American Politics in the Context of Obama’s Election and First 100 Days Essay

The election of Barack Hussein Obama as the 44th President of the United States is a watershed in the history of American politics. In a country were blacks were once prohibited from voting just because of the color of their skin, his ascent into the White House is indeed a milestone. Obama’s victory is often attributed to several factors, including changes in voting behavior and public opinion and constant media exposure. Popular support of his regime did not end with the election hype – a 2009 Associated Press-GfK poll revealed that about 48% of Americans were satisfied with the economic outcomes of the Obama presidency’s first 100 days (Philstar. com n. pag. ). The rise of the Obama regime had a tremendous impact on American politics. It brought about the prospect of women and minorities gaining a greater voice in political institutions. But Obama’s first 100 days in office told a different story. His first 100 days revealed that the substance of his regime remained largely the same as that of George W. Bush’s. This just goes to show that in the context of Obama’s election and first 100 days, American politics changed its style but retained its hegemonic and elitist nature. Winning the nomination proved to be a greater challenge for Obama than winning the general elections. Because of a national political machine attached to her and her husband, Hillary Clinton was initially chosen by the Democrat Party to become its presidential candidate (Ceaser, Busch and Pitney 15). Although Obama was young, charismatic, cerebral and self-assured, the Democrats were apprehensive about his lack of experience in the political scene (Ceaser, Busch and Pitney 16). This weakness would probably not sit well with the American electorate, who were desperate for a leader who could rectify the damaging mistakes of the Republican administration (Ceaser, Busch and Pitney 15). But shifts in the economic and demographic profile of American voters rendered Obama a more suitable presidential candidate than Clinton. As of 2004, about 56. 6% of American voters were below 30 years old (Dahl n. pag. ). Majority of these individuals grew up using the Internet as an indispensable tool for work, study and leisure. When the Clintons staged their last national campaign in 1996, the Internet was just a fledgling industry. Obama’s youth and tech savvy (he kept a Blackberry with him at all times), therefore, would make him more appealing to the aforementioned voter’s age group than Clinton (Ceaser, Busch and Pitney 106). Obama must have been aware of these advantages of his – his election campaign involved mainly the utilization of the Internet. By April 2007, he already had 1,543,000 â€Å"friends† in his account in the social-networking website MySpace. com. In sharp contrast, Clinton only had 41,500 people in her network (Dupuis and Boeckelman 123). In the spring of 2008, Obama had at least 1 million â€Å"friends† in Twitter, while Clinton only had 330,000. Although they had the same number of Facebook â€Å"friends† during this period, the website’s largest pro-Obama group had over 500,000 members, while the largest Facebook group that supported Clinton only had 30,000 members (Tapscott 252). Furthermore, Obama’s rhetoric reflected the American public’s disillusionment with traditional political ideologies. His slogan, â€Å"Change You Can Believe In,† appealed to voters because it did not bombard them with highfaluting dogmas. Rather, it showed them that â€Å"change† meant exploring for new solutions to problems. The American people did not have to make do with traditional solutions which Obama believed have already failed them in the past. For instance, he is constantly criticized for his relative youth and limited high-level government inexperience. Obama downplayed this attack by claiming that â€Å"Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld have an awful lot of experience, and yet have engineered what I think is one of the biggest foreign policy failures in our recent history† (Dupuis and Boeckelman 123). Through this argument, he pointed out that adherence to convention is not always the best for the nation. There are instances when the government and the people must work together and come up with new solutions. In addition, Obama created a firm connection between himself and the people by letting them know that he also underwent their plights. In his campaign speeches, he often used his experience as the son of a working woman and as the husband of a working woman in order to show to the people that he knew how it felt to be in their shoes (Leanne 52). He knew how it was to be poor, marginalized and to work hard just to keep ends meet. Thus, his cynicism towards conventional ideologies – he and so many other Americans remained impoverished despite their application. Given such a populist and down-to-earth campaign strategy, it was no longer surprising if Obama won a landslide victory in the 2008 national elections. But his first 100 days in office revealed that his regime was essentially the same as that of George W. Bush’s. Obama’s first 100 days revealed the â€Å"right-wing character of his administration and the class interests that it serves† (Eley n. pag. ). If there was any difference at all, it was the approach – Bush assumed a warmonger-like stance to obtain the presidency, while Obama adopted a populist one. Obama continued the Bush administration’s militarist and aggressive foreign policy. Although he promised that he will all American troops out of Iraq, troop levels in Iraq remained virtually unchanged. Furthermore, Obama expanded the war in Afghanistan and even extended it to Pakistan. Worse, he proposed a defense budget worth $664 billion – believed to be the largest appropriation for military spending in American history (Eley n. pag. ). The prison camp at Guantanamo Bay remains open, despite Obama’s pledge to eventually close it down. As a result, its inmates are at risk of being shipped to US military prisons such as those in Iraq and Afghanistan, where they can be tortured and or killed in secret. Under the guise of â€Å"moving on,† he blocked all investigations and or criminal prosecution of parties that were responsible for the torture of detainees in US military prisons across the world. Obama’s government also intervened in the procedures of several court cases in order to deny habeas corpus to detainees in US military prisons in Afghanistan (Eley n. pag. ). While Obama was busy perpetuating Bush’s foreign policy, the American economy further deteriorated. Mounting layoffs took place, along with wage cuts, home foreclosures and depreciation of real estate value and retirement savings. These developments, in turn, resulted in escalating hunger and homelessness. But instead of creating concrete solutions to put an end to these calamities, the Obama administration used billions of dollars in public funds to bail financial institutions such as AIG, Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch out of bankruptcy. Worsening the situation was that these banks were discovered to have been doling out huge portions of the bailout money to their executives as â€Å"bonuses† (Eley n. pag. ). It is very ironic that Obama, a black man who experienced growing up poor and marginalized, would end up perpetuating the repressive and anti-poor policies of his predecessor. But what Obama did reflected the recourse that the US most probably resorted to in order to steer itself from the economic crisis – tighten its grip over the Third World. It is during the current economic crisis that the US needs unlimited access to the natural resources of the Third World more than ever before. Thus, the Obama administration’s promise of â€Å"change† was replaced with the de facto continuation of the Bush regime. Works Cited â€Å"AP Poll: After Obama’s 100 Days, US on Right Track. † 24 April 2009. Philstar. com. 4 May 2009 . Ceaser, James W. , Andrew E. Busch, and John J. Pitney. Epic Journey: The 2008 Elections and American Politics. New York: Rowman & Littlefield, 2009. Dahl, Melissa. â€Å"Youth Vote May have been Key in Obama’s Win. † 5 November 2008. MSNBC. 4 May 2009 . Dupuis, Martin, and Keith Boeckelman. Barack Obama: The New Face of American Politics. Santa Barbara: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2008. Eley, Tom. â€Å"Obama’s 100 Days. † 29 April 2009. GlobalResearch. ca. 4 May 2009 . Leanne, Shel. Say It Like Obama: The Power of Speaking with Purpose and Vision. New York: McGraw-Hill Professional, 2008. Tapscott, Don. Grown Up Digital: How the Net Generation is changing Your World. New York: McGraw-Hill Professional, 2008.

Practice Exam 1

Choose four (4) of the following questions and answer them in short essay format. All questions are worth equal marks. (12. 5 marks each) QUESTION 1 (12. 5 marks) Discuss the key factors in the international environment that managers of emerging global organisations look to as threats to their international operations. Provide examples as appropriate. International Environment is the management of business operations conducted in more than one country and usually outside of the organisations normal environment (out of the country).Legal-Political Environment: Political systems the organisation may be unfamiliar with; dealing with the government. – Political stability – Quotas, tariffs and taxes – Law and regulation Economic Environment: Economic conditions in which the organisation operates in – Consumer Market – Exchange rates – Economic development (Developing country? Depression? ) Sociocultural Environment: Common behaviour and way of thi nking among the consumers. – Religion – Time orientation – Beliefs and values(Hofstede) – Language QUESTION 2 (12. 5 marks)What are Porter’s competitive forces in an organisation’s environment? Explain them and provide examples to illustrate your answer. Threat of new entrants: – Capital requirements and economic of scale are potential barriers – Easier to enter mail order business than automobile due to high capital cost – Technology made it easier for new entrants to enter market. – Threat of existing rivalry: – Coke VS Pepsi, Toyota VS Honda – Influenced by the other four forces and cost-product differentiation Threat of substitute products: – Affected by cost changes or trends Internet open new ways to meet customer needs – Low cost airline tickets VS travel agencies Bargaining power of buyers: – Few buyer, many suppliers. Goods are standardised. (High buyer power) – B uyer gets more information about the car they want to buy; accident before? Bargaining power of suppliers: – Many buyers, few suppliers. Highly valued products. (High supplier power) – Airplane engine suppliers will have great power due to lack of competition – Internet helps the suppliers to reach end users and greater number of buyersQUESTION 3 (12. 5 marks) What is the difference between organisational structure and organisational design? Outline the six elements of organisational design. Organisational structure is a framework that defines the way tasks are assigned, the formalization of reporting relationships and the effectiveness of coordination of employees across departments. It is an expression of who is performing various tasks and how they are related to one another whereas organisational design is the process of reshaping or changing the organisation structure.Organisation leaders develop plans to function or perform better. Six elements are: 1) Wor k Specialisation – A. k. a Division of labour. Main idea is to divide the jobs so that everything is not done by one individual. Employees can focus on doing specific functions in their own department allowing them to effectively and efficiently specialise in that particular job. 2) Chain Of Command – Line of authority from the upper level of organisation to lower level of organisation and classifies who reports to whom. Unity of command where each employee is held accountable to only one supervisor.Scalar Command defined line of authority that refers to all employees. 3) Responsibility, authority & delegation – Authority is the legitimate right of managers to issue orders, make decisions and allocate resources. Responsibility is the duty to perform a task an employee is assigned to and usually comes with authority for managers. Delegation is the transfer of authority to a lower level position in the hierarchy. 4) Span of management – Refers to the number of employees reporting to a supervisor. Also known as span of control.Determines the number of employees a supervisor can effectively and efficiently manage. 5) Centralization & decentralization – Centralization is when the authority is located at a single point usually at the top level of the organisation and decentralization is when decision authority is pushed down to lower organisation levels. Decentralization is believed to relieve burden on top managers, make greater use of worker skills and abilities and permit rapid response to external changes. 6) Formalization – Process of creating written documents to direct and control employees.These include rule books, regulations and job descriptions. These provide the employees with descriptions of tasks, responsibilities and decision authority. QUESTION 4 (12. 5 marks) A contingency approach to leadership seeks to explain the relationship between leadership styles and specific situations. Describe Hersey and Blanchard ’s situational leadership model. Provide examples to illustrate your answer. [pic] QUESTION 5 (12. 5 marks) Managers faced with ethical choices have a number of approaches that they may use to guide their decision making.Discuss the various approaches to ethical decision making, providing examples to help explain your answer. Utilitarian approach is the moral behaviour of producing the greatest good for the greatest number. Decision makers are to consider the effect of all parties and select one that best gives satisfaction to the greatest number of people. Squatter homes are not abolished because the government may find that leaving the squatter homes untouched may be a better option as it provides as a home for many people.Dunlop closed their manufacturing plant in Australia and decided to open one in Thailand and Malaysia, managers justified that decision on the basis that it produces greater good to the company as a whole. Individualism approach promotes the individualâ⠂¬â„¢s best long term interests which will lead to the greater good. The action in which is intended to produce greater good than bad to the individual rather than other alternatives. This will in turn, lead to greater good as individual’s behaviour fits the standards of behaviour people wants towards themselves.Moral rights approach defines the fact that human beings have rights and liberties that cannot be taken away by another individual. This approach suggests companies to maintain the rights of the people affected by it. Western countries give their people the right to have their own say (freedom of speech) and in some companies, they give their customers the freedom to speak and complain. Hence, the saying the customer is always right. Justice approach is the moral decision based on equality, fairness and impartiality. There are 3 types of justice concerning managers: distributive ustice where people should not be treated differently based on illogical characteristics s uch as gender. Procedural justice where rules should be administered fairly and consistently and Compensatory justice where individuals should be compensated for the cost of their injuries by the party responsible. QUESTION 6 (12. 5 marks) A current issue for HRM involves the changing nature of careers, and the evolving dynamic of relationships between employers and employees. Discuss the major issues involved in the changing nature of careers, and the HR issues in the new workplace. Provide examples as appropriate.Major Issue: Changing social contract Issues in new workplace: 1) Becoming employer of choice – company highly attractive to employees due to HR practices that focus on not only tangible benefits but intangible too. 2) Team & Projects – People who used to work alone now has to work in groups. Many workers handle multiple tasks and responsibilities. 3) Temporary employees – Demand has grown for professionals. Contingent workers means reduced payroll an d benefit costs as well as increased flexibility for both employer and employee. 4) Technology – Virtual teams and telecommunicating ) Work/Life Balance – Telecommunicating helps employees work from home to balance life and work. 6) Downsizing – Some companies have to downsize and let employees go. ———————– Old contractNew Contract Employee Employer – Job felt secure – One part of the organisation – Knowing – Routine Jobs – Standard training programs – Limited information – Traditional compensation package (typical benefits) – Manage own career (employment not guaranteed) – Partner in business improvement – Learning – Challenging assignments – Continuous learning, lateral career – Information & resources – Creative development opportunities Practice Exam 1 Choose four (4) of the following questions and answer them in short essay format. All questions are worth equal marks. (12. 5 marks each) QUESTION 1 (12. 5 marks) Discuss the key factors in the international environment that managers of emerging global organisations look to as threats to their international operations. Provide examples as appropriate. International Environment is the management of business operations conducted in more than one country and usually outside of the organisations normal environment (out of the country).Legal-Political Environment: Political systems the organisation may be unfamiliar with; dealing with the government. – Political stability – Quotas, tariffs and taxes – Law and regulation Economic Environment: Economic conditions in which the organisation operates in – Consumer Market – Exchange rates – Economic development (Developing country? Depression? ) Sociocultural Environment: Common behaviour and way of thi nking among the consumers. – Religion – Time orientation – Beliefs and values(Hofstede) – Language QUESTION 2 (12. 5 marks)What are Porter’s competitive forces in an organisation’s environment? Explain them and provide examples to illustrate your answer. Threat of new entrants: – Capital requirements and economic of scale are potential barriers – Easier to enter mail order business than automobile due to high capital cost – Technology made it easier for new entrants to enter market. – Threat of existing rivalry: – Coke VS Pepsi, Toyota VS Honda – Influenced by the other four forces and cost-product differentiation Threat of substitute products: – Affected by cost changes or trends Internet open new ways to meet customer needs – Low cost airline tickets VS travel agencies Bargaining power of buyers: – Few buyer, many suppliers. Goods are standardised. (High buyer power) – B uyer gets more information about the car they want to buy; accident before? Bargaining power of suppliers: – Many buyers, few suppliers. Highly valued products. (High supplier power) – Airplane engine suppliers will have great power due to lack of competition – Internet helps the suppliers to reach end users and greater number of buyersQUESTION 3 (12. 5 marks) What is the difference between organisational structure and organisational design? Outline the six elements of organisational design. Organisational structure is a framework that defines the way tasks are assigned, the formalization of reporting relationships and the effectiveness of coordination of employees across departments. It is an expression of who is performing various tasks and how they are related to one another whereas organisational design is the process of reshaping or changing the organisation structure.Organisation leaders develop plans to function or perform better. Six elements are: 1) Wor k Specialisation – A. k. a Division of labour. Main idea is to divide the jobs so that everything is not done by one individual. Employees can focus on doing specific functions in their own department allowing them to effectively and efficiently specialise in that particular job. 2) Chain Of Command – Line of authority from the upper level of organisation to lower level of organisation and classifies who reports to whom. Unity of command where each employee is held accountable to only one supervisor.Scalar Command defined line of authority that refers to all employees. 3) Responsibility, authority & delegation – Authority is the legitimate right of managers to issue orders, make decisions and allocate resources. Responsibility is the duty to perform a task an employee is assigned to and usually comes with authority for managers. Delegation is the transfer of authority to a lower level position in the hierarchy. 4) Span of management – Refers to the number of employees reporting to a supervisor. Also known as span of control.Determines the number of employees a supervisor can effectively and efficiently manage. 5) Centralization & decentralization – Centralization is when the authority is located at a single point usually at the top level of the organisation and decentralization is when decision authority is pushed down to lower organisation levels. Decentralization is believed to relieve burden on top managers, make greater use of worker skills and abilities and permit rapid response to external changes. 6) Formalization – Process of creating written documents to direct and control employees.These include rule books, regulations and job descriptions. These provide the employees with descriptions of tasks, responsibilities and decision authority. QUESTION 4 (12. 5 marks) A contingency approach to leadership seeks to explain the relationship between leadership styles and specific situations. Describe Hersey and Blanchard ’s situational leadership model. Provide examples to illustrate your answer. [pic] QUESTION 5 (12. 5 marks) Managers faced with ethical choices have a number of approaches that they may use to guide their decision making.Discuss the various approaches to ethical decision making, providing examples to help explain your answer. Utilitarian approach is the moral behaviour of producing the greatest good for the greatest number. Decision makers are to consider the effect of all parties and select one that best gives satisfaction to the greatest number of people. Squatter homes are not abolished because the government may find that leaving the squatter homes untouched may be a better option as it provides as a home for many people.Dunlop closed their manufacturing plant in Australia and decided to open one in Thailand and Malaysia, managers justified that decision on the basis that it produces greater good to the company as a whole. Individualism approach promotes the individualâ⠂¬â„¢s best long term interests which will lead to the greater good. The action in which is intended to produce greater good than bad to the individual rather than other alternatives. This will in turn, lead to greater good as individual’s behaviour fits the standards of behaviour people wants towards themselves.Moral rights approach defines the fact that human beings have rights and liberties that cannot be taken away by another individual. This approach suggests companies to maintain the rights of the people affected by it. Western countries give their people the right to have their own say (freedom of speech) and in some companies, they give their customers the freedom to speak and complain. Hence, the saying the customer is always right. Justice approach is the moral decision based on equality, fairness and impartiality. There are 3 types of justice concerning managers: distributive ustice where people should not be treated differently based on illogical characteristics s uch as gender. Procedural justice where rules should be administered fairly and consistently and Compensatory justice where individuals should be compensated for the cost of their injuries by the party responsible. QUESTION 6 (12. 5 marks) A current issue for HRM involves the changing nature of careers, and the evolving dynamic of relationships between employers and employees. Discuss the major issues involved in the changing nature of careers, and the HR issues in the new workplace. Provide examples as appropriate.Major Issue: Changing social contract Issues in new workplace: 1) Becoming employer of choice – company highly attractive to employees due to HR practices that focus on not only tangible benefits but intangible too. 2) Team & Projects – People who used to work alone now has to work in groups. Many workers handle multiple tasks and responsibilities. 3) Temporary employees – Demand has grown for professionals. Contingent workers means reduced payroll an d benefit costs as well as increased flexibility for both employer and employee. 4) Technology – Virtual teams and telecommunicating ) Work/Life Balance – Telecommunicating helps employees work from home to balance life and work. 6) Downsizing – Some companies have to downsize and let employees go. ———————– Old contractNew Contract Employee Employer – Job felt secure – One part of the organisation – Knowing – Routine Jobs – Standard training programs – Limited information – Traditional compensation package (typical benefits) – Manage own career (employment not guaranteed) – Partner in business improvement – Learning – Challenging assignments – Continuous learning, lateral career – Information & resources – Creative development opportunities

How to Motivate Employees Essay

Introduction A â€Å"Dark Horse† company was founded in 1994, which is well known for manufacturing tires in Uzbekistan for local cars. The company produces low prized tires which is more affordable for citizens. However organization is facing high competitiveness in the local market, moreover, the problems concerned with the location of the company which is far from the city center, as a result, it has high turnover rate. â€Å"Dark Horse† company contains 50 employees, 5 of them works in Administration, 7 in Sales, other 38 employees work in Production. 1. Motivation plans The key factor of success in today’s business is employee’s performance  because, their working quality designates business improvement. However, making workers motivated is not easy for organization. Money does not only key, therefore, employees should have many senses that encourages working hard. Consequently, we planned many motivation theories in order to create those senses. 1.1 Achieving high job satisfaction Source: buzz.waspbarcode.com 1. Making high job satisfaction starts with suitable working hours. Setting convenient schedule shows that worker’s personal life is also important for employers. Consequently, it gives opportunity to make relationship between employer and workers better. 2. According to the famous companies, organizing rewards like â€Å"Initiator worker† once in a month is very effective. Because, individual recognition intensive tool to increase workers moral and motivation and their performance. 1.2 Reducing employee turn-around Source: halogensoftware.com 1. Interview with candidate should be carefully. Gather as much as information you can about job applicant. Skill testing is also effective to hire right people from the beginning. 2. Every employee should have exact development plan and should be trained at least annually. As a result, they think about their career and its progress. 3. Any organization cannot hold worker if they want to leave. So that, do exit interview where, you can know reasons and factors why they are going. Eventually, you can reduce employee turnover with basing on these information. 1.3 Improving high productivity Source: halogensoftware.com 1. If any company wants to achieve high productivity, they should start with task partition. Firstly, do not assign two tasks at the same time. Secondly, order every task to specialists. Consequently, you will realize that your business running in the right direction. 2. Statistics show that leading company’s key factor of success is collaboration among staff. Moreover, every workers skills and ability should be considered and headed off effectively. 3. In order to motivate employee that encourages to high productivity work places should be furnished with extra technologies and equipments. At the same time, workers should have knowledge and practice to work with them. Training staff constantly and informing about news increases worker’s performance and it is very important in today’s business. 1.4 Reaching high-quality work Source: halogensoftware.com 1. High-quality performance of company’s bottom line is fundamental of growing. There are some methods of improving this staff. First of all, competition among employees. Furthermore, every manager of organization should have skill to make healthy competition. 2. Second method is avoiding micromanaging. It might be seen unusual but it is really important in working environment. Because, every worker should have sense of confidence and must be given freedom. 3. Challenge your employees with new tasks. New duties might be absolutely different comparing with duty which they used to do. However, it would give them more practice, training and opportunity to develop their ability. 2. Methods of motivating all employees Most employers may find it hard to encourage employees to give of their best obligation at work. It is a fact that in many companies’ employers doesn’t understand the power of motivating employees and its importance. 2.1 Happy environment Based on â€Å"McGregor’s theory Y† assume that employees working under proper environment and like the work they do, will aim to take the responsibility  in order to satisfy their social, esteem, self-actualization needs. The atmosphere of the company should be positive and fun. Some organization’s employees usually celebrate birthdays, anniversaries and celebrate outstanding achievements, and other company’s employees organize different volleyball or football competitions. Encouraging activities that unit and improve teamwork. Moreover companies tend to make comfortable and enjoyable workplace for employees 2.2 Give a praise in public According to â€Å"Maslow’s theory of human motivation†, glorifying the employee’s goals in a public forum in different meetings. This will give a great boost for the certain person’s morale and may serve as a motivation to others. Moreover, recognition also can be a useful factor such as starting â€Å"employee of the month† program or just making compliment and simple things like thanking face-to-face, it will improve self-esteem of employees. 3. Three ways to motivate the minimum wage Motivating employees is essential for any company in order to develop. However, it is a common phenomenon and indisputable fact that many companies find it hard to stimulate minimum wage employees. According to â€Å"Maslow’s Theory† people, who get minimum salary, have trouble with basic and first needs for living such as food, clothes, water and moreover they are trying to protect themselves from physical and economic harm. At its simplest, this type of people belong to low-level need: Physiological and Security Needs. Below we will introduce 3 ways to motivate them. 3.1 Rewards It would certainly be a sobering thought to assert that some luxury items such as ticket to an entertainment events and movies, or perhaps a little money for perfect performance will keep them motivated. If money is restricted, pizza for lunch twice a week or ordering donuts on Fridays will give them something to look forward to. 3.2 Promotion Many minimum-wage workers have a lot of ambitions and plans but have trouble getting up the corporate ladder. Based on â€Å"Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory† helping to realize personal growth of potential employees, they will give the chance for further amelioration by providing extra training courses and proper education. It will stimulate minimum-wage workers to show their best in order to get a promotion. 3.3 Make Them Feel Special Minimum wage workers usually feel themselves undervalued and unimportant. Rod Walsh, co-author of â€Å"Semper Fi: Business Leadership the Marine Corps Way,† likens business to the military. Marine recruits are made to feel that they are part of an elite team from day one. Make your employees feel the similarly, emphasizing special sides of your business and always reminding them that not just anyone can be successful in this certain job. 4. Teamwork and individualism Nowadays, in organizational context teamwork and individual worker play important but different roles. From the McGraw-Hill’s â€Å"Business† book, it can easily be inferred that benefit of teamwork outweigh the individual one. 4.1 Working in a Team People working in a team more likely to have better communication with others Employees cooperate with each other, as a result, it increases the work efficiency Teamwork give a chance for sharing ideas among the group As person’s knowledge and ability are restricted it would be easy to deal problems in a team. Shortly, two heads are better than one Working in a group makes relationship better Group working allows employees to complete complex and large tasks which are  impossible for one individual. Furthermore, teamwork detects all minor problems which might be missed by person. 4.2 Benefits of Individualism One of the main advantage of individual worker is better concentration and focus on project. Working individually makes real to decide what to do and when It allows to make decisions by your own. Individual workers do not rely on others and only responsible people for work Individualism brings creativity and innovation to business. According to researches by Professor Barry Staw in the May 2006, organizations that promote an individualistic behavior are more successful in business. 5. Improving company’s growth and profit 5.1 Increasing productivity of company Connect employees virtually across the organization. Establish employee portals and different sites which can manage to connect teams and groups with each other, for the employees to do their work more effectively and efficiently within the company. Control productivity of the business and employee progress on goals. Online business software solutions enable managers to more easily track progress during every phase of goal completion and offer instant reinforcement or handler to keep productivity and deadlines on track. It will improve business productivity because the company is staffed with workers who are constantly learning new skills and being challenged to do their best. Moreover, employees who are motivated, happy and alerted will work harder. Motivating your staff members by awarding them for their successes, using material and non-material stimuli. 5.2 Increasing profitability of company Preparing Analytical Tools. Management should have an encounter or analyst to prepare analytical tools such as a common-size income statement. This income statement shows every expense as a percentage of sales, allowing management  to isolate costs that could contribute to decreasing profits. The company can perform this analysis for, preferably, three years of historical data. An analyst compares the three years to each other by reading across horizontally. Expenses as a percent of revenue are compared for each year to reveal trends that show expenses raising or lowering as a percent of sales over time. Some costs, such as the cost of goods sold, will naturally rise with sales increases because they represent the raw goods used to make products to sell. Building rent, administrative costs and some utility bills should remain the same, regardless of increases in sales. Conclusion All things considered above, it can be concluded that organizations should survive in today’s competitive environment. Moreover, they should think about how to improve productivity and increase profit of the company. Motivation is the main aspect in achieving this development. If all suggestions, which were illustrated, are implemented, the company has the chance for further amelioration and improvement. References 1. Australian School of Business (September 21, 2010) Productivity: How to Make Companies Work Smarter. Available at: http://knowledge.asb.unsw.edu.au/article.cfm?articleid=1218#top [Accessed 1st March, 2014] 2. Bob Whipple (2012) 10 Keys for Reducing Turnover. Available at: http://www.leadergrow.com/articles/27-10-keys-for-reducing-turnover [Accessed 27th February, 2014] 3. C. H. Tan, D. Torrington. (2014) Human Resource Management in Asia. 3rd ed. Pearson. pp-139-145 4. Chris Lake (September 10, 2013) 25 ways to boost employee satisfaction levels and staff retention. Available at: https://econsultancy.com/blog/63380-25-ways-to-boost-employee-satisfaction-levels-and-staff-retention [Accessed 3rd March, 2014] 5. D. Torrington, L. Hall, S. Taylor, C. Atkinson, (2011) Human Resource Management. 8th ed. Pearson. pp-335-341 6. Dunya Carter (January 18, 2013) 10 Easy Ways to Increase Your Job Satisfaction. Available at:

Is a University Degree Necessary to success Essay

Is a University Degree Necessary to success - Essay Example Recent years have seen significantly many cases of success that are not directly linked to university education such as degrees. For example, some of the most successful people in the world such as Marc Zuckerburg and Bill Gates dropped out of college and only sought a degree later while already successful. This implies that a success is not dependent on a university degree. There are significantly high numbers of people in the world who are successful yet their success is not based on a university degree. In fact, the most successful people in the world today are not dependent on degrees. In the modern world, there is arguably more to life in relation to success than a university degree. Business oriented practices form the basics of success and effective business practices are not necessarily tied to degrees. The basic education offered up to the high school level is enough to offer knowledge on some of the most important dynamics of a successful business. Post high school education mainly lays emphasis and advances already known facts in relation to business. Additionally, a significantly high number of people in the modern day do not engage in careers that are directly linked to their majors in the university. For example, there are people who majored, say, in history yet their career is based on something different like a social media coordinator. There are many more people with a similar situation yet they are faring exceptionally well. In such situations little of the knowledge and education acquired in the university is applied yet in most cases performance is brilliant. This implies that degrees are not essential for good performance that consequently constitutes to success but rather determination and effort are crucial. The amount of resources spent acquiring university degrees are too high and can be used in an

CCI - Exploiting new ventures Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

CCI - Exploiting new ventures - Essay Example The day to day affairs of the in-company ventures are handled by the business unit management, whereas, the organization management monitors and controls the overall performance of various business units. Joint ventures, whether local or worldwide, are the organizations engrossing two or more companies merging for an interim period to commence a specific project. Joint ventures may engage two or more companies from a single or more countries. International joint ventures in particular are becoming more popular, especially in businesses where a specific project involves huge amount of cost, for e.g. exploration of oil and gas and minerals and metals handling processes. The basic reason behind this type of venture is always to reduce related costs. A spin-out corporate venture is one when a company breaks up its various sections as independent and stand alone businesses or companies. The split company takes its associated assets, properties, products, related technologies and etc from its parent company. Agilent technology is an example of a spin out venture of Hewlett-Packard

Leadership Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Leadership - Article Example This is to fuel further his political agenda. From diverse experience across many organizations, leadership can also be natured. Through Natalie Gochnour, we are able to witness growth in leadership. Maura Carabello on his part builds his career at Time Inc. This gives him the skills, which he later uses to successfully co-found a communications Inc. The communications firm has grown progressively by 30% each year.( www.deseretnews.com/article) David Jordan successfully leads a practice of law earning him a lot of respect. He also practices civic leadership through engagement in leadership of a variety of organizations and activities. This is vital for an all round leader. Clark Ivory is a more technical leader who shows prowess in data driven decisions. Through his analytical decision-making, he leads Ivory incorporation into massive growth. This leads to growth in jobs for the populace. As a leader Rich McKeown shows us how career can be shifted as he begins as a teacher and finally becomes an attorney. He later becomes a chief of staff in one of the state departments and ultimately leads a multi-million dollar consultancy. Kirk Jowers on his part is a highly educated leader from Harvard. He leads the Federal relation for the US. He fuels its expansion worldwide through significant growth. Lastly, Jim Kearl is one of the most sought out professors. To worsen the situation, he is also heavily relied upon by many organizat ions. His expertise also makes him be sought after by many governments for consultancy. (www.deseretnews.com/article) On the contrary, non-leaders are Gladys Prutt; she does not endow trust and belief on her subjects. This lead to the deterioration of Prag’s Social trust. This she was given the role of leading. Scollin Dengony could not initiate good communication procedures. Communication is vital for coordination roles. The Inc’s functions could not

Overpopulation in America Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Overpopulation in America - Essay Example He noted that without farming, the world population could probably not have reached half a million by now. The population of the world is expected to have a significant increase by the year 2050. This is pegged on the increased or advanced medical services, also the remarkable increase on agricultural productivity. By the year 2050, the world population is expected to reach over 7.8 billion among the underdeveloped countries, from its current figure of approximately 5.3. On the other hand, populations recorded in developed countries are expected to remain constant or to have a marginal increase of about 1.2 billion people. In particular, the population of the United States is expected to increase by 44 percent, differing from its 2008 projection of three hundred and five million to four hundred and thirty nine million people by the year 2050; therefore, it means that American will be overpopulated by the year 2050. Ironically, since the year 1970, American women enjoyed an average ra te of birth that was at 2.03 children per year. This preceded the1960s great â€Å"Zero Population Growth† (Zuckerman 45). During periods of 1960s, America was under populated or in other words it had a low population, a situation that swayed the Congress into formulating a bill in the year 1965, which allowed or facilitated immigrants into the United States. The 1965 immigration bill, oversaw the influx of numerous immigrants into the United States (Anchel 14). Since its inception, the immigration bill is still in full operation today. Within a timeframe of forty years, the immigration bill, had added one hundred million people to America’s population. It is true that America is adding about hundred thousand immigrants after every thirty days to its population without a pause. The monthly influx of immigrants for decades results to millions of immigrants becoming Americans. Therefore, it is apparent that the overwhelming American population is highly constituted by im migrants (Fielden 20). As America is grappled with accelerating its environment, its citizen’s quality of life, issues of boated cities, and among other issues such as water and energy, some of its laws or bills are busy adding more millions of people in the country (Anchel 94). Notably, the program of adding more people in population lack contingency plans, which would counter the problem of America’s population exceeding its optimum capacity. In fact, America’s population is at its optimum level. Dr. Albert Bartlett from University of Colorado once posed a question asking people to conceptualize a problem ranging from scales of microscopic going up to global. He continued the question by adding that the problem’s long term remedy empirically advanced, propelled and assisted by the increased population capacities on the levels of local, state, national or global. This outcry is showing the scholars are already worried of the current population trend in t he United States (Solomon 214). It seems that the underlying current and future effects of over population have not only been a problem among the scholars, but the issue is also of great concern among different groups. However, the issue is not lingering in the minds of the political leaders (Wooldridge 1). Contrary to politicians, the issue is of great concern to most media outlets in particular top newspapers, which include the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Atlanta Journal, Dallas

Services Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 1

Services Marketing - Essay Example In 2001 Vodafone ranked first in market value amongst British companies. Companies are affected by macro and micro factors at every stage of the product life cycle. It had always been a first-mover taking advantage of the consumer demands but by 2002, Vodafone’s shares started declining. It had already made huge investments in the 3G technology and the returns were not as expected. Global wireless markets became saturated due to slowing down of demand and increased competition. The company drew a lot of attention in the global market due to its high-profile acquisitions. Their entrepreneurial culture became a hurdle in handling saturation, competition and overexpansion which led to departure of many executives. Its recent  £23.5bn write down earned it the title of biggest loss in UK corporate history (Best, 2006). The shareholders, executives and workers are all displeased with the current state of affairs. Sustaining high performance is difficult, which was the main problem that occurred at Vodafone. Being first-movers and market leaders led to complacency and over-zealous attitude. Vodafone perhaps overlooked that services have distinct characteristics as they are intangible in nature, inseparable, heterogeneous, perishable and have a different concept of ownership (Gabbot & Hogg, 1997 cited by Zwan & Bhamra, 2003). Accordingly, five capabilities support services innovation strategy: These capabilities can drive growth that paces industry performance say Kapur, Ferris, Juliano, & Berman (2006). Based on these parameters, this report will ascertain the problems that arose in Vodafone, what efforts it made to overcome them and suggest the possible solutions to the organization. The Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS) systems and services were supposed to enter the market by 2002/2003 (Ballon, 2004). This was to be a transition from 2G to

Use of social networks for financial and performance reporting Research Paper

Use of social networks for financial and performance reporting - Research Paper Example This research analyses how the financial reporting and organizations performance have improved for the past few years because of increased use of social networking. Inescapabilty and popularity of the social network has largely created awareness and improved the relationship between the business and the stakeholders by introducing a new way in which financial information is disseminated and eventually consumed. Companies primarily use the social media to report their performances so that the information can reach larger audience who may be interested. Information that was previously released in news releases, conference calls and presentations are revealed through twitter because of its ability to swiftly and efficiently receive and share information from a trusted source. There are live tweets of companies’ earning call enabling shareholders who are physically absent during call to receive live information. According to Scott (2013), â€Å"Of Facebook’s nearly one billion strong users, approximately 200 million are mobile only.† On the other hand, YouTube, and Flickr may be utilized in providing videos regarding earning calls, do presentations thus engaging investors with the business financial reports as well as sharing information such as crucial business transactions that include merger and acquisition. It is worth noting that the social network has the ability to reach even remote communities thus enabling the company to operate in distant and remote places while raising awareness about them. There are many reasons justifying the use of social media in financial reporting and performance. Social media’s ability to reach a huge audience makes it the best communication channels for businesses compared to the conventional methods that are inaccessible to some people. According to Scott (2013), â€Å"Statistical research has revealed that more than 95 per cent of  Facebook users log into their account every day. The same number

Architecture - Project Management - Exam Research Paper - 2

Architecture - Project Management - Exam - Research Paper Example Extra materials, damages which have been done, problems with labour and employment and other values can be estimated but the true value isn’t known until the project takes place. - Project Initiation: This consists of setting the vision and definition for a project. The end goal and achievements are set, such as financial changes, expectations and growth within the company. This stage includes both the inception and the feasibility. - Project Planning: This includes goals of how the visions will be used to achieve the end results with detailed planning. Resources that are needed and planning of various stages, milestones and other concepts are used at the planning phase. This includes strategy and pre – construction. - Project Execution: The goals and milestones are presented to employees and workers to build the project and to work through specific steps. The detailed planning is put into action, monitored and controlled so the project can be completed. - Project Closure: If the project didn’t work, it is evaluated for future prospects. If it is closed and completed successfully, then evaluations of what worked and what didn’t are stated. At this point, those working on the project can look at potential and future opportunities as well as growth through the project which has taken place. - Project managers can use the life cycle to monitor and assist employees at each stage. The most important phases for a manager are inclusive of the planning and execution, where goals can be communicated to the employees and monitoring of how the goals are reached can be looked at. This allows the managers to evaluate the end product while looking at future options. Group Collaboration: Organization of the employees and labour options for those working on the project. Vision of what needs to be done, daily maintenance assistance and overviews for organized collaboration. - Collaborative Programming and Scheduling: Engages main

Milwaukee Emergency Center for Animals Case Study

Milwaukee Emergency Center for Animals - Case Study Example It is open for emergencies, critical care for animals and surgery. The hospital endeavors in serving the critical health needs of animals with time as of the essence. Previously, the center served as an overnight emergency clinic for pet owners and veterinarians in the local area of Milwaukee and became the first 24 hour emergence and critical care referral center in the state in 1984. 1991 came with the addition of emergency and critical care specialists, surgery and internal medicine doctors to the care givers (Marla, 4). The center moved to another building facility in West Silver Spring Business District in 1999. The building covers more than 13, 800 feet squared with a large waiting room plus four examination rooms. The building has three surgical suites and 41 cage intensive care units and many other functional rooms like isolation units’ laboratories and imaging rooms. Most of the rooms, officially opened in June, 2009 have transparent glass walls to let their customers and veterinarians to keep their eyes on the procedural treatment of their pets and animals. The emergency care hospital has well over 35 staff, which includes an emergency and critical care specialist. ... Information research The team had to submit a questionnaire containing only questions relevant to study in the efforts to get information on the company. This served as a pre-visit to the company which helped the owner and the administrator to prepare in advance. This also helped to avoid any inconveniences that would come in because the team would have interfered with the programs at the center. Some of the questions that we submitted were to find out some of the challenges incurred in running such a large facility, the response of the immediate community towards the establishment of the facility in the area, the revenues, their products and services and other operating processes. The group planned for the interview to be conducted by two of the members and to ask open ended questions to different people in the company in order to get their views. The best resource on this area was Dr. Lichtenberger who is the owner of the facility and the administrator, Frank Mahler. They answered the questions both directly and expressing their views about the hospital in general. Since we organized the interviews in a way that each group comprised of two members, one member of each group asked questions, while the other one did the recording of the answers through taking notes. We had two groups each interviewing the owner of the hospital and the hospital administrator independently, after which we compared the responses. The members were to be principally sensitive to the kind of job that goes on in the hospital and use their observatory instincts in partly collecting information. The members had to look at other areas to get other information about the hospital, including the hospital

The Eve of Waterloo Essay Example for Free

The Eve of Waterloo Essay There was sound of revelry by night: A ball was given at Brussels on the evening before the battle of Quatre Bras, which occurred two days before the Battle of Waterloo; Belgium’s capital had then gathered her beauty and chivalry while her lamps shone brightly over fair women and brave men. The thousand hearts beat happily when the music arose with its voluptuous swell and all went out merry as though summoned to church by the wedding bells. Then suddenly a deep sound struck like a rising knell. It might be that no everyone heard it for the rest thought it to be the powerful movement of the wind or the rattling of a car over the stony street. Yet the patriots moved on with the dance and did not confine their joy nor did they sleep till morning. When the youth and their pleasure met to chase the glowing hours with flying feet, suddenly the heavy sound broke in once more and the clouds repeated its echo. The sound was felt coming nearer and deadlier than before. Finally it became all clear that it was the arm of the cannon’s opening roar. The fated chieftain of Brunswick; Frederick William, Duke of Brunswick; sate: sat; within a windowed niche of the great high hall. He first heard the sound in the midst of the festival and immediately understood its tone to be caught up with death’s prophetic ear. When his people smiled because he deemed the roaring sound near, his heart knew more truly that pealed too well which stretched his father’s honor on a bloody bier. He also knew that it was only by rousing the vengeance blood alone that could quell his desire for ultimate justice. He rushed into the battlefield and died fighting in the forefront of the battle and unfortunately for his men who had to hurry to and fro. All his people gathered tears in their eyes and felt the trembling of distress with their cheeks all pale. Perhaps an hour ago, they blushed at the praise of their own loveliness when they had to experience the sudden partings like pressing the life out of young hearts and choking their sighs which might never be repeated. No one could guess if those mutual eyes should ever meet again, since upon the night that is so sweet should such an awful morning rise. There was mounting on horsebacks in great haste. The steed in mustering squadron: gathering army; and the clattering car charged forward with impetuous speed and swiftly forming themselves into ranks of war. The deep thunder of canons peal on peal far and near while the beat of the alarming drums roused up the soldiers before the morning star came up. The citizens thronged and were dumb-struck with terror and whispering with white lips that the foe was coming. The wild and high note of the Cameron’s gathering: the war song of the Cameron clan; rose even on behalf of Lochiel: the Cameron clan is from Lochiel in Scotland; which was heard in the Albyn hills too; Albyn: a poetic name for Scotland; to have her Saxon foes: the English (since they belonged to Saxon stock while the Scots were mainly of Celtic origin). At mid-day and mid-night the Pibroch: a kind of Highland bagpipe; thrills with shrill and savage notes, whose breath fills their mountain pipes and the mountaineers too with the fierce native daring courage which instills the stirring memories of a thousand years and Evan, Donald: Evan Cameron and Donald Cameron, two Scottish chieftains who supported the Stuarts; fame rings in each clansman’s ears.

Effect of Estrogen on Osteoclasts and Osteoblasts

Effect of Estrogen on Osteoclasts and Osteoblasts Osteoporosis is a disease that afflicts many people, especially women. This disease is very debilitating and is characterized by excessive bone loss which results in severe fractures. There are two types of osteoporosis: Type I and Type II. Type I is the more severe type and is prevalent in post-menopausal women. There have been numerous hypothesis and studies as to the cause of osteoporosis and its relation to menopause (Riggs, 2002). The findings suggest that estrogen plays a major role. Estrogen receptors have been identified in bone and are involved in the production and maintenance of both osteoclasts and osteoblasts (Eriksen, 1988; Girasole, 1992). Osteoclasts function in bone resorption, and osteoblasts function in synthesizing new bone, hence these two cell types have opposite effects on bone (Saladin, 2010). Studies have shown that a decrease in estrogen levels in post-menopausal women is the primary cause of this reduction in bone density (Girasole 1992; Menolagas, 2002). Estrogen is a steroid hormone that has many different functions. It is primarily involved in sexual differentiation and maturation, but also has some less obvious effects including thermoregulation and the maintenance of bone mineral deposition. Estrogen is a lipophilic hormone and therefore is capable of diffusing through the cell membrane and binding its two intracellular receptors, ERÃŽ ± and ERÃŽ ² There are three female sex hormones: estrone (E1), estradiol (E2) and estriol (E3), however, estrogen is the common name used to refer to all three, though estradiol is the main form of estrogen (Carlsten, 2005). Estrogen is mainly synthesized in the ovaries, though its synthesis is not limited to the ovaries. Some peripheral tissues, such as adipose tissue, are capable of producing estrogen by way of steroid precursors (Nelson, 2001; Simpson 1981). Synthesis of estrogen involves many different precursors the first of which is cholesterol. Cholesterol is converted in the ovarian follicle to pregnenolone which can be converted to 17ÃŽ ±-hydroxypregnenolone. 17 ÃŽ ±-hydroxypregnenolone is then converted to dehydroepiandrosterone which is converted to androstenedione which undergoes a conversion to the androgen, testosterone. Aromatase then converts testosterone to esradiol (E2). Estradiol is then secreted from the follicle and can either act on its target tissue or undergo another conversion to estrone (E1) and estriol (E3) which takes place in the liver. Estrogen has two main receptors ( ERÃŽ ± and ERÃŽ ²) that mediate its primary effects. These receptors belong to the nuclear receptor family and are transcription factors that are regulated by ligands (Carleson, 2005). Estrogen receptors require numerous coregulatory proteins that have cell-specific expressions. These cell specific expressions delineate some of the specific actions of estrogen in its various target tissues (Heldring, 2007).The two estrogen receptors maintain some highly conserved regions such as their DNA binding domains; both ERÃŽ ± and ERÃŽ ² bind the same DNA response elements. Other domains are not at all conserved, such as the amino-terminal which exhibits significant variability in sequence as well as in length. The ligand-binding domain is located at the C-terminal and is a multifunctional domain. Both the N-terminal and the C-terminal contain activation functions, AF-1 and Af-2, respectively. These activation functions, work to activate transcription by recru iting coregulatory proteins to the DNA-binding domain. Though ERÃŽ ± and ERÃŽ ² are fairly homologous, they are actually derived from separate genes which are located on separate chromosomes. ERÃŽ ± and ERÃŽ ² also give very different splice variants (Heldring, 2007). ERÃŽ ± and ERÃŽ ² regularaly act as antagonists of each other when expressed in the same cells; hence, estrogen signaling functions as a balance between these two contradictory receptors (Carleson, 2005). It appears as if ERÃŽ ² works to inhibit the effect of ERÃŽ ± by not only altering the recruitment of transcription factors essential for of ERÃŽ ±-dependent transcription, but also by increasing the degredation of ERÃŽ ± by way of ERÃŽ ²2, a splice variant of ERÃŽ ² (Heldring, 2007). Estrogen receptors have been found in many non-reproductive tissues including bone. This fact lends credence to the theory of estrogens involvement in the maintenance of bone. Estrogen Signaling There are a few distinct pathways that are involved in estrogen signaling. Three of these signaling pathways are ligand-dependent, the fourth is ligand-independent. The first ligand-dependent pathway is the classical or direct pathway (Fig. 1a.) in which the ligand (usually estradiol) binds the receptor and this ligand receptor complex then dimerizes with another ligand-receptor complex in order to bind estrogen response elements in the promoters of target genes (Carleston, 2005). The second ligand-dependent pathway is referred to as the tethered pathway (Fig. 1b.). The tethered pathway involves protein-protein interactions with transcription factors. These interactions occur after the receptor has been activated by the ligand. Hence, the receptor activates transcription by an indirect DNA binding mechanism (Carleston, 2005). The non-genomic pathway (Fig 1c.) is also ligand-dependent but is not as well understood as the previous two. It is known that the receptor is activated by the ligand, which then initiates a signaling cascade resulting in the activation of second messenger systems (Heldring, 2007). Studies have shown that the activation of these second messenger systems display some common effects including an increase in the production of cAMP levels as well as the activation of the MAPK pathway (Lim, 2006). This activation of second messenger systems ultimately leads to a rapid physiological response without involving gene regulation (Heldring, 2007). The fourth signaling pathway is ligand-independent (Fig.1d.) and involves activation by way of other signaling pathways such as that of Growth Hormone which ultimately leads to the activation of gene regulation. This activation of gene regulation occurs due to the activation of protein kinases that work to phosphorylate the estrogen receptor. This phosphorylation causes receptor dimerization which allows the receptors to then bind the DNA and activate gene transcription (Carleson, 2005; Heldring, 2007). a.) The direct ligand dependent pathway in which the ligand directly binds the receptor which dimerizes and binds the DNA promoter region. b.) The tethered pathway is indirect and involves protein interactions with transcription factors that allow for the binding of the transcription factor to the promoter region c.) The non-genomic pathway involvs activation by the ligand which then can cause a signal transduction pathway resulting in activation of second-messenger systems. d.) The ligand-independent pathwayin which activation occurs by other signalling pathways (i.e. GH) and eventually leads to activation of gene transcription. Source: Heldring, Pike, Andersson et al. Estrogen Receptors: How do they signal and What are Their Targets. Physiol. Rev. 87: 905-931. 2007. Estrogen and Osteoporosis Osteoporosis is a disease that is characterized by a decrease in bone mineral density and hence an increase in the frequency of bone fractures (Though osteoporosis is often associated with post-menopausal women, the disease is not necessarily limited by gender. Osteoporosis was separated into two classes in 1983 by Riggs and Melton. The two types of osteoporosis (Type I and Type II) differ in regions of bone mineral density, patterns of fracture, causal mechanisms and hormonal changes. Type I osteoporosis is the more severe form of osteoporosis, however, type II is more common especially in the elderly (70+) (Riggs, 2003). Type I Osteoporosis is prevalent in post-menopausal women. It usually arises within 20 years after menopause and is associated with excessive cancellous bone loss. Fractures occur at sites that are rich in cancellous bone. Type I osteoporosis is associated with an increase in osteoclast function and a decrease in osteoblast function. This is thought to be due to a decrease in the levels of estrogen present in post-menopausal women (Girasole, 1992; Ribot, 1997). Osteoporosis has been found to occur in men also; primarily elderly men. The underlying explanation for osteoporosis is that the sex steroids play a role in the remodeling process of bones. Hence, when ovarian function ceases due to menopause in women, estrogen levels decrease and bone remodeling is therefore disrupted in a deleterious fashion. Osteoporosis in men is associated with a loss of androgens which is generally due to either castration or aging (Manolagas, 2002). Type II osteoporosis is prevalent in both men and women and can occur at any age, though it is more often associated with the elderly (above age 70). Type II osteoporosis is characterized by the loss of trabecular bone. It is generally due to aging effects such as hyperparathyroidism and impaired bone formation, and also a decrease in vitamin D and PTH levels. There is some speculation as to whether or not Type II osteoporosis may also be due to late effects of decreased estrogen levels (Riggs, 2003). Evidence for estrogens involvement in osteoporosis and its actions on maintaining bone mass can be seen in the study conducted by Riggs et al. which involved 36 women with vertebral fractures due to type I osteoporosis. These women all displayed a high bone turnover rate. The women with type I osteoporosis were compared with 36 normal women (women who did not exhibit Type I osteoporosis) after they were given small amounts of the sex steroids: estradiol, estrone, and testosterone. Blood and urine samples were continuously taken (about every 24 hours) and analyzed to reveal that the levels of the sex steroids were equally apparent in both groups of women. However, the amount of all bone biochemical markers (involved in bone turnover) appeared higher in the osteoporotic women. Though the experiment did not detect a difference in the sex steroid concentrations between the two groups of women, post-experimental power calculations were done to show that there are differences between the t wo groups when ÃŽ ± = .05 and 1-ÃŽ ² = 0.8. The differences for serum estrone, estradiol and testosterone were as follows: 6.3%, 9.9%, and 4.4%, respectively. Some of the women with osteoporosis then underwent another study in which they were split into two groups. One group of osteoporotic women received one-years worth of treatment with transdermal estrogen while the other group of osteoporotic women received a years worth of treatment with a placebo. The women who underwent estrogen treatment displayed a remarkably larger decrease in bone turnover markers than the women treated with the placebo (Riggs, 2002). Osteoclasts, Osteoblasts and the Estrogen Connection Osteoclasts are cells involved in maintaing bone homeostasis and are located on the bone surface in the anterior portion where they work to digest old bone (Manolagas, 2002). Osteoclasts are derived from macrophages, and are very large multinuclear cells formed from the fusion of multiple stem cells (Saladin, 2010). Osteoclasts function in digesting bone; hence they are involved in bone resorption. Bone resorption is a process that releases calcium back into the circulatory system by digesting bone tissue (Saladin, 2010). The function of osteoclasts is essential to the broader process of bone remodeling. Osteoblasts are also involved in maintaining bone homeostasis and are active in the process of bone remodeling. Osteoblasts are located in the posterior portion of the bone surface and work to produce new bone in the areas that underwent excavation by osteoclasts (Manolagas, 2002). Osteoblasts are derived from mesenchymal stem cells (Zallone, 2006). The mesenchymal stem cells give rise to osteogenic cells which give rise to most other bone cell types including osteoblasts. Osteoblasts are immature bone cells that are located beneath the endosteum and periosteum of the bone. Osteoblasts synthesize the components of the bone matrix. The matrix undergoes mineral deposition which causes it to harden, and hence the osteoblasts become trapped within the matrix. When osteoblasts mature, they become osteocytes which function in maintaining bone (Saladin, 2010). Osteoblasts function in making new bone. They deposit calcium salts into the bone matrix in order to make hydroxyapate which is the calcium reserve in bone. Osteoblasts fill in the cavities that were excavated by osteoclasts with new bone. Osteoblasts may be stimulated by various signals and hormones such as calcitonin and estrogen which both function in decreasing blood calcium levels and maintaining calcium levels in bone (Saladin, 2010). Estrogen receptors (ERÃŽ ± and ERÃŽ ²) as well as androgen receptors (AR) have been identified in both osteoblasts and osteoclasts and their parental cells. The presence of these receptors indicates that estrogen has a direct effect in mediating the process of bone remodeling (Eriksen, 1988; Girasole, 1992; Manolagas, 2002). Estrogen and androgens also have an indirect effect on the process of bone remodeling via the cytokine, interleukin-6 (IL-6) which is an important factor in the process osteoclastogenesis in bone marrow stromal cells (Carleston, 2005; Manolagas, 2002). The Study conducted by Girasole et al. has shown that estrogen has an inhibitory effect on IL-6, which results in a decrease in the production of osteoclasts. This decrease in osteoclastogenesis ultimately causes a decrease in bone resorption (Girasole, 1992). Estrogen and androgens inhibit the production of IL-6 in vitro by inhibiting Interleukin-1 (IL-1) and tumor-necrosis factor (TNF)-ÃŽ ±. IL-1 and TNF-ÃŽ ± are involved in the synthesis of IL-6 (Ribot, 1997). Some studies suggest that estrogen has more of an effect on TNF-mediated production of IL-6, than on IL-1 mediated production (Girasole et al. 1992). The expression of the IL-6 receptor subunits, gp130 and IL-6-RÃŽ ±, are also suppressed in bone marrow stromal cells and in osteoblast progenitor cells (Manolagas, 2002). Studies done in mice have shown that when the IL-6 gene is knocked out or neutralized (via antibodies) the upregulation of colony-forming unit-granulocyte/macrophage (CFU-GM) (which osteoclasts are derived from) in bone marrow is prevented. Hence, there is not an increase in osteoclast production. The results showed that the antigen caused the estradiol-induced inhibition of bone resorption to itself be inhibited (Ribot, 1997). A decrease in estrogen (as well as androgens) also has an effect on osteoblasts. One mechanism by which osteoblasts are regulated by estrogen can be observed in bipotential stromal cells; these cells express the estrogen receptors. The bipotential stromal cells are parents to both adipocytes and osteoblasts. A study conducted by Okazaki et al. in mouse bone marrow stromal cell lines, found that estrogen works to mediate the differentiation of the parental bipolar stromal cells towards the production of osteoblasts (Okazaki, 2002). Post-menopausal women who exhibit bone loss have been observed to have an increased amount of lipid concentration in their bone marrow. Hence, a decrease in estrogen would cause an increase in adipogenesis and a decrease in osteoblastogenesis (Okazaki, 2002). This decrease in osteoblastogenesis would result in a decrease in bone formation. Estrogen Replacement Therapy A study that was conducted on post-menopausal Chinese women by Sun et al. was also useful in determining the effects of estrogen treatment for osteoporosis. These women all ranged from 41-58 years of age and had undergone menopause for more than a year. The women were split into 4 different groups. Each group received different levels of 17ÃŽ ²-estradiol (E2) gel along with a form of progesterone, either micronized progesterone (MP) or medroxyprogesterone (MPA). The progesterone was added along with the estrogen in order to prevent endometrial hyperplasia which may occur as a result of estrogen replacement therapy. The dosages differed in both progesterone type and concentration as well as in estrogen concentration. The exact dosages for each group were as follows: group 1 received 1.5 mg E2 and 100 mg MP, group 2 received 1.5 mg E2 and 2 mg MPA, group 3 received 0.75 mg E2 and 100 mg MP, and group 4 received 0.75 mg of E2 and 2 mg MPA. These dosages were administered once a day, 25 days a month for at least a year (some of the subjects were studied for two or three years). Blood and urine samples were taken from these women and monitored for bone mineral density (BMD). The results showed that after about a year of this treatment, the average increase in BMD in cancellous bone of the 4 groups ranged from 4.6%6.4%. After 36 months an increase in the BMD of the bones in the neck and the lumbar vertebrae were observed; the averages ranged from 4.3%-7.5% and 4.2%-6.2%, respectively. This study also found that the BMD in the hip (an area that is prone to fractures), had significantly higher levels than the baseline levels. The main purpose of the study was to determine an appropriate dosage of estrogen and progestin for post-menopausal Chinese women; the results of the study indicated that either 0.75 mg or 1.5 mg of E2 daily is sufficient for prevention of bone loss in Chinese women. The study suggests that hormone replacement therapy has a significant effect on bo ne, especially during the first two years of treatment (Sun, 2002). The knowledge of estrogens actions on bone and the inhibitory effect it has on osteoclastogenesis, has led to the utilization of estrogen as a treatment for osteoporosis. Estrogens ability to maintain bone mass in post-menopausal women has made estrogen replacement therapy a valuable form of treatment. This treatment utilizes the protective properties of estrogen on bone and functions in increasing bone mineral density (BMD) in post-menopausal women (Sun, 2002). Estrogens positive effects on bone are amplified during the treatment; hence, estrogen induces stimulation of osteoblastogenesis and inhibits osteoclastogenesis via IL-6 (Girasole, 1992; Okazaki, 2002). The type of estrogen administered (other than estriol) seems to have no difference in effectiveness; hence, synthetic estrogen, 17ÃŽ ²-estridiol, and equine estrogen all have equal effects on the maintenance of bone mass and all work to decrease the amount of bone turnover (Ribot, 1997). The method by which estrogen is adminis tered (i.e. transdermally, percutaneously, etc.) also does not appear to make a difference in its effectiveness. The dosages of estrogen as well as the duration of the treatment seem to be the only variables involved in determining the effectiveness of estrogen replacement therapy (Ribot., 1997). In order for estrogen replacement therapy to have a long term effect, estrogen must be administered for about 5-7 years (Cauley 1995; Ribot, 1997). Estrogen replacement therapy is also most effective if it is initiated early after menopause. A study conducted by Cauley et al. found that women who started estrogen treatment within 5 years of menopause and/or underwent treatment for 10 years or more, had the most effective and long-lasting results (Cauley 1995). Though Estrogen Replacement Therapy is a promising and effective mechanism for treatment of osteoporosis, it is associated with some serious physiological risks. Long-term usage of estrogen has been known to cause endometrial cancers. However, when estrogen is administered in conjunction with progestins, the risk of endometrial hyperplasia is significantly reduced. (Ribot, 1997; Sun, 2002). Many studies have been conducted to determine whether or not there is a relationship between estrogen and breast cancer. Some studies suggest that there is a correlation between the risk of breast cancer and use of estrogen (Lim, 2006). Other studies suggest that there is no correlation (Ribot, 1997). Though estrogen replacement therapy is associated with a few serious risks, it also has other positive physiological effects on other areas of the body, not just bone. For example, estrogen is thought to have a preventive effect on Alzheimers disease and also on Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) in post-m enopausal women (Ribot, 1997; Tang, 1996). The onset of type I osteoporosis is generally characterized by a loss of ovarian function which therefore results in a loss of estrogen in postmenopausal women. (Manolagas 2002). Estrogen can be used as a treatment for osteoporosis due to the presence of estrogen receptors in osteoclasts, osteoblasts and their precursors, as well as in bone marrow stromal cells (Zallone, 2006). The positive actions of estrogen on bone are mainly due to the suppressive actions of estrogen on bone resorption by osteoclasts (Okazaki, 2002). When Estrogen levels are decreased, the normal regeneration process, which involves bone resorption followed by an appropriate amount of bone formation, is disturbed (Zallone, 2006). Various in vitro studies have been conducted that demonstrate that the presence of estrogen (as well as androgens) increases the action of factors that work to inhibit the process of osteoclastogenesis (Bellido, 1995). The decrease in the production of osteoclasts due to estrogen would t herefore cause a decrease in the process of bone resorption (Okazaki 2002). Estrogen also has an effect on the production and differentiation of osteoblastic cells. However, it has the opposite effect on osteoblasts and thereby stimulates their production by shifting the mechanism of bipolar stromal cells towards the production of osteoblastic cells rather than that of adipocytes (Okazaki, 2006). Hence, estrogen works to decrease bone resorption and increase bone formation, thereby creating a protective effect on bone which can be utilized to treat such debilitating diseases as osteoporosis.

Policies and legislation affecting Early Years Practitioners

Policies and legislation affecting Early Years Practitioners This module will explore the changing features of different Early Years settings, working with other professional and the skills and the core skills of those workers. It will look at the policies and legislation affecting Early Years Practitioners and the beliefs and values that ensure quality childcare. It will also include observations and problems created by working within the current guidelines. Historically homes had no appliances so a womans occupation was chores and childcare, other family members lived locally and helped. With increasing school leaving age and new appliances women could fill freed time with jobs and increased income meant more appliances. Government policy supported women working; they had careers, luxuries became necessities, families dispersed moving to the work and alternative childcare was sought. This led to more childcare requirements providing parental peace of mind rather than education and preparation for life. The quality provided was diverse and various programmes were introduced through law, policy and consultation to meet the growing needs of parents and their children. The Children Act 1989 provided legislation for under-eights, introducing quality standards for all childrens services using a registration and an annual inspection (reports to be made available to parents) system maintained by local authorities. In addition they had to carry out checks on over eighteen year olds who came into contact with children, ensure that the premises used were suitable and set staff : child ratios. Children had to be helped to get the most from planned activities. The Acts failings were that it did not allow access to at risk children, provided insufficient emergency protection, allowed inappropriate Care Orders so that a child could be taken into care unchallenged. It did allow children and their families to be heard but this was seen a problem removing Local Authorities autonomy. The Special Educational Needs Code of Practice (1994) was the first that defined the roll of the SENCO (Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator) appointed for each setting. In 1997 the Labour Government stated in their manifesto: Previously there had been no measurable standards and establishments worked alone. Investment in the National Childcare Strategy (1998) provided more affordable, quality childcare places so parents could work satisfied that their children were safe and well looked after. More training was made available and to accommodate free childcare places for three year olds childminders could become accredited. Early Learning Goals replaced Desirable Outcomes within the Foundation Stage. Sure Start Local Programmes were an initiative started in 1997 to give every child the best start to achieved their full potential, initially 250 centres were opened to support parents, in disadvantaged areas, with early education (from birth to four), childcare and health. In 2004 Sure Start Local Programmes and Neighbourhood Nurseries became Sure Start Childrens Centres and are now accessible to every district. They are now meant to be self-maintained but this has not happened and funding has been cut. They advertise themselves as: The social expectation is that parents should return to work and the care given will provide children with the best start possible implying that wrap around childcare is best but ignores possible developmental problems such as not providing secure attachment, although a key worker is provided, the hours that the centres are open means that they work shifts. More importantly they have failed in their original remit as their qualities are recognised by the middle classes. The Laming Report resulted in the green paper, Every Child Matters (ECM) (2003), highlighting poor communication and lack of information sharing between agencies particularly health and education, when protecting children. It focused on five outcomes: Childrens Act 2004 provided the legislation enforcing local authorities and central government to meet some requirements of ECM particularly regarding multi-disciplinary working. Public outcry to the anti-smacking clause resulted inclusion of a definition of smacking. The Childrens Commissioner lacked power and this continues to cause concern. One agency had to be in overall control; Local Authorities were appointed but other agencies felt marginalised. There was valid concern about data sharing as there have been several occasions when data has been made visible on the internet. After consultation ECM: The Next Step (2004) stated that aged five children should completed the foundation stage so be ready for school narrowing the gap in the 20% most disadvantaged. ECM: Change for Children covered inclusion for special needs. Although the Childcare Act 2006 states that local authorities have to provide information, advice and help for children up to 20 years, it was also given a duty to provide childcare providers information, advice and training, to ensure sufficient childcare to meet parental demand and be duty bound to improve the ECM outcomes. It merged Birth to Three, the Foundation Stage and National Standards for Under Eights Day Care and Childminding into the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) with the expectation of providing high standards of early education from birth to five and recognising over fives need different care. Childcare providers in Hampshire work within their authoritys interpretation of the act. EYFS advocated supporting each child in reaching developmental goals, none being left behind, by focusing on the same five outcomes as ECM. The Statutory Framework for the Foundation Stage (May 2008) aims to EYFS does not embrace diversity particularly in culture or make allowance for special needs. Experiences should be child led so right for each child but they are still kept with peer groups maybe should be more flexible only allow so far behind then special school The anti-EYFS petition stated that as it is mandatory for all childcare and education to follow the same format removing parental choice. Children can no longer be prepared for school so the problems with transition are addressed in school. Multi-agency consultation is pivotal ECM but practitioners continued to rely upon previous assessments and each practitioner assessed the child within their particular remit, no-one looked at the child as a whole, leading to multiple assessments resulting in wasted money and frustration for all parties; this was corrected with Common Assessment Framework (CAF) (2007). The current government agree that every child should fulfil their potential but feel that the key is parental background. They acknowledge that without good quality childcare this is less likely to be met. They cite that However, when their education ends the economy needs to meet the expectations of these children A report commissioned from Leon Feinstein which illustrated that early intervention was needed citing information as much as 40 years old ignoring the impact modern practice. They intend funding early learning and childcare for 20,000 most disadvantage two year olds and extend free childcare (EYE). Most of the 5% that do not currently access EYE come from disadvantaged families; Sure Start Health Visitors remit will be to attract these families. Although the changes in law and policy since 1989 were needed it would have been better if they had been proactive or put into place after consultation with end users (practitioners, parents and children) not just experts and not fixing problems as they occur. Funding has given choices to the poorest and means all practitioners have access to training both required and of choice. Policy continues to change; Education.gov.uk EYFS is under review to extend tests 5 year olds. As result of a child abuse case part of the Serious Case Review report summary states It would be easier to use personal camera memory in a settings phone so more thought is needed before implication. Childcare workers need to have . Additionally they must enjoy being with children, care about them, encourage, listen, stimulate and extend imagination, helping them learn as individuals and watch and record their growth. Many workers bad life experience, repressed not want children to do same and cope with it not end up like me.

Searching for Teachers :: Online Communities Web Essays

Searching for Teachers Section I- What I Know? When I was first assigned to write about online communities I thought the first thing I need to find out is, "What is an online community?" I was told online communities are places where people come together and communicate online. After I found out what online communities are I had somewhere to start, know the question is "What is my online community experience?" That is not a hard question being that I do not have much experience with online communities. My computer experience is somewhat limited. I have done some research on the computer, but as far as living in a community online or even visiting a community online I have very little experience. On a few occasions I have visited some chat rooms. I've heard a lot about online chat rooms and I've heard chat rooms are supposed to be the "in" thing know-a-days. This is one aspect of online exploring that doesn't interest me so much. I think the name "chat rooms" should be changed. Yes, it is a place where people go online and "chat", but I think it should be called the "creative world." Chat rooms are a great place for people to explore their creative side. Anyone can go into a chat room and create a different life for themselves or just create different stories. My cousin for example goes on line and "chats" with people. She doesn't necessarily create a different life for herself, but she does create different ways to avoid telling people about herself. She may talk to the same person for months and never even tell them whether she is female or male. She just creates new ways to avoid the questions. I believe in a way it keeps her stimulated, it lets her explore her creative side. It stimulates her imagination. Most of what I know about the Internet comes from what others have told me. Until recently I didn't use the Internet often. It is not like I am on all the time now, but I've just recently started exploring more and fearing less of the Internet. I was very intimidated and in a way I still am. But it is always fun and exciting to explore, after all that is who America got discovered.

LAOS NATION REPORT Essay -- essays research papers fc

Introduction My country is Laos. It is a small, poor country in Southeast Asia. The population is about five million. It is 91,400 square miles and the officail language is Lao but french and english is only spoken for buisness purposes mainly. The currency is Kip. Human beings began living in the present territory of Laos more than 10,000 years ago. Stone tools and skulls were discovered in the Huaphan and Luang Prabang provinces. They did carbon dating on these artifacts and test say there around 10,000 years old. The giant jars in Xieng Khouang province and stone columns in Huaphan province date from the neolithic period. Humans in Laos used iron for their tools as early as the last century B.C. Community grouping of people slowly formed into townships between the fourth and eight century A.D. on both sides of the Mekong River and along its tributaries. In 1349-1357, a movement emerged under the command of King Fa Ngoum, a national hero, to group the townships into a unified Lan Xang Kingdom, the capital of which stood at Xiengdong Xiengthong, now known as Luang Prabang. From then on, the Kingdom of Lan xang entered into an era of national defence and construction under King Fa Ngoum who first introduced Hinayana Buddhism from the Khmer Kingdom into Laos, which is still the religion professed by the majority of Lao people. From 1479 to 1570, the Lao people were forced to defend the country against foreign aggressors.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Under the rule of King Setthathirath, the capital was moved from Xiengdong Xiengthong to Vientiane in 1560. A moat was built to protect the new capital whose name means the rampart if sandalwood. King Setthathirath built a shrine to house the Phra Kaeo, the Emerald Buddha. He also erected the Luang Stupa, a venerated religious shrine which is now the symbol of the Lao nation. In the seventeenth century, under the reign of King Souliyavongsa, the Kingdom entered its most brilliant era. It was respected by neighbouring countries and was reputed in many countries of the world. in 1694, a Dutch merchand of the East Indian Company, Geritt Van Wuysthoff, and later, two Italian misssionaries, Leria and Marini, visited the Kingdom of Lan Xang. They wrote awed reports on the rich and beautiful palaces and temples, and the splendid religious ceremonies, saying Vientiane was the most magnificient city in South Eas... ...es Laos's entire north-south length, and its tributaries. These plains are very narrow in the north but are wider farther south. Finally, three high plateaus are situated throughout the country: the Plain of Jars in the north, the Khammouan Plateau in the center, and the Bolovens Plateau in the south. Movement of the country   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Laos does not seem to be moving anywhere really. It is a small, poor country that lacks in technology, communication, transportation, health care and money. There tourism is very low and people mainly just work and live in little villages. Recently they’ve been having trouble with terroists. There is a drug problem, there our many drug lords selling marijuana and opium. Recently the US has been helping cracking down on drug trade. Summary   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Day to day life in Laos seems pretty simple besides living in poverty. They do not have the technology craze, pressures or high crime rates like many large countries. Lao people our hard workers that work together in small villages to survive. There families our mostly very large. Map Bibliography www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~kongsab/ www.laoconnection.com

Low self esteem

I was flicking through some featured articles on my IPad last night when I happened to come across Rod Liddle's piece: ‘our children urgently need less self-esteem'. I asked myself, do our children need less self-esteem? Preposterous. Of course not, in fact I believe that they need more self-esteem. Low self-esteem is one of the major underlying problems of crime, bullying, unemployment†¦ honestly, the list could go on. Children with low self-esteem suffer from depression and a sense of insignificance and generally have a pessimistic view on all aspects of life. Whereas children with high self-esteem are positive and seem to do better in life than those who lack confidence. Why? Why should children need less self-esteem when it is already clear that high self-esteem seems to be a better trait in children? Honestly, I really do think this article is just a '50 year old twat' ranting about the younger generation, however I have an urge to criticize his opinions because his article is just too fallacious. Rod Liddles article was a response to the riots earlier last year in the summer, and yes I do agree that they were outrageous and caused a huge calamity nationally, but, like the teachers I would say the kids need more self-esteem rather than less. This is due to the fact that a majority of the rioters probably had low self-esteem to start with and therefore gave into peer pressure to follow some idiots smashing up the shop windows of Poundland just because it seemed like the ‘cool' thing to do. Even if some kids have self-esteem which sky rockets to the sky, acting as role models for the rioters, it is probably the parents fault, and the upbringing they had which means it is Liddles generation to blame. I believe that the riots were not started by some random, over-confident teens wanting to take over the nation but were sparked by an outrage when the judicial system failed to explain the accidental shooting and killing of Mark Duggan. So obviously it is his generation who started the riots In the first place by unjustly ignoring people's anger, consequently allowing the riots to start. Also, Liddle states that the judicial system is made too liberal saying â€Å"if anything goes wrong with a modern child's life, it is someone else's fault: teachers, or the Police, or society†. In this he is totally contradicting himself, because the police force is made up of his generation or maybe slightly younger, but all still being adults, so really he is criticizing the wrong people. In addition, according to Wikipedia, police arrested 3,100 people which is a fairly reasonable amount of people. Meaning the judicial system is not actually that soft, they do lock up a fair amount of wrong doers. As for the teachers, well I'm sure almost everyone on the planet has had a detention or some form of punishment for doing something wrong in school. And if you do something horrifically bad then you are expelled with no exceptions. So tell me again, Liddle, where children are not disciplined? The riots were not caused only by low self-esteem by also by desperation due to the current economic situation our country is in now. Many people are now broke, poor and depressed, and obviously some people want to do something about it. So when the opportunity arises where you can take whatever you can get hold of, whether you actually want it or get some money out of it then I'm guessing the mind-set is ‘why not? , other people are doing it'. The state of the economy had to be caused somehow, some time ago and after some research it turns out that it was in fact Liddles generation who caused this total slump. Apparently, ‘back then' houses were cheaper and loaning from the bank was easier, causing people to have too much self-esteem and consumer confidence. So when people decided they were rich they started buying and buying and buying until they had no money to give back to the banks. Now in the present day all of us have to pay for their expenses and suffer in this drudgingly, slow sink into an economic depression. Lastly, I am convinced that Liddle is totally unreliable and his use of hyperbole is excessive, he is clearly not a modern day teen and cannot say anything about self-esteem in kids because he simply is not one. Liddle is pretty much 30 years past his prime and cannot accurately state the minds of our modern youths. Many teens are low in self-esteem but merely hide behind a mask to make it seem as though they are ‘significant' and know it, but in fact they want to curl up in a ball and cry about life.