Cell Phones are a Necessity of Life Essay

Cell phones are not an advanced gadget on the scene. It was developed in 1947 in the form of a car mobile phone. The hypothesis of cellular phone was produced by Bell Laboratories with the permission of FCC (Federal Communication Commission), and had everything to do with broadcasting and sending a radio or television message out over the airwaves. There was a scientist who gave a advanced shape to the same accessory. Dr Martin Cooper, a former general manager in Motorola, made the basic call on a portable cell phone in nineteen seventy-three. The premier ever cell phone was very ample and bulky. It resembled a radio frequency accessory. The weight of Motorola’s introductory cell phone was 2 pounds. Presently, the structure of cell phones has evolved to match the style and comfort of the user. It is uncomplicated to tailor cell phones by choosing its features and functions for one’s comfort. There are phone covers that change the face and design of the contraption. Various accessories are available such as car chargers, belt clips, phone covers, data cables and etc. Cell phones emerged as a apparatus of luxury, but presently it plays a much bigger and considerable role. One can gather wireless Internet service through your cell phone, with web and email capability. A cell phone with a mini web browser can relief retrieve web emails and chat while you are on the move. A extraordinary kind of browser is used for surfing the net on a small cell phone screen. If internet use is a must, make sure that when buying a cell phone you make the choice for graphic browser capability instead of a text-based browser. In addition, if you think you will browse the wireless Internet often, you may desire to consider buying a cell phone with a larger than average display size. There are International websites that allow sending mails, without having a computer. All you need is a basic GPRS enabled mobile phone and you can access your mail on your cell phone anytime and anywhere. It seems that cell phones have become a bed-side essential for us today. It is no longer a device of entertainment. From local weather forecast in the morning to your  loved ones valuable night messages, it keeps you connected all the time. With cell phones becoming a gadget with all the modern technology, its theft is growing across the world. In a survey in the UK, a cell phone is stolen every three minutes. In the United States, the statistics are very analogous. By keeping a note on the IMES identification that each phone has, you can trace a phone. This is quite the tedious process. The IMES code is individual to each cell phone and when you lose your phone, you can refer the code to your network provider as well as handset provider and trace back the cell phone, or at least block the applications in the phone. The person who stole the cell phone can’t use it after the IMES code is blocked. Cell phones have become a very popular consumer electronic product. With the availability of internet connection, cell phone as broaden even deeper its options of uses. You must also note that GPS capability is a life saver for tracking cell phone users who are in emergency situations. Cell phone usage has become a necessity of life. People cannot live without their cell phone. What was once considered a luxury item in the early days, cell phones are a must have item at every waking moment.

The History Of Why Photovoltaics Environmental Sciences Essay

Energy security is one of the major challenges confronting world in the twenty-first century. It has been cited that about 20 % of the planetary population do non hold entree to electricity [ 1 ] . In add-on, it is predicted that the planetary ingestion of electricity will increase by about 50 % by 2035 [ 2 ] . For a sustainable hereafter, fulfilling the demand for energy should be accompanied with the decrease of CO2 emanations [ 3 ] by energy systems. Consequently, this brings about concerns in sing fossil fuels based systems as an option for fulfilling the turning energy demand. Renewable energy beginnings have been considered as being the solution for this uprising energy demand. Of recent, these systems have gained a batch of popularity and the energy coevals from renewables have been predicted to duplicate from 2010 to 2035 [ 2 ] . Harmonizing to some anticipations, renewables have the potency of catering for about one tierce of entire planetary electricity coevals by 2035 [ 1 ] . Photovoltaics ( PV ) is a rapid-growing market in the field of renewable energy, and this tendency is expected to go on in the close hereafter [ 4 ] [ 5 ] . Solar Energy is the most abundant and most every bit distributed renewable energy beginning worldwide. As such, PV can be considered as a major and the most promising renewable energy beginning. The advantages of PV over the conventional energy beginnings are listed below: PV systems are environmentally friendly ( C emanation free ) Solar energy has, by far, the highest natural and proficient potencies even for today ‘s engineering PV warrants long-run, care free, quiet and dependable year-round operation It can be operated as a grid connected system [ 6 ] or as an off grid system, supplying electricity even in stray parts [ 5 ] [ 7 ] Of class, these systems are accompanied with a few reverses. Main disadvantages of the PV are listed below: Large country demand Electricity coevals is limited to daytime ( it can non run at dark ) The cost of electricity generated from a PV system is still non comparable with fossil fuels, which indicates a trust on strong governmental policies [ 8 ] PV systems are classified into three depending on the photoactive stuff used and the degree of commercial adulthood: first-generation solar cells ( Crystalline Silicon ( c-Si ) ) , second-generation solar cells ( Thin Film Solar Cells ( TFSC ) ) and 3rd coevals solar cells ( Concentrating PV ( CPV ) , organic PV and fresh constructs ) . In general, an overpowering per centum of solar cells are fabricated from Si. First coevals solar cells dominate the current PV market with a portion of over 80 % of the entire PV market [ 5 ] [ 9 ] . However, 2nd coevals solar cells ( TFSC ) promise the highest possible for low cost fabrication and dependable energy beginning [ 5 ] [ 10 ] . Besides that, c-Si deficit which begun in 2005 and lasted through 2008 forced the industry to look for options, therefore the market for Thin Film PV begun to turn quickly [ 9 ] . Advantages of TFSC over wafer based solar cells are listed below: As the thickness of the semiconducting material bed is much dilutant in TFSC compared to wafer based solar cells, the recombination losingss are much less The fabrication cost of TFSC is well lower than that of wafer based solar cells [ 10 ] TFSC provides us with wider choice of stuffs compared to wafer based solar cells [ 10 ] , therefore bespeaking flexibleness of TFSC compared to c-Si solar cells However, surveies indicate that even with all these advantages the laterality of the c-Si solar cells will still stay for the coming 10 to 20 old ages unless a sudden addition in TFSC efficiencies is achieved in the close hereafter [ 9 ] , [ 11 ] . Undoubtedly, low efficiencies along with debasement over clip ( decrease in power end product ) are considered as the most influential drawbacks in the development of TFSC [ 5 ] , [ 10 ] . Surveies have shown that the levelized cost of the electricity ( LCOE ) generated by PV systems are extremely dependent on PV faculty efficiency [ 12 ] , therefore increasing the efficiency of PV systems has become an active country of research. Amorphous Si ( a-Si ) is one of the widely used stuffs in TFSC [ 9 ] , [ 13 ] . However, a-Si solar cells suffer from low efficiencies [ 14 ] which can be attributed to its set spread non being close to the optimal value ( around 1.4 electron volt ) . Besides, the thickness of the photoactive stuff in TFPV is normally really low which has a effect of take downing its light soaking up capablenesss. Extensive work on PV cells has besides been carried out over the old ages with a focal point on new stuffs and cell constellations [ 15-17 ] . Driving efficiencies up and/or cut downing cost, by technology stuffs for optimal belongingss and constellations have been the chief purpose of such researches ( ref ) . For illustration, a well-known agencie s of bettering the efficiency of a-Si TFSC is to replace a-Si with a semiconducting material like Gallium arsenide ( GaAs ) or Indium phosphide ( InP ) that has a close optimal bandgap [ 13 ] , [ 14 ] , [ 15 ] . Another attack is to implement a multi-junction solar cell [ 13 ] , [ 14 ] , [ 18 ] . However, besides those options, it is besides possible to better efficiency by heightening the light pin downing possible inside the cell [ 19-23 ] . The latter option is the chief focal point for this research. [ 1 ] IEA, â€Å" World Energy Outlook 2012, † 2012. [ 2 ] EIA, â€Å" Annual Energy Outlook 2012, † 2012. [ 3 ] G. Doucet, â€Å" Deciding the Futureaˆ? : Energy Policy Scenarios to 2050, † 2007. [ 4 ] IEA PVPS, â€Å" Trends in photovoltaic applications, † Survey study of selected IEA states between 1992 and 2011, 2012. [ 5 ] IRENA, â€Å" Solar Photovoltaics, † Renewable Energy Technologies: Cost Analysis Series, vol. 1, no. 4, 2012. [ 6 ] M. a. Eltawil and Z. Zhao, â€Å" Grid-connected photovoltaic power systems: Technical and possible problems-A reappraisal, † Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol. 14, no. 1, pp. 112-129, Jan. 2010. [ 7 ] W. Hoffmann, â€Å" PV solar electricity industry: Market growing and position, † Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells, vol. 90, no. 18-19, pp. 3285-3311, Nov. 2006. [ 8 ] N. Johnstone, I. Hascic, and D. Popp, â€Å" Renewable energy policies and technological invention: Evidence based on patent counts, † Environmental and Resource Economics, 2008. [ 9 ] A. Jager-Waldau, â€Å" Thin Film Photovoltaics: Markets and Industry, † International Journal of Photoenergy, vol. 2012, no. two, pp. 1-6, 2012. [ 10 ] S. Hegedus, â€Å" Thin movie solar faculties: the low cost, high throughput and various option to Si wafers, † aˆÂ ¦ in photovoltaics: research and applications, pp. 393-411, 2006. [ 11 ] R. Swanson, â€Å" A vision for crystalline Si photovoltaics, † aˆÂ ¦ in photovoltaics: Research and Applications, pp. 443-453, 2006. [ 12 ] X. Wang, L. Kurdgelashvili, J. Byrne, and A. Barnett, â€Å" The value of faculty efficiency in take downing the levelized cost of energy of photovoltaic systems, † Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol. 15, no. 9, pp. 4248-4254, Dec. 2011. [ 13 ] R. W. Miles, â€Å" Photovoltaic solar cells: Choice of stuffs and production methods, † Vacuum, vol. 80, no. 10, pp. 1090-1097, Aug. 2006. [ 14 ] M. A. Green, K. Emery, Y. Hishikawa, W. Warta, and E. D. Dunlop, â€Å" Solar cell efficiency tabular arraies ( version 40 ) , † no. version 40, pp. 606-614, 2012. [ 15 ] J. Peet, J. Y. Kim, N. E. Coates, W. L. Ma, D. Moses, a J. Heeger, and G. C. Bazan, â€Å" Efficiency sweetening in low-bandgap polymer solar cells by treating with methane series dithiols. , † Nature stuffs, vol. 6, no. 7, pp. 497-500, Jul. 2007. [ 16 ] F. Report, â€Å" Hybrid Nanorod-Polymer Solar Cell Hybrid Nanorod-Polymer Solar Cell Final Report, † no. August, 2003. [ 17 ] I. Gur, N. A. Fromer, M. L. Geier, and A. P. Alivisatos, â€Å" from Solution, † vol. 310, no. October, pp. 462-465, 2005. [ 18 ] M. Bosi and C. Pelosi, â€Å" The Potential of III-V Semiconductors as Terrestrial Photovoltaic Devices, † no. June 2006, pp. 51-68, 2007. [ 19 ] D. Zhou and R. Biswas, â€Å" Photonic crystal enhanced light-trapping in thin movie solar cells, † Journal of Applied Physics, vol. 103, no. 9, p. 093102, 2008. [ 20 ] J.-Y. Chen, â€Å" Improvement of photovoltaic efficiency utilizing 3D photonic-crystal enhanced light caparison and soaking up, † Physica E: Low-dimensional Systems and Nanostructures, vol. 44, no. 1, pp. 43-48, Oct. 2011. [ 21 ] M. Wellenzohn and R. Hainberger, â€Å" Light caparison by backside diffraction grates in Si solar cells revisited, † vol. 20, no. January, pp. 2208-2212, 2012. [ 22 ] S. B. Mallick, M. Agrawal, and P. Peumans, â€Å" Optimum visible radiation pin downing in ultra-thin photonic crystal crystalline Si solar cells, † vol. 18, no. 6, pp. 300-305, 2010. [ 23 ] X. Sheng, J. Liu, I. Kozinsky, A. M. Agarwal, J. Michel, and L. C. Kimerling, â€Å" Efficient light pin downing construction in thin movie Si solar cells, † 2010 35th IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, pp. 001575-001576, Jun. 2010.

Risk Management and Service User

Anita Byrne ACV5222 UNIT 504 DEVELOP HEALTH AND SAFETY AND RISK MANAGEMENT POLICIES, PROCEDURES AND PRACTICES IN HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE OR CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE SETTINGS (M1) 1,1 understand the current legislative frame and organisational health, safety and risk management policies, procedures and practices that are relevant to health and social care or children and young peoples setting. As an organisation that manages health and safety we recognise that the relationship between controlling risks and general health is at the very centre of the business itself.The starting point for managing health and safety in the workplace which: †¢ demonstrates the practices commitment to health and safety and sets out aims and objectives in relation to this †¢ identifies the individual health and safety roles and responsibilities and the communication channels with-in the practice †¢ Summarises the practical way in which health and safety is managed and objectives met. The org anisation is required to have a health and safety policy in place in order to comply with the health and safety at work act 1974.The act is the primary piece of health and safety legislation within the UK. It is an enabling act often referred to as the umbrella act, which means that regulations can be introduced with-out eh need for additional primary legislation. The Health and Safety at Work Act also says that employers must, so far as is reasonably practicable provide †¢ a safe place to work †¢ a safe environment and adequate welfare facilities †¢ safe equipment and systems of work safe arrangements for using, handling, storing and transporting articles and substances associated with work †¢ sufficient information, instruction, training and supervision for employee The act is supported by many other regulations and pieces of legislation, one of the most significant being the Management of Health and Safety at Work regulations (MHSWR) 1999. A crucial element of these regulations is the requirement for employers to have in place systems to manage health and safety.The technique of risk assessment – used to identify hazards, evaluate risks, support planning and put effective control measures in place – underpins such systems. In recent years, the risk management has been influence by the growing awareness of the number of errors, incidents and near misses that happen in social care practice and the effect of the safety of service user’s and the consequence has been the development of service user safety initiatives which have given a ‘service user focus’ to the management of risk within the social care setting.The health and safety at work act underpins this aim and clearly describes the employer’s duty of care not only for staff but towards the persons other than employees such as service user’s, attached staff visitors, and member of the public, contractors and delivery personnel. The princi pals and duties outlined in this policy apply, therefore, to anyone affected by the practices activities. 1. 2 nalyse how policies, procedures and practices in own setting meet health, safety and risk management requirements. The main piece of legislation affecting the management of health & safety is the Health & safety act at work 1974. This act provides a framework for ensuring the Health & safety of all employees in any work activity. It also provides for the Health & safety of anyone: †¢ Risk assessments with the working environment †¢ Adult protection & safe guarding †¢ Person centre planning & risk managementWhen working in line with the organisations policies and procedures to ensure that the staff team create a safe working environment and service user care plans and risk management plans don’t impact on their freedom of choice but they ensure that they are safe with the life style they choose to live, I need to balance those choices against our risk m anagement plans for example we have a service user who lives in her own flat within the complex of the home and feels that her bed is to high and asked her family to put the mattress on a pile of bricks rather than have the bed frame lowered.When staff discovered this, they informed senior staff who tried to explain why their actions could not be allowed to carry on as staff who helps the service user make her bed may sustain an injury. The family could not see that we have a legal requirement to work within the safety of the health and safety legislation. I did suggest that we highlight a repair/maintenance job for the bed to be lowered that is safe to use for both the service user and staff.Also within the workplace before an activity can be undertaken we are required to complete a risk assessment and any areas where we need to put safety measures in to limit the potential risks then this must be done before the activity can take place as well as demonstrating that we need to moni tor staff’s working practices and review and update the risk assessment at the appropriate times. In delivering a registered care service all staff must have mandatory health and safety training before completing any given task whether this be fire safety, food hygiene, manual handling, infection control, first aid etc. f staff have not received this training then they cannot complete the task, thus ensuring that all service user’s welfare are giving top priority in line with quality and safety outcomes. As the acting registered care manager I need to complete regular health and safety audits and maintain clear records to demonstrate competence and that we are meeting the requirements of the law. At times when carrying out an audit I have noticed that a food safety check as not been completed or a fire test got missed and in line with my roles and responsibilities I must address my findings with the senior team, the kitchen staff etc.This will be done in our staff and team meetings. Minutes of these meetings will be taken and stored in the named files so that they can be used for further audits and inspections that are required in line with our policies and procedures, duty of care and relevant legislation. 4. 3 evaluate own practice in promoting a balanced approach to risk assessment. A good standard of record keeping is imperative to support our quality audits and framework for our risk management plans, risk assessment and person centre practice to lead a lifestyle of their choice.When evaluating our own practice and our documentation I will look at:- †¢ Policies, protocols and guidelines to keep staff and management informed †¢ Information regarding, health and safety, care delivery and CQC outcomes for best practice and positive outcomes for service users †¢ Information about systems, for example risk management plans, incident reporting. Complaints. Service user care plans Other ways to evaluate own practice is through regula r audits and regulatory inspections which enables a systematic assessment or estimation of the process or outcome of a work activity, to determine whether it is : Effective: making progress towards a particular goal †¢ Efficient: achieving a particular target with the least effort †¢ Economic: achieving a successful outcome with the minimum cost Essentially audits measure what the staff team are doing against what they should be doing. Internal and external audits involve systematically looking at the procedures within the practice that are used for diagnosis, care and support measures to our service user that enable them to lead a life of their choice, by examining how associated resources are used and nvestigating the effect carer has on the outcome and quality of life for the service user. Conversely, research is concerned with the identification of best practice, where a audit establishes, whether agreed best practice is being followed, and according to Smith (1992) Re search is concerned with discovering the right thing to do:† audit with ensuring that it is done right â€Å" and that we are involving service users in line with our person centred approach.Another system that we use to evaluate our practice for promoting a person centred practice that includes a balance approach to risk management is in our statutory care review meetings where the service user, their family, staff and other professionals will review the care plan and risk management plans to ensure that we are sill meeting the service user needs and that they are happy with the level of activities and levels of support they are receiving.Also these meetings may raise concerns and these concerns will be addressed to ensure that safety and wellbeing of the service user is being met either from staff within the home or by others. These changes will be recorded in their care plan and reviewed in line with our evaluation procedures. Any changes to a service users care plan will be discussed in our daily handover sessions and staff meetings to make sure that all staff who support the service user know of these changes and the additional resources and support that is being put in by the people who are supporting the service user.As the manager I will also use staff meetings, supervisions and training sessions to evaluate my own and others within the teams performance to ensure that we are meetings our health and safety requirements as well as promoting a person centred approach that ensure a balanced approach to risk assessments that cover the working activities in running a registered care home. 4. 4 analyse how helping others to understand the balance between risk and rights improves practice.To analyse and help to understand the balance of service users and the public involvement is part of everyday practice in the NHS (DH 2005b) who have identified a number of principles that underpin the delivery of resident – led services. PRINICIPLES OF RISK AN D RIGHTS FOR IMPROVMENTS HAVE BEEN TO UNDERPIN THE DELIVERY OF RESIDENT LED SERVICES †¢ Provide residents with the correct information and choices that allow them to feel in control – understanding that they are the best judge of their life/how they wish to live their life †¢ Ensure everyone receives not just high quality care, but care with consideration for their needs at all times. Treat people as human beings and as individuals, not just people to be processed †¢ Ensure people always feel valued by the service and are treated with respect, dignity, and compassion †¢ Explain what’s happening if things go wrong and why, and agree a way forward At the home when we complete our risk management plans we will involve the service user, their family and others who maybe supporting them from the wider community. I will discuss each task and outline any concerns that we may have and how these concerns can be addressed without imposing on the service users rights, dignity, choice etc. ut I must make sure that I protect the service user and the staff in carrying out the task etc. I feel this process of informing others, discussing the issues can go a long way in helping others to understand why things can be done and or cannot be undertaken unless additional measures are put in place. This process also assists others in seeing where the potential risk of harm may take place and why we are constantly reviewing our work activities and the abilities of the service users to cooperate with staff when carrying out an activity etc.The same process will be used in staff meetings to ensure that the team can fully understand their roles and responsibilities and reasons why additional measures have been put in place. Also when staff understand the culture of the organisation and the home they themselves will undertake the process without thinking and therefore ensure that the working environment is safe for everyone. By allowing others to unders tand the balance between risks and rights, you improve practice because they know what is acceptable and what isn’t.This makes work more positive and makes the care that is given more effective and more suitable to the service users that require it. By helping others to do this, you are helping them improve their job, and helping them develop with their own knowledge, which they can pass on to other employers; this is peer learning. 5. 1 obtain feedback on health, safety and risk management policies, procedures and practices form individuals and others. The polices, procedures and practices at the home have been developed, reviewed and updated in line with health and safety legislation and our CQC registration requirements.This ensures that the homes working practices are monitored, audited and inspected throughout the year and feedback from the records and reports are discussed and recommendations are implemented. These are reviewed yearly by the organisation and any feedbac k given is used to promote and improve the services within the home. The context of feedback can be used as a learning tool. The practice of over-learning produces reinforcement of a sense of achievement before moving on to the next stage, it can enable a person to move towards independence in a particular skill.The principles of feedback include beginning and ending with positive comments, any suggestion for development that focus on negative aspects of the skills should be included in the middle. The reason for that learning is closely associated with self-esteem and motivation for ensuring that the working environment is safe. CQC’s the essential standards of quality and safety consist of 28 outcomes that are set out in two pieces of legislation: The health and social care Act 2008 (regulated activities) Regulation 2012 and the Care Quality Commission (registration) regulations 2009 and for each regulation, there is an associated outcome – the xperiences that will b e expected of healthcare professionals as a result of the service and care provided and feedback for each outcome must be addressed by the manager. I will also get feedback from various health and safety contractors, visitor’s to the home who carry out regular maintenance work within the home, environmental health inspections etc. With all these visits to the home I will receive feedback on our good practice and compliance as well as areas in which we need to improve upon and non-compliances.This feedback is important to ensure that the team and I meet the required standards and that the home and our activities are undertaken in a safe manor. 5. 2. evaluate the health and safety and risk management policies and procedures and practices within the work setting At the Manor House, we have numerous policies and procedures in place, all spread over a wide variety. They include – †¢ Accident and Incident Reporting and Investigation †¢ Asbestos †¢ Building Mai ntenance †¢ Care Services Construction Management ~ Site Access and Surveying †¢ Consultation and Communication †¢ Contractors †¢ Electrical Safety †¢ Fire Safety †¢ First Aid †¢ Food Hygiene ~ Safety in Food Preparation Areas †¢ Gas Safety †¢ Grounds Maintenance †¢ Handling and Disposal of Waste †¢ Hazardous Substances ~ COSHH, Radon †¢ Health and Safety Information and Training †¢ Health and Safety Management ~ Monitory and Review, Inspections and Surveys †¢ Health and Wellbeing at Work ~ Alcohol, Drugs, CommunicableDisease, Immunisation, Pre-employment medical, Pregnant Women, Smoking, Stress, Work related absenteeism and Young persons. †¢ Manual handling †¢ Office safety ~ display screen equipment †¢ Personal Protective Equipment †¢ Personal safety, violence and lone working †¢ Property management ~ security and visitors, workplace standards, welfare facilities †¢ Risk Assessment †¢ Safe use and maintenance of equipment at work ~ lifts and lifting equipment, vehicles at work †¢ Sheltered schemes †¢ Water management †¢ Other guidance †¢ Definitions †¢ Amendment record Accidents and incidents – index of incident records form, RIDDOR reporting form, servite incident reporting form, care services residents incident reporting form o Workplace moving and handling assessments – moving and handling operations preliminary risk assessment form, moving and handling operations risk assessment form, moving and handling care plan o Workplace risk assessments and young person at work risk assessments – scheme/office/kitchen/staff room workplace risk assessment forms, copy of schemes contractors risk assessments or method statements, young persons at work risk assessment form, new and expectant mothers risk assessment, night worker health assessment form o Moving and handling equipment inspection record, moving and handling equipment inspection record, moving and handling equipment defects record o First aid records – first aid record sheet, first aid kit maintenance defects record o Water treatment records (including temperature monitory, flushing and de-scaling) – shower/spray flushing and de-scaling record sheet, water temperature record sheet o Food safety records – fridge and freezer temperature record sheet o Electrical test records (portable appliances and building installation – visual electrical inspection of void properties form, portable electrical equipment visual inspection record sheet, record of portable test, redundant equipment disposal form, dopy of building installation report and certificate o DSE assessment records Asbestos survey reports – scheme asbestos survey report o Gas safety records – record of reasonable steps taken (when no access granted) form, regional committee report on the progress of gas safety inspections form, gas servici ng report, copy of gas certificate o Control of substances hazardous to health assessments and safety data sheets – copies of safety data sheets for every cleaning product used at the scheme o Health and safety audit and survey reports – health and safety survey form, schemes health and safety audit report completed by the health and safety team o Passenger lift inspection records – copy of certificate, passenger lift inspection and insurance reports o Personal protective equipment maintenance records – reports o Lone worker alarm maintenance record – reports Remote alarm/pendant checks – pendant check form, remote alarm check form o 3rd party forms o Waste o Pest o Business continuity arrangements The positives of having all these policies, procedures and risk managements in place is that it covers everything, meaning that we know what is considered wrong and what is considered correct. The negatives are that because there are so many in pl ace, some can be left out or not remembered, leaving the work setting unsuitable for service users perhaps, or leaving the standard of care low; but because we have them all, and are all used frequently, they are all understood, this is a positive out of the negative situation. SEE AC 1. 2 5. :- identify areas of policies, procedures and practice that need improvement to ensure safety and protection in the work setting Here, there are few areas of policies and procedures of/and practice that may need improvement, this is because they are good, but not at the best standard I think they could be. These are: health and safety audits, the medication rounds, maintenance of equipment and staff training. The medication rounds could be improved by making them faster, or by having more staff working on it, to increase the speed of residents getting their required medication. The maintenance of equipment could be improved by having it done sooner rather than later, so there isn’t as mu ch of an issue if the equipment is required and cant be used as it isn’t working.Health and safety audits can be improved by making them more frequent and detailed, so you can understand the issues more and also notice where the good aspects are. Staff training can be improved by making it more important and motivational, and by making it more frequent to allow better development of career work. 5. 4 recommend changes to policies. procedures and practice that ensure safety and protection in the work setting The changes that I recommend would only be improvements, and the improvements would be to make the policies and procedures more ‘spread out’, so they cover more areas of the work setting, so everything has a policy or procedure to make it more effective and reliable.Reviewing the policies and procedures would be a start to see where the changes could happen and be recommended, to ensure safety I would recommend a change to the health and safety act policy, to give it a wider variety of protection of the work setting, to add more ‘safer’ equipment and make the environment safer, by having less dangerous objects around that could be harmful in anyway to a resident, visitor or staff member. I would recommend a change in the frequency of procedures dealing with forms and assessments, to make sure everything is checked frequently, to make sure there are no problems or issues that are missed if they are only checked every now and then, this would be like risk assessments, fire safety, equipment checks or kitchen assessments etc. There isn’t a lot I would recommend to change, but if I had to, it would be most likely to do with frequency or variety.

Case Summary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Case Summary - Essay Example Another feature is that shoes are customized as per specific fitting and color needs of the children. TOMS Shoes is expanding its community involvement program in another product, eye glasses, in collaboration with Seva Foundation on the same lines, as in the sale of shoes. For every eye-glass sold, a new pair will be given free to the needy children in poor countries. Tom Shoes has been criticized for affecting the sale of local companies. TOMS Shoes has not been transparent enough in reporting the financial details of the company to justify its stance that it is leading to fulfill its corporate social responsibility. Local businesses are the most effected stakeholders. Rather than encouraging local shoe manufacturing industry and creating new enterprise potential, TOMS Shoes is going against their interests. Instead of helping local businesses over how to reduce costs and earn revenue, it is creating the crisis of their survival. TOMS Shoes need to address the issue of making available all its balance sheets of the past and present financial years so that other stakeholders could know the cost incurred to TOMS on a single air of shoe and the sale price. Until these and other financial details are made public, how can the Company claim its right of doing praiseworthy work in the field of corporate social responsibility? This is a big leadership issue. No company can claim its right to doing social and humanitarian work, although a private company, but claim needs to be authenticated. Critics counter-claim that TOMS One for One program can be a marketing tactics to sell in huge quantity its production of shoes in the name of doing social service. The onus of relieving from this burden lies on the management of TOMS Shoes. Its corporate leaders need to be transparent enough on the cost incurred on a pair of shoes to silence the

Written Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Written Assignment - Essay Example The implication of this is that the principles of war are not universal as every general can choose to develop their own depending how best their strategies work for them. Based on this, this essay will delve in to Sun Tzu statement that an army man tends to be the man in charge during a war and the fate of the people meaning that they fall under the mercy of the general in charge. In any war, consequences or effects are inevitable and the people tend to suffer more because things can never be normal again depending on the general that is commanding the war. In the case of the leadership of a country, the country may have a good performing economy or one that is unstable depending on the leadership styles and characteristics of the ruler (Roe 5). By applying and understanding this principle, this can be an effective way of exercising power by being familiar with the consequences of their decisions. The implication of this is that a nation may either have a failed democracy, unstable economy and vice versa depending on the type of leader that is in power. A nation’s prosperity may be uncertain as this tends to be the breaking or success moment for such a nation meaning that the type of leadership qualities that an individual may have can have a direct influence subjects. Peace in such a nation can prevail if the man in charge of a country has a clear plan of his intention to maximize on the nation’s resource by not creating enmity, as they carry out this activity. However, the leader chooses to be selfish and inconsiderate to the subjects in a country then this is likely to experience hostility, which can influence the war. Therefore, a leader can use this principle to their advantage, but also making sure their interests prevail with the least amount of force and no enemies created in the process. Nevertheless, the army men can never be in charge in a country because they also take orders

Marketing strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Marketing strategy - Essay Example One of Porsche’s unique selling points is its engine design and care should have been taken in this regard. Given the heavy losses the company suffered as a result of the introduction of the 928 model, there was a need for a new product strategy. The BCG Matrix was an effective tool for this situation. This portfolio planning method recognizes the need to reposition products in the portfolio to achieve cash flow and profitability. According to the Boston Consulting Group, 928 would have been regarded as a dog because of its low growth rate and low market share. Although 928 may generate enough cash, possibly to break even, it’s simple not worth the investment. Therefore Porsche’s strategy to divest the 928 model and to pump more money in a more promising investment say the 911, was a very sound approach. â€Å"Porsche purists are wary every time a new incarnation of 911 is unveiled. Will there be a change of look, feel, and sound? Porsche’s 911 is going to be made forever, or possibly longer. This is because the company does not know how to end it, only how to make a new one every few years (3)† The use of the product life cycle would have been of interest to the luxury sports car company when deciding its advertising and extension strategies. The 911 model existed at the maturity stage and the failure for the 928 to pick up sales forced the company to reposition and redesign the 911 model over a period of time. So far these strategies were successful, however an important point which Porsche should be aware of is that extension strategies are short term measures and not permanent in nature. In spite of this fact, each product life cycle for each car model is different and therefore its usefulness as a forecasting tool for Porsche may be limited. The Porsche brand developed over the years. There is the belief, however, that the introduction of recent brands

The Movie From Earth To Moon And Back Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Movie From Earth To Moon And Back - Essay Example If someone is looking for a big entertainment in the classical style, Georges Mà ©lià ¨s 1902 science fiction film, â€Å"A Trip to the Moon† is certainly the most appropriate option. The movie is based on a group of astronauts who went on the moon. The clip of movie is available online at Youtube the link to which is mentioned at the end. It starts with the scene of a hall filled with several astronauts wearing wizard-like gowns and long pointed hats. Their leader shows them how they can make a trip to the moon by drawing a picture on the blackboard which shows a shuttle moving toward the moon from the earth. The idea gains appreciation and they immediately put on their astronauts’ uniform. They fill in the shuttle and a group of young and beautiful lasses closes the shuttle, and the shuttle is thrown into space with a power gun. The moon shows a man’s face who seems angry to see the approaching shuttle, and to his dismay, the shuttle hits him in the eye. Astronauts come out of the shuttle. Tired after a long journey, they cover themselves with their gowns and sleep at a calm place on the moon. The movie shows human faced-stars and planets watch the group of sleeping astronauts and wonder. The queen of the moon appears sitting on a crescent and she calls for the snowfall. The snowfall wakes the astronauts up who seek refuge in a cave. The cave grows a lot of mushrooms. One of the astronauts stands his umbrella on the moon floor and to his wonder, the umbrella grows into a big mushroom. Then the story gains an action theme. A moon alien appears from somewhere and tries to scare away the astronauts who beat him dead. He vanishes into the air like smoke. After that, more and more moon-aliens emerge and attack the astronauts. They overpower the astronauts and take them to the king alien. The rest of the astronauts run their way back to the shuttle, while a lot of moon-aliens chase them holding arrows to kill them.

The Scapegoat MAM Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The Scapegoat MAM - Assignment Example Edward soon becomes a local celeb as a result of his ability to cut hair and trim hedges. This capability to do extra things makes people take advantage of Edward. For instance, Jim uses Edward to break into his parents house but unfortunately Edward is trapped in the automatic locks. He is then accused of crime and people including Jim who was using him takes Edward as a scapegoat. Similarly, in our community scapegoating occurs to individuals who are famous and can do extra things (Stereotypes of Persecution, 19). Out of envy and jealous of the community members especially those with same abilities, such an individual is considered as a threat. False accusations are alleged against such person with an aim of disgracing him or her (Stereotypes of Persecution, 14). For instance, Joyce claims that Edward tried to rape her. However, these allegation are not real. The community members looks everywhere for possible indications to confirm their suspicion against the individual. In most cases, individuals taken as scapegoats are innocent and defenseless. They usually undergo through judgment and unfair punishment for crimes they did not

Evaluating the recruiting function Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Evaluating the recruiting function - Coursework Example By spending more time making a follow-up call, each recruiting sources can increase the chances wherein qualified job applicants would accept their job offers. By limiting the number of accredited recruiting sources, each one of them will be forced to create and maintain a positive image as one of St. Vincent Hospital’s accredited recruiting sources. I would eliminate private employment agency as one of St. Vincent Hospital’s recruitment sources because its average cost per nurse is as high as $2,000.00. It means that it is too costly to recruit nurses from this particular recruitment sources. Because of the relatively low ‘above-average rating’, I would also remove walk-ins (1.00), internet applications (2.40), and university programs (3.43). If I need to cut down some more, I would purposely remove hospital-based schools, public employment agency, direct mail, and state nursing association meeting simply because I am not sure about the nurses’ one-year survival and their above-average ratings. Making follow-up calls on job applicants seem to the most easiest to improve. To effectively decrease the yield ratios from the first recruitment stage to the next level, perhaps it is best on the part of the recruiting sources to use a benchmark of 75% when selecting qualified applicants for the actual interviews. Basically, the reason for maintaining the 75% benchmark is because not all candidates who will attend the actual interview would accept the job offer. This will save the recruitment sources a lot of time and effort from losing all potential

Facts of Palese v. Delaware State Lottery Office Essay

Facts of Palese v. Delaware State Lottery Office - Essay Example Palese contacted the Lottery Office in writing, describing his predicament and was directed to wait for one year so that his claim could be reviewed. 11 months later, Palese read in the dailies that the Lottery Office had transferred his unclaimed lottery jackpot to the State’s General Fund. Palese contacted the Lottery Office again and was told to explain how he had purchased the lottery and lost the tickets, much to Palese’s compliance. Even after hearing that Palese still had the play slip, the Lottery Office held that he was to be denied his claim since he could not produce his actual winning ticket. Palese took the matter to the court for litigation while the Lottery Office equally rushed to dismiss Palese’s claim on the account that Palese could not sufficiently state his claim for which the relief was to be granted. In the case Palese v. Delaware State Lottery Office, 1546-N, as the plaintiff, Palese accuses the Lottery Office of unjust enrichment since it had taken his rightfully owned prize to the State’s General Fund. In this light, he wants the prize he had won to be accorded him. Whether or not the rules of the Lottery Act such as Lottery Regulation 18 and 19 should be amended to allow the Lottery Act to capture unforeseeable circumstances such as inadvertent destruction or loss of the winning ticket. The Court of Chancery of Delaware heard from both the plaintiff and the respondent and referred to the directives in the Lottery Act, the Lottery Regulation 18 and 19 to arrive at its verdict.

Examination of benefits of using IT Software in value added elements Essay

Examination of benefits of using IT Software in value added elements in supplier procurement - Essay Example A shorter purchasing cycle to maintain lower inventory levels and respond more quickly to stock-outs is the core business value through e-procurement. Along with some strategical challenges on implementation, study observed standardization and internationalization of problems as few limitations of the technology integration with e-procurement. In the late 1990s, big corporations managed their supply chains with a combination of paper, faxes, e-mail, and proprietary electronic data interchange networks. But these systems provided opportunities for errors. Executives responsible for maintaining an unceasing flow of supplies to keep production lines running and distant field operations on schedule were at the mercy of primitive purchasing processes that were beyond their control. Though they could select from a host of qualified suppliers, they didnt have the most convenient ways to find the perfect supplier with exactly the right product at just the right price. Alternatively, it could take days or weeks to have the requisitions signed by executives who spend most of their time on the road. A critical pre-requisite for success in digital economy is the implementation of an integrated value chain that extends across - and beyond - the enterprise. The term "extended enterprise" represents a new concept that a company is made up not just of its employees, its board members, and executives, but also its business partners, its suppliers, and its customers. The notion of extended enterprise includes many different arrangements such as virtual integration, outsourcing, distribution agreements, collaborative marketing, R&D program partnerships, alliances, joint ventures, preferred suppliers, and customer partnership. Enterprises that have global operations or need to deal with a multitude of suppliers are finding that e-procurement has

Hong Kong Identity Essay Example for Free

Hong Kong Identity Essay Politic: July 1st, 2003 Protest Agenda 1. Introduction †¢ 1. 1. What is identity politic †¢ 1. 2. Political events that have affected HK Identity 2. July1st, 2003 protest 3. Conclusion 1. 1. What is Identity Politic †¢ Identity politics: Identity as a politic †¢ Development of identity politic †¢ Past v. s Present Introduction July 1st Protest Conclusion 1. 2. Political events that affected HK Identity Tiananmen Square After WWI: Refugee Identity Mistrust of Chinese Government Article 23 After 1960: Local HK Identity 1997 Handover 2013 Introduction July 1st Protest Conclusion 2. July1st, 2003 protest †¢ Annual protest led by Civil Human Rights Front †¢ Article 23 †¢ The Hong Kong SAR shall enact laws on its own to prohibit any act of treason, secession, sedition, subversion against the Central Peoples Government, or theft of state secrets, to prohibit foreign political organizations or bodies from conducting political activities in the Region, and to prohibit political organizations or bodies of the Region from establishing ties with foreign political organizations or bodies Introduction July 1st Protest Conclusion Concerns Pros †¢ British government also had repressive acts †¢ e. g Society Ordinance and the Public Order Ordinance Cons †¢ Police is allowed to enter houses and arrest people without warrant/evidence †¢ No freedom of speech †¢ Violation of Article 23 can result in a life term in a prison †¢ Any organization can be banned by PRC Conclusion Introduction July 1st Protest HK people identity Identity of general HK people †¢ Pragmatism †¢ Individualism †¢ Narrowing gap between HK people/ mainlanders: ambitious, adaptable, practical and clever †¢ Widening gap between HK people/ mainlanders : valuing free speech, press freedom, privacy and equality Introduction July 1st Protest Conclusion HK people identity Parties that affect HK people identity HK people identity British colonial period rule of law, democracy, freedom of speech Chinese Government formal education, flag-raising ceremonies visits to the mainland Introduction July 1st Protest Conclusion Identity illustrated by July 1st, 2003 †¢ Widening gap †¢ Antagonism vs. Pragmatic Nationalism and Liberalized Nationalism †¢ Cosmopolitan identity: HK’s dream, opportunities in society, has affected to local’s commitment to democracy Introduction July 1st Protest Conclusion 3. Conclusion †¢ Evident that Article 23 politic widened the gap of â€Å"issue in rights of HK people† ex. Free speech, press freedom, valuing privacy, valuing equality †¢ But still the trend is that people feel less gap with mainlanders †¢ ainland’s characteristic change †¢ HK people affected by mainland government’s media, education, and ceremonies. †¢ No identity is perfectly coherent; there is inconsistencies Introduction July 1st Protest Conclusion Questions to discuss †¢ What are the evolving features of the local political identity, culture and participation †¢ What is the essence of the confli cts between the local and national identities of HK people? †¢ What are the reasons for the rise of new activism, and what is its impact? Introduction July 1st Protest Conclusion

Data protection in online banking

Data protection in online banking Introduction Online banking is the practice of performing bank transactions over the internet. Due to the advanced nature of technology, most people use the internet to fulfil most of their personal needs, for instance; e-mails, internet calls, and video conferencing. Information technology is now being used to develop more supple and easy to use banking services (Nadim and Noorjahan, 2007). Online banking which can also be called internet banking is now being used and adopted by most people. Online banking can be useful in so many ways to both the customer and the banking institution, although the degree of its usefulness varies depending on whose point of view you look at it from. Online banking activities involves not only banks and customers but includes third parties too (Guptar, 2006). This essay would be looking at the privacy issues relating to the use of customers data and transactions in online banking. This essay would also be looking at the privacy concerns about how the customers per sonal data is used by the bank and what amount of control a customer has over the use of his/her data, how the bank shares customers personal data with third party or affiliated businesses and the rights and control customers have over the distribution of their data. And also what rights the government have over the monitoring of customers bank details and information, the ethical, social, professional and legal issues related to online banking services and the application of ethical/professional principles in the use of online banking services. Privacy issues in Online Banking Internationally, customers of several organisations can now pay their bills, transfer money to multiple accounts, make deposits, withdrawals or payments with online checks, view transactions on their account, trade bonds and securities, and all this can be done conveniently with just the click of the mouse and in the comfort of the customers home. The physical presence of customers are no longer needed for most transactions in the bank, as long queues witnessed in crowded banking halls can now be avoided which saves the bank the overhead cost of managing a crowded bank hall. But still, so many customers are concerned about the security of their personal information while operating the online banking service. According to Duquenoy et al (2005, p. 1), privacy is one of the main concerns associated with the use of online banking. I believe privacy is the most fundamental and relevant issue in online banking. Although there is not a specific privacy law in respect to online banking, ther e is an abundance of privacy laws that exist and this essay would be looking at a few of them as they are too many to write on all of them here. As noted by a few authors, Nadim and Noorjahan (2007) believed that privacy is one of the key factors amongst other issues which have an effect on a customers adoption of online banking technology. Most customers are concerned about how their personal data would be used when registering for an online banking account. What happens to their data after giving out their personal information? They are not sure and convinced about how secure and safe their data would be and how the data would be stored, manipulated, retrieved and updated. Mason (1986) stated that privacy concerns in online banking where raised by a few questions like; what information do customers require to reveal about themselves?; on what conditions?; what information can the customer can keep to themselves? According to Earp and Payton (2006) some major privacy concerns about the use of online banking technology are collection (enormous amount of personal information data collected and stored in databases), unauthorize d secondary use of data (personal data used for purposes other than they were primarily collected for), improper access (personal information viewed by unauthorized personnel), errors (unintended or intentional), and what level of protection could be put in place against them in personal information data. For example, there was a breach of information in which there was an identity theft of 3.3 million people with student loans in the weekend of March 20 21, 2010. Information such as name, addresses and social security numbers were stolen from a portable media device from the headquarters of Educational Credit Management Corporation, although the company claims it was a simple old-fashioned theft and not a hacker incident (WSJ, 2010). Howcroft et al (2003) noted that customers have confidence in their banks but their trust in the technology infrastructure of online banking was frail. Therefore privacy issues have proved to be an obstacle to the adoption of online banking technology (Nadim and Noorjahan, 2007). Most customers are worried about their personal data and financial information being revealed online. According to a study by Paul (2005), 94% of the banks customers express their concern about their personal information being exposed online. Privacy in online banking can be said to be the protection of the customers personal and financial information. It is the duty of IT professionals to secure and protect all customers personal information, they should conform to privacy legislation, professional codes of conduct and ethical principles to gain customers confidence in the technology and guard their reputation. Although Dewan and Seidmann (2001) argue that the success of online banking is expected to come w ith a growing price to personal privacy. They also stated that All online interactions leave detailed audit trails that continually depict a larger portion of our lives. Furthermore, privacy standards associated with the use of online banking technology in the banking industry (industry principles) currently exist. For example the American Bankers Association, Bankers Roundtable, Consumers Bank Association to name a few, have all approved equally to a set of privacy principles to portray a wide and united industry. They all have obligations to the similar set of guiding principles like; recognizing an individuals expectation of privacy; using, collecting and retaining personal information only if it produces the greatest benefit to such person; maintaining an up-to-date and accurate information; making individuals aware of the privacy policies; confine exposure of customers personal information; established security measures to protect information and maintaining an individuals privacy in business relationships with third parties (Earp and Payton, 2006). How can personal data be protected? Technological solutions that can give customers direct control over their personal information on their computer like cookie manager, encryption software, ad blocker to mention a few, give customers an amount of control over intrusions by hackers, spam and cookies. Also customer activism creating a policy taking direct action in online or offline environments to achieve desired enhancements in privacy policy, for example the American civil liberties Unions Take Back Your Data Campaign (Ashworth Free, 2006). Also privacy codes of practice like the BCS and ACM guide professionals on how to create and implement systems that protects the privacy of third parties. Privacy laws have been mostly controversial when viewing the laws relating to how much control customers have in the sharing of their personal information with third party organisations or affiliated business. Personal information in the control of banks about their customers data and transactions passes through different hands numerous times (Gupta, 2006).It is almost not possible for banks to retain customer data within their computer network let alone their jurisdiction. The risks of tampering of information, blockage and leakage are high and therefore needs an adequate legal and technical protection (Gupta, 2006). Most banks tend to use the personal data of their customers while advertising some of their other products and services. Third parties could use this data for marketing purposes, advertisements and customers usually view this as spam or unwanted information or some could also use it for illegitimate reasons like identity theft. The sale and distribution of customer pers onal data to third parties is a very lucrative business and generates a lot of revenue for companies. Duquenoy (2005) found out that the industry was valued at two billion pounds as at 2003. But how ethical is the sale or distribution of customer data to third parties? How does the third party make use of this information? These are some of the questions most banks have failed to look into in the use of personal data to make other products in online banking. Most customers find it a bit complicated controlling their personal information given out and collected by the bank, and its other businesses or government agencies that they could be shared with or sold to. It is required by the law that customers have to be given an option in order to decide what personal data can be collected and given out to third party or affiliated businesses, such options include the opt-in and opt-out methods. The UK follows the opt-in scheme under the provisions of the privacy and Electronics Communications Regulations 2003. The provision of an opt-out method gives the customer the choice of preventing personal information being disclosed to affiliated or non-affiliated businesses and third parties, while providing an opt-in option is the reverse which allows for the sharing of information for purposes specified by the bank (Giglio, 2005). Further, research discovered that customers must clearly inform companies of their wishes to opt-in or opt-out when registering or filling out online forms for the use of online banking or other internet services provided by the bank. In that case customers are to be told what, which and how their data can or may be used, they should also be given an explanation or description about what circumstances or situations by which personal information may be disclosed to third parties. The principles of rights based ethics (contractrianism) states that the cus tomer also has the right to know, the right to privacy and the right to property. Although, some customers might not mind having their personal data being shared, others might mind and tend to mind a lot. A major challenge being faced in the IT industry today is ensuring that sharing of data is secure and safe guarded (Raab, 2008). An IT professional should ensure that customer personal data is protected and is only shared with trustworthy third parties. And it is also the responsibility of the IT professional to ensure that personal data is used only for its primary or intended purpose or that which has been specified by the customer. One of the ethical principles in the BCS (British Computer Society) code of conduct states that You shall have regard to the legitimate right of third parties Third parties being referred to here could be viewed as the customer, and it is expected of an IT professional to know, understand and abide by the law and are also expected to regard and respect the rights of individuals, third parties and the society at large (Duquenoy et al 2005, p. 2). There have been a lot of cases whereby personal data is used for purposes other than which they have been collected for and this is ethically wrong. It is also called the secondary use of personal information which is the use of such information other than the purpose it was supplied for (Duquenoy et al 2005, p. 5). According to a research conducted through the distribution of questioners to a few people who make the use of online banking services with their banks in the UAE, 75% of customers get unsolicited mails about the banks new products and offers which they never requested for or signed up for, 8% view this as an intrusion of their privacy and specify not to be mailed about such future produ cts. The remaining 17% seem not to have been educated and informed properly about how to opt-out from the use of their personal data for distribution and marketing purposes or opt-in if they require being aware of promotions and offers the bank makes. It is essential for the bank to foster trust between itself and the customer as this is good for business and it is a known fact that it is harder to regain trust than initially gaining it. This is why it is essential that much more effort be put in place to secure customer data sharing (Raab, 2008). While conducting an interview with Suhail bin Taraff, an IT staff of Emirates NBD which is the largest bank in the UAE, it was noted that the customers that make use of the internet banking services of the bank would require to opt-in by ticking a check box in their personal online banking account if they require to be notified of products the bank offers and if they would also require their personal data passed on to third parties and affiliates of the bank producing similar or specific products or services.Online banking has two types of risk: maintaining integrity of customer information and preventing unauthorised use of such data (Gupta, 2006). The indiscriminate use of personal data is viewed as a violation of an individuals privacy right and in the UK the right to privacy is covered by the Data Protection Act. The second principle of the Data Protection Act 1998 states that the customer has the right of information about the processing of their personal data, including the rig ht to be informed either at the time the data is first processed or when that data is first disclosed to a third party, and also the right of access to their personal data (Duquenoy et al 2005, p. 20). Although the law cannot keep pace with technology, under the Data Protection Act a person has to demonstrate if they have been subjected to unwarranted distress/damages through their datas exposure in order to claim any sort of compensation (Raab, 2008). Does the government have the right to monitor online banking transactions? Businesses view the use of information as a means to making more money while the government tend to view information as a means to protect security. However, in both cases individuals or groups have limited control on how their personal data is used. It is found to be known that knowledge is power and the more information the government gathers about customers bank transactions the more power they have over them and the less power the customers have. And there could be abuse of such power by the government or whoever is in charge to use such power, for selfish means or politically motivated aims. The government claims that they use the capabilities offered by IT to get the intelligence that enables them to meet their responsibilities to protect citizens. But most individuals have little confidence in the governments handling of their data and fear that there could be a misuse or misinterpretation which could lead to persecution and prosecution of innocent people in the application of law and order and also while protecting national security. There is also found to be a lack of confidence in the governments ability to protect personal data and keep it secure, most online banking customers fear that this could give the government too much power and control over them. Most customers tend to mind if the government or law enforcement agencies read their communications or view their bank transactions, even if they have not done anything wrong or have nothing to hide. Part two of article eight of the Human Rights Act, 1998 states thus: There shall be no interference by a public authority with the exercise of this right except such as is in accordance with the law and is necessary in a democratic society in the interest of national security, public safety or the economic well-being of the country, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals, or for the protection of the rights and freedom of others (Duquenoy et al 2005, pg. 11). In the United States of America, the government created a secret programme to monitor bank transactions of suspected terrorists or people having ties with them that routes through the Belgian based financial company SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication), since the terrorist attack that occurred on the 11th of September 2001. The proprietary electronic network, SWIFT, then gives the US government access to financial data from institutions worldwide (Jacobs, 2007). Banks tend to view privacy matters almost completely in conditions of regulatory conformity. But the same government that claims to protect the rights and freedom of individuals seem to invade it also. The Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 and the USA Patriot Act 2001 are legislations that tend to serve the interest of the state related to issues of counter terrorism and crime detection and support the monitoring and surveillance of individuals. Professor Charles Raab (2008) said that there is a need to question the sharing of personal data to cater the needs of society other than the protection of privacy. Some may argue that the monitoring of an individuals bank account transactions without their consent violates the rights of confidentiality and anonymity of such customer. Any country that signs up to the UN Declaration of Human Rights must make sure they take steps to protect privacy. In Europe the EU includes privacy in its convention on Human Rights while the UK includes it in the Data Protection Act. In the UK the monitoring of a customers bank transactions and data can be viewed as an invasion of the customers privacy by the government and violates the privacy rights of the customer and goes against the data protection act which states that personal data can only be processed when consent has been given or necessary to contract and must be only for specified purposes, adequate, relevant and not excessive, not kept longer than necessary and processed in ac cordance with rights of data subject (ICO, 2010). According to a research conducted by the BCS, 61% of members believe that there is an inequality between the data rights of the individual and the state while only 17% believe that the present legal regulations on data are sufficient (BCS, 2010). The secure handling of a customers personal information is a legal, ethical and social requirement in online banking (Duquenoy et al, 2005). The potential for abuse is great in online banking therefore ethics plays a vital role. Ethical issues that arise in online banking gives a cause for concern, for example more than 24,000 HSBC customers were affected by a breach in the storage of their personal information in the banks data centre on the 15th of March 2010, this was as a result of data theft by one of the IT employee (BCS, 2010). This shows a disregard of the ethical principle which implies respect for other people. Unauthorised use of an individuals personal computer without their permission or knowledge could be termed as an invasion of that individuals privacy. Unauthorised access of personal information or poor security measures in Information Systems put customers (society) at risk and this could result in a loss of confidence by the general public and could have a negative effect on the use of online banking services. It is also viewed as a social issue due to the effect it has on the general public and prospective customers. This could lead to hacking or installation of spyware in the individuals computer and puts the owners personal data at risk. There are many legal issues that affect online banking like identity theft, protecting privacy, online crime and misuse of data. Using the internet has its own risk and most customers expect laws to be in place that will protect them while banking online. In the banking industry, the Gramm-Leach-Biley Act of 1999 (GLBA) was passed to augment the protection of privacy while the Data Protection Act (1998) covers the right to privacy in the UK. The law is in place to protect digitally stored personal information from being widely distributed and mismanaged. Organisations are required by the act to make sure that personal information is kept secure. Professional issues could imply how a professional should act and also their role in the design, implementation of data systems and in the manipulation, modification of data and the important role they play. The BCS is the professional body for those employed in the IT industry in the UK. One of the aims of the BCS is to maintain standards in the industry and in most cases these are translated into principles set out in a code of conduct (Duquenoy et al 2005, p. 5). IT professionals are expected to know the law and abide by it. They are also expected to ensure public safety and respect the rights of third parties like the general public. Conclusion Online banking technology seems to be slowly adopted by majority of prospective customers despite being aware about the usefulness of this technology and this is due to the fact that customers are seriously concerned about the privacy of their data and do not really feel secure giving out their personal data digitally. A number of privacy issues have been analysed and discussed in this essay and the rights and control customers have of the use of their personal data, the measures and steps they can use to protect their personal information and the degree to which government agencies have access to the customers bank transactions and personal data. The professional, legal, ethical and social requirement in online banking technology and how an IT professional should apply ethical principles in the use and handling of a customers personal data. Reference List Ashworth, L. Free, C. (2006), Marketing Dataveillance and Digital Privacy: Using Theories of Justice to Understand Consumers Online Privacy Concerns, Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 67, pp. 107-123. Duquenoy, P, Jones, S, Rahanu, H, Diaper, D, (2005) Social, Legal and Professional Issues of Computing. Middlesex University Press 2005 Stamatellos, G. (2007), Computer Ethics: A Global Perspective, Jones and Bartlett Publishers Mason, R, 0, (1986) Four Ethical Issues of the Information Age, Issues and opinions, MIS quarterly Earp, J. B. Payton, F. C. (2006), Information Privacy in the Service Sector: An Exploratory Study of Health Care and Banking Professionals, Journal of organizational computing and electronic commerce, vol. 16, no. 2, pp. 105 122. Giglio, V. (2005), Privacy in the world of cyberbanking: Emerging legal issues and How You Are Protected. Ng, P. (2010), What is online banking? viewed 20 February 2010, http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-online-banking.htm Roundtree, D. (2001), Taking Care of Customer Privacy, Bank Technology News, Vol.14 Issue 11, p.20. European Parliament Blocks US powers to monitor EU bank transactions, viewed 21 February 2010, http://www.out-law.com/page-10748 Nadim, J and Noorjahan, B. (2007), Effect of Perceived Usefulness, Ease of Use, Security and Privacy on Customer Attitude and Adaptation in the Context of E-Banking, Journal of Management Research, vol. 7, no. 3, pp. 147 157 Howcroft, B, Hamilton, R. and Hewer, P. (2002), Consumer Attitude and the Usage and Adoption of Home-based Banking in the United Kingdom, The International Journal of Bank Marketing, 20(3): 111-121. Jamieson, P (2005), Consumers and Online Banking, Point for Credit Union Research Advice Dewan, R and Seidmann, A. (2001), Current Issues in E-BANKING, Communications of the ACM; Vol.44 Issue 6, p. 31-32 Raab, C. (2008), The privacy conundrum, viewed 13 March 2010, http://www.bcs.org/server.php?show=conWebDoc.17577 The office of the Information Commisioner, viewed 13 March 2010, http://www.ico.gov.uk British Computer Society (2010). Code of Conduct, viewed 10 March 2010, http://www.bcs.org/server.php?show=nav.6030 Gupta, A, (2006), Data Protection in Consumer E-banking, Journal of Internet Banking and Commerce, vol. 11, no. 1 State has more data on citizens than necessary, say BCS members, viewed 26th March 2010, http://www.bcs.org/server.php?show=conWebDoc.34817 Jacobs, E, (2007), SWIFT Privacy: Data Processor Becomes Data Controller, Journal of Internet Banking and Commerce, vol. 12, no. 1 The basics, in Information Commisioners office, viewed 9th March 2010, http://www.ico.gov.uk/what we cover/freedom of information/the basics.aspx Freedom of Information Act (2000), viewed 15th March 2010, http://www.opsi.gov.uk/Acts/acts2000/ukpga 20000036 en 1 Pilon, M, (2010), Data Theft Hits 3.3 Million Borrowers, The Wall Street Journal, viewed 29th March 2010, http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304434404575150024174102954.html?KEYWORDS=data+theft+hits+33+million+borrowers

Impact of Campaign Contributions on Policy in Congress

Impact of Campaign Contributions on Policy in Congress Dominique Ornelas   The Impact of Campaign Contributions on Policy Making in Congress Introduction From the 1960s and continuing through the 1980s the number, activity and diversity of interest groups being represented in Washington proliferated. Observers of this phenomenon, primarily journalist, argue that the rise in interest group activity has resulted in interest groups enjoying far too much influence in Congress (Smith, 1995; Stratmann, 2000). However, scholars paint a far less certain picture as to the nature of interest group influence in Congress. This lack in academic consensus has led to a wealth of research. This research largely focuses on one question: how and to what extent do the campaign contributions of special interest groups influence the legislative decisions and actions of individual members of Congress. In this paper I will inventory and review this research to convey as clear as possible where we are in our understanding of whether or not campaign contributions influence the decisions of individual members of the U.S. Congress and conduct a content analysis Literature Review The increase of Political Action Committees involvement in congressional elections have resulted in journalist, scholars and the American public growing increasingly concerned about the influence of campaign contributions by interest groups. However, whether or not campaign contributions by interest groups influence congressional decision making is still a subject of popular and academic debate. The popular perception is that a great deal of corruption arises from large contributions to candidates and political parties or from certain types of expenditures on behalf of those parties and candidates (Persily Lammie, 2004). Sixty five percent of Americans believe that campaign contributions by special interest groups result in Member of Congress giving the contributor’s opinion special consideration because of the contribution (Smith, 2013). Figure 1 depicts the trend that as the presence and activity of interest groups increases so does public perception that government officia ls are crooked (Persily Lammie, 2004), thus conveying the idea that American’s believe Congress is beholden to special interest. Figure 1: Trends in Public Opinion of Government (1958-2002) Similarly, journalist have argued that campaign contributions contribute to the overrepresentation of special interest in Congress at the expense of the interest of unorganized citizens (Choate, 1990; Clawson, 1992; Curtis, 1990; Drew, 1983; Smith, 1990). However, according to several scholars popular opinion and the evidence that is presented by journalist in support of claims that campaign contributions impact Congressional policy making is seriously flawed (Smith, 1995; Souraf, 1992). As stated by Richard Smith (1995), Souraf (1992) and Edsall the research presented by journalist consists of various stories, interviews with lobbyist and members of Congress and correlation studies that do not present a causal relationship between the campaign contributions of interest groups and congressional decision making (Smith, 1995). In other words, a significant correlation between money and votes does not justify the conclusion that money buys votes and journalist failed to provide substantive evidence that suggest members of Congress would’ve voted differently if it were not for the contributions of interest groups (Thomas Stratmann, 2000). In fact, according to several sources, when you aggregate the research the work of scholars seems to suggest that the campaign contributions of special interest groups exert far less influence over Congress than commonly thought. However because there is less consensus amongst the academic community it is difficult to formulate a firm and concise conclusion. Moreover, this lack of academic consensus has led to a wealth of literature filled with conflicting results. Consider first the works concerning how campaign contributions effect roll call voting behavior on the House and Senate floor. On one hand you have various scholars asserting that campaign contributions by interest groups do marginally impact congressional roll-call voting behavior. For instance , a study conducted by Fleisher (1993) that analyzed how PAC contributions from defense contractors influence member’s votes for pro-defense positions on the floor showed that PAC contributions do in fact have an effect on the roll-call voting behavior of members of Congress (Fleisher, 1993). Similarly studies conducted by Stratmann (1991), Durden, Shogren and Silberman (1991) and Langbein and Lotwis (1990) all show that there’s a causal relationship between the campaign contributions of interest groups and congressional voting behavior. However, at the other end of the spectrum you have scholars asserting the exact opposite. Scholars Chappell (1982), Grenzke (1989), and Rothenberg (1990) all report views that suggest there is no statistically significant relationship between campaign contributions and members of Congress’ roll-call voting. However, between the two extremes lies research that purports mixed results. According to observations of Richard Smith several scholars including: Kau and Rubin (1981, 1982), Neustadl (1990) and Langbein (1993) all purport an array of results. The study conducted by Laura Langbein concludes that campaign contributions are effective primarily when the group’s ideology is consistent with the members underlying ideology and constituency. Another study conducted by Neustadl reports that the effectiveness of interest group contributions varies by the saliency of the issue. This lack of academic consensus is visible whether one looks at the House or the senate and whether one analyzes single votes or a string of votes. So how does one overcome these discrepancies in findings? In this study I will critically analyze the research as a whole and conduct a content analysis to look for areas in which there is academic consensus and determine the conditions under which, according to scholars, campaign contributions by interest groups have the most influence on the voting behavior of members of Congress. Data and Methods To examine the influence of campaign contributions by interest groups on the decisions of individual member of the U.S. Congress I will analyze†¦x amount of sources and conduct a content analysis. A content analysis is especially appropriate for this study because it will enable me to identify common themes throughout the literature and shed light on the areas in which interest group campaign contributions can influence the decisions of individual members of Congress. References Berry, Jeffrey M. Citizen Groups And The Changing Nature Of Interest Group Politics In America. Annals Of The American Academy Of Political And Social Science (1993): 30. JSTOR Arts Sciences VII. Web. 9 Feb. 2014. Chappell Jr., Henry W. Campaign Contributions And Voting On The Cargo Preference Bill: A Comparison Of Simultaneous Models.Public Choice36.2 (1981): 301-312.Business Source Complete. Web. 12 Mar. 2014. Fleisher, Richard. PAC Contributions And Congressional Voting On National Defense.Legislative Studies Quarterly18.3 (1993): 391-409.Political Science Complete. Web. 12 Mar. 2014. Fordham, Benjamin O., and Timothy J. McKeown. Selection And Influence: Interest Groups And Congressional Voting On Trade Policy. International Organization 57.3 (2003): 519-549. PsycINFO. Web. 9 Feb. 2014. Kasniunas, Nina Therese. The Influence Of Interest Groups On Policy-Making In Congress. Conference Papers Midwestern Political Science Association (2007): 1-31. Political Science Complete. Web. 9 Feb. 2014. Langbein, Laura I. Pacs, Lobbies And Political Conflict: The Case Of Gun Control.Public Choice77.3 (1993): 551-572.Business Source Complete. Web. 12 Mar. 2014. Neustadtl, Alan. Interest-Group Pacsmanship: An Analysis Of Campaign Contributions, Issue Visibility And Legislative Impact.Social Forces69.2 (1990): 549-564.Business Source Complete. Web. 12 Mar. 2014 Persily, Nathaniel, and Kelli Lammie. Perceptions Of Corruption And Campaign Finance: When Public Opinion Determines Constitutional Law.University Of Pennsylvania Law Review153.1 (2004): 119-180.Index to Legal Periodicals Books Full Text (H.W. Wilson). Web. 12 Mar. 2014. Rubenzer, Trevor. Campaign Contributions And U.S. Foreign Policy Outcomes: An Analysis Of Cuban-American And Armenian-American Interests. Conference Papers International Studies Association (2008): 1-48. Political Science Complete. Web. 9 Feb. 2014. Stratmann, Thomas. Can Special Interests Buy Congressional Votes? Evidence From Financial Services Legislation. Conference Papers American Political Science Association (2002): 1. Political Science Complete. Web. 12 Feb. 2014. Welch II, William M. The Federal Bribery Statute And Special Interest Campaign Contributions.Journal Of Criminal Law Criminology79.4 (1989): 1347-1373.Political Science Complete. Web. 12 Mar. 2014.

Extramarital Affairs And Marriage :: essays research papers

Do extramarital affairs help or destroy a marriage? A lot of people say that having such affairs helped them solve the problems they had with their spouses, while other people’s marriages are destroyed by them. Do partners feel more comfortable in relationships outside their marriage and what could be the cause of that? Studies conducted by Pittman, who argues that unfaithfulness is not normal or acceptable, have shown that first-time divorce occurs in the wake of an affair; yet its also Pittman that states that ’a crisis of infidelity can reawaken a petrified marriage and therapy can save the adulterous marriage’, something in total contradiction with our traditional culture. Which should we believe than? Studies by Atwater lead us to believe that the second possibility should be seriously considered; in interviewing women engaged in extramarital affairs, she found that over half of them had improved their relationships with their husbands as a result of the affair. The fact that their needs were being met outside the marriage caused a change in their behavior in the marriage, as one woman reported: â€Å"Since I have this second relationship on-going, I have been able to draw my husband out more and get him to talk more... and to be more open in expressing my feelings with him.... I am slowly but surely trying to bring our relationship up to a level that meets more of my needs.† The expressive area seems to be the most troubled one in these marriages, as the unfaithful wives sustained. According to Atwater, extramarital relationships occur because â€Å"we are unrealistic about love and the ability of our spouse to satisfy all our sexual needs†. She concludes that there are five completely untrue myths that contribute to our faith in sexual exclusivity: one person will supply all of another’s emotional, social, and sexual needs people grow to love each other more through the years sexual exclusivity comes easily and naturally husbands and wives should be best friends extramarital affairs will destroy a marriage But lets examine this situation from the men’s point of view as well. Women and men have different expectations in extramarital relationships and while women report that their affairs are less for sexual fulfillment and more for emotional support and companionship, the most frequent reason men give for being unfaithful is either sexual rejection by their wives or the boredom of having repeated sex with the same person.

Animal Disturbances in Eastern Deciduous Forests Essay -- Ecology, Eco

The study of ecology is currently primarily focused upon anthropogenic effects on ecosystems as well as feeding relationships; however, non-feeding interactions are also an important factor in understanding the balance of the ecosystem and identifying issues. These interactions are generally termed disturbances. What constitutes a disturbance? White and Pickett defined it as â€Å"any relatively discrete event in time that disrupts ecosystem, community, or population structure and changes resources, substrate availability, or the physical environment† (White 1985). Some definitions of disturbances such as Grime's require the destruction of biomass, however, this tends to rule out many events that cause changes in the makeup of ecosystems yet are not feeding interactions (Buckley 1992). All animals interact with their environment beyond simply feeding as even walking can affect the makeup of the environment by crushing grasses or insects. Still, not all animals have the same degree of effect on the environment - certain animals are considered to be â€Å"ecosystem engineers.† These ecosystem engineers include crocodiles and beavers, animals that substantially change the environment around them to adapt it to their needs. Clive G. Jones defined ecosystem engineers as â€Å"organisms that directly or indirectly modulate the availability of resources to other species, by causing physical state changes in biotic or abiotic materials. In doing so, they modify, maintain, and create habitats†(Jones 1994). Of course, not all organisms that have non-trophic effects on their environment are ecosystem engineers. It is simply that the effects of the ecosystem engineer tend to be the best studied as they have the largest, most deliberate effect. H... ...ing monoculture comes a plethora of plant viruses that were previously reduced by diversity. As Castello states: â€Å"As forests become monocultures of one or several species, and as they suffer from mismanagement...they become more vulnerable to the impacts of biotic and abiotic stresses†(Castello 1989). Problematically, little is known about plant viruses and thus little is known about how to manage forests to prevent viruses or reduce their impact. There is some disagreement on whether a lack of disturbances truly leads to monoculture as certain ecologists including Hubbell believe that recruitment failures outweigh any possible effect of disturbances (Hubbell 1999). However, as studies have shown, disturbances can drastically increase recruitment failures. Nearly all researchers did agree that anthropogenic disturbances universally reduce diversity in ecosystems.

Ultrasound ? Quick Project :: essays research papers

Ultrasound – Quick Project Ultrasounds are sound waves with frequency beyond the human limits, therefore humans are unable to hear them. It even travels at exactly the same speed as sound in any medium. Humans can hear sound within the frequency range of about 20 to 20,000 Hz, so any sound above 20 kHz is ultrasound. Ultrasound or ultrasonography is a medical imaging technique that uses high frequency sound waves and their echoes. The technique is similar to the echolocation used by bats, whales and dolphins, as well as SONAR used by submarines. Ultrasound has very high frequency vibrations and can be used to clean things. Really dirty teeth can be cleaned superbly in this way. Really delicate mechanisms, such as in antique clocks and watches, can also be safely cleaned. Ultrasound for scanning is the most popular medical use. This is safer than using X-rays. Unborn babies can be seen by moving an ultrasonic transmitter across the mother’s stomach. The sound waves will be projected from the transmitter and the waves are able to travel from one part of the human being to the other. As it hits a tissue or an organ, some waves reflects and gives of echos which can build up a picture on the TV screen. The shorter the wavelength is, the finer the detail of the picture is. Its use in scanning goes far beyond pregnancies. Many other parts of the body are analysed using it (bladder gallstones, the heart, etc.). Ultrasound can even check airplane wings for cracks that would be invisible on the surface. Ships use SONAR to determine the depth of water they are in. Ultrasound is used here because they have a higher frequency and this allows it to penetrate further. However, the disadvantage is that it might scare the fishes away as it would be too noisy for them.

Promoting Healthy Eating Habits in Second Graders Essay

This paper is geared toward promoting education of healthy eating habits of second grade students. According to Blais and Hayes, â€Å"Healthy People 2010 define Health Promotion as individual and community activities to promote healthful lifestyles. These healthful lifestyles include the improvement of nutrition in America† (p.120). The Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion (CNPP), an organization of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, has provided the necessary tools to help guide and promote healthy eating habits through conducting research and evidence based analysis in nutrition. USDA Food Guidance System known as MyPlate, MyPyramid, or the Food Guide Pyramid are used to educate the public and offer information on the recommended nutritional guides on weight management, caloric intake, physical activity, and health tips for specific ages and health conditions. The Dietary Guidelines of Americans 2010 have set guidelines used to promote healthy eating to the American people of all cultures, traditions and socioeconomic background. These guidelines encourage the consumption of nutritional foods, which include fresh vegetable and fruit, whole grains, fat-free or low-fat milk and milk products, a variety of protein rich foods, which include lean meats, seafood, nuts and legumes (p.46). The emphasis of these principles will be used towards the promotion of health through the development, implementation and evaluation of a teaching plan on healthy eating habits to second graders, between the ages of 7-9 in a their classroom setting using the MyPlate educational teaching tools. Assessment of Learning Needs The second grade learning group consisted of fourteen children ages 7-9. An interactive class activity was presented using different items which  consisted of each food group using the MyPlate teaching concept. The children were asked to identify the food item they preferred unhealthy versus the healthy choice. The children’s knowledge on making healthy food choices was assessed at this time. It was assessed that 72% of the children preferred the food item that was unhealthy, while 28% made healthier selections. Although some of the children made healthy choices the majority of the group made unhealthy food selections. Prior to presenting the teaching plan the teacher reviewed the material to assure it would be understood by the second graders. Their developmental level was confirmed to be within the second grader learning ability in communication and understanding. None of the children required special learning needs. Two of the children wore corrective lenses, which did not inhibit their ability to participate in the activity. Cultural consideration was assessed by asking the children their race and the different kinds of food that is cooked at home. Two children were multicultural of Hispanic origin and specific food items commonly eaten at home were placed into its specific food group. The second graders first language was English. None of the children expressed specific spiritual practices as pertaining to eating habits or customs. The second graders preferred an interactive learning style which included: demonstration, answering and asking questions, and coloring activity. The second graders were enthusiastic and expressed eagerness to learn and share the information with their parents. The overall health status of the second graders was good. There were a few that expressed having allergies or respiratory problems. Learner Objectives The learning objectives for the promotion of healthy eating plan are as follows: A. Affective Domain: The students are willing to actively participate by listening and responding to the instructor’s presentation on healthy eating habits and engage in group activity. B. Cognitive Domain: Each student will be able to choose three healthy food items specific for each of the five food groups and describe three ways healthy eating nourishes the body and benefits of staying physically active. C. Psychomotor Domain: The students will select and identify the food item that is more beneficial for their health with given activity. Teaching Plan The teaching plan to be implemented includes the following presentation, which incorporates the current lunch menu offered to the students in school: A. MyPlate five food group and drink option was presented and the students are asked to choose which food item is eaten daily unhealthy versus healthy items included: 1. Fruit group: Selection of fresh fruit (banana, apple, orange strawberries, etc.) or a fruit cup 2. Grain group: Selection of French fries, potato chips, baked potato or wheat or white bread sandwich 3. Vegetable group: Selection of fresh carrots, salad, celery or canned carrots, corn 4. Protein group: Selection of fried chicken nuggets or baked chicken nuggets, burger or subway sandwich 5. Dairy group: Selection of whole milk or low fat milk, cheese or yogurt 6. Drinks: Water, Capri Sun or Juice box Each individual student will be encouraged to participate and other specific items not listed will be placed in the classified food group in order to address all individual needs. B. MyPlate nutritional guidelines reviewed with the students and open questions answered. 1. The School Day just got Healthier article discussion of the 10 tips for Nutrition Education Series includes awareness of healthier school meals for children, inclusion of more fruits and vegetables daily, along with whole-grain rich foods. The offering of a variety of low fat and fat free milk, reducing saturated fats and salt, increase in water intake. Meeting caloric needs through portion sizes, development of wellness programs, making better food choices and resources available to parents. 2. Emphasis on each food group with interactive group participation to name at least three healthy food items of choice 3. Name how healthy eating benefits the brain, heart and digestion, along with getting at least 60 minutes of exercise daily. C. Students will identify or select the healthier food items offered introduced at the beginning of presentation. 1. Choose MyPlate coloring activity will allow for a visual picture to reinforce the five food groups in a simple manner. 2. Draw three healthy food items on their MyPlate activity sheet. 3. Reinforce healthy eating habits with a take home pamphlet for the parents that describe 10 tips for healthy snacking. Evaluation of Teaching and Learning Evaluation of teaching and learning strategies were accurate, clear and appropriate for the second grade students. The teaching plan was simple and interactive to meet each individual learning need. The health promotion plan and activity outlined can be followed to teach other second grade students the importance of healthy eating habits using the free resources and information available on the website Choosemyplate.gov MyPlate Kid’s Place. The evaluation of learner objectives was measured by having the students re-evaluate their previous food item choice and compare it to the healthier food item. The scores were significantly higher were 92% the students identified and selected healthier food items listed. Open class discussion was used to determine if the teaching strategies used were appropriate for the students. The students expressed understanding and enjoying the class, the activities used and having a parent teaching the class. Positive feedback was given by the teacher present and students. The students were comfortable in their classroom setting, which is the appropriate environment for learning. The health promotion event was successful and effective in educating second grade students on healthy eating habits. The students expressed eagerness to share the resource pamphlet with their parents. The information shared would have been more effective and beneficial if the second graders parents were present, but studies show that second graders are influential in assisting parents make healthy eating choices for them with the information they learn. References Blais, K. K., & Hayes, J. S. (2011). Professional nursing practice: concepts and perspectives (6th ed.), New Jersey: Pearson U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010. 7th Edition, Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, December 2010 Jacksonville University College of Health Sciences (2012). School of nursing mission. Retrieved March 25, 2014 from http://www.ju.edu/COHS/Pages/School-of-Nursing-Mission.aspx Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, Office of the Secretary, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, May 2014. Retrieved from http://health.gov/dietaryguidelines/dga2010/DietaryGuidelines2010.pdf U.S. Department of Agriculture. ChooseMyPlate.gov Website. Washington, DC. Color Sheet. Retrieved April 18, 2014 from http://www.choosemyplate.gov/kids/downloads/ColoringSheet.pdf U.S. Department of Agriculture. ChooseMyPlate.gov Website. Washington, DC. School Day Just Got Healthier. Retrieved April 18, 2014 from http://www.choosemyplate.gov/foodgroups/downloads/TenTips/DGTipsheet21SchoolDayJustGotHealthier.pdf