ebonics essays

ebonics essays A leader is defined as somebody whom people follow. However, there is much more than that to be a great leader. A leader must be honest to his supporters because he or she needs their trust. The leader must have a clear vision and show the people that vision. Most importantly, a leader must have the support of the people to give him a foundation to build on. President George W. Bush has exhibited these qualities and proven himself to be a great leader. One of the most needed qualities of a leader is honesty. A leader must display sincerity, integrity, and candor in all of his or her actions. Deceptive behavior would discourage the trust from supporters. President Bush has proven himself to be an honest man even before he was elected. In the days prior to the presidential election, Bush was questioned about a drunk driving arrest. During the Labor Day weekend of 1976, Bush, who was 30 at the time, was arrested driving under the influence that he pleaded guilty to doing. I regret that it happened, but it did, he said. Im the first to say that what I did was wrong and Ive corrected that. And I think the people the people of America will understand it. (Berman and DeVogue). Since his election, Bush has continued with his honest ways. In his address to the nation after the World Trade Center attacks, Bush spoke with true emotion and sincerity. He vowed that nation would continue to strive forward and bring terrorists to jus tice. America was targeted for attack because were the brightest beacon for freedom and opportunity in the world. And no on will keep that light form shining, Bush said proudly (Bush). A Newsweek poll said that 68 percent of 1,005 adults polled feel more secure after hearing Bushs speech (Bushs). Another of the defining traits of a leader is he or she must have a clear vision, which ...

Free Essays on Fever 1793

It's the year 1793 and the only thing little fourteen-year-old Mattie Cook needs to worry about is how to avoid her mother’s scoldings. Her mother was always the perfect girl. Always up stitching quilts, spinning wool, she constantly kept herself busy. There was never a moment to spare. Mattie lives with her mother and grandfather in Philadelphia in an apartment over their family business, a coffeehouse. Young adult readers will honestly enjoy this book because this is the story about a young girl who the readers can really relate to. While reading the book, you feel drawn towards and close to our heroine, Mattie. Historically accurate and excellent at describing vivid and bone chilling images, Laurie Halse Anderson puts the reader smack-dab into 1793 and onto the streets of Philadelphia. Mattie’s father had dreams about owning their own coffeehouse. Bustling with people from all over the city, it seemed like a cheerful dream to look towards. Unfortunately, her father died when he fell off of a ladder and broke his neck while trying to fix up the place for the grand opening. As far back as Mattie can remember, her father had been the only person who could make her mother laugh and smile. Since his death, their happiness has to ceased and life is no longer all smiles but â€Å"a battle and Mother a tired and bitter captain.† Her mother is too busy trying to run the busi ness and barely has time to listen to Mattie ramble on about her great ideas for turning the Cook Coffeehouse into the finest business in Philadelphia. Towards the end of the summer an outbreak of yellow fever spreads like wildfire.â€Å" ‘Where’s Polly?’ I asked. ‘I spoke with her mother’ Mother answered softly, ‘It happened quickly. Polly sewed by candlelight after dinner and then she collapsed. Matilda, Polly’s dead.’† The fever then spreads from the docks and creeps up the front steps of Mattie’s home and threatens her family and friend... Free Essays on Fever 1793 Free Essays on Fever 1793 It's the year 1793 and the only thing little fourteen-year-old Mattie Cook needs to worry about is how to avoid her mother’s scoldings. Her mother was always the perfect girl. Always up stitching quilts, spinning wool, she constantly kept herself busy. There was never a moment to spare. Mattie lives with her mother and grandfather in Philadelphia in an apartment over their family business, a coffeehouse. Young adult readers will honestly enjoy this book because this is the story about a young girl who the readers can really relate to. While reading the book, you feel drawn towards and close to our heroine, Mattie. Historically accurate and excellent at describing vivid and bone chilling images, Laurie Halse Anderson puts the reader smack-dab into 1793 and onto the streets of Philadelphia. Mattie’s father had dreams about owning their own coffeehouse. Bustling with people from all over the city, it seemed like a cheerful dream to look towards. Unfortunately, her father died when he fell off of a ladder and broke his neck while trying to fix up the place for the grand opening. As far back as Mattie can remember, her father had been the only person who could make her mother laugh and smile. Since his death, their happiness has to ceased and life is no longer all smiles but â€Å"a battle and Mother a tired and bitter captain.† Her mother is too busy trying to run the busi ness and barely has time to listen to Mattie ramble on about her great ideas for turning the Cook Coffeehouse into the finest business in Philadelphia. Towards the end of the summer an outbreak of yellow fever spreads like wildfire.â€Å" ‘Where’s Polly?’ I asked. ‘I spoke with her mother’ Mother answered softly, ‘It happened quickly. Polly sewed by candlelight after dinner and then she collapsed. Matilda, Polly’s dead.’† The fever then spreads from the docks and creeps up the front steps of Mattie’s home and threatens her family and friend...

Online Gambling Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Online Gambling - Essay Example In Australia, gaming machine gambling turnover is a major one across all the gambling forms; the turnover is around $ 107,924 million. The essay aims to provide an insight into the internet gambling in Australia with a discussion of its advantages and disadvantages. This essay starts with an introduction to the Australian online gambling industry. A conclusion has been inferred from the analysis part. Online Gambling in Australia: The roots of the same Ever since the first European settlers had arrived on shore, gambling has become an inherent part of Australian culture. British influence has given considerable contribution to give gambling a firm ground for its establishment and enlargement. Quickly it became significantly popular form of entertainment in Australia. In the 1980’s, in Australia, gambling was present in a number of organised forms. So, it was quite natural that Australia would emerge as one of those first countries who would get their hands on these newly intro duced technologies, allowing them to get indulge into internet gambling. On 8th April, 1999, Australia became the first country across the globe to legalize the online gambling. â€Å"Not only was Australia the first country to legalize online gambling under a fully regulated jurisdiction, but Lasseters Online is also the world's first internet casino to be operated by a land-based casino, situated in the Northern Territory† (Online Casino Archives, 2008). Lasseters had its belief in the online gaming industry. From day one, the company realised the prospectus of the international gambling. Even before other Australian states, it has opened its doors to the international customers. The Australian government swiftly appreciated the potential market success... The public and legal gambling history of Australia began in the early period of nineteenth century. The history started off with gambling on horse racing. In the year 1810, the first publicly organised race meeting was held in New South Wales. In the year 1861, the Melbourne cup, a globally recognised race, was first introduced in Victoria. In the early twentieth century, lotteries were introduced. In the year 1920, the Golden casket lottery was established by the Queensland Government. The very first regulated online casino started off in the year 1999. Since the 1990s, the expansion of gambling has experienced a considerable growth; this has been true for Australia and several other countries. At this time, the electronic gaming machines had been introduced in the hotels and casinos across Australia. In the year 1956, these were introduced in the Australian clubs. At the first stage, gaming machines were not originally introduced in the hotels as these do not have the same communit y focus or the same types of community engagements as the Australian clubs. For the clubs the gambling was the most significant activity to earn revenue while in hotels and casinos the trend was to serve beer and other alcohol. In this new era, the gaming machines have developed a lot to introduce a highly sophisticated computer programmed machines. The modern and technically enhanced gaming machines can be programmed to offer small wins to maintain the excitement.This also helps the participants to be hopeful of large wins. Presently, Australia seems to be one of the most attractive online gambling location in entire Oceania as the country got several licensed internet gambling sites. Gambling has a very long history. Since the inception, gambling has emerged as a controversial issue.

Single Parent Struggle Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Single Parent Struggle - Research Paper Example It is quite difficult to anticipate how kids will survive the change in their lives, and how they will react to the absence of one of their parents. Teenage pregnancy is another problem that leaves adverse effects upon the single parent and the child. The rate of out-of-wedlock teenage births has increased over the years, and this has put a great threat to the ethical and social concerns of the society. This paper tends to argue that a single parent, whether divorced or teen mother, has to struggle hard to survive and raise kids. â€Å"More than 40 percent of marriages in America end in divorce† (The Survivor’s Club, para.2). One has to think about a lot of issues, from managing finances to raising kids to looking for a new life partner. Once the decision has been finalized, and the divorce has occurred, the hardest part is to re-assemble the shattered pieces of one’s personality, mind and heart, and to recover from the trauma. A single parent has to go through many sorts of discriminatory behaviors at workplaces and other areas of life. As for a single teen mother, she is stigmatized by the society so much so that this perception creates great negative impacts on her life and her opportunities in education and employment. Single teen moms do not find themselves capable of graduating their high school nor do they go for proper prenatal care out of embarrassment. The baby, when comes to the world, fails to get proper psychological and social development. Single teen moms have difficulty in keeping up with school requirements and relating with peers after giving birth (McDermott and Graham). Furthermore, Single parents suffer from much negative behavior from their children. For example, in case of divorce, children are the ones who suffer the most when their parents are having clashes with one another. They adopt many negative behavioral patterns, which might not show at the moment, but are very powerful and get expressed when they grow up into teenage and older adults. Parents start their new lives, but the lives of children get shattered because they have to live with one of the two parents, due to which they become deprived of the love of the other parent. This makes them under confident and frustrated, and they grow up into disturbed individuals. Preschool children are normally attached to their mothers, so their reaction will not be very strong if their fathers leave, as Cooney, Hutchinson and Leather state, â€Å"Post divorce relations between young children and their parents are largely differentiated by the gender of the parent† (153). However, school age and adolescent children react very severely because they do not understand the concept of parents parting each other. They may finally adapt to the situation, but they become vulnerable and feel deprived. School age children may feel very miserable, scared, timid, helpless, and deserted, when one of the two parents is not around. Adolescents show severer reactions through anger and aggression. They may even become involved in sex and drugs. Hence, it is important for the divorcing couples to think about how their children will solve the riddle of their lives. Children of divorce may benefit through proper counseling. Children learn to cope with the circumstances resulting from divorce. Counseling helps them in their emotional stability, which is very necessary for them to grow up into normal and stable individuals of society. Since all children possess unique qualities, they react to counseling strategies in their own ways. Their age and development phase counts very much toward th eir reaction to counseling. Opponents of this argument

Olympics Document Based Question Essay Example for Free

Olympics Document Based Question Essay DBQ Essay (Modern Day Olympics 1896 – 2002) War, Nationalism, and money paid by various corporations/countries all shaped the modern day Olympics. War played a major role in shaping the modern day Olympic Games. In document one, Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympic movement, states that the Olympics would serve as a reduction of war because of the worldwide competition between various countries. Coubertin wrote this document to attempt to convince the Athletic Society of France to revive the Olympic Games. In document 3, the autobiography of Arnold Lunn talks about how the Nazis used certain competition to prove to the world that a dictatorship (or Nazism) is better than democracy. The only thing that mattered to the Nazi’s was to win. The Nazi’s had pictured the Olympics as a war where it was the Nazi’s against the world. Document 5 reveals that if Japan wouldn’t have hosted the Olympic Games after the Second World War, they would’ve never gotten what they needed to rise as a world trade power. Ryotaro Azuma wrote this document to recognize the fact that the Olympics had evolved into an event that would ultimately save a country. Nationalism also played a major role in shaping the modern day Olympic Games. Document 2 recognizes the fact that men were too proud to let women represent their country in the Olympics. Document 4 represents nationalism because it shows how proud America would be if they beat the Soviets in any sort of competition during the Olympics. Bob Matthias wrote this document to show us the determination and pride the U.S had to defeat the soviets, and how the Olympics evolved into a competition between just the U.S and the Soviets.

The Edutained American :: essays research papers fc

The â€Å"Edutained† American You may try to deny it; many of us do. We are our own people, with our own thoughts, feelings, and opinions. We are individuals, and nothing influences us without our knowledge and permission. Certainly not the media; we create the media, after all, and direct it with our own tastes and preferences. It is merely a part of our lives, a not-too pervasive part. We say this with absolute certainty and still know that we lie. For the media is not a part of our lives, it is our lives. It directs us, moves us towards what its creators, directors and sponsors want us to see. Everything we do is not media influenced, it is media-dictated. In some ways, our modern information systems are helpful. They are, after all, informative. From these systems we learn, we process the information they bring on current events, popular culture, and every other subject known to man. But the information is tainted. It is filtered through the corporate sponsors and the agen das of those who bring it to us. Therefore we bow to the opinions of those who give us our knowledge on every subject they expose us to, from the clothes we buy, to the music we listen to, the films we see, books we read, politicians we vote for, religions we believe in. Our thoughts are not our own. What does this mean to the world in which we live? How does this effect our leaders, our schools and our families? And in a society so permeated with media, how do we regain ourselves? Part One: What are our influences? For many of us who attend college now, the media has been around us since birth. The television was a effective babysitter, and we grew up accustomed to the quick, joke-a-minute style of cartoons and situation comedies. With the advent of MTV in 1981, we learned to absorb information through the two and three minute stories offered on that channel, as well as VH1 and BET. These channels opened to us a world that most of our parents simply didn’t see as children. O ne hour of MTV’s Total Request Live can show a child a re-enactment of JFK’s assassination, done by Marylin Manson, in one of the most popular videos of the week. The words of the song, however true and relevant they may be, are lost in the image, in closeup and slow motion.

Comment on the Positive Function and Dysfunction of Social Policy in Hong Kong.

2. Definition of Social Policy Social policy primarily refers to guidelines and interventions for the changing, maintenance or creation of living conditions that are conducive to human welfare. Thus, social policy is a part of public policy that has to do with social issues. More specifically, it also considers detailed issues in policy and administration of social services, including policies for health, housing, education and social work, and needs and issues affecting the users of services, including poverty, old age, disability, and family policy. To have more clearly speaking, terms of social needs, social integration and alienation will be elaborated. Social needs are people’s needs which are socially defined according to social conditions. Yet we can still have a look at Hierarchy of ‘Need† as a reference since social needs are part of the basic needs. According to A. H. Maslow (1943), there are a hierarchy of five sets of goals including physiological, safety, love, esteem and respect, and self-actualization. These goals are related to one another, being arranged in hierarchy of prepotency. Social integration is referred to the process of building up a sense of community and social network amongst different community groups and individuals, hence people all live together in a peaceful and harmonious manner. It is the key element to social stability and can be achieved by promoting social mobility. Alienation is opposite to social integration, which means the feeling of being neglected or isolated and excluded from the rest. Such feeling of seclusion may destroy any sense of community or belonging and hence lead to social instability. Various types of social policy are being implemented in a society, such as family policy, education policy, and healthcare policy and so forth. We will particularly focus on social policies which aim to improve human welfare and to meet human needs for health, education and housing. 3. Overview and Comment On Social Policy in Heath Aspect The health system of Hong Kong is considered as one of the best world-wide. It is divided into two parts, which are public health services and private health services. Our government heavily subsided for the former services but citizens need to pay for the fee for the latter services. The Department of Health executes health care policies and statutory functions so as to safeguard the health of the community through preventive and rehabilitative services. In order to achieve the goal, subvention for the Hospital Authority has been increased in recent years. Besides, it is expected that ageing population will increase, expectations of health care will rise, and medical costs will soar. Therefore, it is not difficult to foresee that health expenditure will become a heavy burden for our government. Based on this problem, our government proposed to have a reform and some policies were implemented. I will look at two schemes in the following part. 3. 1 Early Health Care Voucher Pilot Scheme Early Health Care Voucher Pilot Scheme (HCVS) was addressed in the Policy Address 2007 -2008. The Scheme is to give elders who aged 70 or above five health care voucher of $50 annually. It aims to allow elderly to gain access to health care services in the private sector with subsidy and hence minimize the number of patients on the waiting list in the public sector. Through the Scheme, the elderly can have additional choices on top of the existing public healthcare services which would continue to be provided, hence equity is encouraged as a universal access to medical services regardless of wealth or status is promoted. It will contribute as a positive function since social integration is encouraged. Besides, complaints are always arouse due to the long waiting list of the public sector, patients can now save their time by visiting private doctors with partially subsidization. However, in order to further fulfill the social needs, eligibility for joining the Scheme should be relaxed from 70 to, for example, 65 years old and the subsidized amount of $250 should be increased. It is because only small amount of people can benefit from the scheme and financial support given to them is not enough due to the high consultation fee of private doctors. 3. 2Health Care Reform A lot of people support there is an urgent need for the reform especially after consultation documents in health services and financing reforms during the past ten years. One part of the proposed reform is tax deduction should be provided for private medical insurance premium or expenses. Our government is working out a supplementary healthcare financing option operating on a voluntary participation basis, containing insurance and savings components. For using this kind of method, it is believed that indemnification can be provided for citizens, which meets the second level of basic need in Maslow’s Hierarchy Needs. Moreover, it can release the pressure on the public sector and hence ensure a high quality of services in public sector. On the other hand, the reform should be taken into deep consideration, if health insurance plan is mandatory to all citizens, it may lead to dissatisfaction of some citizens and which will at last violate the aim of social policy. In short, providing both public health services and private health services can maintain competition in the private sectors which can ensure its quality. Giving welfare to our citizens can foster a sense of belonging and unity in the community. Subsidization in health care services given to the poor by various scheme can encourage redistribution of wealth and hence promote social mobility. Though Hong Kong’s health care standards are comparable to many major European cities and always being praised at, it will be a shame if our citizens cannot receive appropriate treatment due to the long waiting list problem. Therefore, it has been urged to think of new schemes and more partnerships between the city's public and private hospitals in a bid to ease the burden on the public sector. 4. Overview and Comment on Social Policy in Education Aspect Education has long been regarded as a long term method to stabilize the society and promote economic development in the city. In Hong Kong, Education Bureau’s Vision is to provide quality school education for our students to develop their potential to the full and to prepare them for the challenges in life. Hence, it promises to deliver professional services and ensure effective use of resources, and forge partnerships to promote excellence in school education. The Bureau is responsible for formulating, developing and reviewing policies, programmes and legislation in respect of education from pre-primary to tertiary level. Those policies formulated by the Bureau will be divided into the four categories in the following part. . 1Kindergarten Our Government plays as a supporting role in pre-primary education, which provides in-service teacher training facilities, lower rent to non-profit-making kindergartens, permission of allocating kindergartens in public housing estates, and supplies financial assistance in the form of reimbursement rates to parents and kindergartens. 4. 1. 1Kindergarten Scheme In 1996 Policy Add ress, our government brought up the idea of allocating more financial assistance and providing additional training for existing kindergarten teachers through implementing Kindergarten Scheme. One of its commitments is to ensure more than 40% of kindergarten teachers would complete the Qualified Kindergarten Teacher Education Course by September, 1997. Although such policies legislated by the government were reacted because of pressure from the public, it still can ensure the quality of preschool education to all. Besides, equity is advocated as good quality preschool education made available universally. Yet, the policies can only partially fulfill social needs because our government is always taking a supporting role only, a higher degree of support for preschool education is needed. . 1. 2 Pre-primary Education Voucher Scheme The Pre-primary Education Voucher Scheme (PEVS) provides fee subsidy for parents or legal guardians or registered custodians to meet towards school fees for pre-primary education of their children in the form of pre-primary education vouchers. Eligible children who attend nursery, lower or upper classes in eligible local non-profit-making kindergar tens or Kindergarten-cum-Child Care Centres may benefit from PEVS. The Scheme was launched in 2007 to promote the â€Å"3A's† of early childhood education (ECE): affordability, accessibility, and accountability. The PEVS has three unique features. The first one is discriminating against profit kindergartens and hence to discourage social alienation. The second feature is promoting teacher professional development to ensure quality of preschool education so that the gap of quality between profit kindergartens and non-profit kindergartens can be minimized. Children from poor families can still have a qualified and good education. The last feature is limiting parents’ choice to only non-profit schools. On one hand, it can promote freedom of choices; on the other hand, it can encourage social integration as children may get into the school they want regardless of wealth of the families. To conclude, the majority of the parents perceive positive impacts towards schemes launched by the government. Nevertheless, principals and teachers of kindergartens reported some implementation difficulties and more sufficient support are needed for parents. 4. 2Primary and Secondary Education The Government's policy objectives are to provide a balanced and diverse school education that meet the different need of our students and help them build up knowledge, values and skills for further studies and personal growth. 4. 2. 1Universal Basic Education Compulsory primary education was introduced in 1971; afterwards, 9-year free education was implemented in 1978 to fully subsidize both primary and junior secondary education. Starting from the 2008/09 school year, senior secondary education is provided free through public sector schools. In addition, with effect from the 2008/09 school year, the Government provides full subvention for full-time courses run by the Vocational Training Council for Secondary 3 leavers to offer an alternative free avenue for senior secondary students outside mainstream education. Advocating universal basic education can promote social integration as the poor can be able to receive education. Besides, it can equip students with ample knowledge and prepare them for entrance into the knowledge-based economy. Hence, it will be easier for the poor to climb up the social ladder, without basic knowledge they may need to work as low-skilled workers for the whole life. 4. 2. 2 School Entrance System In 1978, two systems were used to determine whether the students can get into the secondary school. Secondary School Entrance Examination is a selected mechanism by which students who scored higher would be selected for places given higher priority in their school choices. Feeder and Nominated System is a mechanism allowed feeder and nominated secondary schools to directly admit a certain proportion of their students from designated primary schools. Through the Secondary School Entrance Examination, social mobility can be promoted as children from poor families can still have a chance to get into the best school. Oppositely, the other scheme would minimize the effect of promoting social mobility. It is because wealthy families can send their children to prestigious primary schools and hence let them to go into the linked prestigious secondary school. Hence, it may bias towards wealthy people. 4. 2. 3 Secondary School Places Allocation System Secondary School Entrance Examination was later changed to Secondary School Places Allocation System. It is a mechanism to allocate secondary school places to primary school-leavers. The allocation mechanism is designed in such a way so that it would help reduce public examination pressure on Primary six students and restore a more balanced education in primary schools. In addition, due regard is given to parental choices and, through regionalization, the need for students to travel long distances to schools is minimized. Moreover, it helps to achieve a degree of mixed ability intake at Secondary one level. Therefore, social integration can be promoted in this way, nevertheless, it can never be promoted into full extent since well-off families can afford to move within the proximity of prestigious schools, for instance mid levels of Hong Kong Island, to get into those famous traditional schools. 4. 2. 4School Management Initiative Programme School Management Initiative Programme (SMI), introduced in 1991, provides participating schools with school planning/staff development days, approved collection of charges for specific purposes, and computer system for school administration. It aims to attain an effective school system. In the spirit of the SMI, it was proposed that the school funding system should be able to meet the basic needs of students to ensure fairness across the school sector, provide schools with greater flexibility in the effective use of resources in order to achieve individuality. However, the teachers complained about the heavy increase of work load and reported that the accountability framework failed to make any impact on the quality of teaching. The focus of our government should be the attitudinal and behavioral change in those directly involved in delivery of services instead of structural and administrative change. 4. 3Tertiary Education The government increased the number of degree places in late 1970s and 1980s. Today, 14,500 first-year first-degree places are provided to cater for about 18% of the 17 to 20 age group through the eight institutions funded by the University Grants Committee to further develop Hong Kong as a regional education hub. Moreover, our government has financial support to students who are in financial needs. By increasing the number of degree places, equity is promoted as students can have a higher chance to admit into tertiary education. Providing subsidization to students can ensure that no qualified students are denied access to higher and post-secondary education due to a lack of financial means. Besides, it can improve the standard of living as the rate of illiteracy is lowered and hence stimulate economy of the city due to the increase in competitiveness. However, demand of post-secondary education is progressively increasing, policies, which are being implemented, still cannot meet the social needs. 5. Conclusion Based on the review above on the social policies in Hong Kong, we can see that each social policy has its positive functions and dysfunctions. With regard to the three aspects in social policy, there is much room for improvement. But at least, our government is working hard to improve the conditions of our society and paying effort to meet social needs, promote social integration and discourage alienation.

Health and Safety in the Workplace Essay

* The wiring can be temperamental, the hot water system is often not working and the canteen is in a basement room with no external lighting or windows. There are only 3 toilets in the building and these are also situated on the lower ground floor, near to the canteen. The Workplace (Health, Safety & Welfare) Regulations 1992 state that in reference to lighting; â€Å"Every workplace shall have suitable and sufficient lighting. Where it is practicable, the lighting shall be by natural light. Suitable and sufficient emergency lighting shall be provided.† To mend the lighting issue in the canteen, sufficient lighting would need to be provided & maintained otherwise the company would be breaching these regulations. These regulations also state that in regards to temperature in the workplace; â€Å"should be reasonable for indoor workplaces. There should be a sufficient number of thermometers provided to allow checking of temperature.† With the hot water system failing to function at all times it is required; the temperature should be monitored carefully & should ideally be replaced with one that is reliable. The toilets in the canteen area will need to be well lit as well, but also very well ventilated with a high quantity of fresh air. The Workplace (Health, Safety & Welfare) Regulations 1992 state that three bathrooms are required for between 26– 50 employees, if there are more employees then additional WC facilities will be required. Also, There must be hot and cold water, soap, and either electric hand dryers or towels provided. The Electricity at Work Act 1989 states that within the work place, those responsible must; â€Å"Have their electrical systems constructed in a way that prevents danger. This includes testing all new equipment to ensure that it is safe. Maintain their electrical systems correctly to prevent danger. Have repaired or closed any electrical system that causes danger.† The electrical system is temperamental & will need to be repaired & in some areas perhaps replaced to keep up to the standards that The Electricity at Work Act 1989 requires. * The lift has been out of service for some considerable time and the computers are constantly breaking down. The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 states that any equipment provided must be â€Å"maintained and kept in good working order† therefore the computers & the lift are not meeting these regulations as they are continuously breaking down or in the case of the lift, not working at all. They must either be replaced or repaired so that they are available for use by all people within the building. The Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 also say, with regards to the lift, that where manual handling is unavoidable, they should be mechanised with the use of trolleys, lifts and hoists. So if any lifting tasks were to occur, the lift should be available to use as it is already in place. * None of the air conditioning units are working and none of the windows open. All files that need to be kept are stored under the stairs on each of the different floors. The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 say that a minimum temperature of 16 °C should be maintained in an area of normal physical activity & there should be a good number of thermometers positioned at above 0.5m off the ground to display the room temperature. There is no maximum temperature for a workplace however these regulations state that the workplace should be comfortable and reasonable. The Workplace (Health, Safety & Welfare) Regulations 1992 also say that â€Å"the supply of fresh air should not normally be below 5-8 litres per second, per occupant† so the fact that the air conditioning units don’t function & the windows do not open breach these regulations entirely & should be repaired or replaced immediately. With the files of the company being stored under the stairs, the company could well be breaching the rules of The Data Protection Act 1998 which states that information stored about people cannot be accessed by a third party without their knowledge. The inadequate storage below each of the stairs is not secure & therefore anyone within the building could access them. The Statutory duties of employers and employees relating to health, safety and welfare as set out by the government says that the employer must explicitly provide arrangements for ensuring safe means of handling, use, storage and transport of articles and substances. All files being stored under the stairs does definitely not provide a safe means of storing documents so an alternative organisational system should be used for the company’s files. The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 also sets out to â€Å"protect people at work† & â€Å"to protect people not at work from those who are†, the files could pose a trip hazard to employees & people visiting the building, another reason for an alternative storage system to be implemented. * The offices are cleaned on a weekly basis, but all the cleaning products are kept in the canteen near the emergency exit. Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) is the law that requires employers to control substances that are hazardous to health[1] & not storing the cleaning products safely & securely if they contain any harmful ingredients (which many cleaning products do) breaches the regulations set out. You can prevent or reduce workers exposure to hazardous substances by: * finding out what the health hazards are; * deciding how to prevent harm to health (risk assessment[2]); * providing control measures to reduce harm to health; * making sure they are used ; * keeping all control measures in good working order; * providing information, instruction and training for employees and others; * providing monitoring and health surveillance in appropriate cases; * planning for emergencies. If the cleaning products have always been stored by the emergency exit, then the company are in breach of The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 as they have failed to identify that there is a risk to its employees & have obviously failed to conduct a thorough risk assessment. With the cleaning products obstructing the emergency exit, The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 states that â€Å"clear fire instructions should be displayed in all buildings; escape routes should be clearly signposted and free from obstruction†. The cleaning products being stored there are a direct violation of this & they should be removed then stored safely & securely. * The majority of photocopiers are out of action on each of the floors; this means that all staff have to go to the 5th floor to get good quality copies. The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 states that any equipment provided must be â€Å"maintained and kept in good working order†, the unusable photocopiers breach these regulations & must be repaired or replaced. The Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 state â€Å"to avoid the need for employees to undertake any manual handling operations at work which involve a risk of their being injured†. Under the Regulations, a suitable and sufficient risk assessment of all manual handling operations should be carried out to quantify the risks and put suitable guidance and support in place to make sure risks are kept to a minimum. The employer is also expected to train staff where necessary in the correct way to manually lift and handle objects. The employer has done neither, so to prevent accidents occurring, the employer should implement these immediately. * On your first day at the new office, one of the receptionists, who is due to go on maternity leave in the next two weeks; falls down the stairs (after having done a large amount of photocopying) and breaks her leg, her arm and her collarbone. The Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 (MHOR)[3] requires an employer to carry out a risk assessment on all manual handling tasks that pose an injury risk. If the employer had assessed this properly, a system or alternative way of moving the photocopied documents could have been developed, or perhaps another member of staff could have taken on this responsibility. The employer’s duty is to avoid manual handling as far as reasonably practicable if there is a possibility of injury. If this cannot be done then they must take steps to reduce the risk of injury as far as reasonably practicable. With the lift being available but closed due to a fault, the employer is not utilizing the available mechanisms as the lift has not been repaired. This puts any employee carrying any large object(s) at risk of injury & the lift will need to be repaired with adequate alternative carrying methods for employees who are unable to do so. Also, The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 says that rest facilities must be provided for pregnant women and nursing mothers, this may not be relevant to the woman falling down the stairs, however if this has not been provided for her, it could have contributed if she was tired & unable to find a place to rest or not allowed to take time to rest.

Slavery Essays - Racism, White Supremacy In The United States

Slavery Essays - Racism, White Supremacy In The United States Slavery Slavery in America stems well back to when the new world was first discovered and was led by the country to start the African Slave Trade- Portugal. The African Slave Trade was first exploited for plantations in that is now called the Caribbean, and eventually reached the southern coasts of America (Slavery Two; Milton Meltzer). The African natives were of all ages and sexes. Women usually worked in the homes, cooking and cleaning, whereas men were sent out into the plantations to farm. Young girls would usually help in the house also and young boys would help in the farm by bailing hay and loading wagons with crops. Since trying to capture the native Indians, the Arawaks and Caribs, failed (Small-Pox had killed them), the Europeans said out to capture African slaves. They were shipped from Africa by the Europeans in what was called The Triangular Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. This was an organized route where Europeans would travel to Africa bringing manufactured goods, capture Africans and take them to the Caribbean, and then take the crops and goods and bring them back to Europe. The African people, in order to communicate invented a language that was a mixture of all the African languages combined, called Creole. This language now varies from island to island. They also kept their culture which accounts for calypso music and the instruments used in these songs. Slavery was common all over the world until 1794 when France signed the Act of the National Convention abolishing slavery. It would take America about a hundred years to do the same (Slavery Two; Milton Meltzer). George Washington was America's hero. He was America's first president. He was a slave owner. He deplored slavery but did not release his slaves. His will stated that they would be released after the death of his wife (The Volume Library; 1988). Washington wasn't the only president to have slaves. Thomas Jefferson wrote, "All men are created equal" but died leaving his blacks in slavery. In 1775 black Americans were sent to fight in the revolutionary army. The British proposed that if a black man was to join their army, they would be set free afterwards. America originally planned not to let the blacks fight in the army, but when hearing this, let them enlist. Only Georgia and South Carolina refused to let them enlist, but paid for their racism when each lost 25,000 blacks to the British. The slaves returned on an honourable discharge after securing America's freedom, but not their own (Software Toolworks Encyclopedia; 1992). Slavery continued and so did the numbers of slaves trying to escape to the free states or into Canada. A runaway slave would be found by bloodhounds, trained to find black slaves. Then the slave, upon returning, would be executed or severely whipped. The "Underground Railroad" was a project that helped black slaves escape into Canada, especially Amherstburg. The system involved 3,000 white helpers and freed an estimated 75,000 people after the civil war. Slavery in the middle of the 1800's was abolished except for the rebellion states in the south. In 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation was issued which made slavery illegal in the states that had rebelled and allowed black slaves to serve in the army and get other jobs, or continue to work on the plantations, as employees making money. The nightmare of slavery was over but a new one was to begin. One that was worse for it was prevalent but was secret and silent. One that exists today. One that does not shrink but rather grows. Racism was and is upon us. Racism "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character" (Martin Luther King Jr.) Ku Klux Klan. Neo Nazis. The Aryan Nations. The American Nazi Party. What are these groups? Why are they present in a land of supposed equality of all men? They are there because there are millions of Americans that believe in their message of white pride. The African American population is growing and Americans are now a mixed group of people. Black

Definition and Examples of Vowels in English

Definition and Examples of Vowels in English Written English has a 26-letter alphabet. Of the 26, 20 are proper consonants, five are proper vowels, and one, the letter Y, can either be either a consonant or a vowel depending on usage. The proper vowels are A, E, I, O, and U. Coming from the Latin word for voice, vowels are the part of speech that is created by the relatively free passage of breath through the larynx and the mouth. When the mouth is obstructed during speech production- most often by the tongue or teeth- the resulting sound is a consonant. One Vowel, Many Pronunciations Vowels comprise the  principal sounds of syllables and form a major category of phonemes which are the distinct sets of sounds that allow a listener to distinguish one word from another  in speech.  Standard spoken English  has approximately 20 distinct vowel sounds, although regional dialectal variations account for more. As you can imagine, with each one potentially symbolizing multiple sounds on any written page, vowels letters are kept busy. How a vowel is pronounced in English depends very much on who is pronouncing it and where they hail from. There are currently as many as 160 distinct English-language dialects worldwide. For example, Standard American English has fewer vowel distinctions than Standard Southern British English, so while a Londoner from Mayfair would likely pronounce the words merry, marry, and Mary in three distinctly different ways, for the majority of Americans all three sound pretty much the same. With 29, England has the largest number of distinct dialects, and that doesnt even take dialects from Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, The Isle of Man, or the Channel Islands into account. The United States has 27 recorded dialects; India clocks in at 14 distinct dialects, followed closely by Ireland with 13, and Australia with 9. Long and Short Vowels In the English language, each of the vowels can be pronounced more than one way, but the two most common variations are long pronunciation and short pronunciation. These variations are often represented by typographical signs: a curved  symbol  above a vowel represents short pronunciation: ÄÆ', Ä•, Ä ­, Ã… , Ã… ­, while long  pronunciation  has by a horizontal line above the  vowel: Ä , Ä“, Ä «, Ã… , Ã… «. Vowels that have long pronunciations are most often modified by a secondary vowel thats generally silent. In words such as late or tune, the letter e is added to modify the main vowel sound, while in words such as goat or beat, the modifying vowel is the letter a, and in words such as night, knight, flight, and right, the long vowel i is modified by the letters gh. Fast Facts: Examples of Short and Long Vowel Pronunciation The Letter A- Short pronunciation: My hat sat on the mat. (hÄÆ't, sÄÆ't, mÄÆ't); Long Pronunciation: He ate the date on my plate. (Ä te, dÄ te, plÄ te)The Letter E- Short pronunciation: She let her pet get wet. (lÄ•t, pÄ•t, gÄ•t, wÄ•t); Long Pronunciation: His feet beat a neat retreat. (fÄ“et, bÄ“at, nÄ“at, rÄ“trÄ“at)The Letter I- Short pronunciation: Spit out that pit and I quit! (spÄ ­t, pÄ ­t, quÄ ­t); Long Pronunciation: The site of the bite from the mite was red. (sÄ «te, bÄ «te, mÄ «te.)The Letter O- Short pronunciation: That spot on the pots got rot. (spÃ… t, pÃ… t, gÃ… t, rÃ… t); Long Pronunciation: I wrote the quote on the note. (wrÃ… te, quÃ… te, nÃ… te)The Letter U- Short pronunciation: He cut the nut with a knife from his hut. (nut, cut, hut); Long Pronunciation: The mute on his lute was acute. (lÃ… «te, mÃ… «te, acÃ… «te) Vowel Pronunciation Rulebreakers While long and short are the most common vowel pronunciations, many words with vowel combinations do not follow these rules. For example, doubling the o in the word moon produces a long u (Ã… «) sound, while the y in duty not only modifies the u to an ew sound but rather than being silent, is pronounced as its own syllable with a long e (Ä“) sound. Words that must be pronounced on a case by case basis- such as aardvark, height, and diet- can be even more confusing for those first learning English. Using Phonetics to Pronounce Vowels Correctly As challenging as it may be to learn every correct vowel pronunciation with so many rules and exceptions, theres actually a fairly easy-to-learn system that can help to guide you. Phonetics is the branch of  linguistics  that deals with how  speech  is produced and offers a system of written symbols that represents each component sound in a language. Learning phonetics is an extra step in knowing how to pronounce words correctly but its not difficult and the results can be well worth the effort. In fact, actors often use phonetics to break words down into component sounds when they are required to speak in a dialect or accent that is not a reflection of their native voice.

Auditing Committee Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Auditing Committee - Essay Example Audit Committees Introduction An audit committee can be defined as a committee that generally comprise of non-executive directors and is responsible for liaising between the board of directors and the external auditors (Parker, 1992). The responsibilities of audit committee encompass matters related to audits, financial reporting and internal control (Spira, 1998). Because of the importance of audit committees, major stock exchanges across the world such as US, UK, Canada, India, France, Australia, Honk Kong, Japan and Germany have given significant importance as a part of their listing requirements. Audit committees started from the US and percolated to other countries of the world. Audit committee of an organization is expected to perform the following activities: Make recommendations in the area of external auditor to the Board of Directors. These include selecting the external auditor, deciding the audit fees, renew/terminate the contract with the external auditor, decide the sco pe of work done by external auditor and other liaising activities between the external auditor and BoD. ... r major contributions that an audit committee can make to the corporate governance of an organization are (Cobb, 1993): Reduction of board liability Establishing a link between the external auditor and the board Reduction of illegal activity and Proper representation of the financial statements Besides these, audit committees also reduce the agency cost of an organization. This is achieved by reduction in the information asymmetries between executive and non-executive directors (Eichenseher and Shields, 1985; Pincus et al., 1989). Audit committees also lead to reduction in the legal liability of the directors. Audit committees also help the process of corporate governance by: enabling BoD to meet their responsibility; improving auditor independence (Bradbury, 1990); and strengthening the role of non-executive directors (Porter and Gendall, 1998). Audit committees ensure that the external audit has performed its job well. At the same time they are also responsible for ensuring the rel iability of the internal audit processes. This aspect of the audit committee will strengthen the overall audit process and positively impact the corporate governance of the organization. Audit committees also lead to generation of wealth for shareholders. This is based on the premise that non-executive directors are more likely to act in the interest of the shareholders (Rosentein and Wyatt, 1990). Limitations of audit committees Although audit committees play a very pivotal role in managing the corporate governance of an organization, there are certain areas which do not fall under the preview of the committee. An audit committee is not responsible to plan and conduct audits. At the same time, an audit committee is not responsible to determine if the company’s financial statements are

Hearing impairment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Hearing impairment - Essay Example There are various reasons that cause deterioration in the level of education among indigenous Australians. Implementation of effective methods can raise the level of education among such people. It is also essential to identify the cause of hearing impairment and appropriate preventive measures should be adopted to manage the prevalence of this disorder. There are several policies and strategies implemented by the government to increase the level of education among the indigenous Australians with hearing impairment. In the past 30 years a lot of efforts have been made to increase the level of education among the indigenous Australians with hearing loss. There are various policies and strategies implemented by the government and the non government organization to curb this issue of education among such people. In spite of it, there still needs to be considerable progress made in the level of education among the indigenous population of Australia. The difference in the level of education among the two sections of the community in Australia affects its literacy rate. A study has revealed that 20 percent of the indigenous students meet the reading standards while 30 percent of them meet the righting standards. About 70 percent of the non-indigenous students meet both the righting and reading standards [Cronin, 2001]. One of the major causes of this difference is hearing impairment among the indigenous population of Australia. About 11 to 60 percent of the indigenous students suffer from hearing loss [Prevention of hearing impairment from chronic Otis media, n. d]. Australia's dominant culture, cultural misunderstanding and prejudices, family background and socio-economic status also attribute to lower level of education among such people. [Cronin, 2001]. The education process existing due to the racial discrimination between the indigenous and the non-indigenous population of Australia also has its implications on education of the indigenous population. Due to this racial difference sometimes, the teachers do not respond well to the needs of indigenous students. However, the major cause of concern is the hearing impairment that persists in this section. Hearing impairment is most prevalent among the indigenous population present in the central and northern Australia. This is mainly caused due to chronic Otis media. The risk factors that lead to this disease are overcrowding and exposure to wood, cigarette smoking, poor hygiene, inadequate housing, and high rate of naso pharyngeal colonization with pathogenic bacteria, Eustachian tube dysfunction, inadequate and unavailable health care [Prevention of hearing impairment from chronic Otis media, n. d]. Poor hygiene is also a main cause for several types of ear diseases which in turn leads to hearing impairment. It generally occurs during childhood, which is the most crucial stage in a person's development. A large percentage of the Australian children suffer from ear infection, which subsequently leads to hearing loss. Most of the infants have perforated eardrums. Hearing impairment affects the overall developmental activity of a child. The nerve between the inner ear and the temporal cortex of the brain is essential for the growth and development of speech and language in children. The language and numerical ability of such children retards due to