreign policy agenda, with more issues that require coordination across more agencies†¦[and]†¦the deepening of partisanship in Washington, particularly over the last decade. † It’s hard to give a solely positive or negative evaluation of this trend. From one angle, the NSC is flexible and is able to react rapidly to any security threat. It may seem rational to grant excessive powers to the NSC. There would be no need to employ the bureaucratic machine of numerous agencies dealing with diplomacy, military aspects and homeland security. The NSC should be organized in such a way so that â€Å"the president can make clear foreign policy choices in a timely manner. † (Daalder & Destler†¦ ) Daalder & Destler study emphasises that the NSC major task is integrating the US foreign and defence policy, and it’s of high importance in the era of global terrorism. From another angle, the NSC is powered by the President, and there exists much space for manipulation. Recently, the NSC doesn’t manage efficiently with coordinating the national security bodies. For instance, some tension exists in relations between the NSC and the agencies like CIA. Now let me proceed with drawing the final conclusion of the paper. There exists a clear trend of the National Security Council becoming more influential and powerful under the George Bush administration; this happens for compelling reasons. The positive or negative evaluation of his trend largely depends on the degree of efficiency of the NSC organization and functioning. References 1. The White House, National Security Council http://www. whitehouse. gov/nsc/ Last accessed: 15 Oct 2004 2. Office of the Historian, Bureau of Public Affairs, United States Department of State, History of the National Security Council, 1947-1997 http://www. fas. org/irp/offdocs/NSChistory. htm Last accessed: 15 Oct 2004 3.National Security Presidential Directive, February 13, 2001 http://www. fas. org/irp/offdocs/nspd/nspd-1. htm Last accessed: 15 Oct 2004 4. The Brookings Institution, Foreign Policy Studies, Daalder, I. H. , Destler, I. M. , A New NSC for a New Administration, Nov 2000 http://www. brookings. edu/comm/policybriefs/pb68. htm Last accessed: 15 Oct 2004 5. Inderfurth, K. F. , Johnson, L. K. 2004. Fateful Decisions: Inside the National Security Council. Oxford University Press.

Alcohol and Sports

When college students and adults drink irresponsibly, they often create negative associations with alcohol and its hindering effects. Alcohol is a constituent of various recreational and other events in the United States. It is available at a wide range of public sporting events and often is the central focus of celebrations of success and achievement. Unfortunately, as well as contributing to relaxation and conviviality, alcohol is also associated with verbal and physical abuse, arrests for aggressive behavior and violence and admissions to hospitals as a consequence of alcohol related assaults.These concluding aspects have recently been raised in sport broadcasting and news nationwide. This initiates problems such as violence, public urination, or people collapsing as a consequence of excessive drinking. Facility management programs have made proper precautions regarding such events. These problems are not a new phenomena in the world of sports. In an attempt to contain violence, m ore facilities and leagues have taken action to control and remove the availability of alcohol at such events.After considerable research, there seems to be a repetition of facility management aspects used in everyday sporting events, such as the TEAM and FAM organizational programs, specific â€Å"pre† and â€Å"post† game provisions, and actions regarding â€Å"in-game† incidents. There are many alcohol management strategies that facilities and programs have developed over the past two decades. Almost every professional sport team and facility follows the grand design of the non-profit organization called Techniques for Effective Alcohol Management.TEAM begin back in the 1980’s in reaction to the â€Å"high number of traffic fatalities resulting from heavy drinking at sporting events and to increasing public awareness of the problem of alcohol-related driving (Stadium Alcohol Management). † This program has two major goals regarding alcohol manag ement: reduce drunk-driving and publicize responsible drinking services and consumption at sporting arenas. There main focus is on major sporting venues. TEAM also branches into another program called Facility Alcohol Management (FAM).FAM further assists to public arenas in developing alcohol management. Furthermore, TEAM puts a strong emphasis on their 300 trainers who in turn train more than 30,000 sport facility employees. Training is a very important component involved in enhancing the awareness of staff. This regards factors that contribute to aggression and strategies to defuse potentially dangerous situations and legal issues regarding the proper management of venues. Hence, giving the staff an understanding of strategies to manage alcohol aggression on licensed premises.Planning is one of the most important features of alcohol management within a facility. An appropriate location of an event should always be selected with easy access to transport to and from the venue. Many sport facilities have restrictions or bans on alcohol brought into the venue, as well as restrictions on the type of containers brought into the venue. Alcohol is a great source of revenue for sport leagues and arenas. Facility organizers may also be unwilling to set up alcohol-free events because it is such a main attraction during game-play.More than 60% of professional sporting event revenues come from alcohol purchases (Class Video). Another important example of alcohol management planning is making sure to provide information before and during the event. This should include risks, regulations, requirements and controls. Sometimes the lack of information about strict alcohol polices can result in fans arriving unprepared, either not bringing enough money to purchase alcohol inside the venue or spending it before entry.There has been precaution involving the amount of alcohol served at sporting and large public events. Severity of alcohol problems can be related to length of a ga me, whether or not it is a playoff game or even if the game is an exciting one or not (Class Discussion). Facility managers and staff must take into consideration those key features of a game in order to prepare for alcohol related incidents. Facilities set restricted times for serving alcohol, including set period before the end of the event, where alcohol is no longer served..There have been proper preparations for regulating the sale of alcohol on premises within the grounds, particularly the times at which alcohol could be served. This allows for sobering up of patrons and reduced likelihood of drunk driving and other issues. This can be in between an inning, or at halftime. For example, most baseball games stop serving alcohol at the end of the 7th inning in order to maintain the crowd. Having a limited amount of alcohol served to each fan is another way a facility can avoid issues. Concession stands should only be serving 1 drink per customer.Most sporting facilities have kept this under control but staff members working the beverage stands have let this slide and provided more than 1 drink per customer. Server staff selection and training is very important, although evidence shows that enforcement needs to accompany this in order to ensure its effectiveness. Security staff and police officers have been a vital part of alcohol facility management over the past decade. During preparation for games and large sporting events, security takes measures to properly secure a facility for intended alcohol related use.Many facilities have implemented a range of strategies to reduce risks such as segregation of opposing fans or higher levels of policing. If there were safety concerns, security is granted authority to search public vehicles and individuals trying to enter an event with alcoholic beverages. It is important for the police force to try and maintain a crowd during the tailgating portion of an event. This is where the sot excessive drinking takes place. An example of a facility security measure involves video surveillance at the Milwaukee Brewers’ stadium.In the article Drinking Games, it states that â€Å"most parks now include video surveillance equipment that can home in on specific seat locations, but beer hawkers, concessions-stand workers and ushers equipped only with their own eyes are also relied upon to recognize the tell-tale signs of intoxication, or in some cases the mere probability of intoxication. † The security staff and police presence should be visible and have a clear view of the area around them. Also, they should have the authority to ban or remove fans for public displays of drunken behavior.Facility managers take into consideration the importance of harm reduction. Some arenas have been setting up â€Å"dry areas† or family areas to reduce risk and nuisance, especially for families and young people. Also, alcohol served in a tempered glass or plastic and foam cups help reduce the likeliho od of containers being used as weapons, and to prevent accidental or deliberate injury to staff and fans on the licensed premises. In Europe, they have â€Å"sobering-up† areas which act as a very valuable strategy (Study Abroad experience 2011).There was minimal effectiveness but it may enable management of those who are overly intoxicated. Traffic management should be something planned before, during and after a sport game. After games, there are security checkpoints where drivers are checked for intoxication or any alcoholic beverages in their possession. This is where many people are arrested for DUI’s and drunkenly misconduct. When looking at the alcohol management regarding Madison Square Garden, there seem to be procedures and provisions similar to the ones listen previously in this research paper.At most of the events at MSG, alcoholic beverages are available for purchase. They train their staff within the terms of the TEAM organization. Alcohol sales are limit ed to up to two alcoholic beverages per customer per transaction and must provide an ID with purchase. MSG makes sure that guests do not bring in alcoholic beverages from outside vendors, and cannot leave with beverages purchased inside the arena. The last part of their alcohol management statement deals with management reserving the right to refuse the sale of alcohol to any guest (MSG. com).While there have been significant sport broadcasting about alcohol related harm at various professional and collegiate sporting events, there is little direct evidence to guide quality practice of such events. Nevertheless, there are a range of strategies that can be generalized from the mainstream research on reducing alcohol related incidents and strategies that have unpretentious biases. This relationship is a complex one, it arises from our interactions among various factors relating to the American culture, our drinking venues and the individual.

Policy Making Essay

In the United States, a Constitutional form of government mandates a separation of powers between the respective branches of government. Therefore, the methods and avenues of the policymaking process are complex. Because of this unique â€Å"separation between its executive and legislative functions† (Schroedel 3) the governmental system in America â€Å"lacks a formal hierarchical or organic link between the executive and the legislative branches of government† (Schroedel 3) and this results in two primary progenitors of policymaking. Policy may be forwarded by the legislative or executive branches. The idea behind the division of policymaking powers to establish â€Å"a government composed of functionally separated branches that are required to share legislative responsibilities† (Schroedel 4) with neither of the branches exerting primacy. In addition to the formal branches of government, policymaking is impacted by public activism and public opinion as well as media. Such influence, often referred to as â€Å"agenda setting,† can be a primary motivator in the policymaking chain. Plainly stated, â€Å"Agenda-setting is the course by which issues are adopted for Governmental consideration and perhaps remedy† (Nelson 161), so, technically, one of the branches of government, legislative or executive, must at some point be engaged in the policymaking process set forth by public agenda-setting. A case which illustrates the combination of all aspects of policymaking fro public activism to legislative and executive influence, is the issue of child abuse in America. Rather than having long-standing laws and protections against child abuse, â€Å"It was not until the 1950s and 1960s [†¦ ] that the problem again came to the fore† (Nelson 163); a key point being that the bringing of the problem to the forefront of public and governmental awareness lay largely with the media and with popular interest groups and activists. It was â€Å"by examining how child abuse achieved these agendas† that government came to understand â€Å"new categorical social service policies† (Nelson 163) and subsequent legislation broadened to include â€Å"a more sensitive governmental response to rape, as well as recognition of such â€Å"new† problems as spouse abuse, child sexual abuse, child pornography, and abuse of the elderly† (Nelson 163). The conclusion is that public interest and activism, along with the legislative and executive branches of government plays a pivotal role in policymaking in American government.

Types of Entrepreneurship

Types of Entrepreneurship and Economic Growth DOI:10. 1093/acprof:oso/9780199596515. 003. 0004 Abstract and Keywords This chapter is an empirical exploration of types of entrepreneurship and their impact on economic growth in developing and transition countries. It relates indicators of entrepreneurship to average rates of economic growth in the period 2002–5. For this the chapter utilizes a dataset on entrepreneurship in thirty? six countries from the Global Enterprise Monitor (GEM), collected in 2002.It finds that indicators of young business activity have a significant impact on growth in high? income countries and transition countries, but not in developing countries. The chapter explains the lack of significant effects in developing countries by pointing to the lack of complementary physical and human capital and the scarcity of larger companies that can act as a training ground for SMEs. Keywords:  Ã‚  Ã‚  entrepreneurship,  growth? oriented entrepreneurship,  econ omic growth,  global entrepreneurship monitor 4. 1  IntroductionEntrepreneurship has long been considered a crucial mechanism of economic development (Schumpeter  1934; Landes  1998). However, empirical studies on the role of entrepreneurship in economic growth show mixed evidence (Stam  2008). This is not remarkable because there is much heterogeneity in both the kinds of entrepreneurship and the kinds of economic contexts in which economic growth takes place. Until now studies have not sufficiently accounted for this heterogeneity on the micro- and macro-level, which limits our insight into the contingent role of entrepreneurship in economic growth.Important questions in this respect are: ‘How does the role of entrepreneurship differ between high-income, transition, and medium-income countries? ’, and ‘What kinds of entrepreneurship are most crucial for economic growth? ’. The objective of this chapter is to provide insights into the role of dif ferent types of entrepreneurship in economic growth, and on how this role differs in poor and rich economies. In this chapter, we empirically investigate the effect of entrepreneurship on economic growth at the country-level.We use data from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM), which provides comparative data on entrepreneurship from a wide range of countries. An important element of this chapter is that we compare the effects of entrepreneurial activity on economic growth in high-income countries, transition countries (China, Hungary, Poland, Russia, and Slovenia), and medium-income countries (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, India, Mexico, South Africa, and Thailand). This dataset also enables us to make a distinction between the effects of entrepreneurship in general and  (p. 9 )growth-oriented entrepreneurship in particular. We present empirical tests of the impact of entrepreneurial activity on GDP growth over a four-year period for a sample of 36 countries. Our empirical anal yses suggest that entrepreneurship does not have an effect on economic growth in medium-income countries, in contrast to transition and high-income countries where especially growth-oriented entrepreneurship seems to contribute strongly to macroeconomic growth. 4. 2  Entrepreneurship and economic development Development is a broad concept entailing the raising of human capabilities (Sen  1999).One of the central challenges in improving economic development is to increase the standards of living for individuals and growth of the economy as a whole. Even though economic growth in itself is a rather narrow target, it is probably one of the most important targets for development policies. It is also one of the measures that is most easy to access for analysts, and probably the best measure to make cross-national (Barro  1991; Sala-i-Martin  1997) and historical (Maddison  2001) analyses of the development of economies.Traditionally the economic output of a country is seen as a function of capital and labour inputs, combined with technical change (Solow  1957). Of course, conflicts and wars might interrupt this function (Sala-i-Martin  1997), but these are ‘just’ contingencies. The standard production function used shows that economic output (Y) is a function of the sum of labour and capital inputs, and the level of technological knowledge (i. e. productivity). This means that economic growth—the growth of economic output—is a function of the growth of labour and capital inputs and technological progress.In traditional models of economic growth investment in capital, labour, and technology is sufficient to realize economic growth. New models of economic growth see these investments as a necessary complement to entrepreneurship/innovation, but not as a sufficient explanation for economic growth in its own right (Nelson and Pack  1999). One could even argue that high rates of investment in human and physical capital are them selves stimulated by effective innovation, and cannot be maintained in the absence of innovation.Recent studies emphasize entrepreneurship as a driver of economic development and some authors include entrepreneurship as a fourth production factor in the macroeconomic production function (Audretsch and Keilbach  2004). Entrepreneurship is the factor that creates wealth by combining existing production factors in new ways. Entrepreneurs experiment with new combinations of which the outcomes are uncertain, but in order to make progress, many new variations have to be tried in order to find out which ones will  (p. 80 )  improve (economic) life (Rosenberg and Birdzell  1986).Other authors have argued that entrepreneurship will only unlock economic development if a proper institutional setting is in place (Baumol  1990; Boettke and Coyne  2003; Powell  2008). This institutional setting comprises informal as well as formal institutions (North  1990). An essential formal in stitution for welfare enhancing entrepreneurship is property rights. Insecure property rights have been an important constraint on the investments by entrepreneurs in transition countries, even more so than capital market constraints (Johnson, McMillan, and Woodruff  2000).A specific example regarding property rights is the fact that until 1988 private firms with more than seven workers were not even allowed to operate legally in China (Dorn  2008). One might say that the production factors capital, labour, technology, and entrepreneurship are the proximate causes of economic development, while institutions are a fundamental cause of economic development (Acemoglu, Johnson, and Robinson  2004). Next to productivity growth and technological change in established sectors, the development process in less advanced countries is largely about structural change (Gries and Naude  2010; Nelson and Pack1999; Rodrik  2007).It is a process in which an economy finds out—self-dis covers—what it can be good at producing, out of the many products that already exist. The role of entrepreneurs in developing countries does not equal innovation and R&D as commonly understood in advanced economies. Their role is to discover that a certain good, already well-established in world markets, can be produced at home at low cost (Hausmann and Rodrik  2003; Rodrik  2007).   Examples of this are the entrepreneurs that figured out that Bangladesh was good in the production of T-shirts, Colombia in cut flowers, India in software services, and Taiwan in bicycles and display technologies. Even if entrepreneurs cannot appropriate all these gains for themselves, their discoveries generate large social gains for their economies. Spurring entrepreneurs to invest in their home economy is said to be one of the most important aspects of stimulating growth in poor countries (Rodrik  2007). Investing refers here to innovation (e. g. mploying new technology, producing new products, searching for new markets) and expanding capacity. These investments trigger the combination of capital investment and technological change. In advanced capitalist economies, innovation and structural change take place through the combined efforts of small (independent inventors) and large innovative (organized R&D) firms, which complement each other in changing the economy (Nooteboom  1994; Baumol  2002). In developing countries the role of large firms is relatively small (Ghoshal, Hahn, and Moran  1999).In transition countries there are relatively many large organizations but these are largely in a process of restructuring and dismantling. This means that  (p. 81 )  small firms will be the prime movers in the process of structural change in developing and transition economies. We expect that the level of growth-oriented entrepreneurship in a country is a more relevant driver of economic growth than the mostly used indicators of entrepreneurship like self-employ ment and new firm formation.In contrast to rich countries, entrepreneurship in medium-income countries is mainly driven by necessity (Bosma et al. 2008). 2  Most entrepreneurs in these economies do not start a firm because they desire independence or because they want to increase their income as compared to being an employee, which are the dominant motives in rich countries. Most new businesses in medium-income countries are started out of necessity, in contrast to high-income countries, where entrepreneurship is most often opportunity-driven.This is reflected in the finding that in poor countries self-employed persons are less happy than employees, while the reverse is true in high-income countries (Blanchflower and Oswald  1998; Graham  2005). Entrepreneurs in medium-income countries most often start a business because they have no other way of earning a living. These entrepreneurs are not likely to be involved in a process of self-discovery; their actions are not likely to have an effect on the restructuring and diversification of the poor economies (Rodrik  2007). . 3  Data and research methods It is generally acknowledged that there are differences in the distribution of entrepreneurship across countries. Studies exploring differences in entrepreneurship across countries often focus on the incidence of new firm registration or self-employment, which may not be reliable indicators when applied to transition and developing countries with significant informal economies and fewer alternatives to self-employment.For these reasons we have used the Young Business (YB) indicator, defined as the percentage of adult population that is the owner/manager of a business that is less than 42 months old. Many studies have used the total entrepreneurial activity index, but that also includes the more speculative category of nascent entrepreneurs (individuals preparing a new business). In the current study we investigate whether the presence of growth-oriented en trepreneurs is a more important determinant of national economic growth than entrepreneurial activity in general.We will perform regression analyses with the YB  high-growth expectation  rate and the YB  medium-growth expectation  rate as independent variables and compare their impact on economic growth with the impact of the general YB index. The data and model used in this study are described below. We use a sample of 36 countries participating in the GEM in 2002. Data on six basic variables are used in our model: YB rate, YB medium-growth, YB  (p. 82 )  high-growth, growth of GDP, per capita income, and the growth competitiveness index (GCI). YB indexYB is defined as the percentage of adult population that is owner/manager of a business that is less than 42 months old. The YB high-(medium) growth expectation rate is defined as the percentage of adult population that is owner/manager of a business that is less than 42 months old,  and expects to employ 20 (six) emplo yees or more within five years  (YB6 and YB20). The YB medium-growth rate has some similarity to the entrepreneurship indicator used by Djankov et al. (2006), which includes owner-managers of a business with five or more employees. Data on the YB rate are taken from the GEM Adult Population Survey for 2002.Growth of GDP (? GDP) (Real) GDP growth rates are taken from the IMF World Economic Outlook database of the International Monetary Fund from September 2005. In equations (1) and (2) below variable ? GDPit  refers to the period 2002–5 (average annual growth) while the lagged GDP growth variable (? GDPi,t-1) refers to the period 1998–2001. Per capita income (GNIC) Most studies on GDP growth include the initial level of income in their analysis and find it to be significant (the conditional convergence effect, cf. Abramovitz  1986). Gross national income per capita 2001 is expressed in (thousands of) PPP dollars.These data are taken from the 2002 World Development Indicators database of the World Bank. Growth Competitiveness Index (GCI) In order to cover some aspects of the state of technology and institutions in a country (see Section  4. 2) we used the GCI for the year 2001 of the World Economic Forum (see McArthur and Sachs  2002). Given the low number of observations we are forced to use a combined index in our model. Even though there are huge problems in measuring technological capabilities and institutions (see Lall2001), the composite GCI is probably the best combined index available that covers these two factors simultaneously. p. 83 )  We investigate whether (growth-oriented) entrepreneurship may be considered as a determinant of economic growth, alongside the well-known determinants technology, institutions, and the macroeconomic environment, which are captured by the GCI. As both entrepreneurship and the factors underlying the GCI are assumed to be structural characteristics of an economy, we do not want to explain short-te rm economic growth but rather growth in the medium-term. Therefore we choose average annual growth over a period of four years (2002–5) as the dependent variable in this study.Following van Stel, Carree, and Thurik (2005), we use (the log of) initial income-level of countries to correct for catch-up effects, and lagged growth of GDP to correct for reversed causality effects, as additional control variables. 3 We allow for the possibility of different effects for high-income, transition, and medium-income countries. In addition we also test whether the effect of YB is different for transition countries. 4  YB rates may reflect different types of entrepreneurs in countries with different development levels, implying different impacts on growth.This is tested by defining separate YB variables for different groups of countries (high-income, transition, and medium-income countries). Our model is represented by equations (1) and (2). These equations are estimated separately by or dinary least squares. The expectation that growth-oriented YBs contribute more to national economic growth than YBs in general corresponds to b2  (c2) being larger than b1  (c1). In these equations sub-scripts t and t-1 loosely indicate that the independent variables are measured prior to the dependent variable.The exact years and periods for which the variables are measured can be found in the variable description above. ?GDPit=a+b1YBrichi,t? 1+c1YBtransitioni,t? 1+d1YBpoori,t? 1 +e? log(GNICi,t? 1)+f? GCIi,t? 1+g GDPi,t? 1+? it (1) ?GDPit=a+b2YB_high-growthrichi,t? 1+c2YB_high-growthtransitioni,t? 1+d2YB_high-growthpoori,t? 1+e? log(GNICi,t? 1)+f? GCIi,t? 1+g GDPi,t? 1+? it (2) To illustrate the data at hand, Table  4. 1  provides the YB rates and the YB medium- and high-growth rates in 2002 as well as the average annual growth rates of GDP over the period 2002–5.From Table  4. 1  and Figures  4. 1  and  4. 2  it can be seen that the ranking of countries in terms of YB or YB high-growth may be quite different. For instance, while China ranks fifth in terms of YB, it ranks first in terms of  (p. 84 ) Table 4. 1 Young business rates (2002) and GDP growth rates for 36 countrieshigh-growth YB. In contrast, Thailand ranks third in terms of YB, but only tenth in terms of high-growth YB. Figure 4. 1  Young business rates Figure 4. 2  Young business 20 rates Figure 4. 3  Correlation of young business rates and GDP growth rates Figure 4.   Correlation of high growth-oriented young business rates (20+) and GDP growth rates When we regress the rate of GDP growth on the YB rate and the YB20 rate, the YB20 rate reveals to have a stronger correlation with GDP growth (see Figures  4. 3  and  4. 4). (p. 85 )(p. 86 ) 4. 4  Entrepreneurship and national economic growth 4. 4. 1  Regression analyses The results of our empirical exercises are in Table  4. 2. Model I presents the regression results of the impact of the general YB i ndex (see equation (1)), while Models II and III show the results using the YB6 and YB20 rates as main independent variables (see equation (2)).The results presented in Table  4. 2  show that the impact of entrepreneurial activity is significantly positive for rich countries, but effectively zero for poor countries. The presence of growth-oriented entrepreneurs seems to be more important for achieving GDP growth than general entrepreneurship. Comparing the coefficients of the various YB rates, we see that the impact of YB6 is greater when compared to the impact of YB in general. Meanwhile the impact of YB20 is even greater, but not always statistically significant. Having more growth-oriented entrepreneurs seems to be particularly important in transition countries.Both the magnitude and the statistical significance of the estimated coefficient point to a stronger impact compared to high-income or medium-income countries. There are many reasons that could(p. 87 ) Table 4. 2 Regre ssion models average annual growth of GDP over the period 2002–5 (N=36)explain the importance of growth-oriented entrepreneurs in transition countries (Smallbone and Welter  2006). First, there are many entrepreneurial opportunities in formerly state-dominated sectors. Second, many highly qualified individuals lost their jobs at state-financed organizations (e. . universities, enterprises, government services). Third, there are many highly qualified (potential) entrepreneurs in these countries (especially in Eastern European countries), who do not face the opportunity costs of working for large public or private organizations. Fourth, those highly qualified (potential) entrepreneurs are also well connected to the power networks that were, and to a large extent still are, important in the political and economic arena of these countries, which takes away some barriers for high-growth firms in these countries.Summarizing, it may be argued that in transition economies high-grow th opportunities are more widely available and hence, a higher number of growth-oriented entrepreneurs willing to act on these opportunities may be particularly fruitful for achieving growth in these countries. However, we should be aware of the large diversity in the group of transition countries, which comprises countries like Russia and China, as well as Hungary and Slovenia. (p. 88 )  Our regression results should be interpreted with care as the analysis is based on a limited number of observations (36 countries).As a test of robustness we estimated the models leaving out one country at a time, i. e. we computed 36 auxiliary regressions, where each regression uses 35 observations (each time leaving one of the 36 countries out). Although t-values sometimes dropped a little, coefficients and t-values were generally in line with those reported in Table  4. 2. The country that matters the most for the results obtained in Table  4. 2  is China. This is not surprising as China combines high YB/YB6/YB20 rates with high GDP growth rates (see Table  4. 1). When leaving this country out of the sample, the coefficient (t-value) for the transition countries is 0. 2 (0. 5) for the YB rate, 1. 47 (1. 2) for the YB6 rate, and 1. 72 (1. 1) for the YB20 rate. The low t-values are in part due to the low number of observations. Note, however, that the coefficients are very similar to the full sample estimates reported in Table  4. 2. Furthermore, the Jarque–Bera test on the normality of disturbances is passed for all models reported in Table  4. 2, indicating that it is not necessary to remove individual country observations. Therefore we feel that our results are quite robust to the potential influence of outliers.Nevertheless, given the low number of observations, the results should only be seen as a first illustration of how the impact of different types of entrepreneurship may differ between groups of countries with different levels of development. 4 . 4. 2  Medium-income countries Within the groups of transition and developing economies there are substantial differences in entrepreneurship rates. Chile stands out because of a particularly high rate of growth-oriented entrepreneurship, while Mexico has a particularly low rate of growth-oriented entrepreneurship.In contrast to high-income countries, entrepreneurship in medium-income countries is mainly driven by necessity: self-employment is often the only occupational choice given a paucity of other sources of employment (necessity-based entrepreneurship; see Acs and Amoros  2008; Bosma et al. 2008). The actions of most of the entrepreneurs in medium-income countries are not likely to have an effect on the restructuring and diversification of the poor economies. This would be the whole story if the rates of growth-oriented entrepreneurship would also be marginal in these economies.This is only the case for Mexico. Next to Chile—where opportunity-driven entrepreneurshi p is dominant—Brazil, India, and Argentina perform quite well with respect to growth-oriented entrepreneurship. This means that there still is a substantial group of entrepreneurs in medium-income countries that might get involved in a process of self-discovery. The problem in practice is that in contrast to rich and transition economies, growth-oriented entrepreneurship is less likely to  (p. 89 )  be realized in developing economies, due to constraints on the provision of capital and (skilled) labour.An additional constraint in medium-income countries is that there are relatively few (foreign) large companies, which could act as a training ground for prospective growth-oriented entrepreneurs, and could open up distribution channels for new fledgling enterprises (Knorringa  1996). This is also reflected in the finding of Bosma, Stam, and Wennekers (2010) that the incidence of intrapreneurship (i. e. employees developing new business activities for their employer) is mu ch lower in medium-income countries than in high-income countries.In addition, one should make a distinction between large firms with productive (manufacturing) and resource extractive (mining, oil) activities here, as the former will be more useful for the development of entrepreneurship than the latter. 4. 4. 3  Transition countries New firms in transition countries not only displace obsolete incumbents but also fill in new markets, which were either non-existent or poorly populated in the past. Our study suggests that in transition countries, growth-oriented entrepreneurs make an important contribution to economic growth.They create new jobs with relatively high incomes which the small incumbent population of private firms cannot provide. This entrepreneurial growth process is facilitated by the relatively high levels of human capital in combination with relatively low opportunity costs of self-employment of the adult population. The high degree of environmental dynamism in the se countries—which is likely to positively affect the level of growth expectations and realizations of entrepreneurs in these countries—requires ambitious and well-connected entrepreneurs in order to translate these abundant opportunities in economic growth.There are considerable differences within the group of transition countries. Hsu (2005) shows that the role of these connections differs considerably between China and Russia: in China it was a tool which could be used to build enough trust to allow business transactions to succeed (‘capitalism without contracts’). In contrast, in Russia these connections devolved into corruption, and faded in importance for ordinary citizens. Without a way to build trust or extend networks, Russians retreated into defensive involution, and engaged in predatory behaviour against those outside their small circles of friends.Instead of capitalism without contracts, Russia suffered the depredations of ‘capitalists wi thout capitalism’. There are also substantial differences in entrepreneurship rates within the groups of transition economies. China stands out because of particularly high rates of growth-oriented entrepreneurship (cf. Hsu  2005). Even though the YB  (p. 90 )  rate is below the average of transition countries, the growth of self-employment has been enormous, not only in the richer coastal provinces, but also in rural areas (Mohapatra, Rozelle, and Goodhue  2007).Research by Djankov et al. (2006) also shows that entrepreneurs in China are more risk-taking and more committed to an entrepreneurial career than entrepreneurs in Russia. In addition, Russia has (and had: see Hsu  2005) a particularly low rate of entrepreneurship in general as well. The striking difference between entrepreneurship rates in China and Russia can be explained by their different paths from socialism to capitalism: gradualism and a shock therapy (see Burawoy  1996).In China the gradual transf ormation started with a policy of decollectivization (decentralization of property relations) in the late 1970s and the promotion of small-scale industry, with a focus on promoting independent entrepreneurship. Experimentation with new economic arrangements, for example privatization of small state-owned enterprises, has led to a favourable accumulation of productive capabilities in China. In contrast, Russia underwent a shock therapy in which the old communist regime was liquidated, with a focus on rapid privatization of the state sector.However, the Russian state failed to organize a market economy, which led to a coordination and entrepreneurial vacuum into which have stepped conglomerates, banks and mafia, siphoning off surplus from production to exchange (Burawoy  1996). 4. 5  Discussion of policy implications In this section we will briefly discuss the potential implications of our exploration of the relationship between types of entrepreneurship and economic growth for en trepreneurship policy and industrial/cluster policy in medium-income and transition countries. 5 4. 5. 1  Entrepreneurship policyOur empirical analyses suggest that entrepreneurship does not have an effect on economic growth in medium-income countries, in contrast to transition and high-income countries where both growth-oriented entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship in general seem to contribute strongly to macroeconomic growth. Does this mean that stimulating entrepreneurship in medium-income countries is bad policy? The least we can say is that stimulating entrepreneurship alone will be insufficient as it is likely to attract necessity entrepreneurs with low human capital levels who do not contribute to economic growth.The non-significant effect of entrepreneurship on economic growth in medium-income countries might point at a shortage of large firms in these countries. By exploitation of economies of scale and scope and by  (p. 91 )  adopting and diffusing technology devel oped elsewhere, large firms are important in transforming a developing economy into a developed economy (van Stel, Carree, and Thurik  2005). In these economies local workers are more productive working as wage employees than as entrepreneurs. Nevertheless stimulating growth-oriented entrepreneurship might be an additional element of transforming a developing economy into a developed one.Attracting investments by large (possibly foreign) firms, stimulating growth-oriented entrepreneurship, investing in labour and capital, and improving the institutional framework may be the recipe for growth here. On the one hand this is old news, in that it provides a plea for the traditional role of governments to invest in education and physical infrastructure, and to build and maintain a set of institutions that enable the development of the private sector (cf. Rosenberg and Birdzell  1986). On the other hand, the addition of growth-oriented entrepreneurship in development policy for medium- income and transition countries is a new element.One must be careful to target the right group of entrepreneurs though, i. e. governments should avoid that resources made available through government stimulation programmes are absorbed by necessity entrepreneurs with low human capital levels. 4. 5. 2  Industrial/cluster policy The focus of this chapter has been on the country-level, which disregards the sub-national level of analysis, and what is of particular relevance here, the level of regional clusters (regional concentrations of particular industries). These regional clusters have proved to be important drivers of economic development in, for example, Taiwan, India, and Brazil.These clusters are both driven by and drive growth-oriented entrepreneurship. Growth-oriented entrepreneurs that start to invest in a particular industry are needed in order to reach a critical mass that is needed to reach certain agglomeration economies (Braunerhjelm and Feldman  2006). If the build- up of capacity to this level of critical mass is not reached due to the lack of complementary investments, there might be a role to play for governments to overcome coordination failure, for example by providing investment guarantees for entrepreneurs (see Rodrik  2007).Such industrial policy is not about ‘picking winners’ or comprehensive planning, but encouraging experiments with new types of economic activity (Rodrik2007). Since it is impossible to judge winners and losers in advance, competent and growth-oriented entrepreneurs should be encouraged to try, success should be rewarded, and failure should not be coddled (Nelson and Pack  1999). These clusters do not have to be close to the technology frontier (as in advanced capitalist economies). The real policy implications arise from thinking carefully about the particular sources of advantage for a nascent cluster  (p. 2 )  and why that source might yield short-term complements with the potential to become l ong-term substitutes (Bresnahan, Gambardella, and Saxenian  2001). Cooperation of clusters in developing countries with existing richer economies is not ‘colonialist’. Take for example the linkages with the US. India and Taiwan are linked to the US (especially Silicon Valley) via outsourcing of software services and manufacturing (due to low labour costs), but also by a returning group of expatriates who have worked there, and who see the benefits of long distance collaboration (Saxenian  1999).There is a flow of people—the so-called Argonauts (Saxenian  2006)—and ideas back and forth between rich and emerging economies. Migrant workers tend to be among the most entrepreneurial in society. Governments of developing countries should not only look at these expatriate workers as a source of remittances. Given their entrepreneurialism, skills, and exposure to business in the developed world, as well as the desire of many of them to return home, they may be very important as a source of self-discovery in their country of origin (Rodrik  2007).In addition to developing the private sector, these return migrants may provide the new elite needed for building up a civil society. Only a fraction of the money spent on attracting FDI would be needed to target nationals abroad. This would attract more knowledgeable human capital and durable investments than most FDI will do. Once critical mass is reached within a regional cluster, it is likely to generate or attract growth-oriented entrepreneurs (e. g. Argonauts), who in turn stimulate further macroeconomic growth. 4. 5. 3  Limitations and further researchThe regression analyses in this chapter are of limited value: they have not only simplified the range6and (linear) effects of determinants for economic development, they have also dumbed down economic development to economic growth over a short-term (four-year) period. We know that sustaining growth is more difficult (and caused by diff erent factors) than igniting it (Rodrik  2007). This also connects to one of the other shortcomings: sustaining growth probably requires much more extensive institutional reform than can be properly taken into account in linear regression analyses.Next to better measures of institutions, future research should take into account samples with low-income countries and a larger number of medium-income and transition countries, and multiple years in order to achieve more robust empirical analyses. In addition, our data did not allow for testing the multiplicative effect of entrepreneurship, so we only analysed the additive effect. A larger number of cases would enable the inclusion of the more traditional indicators of capital and labour in the analyses, and allow for testing the multiplicative effect.