International retailing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

International retailing - Essay Example On the 28th of July in 2006 Wal-Mart sold its 85 chain German outlets to Metro AG, which is a diversified cash and carry retail chain that has Germany's largest market share (Clark, 2006)1. 1997 marked the year that Wal-Mart entered Germany when it completed negotiations to acquire 21 outlets belonging to the Wertkauf hypermarket chain (Wal-Mart Facts.com, 2007)2. This was following by Wal-Mart acquiring 74 stores of the Interspar hypermarket chain that is a subsidiary of Spar Handels AG (Wal-Mart Facts.com, 2007)3. The preceding represented Wal-Mart's entry into the European market, using Germany as the launch point. Listening to customers represents one of the first and most important aspects in entering a foreign market as the nuances of consumers differs in their respective countries, thereby requiring adjustments in marketing, presentation, operational and other procedures. Wal-Mart's extraordinarily successful American operations that meshed leading edge marketing, a new approach to its corporate culture as well as organisational structures, resulting in the company being vaulted into the largest and most successful retailer in the world. ... The preceding success in the United States does not necessarily represent an effective, and or workable game plan in other markets. Given Wal-Mart's reputation and successes, the company only entered the international market in 1991 that pales in comparison to Carrefour, which has been retailing in foreign markets for in excess of thirty years (Incandela et al, 1999)4. The international market represents a different set of challenges, experiences as well as internal operating dictates that need to be understood and incorporated into a retailer's operational mode, a lesson that Wal-Mart learned in Germany. This study shall delve into Wal-Mart's entry into the German market to determine the reasons as to why it was not successful there. Wal-Mart and Germany Wal-Mart's lack of success in Germany is a classic example of using a business model that is not applicable in terms of the market it is applied in. A look into the facets that represented a contribution to the foregoing entails delving into the market entry strategies as well as operational tactics that were employed, with the foregoing compared with market entry and expansion theories as well as practices. Wal-Mart's entry into Germany represented the fact that it has the largest market in Europe as represented by its population, strong economic underpinnings, affluence of its citizens as well as the awareness of products made in the United States (United States Department of Agriculture, 2004)5. Germany ranks third internationally in terms of consumer food expenditures (United States Department of Agriculture, 2004)6. Critical recommendations as offered by the United States Department of

Ethical Dilemma Faced in Combat Essay Example for Free

Ethical Dilemma Faced in Combat Essay When two primary values are conflicting there should be a good ethics code to serve as an arbiter. Ethical dilemma is therefore said to arise when there are two primary values conflicting in an individual for example a solider is supposed to be with his family but at the same time he is required to protect the government from enemies and enforce laws. During work he must choose between killing the enemy to protect the state or have mercy on the enemy at the expense of state security. The solider now is having a series of conflicting principles should he be at home with his family or not, if he is on duty should he attack and kill the enemy or should he leave his nation to be conquered? Ethical dilemma is therefore defined as the conflict between two important ethical values or perspectives, for example conflict between ones professional values and personal values, or it may be the conflict between the values held by different people (Cohen 2007). Ethical dilemma involving two people with different perspectives is typical between a doctor and a patient where the patient feels he is having the right not to take medication but the doctor feels that professionally he is entitled to prevent his patient from making this decision that may harm his life. For the US combats it is the professional value conflicting the personal value for example should they kill or not and if so what are the possible consequences. Further on the soldiers are supposed to be with their families but they cannot because they are somewhere in Iraq, Sudan, Israel and other parts of the world keeping peace or protecting the state from possible enemies like the alqueda terrorist group. Combats are the military personnel that are trained by the US military defense section to provide both physical and ideological services needed to fight any enemy of the state. With continued increase in global insecurity these combats are trained to deal with the enemy in the most brutal way possible even if it means killing the enemy. This kind of training makes the solders to develop poor ethical relations with other people more so anybody thought to be an enemy of the federal government will not be treated with any dignity by the combats. These people are always prone to great violations of human bioethical values because many a times they are killed mercilessly in cold blood. The US military ethics and standards of conduct, gives guidelines to military personnel including the combats on the codes of conduct and military ethics to be followed to the letter by any personnel. Violation of the US punitive military provision by any personnel may result to the prosecution of the offender under â€Å" The Uniform Cord of Military justice†. The US combats together with other service groups are supposed to direct their service and support to engage the US’s enemy in fight and offer state security at all costs. They are always organized to operate as a single unit under a one commander who is entitled to give orders on how to combat the enemy as well as how to protect the state at the same time. Within this unit there are the military doctors who are responsible for the wounded or sick combats but within the military medical ethics. The ethical values to be upheld by the combats are honesty, integrity, accountability, fairness, loyalty, respect, caring and promise keeping to the state fellow combats and the citizens. This applies to all the combats from the commander to juniors including the military medical officer. However studies have revealed that â€Å"Mixed Agency† and â€Å"conflicting loyalty† is as common in combats as it is in civilians with malicious combats justifying their acts to protection of the state leaving the straight forward ones in ethical dilemmas since they have to be loyal to the state, they have to kill (Beam 2005). The ethical dilemmas facing the combats include conflict in military ethics and health ethics, bioethics, human psychological ethics as well as military medical ethics. Therefore the combats are left in huge dilemmas on how to address each specific value with respect to their professional ethics that is the military ethics. One of the commanders in Iraq was reported to have accepted that actually in the battlefield they were at dilemma not with the bioethical value of the enemy or the civilians but also amongst the combats themselves. He said that it is actually it was not a simple matter to kill or to be killed, however the soldiers have to think about their fellow soldiers, their country and the reason why they have gone for war. If the leave the enemy to kill their fellow soldiers because they sympathize with the enemy, the soldiers are considered compromising the military ethics. If they kill the enemy they are considered war criminals before the law concerned with international human rights. The soldier are then expected to protect the interests of their fellow soldier and their nation but without compromising the interest of the civilians in war torn nations or the interest of the war lords they fight with for example the taliban group in Iraq. However those feeling the pinch of the dilemma here are the commanders, they have to put soldiers to battle knowing very well that deaths will occur but there is nothing they can do because they will do everything within their powers to save the lives of the soldiers the can not accomplish the mission. Continued war all over the world sees the combats being sent to various destinations this has by far added greater dimensions to the combat’s ethical dilemmas. With increased injuries and deaths the soldiers do not know where to start and end because the dilemma now is actually seen in their lives versus the profession. The US military ethics does not offer any guideline on whether to withhold treatment from soldiers with severe brain injuries or not, the military doctors are the in turn faced with a very complicated moral and ethical dilemma. Here the doctor must choose between treating the worst and disturbing wounds he has ever seen or to let his fellow soldier to die in the battlefields like Iraq. In these situations the military doctor are obsessed with keeping the wounded soldiers alive even if the wound is so serious something they would not have done in US. The military ethics back in US calls for immediate termination of life in such cases or an amputation if any of the limbs is involved, but in the war tone Iraq the military doctors are doing exactly the opposite of what is expected of them. Recently heated debates were witnessed across the states to discuss the position of women in US combat many people were against the view that females should be part of the team while others were supporting it by citing the great roles played by German women to fight the Nazi wars in the post war Germany. However the main ethical dilemma facing the women is to choose between going to war to protect their nation from enemies or to remain at home to care for the family. But if they go to war will they be safe in regard to their male counter pats in issues regarding sexual harassments and equality. To avoid these dilemmas there should be a well-defined ethics code to guard everybody getting involved with the soldiers for example there should be a specific line to differentiate military ethics and Bioethics or military ethics and medical ethics. The soldiers should adopt military role specific ethic which only favor military interest exclusively and the medical ethics should also be exclusive to patients. No mixing up agency should occur in the different values. When it comes to killing for example its a military ethics that a soldier whom is expected to be injured to recover should be shot dead, a soldier who betrays the federal government should also face the same but what of bioethics, is really right to kill? The soldiers should therefore be vigilant not to act inhumanly, they should learn to be flexible in their actions not to be influenced by fellow soldiers or even the state but should consider the values of the people they meet in war. The combats should also develop the skills of listening and learning from the mistakes made in the past by them or colleagues to avoid making any further errors. They should also learn to make their own decisions regardless of the unexpected situations they encounter in the battlefields and act accordingly with regard to military ethics and other moral ethics.

Transforming Rehabilitation: Effect on Offender Management

Transforming Rehabilitation: Effect on Offender Management Transforming Rehabilitation will improve the Effectiveness, Governance and Legitimacy of Offender Management in England and Wales Introduction The aim of this paper is to examine Transforming Rehabilitation in terms of its effectiveness, governance and legitimacy. Starting out with an explanation of legitimacy and introducing The Carter Report 2003 and its recommendations. Moving on to explain some of the needs for a change in practice, and an insight of some of the views from probation staff themselves and perceptions of negatively withering away of staff. Importantly, there are some explanation of theory, especially regarding desistance and more recently the emergence of The Good Lives Model, as a continuation of The Risk Needs Responsivity model. The explanation regarding some of the outcomes expected by TR, and the need for modernisation. As part of TR a Fee for Service and Payment by Results are explained, with the use of charts for the reader. Managing risk is an important part of the proposed changes and a change in direction to promoting desistance. Overarching drivers legitimacy and the need to implement change The term governance is a very old one, but it has been revitalized recently, and has become perhaps one of the most appealing concepts in social science, meaning a new notion reformed, associated with government and public administration.   Regarding TR, this may be perceived by many detractors as a case of â€Å"new wine in old bottles† Chui and Nellis (2003). Governance has been widely used in local governance. In the case of TR, the popularity of governance may have something to do with distrust about the government.   That said, The Social Exclusion Unit posited that, recommendations from The Carter Report (2003) stated that despite recent changes that have brought the management of the services closer together, no front-line organisation ultimately owns the target for reducing re-offending. This can lead to gaps in the system, for example, there is no joint national resettlement strategy and interventions in prison are often not followed up in the community, (Social E xclusion Unit 2002). This in turn leads to reconsideration of the traditional theories of public administration. Self-confidence of traditional public administration has been destroyed and it has faced an ‘identity crisis.’ Public administration, which has been supposed to be a powerful tool for solving social problems, falls down to a serious social problem itself. As a result, many theories have been proposed as alternatives to the traditional public, Ostrom (1986). The case for an innovative approach to offender management is quite clear cut, as the previous attempts have been deemed costly. It is stated that in the UK more than  £3bn is spent every year on prisons, and almost  £1bn annually on delivering sentences in the community, MOJ (2013). Despite this, overall reoffending rates have barely changed over the last decade and the same faces are seemingly reappearing back through the system. Almost half of all offenders released from custody in 2010 reoffended within a year. Over 6000 offenders sentenced to short custodial sentences of less than 12 months in the year to June 2012 had previously received more than 10 community sentences, yet gaps in the sentencing framework mean very little can be done to prevent them from returning to crime once they are released back into the community MOJ, (2013). In 2014, under the Transforming Rehabilitation (TR) changes MOJ, (2013), and Probation Trusts were split into the National Probation Service (NPS) which became part of the civil service and 21 Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) which were subject to marketisation and a commercial tendering process, as seen in Fig.1. with their Contract Package Areas (CPA).   After the bidding process was completed in 2014, eleven CRCs were owned by private sector companies leading a partnership with third sector organisations, three were joint ventures between the private, public, and third sector, three were a public, private, and third sector partnership; two were owned by the private sector exclusively; and another two were equity joint ventures between the private and third sectors (Deering and Feilzer 2015, p.13). Fig.1. CPA Map showing the 21 Contract Package Areas On 29 October 2014, the MoJ announced its preferred bidders to run the Community Rehabilitation Companies in these areas. Here are the successful bidders and as seen in Fig.2. Sodexo and NACRO have been successful in six CRCsInterserve who are leading partnerships in five CRCsMTCNovo, a Joint Venture between MTC and a number of other organisations,  have won London and Thames Valley.Working Links are the preferred bidders in three CRCs.The Reducing Reoffending Partnership   is a Joint Venture between Ingeus, St Giles Trust and CRI, who will run the two large Midlands CRCs , being Staffs & West Midlands and Derby, Leicester, Nottinghamshire & Rutland). Webster (2017) Fig.2. Showing winning bidders in the Contract Package Areas Clearly the changes imposed because of TR have had the potentia to affect all three types of legitimacy, but perhaps particularly more so upon self- legitimacy. (Robinson, Burke and Millings , 2016) Around 50% of all crime is committed by individuals who have already known by criminal justice system (CJS). The cost to the taxpayer of reoffending is estimated to be  £9.5 to  £13 billion per year. There has been little positive change in reconviction rates and almost half of those released from prison go on to reoffend within 12 months. The need to reduce reoffending to reduce both the number of victims and the costs to the taxpayer. To achieve this, there is a need to adopt a tough but intelligent criminal justice system that punishes people properly when they break the law, but also supports them so they don’t commit crime in the future. (MOJ, 2015) Others are more guarded in the way they anticipate the future of TR, and Canton (2011) in particular, stresses the importance of what the probation service continues to represent and its values, such as belief in the possibility of change and social inclusion. McNeill (2011) characterises probation as a justice agency, with key roles in advocating for probationers in relation to access to social goods that have been denied and mediating between law breakers, their communities and social institutions. This ideal view contrasts with the reality of delivering community sanctions in a tough penal climate dominated by public protection, which is one of Liz Truss’s key priorities, with a reduction of violence to staff currently running at 40% and a spotlight on education as the 3rd priority, especially English and Maths, MOJ (2017). McNeill also argues that it is critical for the long-term legitimacy and credibility of probation. At this point in time, it may be uncertain as to whether a doom-ridden or a phoenix-rising vision of the probation future is more likely to come about, although some truths may be gathered from empirical evidence gathered from probation officers and trainees.   There seems to be a great deal of optimism on one side of the camp for TR, as to how the recent changes will be implemented, but on the other side, a great deal of pessimism regarding the implementation of TR. NAPO (National Association of Probation Officers) and UNISON, (Public Sector Trade Union), collectively had made their feelings known. They both stated that a large majority of the 17,000 probation staff refer to TR as a â€Å"catalogue of errors† in terms of staff assignment, a mismatch between workload, staffing levels and staff location, compromised risk management, reduced IT capability with NOMS, nDelius case management system, although C-NOMIS already had inherent problems as seen in fig.3. Increased bureaucracy and a huge rise in the use of temporary and sessional staff were deemed to be the main problems. High performing Probation Trusts have been replaced with poorly performing replacements. (NAPO and UNISON, 2017). The probation staff were quick to point out that they were not to blame for the errors. Regarding the use of temporary and sessional staff will aid the ability to be dynamic and cope with peaks and troughs. The use of the voluntary sector with CRC’s may also be a sticking point with regular probation staff, although as stated by John Podmore, professor of applied social sciences, â€Å"NOMS was never an organisation that its employees proudly declared they belonged to. Creating a National Prison and Probation Service that people aspire to join and importantly to stay in and develop skills and careers is a crucial step forward. But it must be much more than just name change†, Podmore (2017). Lizz Truss, current Minister of Justice as of April 2017, was keen to promote the newly created Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service with the following   bold statement, â€Å"The creation of HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS), will build a world-leading, specialist agency, dedicated to professionalising the prison and probation workforce, backed by an additional  £100m a year and 2,500 additional prison officers, with a  £1.3 bn budget to build new prisons, whilst at the same time closing old and inefficient prisons†, Truss (2017).    Scepticism may be in the forefronts of most of the staff affected by the new era dawning, as previous ministers, namely Mr Gove and Mr Grayling had somewhat seemed to have   failed in their primary objectives for a reformed and efficient joined up agency. Fig.3.Assesemnt of C-NOMIS National Audit Office 2009 The Need for Change Accounts of the origins of probation and its realisation in organisational form give different emphases to its role in social justice, redemption, and control or separation of ‘suspect populations’ from respectable society (Vanstone, 2004). The history of the service has frequently been described in terms of ‘phases’, one notable example suggesting that it moved from the missionary phase through welfare and diversion from custody phases towards more recent orientations towards punishment in the community and then public protection (Chui and Nellis, 2003). The reality of practice is less straightforward, although changes in social and political norms certainly mean that the problem of offending, and, inevitably, law-breakers becomes enclosed by practitioners in different terms. Redeemable, treatable or unmanageable, safe or risky, motivated or unmotivated, (Canton, 2011: 29). With current reference to offender management stated that ,   rather than probation supervisionas the dominant way of describing the work of the probation service is a case in point. To what extent does this represent a real shift towards a technocratic and business-like approach? Or does the term seek to mask the essential continuity in both human interactions between probation officers and probationers, and the normalising function benevolent or otherwise of probation? These questions are certainly not settled. Yet, in the face of the Transforming Rehabilitationreforms (MoJ, 2013a: MoJ, 2013b), they become highly significant when we consider the practices and values that might transfer out of the probation service into the new Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) ,as staff move from one to the other. They are also relevant in anticipating what motivations and values might guide this new version of the NPS, tightly focused on work with higher risk offenders and in the courts to assist sentencing and enforcement procedures. From a critical perspective, Cavadino et.al.(2013: 134) fear the ‘withering away’ of supervision of probationers and even question the Transforming Rehabilitation, or transforming the occupational identity of probation workers? Theory (Desistance) As far back as the 1800’s, the French social scientist, Quetelet (1833), argued that the penchant for crime diminishes with age because of what was described as the â€Å"enfeeblement of physical vitality†. Given that one of the aims of the Criminal Justice System is to reduce crime, then does Transforming Rehabilitation support this? Desistance is one of the mechanisms that can aid TR, however desistance is a complicated process of many twist and turns on that journey to desist from offending. Transforming Rehabilitation is now well under way and reports on its success will be under much scrutiny in the coming months ahead. Desistance from crime, is described as the long-term abstinence from criminal behaviour among those for whom offending had become a pattern of behaviour, is something of a mystery. Producing or encouraging desistance is the implicit focus of much criminal justice policy, practice and research. It is one of the key outcomes that justice interventions are designed to achieve and much research treats reducing or ending offending as a key measure of effectiveness, McNeill et. al. (2012). One of the few near eventualities in criminal justice is that for many individuals, offending behaviour peaks in their teenage years, and then starts to decline. This pattern is represented in what is known as the age crime curve. The age crime curve is of a symmetrical bell shaped curve that shows the prevalence’s of offending, that peaks between the ages of 15 – 19 and declines in the 20’s, Farrington (1986). Studies of desistance illuminate the processes of change associated with the age-crime curve (Kazemian, 2007). If we are to understand desistance from crime, particularly how and why crime tails off over time, we need both testable theories of this process and empirical evidence. There is a significant evidence base on the causes of crime but desistance research suggests that the factors behind the onset of offending are often different than the factors behind its abandonment. Understanding desistance also has more subtle impacts on criminal justice debates. The most current version of The Good Lives Model, incorporates desistance theory and also elements of positive psychology Laws and Ward (2011), is strength based regarding the premise that humans are by nature, practical decision makers, who invariably adapt themselves to their environment. In relation to desistance, Maruna (2001), described what he coined the Pygmalion effect, stated that the elevated expectations of others will lead to a greater self-belief, aiding the process of ‘knifing off’, or cutting off bonds with their criminal past. In order to achieve these goals, a great deal of emphasis on social capital or opportunities and human capital or motivations and capacities, McNeill (2006) are necessary elements to aid primary and secondary desistance. With respect to the GLM as to its effectiveness, research into this model is rather ambivalent and rather scarce to date to be able to measure the evidence. Offender Management Outcomes Kirton and Guillame (2015), argue that staff feel that TR has deprofessionalized the service and that stress levels are high, due to higher workloads, job insecurity, less autonomy and reduced opportunities for training and progression. Many respondents in their study were considering leaving the service. Moreover, responses to the Ministry of Justice’s (2016) Civil Service People Surveyfor the NPS suggest that only a minority of NPS staff feel that they are involved in decisions that affect their work (38%); that poor performance is dealt with effectively in their team (35%); that there are learning and development opportunities (42%); and that there are career opportunities in the NPS (33%). The NOMS Offender Management Model is the product of bringing together the policy requirements and the messages from research and other evidence, and defining what these together mean for the principles of how NOMS will go about managing individual offenders. It is the bridge between the broad brush strokes of policy, and the finer detail of practice. It forms part of NOMS’ commissioning framework, setting out the broad specification for the approach it expects those managing individual offenders to deploy, and acting as the basis for the development of Standards and performance measures, NOMS (2006). Post Carter report, this was simply a reply from this by concentrating on key themes like modernisation in the form of New Public Management (NPM), trying to control the increasing population in the prison system and by trying to find solutions to the lack of communication between services under the umbrella of probation supervision and prison and probation. Payment by Results Fig.4. Key Components of Fee For Service Mechanism   The MOJ sets out the mechanisms of FFS: Fee For Service (FFS) is payment for mandated activities that deliver through the gate services, (TTG), the sentence of the court and licence conditions to time and quality. A recognition that volume risk, that is the risk that providers are required to deliver services for a larger or smaller number of offenders than expected has been raised as a serious concern, and therefore the risk needs to be shared between Government and providers. The FFS component will therefore be a fixed price for services with a volume related adjustment where changes to volume levels fall outside of an appropriately determined tolerance range, as seen in FIig.4. above. This volume tolerance range recognises that the likely reason for a significantincrease or decrease in volume is most likely to be due to external factors not within the control of a provider. Payment by Results (PbR) seems to be an ideal mechanism in TR, particularly in the current economic climate and under a government which is so keen, to reduce public expenditure, but also to reduce the scale of the public sector, and innovative because possible failings may allow to transfer the costs to private companies involved.   Fox and Albertson (2011) stated, there are other potential benefits to PbR. The sheer possibility of making profits is expected to bring new providers into the field. This, combined with a financial incentive to achieve outcomes, is then expected to increase competition, sweep away unnecessary bureaucracy, and increase the desire to innovate. leading to a better understanding of what is effective, possibly leading to lower unit costs thus allowing for an element of profit to be paid. This is expected to facilitate the involvement of smaller providers who may not have the financial resources to sustain a service over several years while waiting for their results to be evident and their payments to be triggered. In all, if implemented properly then a huge success for private companies involved in TR. Fig.5.Illustration of payment curve incorporating stretch targets. Managing Risk One also must bear in mind that the priority given to different purposes is likely to vary over time. Countries can change their penal philosophies, with different purposes and emphases being put on the role of probation within criminal justice. Kemshall (2010) and others, for example, have argued that, in the last decade or so, more emphasis has been placed on public protection and minimizing risk in England and Wales, with a linked priority on enforcement of breach. The government’s new consultation document, ‘Breaking the cycle: effective punishment, rehabilitation and sentencing of offenders’ may see a swing back towards rehabilitation and promoting desistance, whilst promoting community sentences for less serious offences and without compromising public protection (Ministry of Justice 2010). Fig.6.Prochaska and DiClemente’s Cycle of Change Model Conclusion Lessons from the Thatcher government (1979–1990) taught us that her government targeted the large public sector organisations involved in the provision of utilities whom they presented as being inefficient, over-bureaucratic and unresponsive because they were not subjected to the ‘discipline’ of the market, such as the prison service. However, there was also the realisation that selling those public entities, who were profitable by virtue of their monopoly position, afforded a short-term opportunity to raise revenues, lower taxation and reduce public sector borrowing, now seen again in a Conservative government, Annison et.al. (2014). Do we state the obvious or is it a case of Deja vou? In this respect, it is worth remembering that earlier initiatives introduced by the previous Labour government to address this issue – such as the NOMS and Custody Plus3 were subsequently abandoned on the grounds of the costs involved. At the heart of the government’s TR rhetoric is the idea of innovation, however as in some cases a phone call every 6 weeks from a CRC to a low risk offender may not be seen this way. TR has been communicated from the top down as an opportunity for providers of probation services to liberate themselves from central control and develop creative, effective solutions to the problem of reoffending (Ministry of Justice 2013a; 2013b).   The question of perceptual legitimacy, internal, external, and self- legitimacy has become a core site of debate for probation. Bradford and Quinton’s (2014) conditions for self-legitimacy, namely levels of attachment to the new organizations, the internalization of organizational goals, a sense of being supported by the organization, and a belief that probation staff in both the CRCs and the NPS remain legitimate holders of authority. As David Cameron once remarked whilst Prime Minister, ‘finding diamonds in the rough and letting them shine’. With effective rehabilitation methods in place and joined up working principles, maybe optimistically, we just might see many shining lights, and hail the implementation of Transforming Rehabilitation. References Annison, J., Burke, L. and Senior, P. (2014), ‘Transforming Rehabilitation: Another Example of English ‘Exceptionalism’ or a Blueprint for the Rest of Europe?’ European Journal of Probation, 6: 6–23. Bradford, B. and Quinton, P. (2014) ’Self-legitimacy, police culture and support for democratic policing in an English constabulary’, British Journal of Criminology, 54, 1023–46. Canton, R. (2011) Probation: Working with offenders Abingdon: Routledge Cavadino, M., Dignan, J. and Mair, G. (2013) The penal system: An introduction London: Sage. Chui, W.H. and Nellis, M. (2003) ‘Creating the National Probation Service – new wine, old bottles? In W.H. Chui, and M. Nellis (eds) Moving probation forward: Evidence, arguments and practice Harlow: Pearson. Deering, J. and Feilzer, M.Y. (2015) Privatizing Probation: Is Transforming Rehabilitation the End of the Probation Ideal? Bristol: Policy Press. Farrington, D.P (1986) ‘Age and crime’ in Tonry, M. and Morris, N. (Eds) Crime and justice: An annual review of research Vol 7, pp189-250. Fox, C. and Albertson, K. (2011) Payment by results and social impact bonds in the criminal justice sector: New challenges for the concept of evidence-based policy?, Criminology & Criminal Justice, 11 (5) 395-413. Kemshall, H. (2010). ‘The role of risk, needs and strengths assessment in improving supervision’, in F. McNeill, P. Raynor and C. Trotter (eds.) Offender supervision: new directions in theory, research and practice. Abingdon: Willan. Kirton, G., and Guillaume, C., (2015). Employment Relations and Working Conditions in Probation after Transforming Rehabilitation. Available at: https//www.napo.org.uk/advice-and -resource(Accessed 24 April 2017). Looman, J., & Abracen, J. (2013). The risk need responsivity model of offender rehabilitation: Is there really a need for a paradigm shift?  International Journal of Behavioral Consultation and Therapy, 8(3-4), 30-36. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/h0100980 McNeill, F. (2011) ‘Probation, Credibility and Justice’ in Probation Journal Vol 58(1): 9-22 McNeill, F., Farrall, S., Lightowler, C., and Maruna, S. (2012) How and why people stop offending: discovering desistance. Other. Institute for Research and Innovation in Social Services. Maruna, S. (2001). Making good: How ex-convicts reform and rebuild their lives. Washington D.C.: American Psychological Association. Ministry of Justice (2010). Breaking the cycle: effective punishment, rehabilitation and sentencing of offenders.   London: Ministry of Justice. Ministry of Justice (2013a) Transforming Rehabilitation: A Strategy for Reform London: MoJ. Ministry of Justice (2013b) Transforming Rehabilitation: Target operating model, rehabilitation programme London: MoJ. Ministry of Justice (2016) Civil Service People Survey 2016:   The National Probation Service.https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/ file/573656/nps-people-survery-results-2016.pdf (accessed 26 April 2016). National Audit Office (2002), Reducing Prisoner Reoffending. Ostrom, E. (1986). An Agenda for the Study of Institutions. Public Choice. 48(1): 3-25. Podmore, J., (2017). http://thejusticegap.com/2017/02/farewell-noms-need-name-change/. Website [accessed 24 April 2017]. Social Exclusion Unit (2002). Reducing Re-offending by ex -Prisoners. Vanstone, M. (2004) Supervising offenders in the community: A history of probation theory and practice Aldershot: Ashgate. Bibliography Fig.1. CPA Map showing the 21 Contract Package Areas Fig2. System Governance Fig.3.Assesemnt of C-NOMIS National Audit Office 2009 Fig.4. Key Components of Fee for Service Mechanism Fig.5.Illustration of payment curve incorporating stretch targets. Fig.6.Prochaska and DiClemente’s Cycle of Change Model

The Bible: The Book of Daniel Essay -- Religion, Nebuchadnezzar

Traditionally, a prophet gives a message from God to His people. Another way Daniel sways from being a typical Old Testament Prophet is that He interprets God’s messages, yet sometimes he was not the original recipient of the message. A vision, dream, or miraculous event happens and Daniel is called in to give an interpretation of what God’s message is in this happening. As Daniel was like John in the book of Revelation with his writing style, he is much like Joseph in the book of Genesis in his prophetical style. Another difficulty for Hebrew scripture is that these pagan Gentile leaders were the ones to whom God originally imparted His visions. In some circumstances, Daniel was called to miraculously tell the details of the vision before giving his God given interpretation. It is no wonder that even if Daniel was available to be put into the prophetic section, a staunch Israelite would not have placed him in this area. His prophecies and writing are focused upon Gent iles. He uses an apocalyptic literary style and on top of this His messages are not always delivered to Him from God in a normal prophetical style. In chapter seven, Daniel dreams a dream of four beasts. The first is like a winged lion, the second is like a bear with three ribs in its mouth, the third is a four headed, four winged leopard, and the last one is the worst of all and destroys the first three. It has ten horns and a small eleventh horn comes up and yanks out three of the horns. This little horn had eyes and a mouth. The vision is interpreted for Daniel. The four beasts are four kingdoms. The fourth kingdom will be greater than all the previous kingdoms and its ten horns represent the ten kings of that kingdom. The eleventh king will subdue three of th... ... that the part which would be the breast and the arms of silver will crush the former kingdoms just as iron crushes in real life. The kingdom will retain some of its strength, but as it moves into the feet, it is now a divided kingdom. Just as it retains some of its strength, the clay shows that it has gained some weakness. The iron and clay mingled shows the inner mingling of these peoples. The final image in the dream is the stone that becomes a mountain and engulfs the entire world. This is not only the fifth but it is also the final kingdom made by God that will never be taken over by another kingdom. It also will end all other kingdoms. Daniel ends his interpretation and recollection of the dream by saying, â€Å"the great God has made known to the king what will take place in the future; so the dream is true, and its interpretation is trustworthy† (Daniel 2:45).

Memo to Ceo

Our goal is to inspire, engage and develop our people to unleash full potential as individuals and as an organization. The organizational components of the hospital are its governing board, administration, the nursing staff and other key personnel. Each group has primary responsibilities specific to the nature of their function. However, each group share common Interests with others and must work cooperatively on issues such as long range planning, budgeting, capital equipment acquisition, facilities design, maintenance, and quality assurance.According to Giuliani (2004) decentralization is a structure that would promote better-informed decision-making, ensure effective articulation. Additionally, decentralization encourages self-sustainability and enable greater of understanding of local needs as well as better use of local resources and growth potentials for improving productivity and increased quality of care.Being cognizant of how Select Medicals' decentralized structure function s will help to formulate effective strategies for improvement. There are crucial responsibilities In the organizing of Select Specialty. The Governing Board represents corporate leadership and ownership. The Governing Board address legal and regulatory manliness, Investments and business procedures, allowably Insurance, gulden and directing the organization, and establishing its policies and for charting its future course.Of crucial importance is the need for the governing board to ensure that specific organizational goals and philosophies are identified so that all parties have a clear understanding of why the institution exists and what goals everyone should be working toward. The Administrator is responsible for the implementation of the Board's policy in the daily operations of the hospital. While the board is primarily unconcerned with whether the hospital will do well, the administrator is responsible for how it will be achieved.Typically the administrator focuses on hiring, o rganizing and supervising personnel and staff, designing and implementing proper policies and procedures, and allocating resources efficiently. The nursing staff and other key staff are responsible for caring out the interventions prescribed by the physician according to polices and procedures designed by the Governing Board. The staff team approach works to identify all of the patient's medical conditions, devise he administrator is the liaison between the Governing Board and the rest of the organization.The identification and knowledge of Selects structure and functionality will assist in developing a strategic plan that will be in align with the vision, mission and objectives of the organization. Please feel free to contact me. Best regards, Michelle Frank References Giuliani, V. S. (2004). Decentralization of Health Care: Understanding the Relationship Between Values, Social Interaction and Health Policy. Conference Papers American Sociological Association, 1 . Dot: as_proceedin g_35637. PDF

martial Essay Example

martial Essay Example martial Essay martial Essay Martial arts From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search The martial art of boxing was practiced in the ancient Thera. Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practices, which are practiced for a variety of reasons: self-defense, competition, physical health and fitness, entertainment, as well as mental, physical, and spiritual development. Although the term martial art has become heavily associated with the fighting arts of eastern Asia, it was originally used in regard to the combat systems of Europe as early as the 1 550s. An English fencing manual of 1639 used the term in reference pecifically to the Science and Art of swordplay. The term is ultimately derived from Latin, and means arts of Mars, where Mars is the Roman god of war. [l] Some authors, most notably Donn F. Draeger, have argued that fghting arts or fghting systems would be more appropriate on the basis that many martial arts were never martial in the sense of being used or created by professional warriors. [2] Contents 1 Variation and scope 1. 1 By technical focus 1. 2 By application or intent 2 History 2. 1 Historical martial arts 2. Folk styles 2. 3 Modern history 3 Testing and competition 3. 1 Light- and medium-contact . 2 Full-contact 3. 3 Martial Sport 4 Health and fitness benefits 5 Self-defense, military and law enforcement applications 6. 1 Martial arts fraud 7 See also 7. 1 Equipment 8 References Variation and scope 6 Martial arts industry Martial arts may be categorized along a variety of criteria, including: Traditional or histo rical arts and contemporary styles of folk wrestling vs. modern hybrid martial arts. Regional origin, especially Eastern Martial Arts vs. Western Martial Arts Techniques taught: Armed vs. narmed, and within these groups by type of weapon (swordsmanship, stick fghting etc. and by type of combat (grappling vs. striking; stand-up fighting vs. ground fighting) By application or intent: self- defense, combat sport, choreography or demonstration of forms, physical fitness, meditation, etc. Within Chinese tradition: external vs. internal styles By technical focus Unarmed Unarmed martial arts can be broadly grouped into focusing on strikes, those focusing on grappling and those that cover both fields, often described as hybrid martial arts. Strikes Punching: Boxing (Western), Wing Chun Kicking: Capoeira, Kickboxing, Taekwondo, Savate Others using strikes: Karate, Muay Thai, Sanshou Grappling Throwing: Jujutsu, Aikido, Hapkido, Judo, Sambo Joint lock/Chokeholds/Submission holds: Judo, Jujutsu, Aikido, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Hapkido Pinning Techniques: Jujutsu, Judo, Wrestling, Sambo Another key delineation of unarmed martial arts is the use of power and strength- based techniques (as found in boxing, kickboxing, karate, taekwondo and so on) vs. echniques that almost exclusively use the opponents own energy/balance against them (as in Tai chi chuan, aikido, hapkido and aiki Jiu Jitsu and similar). Another way to view this division is to consider the differences between arts where Power and Speed are the main keys to success vs. arts that rely to a much greater extent on correct body-mechanics and the balance of the practitioners energy with that of the opponent. In all such delineations, aspects of many arts, if not most, c an fall within both camps, regardless of which way the defining line is viewed (striking vs. rappling or power vs. energy/balance). Most arts have features on both sides of any such dividing line. Weapon-based Those traditional martial arts which train armed combat often encompass a wide spectrum of melee weapons, including bladed weapons and polearms. Such raditions include eskrima, silat, kalaripayat, kobudo, and historical European martial arts, especially those of the German Renaissance. Many Chinese martial arts also feature weapons as part of their curriculum. Sometimes, training with one specific weapon will be considered a style of martial arts in its own right, which is especially the case in Japanese martial arts with disciplines such as kenJutsu and kendo (sword), boJutsu (stafO, and kyudo (archery). Similarly, modern Western martial arts and sports include modern fencing, stick- fghting systems like canne de combat or singlestick, and modern competitive rchery. By application or intent Combat-oriented Main articles: Combat sport and Self-defense Many martial arts, especially those from Asia, also teach side disciplines which pertain to medicinal practices. This is particularly prevalent in traditional Indian martial arts which may teach bone-setting, and other aspects of traditional Indian medicine. [3] Martial arts can also be linked with religion and spirituality. Numerous systems are reputed to have been founded, disseminated, or practiced by monks or nuns. For example, gatka is a weapon-based Indian martial art created by the Sikhs of the Punjab region of India. Japanese styles, when concerning non-physical qualities of the combat, are often strongly influenced by Mahayana Buddhist philosophy. Concepts like empty mind and beginners mind are recurrent. Aikido, for instance, can have a strong philosophical belief of the flow of energy and peace fostering, as idealised by its founder Morihei Ueshiba. Traditional Korean martial arts place emphasis on the development of the practitioners spiritual and philosophical development. A common theme in most Korean styles, such as taekkyeon and taekwondo, is the value of inner peace in a ractitioner, which is stressed to be only achieved through individual meditation and training. As with most other East Asian martial arts, the Koreans believe that the use of physical force is only Justified through defense. Systema draws upon breathing and relaxation techniques, as well as elements of Russian Orthodox thought, to foster self-conscience and calmness, and to benefit the practitioner in different levels: the physical, the psychological and the spiritual. [4] Some martial arts in various cultures can be performed in dance-like settings for various reasons, such as for evoking ferocity in preparation for battle or showing off kill in a more stylized manner. Many such martial arts incorporate music, especially strong percussive rhythms. (See also war dance. ) History Pankratiasts fighting under the eyes of a Judge. Side B of a Panathenaic prize amphora, c. 500 BC. Main article: History of martial arts Further information: Martial arts timeline Historical martial arts Main articles: History of Asian martial arts and Historical European martial arts Further information: History of boxing and History of fencing The oldest work of art depicting scenes of battle, dating back 3400 was the Ancient Egyptian paintings showing some form of struggle comparable to the stocks; 6] and dating back 3000 BC in Mesopotamia (Babylon), reliefs and the poems of the first signs of a struggle were found. 6][7] In Vietnam, dug drawings and sketches from 2879 BC certain ways of combat combined with the use of a sword, stick, bow, and spears. [6] Chinese martial arts originated during the Xia Dynasty more than 4000 years ago. It is said the Yellow Emperor Huangdi (legendary date of ascension 2698 BC) introduced the earliest fghting systems to China. The Yellow Emperor is described as a famous general who, before becomin g Chinas leader, wrote lengthy treatises on medicine, strology and the martial arts. One of his main opponents was Chi You who was credited as the creator of Jiao d, a forerunner to the modern art of Chinese wrestling. The foundation of modern Asian martial arts is likely a blend of early Chinese and Indian martial arts. During the Warring States period of Chinese history (480-221 BC) extensive development in martial philosophy and strategy emerged, as described by Sun Tzu in The Art of War (c. 350 Legendary accounts link the origin of Shaolinquan to the spread of Buddhism from India during the early 5th century AD, with the fgure of Bodhidharma, to China. [9] In Europe, the earliest sources of martial arts traditions date to Ancient Greece. Boxing (pygme, pyx), wrestling (pale) and pankration were represented in the Ancient Olympic Games. The Romans produced gladiatorial combat as a public spectacle. A number of historical combat manuals have survived from the European Middle Ages. This includes such styles as sword and shield, two-handed swordfghting and other types of melee weapons besides unarmed combat. The most famous of these is Johannes Lichtenauers Fechtbuch (Fencing book) of the 14th century, which today forms the basis of the German school of swordsmanship. Likewise, Asian martial arts become well-documented during the medieval period, Japanese martial arts beginning with the establishment of the samurai nobility in the 12th century, Chinese martial arts with Ming era treatises such as Ji Xiao Xin Shu, Indian martial arts in medieval texts such as the Agni Purana and the Malla Purana, and Korean martial artsTaekkyeon from the Joseon era and texts such as MuyeJebo (1598). Historical martial arts in both Asia and Europe are mostly based on such records of the late medieval to early modern period (1 5th to 17th centuries; see also Kory). European swordsmanship was trained for duels until the Napoleonic era, and developed into sport fencing during the 19th century. Modern boxing originates with Jack Broughtons rules in the 18th century, and reaches its present form with the Marquess of Queensberry Rules of 1867. Europes colonization of Asian countries also brought about a decline in local martial arts, especially with the introduction of firearms. This can clearly be seen in India after the full establishment of British Raj in the 19th century. [10] Similar phenomena occurred in Southeast Asian colonies such as Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines. Folk styles Main article: Folk wrestling All over the world, there are traditional styles of folk wrestling, and in some cases also stick fighting, rooted in local culture and folklore. In East and Southeast Asia, these are forms such as Korean, Khmer or Mongolian wrestling and Japanese sumo, in South and Southwest Asia Indo-Persian Pehlwani and Dravidian malla-yuddha, in Central and Western Asia Turkic (Uzbek, Tatar) styles; in Europe, there are Icelandic, Swiss and various English wrestling traditions. African folk wrestling includes the West African style of Lutte Traditionnelle. While these arts are based on historical traditions of folklore, they are not historical in the sense that they reconstruct or preserve a historical system from a specific era. They are rather contemporary regional sports that coexist with the modern forms of martial arts sports as they have developed since the 19th century, often including cross-fertilization between sports and folk styles; thus, the traditional Thai style of muay boran developed into the modern national sport of muay Thai, which in turn came to be practiced worldwide and contributed significantly to modern hybrid styles like kickboxing and mixed martial arts. Modern history Further information: Modern history of East Asian martial arts Late 19th to early 20th century The mid to late 19th century marks the beginning of the history of martial arts as modern sports developed out of earlier traditional fghting systems. In Europe, this concerns the developments of boxing and fencing as sports. In Japan, the same period marks the formation of the modern forms of Judo, Jujitsu, karate, and kendo (among others) based on revivals of old schools of Edo period martial arts which had been suppressed during the Meiji Restoration. [citation needed] Modern muay Thai ules date to the 1920s. In China, the modern history of martial arts begins in the Nanjing decade (1930s) following the foundation of the Central Guoshu Institute in 1928 under the Kuomintang government. Western interest in Asian martial arts arises towards the end of the 19th century, due to the increase in trade between the United States with China and Japan. [citation needed] Relatively few Westerners actually practiced the arts, considering it to be mere performance. Edward William Barton-Wright, a railway engineer who had studied Jujutsu while working in Japan between 1894-97, was the first man known to ave taught Asian martial arts in Europe. He also founded an eclectic style named Bartitsu which combined Jujutsu, Judo, boxing, savate and stick fghting. Fencing and Greco-Roman wrestling was included in the 1896 Summer Olympics. FILA Wrestling World Championships and Boxing at the Summer Olympics were introduced in 1904. The tradition of awarding championship belts in wrestling and boxing can be traced to the Lonsdale Belt, introduced in 1909. 20th century (1914 to 1989) The International Boxing Association was established in 1920. World Fencing Championships have been held since 1921. As Western influence grew in Asia a greater number of military personnel spent time in China, Japan and South Korea during World War II and the Korean War and were exposed to local fghting styles. Jujutsu, Judo and karate first became popular among the mainstream from the 1950s-60s. Due in part to Asian and Hollywood martial arts movies, most modern American martial arts are either Asian-derived or Asian influenced. [11] The term kickboxing ($ y 5 was created by the Japanese boxing promoter Osamu Noguchi for a variant of muay Thai and karate that he created in the 1950s. American kickboxing was developed in the 1970s, as a ombination of boxing and karate. Taekwondo was developed in the context of the Korean War in the 1950s. The later 1960s and 1970s witnessed an increased media interest in Kung Fu, influenced by martial artist Bruce Lee. Jeet Kune Do, the system he founded, has its roots in Wing Chun, western boxing, savate and fencing. Bruce Lee is credited as one of the first instructors to openly teach Chinese martial arts to Westerners. [12] World Judo Championships have been held since 1956, Judo at the Summer Olympics was introduced in 1964. Karate World Championships were introduced in 1970. Jackie Chan, one of the best known Hollywood actors and martial artists. Following the kung fu wave in Hong Kong action cinema in the 1970s, a number of mainstream films produced during the 1980s contributed significantly to the perception of martial arts in western popular culture. These include The Karate Kid (1984) and Bloodsport (1988). This era produced some Hollywood action stars with martial arts background, such as Jean-Claude Van Damme and Chuck Norris. Also during the 20th century, a number of martial arts were adapted for self-defense purposes for military hand-to-hand combat. World War II combatives, Kapap (1930s) and Krav Maga (1950s) in Israel, Systema (Soviet era Russia), San Shou (Peoples Republic of China). The US military de-emphasized hand-to-hand combat training during the Cold War period, but revived it with the introduction of LINE in 1989. 1990 to present During the 1990s Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu became popular and proved to be effective in mixed martial arts competitions such as the IJFC and PRIDE. 13] The K-1 rules of kickboxing were introduced in 1993, based on 1980s Seidokaikan karate. Jackie Chan and Jet Li are prominent movie figures who have been responsible for romoting Chinese martial arts in recent years. With the continual discovery of new Medieval and Renaissance fighting manuals, the practice of Historical European Martial Arts and other Western Martial Arts are growing in popularity across the United States an d Europe. November 29, 2011, UNESCO inscribed taekkyeon onto its Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity List. 14] Testing and competition Testing or evaluation is important to martial art practitioners of many disciplines who wish to determine their progression or own level of skill in specific contexts. Students ithin individual martial art systems often undergo periodic testing and grading by their own teacher in order to advance to a higher level of recognized achievement, such as a different belt color or title. The type of testing used varies from system to system but may include forms or sparring. Steven Ho executing a Jump Spin Hook Kick Various forms and sparring are commonly used in martial art exhibitions and tournaments. Some competitions pit practitioners of different disciplines against each other using a common set of rules, these are referred to as mixed martial arts competitions. Rules for sparring vary between art and organization but can generally be divided into light-contact, medium-contact, and full-contact variants, reflecting the amount of force that should be used on an opponent. Light- and medium-contact These types of sparring restrict the amount of force that may be used to hit an opponent, in the case of light sparring this is usual to touch contact, e. g. a punch should be pulled as soon as or before contact is made. In medium-contact (sometimes referred to as semi-contact) the punch would not be pulled but not hit with full force. As the amount of force used is restricted, the aim of these types of sparring is not to knock out an opponent; a point system is used in competitions. A referee acts to monitor for fouls and to control the match, while Judges mark down scores, as in boxing. Particular targets may be prohibited, certain techniques may be forbidden (such as headbutting or groin hits), and fghters may be required to wear protective equipment on their head, hands, chest, groin, shins or feet. Some grappling arts, such as aikido, use a similar method of compliant training that is equivalent to light or medium contact. In some styles (such as fencing and some styles of Taekwondo sparring), competitors score points based on the landing of a single technique or strike as Judged by the referee, whereupon the referee will briefly stop the match, award a point, then restart the match. Alternatively, sparring may continue with the point noted by the judges. Some critics of point sparring feel that this method of training teaches habits that result in lower combat effectiveness. Lighter-contact sparring may be used exclusively, for children or in other situations when heavy contact would be nappropriate (such as beginners), medium-contact sparring is often used as training for full contact Full-contact Further information: Full-contact Full-contact sparring or competition, where strikes are not pulled but thrown with full force as the name implies, has a number of tactical differences from light and medium-contact sparring. It is considered by some to be requisite in learning realistic unarmed combat. 1 5] In full-contact sparring, the aim of a competitive match is either to knock out the opponent or to force the opponent to submit. Where scoring takes place it may be a ubsidiary measure, only used if no clear winner has been established by other means; in some competitions, such as the IJFC 1, there was no scoring, though most now use some form of Judging as a backup. [16] Due to these factors, full-contact matches tend to be more aggressive in character, b ut rule sets may still mandate the use of protective equipment, or limit the techniques allowed. Nearly all mixed martial arts organizations such as UFC, Pancrase, Shooto use a form of full-contact rules, as do professional boxing organizations and K-1 . Kyokushin karate requires advanced practitioners to engage in bare-knuckled, full-contact parring while wearing only a karate gi and groin protector but does not allow punches to the face, only kicks and knees. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Judo matches do not allow striking, but are full-contact in the sense that full force is applied in the permitted grappling and submission techniques. Martial Sport Main article: Combat sport Several martial arts, such as Judo, are Olympic sports. Martial arts have crossed over into sports when forms of sparring become competitive, becoming a sport in its own right that is dissociated from the original combative origin, such as with western fencing. The Summer Olympic Games includes Judo, taekwondo, western archery, boxing, Javelin, wrestling and fencing as events, while Chinese wushu recently failed in its bid to be included, but is still actively performed in tournaments across the world. Practitioners in some arts such as kickboxing and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu often train for sport matches, whereas those in other arts such as aikido and Wing Chun generally spurn such competitions. Some schools believe that competition breeds better and more efficient practitioners, and gives a sense of good sportsmanship. Others believe that the rules under which ompetition takes place have diminished the combat effectiveness of martial arts or encourage a kind of practice which focuses on winning trophies rather than a focus such as cultivating a particular moral character. The question of which is the best martial art has led to inter style competitions fought with very few rules allowing a variety of fighting styles to enter with few limitations. This was the origin of the first Ultimate Fighting Championship tournament (later renamed IJFC 1: The Beginning) in the U. S. inspired by the Brazilian Vale tudo tradition and along with other minimal rule competitions, most otably those from Japan such as Shooto and Pancrase, have evolved into the combat sport of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA). Some martial artists compete in non-sparring competitions such as breaking or choreographed routines of techniques such as poomse, kata and aka, or modern variations of the martial arts which include dance-influenced competitions such as tricking. Martial traditions have been influenced by governments to become more sport-like for political purposes; the central impetus for the attempt by the Peoples Republic of China in transforming Chinese martial arts into the committee-regulated port of wushu was suppressing what they saw as the potentially subversive aspects of martial training, especially under the traditional system of family lineages. [17] Health and fitness benefits Martial arts training aims to result in several benefits to trainees, such as their physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health. 18] Through systematic practice in the martial arts a persons physical fitness may be boosted (strength, stamina, flexibility, movement coordination, etc. )[citation needed] as the whole body is exercised and the entire muscular system is activated. Beyond ontributing to physical fitness, martial arts training also has benefits for mental health, contributing to self-esteem, self-control, emotional and spiritual well-being. For this reason, a number of martial arts schools have focused purely on therapeutic aspects, de-emphasizing the historical aspect of self-defense or combat completely. [citation needed] According to Bruce Lee, martial arts also have the nature of an art, since there is emotional communication and complete emotional expression. [citation needed] Self- defense, military and law enforcement applications Main articles: Hand to hand combat and Self-defense U. S. Army Combatives instructor Matt Larsen demonstrates a chokehold. Some traditional martial concepts have seen new use within modern military training. Perhaps the most recent example of this is point shooting which relies on muscle memory to more effectively utilize a firearm in a variety of awkward situations, much the way an iaidoka would master movements with their sword. During the World War II era William E. Fairbairn and Eric A. Sykes were recruited by the Special Operations Executive (SOE) to teach their martial art of defendu (itself drawing on Western boxing and Jujutsu) and pistol shooting to I-JK, US, and Canadian pecial forces. The book Kill or Get Killed, written by Colonel Rex Applegate, was based on the defendu taught by Sykes and Fairbairn. Both Fairbairns Get Tough and Appelgates Kill or Get Killed became classic works on hands of this include European Unifght, the US Armys Combatives system developed by Matt Larsen, the Israeli armys kapap and Krav Maga, and the US Marine Corpss Marine Corps Martial Arts Program (MCMAP). Unarmed dagger defenses identical to those found in the manual of Fiore dei Liberi and the Codex Wallerstein were integrated into the U. S. Armys training manuals in 1942[19] and continue to influence todays systems along with other traditional systems such as eskrima and silat. The rifle-mounted bayonet, which has its origin in the spear, has seen use by the United States Army, the United States Marine Corps, and the British Army as recently as the Iraq War. [20] Many martial arts are also seen and used in Law Enforcement hand to hand training. For example, the Tokyo Riot Polices use of aikido. Martial arts industry Martial arts since the 1970s has become a significant industry, a subset of the wider sport industry (including cinema and sports television). Hundreds of millions of people worldwide practice some form of martial art. Web Japan (sponsored by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs) claims there are 50 million karate practitioners worldwide. [21] The South Korean government in 2009 published an estimate that taekwondo is practiced by 70 million people in 190 countries. [22] The wholesale value of martial arts related sporting equipment shipped in the United States was estimated at 314 million USD in 2007; participation in the same year was estimated at 6. 9 million (ages 6 or older, 2% of US population). [23] R. A. Court, CEO of Martial Arts Channel, stated the total revenue of the US martial arts industry at USD 40 billion and the number of US practitioners at 30 million in 2003. [24] Ultimate Fighting Championship generated a revenue of about USD 250 million in 2008, about 90% of the entire Mixed Martial Arts industry. [25] Martial arts fraud Asian martial arts experienced a surge of popularity in the west during the 1970s,

9 New Years Eve Movies to Watch as the Ball Drops

9 New Years Eve Movies to Watch as the Ball Drops Ah, the magic of midnight and ticking clock! A wonderful occasion to gather in front of a TV screen with your family and friends or wrap yourself in a blanket to watch a movie alone. No matter if youre going to host a party or spend this night with no guests around, a nice movie wont hurt anybody. Do you like good old classic films or modern trash movies? We are sure that our tips will help you to spend the first night of the year with a good mood. Weve made a list of various films for fans of different genres and cinema eras to help you choose the best movie for your holiday night. While 2018 is coming to its end, its time to take a good holiday rest and get yourself prepared for new achievements. If you want to spend the night of December 31 with delicious food and films that will give you the holiday spirit, you should check this article. Weve prepared a New Years Eve movies list to make your night really festive and magical! 1 Four Rooms, 1995 An indie comedy that sets around New Years Eve in a fancy hotel tells 4 stories connected by the bellhop who is left alone to deal with the mess. With 4 brilliant directors Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez, Allison Anders, and Alexandre Rockwell, this comedy, spiced up with a bit of thriller and dark humor speaks for itself as it is one of the most viewed New Years themed movies. Starring: Tim Roth, Antonio Banderas, Sammi Davis, Amanda De Cadenet, Madonna 2 Bridget Joness Diary, 2001 A romantic comedy about an average woman trying to change her life for the better and find her true love. It can make you laugh through tears and sympathize the main characters. The plot based on the novel by Helen Fielding. Starring cast and the atmosphere of love make this movie a perfect choice for girls evening. Starring: Renà ©e Zellweger, Colin Firth, Hugh Grant, Gemma Jones. 3 Trading Places, 1983 A classic comedy which is going to cheer you up and a perfect choice for those who wonder â€Å"what to watch on New Years Eve?† The bet of two millionaires makes two people from different social groups exchange their lives. A drastic change in the everyday routine of a broker from the upper class and homeless hustler unravels the plot that can be described as a modern vision of Mark Twains classic novel The Prince and the Pauper. Starring: Eddie Murphy, Dan Aykroyd, Ralph Bellamy, Don Ameche. 4 The Poseidon Adventure, 1972 A disaster film about the sinking of a majestic ship The Poseidon. New Years Eve party in the ocean on the way to Greece was interrupted by a sudden storm and soon becomes a real nightmare for surviving passengers. The plot leads you through this exciting escape adventure and keeps you on the edge of your seat. Starring: Gene Hackman, Ernest Borgnine, Shelley Winters, Red Buttons. 5 When Harry Met Sally, 1989 Watching the evolution of a relationship between two leading characters might be what you need this night. Its one of those movies that everybody mention when they are asked about favorite New Years Eve romantic film. Starring: Billy Crystal, Meg Ryan, Carrie Fisher, Bruno Kirby 6 The Godfather Part II, 1974 The Godfather is a movie that has almost nothing to do with New Years Eve, but still is one of the most popular choices for the festive night. The relationship between the father and the son Corleone and the plot tightly tying up around their lives makes this movie one of the best family movies to watch. Check it out and you will understand why it is called the epochal drama and a cinematic masterpiece. Starring: Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton 7 Ghostbusters II, 1989 After the success of the first movie, it was obvious that the audience wanted a sequel about favorite characters coming to the big screen. Ghostbusters II reveals the following events after the incident with the ghosts attacking the city. Turns out, that the team is disbanded and, eventually, not allowed to work. But everything changes when one ghost starts to interact with the baby of Peter Venkman. Sharp humor, interesting plot and brilliant actors made this movie a real classic. Starring: Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Harold Ramis 8 200 Cigarettes, 1999 Multiple plot lines and numerous characters mix together for the perfect cocktail of fun, humor and colorful picture. As the plot unravels, we watch young people coping with relationships, desire, and loneliness, trying to find their place under the sun. Oh, and better watch it without your parents. Starring: Ben Affleck, Casey Affleck, Dave Chappelle, Guillermo Dà ­az 9 In Search of a Midnight Kiss, 2007 A young man without any willing to love his life posts a Craigslist ad and suddenly gets a response from a girl who looks for a right man to kiss with when the ball drops. This independent romantic drama and comedy won several awards all over the world and can really catch your attention with its magical music and sudden plot twists. Starring: Scoot McNairy, Sara Simmonds, Brian McGuire, Kathleen Luong. So which movie will you choose? Let us know in a comment section! New Years Eve is a magical event and a time when anything can happen. Get ready for a new experience and have a Happy New Year!

The Archaeology and History of Bitumen

The Archaeology and History of Bitumen Bitumen- also known as asphaltum or tar- is a black, oily, viscous form of petroleum, a naturally-occurring organic byproduct of decomposed plants. It is waterproof and flammable, and this remarkable natural substance has been used by humans for a wide variety of tasks and tools for at least the past 40,000 years. There are a number of processed types of bitumen used in the modern world, designed for paving streets and roofing houses, as well as additives to diesel or other gas oils. The pronunciation of bitumen is BICH-eh-men in British English and by-TOO-men in North America. What Bitumen Is Natural bitumen is the thickest form of petroleum there is, made up of 83% carbon, 10% hydrogen and lesser amounts of oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur, and other elements. It is a natural polymer of low molecular weight with a remarkable ability to change with temperature variations: at lower temperatures, it is rigid and brittle, at room temperature it is flexible, at higher temperatures bitumen flows. Bitumen deposits occur naturally throughout the worldthe best known are Trinidads Pitch Lake and the La Brea Tar Pit in California, but significant deposits are found in the Dead Sea, Venezuela, Switzerland, and northeastern Alberta, Canada. The chemical composition and consistency of these deposits vary significantly. In some places, bitumen extrudes naturally from terrestrial sources, in others it appears in liquid pools which can harden into mounds, and in still others it oozes from underwater seeps, washing up as tarballs along sandy beaches and rocky shorelines. Uses and Processing In ancient times, bitumen was used for a huge number of things: as a sealant or adhesive, as building mortar, as incense, and as decorative pigment and texture on pots, buildings or human skin. The material was also useful in waterproofing canoes and other water transport, and in the mummification process toward the end of the New Kingdom of ancient Egypt. The method of processing bitumen was nearly universal: heat it until the gasses condense and it melts, then add tempering materials to tweak the recipe to the proper consistency. Adding minerals such as ochre makes bitumen thicker; grasses and other vegetable matter add stability; waxy/oily elements such as pine resin or beeswax make it more viscous. Processed bitumen was more expensive as a trade item than unprocessed, because of the cost of the fuel consumption. The earliest known use of bitumen was by Middle Paleolithic Neanderthals some 40,000 years ago. At Neanderthal sites such as Gura Cheii Cave (Romania) and Hummal and Umm El Tlel in Syria, bitumen was found adhering to stone tools, probably to fasten a wooden or ivory haft to the sharp-edged tools. In Mesopotamia, during the late Uruk and Chalcolithic periods at sites such as Hacinebi Tepe in Syria, bitumen was used for the construction of buildings and water-proofing of reed boats, with among other uses. Evidence of Uruk Expansionist Trade Research into bitumen sources has illuminated the history of the expansionist period of Mesopotamian Uruk. An intercontinental trading system was established by Mesopotamia during the Uruk period (3600-3100 BC), with the creation of trading colonies in what is today southeastern Turkey, Syria, and Iran. According to seals and other evidence, the trade network involved textiles from southern Mesopotamia and copper, stone, and timber from Anatolia, but the presence of sourced bitumen has enabled scholars to map out the trade. For example, much of the bitumen in Bronze age Syrian sites has been found to have originated from the Hit seepage on the Euphrates River in southern Iraq. Using historical references and geological survey, scholars have identified several sources of bitumen in Mesopotamia and the Near East. By performing analyses using a number of different spectroscopy, spectrometry, and elemental analytical techniques, these scholars have defined the chemical signatures for many of the seeps and deposits. Chemical analysis of archaeological samples has been somewhat successful in identifying the provenance of the artifacts. Bitumen and Reed Boats Schwartz and colleagues (2016) suggest that the onset of bitumen as a trade good began first because it was used as waterproofing on the reed boats that were used to ferry people and goods across the Euphrates. By the Ubaid period of the early 4th millennium BC, bitumen from northern Mesopotamian sources reached the Persian Gulf. The earliest reed boat discovered to date was coated with bitumen, at the site of H3 at As-Sabiyah in Kuwait, dated about 5000 BC; its bitumen was found to have come from the Ubaid site of Mesopotamia. Asphaltum samples from the slightly later site of Dosariyah in Saudi Arabia, were from bitumen seepages in Iraq, part of the wider Mesopotamian trade networks of Ubaid Period 3. The Bronze Age Mummies of Egypt The use of bitumen in embalming techniques on Egyptian mummies was important beginning at the end of the New Kingdom (after 1100 BC)in fact, the word from which mummy is derived mumiyyah means bitumen in Arabic. Bitumen was a major constituent for Third Intermediate period and Roman period Egyptian embalming techniques, in addition to traditional blends of pine resins, animal fats, and beeswax. Several Roman writers such as Diodorus Siculus (first century BC) and Pliny (first century AD) mention bitumen as being sold to Egyptians for embalming processes. Until advanced chemical analysis was available, black balms used throughout the Egyptian dynasties were assumed to have been treated with bitumen, mixed with fat/oil, beeswax, and resin. However, in a recent study Clark and colleagues (2016) found that none of the balms on mummies created prior to the New Kingdom contained bitumen, but the custom began in the Third Intermediate (ca 1064-525 BC) and Late (ca 525-332 BC) periods and became most prevalent after 332, during the Ptolemaic and Roman periods. Bitumen trade in Mesopotamia continued well after the end of the Bronze Age. Russian archaeologists recently discovered a Greek amphora full of bitumen on the Taman peninsula on the northern shore of the Black Sea. Several samples including numerous large jars and other objects were recovered from the Roman-era port of Dibba in the United Arab Emirates, containing or treated with bitumen from the Hit seepage in Iraq or other unidentified Iranian sources. Mesoamerica and Sutton Hoo Recent studies in pre-Classic and post-classic period Mesoamerica have found bitumen was used to stain human remains, perhaps as a ritual pigment. But more likely, say researchers Argez and associates, the staining may have resulted from using heated bitumen applied to stone tools which were used to dismember those bodies. Fragments of shiny black lumps of bitumen were found scattered throughout the 7th-century ship burial at Sutton Hoo, England, in particular within the burial deposits near remains of a helmet. When excavated and first analyzed in 1939, the pieces were interpreted as Stockholm tar, a substance creating by burning pine wood, but recent reanalysis (Burger and colleagues 2016) has identified the shards as bitumen having come from a Dead Sea source: very rare but clear evidence of a continuing trade network between Europe and the Mediterranean during the early Medieval period. Chumash of California In Californias Channel Islands, the prehistoric period Chumash used bitumen as body paint during curing, mourning and burial ceremonies. They also used it to attach shell beads onto objects such as mortars and pestles and steatite pipes, and they used it for hafting projectile points to shafts and fishhooks to cordage. Asphaltum was also used for waterproofing basketry and caulking sea-going canoes. The earliest identified bitumen in the Channel Islands so far is in deposits dated between 10,000-7,000 cal BP at Cave of the Chimneys on San Miguel island. The presence of bitumen increases during the Middle Holocene (7000-3500 cal BP and basketry impressions and clusters of tarred pebbles show up as early as 5,000 years ago. The fluorescence of bitumen may be associated with the invention of the plank canoe (tomol) in the late Holocene (3500-200 cal BP). Native Californians traded asphaltum in liquid form and hand-shaped pads wrapped in grass and rabbit skin to keep it from sticking together. Terrestrial seeps were believed to produce a better quality adhesive and caulking for the tomol canoe, while tarballs were considered inferior. Sources Argez C, Batta E, Mansilla J, Pijoan C, and Bosch P. 2011. The origin of black pigmentation in a sample of Mexican prehispanic human bones. Journal of Archaeological Science 38(11):2979-2988.Brown KM. 2016. Asphaltum (bitumen) production in everyday life on the California Channel Islands. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 41:74-87.Brown KM, Connan J, Poister NW, Vellanoweth RL, Zumberge J, and Engel MH. 2014. Sourcing archaeological asphaltum (bitumen) from the California Channel Islands to submarine seeps. Journal of Archaeological Science 43:66-76.Burger P, Stacey RJ, Bowden SA, Hacke M, and Parnell J. 2016. Identification, Geochemical Characterisation and Significance of Bitumen among the Grave Goods of the 7th Century Mound 1 Ship-Burial at Sutton Hoo (Suffolk, UK). PLoS ONE 11(12):e0166276.Cà ¢rciumaru M, Ion R-M, Nitu E-C, and Stefanescu R. 2012. New evidence of adhesive as hafting material on Middle and Upper Palaeolithic artefacts from Gura Cheii-Rà ¢snov Cave (Romania ). Journal of Archaeological Science 39(7):1942-1950. Clark KA, Ikram S, and Evershed RP. 2016. The significance of petroleum bitumen in ancient Egyptian mummies. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences 374(2079).El Diasty WS, Mostafa AR, El Beialy SY, El Adl HA, and Edwards KJ. 2015. Organic geochemical characteristics of the Upper Cretaceous–Early Paleogene source rock and correlation with some Egyptian mummy bitumen and oil from the southern Gulf of Suez, Egypt. Arabian Journal of Geosciences 8(11):9193-9204.Fauvelle M, Smith EM, Brown SH, and Des Lauriers MR. 2012. Asphaltum hafting and projectile point durability: an experimental comparison of three hafting methods. Journal of Archaeological Science 39(8):2802-2809.Jasim S, and Yousif E. 2014. Dibba: an ancient port on the Gulf of Oman in the early Roman era. Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy 25(1):50-79.Kostyukevich Y, Solovyov S, Kononikhin A, Popov I, and Nikolaev E. 2016. The investigation of the bitumen from anc ient Greek amphora using FT ICR MS, H/D exchange and novel spectrum reduction approach. Journal of Mass Spectrometry 51(6):430-436. Schwartz M, and Hollander D. 2016. The Uruk expansion as dynamic process: A reconstruction of Middle to Late Uruk exchange patterns from bulk stable isotope analyses of bitumen artifacts. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 7:884-899.Van de Velde T, De Vrieze M, Surmont P, Bodà © S, and Drechsler P. 2015. A geochemical study on the bitumen from Dosariyah (Saudi-Arabia): tracking Neolithic-period bitumen in the Persian Gulf. Journal of Archaeological Science 57:248-256.Wess JA, Olsen LD, and Haring Sweeney M. 2004. Asphalt (Bitumen). Concise International Chemical Assessment Document 59. Geneva: World Health Organization.

George Orwell's Articles Is Good for College Students Essay

George Orwell's Articles Is Good for College Students - Essay Example First and foremost, it should be admitted that George Orwell in his essay â€Å"Shooting an Elephant† applies to the serious politic theme. Such implication can be regarded as a helping hand for present-day students in understanding the past social and historical issues. Orwell constructs his essay regarding the rules of imperialism and including the peculiarities of this political system. It is relevant to begin with the setting of the story that takes place in Burma (Orwell, 214). The author uses â€Å"images and portrayal of imperialism of Britain during their imperial era† (Fakhrana, n.p.) The narrator represents â€Å"imperialism as an evil thing† and himself as â€Å"all for the Burmese and all against the oppressor† (Orwell, 215). To such extent, it is relevant to mention that Orwell strongly sentence imperialism as a political system and all its rules are viewed as ridiculous and even absurd. It can be suggested that imperialism is regarded as a state policy that humiliates the occupied people with the lowering of their social status in their own country (Cummings, n.p.). Moreover, according to the principles of imperialism occupies are in need to make not morally correct and even cruel decisions for the sake of demonstration of their power under the occupied people. All cruelty and brutality of imperialistic rules are presented through the entire essay. The matter is that the officer has been in need to kill the elephant as people have been looking at him and he has no right to show the indulgence or note of weakness in his character. The second issue that is important to mention is the raising of serious eternal themes through the essay. It is impossible to overestimate the significance of such themes in relation to experience that students can gain through reading this essay. The author includes to the essay â€Å"Shooting an Elephant† such an

Nicotinic Acetylcholine Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Nicotinic Acetylcholine - Essay Example Synthesized in the endoplasmic reticulum, a fraction of the subunits of this receptor assemble into homo and hetero-pentameric complexes. The only complexes that reach the cell surface, after exiting from endoplasmic reticulum are the pentameric complexes. nAChRs have been identified as crucial elements in central nervous system functions such as consciousness, attention, and memory; and participate in numerous cerebral circuits. (Bocquet, Carvalho, Cartaud, Neyton Poupon, Taly, Grutter, Changeux, Corringer 2007) The opening of the channels of these receptors is triggered by the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. Nicotine also has the same effect. A diagram of the chemical structure of acetylcholine is given below. Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors are located mainly in the postsynaptic membrane under the motor nerve terminal at the neuromuscular junction. Nicotinic receptors can also be found in different synaptic locations; e.g. the muscle nicotinic receptor always functions post-synaptically. The nerve cell forms of the receptor can be found both post-synaptically (performing classical neurotransmission) and pre-synaptically (causing the release of other neurotransmitters). In contrast to the muscarinic acetylcholine receptors, Nicotinic Acetylcholine receptors do not operate with the help of a second messenger. Instead they open themselves forming an ion channel. Curare causes inhibition of these receptors. Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors have a very wide distribution in the various body tissues. Nerve cell receptors are found in the central nervous system and also in the peripheral nervous system. The neuromuscular receptors, on the other hand are found in the neuromuscular junctions of somatic muscles. ... The neuromuscular receptors, on the other hand are found in the neuromuscular junctions of somatic muscles. The stimulation of these receptors causes muscular contraction.(Barrantes 1998) Structure and function of Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors The nicotinic acetylcholine receptor protein includes one or many sites which can bind the neurotransmitter ACh and also a specific channel for cat ions which is also known as the intrinsic cationic channel. These ions can be Na+, Ca2+ or K+ and the channel is specific in nature. The process of the opening of ion channel is linked to the binding of ACh. (Maelicke 1986) Protein chemistry and sequence analysis of polypeptide has revealed a general scheme for each subunit which consists of : 1. A globular extra cellular N-terminal domain (ECD); 2. A trans-membrane domain (TMD) 3. A cytoplasmic domain There are 2 to 5 Acetylcholine binding sites on the ECD. Nicotinic receptors have many subunits and these subunits belong There are 2 to 5 Acetylcholine binding sites on the ECD. Nicotinic receptors have many subunits and these subunits fit in a multigene family (seventeen members in the human being) When many of the subunits combine they form a great numbers of receptors. Every subunit gives three parts or "loops" to the site of binding. The sites which bind ACh are located on the outer side of the subunits. And as the agonist binds, the subunits happen to be more alike to the other subunits. And the channel gets more proportioned and a hole of about 0.65nm in diameter opens up. This channel helps the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor to adhere to its role by many ways. Firstly it encloses a mechanism of gating which is closed in the inactive states of the channel but it is open in the active

Issues in Global Business and Consultancy Essay

Issues in Global Business and Consultancy - Essay Example The choice for those locations is due to the technological advancement and industrial production and as part of the globalisation strategy. As a result of the globalisation and to its contribution to the worldwide healthcare needs, the company ranks among the research–oriented healthcare and pharmaceutical companies in the world. Indeed, this has made the company to play a leading role in making sure that the global population remains healthy. As well, the company benefits from its global business approach, and enjoy Comparative Advantage, Absolute Advantage Fallacy, Endogenous Advantage, and Bilateral Trade Patterns, due to the nature of its production. Table of Contents Executive Summary 1 Table of Contents 2 Introduction 3 Brief Research Methods 3 Globalisation 4 Globalisation Challenges and the Company’s Interventions 6 International Trade Theory 7 Comparative Advantage 7 Absolute Advantage Fallacy 7 Endogenous Advantage 8 Bilateral Trade Patterns 8 Recommendations 9 Conclusions 9 Bibliography 10 Appendix 11 Introduction Global business and consultancy are the major considerations for companies seeking success. There are certain issues affecting business operations, which have to be predetermined, analysed for the good of the business. In this report, the major issues to be discussed include globalisation and International Trade Theory relating to GlaxoSmithKline Company (GSK). The company was formed in the year 2000 when Glaxo Welcome Company and SmithKline Beecham merged (Weysig, 2004, p.16). Since the company is international based, operating in more than 100 countries, all the factors in the global business arena has an impact on it s operations. As any other company, GSK has internal and external challenges because they manufacture health products. Therefore, millions of people are depending on the products for their health needs, meaning that an outbreak of epidemic disease creates an impact of increase in the demand of the products. Int ensifying their research is the key to the company’s development. Some of the globalisation factors affecting the company include is he demand arising from low income countries. As a leader, they have the mandate and compulsion to fulfil their mission despite all the global challenges. Brief Research Method During the study, the researcher employed a deductive approach in doing the investigation. First, the researcher formulated the topic of discussion, under which the problem to be investigated was stated. Secondly, literature review followed, in which the divergent views of different scholars and other relevant company information was incorporated. Third, the researcher proposed the theory to be used in the company analysis, and designed the research to test the theories. Finally, the researcher started the study by collecting data, analysing them, using qualitative and quantitative techniques, after which the findings were presented. Globalisation The company is based in t he United Kingdom, with branches in more than 100 countries distributed across the world (Feenstra, 2003, p.44). The other important aspect of the company to note is that, the UK, US, China and Belgium host the major research centres of the company (Feenstra, 2003, p.45). Due to its contribution to the global health needs, the company is categorised

HR management in Britain and in EU Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

HR management in Britain and in EU - Essay Example The diplomatic management of human resources comes into play during recruitment. It is also responsible for what is contained in employee contracts, and this includes the aspects of social policy, such as social security benefits, leave, responsibility for work injuries, etc. Managers are responsible too for knowing the talents of the members of their workforce, as this knowledge will lead to better deployment. This is to the advantage of production as well as to the advantage of the employees, who achieve a sense of worth and fulfilment in utilising their best skills. Human resource development is also an important part of human resource management, and while the managers in UK firms play a large role in this, in the newer EU countries (Czech Republic, Poland, and Slovakia) the government takes a much more active role. The European Union has set its own standards for the management of human capital, and these standards must be met by any European state that wishes to enter the union. It realises that "effective management policies lead to employee competence and commitment, congruence between the objectives of employees and management, and is more cost effective" (Price, 2004). Several concerns, however, have been aired. Problems have been foreseen in the area of maintaining quality human resource management across the widening expanse of the European Union. In addition to this, problems also exist where there are discrepancies between and among the HRM policies of different EU member states. Since the European Union allows to some extent for the employment of members across member states, then it is essential for there to exist some level of agreement among the states regarding HRM policies. As it stands, while some states such as the United Kingdom have very advanced policies and robust human re source departments, other states like Slovakia, Poland, and the Czech Republic demonstrate a less developed level of management of its human capital. In order to remove the disparity among EU member states and its candidates, it is necessary first to have a thorough knowledge of the state of affairs in each country and then to compare and contrast to better understand what needs to be done. These nations will be assessed in terms of their managerial structure, managerial policies regarding recruitment, and human resource training and development. The UK model of Human Resource Management The actual term "Human Resource Director/Manager" exists in a large proportion of corporations in the United Kingdom. The existence of such a position demonstrates a high level of commitment to the management of human capital. The HR director overarches other managers who specialise in different areas. In the United Kingdom's private sector, 42% of all firms employing 500-999 persons (smaller firms) have a position with that title. In the larger firms, employing more than 1000 persons, the percentage rises to 65 (Federation of European Employers, 2005). Though not all companies have a position with such a title, there is evidence to suggest that the role does exist. In addition to this, the specialist managers' titles include training director managers,

The study of evidence of Degenerative Joint Disease in Essay

The study of evidence of Degenerative Joint Disease in archaeologically-retrieved human skeletons can reveal much about the nature of earlier societies. Discuss - Essay Example of activities the society held important, but again, this does not necessarily reflect the daily activities of the people, tending to focus instead upon ceremonial events. Perhaps a greater clue as to the daily activities, social structures and other lifestyle features of earlier populations can be found within the bones of the people themselves. By studying archaeologically-retrieved human skeletons for evidence of degenerative joint disease, much can be determined about the common activities of the people under investigation. Degenerative joint disease is also known as osteoarthritis, DJD or osteoarthrosis. It is a form of arthritis that is characterized by a degeneration, or breaking down, of the cartilage in the joints. In conjunction with this break down, there is usually an accompanying overgrowth of bone, a narrowing of the joint space, a hardening of the bone within the joint surfaces and a creeping deformity in the joints themselves (Burnett, 2005). While the disease can strike in several places, most commonly in the hands, fingers, knees, hips and spine, the cartilage of the joints breaks down faster when the joint is in more constant use. â€Å"Over many years and with activity and use of a joint, the cartilage may become frayed, injured, torn and may even wear away entirely. When this occurs, the bone surface on one side of the joint tends to rub or glide against the bone on the opposite side of the joint, providing a less elastic joint surface, and generating higher contact pressures at the e nd of the bone† (Burnett, 2005). With these kinds of major changes happening in the joints during the individual’s lifetime, it is easily understood that the disease would leave recognizable and permanent features upon the skeletons. Because this form of arthritis is the most common bone disease experienced by human beings and it can reach highly severe levels, restricting or removing activities from daily life, the presence of disease in ancient