Rural Masculinity free essay sample

The men these boys look up to have shown the masculine qualities that are needed to encompass the guy code. Many Americans Like the qualities that make up the rural masculinity or a country boy. These country boys encompass many good qualities that make them popular. The stereotypical country boy is white 10-60, and usually is in the lower-middle class (blue collar). Being straight is the way to be in the cowboy culture. The large majority of rural masculinity comes from rural areas and theSouth. Their culture is a mix of mainstream and alternative. The cultural attitude is very laid back and personable; they have strong family values, hard workers, and are biased as being not very smart or rich. Religion Is also a factor when It comes to rural masculinity as that Is what your values and beliefs are based off of. I believe that the man with that embodies rural masculinity or the country boy attitude is Toby Keith. We will write a custom essay sample on Rural Masculinity or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page As he comes form a blue-collar family he knew what he had to do to achieve his dream. His hard work on the oil derricks took him up to operations manager by the time he was 20.On the side to help support himself him and a couple buddies made a band called the Easy Money Band. When the oil industry took a dive he went back to his roots and tried out for a semi-pro football team out of Oklahoma City. He never gave up on his dream of getting a record contract and finally caught his big break in the sasss and signed a record deal with Mercury Records. He had made it and had gotten his contract. After that his career took of and there was no stopping from there. Toby likes to show off his masculinity by always wearing a hat when he performs, and youll never see him without his signature goatee.The cowboy hat symbolizes the cowboy at heart. His goatee shows off his masculinity, as a beard or facial hair Is a staple for manhood. His sleeveless shirts are a staple at his concerts to show off his biceps, which the ladies cant get enough of. He has a thick southern accent, which embodies the manly image that many people enjoy. He is also a staunch family man. He has three kids and another one the way along with two grandchildren. Along with his country songs he has many patriotic songs. He goes on US tours overseas to motivate and keep the hopes of the troops up.One song in reticular Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue which was written after his dad was killed In an automobile accident and the attacks on 9/11. He wanted to pay homage to his dads service in the military and to the faith he had in the untied States. His patriotic songs are what got some people that have come back from the war through the day and keep them going through their physical therapy and down the road to recovery. The only downside to this song was when on of the Dixie Chicks publicly stated that this song was ignorant, and it makes country music sound Ignorant. He didnt let it bother him anymore.He incorporates this into his music as it is very laid back and relates to blue-collar folks. Having to work multiple Jobs to help support pursuer is something many upper class Americans cant really relate to. Some of his music is about him explaining the hardships that he went through. Many people in the upper class have never had to go through some of the hardships he has. Morning through the adversity that he had to go through like he did is what makes a man. Doing what he did to get to where is he today is what makes him a good person for rural masculinity. In the country music world he is thought of as very masculine.If you take a look at some of his music you wont be surprised to see that. His music is filled with party songs, beer songs, and his most recognized patriotic songs. Some of these songs encourage the drinking of a lot of beer and having a good time with friends. His patriotic songs make him look pro-war, but he has never came out and fully supported the war. He was a registered democrat and now he is registered in the Independent Party, but has pledged his support to both campaigns. He said he got out of the Democratic Party because he didnt have the same beliefs as they have.Even after his singing career is over Toby has something to fall back on. He started robs Kiths I Love This Bar Grill in 2005 and has since taken off. Being an entrepreneur like he his shows another sign of masculinity. He always has something that he can do to support his family if times get tough. Along with his restaurant he has appeared very rugged and masculine in many TV commercials for various companies such as Ford. Along with commercials he has made a couple TV appearances such as Comedy Centrals Roast of Larry the Cable Guy, The Collect Report, and Fox Channels Hackers where he did a duet at the end of the show withMike Hackers. Toby Keith is the image of what rural masculinity should look like. He has the cowboy hat, sleeveless shirt, and the facial hair. He likes to project his own image and tries to stay out of the tabloids as often as possible. He worked his Nay up from a helping hand on the oil derrick to operations manager to starting his own band, and eventually starting his own record label. His family is what drives him to keep performing and is one of the keys to rural masculinity. He is a role model to many younger people because of the way he carries himself and his beliefs.

Biography of William Travis, Texas Revolution Hero

Biography of William Travis, Texas Revolution Hero William Barret Travis (August 1, 1809–March 6, 1836) was an American teacher, lawyer, and soldier. He was in command of the Texan forces at the Battle of the Alamo, where he was killed along with all of his men. According to legend, he drew a line in the sand and challenged the defenders of the Alamo to cross it as a sign of their promise to fight to the death. Today, Travis is considered a great hero in Texas. Fast Facts: William Travis Known For: Travis became a Texas hero for his role in the defense of the Alamo.Also Known As: BuckBorn: August 1, 1809 in Saluda County, South CarolinaDied: March 6, 1836 in San Antonio, Texas Early Life Travis was born on August 1, 1809, in South Carolina, and grew up in Alabama. At the age of 19, while working as a schoolteacher in Alabama, he married one of his students, 16-year-old Rosanna Cato. Travis later trained and worked as a lawyer and published a short-lived newspaper. Neither profession made him much money, and in 1831 he fled to the west, staying one step ahead of his creditors. He left Rosanna and their young son behind. By then the marriage had soured, and neither Travis nor his wife was upset by his departure. He chose to head to Texas for a new start; his creditors could not pursue him into Mexico. Anahuac Disturbances Travis found plenty of work in the town of Anahuac defending slaveholders and those who sought to recapture runaway slaves. This was a sticky point at the time in Texas, as slavery was illegal in Mexico but many of the Texas settlers practiced it anyway. Travis soon ran afoul of Juan Bradburn, an American-born Mexican military officer. After Travis was jailed, the local people took up arms and demanded his release. In June 1832, there was a tense standoff between angry Texans and the Mexican Army. It eventually turned violent and several men were killed. The fighting came to an end when a high-ranking Mexican official arrived to defuse the situation. Travis was freed, and he soon found he was a hero among Texans who wanted to separate from Mexico. Return to Anahuac In 1835, Travis again was involved in trouble in Anahuac. In June, a man named Andrew Briscoe was jailed for arguing about new taxes. Infuriated, Travis rounded up a gang of men and they rode up to Anahuac, supported by a boat with a lone cannon. He ordered the Mexican soldiers out. Not knowing the strength of the rebel Texans, they agreed. Briscoe was freed and Travis’ stature grew enormously with those Texans who favored independence. His fame increased even more when it was revealed that Mexican authorities had issued a warrant for his arrest. Arrival at the Alamo Travis missed out on the Battle of Gonzales and the Siege of San Antonio, but he was still a dedicated rebel and anxious to fight for Texas. After the Siege of San Antonio, Travis, by then a militia officer with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, was ordered to collect up to 100 men and reinforce San Antonio, which was, at the time, being fortified by Jim Bowie and other Texans. The defense of San Antonio centered on the Alamo, a fortress-like old mission church in the center of town. Travis managed to round up about 40 men, paying them out of his own pocket, and arrived at the Alamo on February 3, 1836. Discord at the Alamo By rank, Travis was technically the second-in-command at the Alamo. The first commander there was James Neill, who had fought bravely at the siege of San Antonio and who had vigorously reinforced the Alamo in the intervening months. About half the men there, however, were volunteers and therefore answered to no one. These men tended to listen only to James Bowie, who generally deferred to Neill  but did not listen to Travis. When Neill left in February to attend to family matters, the differences between the two men caused a serious rift among the defenders. Eventually, two things would unite Travis and Bowie (and the men they commanded): the arrival of the diplomatic celebrity Davy Crockett and the advance of the Mexican Army, commanded by General Antonio Là ³pez de Santa Anna. Sending for Reinforcements Santa Annas army arrived in San Antonio in late February 1836 and Travis busied himself sending dispatches to anyone who could help him. The most likely reinforcements were the men serving under James Fannin in Goliad, but repeated pleas to Fannin brought no results. Fannin did set out with a relief column  but turned back due to logistical difficulties (and, one suspects, the suspicion that the men in the Alamo were doomed). Travis wrote to Sam Houston, but Houston was having trouble controlling his army and was not in any position to send aid. Travis wrote the political leaders, who were planning another convention, but they moved too slowly to do Travis any good. He was on his own. Death According to popular lore, sometime on March 4, Travis called together the defenders of the Alamo for a meeting. He drew a line in the sand with his sword and challenged those who would stay and fight to cross it. Only one man refused (an ailing Jim Bowie reportedly asked to be carried across). There is little historical evidence to support this story. Still, Travis and everyone else knew the odds and chose to remain, whether he actually drew a line in the sand or not. On March 6, the Mexicans attacked at dawn. Travis, defending the northern quadrant, was one of the first to fall, shot down by an enemy rifleman. The Alamo was overrun within two hours, and all of its defenders were either captured or killed. Legacy Were it not for his heroic defense of the Alamo and his death, Travis would most likely be a historical footnote. He was one of the first men truly committed to Texas separation from Mexico, and his deeds in Anahuac are worthy of inclusion on an accurate timeline of events that led to Texas independence. Still, he was not a great military or political leader. He was just a man in the wrong place at the wrong time (or the right place at the right time, some would say). Nevertheless, Travis showed himself to be a capable commander and brave soldier when it counted. He held the defenders together in the face of overwhelming odds and did what he could to defend the Alamo. In part because of his discipline and hard work, the Mexicans paid very dearly for their victory that March day. Most historians put the casualty count at around 600 Mexican soldiers to some 200 Texan defenders. Travis showed true leadership qualities and might have gone far in post-independence Texas politics had he survived. Travis greatness lies in the fact that he obviously knew what was going to happen, yet he remained and kept his men with him. His final missives show clearly his intent to stay and fight, even knowing he would likely lose. He also seemed to understand that if the Alamo were crushed, the men inside would become martyrs for the cause of Texas Independence- which is precisely what happened. Cries of Remember the Alamo! echoed out all over Texas and the United States, and men took up arms to avenge Travis and the other slain Alamo defenders. Travis is considered a great hero in Texas, and many things in Texas are named for him, including Travis County and William B. Travis High School. His character appears in books and movies and everything else related to the Battle of the Alamo. Travis was portrayed by Laurence Harvey in the 1960 film The Alamo, which starred John Wayne as Davy Crockett. Sources Brands, H.W. Lone Star Nation: The Epic Story of the Battle for Texas Independence. New York: Anchor Books, 2004.Thompson, Frank T.  The Alamo. University of North Texas Press, 2005.

Mixed-gender sports Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Mixed-gender sports - Term Paper Example In the past women had no opportunity or even a chance to improve and develop their bodies. It was not preferable for women. Now the situation has changed and women took part in the competitions, but the amount of them is much less than the amount of men. It would take much time to improve the situation (Bryant, 2003, 140). Feminist movements made many attempts in order to gain the same rights and conditions for women. Only at the end of the 20th century the world saw the results. The sport was not considered to be a male privilege and from that moment women received the opportunity to participate in almost every kind of sport. For sure we cannot say that the full equality has not been achieved and now feminists turned their attention to the problem of segregation (Bryson 350). At first sight in the world of sport the segregation does not provoke any disputes; it is just accepted by its participants. And there are a number of reasons for that. Due to the physical peculiarities, women have less opportunity to demonstrate their skills. The trouble is that sex segregation in sports seriously influences not only the issue of discrimination in sports circles, but also on the sexual hierarchy in the society in general. So, this issue is very important and worth-discussing as it refers not only to sport but to the everyday life as well. Mixed-gender sports could help defend the rights of women, so it must be introduced as much as it is possible. There is an opinion that the main aim of feminists concerning sport is to get rid of men, especially in those kinds of sports where women suffer from men’s athleticism. To say more such evidence as gender segregation in the team sport is accepted by both women and men. The basis for such statement is the myth that men have privileges over women, because they are stronger from the birth. So, gender segregation in the field of sport contributes to the common belief that women and men belong to the different worlds. Now man y scholars is concerned with the issue what role the gender plays in sport and how it influences the position of women in the modern world. In order to find the answer to this question it is enough to recall the participants of different kinds of sport. Just remember the Olympic Games, where women and men have different competitions. People can explain it due to different physical abilities and as a result women usually compete with women and men with men. An interesting thing was noticed during the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games. The German team had different colors of jackets for women and men and it looked like the indicators of gender that automatically demonstrated the differences between them (Bryant, 2003). And here the important question arises if such separation takes part in professional sport and if the professional sport tries to emphasize the differences between men and women. According to the official sources a great number of sports are gender-segregated at a p rofessional level. On the other hand, researches show that a great number of men already recognize that women as athletic as they are. Anderson came to the following conclusion in his research: â€Å"thus, in the sex-integrated sport of collegiate cheerleading, even once sexist and misogynistic men were able to witness the athleticism of women, befriend them in

Company Strategic Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Company Strategic Analysis - Essay Example Starbucks employed approximately 142,000 employees around the world including 111,000 people from US only, according to the statistics up to 27th September, 2009. (Annual Report, 2009) 2.0 Company Analysis Starbucks is in the Coffeehouse or Coffee Shop Industry. Sometimes, it is said to be in Leisure or Specialty Eatery Industry. The company owned an ROI of 22.80% and net income of 945.60 million USD in 2009. (www.marketwatch.com) Starbucks was ranked as Fortune magazine’s #1 most innovative company in the food services industry in 2001. (Fortune Magazine) The major competitors of Starbucks in the industry are Caribou Coffee, Tully’s, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf and Java Centrale. (Student Resources) Starbucks is also facing the intense competition of coffee manufacturers such as Kraft and Procter & Gamble and distributers like Nestle. Moreover, the brewing battle with McDonald’s has been intensified in recent years. 2.1 External Environment Starbucks’ external environment can be learned better by analyzing its socioeconomic or macro environment covering political, economical, sociological and technological factors as well as opportunities and threats. Political Because of the growing tensions between the United States and the rest of the world, especially in the Middle East and Southeast Asia, the business environment has been becoming increasingly volatile. In July 2002, Arab students from five states initiated a boycott of American goods and service to the alleged close relationships between the US and Israel. (Fisk, 2002) That movement targeted mainly to Starbucks, Burger King, Coca-Cola and Estee Lauder. Moreover, Starbucks is facing class litigation against it. Economical Unfavorable economic situations in the market can negatively affect consumer spending. (Hill, 2008) Starbucks faced criticism from Non-governmental Organizations urging the company to acquire certified coffee bean to make sure that those coffee beans were grown and marketed under certain economic and social conditions. Trading in countries which were in economic recession such as Switzerland, Germany and Japan made Starbucks experienced sales and revenue declines. Social Social factors can also create opportunities or threats for Starbucks. For example, a regional or global health pandemic, an outbreak of infective diseases, could seriously have effects on Starbucks business. (Annual Report, 2009) But, the company’s willingness to make sure its effects on the environment to be as positive as possible can help in building a good name. Technological The company is dependent on its information technology system to perform functions of operational and management level tasks including supply chain, point-of-sale and other transactions. If failure of its system may occur, there are a lot of delays and losses in sales and business process which will finally drive to reduce the efficiency of the company. The technological advancements such as SAP systems offer Starbucks opportunities in managing and controlling its business processes while an abrupt technological shift or security attacks may play an adverse effect on its information system. Opportunities Opportunities are conditions in the external environment through which a company can get benefits to become more profitable. (Hill, 2008) For Starbucks, new products and services can be

Short Essay on Ethical Perspectives on Code of Conduct Statement

Short on Ethical Perspectives on Code of Conduct Statement - Essay Example The universitys Code of Ethical Conduct borrow heavily from the state, federal and domestic regulations, the institutions guiding policies and principles, grant and contractual duties and responsibilities and the generally accepted guidelines for ethical behavior (Communications, 2015). The Universitys Code of Ethical Conduct is divided into twelve sections, all equally important. The following is a summary of the New York Universitys Code of Conduct. Every member is expected to adhere to the highest ethical levels at all times. In this regard, every member is needed to understand the guiding laws and principles to avoid contravention of the Code of Conduct. In addition, every member of the University fraternity should comply with all the contractual regulations as well as terms and conditions of the grants. These conditions are stipulated in the contractual agreements set before commencement of any task. All members of the university are needed to offer support to the institutions objectives to avert a case of conflict of interest. This entails executing the required duties and tasks while strictly abiding by the institutions guidelines on reportage. Members of the universitys research and teaching teams are required to obey the rules of integrity and honesty. Every member is expected to respect each other within the school and outside the school boundaries. The individuals involved in the medical field are required to uphold the highest medical standards in giving care to the patients. Records are required to be kept and regularly updated as part of the institutions policy. Every member is also required to conduct the universitys business with utmost respect for each other, with integrity and honesty. In the line of duty, members of the school are supposed to observe the highest safety standards, especially in preserving the environment. The Code of Conduct is enforced by the school, and any violations are investigated and

Child Behavioural Problem Programmes Analysis

Child Behavioural Problem Programmes Analysis Antisocial behaviour Aggression and fighting are part of normal child development and can help children to assert and defend themselves. Persistent, poorly controlled antisocial behaviour, however, is socially handicapping and often leads to poor adjustment in adults (Scott 1998). It occurs in 5% of children (Meltzer et al 2000), and its prevalence is rising (Rutter et al 1998). The children live with high levels of criticism and hostility from their parents and are often rejected by their peers.3 Truancy is common, most leave school with no qualifications, and over a third become recurrent juvenile offenders (Farrington 1995). In adulthood, offending usually continues, relationships are limited and unsatisfactory, and the employment pattern is poor. Thelon term public cost from childhood for individuals with this behaviour is up to ten times higher than for controls and involves many agencies (Scott et al 2001b) Antisocial behaviour accounts for 30-40% of referrals to child mental health services (Audit Commission 1999). Most referrals meet general clinical diagnostic guidelines for conduct disorder from ICD-10(international classification of diseases, 10th revision), which require at least one type of antisocial behaviour to be marked and persistent. Rather fewer meet the diagnostic criteria for research, which for the oppositional defiant type of conduct disorder seen in younger children require at least four specific behaviours to be present (World Health Organisation 1993). The early onset pattern typically beginning at the age of 2 or 3 years is associated with comorbid psychopathology such as hyperactivity and emotional problems(Taylor et al 1996, language disorders, neuropsychological deficits such as poor attention and lower IQ, high heritability (Solberg et al1996), and lifelong antisocial behaviours (Moffitt 1993). As a result of its prevalence and significant consequences, the management of these childhood behavioural problems has received an increasing level of attention, research and theory over recent years. Two of the more prominent interventions for the behavioural management of children are health visitors and Group Parenting Programmes. Each of these approaches will now be outlined and will be the focus of the systematic literature review to be discussed. 1.1 Health Visitors and behaviour management The health visitors first task is to identify health care needs. Together with general practitioners, they provide the child health surveillance programme of immunisations, screening, and advice. They aim to identify those important conditions that parents might overlook and, for the rest, to help parents access professional expertise, voluntary agencies, and local facilities (NHS Executive 1996). Health visitors make key contributions regarding immunisation, breast-feeding, good nutrition and depression. This role can extend to help make appropriate interventions regarding the management of child behavioural problems through home visits. Health visitors can help to identify problem situations and refer the parent/child to the right agency. Furthermore, they can advise the parent and help to equip them with the skills needed to effectively manage and reduce the behavioural problems. If the health visitor can meet the parent when the child is under 10 days old, or even at the ante-natal stage, then a trusting and effective relationship can be formed (Beecham 1997) which can have positive effects. It has been suggested that this is of particular relevance to subgroups such as single parents. They have been shown tube less likely to attend health care environments for immunisations and their children appear to have more accidents around the home (Flemmingand Charlton 1998). These are clearly key issues within community service provision (Hall 1996). The health visitors can provide much needed support, particularly with the more vulnerable groups. This social support can have significant benefits during pregnancy/labour(Match and Sims 1992), after birth (Kumar et al 1993) and in reducing the probability that the mother will experience post-natal depression(Ray and Hornet 2000). The health visitor can therefore have a range of benefits for the parent and the child and the extent to which these benefits extend to the child’s behavioural problems merits consideration. 1.2 Group Parental Programmes Harsh, inconsistent parenting is strongly associated with antisocial behaviour in children (Rutter et al 1998), but whether this is a cause or consequence or is due to a common genetic predisposition has been less clear (Farrington 1995). The pioneering work of Patterson and colleagues showed that parents had a causal role in maintaining antisocial behaviour by giving it attention and in extinguishing desirable behaviour by ignoring it (Patterson 1982). Such findings have facilitated the development of group parenting programmes which aim to reduce children’s anti-social behaviour by working with parents. These programmes include the Webster-Stratton programme (Webster-Stratton and Hancock 1998) and the Solihull approach. They generally involve group sessions with parents of children who have behavioural problems. Sessions take place over a few months and involve the discussion of topics such as play, praise, limit setting, rewards and the handling of misbehaviour. The children do not attend the sessions. Video tapes aroused to provide examples of good and bad parenting behaviour and encourage the parents to talk about their experiences. This approach provides an alternative way of managing child behavioural problems rather than the need for health visitors to attend the parents’ homes. 1.3 Evaluating Health Interventions Before selecting any health-related intervention it is vital that theyare assessed on a number of grounds through empirical research which investigates their effectiveness and efficacy. Within the NHS, cost restraints pose a significant issue and hence any intervention needs to provide value for money relative to other potential options (Royal College of Paediatric and Child Health 1997). The Audit Commission(1997) reported that the annual maternity costs in England and Wales are  £1.1 billion. Hence, any savings, or more cost-effective approaches, could have significant impacts on the financial performance of the NHS. Both group parenting programmes and health visiting have been evaluated within empirical research. Most of this research has taken place within America (Deal 1994). The following review will consider this research in order to evaluate the use of group parenting programmes and home visits by health visitors with regards to their effectiveness and efficacy for managing child behavioural problems. The methodology employed within this research will now be outlined before ten relevant research studies are discussed and critically analysed. These findings will then be related to the research discussed in this introduction to the review before overall conclusions are drawn regarding the research question. 1.4 Method and search history A systematic review aims to integrate existing information from comprehensive range of sources, utilising a scientific replicable approach, which gives a balanced view, hence minimising bias (Clarke Oman 2001). In other words, a scientific approach will help to ensure that research evidence is either included or excluded based upon well-defined and standardised criteria. This should ensure that the possible effects of researcher bias should be kept to a minimum. Berkley and Glenn (1999) also states that systematic reviews provide a means of integrating valid information from the research literature to provide a basis for rational decision making concerning the provision of healthcare. Literature reviews are important as they can help to consolidate the knowledge which is available on a given topic. The main themes and findings can be highlighted and this information can inform the design, implementation and evaluation of future research. In this instance, the research evidence can be used to make recommendations and decisions regarding the use of health visitors and Group Parenting Programmes for behaviour management in children. 1.5 Reviewing process Whenever one reviews or compares research reports, it is important that clear set of criteria are established upon which the evaluations can be made. Table 1 below outlines the global process which was used to conduct the literature review. This process was based upon that employed by Berkley et al (1999) It is important that such a framework is identified and used to structure a literature review so that all of the relevant stages are addressed and that limitations which could be associated with the methodology employed can be reduced where ever possible. Table 1: Systematic Review (Summary of Framework)(Adapted from Berkley and Glenn 1999) Identify the need Rationale, background information, existing work Formulate problem and specify objectives Background, problem specification, objectives Develop review protocol Design, resources, refinement Literature search and study retrieval Sources, search strategy, documenting a search strategy Assessing studies for inclusion Defined criteria, minimising reviewer bias, tables of studies included and excluded Assessing and grading studies Appraising checklists, hierarchies of evidence Extracting Data Data collection forms, extraction methodology Synthesizing data Qualitative overview, quantitative synthesis Interpreting results Strength of evidence implications of results Disseminating and implementing results Methods of dissemination and implementation In terms of the process used to review the selected research, the guidelines used by McInnis et al (2004) were adopted. These are displayed in Table 2 below: Table 2: Core Principles Used in Reviewing Selected Research Articles (adapted from McInnis et al 2004) Systematic reviews Adequate search strategy Inclusion criteria appropriate Quality assessment of included studies undertaken Characteristics and results of included studies appropriately summarized Methods for pooling data Sources of heterogeneity explored Randomised controlled trials Study blinded, if possible Method used to generate randomisation schedule adequate Allocation to treatment groups concealed All randomised participants included in the analysis (intention to treat) Withdrawal/dropout reasons given for each group Cohort All eligible subjects (free of disease/outcome of interested) selected or random sample 80% agreed to participate Subjects free of outcomes on interest at study inception If groups used: comparable at baseline Potential confounders controlled for Measurement of outcomes unbiased (blinded to group) Follow-up sufficient duration Follow-up complete and exclusions accounted for ( 80% included in final analysis) Case control Eligible subjects diagnosed as cases over a defined period of time or defined catchment area or a random sample of such cases Case and control definitions adequate and validated Controls selected from same population as cases Controls representative (individually matched) 80% agreed to participate Exposure status ascertained objectively Potential confounders controlled for Measurement of exposure unbiased (blinded to group) Groups comparable with respect to potential confounders Outcome status ascertained objectively 80% selected subjects included in analysis Cross-sectional/survey Selected subjects are representative (all eligible or a random sample) 80% Subjects agreed to participate Exposure/outcome status ascertained standardized way Qualitative Authors position clearly stated Criteria for selecting sample clearly described Methods of data collection adequately described Analysis method used rigorous (i.e., conceptualised in terms of themes/typologies rather than loose collection of descriptive material) Respondent validation (feedback of data/researchers interpretation to participants) Claims made for generalizability of data Interpretations supported by data The results of this analysis will be presented via the CAST tool. Thesis available in two formats. The first concerns the evaluation of qualitative research studies and the second provides a framework forth evaluation of studies which have used a randomised and controlled approach within their methodology. The use of such a framework can provide structure within the results section and ensure that the data is presented in a way which is easily read and understood by the reader. 1.6 Sources of data The methodology employed within the research will involve obtaining data from three key sources: Computerised searches, Manual searches, and the Internet. Each of these data sources will now be considered in more detail. 1.6.1 Computer-based searches The methods used in this research will include a detailed computerised literature search. Multiple databases, both online and CD–Rom will be accessed to retrieve literature because they cite the majority of relevant texts. (Ford and Miller 1999) The computerised bibliographic databases are:- †¢ MEDLINE †¢ EMBASE †¢ CINAHL †¢ PSYCHINFO †¢ British Nursing Info BNI †¢ Cochrane †¢ Science Direct (All Sciences Electronic Journals) †¢ Asia †¢ DETOC †¢ HMIC However because articles may not be correctly indexed within the computerised databases, other strategies will be applied in order to achieve comprehensive search (Sindh Dickson 1997). 1.6.2 Manual searches A manual search will be performed to ensure that all relevant literature is accessed. The manual searches will include:- †¢ Books relevant to the topics from university libraries and web sites †¢ Inverse searching- by locating index terms of relevant journal articles and texts †¢ Systematically searching reference lists and bibliographies of relevant journal articles and texts 1.6.3 The Internet The internet will provide a global perspective of the research topic and a searchable database of Internet files collected by a computer. Sites accessed will include:- †¢ Department of Health †¢ National Institute of Clinical Excellence †¢ Google †¢ The British Medical Journal website (www.bmj.com) 1.7 Identification of key words Databases use a controlled vocabulary of key words, in each citation. To assist direct retrieval of citations techniques Boolean logic will be applied using subject indexing, field searching and truncation to narrow the topic focus (Hicks 1996, Goodman 1993). As part of this approach, key words will be based on the components of the review question. An imaginative and resourceful technique of searching electronic databases will be used including recognising the inherent faults in the indexing of articles. Misclassification and misspelling will be included in the searches with searches utilising keywords and the subheadings, (Hicks 1996). Based on these principles, the following search terms will be used in different combinations: †¢ Behaviour Management †¢ Children †¢ Anti-Social Behaviour †¢ Health Visitors †¢ Group Parenting Programmes †¢ Webster-Stratton †¢ Solihull †¢ Evaluation Further search terms may be used within the methodology if they are identified within some of the initial search items. Whenever one is searching literature ‘sensitivity’ and ‘’specificity’ are important issues when conducting searches of research on a database. The searches need to be as ‘sensitive’ as is possible to ensure that as many of the relevant articles are located. This may be a particularly salient issue with regards to the evaluation of behavioural management techniques for children as the number of appropriate entries may be limited. Thus an attempt to locate as many of these articles as possible becomes a more relevant and important objective. Furthermore, the search needs to be ‘specific’. In other words, it needs to be efficient where appropriates that a higher number of the articles identified through a database search can be included and hence the time allocated to reviewing articles which are ultimately of no relevance, can be kept at inacceptable level. 1.8 Inclusion/Exclusion criteria In order that a manageable quantity of pertinent literature is included in this study, it is essential that inclusion and exclusion criteria are applied. In order that a diverse perspective of the topic is examined broad criteria will be used. (Benignant 1997). However, it is important to note that a balance needs to be achieved through which the scope of the inclusion criteria is sufficiently wide to include relevant articles whilst also being sufficiently specific such that the retrieval of an unmanageable set of articles is avoided. 1.8.1 Inclusion criteria: The articles which are highlighted within the proposed searches will be assessed in terms of whether or not they meet the following criteria. Each article will need to be viewed as appropriate with regards to all of these constraints if they are to be included in the final analysis. †¢ A literature review encompassing all methodologies will be applied ( Pettigrew 2003) †¢ International studies will be included †¢ Available in English †¢ Relate to the evaluation of Health Visitors and/or Group Parenting Programmes †¢ Focus on the behaviour of young children 1.8.2 Exclusion criteria The articles highlighted by the searches will also be assessed in terms of whether or not they fulfil the following exclusion criteria. If a potential relevant article meets one or more of these criteria then they will be immediately excluded from the data set and will not be included within the analysis stage of the methodology. †¢ It is not the purpose of this review to discuss the development of behavioural management interventions so studies focusing on this will be excluded †¢ Literature in a foreign language will be excluded because of the cost and difficulties in obtaining translation. †¢ Research reported prior to 1990 will not be included within this review. 1.9 Consideration of ethical issues Any research involving NHS patients/service users, carers, NHS data, organs or tissues, NHS staff, or premises requires the approval of ankhs research ethics committee (REC).(DH 2001) A literature review involves commenting on the work of others, work that is primarily published or in the public domain. This research methodology does not require access to confidential case records, staff, patients or clients so permission from an ethics committee is not required to carry out there view. However, it is essential to ensure that all direct quotes are correctly referenced. Permission must be sought from the correspondent before any personal communication may be used. All copyrights need tube acknowledged and referenced. The researcher will also act professionally when completing this report and ensure that research is identified, reviewed and reported accurately and on a scientific basis. The analyses of the ten selected articles will now be summarised. 2.0 Results and CAST tool Based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria for this literature review, a set of ten research studies were selected. They will now be analysed using the CAST Tool. Article 1: Morrell and Walters (2000) TITLE Costs and effectiveness of community post-natal support workers: Randomised controlled trial AUTHORS Morrell CJ and Walters PS SOURCE British Medical Journal, 2000: 321, 593-598 QUESTION 1: FOCUS This research was sufficiently focussed on assessing the cost effectiveness of a series of home visits by a health visitor. It aimed to determine the cost of this intervention compared to that which would be normally incurred through the maternity process. It also aimed to investigate the health benefits of these individual home visits for the mothers and children involved. QUESTION 2: APPROPRIATENESS A randomised controlled trial was employed within the methodology of this research as it provided a group with which the results of the women in the intervention group could be compared. Therefore the progress of women who had recently given birth could be monitored and analysed to see if there were any significant differences as a result of the attendance of a Community post-natal suppor t worker. QUESTION 3: ALLOCATION A total of 623 women who had recently given birth were recruited for the study at a university teaching hospital. They were randomly allocated to either the intervention group (N = 311)or the control group (N = 312). The only requirement for inclusion in the study was that the participants were giving birth. Participants were not matched for factors such as their age, marital status or whether or not it was their first child. It was presumed that such individual differences would be controlled for by the random allocation of the participants within the relatively large sample. Subsequent analysis of the characteristics of those in the sample revealed that there was no significant differences in terms of age between the intervention and the control group. Neither did they differ on a set of88 socio-economic details. QUESTION 4: BLINDED The intervention participants were not blind to the fact that they were receiving help from a support worker. No de tailed information is given of the control group and of what their perception and knowledge of the research was. Inevitably the support workers themselves knew that they were in the intervention group. The potential, however, for observational bias was relatively small as the dependent variables were provided by the participant. As they had nuclear interest in demonstrating that the intervention had made appositive effect when it actually had not, this should have helped to ensure that the data given were accurate accounts of what had actually happened. . QUESTION 5: ACCOUNTED FOR Of the 623 participants who were recruited for the original study, a total of 551 participants completed the whole study through to the follow up stage. The cases of drop out were due tithe participants not wanting to complete the course of home visits or because they did not return the questionnaires at the follow up stage. QUESTION 6: FOLLOW-UP A range of questionnaires were completed by the participan ts at the six week and six month follow up stages. It would have been interesting to combine this approach with a more qualitative method, such as a focus group, such that a more in-depth data set could be gained to supplement the quantitative data. QUESTION 7: CHANCE The study employed a relatively large sample of 551 participants. QUESTION 8: FINDINGS Therefore were no significant health benefits associated with the intervention at the six week or six month follow up periods. The cost of the intervention to the NHS was  £815 for the intervention group and  £639 for the control group. There were no differences between the groups in terms of their use of the social services and in personal costs. QUESTION 9: PRECISE The study provides p values which indicates that there are no significant benefits associated with this intervention despite it being significantly more expensive. QUESTION 10: OUTCOMES As a result of the relatively large sample it would appear that these results co uld be generalised to other simple hospital situations in the UK. Based on the statistics provided, one would not recommend this intervention in terms of the health benefits. Having said this, it was a popular intervention with the women who received it and this may have value in itself. Article 2: Scott et al (2001a) TITLE Multi-centre controlled trial of parenting groups for childhood anti-social behaviour in clinical practice. AUTHORS Scott S, Spender Q, Dolan M, Jacobs B and Ashland H SOURCE British Medical Journal, 2001, 323, 194 QUESTION 1: FOCUS This research was sufficiently focused on the evaluation of a specific programme for a specific age group and set of behaviours. QUESTION 2: APPROPRIATENESS A sample of 141 3-8 year olds were allocated to either receive the intervention or to go on a waiting list(control group). Allocation was based on the date of referral This was an appropriate approach for this research study as it enabled the effects of the intervention programme to be evaluated. QUESTION 3: ALLOCATION The controlled trial approach was used as the allocation procedure should help to ensure that the children in the intervention and control groups exhibited equivalent anti-social behaviour and hence individual differences could be controlled for. QUESTION 4: BLINDED The particip ants were blind to the allocation stage of the methodology. The participants were aware that they were taking part in an evaluation study. The people who rated video tapes on the parent participants and their children was blind to whether the participant had been in the intervention group or in the control group. Therefore the ratters were blind to treatment and condition. QUESTION 5: ACCOUNTED FOR A total of 31 participants dropped out of the study as they did not attend a sufficient number of the intervention sessions. QUESTION 6: FOLLOW-UP Participants were followed up five to seven months after the base line stage. Six measures of child behaviour were taken as well as one measure of parenting behaviour. This is inacceptable follow up period for this form of study. A long term follow-up, however, would have helped to establish the permanence of any significant changes which result from the intervention. QUESTION 7: CHANCE A power calculation was reported in this study and the s ample size exceeds that which is recommended. Thus it could be argued that sufficient steps have been taken to minimise the possible influence of chance. QUESTION 8: FINDINGS The referred children who took part in the study were highly anti-social. A significant reduction was observed in taint-social behaviour of those within the intervention group. The behaviour of those within the control group was found to remain constant. The praise given by parents was found to increase three fold by those in the intervention group and to decrease by a third for those in the control group. QUESTION 9: PRECISE Confidence levels are provided within the statistical section of the study. Based on these it could be concluded that the parental group behavioural programme does have a significant impact on serious anti-social behaviour among children. QUESTION 10: OUTCOMES The large sample and sound methodology employed within this research would lead one to conclude that these results could be gene ralised to children of similar ages and with similar levels of anti-social behaviour. Article 3: Harrington et al (2000) TITLE Randomised comparison of the effectiveness and costs of community and hospital based mental health services for children with behavioural disorders. AUTHORS Harrington R, Peters S, Green J, Byford S, Woods J and McGowan R. SOURCE British Medical Journal, 2000, 321, 1047-1050 QUESTION 1: FOCUS The research focused on the evaluation of a community based versus a hospital based delivery of mental health services for children with behavioural disorders. The question set was relatively broad including both the costs and effectiveness of the approaches but it was sufficiently focused on specific programmes. QUESTION 2: APPROPRIATENESS The parent/child participant pairing were randomly allocated to receive the behavioural programme either at community location or at the hospital. This allocation was performed bay researcher who was independent of the study. The allocation was performed using stratified sampling between the two different health authorities involved in the research. Q UESTION 3: ALLOCATION This randomisation was performed such that no bias within the allocation procedure could have an influence on the results. The potential of parental expectations as a confounding variable was also acknowledged and assessed. No significant difference was found between the two groups on this variable. QUESTION 4: BLINDED At the observational stage of the research theatre was blind to the treatment group of the participants. This was demonstrated when they tried to identify the location which different participants had received the intervention. Their performance on this task was no better than chance. QUESTION 5: ACCOUNTED FOR A full set of data was available for 115 out of the 141 participants who took part in the research. The drop outs occurred through non-attendance to the programme sessions or no data being provided at the follow up stage. QUESTION 6: FOLLOW-UP The participants were followed up one year after the base line stage. QUESTION 7: CHANCE The sa mple size was selected based on the size of the effect which was required by the purchaser and the provider’s agreements regarding whether the programme would be accepted for wider implementation. QUESTION 8: FINDINGS It was reported that there were no significant differences between the intervention groups in terms of the parents’/teachers reports of the child’s behaviours, the parents ‘criticisms of the child and the impact of the child’s behaviour on the family. Parental depression was identified as a significant problem and variable which predicted the outcome of the child’s behaviour assessments. QUESTION 9: PRECISE The ultimate finding of this research was fairly specific in suggesting that the location in which a parental behavioural management programme was delivered did not have significant impact on the child’s behaviour. It appears more important that a range of services are made available, including those which address par ental depression. QUESTION 10: OUTCOMES The large sample and the use of two different health care authorities would lead one to conclude that these findings could be generalised to other areas of the UK. Article 4: Buts et al (2001) TITLE Effectiveness of home intervention for perceived child behavioural problems and parental stress in children with utero drug exposure AUTHORS Buts AM, Pulpier M, Marino N, Belcher M, Leers M and Royall R. SOURCE Archives of Paediatric and Adolescent Medicine, 2001, 155, 1029-1037 QUESTION 1: FOCUS This research project was specifically focused on evaluating a home intervention programme which aimed to educate and provide support for parents of children with perceived behavioural problems. QUESTION 2: APPROPRIATENESS Participants were mothers who had recently given birth at one of two urban based hospitals in Baltimore, USA. They were randomly allocated to either receive the home visits or to be given the standard care package which would usually be given. QUESTION 3: ALLOCATION Random allocation was used to overcome any potential bias which could have been present if the researchers had allocated the participants. This enabled an assessment of the relative benefits of the home intervention to be determined over and above that which would be associated with standard care. QUESTION 4: BLINDED The data obtained within the study was via questionnaires completed by the parental participants. They were blind at the allocation stage of the study but clearly they knew that they had been either exposed or not exposed to the home visit intervention. The child behaviour ratings were given by an independent observer. QUESTION 5: ACCOUNTED FOR A total of 100 participants took part in the study. A sample of 51 participants comprised the standard care control group with 49 being in the intervention group. The details of the dropout rates were not clear. QUESTION 6: FOLL

Making Planned Giving Work For You :: essays research papers

Making Planned Giving Work For You Planned giving strategy tips for every organization Lawrence Henze,J.D.,Managing Director,Blackbaud Analytics â€Å"Golden Age of Philanthropy † Americans will transfer at least $41 trillion between 1998-2052,according to a study 1 by the Social Welfare Research Institute at Boston College.At least $6 trillion of that funding will be bequests to charity,according to authors Paul Schervish and John Havens,who wrote that â€Å"a golden age of philanthropy is dawning.† With so many philanthropic dollars up for grabs,nonpro fits need to position themselves to capture a share of the wealth.Research from the National Committee on Planned Giving 2 shows that although 42 percent of Americans have wills,only about nine percent have included charities. But once charities are included,they stay:97 percent said they had not revoked a charitable provision.An additional 14 percent of those surveyed said they had considered including a charitable bequest in their wills — even though no nonpro fit has asked them to do so.This leaves a largely untapped market. About Planned Giving Planned giving,once called deferred giving,refers to any charitable gift that requires more thought and planning to execute than the average donation.Planned giving has traditionally been de fined as the gift that an individual makes near the end of his or her lifetime.There are many kinds of planned gifts,from simple bequests in a will or an estate plan,to annuities,charitable remainder trusts,charitable lead trusts,pooled income,life insurance and life estates. Nonpro fits often have trouble securing planned gifts.Why?The answer generally boils down to four basic factors:targeting the wrong prospects,sending the wrong appeal,asking too late and soliciting planned gift prospects for major gifts instead so the organization can get the money more quickly. Many charities assume that their major gift donors will be their best prospects for planned gifts. When these solicitations fail,organizations are left with the impression that planned giving is just not right for them.Other organizations send broad-based planned giving mailings to older White Paper Executive Summary Developing a successful planned giving program can be a complex undertaking.But it is one that is well worth the trouble. Extensive research has shown that planned giving is about lifestyles and loyalty,not wealth.Many organizations still think they have to find the millionaires in their database to secure planned gifts.The truth:everyone in your annual fund program has the potential to be a planned giver.This means you have more control over the process than you think.Equipped with solid information and the right marketing strategy,your organization can build a successful planned giving program.

Leisure and Recreation in Action Essay

Unit 6: Leisure and Recreation in action is a mandatory part of my AVCE Leisure and Recreation Course. This unit includes planning, organising and hosting a leisure and recreation event. We found out at the end of July 2005 that we were going to have to hold an event for a certain customer group. We would have to decide on this customer group and then brainstorm some ideas for events that we could organise for them. Once we have done this we will have to make a business plan and present it to school officials. Then we would also have to think of advertising the event. Our first meeting included brainstorming different ideas for the event that we could organise. Below is a copy of this brainstorm. Once we had brainstormed the event we wrote down our ideas and put them into a tally table. Once we had done this we went round different classes around the school and asked which event they would prefer to go on. It turned out that the preferred event would be to go to an England football match. We thought that this event would be quite easy to organise, as there were 2 England World Cup qualifier matches coming up. We tried to order the tickets for both of the upcoming matches but found out that our request would be put into a ballot as there were many different groups of people who wanted to go to these matches. We wouldn’t find out if we had succeeded in getting the tickets until 6 weeks before each match. This was a problem, as we would have had to rush organising the rest of the event. E.g. Transport, Customers. We were unsuccessful in getting tickets to either of the matches. This was a blow to us because we had designed posters and already done some organising. We had to decide on another event that would be quite easy and quick to organise. Read more:  When Leisure is Defined as Recreational Activity We decided to organise and host a Senior Citizen Christmas Lunch, as it was near to Christmas. We decided on our customers because we decided that the senior citizens of Darlaston had done a lot for our community, and we wanted to give them something back for their help and support. Our customers would also be ex-employees of our school. This wasn’t even in our list of brainstormed ideas, but with a little help we thought of it. First we had to come up with aims and objectives for our event, and also all other details. We decided on the aims and objectives by thinking about the customers’ wants and needs and also our own. This included finding a venue for the event, finding out if the Senior Citizens would want to come to our event and other aspects such as our budget. We had to consider our budget as we would have to provide the Senior Citizens with a high standard of cuisine, and also provide them with entertainment and make their time with us enjoyable. We found out that the school wouldn’t be able to provide all of our funds for the event, so we had to find a way of making enough money to pay for it. We came up with a number of ideas such as bag packing at ASDA, Football Cards; Guess the number of sweets in a jar and to hold a football tournament. We decided to do the football card because the other ideas would take a while to conduct and also host. The football card was really successful. We had 48 teams and people paid à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½1 for a team name, a team name was then picked out of a hat by an unbiased volunteer, and the person who had the name of the team picked out won à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½10. From this fund raiser we made à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½38. This was enough to pay for some of the shopping for the event. On our second meeting we had to decide on committee roles for each member of our group. We decided on these roles by looking at everyone’s strengths and weaknesses. These roles are listed below: * Chairperson – Mathew Bayley. As the chairperson Mathew would have to make sure that everyone was doing their jobs right, and if they weren’t then they would have to tell them to try harder. We selected Mathew for this role as he is a strong minded person who everyone listens to * Secretary – Krystle Larkin. As the secretary Krystle takes down notes from each of our meetings and turns them into minutes, then she gives them to us as soon as possible so we know what our weekly jobs are. We selected Krystle for this role as she is the most organised person of the group * Treasurer – Ben Hall. As the treasurer Ben looks after all of our funds and receipts. We selected Ben for this job as he is good with money and knows how to budget money * Marketing Person – Donna Hawkins. As the marketing person it is my job to market the event through invitations and/or posters. I was selected for this job as I have done marketing for 1 year in business and am also quite creative * Staffing/Human Resources – Leigh Griffiths. As the person in charge of staffing it is Leigh’s job to recruit more staff members if we need them. Leigh was selected for this job as he is quite persuasive and also good at deciding on good workers with good character * Health and Safety – Matthew Bray. As the health and Safety person it is Matthew’s job to do a risk assessment of the event. Matthew was selected for this job as he is good at finding out what problems could occur during events We had a good marketing structure which meant we were all on the same level as each other and we were all given fair shares of the jobs. Our management structure is below. I think that the group worked really well together, although there were a few problems along the way. We worked well throughout communication, although because of the stress of organising our event we did argue quite a lot. Mathew Bayley coped really well being our leader. He managed to keep us on track with all of our work and also our set tasks. We interacted well with each other, keeping each other informed on how well we were getting on with our jobs and tasks. There was some tension between myself and Krystle, because we kept getting in each others way and taking over each others jobs. But overall, we worked really well together. As a team we really enjoyed planning and organising the event. Until the day of the event we helped each other with our tasks and also with any problems that occurred with the tasks that we were set. We managed to keep out of each others way most of the time, although there were a few problems and hiccups during the planning and organising of the event. However, apart from the few problems that occurred we all worked well together. Moxhull Hall Hotel I think that our visit to Moxhull Hall Hotel went really well. We had to dress smart to make a good impression on Andreas, the manager, and the rest of his staff at the hotel. We learnt a lot off the chefs at the Hotel, than if we had of prepared meals ourselves. On 7th December 2005 at 11.30am we travelled to Moxhull Hall Hotel. This visit was to help us learn to set up covers and serve our guests properly and also how to prepare food properly. Our group was split up into two teams. These were the front of house team and the catering team. My team (the catering team) were taken into the kitchens and the front of house team was taken into one of the restaurants. First we had to get acquainted with the members of staff who would be helping us. There was John and Neil, the two chefs. They then split us up into two teams of four. One of the teams went with John, whilst my team stayed with Neil. We were allocated different jobs. I had to mix up the flour, butter and sugar to make the dough for the mince pies that we were going to cook. My group also had to make a salad, potato salad and also coleslaw. We had to chop up the vegetables from fresh and then mix them up with mayonnaise to make the coleslaw and potato salad. We had cooked this meal for our and the rest of the group’s lunch. Once we had finished cooking for the group we then had to clean the side units and table tops that we had gotten dirty whilst preparing the food. The day of the event We started the day of the event by meeting up at our school at 8.15 and collected all of the equipment and accessories that we needed. We then walked up to the venue of our event and started to set up our equipment. The front of house staff set up the main hall and the kitchen staff, which consisted of me, Matthew Bray, Leigh Griffiths and 2 other helpers from a year 11 leisure and tourism class, went into the kitchen to set up. We took all of the food into the kitchen and started to prepare the food. We all washed our hands first and also washed up the saucepans and cooking utensils that we would need. I had to prepare the parsnips, while Matthew and Leigh prepared the carrots. Reagan and Emily prepared the sprouts whilst Mrs Lavender prepared the potatoes. Below is a photograph of me peeling the parsnips After we had prepared the food and put it on the stoves to cook we had to tidy up and clean the sides. We also had to set out the small plates for the starter. We decided to do a prawn cocktail for the started and while the main course was cooking I prepared the prawns whilst the others tidied up and washed up any bowls and cutlery we had used. Below is a photograph of me preparing the prawns After preparing the prawns and setting them out on the plates the front of house staff came through to collect the starters and serve them to our guests. When our guests had finished eating the plates were brought back in and the main meal was served. It was my job to serve the sprouts, as the picture at the side shows. Once the plates had been taken out then we had to wash up the starter plates and prepare the desert. Because 2 of our guests were diabetic we couldn’t serve them the traditional dessert of Christmas pudding and custard, so we served them a variety of cheese and biscuits instead. Once all of the food had been served the washing up and clearing away had to be done. This was done whilst the front of house staff were setting up the entertainment equipment. The washing up and cleaning away was done by all of us in turn. Below is a photo of me cleaning the sides of the kitchen Once all of the cleaning and washing up had been completed we had to go and get changed into our front of house uniforms. We did this because we were going out the front to the guests to help with the entertainment. Below is a picture of me in my front of house uniform Our first lot of entertainment was a few games of bingo. Ben was the caller for the bingo, and the rest of us helped our guests with the games. After the games of bingo we had a few different quizzes that some of the group had composed. These were played in teams of two. After the quizzes had been completed we then played a game of catchphrase, which was performed by Leigh and Ben. The quizzes and the bingo went down really well with the senior citizens, as did the game of catchphrase. After the entertainment was finished it was time for the guests to go home. While Mathew Bayley and Leigh were seeing the guests out the rest of us started tidying away the tables and chairs and all of the equipment that we had used. This took about 20 minutes to do. Afterwards we had to take all of the equipment back to the school and pack it all away. Overall the day went extremely well. There were a few problems, such as 2 people turning up early and uninvited. Also the cooking utensils from the venue went missing, so I had to go home to get some from my house that we could use. All of the entertainment went down well and the meal was enjoyed by all of the senior citizens. The atmosphere of the venue was really good and Christmassy too, which made us and the guests feel good about ourselves, and also really happy with each other. This made us better people to be around and we worked better together because of this. Improvements If we were to do this event again then I would recommend making some improvements. We would have to make sure that people didn’t turn up uninvited. Because of this we had to make room for extra people and also share the food out more than we thought we would have to. I also think that we could have made more money from the fund raising. We could do two fund raising events to make double the amount of money so we don’t have to struggle so much keeping within our budget. I also think that we could improve the attitudes of the extra staff that we recruited. The year 11’s that worked in the kitchen didn’t pull their weight and they stopped working for a chat at anytime they could. We had to keep telling them to get back to work. I think that we could split them up and make them work with one of our group to keep them in check and stop them from slacking off. I also think that we could improve the running smoothness of the quizzes. We did have 4 quizzes, so we had to do them quickly. However, some of the guests thought that the quizzes were read out too slow and the others thought that the quizzes were read out too fast. We could improve this by practising how to read out loud to guests properly. I think that we could also use a bigger venue. Everyone did seem quite cramped up and there was not much room to move about in the kitchen area either. The kitchen was small and there were 6 people in there all together. This made it very cramped and quite uncomfortable for us to work in. I think that we should also only have 2 courses instead of 3 if we do the event again. Originally we had only planned to do two courses, but the manager of Moxhull Hall Hotel gave us some prawns to make a starter as he knew our budget was limited. We thought that this was a nice gesture, but we should have checked if any of our guests were allergic to seafood. It turned out that one of our guests was allergic to seafood, so she didn’t get to have starter. She did state on her invitation reply that she was allergic to seafood but they weren’t checked properly, so in future we would have to make sure that we checked the invitations more than once. I think that the project was successful. We kept to our objectives throughout the planning the event and also conducting it. We worked well as a team throughout the event, with only a few arguments occurring. We found solutions to possible problems, such as the arguments and also problems with decorating the venue. We provided our guests with a high standard of cuisine and entertainment. We know this from the witness statements that they produced for us. We all enjoyed the experience and we provided the elderly with a memorable event. We know that we enjoyed it from talking to each other and finding out what we thought went good and bad on the day. We know that our extra staff enjoyed themselves too, as we found out when we questioned them about it. We know that our guests enjoyed the experience from the positive comments we had, witness statements, our guests facial expressions on the video and also one of the guests took the time to write in to the local newspaper about how much she enjoyed the event. This statement was sent into the newspaper by Mrs Doris Robertson. These are all included in my work. We came in on budget, but we had to keep things to a minimum and also add a few extra pounds ourselves to buy the prizes for the quizzes. I think that if this event is done again then more fund raising could be done. This way products will be brought comfortably without any worry of not having enough money to buy the necessities for the meal. Customers were satisfied with the event and we have the proof of this from witness statements. Such quotes include ‘ very polite, willing and helpful. All cheerful and pleasant’ and also ‘ very good meal†¦ efficient service all round’. The ambience of the venue worked really well with event. We made the venue look Christmassy by putting up decorations and we also played Christmas music into the hall where the meal was to be served. All of the front of house staff were dressed professionally in black trousers, white blouse/shirt and a black bow tie. Once the kitchen staff came out, we also changed into smart, professional clothing. Good things of the event included: * Making the senior citizens happy and cheerful * Giving ourselves the satisfaction of making other people happy * Everything running quite smooth * Positive feedback from the guests and members of staff Bad things of the event included: * Venue being too small * Extra people turning up * One member of the kitchen team turned up late * I had to go home to get some cooking utensils as the ones from the venue were missing

The Farmers Revolt Essay Example

The Farmers Revolt Essay Example The Farmers Revolt Essay The Farmers Revolt Essay DBQ 13: The Farmer;s Revolt Farmers were once known for being able to do everything themselves. They grew their own food and sewed their own clothes. People often yearn for the old days and complain about so many people living in cities. Many farmers had to give up their farms and move to the cities, because of something that happened in the late nineteenth century. High prices forced farmers to concentrate on one crop. The large-scale farmers bought expensive machines, increasing their crop yield. This caused the smaller farmers to be left behind. The small farmers could no longer compete and were forced give up their farms and look for jobs in the cities. The smaller farmers who stayed blamed their troubles on banks and railroads. In the 1890;s western and southern farmers came together to make up the political party called the Populist Party. Their plan was to take control of the White House; thenthey could solve all their problems. The increase in crop yield caused a chan ge in the economy, which the party set out to straighten out in 1892.On their party platform they demanded that the government take control of the railroad. The railroad was charging extremely high prices to transport grain. They asked the government to use the railroads for the benefit of the people. They also wished to set the economy straight and asked for an unlimited coinage of gold and silver at a ratio of sixteen to one and a graduated income tax. Since the increase in crop yield, this caused overproduction, which resulted in farmers having to lower their prices greatly. In 1890 clergyman Washington Gladden wrote an article called ;The Embattled Farmers;. In it he blamed the ruin of the farmers on ;protective tariffs, trustsspeculation in farm products, over-greedy middlemen, and exorbitant transportation rates.; James Laurence Laughlin wrote an article ;Causes of Agricultural Unrest; that was pu

Making Ethical Decisions For The Society Example

Making Ethical Decisions For The Society Example Making Ethical Decisions For The Society – Article Example Ethical decision al Affiliation Every career as a discipline is founded on a number of ethical guidelines. Ethics stream linethe working environment. In this particular case the ethical issues are set in a medical related situation. The ethics are based on two factors, which are the individual factor and organizational context. The process of decision making is mostly determined by the influence of these factors. The ethical dilemma in this case was the treatment of a patient with a rare type of internal bleeding. After consideration of his condition the physician, nurses and hospital administration agree to admit him. However his condition didn’t improve but instead strained the hospital resources.Through the hospital policies and procedures the employees were able to make a decision by considering the mission, vision and values of the hospital. These considerations gave guidance to the staff to make a critical decision of saving life. The patient’s condition did not i mprove even after getting much treatment. After some time the hospital could feel the financial strain it was getting from keeping the patient. However, they struggled to treat the patient with the hope that he would get well. From this analysis, it’s clear that the hospital practiced medical ethics to their best with even the condition of the patient deteriorating.The entire process faced many challenges to achieve the objectives. The hospital was goal driven and all key players where expected to play their part for a common goal. To some extend the entire process was effective since it valued the life of the victim more. Employment of a new physician to the hospital saw the end of the entire life saving procedure. The new physician felt that the survival chances of the patient were slim and put him on sedatives. This gave the chance to breaking from what most nurses believed in as per the ethics. From this entire case, we learn the roles played by everyone in an organizatio n to meet the ethical recommendation.

Classical Social Theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Classical Social Theory - Essay Example In Condorcet's historical account of the heroic march of human reason, it is invariably priestly deception and barbarity which threatens future progress or plunges mankind into lengthy periods of darkness and ignorance. Speaking for many of his philosophe peers, Condorcet depicts the Middle Ages as history's bleakest epoch: "Nothing could penetrate the profound darkness save a few shafts of talent, a few rays of kindness and magnanimity. Man's only achievements were theological day-dreaming and superstitious imposture, his only morality religious intolerance." The French enlightenment's special virulence toward the contemporary institutions of organized religion can be attributed to the uniquely powerful position of the French clergy as members of the ruling elite. The resolution of the Gallican controversy in 1682 cemented an especially close relationship between the clergy and the crown in France. Moreover, French religious dissenters and freethinkers confronted an especially hostile and oppressive environment in the aftermath of the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, guaranteeing minimal toleration to Protestants, in 1685. This atmosphere of intolerance and rigid absolutism bred a particularly bitter anticlericalism; the perceived power machinations and profligacy of the clergy encouraged scathing denunciations of priestly hypocrisy and cynical manipulation. In relatively more tolerant Protestant England, such intense animosity was unlikely to arise. Nonetheless, the basic principles of enlightenment thought produced skeptical and crit ical accounts of revealed religion across national boundaries, and English deists were especially active in promulgating the foundation for a more rational, simplified, and less doctrinaire faith. Voltaire, Letters in England , trans. Leonard Tancock (New York: Penguin Books, 1980), 120. In his final letter from England, Voltaire systematically attempts to dismantle the claims of Blaise Pascal in the Pensees. Profoundly disturbed by the "hateful light" in which Pascal appears to depict man, Voltaire proposes to "champion humanity against this sublime misanthropist." Voltaire's crusade against Pascal's misanthropy neatly illustrates many of the central objections which enlightenment thinkers made against religion, and Christianity in particular. Voltaire, Letters in England , trans. Leonard Tancock (New York: Penguin Books, 1980), 120-122. Voltaire, a relative moderate on religious questions, does not actually seek to dismantle belief in God.' Rather, he takes exception to the misery, wickedness, and helplessness which Pascal, attributes to mankind's natural condition, as well as the social disarray which is held to follow from man's corruption. Claiming that Pascal "attributes to the essence of our nature what applies only to certain men," Voltaire does not accept that original sin is a permanent and irrevocable stain on all of humanity.' Rather, he insists that man has both good and bad impulses, and that we can use our reason to govern our passions so as to lead upright lives: "He [man] is, like everything else

Introduction to European Studies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Introduction to European Studies - Essay Example (Mukherjee, 22) But it should be remembered that the idea of Europe, as we know it today, was still in its infancy dealing in ideologies and fundamentals that are not much different from the rest of the known and civilized world. As late as the beginning of the 1700 AD there were still the practice of feudalism in one form or another, there were states that used bonded labours and encouraged slavery, woman rights were not known and structural academic movements were still at bay. This society needed a thrust to start off. And that thrust was inspired from a political movement in England. The Act of Union was passed in British Council whereby four states, England, Ireland, Scotland and Welsh came together to form a political union know as United Kingdom of Great Britain. Subsequent Act of Union was passed in 1707 and 1800 and this was the point of a growing concept which ultimately is on its way towards a unified European Union in the 21st Century. The perception of a common fiscal policy has been granted by most of the states of Europe and Union of European could be within striking distance. However, this modern concept of unification of states is a step towards a better and mutually prosperous situation but at the same time it should be kept in mind the development of Europe as a concept or idea started with other variables too. (Mukherjee, 81) The concept of Europe as a unified cultural sect started along the path of the 1700s and the basic idea of Europe is that unified perception of thought process bounded by cultural, social, religious and political homogeneousness. There are other variables to develop this homogeneousness of states in Europe whereby the idea could be put forward. Religion One such variable is the growth of Christianity as a binding force. It is obvious that religion played an enormous part as the determining factor of conceptualising the unified idea of Europe. The Eight Crusades were just a beginning of this bonding. Though Christianity has changed face along with time and space and at present there are three major distributaries of the religion viz. Roman Catholic, Protestant and Greek Orthodox it cannot be denied that Christ as a Prophet, despite being Semitic by anthropological diversity, it should be noted and the fact that should indulged in this conception, influenced all the tribes of Europe be it Nordic, Alpine or Caucasian. Although, no one can ignore that during the inquisition period this religion did enough to set back the clock for Europe, at least scientifically. But this same inquisition period can be put forward to ensure the bondage that that spread across Europe with the substantial feel of brotherhood. Political Apart from the Act of Union in Great Britain there came another exemplary act that forced all Europe to reconsider their usual concept of life and perception of politics all at the same time all over Europe. This was the French revolution of the late 18th Century. On 20 September 1792 the National Convention abolished the monarchy and declared France a republic. Due to the emergency of war the National Convention created the Committee of Public Safety, controlled by the Jacobin Robespierre, to act as the country's executive. Under