Effects of Migration and Other Evolutionary Processes on Allele

Effects of migration and other evolutionary processes on allele frequency and fitness Life originated from a common ancestor and due to various mechanisms of evolution, the genotype of organisms has changed. Mutation, migration, genetic drift and selection are natural processes of evolution that affect genetic diversity. Mutations are spontaneous changes in genomic sequences (Robert, et al. , 2006); it is one of the processes that influence allele frequency. A mutation can either have a positive, negative or a neutral effect on an organism’s fitness.When organisms of the same species exhibit different phenotypes, the organism is polymorphic for that particular trait. A beneficial mutation that gives rise to polymorphic traits can improve the chance of survival. For example, the grove snail, Cepaea nemoralis, is famous for the rich polymorphism of its shell. A mutation in the locus responsible for colour produces different shell colours, ranging from yellow, pink, white and bro wn (Ozgo, 2005). Snails with brown shells are found in beechwoods where the soil is dark.Snails with brown shells are able to camouflage with the soil, thus avoiding being detected by predators (Jones, et al, 1977). As a result of avoiding predation, the frequency of alleles that code for brown shells will increase. However, according to the hitchhiking model, fixation of a beneficial mutation will decrease the diversity at linked loci (Chevin, et al. , 2008). If a new mutation increases the fitness of members of a particular species, a strong selective sweep on allele frequency will result to very few haplotypes existing in the population.The frequency of alleles that are positively selected and those that are closely linked will increase, but the other alleles will decrease. A mutation can be neutral, having neither a beneficial effect nor a negative effect. However, some mutations are lethal because they have a negative effect on fitness. The accumulation of deleterious mutations and the prevention of recombination reduce the fitness of individuals (Muller's ratchet). Experiment carried out on asexual and sexual yeast strains showed that sexually reproducing parts of the genome improved survival than asexually reproducing parts (Zeyl and Bell, 1997).Asexual strains decreased overtime because of Muller’s ratchet. On the contrary, sexual strains were able to stop the build-up of deleterious mutation due to recombination between chromosomes. Mutation in collagen-I gene is another example of lethal mutation reducing fitness. Collagen is a group of naturally occurring proteins found in animals, it is one of the major components of blood vessels. An experiment carried out on mouse embryonic stem cells showed that mutation in collagen-I gene impairs the function of collagen-I (Lohler, et al. 1984). During the experiment, 13 embryos died because a mutation in mouse collagen-I gene caused the major blood vessels to rupture. According to background selection m odel, because a deleterious mutation reduces the fitness of individuals, deleterious mutations are selected against (Innan and Stephan, 2003); this will decrease the allele frequency of a population. Genetic drift is a stochastic process that refers to the fluctuations of genotype frequencies (Maynard, 1998); alleles are either fixed or permanently lost from the population.Due to the randomness of the process, genetic drift can eliminate beneficial alleles that could have improved survival. Genetic drift can also eliminate lethal alleles from a population and therefore improve survival rate. Genetic drift has larger effect on small populations than a large population (Maynard, 1998); this is because the rate of allele fixation or elimination is faster in a small population compared to a large population. Moreover, population bottleneck is an evolutionary process that increases the effect of genetic drift; it involves random events that prevent species from reproducing (van-Heerwaard en, et al. 2008). Population bottleneck decreases allele frequency and it reduces a population’s ability to adapt to new environmental pressures. For example, the current cheetah populations have low genetic diversity caused by a demographic bottleneck that occurred 10,000 years ago (Charruau, et al. , 2011). The surviving cheetah populations are not representative of the original cheetah population because they have less variation (founder effect). Due to low genetic diversity and less adaptation skills, the modern cheetah population is close to extinction. Natural selection is another evolutionary process that changes allele frequency.Organisms with advantageous alleles survive and reproduce, increasing the frequency of the advantageous alleles. Individuals with disadvantageous alleles do not survive or reproduce and therefore the frequency of the disadvantageous alleles is reduced or eliminated from the population (William and Michael, 2003). Biston betularia (peppered mot hs) is a common example used to demonstrated natural selection (Saccheri, et al. , 2008). Before the industrial revolution, non-melanic peppered moths avoided predators by camouflaging with lichen-covered trees.Their ability to camouflage improved the rate of survival which increased the frequency of non-melanic alleles. Melanic peppered moths were not able to camouflage with the lichen trees, as a result, melanic moths were detected and predated by the song thrushes. This decreased the frequency of alleles that gave rise to melanic peppered moths. However, during the industrial revolution period, symbiotic lichens living on trees were killed because smog and soot were released when coal and other materials were burnt.As a consequence of the tree trunks becoming more visible, non-melanic peppered moths were more susceptible to predation because they were unable to camouflage with the trees. The ability to camouflage helped melanic moths to survive and reproduce, changing the populat ion allele frequency from mostly non-melanic alleles to mostly melanic alleles (Saccheri, et al. , 2008). Migration of species from one place to another can increase the rate of gene flow. Gene flow is the transfer of gene from one population to another (William and Michael, 2003); it changes the allele frequency of a population.The effect of migration on the gene pool of a population depends on the rate of migration. Various studies have shown that migration rate is not the same for all species (Tajima, 1990). Species with low migration rate will have less DNA polymorphism and species with high migration rate will have more polymorphic alleles (Tajima, 1990). The benefit of plant migration, which increases the chance of hybridization between plant species, can be demonstrated by examining the adaptation skills of Iris species. Iris nelsonii is a species of hybrid origin, with traces of I. fulva, I. hexagona and I. revicaulis. I. nelsonii picked up characteristics that are not prese nt in the parent population. For example, I. nelsnii can grow in sunny wet conditions whereas the parents can either grow in sunny dry conditions or wet and shady conditions (Taylor, et al, 2011). Given that I. nelsonii can survive in challenging environments, the allele frequency of the advantageous traits will increase. Furthermore, another benefit of gene flow through means of hybridization can be demonstrated by analyzing the genetic variation of Tragopogan species. Hybridization between T. dubious and T. pratensis produces T. iscellus, an allotetraploid that has multiple enzymes needed for various biochemical pathways (Tate, et al. , 2006). Hybridisation enabled T. miscellus and T. pratensis to survive because they were able to exploit the gene pool of both parents. However, migration can also have negative effects on survival. Given that I. nelsonii will exist in niches that parents cannot live in, gene flow between the hybrid and its progenitors will be reduced. If I. nelsoni i does not have alleles that can resists infection caused by parasites, an outbreak of a pathogenic disease can wipe out the entire I. nelsonii species.Although some evolutionary processes eliminate alleles from a population, multiple alleles can be maintained through frequency-dependent balancing selection (Matessi and Schneider, 2009). In negative frequency-dependent selection, the fitness of a phenotype increases as it becomes less common. An example of negative frequency-dependent selection is in the case of Cepaea nemoralis. C. nemoralis are regularly predated by song thrush birds called Turdus philomelos. These birds have a search pattern whereby it persists in targeting the most abundant morph, even if other morphs are available (Bond, 2007).If snails with yellow shells are common, then these snails will be eaten by song thrushes. As a result, the frequency of alleles that code for yellow shells will decrease. The fitness of other morphs such as pink, white and brown shells w ill increase because song thrushes would not search for rare coloured morphs. In conclusion, the four fundamental processes of evolution, mutation, genetic drift, natural selection and migration (gene flow), alters allele frequencies in populations. The consequences on survival fluctuate. Occasionally, altering allele frequency gives rise to traits that increases fitness.However, changing allele frequencies can also give rise to phenotypes that reduce fitness. Word count: 1390 Grade: A- My essay is easy to read and follow. I have given evidences and interpreted them where possible. I also gave examples from animals and plants to show that I have done outside reading. All of the points that were made are relevant as they ultimately answer4 the question e. g. whether the evolutionary processes increase of decrease allele frequency and fitness References Bond, AB, 2007. The evolution of color polymorphism: crypticity searching images, and apostatic selection.Annual Review Of Ecology Ev olution And Systemic, 38, pp. 489-514. Charruau, P. , Fernandes, C. , Orozco-ter Wengel, P. , Peters, J. , Hunter, L. , Ziaie, H. , Jourabchian, A. , Jowkar, H. , Schaller, G. , Ostrowski, S. , Vercammen, P. , Grange, T. , Schlotterer, C. , Kotze, A. , Geigl, EM. , Walzer, C. and Burger, PA. (2011). Phylogeography, genetic structure and population divergence time of cheetahs in Africa and Asia: evidence for long-term geographic isolates. Molecular Ecology, 20, pp. 706-724. Chevin, LM. , Billiard, S. and Hospital, F. (2008).Hitchhiking both ways: Effect of two interfering selective sweeps on linked neutral variation. Genetics, 180, pp. 301-316. Innan, H. and Stephan, W. (2003). Distinguishing the Hitchhiking and Background Selection Models. Genetics, 165, pp. 2307-2312. Jones, J. S. , Leith, B. N. and Rawlings, P. (1977). Polymorphism in cepaea: a problem with too many solutions. Annual Reviews In Ecology And Systematics, 8, pp. 109–14. Lohler, J. , Timpl, R. and Jaenisch, R. (1984). Embronic lethal mutation in mouse collagen-I gene causes rupture of blood-vessels and is associated with erythropoietic and mesenchymal cell-death.Cell, 38, pp. 597-607. Matessi, C. and Schneider, KA. (2009). Optimization under frequency-dependent selection. Theoretical Population Biology, 76, pp. 1-12. Maynard, S. J. (1998). Evolutionary genetics. 2nd edition. New York: Oxford University Press. Ozgo, M. (2005). Cepaea nemoralis (L. ) in southeastern Poland: Association of morph frequencies with habitat. Journal Of Molluscan Studies, 71, pp. 93-103. Saccheri, IJ. , Rousset, F. , Watts, PC. , Brakefield, PM. and Cook, LM. (2008). Selection and gene flow on a diminishing cline of melanic peppered moths.Proceedings Of The National Academy Of sciences Of The United States Of America, 105, pp. 16212-16217. Tajima, F. (1990). Relationship between migration and DNA polymorphism in a local-population. Genetics, 126, pp. 231-234. Tate, JA. , Ni, ZF. , Scheen, AC. , Koh, J. , Gilbert, CA. , Lefkowitz, D. , Chen, ZJ. , Soltis, PS. , Soltis, DE. (2006). Evolution and expression of homeologous loci in Tragopogon miscellus (Asteraceae), a recent and reciprocally formed allopolyploid. Genetics, 173, pp. 1599-1611. Taylor, SJ. , Willard, RW. , Shaw, JP. , Dobson, MC. and Martin, NH. (2011).Differential response of the homoploid hybrid species iris nelsonii (iridaceae) and its progenitors to abiotic habitat conditions. American Journal Of Botany, 98, pp. 1309-1316. van Heerwaarden, B. , Willi, Y. , Kristensen, TN. and Hoffmann, AA. (2008). Population bottlenecks increase additive genetic variance but do not break a selection limit in rain forest Drosophila. Genetics, 179, pp. 2135-2146. William, S. K. and Michael, R. C. (2003). Concepts of genetics. 7th edition. New Jersey: Pearson Education Limited. Zeyl, C. and Bell, G. (1997). The advantage of sex in evolving yeast populations. Nature, 388, pp. 465-468.

Economic Problems of US

Most of the problems of the United States are related to the economy. One of the major issues facing the country today is social security. The United States was one of the last major industrialized nations to establish a social security system. In 1911, Wisconsin passed the first state workers compensation law to be held constitutional. At that time, most Americans believed the government should not have care for the aged, disabled or needy. But such attitudes changed during the Great Depression in the 1930's. In 1935, Congress passed the Social Security Act. This aw became the basis of the U. S. social insurance system. It provided cash benefits to only retired workers in commerce or industry. In 1939, Congress amended the act benefit and dependent children of retired workers and widows and children of deceased workers. In 1950, the act began to cover many farm and domestic workers, non professional self employed workers, and many state and municipal employees. Coverage became nearly universal in 1956, when lawyers and other professional workers came under the system. Social security is a government program that helps workers and retired orkers and their families achieve a degree of economic security. Social security also called social insurance (Robertson p. 33), provides cash payments to help replace income lost as a result of retirement,unemployment, disability, or death. The program also helps pay the cost of medical care for people age 65 or older and for some disabled workers. About one-sixth of the people in the United States receive social security benefits. People become eligible to receive benefits by working in a certain period in a job covered by social security. Employers and workers finance the program through payroll taxes. Participation in the social security system is required for about 95percent of all U. S. workers. Social security differs from public assistance. Social security paysbenefits to individuals, and their families, largely on the basis of work histories. Public assistance, or welfare, aids the needy,regardless of their work records. All industrialized countries as well as many developing nations have a social security system. The social security program in the United states has three main parts. They are (1) old-aged, survivors, disability, and hospital insurance (OASDHI), (2) unemployment insurance; and (3) workers' compensation. This tax was to be taken from the payrolls of the nation's employers and employees. The government felt that, like unemployment benefits, the social security should be financed by those who got the greatest benefit, those who worked, and were liable to need those benefits in the A plan that would affect those only who had paid such a tax for a number of years would have done those who were currently suffering under the Depression no good at all. As a result, the social security plan began paying out benefits almost immediately to those who had been etired, or elderly and out of work, and who were unable, primarily because of the depressed economic conditions, to retire comfortably. In this way, the government was able to accomplish two objectives: first, it helped the economy pull out of the depression, by providing a means by which old people could support themselves and, by buying goods and services, support others in the community ; and second, it showed the younger workers of that time that they no longer had to fear living out their retirement years in fear of poverty. Therefore, the social security payroll tax has been used to provide enefits to those who otherwise would have little means of support, and as of this writing, there has never been a year when Social Security benefits were not paid due to lack of Social Security income. (Boskinp. 122) Social Security benefits increased 142% in the period between 1950-1972. not only the elderly, but many of the survivers, the widows and children, of those who paid into the Social Security system, have received social security checks. These checks have paid for the food shelters, and in many instances the college education of the recipients. Unlike private insurance firms, the United States Government does not have to worry about financial failure. Government bonds are considered the safest investment money can buy-so safe, they are considered â€Å"risk free† by many financial scholars. (Stein p. 198) The ability of the United States Government to raise money to meet the requirements of the social security should be no more in doubt than the governments ability to finance the national defense, the housing programs, the State Department, or any of the other activities that the federal governmentgets involved in. By paying out benefits equally to all participate in Social Security- that is by not relying so heavily on total payments in making the decision to pay out benefits, the system is able to pay benefits to people who otherwise may not be able to afford an insurance program that would provide them with as much protection. One of the main reasons for the government's involvement in this program, is its ability and its desire to provide insurance benefits or the poor and widowed, who under the private market, might not be able to acquire the insurance to continue on a financially steady course. The government, then, is in a totally unique position to pay outbenefits that would be out of the reach of many American families. Another great advantage of this system, is the ability of the government to adjust the benefits for the effects of inflation(Robertson p. 134) Private insurance plans are totally unable to adjust for the effects of inflation with complete accuracy. In order for an insurance company to make this adjustment, they would have to be able to see forty-five years into the future, with twenty-twenty vision. When a private pensionplan currently insures the twenty-year-old worker, it can only guarantee a fixed income when the worker reaches sixty-five and a fixed income is a prime victim of inflation (Robertson p. 332) In order to adjust for that inflation, the private insurance firm would have to be able to predict what the inflation rate will be from the moment the worker is insured until the day he dies, and then make the complexadjustments necessary to reflect this in the pension plan. An inflation estimate that is too small will result in the erosion of the workers retirement benefits. Because the government, unlike the private insurance firm, can guarantee that it will exist well into the future, and will have the continued income of the Social Security tax to draw upon, it can make on-the-spot adjustments for changes in the inflation rate. Some adjustments, in fact, have been automatic in the recent years, therefore relieving the pensioners of the periodic worry of whether this years benefits would be adjusted, or whether the level of payments would remain stable, thereby, relative to the cost of living, making them poorer that ever before(Stein p. ). In the face of the government's ability to make those necessary adjustments and to continually finance the Social Security program, many opponents of the system argue that the government programs are driving out the private insurance industry. The statistics remain otherwise. The social security tax is one of the fewest taxes in the United States, and the only federal tax in the country, that is given for a specific purpose. All other taxes are put into another fund, so that welfare programs, defense, pace projects, and the other categories of government spending are all financed from one giant, uncategorized bowl of tax revenues(boskin p. 62). When the Social Security system was first established, it was felt that a direct payroll tax, based on the pay of the worker and paid both by employer and employee, would be the fairest way for the people that were currently working to pay benefits to those who weren't working, as well as to provide for some future requirements and disabilities. Therefore, a specially constructed payroll tax was used to fund the program. By measuring the amount taken in by the tax to the amount, not only that is taken out, but to the amount that will be taken out in future years, opponents of the Social security system make the case that the system will be unable to keep itself in such a manner indefinitely. And, if Social Security were a private insurance program, it wouldn't. But the fact is that Social Security is not a private program. it is funded by the government. Further, the government is in a unique position to change the laws of commerce and contract to adjust the system, making it more responsive to the needs of the retired, which, in turn, would reduce their need for the Social Security benefits. For example, the United states Government should raise the mandatory retirement age. By raising the age to sixty-eight, the Social Security System could delay paying out benefits for several years to thousands of people, saving the system a significant amount of money in benefits. For these reasons, the government is in a position which cannot be compared to private industry. In this sense, looking at social security as an insurance program and comparing it to other insurance programs in the private system could easily give the impression that the system is gong bankrupt, when in the reality it isn't. The thing to keep in mind about the Social Security system, then, is this: the system itself is in no fundamental danger of collapse. There is only temporary, cash flow situation that must be carefully looked at. The federal government pays out 4. 5 billion more in Social Security benefits as it collects in taxes every year. In fact, $4. 5 billion is a small price, compared to the other programs the federal government now finances from general revenue. Besides tapping the general revenue fund and raising the retirement limit to 68 or even 70,the government has the option of raising the Social Security tax or even reducing the benefits slightly. The government has so many options with regard to financing the benefits that the question becomes of the cash management, not quite as significant as the huge deficits that the Social Security has been accused of having. The government is already under way to help alleviate this cash flow problem. Public officials have debated which of the various ways would help best serve the public interest, and legislative action has been taken that would ultimately result of the Social Security system to a positive cash base. This shift would provide the workers of America with the same benefits they have been guaranteed since 1935- and have been paid, and expanded ever since. The social security system has withstood forty years of changing economic conditions and greater concern of public welfare. What would replace the system, if the critics had their way? The social security system has saved an untold number of people from disaster throughout many years. Many of the nations old people- some as young as sixty-two, a few over a hundred, live from Social Security paycheck to Social security paycheck, with this government program as their livelihood.

Contemporary Issues in Food and Nutrition for Adolescents Essay

Contemporary Issues in Food and Nutrition for Adolescents The importance of establishing health promoting practices during childhood and adolescence has long been recognized by nutritionists and other health professionals. The purpose of this paper is to investigate further the issues relating to adolescents’ diets and contributing factors. Contributing factors include the increase of fast food consumption, unconventional meal patterns and lack of exercise. During adolescence, the influences on eating habits are numerous. The growing independence of adolescents, increased participation in social life and a generally busy schedule of activities have a great impact on food intake.? In the September 2007 issue of ‘Health Promotion International’, a survey of 18,486 secondary school students at 322 schools across all Australian states (except Western Australia) has found that a significant proportion of students fall short of current, national dietary and physical activity recommendations for teenagers. A new study suggests that as teens enter adulthood, they are more likely to skip meals, resulting in a very unconventional meal pattern. Breakfast is frequently neglected and omitted more often by teenagers as they enter high school as they see it as an unnecessary hassle. These diets are likely to be bizarre and unbalanced. Though appetite is great, meal times tend to be irregular due to pre-occupation with school, other social activities or even a part time job. Therefore snacking in between meals is common. Skipping breakfast, for example, can lead to greater levels of hunger later in the day, causing overeating, or the choosing of heavy foods that fill you up faster, but may lack nutritional values. For teenage girls, lunch is usually skipped as a way of controlling weight. As adolescents go through puberty, they are bound to feel more pressured by their peers about the shape and size of their body, sexual development, and their general appearance. Due to this pressure, they are more likely to be self-conscious, resulting in unstable diets. These diets are usually also caused by the increasing amount of junk food consumption. The increase in junk food consumption is an important factor in a teen’s diet. This could be due to the increased independence and responsibility for food preparation that adolescents face during this developmental transition. Fast food, such as McDonalds, is a quick, easy and tasty option for aging adolescents who may have a busy day-to-day schedule and who may be used to relying on parents to prepare their meals. Also published in the September issue of Health Promotion International, a survey indicates that secondary school students between the ages of 12 and 17 are consuming far too much junk food and not enough vegetables and fruit. The survey found that only 20% of students were meeting the daily requirement of four serves of vegetables while 39% were eating the recommended three daily serves of fruit. â€Å"Our survey found consumption of unhealthy/non-core foods was high, with 46% of students having fast food meals at least twice a week, 51% eating snack foods four or more times per week, and 44% having high-energy drinks four or more times per week,† states Dr Victoria White, from the Centre of Behavioural Research in Victoria. The survey findings also highlight the need for secondary students to spend more time being physically active and less time in front of the television and computer. The problem of childhood obesity has recently skyrocketed, mainly in the Western nations. Established in an online article on the website ‘For Parents, By Parents’, approximately 16-33% of children and teens are considered obese. While obesity is one of the easiest medical conditions to diagnosis, it can be one of the most difficult to treat. The same online article also states that poor diet and lack of exercise results in over 300,000 deaths every year. â€Å"We found that only 14% of students engaged in recommended levels of physical activity and about 70% exceeded recommended levels of sedentary behaviour,† Dr Victoria White once again states. Current recommendations state teenagers should do at least 60 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity every day and spend no more than 2 hours per day using electronic media for entertainment. Unhealthy weight increases during adolescence have been associated with fasting insulin, increased levels of cholesterol and risk factors for heart disease and systolic blood pressure in young adulthood. Since adolescent obesity is a significant predictor of overweight status in adulthood, it is important to identify dietary behaviours early on that are associated with unhealthy weight gain in order to create effective interventions. It has been investigated that the three of the largest factors in adolescents’ diets include their unconventional meal pattern, increasing of junk food consumption and lack of exercise. The increased snack food intake and lack of required exercise result in a very disproportioned and unbalanced diet, which eventually leads to other fatal diseases such as risk of heart failure. Therefore, adolescents’ diet should be observed carefully to avoid an unhealthy epidemic.

Martin Luther King Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Martin Luther King - Essay Example After developing this persuasive statement, King then proceeds into his rational argument concerning the significant steps of any peaceful campaign.   King’s examination of the reasons and essential disputes that are propelling the turbulence amid blacks and whites in Birmingham uses logos. â€Å"Birmingham is probably the most thoroughly segregated city in the United State.† He uses such boundaries to reinforce his point of view. By utilizing logical argument that is well thought-out and chronological, King pleas to a cultured audience imagination and logic. Another occasion when Martin Luther King Jr. uses the technique of honestly dealing with his audience to present his refutation is manifest in the part of his letter's beginning. "You may well ask: Why direct action?"/isn't negotiation a better path?". For this case, Martin Luther King uses to appeal to logic as the key spine of his argument but infrequently intertwines pathos and intelligent word choice along th e logos. King’s â€Å"Letter from Birmingham Jail† is a grand piece of writing. Emotional strength of the letter is one of the aspects behind the success of this writing. In spite of the utilization of pigeonhole sentences, his message is clear and sensational. However, I feel that this letter was slightly verbose and florid as the same time. Also, I felt that the use of stereotyped letters somehow blithely weighed down a little on the overall message in the letter. In all, King has been capable of making it one of the most broadly read article.

Design evaluation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Design evaluation - Essay Example In the United Kingdom today copper is a popular material used for facades, roofs and other external building elements on some of the most exciting modern designs. But this has not always been so. Historically, copper roofs several hun ¬dred years old can be seen on many British city skylines, although usually limited to churches, civic buildings and other important structures. During the twentieth century, copper roofs became more widely used for ordinary buildings – although many were of little architec ¬tural quality. Unfortunately, poor de ¬tailed design and installation techniques resulted in technical failures and the material fell out of fashion until the 1980s. Then, the copper industry intro ¬duced modern installation techniques to the UK – including the long-strip meth ¬od – and launched a promotional cam ¬paign to make architects aware of cop ¬per as a thoroughly modern architectural material. This ‘Copper in Architecture’ cam paign continues today.(Article by Tom Woolley in Sustain magazine, vol 3 no 3) It highlights the ability for copper sheets to be easily formed to suit any three-dimensional shape, making it a suitable weatherproof covering for virtually any external surface including roofs of all pitches, vertical cladding, gutters, soffits and even sculptural elements. Architects now recognise that it is one of the few materials that can offer complete mate ¬rial continuity and real freedom of form in architectural design.

Role of the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) in contributing to the Essay

Role of the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) in contributing to the strategy of a company. if you were in a CFO position at your ch - Essay Example The supervision of the financial functions of the department is an integral part of the responsibilities of the CFO. In cases of public statements to be given on behalf of the company in the areas of financial performance, the Chief Financial Officer is the designated person to perform this task. A study of the roles and responsibilities of the Chief Financial Officer of the organization in detail would reveal that the Chief Financial Officer needs to supervise the activities of record keeping, financial planning and reporting the financial performance to the top management that includes Chief Executive Officer and the Board of Directors. ... ng essential inputs on the formation, evaluation and implementation of the strategy of the company that could be driven by the financial resources by the organization. After the strategy is formed with due consultation among the senior corporate officers of the top management, the Chief Financial Officer plays the vital role in supervising the financial performance of the company in order to meet the strategic objectives. Based on the strategic objectives of the organization, the role of the Chief Financial Officer could be broadly divided into the three areas as explained below. These could be named as the treasury function, control function and the strategy based forecasting function performed by the Chief Financial Officer. The effectiveness of the Chief Financial Officer in these areas helps in meeting the strategic objectives of the company (Handlechner, 2008, p.73). Thus the contribution of the Chief Financial Officer is extremely important in the strategic growth of the compan y. Treasury function The treasury management of the company is one of the main financial areas based on which the financial performance of the organization is determined. The treasury management of the organization deals with the managements of funds available with the organization in order to satisfy the areas if interests like investments, credit, debts, etc. so that the short term and long term goals of the company could be fulfilled. The treasury function of the Chief Financial Officer involves supervision of the performance of the treasury management, plan initiatives to address the identified gaps in the management of funds of the organization so that optimum return could be achieved in the areas of investments, and finally reporting the financial performance of the treasury

More Casino's Means More Gambling Addictions in Florida Research Paper

More Casino's Means More Gambling Addictions in Florida - Research Paper Example According to this advocacy group and other casino opponents, legalizing more resort casinos in Miami and other cities in Florida would not only multiply gambling problems but would also lead to a rise in crime rates in Florida (Randazza, P. 69). The arrival of more casinos and the resultant effects such as crimes and gambling addiction would imply more of taxpayers’ money, about $3 billion in incarceration costs according to the No Casino Advocacy group, would be spent. With the arrival of mega-casinos in Florida, the anti-casino groups feel that Florida laws on gambling need to be changed to reduce the negative impacts of casinos and gambling on the people of Florida. While those supporting the arrival of gambling resorts in Florida tout the casinos’ job-creation potential, the opponents of these casinos emphasize that Florida needs to face the reality of the crimes and other ills that would accompany such initiatives (Vasquez, P. 8). Evidently, the rising numbers of c asinos and resort casinos in Florida have resulted in an increase in the number of gambling problems such as addiction and gambling-related crimes (Randazza, P. 71). This paper thus explores the assertion that the more casinos there are in Florida, the more gambling addiction will be reported. ... In fact, today, Florida is known for sunshine and amazing beaches with hundreds of thousands of international and local visitors making their way to the city’s casinos every day. Besides Miami, the other major towns in Florida in which the number of casinos have noticeably increased in recent times are Tampa, Fort Lauderdale, Daytona Beach, Orlando, and Cape Canaveral. Unfortunately, the Florida casinos are not only famous for their sunshine and sandy beaches; they also offer booming businesses, more so gambling, which has been on the rise as more casinos come up every other day in Florida (The Florida Council of Compulsive Gambling, 2012A, P. 10). In other words, gambling has not only increased in Florida due to the many casinos but the problem of gambling addiction has also become a more serious issue. Gambling Florida has not become a problem to the state government only but parents as well since children have also become addicted to gambling. There are numerous types of ga mbling taking place at the Florida casinos in which people get addicted. These games include the famous table games such as Texas Hold-em poker and blackjack. The other common gambling games in Florida casinos are roulette, cruise ship gambling, land-based gaming, slot machines, and dog-track betting among others (The Florida Council of Compulsive Gambling, 2012b, P. 3). Because of the increasing number of Casinos in Florida and the accompanying gambling problems such as addiction, the Florida Council on Compulsive Gambling has been called to action in recent times, particularly on its help line, which has reported an increase in calls for help. The increase in calls for its help has led the Florida Council on Compulsive Gambling (FCCG) to conclude

What companies or organization have shown strong commitment to making Essay

What companies or organization have shown strong commitment to making the world a better placeHow do their practices align with your personal views of ethical behavior - Essay Example Apple products have become such a huge part of our daily lives now, so much so that it would be tough to imagine a world without them. Inventions such as the iPhone and iPad make our lives so much easier because it is now possible to be connected to anyone in the world on the go. As I have worked in a customer services department, I know just how important it is to reach someone at a moment’s notice. Apple was not the first company to make a cell phone; it just took the idea and expanded the features available. Apple is going to be around for quite some time yet because its customers are satisfied with the products that it has to offer. I will not be abandoning Apple any time soon because products such as the iPhone and iPad help me to perform simple daily tasks in a much faster way. Apple chooses to manufacture its products in China because of the low labor costs there. While I may not agree with this decision completely, I understand the need to make a profit. Also, people like me are able to get a high quality product for a very low cost. There are sometimes complaints about the treatment of workers in Chinese factories that make Apple products, but I think that Apple does its best to look after any employee that contributes towards the company’s success. My personal views of ethical behavior are that a company should put the views of its customers first. Apple does this by making products in an ethical way and doing so cheaply. Whenever there is a complaint over working conditions in Apple factories, the company is always quick to launch an investigation and try to find out the truth in the matter. Being open and transparent are values that I believe in, so I appreciate that Apple follows this with its customers. If Apple were to be involved in unethi cal practices, then it would affect the image of the brand negatively. Apple does not want this, and neither do the customers, so I’m sure that the company will

Service Marketing Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Service Marketing - Article Example Among these major sectors retail industry has undergone a spurt growth as a result of the emergence and mushrooming of departmental stores and malls in many cities. Many reasons can be attributed to this unprecedented growth and the insatiable appetite of the never satisfied consumers seems to the major reason. This paper examines the marketing issues and challenges of retail banking in the UK with special reference to HSBC in the banking sector. The paper attempts to dwell on the intricacies of service marketing that may arise in the efforts to sell financial services of the bank. Retail banking is not a new buzzword in the banking industry as banks have been providing retail banking services since its inception. But, the retail spurt in banking industry has only a few years history. Retail banking means and includes all dealings and transactions of a bank with its individual customers. In the words of Shyamala Gopinath, Deputy Governor of Reserve Bank of India, "Retail banking is, however, quite broad in nature - it refers to the dealing of commercial banks with individual customers, both on liabilities and assets sides of the balance sheet. Fixed, current / savings accounts on the liabilities side; and mortgages, loans (e.g., personal, housing, auto, and educational) on the assets side, are the more important of the products offered by banks. Related ancillary services include credit cards or depository services" (Gopinath, 2005, 1). In her opinion, "Today's retail banking sector is characterized by three basic characteristics: Multiple products (deposits, credit cards, insurance, investments and securities); Multiple channels of distribution (call centre, branch, Internet and kiosk); and Multiple customer groups (consumer, small business, and corporate)" (Gopinath, 2005, 1). Over the last few years, retail banking in the country has been experiencing a tremendous innovation and spectacular growth owing to the rapid advances in information technology, financial sector reforms, growth of the country, increasing per capita income and several micro level demand- and supply-related factors. The retail loan segment shows an unprecedented growth in the country and there seems to have a boom in the housing sector, though badly affected by the US sub prime crisis. The official source of one of the successful retail bank (KPMG Bank) in the country states that "here are some exciting opportunities in emerging markets, driven by rapid GDP and population growth. In the mature markets branch banking is being revitalized and multi-channel delivery continues to evolve. Mobile payments and pre-paid cards are taking off and ageing populations are helping to drive demand for new and different products" (Retail Banking). All these can be attributed as the reasons for the su dden growth of retail banking in the UK. In terms of the economic benefits and its contribution to the populace, retail banking in the country assumes much significance. The British Bankers Association in its manifesto remarks "In 2002, UK financial services account for 5.3 % of the UK economy and it provided for 1 million jobs, which is around UK's 3.5% of total UK employment. The UK is one of the cheapest countries in the world to bank in, with free 'if in credit' banking being a unique national feature of UK bank accounts. The cost to

Obesity in New Orleans Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Obesity in New Orleans - Essay Example That ... would be like a 5-foot-8-inch person weighing 197 pounds. The National Institutes of Health defines morbid obesity as a BMI above 40." (Graves). New Orleans is the city that loves to eat. It's no wonder, that this passion is reflected on the appearance and health of dwellers. The estimated quantity of overweight people in the New Orleans is 60% percent. The officials say it is obesity that is the cause for most diseases the New Orleans dwellers suffer from. They also add that the obesity-related diseases account for more than half of Louisiana's health care budget. (Sell) In 2005 Men's Fitness ranked New Orleans the seventh fattest city in the country. In 2004 it was on the twenty second place. The quantity of obese people in New Orleans is growing rapidly with each passing year, and thus the quantity of those, who suffer from the obesity-related diseases, also increases. New Orleans dwellers become less active, and eat more. One of the reasons of this process is that the fast foods are gaining popularity in New Orleans, the same as in the other American cities. The contemporary pace of life often doesn't allow time for cooking at home, thus the families either eat out, or order food home. It is rarely that families order home healthy foods like salad.

Inaccuracies in the Portraying of the American Revolution by Popular C Movie Review

Inaccuracies in the Portraying of the American Revolution by Popular Culture - Movie Review Example American Revolution dates back some years ago and this was the race to independence in America. The revolution also termed as a revolutionary war broke out due to differences between Britain and the colonial government. The war involved other groups who came in to assist one side, like France and this lengthened the conflict further. The troops from the British government and the colonial government men inspired the war as the fight for independence kicked off. Tensions leading to the outbreak of the war were due to the colonists feeling that they had no equal representation in parliament as the British counterparts.Arguably, the American Revolution comes out in different popular cultures like films and history books, although it has been difficult to portray it in these books and films because it turns to be controversial from the readers. An example of the challenges is that of the Americans who only want to refer their founders on only their positive side but ignore their negative actions during the revolution. This is a challenge because; the films that portray their founders’ negative side are highly criticized, whereas those depicting their positive side are encouraged. The filmmakers never wish to depict the British as an enemy to the Americans. To avoid this, therefore, they escape all the stories showing what happened to the founders in the films.From a different perspective, other films try to show exactly what happened during the revolution. For example, the film â€Å"Drums Along the Mohawk† shows how people were killed and even destruction of crops. These were activities done during the war. Although the film showed little about British, it is rated as one of the best films that tried to portray the American Revolution. However, the accuracy of the film is compromised by the fact that people were killed and crops destroyed but it is not clearly presented, on the contrary, it shows the fight as between settlers and Americans. Unlike th e aforementioned film, â€Å"Revolution† film does not clearly depict the hero in the war even the losers can become heroes. The inaccuracy of the film is that it does not show the battle as Americans fighting for liberty from the British, but it shows it as a civil war between the colonists. American Revolution comes out in another film, â€Å"The Patriots†, though there are inaccuracies about the war. It describes the revolution as a war for the liberation of African Americans. It also shows that the workers in the field were not slaves.   In their work, the filmmakers try to give a detailed report on the happenings during the revolution.

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Essay Example for Free

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Essay Through the years, America has made an overall improvement in eliminating discrimination, inequality and slavery and focusing more on inclusion, equal rights, and equal opportunity. Despite a considerable improvement, there are corporations and individuals that often revert to archaic means of treating employees, creating hostile environments. Consequently, different advocacy groups and laws still remain in effect and continue to evolve to protect the citizens and non-citizens of the USA. Overview of the EEOC’s Function  One particular group that exists to protect the employee is the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The EEOC â€Å"is responsible for enforcing federal laws that make it illegal to discriminate against a job applicant or an employee because of the persons race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information. (Overview, para. 1)† The EEOC is committed to holding employers accountable for benefiting from the modern day enslavement of workers from other countries. Their job is to ensure that all workers foreign and those of the U. S. , are protected under the law and have the right to complain of such employment abuses which damage the foundation of our society. Compliance Issue and Lawsuit Background The article I chose involves a US company that trafficked over 200 Thai males to work for Global Horizons, Inc. , a Beverly Hills based farm labor contractor working alongside eight farms between 2003 and 2007. The individuals were falsely informed that they would have access to high paying jobs with temporary visas allowing them to live and work in the US. Once here, the individuals realized this was a lie and quickly experienced harassment, abuse, intimidation, and unequal pay. The employers threatened to deport them if they complained of the mistreatment. In addition, the employees were forced to live in housing infested with rats and insects (Carter, 2011). They were forced to sleep in tight quarters and some didn’t even have a bed. The Thai workers had all of their identification removed from their possession; the employees were left defenseless. Eventually, the Thai Community Development Center of Los Angeles brought victims to the EEOC to file charges of discrimination. The EEOC argued that Global Horizons engaged in a pattern or practice of national origin and race discrimination, harassment, and retaliation, which violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (EEOC, 2011). The EEOC sought back pay, compensatory and punitive damages on behalf of the victims, as well as injunctive relief intended to prevent further abuses at the companies and farms. This would uncover the cruel actions by Global Horizons and the farms for which they were employing these individuals. These farms, such as Del Monte Fresh Produce and Green Acre Farms, suffered reputation scrutiny and possible loss of profit after such discoveries. The EEOC’s Role The EEOC’s role in this lawsuit was to hold the employer accountable for benefiting from modern day enslavement so that companies could be aware of the ramifications of conducting such business. The EEOC first attempted to reach a pre-litigation settlement, and then filed the lawsuit in the U. S. District Court for the District of Hawaii. After no success, the EEOC quickly filed lawsuits in the U. S. District Court for the District of Hawaii and the U. S. District Court of the Eastern District of Washington. Social Impact This type of lawsuit promotes social change by making companies aware of the repercussions expected if such behavior is conducted in the United States towards citizens or non-citizens. Human trafficking is a modern day form of slavery and while it still continues to exist in modern business America, it is imperative that companies are made aware of the consequences they may subjected to should they choose to engage in such tactics. These types of lawsuits also promote healthy laws and advocate groups pushing for tougher laws so that employers cannot get away with such atrocities. It also makes employees aware of similar environments where they can quickly recognize if they find themselves in similar situations and who to go to for help. Businesses will do whatever it takes to make higher profits and quite often, they turn to illegal conduct thinking they may get away without consequence. Article Comparison In reviewing my article, I also compared it to an article from the internet published by CNN. Both articles seemed to have similarities by providing the same details and information as discussed in the EEOC article. After searching through several other articles, most included the same information as that provided by the EEOC. Management Perspective If I were a senior manager of Global Horizons, Inc. I would place tighter requirements upon hiring individual to conduct the contracting work. I would consider placing those individuals in the contracting positions in training classes to make them aware of what to do in the event they are faced with this type of situation. Because of the nature of the business involving labor work, I would enforce tighter regulations, initiate reviews, monitoring and would become more involved to avoid mistreatment of individuals. Managers and supervisors would be required to attend courses that stress inclusion, diversity, and harassment. All other employees would be required to attend the same courses, but these courses would also include information on how to report violations. Conclusion I believe that members of management from Global Horizons chose to keep quiet to reap the benefits of cheap labor. There is no excuse to have such behavior in today’s society after all the issues we have all faced as a country. Some improvement has been achieved but it is evident that there is more to be accomplished. Thanks to groups such as the EEOC, citizens and non-citizens can rest assured that there is protection available in the event of mistreatment.

Catcher In Rye: Obsession On Childhood

Catcher In Rye: Obsession On Childhood In the novel The in the Rye, J.D. Salinger creates a fictional character, Holden, who refuses to grow up and preserve his innocence because he is obsessed on childhood. Holden chooses to be stuck between the innocent world of childhood and the complex world of adulthood. For instance, Holden detailed his two siblings, Allie and Phoebe, as if he idolizes them because of their youth. Throughout the novel, Holden struggles in his life because he cant accept the responsibilities and consequences tied to adulthood. Holden Caulfield is a 16-year old boy who refuses to accept the responsibilities of an adult. So, Holden refuses to grow up and act matured. For example, in the beginning of the novel the readers were informed about Holdens expulsion from Pencey Prep School. However, Holden is more afraid of what his parents reaction will be and afraid of facing the consequences of his expulsion. So, he refuses to go home and confront his parents. He says, I didnt want to go home or anything till they got it and thoroughly digested it and all (51). This shows the immature side of Holden. Instead of explaining to his family why he flunked school, he chooses not to because he thought that his mother will be hysterical to him, My mother gets very hysterical (51). Asides from being immature, Holden is also afraid of talking to people close to him because he is afraid of something inappropriate theyll say about him. This explains his lack of interaction with Jane Gallagher, the girl Holden spent with one summer, the only reason why I didnt do it [calling Jane] was because I wasnt in the mood (63). His lack of interaction with the people he knew makes him interact with the people he doesnt know. Like when he talked to a cab driver about the ducks in the lagoon and ask where they go during winter, You know those ducks in that lagoon right near Central Park South? (60). Even though its a nonsense question, he still asked the driver about the ducks. He thinks that the cab driver, or any random people, would not judge him which gives him the courage to talk randomly and to lie to random people. Holden lies most of the time to get someones attention. This is one way Holden shows transition towards adulthood. Even if Holden chooses to stay in the world of innocence, his thoughts and actions show some transition to adulthood. For example in chapter 13 when the elevator boy offers Holden a prostitute girl, he says yes and acts like he had slept with someone else before. However he says that he is still a virgin , If you want to know the truth, Im a virgin (92), and when he comes pretty close to doing it with a girl and she says stop he stops, she keeps telling you to stop, The problem with me is, I stop (92). This shows a transition of Holdens sexual desire; however, he struggles dealing with it. Another example of Holden is stuck between the childhood and adulthood world is when he is in the lavender room. When he sees the three ladies at the next table, he gives them an old eye a little bit (69). When Holden finally meet them, he told them that he just saw Gary Cooper, the movie star, on the other side of the floor (74). His actions show that he is trying to impress the three ladies like an adult man by giving them old eye glances and impressing them by lying. At the end of the chapter, after hanging out with the three girls, they left Holden with the bill to pay, I think they shouldve at least offered to pay for the drinks they had before I joined them (75). Due to his innocence and being a trying hard social climber, he ends up being the stupid one and easy to trick with. Another example is Holdens concern towards the ducks in the lagoon. He says I was thinking about the lagoon in Central Park, down near Central Park South. I was wondering if it would be frozen over when I got home, and if it was, where did the ducks go. I was wondering where the ducks went when the lagoon got all icy and frozen over. I wondered of some guy came in a truck and took them to a zoo or something. Or if they just flew away (13). The ducks symbolizes Holden. He is wondering where hes going to go in his life especially when things get icy and frozen. He is wondering if there will be some one to guide him or if he will just fly away. The lagoon, on the other hand, symbolizes his life. In Chapter 20, when he finds the lagoon he says it was pretty frozen and partly not frozen (154). The transition of lake from frozen to not frozen is like Holdens transition from childhood to adulthood. The frozen part shows that Holden hates changes. For instance, when Holden is in the Museum of Natural History he says that he likes the museum because it never changes, the only thing that change is you, Nobodyd be different. The only thing that would be different would be you (121). Just like his obsession, he doesnt want to change and stays as a child to preserve his innocence. He sees his siblings as his inspiration for his obsession. Throughout the novel, Holden always describes his sibling as nice, responsible, smart children. This gives the reader another reason of Holdens obsession of preserving his innocence. He sees innocence through his siblings. In chapter 5, Holden describes Allie, his dead little brother, as fifty times as intelligent (38) than him. He exaggerates that Allies is so smart. In chapter 10, Holden describes Phoebe as a little kid so pretty and smart (67). He also convinces the readers that the readers would like her (67). This shows a reason why he wanted to stay like a child is to be like by everyone. Holden convinces the reader that both of his siblings are smart and everyone likes them. In Chapter 23, Holdens mother gave Phoebe a goodnight kiss and said goodnight to her. All of a sudden, Holden started to cry, Then, all of a sudden, I started to cry (179). This gives the readers an idea that one reason why he wanted to preserve innocence is he wanted to feel to be love and to feel the car e of his love ones especially from his mother that he never felt before. He idolizes Allie and Phoebe because his parents give them so much attention, love and care. For Allie, they always visit his grave, my parents go out quite frequently and stick a bunch of flowers on old Allies grave (155), and because Holden have a lousy childhood (1), he his jealous of his siblings because they get the attention, care, and love from their parents that hes been longing for so long. However, his treatment towards his siblings, and children, doesnt influence his jealousy. In fact, he wanted to be the catcher in the rye to protect them from adulthood. Due to Holdens obsession in preserving innocence, Holden chooses to be the catcher in the rye (173). He wanted to catch the children, who are playing in a field of rye, from falling off the cliff. The field of rye symbolizes the childhood world, a world that is full of children playing, while the cliff symbolizes adulthood. Holden doesnt want the children to struggle in life, like he is dealing with. He wanted children to stay children and preserve their innocence because he doesnt want them to fall in the corrupted and complicated world of adulthood. In chapter 25, Holden tries to erase the Fuck you word written in the wall of an elementary school, but I rubbed it out anyway, though. (201). Holden tries to protect the children from reading the swear word that could poison their mind. The red hunting hat is another symbolism of innocence in the novel. Holden always wear the red hunting hat to protect himself from the hunter, the society. He gave the hunting hat to Phoebe, she took of f my red hunting hat the one I gave her (207), to protect her from the society. He wanted Phoebe to have her innocence as long as she needed it. Erasing the swear on the wall and protecting Phoebe from the society are Holdens ways of protecting the children from jumping off the cliff. However, at the end of the novel, Holden learns to let go of his obsession. When Holden and Phoebe visit the zoo, they see a carrousel which Holden usually ride when he was younger. But this time Holden decided not ride the carrousel, instead, he decided to seat down and watch Phoebe ride the carrousel, I went over and sat down on this bench, and she went and got on the carrousel (221). This shows that finally Holden let go of his childish desire of preserving the innocence and being a child as long as he could be. Holden also stops his ambition of being the catcher in the rye when he sees the children reaching out for the gold ring in the carrousel. He says if they want to grab for the gold ring, you have to let them do it, and not say anything. If they fall off, that fall off (211). This shows that Holden finally given up from saving the kids from falling to adulthood. The gold ring symbolizes adulthood, which Holden didnt do anything to stop the children from reaching it. In the novel The Catcher in the Rye, Holden is obsessed in preserving his innocence. Holden cannot accept the responsibilities and consequences associated with adulthood. He tries to run away from the people he knew and focuses his attentions to the people he did not know. Holden is stuck between the world of innocence and the world of adulthood. Without even noticing it, he tries to act and think like an adult. Holden is also jealous of his two little siblings because they get most of the attention, care, and love of their parents that he has never felt before. He wanted to preserve his innocence to feel the love from his parents that he has been longing for so long. Due to his obsession of preserving his innocence, he wishes to be the catcher in the rye to protect the children from falling off the cliff. He finds the adult world corrupted and poisonous. However, in the end of the novel, Holden finally let go of his obsession and decided to act as an adult. Even though he struggles in his life and finds adulthood complicates, corrupted, and poisonous he decided to come out of his box to evolve, explore, and experience what the world could offer.

The Role of Child Death Inquiries

The Role of Child Death Inquiries Recently the benefits of child death inquiries and serious case reviews have come under particular scrutiny (Corby, Doig and Roberts, 1998). This assignment will use evidenced based information and practice to find other approaches or how to improve the form of the inquiry so its benefits outweigh its limitations. The United Nations estimate that every week two children in the United Kingdom die from abuse or neglect (UNICEF, 2003). The United Nations Convention, article 3 on the rights of the child places a duty on countries to protect children from abuse or neglect, the best interests of the child must be the primary concern when making decisions which may affect them, article 6 focuses on the importance of safeguarding their right to life (United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1992). There are two types of child death inquiries; serious case reviews and public inquiries. A serious case review takes place when a child dies and abuse or neglect is suspected. They also take place in other circumstances where serious situations have occurred for example where a child has suffered from serious sexual abuse. The purpose of child death inquiries according to Working Together, 2010 is for agencies and individuals to learn where problems have arisen and to learn from these to improve their practice. The lessons learnt should be given to all individuals who work in this area to ensure they safeguard children in the correct way. When agencies already know where certain problems lie they should improve upon them before the serious case review is finished. A public inquiry for example The Colwell Report (1974), The Climbà © inquiry (2003) is a inquiry ordered by the government to review events, in this case child deaths. To conclude where practice could be improved upon, rec ommendations can be given and lessons can be learnt. Under regulation 5 of the local safeguarding childrens board requires that the local safeguarding children board undertakes reviews of serious cases. Serious case reviews must establish lessons to be learnt, identify which lessons are within agencies and which between and how long they have to act upon the changes to be undertaken. The reviews must also improve upon inter and intra agency working to promote and safeguard the wellbeing of children (chapter 8, Working Together, 2010). Laming (2009) states that serious case reviews are an important tool for learning lessons. Currently there is debate regarding the approach used in serious case reviews some believe that there are different approaches to take to learn from poor social work practice. Effective safeguarding practice is an approach considered, to learn from what is already proven to work. The obvious aim of child death inquiries is to try and avoid future tragedies. There is a repetitive circle within child protection. Families collide with professionals and most of the outcomes involve protection. The tensions involved between families and professionals involve competition of rights. The Human Rights Act, 1998 article 8 stipulates the familys right to a private family life and to be able to conduct their lives according to their culture and understanding. The opposite to this argument is to ensure all children are protected. When should professionals become involved? Parton (1991) describes the dilemma of how can the state establish the rights of the child and still promote the family to be an independent body in which to raise their children how they see fit and not intervene in all families and consequently reduce its autonomy. Depending on the theoretical viewpoint the professionals and current Government takes would impose when the state should intervene. A laissez-faires government would have little intervention. State paternalism is a perspective which favours more involvement of state intervention to protect children from abuse. This theory regards the childs welfare as more important than family autonomy. This perspective was reflected in the Children Act, 1989 as it introduced the expression likely for the child to be in significant harm. If there is a likelihood of significant harm there are possibilities of child protection orders being produced, and in other extensions of state power. Tensions between the duties that social workers have to safeguard children, the familys right to a private family life, the rights of the child, working in partnership with the parents and understanding when the state should intervene cause problems within social work practice. Knowing when to intervene has always been a problem for social workers within this area. Malcolm Hill (1990) found that published child abuse inquiry reports identified working with parents as a common problem. He found that papers noted access difficulties, in a number of cases parents didnt cooperate when the social worker needed to see the child at risk. Hill (1990) concluded that papers found social workers were too ready to believe parents. Hill (1990) concluded that the Colwell report (1974) found that social workers should focus on parents demonstrating their parenting skills and not to assume all was well because the parents said so. Social workers also need to look at the care the child is receiving holistically not focus on single areas of the family where they are showing positive steps, for example social workers may be satisfied as the family are participating in counselling but they need to still look at their parenting at home whilst this continues. Thus depending on the theoretical viewpoint the social worker takes decides when they should intervene. This assignment will adopt a state paternalism perspective, this perspective although draws conclusions that the child is likely to suffer significant harm which may affect the family relationships and autonomy its better to intervene now then wait until abuse or neglect has taken place and then safeguarding the child. This perspective takes a view that children have a high priority in society, they have rights to high standards of care and using this approach ensures that they are protected at all costs by the force of the law (Fox Harding, 1997). Child death inquiries are seen as an important tool used to improve local practice and implementing wider community health approaches to improve upon infant mortality rates. Bunting and Reid (2005) found that there numerous benefits to serious case reviews taking place. These included; more effective multi agency working, improved communication between agencies, they found that death certificates had become more informative they also found that from participating in serious case reviews practitioners had more knowledge surrounding child death and the causes of them ensuring a further focus on preventative measures of child death rather than focusing on child abuse. Corby et al (1998) have found that there is a growing concern on the impact of child inquiries on professionals especially social workers. They found that whilst inquiries were taking place social workers face continual criticism. The Maria Colwell case made social work practice public and put it under great scrutiny. Professionals within this case became points of focus of criticism, their work was scrutinised in incorrect contexts focusing on training of social workers affecting their morale significantly (Corby et al, 1998). The impact of child death inquiries on social workers and other professionals in this area can be psychological and emotional. Corby et al (1998) argues both sides of the case that child death inquiries can highlight poor practice and the need for the public to know why children already known to social services and other departments can still go on to be abused and killed. However the emotional and psychological effects on social workers can be so detrimental because of the scrutiny they are under, their work will be affected, and affecting further work they do. Corby et al (1998) investigated child abuse cases and inquiries and how useful they are and what changes have been made by using child death and abuse inquiries as an approach. Of the seventy inquiries they investigated between 1945 and 1997 they all produced similar recommendations in areas of improving inter agency co-ordination, training of professionals, improving child protection systems and using more experienced staff. Corby used this information to highlight that changes made between 1945 and 1997 have not been substantial as inquiries continue to make the same recommendations. Child death inquires do have their place in the public eye specifically when practice goes wrong, nevertheless they have a number of limitations. Child death inquiries affect personal confidence of the social workers and other professionals when they become embroiled within the investigation. Due to the nature of the child death inquiries the public only see the negatives of social workers, social workers fear the association of such inquiries. Practice will not change when inquiries focus solely on the structure of children and families department. If social workers feel like the target when involved in inquiries their work will be affected therefore affecting the work they do further on for example other children may be more at risk because social workers have no confidence in the work they are practicing. To use child death inquiries as a vehicle for policy development may not be the most effective approach to take. Child death inquiries are very expensive. If a more effective approach was to be taken and social workers and other professionals were able to learn more from this different process it would be more beneficial to take this approach than to carry on using money and concluding the same issues. Parton (2004) has found that the same issues have been identified on numerous times without any obvious changes in social work practice. Devaney, Lazenbatt and Bunting (2010) found that child death inquiries can still be effective but more emphasis needs to be on recommendations, implementing and acting upon them. Devaney et al (2010) also argue that policy makers need more understanding of the difficult situations in which children are at more risk from abuse or neglect. Devaney et al (2010) argue that this can help the policy makers express what social workers can do and make a disti nction between that and what should be done. Child death inquiries make assumptions that something has gone wrong and that the inquiry can find out what and give recommendations to learn from the mistakes. It assumes that practice will change because of the recommendations given and many inquiries dont focus on acting upon the recommendations, if they did then future inquiries wouldnt produce the same recommendations. Inquiries assume that the method they use is sophisticated. However, research into inquiries and literature has shown that other approaches could be more effective and less intrusive in practice and less strain can be put on professionals. Inquiries assume that multi agency working will be more effective, though if tensions between professionals are problematic then these will be difficult to resolve. Inquiries cannot assume that these tensions can be worked at by the professionals they need a superior management style to overlook the different professionals to be able to work effectively together. As well as the implications for social workers individually and for policy makers regarding the process of child death inquiries, organisational structures will be also be impacted upon when changing child welfare policy. Due to changes within organisations, for example changes in roles of professionals involved in child death inquiries the foundations of interprofessional multi agency work are not secure, concluded because inquiries focus excessively on the role of social workers rather than the antecedents of child death or abuse. With regards to the case of Maria Colwell (1974) the Secretary of State Barbara Castle concluded that social workers alone cannot solve the underlying problems. All professionals in this field of child welfare need to understand their role but if child welfare policy continues to change constantly the role cannot be undertaken as professionals have poor ideas of what their role is and how they should practice. All professionals need to work effectively to gether and have an understanding of delivering comprehensive services to diverse communities so no children are lost in the system or ignored. The importance of effective interprofessional multi agency work is such that until there is a balance of role and practice then the safeguarding of future children may be affected. Contemporary social work values may be affected, social workers have their own values personally and from learning from experience. Social workers must focus on human rights and social justice as their motivation for social work. Some critiques may argue that depending on the theoretical framework for example state paternalism some social workers may not be able to justify their motivation to impose this framework in their practice by not letting the family have a right to private family life (Human Rights, article 8) and be too quick to intervene. To ensure anti discriminatory practice social workers must understand different cultures have different behaviours when it comes to parenting. The social worker may think it is not appropriate, the family however may believe differently. This can lead to the social worker to not act at all. The social worker must ensure anti discriminatory practice, they need to see things from the perspective of the culture the family employs. Though stil l maintaining the values and knowledge they have regarding child abuse and when they should intervene. They must keep each case individual and make judgements based on evidence, not on their assumptions. To evaluate how useful child death inquiries are as a vehicle for policy development evidence needs to be considered whilst investigating journal papers to gain an understanding of where bias may occur. Using a wide range of sources gives a broader idea of what has been proven to work in social work practice (Roberts and Yeager, 2006). Research evidence is more valued than other sources, those papers that are repeatable and use a large amount of participants are more likely to have less prejudice in concluding how useful child death inquiries are as a vehicle for policy development. Higgs and Jones (2000) propose that evidence is knowledge derived from various sources, which has been tested and found credible. Having read all the information the weight of evidence suggests that changes need to be made to the approach of child death inquiries. The limitations and implications to practice are too substantial to ignore. Professionals and public havent seen any major changes because of the recommendations give by the inquiries. Corby et al (1998) found that of seventy public inquiries between 1945 and 1997 the main focus of recommendations was on improvements on inter agency co-ordination and improving the training of staff. The gap between the time of the death of the child and receiving the results of the inquiry is detrimental to social workers. Corby et al (1998) also argue that the cost of inquiries and the negative impact on social workers affecting their future practice may create more risk to other children they are safeguarding because they dont have the confidence to practice anymore. The most effective approach to take would be one that focuses with less scrutiny on the social worke rs so their confidence is not affected and acts upon the recommendations it has made. Policy can develop by using a different vehicle instead of child death inquiries. At the minute the impact of changing child welfare policy on social workers and organisational structure is considerable. An improved approach to child death inquiries can be more effective in changing policy than the constant changes that are currently happening because of the results from child death inquiries.

Essay --

The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela Venezuela is a Latin American country located in northern South America and borders countries such as Colombia, Brazil and Guyana. Venezuela became colonized in 1522 by the Spanish, who remained in power until the early nineteenth century. After the Venezuelans independence from Spain in 1821, the country experienced periods of dictatorial rule of the caudillos and revolutionary turbulence which left the country with major political instability for the remainder of the century. During the early twentieth century, authoritarianism ruled the nation until Romulo Gallegos, a leftist, became the first democratically elected president in 1947. Within the year, Gallegos was overthrown by Marcos Perez Jimenez, a military officer, who, he himself would eventually become overthrown in 1958. Upon his departure from office, civilian democracy had been restored with the election of Romulo Betancourt. Until the latter end of the twentieth century, Venezuela had generally remained a politically peaceful country. However, in 1989, Venezuela experienced a period...

Summary of the Bell Jar :: essays research papers

Esther Greenwood, a college student from Massachusetts, traveled to New York to work on a magazine for a month as a guest editor. Esther knows she should be having the time of her life, but she feels like she is in a living nightmare. The execution of the Rosenbergs worries her, and this is what triggers the bell jar closing in on Esther and covering her view on life. When she goes home, she finds that she is in more of a nightmare. She tries to cut her wrists, but cannot. She tries to hang herself, but cannot find a place to hang the rope. In a desperate attempt to end her life she takes a large amount of sleeping pills and hides in a crawl space in her basement. But, she survives and awakes in a hospital. She remains uncooperative until Philomena Guinea, a wealthy woman who also gave Esther her college scholarship, pays for Esther to go into a private hospital. Esther improves slowly, she also meets Joan, who is a lesbian. When Esther finds out Joan’s sexuality, she finds Joan to be repulsive. Joan seems to be improving like Esther, but she commits suicide. Esther left the mental hospital in time to start the winter semester at college. She believed that she had regained a grasp on sanity, but knows that the bell jar of her madness could descend again at any time. Esther Greenwood is the protagonist and narrator of The Bell Jar. I find her extremely unique because of her view on life, the way that she thinks of people and how life works is very curious. Esther feels as if no one in the world understands her and is very selfish. During most of the book, no matter where Esther goes, she exists in the hell of her own mind. She seemed trapped inside herself, with no external existence, no matter how new and exciting, nothing could change how she felt.

A Heritage Of Smallness

The Philippine population increases much faster than our economy. Our country indeed has been as slow as snail when it comes to the aspect of development. It takes a lot of years, even decades for us to be able to take a leap towards one step of modernization. Other countries like for example our neighbor, Singapore, which has been colonized by other more powerful country had been able to get up and make them selves more productive. But throughout the years, the Philippines had remained stagnant with their status in the world. Instead o becoming more globally competitive, we tend to just always sit down and relax and just accept the fact that our development is deteriorating. In Nick Joaquin's essay, â€Å"A Heritage of Smallness†, he emphasized how the Filipino people can be so much contented with all that is small, all that is little and all that is just enough. A child who was born from a poor family would most likely be poor for the rest of his life. It would be a common scenario that they, too, will adopt the way of living of their parents. Instead of finding a way for them to have money, they will be contented and just continue blaming whoever they want to blame. â€Å"What most astonishes foreigners on the Philippines is that this is a country, perhaps the only one in the world, where people buy and sell one stick of cigarette, half a head of garlic, a dab of pomade, part of the contents of a can or bottle, one single egg, one single banana.† — This statement without a doubt confirms the Filipino mentality when it comes to finding a source of living. Yes, on the brighter side, it may show or represent how the Filipinos are willing to do anything and everything to have money. But what Nick Joaquin probably wants us, Filipinos to do is that we should think of a realistic and achievable way for us to have money. A way wherein we would be able to suffice our everyday needs and at the same time save money. If for example, a cigarette vendor sells P1.25 per one stick of cigarette. If let's say that he was able to sell 100 sticks for the day. His income for the day would only be P125.00. This is just enough for a man without a family to support. But what if this cigarette vendor has a wife and has 3 children? How will he be able to meet the needs of his family and at the same time save money? Impossible! This man would most likely still be a cigarette vendor after ten years. We see, this kind of mentality of being too laidback is the reason why we are still suffering from slow economic growth for a long time. Even those in our government have been so lax thus, nothing is happening to our economy. It was also mentioned in the essay that the Filipino's day starts at six or seven in the morning and ends up sometimes late. Unlike other countries whose day would start at around nine or ten in the morning and ends at exactly 5 pm. But despite this difference, they still â€Å"pile up more mileage than we who work all day and all week†. This is one of the mind-bugling realities of the Filipino Life. What do we really do when we are at work? Are we really that productive? Or are we just pretending to work just because of the salary at stake? Next is the Filipino's NINGAS-KUGON mentality. We are â€Å"used only to the small effort, we are not, as a result, capable of sustained effort and lose momentum fast†. The Filipino people are very much eager to work just for the first couple of months, first couple of weeks or even for just the first couple of days. We lack the willingness to prolong our level of zealousness to work. The reason behind that is we are so impatient. We always want an easy way to everything. Which, I guess is such a lame reason for us to work. We should always develop a vision of the future and continuously strive to attain it. Isn't it that most employees transfer from one firm to the other? There most common reason would be that they are not happy with their work. But the question is, when are they going to be happy with their work? IF they are already old and the firms are the ones who throws them out for the business needs younger ones? Our love for our culture and tradition hold us back hence, hindering us from further development. â€Å"One could go on and on with his litany† — This means that it is the people's choice whether they want us to grow our not. We often make the past colonization of our country as an excuse that we were greatly influenced by foreign ideas that is why we have difficulty in moving on and reaching for modernization. But since we know this dilemma, why won't we figure out a way to unlock the chains of colonization that has been hampering our maturity as a nation? Filipinos talk too much that they forget that they have a lot of catching up to do. They are too busy boasting about things that would not contribute to any aspect of the society. If we talk less and work more, then I guess that will make a great difference. What is happening in our country is that instead of making extra effort to be able to be globally competitive, we think less and less because we are stopped by the thought of not actually making it. We have plenty of natural resources. All we have to do is to think creatively for us to be able to develop something that would catch the attention of the world. We all know that there are lots of Filipino people who are skillful in so many fields. What we need to do is to not stop at one invention. We should be always challenged. Never stop creating new things. We should make the world know that we can be something and not just a mere source of their raw materials. Lastly, the thing I'd like to point out is the fact that the Philippines, despite the relatively large and growing population, always â€Å"splits like amoeba†. Instead of working hand in hand for our country, we have this crab mentality wherein we always want to pull successful people down. This, I may say is such an obvious factor why we are getting smaller and smaller. For example, in politics, we usually split into groups and continuously find a way to let others down. We don't get anything advantageous from that. We just scare away foreign investors who, in reality are the ones who can help us in our present economic endeavor. To sum this all up, I'd like to reiterate two things. First is that we, the Filipinos should strive for the betterment of ourselves as well as of our country and be not just contented with what we have – We all should learn to aim high. And secondly, instead of always splitting into groups, we should learn to be cooperative and work hand in hand for the development of our country. Let us avoid making excuses that a big crowd is too much to handle. Let us be optimistic. Let us put in mind that a big crowd means there would be a lot of manpower that would build up and invigorate a once sleeping nation.

GEICO Culture: Nicely’s approach to the Four Functions of Management

In the mid-1930s, at the height of the Great Depression, there weren't many people with the foresight and courage to start up a new company. Yet the husband and wife team of Leo and Lillian Goodwin were up to the challenge. Confident that he could create a successful auto insurance business by marketing directly to carefully targeted customer groups, Leo Goodwin hammered out a business plan during his early career in Texas. In 1936, he put that plan into action, establishing the Government Employees Insurance Company–the company known and loved today as GEICO. Few people realize that GEICO was initially targeted to federal employees and certain categories of enlisted military officers. From the 1960’s to the early 90’s GEICO had other CEO’s in place but it was not until 1993 that the company began to change as a whole. In 1993, Olza â€Å"Tony† Nicely was named GEICO's new chairman, president and CEO, and worked to expand the customer base through a new four-company strategy. Along with it came an increased advertising budget which propelled GEICO toward much higher national visibility. In all successful corporations planning is essential. Planning is the first and most important step in the process of successfully managing a corporation. Planning activities determine an organization’s objectives and establish appropriate strategies for achieving them. The organizing, controlling, and leading functions of management are all derived from planning. All members of management in any organization must plan. Through plans managers are able to communicate their expectations and strategic plans to achieve corporate mission. Tony Nicely, GEICO’s CEO understands the importance of planning. Nicely is very involved in the planning process and stays abreast of the corporate business stance as well as how each functional department plans to achieve corporate goals. Nicely meets with top management to develop plans for the upcoming year. The decisions and plans made by top level management are communicated to mid-level management in the form of business level plans. Mid-level management is responsible for creating functional level plans where. The use of this systematic approach to planning ensures that each level of the hierarchy within an organization understands the corporate mission and their role in achieving it. GEICO’s planning is centered around its 7 operating principles: * Respect: Respect, support and provide opportunity for all associates. * Service: Be fanatics for outstanding customer service. * Low-Cost: Be the low-cost provider. * Integrity: Operate with uncompromising integrity. * Discipline: Maintain a disciplined balance sheet. Profitable Growth: Make an underwriting profit while achieving optimum growth. * Invest: Invest for total return. Organizing The second function of management is organization. We need to organize everything we need in order to achieve our goal. We need to find people who will work on that project and we need to gather resources which we need to reach our goal. Once we organize everything we can move to the third function of four functions of management. Creates a structure of task and authority relationships that supports attainment of organizational goals. Organizing is the process of structuring both human and physical resources to accomplish organizational objectives. Thus, organizing involves dividing tasks into jobs, delegating authority, determing the appropriate bases for departmentalizing hoibsm and deciding the optimum numbers of jobs in each department. Leading The third function is directing or leading. We need to lead people to use the resources we prepared in the second function. Leading is probably the hardest function of all four. We need to know our people in order to lead them correctly Controlling The last function is controlling. This one is as any other of the four functions of management very important. We first must explain what controlling actually is. This is not just controlling over workers as one might think, this is also the controlling of your programs and your goal achievement at the end. This last function enables us to improve our skills and process in future by correcting errors that happened during this cycle.

Imperial presidency Essay

In the age of the imperial presidency, it is easy to lose sight of the fact that, in the totality of American history, a powerful chief executive has been the exception rather than the rule. Indeed, until the mid-twentieth century, the most powerful person in peacetime American governments was the Speaker of the House of Representatives rather than the president. Prior to World War II, presidential power was ascendant only during wartime. It is no mistake that the three men commonly cited as our greatest presidents also led the nation through its three most important wars. The image of George Washington as president is inseparable from his role in the American Revolution. Abraham Lincoln is remembered for his role in preserving the Union through the Civil War; other aspects of his presidency are largely ignored. Although Franklin Roosevelt accumulated considerable personal power during the 1930’s, he will be remembered for guiding the United States through World War II in the 1940’s. George W. Bush often refers to himself as the â€Å"Commander in Chief† rather than simply the â€Å"President† or the â€Å"Chief Executive†. This reflects President Bush’s acknowledgement of the fact that â€Å"Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces† is the most concentrated and unchecked power that a president is granted under the constitution. Any student of history is aware that a president is far more powerful when he is perceived to be not just a chief executive but a commander in chief. In other words, for a president to be historically powerful, there must be a war on. The watershed moment for the imperial American presidency was the aftermath of World War II. After every prior American war, the nation had demobilized, the president had assumed his traditional, more limited portfolio, and the Congress had reestablished its position as the pivotal branch of the federal government. After World War II, however, and especially after the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950, there was no demobilization. Instead, the executive branch of the federal government underwent an overhaul and reorganization that irreversibly changed the nature of the presidency and of the United States itself. President Truman would mold a policy that was without precedent in American history; this policy would call for large standing armies in peacetime, a radically strengthened and centralized executive, and a willingness to project American force around the world, at times without direct congressional approval. The underlying logic to this revolution in American government was the need to contain the expansionist designs of the Soviet Union. In 1947, the National Security Act created the CIA, the Department of Defense, and the National Security Council. This creation of a spy agency, a permanent standing army, and a radically strengthened executive changed forever the nature of American government. After the National Security Act of 1947, a permanent war footing, or at least a war psychology, settled over Washington, D. C. Although the United States was technically at peace more often than not for the rest of the century, the president’s identity as â€Å"commander in chief† maintained a gravity that simply would have been impossible in prior periods. One mitigating factor in this shift was the logistical realities of modern warfare, embodied most purely and terribly by nuclear weapons. The incomparable damage that such weapons could exact, and the relative speed with which they could be delivered, precluded consultations between the President and the Congress under many feasible scenarios. This inevitably strengthened the latitude and increased the responsibility of the chief executive, who could become the commander in chief, responsible for the physical survival of the United States, at any given moment. The psychological shift was just as important as the revolution in weaponry. For the first time the United States, or at least its leadership, perceived itself to be under siege even in the absence of a hot war. The idea of a global and aggressive Soviet menace led to a willingness in American leaders to interpret local and isolated conflicts as part of a broader communist conspiracy that must be contained by a massive American military machine. Human nature being what it is, the unprecedented size and power of the Pentagon made it far easier for American presidents to order the use of force, which in turn consolidated their power as active â€Å"commanders in chief†. From 1947 through 1991, the United States fought two major wars in Korea and Vietnam, but the overarching Cold War solidified the idea that the president’s primary and permanent role was to serve as commander in chief. This notion would have known no place in America prior to World War II. The nation was founded on a well-reasoned fear of centralized executives and the nation had spent most of its early history avoiding such pitfalls. During the Cold War, it embraced this pitfall as an unfortunate necessity, if not a virtue. At the end of the Cold War, there was talk of a â€Å"peace dividend† which would allow for radically reduced defense spending and, by implication, a more restrained presidency. The Gulf War of 1991 arrived just in time to forestall any radical lurch in that direction. During the Clinton administration, the presidency remained powerful, and the United States carried out several military operations from Haiti to Kosovo. The strength of the presidency was only magnified by the fact that the United States was now the only global superpower. The 9/11 attacks, of course, put America on an indefinite war footing analogous to the Cold War. George W. Bush declared with what looked to some as great excitement that he was a â€Å"war president†. Since the United States has been at war in Afghanistan and Iraq for six years, Bush’s personal power has been established by stressing his identity as commander in chief, identifying the defense of the United States as his most important task. Another issue that has risen out of Bush’s embrace of the imperial presidency is how such power is exercised domestically as opposed to internationally. President Bush and his attorneys have argued that the United States is involved in a war in which all of the Earth, including the United States, is the â€Å"battlefield†. This means, according to their arguments, that the president’s power as commander in chief applies just as much in the United States as anywhere else. This dubious and dangerous idea has led to unwarranted surveillance of American citizens in the United States, indefinite detention without charge or legal representation for anyone identified by the commander in chief as an â€Å"enemy combatant†, and the use of â€Å"enhanced interrogation† on detainees, which any honest person would call torture. These draconian measures are best embodied in the Military Commission Act of 2006, which effectively suspends Habeas Corpus and all subsequent legal rights to any individual declared an enemy on the sole authority of the commander in chief. The domestic and international conditions which prevailed when the founding fathers wrote the constitution are obviously no longer valid. It is a testament to the genius of these men that the American system has lasted as long as it has. While certain changes are necessary and inevitable over the decades and the centuries, I am personally very uncomfortable with the level of power that is concentrated in the modern presidency, especially as manifested by the Bush administration. The current administration is the embodiment of the danger inherent in so much power being vested in a single person. After World War II, new global realities called for a more robust presidency, but the balance that was struck with varying degrees of success throughout the Cold War is absent from the current situation. The Military Commission Act of 2006 allows the President to kidnap an American citizen, hold him in prison without charging him with a crime, letting him see a lawyer or a judge, or telling his family where he is, torture him, and never release him. This is not hyperbole; it is now allowable under American law. Most people with respect for human dignity and for the American constitution can agree that this is not the America we want to live in. â€Å"A democracy cannot wage war. When you go to war, you pass a law giving extraordinary powers to the President. The people of the country assume when the emergency is over, the rights and powers that were temporarily delegated to the Chief Executive will be returned to the states, counties and to the people. † –General Walter Bedell Smith (Weiner 189). Works Cited Lowi, Theodore J. , Benjamin Ginsberg, and Kenneth A. Shepsle. American Government: Power and Purpose. W. W. Norton, 2005. Shafritz, Jay M. and Lee S. Weinberg. Classics in American Government. Wadsworth Publishing, 2005. Weiner, Tim. Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA. Doubleday, 2007.