A Critical Look at Histories of Hutchinson and the Antinomians Essay

A Critical Look at Histories of Hutchinson and the Antinomians In the seventeenth century, the Massachusetts Bay Colony was founded as a haven for Puritans, who sought religious freedom and harmony. In order to achieve this haven, the settlers in Massachusetts Bay devised a system of government that would serve as both a political and moral authority. Between 1636 and 1638 the relative harmony of the Massachusetts Bay Colony was shaken by an uprising that has become known as the Antinomian Controversy. At the center of this controversy was Anne Hutchinson, a Boston woman bold enough to challenge the teachings of local ministers and to criticize New England churches. Hutchinson was extraordinary for a variety of reasons. Her theology of â€Å"free grace† and her claim to have received immediate revelations from God were considered a dangerous deviation from Puritan theology. She was also a woman challenging the established male hierarchy of Puritan society. In addition, her theological ideas had important implications fo r political theory and attracted many followers in seventeenth-century New England. However, despite all that is known about Hutchinson’s life and the details of the Antinomian Controversy, there are no written records of her beliefs. Instead, contemporary historians, political scientists and feminists must interpret her actions, trial records and the accounts of her contemporaries to determine why she chose to challenge Puritan society in the way that she did. Because little is known about why Anne Hutchinson acted as she did, she has become a veritable chalice into which historians, political scientists and feminists can pour their own ideas. As a result, interpretations of Ann... ...6. Hall, David D. The Antinomian Controversy 1636-1638: A Documentary History. Connecticut: Wesleyan University Press, 1968. Koehler, Lyle. â€Å"The Case of the American Jezebels: Anne Hutchinson and Female Agitation during the Years of Antinomian Turmoil, 1636-1640.† The William and Mary Quarterly 31, pp. 55-78. Lang, Amy Schrager. Prophetic Woman: Anne Hutchinson and the Problem of Dissent in the Literature of New England. California: University of California Press, 1987. Wertenbaker, Thomas Jefferson. The Puritan Oligarchy: The Founding of American Civilization. New York: Scribner’s Press, 1947. Westerkamp, Marilyn J. Women and Religion in Early America, 1600-1850: The Puritan and Evangelical Traditions. London: Routledge, 1999. Williams, Selma. Divine Rebel: The Life of Anne Marbury Hutchinson. New York: Holt Rinehart and Winston, 1981.

Swot Vodafone

Email Developing a total communication strategy in the uk market 1. INTRODUCTION This report will critically analyse the external environment of the mobile phone operators industry with the application of appropriate strategy tools including PESTEL and Michael Porter's five forces models. An immediate result of this would be the identification of opportunities and threats that may arise from change in environmental factors and assessment of the attractiveness of the industry respectively.The report will also analyse critically, the strategic capability of Vodafone, also applying appropriate strategy tools resulting in the identification of key strengths and weaknesses of the firm. The aim here will be to identify and discuss the core competences the firm possesses. To aid the analysis, the report will draw on information from various sources such as: The Vodafone case study on page 557 in the main textbook by Johnson, Scholes and Whittington, Exploring Strategy 9th Edition, Prentice Hall, 2011. Other sources include Keynotes, Mintel and Magazines. . QUESTION ONE: PESTEL, KEY DRIVERS AND MICHAEL PORTER'S 5 FORCES 2. 1 PESTEL The PESTEL framework is used for the analysis and according to Johnson, Scholes and Whittington (2011), â€Å"it provides a comprehensive list of influences on the possible success or failure of particular strategies†. Discussed below are a few issues of PESTEL, please see appendix for other issues. Political/Legal factors Government's privatisation(through Ofcom) of the national telephone company, BT, compelling it to allow access to its network (via Openreach) for voice and broadband.This has helped to break down BT's monopoly thereby creating an opportunity for mobile operators to operate and at competitive rates. (case study p. 558) Economic factors a. The UK economy has still not fully recovered from the financial crisis of 2008, recovering even slower than other countries amidst huge government resuscitation efforts and even con sumer spending is expected to decline by 0. 6 per capita in 2011(the Telegraph, May 2011). This is a threat to the industry as, the slower the economic recovery, the slower the market growth for the mobile operators industry. b. Though the case study(p. 58) says that personal disposal income growth as experienced between 2002 and 2007 was forecasted to resume in the future, recent developments suggest otherwise. Now the future is here, reports say household incomes are falling(NewStatesman, May  ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­2011 and Mail Online, May 2011 ). This is a threat to the mobile industry as it means less income at the disposal of households, hence less subscribers to its services. Social factors a. Consumer need for converged services, such as mobile telephony, fixed line telephony, television and broadband internet, was increasing(case study p. 558).This means an opportunity for mobile operators to expand their market as more people are coming on board with t his convergence need which could be a result of the plunge in disposable income so people want all services in one and pay a lower lump sum for all in a bid to ration their income. b. A decline in UK fixed line telephone market as households were becoming â€Å"mobile-only† users. This is an opportunity for mobile operators to capture the market share of fixed line telephone operators in a bid to expand theirs. c. Consumer perceived prestige that comes with owning smartphones is an industry opportunity.For example, everyone wants to have an IPhone, HTC or Blackberry because they are ‘cool' or for other reasons, so operators in the industry can capitalize on this and increase their market share by offering cheap deals. d. Consumer ‘hype' for new and modern technologies as everyone wants to have the latest ‘thing' in technology. This would create an opportunity for the industry to capitalize on and expand their market share. Technological factors a. Developmen t of new technologies, IP(Internet Protocol) for voice, data and video transmission(case study p. 557).The dynamic nature of technology is posing a threat as operators may be stuck with obsolete technology thereby facing a challenge to be pro-active in order to retain market share and keep churn rates at bay. b. Continued upgrading of speeds over mobile networks poses a threat as operators have to keep up with the upgrading of speeds because they might loose customers to service providers who can offer better speeds. Environmental factors As a result of advancement in telecommunications technology, mobile operators have to replace network equipments and hazardous wastes(masts, cables, construction waste etc)frequently.Mobile operators are then faced with the challenge of finding energy efficient ways of recycling which may also be capital intensive, altogether posing a threat. Legal factors a. Ofcom's issuance of licences for additional mobile network operators will pose a threat to incumbent operators( as their market share is threatened) and be an opportunity to potential operators as this will lower entry barriers for them. b. Elaborate legal contracts can also be a threat to the industry as lots of legal obligations have to be satisfied prior to and after entry.Drawing up different phone contracts for different mobile packages can prove challenging for the operators. 2. 2 KEY DRIVERS FOR CHANGE Socio-cultural issue Consumer need for converged services: Consumer needs(which has led Virgin Media to provide multiple services such as the ‘quad play and others providing the triple play) change from time to time and even some firms will try to create the needs for the consumers thereby pushing the industry towards finding ways to satisfy these needs as the market expands. This is one of the major drivers of change for the industry.Technological issue: Development of new Technologies: The dynamic nature of technology will keep operators findings ways to sta y ahead of competitors by developing new technologies such as the IP, digitising high-speed distribution of voice, data and video over multiple networks. 2. 3 MICHAEL PORTER'S 5 FORCES ANALYSIS a. Threat of entry: (low) The barrier of initial capital cost of entry may be daunting but the regulatory changes in the UK communications industry by Ofcom saw the issuance of licences to more mobile operators and also allowing MVNOs to ease network capacity without the capital cost of building their own hence reducing barriers to entry. This has also led to increase in the number of competitors. b. Threat of substitutes: (low/moderate) Considering the advantages of mobile connections (make calls, sending messages/data, music etc), substitutes would be the fixed line connections, skype(or VOIP) on broadband, radio airwaves, phone booths or simply go without. With the fixed line connections, Ofcom reported that the number of lines dropped from 34. 9million in 2003 to 33million in 2009.Call mi nutes had also decreased by 15% from 167billion to 138billion over the same period with mobile minutes expected to exceed fixed line minutes in 2010(Case study p. 558). A report on Broadband news also says that mobile broadband will overtake fixed line connections in 2011. (Broadband Choices 2009). It is likely that the trend will continue in this way, considering the convenience offered by mobile connections, of being able to make a call on the move. c. Competitive rivalry: (high) One of the aims of Ofcom is to ensure healthy competition among operators which saw a rapid growth in the number of competitors.The major competitors in the industry are Vodafone, Telefonica O2, Orange, 3 UK and Tmobile plus lots of MVNO's. According to the case study, wireless operator margins in the UK were up because of strong competition(p. 559). d. Buyer power: (moderate) The main buyers from the industry are households(individuals) and businesses. According to case study(p. 559), average churn(custo mer switching) rates in the market was 20% annually due to the introduction of number portability in 2007 and competitive tactics such as subsidising handsets for subscribers. Customers would switch operators for better offers or added value for their money.To counter this churn rate, most operators have found a way to switch post-paid customers to longer contracts of 18months or even 24months as at 2009. A recent 2011 report (Sim-only deals, 2011) highlights other reasons for low switching rates including provider's loyalty programme and value for money SIM only deals which altogether gives them the power to make customers stay. e. Supplier power: (moderate) The main suppliers to the industry would be the handset makers and Ofcom. Major handset suppliers such as Nokia with 40% of UK handset market and Samsung,21%, supply handsets to the industry under global contracts(case study p. 59). There are more suppliers today including Apple, which is another fast growing supplier as their phones are deemed trendy and a must-have because of its innovative features. Sony-Ericsson, Samsung are among the loads of others. The case study p. 559 says mobile handset sales had experienced a decline in 2009 as UK wireless operators started to offer sim-only plans which allow consumers to retain their current handset and pay lower monthly tariffs. Ofcom on the other hand is the sole provider of spectrum. ATTRACTIVENESS: Based on the evidences from the five forces, the report concludes that the industry is attractive.This being that, though rivalry is high, but other threats and powers are low. Essentially incumbents or new operators can then focus only on competition and worry less about powers and other threats. 3 QUESTION TWO: STRATEGIC CAPABILITIES OF VODAFONE According to Johnson et al. (2011), Strategic capabilities are capabilities of an organization that contribute to its long-term survival or competitive advantage made up of two components: Resources, which are assets t he company has or can call upon and Competenceswhich are ways in which those assets are used or deployed effectively. 3. 1 RESOURCES AND COMPETENCESHuman Resources Vodafone has had a history of experienced CEOs including Arun Sarin(resource), who was skilled in achieving growth in developing markets(competence/strength). Also, Gary Laurence(resource), head of Vodafone UK, appointed CEO in September 2008 was known for his ability to identify strategic options(competence/strength) and the current CEO, Vittorio Colao(resource) who succeeded Arun in 2008 is known for strong reputation as cost cutter. (competence/strength). (Case study page 563) Vodafone's partnership with BT(resource) hosting BT's MVNO, allowed it to provide services to corporations. competence/strength). It started a joint venture with O2(resources) which enabled it to extend its fixed-line network. (competence/strength). Vodafone, in its target of business travelers with passport services(resources), was able to offer home country voice rates while roaming in Europe and mobile data services for ? 10 a day(competence/strength). (case study page 563) Financial Resources Financial Performance of Vodafone: (a) ROCE(Return on Capital Employed): measures the returns made from all forms of resources or capital employed in the business.Vodafone's resources are the capital employed and its competence is shown in the amount of returns generated from utilization these capital. Vodafone's ROCE plunged by 3. 73% to give a ROCE in 2010 of 19. 85. This may be slightly better than industry average but it shows a weakness to efficiently utilise resources to yield maximum profits. Vodafone| 2010| 2009| Industry| ROCE| 19. 85| 20. 59| 19. 48| Source. Morning Star Stock Report. (b) Current ratio:   measures a company's efficiency at meeting its short term obligations.A good ratio would be for current liabilities to be covered at least once but Vodafone's current assets(resources) can barely cover 50% of its liabi lities in 2010 though it improved from previous year. On the whole, this is a weakness as the company is low on liquidity and incurring too much liabilities in terms of its short term borrowings. Vodafone Plc| 2010| 2009| Industry| Current Ratio| 0. 50:1| 0. 47:1| | Source: Morning Star Stock Report. (c) Net Gearing: shows the proportion of debt within a company's overall capital. The table below shows that Vodafone's net gearing has declined from 40. 7% in 2009 to 37. 76% in 2010. Overall for the industry borrowing is about 40% of total capital. The reduction therefore for Vodafone is good as its means a reduction in finance costs too. Vodafone| 2010| 2009| Industry| Net Gearing ratio| 37. 76%| 40. 67%| 39. 40%| Source: Morning Star Stock Report. (d) Interest cover: explains Vodafone's ability to service its debt. From the table below, it appears Vodafone makes enough profits to service it finance costs as it has been able to increase its interest cover to 7. 51times in 2010 from 7 . 03times in 2009.This may not be a core competence but it is a strength for Vodafone. Vodafone| 2010| 2009| Interest cover| 7. 51 times| 7. 03 times| Source: Morning Star Stock Report. Physical Resources Vodafone makes heavy investments in the marketing of its Product brands (competence/strength) which includes, landline solutions and mobile telephony, mobile broadband and secure employee remote access(resources), making them well known. (Vodafone website). It invests also in the marketing (competence/strength) of 3G dongles or cards(resources) for internet connection giving it the largest share of 3G subscribers.Vodafone used wholesale services to distribute its fixed voice and broadband (resources) but its prices were too high giving it only a few customers(weakness). Another of its products is the Vodafone-at-home(resources), with which it competed with fixed line providers by offering fixed line prices when customers call from within or near their home(competence/strength). Cor e Competences For the sake of this report, the core competences identified are Vodafone's CEO's. They have been exceptional with what they bring to the table and how their expertise has been able to transform the company.Vodafone UK CEO, Gary Laurence has been formidable in terms of identifying strategic options available to the company such as successful alliances and joint venture with likes of BT and O2. Heavy investment in the marketing of its products giving it largest share of 3G subscribers is another core competence. 3. 2 VODAFONE VALUE CHAIN Primary Activities Inbound logistics: Vodafone possesses its own network equipments, backbones and infrastructure to provide various communication services, and purchasing of handsets (Annual Reports 2010, p. 21).Now, its in a network sharing agreement (sharing masts, sites and towers) with O2 covering the UK and 4 European countries,. (case study page 559, Guardian March 2009). , Another inbound logistic is the ownership of spectrum. S pectrum is of particular importance to the mobile phone and mobile broadband industry, which relies on it to carry information between customers' handsets and mobile masts. Vodafone spectrum is 1800MHz. (Ofcom report, Feb 2011). Operations: All Vodafone operations are based on in-house infrastructure. Vodafone's operations is dependent on its people, infrastructure and financial resources.Its logistics operations (which provides a variety of value-added services), evolves from a single, purpose built site in West Midlands. (Unipartlogistics. com) Out-bound logistics: Vodafone has consumer on-line purchasing systems in place that allow customers to purchase its services directly(Vodafone website). It also has its own billing system. Marketing and Sales: Vodafone has several own branded and other retail chains that it uses in distribution. According to the case   study(page 563), Vodafone invests a lot in marketing in all markets whilst promoting its brand and also sponsors Formula 1 and England cricket sports.Services:Its all encompassing website enables customer online ordering and feedback monitoring. (source). Vodafone has customer services helpline that offer after sales services and it also offers services to MVNO's such as Lebara mobile, Asda mobile, Talk mobile(Carphone Warehouse) and BT mobile(http://ukmobilecoverage. co. uk/), Support Activities Infrastructure: Vodafone's mode of expansion was the formation of a joint venture with O2(case study p. 559) to manage its mobile network and share network covering 4 European countries and the UK.It also leases BT's fixed line services and hosts BT's MVNO. (case study p. 562) Human Resource Management: Vodafone depends on its employees for the quality of its services to customers. It ensures an inclusive working environment and encourages innovation, ambition and pro-activeness. Vodafone encourages enthusiasm, talent and commitment in its employees in order to build and maintain its success and stay competit ive. (Vodafone, Our people). Technology and Development: Vodafone owns internet portals which enables on-line ordering.Also, continuous R&D helps the company to incubate and deliver innovation to the business. (Annual Report, 2010. p. 20) Procurement: Vodafone, like other networks, purchases branded handsets from suppliers. Vodafone holds several training courses for its procurement team for efficient management of supplier performance. CONCLUSION SWOT MATRIX STRENGTHS1. Experienced CEO's(UK CEO, Gary Laurence). 2. Partnership with BT and O2. 3. Offering home country voice rates abroad. 4. Heavy investment in marketing. 5. Vodafone at home6. Good Interest Cover7.Reduced borrowing| WEAKNESSES1. Low level of liquidity2. Inability to increase ROCE3. High prices and inefficient channel of distribution for fixed voice and broadband. | OPPORTUNITIES1. Government's privatization of Ofcom. 2. Consumer need for converged services. 3. Decline in Fixed line telephone market4. 2012 Olympics5. C onsumer demand for smart phones6. Consumer hype for modern technology7. Ofcom issuance of entry license| THREATS1. Slow economic recovery from recession2. Decline in disposable income3. Immigration cap4. Health issues in areas of mobile masts. 5.Customer switching rates. 6. Development of new technologies7. Capital intensive recycling8. Ofcom's issuance of entry license9. Elaborate legal contarcts| From all facts assessed in the report and also information from the case study and Vodafone accounts, it is indeed evident that Vodafone is struggling to develop a total communications strategy to enable it to secure leadership   in the rapidly growing market for high speed internet services in its UK home market due to the fact that it actually cannot improve its core activities in order to gain competitive advantage.Please rate the quality of this essay: Good Neutral Poor Struggling with your essay? You can get your essay custom written by an expert in your subject area. Fully researc hed and referenced, the perfect model answer†¦ Get a quote here Share ; download: Print Download Email Request the removal of this essay. 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Customer Eccentricity

The core idea is to maximize customer value while minimizing waste. Simply, lean means creating more value for customers with fewer resources. A lean organization understands customer value and focuses its key processes to continuously increase it. The ultimate goal is to provide perfect value to the customer through a perfect value creation process that has zero waste.To accomplish this, lean thinking changes the focus of management from optimizing separate technologies, assets, and vertical departments to optimizing the flow of products and services through entire value streams that flow horizontally across technologies, assets, and departments to customers. Eliminating waste along entire value streams, instead of at isolated points, creates processes that need less human effort, less space, less capital, and less time to make products and services at far less costs and with much fewer defects, compared with traditional business systems.Companies are able to respond to changing cus tomer desires with high variety, high quality, low cost, and with very fast throughput times. Also, information management becomes much simpler and more accurate. A BRIEF HISTORY OF LEAN Although there are instances of rigorous process thinking in manufacturing all the way back to the Arsenal in Venice in the 1450s, the first person to truly integrate an entire production process was Henry Ford.At Highland Park, MI, in 1913 he married consistently interchangeable parts with standard work and moving conveyance to create what he called flow production. The public grasped this in the dramatic form of the moving assembly line, but from the standpoint of the manufacturing engineer the breakthroughs actually went much further. Ford lined up fabrication steps in process sequence wherever possible using special-purpose machines and go/no-go gauges to fabricate and assemble the components going into the vehicle within a few minutes, and deliver erfectly fitting components directly to line-si de. This was a truly revolutionary break from the shop practices of the American System that consisted of general-purpose machines grouped by process, which made parts that eventually found their way into finished products after a good bit of tinkering (fitting) in subassembly and final assembly. †¦ The problem with Ford’s system was not the flow: He was able to turn the inventories of the entire company every few days.Rather it was his inability to provide variety. The Model T was not just limited to one color. It was also limited to one specification so that all Model T chassis were essentially identical up through the end of production in 1926. (The customer did have a choice of four or five body styles, a drop-on feature from outside suppliers added at the very end of the production line. Indeed, it appears that practically every machine in the Ford Motor Company worked on a single part number, and there were essentially no changeovers. When the world wanted variety, including model cycles shorter than the 19 years for the Model T, Ford seemed to lose his way. Other automakers responded to the need for many models, each with many options, but with production systems whose design and fabrication steps regressed toward process areas with much longer throughput times.Over time they populated their fabrication shops with larger and larger machines that ran faster and faster, apparently lowering costs per process step, but continually increasing throughput times and inventories except in the rare case—like engine machining lines—where all of the process steps could be linked and automated. Even worse, the time lags between process steps and the complex part routings required ever more sophisticated information management systems culminating in computerized Materials Requirements Planning(MRP) systems .As Kiichiro Toyoda, Taiichi Ohno, and others at Toyota looked at this situation in the 1930s, and more intensely just after World War II , it occurred to them that a series of simple innovations might make it more possible to provide both continuity in process flow and a wide variety in product offerings. They therefore revisited Ford’s original thinking, and invented the Toyota Production System. This system in essence shifted the focus of the manufacturing engineer from individual machines and their utilization, to the flow of the product through the total process.Toyota concluded that by right-sizing machines for the actual volume needed, introducing self-monitoring machines to ensure quality, lining the machines up in process sequence, pioneering quick setups so each machine could make small volumes of many part numbers, and having each process step notify the previous step of its current needs for materials, it would be possible to obtain low cost, high variety, high quality, and very rapid throughput times to respond to changing customer desires. Also, information management could be made much simpler an d more accurate.PRINCIPLES OF LEAN The five-step thought process for guiding the implementation of lean techniques is easy to remember, but not always easy to achieve: 1. Specify value from the standpoint of the end customer by product family. 2. Identify all the steps in the value stream for each product family, eliminating whenever possible those steps that do not create value. 3. Make the value-creating steps occur in tight sequence so the product will flow smoothly toward the customer. 4. As flow is introduced, let customers pull value from the next upstream activity. . As value is specified, value streams are identified, wasted steps are removed, and flow and pull are introduced, begin the process again and continue it until a state of perfection is reached in which perfect value is created with no waste. LEAN ACTION PLAN While every individual or company embarking on a lean journey will have different challenges based on their particular set of circumstances, there are several crucial steps that can help reduce resistance, spread the right learning, and engender the type of commitment necessary for lean enterprise.Getting Started †¢Find a change agent, a leader who will take personal responsibility for the lean transformation. †¢Get the lean knowledge, via a sensei or consultant, who can teach lean techniques and how to implement them as part of a system, not as isolated programs. †¢Find a lever by seizing a crisis or by creating one to begin the transformation. If your company currently isn’t in crisis, focus attention on a lean competitor or find a lean customer or supplier who will make demands for dramatically better performance. Forget grand strategy for the moment. †¢Map the value streams, beginning with the current state of how material and information flow now, then drawing a leaner future state of how they should flow and creating an implementation plan with timetable. †¢Begin as soon as possible with an important and visible activity. †¢Demand immediate results. †¢As soon as you’ve got momentum, expand your scope to link improvements in the value streams and move beyond the shop floor to office processes.Creating an Organization to Channel Your Value Streams †¢Reorganize your firm by product family and value stream. †¢Create a lean promotion function. †¢Deal with excess people at the outset, and then promise that no one will lose their job in the future due to the introduction of lean techniques. †¢Devise a growth strategy. †¢Remove the anchor-draggers. †¢Once you’ve fixed something, fix it again. †¢Ã¢â‚¬Å"Two steps forward and one step backward is O. K. ; no steps forward is not O. K. Install Business Systems to Encourage Lean Thinking †¢Utilize policy deployment. †¢Create a lean accounting system. †¢Pay your people in relation to the performance of your firm. †¢Make performance measures transparent. †¢Teac h lean thinking and skills to everyone. †¢Right-size your tools, such as production equipment and information systems. Completing the Transformation †¢Convince your suppliers and customers to take the steps just described. †¢Develop a lean global strategy. Convert from top-down leadership to leadership based on questioning, coaching, and teaching and rooted in the scientific method of plan-do-check-act . Integrate Six Sigma, Lean and Kaizen People spend months drilling the Six Sigma process and statistical tools 1-Sample Sign Test This is used to test the probability of a sample median being equal to hypothesized value. H0: m1=m2=m3=m4 (null hypothesis) Ha: At least one is different (alternate hypothesis)

School Counselors and Child Abuse

The objective of this research paper is to determine how well school counselors, who are human service providers and mandated reporters of child abuse, know how to detect abuse and whether or not this skill has an effect on them actually making a report. As mandated reporters, school counselors are not prepared to detect signs of child abuse and their lack of preparedness is a directly correlated with their low levels of reporting.Unfortunately, it is a cold fact that child abuse exists all over the world, but fortunately educators and individuals in human services are beginning to open the eyes of many individuals about the power they have in prevention, intervening and changing the lives of those affected by the horrid effect of child abuse. A group of individuals that can have a superb effect in empowering those affected by abuse are school counselors. Because of their interactions with children and their families, they can be influential in recognizing and reporting child abuse. With the right training and tools they can make a world of difference.There is very little research on school counselors and their abilities in recognizing and reporting child abuse. The research that does exist shows a need in extensive training in recognition child abuse and what to do thereafter. School counselors reported knowledge that they are mandated by law to report suspicion of child abuse, but lacked confidence in their ability to detect and report child abuse. Training is necessary in undergraduate/graduate schooling and as a professional in order for a school counselor to be fully effective as a mandated reporters.According to the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System, (NCANDS), which collects and analysis data from child protective services, 3. 3 million child abuse reports were made in 2009 of which three fifths of the reports were made by Running Head: SCHOOL COUNSELORS AND CHILD ABUSE 3 mandated reports such as doctors, teachers, daycare providers, counselor, etc. who because of the nature of their job have contact with these children. 3. 3 million reports were made in United States in the year 2009 and it is unfortunate to say that perhaps millions more abuses occurred but went on unreported.To report or not to report, that is the question that many individuals ask themselves when in a possession were they might hold vital information. There are times when individuals who have vital information right in front of them but see right thought it because of the lack of knowledge and experience. An often happy and extrovert child might begin to show sudden signs of melancholy and introversion due to being sexually abused by a family member, but a professional who works with the child on a day to day basis, for example, a teacher or a school counselor may not be able to detect these changes in character and as a result make no reports.The duration of time that children interact with school officials and administrators often times equal and ev en exceed the amount of time that they spend with family members. At times children and certain school officials form bonds that are fused together by trust and respect and due to the trust that has been formed, often times these officials gain insight about these children’s lives. One school official that needs to build rapport with a child in order to best service that child, is a school counselor.Since rapport is usually built between child and counselor, one would assume that the counselor would be able to detect child abuse right away, but it is evident through my readings that school councilors are in desperate need of guidance themselves. Though they are there to guide others, school counselors lack the confidence and knowledge when it comes to detecting and reporting child abuse cases; weather it be neglect, emotional abuse, sexual abuse or physical abuse physical Running Head: SCHOOL COUNSELORS AND CHILD ABUSE 4 abuse. According to Bryant (2009), 86. % of the 193 par ticipants in his study reported that they gained knowledge about child abuse reporting through experience at work and not necessarily through training. Goldman and Padayachi (2005) study looked at school counselors and their reporting behavior and whether or not they needed any further training. Just as Bryant (2009) study concluded that further education and training was necessary, Goldman and Padayachi (2005) study also reported that 95% of the participants in the study suggested that they needed more training in how to handle and deal with children and sexual abuse.The latter researchers did their study in Australia, where child abuse laws differ from one state to another. For example in New South Wales, it is mandatory by law for school officials to report any suspicion of child abuse. It was not always the case in New South Wales though because reports by school personnel of child abuse greatly increased from 11. 4% to 24% once the new law took into action. In Queensland were t he research study was conducted, school personnel were not mandated by law to report suspicion of child abuse.According to Goldman and Padayachi (2005) school personnel in New South Wales were being trained more intensively about neglect and child abuse because of the mandatory reporting laws. So, could it be possible that school personnel are not trained as intensively and excessively because there is no law indicating that suspicion of child abuse be reported? Would it be fair to say that people are reporting because it is mandated by law? Or are people reporting more because they have more training in dealing with child abuse? Is it an issue of law, ethics or knowledge?In order to determine whether or not school counselors consider certain situations as abuse or not, Goldman and Padayachi (2005) created four hypothetical Running Head: SCHOOL COUNSELORS AND CHILD ABUSE 5 situations where a child is interacting with a counselor and in all four situations the degree of detail the ch ild reveals is different, for example, in one situation a child â€Å"draws a picture of a man and makes vague statements about a bad man, but does not make any specific statements about being sexually abused† (Goodman and Padayachi, 2005), and in another situation, a girl tells her school counselor and her grandmother that she is being sexually abused. School personnel are suppose to rate the degree of suspicion from â€Å"substantial† to â€Å"no reason.According to the results, the degree of suspicion was from substantial to moderate, which indicates that the 122 participants were well aware of what signs to look for in sexual abuse. Majority of participants were able to detect child abuse, but were unlikely to report their suspicions when asked if they would report it if the child denied of being sexually abused. This can indicates that suspecting and reporting do not necessarily go hand in hand, especially in a state were reporting is not mandated by law. Accordi ng to Bryant (2009), the number one reason the participants in his study indicated that they would report suspicion of child abuse was because of law; which goes back to, are people reporting because of law, knowledge, ethics?It seems to me, to be more in favor of the law; but either way, if children’s lives are being saved; would it matter if it’s because of law or ethics? Probably the answer would be no, until people’s perceptions are changed. Being able to recognize signs of abuse in a hypothetical situation can vary greatly with the degree of confidence that a person has of his or her skills in recognizing signs of abuse. In Bryans (2009) study, participants were confident in their ability to recognize signs of physical abuse but were not as certain in their abilities to recognize emotional abuse; perhaps because physical abuse if much more Running Head: SCHOOL COUNSELORS AND CHILD ABUSE 6 observable, which indicates that much more training is needed in reco gnizing the more discrete signs of abuse.In Goodman and Padayachi (2005) study, the participants were asked about their confidence level of their knowledge of sexual abuse, and only â€Å"less than 10 per cent of the school counselors in Queensland were completely confident in their knowledge of symptoms to identify sexual abuse, while a considerable portion of them, 47 per cent, had little confidence, and 37 per cent had no confidence† (Goodman and Padayachi, 2005). The literature that was used in this research project proves that school counselors are not prepared to identify signs of child abuse; especially emotional abuse because signs of emotional abuse are a lot more discrete than physical abuse.Some research shows that school counselors are able to detect signs of child abuse but are less likely to report child abuse if a child denies being abused. In order to facilitate better understanding of child abuse in terms of detecting signs of abuse whether it is emotional or physical, colleges need to better prepare students before they start working as school counselors. School districts also need to have mandated training for incoming and ongoing school counselors. In order to help school counselor with becoming more assertive reporters of child abuse, school districts need to have mandatory training and colleges need to have courses that prepare students in how to report and the importance of reporting child abuse.

The Electoral Systems of Russia, France, USA and China and How the Essay

The Electoral Systems of Russia, France, USA and China and How the Future Results Might Affect Each Country - Essay Example China is expected to change its leaders during a communist party congress that will take place this October. Major political leaders have been preoccupied with internal politics for the greater part of the year. They will not be positioned to concentrate on international issues. This need to score points within the domestic electorate, will lead these leaders to take nationalist stands on matters that require global cooperation. The United States voters will decide whether to keep president Barrack Obama as their president. Obama, who is a democrat, stands a chance of been re-elected to the office because he has less than aspiring republican challengers do. He is expected to push a policy that re-engages East Asia after a decade of pre-occupation with Iraq and Afghanistan. The U.S. is likely to take a harder stance toward China, if a Republican candidate, probably former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, wins the presidency by exploiting voters’ discontent with a stagnant economy. Romney has vowed that, as a president, he would strengthen tariff barriers to Chinese goods, if China refuses to let its currency float. This is due to increased pressure from the united states matched with tough and nationalist talk from china, whose new leadership will not afford to show any appearance of been compromised or flexible during the initial period of power. 70 percent of China’s top leadership stands to be changed during the part’s congress being held this October, which will see the generational handover of power being completed, next year, when Xi and the vice premier Li Keqiang take the posts of president and prime minister from Hu and Wen Jiabao. In Russia, Putin is expected to push for a bigger voice over Northeast Asia. He is trying to push for a gas project, which will see the laying of a gas pipeline from Siberia to South Korea through North Korea. This project may pave the way for the president to serve for another 12 years as president. In France president, Nicolas Sarkozy, is facing a huge battle against his challenger, socialist candidate Francois Hollande in his bid for reelection. Many voters are disenchanted with his frivolous behavior, Sarkozy wilol have to highlight his competence, in order to gain the upper hand over his less experienced contender. The election set for sixth of May is expected to be close. Sarkozy’s possible leaning towards the theme o f protecting the country’s interests may affect the international efforts to solve the euro zone crisis. The choice of an electoral system is one of the most important choices that a country has to make. It refers to the way citizens choose public servants of the state. In the United States, the system of government is a representative democracy. Here people do not make governmental decisions. The country’s citizens elect officials, who govern on their behalf (Kleppner 32). When the constitution of the U.S. was written in the year 1787, it left the decision for each state, as who could vote in the elections. In 1971, the 26th amendment was passed that allowed anyone, who is over 18, to vote. On the average approximately 60 percent of the voting age Americans take part in the presidential elections. 10 years after the Constitution was written, the U.S. had two major political parties--the Federalist Party that was a proponent of a strong central government, and the Demo cratic -

Analysis of LivingWell Inc. Strategic Approach to Environmental Essay

Analysis of LivingWell Inc. Strategic Approach to Environmental Factors - Essay Example This essay evaluates the alternative or additional strategic options available for adaptation to ensure surviving and thriving of the LivingWell Inc. company in to the next decade. The researcher states that in today’s intensely competitive world, organisations are increasingly pressured to achieve targets and goals with limited and scarce economic resources. Effective deployment of organisational strategy directs the scare resources and efforts towards a charted course, eliminating waste arising from lack of direction. In crafting organisational strategies, the impinging internal and external environment factors needs to be analysed. The researcher of this essay aims to analyse the strategic approach taken by LivingWell Inc., in responding to the environmental factors influencing the industry. In conclusion, it can be noted that LivingWell has responded to business conditions prevailing and anticipated, through a mixture of corporate, business and functional level strategies. The company with its strong financial backing is in a strong position to benefit from attractive industry opportunities. The Health, Fitness and Leisure industry is still at its developing stages across the world and there is significant for growth. The researcher concluds his analysis and states that the company should continue with those strategies, which are proven effective while considering the deployment of alternative strategic options to retain and develop its competitive positioning in the industry.

Packaging and it is future in the United States Essay

Packaging and it is future in the United States - Essay Example In the United States packaging is used for different purposes. Four uses for packaging are: To contain products in specific amounts defining the amount the customer will purchase To protect products from contamination, theft, and environmental damage Facilitate transportation and storage of products To provide information and colorful designs To transmit marketing messages (Berger). During the 21st century the customer tastes and preferences have changed a lot. People have become more conscious of the environment and the effects personal consumerism decisions have on the well being of the planet. Due to these changes in the customer desires many companies are using environmentally friendly packaging alternatives. An example of an environmentally friendly packaging product is packaging that utilizes recycled material. Companies can also apply environmentally friendly practices in its packaging through its processes. Creating a packaging facility that is powered by solar energy is a wa y to implement green practices into the packaging business. Green practices can extend to other phases of the business such as having an office environment that is paper free.