Patient portal adoption challanges Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Patient portal adoption challanges - Essay Example On the contrary, motivation based factors are the attitudes that the medical staff has towards the adoption of healthcare portals. In this context, the professionals complain that the portals are difficult to use, require more than enough training. Moreover, some have presumed that the portals are inappropriate for handling healthcare records while others simply state that they do not enjoy using the information systems. To some extent, the medical staffs are justified in their objection to patient portals since they require technical knowledge absent in most of the workers (Ronda, Dijkhorst-Oei, & Rutten, 2014). The use of a patient portal requires suffice skills on Information Technology as opposed to medical and health care knowledge. Security and privacy concerns have been some of the misgivings of information systems and given the nature of the systems, breaches can occur where stealing of personal data can be a huge set back to the adoption of the portals. Nonetheless, the privacy issue concerns sharing of critical information with the employer, a situation that has made many medical staffs be worried about the extent of personal information they leave feed into the system. Medical workers presume that too much personal information is compromising their relationships with their employers. LeRouge, C., Slyke, C., Seale, D & Wright, K. (September, 2014). Baby Boomers’ Adoption of Consumer Health Technologies: Survey on Readiness and Barriers. Journal of Medical Internet Research. 16(9). Retrieved from http://www.jmir.org/2014/9/e200/#table4 Ronda, M. C., Dijkhorst-Oei, L.-T., & Rutten, G. E. (2014). Reasons and Barriers for Using a Patient Portal: Survey Among Patients With Diabetes Mellitus. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 16(11), e263.

People often complain about life in the U.S. Essay Example for Free

People often complain about life in the U.S. Essay People complain when most of their needs are not met. The irony of it lies when complaints are just piled up without any further insights on how to solve such problems. In the long run, complaints become a part of the lifestyle of people who are good at pointing at the loopholes most especially of the government, and of the leaders. As there would always be a reason for every action that is done, and for every result that is produced, man is also by nature never contented. Furthermore, the will to seek for the ‘best’ is always an intention to make life worth living. Power, fame, and money tops the priority of why people choose the option of fulfilling their daily agenda from dusk ‘til dawn. Although, with the exception of the few who does their work for the common people’s welfare and interest. It may also be considered a selfish ambition to seek good only for one’s self advantage and leave or ignore others behind while they struggle for the well being of everyone. From birth, the very basics of life are taught –following instructions, and that it is in the individual’s prerogative to obey, and afterwards reap the consequences of such actions. On the other hand, citizens do have their obligations and responsibilities. From simple instructions of following the rules and regulations or by becoming a â€Å"law abiding citizen† then, at least one is a big step ahead of fulfilling his obligations and responsibilities. Other concerns such as the payment of taxes for which some would dare not to are obligations that are intentionally forgotten. These are just simple, and few to mention that when taken for granted are enough reasons for making a citizen’s life fluctuate. Self-examination is important and should be carried before bursting in dismay the various injustices committed by the government and by the leaders or officials. For whatever reasons people complain about life in the U. S. is according to their own generalization and judgement on whatever situation or experiences they are basing it. On the other hand, a patriot will readily and passionately criticize his government when it is evil, corrupt, and infamous; and that refusing to do so is considered treason. It is the duty of every citizen to criticize, censure and scourge the political fiends that pretend to serve the public when those villainous brutes serve only tyranny, greed, hatred, and prejudice. In addition, complaints may have been germinated and nurtured from the compost heap of tyranny, imperialism, and international widespread liberal acts of butchery, despotism, and horror. The exposure of such a regime and its operations has become a primary duty of citizens who still believe in the Rule of Law and in the freedoms, which a country is supposed to represent. On the other hand, as a citizen who loves his country, his nation or his homeland, such complaints should be put aside and instead â€Å"take part† in the reforms that are taking place and â€Å"be a part† of whatever changes that will occur. For what would one gain complaining against the government – it only leads to further chaos and destruction that would later affect the stability of a country. Instead, an action of commitment is necessary for a change. Citizens cannot be required to take part in the political process, and they are free to express their dissatisfaction by not participating. However, without the lifeblood of citizens’ action, there can be no hope of making life much better. Teamwork is at its best when everyone participates in the fulfillment of such goals and objectives. For this reason, citizens play a very major role in the development of a country or a nation. Their â€Å"actions† speak â€Å"louder† when joined in one voice for the rehabilitation and development of their country. Most often, people are only joined on an aftermath, citing the 9/11 as an example. World leaders were heard on radio and seen on television joining against terrorism as worldwide threat to political-economic progress of every state or nation. Citizens therefore, should not take their responsibilities only as an option but as a mandate for which they should put into action and make commitments. US enjoy a government whereby the supreme power lies in the body of citizens who are entitled to vote for officers and representatives responsible to them. In which case, election of public officials is the most visible and common form of participation for which people could exercise their genuinity as citizens. However, there are problems faced by the electorate before and during election that would stop or make them have a second thought in casting their votes. Thus, the agenda of â€Å"making life better† by taking part in the election is at stake. Needless to say, as a citizen who loves his country, taking part on a crucial endeavor is worth an honor for standing on such beliefs and life principles – taking part for the better. In other areas, opportunities in which to participate to be able to have a part in the development and rehabilitation of a country and make it a better place to live is to take advantage of joining a host of private organizations, associations, and volunteer groups. For which many of these are concerned with issues of public policy and pay close attention to public opinion, making every effort to widen their base of support as they seek simultaneously to educate the public and influence government policies. The right of individuals to associate freely and to organize themselves into different sorts of nongovernmental groups is fundamental in shaping a better society, a better environment. When people of common interest band together, their voices can be heard and their chances of influencing the political debate increases. As there are no perfect leaders and perfect government that provides and meets the demands and expectations of its citizens, there are the advantages of opportunities vested upon the people to exercise their civil rights whenever it is necessary and while maintaining public order and countering attempts that ignites violence. Every circumstance that an individual faces everyday is a part of the spices of life that one should face courageously. That with his body, mind, and his character, should consider it as strengths for further growth and development. To make life better entails a long practice of patience and humility from which one could invest and influence others to follow. History records of people who have done it, and were able to successfully pursue their agendas after a long historic battle. Furthermore, citizens have the option of either to criticize and act, or to criticize and watch how complaints get piled and returns like a boomerang that backfires. It takes time, effort and most often investing money to make a goal successful. However in the long run, it pays an action for a legacy worthy for future generations. As the world advances, and so do the expectations of every individual, of every citizen. In addition, as government leaders occupy government offices from time to time, new agenda are always sought. Accordingly, to the best interest of the people! Whosoever leads, citizens’ action makes a difference when joined with a common goal – to make life better. REFERENCES: Felkins, Leon. â€Å"How to Avoid Wasting Your Vote†. The Election. 26 May 1996. 19 http://www. spectacle. org/1096/felkins. html Kettenhofen, Colleen. â€Å"Difficult People: Dealing with Difficult People 101†. Beyond Better Communications. 19 March 2007 http://www. livingbeyondbetter. com/difficult101. html â€Å"Politics, Economicsc, and Pluralism†. USINFO. STATE. GOV. 19 March 2007 http://usinfo. state. gov/products/pubs/whatsdem/whatdm8. htm

Effect of New Labour on Social Policy for Children

Effect of New Labour on Social Policy for Children The Preventive State. How far has New Labour changed the direction and scope of social policy for children and families? New Labour has reformed the scope and direction of social policy in the United Kingdom indelibly. These changes have permeated every level and shade of social policy related to children and families. The tax credits system, and in particular the Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit system has been introduced; fathers have gained more extensive paternity rights; parents with young children and parents with disabled children now enjoy the right to ask employers for more flexible working hours and a minimum wage has been introduced. This essay will explain the various social policy initiatives which have been formulated by New Labour and will attempt to explain the impact these have had upon children and families. An examination of how far New Labour has changed the direction and scope of social policy for children and families necessitates an examination of how the Labour Party traditionally dealt with policy in this area, and inevitably the transition from Old Labour to New Labour will have to be looked at since this has probably represented the single biggest catalyst for political change relating to social policy. In this way the question of how far New Labour have changed the direction and scope of social policy for children and young families will be evaluated and answered. Also, the question of whether the social policy objectives of New Labour allow one to characterise New Labour as the ‘Preventive State’ will be addressed throughout the essay. What is ‘New Labour’? New Labour was the name given to the Labour Party under the leadership of Tony Blair. New Labour swept to power with a landslide victory over the Conservatives in 1997. Prior to 1997, Labour had not been in power since James Callaghan’s Labour party lost power to Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative Party in 1979. Historically, the Labour Party in Britain has been the main left wing political party, and was built upon strong association with the trade union movement (Minkin, (1991))[1]. The historical concerns and ideology of the Labour Party, before the transition to New Labour has been set in context by Bevir (2005): ‘The leading figures in the early Labour Party Keir Hardie, Philip Snowden, and Ramsay MacDonald condemned capitalism in much the same terms as had the ethical socialists. Snowden condemned the competitive market for bringing out our animal instincts not our moral ones; it makes men hard, cruel, selfish, acquisitive economic machines†¦..Snowden followed Webbs theory of interest as analogous to land rent, arguing that just as the landlord gets an unearned income from the increase in the value of land, so the capitalist gets an unearned increment from improvements in productive methods and in other ways not the result of his own efforts or abilities. MacDonald followed the Webbss denunciation of the uncoordinated nature of the market, arguing that whereas capitalism relied on a haphazard and chaotic clash of individual interests, socialism would eliminate waste by organising economic life on a scientific basis†¦[2]’. Tony Blair became leader of the Labour Party in 1994, after the death of John Smith, and gradually came to realise that ideological reform of the foundations of the party, as expressed above were necessary if Labour were to be regarded as a credible party in the eyes of voters. Therefore, ‘New Labour’ came to represent this ideological shift which rejected the old democratic socialist underpinnings of the Labour Party in favour of neo-liberal policies, which had proven so popular under the premiership of Margaret Thatcher. This ideological shift drew the Labour Party further to the centre-right, and led to much division among the ranks of Labour Party members who saw this development as positive and progressive and those who regarded it as incongruous with the traditional function of the Labour Party. Therefore, Labour, as a party has undergone considerable change in the last two decades, and this process of change can mainly be attributed to the transition from Old Labour, with its focus on traditional socialist values, to New Labour, a party whose ideologies had shifted towards the centre-right and which seem to be driven more by political pragmatism than by any particular allegiance to ideology. The writings of Denver et al. (1998) give us more guidance on the rationale and impetus for this transition to New Labour: ‘†¦After private polling immediately following the 1992 general election and again at the end of that same year revealed that, among wavering Conservative voters, the Labour Party was regarded as too old fashioned, too tied to the past, too linked to minorities rather than majorities, and too associated with old images of the trades unions, Hill wrote that the party lacked clear identity and was the party of the past.†¦.The view that, notwithstanding any opinion poll leads Labour might gain, the party would not win an election unless it reassessed itself in a fundamental manner was held among a group of party modernisers, including Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, Harriet Harman, Peter Mandelson, and Philip Gould. The 1992 defeat confirmed these modernisers view that fundamental changes were necessary†¦.Their target included both the left and the right of the party. Harold Wilson, James Callaghan, Tony Crosland, and Tony Benn were all equally identified with the flawed politics of old Labour. In Blairs view, â€Å"Labour needed a quantum leap to become a serious party of government again.†¦.His project, as first publicly articulated in his 1995 party conference speech, was to eradicate all aspects of party doctrine and ethos, of policies and strategies, that were of the past†¦.[3]’. The changes to the ideological foundations of the Labour Party, brought about principally by Blair, have in turn precipitated wide reaching change to the social policy which is now espoused by the Labour Party, and these changes have arguably impacted upon families and children more sharply than they have impacted upon any other groups or sectors. The next sections will chart these changes to the social policy perspective of the Labour Party under Blair and will attempt to relate this discussion to the situation of families and children. In a wider sense, this discussion will address the issue of whether New Labour can be regarded as a ‘preventive state’. New Labour in Power New Labour has changed the face of social policy which can be seen to have a direct effect upon the family and children. The introduction of the minimum wage in 1999; the revolutionary idea of allowing fathers paternity rights and the ideas about flexible working arrangements for women, parents with children and disabled people have all had the effect of bringing the institution of the family in the UK into the modern era. Labour have worked to reduce poverty and to improve working arrangements for those with families, partly as an expression of commitments to ‘popular’ politics, but also as a necessary series of measures to ensure that the UK complies with the requirements of European Union. This section will examine these measures, how they have come about and how effective they have been at changing the direction and scope of social policy within the UK. When Labour took power in the 1997 General Election, they promised to radically reform government policy to make it appeal more to the average voter, they promised to eliminate ‘sleaze’ which had been a central flaw in the previous Conservative administration, and they also promised to radically reform their own party, not just ideologically but in terms of a general democratic function, which they argued had put too wide a distance between Government and groups including families and children[4]. Therefore Labour was committed to make the party more geared towards the concerns of contemporary voters who saw issues relating to family and children as important. These were all rhetorical promises, of course, yet nonetheless they can be regarded as being of particular significance to the core social policies which were to emerge following the election of the fledgling Labour Government in 1997. The appointment of Frank Field in 1997, as Welfare Reform Minister communicated the first message that the object of this radical rhetoric was to be social policy, in particular. Field identified flaws in the social policy system which had been inherited from the Conservatives, and these problems, according to Field emanated from the antiquated system of means testing for benefits. Mainly, Field objected to the fact that the social security system, in particular the system of means testing seemed to create disincentives for those returning to work, after a period of dependency on benefits. This flaw, in particular, affected children and families because many families with young children faced the decision either to return to work, or to remain on benefits with an adult in the home to look after the child or children. However, Field’s rationale in regards to means testing did not find favour with the Government. However, Field’s proposals for reform of the youth employme nt policies fared a little better. The New Deal for eighteen to twenty four year olds was introduced as a way of addressing wider social concerns about youth unemployment and a link between crime or ‘anti-social’ behaviour and young people leaving education with few qualifications or prospects. This policy was arguably the main social policy reform introduced during the tenure of Frank Field[5]. The New Deal was first publicised in October 1997, as part of the Government’s ‘Welfare to Work’ strategy, and was a policy directed at providing work opportunities for young people leaving school at eighteen, and was also intended to indirectly benefit those families who had young people living in the family home just after that young person had left education. The New Deal was not a new conception. As a policy, it was first introduced by F. D. Roosevelt to deal with the consequences of the depression in America, in the early 1930s. However, the Labour Government of 1997 adopted the ‘New Deal’ brand to communicate a policy which was targeted towards young people, and was intended to operationalise New Labour’s social policy objective of encouraging young people aged 18-24 to enter the UK workforce. In this sense, the social policy initiatives which were products of the tenure of Frank Field can be regarded as ‘preventive’ since they recognised the problems which disillusioned youths might pose to society if they were not encouraged to follow a smooth transition from schooling to the world of work. However, Field’s tenure as Minister for Welfare Reform was thwarted by Cabinet feuds and grassroots suspicions (in particular from backbenchers) that a radical reform of the social security system would disenfranchise those within the Labour Party who remained loyal to socialist ideology[6]. Therefore, although it is true that Frank Field did not precipitate radical reform of the social security system or wider social policy, he did lay the foundations for Labour’s social security policy focus which was pivoted upon encouraging individual self sufficiency and recognition that working was more beneficial than reliance upon the support of the social security system. Ironically therefore, although Field’s title as Minister for Welfare Reform would have suggested otherwise, Field’s ideas were regarded as too revolutionary, and even as subversive by some. The translation of Field’s reform ethos was arguably stunted while he was in power, for many reasons , but principally because, during this time New Labour struggled to repudiate old socialist ideological ideas, which traditionally and historically were central to the Labour Party. The reform of means testing became government policy in 1998[7], and the conception of welfare rights coupled with ‘responsibility’ reflected a wider rationale which encouraged people on welfare to regard state support as a mechanism which might be relied upon where an option to support oneself was impossible as opposed to undesirable. We have seen this rationale continue into 2006, with the recent reform of Incapacity Benefit, which is now more difficult to claim. These reforms of the social security system, although some have not been specifically targeted at children and families, have indirectly benefited children and families in significant ways. However, if one looks to the reform of the tax credit system, New Labour’s direct concern to change the circumstances of families and children, by implementing the rationales which have been explained above can be seen more sharply. The Child Tax and Working Tax Credit System The 2000 Budget communicated the Government’s plans to revise the benefits system, and this process resulted in the creation of the tax credits system, which was intended to be a singular system which would provide social welfare support to families, disabled people, low income employees and children which had previously been available through a plethora of complex individual benefit schemes. In particular, the system replaced the WFTC (Working Family Tax Credit) and the DPTC (Disabled Person Tax Credit) systems. The tax credit system was aimed at operationalising New Labour’s commitment to eradicating poverty and social exclusion, especially poverty among children and families. Tax credits were also intended to target relief towards those who were in need of it the most, and financially reward families for choosing to work. A special tax credit was also introduced and this was aimed at assisting families with young children with childcare costs, which arose because a parent needed to work. The tax credit system was seen by many as the Government’s response to the criticism that families who worked were not much better off financially than families who did not work and sought financial support from the social security system. The system of tax credits was also seen as a way to eliminate the problem with the previous means testing approach to welfare calculation which tended to heavily penalise those families and individuals who had savings. The tax credit system was operationalised alongside targets to reduce child poverty rates and specifically to deal with the fact that Britain was criticised as having one of the highest child poverty rates in Europe. However, the tax credit system is a transitional policy initiative and has suffered from various criticisms which have resulted directly from the transitional nature of the system. Current criticisms of the tax credit system point to the persistent problem of over payments which have to be recovered from low income families. The bureaucracy of the system has also encountered heavy criticism, in much the same way as the Child Support Agency has under New Labour. Also, under New Labour the Housing Benefit and Council tax systems have remained largely untouched, and this can arguably be criticised as an inconsistent social welfare policy approach. The rationale for this particular critique is that the problems which prompted reform of the social welfare system and the resultant introduction of the tax credit system still exist, albeit in different niches within the social welfare system, giving rise to an inconsistent and inadequate reform focus. Children and Anti-Social Behaviour New Labour has also been radical in dealing with concerns about anti-social behaviour in children. Their approach has arguably been to impose a more paternalistic and authoritarian culture upon young children, while at the same time increasing the responsibilities and duties which parents owe to their children, and those children in their care. These trends have taken shape in the form of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 and the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003, which has classified littering, causing criminal damage, vandalism, noise, hoax calls and street drinking amongst other things as anti-social behaviour. New Labour: The Preventive State? New Labour can be seen to have assumed the mantle of the ‘preventive state’ given the focus it has directed towards, dealing with the ‘causes[8]’ of crime and dysfunction in the youth sector and in relation to the family. This focus, coupled with New Labour’s focus on trying to eradicate poverty through the welfare initiatives which have been explained above, and the attempts which have been made to make youth transition from the end of education to the beginning of employment more smooth (i.e. the New Deal initiative) has cast Labour as being concerned with preventing problems associated with the family and children before they arise. In this sense, New Labour can certainly be seen as a ‘preventive’ state. Their concerns are paternalistic in the context. However, one only has to turn to the provision of social services within the UK to see the converse of new Labour’s role as a preventive state. In particular, the death of Victoria Climbie provoked criticism that the social services system, under the supervision of the Blair administration was grossly inadequate and fraught with flaws which undermined the institution of the family and endangered to position of children by failing those vulnerable individuals who either need assistance from the state to help them support children, or those individuals who are children and indirectly need to state to provide this support to those caring for them. The next section of the essay will examine this critique of the New Labour Government. Children and Social Services in the UK New Labour has implemented a series of legislative initiatives aimed at protecting the situation of the child in the UK. A Children’s Minister (currently Beverley Hughes) has been appointed to oversee the needs of children. The Children’s Act 2004 and the Every Child Matters agenda were aimed to improve and modernise the protections available to children within the UK, a system which had been highlighted as containing serious flaws, particularly in the aftermath of the death of Victoria Climbie, an eight year old child who died following systematic abuse inflicted by her carers, which was not identified by the social services whose ultimate role it had been to oversee Victoria Climbie’s care. These initiatives were aimed at bolstering the protections offered by The Children Act 1989 and responding to a climate of deep unhappiness about New Labour’s handling of the social support mechanisms available to children and families of children who needed to avail of such support. The area of the social services and how these actors assisted families and children was a policy concern largely ignored by the Labour administration when it assumed power. Labour’s concerns, as has been explained above were mainly ideological in focus and concerned ‘bigger picture’ issues which included education, crime, social exclusion, poverty, employment, welfare and other such issues which existed as inter-related and intersecting socio-legal and socio-political policy concerns. It is possible to make an argument therefore that New Labour’s concern for these ‘bigger picture’ issues has resulted in relative neglect of issues which concern policy niches, and policy concerns which exist at a more micro, but nonetheless critical level. Among these niche issues are the services provided to children and families through the social services. Lord Laming’s enquiry into the needs of children in care was established after the death of Victoria Climbie in 2000. Laming published his report in January 2003, and it heavily criticised the government for not having enough communication channels open between agencies working within the social services sector separately, while at the same time serving a singular function to provide support to children and families in need to state support. Therefore, one of Laming’s main recommendations was the formulation of a national database where social services actors would be able to access information about children, nationally. Commenting on Lord Laming’s report, the Children Minister, Barbara Hughes has made the following statement, acknowledging the accuracy of Laming’s criticisms: We have seen the tragic consequences that the failure to intervene early can have, as identified in Lord Lamings report on Victoria Climbie. But even in less extreme circumstances, all too often children who need additional help are faced with services which are not joined up. We need to ensure that professionals work together across service boundaries for the benefit of children†¦..These proposals balance the need to do everything we can to improve childrens life chances whilst ensuring strong safeguards to make sure information stored is minimal, secure and used appropriately. Parents and young people will be able to ask to see their data†¦[9]’. It is clear therefore that New Labour has taken Laming’s concerns seriously and the policy response that New Labour has delivered has been open, direct and speedy. However, this does not absolve the Government of the responsibility for failing to foresee the problems that eventually did arise for families and children because the social services sector had been sidelined while the Government dealt with ‘bigger picture’ issues. Perhaps it is arguable therefore that the Labour Government have changed the direction and scope of social policy ideologically, while failing to understand that grassroots issues such as social services provisions, needed ‘on the ground’ were under resourced and outdated. This rationale can account the apparent contraction in terms which emanates from a vision of the Labour Party as a modernising party who changed the face of social policy indelibly and undoubtedly in positive ways, while simultaneously failing in their responsibility to effectively oversee the operation of services on a more micro level. In this sense, the Labour Party can be critiqued as thinking preventively about ideological and holistic policy concerns while only thinking and behaving reactively to grassroots level services for the family and children. It is clear, however, that lessons have been learned from policy failures and policy ‘gaps’, and while these critiques are certainly serious they are ameliorated through the Labour Party’s willingness to accept criticisms, such as those delivered by Laming and to implement far reaching changes as a response to these. Conclusion In conclusion therefore, the New Labour Government, which has been continuously been in power since 1997 has implemented far reaching change within the area of social policy relating to children and the family. These social policy developments have been explained throughout this essay, and an argument has been made that in many ways, New Labour has drastically changed the direction and scope of social policy within the UK. However, as has been one of the central arguments of this essay; this far reaching change has been manifested more at an ideological than at a grassroots level. In this sense, New Labour can be regarded as being a ‘preventive state’ more at an ideological than at a grassroots level. Grassroots services and social policy concerns relating to the family have recently been highlighted as seriously deficient, but as has been another central argument within this essay, these failures have been offset to an extent by willingness on the part of New Labour to accept and respond constructively to political criticism. Bibliography Books Bevir, M. (2005). New Labour: A Critique. Publisher: Routledge. Place of Publication: London. Denver, D., King, A., McLean, I., Norris, P., Norton, P., Sanders, D. and Seyd, P. (1998) New Labour Triumphs: Britain at the Polls. Publisher: Chatham House Publishers. Place of Publication: Chatham, NJ. Minkin, L. (1991). The Contentious Alliance: Trade Unions and the Labour Party. Publisher: Edinburgh University Press. Place of Publication: Edinburgh. Articles Hayton, A. and Leathwood, C. (2002) Educational Inequalities in the United Kingdom: A Critical Analysis of the Discourses and Policies of New Labour. Title: Australian Journal of Education. Volume: 46. Issue: 2. Anonymous. (2005) Better Services for Children as Government acts on Lord Laming Recommendation. Available at: http://www.egovmonitor.com/node/3938 >>. 1 Footnotes [1] P192. Minkin, L. (1991). The Contentious Alliance: Trade Unions and the Labour Party. Publisher: Edinburgh University Press. Place of Publication: Edinburgh. [2] P133. Bevir, M. (2005). New Labour: A Critique. Publisher: Routledge. Place of Publication: London. [3] P51. Denver, D., King, A., McLean, I., Norris, P., Norton, P., Sanders, D. and Seyd, P. (1998) New Labour Triumphs: Britain at the Polls. Publisher: Chatham House Publishers. Place of Publication: Chatham, NJ. [4] P138+. Hayton, A. and Leathwood, C. (2002) Educational Inequalities in the United Kingdom: A Critical Analysis of the Discourses and Policies of New Labour. Title: Australian Journal of Education. Volume: 46. Issue: 2. [5] See Hayton, A. and Leathwood, C. ((2002) P138+). [6] See Denver et al. ((1998) P201). [7] Under the supervision of Alistair Darling who had succeeded Frank Field as Secretary of State at the Department of Social Security in 1998. [8] As Blair famously remarked in the 1990s. [9] Anonymous. (2005) Better Services for Children as Government acts on Lord Laming Recommendation. Available at: http://www.egovmonitor.com/node/3938 >>.

transport management :: essays research papers

Transport management is now far more sophisticated than it was a decade ago. Transport activities generate a wide range of economic benefits. Between 2% and 4% of total OECD employment, for example, is derived from transport services, and an estimated 4-9% of GDP in the OECD area is attributable to spending by the users of transport (including expenditure on infrastructure). More than 10% of total household expenditure now goes to purchase transport services (OECD Publications/ECMT). The balance of international payments is also strongly influenced by trade in transport equipment. Enormous changes have taken place in the transport sector in recent years. The most marked is its unprecedented growth. Both stock variables (fleet size, kilometres of road and rail infrastructure, and so on) and flow variables (number of trips taken, volume of goods transported, and the like) have expanded rapidly. The world's automobile fleet, for example, doubled between 1970 and 1990, to stand today at approximately 500 million vehicles. These numbers are expected to double over the next 20-40 years, although at a slower rate in OECD countries than in the past. Substantial structural, changes have also taken place. For one thing, there has been a major shift in where transport growth is occurring. In 1950, 75% of all automobiles were located in the United States. Since then, the number outside the United States has grown by about 8% per year (Mackenzie Walsh 1990) with even more remarkable increases in some locations. In Athens, for example, car ownership burgeoned from 35,000 in 1964 to 650,000 in 1984, and is expected to be about 900,000 by this year (Glaoutzi Damianidias 1990). Most future growth in global vehicle stocks is projected to occur in the developing world, as the industrialized countries become increasingly saturated with vehicles, as the developing countries undergo urbanization and industrialization processes of their own, and as people there begin to realize their longstanding aspirations for more mobility. There has also been a significant shift in the shares of different modes of transport. In the past twenty years, the v olume of road freight traffic has doubled, while rail and waterway volumes have remained stable. In view of the rapidity of these changes, it is not surprising that transport problems are generating considerable political debate in most countries. The traditional approach used to be to step up the supply of services; increasingly, calls are being heard for policies that curtail demand. Whichever approach is preferred, much of the discussion centres on the so-called 'social costs' of transport.

The Aral Sea Disaster Essay example -- Policies Environment Essays

The Aral Sea Disaster Abstract The Aral Sea and the entire Aral Sea basin area have achieved worldwide notoriety due to the environmental disaster. The example of the Aral Sea disaster has sent a signal to the entire international community demonstrating how fast and irrevocable the environmental system can be ruined if there is no long-term thinking and planning in place. This paper gives a broad overview of the policies that have resulted in dying of the forth-largest inland body of water. It concentrates on the policies and approaches of the international organizations towards the problem, describes examples of the projects and presents a conclusion on effectiveness of such policies. Introduction The Aral sea used to be the forth largest inland body of water. It had a fishing industry that employed 60,000 people and it attracted thousands of tourists. Today the Aral Sea is biologically dead and has shrunk by approximately 75-80% in volume and 50-60% in area. (See Attachment 1. The chronology of the desiccation of the Aral Sea). Fishing towns such as Muinak are now 60 kilometers inland. Approximately 75 million tons per year of toxic salt from the exposed seabed are blown over thousands of kilometers of inhabited land increasing the already high level of salinity and worsening the environmental situation. Where is the Aral Sea located? The Aral Sea is in the very heart of the Central Asia. Central Asia, an area of 1.7 millions km2 in total, lies in the middle of the Eurasian continent. It is at the crossroads of the old caravan routes that ran from Europe to Asia and the Middle East to the Far East. The whole region consists of vast deserts and semi-arid lands (See Attachment 2. Geographical ... .../aralsea/asa_dis.htm Operational Research http://www.msf.org/aralsea/op_res.htm Tuberculosis Pilot Program http://msf.org/aralsea/tb_pilot.htm 3. UNOPS web site http://unops.org/5 proin/5pi2001.html 4. International Aral Sea Rehabilitation Fund web site http://ifas-almaty.kz/ENG/Consequesnces.html 5. Soros Foundation ¡Ã‚ ¦s Office in Tashkent web site www.soros.org 6. German Remote Data Center Geographical location of the Aral Sea http://www.dfd.dlr.de/app/land/aralsee/aralregion.html Chronology of the desiccation of the Aral Sea http://www.dfd.dlf.de/app/land/aralsee/chronology.html Picture 1. Chronology of the dessication of the Aral Sea The series of images were derived by satellite remote sensing data and conventional data (WDB II for the mask of 1960, bathymetry for the year of 2010).

Hamlet :: Literary Analysis, Shakespeare

Hamlet is one of the main characters in Hamlet. He have uttermost quest for the revenge with his uncle, Claudius, who is the new king of Denmark. Claudius dishonoured Hamlet’s mother by marrying her and murdered her husband. This all started when one night the ghost of Hamlet’s father appeared to him and revealed the truth of his death. The quote said by the Ghost, â€Å"Thus was I, sleeping, by a brother’s hand/ Of life, of crown, of queen at once dispatched† (1. V. 80) tells that the Ghost’s brother took everything away all at once and because of that his soul wanders in purgatory. To make matters worse, his mother who was the wife of the dead king recently got married to her brother-in-law. The quote stated by Hamlet, "Frailty, thy name is woman!† (I. II.46) gives a clear indication about his amazement for his mother’s emotions are fickle that instead of grieving over her husband’s death, she is celebrating the new love of her life. On the contrary, Hamlet’s world is turned upside down because of all of this mess that’s talking place in his life all at once. After the Ghost left, Hamlet appears to be moody. So far, he is not fully certain to believe the Ghost’s side of the story and whether or not to take revenge. It was not until one day when the travelling actors arrived at his palace. Therefore, he uses this opportunity and asked them to perform a play called â€Å"The Murder of Gonzago†. The quote, â€Å"The play’s the thing/ Wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the King† (11.11.152) are a few lines from Hamlet’s soliloquy which gives a clear idea of his plan. He uses the play to basically see the reactions of Claudius in order to be certain of his guilt. The quote, â€Å"O wretched state! O bosom black as death!/ O limed soul, that struggling to be free† (111.111.216) illustrated by Claudius while he was praying in private shows that he finally expresses his remorse of his bad deeds. At first Hamlet thought that he should draw his sword and take his retribution. However, he then stopped to think again and delayed his revenge because he wants Claudius to suffer for his sins and go to hell. However, at the end of the play he kills Claudius and he himself dies during the fencing match which was plotted against Hamlet.

The Key Factors on the Development of Outdoor Adventure.

The key factors on the development of outdoor adventure. 1932 – The mass trespass On Sunday 24th April 1932 around five hundred ramblers trespassed in on Kinder Scout, this led to legislation in 1949 to establish the National Parks and to walkers' rights over open country and common land in 2000. The reason there was a mass trespass was because gamekeepers that owned the land that the ramblers wanted to walk on said they couldn’t, and because of the lack of progress that had been made by the official ramblers’ federations for the ‘Right to Roam’ the mass trespass was organised. The idea was to protest about the lack of access. The land was bad farming land and was used to graze sheep or to keep game birds and was only worked on around 12 days a year, the rest of the time it would have been deserted but walkers weren’t allowed on it. The mass trespassers demanded change, they wanted the land to be opened so when it wasn’t being worked on people could walk on it. Of the 150,000 acres of land in the Peak District only 1,200 acres, had public access and there were only 12 ‘legal' paths to choose from, this meant that with the growing popularity of walking the paths were often crowded. If any of the walkers wandered off the paths (which many did, to find somewhere quieter) it was trespassing and they were chased off the land. Many walkers believed it wasn’t right that people should have land as private and access should be available to everyone. So people set out on the mass trespass as a protest against land owners, nothing other than arrests happened immediately, but 17 years later the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 legislation came in. And if it wasn’t for the mass trespass we may not have had access to the countryside this would have made it hard for outdoor education to take place. As access would be restricted and wandering off paths wouldn’t be allowed, going to a crag to climb wouldn’t be allowed, setting up a tent wouldn’t be allowed, mountain biking wouldn’t be allowed (off paths), the list goes on, but if not for the 400 – 500 trespassers we may not have had as many opportunities as we do today. The main influence the mass trespass had on the outdoor education world was access which provides opportunities and gave people something cheap to do in their leisure time. It also increased media which increased knowledge. It reduced fear as with the legislation in place people can wander off paths and not be chased off the land. 1907 – Robert Baden started the scouts and 2009 – Bear Grylls becomes chief scout Robert Baden’s many experiences as a boy and as a soldier played a great part in him starting the scouting movement. When he was a boy he spent his holidays camping, hiking and sailing, Robert also used to sneak off into the woods during school and there he learned how to hide his tracks, climb trees and freeze to escape attention if any of the school teachers entered the woods. As a boy he also learnt skills such as how to pitch a tent, use a map and compass, and cook on a wood-fire. When Robert was in the British army, he taught his soldiers how to live in the wood. He taught them how to use maps and compasses, how to tell directions from the stars, and how to read tracks and trail signs. He called his soldiers Scouts. In 1900, Robert and his soldiers were defending a town during a war in South Africa. Robert taught the boys of the town to do important jobs the soldiers usually did. He learned that boys could be taught to do important things and do their best at it. All this led to him taking 20 teenage boys on 1st – 9th August 1907 to Brownsea Island to camp, he taught them scouting. This then led to him writing a book in 1908, a book called Scouting for boys, from this he only intended to provide a method of training boys which existing organisations could use, but to his surprise many boys grouped together and created their own ‘scouts’ groups. And by 1909, there were 11,000 Boy Scouts. Scouting spread from Britain America, and all over the world. Thanks to Lord Robert Baden-Powell, there are now millions of people joined together in the worldwide community of Scouting. The war in 1914 could have caused the collapse of the scouts, but the training provided proved its worth. When adult leaders volunteered for active service patrol leaders took over. Scouts contributed to the war effort in many ways including the Sea Scouts who took the place of regular coast-guardsmen, which freed them for service afloat. On 17th May 2009 Bear Grylls became chief scout becoming the youngest ever chief scout Bear says â€Å"this is his proudest post, standing up for young people from so many different cultures and countries, helping them realize their dreams, explore the world, help in crisis countries, and benefit from being part of a worldwide family. It is all about encouraging life values, outdoor skills and a sense of pride, belonging and camaraderie through adventure. † His website states â€Å"Bear Grylls is a worldwide icon for the great outdoors and the ultimate in adventure. † And â€Å"Bear Grylls has become known around the world as one of the most recognized faces of survival and outdoor adventure. † Because he is in the media and on TV a lot he is a celebrity role model that can impact people on wanting to join the scouts and gain knowledge. If Robert hadn’t set up the scouts then 1- Bear wouldn’t be scout leader and may not have had as much impact on people that he does, and 2- many people wouldn’t have joined and learned about the outdoors and many wouldn’t have an interest in outdoor adventure. 1990’s – The 7 Stanes set up The 7stanes are seven mountain biking sites in the south of Scotland. It is a partnership project which was started in 2001 and recently finished its third phase (2011). They are set on Forestry Commission land and they are seen as the way by which further trails in the UK should be developed. They are known as the 7stanes because each venue features a ‘stane' (Scottish name for stone) along each of the forest trails. The 7stanes are set in: * Forest of Ae * Dalbeattie * Glentrool * Kirroughtree, near Newton Stewart * Mabie * Newcastleton * Tweed Valley – Glentress and Innerleithen The trails on each site are different, and are set different difficulties by Trail Grades which are: * Green – Easy (relatively flat; suitable for beginners) Blue – Moderate (may be single-track and include minor obstacles; suitable for cyclists with basic off-road skills) * Red – Difficult (mostly single-track, many obstacles; suitable for proficient mountain bikers) * Black – Severe (similar to red routes, with more obstacles and large challenging area; suitable for expert riders only) * Bike Park (Orange)- Extreme (highly challen ging, includes downhill sections and unavoidable jumps; suitable for expert riders only) The Forestry Commission as established in 1919 and is responsible for forestry in Great Britain. Its mission is â€Å"to protect and expand Britain's forests and woodlands and increase their value to society and the environment. † In October 2010, the Government introduced the Public Bodies Bill, which would have enabled the Secretary of State to sell or lease public forests in England. This could have ment that the land was sold and possibly changed but an online petition was set up opposing the sale and it received more than 537,000 people signed it. Then in February 2011, after a campaign of protest by groups like the Ramblers and Hands off our Forest, the government announced it had abandoned its plans and would remove the forestry clauses from the Public Bodies Bill. Also an independent panel was set up to advice on the future directions of forestry policies, and on the role of the Forestry Commission. If the 7 stains weren’t there many outdoor centers in the south Scotland would not have the opportunity to take their groups mountain biking, also many shops may not sell as much mountain bike equipment and this would effect the increase in new and better equipment. So because the 7 Stanes is there is an increased availability, and accessibility. Also the advertising has increased knowledge and interest in mountain biking. Bibliography http://www. beargrylls. com http://www. scout. org http://www. kindertrespass. com/ http://www. forestry. gov. uk http://7stanesmountainbiking. com