Melanie Klein Essay

Melanie Klein is considered as one of the greatest psychoanalyst of her time even though she remains little known to American psychologists. Other women psychoanalysts including Anna Freud, Karen Horney, and Helene Deutsch are well known irrespective of the fact that the contribution of Melanie Klein to the field of psychology was by far greater than theirs (Donaldson, 2010). Melanie Klein major contribution to psychology was her distinct model which led to the development of a new school of psychoanalysis known as object relations theory. This school of thought places the relation of the mother and the infant at the core of its analysis in explaining personality development. She was born in Vienna Austria in the year 1882 in a middle class Jewish family. Melanie Klein was unable to complete her education due to family financial constrains and was forced to marry at a tender age. She is said to have suffered from depression and ‘nerves’ which was partly attributed to her domineering mother during her childhood. Melanie was able to resume her studies in psychoanalysis later in life (Grosskurth, 1986). This paper shall look at the life and achievements of Melanie Klein in the field of psychology. Early Years: Melanie Klein was born in the year 1882 to Dr. Moriz Reisez ad Libusa Deutsch. Melanie had closer relationship to her mother than her father. The father passed away when Melanie was just eighteen whereas the mother died in 1914 (Donaldson, 2010). In their family, religion was second fiddle though they maintained that they were atheists. Melanie never denied her Jewish roots and it is said that she never held those who denied their religiosity in high regard. She is also said to have encouraged parents to impart religious teachings to their children in accordance with their own beliefs (Grosskurth, 1986). Two of her siblings passed away when Melanie was still very young. Sidonie who was her second oldest sister passed away but she was very helpful to the young Melanie as she taught her how to read and write before she died whereas Emanuel, her only brother was also of great help to her. Emanuel was a talented pianist and writer and he taught Melanie in Greek and Latin. The knowledge she gained from her siblings was very helpful in her education and indeed aided her in passing entrance exams in the various schools that she attended (Segal, 1980). Melanie was engaged at a tender age of nineteen to Arthur Stephen Klein who was a friend to her brother. They were engaged for two years during which time Melanie was taking her studies in art and history at Vienna University. Melanie was not able to enroll for a medical study so as to follow her husband who was always on the move due to his business life. This meant that she could not graduate with an academic degree. In her career, most of her work was disregarded due to lack of authenticity in medical knowledge. Melanie was forced to keep moving with her husband and this made her lonely missing home very much. However, the birth of her first two children, Melitta in 1904 and Hans in 1907 made her somehow happy (Hergenhahn, 2001). Melanie’s life was greatly transformed in the year 1910 when her family moved to Budapest. In Budapest, she was able to know about the psychoanalytic work of Sigmund Freud on dreams. This experience changed her lifetime interest as psychoanalysis became her new field of interest. She began a course in psychoanalysis under the mentorship of Sandor Ferenczi. Ferenczi was encouraged by Melanie’s interest in psychoanalysis and urged her to psychoanalyze her children (Hergenhahn, 2001). In the year 1917, she met Freud during the meeting between the Hungarian and Austrian psychoanalysts’ societies. In 1919, she presented her paper entitled ‘The Development of a Child’ to the Hungarian Society and consequently asked to become a member of the Budapest society. In the same year, Melanie and her three children moved to Slovakia where they stayed with her in-laws as her husband had departed for Sweden. In the year 1922, the couple divorced (Segal, 1980). Melanie was introduced to Karl Abraham who encouraged her analysis of her own children. During this time she was able to join the Berlin Psychoanalytic Society. Karl Abraham on his part was developing the concept of death instincts by Freud in his own ways focusing on oral and anal sadistic impulses. These ideas were to influence Melanie in her work as seen in her in regard to children’s play. Following the death of Abraham in 1926, Melanie moved her base to London where she joined the British Psychoanalytic Society (Grosskurth, 1986). While in Berlin and after the influence from Karl Abraham, Melanie became dissatisfied with the views held by Ferenczi. However, it is worthy noting that both Ferenczi and Abraham influenced her work. She had received encouragement and learned the significance of the unconscious dynamics from Ferenczi. However, Ferenczi never practiced negative transference and on rare occasions did held neutral positions with his patients. To Melanie, Abraham gave the true picture of psychoanalysis. Though she borrowed the concept of introjections from Ferenczi, she still considered herself as an ardent follower of Abraham and Freud (Segal, 1980). Following the death of Karl Abraham in the year 1926, Melanie’s work was often criticized. Anna Freud had commenced her studies on children at around the same time and with their methodologies being uniquely different, the Berlin Society regarded Melanie’s work as unorthodoxy (Segal, 1980). Earlier on in 1925 during the presentation of her paper on the technique of child analysis in Salzburg, she had met Ernest Jones, who regarded her analysis as the future of psychoanalysis. She had been invited in give lectures on the subject in London and spent three weeks giving lectures in the house of Dr. Adrian Stephen. After a difficult time in Berlin, Melanie opted to move to England where she was readily accepted by the British Psychoanalytic Society. In England, she continued with her works on many areas in psychoanalysis which included the death instinct and the Oedipus complex (Hergenhahn, 2001). Melanie’s Contribution to Psychoanalysis: Melanie Klein is considered as the most influential psychoanalyst after Freud following her contributions to the field of psychoanalysis. She articulated the pre-history of childhood development whereby she outlined the chronology of events during childhood development as integration of the chaotic desiring world of the developing child and the reality of the world. Melanie considered the infant’s world to be threatened right away from the start by unbearable anxieties (Segal, 1980). To her, these anxieties emanated from the death instincts in the infant and were important ion the development of the child. These anxieties were overwhelming to the infant and the infant resorted to the defenses that would free him/her from these anxieties. The defenses employed by the infant included projection, denial, withdrawal, splitting, and omnipotent control. Through these, the infant is able to expel the threatening objects from inside the body and thereby preserving the good objects (Sayers, 1991). The most basic of these processes were the projection and the introjection which defined the infant’s maiden and primitive attempts to draw a line between him/her and the world among other things. At first the objects are those whose existence for the infant was determined by their functionality in the child’s view. However, upon maturation, the infant was able to ‘introject’ both the ‘bad’ and the ‘good’ objects (Sayers, 1991). Also it should be noted that through the process of progressive internalization, the fragmentary objects were internalized into the self and consequently became forerunners of the super-ego. According to Melanie, the progressive internalization which involved introjection, projection, and re-introjection was continuous and cyclic. This led to increasing â€Å"synthesis as the infant gradually attained greater degrees of reality testing, differentiation, and control over her own psyche† (Science. jrank. org, 2010, para 4). Melanie divided the pre-oedipal childhood development into ‘paranoid/schizoid’ and ‘depressive’ positions. The paranoid position was during the first months in the child’s life when the child was helpless. According to Melanie, deprivation, the experience of need, and frustration though came from the infant’s own body, were seen to be persecutory at this time and the child had to respond by expelling them outside the body. Earlier objects such as the breast were categorized as either bad or good depending on how they were perceived [nurturing or destructive]. In this way, the infant is believed to have been taking in (introjecting) or dispelling (projecting) objects in relation to their perceived safety or danger. The infant would take in and preserve the feelings in the external world regarded as ‘good’ while expelling the ‘bad’ ones (Sayers, 1991). The depressive position corresponded to the second 6 months of life and extended the trends that had been established during the first 6 months in life. Melanie argued that during this period the infant was capable of bridging the gap between the ‘good’ and ‘bad’ objects and also between his/her personal experiences of love and hate that created them. During this time the child is competent of ambivalence and that his/her awareness steadily expand to include not only internal feelings but also the external object world and the mother. The infants become aware of their own disparaging desires and attempts to inhibit these impulses due to fear of their destructive nature (Science. jrank. org, 2010,). The awareness of the aggressive tendencies towards the objects/mother and the efforts to inhibit these impulses makes the infant to be more tolerant for ambivalence which forms the basis for mediation between regarding the needed and loved object and the destructive impulses that would destroy the object. This leads to a relationship between the infant and the mother and other objects. Melanie looked at both the paranoid/schizoid and depressive positions as normal development phases towards achievement of a more mature object relation by the children. She believed that fixation in these positions was responsible for the future psychopathological development in children (Klein, 1984). Melanie considered the child’s efforts to engage in the binding and modification of the persecutory and depressive anxieties as the core struggle in the developmental process of the infants. This was seen as the chief forerunner to virtually all the mental development of the child. During this progressive process, the anxieties are â€Å"modified ‘structuralization’ increased, and the anxieties and impulses that gave rise to them were themselves diminished† (Science. jrank. org, 2010, para 9). To Melanie, all the defenses were directed in opposition to the anxieties and that the earliest defenses such as splitting were the basis of repression. Her theoretical framework of objects relations also identified the oedipal complex and the development of the super-ego during the earlier months in life (Klein, 1984). Her theory was able to attribute to the infants complex emotions much earlier than was acceptable in Freudian analysis. Her ideas about schizoid defense mechanism in particular brought about a controversial debate within the British Psychoanalytic Society to determine whether ‘Kleinianism’ [referring to her thoughts] was truly psychoanalysis or not. Compromise was arrived at to allow the teaching of the two schools of thoughts as Kleinianism and Freudianism. Melanie Klein was therefore the first ever psychoanalyst to challenge Freud’s take on the psychoanalytic development and still remained in the psychoanalytic society (Donaldson, 2010). Conclusion: Melanie Klein’s contribution to the field of psychoanalysis can not be ignored. Perhaps she can be considered as the greatest female psychoanalyst of all times considering that she brought in a new dimension to the psychoanalytic studies through the object relations theory. She ventured in a unique study which involved the study of her very own children at a time when no one had conducted such a study. Though she had no medical background in a medical field, her zeal and interest in psychoanalysis were the drive to her achievement in the new field. She was determined to pursue her unique model of the psychoanalytic study even when many orthodox Freudians would not support her views. Melanie shall remain to be one of the greatest psychoanalytic that ever graced the field of psychoanalysis. Reference: Donaldson, G. , (2010). Melanie Klein, Psychoanalyst (1882-1960). Retrieved on 6th July 2010 from; http://www. psych. yorku. ca/femhop/Melanie%20Klein. htm Grosskurth, P. (1986). Melanie Klein: Her world and her work. New York: Knopf. Hergenhahn, B. R. (2001). An Introduction to the History of Psychology. California: Wadsworth Klein, M. (1984). The psycho-analysis of children (A. Strachey, Trans. ). R. Money-Kyrle (Ed. ), â€Å"The writings of Melanie Klein† (Vol. 2). New York: Free Press Sayers, J. (1991). Mothers of psychoanalysis. New York: W. W. Norton & Company. Science. jrank. org, (2010). Psychoanalysis – Melanie Klein and Object Relations. Retrieved on 6th July 2010 from; http://science. jrank. org/pages/10906/Psychoanalysis-Melanie-Klein-Object-Relations. html Segal, H. (1980). Melanie Klein. New York: The Viking Press.

History of Western Art Comparison 1

A Progression of Idealistic Perfection in Sculpture: Khafre Enthroned to Kritios Boy Early Egyptian art from the Old Kingdom, ca. 2575-2134 BCE, demonstrates uniform structure. Egyptian artists and sculptors adhered to a system of strict rules known as canon to create this consistency. The Egyptian canon suggested perfection to be a rigid, ageless idealization of reality. Roughly 1,500 years later, a progressive canon emerged in Greek art reflecting new ideals of perfection. Greek art beginning in the Early Classical Period, ca. 80- 450 BCE, digressed from the acceptance of formula (influenced by Egyptian canon) to reflect greater naturalism, an adherence to close observation of reality. Greek perfection was achieved through rational ordering of the world, in which the canon was based on a mathematical system of proportion. A comparison of two sculptures, Khafre Enthroned from the Egyptian Old Kingdom Period and Kritios Boy from the Greek Early Classical Period, illustrates a progres sion of desire to achieve perfection from Egyptian ideals of knowledge and completeness to Greek ideals of vision and the natural.These sculptures represent an advancement of artistic technique from set formula to fluid rationality, both with a shared desire for excellence. The granite sculpture of Khafre Enthroned from Gizeh, Egypt, ca. 2500 BCE was recovered from the valley temple of pharaoh Khafre. Functioning as a funerary statue, it provided a substitute for the pharaoh’s soul, or ka. Khafre wears a plain kilt and displays Egyptian royalty with headdress and false beard. His flawless, muscular body sits upright with one hand clenched in a fist.In addition to rigid posture, Khafre’s face is emotionless yet serene. Iconography of divine rule and unification embellish the sculpture; with lion’s bodies and papyrus plants decorating the throne, and a falcon sheltering pharaoh’s head. Like the immortality of the soul, Khafre appears to be timeless without regard to his real age or appearance. Khafre Enthroned aims to represent the divine nature of Egyptian rule as idealization of human form to a god-like perfection. The marble sculpture of Kritios Boy from Greece, ca. 80 BCE marks an influential point of stylistic evolution. In contrast to Khafre Enthroned, The Kritios Boy was created for a public audience. The Kritios Boy’s standing pose represents a freedom in his figure that divorces the solidity of the stiffly seated Khafre. Rather than emanating timelessness, this naturalistic sculpture seems to capture a specific moment in time. Mirroring a normal human stance of balance and weight shift onto one leg, his stature is contrapposto.Furthermore, the Kritios Boy’s physical composition maintains a smooth contour to his natural musculature. His head is slightly turned with hair that seems to fall effortlessly in place. He is completely naked, wearing only a relaxed expression on his face. With no indication of identity, the Kritios Boy exemplifies naturalism in Greek drive to order to analyze form into constituent parts and represent the specific in light of the generic. The figure sculptures of Khafre Enthroned and Kritios Boy exhibit a start and end point in an evolution of artistic technique.Although a single male figure is the subject of both works, canon clearly develops from Khafre Enthroned to Kritios Boy. Both works express a desire for perfection with the use of contrasting ideals. Egyptian artists prized completeness and timeless to achieve a god-like representation. Later, artistic form advances as Greeks sought naturalism and rationality. The culmination of both early rigid and fluid canons formed Greek ideals of balance between the timeless and present. This drive to order led to foundations of Greek art that dramatically influenced art history from that point on.

The importance of the illustration to the meaning/interpretation of the poem

The illustration shows two distinct characters – a child and a man. The child is the representation of innocence while the man is for experience. Significantly, the background of trees and herd sheep brings the viewer to a deeper meaning that is within. The existence of the illustration enables us to visualize what William Blake wants us to see, know, and achieve by opening our minds to what has become of the world (his world at his time) from what it is supposed to be.Amongst our senses, vision could be the primary and perhaps the summary for whatever we touch, hear, read, and feel, we need to visualize them far beyond what our human eyes plainly see. The visualization of the â€Å"Songs of Innocence and Experience† through the illustration draws larger and multiple interpretations amidst the variations in the arts’ coloring and legibility which major role could be the enhancement and clarity of the core subject of the piece – human being, both in drawing and words – human being. 2. â€Å"Tintern Abbey†It is evident in the poem how Wordsworth illustrated nature and used it to present and depict movement and development of his work. He used it to transcend dull feelings to ethereal ones. Nature mirrors beauty – a call for transcendence that we are supposed to see amidst human chaos and emptiness, both within ourselves and within society. The poem opens with the line â€Å"five years have past†¦ â€Å", and goes on to the description of a beautiful landscape that is always impressive and amazingly beautiful, highly personifying nature (These waters, rolling from their mountain-springs, With a soft inland murmur.— Once again.. ), and vividly describing natures cycle yet unchanged beauty. The repetition of â€Å"Once again† leads to the persona's frequency of viewing nature and brings us the consistency of nature's beauty amidst time and space, where he/she highly recognized, recollected, and fo und solace. Unceasingly, the beauty of nature is hailed, and its role to our lives not just being the primary source of our survival through provision of our needs but also what nature is amidst material provision.The naked truth behind its existence – learn from nature as it transcends us to a state of joy and fulfillment. The persona recognized nature as: â€Å"anchor of purest thoughts, , nurse, guide, guardian of the heart, and soul of moral being†. In so doing, the poem implicitly reminds us not to exploit nature. How are we suppose to relate with nature is also foreshadowed. Nature, in the last stanza is personified as friend and a sister. It is highlighted as well, that â€Å"it never betrays as heart that loved it, which brings us to the golden rule.Lastly, it relates to us the intimate relationship of the persona to nature and how nature is recognized, praised, and loved by him that beyond human wanderings, loneliness, and emptiness, consolation, companionshi p, and love is laid bare to us by nature. The answer to the universal longing for peace and joy is nature. Nature transcends us to spiritual satisfaction. 3. â€Å"Kubla Khan† â€Å"Kubla Khan† is Coleridge attack against sexual abuse by man of power.His use of sound, rhythm, sound, imagery, language, and rhetorical effects to achieve unity and singularity of theme â€Å"war: warrior and victim† which is drawn and placed to a metaphorical meaning elevates his work and reveals his style. The poem opens with the description of a supposed kingdom and a man which holds on a deeper meaning beyond superficial or denotative meaning. His distinctive pairing of words in ‘sinuous rills, sunless sea’ draws the reader to a more sophisticated unelaborated meaning. The line â€Å"mighty fountain momently was forced† depicts the beginning of sexual intercourse.All through, beginning from the title, to the combination of the sounds of war (from a mans vantag e point and the lonely music of the woman (victim), a more meaningful work is created – a record of a sexual abuse established implicitly that beneath his grandeur and might is an abusive and dangerous man. 4. â€Å"In ‘Ode to the West Wind’ and in ‘To a Skylark† Shelley searches in the physical world for reassuring analogies to substantiate his belief that regeneration follows destruction, that alteration does not mean obliteration, and that mankind should heed the prophetic voice of poets.† The introduction of a season in the â€Å"Ode to the Wes Wind† depicts a cycle of generation and regeneration. Shelley’s belief that regeneration follows destruction is evidently seen in the whole poem – in the sequence of the seasons, after winter comes spring. In the third stanza, the persona visualizes old palaces and towers overgrown with azure moss, and flowers. Through time, it has been altered yet remained sweet – a clear evidence that alteration does not mean obliteration.In the last stanza, the persona calls on the west wind to scatter the poets words, which could be a defense to poetry, to mankind depicting poets work as prophetic in effect timeless and awaken mankind’s mind 5. â€Å"Ode to a Nightingale† and â€Å"Ode on a Grecian Urn†: A search for a reconciliation of the world’s loveliness and its evanescence, its pain with its pleasure. â€Å"Beauty is truth, truth beauty† – that is all Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know† – with this line the five-stanza ‘Ode the Grecian Urn† emphatically ends, which draws several interpretation from different literary scholars.It summarizes the message of the author, an answer to the multiple â€Å"what- questions† in the first stanza. The work, while it presents duality and separation, or perhaps defiance of what is expected depicted in the lines: â€Å"Heard melodies are swee t, but those unheard are sweeter†¦ Bad lovers never, never canst thou kiss†, it challenges us to find reconciliations between opposites/dualities that would sum up to the world’s loneliness and its evanescence, where every silence is a sound (second stanza), and along happiness comes sorrow (third stanza).While the first stanza is deeply concern with â€Å"what† to mean what are our lives for whichever walk is followed, the last stanza answers it. The answer to that search for a reconciliation of the world’s loveliness and its evanescence is embodied in the line â€Å"Beauty is truth, truth beauty†¦, which is to solely recognize that life is beautiful, that duality and opposition is real and is embodied in the same beauty however all has an end and we are but temporal beings – the only answer as to how we all should live.â€Å"Ode to the Nightingale† is a heavy depiction of pain evident throughout the poem and crowding in the first three stanzas. Amidst pain, is the search for pleasure and for love beyond â€Å"to-morrow† pointing what is beyond time and space. To fly or soar high like that of the nightingale and not to dwell and be consumed and drowned in pain could be the answer. Source: It is indicated in the instructions of this paper that own analysis and interpretation is encouraged. www. blakearchive. org/blake

The Isolation of Prisoners in the United States Research Paper

The Isolation of Prisoners in the United States - Research Paper Example In the year 2005, the case that was placed against the California state was by a prisoner of African-American origin who had been placed in isolation since the year 1987. The prisoner finally filed his case and argued that he deserved â€Å"Equal Protection.† The Court ruled against the state and put forward the fact that such isolation was not legal. This case clearly explained the fact that racial isolation in prisons was being practised up until the year 2005 and stronger measures were essential to overcome this issue (Palmer 2010). Isolation of prisoners who report being HIV positive and their compulsory testing for this disease has also been a controversial problem. According to the guidelines of the World Health Organization, this separation of HIV and AIDS positive prisoners is against the ethical and moral laws. There are many underlying reasons presented for this stand of the WHO. It is clearly explained that HIV is not a disease which can spread by â€Å"casual contact† and hence if the reason provided for this isolation is the prevention of spread, it is not justified. There are many disadvantages of separation of these prisoners. This is because other prisoners would not wish to be tested for HIV as they would not wish to be isolated from jail mates. Furthermore, the patients who would be HIV positive would also not come forward for treatment owing to the fear of being kept alone. This forced isolation would also create an image of the HIV positive prisoners as being dangerous and thus they would be subjected to bias from their officials as well as other fellow prisoners.

Constitutionalizing Libel Law Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Constitutionalizing Libel Law - Assignment Example A statement no matter how hurtful if it turns out true, it cannot be sued. The first legal rule from the New York Times Co .v. Sullivan was the â€Å"first amendment to the united state constitution† which prohibits infringing the freedom of the press, and restricts the right to prohibit the petitioning for a governments redress of grievances. This adopted on December 1791. (Cornell University, N.P). Secondly was the â€Å"fourteenth amendment to the constitution of United States† which limits the actions of all state and local officials. It prohibits local government officials from relieving persons of life or belongings without the authorization of legislature (Nelson, 49).The common law defense applicable here is necessity. The newspaper author can say they did it to prevent further damage from occurring or to reduce/ stop the current damage. The mayor asks for the notes so that the jury can access the files point by point. This was crucial as it can provide some useful false information by the newspaper. The judge can agree with this as well as his request that the newspaper answer a series of questions. This would help unfold new facts and convince the mayor when a final verdict gets reached. The same rule that governs the mayor’s lawsuit does not wholly apply to President Ed Brown because his case has not been seriously mentioned or proven as the newspaper on ly said,† he has to know what is going on† . This is quite different because the mayors case was

Type of Diversity Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Type of Diversity Management - Essay Example There have been numerous abuses and struggles that resulted directly from the interaction of people of different backgrounds in nations around the world. This led to different forms of wars and other civil uprisings around the globe. Notable amongst them is the American Civil Rights strive that abolished segregation and instituted equal rights in America. In Europe, the differences in ethnic groups and nationalities culminated in the Two World Wars and the redrawing of the borders of nations and peoples after the Second World War. The next phase of diversity in Europe was the immigration of people from different parts of the world into Europe. These minorities became significant and the need to include and respect such persons became imperative over the years. Equal rights and legislation exist everywhere today but discrimination exists in most workplaces (Barak, 2010) p235). This means that although there are numerous effort to recognize the various minorities around the globe, ther e are still a lot that need to be done to ensure that the various social groups are recognized and respected duly in organizations. â€Å"In response to promoting diversity in the workplace and the world, many companies have instituted specific policies and programs to enhance recruitment inclusion, promotion and relation of employees who are different from privileged echelons of society (Barak, 2010 p235). This refers to the fact that most have made conscious efforts to respect the rights of minorities and less included persons through policies and programs that are designed to ensure that there is the inclusion of people of all backgrounds in work environments around Europe. According to Subeliani & Tsogas (2005), there are various policy-making and academic debates that affect and determine the growth of diversity management in Europe.  

Mobile Computing - The Age of Handeld Devices Research Paper

Mobile Computing - The Age of Handeld Devices - Research Paper Example It is unimaginable today to think the kind of dependency people have on smart phones in this time and age. Cell phones are no longer a luxury. They are treated as a common man’s complete answer to his emailing, social-networking, communicating, profiling and corporate needs. From simple calls to text messages when it was launched, today cell phones can do hundreds of other vital tasks. It has woven the younger generation into complete interconnectivity and keeps the older generation well informed and updated. In simple words, mobile computing makes use of different high technology gadgets and devices, it has helped make communication easy and the lives of people more convenient by keeping them well informed about the current happenings. (Talukdar, 2010 ) Before we delve further into the ways in which mobile computing has made life easy, lets take a look at a short history of mobile computing. Mobile computing hit of during the 1990s. That was when laptops were a rising phenome non. They had become the mainstream device which people used to keep with them to keep everyone connected to each other. That was just the beginning as since then innumerable number of devices have ventured into the market that have brought about a sense of wireless communication and have given an extra edge to everyone’s communication dilemma. Communication has become a very powerful entity today in both personal and professional lives. Before mobile computing could be introduced in the market of wireless business, communication was largely dependent on static networks. At that time, radio transmitters used to operate from a stable base. The transmitters had large antennas which used to connect. An example would be two way radios that police and army men used back then. Today, everyone has access to infinite number of high end devices which can easily connect to the internet. These devices are offered by different technology companies and are installed with Bluetooth, wirele ss cards, or infra red interfaces. Since it started in 1990s, mobile computing has evolved very rapidly and persistently. It has become so convenient and so much in sync with everyone’s daily lives that it is difficult to dis-associate with it in any part of the world. The convenience in wireless connectivity is not a rare phenomenon and is being used by everyone. Hundreds of other solutions are being offered by different mobile computing companies. The mobile phones are fully embedded with features which allow the user to access the internet wirelessly, through the Bluetooth interfaces or wireless cards. Smart-phones are the in-thing. Apple and Blackberry have a huge role to play in the way smartphones integrated themselves in the mainstream life of people. Blackberry’s introduction of BBM, a free messaging service of BB users took the world by storm. Friends, families, relatives rush to buy blackberry because of this service. It has made communication on the go so ea sy to the point of turning it into a full blown addiction. Iphone has made its way into the world of touch interface mobile computing with a storm. It all started off with the ipods and the next thing became the iphone, a touch based smart phone with all the glamor and luxury of owning a mobile computing device. The personal digital assistants and modern laptops similarly have also become the commonly used gadgets. These

Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 5

Coursework Example Therefore, the best way to use means is with large sample size because when the samples are small and has some scores that are higher than the rest, it will be skewed higher as opposed to other scores. In general, the median refers to the middle score from a list of values. It is the point at which one half of the values are above while the other half is below. The advantage of media is their less sensitivity to extremes. Therefore, they are a better measure of central tendency for use in determining the middle score or salary especially when the sample size is not big. The mode provides the salary or wage that is common, or the amount of salary that appears the most number of times in the set of salaries. The advantage is that is provides a common figure that can be used as the measure of salary payable by the institution. The disadvantage is that it may not reflect any significant statistical value for decision making The mean salary provides the average salary that is payable within a set of salaries. We are able to know the average amount of salary payable. The mean is most appropriate statistical value when making decisions regarding management of salaries. The disadvantage is that the distribution of salaries may not be normal owing to the great differences between the maximum and minimum salaries hence may not provide appropriate decision making model The median is the amount of salary that appears at the middle when the whole set of salaries are arranged from the lowest to the highest. The median only shows the salary that appears at the middle and cannot be used in decision making. Standard deviation measures the deviation of values from the mean, unlike rage that only shows the difference between the maximum and the minimum salary. Therefore, standard deviation is the most appropriate measure to assess how the salaries are distributed because it shows whether the distribution is normal or not. The standard deviation is measure variability

Documentary Expression and Thirties America Essay

Documentary Expression and Thirties America - Essay Example In the thirties the style of social documentary became popular, and was described as increasing the knowledge of public facts while sharpening it with feeling. Two notable exponents of this style were considered, both of whom employed the presentation of dramatic, and sometimes over emphasized, photographs accompanied by a written commentary. The distinction between art and photography and whether or not documentary expression owed its genesis from fiction or non-fiction was also explored. Finally the matter of ethics in the treatment and presentation of documentary imagery was discussed. Documentary Expression 3 Documentary Expression and Thirties America William Stott in his book Documentary Expression and Thirties America covers an enormous range of topics and much of it is in a highly discursive and rambling style. However, it is possible to subdivide it into four principal themes: Documentary, The Documentary Motive and the Thirties, The Documentary Nonfiction of the Thirties, a nd Let Us Now Praise Famous Men. First of all it is necessary to understand what he means by the documentary style. In its simplest form there are two possibilities: â€Å"an honest and reasonably objective report, or a case for the prosecution† (Stott, 1986). ... It was also held that such a documentary style did not rely upon information so much as â€Å"the power to move.† Stott suggests that while the purpose is to encourage social improvement – public education at its most altruistic – reality is more cynical in that its real purpose is to shape attitudes towards certain public facts. An example of this type of â€Å"expose journalism’ is to use a public figure or authority’s quotation to mean something else. For example, the head of the US Red Cross stated categorically, in answer to innocent sounding questions, that Red Cross personnel were noncombatants. He was unable to defend this stance when faced with the fact that when called up for military service these individuals were obliged to take the oath, Documentary Expression 4 imposed by Congress, requiring them to obey military regulations and act as combatants. Two contrasting examples of the documentary style in thirties America are contained in t he works of Bourke-White & Caldwell and Agee & Evans. In both cases one of the authors writes the commentary and the other provides a series of generally highly dramatic â€Å"propaganda† pictures. The question now arises, was the documentary style in the thirties; found in fiction and non-fiction, and in art and photography. The reverse of the former was really true; both fiction and non-fiction of the time owed something to the documentary style. Fiction was full of ‘real people’ and many writers tried to introduce social issues. The social documentary style was devised to give a sense of urgency to the representation of life as it was: reality with drama and a sharp tug at the emotions. In the case of non-fiction the genre usually relied upon simple issues:

The governing body for the sport of rifle shooting has a rule to the Essay

The governing body for the sport of rifle shooting has a rule to the effect that the target must be of prescribed dimensions ad must be acquired from an approved source - Essay Example g body for the sport of rifle shooting has a rule to the effect that the target must be of prescribed dimensions and must be acquired from an approved source. The aim of this paper is to analyse this rule and whether it should be legally challenged before the courts. Overtime the European Union’s involvement with sports particularly with standard setting has been increasing. Borja Garcia of the Loughborough University explored the â€Å"origins and development† (2007) of this involvement. Perhaps, the turning point of this involvement was in December 2000 when the â€Å"the European Council agreed to grant the social, educational and cultural functions of sport special status within the European Unions (EU) Treaty framework† (Parrish, 2001, p. 188. Garcia further opined that this involvement is â€Å"a consequence of actors instrumentalising institutional venues to their own benefit† (Garcia, 2007). Ian Blackshaw observed that through the EU â€Å"sport is subject to the ‘acquis communautaire’ – the body of law that has grown up and developed by the Community Institutions, not least the rulings of the European Court of Justice, the guardian of the EC Treaty† (2007). Although the creation of a standard on the dimensions of the target is very sound, restricting the source of the target is bordering on the ridiculous. Too much focus on trivialities can shift the attention from what rifle target shooting means as sports – a measure of marksmanship and skills. Stephen Weatherill, on the other hand, opined that EU’s involvement in the regulation of sports in the European communities is a good thing, but too much is not good either. Specifically, his white paper â€Å"sets out a case for EU intervention in sport where this is necessary and helpful, but it accepts that much sporting activity is not usefully the subject of elaborate EU supervision, and it instead recognises the proper role of other public and private actors. And – contrary to the complaints loudly

Npcst Library System Essay Example for Free

Npcst Library System Essay A collection of such materials, especially when systematically arranged; a room of private home for such collection. At first glance, your library is a bunch of books with a librarian to check them out to you, and back in when you return them. Librarian ensures (of tries to, as money permits) your library is well stocked with current titles. These current titles include, in addition to books, videos, tapes and CDs, magazines, encyclopedia, genealogical research stuff and more. The librarian also has to keep the building neat and in good repair and also these things only shows a few of the things which make up your library. Schools set the various pedagogical changes to achieve the current level of education in other countries. Because of the growing numbers of computer users, this became an effective medium to demonstrate the knowledge and skills of the students. From the traditional searching process for the books in the libraries, the interactive usage of computers can be now addressed as part of the library system.

United Nations Environmental Program Essay Example for Free

United Nations Environmental Program Essay There are a lot of articles, books and essays that have been written, touching on the relationship that land has with agricultural practices. For instance, Helmut Geist and Lambin Eric in their essay make postulations that irresponsible agricultural practices have been responsible for the disappearance of tropical forest covers, both at the local and regional levels. The two, being postdoctoral researchers in geography, specializing in the field of global climatic change, posit that irresponsible agriculture is far much responsible for the concept of land use and land cover change (LUCC). To back this argument up, Helmut and Lambin elucidate on the matter, postulating that irresponsible agriculture negatively affects the LUCC than any other practice carried out within the auspices of human civilization. To bolster this notion, it is posited by the two that apart from the fact that agricultural activities has the potency to deliver negative environmental degradation, irresponsible agriculture has the ability to deliver soil erosion- a feat that environmental degradation cannot receive from the industrial sector and its pollution. Evidence Presented The strengths in these claims are that farming and irresponsible agriculture has in most times been blamed for soil degradation. Much evidence is adduced and presented by Helmut and Lambin in this work. For instance, Helmut and Lambin quote the United Nations Environmental Program 2004 statistics that indicate that tilling land that is on a hill and failure to build gabions have in most instances been blamed for over 75% of cases touching on soil erosion (Levine 2006). In another wavelength, it is true that irresponsible farming activities harms the soil when very strong inorganic fertilizers are used, making the soil become resistant to fertilizers and pesticides. Weaknesses Critics such as Geist (2006) point that there are pitfalls in this work that was presented by Helmut and Lambin. For example, in the first case, not all the adverse effects of irresponsible farming practices are dealt with herein. For example, there is no point on the role overstocking (of animals) plays towards soil erosion and the depletion of the scarce resources within the environment. Nevertheless, it is true that all the above factors contribute to the disappearance of the land cover. Assumptions made by the writers At the same time, there are some assumptions that Helmut and Lambin make. Assuming that keeping the right size of cattle, building gabions, using the right quantities of organic fertilizers and pesticides are the only panacea in themselves against the spread of the loss of fertile land is a fallacy on its own. On the contrary, the two forget to address important farming practices such as the growing of leguminous crops, crop rotation and fallowing of land, as being instrumental in the cause against soil erosion. Growing leguminous crops such as beans help in nitrogen fixing in the soil, whereas crop rotation and mixed cropping helps the land receive nutrition from different types of crops. Letting land lay fallow on the other hand, enables the revitalization of pedological energy and the recovery of humus. These are the counterarguments that have been put forth by other critics such as Singh and Fox (2001). Conclusion and importance of the problems and the argument being tackled The sacrosance of the argument at hand is that there is a serious interrelationship between LUCC and human life. This means that mismanagement of the former has the potency to ruthlessly damage the cause of human life. It is no wonder that calls are rife from UNEP for the leading economies to tow the line in ensuring that there is the assuaging of soil, water and air pollution so that the prospects of future human survival can be consolidated. Works Cited Singh, Ram and Fox, Jefferson. A Look at Land Use and Cover Change. New York: McGraw Hill. 2001. Geist, Helmut. A Study on Earth’s Changing Landscape. Colorado: John Wiley and Sons. 2006. Levine, Joel. Global Change and the Burning of Biomass. Massachusetts: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 2006.

Management Challenges to NGOs

Management Challenges to NGOs INTRODUCTION Management has been defined by Weirich Koontz as the process of designing and maintaining an environment in which individuals, working together in groups, effectively accomplish selected ends or goals (Weirich Koontz, 2005). They also submitted that management is applicable to all kinds of organizations (public, private, not for profit) and that no matter the organization, managers responsibilities are to plan, organize, staff, lead and control in such a way that surplus is created authors (Werich and Koontz 2005). This surplus could mean profit as in the private sector, or meeting a need or having a positive effect, as in the not for profit sectors. So whether an organization was set up in order to sell cars at a profit e.g. Toyota, or set up to meet the dire needs of the poor e.g. Food Aid, management is important if the goals are to be met. However, while the importance of management in all spheres of human living has been highlighted by several authors, the reality of NGO management differs significantly from what obtains in the Public or the Private sectors. Fundamentally, management or managerialism has not been a major concern for many NGOs until very recently. Why was this so? What are the peculiar features of management in this sector? What are the important management challenges facing NGOs and why are they important? While management challenges abound in all sectors, this essay will explore those peculiar in the management of NGOs in order to answer these questions. It will also critically analyse the case study of Project Literacy, a South African NGO to illustrate how some of these challenges were responded to. The essay will focus more on the most important management challenges, which have been taken to be leadership, funding, accountability, performance monitoring evaluation, and scaling up. There are many different kinds of NGOs, however for the purpose of this essay NGOs will be defined as are organisations that are non-political, non-profit, non-governmental, and accountable to their stakeholders and involved in welfare and socio-economic development of people (Rahman, 2007). WHY NGO MANAGEMENT? Since 1960, the number and size of non-profit organizations involved in international relief and development have grown substantially (Carroll, 1992; Clark, 1991; Fisher, 1998; Fowler, 1998; Edwards, 1999). As the sector has expanded, it has been subject to new competitive pressures. In the past, the word management was considered synonymous with business management, but for NGOs, commercial activities are presumed to be against their non-profit mission and scored negatively. Since the last two decades NGOs themselves have realised the importance of management, and academicians along with NGO executives have also started thinking over the issues of vision, mission, strategic planning, goals, effective coordination and communication, human resource development, motivational strategies, bottom lines and leadership. Today more NGOs compete for increasingly scarce donor resources. Both private and institutional donors demand greater financial accountability and more concrete evidence of program impact. Small, independent NGOs find it hard to keep pace with more efficient, larger ones that take advantage of economies of scale in marketing, operations, and support services. The world of competitive market dynamics presents difficult paradoxes to many who work in the NGO sector. They believe that their organizations strength, fuelled by the staffs primary motivation, is in its determination to help people improve their lives. But in this more competitive NGO world, it is no longer enough to simply have good intentions and a strong value orientation. As noted by Lindenberg (2001), those working in the NGO sector now recognize that NGOs that do not adapt their strategies and promote greater impact, efficiency, and accountability run the risk of bankruptcy as well as irrelevance. Yet they fear that too much attention to market dynamics and private and public sector techniques will destroy their value-based organizational culture. It has also been argued elsewhere that the management system for NGOs is supposed to be different from traditional management thoughts given by Fayols Modern Operational Management, Taylors scientific management and Webers Bureaucratic Model, because of their distinctiveness in vision, mission, organisational culture, goals and values from the other two sectors (Rahman 2003). Stemming from Henri Fayols (1916) definition of management as forecasting, planning, organizing coordinating and control, Rahman (2003) gave a possible definition of NGO management: To manage an NGO is to forecast with shared vision, to plan strategically, to operate professionally and to lead culture friendly. In this definition the word organise used by Fayol has been replaced by operate in order to give a more functional touch, and the word control has been replaced by lead because there is a minimum use of control in NGO management as the shared values of NGOs discourage the concentration of power at the hie rarchical levels and in their functions. Having agreed that management has gained importance for NGOs, what then are the key management challenges for NGOs? Though management challenges abound also in the public and private sectors, the NGO sector has a unique complex nature with its own characteristic management challenges ranging from funding problems to leadership, performance monitoring evaluation, accountability, scaling up, human resources, organization culture, and professionalization. The following sections will however focus on the first five challenges I believe a key in NGO management. FUNDING AND INDEPENDENCE Funding is a very major challenge in NGO management. NGOs require funds to carry out programs and maintain the organization. Unavailability of funds for an NGO could mean a total standstill. NGOs could most time depend on government for funding. However, NGOs that depend largely on public finance run the risk of becoming mere government subsidiaries by implementing activities formerly carried out by their own governments or multilateral institutions (Senillosa, 1998). Government policy may differ from the NGOs objectives and/or the beneficiaries interests, which may lead to a conflict of interest. The availability of substantial government grants may tempt NGOs or the program beneficiaries to become involved in programs inconsistent with their own objectives and capacities. The sheer size of government grants and certain government grant restrictions (specific countries, certain social groups, special forms of assistance) may lead to an imbalance in the NGOs programs. Some NGOs have, more or less, become contractors to governments, particularly if they do not have other programs or funding sources. NGOs may become unwilling to criticize government publicly thus softening their advocacy work and/or human rights campaigns. Also, as government funding may be comparatively easy to obtain, there is the risk of the NGO ignoring or downgrading their traditional sources of private funding and traditional relationships with their constituencies. In addition, as non-governmental providers of development services, NGOs (and their programs) became subject to the availability of government funds (with associated uncertainty about magnitudes and timing), to some degree of governmental control and supervision, and to the rules and procedures that went with the receipt and use of public funds. This tended to impose heavy and sometimes excessive requirements on NGO administrative and audit capacities (Van Der Heijden, 1987). Another problem with funding is the issue of rejection of core funding- a situation whereby donors are only willing to pay project costs. According to Bornstein (2003), NGO managers that are not competent enough to incorporate core costs within project proposals usually have their key functions not being funded. Organizational development, experimental pilot approaches and long-term impact analysis are being abandoned due to lack of funds. Finally, financial uncertainty affects planning for NGOs. It has also forced them to look for more financial sources and adopt private sector-like methods like downsizing. Take for example; shortage of funds is forcing many South African NGOs outside the donor loop to diversify income sources. They are redefining their relationships to the state and the market, taking on government contract work, selling services to the private sector and charging user fees. Some have had to downsize and depend on short-term contract staff while others are experimenting with their legal status and turning into non-profit companies. (Bornstein 2003). LEADERSHIP Leadership in NGOs is a matter of concern considering the highly personalized nature of leadership in the sector. The sector is full of anecdotal stories about the detrimental impact of paternalistic founder leaders, charismatic autocrats, or the guru syndrome (Hailey, 1999). On one hand such leaders demonstrate a drive and commitment, and a remarkable ability to mobilize people and resources. While on the other hand they are criticized for dominating organizations, being unaccountable, and failing to adapt to changing circumstances. Chambers (1997) points out that such NGO leaders can achieve many things through their guts, vision and commitment, but the way they use power is a disability that jeopardizes organizational effectiveness. He argues such charismatic leaders are vulnerable to acquiescence, deference, flattery and placation (Chambers, 1997). They are not easily contradicted or corrected. As a result they actively suffocate promising initiatives that may threaten their powe r base, relationships, or position of patronage. The concept of leadership in NGO could also at times be antithetical to the participatory culture espoused by many NGOs. In a sector that believes itself to be more value driven, participatory, and less managerialist than the for-profit business sector, there is an unwillingness to concede the important influence of any one individual leader. Managers in this new era thus have to be conscious of the greater credence given to ideas of equality and participatory democracy in this sector if they are to succeed (Hailey James 2004). Effective NGO leadership also requires the ability to balance a range of competing pressures from different stakeholders in ways that do not compromise the leaders individual identity and values (Hailey James 2004). The leadership of development NGOs face extraordinary challenges as they work with very limited resources in uncertain and volatile political and economic circumstances to help the most marginalized and disadvantaged members of their communities. Civicus referred to the growing deficit in leadership abilities in NGOs. In particular they pointed to rapid turnover of NGO staff in leadership positions into business and government and the difficulty NGOs have in replacing them (Civicus, 2002). All too often this failure of leadership results in programmatic dysfunctionality and even organizational collapse. MONITORING AND EVALUATING PERFORMANCE NGOs are making significant efforts to show how they are performing, a trend impelled by three factors: stricter requirements attached to official aid; doubts about NGO claims to be more effective than governments; post-Cold War shifts in the role of NGOs, which increase their own needs to know what is being achieved, in order to manage the processes of organisational reorientation and transformation. However, almost without exception, NGOs are finding it very difficult to come up with sound, cost effective methods to show the results of their development activities, or even to demonstrate their effectiveness as organisations (Fowler, 1996). Rick Davies attributed the problems of monitoring and evaluating the performance of NGOs to ambitious expectations, complexity caused by scale (hierarchical differences in goals and expectations at various actors levels), diversity of NGO activities, vague objectives, fault-able measuring tools, and absence of baseline information adequate monit oring systems (Davies, 2000). Unlike commercial companies development NGOs do not have the bottom lines of market feedback, profitability, and returns on financial investment, nor do they receive the judgement of citizens through social unrest or the periodic vote. In other words, consumers and voters are the source of performance standards for business and government- but not for NGOs (Fowler, 1996). According to LeCompte (1986), the difficulty in measuring the development performance of NGOs stems from the basic incompatibility between the assumptions on which the aid system is based and the actual process of socio-economic change. Social economic change is mostly contingent as different from the linear model the aid system presupposes. There are three problems with this approach. Firstly, the right ways of doing things cannot all be sufficiently predicted in advance? Secondly, the assumptions seldom hold. And, thirdly, development in the sense of sustained improvement in the lives and circumstances of people who are poor or marginalised does not take place in a linear way under the influence of one single intervention (LeCompte, 1986). As resources move down the aid chain, several things happen which undermine the project approach, and hence limit the ability simply to tie resources and activities to NGO performance in terms of development? Furthermore, the measures of development are very complex, containing both tangible or physical elements and intangible factors of human and organisational processes and capacities. Also, the possibility of attributing the cause of change to an NGOs work is very restricted. ACCOUNTABILITY Who are NGOs accountable to, for what, and how? Concerns about the role and accountability of NGOs have been voiced from different quarters in recent years. As the World Bank (2005) noted, with growth in the influence of NGOs so also are they attracting greater public scrutiny, prompting calls for greater accountability. Some donors, governments, corporations, and international agencies raise important questions about the effectiveness of NGO work and the legitimacy of their advocacy. Some NGOs have also recognized the need to ensure good practice in the wider voluntary sector. The question of accountability is seen as a bureaucratic hurdle at best, and at worst as a threat to achieving an NGOs aims. Some fear that any toughening of accountability may lead to an overbearing influence from funders and governments, which could then lead to cooptation and a deflection of original purpose (Najam, 2000), or lead to the stymieing of innovation and reducing the diversity of NGOs (Cnaan, 1996). The problem of to whom accountability should be towards also arises many times. Accountability is usually upwards to donors and not to the poor who are the most immediately concerned. NGOs just want to show that money is not being misappropriated and that the approved activities are completed rather than that desirable change was achieved, let alone sustainable. Bendell (2006) however argued that democracy and human rights should firmly be at the centre of the debate about NGO accountability. By democratic accountability he meant that NGOs should be more accountable to those with less power who are affected by the organizations actions or decisions the poor. SCALING UP Much has been said about the need for NGOs to increase the impact they are having rather than applying small piecemeal efforts to large scale problems of poverty. Edwards and Hulme (1992) described strategies for scaling up to meet this demand for more impacts. Some NGOs are contented to focus on a single small community within which they work taking a small is beautiful approach to their work (Lewis 2001). Edwards and Hulme (1992) noted three kinds of scaling up for NGOs as; additive (increase size and coverage of programs), multiplicative (gain more leverage by influencing other development actors, thereby reaching more people), and diffusive (transferring its approaches beyond the organizations immediate sphere of influence). Bangladesh Grameen Bank was able to effectively manage the challenge of the scaling up process. The bank impacted a lot of poor people in the immediate community, but rather than growing any larger as an implementing organization, it encouraged the adaptation of its original microcredit delivery model around the world (Lewis 2001). CASE STUDY: PROJECT LITERACY, SOUTH AFRICA This case study is about Project Literacy, an NGO based in South Africa. The NGO was founded in 1973 by Jenny Neser to help provide an opportunity for non-educated marginalized workers to learn how to read, write and learn other basic life skills thereby tackling the problem of very low educational level in the society (projectliteracy.org.za). Just like most NGOs, it started with the leader identifying a need in the society which neither the government nor the private sector is making provision for. The NGO started out making use of church facilities for the training and getting volunteer teachers to help out with the training. Much of the funds at this initial stage were from the founders purse and little fees affordable by the beneficiaries. Even at this early stage, some other churches too started to copy Project Literacys programme, thereby increasing their impact (multiplicative scaling up). In 1985, the NGO enrolled up to 200 learners in its Adult Basic Education Training (ABE T) programme and had an annual budget of approximately R4000. The first major turnaround however came when the NGO received a donation of $10,000 (worth R33, 000) from USAID. With this, the NGO registered Project Literacy Trust Fund, and with additional fundraising drive, built its first mini office. By 1990, trainings for community based organizations and commercial clients were initiated. This helped in further diversifying the NGOs income source. The program also enjoyed a lot of support from other bodies like the South African Council of Churches and the Independent Development Trusts which both gave funds for the further development of an ABET teacher training programme and development of suitable ABET materials. The NGO was able to build its central office in 1994 through a donation from the Joint Education Trust. However, the direct funding enjoyed by most South African NGOs from international donors soon dried up. With democracy in South Africa in 1994, donors began entering into bilateral agreements with the elected government rather than directly with NGOs, resulting in the folding up of most NGOs. This highlights the centrality of funding to the operations of these NGOs and probably their overdependence on it. Project Literacy however, was able to survive this period by identifying the opportunity in this challenge (Farouk, year unknown). The new Government saw the need to provide sector wide training to meet the education and skill needs of its work force and the unemployed. This was done through the establishment of Sector Education Training Authorities (SETA) e.g. agriculture SETA will attend to needs in agriculture. Project Literacys strategy was to build capacity to tender effectively for government contracts, and the organization moved from direct delivery to service delivery. It al so restructured its financial management structure, retrained staff, and adopted a robust marketing strategy, all of which were not normal practices in the sector. This sort of bold move required strong leadership able to venture into areas not treaded before. By 1999, the NGO had gained national notoriety, with offices in all of South Africas provinces. Also critical to Project Literacys success was its leadership structure. Unlike most other NGOs that depend on the charisma of the leader and his influence or connections, Project Literacy was able to put in place a standard structure with board of trustees and board of directors, with a management team. By 1995, Jenny Neser the founder resigned and a new CEO was appointed. Continuity was thus ensured. Growth however has its challenges, and Project Literacys biggest challenge ever came in 2010 when it lost a major government contract worth R 90m. By this time the organization spent up to R1.2m monthly to maintain its offices nationally. The loss of this contract resulted in the need for the organization to close all its provincial offices and lay off 47 out of its 78 staff members (Independent online, 2010). This highlights the danger of a growth dependent on government funding, and also the danger of additive scaling up. Politics could play a major role in who gets governments contract, and a domineering monopoly might not be the best mode for NGOs to adopt in their bid to scale up. Whether or how Project Life will be able to handle the current management challenge remains a question to be answered, but the lessons learnt from it will be invaluable to every aspiring NGO. In conclusion, this essay has highlighted the importance of management with respect to NGOs and how it differs from management in the public or private sectors. It has also considered the management challenges of leadership, funding, accountability, monitoring evaluation, and scaling up as the most important management challenges facing NGOs. The case study of Project Life has shown that management in the NGO sector could be likened to a rollercoaster ride, monumental success could bear with it seeds for colossal failure. NGOs in the foreseeable future will have to continue to work in a very unpredictable environment, adapting quickly as the need may be in order to survive diverse challenges that will continue to face them.

Gender Stereotypes within Sports Essay -- Equality Feminism Athletics

Gender Stereotypes within Sports Mainly men play sports. Graceful little girls and dykes play sports too. There is no room for anyone in the middle. However they do not play the same sports, these three groups of people. The manly men play football, rugby, hockey, they box and lift weights. The dykes can play any sport because their breaking of the genderized sports barrier can be chalked up to the fact that they are lesbians, not real women anyway. Graceful little girls, they are the ones we can admire, they are the gymnasts, the ice skaters and the synchronized swimmers. Female athletes as they should be are epitomized in these little girls. These lines and more are what society has been fed concerning appropriate sports for men and women. Because of women's long time exclusion from sport, the games became gendered. Women still wear skirts in many sports; the rules of some games such as lacrosse are different for men and women. Muscles are sexy on men but a hotly debated issue on women. But what happens when the m en want to wear the skirts and the women want to step into the ring? In most cases unfortunately there are bad repercussions along with the good ones. Sexuality is called into question when members of either sex compete in an unconventional sport. In the case of women, they are constantly compared to men, not being as fast or strong, therefore undermining their game and style. However, every time a man puts on skirt for a field hockey match, or a woman laces up her cleats for a football game despite society's ill will, all humans benefit. When a man disregards the social pressure he feels to be on a field competing and decides instead to stand on the sidelines and cheer, many issues arise. While male cheerleadi... ...We live in a culture that is dominated by sports. A favorite baseball player would be more readily named than the president as a child's hero. Just as the physical education department in the 1920's inadvertently created a problem we are still fighting when they insisted on keeping women separate and therefore suspect to lesbianism, reversing that notion of some sports for girls and some for boys will better society on a whole. Freeing women of the burden of being suspected of lesbianism every time they pick up a ball or bat will open up opportunities for girls all over the country. And when men are allowed to follow their desire for sport, be it through baseball or cheerleading it will help break down the rigid rules of masculinity that exist today. As one varsity male cheerleader said, "Any man can hold a cheerleader's hand, but only the elite can hold her feet."

Wages of Sin Revealed in The Divine Comedy :: Divine Comedy Inferno Essays

Wages of Sin Revealed in The Divine Comedy      Ã‚   In his poem The Divine Comedy. The Inferno, Dante Alighieri gives his audience a clear vivid presentation of what he as a follower of the Christian religion perceives to be hell. Dante shows that human sin is punishable in various degrees of severity and that this is dependent on the nature of one's sinful actions. He sets forth what could very well be the most fully developed Christian understanding of justice on earth, and that is; that what we do as human beings will determine what happens to us in the event of death based on God's judgment. In writing his poem Dante uses symbolism, allegorism and imagery among other literary effects to place his poem analogically to life as it was during his day and age. Dante structures The Inferno around thirty four cantos. Each of these cantos marks a steady progression from the mildest to the worst of sins. The cantos depict sinners under various forms of punishment which are commensurate to the nature of their sins.   Dante categorizes sin into three different categories of fraud, incontinence and violence. In canto I he mentions three animals namely , a leopard, a lion and a she-wolf. These animals act as symbolisms for the various types of sins. The sin^à ±s depicted in canto XVIII are symbolized by the she-wolf which acts as a symbol for the sins of fraud. The sins of fraud are placed the furthest from God in the deepest pits of hell, near Satan. In canto XVIII Dante and his guide Virgil find themselves in the eighth circle, called the Malebolge. It is in the Malebolge, that each of the kinds of simple fraud are punished in the concentric ditches.   In the first ditch, Dante sees two files of naked sinners each running in opposite direction, whipped by demons. These sinners are the panderers and the seducers. Dante recognizes Venedico Caccianemico, a man he once knew. Venedico in this case is depicted as having sold his sister, Ghisola to serve the will and lust of another man, Marquis. Dante at this point uses a fellow contemporary to show what happens when one goes against the will of God and sins. Venedico betrays his family ties and his indifference in this act results in his eternal punishment of being whipped by demons.

Universal Health Care :: Medical Insuance Health

Today with the advanced progress of medical science and the health system capacity, the population‘s health care seeking behavior is much more improved. However the fact that people’s access to good health care should or should not depend on social factors such as their level of income or social status has so far aroused much concerns. As far as I concerned, all people should be allowed to access health care services regardless of their social backgrounds. First of all, good health care access is considered as one of the essential human rights. This matter has become far more pressing in this modern society. People day by day suffer from inevitable new threats that strongly affect their length of life such as terminal illness, accidents, epidemics and other emerging diseases like stress or hurry sickness†¦health care service is therefore very important to ensure people’s survival for the first and then step by step improve people ‘s quality of life. In the second place, getting accessed to health system for all people is one of the effective solutions to narrow down the gap between the rich and the poor. As the poor are offered chances to improve both physical and mental health, they are more likely to get jobs and work more efficiently. In this way, they are able to escape the daunting poverty and explore their potential capacity. However, some high-income people suggest that it is unfair for them to pay high taxes in order to cover the health care expenses for the poor. To my mind, are they so selfish? Whether or not they realize the fact that the poor’s cheap source of labor partly contributes to their affluence. Moreover, the lower-class are those who severely suffered from negative affects caused by the higher-class’ accumulation such as environment pollution, inflation, discrimination and so on.

Examination Day and Harrison Bergeron Essay

The short stories â€Å"Examination Day† by Henry Seslar and â€Å"Harrison Bergeron† by Kurt Vonnegut, both examine the idea of a world where governments have total control over its citizens. The main characters in the stories are Dickie Jordan and Harrison Bergeron. In â€Å"Examination Day† discrimination against intelligence is portrayed through Dickie who is eliminated because his â€Å"intelligence quotient [was] above the Government regulation.† This quote depicts the governments authority in its society and how the government eradicated the people who questioned them through an intelligence exam. The irony of this examination is that success was seen as negative. Whereas, â€Å"Harrison Bergeron† explores the theme of forced equality in American society in the not so distant future. Right in the introduction, the three main issues concerned throughout the story are given, † Nobody was smarter than anybody else. Nobody was better lookin g than anybody else. Nobody was stronger or quicker than anybody else. All this equality was due to the 211th, 212th, and 213th Amendments to the Constitution.† Thus, absolute equality in intelligence, physical beauty, and athleticism have been ratified into law by the 211th, 212th, and 213th Amendments to the Constitution, respectively. Both stories share a conflict in regards to person versus society and both the protagonists die at the end. In â€Å"Examination Day† Dickie is on his own when it comes to the test given by the government. Before the test when Dickie asks his father what the test is for, his father tells him†the Government wants to know how smart [Dickie] is.† Later on, the story ends with an automated message from the government with the reason for his death and preferred funeral arrangements. In â€Å"Harrison Bergeron† Harrison knew better than to follow government regulations and tried to make a difference. In the end, he was killed as â€Å"Diana Moon Glampers, the Handicapper General, came into the studio with a  double-barreled gauged shotgun. She fired twice, and the Emperor and the Empress were dead before they hit the floor.† This quote shows the government’s control over what is accepted and what happens to those who exceed government regulation. Harrison wanted an end to the absolute equality so he stood up for the citizens of the country who did not realize how absurd their society was becoming; in the end, he died trying to make a difference. In â€Å"Examination Day† the setting invokes sympathetic feelings towards Dickie. Dickie , a week after his twelfth birthday, was sent from his â€Å"little apartment† to the â€Å"great pillared lobby† within the â€Å"polished† governmental building. This contrast of settings invokes sympathy for Dickie because he is limited to living in a small home while all the money is used by the government to develop large, modern government buildings. Also, Dickie is taken to a place that is foreign to him, with large intimidating architectural masses which makes him seem insignificant and isolated. The story compares the â€Å"dim† and â€Å"cold† room within the government building to the â€Å"warm†, â€Å"bright† house that Dickie lives in. The cold, clinical description of the government building is symbolic of distinction being taken away from humanity. It demonstrates the idea that Dickie is being taken from the comfort of his home and into the control of a frightening, overpowering government. Contrary to Harrison in â€Å"Harrison Bergeron† who is a fourteen year old boy that poses such a terrible threat that he has been shackled with more handicaps than anyone else. Giant earphones instead of the small ear radio his dad has. Large glasses to obscure his vision and give him headaches. So many weights that he â€Å"looked like a walking junkyard.† On top of it all, he is so handsome that they gave him a clown nose, shaved off his eyebrows, and blacked out his teeth. Also, Harrison is so frightening that he is arrested â€Å"on suspicion of plotting to overthrow the government.† The government’s news bulletin describes him as â€Å"a genius and an athlete, [†¦] under-handicapped, and should be regarded as extremely dangerous.† In conclusion, both â€Å"Examination Day† and â€Å"Harrison Bergeron† examine the idea of a world where the government has total control over the government and individuals living within the government.

Inestigating the Affect of Yeast Concentration on the Breakdown

Investigating a factor that affects the rate of enzyme activity Enzymes speed up reactions. They have an area with a very particular shape called the ‘active site’. When the right molecule comes along (substrate molecule) it will fit perfectly into the active site and there will be a reaction. After the reaction the products then leave the active site. This process is often referred to as the lock and key theory as only one enzyme can carry out one type of reaction. The catalase enzyme speeds up the breakdown of hydrogen peroxide into oxygen and water.The hydrogen peroxide molecule acts as the substrate molecule and enters the active site where it is broke down into oxygen and water. The oxygen and water then leave the active site. Catalase enzyme Hydrogen peroxide (toxic) oxygen + water In the investigation I am doing, these are the factors I could change: * The concentration of the enzyme * Increase the temperature * Increase the PH I have chosen to investigate how the concentration of the enzyme affects the rate of reaction. I expect that the more concentrated the enzyme the faster the reaction time will be.Changing the concentration of the enzyme will affect the rate of the reaction. I predict that as we increase the concentration of the enzyme the faster the rate of reaction will be. I think this because as you add more catalase, the catalase will be able to break down more hydrogen peroxide molecules because there will be more active sites, however there will be a point where increasing the concentration of enzymes will be pointless as there will already be the same amount of active sites as hydrogen peroxide molecules.I predict that the rate of reaction with 20 catalase will be double that of 10 catalase because if you have double the catalase then they will digest the hydrogen peroxide twice as quick. Equipment * Small measuring cylinder 100ml * Pipette * 3 large beakers 200ml * Mini cylinder 10ml * Delivery tube and bung * Goggles * Bowl * Test tube * Test tube rack * Little beaker 50ml Preliminary method 1. Put on goggles 2. Fill 2 200ml beakers with 150 ml’s of water in each, one 200ml beaker with anything from 50-200ml of yeast and one 50ml beaker with 50ml of hydrogen peroxide. . Fill one large bowl full of water 4. Then, Place test tube rack on desk and place on test tube in it. 5. Next, fill a 100ml measuring cylinder with 100ml of water. 6. Put out a 10ml measuring cylinder and fill it with the appropriate amount of yeast and water according to your range using a pipette. 7. Place your hand over the top of the 100ml measuring cylinder, turn it over and place it in the bowl, trying not to lose too much water. 8. Place the delivery tube under the measuring cylinder. 9.Then add 2ml of hydrogen peroxide to the test tube using a pipette. 10. Measure the water in the measuring cylinder and record it and then quickly add the yeast and water to the test tube, place the bung in and start the stop watch. 11. At 1 minute record the water level again. 12. Wash the pipette using one of the beakers of water and then repeat the experiment with a different yeast and water ratio (remember to repeat them 3 times to make the results reliable). Oxygen produced Oxygen producedPreliminary results table Volume of yeast(cm3)| Volume of water(cm3)| Volume of hydrogen peroxide(cm3)| Time (s)| Test 1| Test 2| average| 8| 0| 2| 60| 12cm3| 9cm3| 10. 5cm3| 4| 4| 2| 60| 6cm3| 5cm3| 5. 5cm3| 1| 7| 2| 60| 1cm3| 0cm3| 0. 5cm3| From this practical I have decided on my range. My highest will be 8cm3 of yeast and no water and my lowest will be 1cm3 of yeast and 7cm3 of water. I have decided on these results because they have provided a sufficient difference between them and have a clear difference.

Strategic Lenses Essay

There are 4 strategic lenses: Strategy as Design Strategy as Experience Strategy as Variety (Ideas) Strategy as Discourse Strategy as Design: Is the view that strategy development can be a logical process in which economic forces and constraints on the organization are weighed carefully through analytic and evaluative techniques to establish clear strategic direction and in turn carefully planned in its implementation is perhaps the most commonly held view about how strategy is developed and what managing strategy is about. It is usually associated with the notion that it is top management’s responsibility to do this and that top management led the development of strategy in organizations. Strategy as Experience: Here the view is that future strategies of organizations are based on the adaptation of past strategies influenced by the experience of managers and others in the organization; and are taken for granted assumptions and ways of doing things embedded in the cultural processes of organizations. In so far as different views and expectations exist, they will be resolved, not just through rational analytic processes, but through processes of bargaining and negotiation. Here, then, the view is that there is a tendency for the strategy of the organization to build on and be a continuation of what has gone before. Strategy as Variety (Ideas): This lens emphasizes more the potential variety and diversity which exists in organizations and which can potentially generate novelty. Here strategy is not so much seen as planned from the top but emergent from within and around the organization as people cope with an uncertain and changing environment in their day-to-day activities. New ideas will emerge; but they are likely to have to battle for survival against the forces for conformity to past strategies that the experience lens explains. Drawing on explanations from evolutionary and complexity theories, the ideas lens provides insights into how this might take place. Strategy as Discourse: This view consists in making choices between different possibilities and then inspiring confidence for the choice taken. This view is very high on legitimacy and low on rationality and innovation. Strategy as discourse sees strategy development in terms of language as a â€Å"resource† for managers by which strategy is communicated, explained and sustained and through which managers gain influence, power and establish their legitimacy as strategists.

British Petroleum (BP): SWOT and BP Porter Five Forces Analysis †Essay

SWOT and Porter Five Forces Analysis of British Petroleum (BP)our site Sample Essay – Need Help Writing an Essay Contact us Today. Student Submitted Essays!our site Sample Essay – AbstractBP Porter Five Forces – BP Plc is one of the leading oil and gas companies in the world operating in more than 80 countries and serving close to 13 million customers. The company was ranked third in the FTSE 100 all share index ranking as at the close of 31st August, 2014 with a market capitalization of 82,093.2, million US Dollars. BP’s major strengths include strong brand recognition, massive financial capability, excellent corporate strategy, and the ability to innovate. Global reduction in the production of crude oil and natural gas, poor disaster management and inability to implement long-term regulatory mechanisms are the company’s key weaknesses. The company has the opportunity to invest in alternative energy even though it faces significant competition from key rivals such as Royal Dutch Shell, Exxon Mobil and Chevron. BP Porters Five Forces Analysis of BP reveal low threat of new entrants and substitutes, medium bargaining power of both buyers and suppliers, and high rivalry among existing competitors. To remain competitive, the company should increase strategic investment in R&D, negotiate with governments and other firms to exploit emerging markets, rebuild its brand value and streamline its production and business operation.our site Sample Essay – IntroductionFounded in 1908, British Petroleum (BP) is one of the leading oil and gas companies in the world. The company operations in more than 80 countries, has over 83,900 employees and serves over 13 million customers globally (BP Plc, 2014). The company provides customers with oil and gas products, fuel for transportation, petrochemical products and energy for light and heat. With a market capitalization of 82,093.2, million US Dollars, BP was ranked third in the FTSE 100 al l share index ranking as at the close of 31st August, 2014 (Stock Challenge, 2012). BP’s interests and activities can be categorised into two core business segments: Refining and Marketing and Exploration and Production. The Exploration and Production segments cover upstream and midstream activities which include exploration, production, pipelining, and processing. Refining and Marketing segments cover downstream activities such as crude oil transportation, manufacturing, marketing and supply of both petrochemical and petroleum products and services (BP Plc. 2014).our site Sample Essay – BP SWOT AnalysisBP’s key strengths are its strong brand recognition and massive financial capability. Being the third largest energy company in the world, it is globally acknowledged for high quality petroleum products. Additionally, with an expected total operating cash flow of 2014 at $30 billion, the company’s strong financial position gives it the opportunity to introduce new products, develop alternative energy, and expand to new markets (Reuters, 20 14). Regarded as one of the best in the world, the company’s corporate strategy is also a notable strength. This, coupled with its strong brand loyalty, enabled it to emerge from the devastating deepwater horizon oil spill of 2010 (Reuters, 2014). The company’s ability to innovate and enter into strategic ventures with other governments and corporations in new markets is another key strength. In 2013, BP entered into a strategic alliance with both China and the US to provide alternative solar energy to a number of government agencies. A global reduction in the production of crude oil and natural gas is a key weakness of the company. Poor public image as a result of the North Alaska and deep-water oil spills also led to serious challenges for the company. Not only did it face criminal charges, it spent an estimated $42.2 billion in cleanup and compensation (Reuters, 2014). Another key weakness is its non-competitiveness in the alternative energy sector. Despite being a major player in the oil industry, majority of consumers are still unaware of the company’s involvement in alternative energy (Bamberg, 2000). The inability to implement long-term regulatory mechanism to cushion it from the highly volatile petroleum prices is also a key weakness of the company. BP’s profits and its current strong financial position present an opportunity for the company to initiate new projects. The company’s biggest opportunity is investing in alternative energy. The BP Solar Home Solutions initially introduced in New York can be expanded into other regions especially within the American and European markets. This will guarantee the company more customers who prefer the less costly solar energy. The company also has an opportunity to expand its export markets to Asia and South America. Discoveries of more oil wells and increasing prices of oil and gas are additional opportunities that the company can take advantage of (Smith, 2011). Major players in the oil and gas industry especially the Royal Dutch Shell, Exxon Mobil, and Chevron pose the greatest threat to BP. The implementation of environmentally unsound policy and poor management of natural disasters such as the toxic spills often disrupt the company’s operation (Bruland, 2003). Other threats include, corrosion in BP’s pipeline network, occasional refinery explosions, multiple lawsuits emanating from ecological disasters and the continued sale of BP’s corporate owned stations. Declining operations in several potential locations and the tensions associated with operating in the oil business are also potential threats (Black, 2011).our site Sample Essay – BP Porter Five Forces – AnalysisPorter (1980, p. 80) outlines the five forces model to analyze an organization’s competitiveness. These include threats of entrants, bargaining power of suppliers, bargaining power of buyers, threats of substitutes and rivalry among e xisting competitors. The oil and gas industry in which BP operates traditionally require massive financial investments in very expensive infrastructure. Huge capital investment is necessary to cover expenses such as building pipelines, drilling wells, building access roads and acquiring land. BP has an asset value of $236.0 billion (Honnungar, 2011). Considering the cost of market entry and economies of scale in the industry, the threat of new entrance is low. There are a number of substitute products such as hydroelectricity, nuclear energy, coal, wind power and solar energy. However, most are still in the developmental phase, besides, the cost of production of substitute products is often extremely high. The importance of oil in fuelling cars, running industries and generating electricity makes it essential and useful to sectors of the economy (Ferrier, 2009). Threats of substitutes are therefore, low since alternative products are less competitive. The oil and gas industry have considerable number of suppliers ranging from private corporations to governments. There are also a number of potential buyers similar to BP. Besides, BP’s vertical integration in its operations is similar to that of its key competitors (Stiel, 2003). The bargaining power of suppliers is consequently rated as medium. The products offered by players in the oil and gas industry are often not much different from those offered by their competitors. As a result, buyers tend to choose products with either lower prices or that have better terms. On the flipside, buyers are many; hence even if a cross section chooses to use the products of their competitors, BP’s operations would not be greatly impacted. The bargaining power of buyers can therefore be regarded as medium. Finally, the oil and gas industry is dominated by huge corporations that produce a number of low differentiated products (Stiel, 2003). Key competitors such as Chevron, Total and Royal Dutch Shell have established well recognized brands with significant client base. This implies that BP and its competitors have all adapted a vertical integration of similar range of products. These factors coupled with low threats of both substitutes and new entrants make competitive rivalry high (Uph, 2010).our site Sample Essay – Conclusi on and RecommendationsBP is as a major corporation with significant financial backing that can be used to venture into alternative energy research to boost its manufacturing capacity and increase its global presence. The SWOT and Porter’s five forces analyses indicates that, the oil and gas industry’s major players are well established conglomerates with massive financial resources hence high level of competitive rivalry. The attractiveness of the industry makes both the powers of buyers and that of suppliers’ medium while the threat of substitute and new entrance low. BP should increase its strategic investment in R&D in order to maximize production and exploit new markets. It should also negotiate with governments and other firms in order to exploit emerging markets such as China. The company should also consider rebuilding its brand value thereby regaining its image adversely affected by the recent oil spill crisis (Honnungar, 2011). Finally, the company should streamline its business operations and production to gain competitive advantage over major rivals.ReferencesBamberg, J. H. (2000). British Petroleum and Global Oil: 1950-1975: The Challenge Of Nationalism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Bruland, K. (2003). British technology and European industrialization: the Norwegian textile Industry in the mid-nineteenth century. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press. BP Plc. (2014). BP Statistical Review of World Energy June 2014. BP Plc. (2014). BP at a Glance. [Online] 3 September, 2017. Available From Black, E. (2011). British petroleum and the redline agreement. Washington, DC: Dialog Press. Ferrier, R. W. (2009). The history of the British Petroleum Company. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press. Honnungar, V. (2011). British Petroleum Oil Spill Crisis and Aftermath Corporate Governance and Communication at BP during the disaster. Munich: GRIN Verlag Porter, M.E. (1980) Competitive Strategy, New York: Free Press. Stiel, P. (2003). British Petroleum: A Global Company in a Global World. [Online] 3 September, 2017. Available From: http://www.pstiel.de/fileadmin/pstiel.de/Download/english_globalisation.pdf Smith, N. J. (2011).The Sea of Lost Opportunity: North Sea Oil and Gas, British Industry and The Offshore Supplies Office. New York: Elsevier. Stock Challenge, (2012). FTSE All-Share Index Ranking as at Close on Fri, 31 October 2014. [Online] 3 September, 2017. Available From http://www.stockchallenge.co.uk/ftse.php Uph, C. (2010). PR Analysis of British Petroleum. New York: GRIN Verlag. Also, checkout related Essays: BHP Billiton SWOT Analysis and Porter Five Force Analysis SWOT analysis of Sainsbury’s Plc Strategic Analysis (SWOT, PESTEL, Porter) of Premier Inn (Whitbread Plc) Summary Reviewer John Review Date 2017-09-06 Reviewed Item Essay – BP SWOT and Porter Five Forces Author Rating 5

Responsibilities of a paediatric first aider Essay

Maintain your own safety Contact the emergency services Give accurate and useful information to the emergency services Support the casualty physically and emotionally Appreciate your own limitations Know when to intervene and when to wait for more specialist help to arrive. PEFAP 001 1.2: Describe how to minimise the risk of infection to self and others Wash your hands with soap and water before and immediately after giving first aid. If gloves are available for use in first aid situations, you should also wash your hands thoroughly before putting the gloves on and after disposing of them.(Plastic bags can be used when gloves are unavailable.) Avoid contact with body fluids when possible. Do not touch objects that may be soiled with blood or other body fluids. Be careful not to prick yourself with broken glass or any sharp objects found on or near the injured person. Prevent injuries when using, handling, cleaning or disposing of sharp instruments or devices. Cover cuts or other skin-breaks with dry and clean dressings. Chronic skin conditions may cause open sores on hands. People with these conditions should avoid direct contact with any injured person who is bleeding or has open wounds. PEFAP 001 1.3: Describe suitable first aid equipment, including personal protection and how it is used appropriately. (Print off your PPE report) All first aid boxes should have a white cross on a green background. Guidelines published by the National Association of Child Minders, NCMA, as well as Ofsted and experienced paediatric first aid trainers, recommend that the first aid box in a child care setting should contain the items listed include: 1 first aid guidance leaflet 1 large sterile wound dressing 1 pair disposable gloves 10 individually wrapped wipes 2 sterile eye pads 1 pair of scissors 1 packet hypoallergenic plasters – in assorted sizes 3 medium sterile wound dressings 2 triangular bandages 5 finger bob bandages (no applicator needed) 4 safety pins It is recommended that you do not keep tablets and medicines in the first aid box. PEFAP 001 1.4: Describe what information needs to be included in an accident report/incident record and how to record it. Details of all reportable incidents, injuries, diseases and dangerous occurrences must be recorded, including: The date when the report is made The method of reporting The date, time and place of the event Personal details of those involved A brief description of the nature of the event or disease. Records can be kept in any form but must conform to data protection requirements . PEFAP 001 1.5: Define an infant and or a child for the purpose of first aid treatment. Paediatric first aid focuses on infants and children. An infant is defined as being from birth to the age of one year and a child is defined as one year of age to the onset of puberty. Children are however different sizes and a small child over the age of one may be treated as an infant. Similarly puberty can be difficult to recognise, so treat the child according to the age that you think they are, larger children should be treated with adult techniques. PEFAP 001 3.2: Describe how to continually assess and monitor an infant and a child whilst in your care. Remember your ABC and continue to monitor the infant or child in your care until you can hand over to a doctor or paramedic. A is for AIRWAY : check that the airway remains open. Always monitor a child while in recovery position. B is for BREATHING: Check that breathing is normal and regular. C is for CIRCULATION: check the pulse (if you are trained and experienced) but ensure you take no more than ten seconds to do this: (a) In a child over one  year : feel for the carotid pulse in the neck by placing your fingers in the groove between the Adam’s apple and the large muscle running from the side of the neck . (b) In an infant: feel for the brachial pulse on the inner aspect of the upper arm by lightly pressing your fingers towards the bone on the inside of the upper arm and hole them there for five seconds. PEFAP 001 4.1: Identify when to administer CPR to an unresponsive infant and a child who is not breathing normally. CPR should only be carried out when an infant or child is unresponsive and not breathing normally. If the infant or child has any signs of normal breathing, or coughing, or movement, do not begin to do chest compressions. Doing so may cause the heart to stop beating. PEFAP 001 4.3: Describe how to deal with an infant and a child who is experiencing a seizure. Witnessing a child having an epileptic seizure is a very unpleasant experience, particularly the first one. However, some young children experience what is termed a Febrile Seizure which is brought on when the child has a high temperature or infection. Recognition Stiffening of child’s body Twitching of arms and legs Loss of consciousness May wet or soil themselves May vomit or foam at the mouth Usually lasts for less than five minutes May be sleepy for up to an hour afterwards Treatment Protect them with cushioning or padding- do not hold them down. Cool them down by removing some clothing. When the seizures stop, place the child in the recovery position and monitor signs of life. If they become unresponsive or the seizure lasts for more than 5 minutes then you must call 999/112 for an ambulance. PEFAP 001 5.1: Differentiate between a mild and a severe airway obstruction. A mild airway is usually a partial obstruction, it means the entire airway is not closed off, so air is able to pass by the obstruction,  and the victim can respond and cough forcefully , or may wheeze between coughs. In a serer airway obstruction, the airway is completely blocked off and the victim cannot breathe because air cannot pass by the object. PEFAP 001 5.3: Describe the procedure to be followed after administering the treatment for choking. The child may experience difficulties after having treatment for choking-for example, a persistent cough or difficulties with swallowing or breathing. It is important to monitor and assess the child’s condition and to seek medical help if the problem persists. PEFAP 001 6.1: Describe common types of wounds. A cut (incision): This can be caused from a sharp edge, such as a tin can ,that can lead to a lot of bleeding. A torn wound (laceration): is a jagged wound that can be caused by a broken toy, a fall or collision. Graze or abrasion: cause by friction or scraping, generally happens when children fall. Bruises or contusion: is bleeding underneath the skin. The blood collects and results in a black/blue mark. Children often have bruises on their skin, chin and head from knocking themselves or falling. Soft tissue bruises should be investigated if you have a concern about them. Puncture wound: cause by the body being pierced by an object, for example , a child falling whilst carrying a pair of scissors. Velocity wound: cause by an item travelling at high speed such as a bullet from a gun. PEFAP 001 6.4: Describe how to administer first aid for minor injuries. With minor bleeding from cuts and abrasions the emphasis is on keeping the wound clean and to control any blood loss. Wear disposable gloves. Examine the injury for any embedded foreign objects. Clean the wound under fresh running water. Sit the casualty down. If they feel weak and unsteady, position them on the floor. Clean the skin around the wound with wet sterile gauze or sterile non-alcoholic wipes and carefully remove any grit or dirt. Do not remove any embedded object. Elevate the injury to control any blood loss. Dry the wound with sterile gauze and apply a plaster or sterile dressing. Advise the parent or guardian of the child or infant to seek medical attention if necessary. PEFAP 001 7.1: Describe how to recognise and manage an infant and a child who is suffering from shock. After an initial adrenaline rush, the body withdraws blood from the skin in order to maintain the vital organs – and the oxygen supply to the brain drops. The infant or child will have: Pale, cold, clammy skin that is oftern grey-blue in colour, especially around the lips A rapid pulse, becoming weaker Shallow, fast breathing. In an infant The anterior fontanelle is drawn in (depressed). In an infant or a child may show: Unusual restlessness, yawning and gasping for air Thirst Loss of consciousness The treatment is the same for an infant and a child. If possible, ask someone to call an ambulance while you stay with the child . Lay the child down, keeping her head low to improve the blood supply to the brain. Treat any obvious cause, such as severe bleeding. Raise the child’s leg and support them with pillows or on a cushion on a pile of books. Loosen any tight clothing at the neck, chest and waist to help with the child/s breathing. For an infant: hold the infant on your lap while you loosen her clothing and offer comfort and reassurance. Cover the child with a blanket or coat to keep her warm. Never use a hot-water bottle or any other direct source of heat. Reassure the child: keep talking to her and monitoring her condition while you wait for the ambulance. If the infant or child loses consciousness, open her airway, check her breathing and be prepared to give rescue breaths. Do not give the child anything to eat or drink: if she complains of thirst, just moisten her lips with water. PEFAP 001 7.2: Describe how to recognise and manage an infant and a child who is suffering from anaphylactic shock. During an anaphylactic reaction, chemicals are released into the blood that widen (dilate) blood vessels and  cause blood pressure to fall. Air passages then narrow (constrict), resulting in breathing difficulties. In addition, the tongue and throat can swell, obstructing the airway. An infant or child with anaphylactic shock will need urgent medical help as this can be fatal. The following signs and symptoms may come all at once and the child may rapidly lose consciousness: High-pitched wheezing sound Blotchy, itchy, raised rash Swollen eyelids, lips and tongue Difficulty speaking, then breathing Abdominal pain, vomiting and diarrhoea If you suspect an infant or child is suffering from anaphylactic shock, follow the steps below: Call an ambulance. If the child has had a reaction previously, she will have medication to take in case of more attacks. This should be given as soon as the attack starts, following the instructions closely. Help the child into a comfortable sitting position to relieve any breathing problems and loosen any tight clothing at her neck and waist. Comfort and reassure her while you wait for the ambulance. If the child loses consciousness, open her airway, check her breathing and be prepared to stat rescue breaths. PEFAP 001 6.2: Describe the types and severity of bleeding and the affect it has on an infant and a child. Even tiny a mounts of blood can seem like a lot to a child. Any bleeding may frighten children because they are too young to realise that the blood loss will stop when clotting occurs. When a child loses a large amount of blood, he or she may suffer shock or even become unconscious. Platelets and proteins come into contact with the injured site and plug the wound. This process begins within ten minutes if the loss of blood is brought under control. There are different types of bleeding: Bleeding from arteries : This will pump blood from the wound in time with the heartbeat and is bright re in colour. If the bleeding from a major artery will lead to shock, unresponsiveness and death within minutes. Bleeding from veins: The bold will gush from the wound or pool at the site of the wound. This will depend on the size of the vein that has been damaged. The blood will be dark red in colour due to the oxygen being depleted. Bleeding from  capillaries: Oozing at the site as with an abrasion or maybe internally from a bruising to muscle tissue and internal organs. PEFAP 001 6.3: Demonstrate the safe and effective management for the control of minor and major external bleeding. With minor bleeding from cuts and abrasions the emphasis is on keeping the wound clean and to control any blood loss. Wear disposable gloves Examine the injury for any embedded foreign objects Clean the injured area with cold water, using cotton wool or gauze Do not attempt to pick out pieces of gravel or grit from a graze. Just clean gently and cover with a light dressing if necessary Sit the child down if they feel weak and unsteady, position them on the floor. Elevate the injury to control any bold loss Record the injury and treatment in the Accident Report Book and make sure that the parents/carers of the child are in formed. When a child is bleeding severely, your main aim is to stem the flow of blood. With severe wounds and bleeding the emphasis is on controlling blood loss and treating for shock. Wear disposable gloves Sit or lay the child down on the floor to help prevent shock Examine the injury to establish the extent of the wound and to check for any foreign embedded objects Try to stop the bleeding: Apply direct pressure to the wound: use a dressing or a non-fluffy material, such as a clean tea towel Elevate the affected part if possible: if the wound is on an arm or leg, raise the injured limb above the level of the heart Apply a dressing: if the blood soaks through, do not remove the dressing, apply another on top and so on Support the injured part and treat the child for shock. Keep them warm and do not let them have anything to eat or drink Call 999/112 for an ambulance and monitor the child’s condition Contact the child’s parents or carers If the child loses consciousness, follow the ABC procedure for resuscitation Always record the incident and the treatment given in the Accident Report  Book. Always wear disposable gloves if in an early years setting, to prevent cross-infection.