Do parents have an influence over child delinquency?

Do parents have an influence over child delinquency? To what extent do parents have an influence over their children becoming delinquent? There have been an increasing number of stories in the media regarding children and their increasing tendencies to crime. High profile crimes such as the Jamie Bulgar murder and shootings in universities across America have sparked a high level of controversy and research into what actually makes a child delinquent. There have been a number of factors which have been associated with child delinquency such as the individual child, peers, school, neighbourhood, the media and one which has received a huge amount of attention is parents and family. This essay will be looking at the extent to which parents have an influence over there children becoming delinquent. It will explain reasons and ways in which parents influence there children into delinquency through lack of for example discipline, and a variety of other factors. It will then go on to examine other factors such as the individual, peers and school, which may contribute to a child taking the path of crime and will evaluate how much influence this has on a child. The US dept of justice created the office of juvenile justice and delinquency prevention (OJJDP) which formed a study group on very young offenders to examine the prevalence and frequency of offending in children under the age of 13. This study group identified a number of risk and protective factors which were crucial in developing early intervention and protection programs for very young offenders. It found that some aspects of children’s behaviour such as temperament are established during the first five years of life. This foundation coupled with children’s exposure to certain risk and protective factors, influences the likelihood of children becoming delinquent from an early age. Risk factors are things which are most likely to pull a child into a life of crime. There are three types of risk factors; static, dynamic and protective. Static risk factors are those which are historical and cannot be changed such as age at first offence and prior criminal history. Dynam ic risk factors are those which are changeable these are things such as substance and alcohol abuse. Lastly protective factors are those which mediate and moderate the effect of exposure to risk factors. This is usually done by reducing the risk of exposure to crime, reducing negative chain reactions which means to deal with a delinquency problem identified in children from an early age rather than letting it spiral out of control. Another protective factor which should be instilled in children is establishing self esteem and self efficacy this in addition to opening up opportunities to them will reduce the calling of crime as they will have other things to keep them occupied and realise there are a number of things which they can do t broaden there horizons. However the identification of these risk factors have been difficult to pinpoint but it remains imperative to distinguish as these factors are essential to developing interventions to prevent child delinquency from escalating into chronic criminality. There area number of studies which were done in both the UK and the US to ide ntify risk factors which are associated with a child turning to crime. The Cambridge Study of Delinquency was a longitudinal survey of the development of offending and antisocial behaviour in 411 males first studied at age 8 in 1961 – at that time they were all living in a working-class deprived inner-city area of South London. It found eight different factors which contributed to children turning delinquent these were; low income family, large family, poor parenting, below average intelligence, parent with criminal record, impulsivity, antisocial behaviour, socio-economic deprivation and coming from a ‘broken’ home. A youth lifestyles survey which was carried out in the UK also identified eight different risk factors which are associated to a child turning to a life of crime these are; drug use, alcohol abuse, low interest in school, being bullied, lack of qualifications, delinquent peers, poor parenting and a lack of appropriate space for children to be in. According to the OJJDP study group on very young offenders, a group of 39 e xperts on child delinquency and child psychopathology convened by the OJJDP, risk factors for child delinquency operate in several domains: the individual child, the child’s family, peer group, school, neighbourhood and the media. This again corresponds with the findings of the Cambridge study which found compared with the un-convicted men, being a persister was predicted by having a convicted parent, high daring, a delinquent sibling, a young mother, low popularity, large family size and a disrupted family. Compared with the un-convicted men, being a desister was predicted by having poor housing, a convicted parent, high daring, low junior school attainment, low nervousness and a disrupted family. The large majority of those who were first convicted at ages 10–13 (91%) or 14–16 (84%) did not give up offending after the first offence. They continued offending (according to convictions) for an average of 13 years. Those who started at 10–13 years had an average of nine convictions; those who started at 14–16 had an average of six. In contrast, the average for those who were first convicted at age 17 or older was much lower at around two convictions each. This shows us that the younger the offender starts the longer there career in crime. The results by the OJJDP also correspond with the results found in the Youth Lifestyles survey. Most professionals agree that there is no single risk which leads a child to delinquency rather the likelihood of early juvenile offending increases as the number of risk factors and risk factor domains increases. While parental delinquency is not the whole answer to juvenile delinquency, it is one of the major factors in this problem. The notion of protective risk factors is one which parents are largely associated with. Traditionally it is the role of the parents to protect and harbour there children from a life of crime and deviance. However this is not always the case. There is wide belief that single parents are highly likely to have delinquent children for a number of reasons such as economic conditions which are inherent to single-parent families may place children at greater risk. Socialization of children residing in single-parent families may differ from those residing with two parents and may have a damaging effect on the child as well as they type of neighbourhoods, in which single parents often reside. Lastly the ways in which the system or officials from formal institutions such as school, police, and courts respond to children from single-parent homes may result in these children being more likely to be identified as delinquent. There is consistently a positive relationship between marital discord an d delinquency. Children who witness marital discord are at greater risk of becoming delinquents. Social learning theory argues that aggressive behaviour is learned; as parents display aggressive behaviour, children learn to imitate it as an acceptable means of achieving goals. However, most children who witness marital conflict do not become delinquent. A healthy home environment, one in which parents and children share affection, cohesion, and involvement, reduces the risk of delinquency. Parental rejection appears to be one of the most significant predictors of delinquency. Not only does parental attachment to children influence the likelihood of delinquency, but apparently so does the attachment of the child to the parent. This dual relationship implies an interaction between characteristics of both the parent and the child. A healthy home environment is the single most important factor necessary to keep children from becoming delinquent. Current positivist approaches generally focus on the cultural and socio-economic environment to which a young person has been exposed, and how these conditions may be criminogenic. These theories de-empathize the fault of the individual, and stress criminal behaviour is largely determined by factors out with a young person’s control. Social ecology or social disorganisation theory says crime is generated by the breakdown of traditional values and norms. This was most likely to occur in urban areas with transient populations and high levels of migration, which would produce the breakdown of family relationships and community, competing values, and increasing impersonality. Children who are inadequately supervised by parents who fail to teach them right and wrong, who do not monitor their whereabouts, friends, or activities, and who discipline them erratically and harshly are more likely to become delinquent. Marital discord is a more powerful predictor of delinquency than divorce or single-parent family structure. Family relations, not just the separation, influence delinquency. Abuse directly affects the child, yet the link between abuse and delinquency is not as strong as the link between rejection and delinquency. Abused children tend to manifest more problematic and aggressive behaviour than children who are not abused, but some abused children withdraw, become self-destructive, or focus their reaction inward. Other children show few behavioural effects of abuse. Being abused increases the chances of delinquency, but most abused children do not become delinquent. Research on causes of delinquency makes a major contribution to the understanding of the interaction of the family and delinquency. A child’s predisposition toward impulsive, aggressive, and antisocial behaviour may initiate a process within the family that ultimately leads to delinquency. Parents of a difficult child may stop parenting to gain peace within the home and may come to reject the child. Antisocial patterns established within the family may be exacerbated and reinforced as the child enters school. As the child enters adolescence, delinquent acts may further weaken the youth’s attachment to family, school and conventional ties. Whilst it is true that society does have a role to play in the upbringing of children in the sense of providing a social environment in which to bring up a child but it is clearly the role of the parent to mentor, advise and guide a child through to their adulthood. No child has it easy, but it is true some are worse off than others and as a result of being disadvantaged in some way. But there is also another class of youngster, one without discipline and respect in their life, one without a strong guide in their life which ensures that the child stays on track and in the right direction in their life. These are the roles of parents and a society which attempts to divorce parents from this responsibility is only asking for more trouble. The role of a parent, is to watch, to guard, to mentor, to guide, to create a home environment suitable for a young person, but the role of a parent is to also educate a young person in their role in society. It is a clear deficiency of a parent, when a young person goes off the tracks. Therefore the question must be asked whether parents can, through effective socialisation, prevent delinquent behaviour among there offspring? In addition to affection, three elements appear to characterize positive parenting that is normative regulation, monitoring regulation, and discipline. The quality of supervision is consistently and strongly related to delinquency. Parents must adequately monitor their children’s behaviour, whereabouts and friends. They must reliably discipline there children for antisocial and prohibited behaviour, but must do so neither rigidly or severely. It helps if they assist their children in problem solving, negotiate conflict and model pro social behaviour. Less is known about the link between parental attention to normative and moral development and subsequent delinquency than many other topics of family life. However research appears to indicate that delinquency is more likely when normative development is incomplete, and when children are unable to distinguish between right and wrong, feel little or no obligation to standards of behaviour, and have little respect for the rights and welfare of others. Parents play a critical role in moral development. A variety of family circumstances have been identified as contributing to the delinquent behaviour of children. Children who are rejected by their parents, are inadequately supervised, and grow up in homes with considerable conflict are at greatest risk of becoming delinquents. The presence of any one of these family circumstance factors increases the chances of raising a delinquent child. The addition of more than one factor further enhances the odds of misbehaviour. There appears to be a cumulative effect such that the presence of more than one of these negative family attributes compounds the likelihood of delinquency. Not all children follow the same path to delinquency; different combinations of life experiences may produce delinquent behaviour. Finally positive parenting practices during the early years and later in adolescence appear to act as buffers, preventing delinquent behaviour and assisting adolescents in desisting from further delinquent behaviour. In addition to parents having an influence on children becoming delinquency there are a number of other factors to consider such as the effect of school on children. A negative effect from school can impact the progression of delinquency developing in children. Failure to bond to school during childhood can lead to delinquency. In addition, as stated above, early neurological deficiencies, when combined with the failure of family, school, and community to provide adequate socialization, lead to early-onset offending that persists throughout life. A specific school risk factor for delinquency is poor academic performance. A meta-analysis of more than 100 studies examined the relationship between poor academic performance and delinquency and found that poor academic performance is related to the prevalence, onset, frequency, and seriousness of delinquency (Maguin and Loeber, 1996). In young children ages 8 to 11, academic performance has been related to serious later delinquency (Loeber et al., 1998). Even when individual intelligence and attention problems are taken into account, academic performance remains a predictor of delinquency. Children with weak bonds (low commitment) to school, low educational aspirations, and poor motivation are also at risk for general offending and for child delinquency (e.g., Hawkins et al., 1998; Le Blanc, Cotà ©, and Loeber, 1991). It is likely that children who perform poorly on academic tasks will fail to develop strong bonds to school and will have lower expectations of success. As a result, academic achievement and school bonding are, in many ways, interdependent. For example, one study found that boys who engage in delinquency are less committed to school and are also more likely to have â€Å"shorter plans† for their schooling. These boys described themselves as bad students (Le Blanc et al., 1991). In addition to school fellow classmates and peers can also have a negative impact on a child. Peer influences on child delinquency usually appear developmentally later than do individual and family influences. Many children entering school, for example, already show aggressive and disruptive behaviours. Two major mechanisms associated with peer factors or influences are association with deviant peers and peer rejection. Association with deviant peers is related to increased co-offending and, in a minority of cases, the joining of gangs. Related to strain theory is subcultural theory. The inability of youths to achieve socially valued status and goals results in groups of young people forming deviant or delinquent subcultures, which have their own values and norms. (Eadie Morley: 2003 p.552) Within these groups criminal behaviour may actually be valued, and increase a youth’s status. (Walklate: 2003 p.22) The notion of delinquent subcultures is relevant for crimes that are not economically motivated. Male gang members could be argued to have their own values, such as respect for fighting ability and daring. However it is not clear how different this makes them from ‘ordinary’ non-lawbreaking young men. Furthermore there is no explanation of why people unable to achieve socially valued goals should necessarily choose criminal substitutes. Subcultural theories have been criticised for making too sharp a distinction between what is deviant and what is ‘normal’. (Brown: 1998 p.23) There are also doubts about whether young people consciously reject mainstream values. (Brown: 1998 p.23) Since a 1931 report showing that 80 percent of Chicago juvenile delinquents were arrested with co-offenders, empirical evidence has supported the theory that deviant peer associations contribute to juvenile offending (Shaw and McKay, 1931). The unresolved question is whether deviant peers model and reinforce antisocial behaviours or whether the association with deviant peers is simply another manifestation of a child’s predisposition to delinquency. In other words, do â€Å"birds of a feather flock together† or does â€Å"bad company corrupt†? The theory of Differential association also deals with young people in a group context, and looks at how peer pressure and the existence of gangs could lead them into crime. (Eadie Morley: 2003 p.552) It suggests young people are motivated to commit crimes by delinquent peers, and learn criminal skills from them. (Eadie Morley: 2003 p.552) The diminished influence of peers after men marry has also been cited as a factor in desisting from offending. (Graham Bowling: 1995 p.4) There is strong evidence that young people with criminal friends are more likely to commit crimes themselves. (Walklate: 2003 p. 2) However it may be the case that offenders prefer to associate with one another, rather than delinquent peers causing someone to start offending. (Graham Bowling: 1995 p.49) Furthermore there is the question of how the delinquent peer group became delinquent initially. The Study Group found that a strong case could be made that deviant peers influence Non-delinquent juveniles to become delinquent. For example, according to data from the National Youth Survey on a representative sample of U.S. juveniles ages 11 to 17, the most frequent pattern was a child moving from association with non-delinquent peers to association with slightly deviant peers, and then on to commission of minor offences. More frequent association with deviant peers and more serious offending followed, leading to the highest level of association with deviant peers (Elliott and Menard, 1996; Keenan et al., 1995). Deviant peers influence juveniles who already have some history of delinquent behaviour to increase the severity or frequency of their offending. A few studies of children younger than 14 support this hypothesis. For example, in a study of Iowa juveniles, involvement in the juvenile justice system was highest for those who engaged in disruptive behaviour and associated with deviant peers at a young age (Simons et al., 1994). The Study Group concluded that deviant peers contribute to serious offending by child delinquents during the period of their transition to adolescence. Although an extreme form of association with deviant peers, gangs provide a ready source of co-offenders. Not surprisingly, gang membership reflects the highest degree of deviant peer influence on offending. The Rochester Youth Development Study, the Denver Youth Survey, and the Seattle Social Development Project have all shown that gangs appear to exert a considerable influence on the delinquent behaviour of individual members. Juveniles are joining gangs at younger ages, and the role of gangs in crimes committed by youthful offenders appears to be an increasing problem (Howell, 1998). In the case of violence, even after accounting for other risk factors (such as association with delinquent peers who are not gang members, family poverty, lack of parental supervision, and negative life events), gang membership still has the strongest relationship with self-reported violence (Battin et al., 1998). Lastly a focus on the individual is required when looking into factors associated with delinquency. Not everything can be blamed on parents as there is a large element of the child themselves which make them more predisposed to following a path of delinquency. Classical criminology stresses causes of crime lie within the individual offender, rather than in their external environment. For classicists offenders are motivated by rational self-interest, and the importance of free will and personal responsibility is emphasised. Rational choice theory is the clearest example of this approach. It states that people weigh up the pros and cons of committing a crime, and offend when the former outweigh the latter. A central deficiency of rational choice theory is that while it may explain when and where people commit crime, it can’t explain very well why people choose to commit crimes in the first place. Neither can it explain differences between individuals and groups in their propensity to commit crimes. James Q. Wilson said the conscience and self-control of a potential young offender must be taken into account, and that these attributes are formed by parental and societal conditioning. Rational choice does not explain why crime should be committed disproportionately by young people, males, city dwellers, and the poor. (Walklate: 2003 p.2) It also ignores the effect a, young persons peers can have on them, and the fact that some youths may be less able to accurately foresee the consequences of their actions than others. Rational choice theory does not take into account the proven correlations between certain social circumstances and individuals’ personalities, and the propensity to commit crime. If we study the characteristics of those processed by control agencies, and if we accept that they are representative of all delinquents, we may conclude that the typical juvenile delinquent is different from his peers in a number of ways. That is to say that there are a number of traits which are significant predictors of delinquent activity. Some of these traits appear to be fundamental personality factors hyperactivity, tendency to alcoholism, psychosis, low measured intelligence, small stature and poor health and being male rather than female. There are also some significant characteristic modes of social interaction which make the individual more prone to delinquency such as bad temper, unpopular with peers, disruptive behaviour in school, parents found him a difficult child, likely to be violent and poor work and bad results at school. Lastly backgrounds are important in determining whether a child will follow a path of delinquency and a career in crime. These factors include environmental, living in a slum area, living in an area of high delinquency, social class, father unskilled labourer, poor surveillance, irregular discipline, lack of affection, family interaction characterised by antisocial behaviour, family breakdown and poverty. These young people are recognized as being difficult by parents, other children and teachers. The onset of these problems was very often early in the childs life, and the first steps into delinquency were often taken as early as 9 or 10 years old. A significant implication which, has been highlighted is that bad behaviour is a general trait. Robins and Ratcliff (1980) have shown that each separate type of childhood deviance (hyper-activity, conduct disorder, bed-wetting, etc) is independently correlated with the overall level of adult deviance. Each separate type of adult deviance is predicted by the overall level of childhood deviance. The overall level of childhood deviance is a better predictor of adult deviance than any one particular childhood behaviour. These relationships do not depend on the continuation of the same behaviour from childhood into adulthood. Variation in the kind of bad behaviour manifested is more a function of age than of character. Focus on risk factors that appear at a young age is the key to preventing child delinquency and its escalation into chronic criminality. By intervening early, young children will be less likely to succumb to the accumulating risks that arise later in childhood and adolescence and less likely to incur the negative social and personal consequences of several years of disruptive and delinquent behaviours. Child delinquency usually stems from a combination of factors that varies from child to child. No single risk factor is sufficient to explain it. To develop effective methods for preventing child delinquency and its escalation into serious and violent juvenile offending, intervention methods must account for the wide range of individual, family, peer, school, and community risk factors. Some effective intervention programs that focus on reducing persistent disruptive behaviour in young children have reduced later serious, violent, and chronic offending. Some interventions focus on parent behaviours that increase the risk of persistent disruptive behaviour in children. Peer relations training and school/classroom programs have also shown some promise. Still, many gaps exist in our knowledge about the development of child delinquency, the risk and protective factors that contribute to it, and effective prevention and intervention methods. Addressing these gaps offers an exceptional opportunity to reduce overall crime level. Antibiotic Resistance in Bacteria | Essay Antibiotic Resistance in Bacteria | Essay A challenge for modern medicine Antibiotic resistance is a serious matter which should be addressed seriously. Every time you take antibiotics you dont need you increase your chance of contracting an infection that is caused by bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics. And if you get an infection that cant be treated by antibiotics you run the risk of your infection getting considerably worse and you might need to be treated in hospital. There are many factors affecting as to how antibiotic resistance acquires but one thing is for sure, it must be stopped! At present antibiotic resistant poses as a massive challenge for modern medicine. There is a wide variety of conditions that antibiotic resistance stands in the way of successful treatment like tuberculosis (TB) and Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). As we know TB is a disorder affecting the lungs and also the rest of the body. It is caused by mycobacterium tuberculosis and it is reported that a third of the worlds population has been infected with mycobacterium tuberculosis. New infections occur at a astonishing rate of one per second. The proportion of people who become sick with tuberculosis each year is stable or falling worldwide but, because of population growth, the absolute number of new cases is still increasing. Prevention relies on screening programs and vaccination(http://who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs104/en/index.html) Antibiotic resistance is a growing concern in multi-drug-resistant TB. In a scientific journal titled Tuberculosis resistant to isonazid and rifampin published in 1993 it was concluded that patients with tuberculosis that is resistant to isonazid and rifampin often didnt succomb to the best treatment available and that failure to obscure this reistance would end in high mortality rates and a gloomy reality for the public (Goble et al) . In the case of Staphylococcus aureus where, like tuberculosis, it has grown resistance to its most of its treatment. Staphylococcus aureus is very difficult to treat if contracted due to its high resistance rate to a group of antibiotics called beta-lactams. This group of antibiotics includes penicillin, cephalosporins, tetracyclines, clindamycin and vancomycin.There are different treatments for different variations of the disease but treatment isnt straight forward due to the high rate of antibiotic resistance. In a scientific report titled High prevalence of multidrug-resistant MRSA in a tertiary care hospital of northern India, where they were testing the resistance percentages of the known antibiotic treatments on a group of 783 patients, they found that nearly all the antibiotics that were tested, there was a high rate of resistance. For instance, from the 783 patients isolated who had staphylococcus aureus, 301 (38.44%) had shown to be methicillin-resistant, of which 217 (72.1%) were found to be multidrug-resistant. Practically all MRSA strains were showing resistance to penicillin, 95.68% showed resistance to cotrimoxazole, 92.36% showed resistance to chloramphenicol, 90.7% showed resistance to norfloxacin, 76.1% showed resistance to tetracycline, and 75.75% had shown resistance to ciprofloxacin. The antibiotic showing the least amount of resistance was vancomycin with 0.33%. (Hare Krishna Tiwari et al). How bacteria become resistant The actual way in which a bacteria strand becomes resistant is usually a mutation in a chromosomal gene of the pathogen. Whiles a organism is being treated by specific antibiotics, the antibiotics will have an effect on 99.99% bacteria but not the bacteria that have undergone mutation that prevents a certain antibiotic having an effect on these bacterial strands will reproduce and by the theory of natural selection predicts that under these circumstances, the fraction of the bacterial population carrying genes for antibiotic resistance will increase. For example, a mutation in one gene may stop or reduce the pathogens ability to transport a particular antibiotic into the cell. (Jane B. Reece). There are quite a few practices effecting as to how bacteria strands become resistant to antibiotics. One would be the unnecessary prescribing of antibiotics from doctors to patients, but there is a lot to be said about this whether it be the patient feeling they are too sick to be told that they do not require the use of antibiotics even though they could just have a viral infection which antibiotics would be of no use to them unless it were to relief their pain or that they just want their moneys worth in antibiotics. Another cause to do with the doctor patient relationship would be the fact that the doctor would be unsure of what to prescribe if need be or just how much to prescribe! There is also this looming fear for doctors that the patient might wish to make a lawsuit against them for not taking action on their symptoms or not prescribing the right medication to them first time round and therefore doctors can be prescribing antibiotics out of fear of lawsuit. Also, many practitioners who earn by means of selling medicines often prescribe more drugs than necessary for means of profit (Holloway 2000). Another major factor that promotes bacteria to become antibiotic resistant is that when people do get prescribed the right medicine or antibiotics is that they dont take the right amount each day. Some believe that it is better to take one antibiotic a day rather than two (Kardas P, March 2007) and others feel that it is ok to stop taking them when their symptoms have gone or that they will save them for the next time those symptoms occur. Its funny to actually hear that a third of people still believe that antibiotics are effective on the common cold (McNulty CA et al, August 2007). In hospitals, poor hygiene can be associated with the contraction of noscomial infections and increase the risk of substaining a resistant microorganism, one of these well known noscomial infections is MRSA. Medical staff in hospitals world wide have been urged to wash their hands inbetween viewing patients and not to wear jewlery like wedding rings, bracelets or chains of the sort as these can transmit the infection from person to person (Girou E, Legrand P, Soing-Altrach S, et al October 2006). Much has been done in hospitals to stop the spread of noscomial infections but the treat still lingers with a massive one in seven chance of picking up a noscomial infection. Another factor as to how we can contract resistant bacteria is by the food we eat. Farmers feed their livestock antibiotics for numerous reasons but the fact is if and when their livestock build resistance to the antibiotics, they are then killed and processed into meats and other sources of food and they become our food. They may tell you your daily requirements for calories, vitamins, calcium, iron etc. but they do not tell you that your food could be the source of your illness or the reason why certain antibiotics will not have an effect on you!

Islam :: essays research papers

--The Prophet Muhammad (p) was asked by his contemporaries about Allah. The answer came directly from God Himself in the form of a short chapter of the Qur’an that is considered the essence of the Unity of God or the motto of monotheism. â€Å"Say: He is Allah, the One; Allah, the Eternal, Absolute; He begetteth not, nor is He begotten, and there is none like unto Him.† [Al-Qur’an 112:1-4] --Having achieved this knowledge of the One True God, man should constantly have faith in Him, and should allow nothing to induce him to deny the truth. When true faith enters a person’s heart, it impacts the person’s outlook and behavior. The Prophet said, â€Å"Faith is that which resides firmly in the heart and which is proved by deeds†. One of the striking results of faith is the feeling of gratitude towards God, which could be said to be the essence of Ibada (worship). The feeling of gratitude is so important that anyone denying the Truth is called kafir, ‘one who is ungrateful.’ A believer loves, and is grateful to God for the bounties He bestowed upon him. He is aware of the fact that his good deeds are far from being commensurate with Divine favors, and therefore he is always anxious to please God. He remembers God often. The Qur’an promotes this feeling of gratitude by repeating the attributes of God very frequently. â€Å"Allah is He, than Whom there is no other god; Who knows (all things) both secret and open; He, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. Allah is He, than Whom there is no other god; the Sovereign, the Holy One, the Source of Peace (and Perfection), the Guardian of Faith, the Preserver of Safety, the Exalted in Might, the Irresistible, the Supreme: Glory to Allah! (High is He) above the partners they attribute to Him. He is Allah, the Creator, the Evolver, the Bestower of Forms (or Colors). To Him belong the Most Beautiful Names: whatever is in the heavens and on earth, doth declare His Praises and Glory: and He is the Exalted in Might, the Wise.† [Al-Qur’an 59:22-24] â€Å"Allah! There is no god but He, the Living, the Self-subsisting, Eternal. No slumber can seize Him nor sleep. His are all things in the heavens and on earth. Who is there can intercede in His presence except as He permitteth? He knoweth what (appeareth to His creatures as) before or after or behind them.

John Stuart Mill Essay

I) Utilitarianism: + Whenever we have a choice between alternative actions or social policies, we must choose the one that has the best overall consequences for everyone concerned. + According to utilitarianism, the moral worth of an action is determined only by its resulting outcome. 3 + Utilitarianism is the one that maximizes utility, which is understood in terms of happiness or pleasure, in the moral actions. + For Utilitarianism, the morally best (better) alternative is that which produces the greatest (or greater) net utility, where utility is defined in terms of happiness or pleasure. (Ethics, Mackinnon) 4 + Two main philosophers of Utilitarianism Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) 5 II) Introduction to the main idea of Utilitarianism: A) The Principle of Utility (J. Bentham) â€Å"By the Principle of Utility is meant that principle which approves or disapproves of every action whatsoever, according to the tendency which it appears to have to augment or diminish the happiness to the party whose interest is in question† (The Principles of Morals and Legislation, J.Bentham) + The principle is for the promotion of greater happiness. 6 â€Å"We ought to do that which produces the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest number of people. † (Ethics, Mackinnon) + It is the guidance or principle of ethics: We should promote the greatest happiness in choices or actions. 7 Example: Killing is morally wrong because it does not promote happiness. But killing would be morally right if it promotes happiness, like the case of Japanese story and the case of disabled person. http://www. youtube. com/watch? v=8BjJ3yms8VM 8. II) Introduction to the main idea of Utilitarianism: B) The Greatest Happiness Principle (J. S. Mill) â€Å"†¦The creed which accepts as the foundation of morals, Utility, or the Greatest Happiness Principle, holds that actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness. † (Utilitarianism, J. S. Mill) â€Å"By happiness is intended pleasure, and the absence of pain; by happiness, pain, and the privation of pleasure. † (Utilitarianism, J. S. Mill). 9 + â€Å"According to the Greatest Happiness Principle†¦ the ultimate end, with reference to and for the sake of which all other things are desirable (whether we are considering our own good or that of other people), is an existence exempt as far as possible from pain, and as rich as possible in enjoyments. † (Utilitarianism, J. S. Mill) + The Greatest Happiness Principle: Promote pleasure/ utility 10 III) Two kinds of pleasure (J. S. Mill): 1) Physical pleasure: satisfaction of physical need 2) Intellectual pleasure: satisfaction of intellectual / spiritual need Example: Aesthetic pleasure, like painting 11. The Painting of Vincent Van Gogh 12 The Painting of Claude Monet 13 + The beauty of music: http://www. youtube. com/watch? v=Xg4ekh8 MwfM&list=PLF9B40412F22FA26B http://www. youtube. com/watch? v=n4ba8A W_Zck 14 IV) Calculation of Utility / Happiness + Pleasure minus Pain = Net happiness 1) Act A produces 10 units of happiness and 2 units of unhappiness: net happiness = 8 units of happiness 2) Act B produces 8 units of happiness and 4 units of unhappiness: net happiness = 4 units Act A is morally better than Act B. 15 + The best choice of Utilitarianism is the promotion of the interests of the greater (or greatest) number. + The utilitarian does not consider the nature of the acts or the motive, but just the utility or happiness in sum. + Example: the case of Down’s syndrome. http://www. youtube. com/watch? v=NeaDwFx8fgs 16 V)The measurement of utility: a)Intensity: quality of pleasure, e. g. winning a basketball match vs ice-cream b)Duration: the time lasted c)Fruitfulness: Not only the immediate pleasure, but also long-term result, like friendship, d)Likelihood: the closeness of happening of the consequence (utility). 17 VI)The proof of Principle of Greatest Utility or Happiness â€Å" The only proof capable of being given that an object is visible, is that people actually see it. The only proof that a sound is audible, is that people hear it†¦In like manner, I apprehend, the sole evidence it is possible to produce that anything is desirable, is that people do actually desire it. † (Utilitarianism, J. S. Mill) 18 + David Hume’s Is/ Ought distinction – ‘Is’ does not imply ‘Ought’: – e. g. we have parents ? we should obey to parents. VII) Mill’s the Harm Principle: â€Å"That the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others. His own good, either physical or moral, is not a sufficient warrant . . . Over himself, over his body and mind, the individual is sovereign. † (On Liberty, J. S. Mill) 19 + The harm principle above promotes freedom, which is as the means to happiness. + The ultimate or intrinsic Good: pleasure or happiness + Instrumental good is the good which promotes the intrinsic good: education, freedom 20 VIII) Assessing Utilitarianism 1) Utilitarian conception of impartiality – The utility or interest of the party involved is to be counted equally. (NO privileged class under Utilitarianism) 2) The promotion of animal welfare and animal right as the happiness of the animal is counted as well. (Peter Singer) 21 3) The Utility-oriented approach: A) Act-Utilitarianism: The consequence of this particular act is considered. In this case, killing the innocent may be justified for the sake of greater utility. The problem of right and justice. B) Rule-Utilitarianism: The consequence of the act is performed as a general practice (rule). 22 4) Conflict of pleasures Intellectual pleasure vs physical pleasure (satisfaction of hunger) How should we act/ choose? Life is not worth living when it is without utility or pleasure? 23 + Discussion: Is Utilitarianism a good way to guide our actions or choices, according to the common sense of morality and moral practices? 24.

Accountability in Public Administration

Accountability in Public Administration Introduction Public accountability is one of the noble concepts immensely supported by scholars in the discipline of public administration. In the political discourses coupled with policy documents, the term finds an imperative usage since it portrays an image of trustworthiness and transparency (Forrer, et al., 2010).Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Accountability in Public Administration specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More These two aspects are crucial since citizens who are also the clients of a state become satisfied that a system of administration is able to meet their anticipations in the public sector without exposing their resources to risks of fraud. In this extent, accountability emerges as one of the key values in the public administration. The aim of this study is to discuss the issues involved in making public organizations accountable. A consideration is also given to discuss the people whom public offici als are accountable to, and the most effective means of ensuring a balance between the demands for accountability and the need to have high-performing organizations. Issues involved in making Public Organizations Accountable Accountability involves making organizations transparent and responsible in their dealing in the effort to enhance their trustworthiness. For them to realize the goal, they need to address a number of issues concerning accountability. One of such issues is the development of the capacity to deal with emerging matters that may impede their efforts to attain their dream of being accountable. For instance, the advent of globalization presents many challenges to corporations and institutions of public administration seeking that to be accountable in many nations. Kearns (2003) supports the argument by further adding, â€Å"Globalization plays the role of shaping the current trends in the global economic markets and the increasing interactions among nations and peop le from different parts of the world† (p.76). Emergence of new interactions driven by the dawn of globalization introduces challenges to institutions of public administration in that they handle emerging new roles and expand their functionality sphere. The more expansive an institution or any system requiring checks is, the harder it becomes to handle all the individual facets of an organization, which may provide loopholes for acts of fraud. Emerging new issues such as those prompted by globalization also present challenges to accountability efforts of an organization due to â€Å"the need to understand the dynamics of global value chains, creating trade facilitation structures, developing partnerships, and the establishment of value chains and networks† (Kearns, 2003, p.81).Advertising Looking for report on public administration? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Existence of such new challenges means th at public administration officials have to constantly change their tactics for enhancing accountability since traditional approaches or styles for public administration cease to be effective in handling all the contemporary situations that may prove to be a challenge to the efforts of becoming accountable. From the above discussion, it is essential that an organization that seeks to be accountable in a globalized market to consider looking for new approaches of enhancing transparency as opposed to the traditional approaches for enhancing intelligibility in the public administration. In fact, this factor is yet another crucial issue involved in making public organizations accountable. The history of public administration reveals that the main approach for enhancing accountability is through exercising of control and close monitoring of persons who are mandated to execute certain affairs that are of public interest. This task entails â€Å"bureaucratic discretion through compliance w ith some tightly drawn rules and regulations† (Forrer et al, 2010, p.477). Alteration of such an approach is critical in the modern world that is driven by hefty interactions so that, rather than using a direct-control paradigm, an organization has to consider implementation of strategies for enhancing accountability. The strategy must be driven by the concerns of delegations as a methodology for breaking down the bureaucratic approaches to public accountability. The relevance of this issue for an organization that wants to be accountable rests on the platform that, although delegation is an effective way for enhancing accountability, it has its limitations. A challenge facing an organization that is determined to be accountable is the establishing of balance and determination of the extents and permissible thresholds of accountability in the organization. Thirdly, an organization needs to deal proactively with the issue of balancing levels of accountability anticipated from v arious stakeholders. In support of this argument, Forrer et al. (2010) reckon, â€Å"public managers report not only to a multitude of elected officials, but also to a plethora of interest groups, clientele, media, and other actors† (p.478). This argument means that public administrators serve many conflicting interests of different stakeholders, both formal and informal, through the deployment of appropriate mechanisms for enhancing accountability.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Accountability in Public Administration specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The balancing mechanism that an organization that seeks to become accountable must deploy includes hierarchical accountability, public accountability, while not negating deploying of mechanisms for enhancing accountability to impersonal standards. Organizations that embrace the relevance of accountability as a way of development of trust among various stakehol ders must appreciate that one of the important issues they must put into perspective is that they must conform precisely to a myriad of legitimized but also competing anticipations for accountability. To whom are Public Officials Accountable? Public officials have to be accountable to various people. Essentially, accountability is a â€Å"means through, which public agencies and their workers answer to the citizens directly and indirectly for the use of their power, authority, and resources† (Kearns, 2003, p.9). From this definition, it is paramount to note that, in the first degree, public officials are accountable to the citizens who are also served by other persons and interest groups to whom public officials must also be accountable. Such other persons include city councils, administrators such as presidents, states’ legislatures, media, and professional associations among others. With the rise of and advocating for governance approaches that portray the exercise o f democracy as the chief mechanism of ensuring equal presentations of all citizens’ concerns and interests in the tools of administration, concerns have been alarming on the mechanisms that can ensure that governments are held accountable effectively. Consequently, with regard to Kearns (2003), internal means of enhancing accountability including â€Å"official rules, codes of conduct, administrative hierarchy, performance evaluation, organizational culture, and professional ethics† (p.65) have dominated the discussions of public accountability. Some of these mechanisms of enhancing accountability have been pinned in the constitutions of many democratic nations. All systems of power comprise executives, judicial, and legislative divisions of government. These divisions have the responsibility to keep public administrators on the check to limit their discretion to ensure they are achieving their noble mandates placed on them by citizens.Advertising Looking for report on public administration? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More For instance, in the US the progressive era marked the establishments of â€Å"independent government regulatory agencies, public commissions, and corporation to oversee government bodies through the executive branch† (Forrer et al., 2010, p.478). From the context of the roles of congress, public officials have a duty to ensure that they meet the requirements placed on them in terms of meeting the demands for accountability as stipulated by organizations for agency oversight and committees for budget appropriations among others. Since citizens cannot directly regulate the operations of public officials, such organs exercise control and monitoring of the activities of public officials on behalf of the citizens to ensure that they are accountable to any repercussions of the policies formulated and implemented by the public officials. Public officials are accountable to legislatures. Legislatures have roles to play to investigate the operations of various public officials and de mand to provisions of information on certain aspects that they may believe have comprised the national ethics and codes of practice in public offices including accountability. Organizations such as GAO can also be employed by legislatures and congress to scrutinize public agency programs. Consequently, public officials must be accountable to them. Since the goal of accountability is to ensure transparency to all interest groups and stakeholders in the operations of public administrators as argued before, public officials are also accountable to media, professional communities, and client groups. Client groups are interested in the implications of public policies. Such groups have specific anticipated outcomes from public officials. Should the public officials fail to meet these anticipations effectively, or do things at exorbitant and inflated costs, the officials have to be held accountable for the failure or embezzlements of funds. Conclusion: Balancing the Demands for Accountabil ity and the Need to have High-performing Organizations Accountability implies that public officials have to evaluate every policy or decision they take to ensure that it does not expose the interest of various stakeholders and interest groups at risk upon its implementation. This argument means that decisions and policies that have high potentials of yielding optimal results but possessing high-risk vulnerabilities may not be implemented. Measuring performance from the paradigm of the magnitude of returns, for instance, in terms of social benefit, failure to implement projects having high risks of failure but having high levels of returns means that the performance of a public institution is impaired. Public officials must balance demand for accountability and the need to have high-performing organizations. For instance, considering the experience of hurricane Katrina, it is arguable that the government ought to have invested heftily on strategies and equipments for dealing with aft ermaths and or for detection of both the likelihoods and the magnitudes of natural catastrophes in the bid to enhance effective disaster awareness through its established institutions for disaster management. Such a measure would make disaster management institutions highly performing if the investments turn out commensurate to the anticipated levels of response to human and logistical challenges posed by hurricane Katrina. However, in the effort to ensure that such organizations become highly performing, the question that emerges is whether indeed public officials charged with running such institutions would be willing to venture into risky decisions that would compromise their levels of accountability in the public domain. Koliba, Zia, and Mills (2011) support this line of thought by noting that it is important to develop both theoretical and empirical constructs â€Å"to identify and assess how and whether failures of accountability lead to failures in performance† (p.210) . Directly congruent with this proposal, it is of paramount importance that public officials be made to account for success rather than just failures. Such a strategy can help to balance demands for accountability and the need for high performing organizations. Obtaining a balance between accountability and the need for high-performing organizations is a challenge that public officials need to proactively address especially bearing in mind that the citizens whom they owe the ultimate responsibility while making their decisions do not directly elect them. Consequently, public officials may consider complying with political accountability roles since, according to Bovens (1998), â€Å"public officials are not rigidly constrained in their performance by narrow legal or procedural settings† (p.31). This case means that the capacity to form and operate public institutions driven by the motive for high performance may be compromised by the need to meet programmed guidelines issued by the appointing authority in hierarchical systems of administration. This argument is more imperative upon considering Bovens’ (1998) assertion that political accountability â€Å"tends to use outcomes as the main parameter for evaluation of performance rather than compliance with administrative rules and procedures† (p.31). As a repercussion, it is probable that public officials may fail to balance accountability with the need to create highly performing public institutions due to the need to satisfy the anticipations of the elected authority as opposed to direct anticipations of the electorate. Although in democratic and corruption-free nations, the elected persons may present the interest of the electorate. Hence, the anticipations of the elected and the appointing authority from the public officials have to measure up to the anticipation of the electorate. In the corruption-prone nations, the electorate interests are not presented by the elected persons. If publi c administrators appointed by the corrupt-elected persons have to be politically accountable, it means that a balance between accountability and the need to put in place a highly performing organization cannot be established. Reference List Bovens, M. (1998). The Quest for Responsibility: Accountability and Citizenship in Complex Organizations. Public Administration, 77(3), 455-474. Forrer, J., Kee, J., Newcomer, K., Boyer, E. (2010). Public- Private Partnerships and the public accountability question. Public administration review, 1(1), 475- 484. Kearns, P. (2003). Accountability in a Seamless Economy, in G. Peters and J. Pierre (eds.), Handbook of Public Administration. London: Sage Publications. Koliba, C., Zia, A., Mills, R. (2011). Accountability in governance networks: an assessment of public, private and nonprofit emergency management practices following hurricane Katrina. Public Administration Review, 1(1), 210-20.

Designed Baby essays

Designed Baby essays If you are informed that your baby is going to be a blind and you have a chance to change his or her genetics to cure this disease before he or she is born, will you choose to do it or not? If we talk about this 50,or even 15 years ago, people might probably think it is total nonsense. However, nowadays, more and more people begin to believe that thanks to the development of genetic engineering and cloning technology, we can prevent our descendents from those diseases by changing their genetics when they are still in their mother fs wombs. Moreover, some scientists begin to predict that in the near future we can easily design our babies, choosing the gender, height, skin color or even intelligence just like choosing a T-shirt in a Uniqlo fs chain shop. And it is likely that all these prophecies might come true when we get up the next morning. Some people begin to feel uneasy about these because they think that the birth of a designed child may cause new social problems while ot hers keep arguing that If we can make our children more clever and healthier, what is wrong? However, things may become more complicated than most of us can ever expect. First of all, only the wealthy can benefit from the devices. It is obviously unfair to tell poor people that they're stuck with offspring that aren't so smart, will surely go bald or even with terrible genetic diseases while the rich spawn the beautiful, talented, genetically handpicked people. The poor people will be underprivileged not only economically but also intelligently. And then, It will become a vicious circle that the haves will be richer and richer and the have-nots will surely become poorer and poorer. Moreover, wars will break out between the two groups and it is most probable that the poor will be slaughtered or exiled from the earth. Secondly, human beings will lose the ability of reproduction. Because in order to get a baby of higher quality, we begin to turn to the a...

Consumer website Analysis and Evaluation Project Essay

Consumer website Analysis and Evaluation Project - Essay Example The distinctive position created by the website is that of belonging. The website is an Inferno fans page. It is meant to provide Little Inferno Entertainment Fireplace fans with a place to share their experiences and develop more fun. It gives an image of trust, fun, belongingness, identity, and unique community. The name of the website suggests its relationship to the product, but does not sell the idea to those consumers who know nothing about the product. The website is an appreciation society which shows the level of trust the company assumes to have with its consumers, and belongingness it gives its consumers in relation to the product. There is also the link of Little Inferno Entertainment Fireplace fans page to Goofans page indicating some identity, and uniqueness, that is, in ‘Tomorrow Corporation’, there is a corporate portfolio; a common practice of developing an appreciation society for their consumers (Inferno Fans Page). The brand image has also been establ ished using the name of the product, the use of a celebrity’s name, and its target market. The name of the product, ‘Little Inferno Entertainment Fireplace’, has been used to create the fan page, that is, ‘Inferno fans’. ... Little inferno is an indie game and has several competitors including other forms of video games. Examples include; auditorium duet, journey, Alpha trailer, Kentucky Route Zero, Cart Life, Faster Than Light, Zineth, and Hotline Miami (UBM Tech). Little inferno is however, different from other video games based on its principle, and what it is meant to achieve. The developers thought that the pattern of recognition found in most indie games was terrible, and thought of a different idea, where a genuinely great game and a terrifying plot would be underneath the interactive screensavers. It is from this that the virtual fire place was developed. The game was intended to give consumers some heart-warming experience. It is also different because of its simplicity. Other game mechanics are complex and considered terrible (Tach). Leake, Vaccarello and Ginty, note that the most important functions of a brand are to increase information efficiency, create value added benefits, and reduce risk s (18). The brand image created by the website communicates only to the fans of the product, but not to any new consumer who may be interested. There are symbols of fun showing its intent, but there are no welcome images communicated to other people who may wish to join the community or experience what the game offers. Content How the company updates its marketing mix: There is no evidence of any updates on marketing mix, but features show a customizable update system. The website is designed with a ‘News’ section which is used to inform the products consumers of new programs, new applications, new developments, and any changes related to the product. The forum

The EasyJet strategic management process Assignment

The EasyJet strategic management process - Assignment Example Strategic management is a major aspect that cannot be overlooked in order to attain the objectives in any given company. Being undertaken by top level managers, this paper covers the three essential stages involved in strategic management. These include strategic analysis, strategy formulation and strategy implementation. During the strategic analysis process, firms make appropriate choices that act as guidelines during the next stages This paper covers the strategies that EasyJet Airline, a British based firm has adopted thus making it to attain a competitive edge in the airline industry. This paper depicts selection of the best courses of action as the key aspect during the strategy formulation process. Similar to the use of environmental scanning tools including PESTEL and SWOT in the strategic analysis, managers in EasyJet among other local and international companies also use the tools during strategy formulation. The third stage covered by this paper is the strategy implementat ion. During this stage, organizations translate the plans as set in the previous stages into actions that are focused at attaining the objectives. Strategic Management Process 1.0 Introduction Strategic management entails analyzing the primary initiatives that are undertaken by firm’s top level managers on behalf of other stakeholders including the shareholders and employees among others. Some of the notable initiatives that are involved in the strategic analysis include evaluation of firm’s internal and external environments as well as monitoring the use of resources within a company. Additionally, it entails establishing the vision and the mission of an organization, objectives as well as developing policies that are geared towards achieving the set objectives. In order to ensure that the roles of strategic management are effectively attained, it is imperative for managers to maintain a balanced score card. This is a tool that is used to evaluate the entire performan ce of an organization and its progress towards achieving the goals as outlined by the top level management team. As local and international firms engage in investing in their resources including workers to meet the stiff competition in the market, strategic management has been one of the issues that have not been overlooked (Kotler and Kevin, 2009). One of the major companies that have embarked on adopting of strategic management policies is EasyJet Airline Company. EasyJet Airline Company is a Britain based airline company that enjoys more than 600 routes in 30 countries. Being headquartered in London, the company employs more than 8,000 employees who are responsible for spearheading its services in the international market. EasyJet was established and launched in 1995 by Stelios Haji-Ioannou, a renowned businessman. In the airline industry, EasyJet has acquired a competitive edge based on its effective marketing strategies that involves providing prioritizing safety and strong tea m work that ensures the company policies are attained. It is vital to note that the company has achieved key positions in major markets that include London Stansted, Paris Charles De Gaulle, Rome Fiumicino, London Gatwick, London Southend and London Luton among others. Another aspect that has made the company to attain a competitive position is the acquisition of rival companies. In this way, the company capital base and marketing strategies have been boosted to a significant level. Some of the notable firms that EasyJet has acquired include TEA Basle, London Stansted-based Go, GB Airways among others. This paper will discuss the three major processes of strategic management that includes strategic analysis, strategy formulation and strategy implementation in relation to the EasyJet Airline