Tuesday, December 31, 2019

Why Did Ibm Decide Develop The Model 5150 - 1320 Words

ïÆ'Ëœ Why did IBM decide to develop the Model 5150? Was there a strategic purpose for the company to do so? IBM was already a big name in the market of mini, middle range and mainframe computers. The perspective and promising small computer market, greatly gaining ground due to Apple II and other few, was still a difficult task despite their multi-millionaire efforts. IBM decided to develop the model 5150 on the lines of their first PC model 5100, which was pretty unaffordable for large masses. Apple had already launched their first PC back in 1976 at a very affordable $666.66. To influence and gain wide acceptance in PC market IBM needed to come up with something unique and economical and rest would have been taken care of by IBM’s big name.†¦show more content†¦The development team consisting of about a dozen people started to build a prototype to take to a little known company called Microsoft. The team finished their task mostly by April, 1981. The manufacturing team then took over to simplify everything and on August12, 1981, at a press conference at the Waldorf Astoria ballroom in New York city, Estridge announced the IBM PC with a price tag of $1,565. ïÆ'Ëœ Why did IBM choose to collaborate with other companies to develop the necessary technology, hardware, and software for the Model 5150? IBM had designed and made nearly everything it sold till the moment when BILL LOWE got the permission to develop the new small computer model within a year. To meet the due deadline along with the priority of keeping the price low, the development team turned towards a number of outside contributors for the necessary technology, hardware and software for the model 5150. The pretested and individual expertise of outside contributors gave the team a necessary time window to achieve their task in. This also lead to the reduction in the price for 5150 model which was multiple times less than the previous products that IBM ever sold. Microsoft provided operating system (QDOS, renamed PC-DOS), Intel provided 8088 processor. IBM choose an existing monitor from IBM Japan and a dot- matrix printer by Epson. The keyboard and

Monday, December 23, 2019

Should Free Will Be Free - 904 Words

When it comes to talking about the idea of â€Å"free will† there are a lot of factors involved. I think it’s difficult to just openly say yes or no to the question of â€Å"Do all humans have free will?†, because there are certain cases on each side where things aren t so black and white. When first thinking about this question, I went back and forth on my answer. It was hard to pick a side. In the end though I came up with this idea. All humans are created as free beings, and they have the free will to do as they choose. The things that seem against free will, like genetic determinism, getting sick, and your own mortality are all still your decision, but are decided more by multiple decisions instead of just one or on a more spiritual level. When talking about free will, we have to first agree that God created us to be free people, and cultural norms have advanced throughout history to support that case. All the way back to the revolution we supported a living environment where people are free to do what they choose, and we even put our freedoms in our constitution. Obviously there are rules everywhere, but just because there are rules doesn t mean they have to be followed. A rule doesn t bind someone against not doing something, because there free will allows them to make any decision they want to. Going back to Catholicism, there’s a reason Jesus died for us. He knew that being people of free will meant we would choose to sin, and do bad things, and therefore he died toShow MoreRelatedFree Education : Should Not Be Free?867 Words   |  4 PagesFree Education in America Education, in America, should be free because having more educated people in this country will potentially increase the job availability. Making education free in America will raise taxes and help student debt. America’s youth is being discouraged to receive an education because of the high tuition and high interest rates on student loans. Many students who are in higher education are also being discouraged because of the low job opportunities after they graduate from schoolRead MoreFree Education : Should Not Be Free?911 Words   |  4 PagesFree Higher Education Education, in America, should be free because having more educated people in this country will potentially increase the job availability. Making education in America without cost will raise taxes and help student debt. America’s youth is being discouraged to receive an education because of the high tuition and high interest rates on student loans. Many students who are in higher education are also being discouraged because of the low job opportunities after they graduate fromRead MoreFree Community College Should Be Free1302 Words   |  6 Pages â€Å"Free is a word with a powerful appeal. And right now it s being tossed around a lot, followed by another word: college.† (Kamenetz).The debate surrounding free community college for all is becoming rather controversial. Since there has been no law set in place federally some states are taking aim. Washington has a scholarship program called â€Å"Washington Promise† that supports what this act is all for. As the world continues to flatten, it seems the only way to compete in the globalized economyRead MoreShould Free Higher Education Be Free?1982 Words   |  8 PagesFree Higher Education We pay a price for everything we get or take in this world. Although ambitions are well worth having, they are not to be cheaply won. Every day is an opportunity to make your life the way you want it to be. Anything is possible when you work towards it one day at a time. Skip a day and you lose momentum. Try to do it all at once and you will burn out. Work steadily and consistently to make every day count and you will reach your goals. Soon, with consistent effort, thoseRead MoreCollege Free Tuition Should Not Be Free971 Words   |  4 PagesCollege Free Tuition Education is one of the best ways to succeed; however not everyone has access to it and not everyone has the opportunity to have a degree. After high school a lot of students drop out because the college tuitions are too expensive; they can’t afford them. A couple weeks ago, president Obama came with a proposition in which to make community college free for students because more jobs will require a degree in the future. The program will concern the students who are serious.Read MoreShould Free College Be A Free School?1812 Words   |  8 Pagesresult, many political leaders advocate a free post secondary education. In 2015, Tennessee’s state governor Bill Haslam signed the Tennessee Promise, a policy that provides all high school graduates two years of free community college through lottery funds. A few months later, former President Barack Obama presented a free community college proposal. The following year, presidential candidates Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton identified as promoters of free higher education during their campaignsRead MoreCollege Should Not Be Free876 Words   |  4 Pagespublic college tuition free. A recent movement to federally mandate college funding has struck the interest of the lower, impoverished members of society. However, if college tuition were free it would be unfair, unregulated, and cost-ineffective in the long run. What does free really mean? Does it include just tuition, or room, board and books? Also, would it be completely free? Someone has to pay something somewhere down the line. There is no way to make college completely free. It would be averageRead MoreShould Colleges Be Free? Essay1186 Words   |  5 PagesShould colleges be free in America? It is a question that is more relevant today than ever before. As education is one key factor that determines the nation’s fate going forward, this question is worth debating. Making free college education may sound good theoretically but requires he rculean efforts to make it practically possible. The main question is whether such program be effective in the long run or not? If, yes how long will the government able to support these costs and from where? Are tuitionRead MoreShould College Be Free? Essay1520 Words   |  7 PagesShould college be free? A current universal problem poses this question. In today’s world, full of public education standards that hold students maybe too high and in a generation bogged down by student debt, this issue qualifies as a problem more than many are maybe even willing to admit. While the prospect of free college proposes excellent ideals such as a stronger and smarter generation, no student loan problems, and a higher educated society, the truth may actually lie in the reality thatRead MoreShould College Be Free?1916 Words   |  8 Pagesask â€Å"Should college be free?† With my experience about college, I have yet been able to consider the reality of actually being a coll ege student. I haven’t been able to work hard because of the cost, or to have it be free and given to me. As a High school student who will be attending college in two years, I began my research, with why it should be free, because in 6-7 years I don’t want to be paying thousands of dollars for an education I already received. However, I also recognized that free college

Sunday, December 15, 2019

Non-Profit Marketing- Problems and Future Challenges Free Essays

Marketing is being blamed for creating materialism in society and also for creating unnecessary demand for Products and Services, which the customer would not have asked for. It is because of marketing that the suppressed desires of the materialistic world take over the moral man and loads into being a hedonist.But people also feel that marketing is responsible for what has happened to the world over the years and what will happen in the future. We will write a custom essay sample on Non-Profit Marketing- Problems and Future Challenges or any similar topic only for you Order Now People belonging to their school of thought are of the opinion that marketing creates surplus in the form of profit and profit making organization in turn, spend their returns on designing and development product and services, which enhanced the standard of living of people and deliver desired value to consumers.The latter school is guided by Adam Smith’s principles of ‘Invisible Hand: Both the schools of thought try to rationalize the existence of marketing as an economic process, either to create and distribute value or to deliver value to consumers. The scope of business was confined to economic transactions between the producer and marketers. Though each of them part of the social Institutions and operated under social framework and structure, it was realized very late that marketing can also be used to address social issues.In a traditional sense, marketing is broadly defined as process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion and distribution of Ideas products and services to create exchanges that satisfy individual and organizational goals. A broader definition of marketing delved into the process of social exchange in which both producers and marketers looked into the effects of product conception development, design, distribution and delivery of products from social point of view.Marketers also started viewing marketing tools and strategy as vehicles for application in the context of non-business enterprises like government, public sector and charities. Here onwards marketing was looked as a change vehicle and potent weapon for bringing desired effects on responsible corporate social behavior use of marketing tools in the social context started in the middle of the last century when organization with and without profit motives started mass campaigns for a cause or an idea.A successful social information campaign should have a high level of monopoly so that there should not be any contradicting messages to the objective of the campaign. However, many of the social campaigns in a free society have complementary or alternate campaign, which do not allow them to have certain level of monopoly. Let us take an example of an anti-smoking campaign. Though the message, â€Å"smoking causes cancer† is evident everywhere and firms marketing tobacco-related products mention this line over their products, but there are campaigns on cigarettes and liquor that promote lifestyle patterns.Mass and information-oriented campaigns depend on the favorable public attitude. Pre-existing attitudes are easier to reinforce than to change. Non – Business Marketing The Non- business Marketing involves marketing activities carried out by individuals and organizations to achieves some goals other than normal business goals explained in the form of returns on investments, growth or increase in the profit. We can classify non –business marketing as social marketing and non – profit marketing Types of Non-Business Marketing Social Marketing Concept for Non-Profit Organization [NPO]Non-profit organizations work the motto of sub serving social interests. They may or may not charge for the services offered. The defined principal of social marketing makes it essential that the organizations where the conceptualization process is to switch on place social interests at the top of the agenda. The policy and strategic decisions of non-profit organizations while conceptualizing marketing focuses on satisfaction of consumers irrespective of the fact that they pay for the services offered or are offered free of cost services .Social marketing is an activity of the non-profit organization. We find social marketing employing the use of the marketing concept in an effort to persuade consumers to accept social ideas beneficial to society at large. These organizations vary from the trade and professional associations to community, national and international organizations. We find non-profit organization dealing with two basic market segments – Donors and Clients. They subscribe to the objectives that cannot be measured in financial terms. They are concerned with the people, places and ideas as well as product and services.The donors may or may not necessarily receive any products to note services in exchange for donations/contributions. It is also significant that non-profit organizations offer products/services to those in need and even may not be able to absorb the cost of the product/services. For example the services offered by an educational and health institutions occupy a place of outstanding significance and it is against this background that citizens of a country have a right users of services can’t be uniform and therefore they are supposed to work with the motto of serving the society without making profit.Because we find these services , of late , depending upon the supporting infrastructural facilities known as inputs, these service institutions engaged in offering the aid have a to generate surpluses so that the expansion, development, modernization programmes are practiced to activate the proces s of qualitative –cum- quantitative transformation. It is in this context that we find these institutions working as a non-profit organization. More over we can’t neglect the instrumentally of health services for the survival and growth of human beings. The basic medical aid is considered to be a fundamental right of all citizens of the country. It is but natural that all segments of society are not in a position to afford the medical services if we find hospitals making profits. Of course, they need time honored development which requires infrastructural support. In other hand it is responsibility of non-profit organizations and the governments create awareness on blind beliefs, safe sex, cotangential diseases and social evils. Social organizations bear the responsibility of regulating the government policies, these institutions are come forward and safeguard the social interest.They are extended multi-dimensional support through different categories of organizations for that very purpose. If they start making profits, the social interests would not be protected. Thus, we find Social Welfare Organizations is working as a Non-Profit Organizations because they don’t have a legitimate right to make profit. Non- Profit Organizations- Marketing [NPO-Marketing] We are well aware of instrumentality of non-profit organizations in sub serving social interests. This draws our attention on the professional excellence of people managing such organization.Because we find marketing a managerial process, it is essential that professional managing the affairs is made aware of the positive contribution of nonprofit organizations and develop marketing resources in the face of evolving changes. The formulation of a sound marketing mix becomes significant when we think of conceptualizing and implementing modern marketing principles in non-profit organizations. A professionally sound manager bears the efficiency of developing marketing resources in tune with the changing levels of expectations and therefore the task of satisfying the users become easier.W e also find marketing a social process to be more specific while managing the non-profit organizations. It is right to mention that social marketing governs marketing of non-profit organizations because policy decision makers are supposed to formulate such a policy as to safeguard social interests. The professionals responsible for conceptualization and implementation bear the responsibility of formulating a strategy opening new vistas for social transformation.The marketers, while promoting the interests of users, need to make sure that directly or indirectly, the policies or strategies are not to obstruct the process of social welfare. Of course they also need to protect organizational interests because we can’t think of raising the contributions of non-profit organization to the process of social transformation unless they are financially sound. So, it is essential that marketers managing the affairs are well aware of the avenues for the mobilization of financial resources.EXISTANCE PROBLEMS BEFORE NON-PROFIT SECTOR A majority of the non-profit organizations are today facing image problems of high magnitude. They are facing the problem of professional deficiency. Financial crunch has made them potentially insolvent. The infrastructural constraints, managerial deficiency, lack of dedicated and committed people, decreasing contributions towards social transformation, increasing domination of social climbers, increasing insensitivity among different segments of society, large scale misuse of funds have fuelled the process of egeneration and the situations are found explosive. We find different types of non-profit organizations, viz. , organizations such as Religious, Social Cultural, Knowledge, Protective, and Philanthropic, Political and Social today facing critical problems, not only in India but also in the globe. While we realize the outstanding contributions of non-profit organizations in the welfare activities, we find them in poor condition. The management legends feel that whatever problems we notice can be resolved if professionals take part in the innovation process.They strongly advocate in favors of developing the non-business secto r with the help of world-class professionals. As of today, the multi-faceted challenges have made them potentially weak. 1. Problem of Professional Deficiency Professional excellence will help in bringing the derailed systems back on its track. Of late most of the non-profit organizations face the problem of managerial deficiency. Financial resources are inadequate and whatever is generated is being mismanaged and misused. The traditionally managed units are facing strategically and tactical problems.They are controlled and dominated by social climbers. Bureaucrats dominate the management and control processes with ulterior motives and mission. Virtually a majority of them are at a collapsing stage needing a special care of the professionals. The world class professionals may contribute significantly to the development processes and the non-profit organizations may witness qualitative improvements. 2. Infrastructural constraints The non-profit organizations have been facing the problem of infrastructural constraints. Since they are not making profits, the infrastructural facilities are minimal.The government or infrastructural industries do not extend to them adequate support. Of late, infrastructural facilities have been playing a lead role in improving the quality of services but due to inadequacy of infrastructure, they find it difficult to generate funds. This naturally has adversely affected the quality of their services and aggravating the image problem. They are unable to offer even key core services. 3. Lack of dedicated and committed people A majority of the non-profit organizations are facing the problem of nadequacy of quality people when they are not professionally sound, how we can expect from them personal commitment and value orientation. The development is a natural phenomenon. Education and training facilities should be of world class otherwise there can be no question of making available to the various sectors quality people without which all out efforts prove to be the effective. An organization dominated by non-performers can’t survive. The NPOs, of course, do not realize the instrumentality of quality people in the process of qualitative or quantitative transformation. 4.Increasing domination of social climbers It is unfortunate that social climbers are dominating the management and control of a majority of the non-profit organizations. If professionals replace social climbers the present and future of an organization can be positive. Degeneration in the working of political organizations has led to this sorry state. The mafias, antisocial elements, criminals have started handling the political organizations who are responsible for formulating sound policies. The policy and strategic decisions made by the anti-social elements have thrown the organizations in the reverse gear.Political parties, non-government organizations, trade unions, educational institutions and the police department have failed in the discharge of their duties since they are dominated by the vested interests like social climbers and mafias. 5. Increasing insensitivity among masses The most significant reason aggravating the magnitude of the problem is increasing in sensitivity among different segments of the society. Nobody considers it significant to perceive the problems correctly. All of us find it difficult to confront the mafias and anti-social elements. So, they are dominating a majority of the organizations. How we can forecast the future of non-profit organizations. Non-profit organization can contribute substantially to the process of social welfare, if masses are sensitive to the issues as otherwise all the development processes will receive only Luke-warm or even negative response. Mass-participation is an effective prescription to resolve the problems of the society. 6. Large-scale misuse of funds Willingly or unwillingly, we have to accept that a majority of the non-profit organizations are involved in promoting misuse of funds. This is because they are dominated by the social climbers.Fraudulent and unfair practices, unregulated, unproductive expenses are aggravating the problem of financial crunch which is instrumental in the formation of a vicious circle. Since they misuse funds, the donors and potential donors are reluctant to come forward with donations. The mobilization of donors is now complicated and the most important reason is the rampant misuse of funds by the Non-profit Organizations. 7. Decreasing contributions to the society A number of non-profit organizations have not made any significant contributions to the development process.The task of social transformation is their responsibility but they are not to increase their contributions. This has made it difficult for them to get public recognition. Contribution of an individual or an organization is closely related to their potentials and if they are potentially bankrupt, we cannot expect anything concrete from them. This problem indicates that the non-profit or non-business sector is facing numerous problems. We find different types of NPOs and in the Indian context by and large most of them are sailing in the same boat.In the coming years, the magnitude of problem is likely to aggregate because nobody seems interested in resolving the issues. The non-profit organizations thus need an effective prescription, based on a big push theory, in which aggressive marketing practices can be effective. Since it is a social problem, social participation is a must. Mass-participation for mass-welfare will be helpful in different ways. FUTURE CHLENGES OF NON-PROFIT ORGANISATIONS [NPOs] IN INDIA NPOs are facing several problems and this delays their redressed are and even there is no bright future. In the Indian context where the people are depending on the contributions of non-profit organizations, rational solutions alone can improve their functioning. Against this background, the non-profit organizations should resort to innovative marketing practices. If we look into some of the important non-profit organizations, their performance results are very disappointing. ?Non-Government Organizations [NGOs] What Do Non-governmental Organizations Do? Nongovernmental organizations are one group of players who are active in the efforts of international development and increasing the welfare of poor people in poor countries.Nongovernmental organizations are largely staffed by altruistic employees and volunteers working towards ideological, rather than financial, ends. Their founders are often intense, creative individuals who sometimes come up with a new product to deliver or a better way to deliver existing goods and services. They are funded by donors, many of them poor or anonymous. Yet these attributes should not be unfamiliar to economists. Development NGOs, like domestic nonprofits, can be understood in the framework of not-for-profit contracting.It is easy to conjure up a glowing vision of how the efforts of NGOs could focus on problem solving without getting bogged down in corruption or bureaucracy. But the strengths of the NGO model have some corresponding weaknesses—in agenda setting, decision making, and resource allocation. We highlight three factors in explaining the increased presence of NGOs in the last few decades: a trend towards more outsourcing of government services; new ventures by would-be not-for-profit â€Å"entrepreneurs†; and the increasing professionalization of existing NGOs.The prime responsibility of a government is to promote social welfare so that weaker segment and neglected region of the country get an opportunity to develop; but in the large and high populated courtiers it is not possible to the government to look a fter all the sections of the society and the government endorsed some of the welfare programes to the trusted and registered NGOs. In India, we observed that the large numbers of NGOs are involving different type’s welfare programmes in different areas in the country. The objective of any mission is to promote social interests by offering a number of services to various segments of society in the country. In this process, they get financial aid and other incentives from government, foreign donors, international and national agencies. Of late, there is negative trend since a majority of the NGOs work with different motives. The domination of social climbers in according and approving grants has virtually changed the scenario. A good number of international and national NGOs i. e.UNDP, CARE-India, World Vision, Action Aid, Plan International, YMCA, CHAI, States Lively Hood Projects, RASS-Tirupathi, ARTIC-Srikakulam, THREAD-Orissa, BASIX-Hyderabad, Ajim Preamjee Foundation and BCT-Visakhapatnam only exist on papers. With the support of political leaders and bureaucrats, they succeed in transforming even the profit-making bodies in the NGOs. The recent report of CAPART bears testimony to this almost all the states, the NGOs have proved to be liability because except a very few cases, almost all of them are engaged in maturing malpractices.The unfair practices promoted by the social climbers and a few the bureaucrats lead to unhealthy development. The sanction and approval of the projects are seldom based on the potentials of persons to promote and manage the project but on the pressure and influence they can wield. No one is opposed to the development of NGOs since this help the downtrodden communities, women Child, HIV/AIDS and neglected regions; but the unfair practices should be eliminated. Against this background, there are cases in favor of conceptualizing social marketing by the NGOs.The NGOs have no legal right to make profits. Therefore, the professionals, with innovative marketing practices, should try to improve their working conditions so that they can contribute significantly to the development process and succeed in removing the image problem. The marketing professionals involved in the process will be able to achieve qualitative improvements with the help of an innovative service mix. Currently, the NGOs are facing numerous problems.The increasing influence of social climbers and wrong people in the power corridors should be minimized and this is possible only when we assign due weight age to the approval and sanction process. The professionals, policy makers, promoters, social reformist and activists have to determine the priority areas for future success. ?Educational Institutions In the category of non-profit organizations, we find educational institutions playing an outstanding role. At almost all the levels, educational institutions experience numerous problems. The state policy makers should herefore think over the problem on a priority basis. At the primary, secondary and higher levels, the educational institutions are in a depleted condition. How can we talk about the government managed institutions when a majority of the private institutions present a very gloomy picture? On the one hand, there is a change in the education system because in today’s conditions, expensive infrastructural facilities play an important role in improving the quality of education but because of paucity of fund, they find it is difficult to develop even the basic infrastructural facilities.The libraries, labs, supporting infrastructural facilities and the quality of faculty play an important role in improving the quality of education, but a majority of the government managed educational institutions find it difficult to promote the quality of their service mix, party, on account of financial crunch and partly because of professional deficiency. With an i ncreasing pressure of population, the demand is increasing. The users and potential users have high expectations since they witness their counterparts elsewhere in the world available of world class educational facilities which are denied to them.Weaker sections of the society and the illiterate segments need educational assistance as they cannot afford the expensive educational facilities offered by some of the privately managed schools and colleges. The universities also present the same picture. Right from the primary to the higher, almost all the centers are in a poor condition and two important reasons obstructing them are inadequacy of finance and lack of professional excellence. The syllabi of the traditionally managed educational institutions are not in tune with the emerging trends and evolving developments.There is no corresponding relation between the formal and informal education, leading to a number of allied problems. The public fail to get informal education and this obstructs the process of developing quality people. The limited number of people getting education in the world class institutions may be professionally sound but a majority of them lack informal education. They are totally unaware of traffic and civic sense and aesthetic values which keep them ignorant of work culture, conviction and commitment. So, it is necessary that educational institutions in general make ensure that both the streams of imparting educational assistance, formal and informal, are given due importance. A majority of the problems are due to inadequacy of finance and the process of mobilization of financial resources is difficult. The image problem is obstructing their professionalized efforts. They find it difficult to raise the fee structure and the donors and potential donors are disinterested in their problems. The grants from government or other agencies have shrunk.Thus they are facing a number of problems on the financial front. There appears to be no way for an improvement in their financial position. It is against this background that we recommend the urgency of conceptualizing social marketing principles by these educational institutions. Professionalize services open the doors for multi-dimensional improvements. The marketing professionals using innovative marketing strategy will be able to improve their position. Of late there has been an attitudinal change as the parents in general are quite interested in quality education.In a majority of the cases they prefer to avail of quality services even if the fee structure is high. Of late expenditure on education is considered a productive investment and this has led to a qualitative transformation. Financial institutions and commercial banks are now evincing interest in resolving the problems of the weaker sections of the society who are not unable to afford expensive quality services. Where the educational institutions are performing well and playing a positive role in the development of quality people, it is quite natural that people develop a positive attitude towards them.This will also motivate the donors and potential donors since they witness productive use of their money. This broadens the avenues for the mobilization of financial resources. Since they have been making positive contributions to the process of development, the government would also evince interest in providing adequate grants. Then the social welfare organizations too would come forward to solve their financial problems. The marketing professionals, with the help of a sound service mix, will be successful in improving the quality of the core and peripheral services.The core services can help them in regaining the lost image, while the peripheral services will add additional attractions to their service-mix. When the educational institutions find themselves financially sound, development requirements will be conveniently fulfilled. The marketing professionals will find it easier to promote since they have made positive contributions. The public will become aware of the outstanding performance of the educational institutions leading to a better mage. The fee structure should be made optimal to improve the financial health of the educational institutions. The users will not hesitate to invest because they find justifications for the same. The infrastructural facilities can be enriched and the development of faculty would get due attention Thus, the marketing professionals can play a positive role and the educational institutions would emerge as an industry contributing significantly to the process of developing quality people.The mission will then be achieved since the vision has changed. The organizational goals of improving the quality, satisfying the users, developing the educational institution and increasing the number of satisfied group of users can conveniently be accomplished with the removal of image problem and the educational institutions will start contributing significantly to the process of human capital formation vis-a-vis socio-economic transformation. ConclusionTo strengthening the Non-profit/Not-for-Profit/NGOs sector through a radical restructuring of the government machinery, a radical change in the prevailing mindset of policy makers and corporative giants and a radical reallocation of resources in order to make the people themselves the principal authors of their own future. They must be provided easy access to economic advantages they frequently are not entitled to benefit. They must not be treated as beggars/slavers and dependent downtrodden segments of society but as equal partners.Such a dramatic change requires a vigorous, broad-based parti cipatory dialogue and committed leadership- leadership with clear vision and daunting courage.References: 1. Marketing Management –Second Edition-Tapan K Panda-Excel Books, New Delhi 2. Marketing Non-Profit Organizations –First Edition- S. M. Jha-Himalaya Publishing, Mumbai 3. Educational Marketing- Services Marketing -2002- S. M. Jha-Himalaya Publishing House, Mumbai 4. Marketing for Non-Profit Organizations- 2004-P. kotler-PHI 5. CAPART Reporting – Floating NGO is Good Business-TOI/23/10/01 How to cite Non-Profit Marketing- Problems and Future Challenges, Papers

Friday, December 6, 2019

Frankenstein free essay sample

In Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Frankensteins monster is subject to cruelty in the form of rejection by his creator and by society only because he is unlike other men and women. This cruelty that the monster is subjected to has two main functions. Firstly, they act as tools for him to realize that he is unlike others and teaches him to be stealthy and live in the shadows and secondly, these acts of cruelty that the monster is subjected to serve as motivation for the cruel acts that he subjects Victor Frankenstein and his family to. The rejection of Frankensteins monster by society reveals that society rejects anyone who is different from it.Frankensteins creature is seen as an intelligent and emotional creature that turned into a monster because of the cruelty it has been subjected to in the form of rejection by his creator and society. When Victor gives his creature life and thereby achieves his lifelong goal of giving life, he flees the scene after looking at his creation instead of celebrating it. We will write a custom essay sample on Frankenstein or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page This reaction of his is prompted by his creatures repulsive looks. It has often been inferred that the creature that Frankenstein creates turns into a monster because of it being subjected to cruelty. As stated in The Monsters Human Nature by the renowned biologist and paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould, Frankensteins creature becomes a monster because he is cruelly ensnared by one of the deepest predispositions of our biological inheritance – our aversion toward seriously malformed individuals. Frankensteins creature recounts that he visited numerous towns and at first, he would roam around in broad daylight but as he learned that people rejected him and were repulsed by him, he started moving in the dark and at night when everyone was asleep. The tipping point for the monster, however, was when he was rejected by one with whom he thought he had formed a bond with. At one point in the novel, Frankensteins monster hides in a shack near De Laceys household and when he finally co nfronts one of the family members, they shout out of fear and disgust. According to Diane Long Hoeveler in Frankenstein, Feminism, and Literary Theory. , this is the point when the monster realizes his otherness that is founded in its physical appearance and size, is yet another manifestation of disability, a permanent physical condition that he can never alter. (P.60) This is the point in the novel at which the monster decides to be the inflictor of pain instead of being the receiver as he feels that his creator, Victor Frankenstein, is responsible for his miseries and that he is the one who should pay for his crime of creating the monster.From this point onwards, Victor Frankenstein becomes the victim of the acts of cruelty. At first, the monster finds that Victor is at Ingolstadt and makes that his destination. Upon his arrival, he kills Victors younger brother, William, and frames Victors sister, Justine, for Williams death by planting a locket from Williams neck into Justines pocket. After doing this he confronts Victor and asks him to make him a female creature like himself just so that he could have a companion which would ri d him of the feeling of loneliness and perennial rejection. Victor rejects his creations request, and this angers the monster even more causing him to consider this the ultimate form of cruelty. He promises to come back on Victors wedding day. Before Victors wedding, his best friend Henry Clerval also gets killed by the monster and a short while later, Victor gets married to Elizabeth and on their wedding night, the monster kills Elizabeth. It can be inferred that the monsters final goal was to leave his creator, Victor Frankenstein in the same lonely state as himself. In conclusion, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, is a story which has recurring acts of cruelty directed towards two main individuals, Victor Frankenstein and his monster. The monster and his creator have both been perpetrators and victims of the acts of cruelty that are in the book and this goes on to re-enforce the popular belief of the commutative nature of actions. Both characters eventually lose all forms of companionship and are left not very different from each other. This book outlines the theme of society rejecting those who are unlike it

Friday, November 29, 2019

10 Ways to Use Smartphones to Teach English

10 Ways to Use Smartphones to Teach English Smartphones are here to stay. For English teachers, that means we need to either ban iPhones, Androids, Blackberries, and whatever next flavor arrives, or we have to learn how to incorporate the use of smartphones into our routine. Students who sit in class and use their iPhone or Android are missing out; however, its also true that students are going to use their smartphones if they havent been taken away. Here are ten tips on how to constructively allow the use of smartphones in class. Some of the exercises are just variations on traditional classroom activities. However, encouraging students to use smartphones to complete these activities will help them learn to use their devices to actively improve their English skills. Finally, its important to insist that smartphone or tablet use in the classroom is approved only as a tool during a specific activity. In this way, they may not be tempted to use their smartphones for other reasons during class.   Vocabulary Exercises Using Google Image Search A picture is worth a thousand words. Have students use their smartphone to look up specific nouns on Google images or another search engine. Youve all seen how a visual dictionary can greatly improve vocabulary retention. With smartphones, we have visual dictionaries on steroids. Translation Activities Encourage students to read using three phases. Only allow smartphone use in the third phase. Students are pleased because they can look up words. However, theyre developing good reading skills by not immediately translating every word they do not understand. Read for gist: no stopping!Read for context: How can the words surrounding unknown words help with understanding?Read for precision: explore new vocabulary using a smartphone or dictionary. Use Apps for Communication Activities We all communicate with our smartphones in different ways depending on different apps. In other words, texting with a messaging app is bound to be different than writing an email on your computer. Take advantage of this and promote activities that are specific to a given context. One example might be to have students text each other to complete a given task.   Practice Pronunciation You can use smartphones to record audio as you model pronunciation for your students. For example, gather suggestions, then ask students to open a recording app. Read five different ways to make a suggestion aloud. Pause between each suggestion. Have students go home and practice mimicking your pronunciation in the pause between each suggestion. There are many, many variations on this theme.   Another great use for pronunciation is to have students change the language to English and try to dictate an email. Theyll have to work really hard at word level pronunciation in order to get the desired results. Thesaurus Activities Have students search on the phrase words like... and a host of online offerings will appear. Encourage students to use their smart phones during writing class in this manner while focusing on developing a wider range of vocabulary. For example, take a simple sentence such as The people spoke about politics. Ask students to come up with a number of versions using their smartphones to find substitutes for the verb speak. Play Games This is something we normally shouldnt encourage in class; however, you might encourage students to write down phrases they experience while playing games to bring into class to discuss in more detail. There are also a number of word games such as Scrabble or word search puzzles that are actually instructive as well as fun. You can make room for this in your class as a reward for completing a task, just make sure to tie it to some sort of report back to the class. Track Vocabulary There are a wide variety of MindMapping apps available, as well as a myriad of flash card apps. You can even create your own flash cards and have students download your set of cards to practice in class.   Practice Writing Have students write emails to each other in order to complete a specific task. Change up the tasks to practice different types of register. For example, one student might write a product inquiry with another student replying to the inquiry with a follow-up email. This is nothing new. However, just using their smartphones can help motivate the students to complete the task. Create Narration This is a variation on writing emails. Have students choose photos they have taken and write a short story describing the photos they have chosen. By making the activity personal in this manner, students engage more deeply with the task. Keep a Journal One more writing exercise for the smartphone. Have students keep a journal and share it with the class. Students can take photos, write descriptions in English, as well as describe their day.

Monday, November 25, 2019

Communication And Race Essays - Discrimination, Racism, Hatred

Communication And Race Essays - Discrimination, Racism, Hatred Communication And Race The most critical aspects of media performance with regards to race and ethnicity are issues that relate to the quality of its representation of the lives of people of color. Accuracy and diversity are aspects of media performance that will allow for a careful evaluation of how it represents people of color. Evaluating media performance is important because of the utilization and reliance on the mass media for much of society's reflexive monitoring and evaluation of reality. The performance of mass media is important in regards to race and ethnicity because the mass media are the primary source of indirect or mediated experiences that reinforce racial attitudes and beliefs that are integrated into cognitive structures (Gandy, 1998). Thus, mass media can be viewed as places where reality is constructed and racism may be reproduced. Accuracy Accuracy is an important aspect of media performance to consider in assessing the quality of its representation of the lives of people of color because of its assumed consequences of developing self-image and personal identity and its reflection of social reality that informs social policy (Gandy 1998). Shan and Thorton (1994) state that previous research of minority groups has shown that minorities are sometimes depicted as being violent, primitive, and politically unsophisticated. Furthermore, they postulate that certain types of behaviors among minorities may be understood by whites as pathological or deviant because of how the news media represent them. This representation is inaccurate because it ignores historical context and structural explanations for social trends. In addition, Shan and Thorton state that newsmagazines reproduce racism by perpetuating a racial hierarchy carried out by mainly whites and consumed by mainly whites that positioned blacks at the bottom. Entman (1990) found that local news stimulated the production of modern racism. Violent crimes committed by blacks was the largest category of local news. Of the eight times in which blacks were subjects of lead stories, six described violent crimes. In addition, blacks were shown as being more dangerous than whites. Entman states that accused blacks were usually illustrated by glowering mug shots or by footage of them being led around in handcuffs, their arms held by uniformed white policemen. Salwen and Soruco (1997) state that images of Mexicans in the press reflect racial stereotypes. The researchers point out examples in US press where Mexicans were labeled as wetbacks and associated with causing destruction by introducing one of the world's most destructive insect pest. Gandy (1998) states that blacks are often portrayed as violent criminals. If they are portrayed in human-interest stories, these stories rely upon negative stereotypes. Like Entman and Gandy finding that minorities (blacks) experience inaccurate portrayals of being violent, Salwen and Soruco also report that Hispanics were framed in crime stories more frequently. Astroff (1989) conclude that mass media tends to reproduce or participate in the reproduction of inaccurate representations, stereotypes, of Latinos. US Latinos were transformed into Spanish Gold through the redefinition of (not the elimination of) traditional stereotypes. These stereotypes of Latinos were reinterpreted for the use of explanations of consumer behavior yet there was not any significant change, moving to a more accurate depiction, in the representation of Latinos in mainstream media. Diversity The concept of diversity is a multidimensional one. The FCC sought to promote diversity under two headings: one of maximizing consumer choice; the other of serving the public interest by ensuring an appropriate range of service from broadcasting and fairness in giving access and attention to minority groups. Diversity of program content, accessible to all segments of the audience, is necessary to insure quality representation of the lives of people of color. One of the goals of the media should be to represent or reflect the prevailing differences of culture, opinion, and social conditions of the population as a whole. The degree of correspondence between the diversity of the society and the diversity of media content is the key to assessing media performance. Diversity must be at the media content level and at the media system level and must promote racial proportionality and representation. Entman (1990) demonstrated that blacks were misrepresented in local news coverage. So-called bad news was often thought more newsworthy than good news and ethnic minority members were differentially more

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Disability Interview Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Disability Interview - Assignment Example Mike used to be quite popular with his social network; the life of the party who was well-respected prior to his injury. Mike has found that his social invitations are nearly non-existent since the injury, causing him significant frustration at the social level. Emotionally, Mike is having adjustment problems with being forced to live back at home with his parents while he attempts to adjust to his disability. Having been an independent person before the accident, Mike often finds himself lashing out at others in frustration and anger over his life situation. At the psychological level, Mike described what would be referred to as defense mechanisms, often denying that his disability exists so that he can cope with the situation. At the physical level, Mike has a difficult time performing simple tasks such as tying his shoes, eating a meal, or even using the restroom independently. Mike’s right arm was severed which had been his dominant hand for basic lifestyle needs such as writing. Even though Mike receives ongoing parental support and encouragement, he still has not learned basic rudimentary skills without assistance or the use of a vocal translator on his personal computer. At the functional level, Mike would essentially be categorized as moderately functional, requiring significant external assistance in many different areas of lifestyle. Mike has learned to overcome his emotional concern over lost friendships through a series of meditation practices mandated by his primary physician. Mike had a long-term girlfriend who abruptly abandoned him after discovering his disability. At the social and emotional levels, Mike is exploring alternative dating websites which match people with like disabilities for romantic encounters. Additionally, Mike has finally learned to overcome his career deficiencies by being linked with a recruiter who manages people with his condition. At the vocational level, Mike is taking extended coursework in an

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Taxation Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Taxation - Coursework Example There are many reasons why taxation is practiced by the government in any country. One of the main reasons is to pay expenditures for the government. The expenditures includes, paying for the public expenditures that happen in the daily life like cleaning the environment and maintenance of the cities. All this is managed by the government and catered for by the revenues the citizens are taxed. The country may lack enough revenues and decide to borrow which is not a secure act. It is good for the country to maintain its economy by using more of the taxation money for such expenses in order to avoid dangers like inflation. By doing so, the public goods produced in the country and the merits can be well be provided from the taxation fee than borrowing the fee from outside country which may affect the country very heavily. The current UK budget can clearly show how the taxation is utilized by introducing austerity measures which raise the VAT and cut the costs of the public services. Rec ently, billions of cash was cut from the budget of the new coalition government of the UK. All the departments except the health and oversee aid cut their spending to over 25 percent where by it created a chance of making 750, 000 new jobs (Finney 2005). This looks because the government has created new job opportunities in the country. Another reason for taxation is for the government to correct the market failure. The government has the right to intervene into the individual markets in the country to govern them and correct them by lowering or raising their taxes. This is majorly to increase or decrease the demand of the goods and services. The demand of demerits goods such as cigarette can be reduced by increasing its taxes. This is for the better of the country by discouraging the citizens not to be taking the cigarettes and polluting the environment. On the other hand, products like books and educational goods can be exempted from raising the taxes and

Monday, November 18, 2019

Bronislaw Malinowski's Importance to Cultural Anthropology Essay

Bronislaw Malinowski's Importance to Cultural Anthropology - Essay Example In the documentary videos related to Malinowski perused for this essay, one could see his powers of observation and synthesis. The rest of this essay will summarize the importance of the man and his works to the field of cultural anthropology. Malinowski’s ethnography of the Trobriand Islands made an immediate impact on anthropological circles. His description of the officialdom and hierarchy under Kula ring went on to become a cornerstone work in the realm of cultural anthropology. He paid particular attention to the operation of reciprocity and exchange in social groups. A key to his success is his sense of adventure, which is a pre-requisite to anyone involved in fieldwork. Along with Margaret Mead, Malinowski can be said to have pioneered and mastered fieldwork for anthropological projects. The methods employed by him for fieldwork, including ‘participatory observation’, are now established as fundamental to anthropological research. (Cravens, 2010, p.301) It is a symbol of Bronislaw Malinowski’s scholarly fame that many eminent anthropologists from his next generation took his tutelage and guidance. These included Hortense Powdermaker, Meyer Fortes, Raymond Firth, etc. Firth, in particular, had gone on to write detailed treatises on Malinowski’s works. Malinowski’s legend continues to hold firm even today, though later evolution in anthropological thought has affected it a little. â€Å"He has continued to be a great name in anthropology. But while his reputation as a superb field-worker has been maintained, his fame as a really great teacher in the Socratic tradition has been allowed to fade, and his achievement in creating a new and enduring approach to  anthropology has not been properly understood. Without him, the aridities of the  Kulturkreislehre  and the fantasies of pan-Egyptianism would doubtless have in due course been corrected and overcome. But for the younger generation of anthropologists in Eur ope, at least, he fought that battle and won it by the end of the 'twenties'.† (Troy, 1998, p.129) Of all the contributions made by Malinowski, his ideas related to ethnographic research is the most well-known. He approached the study of social systems through solid methodology and theory. It is not surprise then that one of the documentary films about his life and work is titled ‘Off the Verandah’, for he brought anthropology off the veranda and got knee-deep in fieldwork. In other words, the hands-on approach to studying cultural anthropology is one of his most valued contributions. He emphasized the importance of such ‘detailed participant observation’ for understanding distant cultures and social systems. He inspired a whole generation of anthropologists through these insightful and inspiring lectures. After his appointment as a lecturer in Social Anthropology in 1922, he gave a series of short courses on such topics as ‘Early Beliefs and So cial Differentiation’, ‘Social Organization of Australian Aborigines’, and ‘Economics of Primitive Peoples’. His seminar on Primitive Mentality ranks as equally important. His importance as a cultural anthropologist is further affirmed by the fact that he travelled far and wide in the European Continent giving lectures in Geneva, Vienna, Rome, Oslo, etc. His legacy and pre-eminence is registered by his appointment to

Saturday, November 16, 2019

State-funded faith schools

State-funded faith schools This paper will look at the way in which state-funded faith schools came into being in the United Kingdom. It will argue that government educational policy and its immigration and integration policies play a key role in determining the need for the provision of state faith schools. The state funding of faith schools has a long history in the United Kingdom. The National Society of the Church of England founded 17,000 schools to offer education to the poor between 1811 and1860. (DfES, p.2) The state funding of these schools began in 1870 when Church and other voluntary institutions began to receive funds to supplement and assist them in their educational provision. (Cush, p.435) As at January 2008, of the 20,587 maintained primary and secondary schools in the UK, 6,827 have a religious character and of these nine are Muslim. (Bolton, 2009,Table 1) There are three types of schools with religious character in the UK maintained, academies and independent schools with the state providing funding for the first two. Maintained schools are either: voluntary controlled which means the Local Education Authority provides all the funding in return for control mostly over religious education and governance (most Church of England schools are voluntary controlled); and voluntary aided where the state provides 90% of the funding for more control over religious education and governance (most other denominations fall into this category, especially Roman Catholic schools). (Cush p. 435-436). Christian and Jewish faith schools were the only faith schools receiving state funding until 1998 when the Islamia Schools Trust, after a battle of 12 years, was awarded voluntary aide d status for its schools. Whilst there are only nine state funded Muslim schools, there are over 100 Muslim schools in Britain. These independent schools tend to co-ordinate their efforts through the Association of Muslim Schools. On November 11th, 2007 during Prime Ministers Questions, the government stated that regarding education it is committed to a diverse system of schools driven by parental needs and aspirations; that the Government does not have targets for faith schools but remains committed to supporting the establishment of new schools by a range of providers. (Bolton, 2009, p.14) Reaffirming the Governments position on faith schools, Ed Balls, the then Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families said on January 9th, 2008: It is not the policy of the Government or my Department to promote more faith schools. We have no policy to expand their numbers. That should be a matter for local communities. (Bolton, 2009, p.16) The drive for some members of the Muslim community towards their own faith schools needs to be understood in light of the backdrop of Muslim migration into the UK, their subsequent integration and recent world events. The first Muslims arriving from South Asia in the 1950s were semi-skilled or unskilled labourers. They had a tendency to stay insulated from the wider community this being as much a function of their own choice as a response to the racism and social exclusion they were experiencing. (Hefner, p.227) Subsequent open immigration policies of the 1970s allowed their families to follow and now 75% of all Muslims in the UK are from South Asia. According to the 2001 census, the approximately 1.6 million British Muslims make up roughly 3% of the population. (Hefner, p. 227) In the UK, Muslim has become synonymous with Pakistani. Third generation British-born Muslim families no longer think of themselves as immigrants, although what it means to be a British Muslim is still a concept being negotiated. Our identities are defined as much by our own understanding of our histories as by how we think others perceive us. In recent years, the identity of Muslims has been tied up with world events and striking representations in the media. Since September 11th, 2001, Muslims have been bombarded by an overwhelmingly hostile media and a government apparently intent on impinging on the liberties and human rights of its Muslim citizens. Salma Hafejee described an event that evoked not uncommon feelings in her 21 year old son. Speaking on a film for Our Lives, a project which explored the insights and experiences of Muslim women in Bradford, she told the story of a weekend visit her son took to Barcelona. Coincidently, on the weekend of his trip there had been a series of arrests made in Barcelona in connection with what h ad been described as terrorist activities. On his return home, her son was met by police and questioned for several hours. She said he had always felt British and believed that his British passport would protect him, but for the first time he felt an alien in his own home. (Speak-it, 2009) One can well imagine that this experience and the constant barrage of negative images relating to his faith in the media must have been bewildering. Naturally surrounded by such hostility and otherised in this way, a community would have a tendency to close ranks and look inward for comfort, protection and security. This situation can be seen as some justification for why the Muslim community turned to Muslim schools to preserve their communal identity and Muslim practices. The Education Reform Act 1988 states that schools should promote the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils at the school and in society Some Muslims were beginning to question whether a non-Muslim schooling environment would be able to adequately fulfil that need for their children. The Education Act of 1944 made religion the only subject it was compulsory to teach in school, but the teaching of religion is relatively superficial, meaning that from the perspective of those for whom a religious ethos is important, mainstream schools are unable to provide the spiritual and religious dimension adequately. How governments deal with the provision of religion does seem to have some bearing on the educational choices of parents. An examination of Belgium and The Netherlands shows that when the government provision of religious education is high, the demand for religious schools is muted. In Belgium, 4% of the population is Muslim primarily of Turkish or Moroccan descent. Since 1975, it has been the law to provide Islamic instruction in state schools on the same basis as other religions are taught. The first, and only, state funded Islamic primary school opened in 1989 and seems to be linked to the inability of two municipalities to appoint officially recognised teachers and thereby their refusal to provide Islamic instruction. In The Netherlands, 6% of the population is Muslim and also primarily of Turkish or Moroccan descent. The state does not have a policy for the specific provision of Islamic instruction and there are 45 Islamic schools in The Netherlands. (Merry, 2005) In the UK, the lack of adequate provision of religious education in mainstream state schools, the hostility of the media, the government and the public to their faith and community, and the recorded underachievement of Pakistanis in mainstream schools combine to form a powerful motivator for Muslim parents to take over control of the education of their child. Given the UK governments expansive rhetoric about promoting and supporting Britain to be a multi-cultural society, and its stated commitment to a diverse system of schools driven by parental needs and aspirations, the support of Muslim state funded schools is an easy stretch. But an agreed definition of a multicultural society seems woefully lacking. The government has a policy of promoting multiculturalism but if it is unable to define what a multicultural society could look like, how does it know that the policies it is promoting are effective to meeting this end? Todays multicultural Britain has many faces dependent largely on ethnicity, geography and social class, which in turn is one of the determinants of educational achievement. Is multicultural simply the acknowledgment of diversity in our society or is it an engagement with that diversity to create a society that is pluralistic? Does it mean that we are all free to live in our own sub-worlds without interface with the wider community or does it mean that we are encouraged to engage with each other? Where is the thread that binds us as citizens if we live entirely culturally independent lives? This was a question that was raised by Ray Honeyford more than twenty years ago and it is still a question that warrants addressing thoughtfully today. In 1982 Bradford Council issued guidelines for its aim in education. These included: preparing children for a life in a multicultural society; countering racism and the inequalities of discrimination; developing the strengths of cultural and linguistic diversity; and responding to the needs of minority groups. Ray Honeyford was a headteacher in a Bradford middle school and he was concerned that the educational policies he was expected to implement were unworkable. He argued that the 20% of Bradfords Islamic immigrant population had intentions to remain in Britain. For their sake and for the sake of others, they should participate fully in British life, and that in order to do so effectively their education needed to stress the primacy of the English language, and British culture, history and traditions. (Dalrymple, 2002) In 1984, Honeyford wrote an article that was rejected by The Times Educational Supplement before being published by the far right Salisbury Review. The fact that it was this publication that was the first method of transmission connoted a lot to its readers and no doubt would have influenced the subsequent interpretation of the article itself. In Education and Race an Alternative view Honeyford (2006) suggested that the perversion of language (he had a Masters in linguist ics) around race and cultural issues had made it impossible to speak honestly about the concerns and realities that our increasingly diverse society was throwing up. He highlighted that lumping together all non-whites into one category that was black created a dichotomy of anti-white solidarity. What we, today, call other-ing. His primary concern was the impact of an imposed multicultural mindset on the education of his students. British law obliges a parent to ensure that his or her child is registered and attends school regularly. He argued that the tendency for Asian families to take their children out of school and send them to the sub-continent for months at a time was not only illegal but had obvious negative educational effects. The Department of Education and Science turned a blind eye leaving headteachers, like Honeyford, to comply with an attendance policy based on the parents country of origin. He found this indefensible and cast it as an officially sanctioned policy of r acial discrimination. (Honeyford, 2006) Honeyford further highlighted that the absence of English as a primary language of instruction at the school left the ethnic white minority students in his schools educationally disadvantaged. His broader concern was how the functioning of inner cities with its production of ethnic ghettos, and multi-racial educational policies could produce an integrated and harmonious society. He concluded: I suspect that these elements, far from helping to produce harmony, are, in reality, operating to produce a sense of fragmentation and discord. And I am no longer convinced that the British genius for compromise, for muddling though, and for good natured tolerance will be sufficient to resolve the inevitable tensions. (Honeyford, 2006) Post-publication, Honeyford endured a protracted and bitter campaign against him leading to his eventual early retirement. The vitriolic response to his assertions for better and more integrative education did not raise the government action. Issues raised by the Honeyford Affair continue to be debated more than two decades later. Honeyfords tough and courageous questioning of issues that the government was too uncomfortable to raise and try and work through have left a lasting vacuum on integration and the harmonious and multicultural world we reasonably aspire to. In light of these affairs, the debate on faith schools which predominantly relates to maintained schools leads us first to ask what the aim and purpose of education is. Is education intended to provide us with skills for employment, in which case it is driven by a practical measurable output? Or is in intended for, as Aristotle called it, human flourishing? And are these two necessarily mutually exclusive? If education is deemed a human right, then what role does the child play in determining the education that he receives? These questions dont seem to have been directly touched upon by those debating the desirability of faith schools. Given the faith school debate touches on areas of education, politics and religion it is unlikely to be a dispassionate one. Most of the debate is opinion- rather than evidence-based (Cush p.440) and writers on the issue repeatedly bemoan the lack of empirical evidence to substantiate claims from either side. As Muslims are becoming acutely aware of their minority status, the drive towards Islamic schools is as much a response to the attack on their identity as it is about the ethos of education. According to Heffner and Zaman (2007, p. 228) In recent years, the issue of Islamic education has been a vital part of the debate about what it means to be a British Muslim today and an important terrain in the negotiation of identity, citizenship and co-existence. Mainstream education tends to view the world though an Anglo-Saxon lens and achievements are Europeanised. The study of the contributions made by Muslim scholars over the centuries in many subject areas is a boost to self-esteem and those calling for Muslim schools are looking for a change in the way the world is viewed. The mission statement of the Islamia Trust Schools states that it strive[s] to provide the best education in a secure Islamic environment through the knowledge and application of the Quran and Sunnah. (Islamia) What this requires is a reconception of the way in which any subject can be taught, negotiating as it must through the Quran and the Sunnah. The argument being made is that Muslim children are becoming de-Islamised (Khan-Cheema, p.83) and that mainstream schools are failing to provide an ethos in which all, not just secular, aspects of a childs life are catered for. Concern for the lack of single sex provision in the mainstream for girls is also voiced as a co ncern and a reason for requiring the provision of Muslim schools. The academic underachievement of Pakistanis in mainstream schools is well recognised, but their achievement in faith schools is well above average (Bolton, 2009). The direct connection linking improved academic results and faith schools should be made cautiously as academic achievement is also liked to the economic and social class of the family. The case against Muslim faith schools is a compelling one. Those fighting this position say that these schools are a breeding ground for fundamentalist and intolerant religious views that are not inclusive of the majority. They propagate segregation and voluntary apartheid and create ghettos which exclude other races and faiths, thus creating social division. With Islam almost universally cast as a threat to world order this raises questions relating to citizenship and loyalty. Those in this camp may draw some of their inspiration from the position Honeyford took on the need to integrate rather than segregate more than 2 decades ago. Why would, and how could, an immigrant who lands in the UK who is able to create for himself an environment that reflects culturally, socially, and educationally the one which he left, have any opportunity to build loyalty to his host country. Clearly the governments position on what a multicultural Britain would look like needs to be debated much more openly if only so we can try and understand how we will get there. A laissez-faire each-to-his own policy cannot surely provide the way forward. The questions Honeyford asked more than 20 years ago, distasteful as they were, are questions we might need to ask again today. References Bolton, Paul Gillie, Christine (2009). Faith schools: admissions and performance. House of Commons Library Standard Note SN/SG/4405 Cush, Denise (2005). Review: The Faith Schools Debate. British Journal of Sociology and Education, Vol.26, No.3 (Jul.,2005), pp. 435-442 Department for Children, Schools and Families (DfES). Faith in the System: The role of schools with a religious character in English education and society. Hefner, Robert W. Zaman, Muhammad Q. (2007) Schooling Islam: The culture and politics of Modern Muslim Education. Princeton University Press. Hewer, Chris (2001). Schools for Muslims. Oxford Review of Education, Vol. 27, No. 4, The State, Schools and Religion (Dec.,) 2001), pp.515-527 Hewitt, Ibrahim (1996). The Case for Muslim Schools in Issues in Islamic Education. The Muslim Educational Trust, London. Hussain, Imitiaz, A. (2003), Migration and Settlement: A Historical Perspective of Loyalty and Belonging in British Muslims: Loyalty and Belonging, ed Mohammad Siddique Seddon, Dilwar Hussain, Nadeem Malik. The Islamic Foundation, Leicestershire. Khan-Cheema, Muhammad, A. (1996). British Muslims in State Schools: a positive way forward in Issues in Islamic Education. The Muslim Educational Trust, London. Lawson, Ibrahim (2005). Leading Islamic Schools in the UK: A challenge for us all. National College for School Leadership. Merry, Michael S. Driessen, Geert (2005). Islamic Schooling in Three Western Countries: Policy and Procedure. Comparative Education, Vol. 41, No. 4 (Nov., 2005), pp. 411-432 Parker, Stephen (2005/2006). Review: In Good Faith: Schools, Religion and Public Funding. Journal of Law and Religion, Vol. 21, No. 1 (2005/2006), pp. 217-219 Speak-it Productions (2009). Film Our Lives Project http://www.youtube.com/ourlivesproject#p/u/4/lFnuhPijzXM

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Physics of Volcanoes :: physics volcano volcanic eruption

Volcanoes are one of natures most interesting and dangerous phenomenons. The way volcanoes operate can be understood, on a basic level, by just some simple physics and chemistry, this paper will investigate and explain some of the basic physics that govern the behavior of volcanoes. Magma is composed of three main components * viscous silicate melt * crystals * volatiles (gases) The way that these three components interact is one of the main focuses of petrologists and volcanologists. Also, the way that these components interact is govered by some of the basic laws of physics. Viscosity In layman's terms viscosity is a fluids resistance to flow and is important in many volcanic processes. Viscosity is defined as the internal resistance to flow by a substance when a shear stress is applied. Many factors affect a magma's viscosity. Temperature is one of them, as a with all fluids as a the temperature increases the viscosity also increases. This example can be seen when examining a rhyolitic melt, when the temperature decreases from 1300Â °C to 600Â °C the viscosity increases by more than eight orders of magnitude. The silica content and the water content also affect a magmas viscosity. The more silica is in a magma the more viscous the magma will be due to the strong silica-oxygen bonds. When water is added to a magma it has the ability to break the silica-oxygen bonds and therfore, the viscosity decreases. Rheology Rheology is the study of how materials flow and it is very important when examining volcanogenic processes. Two main types of flows can be defined: laminar and turbulent. Laminar flow occurs when the motion of the particles of fluid is very orderly with all particles moving in straight lines parallel to the walls. Turbulent flow occurs when the streamlines or flow patterns of a fluid are disorganized and there is an exchange of fluid between these areas. The Reynolds number (Re) can be calculated to determine whether a fluid is turbulent or laminar. When the Reynolds number is less than 10 .... it is considered laminar, when it is greater than 100 it is considered turbulent. The areas in between are defined as transitional and can go either way. Rheology and viscosity are imporatnat to volcanologists because it will determine if Magma Chambers will convect and overturn. When the Rayleigh's and Reynolds numbers are high enough it is possible for these chambers to over turn which can lead to volcanic eruptions.

Monday, November 11, 2019

Accreditation Audit Task Essay

The Joint Commission defines the Periodic Performance Review as an assessment tool created to assist health organizations improve and monitor their performance throughout the year. This tool focuses on the processes that influence patient care and safety while providing the structure for unremitting standards fulfillment. Nightingale Community Hospital is compliant with most standards as set forth by the Joint Commission. However, upon inspection and in an effort to stay focused on compliance, our standards committee has located a few discrepancies that must be resolved to maintain our accreditation with the Joint Commission. Rather than focus on the discrepancies found within each unit, we will look at the trends that affect the hospital’s compliance with the Joint Commissions recommendations regarding patient care. Armed with the trends, we will then explore staffing patterns and how they relate to patient care in order to establish a plan that will assist our hospital to minimize patient safety issues as they relate to falls, pressure ulcers, pneumonia, and the general safety of our patients. See more:  Manifest Destiny essay NON-COMPLIANT TRENDS Although the Joint Commission standards clearly define the requirements for an organization to remain in compliance with the patient care and safety criterion for accreditation, Nightingale Community Hospital’s policies are not being routinely followed throughout each unit. The policy that states verbal orders must be authenticated within 48 hours is not being followed in several units and there seems to be little, if any consistency throughout the hospital with regards to policy observations. Generally, the compliance rate in the second quarter was steady and the best of all quarters, while the third quarter compliance results were very poor. Policy must be reviewed and standards improved in order to bring the hospital into compliance. Policy that should be implemented include a form in which the nurse who takes the order must sign and date the form and place it on outside of the patients chart to alert the physician that actions are  required of him regarding this patient. Only two abbreviations were monitored in ICU, Telemetry, 3E, and 4E because they are the most frequently used forbidden abbreviations. These forbidden abbreviations are â€Å"cc† and â€Å"qd†. The audit revealed â€Å"cc† was most often used in the months of April and September. The abbreviation â€Å"qd† was used much more sparingly but was used most often during the months of June and July. The second and third quarters proved to be the quarters when the two prohibited abbreviations were used the most. To increase awareness of prohibited abbreviations, a list will be posted in the nursing station in close proximity to where the charting takes place. Nurses and nursing staff will receive education regarding the use of approved abbreviations as set forth by the Joint Commission. Additionally, everyone who documents in the patients chart will be required to sign and date the entry at the time of documentation. The pain assessment audit was another standard that was out of compliance with the Joint Commission recommendations. The ED, 3E, and PACU were the units focused on for this portion of the audit. Clearly, the Emergency Department was the least compliant throughout the year for pain assessment. This may be due to the urgency or life threatening events in which pain assessment is not a priority. Regardless of the reason for neglecting to assess for pain, it is a requirement for accreditation. Each assessment should be documented in the patient’s record of care and all personnel responsible for patient care must receive education regarding the necessity of the pain assessment. The Nurse Managers of each department has the responsibility of implementing a corrective action plan based on the particular department standard of care. The Joint Commission’s focus is on safety. At Nightingale Community Hospital, safety is also important and the policies and procedures are reviewed to ensure the hospital is compliant with the Joint Commission’s recommendations. The hospital policy for fire drills requires one drill per shift per quarter. The audit shows that there are some compliancy concerns regarding the fire drills. During third shift, for the first and third  quarters, no fire drill occurred. Also, there was no fire drill on the second shift during the fourth quarter. Obviously, there should be further study to determine the cause for the compliancy issue vs. staffing deficiencies during third shift. Additionally, each department will have a safety monitor assigned to ensure the fire drills occur as per hospital policy. The safety monitor will complete a form documenting the staff involved in the fire drill, date, and time the drill took place and will keep a copy in the safety manual to be inspe cted monthly. Other safety concerns that were identified during the PPR rounds include clutter in the hallways, smoke wall penetrations, master alarm panel for medical gasses was not tested, and the gift shop did not have the required 18† clearance from the sprinklers. The maintenance department manager will need to implement a corrective action plan and be held accountable for the discrepancies identified. Additionally, the Moderate Sedation Monthly Audit of the Endoscopy Department shows some compliancy issues regarding pre-procedure events. Mallampati classification, ASA, Sedation plan documentation, and completion of reassessment are consistently below 90% for all four quarters. However, the actions that must occur during the procedure and post procedure rated at 90% or higher with regards to the Joint Commission recommendations for compliancy. Per the Joint Commission, compliancy should idealistically be 100%, therefore, the majority of the pre-procedure events are out of compliance and a corrective action plan to improve consistency must be implemented. Patient falls continue to be a concern throughout the healthcare industry because many times the fall results in injury. Other concerns of patient safety that are addressed by the Joint Commission are related to pressure ulcers and ventilator associated pneumonia. The Intensive Care Unit had an increase in falls but no correlation was found between the numbers of falls to nursing care hours. However, ventilator associated pneumonia increased this year. Corrective actions were put into place to improve the VAP numbers. On the Oncology Unit, 3E, both falls and pressure ulcer rates  decreased. There were no trends identified with falls and ulcers in relation to nursing care hours or overtime. On 4E, patient falls and pressure ulcers increased when nursing care hours increased. To determine the causes of non-compliance, the committee should look into the events that occurred during the fourth quarter. While there are trends during the second and third quarter, the fourth quarter appears to have been when the majority of falls, pressure ulcers, and VAP’s occurred. Otherwise, hospital-wide, the trend seems to show a decrease in compliancy during the third quarter. STAFFING PATTERNS The Joint Commission depicts staffing effectiveness as ensuring a proper mix of expertise and numbers of proficient staff necessary to effectively provide for the needs of the patient population in a hospital setting. Although costs incurred due to staffing levels consume a considerable portion of the hospitals revenue, studies have shown that sufficient staffing has a direct effect on quality and safety. (Joint Commission, 2010) Dall, Chen, Seifert, Maddox, and Hogan discovered financial benefits for increasing nursing staff levels. They determined that nosocomial infections and hospital length of stays were decreased when there was adequate nursing staff available. They also determined that mortality rates decreased as a result of increased nursing staff. (Dall, 2009) Nursing hours indicate the quantity and complexity of patients for each area in the hospital. In order to determine how many nurses and other nursing staff will be necessary to care for the patients, one must determine the nursing hours per patient day. This is calculated by comparing the amount of nursing staff providing care to the total number of patients requiring care. Nightingale Community Hospital has combined staffing effectiveness with performance improvement in order to demonstrate sustained improvements throughout selected clinical units. The units selected are based on the clinical and human resource indicators such as patient population,  historical staffing issues, and input from staff and existing data. Traditionally, the clinical indicators have been falls, falls with injury, pressure ulcer prevalence, and ventilator associated pneumonia (VAP). Additionally, the human resource indicators include overtime and nursing care hours. Although the Joint Commission has not directed specific staffing levels or ratios, hospitals and other organizations are expected to ascertain their own levels with regard to their experience and history. Based on the data from 3E – Oncology, no trends were identified with regard to falls, falls with injury, pressure ulcer prevalence, nursing hours, or overtime indicators. In fact, 3E experienced a decrease in falls and pressure ulcers. This may be the result of the nursing staff focusing on these indicators due to their patient population. Also, increasing awareness, improving education, and providing a skin care representative has improved patient safety. The Intensive Care Unit (ICU) experienced an increase in falls without regard to nursing care hours. However, the unit did show an increase in ventilator associated pneumonia events. This occurred during the month of September when nursing care hours decreased. Prior months showed an increase in overtime hours for nursing staff which caused fatigue and burnout to become noticeable later. Due to increases in both falls and VAP’s, corrective actions were implemented to reduce these statistics for the coming year. The Unit, 4E, data proved just the opposite as this unit encountered increases in both falls and pressure ulcer prevalence. According to the date obtained regarding falls, it is apparent that nursing care hours showed a relational trend with falls. In other words, when the nursing care hours decreased, falls increased. In comparison, when nursing care hours increased, the falls rate decreased. Drastic increases in falls occurred during June, September, November, December and February. Nursing hours during this time averaged 15 hours per shift. It appears the overtime hours occurred as a result of the holiday season and therefore caused nursing burnout. Due to vacations, holidays, and absenteeism, nurses are often required to work overtime. This pattern is obvious again during the summer  months when accommodations for vacations are necessary. However, the opposite is true with regards to pressure ulcers vs. nursing care hours. When the nursing care hours increased, the occurrences of pressure ulcers increased as well. This is possibly caused due to increased overtime hours resulting in the fatigue and burnout. This is a perfect environment for errors or the potential to cause harm. A more extensive study in the nursing care hours must be implemented in order to establish an aggressive corrective action plan to reduce the occurrences of pressure ulcers and falls. If the study shows the nursing staff to be working overtime, additional staff may be necessary as part of the corrective action plan. Hiring additional nurses will improve patient care, result in decreased turnover rates, and lead to increased job satisfaction which will ultimately lead to positive outcomes in patient care. STAFFING PLAN Hiring and retaining an adequate number of competent nurses is the greatest challenge facing hospitals and other healthcare organizations. Nursing has to work with the human resources department to improve hiring procedures. Human resources should implement plans to recruit competent nurses with the skills and education necessary to provide the care Nightingale is known for. Human resources will perform an analysis to determine the best qualities for nursing candidates and will recruit according to that standard. Additionally, alternative plans for additional staffing during known periods of absenteeism such as vacations and holidays will be constructed. It is imperative that nursing coverage does not become impaired due to absenteeism. In order to attract and retain the best nurses, Nightingale needs to improve the benefit package. Nurses have often stated that caring for their patients is a joy, but administrative duties, non-nursing activities, and poor staffing practices results in low job satisfaction. Increased job satisfaction in turn, results in improved patient care and increased positive outcomes. Studies have shown that unhappy nurses have unhappy patients. Other strategies that Nightingale Community Hospital can implement are to encourage nurses to cross train in multiple units in order to fill positions in other units when staffing shortages occur. Inadequate staffing levels can cause considerable harm to the patients but is also a financial burden to the organization. Adverse events are more common when staffing levels are low which are associated with increased costs due to the need for more intensive nursing care. (Stanton, 2004) The Utilization Guide for the ANA Principles for Nurse Staffing suggests the use of patient classification systems. (Utilization guide for the ANA principles for nurse staffing, 2005) Utilizing a patient classification system provides guidelines for difficult staffing issues by identifying processes and procedures for improved staffing. Organizations benefit by supporting nursing judgment regarding individual patient needs, incorporating sources that reinforce standards of nursing practice, encouraging nursing participation evaluating products that may be used in staffing decision making, and champion the use of patient classification systems. Works Cited Dall, T. C. (2009). The Economic Value of Professional Nursing. Medical Care, 97-104. Joint Commission. (2010). Management of Human Resources. CAMH: Comprehensive Accreditation Manual for Hospitals, Hr-1 – HR-10. Stanton, M. R. (2004, March). Hospital Nurse Staffing and Quality of Care. Research in Action. Rockville, MD, USA: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. (2005). Utilization guide for the ANA principles for nurse staffing. Washington, DC: American Nurses Association.

Saturday, November 9, 2019

Aztecs essays

Aztec's essays The Aztec nation is one of the largest and most advanced Indian nations to have ever existed on earth. Nearly every part of the Aztec life was advance to such a state that at that time in the world the Aztec people were living better lives than many of the European nations. (Ancient Aztec Civilization, 2001) The Aztec nation is unique in its history, economy, environment, and way of life then any other nation at that time. The Aztec civilization contained about 15 million people who lived in roughly 500 towns and cities across what we know today as modern day Mexico. Its major capital city, Tenochtitlan, was built in the Valley of Mexico, on islands in Lake Texcoco, the same site where Mexico City, the capital of Mexico, is today (Wood). Tenochtitlan is also home to the mighty pyramid-temple of Huitzilopochtli, the main god of the Aztec religion. Nearly half of the towns in this area were better organized than any European city of the time. A major component in the life of an Aztec citizen, man or woman, was religion. The religion of the Aztecs was incredibly complicated partly due to the fact that they inherited much of it through captured people (Welker, 2003). It is interesting that the Aztecs attempted to incorporate the gods of conquered people into their religion this was accomplished by considering the conquered peoples gods simply as manifestations of the gods they already worshipped (Bray). Often in the lower Aztec classes people would create whole gods out of what was considered only a manifestation of a single attribute of one god. Their religion was dominated by three gods: Huitzilopochtli (God of War and Sun), Tezcatlipoca (God), and Quetzalcoatl (God of Civilization, Priesthood, and Learning). Below these three gods were four creating gods who were isolated from the human world. Below these were a huge amount of other gods, the most important being Tlaloc (Rain God), Chalchihuitlicue, (God of Gr...

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

Free to a Good Home - Why You Should Not Give Pets Away

Free to a Good Home - Why You Should Not Give Pets Away Once you have taken an animal into your home and made him or her part of your family, you have an obligation to protect and nurture that animal because you made a commitment. The animal has a right to expect to be treated as a member of the family. And that’s what makes the issue of re-homing pets an animal rights issue. But sometimes life throws a curveball and there are circumstances beyond your control. If you have fallen into a situation where you need to find new homes for your companion animals, you are in a disastrous position indeed. If you care for your animals at all, you will take every precaution to ensure they are going to a forever loving home. If you are truly desperate and dont have the time or ability to vet a stranger offering to take your companion, your best move is to local rescues for assistance. Many are networked nationwide and work incredibly hard to secure safe alternatives for pets. If rescues cant immediately help, take him or her to a shelter, as much as it may pain you to do so. At least, the animal may be given a chance to find a good home. Having to surrender your companion animal to a shelter is not the best outcome, but its a better outcome than having your companion fall into the wrong hands.   Criminals easily prey on people who just want the animals to go to a good home. They know that sometimes you are pressed for time and apparently have no choice but to turn the animal over to you in your hour of need. They rely on that raw emotion you have over having to surrender your friend while time is running out. They try to convince you they will be good guardians, and you very much want to believe them, which works in their favor. First and foremost, always affix an adoption fee. People looking for animals to abuse will usually not pay a fee. You may even hear a sob story from someone who wants your animal but cant afford to pay an adoption fee. But chances are if they cant afford to pay a $50 adoption fee, what will they do when the animal needs to be seen by a veterinarian? How will they afford to keep up with dental cleanings, check-ups, and vaccines? Charging an adoption fee also prevents someone from taking your animals on a whim, and then, having lost interest, turning them in at the shelter or abandoning them on a dark, lonely street far from home. Abuse Torture Sick and amoral people cannot always be spotted on looks alone. Some individuals want your dogs and cats just to  abuse, torture and kill them. By charging an adoption fee, you make it much more difficult for these animal abusers to acquire animals - specifically, your animals. Dogfighting According to the Michigan State University Animal Legal and Historical Center, one of the methods used to train fighting dogs is to dangle a small dog, cat, rabbit or guinea pig on a rope in front of a dog who is forced to run on a treadmill or around a circle. Naturally, these small animals are terrified and the dog is given the animal to kill as a reward at the end of the session. Where do these animals come from? Some people steal animals right off the street or from a backyard. In dogfighting, dogs are trained to be vicious and trained to attack other animals, so-called bait animals. In a Florida shelter, an elderly woman and her clean-cut young son came to adopt a small animal. Ostensibly, the animal was to be â€Å"a companion† for the elderly woman. The pair went home with a small white mixed breed who was immediately thrown into a ring with a fighting dog and killed. Looks can be deceiving and people searching for dogs for this purpose will use any disguise, tell any l ies and use charm to separate you from your loving companion. Again, charging an adoption fee makes it more difficult for someone to acquire animals for dogfighting. B Dealers Although there are breeding facilities to supply the animal-testing industry with dogs and cats, some laboratories attempt to cut corners by hiring dishonest intermediaries who deal in stolen pets. A woman named Barbara Ruggiero was such a dealer, referred to as a Class B dealer, a random source animal dealer regulated by the  USDA  to sell animals to laboratories for experimentation. Class B dealers sometimes acquire animals in unscrupulous ways, and charging a small adoption fee makes your animal unprofitable to them. Finding a New Home It is strongly recommended that you affix an adoption fee. You can always waive the fee if you find someone you truly trust. Whether or not you charge an adoption fee, there are steps you can take to make sure your animals are going to a good home: Home visit: Visit the potential adopters home and speak with the other family members. Are there other pets in the home? Who will care for the animals? Does anyone have allergies? Where will the animals live? If there are children, make sure that the adults know that they should be responsible for the animals; not the children. If the potential adopter doesn’t live near you, ask a rescue in the town where s/he lives to visit the home. Because of Facebook and Petfinder, the perfect guardian may be miles away, even in another state. Rescues often have volunteers to help you facilitate your adoption and put your mind at ease. PilotsNPaws may be able to transport your companion anywhere in the country where you find a suitable home. Consider relatives who live out of state; they may be willing to adopt your precious family member.Ask for references: Call the references and ask if the family has taken good care of their current or past pets. Ask what happened to their past pets - d id they die of natural causes after fifteen years, or did they seem to disappear after a few weeks? Ask for a vet reference: Call their current or past veterinarian and ask about the familys other pets and how well they were cared for. The vet may not give you very detailed information, but confirm that they have a relationship with a vet and ask whether the vet recommends the family as good  guardians.Animal abuser registry:  Animal abuser registries  are growing rapidly in response to public pressure. If you live in an area that has such a registry, be sure to take advantage of it. They list local people who have been convicted of animal cruelty in the past so that shelters and rescue groups can avoid them.Google  them: Whether or not someone has a history of animal abuse, an internet search might turn up past crimes and brushes with the law.Be prepared to take the animal back. You may have taken all of the important steps, but the pet may not be a good match for this family. Maybe your dog doesnt get along with their current dog. Maybe a family member has a previously un known allergy. To keep your animals safe, you have to be prepared to take them back and let the adopter know that you will take the animal back if it doesnt work out. Have the adopter sign a pet adoption contract.  Petrescue.com offers boilerplate adoption contracts that can be downloaded and printed outNever use Craigslist. Because Craigslist offers free or cheap items, those surfing Craigslist are looking for free cats and dogs. Even if you do have a fee, they’re confident they can con you into waiving it. Craigslist is never a good place to advertise an animal. Horror stories abound about animals given away to someone who found him or her on Craigslist. With reputable databases such as Petfinder and all the breed rescue sites, why would someone even be looking on Craigslist? Because they don’t want to deal with the paperwork and systems these sites have put in place to protect their animals.Breed Rescue If your animal is a purebred, reach out to the specific breed rescue and ask them to step in. Frequently they have a waiting list of anxious, but vetted, adopters. German Shepherd Dog Rescue and Siamese Rescue are two examples of a specific breed rescue group. If you still have doubts about the safety of giving your animal away to someone without vetting them first, consider these cases. In 2007, Anthony Appolonia of Aberdeen, NJ, convicted of  torturing and killing 19 cats and kittens, many which came from local free to a good home advertisements in the newspaper. Local rescuers had given him the cats but became suspicious when Appolonia requested additional cats. In 1998,  Class B dealer Barbara Ruggiero  and two accomplices were found guilty of felony grand theft of dogs in Los Angeles, CA, after they answered hundreds of free to a good home ads and then sold the dogs to laboratories,  to be used in experiments. The information on this website is not legal advice and is not a substitute for legal advice. For legal advice, please consult an attorney. Doris Lin, Esq.  is an animal rights attorney and Director of Legal Affairs for the Animal Protection League of NJ.