Scarcity and how it Applies to Micro-Economic Decision Making Essay

Scarcity and how it Applies to Micro-Economic Decision Making - Essay Example It is a fact that if anything is scarce it will definitely have a higher market value compared to those goods and services which are relatively widely available. (Riley 2006)i Scarcity essentially raises the question of which alternative to choose and which is better in which condition. These various choices have to be made on a daily basis by all consumers, firms and governments. (Steven 2011)iiA simple example is how the millions of people in New York City get to work. This choice of which mode of travel to take in order to get to their required destination in the least and most cost-effective amount of time is what troubles everyone. These small decisions are taken on an extensive scale on a daily basis and for most of the individuals this is more of a habitual routine than a choice but still at the first instance they had to figure out which mode is the best for them. This concept is followed by the most important concept in microeconomics, Opportunity Cost. Opportunity Cost meas ures the cost of any choice in terms of the next best alternative forgone. This can apply to individuals, firms and governments. For an individual whether to work extra hours or give more time to family for leisure is a choice that has to be made on a regular basis. For a government, it has to decide whether to allocate its limited budget to military or education or health. For a firm, it has to decide which machinery to use to produce the most output in the least amount of time maintaining quality. All this is not only a decision that is made without conscious thinking, it requires a lot of conscious effort from the individual’s part to investigate which option is best for him. This involves a rational Cost-Benefit Analysis. A Cost-Benefit Analysis is the process whereby individuals decide whether the advantages of a particular option are likely to outweigh its drawbacks. This is highly specific as all the known information for the available alternatives has to be taken into account and after comparing it with each other it has to be decided upon which alternative is giving the most benefit after accounting for its drawbacks (net benefit). On a micro-level thousands of millions of decisions take place to counter this problem of scarcity. A firm has to constantly perform assessment whether to hire new workers or request their existing workers to give extra hours in order to produce the excess demand. A separate department usually exists in MNC’s which has the responsibility to undertake extensive in-depth research in major financial decisions. For example, acquiring of new capital costing millions of dollars $ might be a better option than upgrading existing capital equipment. Although the initial cost will be high but the long term benefit of the first choice will outweigh the benefit of the second option. In Africa, governments have to constantly engage in a battle against poverty, healthcare and education. The question which is more important is debatable. Which sector should be given more preference depends on the positive impact it will have on the community and society on the whole. It can also mean that in a battle to provide everyone clean water and food, government might not reach its set goal for education. (CBC 2011)iii Nevertheless, it has to be viewed in such a perspective that if people are not provided the basic

Work Effectively in the Community Sector Essay Example for Free

Work Effectively in the Community Sector Essay Task 1 – Research a sector of the Community Services Industry Task 2 – Reflect on professional practice Task Task 1 You need to choose a sector of the Australian Community Services Industry and research the current issues influencing service delivery in that sector and answer the questions below based on your research. A sector could include: ï‚ · Aged care ï‚ · Home and community care ï‚ · Disability services ï‚ · Alcohol and other drugs ï‚ · Family and domestic violence ï‚ · Mental Health ï‚ · Housing ï‚ · Community development ï‚ · Community work ï‚ · Youth work and juvenile justice ï‚ · Children’s services ï‚ · Child protection ï‚ · Employment services Questions Answer the following questions based on your research: 1. State the sector you have researched. 2. Identify the current needs of this sector’s target group. You need to demonstrate your research by providing facts and figures about this target group’s current issues. 2 LA015665 Assignment 2; CHCCS411C Ed3 Â © New South Wales, Department of Education and Communities 2013, Version 1, January 2013 3. Identify a Community Service organisation within this sector. You will need to contact the organisation by phone or visit them by appointment if you are unable to collect all the relevant information from your online research. 4. What are the roles and functions of this organisation? 5. What have been the organisation’s responses to the changing needs of this target group? 6. How does this organisation demonstrate a commitment to access and equity principles? 7. What strategies has the organisation implemented to improve work practices? Task 2Task 2 1. Identify two (2) strategies you could use to reflect on your skills in the workplace. 2. What is the purpose of reflecting on your own work practices? 3. Reflect on your current skills, knowledge, qualities or attributes in regards to working in the Community Services Industry and answer the following questions: a) Identify and discuss an area where you would like professional development. b) Find a training organisation that provides professional development in this area. Provide the name of the training organisation as well as the title of the course.

The Effects Of Dehydration And Rapidly Consuming Water Biology Essay

The Effects Of Dehydration And Rapidly Consuming Water Biology Essay Blood pressure measures the pressure applied against the inner walls of arteries, it differs throughout the body and is controlled by the contraction of the heart and can vary from person to person based upon their age, weight, and overall health. The two types of pressure are referred to as systolic pressure, when the ventricles contract and push blood through the body, and diastolic pressure, the ventricle fills with blood again. High blood pressure, when blood exerts a high amount of pressure because there is difficulty moving throughout the body, has proven to be an adverse health condition involving heart disease and stroke (www.freedrinkingwater.com 2009). Dehydration demonstrates a relationship with higher blood pressure and is referred to as essential hypertension (Insel et al. 2010). There is a steady rise in blood pressure that indicates a shortening supply of water and the blood vessels react accordingly. Lumen or the tiny holes in the blood vessels are able to adapt, open and close, in response to the amount of blood. Studies have shown that only 8% of the insufficient water intake affects the volume of blood directly compared to the 66% imposed on the volume water in certain cells (Batmanghelidj 2003). However, the circulatory system shrinks by closing the lumen throughout the blood vessels. First, in the peripheral capillaries and eventually the larger vessels constrict in order to try and maintain full blood vessels. This gives a rise to tension or pressure throughout the blood vessels and a higher blood pressure overall (Batmanghelidj 2003). There are other studies that show the importance of water balance and the key role of the antidiuretic hormone (ADH) (Purves et al. 2006). Water is such an essential part of the human body that there are specialized cells in the brain that detect the elevated sodium levels within the body and signal the pituitary gland to release ADH to indicate to the kidney that it should conserve water (Insel et al. 2010). This conserves blood volume and maintains blood pressure. When there are low levels of ADH not as much water is absorbed and dilute urine is produced. Water retention and intake dilutes the blood and expands blood volume. (Purves et al. 2006) My experiment is to test the rapid consumption of water and the effects on blood pressure. My hypothesis is that the consumption of water will cause my blood pressure to drop because it will add to the fluidity of my blood and make is easier to pass through the arteries and the heart rate will drop because of the less pressure. The null hypothesis would be that the consumption of water would take no effect on blood pressure or cause a rise in blood pressure and heart rate. As the previous background information has shown, hydration can play a major role in high blood pressure and therefore adverse health. Materials and Methods: The first instrument to note would be the sphygmomanometer, a device used to measure blood pressure. Before we drank the water we had to place the sphygmomanometer on correctly and take our basal blood pressure. We had all been in a resting position for around 2 hours, this qualified as enough time to take our initial basal blood pressures. To obtain accurate results the sphygmomanometer must be placed correctly over the brachial artery and pumped to around 150 mm Hg. The average of class was obtained by adding up all the systolic pressures and dividing by 26, the number of students conducting the test and the same was performed for the diastolic pressures. The first average basal blood pressure for the class was 104/70, the second 110/71 and the third was 107/70. The sphygmomanometer also displays the heart rate of the person using it. The classs average basal heart rates were 77, 79 and 78 (beats per minute). Once the initial readings were complete the water was prepared to be cons umed. The temperature of the water varied because there were students that had water bottles sitting out a room temperature for at least 2 hours while others had to fill them from the water fountain, which is chilled. Usually using a nalgene, 24 fl. oz of water were prepared to be consumed. It can be assumed that most people in the classroom were slightly, if not significantly dehydrated because we had not drunk any water for at least 2 hours. The sphygmomanometer was prepared as before on the first partner, the water was rapidly consumed and the blood pressure and pulse was taken immediately after they were finished drinking. There was a 3 minute break between the next blood pressure reading so the other partner has the sphygmomanometer placed on their brachial artery and consumes the same amount of water and has their blood pressure and pulse was taken. The sphygmomanometer was traded between the two partners every three minutes to record the different blood pressures and pulse for the next 12 minutes. The average blood pressures for the corresponding 3 minute intervals were 120/79, 114/68, 111/71, 117/77, and 114/72. The average heart rates were 71, 70, 69, 71, and 71 likewise. The independent variable was the amount of water consumed while the dependent variable was the blood pressure and pulse because it was what we were testing for. The constants for this experiment were time, the environment we were all in and the fact that water was consumed. This experiment was also paired because the same group of people that performed the basal readings conducted the rest of the experiment as well. There were 13 groups of two throughout the class and the same experiment was replicated in each pair. Statistics: Figure 1: Range of Basal Heart Rate 60 bpm Range of 0 min Heart Rate 75 bpm Range of 3 min Heart Rate 54 bpm Range of 6 min Heart Rate 54 bpm Range of 9 min Heart Rate 76 bpm Range of 12 min Heart Rate 58 bpm Table 1 Data Range: Figure 2: Range of Diastolic Data: Range of Systolic Data: Range of Basal Systolic 68 mm Hg Range of 0 min Systolic 84 mm Hg Range of 3 min Systolic 59 mm Hg Range of 6 min Systolic 53 mm Hg Range of 9 min Systolic 62 mm Hg Range of 12 min Systolic 49 mm Hg Range of Basal Diastolic 58 mm Hg Range of 0 min Diastolic 79 mm Hg Range of 3 min Diastolic 60 mm Hg Range of 6 min Diastolic 52 mm Hg Range of 9 min Diastolic 77 mm Hg Range of 12 min Diastolic 52 mm Hg Table 2 Table 3 T-Test with Averages: Table 4 Results: This experiment tested the results of rapidly drinking water when dehydrated on heart rate and blood pressure of subject. The results for the average heart rate seem to demonstrate that the pulse does not change very much with the consumption of water. As for the systolic and diastolic pressures, there are some changes after the water is consumed. There appears to be a spike in the systolic pressure around the 0 minute mark and then it decreases to about average again. The diastolic pressure is much more similar to the heart rate because it is relatively consistent to the average, no drastic changes. The t-test is much more than .05 and shows that the chance these results were random is very high. The ranges of each data set display the differences between each array of data. Discussion: My hypothesis states: that the consumption of water will cause the blood pressure and heart rate to drop. My prediction is that the water will add to the fluidity of my blood and make it easier to travel through the arteries and relieve pressure. My results did not support my hypothesis because there was an initial rise in systolic pressure after the water was consumed. The pressure never dropped significantly below the basal readings and therefore my hypothesis was not supported and the null hypothesis tested correctly. If you look at the t-test table (table 4) the p-values were very high, much higher than .05, and this shows that the results had a very high chance of being random. My new hypothesis would be the consumption of water will cause my blood pressure to rise. The reasoning behind this thought is that the water adds to the mass of blood flowing throughout the body and therefore, creates more pressure on the walls of the arteries and yields a higher pressure than before. On ce the water is evened out throughout the body the pressure decreases to around the basal readings. One of the most obvious errors about this lab was the gathering of information from the class. Time is always a constraint on lab work and we ran out of time before we could gather all our information together right after the experiment. Instead, our TA had to collect all the data and put it on a spread sheet. I believe there may have been some communication issues because there are parts of the data that are considered instrumental error and there are no numbers for calculations. The other error that I noticed was the temperature of the water because we didnt actually see if everybodys water was the same temperature or not. On that note, the amount of water also varied at times because not everybody was able to measure out 24 fl. Oz with a nalgene and had to estimate. Looking at previously published work there is evidence that dehydration and hypotension (low-blood pressure) seem to go hand in hand (Weed 1999). Therefore, when hydrated the blood pressure will rise. This is the exact opposite of what I stated in my hypothesis because I thought that addition of water would lower the blood pressure. Heart rate is also low during dehydration but is more variable if it will change during re-hydration or not (Montain and Coyle 1992). Once again, this is the exact opposite of what I predicted in my hypothesis. It appears that most previously printed work does not support my hypothesis. As I mentioned earlier the largest weaknesses I noticed in this experiment were time, communication between TA and student, volume and temperature of water. I would suggest that more time is set aside for the collection and processing of data stage in the experiment so that the entire class is able to get the full amount of information there instead of having the TA email everybody for their results and then making a spreadsheet. The experiment can also be better prepared with pre-measured cups of water with thermometers so the temperature and volume can be more consistent. My conclusion to this experiment is that dehydration does have an effect on blood pressure, it causes it to rise. The water adds to the pressure against the walls of the arteries. There appears to be no direct effect on the actual heart rate after the water is consumed. Literature Cited: Batmanghelidj, F. 2003. Water: For Health, for Healing, for Life Youre Not Sick, Youre Thirsty! New York: Warner Books. p 93-100. Health information- water alleviate symptoms High blood pressure /Cholesterol. Drinking Water Filters- Reverse Osmosis Water Purifiers Water Softeners. Web. 01 Feb. 2010. . Insel et al. 2010. Discovering Nutrition. London: Jones and Bartlett International. p. 400-403 Purves et al. 2003. Life The Science of Biology. 7th Edition. New York: Sinauer Associates and W. H. Freeman. p. 216-221 Montain SJ, Coyle FH. 1992. Influence of graded dehydration on hyperthermia and cardiovascular drift during exercise. Journal of Applied Physiology Weed L, Weed L. 1999. Changing the Doctor-Patient Relationship. BMJ Weedman D, Sokoloski E. 2009. Biology of Organisms: Laboratory Manuel. Ohio: Cengage Learning. P. 170-183

Franny and Zooey as Victims :: Franny and Zooey Essays

Franny and Zooey as Victims "We're freaks,the two of us, Franny and I... and both of those bastards are responsible...I could murder both without batting an eyelash... The great teachers, the great emancipators." Childhood memories are ripples of waves crashing serenly throughout my mind. Memories of climbing trees, playing dress-up and other fun-filled reminiscences float through these waters like drift wood. I remember nothing but living in a joyful bliss. My only tragdy was when Barbie's beloved Ken's head fell off. We are all increadibly innocent as children. We will reach out to anyone's hand with out eyes fille with trust. The events of our childhood determines who we are, what we will be, what our future hold. For example, I have recently learned that, in many cases, an abused child will result in a loathsome and abusive adult. The process continues geeneration after generation. This is devestating because his or her child has absolutely no power in controlling the early events of their childhood. An abused child is not at fault of the results of their childhood. A child is easily susceptible to having the rest of his or her life ruined, such as being emotionally scarred. I believe this happened in Franny and Zooey's case as children. They came from a relatively large family, consisting of two parents and seven siblings. The Glass children had a radio talk show called the "Wise Child" when they were younger. Such pressures put upon the children resulted in which Zooey calls "The Wise Child complexes". He believes that they never really left the air. He believes that instead of carrying a normal conversation, he expound on everything and ;therefore, is not able to keep his mouth closed. The two eldest siblings of the Glass children, Seymour and Buddy, have influenced both Franny and Zooey, who are the two youngest in the family. Zooey believes that it is them who have made him and Franny what they are now, "freaks". Because Zooey believes they are responsible, he developed a hatred for his brothers. I believe this hatred evolved from fustration. This fustration could possibly be caused from the seperation he must feel towards Seymour and Buddy. Seymour commited suicide, leaving young Zooey with unanswered questions. Buddy appears to be cutting himself off from his family,or even reality. He lives as a hermit, he is locked away in a cabin with neither heating, electricity, nor a phone. Seymour and Buddy have both put themselves in the same situation toward Franny and Zooey. It seems that Buddy does everything that Seynour did, or tries to.

Nursing Board Examinations Scam: Impact to Practice

The â€Å"American Dream† is in the hands of all nurses around the globe as the U.S. is now facing a chronic nursing shortage with a projected RN shortage of more or less 800,000 in year 2020 (Buerhaus et al., 2000). The shortage of nurses that the U.S. healthcare industry needs to fill up hits hundreds of thousands as the shortage continues despite rising wages of nurses. The health care industry has bemoaned the nursing shortage for more than a decade, and that more will be needed for additional patients as the Baby Boom generation ages. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projected in 2005 that more than 3.1 million registered nurse jobs would be available by 2014, which would add an additional 700,000 new jobs for nurses (Moore, 2007). The United States has ramped up its importation of foreign-trained nurses mainly sourced from Africa (mainly Nigeria and South Africa), India, Canada and the Philippines (Vujicic, 2004). U.S. hospitals and health care agencies choose the Philippines because the country is a former American colony with school curriculum based on the American education system, classes are taught in English and nurses earn a four-year bachelor's degree, sometimes more than what American nurses obtain. Thus, the learning curve for Philippine-trained nurses in the United States is minimal (Jenkins, 2003). The Filipino nurses’ work ethics is the primary reason why they comprise 83 percent of foreign nurses in America and are the most preferred by hospitals, doctors’ clinics and care homes according to U.S. National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) (Bondoc, 2007). The Philippine Nurses Association of America (PNAA) reported that there are around 90,000 Filipino nurses in the United States. Every year 12,000 to 14,000 Filipino nurses migrate to the U.S. (OPS, 2007). Nurses’ licensing examinations is offered abroad to bring more foreign-born nurses to the U.S. and help alleviate the acute nursing shortage that is crippling American health care. Most of the foreigners taking the mandatory U.S. licensing nursing exam came from the Philippines, India, Canada, Nigeria, Korea, United Kingdom and Commonwealth of States (formerly USSR) according to National Council of State Boards of Nursing. Of those, more than half were from the Philippines, which educate thousand more nurses than what the country needs (Friess, 2002). The U.S. is a net importer of medical and nursing professionals from the Philippines. The issue on the June 2006 nursing board exam leak in the Philippines has snowballed, settling on a query to Filipino nurses’ credibility and ability in the provision of health care and safety to American Community, not only to solve nursing shortage crisis in America. This paper discusses the important issue of irregularities in nursing board exams. After introducing the topic, a discussion on the essence of nursing ethics is made. The next section briefly presents the recent Philippine Nursing Board exam to the U.S. nursing practice, followed by a critical analysis on this issue. The summary, conclusions and recommendations are presented in the last section. In Respect to the Nursing Insignia The nursing insignia, although it disappears, the meaning still embarks the true identity of the nurse in the nursing practice as a health care provider with caring attitude possess knowledge symbolizes by the nursing cap, the crowning glory of intelligence and the uniform is a picture perfect of purity and cleanliness living with ethics and morale which are molded inside the nursing school. Although the profession of nursing is as ancient as medicine, and may have the greatest right to the Cup of Hygieia as its symbol, most of the nursing tradition use a lamp or candle, which is not only in memory of Florence Nightingale, but which represents the light of knowledge, the central emblem of quality health care. The level of knowledge of nursing graduates is measured by nursing board exams—a licensure examination to eligibly practice the nursing profession. The exam regulates the legal nursing practice as a profession by assessing the basic nursing level competency which considers the objectives of the nursing curriculum, the broad areas of nursing and other related disciplines and competencies. The integrity of foreign licensing systems ultimately affects the health and safety of patients in the United States, a primary consideration of CGFNS in its role in evaluating candidates under U.S. immigration law (The Manila Times, 2007). Impact of Philippine Nursing Board Exam Leakage to U.S. Nursing Practice The Philippines is the leading source of nurses to the United States, with several thousand Filipino nurses migrating there each year. However, the U.S. National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) and the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) delayed their approval for the Philippines’ accreditation as a testing center of the U.S. National Commission on Licensure Examination (NCLEX) for nurses. The shelved application is caused by the direct repercussion of the nursing board exam leak scandal. It capped two hours of grilling earlier on Philippine assurances of exam security and housecleaning after fraud marred its own nursing board tests last June 2006 (Bondoc, 2007). The United States Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS) obliged all Filipino nurses with 2006 licenses, who wished to work in the US, to retake the two sets of tests that investigators said were leaked to several nursing review centers in Manila, the Philippine capital (Cabreza, 2007). The retake of the tests is to allow nurses who passed the leak-tainted 2006 nursing board and are wishing to work in the United States to secure UV Visa-Screen certificates as required by the CGFNS (Rodis, 2007). The Philippines’ status as one of the world’s top producers of nurses could be threatened as it significantly tainted the credibility of Filipino nurses abroad due to the recent examinations irregularities. The scandal allegedly involved leakage materials of the June 2006 Philippine nursing board examinations of at least 200 questions. Some members of the nursing board were accused of receiving bribes from the owners of nursing review centers in exchange for leaking some test questions (Asian Pacific Post, 2007). Sometime after the board exam was held, the whistleblowers who exposed the said irregularity wrote to the PRC in June 2006 to report that handwritten copies of two sets of examination were circulated among examinees who took their review at a particular review center during the actual examination period (Cabreza, 2007). The initial charges were made by students who said that the president of the Philippine Nurses Association, who apparently is the owner and director of a nursing review center and a nursing school, had given the exam questions to students who had taken his coaching classes with the final coaching   at SM Cinema in Manila (The Filipino Express Newspaper, 2007). Many of the whistleblowers who exposed cheating have decided to take a new licensure test to remove the stigma of the scandal (Cabreza, 2007). Only 68.96% (9,198) have passed the nursing board retake out of 13,338 nurses who voluntarily retook, concluded that the quality of education is becoming a real issue, especially in light of the recent cheating/leak in the said board exams (Philippine Daily Inquirer, 2007; Rodis, 2007). After the said disclosures were made, officials and industry experts cautioned that the country's status as one of the top sources in the world for nurses would inevitably be adversely affected (Conde, 2006). In fact, this scandal has already demonstrated far-reaching impact on Filipino nurses—aside from some untoward incidents regarding racial discrimination in primetime American shows—indicating that such scandal inevitably involved the entire Philippines. For one, one episode of the hit ABC series â€Å"Desperate Housewives† involved Teri Hatcher insulting the Filipino community when she malignly depicted that Philippine medical schools are producing substandard, inferior and—worse—inept medical practitioners. Another is Jay Leno’s similar remark on his late night show â€Å"The Tonight Show†. Unfortunately, the above incidents gave rise to some political humors across America. A Critical Analysis The nursing board exam leak scandal in the Philippines brought legal, ethical and political issues confronting professional nursing today, including in the U.S., as the Philippines is its prime source of manpower to address the ever-escalating shortage of nurses. Better compensation packages—or simply a better life for the nurse and her/his family—have been achieved notwithstanding ethical and moral of standards of nurses everywhere. The Philippines has had a long history of corruption and low standards of ethics especially in politics and business. The Philippine nursing schools’ â€Å"diploma mills† and review centers, for years, have been earning significantly, capitalizing on the nursing shorted in the developed world. In a country where cheating with impunity has become the norm rather than the exception and where remittances from â€Å"exported† skilled professionals literally keep the economy afloat, the leaks that marred the last nursing board exam and the desperate effort to preserve the examination's credibility in the aftermath were bound to happen. The issue of the scandal is the issue of pathetic dreamers who damage the long-untainted credibility of the nursing institutions in the new era in spare for some cheap dollars. That there was a leak in the Board of Nursing exams is nothing more than a symptom of the nation's deep cancers. However, the response of the academe, the Board of Nursing, the NCLEX, the CGFNS, the hospitals, the physicians and the other professionals abroad could form part of the cure. In fact, indications are that there is a collective effort of many quarters to do directly address the issue. For one, the resignation of the president and the vice president of the Philippine Nursing Association and the Board of Nursing would properly set the tone for reforms within the nursing practice as well as in the academe. The report that some prestigious hospitals, clinics and recruitment agencies around the globe would not accept Nursing graduates from 2006 unless steps were taken to ensure that they indeed are worthy of the title of ‘Registered Nurse’, and the battle being waged by deans of prestigious nursing schools to stop the Philippines’ Professional Regulation Commission from administering the professional oath to â€Å"successful examinees† until the issue is resolved, all provides some sense of hope that there are still many among who refuse to allow precious nursing institution from prostituting itself. This is not an accident that this resolve has come from those involved in caring for people's health. It reflects a sentiment now sweeping across the country and other concerned countries among health professionals. It has little to do with dollar remittances and the promise of a good life. Hence, this battle to preserve the integrity and credibility of the nursing board exam is much more than that. It goes beyond making sure that the nurses who assist in the operating room or administer medicines to patients don't end up doing harm, although this is a big part of the issue. The battle is but a part of a bigger struggle to restore decency, integrity, and honor in country long-plagued by political instability and economic woes. The nursing insignia is being deprived of its cleanliness and purity of morale and intelligence. The white uniform is being stained with the filth of dishonesty and devious acts of betrayal to the nursing profession as the profession of cleanliness and purity. The light of knowledge taught by nursing schools has been diminished with darkness and blindness in the search for greener pastures. The real oppression is to the successful examinees who did not cheat, the hardships should not been paved with shame just because they are being called to participate in something beyond themselves. The only way cheating can be avoided in the future would be if those investigating the leak could pinpoint those who benefited from them and have only these persons retake the subjects. Needless to say, the perpetrators must be punished. It was Gandhi who said that â€Å"our values become our destiny.† What will happen to the destiny of those nurses with prejudiced values and what will happen if those nurses will hold the health of the American community? What will be the destiny of the American health care system if the healthcare provider’s credibility remains a big question? The nursing exam scandal is an opportunity to rediscover and reclaim the values that have been forced to be denied and even discarded—just for the sake of surviving. This unfortunate scandal can, however, prove to be one of the greatest blessings for this nation, because it might finally drive home the point that there can be no true progress and success unless they have their hearts in the right place. Call it a counterculture of sorts, or simply a natural reaction to anything in excess. But the fact is that all over the Philippines, doctors, nurses and other health professionals are starting to heed the call to be more than just healers. There is a growing realization that Filipino nurses must use their professions to help begin a revolution of the heart from the bottom up. It might be the only way to eventually force genuine change at the top. Summary, Conclusions & Recommendations The American Dream, the reverie of greener pasture in the land of milk and honey, has driven the perpetuators to commit the crime against nursing profession and the morality. The opportunities brought about by nursing shortage and nursing exodus has forced the nursing system failures. The quality of nursing education is becoming the real issue as there are 460 nursing schools in the Philippines and 50 of which have already been ordered by the Professional Regulation Commission of the Philippines to be closed down as nothing more than diploma mills (Rodis, 2007). The exam fraud was but a part of the bigger problem of nursing. And there is also the issue of poor education. Schools, cashing in on a surge of enrolments from news of a nurse shortage in America, were churning out around 80,000 graduates per year. But only 32,000 or so are able to pass the board test, and only 2,000 easily get jobs in top hospitals (Bondoc, 2007). The nursing shortage is not the number one problem in America, but if one takes a closer look, this may arise to a greater problem of hiring half-baked nurses. The illicit release of exam questions in the Philippines is an indication of deeper problems plaguing the Philippine health care system. Desperate to pass the nursing exam and work abroad, many students easily fall victim to such scams.   Diploma mill nursing schools and review centers have exploited this desperation and will do anything to compete for more students and more profits. In the end, the quality of nursing education, profession and the whole health care system suffers. Nurses in the United States involved directly or indirectly in the recruitment of nurses from the Philippines should consider only candidates with a minimum two- to three-year work experience and completely desist from hiring fresh graduates. By doing so, the Filipino nursing community in the United States would help ensure the continued flow of only qualified and well-trained professionals into the American healthcare system. References Asian Pacific Post. (2007). Filipino Nurses' Exam Scandal. Bondoc, J. (2007). NCLEX in Manila Open by Mid-Year. ABS-CBN Interactive. Buerhaus, P.I., Staiger, D.O. & Auerbach, D.I. (2000). Implications of an Aging Registered Nurse Workforce. Journal of the American Medical Association, 283, 2948–2954. Cabreza, V. (2007). Whistleblowers in 2006 Nursing Test Leak Take New Exams. Philippine Daily Inquirer. Conde, C.H. (2006). Cheating on Exam Taints Standing of Philippine nurses. International Herald Tribune – Asia Pacific. Philippine Daily Inquirer. (2007). Results of June 06 Nursing Board Retake Out. Friess, S. (2002). U.S. Looks Abroad for Nurses. USA Today. Jenkins, C. (2003). Filipino Nurses Make a New Life in a New Place. St. Petersburg Times. Moore, J.L. (2007). Nursing Wages Rise, Shortage Continues. The Morning News. Office of the Press Secretary, Philippines. (2007). Declaration of RP as NCLEX Testing Site Hailed as a Triumph for Filipino Nurses. Rodis, R. (2007). The Nursing Scandal. Philippinenews.com. The Filipino Express Newspaper. (2007). Court Asked: Stop Nurses’ Oath-taking. The Manila Times. (2007). U.S. Nixes VisaScreen Papers for June ’06 Nursing Board Passers. Manila: The Manila Times. Vujicic , M., Zurn, P., Diallo, K., Adams, O. &   and Dal Poz, M.R. (2004). The Role of Wages in the Migration of Health Care Professionals from Developing Countries. Human Resources for Health, 2, 3.

Assess the impact of the Truman Doctrine and the M Essays

Assess the impact of the Truman Doctrine and the M Essays Assess the impact of the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan on the development of the Cold War between 1945 and 1949. Marina Gutierrez IB History Y2 Nicholas 13 March 2015 While many historians disagree over who is to blame for the Cold War, it can be wholeheartedly agreed upon that the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan were essential turning points in the U.S. role in the Cold War. The final years of the second World War and the Yalta conference all demonstrated the differences in opinions, policies, and goals between the U.S. and USSR; these differences that would grow and cause a huge rift between the two superpowers. America was becoming increasingly alarmed by the growth of Soviet power. So, when the British told Truman they could no longer afford to keep their soldiers in Greece, Truman stepped in to take over. In March 1947, he told the American Congress it was America's job to stop communism growing any stronger. It is often said that Truman advocated containment (stopping the Soviet getting any more powerful), but Truman did not use this word and many Americans spoke of rolling back communism. The Truman Doctrine was a response to a crisis . Behind it lay the Communist/Soviet takeover of many of the countries of eastern Europe by salami tactics' - which, Truman alleged, was in breach of Stalin's promises at the Yalta Conference. The idea of these historians here is that, in his speech, Truman drew a line in the sand' - Communism could keep what it had got, but he would not let it grow any more. This implication is one of an America justifiably resisting - containing' - any further Soviet aggression. Marshall Plan nations were assisted greatly in their economic recovery. From 1948 through 1952 European economies grew at an unprecedented rate. Trade relations led to the formation of the North Atlantic alliance. Economic prosperity led by coal and steel industries helped to shape what we know now as the European Union. The majority of the funds provided, went to purchase goods, mainly manufactured or produced in the United States. At the beginning, this was primarily food and fuel. Although this may also be considered the main criticism of the program; in that America was following a concept for economic imperialism, in an attempt to gain economic control of Europe. But in reality, the amounts that America donated as part of the Marshall Plan, can hardly be considered imperialism, in that they represent only a small fraction of the GNP, and the duration of the program was limited from the start. In Germany, a vast amount of money was invested in the rebuilding of industry, with the coal industry alone receiving 40% of these funds. The concept was simple enough, companies that were provided such funds, were obliged to repay these loans to their government, so that these same funds could be used to assist other businesses and industries. Post-war Germany had been forced to dismantle a great deal of its major factories and industries, according to guidelines enforced by the Allied Control Council. Figures for car production alone had been set to levels that represented only 10% of pre-war numbers. With the introduction by the Western Allies of the German Mark as the new official currency, on June 21, 1948, a new economic era was signalled within Europe and especially Germany. The Petersberg Agreement, signed in November 1949, increased these production figures for Germany dramatically.

Why did it take so long for th essays

Why did it take so long for th essays Why did it take so long for the European Nations to defeat Napoleon With Napoleon beginning his military career in 1796-7 with victories in the Italian Campaign, a new form of an old threat was realised in Europe. It was obvious that Napoleon was a general to be feared, as the leader of the most powerful nation in Europe. Napoleons self-declaration of Emperor in 1804 proved beyond doubt to Europe that Napoleon ambitions were very big. It was obvious that Napoleon as a general would be difficult to defeat. Throughout the last decade of the 18th century and the first decade and a half of the 19th century, the power of France became almost absolute. Yet with many other countries in Europe that would not benefit from France being so powerful, why didnt these countries defeat France sooner rather than later, and why did the Empire collapse in 1814? The answers to these questions are in the nature of Europe, and the fears that each nation had. For instance, Prussias foreign policy was generally centred on her current situation, while Austria was more c oncerned with safeguarding her interests by helping French power rather than defeating her. At the same time, one may see that the majority of Russian interests lay traditionally in the East. In effect, the situation in Europe was generally controlled by foreign policy based on differing national interests, largely dictated by the economical position. Yet, one may also see that major European countries did go to war with France, Austria in 1800, and Russia in 1807, but always alone and usually at a relative loss. This begs the question of why no one nation was really committed to helping another against France. The reasons are quite complex, but the answer is simple, each nation of Europe was in fear of not only Napoleon, but of each other. Fear is the most important factor in the European situation at that time. Countries were united together not through their c...

Mans search for meaning essays

Man's search for meaning essays Survival and fully living Viktor Frankls concept regarding survival and fully living was developed through his observations and experiences in the concentration camps. He used his psychiatric training to discern the meanings of observations and to help himself become a better person. He uses analysis to develop his own concepts and describes them in steps throughout the book. When the prisoners first arrived at the camp most of them thought they would be spared at the last moment. The prisoners believed they had a chance of surviving, but this belief was eventually eliminated and it was at this time when the prisoners began to learn how to survive by using their internal strength. A sense of humor had emerged among the prisoners. This humor helped to get through some difficult situations they faced. Viktor also observed how much a person could really endure and still live. Even though the prisoners could not clean their teeth and were deprived of warmth and vitamins, they still were able to survive. The sores and abrasions on their hands did not suppurate despite the dirt that gathered on them from the hard labor. The challenge of staying alive under these wretched conditions was to have and maintain strong internal strength. During the time he spent in the camps, Viktor learned what was needed to survive and how to keep his internal strength despite h is weakening external strength. During the second stage of Viktors psychological reaction, prisoners lost their sense of feeling and emotion toward events that would be emotional to people outside the camps. This was a result of the violent environment, which consisted of beating of prisoners and the death of many others. The prisoners could no longer feel any disgust or horror since these emotions where very common. From Viktors professional point of view, this observation surprised him and also gave him a different point of view of the whole situation. ...

Medical Ethics and Recognizing the Higher Faculties of Humans Assignment

Medical Ethics and Recognizing the Higher Faculties of Humans - Assignment Example Written by Mitch Albom in 1997 to pay for his favorite teacher’s medical bills (CNN, 2001), â€Å"Tuesdays With Morrie† has sold more than 1 million copies and is one of the top literature used to teach and cultivate critical thinking skills in undergraduate health care courses. The novel tackles the true story of Morrie Schwartz, a sociology professor of Brandeis University who developed amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or more commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. It is a summary of the weekly conversation between the author and Morrie which dealt with issues such as marriage, family, relationships, culture, love, emotions, forgiving, aging and death. Mitch described it as their â€Å"last class together†¦[where they] talked all day about what’s important in life once you know you’re going to die† (CNN, 2001). The book is often categorized as a biographical and philosophical novel and is read for entertainment but it also provides different insights for medical practitioners. Over the years, it has served as a guide towards understanding health equity, and social justice in health care. Its lessons about aging and dying provides readers with a unique approach towards dealing with individuals who are terminally ill. The story raises various moral dilemmas, perhaps the most important of which is the understanding of death. In the book, Morrie remarks, â€Å"Everyone knows they’re going to die, but nobody believes it† (Albom, 1997, p.76). This was a comment not only about the fear of death, but also, the lifestyles that people live. Morrie believed that most Americans do not prepare for death, hence they are unable to appreciate their lives. He expounds, â€Å"[M]ost of us walk around as if we’re sleepwalking. We really don’t experience the world fully, because we’re half asleep, doing things we automatically think we have to do† (Albom, 1997, p. 77). People prioritize work over their families because they think they need money in order to enjoy life, but in the process, they waste their time working, never realizing that their families are moving on without them. People have become so involved in materialistic things that they never really appreciate the beauty of nature, â€Å"the loving relationships we have, the universe around us, we take these things for granted† (Albom, 1997, p. 78). Morrie’s insights were unique in that it talks about the failure of the American culture to provide its people with a sense of purpose. The American belongs to a society of consumers – their homes, cars, and bank accounts determine their success. Hence, early in life, most people are already conditioned to work hard in order to fulfill their economic needs. For Morrie, people waste their time running after things that does not provide them with purpose. He says to Mitch,

Identifying the academic and Behavioural Support Needs of Teachers Dissertation - 1

Identifying the academic and Behavioural Support Needs of Teachers Teaching in LINUS classrooms in Malaysia - Dissertation Example Professional development is very essential in supporting teachers teaching in LINUS classrooms in Malaysia in the sense that the teachers feel motivated and appreciated for their effort as it will be discussed in this chapter. 2.2 The Effectiveness of Screening According to Mohd Sham Hamid (2012; p. 7) there is total faith in the literacy and numeracy screenings programme in Malaysia. The LINUS programme conducts screening on the student’s literacy and numeracy ability, hence giving room for learning institutions to identify pupils who are weak. There is a distinction between the former system and LINUS. With LINUS, teachers are in a position to distinguish excellent students from the less excellent ones. This gives an avenue for the teachers to comprehend the exposure of knowledge of the weaker students. By understanding the knowledge level, it helps the participants to formulate extra plans to enhance the ability of the students while concentrating on the prescribed LINUS pr ogram which was established by the Ministry of education. According to Mohd Sham Hamid (2012; p. 7), the teacher normally depended on the same component and method of teaching but this was broken down by LINUS programme. The same method cannot be used to train children in a learning environment as some of the methods have a poor standard of comprehending the subject and hence require extra attention (Cohen, & Spenciner, 2007; p. 13). In such a condition the teacher will not be in a position to know whether the pupil is weak till the pupil takes the exam and scores below average or fails the exam. By this time the student will have advanced to the next stage and will still be left behind as the topic gets tougher to go through. The LINUS curriculum has a complex set of subjects for all levels of learning. There are pupils who are in a position to identify the alphabetical order after seven months of continuous recitation. These students can be discovered after sitting for the LINUS s creening tests. Extra attention can now be administered to these students in class. Learning in this environment is made more interactive and more of fun by use of music and activities to assist the pupils understand the subject more easily. There are times when issues of absenteeism and other uphill tasks which might derail the process of indentifying weaker children or helping them through the stated topic more challenging. Remedial lessons can be helpful if given keen attention with the use of specialized modules in enabling the pupils to deal with the learning challenges to a particular level. The education office through the Malaysian ministry of education gives abundant support by providing books of reference and usually giving supervision to the LINUS curriculum in the school. Currently, pupils from both year one and year two inclusive of the weaker students are reported to be going through the LINUS curriculum classes where teachers use laptops, charts, books, and flashcards as teaching aids. This has seen a remarkable improvement in the performance of the pupils over the recent time period (Pliszka, et al, 2007; p. 897). 2.3 The Significance of LINUS In ensuring that some of the programs are executed for the present school year, implementation of the programs is already underway. The first semi-annual implementation has seen the

Election Program Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Election Program - Case Study Example Any good candidate would. However Edwards is "is running for president to build One America" ( http://johnedwards.com/issues) and with an issued that is so likely to divide American, I think it would be a tough issue for him to decide one. And rightly so. The problems in American are huge. Especially with the buyer of the airport being from the Middle East, the situation becomes even more complex. There are still many Americans today who hold out racial hatred against any people from that region, and I can see already the protests coming from such people about selling over the airport to them. Especially sense the American concern for air security is already so high; I think many problems would come from the selling of the airport. However, the poll numbers show that 59 percent of people support the idea, and Edwards is a man of the people after all. In theory, it would be best for Edwards to support the idea on the campaign trail. This could work in his favor, as it would bring 59 percent of the public opinion under his belt, and it would work great for his every man image, and his idea of standing up to the old corrupt government as a person of the people. On Edward's own site is a quote about his ideas for the power of public government: ""With his One Democracy Initiative, Edwards has demonstrated that he will take on the dominance of corporate lobbyists to be the leader of something we lack today in Washington: a powerful 'lobby for the public good.' His vision for government reform, like many other issues, is charting a way to reclaim the soul and values of our party and of the country" ( http://johnedwards.com/issues/govt-reform), and his support of this plan would only straighten this platform of his. Problems further arise with the issue of this plan getting through the House and the Senate. If Edwards supports the plan and upsets his own party to much, he could loose the nomination. If he upsets the other side to much, he could find it very difficult to work with the House and the Senate if and when he becomes President. However, it would look really good to all the people of American if Edwards stood up to the House and the Senate on the platform that a majority of people support this bill, and that he did as well, further rallying his cause as a president for the people. Running for President, Edward also had to keep in mind the other half of Americans that don't support the idea as well. Maybe it wouldn't be the best bet for Edwards to come out and publicly support this idea, as it could cost him almost 50 percent of the popular vote on the election. And in a crucial election like this, every and any vote counts, and losing that much popular opinion might not work in his favor. It would be a tough decision for anyone to make, however I believe it would be in Edwards best interest to support the popular opinion and support the plan. This way, he can further build upon his platform as a people's man, and can also stand up to the government, which would really rally the people to his cause. It might upset some people on the other side however, and that is to be taken into consideration, but I feel that it would do more positive for his Presidential campaign that it would do to hurt it. It

Namesake Directed by Mira Nair Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Namesake Directed by Mira Nair - Essay Example Nikhil’s wedding plan makes a very compelling effort to show that they are Bengali, this vacation perhaps more than anything shows that while in the name they might be Bengali, their cultural and societal roots are fairly far from it. Paris is also significant for Moushumi, and it is more of a home for her. When Moushumi tells Nikhil the story behind her devastating break-up with Graham whom she loved passionately it causes a lot of insecurity to Nikhil.   She used to live in Paris and admits that if it weren't for Graham she would have never left. So not only is Paris not home to Nikhil but a place he cannot possibly like. This actually becomes even truer, later when Moushumi has an affair with somebody she met in Paris. When Nikhil later states that â€Å"his time with Moushumi seems like a permanent part of him that no longer has any relevance or currency. As if that time were a name had ceased to use" it is something which started here in Paris. However to blame Paris f or what becomes of Nikhil and Moushumi would be like trying to blame the stove for starting a fire. The stove was always there. Nikhil and Moushumi were always the people they were supposed to be. When Nikil’s mom could not understand, though she resigned herself too, later why Moushumi and Nikhil could not try and make this work like any Indian couple, she did not understand that neither of them was Indian, perhaps they were not completely American, but they had their own set of values. Nikhil is in Paris, the home of the people with liberated thinking, and in many ways, he thinks that he has a very liberated view too. But in many ways, he finds out that he is not â€Å"free† as long as he continues to divorce himself from his parents’ existence.   It is interesting because, here Nikhil is finding out, though not yet acknowledging to himself what his mother found out a long time back. For being a foreigner is a constant burden, a continuous feeling out of sor ts.

What legal protection is given to archaeological sites in Britain To Essay

What legal protection is given to archaeological sites in Britain To what extent are these measures effective in safeguarding their future - Essay Example ise in order to preserve the heritage of the country because it understands that it is the only evidence of the pre-historic periods that existed and ensures that the legislation to meet these needs are properly carried out. The Ancient Monument Protections Act of 1882 was first imposed by the British parliament as a protective measure for all archaeological sites in Britain. The sites include ancient buildings, monuments, caves etc. The Protection for Military Remains Act of 1986 takes care of vehicles, vessels and other aircraft. The Archaeological Heritage Management also known as the Archaeological Resource Management is instrumental in conserving and managing the ancient archaeological sites of Britain. Their chief focus relates to the preservation, age and the use of the different archaeological resources available to us. In lieu of modern planning and development that poses a threat to the archaeological sites, the Archaeological Source Management Department devise ways and means of mitigating the adverse impact it could have on archaeological sites. In assessing the physical condition of any archaeological site, modern methodology and techniques are used to analyze, monitor and document the exte nt of deterioration and try to find the best means to preserve or conserve these ancient sites. In this essay we will attempt to look at the legislation that governs the conservation of archaeological sites and monuments so that we gain a better understanding of how important such laws are to the cause of preserving them. In Scotland alone, there are about 70,000 monuments and sites that are presently preserved under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979. The Secretary of State for Scotland plays a major role in the planning system. The local authorities are also responsible for the preservation and safeguarding of such archaeological sites and contribute towards the economy by helping with landscaping and other amenities for development of

The Iliad Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Iliad - Essay Example In a reflective exploration of Agamemnon’s decision to take Briseis from Achilles, it becomes palpable that the crucial decisions in the Iliad are not made by the heroes to a great extent. Rather, these decisions are influenced by external factors including power struggles, political issues, war threat, involvement of gods etc. Therefore, it is essential to establish that the heroes in the work by Homer play an insignificant role in the making of vital decisions in the course of the plot and a precise set of principles, known as the â€Å"heroic code†, influence their decisions. Significantly, Agamemnon’s decision to take Briseis from Achilles illustrates the fact that the important decisions by heroes in the epic are influenced by external factors and the â€Å"heroic code†. A profound analysis of the characters and actions in the epic the Iliad confirms that, to a great extent, the decisions made by the heroes are influenced by external factors and conditions, although there is difference of opinion on the matter. Thus, the various heroes of the epic, including Agamemnon and Achilles, are influenced by the power struggles, political pressures, the role of the gods etc in their decisions at the different stages of the story. For example, a careful reader of the epic realizes that there exists significant power struggle between the two heroes of the work, Agamemnon and Achilles, which has a pertinent impact on the decisions they take. In the epic, King Agamemnon represents fixed system of monarchy while Achilles represents the honor based system as he is the best warrior of his time. Decisions made by both these heroes are influenced by the complex relationship between them based on the power struggles in the epic. In a careful exploration of the decisions made by the heroes in the Iliad, it becomes lucid that a precise set of principles known as the â€Å"heroic code† lie beneath the decisions and actions by the heroic characters. A

Namesake Directed by Mira Nair Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Namesake Directed by Mira Nair - Essay Example Nikhil’s wedding plan makes a very compelling effort to show that they are Bengali, this vacation perhaps more than anything shows that while in the name they might be Bengali, their cultural and societal roots are fairly far from it. Paris is also significant for Moushumi, and it is more of a home for her. When Moushumi tells Nikhil the story behind her devastating break-up with Graham whom she loved passionately it causes a lot of insecurity to Nikhil.   She used to live in Paris and admits that if it weren't for Graham she would have never left. So not only is Paris not home to Nikhil but a place he cannot possibly like. This actually becomes even truer, later when Moushumi has an affair with somebody she met in Paris. When Nikhil later states that â€Å"his time with Moushumi seems like a permanent part of him that no longer has any relevance or currency. As if that time were a name had ceased to use" it is something which started here in Paris. However to blame Paris f or what becomes of Nikhil and Moushumi would be like trying to blame the stove for starting a fire. The stove was always there. Nikhil and Moushumi were always the people they were supposed to be. When Nikil’s mom could not understand, though she resigned herself too, later why Moushumi and Nikhil could not try and make this work like any Indian couple, she did not understand that neither of them was Indian, perhaps they were not completely American, but they had their own set of values. Nikhil is in Paris, the home of the people with liberated thinking, and in many ways, he thinks that he has a very liberated view too. But in many ways, he finds out that he is not â€Å"free† as long as he continues to divorce himself from his parents’ existence.   It is interesting because, here Nikhil is finding out, though not yet acknowledging to himself what his mother found out a long time back. For being a foreigner is a constant burden, a continuous feeling out of sor ts.

The Iliad Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Iliad - Essay Example In a reflective exploration of Agamemnon’s decision to take Briseis from Achilles, it becomes palpable that the crucial decisions in the Iliad are not made by the heroes to a great extent. Rather, these decisions are influenced by external factors including power struggles, political issues, war threat, involvement of gods etc. Therefore, it is essential to establish that the heroes in the work by Homer play an insignificant role in the making of vital decisions in the course of the plot and a precise set of principles, known as the â€Å"heroic code†, influence their decisions. Significantly, Agamemnon’s decision to take Briseis from Achilles illustrates the fact that the important decisions by heroes in the epic are influenced by external factors and the â€Å"heroic code†. A profound analysis of the characters and actions in the epic the Iliad confirms that, to a great extent, the decisions made by the heroes are influenced by external factors and conditions, although there is difference of opinion on the matter. Thus, the various heroes of the epic, including Agamemnon and Achilles, are influenced by the power struggles, political pressures, the role of the gods etc in their decisions at the different stages of the story. For example, a careful reader of the epic realizes that there exists significant power struggle between the two heroes of the work, Agamemnon and Achilles, which has a pertinent impact on the decisions they take. In the epic, King Agamemnon represents fixed system of monarchy while Achilles represents the honor based system as he is the best warrior of his time. Decisions made by both these heroes are influenced by the complex relationship between them based on the power struggles in the epic. In a careful exploration of the decisions made by the heroes in the Iliad, it becomes lucid that a precise set of principles known as the â€Å"heroic code† lie beneath the decisions and actions by the heroic characters. A

Slaughterhouse Five Essay Example for Free

Slaughterhouse Five Essay Slaughterhouse-Five explores fate, free will, and the illogical nature of human beings. Protagonist Billy Pilgrim is unstuck in time, randomly experiencing the events of his life, with no idea of what part he will next visit. Billy Pilgrim says there is no free will, an assertion confirmed by a Tralfamadorian, who says, Ive visited thirty-one inhabited planets in the universe. Only on Earth is there any talk of free will. The storys central concept is that most of humanity is insignificantthey do what they do, because they must. To the Tralfamadorians, everything simultaneously exists, therefore, everyone is always alive. They, too, have wars and suffer tragedies (they destroy the universe whilst testing spaceship fuels), but, when Billy asks what they do about wars, they reply that they simply ignore them. The Tralfamadorians counter Vonneguts true theme: life, as a human being, is only enjoyable with unknowns. Tralfamadorians do not make choices about what they do, but have power only over what they think (the subject of Timequake). Vonnegut expounds his position in chapter one, that writing an anti-war book is like writing an anti-glacier book, both being futile endeavours, since both phenomena are unstoppable. Like much of Vonneguts other works (e.g., The Sirens of Titan), Slaughterhouse-Five explores the concept of fatalism. The Tralfamadorians represent the belief in war as inevitable. In their hapless destruction of the universe, Vonneguts characters do not sympathize with their philosophy. To human beings, Vonnegut says, ignoring a war is unacceptable when we have free will; however, he does not explicitly state that we actually have free will, leaving open the possibility that he is satirizing the concept of free will as a product of human irrationality. This human senselessness appears in the climax that occurs, not with the Dresden fire bombing, but with the summary execution of a man who committed a petty theft. Amid all that horror, death, and destruction, time is taken to punish one man. Yet, the time is taken, and Vonnegut takes the outside opinion of the bird asking, Poo-tee-weet? The same birdsong ends the novel God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater. Slaughterhouse-Five is framed with chapters in the authors voice, about his experience of war, indicating the novel is intimately connected with his life and convictions. That established, Vonnegut withdraws from the unfolding of Billy Pilgrims story, despite continual appearances as a minor character: in the POW camp latrine, exiting the train at Dresden, the corpse mines of Dresden, when he mistakenly dials Billy’s telephone number. These authorial appearances anchor Billy Pilgrim’s life to reality, highlighting his existential struggle to fit in the human world.

Advantages and disadvantages of an Online Course

Advantages and disadvantages of an Online Course Education and training play a great role in the life of people. A big quantity of new and necessary information appears every minute. Highly qualified specialists need to be always aware of all new products, services, inventions, but they are all busy to devote all their time to studding. Online education helps to solve the problem of time. In addition, distance learning is cheaper and for some people is the best way of perception the new information. Making a search in Internet, there can be found a lot of websites with offers to study online. So what are advantages and disadvantages of distance education and is it worth of spending time and money on it? Online (distance) education is increasingly used as supplementary education. It is perfect for those who want to get a second degree, pass retraining or improve their skills. It is not difficult to study online if a person already has accumulated knowledge base, which he received as usual student, and has the basics of the profession. But it can be difficult for those who choose totally new for him specialty. The duration of training can be different, according to the course the person takes. Online education is convenient because it allows: To study in accordance with a personal pace, personal qualities and educational needs. To use modern technologies while studding; at the same time to develop skills that could be later used at work. To plan personal time, schedule, duration of training and a list of subjects. To study in the most pleasant and productive environment; creating a comfortable atmosphere for student. Also online education gives the opportunity for everyone regardless of his nationality and place of residence to obtain a diploma of any university anywhere in the world. Student and teacher are able to communicate at a distance, at any time convenient for them.ÂÂ  So,ÂÂ  on-lineÂÂ  education gives equal opportunities for education regardless of place of living, health and material status. Online courses have not only advantages, but several drawbacks. That is why among the disadvantages of online studding it is possible to distinguish: Lack of personal contact between teacher and student (there is less efficient, impersonal knowledge transfer). Also there is a lack of communication with fellow students to share experiences. Lack of a student’s strong personal motivation and the ability to learn independently; without the constant support and prodding by a teacher. Student should have a number of individual psychological qualities, such as rigid self-discipline; learning result depends on the persistence and conscientiousness of a student. Lack of a possibility of immediate practical application of knowledge, followed by discussion of emerging issues with the teacher and explanation the situation with the specific examples. Online education usually is only in writing. For some people the lack of opportunity to express their knowledge in words can make negative impact on knowledge assimilation. Knowledge and education are important in the life of every person, but there are different ways of obtaining them. As it was said above online course is a good way to get knowledge, but it is not convenient for everybody. People should choose the way of acquiring knowledge according to their personal skills and time they are ready to devote to studding.

The Artwork of William Hogarth Essay -- Art History

The Artwork of William Hogarth The artwork of William Hogarth is influenced greatly by social factors and the culture of eighteenth century England. In many of his works, Hogarth satirizes English society, rich and poor alike. His paintings and engravings depict the society of which he lived, with the costumes and ways of life of the times all shown in his work. Much of the time he is being satirical, exaggerating some of the faults of the people, other times he is being bitingly realistic in his views. It seems no-one is safe from his caricatures, from the lords and ladies, to slaves, servants, prostitutes, criminals and the poor. Overall, his work shows the culture of a broad cross section of the people of England during this time, depicted often in a very funny way. An important note is that the engravings were produced from the opposite side as the paintings, so the engravings are seen with left and right sides in reverse from how they appear in the paintings. I will discuss how his works show many aspects of the life of England at the time. I will focus particularly on several of the series of works which Hogarth produced, because by telling a story with his work and not merely painting a single picture, he shows much more aspects of the society in which he lived than just the physical appearance. Some individual paintings of Hogarth show many details of English eighteenth century society. Hogarth engraved Beer street to show a happy city drinking the 'good' beverage of English beer, versus Gin Lane that showed what would happen if people started drinking gin which as a harder liquor would cause more problems for society. People are shown as healthy, happy and hard working in Beer Street, while in Gin lane, they are scra... ...//come.to/William_Hogarth 2. http://www.artrenewal.org/asp/database/art.asp?aid=894 3. http://www.haleysteele.com/hogarth/toc.html 4. http://cgfa.sunsite.dk//hogarth/hogarth_bio.htm 5. http://www.bampfa.berkeley.edu/exhibits/hogarth/hogarth5.html 6. http://www.bampfa.berkeley.edu/exhibits/hogarth/ 7. http://juliette.nfrance.com/~ju8655/hogarth/documents/file003.pdf 8. http://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=807 9. http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0422/is_2_80/ai_54073985/print 10.http://33.1911encyclopedia.org/H/HO/HOGARTH_WILLIAM.htm 11.http://www.artchive.com/artchive/H/hogarth.html 12.http://virtualart.admin.tomsk.ru/hogarth/index.html 13.http://www.peopleplayuk.org.uk/collections/object.php?object_id=1198&back=%2Fguided_tours%2Fdrama_tour%2F18th_century%2Fcensorship.php%3F 14.http://humanitiesweb.org/human.php?s=g&p=c&a=p&ID=178

Beowulf and Christianity Essay -- Epic of Beowulf Essays

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Morality, a standard of right behavior, was one of the most important characteristics during the Anglo-Saxon era. The story Beowulf depicted many virtues of the times. Beowulf holds his morals and virtues above all else, from the way he fought in battle until the day he died.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Beowulf showed his honor as he traveled from his homeland to battle the vicious monster Grendel, who was terrorizing the Danes. Grendel â€Å"raided and ravaged† (105) the mead hall, showing no honor by killing inebriated men in their sleep. Beowulf proved his honor by deciding to â€Å"spurn all weapons†(338) and fight Grendel â€Å"with hand grip only†(342) thus declining an upper hand on his foe. Beowulf’s honor is apparent again when he describes the contest between himself and his boyhood friend Breca. Beowulf and ...

Disabled by Wilfred Owen Essay

When you hear ‘death’ you think of pain and suffering. The poem Disabled by Wilfred Owen shows that he regrets some major decisions he made in his very short life; such as going to war. Throughout the poem he states how much he regret going to war. He used lots of terms to describe his pain and suffering in the war and also after coming home from the war. How he is against all wars. He informs young men on how the war really is. Another source I looked at was the movie Gallipoli. The protagonist was so eager to go to war. He was so excited thinking it was going to be fun and above all he was out into the light horse category. He was constantly saying that he wanted to get home and share his experiences with his family, only little did he know that is was the last time he was going to see them. Good afternoon fellow students and Ms Dadd/Fegatilli. We have all been studying war stories for a week or two. The 2 forms of writing we have been studying are Disabled by Wilfred Owen and some of us have been studying the movie Gallipoli. The protagonist in â€Å"Disabled† speaks about how he misses all of the wonderful memories that he had only last year, before he lied his way to go to war underage to show off, only to lose limbs and become an old man who is only about 19 and has aged as though until he looks and feels elderly. He has lived in an institute for most of his life after he came back from the war. This teaches us that you must cherish what you have and not to show of how good you can be. You never know when you suddenly lose important things to you because of the decisions you have made before. Wilfred Owen uses repetition throughout the poem to try and bring these messages of regret across, such as â€Å"Now he will never feel again† and â€Å"Now, he is old; his back will never brace;† to emphasis what he will never have again and how much he has lost. Wilfred Owen sets the mood to match the theme. The theme of this poem is a look at what has become of a man who made wrong choices in life then to later regret it. In Disabled, he has used emotive language and powerful words to emphasize the theme. The second source I looked at was the movies Gallipoli. The protagonist is so keen of the idea to go to war, that he doesn’t think of how it will affect others and how it will affect himself. So he signs the form; which proudly states his is over 21. The film Gallipoli shows that men back in those days didn’t take it seriously. They thought it was all fun and games right until they were in the trenches about to shoot people or possibly even go over when they were commanded to. So as you can see, not many people made it out alive. They thought it was going to be all fun and games but they were very mistaken. So throughout this speech I have mentioned the effects that both protagonists have to deal with. Death brings pain and suffering but in this case it was the war. Thank you for listening to my speech.

Motivation in Burger King Essay

All employees who undergo training at Burger King are not charged however they are expected to fund for the normal living expenses such as commuting and accommodation costs.  For new employees such as till staff and kitchen staff Burger King has a ‘Right Track Training Programme’ to ensure they have the best start to Burger King. This training programme is a comprehensive induction and training programme covering everything from Health & Safety and Food safety through to working in the dining area, front counter or kitchen and how to make each product. Through providing an induction to all new staff it allows new staff to see how they’ll be working, where they’ll be working and who their fellow employees are. Also how things are done to help them fit in.  Burger King believes that all their employees will learn what they need to know by shadowing which is when they work alongside others as well as using their new interactive DVD Programmes. It would be beneficial for Burger King to carry out an appraisal system but instead of annually it may be more favourable for them to be carried out every few months. This would then help employees to see what they are working well at and what things to improve on; these could then be made into targets which success could result in promotion or pay rise. The quicker employees feel wanted, the quicker they are earning money for Burger King. From reviewing staff progress more frequently it may give employees more motivation to stay working at Burger King for a longer period as they now have aims and goals which could improve their career. This would mean less training costs for Burger King and also in the long run a low staff turnover. At present I believe the techniques that Burger King is using to train their employees and managers, such as shadowing and induction programmes are effective in what they are doing. However, if Burger King want to ensure that employees stay in the job for a longer period it may be beneficial for them to do other training techniques such as training weekends away. This will build team skills and also allow employees to interact with staff from other sectors in which they work in. Motivation in Burger King In this section I am going to explore the different motivational theorists and see how their theories affect Burger King.  Motivation is having the desire and willingness to do something. A motivated person can be reaching for either a long-term goal or a short term goal. Motivation is important as if employees are motivated to work; it increases the quality of products and therefore the reputation of a business. This is a major factor within Burger King as they are known for a high staff turnover. However, if their staff were more motivated and saw the long term opportunities for working for Burger King, they may be more willing to stay on and try for promotion.

Arbitration in the Philippines

The alternative means for dispute resolution that these laws offer tip the scales with major strengths such as cost efficiency, impartiality and technical expertise of engaging arbitrators of your own choice, speed and flexibility in adaptation of laws and procedures, and confidentiality of extrajudicial hearings and awards, as mentioned in Parlade (2005). This paper explores the potential of ADR, focusing on the pitfalls of litigation in the Philippines and the burgeoning advantages arbitration provides. Keywords: arbitration, alternative dispute resolution Definition of Terms For the purposes of this paper, and as defined in the Philippine Alternative Dispute Resolution Act of 2004, the term: A. â€Å"Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)† means a process or procedure employed to settle a dispute extra-judicially. Instead of being adjudicated by a presiding judge, a neutral third party is employed to assist in resolving the issues in question through arbitration, mediation, conciliation, early neutral evaluation, mini-trial, or any combination thereof; B. Arbitration† means that a dispute is voluntarily submitted for resolution where one or more arbitrators, duly appointed and agreed upon by the parties beforehand, resolve a dispute by rendering an award; C. â€Å"Arbitrator† means appointed person or persons in a dispute who sits to resolve the issue by rendering an award. The arbitrator is a neutral third party especially chosen to perform such task; D. â€Å"Award† means any partial or final decision rendered by an arbitrator that resolves the issue in a dispute; E. â€Å"International Party† shall mean a juridical person or entity whose place of business is outside the Philippines. A domestic subsidiary of such or a co-venturer which holds office in the Philippines shall not be included. A foreign arbitrator shall mean a person who is not a Filipino national; F. â€Å"Litigation† means legal action brought between two private parties in a court of law; G. â€Å"Model Law† means the International Commercial Arbitration Model Law which was implemented on 21 June 1985 by the United Nations Commission on International Trade (UNCITRAL); H. â€Å"New York Convention† means the United Nations Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards in 1958 which was ratified under Senate Resolution No. 1 by the Philippine Senate; I. â€Å"Proceeding† means such processes of judicial, administrative, or other adjudicative means which include pre-hearing or post-hearing motions, conferences and discovery; J. â€Å"Record† means an information written in a way that can be reproduced or is kept electronically or in such s imilar medium, which can be retrieved and used. Historical Evolution Domestic Arbitration The Spanish had brought with them their arbitration laws which were sophisticated enough to warrant its inclusion in the old Spanish Law of Civil Procedure, the Ley Enjuicinamente de Civil (Lim, 2001). Unfortunately, this was repealed at the turn of the century. Applying common law, the Philippine Supreme Court in 1921 noted in Chan Linte v. Law Union and Rock Insurance Co. , et al. (1921) that: [t]he settlement of controversies by arbitration is an ancient practice at common law. In its broad sense, it is a substitution, by consent of the parties, of another tribunal for the tribunals provided by the ordinary processes of law. †¦ Its object is the final disposition, in a speedy and inexpensive way, of the matters involved, so that they may not become the subject of future litigation between the parties. However, this attitude was scarce as courts jealously guarded their jurisdiction and parties skirted arbitration due to doubts on the enforceability of arbitration resolutions (Laygo, 2010). The New Civil Code was passed in 1949. Three new provisions were added by Congress, the most important of which was, to wit, Article 2043 which stated that any stipulation that the arbitrators’ award or decision shall be final, is valid, without prejudice to Articles 2038, 2039, and 2040 of the same code (Ibid. ). This had breathed new life into arbitration as involved parties now have basis for claims that awards rendered during arbitration were final and binding, though, not in the sense that they were beyond judicial review but, in that, reasons for such review would now be limited (Ibid. ). The Supreme Court never had the chance to promulgate the rules of procedure in the 1949 Civil Code (Ibid. ). Republic Act No. 876, otherwise known as the Philippine Arbitration Law of 1953, provided for a structured and definite statutory framework for arbitration in the Philippines. This was a very important piece of legislation enacted by Congress as it would govern arbitration in the Philippines for the next fifty years, despite the fact that it made no reference to whether it was purely domestic or if it would recognize foreign awards. Fifty-odd years after the enactment of the Philippine Arbitration Law in 1953, Republic Act No. 9285 or the Alternative Dispute Resolution Act of 2004, was passed by Congress. This was the Philippines’ move to address the untenable questions arising from the mid-century arbitration law which, with the surge of globalization, the Philippines had outmoded. The Philippines had no laws which covered proceedings of international arbitration before the enactment of Republic Act No. 9285 (Lazatin Prodigalidad, 2006). Prior to this, when issues had to be settled with regard to international contracts, Philippines parties are often mandated by contracts to settle disputes in the foreign country under the rules of the foreign arbitral institutions (Ibid. ). Worse, no domestic legislation had been passed providing a specific procedure for the enforcement of foreign arbitral awards. Thus, there have been instances in which international arbitral awards have been treated by Philippine courts as akin to foreign judgments for lack of specific invocation of the New York Convention (Ibid. ). As a consequence, foreign arbitral awards have sometimes been deemed only presumptively valid, rather than conclusively valid (â€Å"Each contracting state shall recognize arbitral awards as binding†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ), as required by Article III of the New York Convention. Under Republic Act No. 9285, Section 2, the Philippines unequivocally declared that it is its policy â€Å"to actively promote party autonomy in the resolution of disputes or the freedom of the parties to make their own arrangements to resolve their disputes† and â€Å"encourage and actively promote the use of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) as an important means to achieve speedy and impartial justice and de-clog court dockets. † International Developments Shortly after the first half of the 20th century, as the Philippines already had existing arbitration laws governing domestic disputes, a welcome and reinforcing international development was the New York Convention. The Philippines acceded to the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards of 1958 (â€Å"New York Convention†) in 1967. The New York Convention is a landmark international instrument (Lazatin Prodigalidad, 2006). Parties to the New York Convention recognize the validity and binding effect of foreign arbitral awards as stated in Article III of the New York Convention. In addition, the New York Convention seeks to put international arbitration on equal footing with domestic arbitration by providing that the parties to the convention should not impose more onerous conditions on the enforcement of foreign arbitral awards than on the enforcement of domestic awards. To date, there are 142 signatories to the New York Convention (UNCITRAL, 1985); a testament to the near universal recognition of the validity and binding nature of foreign arbitral awards. On June 21, 1985, a Model Law on International Arbitration was adopted, and governed, by the United Nations Commission in International Trade (UNCITRAL). The law was designed to serve as basis for States to reform and modernize their own laws on arbitral procedure, taking account the salient features and addressing the needs of international commercial arbitration. The Model Law is comprehensive in that it covers all stages of the arbitral process from the arbitration agreement, the composition and jurisdiction of the arbitral tribunal and the extent of court intervention through to the recognition and enforcement of the arbitral award (Laygo, 2010). The Model Law has obtained consensus in the international community having been accepted and used as basis by States of different legal and economic systems of the world (Ibid. ). Arbitration is an alternative to, or a substitute for, traditional litigation in court, as observed in PHIVIDEC v. Hon. Alejandro M. Velez (1991). With the preceding laws forming the foundation of sound arbitral guidelines, the Philippines can now freely adapt and implement such. Republic Act No. 9285 is now the primary statute used in domestic arbitration. It is used in conjunction with Republic Act No. 876 and Articles 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 18 and 19 of the Model Law, which was especially designed to provide for domestic instances. Republic Act No. 9285 is also the current ruling statute for international commercial arbitration. Secondary statues to supplement the primary law include Articles 2028 to 2046 of the Civil Code of the Philippines, the New York Convention and the Model Law, and Supreme Court decisions forming the jurisprudence that applies or interprets these laws. Legal Processes: Litigation v. Arbitration in the Philippine Context Litigation As defined in the Alternative Dispute Resolution Act of 2004, litigation means legal action brought between two private parties in a court of law. There are four levels of organization with regard to the regular Courts. The first consists of Metropolitan Trial Courts, Municipal Trial Courts and Municipal Circuit Trial Courts (SyCip Salazar Hernandez Gatmaitan, n. d. ). These are trial Courts that decide only particular types or classes of cases. The second level consists of Regional Trial Courts, which are trial Courts, but also have general jurisdiction over cases not within the jurisdiction of Courts of the first level or any other tribunal, and particular classes of cases (Ibid. ). The third level is Court of Appeals which reviews cases from the Regional Trial Courts and quasi-judicial agencies (Ibid. ). At the highest level is the Supreme Court, which exercises appellate and review jurisdiction over cases decided by the Court of Appeals or Regional Trial Courts (Bernas, 1996). As a rule, only questions of law may be raised before the Supreme Court (Ibid. . The Philippine Court System provides for no juries. As arbiters, Courts have judges who are neutral and impartial who rule on questions of fact and law. Past judicial decisions of the Supreme Court are authoritative and precedent-setting, while those of the lower Courts and the Court of Appeals are merely persuasive (Ibid. ). A civil action is commenced by filing an or iginal complaint in Court (SyCip Salazar Hernandez Gatmaitan, n. d. ). A summons and a copy or copies of the complaint are then served on the defendant or defendants in accordance with the Rules of Court (ROC) (Ibid. . Then an exchange of pleadings between petitioner and respondent commences and issues to be tried are identified (Ibid. ). The petitioner is obliged to set the case for pre-trial after the last pleading has been filed (Ibid. ). This is usually the time that the possibility of an amicable settlement is considered and expedient ways of resolving the matter are explored (Ibid. ). If this is unsuccessful, it proceeds to trial. Once the trial ends, closing written memoranda may be submitted by the parties and the case is then deferred for the judge’s ruling (Ibid. ). Recent data from the Supreme Court Annual Report of 2005 shows that, for the period January to November 2005, the cases filed continue to outnumber the cases resolved at the Regional Trial Court (RTC), Metropolitan Trial Court (MeTC), Municipal Trial Court in Cities (MTCC), Municipal Trial Court (MTC), Municipal Circuit Trial Court (MCTC) levels. As of 30 November 2005, the total number of pending cases was 785,670, with the trial courts bearing the brunt of the caseload as follows: RTC 349,085; MeTC 144,408; MTCC 115,391; MTC 85,452; MCTC 65,692 (Ibid. ). Clearly, the caseloads remain formidable and unwieldy insofar as the trial courts are concerned. Not surprisingly, the data likewise shows that the problem of the shortage in judges has persisted through the years. Calculations based on the data have shown that the vacancy rate has hovered at around 30% on average. This shortage in judges is largely due to the relatively low pay of judges. Based on Supreme Court figures of January 2005, an RTC judge receives P44,416. 33 monthly in salary and allowances. An MeTC judge receives slightly less. MCTC and MTC judges receive P36,501 monthly in salary and allowances. The obvious solution to the problem is to increase the number of judges. However, this is easier said than done. The salaries of the judges are not determined by market forces but are subject to budget constraints and the priorities of our lawmakers (Bernas, 1996). The result is that our courts have not been able to function efficiently. While there is no ready data on the average number of years that it takes the courts to resolve disputes, anecdotal evidence shows that it usually takes 3-5 years for a case to be resolved at the trial court level, and another 2-4 years for a case to be resolved on appeal. Under the circumstances, the need to promote arbitration becomes pressing. Arbitration directly benefits the parties and indirectly benefits the courts since it diverts cases away from them and into the hands of arbitrators with much lesser caseloads. This indirect benefit has been recognized both by Congress (Section 2 of R. A. No. 9285 states that: The State shall encourage and actively promote the use of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) as an important means to achieve speedy and impartial justice and de-clog court dockets) and the Supreme Court through its acknowledgment, in Charles Bernard H. Reyes v. Antonio Yulo Balde II, that it is the â€Å"wave of the future. † Arbitration Arbitration means that a dispute is voluntarily submitted for resolution where one or more arbitrators, duly appointed and agreed upon by the parties beforehand, resolve a dispute by rendering an award (ADR Act, 2004). Domestic and international commercial arbitration is governed primarily by the ADR Act of 2004, supplemented by the Arbitration Law of 1953, the Civil Code, the New York Convention and the Model Law framework. In the Philippines, arbitration of construction disputes continues to be governed primarily by the Construction Industry Arbitration Law (SyCip Salazar Hernandez Gatmaitan, n. d. ). The Construction Industry Arbitration Commission has original and exclusive jurisdiction over disputes arising from, or connected with, contracts entered into by parties involved in construction in the Philippines (Ibid. ). The Philippine Dispute Resolution Center, Inc. , and the arbitration arm of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce, provide commercial arbitration services (Ibid. ). Under the ADR Act, a party may be represented by any person of their choice in international commercial arbitrations and domestic arbitrations in the Philippines. Under the same Act, only those admitted to the Integrated Bar of the Philippines may appear as counsel in any Philippine Court, or any other quasi-judicial body, whether or not such appearance is in relation to an arbitration in which they appear. In domestic arbitration, an agreement to arbitrate a current or future controversy between the parties must be in writing and subscribed by the party sought to be charged, or by their lawful agent (SyCip Salazar Hernandez Gatmaitan, n. . ). For international commercial arbitration, an arbitration agreement may be an arbitration clause in a contract or a separate agreement (Ibid. ). It must be in writing; in a document signed by the parties or in an exchange of letters, telex, telegrams or other means of telecommunication which provide a record of the agreement. It may also be in an exchange of statements of claim and defense in which the existence of an agreement is alleged by one party and not denied by the other (Ibid. ). Subject to the provisions of the ADR Act, the parties are free to agree on the procedure to be followed by the arbitral tribunal in conducting the proceedings. If the parties fail to agree, the arbitral tribunal may generally conduct the arbitration, including determining the admissibility, relevance, materiality and weight of any evidence, in such manner as it considers appropriate (Ibid. ). In domestic arbitration, with reference to the ADR Act, arbitrators are mandated to set a time and place for the hearing of the matters submitted to them, and must cause notice to be given to each of the parties within a specified period. Before hearing any testimony, arbitrators must be sworn, by any officer authorized by law to administer an oath, faithfully and fairly to hear and examine the matters in controversy and to make a just award according to the best of their ability and understanding. Witnesses must also take an oath before the arbitrator. Arbitrators are required to attend every hearing in that matter and hear all allegations and proofs of the parties. Arbitrators shall receive as exhibits in evidence any document that the parties may wish to submit. At the close of the hearings, the arbitrators shall specifically inquire from all parties whether they have any further proof or witnesses to present. In international commercial arbitration, the arbitral tribunal holds oral hearings for the presentation of evidence or for oral argument at an appropriate stage of the proceedings, if so requested by a party, unless the parties have agreed that no hearings shall be held (SyCip Salazar Hernandez Gatmaitan, n. d. ). The parties shall be given sufficient advance notice of any hearing and meeting of the rbitral tribunal to inspect goods, other property, or documents (ADR Act, 2004). A party aggrieved by the failure, neglect or refusal of another to perform under a written arbitration agreement may petition the proper Regional Trial Court for an order directing that such arbitration proceed in the manner provided for in the agreement (Ibid. ). The Court also has the authority to appoint arbitrators when the parties to the contract or submi ssion are unable to agree upon a single arbitrator, or when either party to the contract fails or refuses to name his arbitrator within 15 days of receipt of the demand for arbitration (Ibid. . A party may ask the Court to decide on a challenge against an arbitrator if the arbitral tribunal rejects the challenge (Ibid. ). A party may also ask the Court to decide on the termination of the mandate of an arbitrator who is unable to perform their functions, or for other reasons fails to act without undue delay, if the arbitrator does not withdraw from office and the parties do not agree on the termination of the mandate (Ibid. . [In international commercial arbitration, a party may apply to the proper Court regarding the appointment of an arbitrator, the challenge against an arbitrator, and the termination of the mandate of an arbitrator, only when the â€Å"appointing authority† under the ADR Act, who is supposed to decide on these, fails or refuses to act within 30 days from re ceipt of the request (SyCip Salazar Hernandez Gatmaitan, n. d. ). A party may request the proper Court to grant an interim measure of protection before the constitution of the arbitral tribunal (ADR Act, 2004). A party may also apply to the proper Court for assistance in implementing or enforcing an interim measure ordered by an arbitral tribunal (ADR Act, 2004). In domestic arbitration, unless the parties stipulated otherwise in writing, the arbitrators must render the award within 30 days of the closing of the hearings (Ibid. ). This period may be extended by mutual consent (Ibid. ). There is no express rule on when an award must be delivered in international commercial arbitration. The award must be in writing, signed and acknowledged by a majority of the arbitrators, and should there be an instance, reason for any omitted signature must also be stated (Ibid. ). The award shall outline the reasons upon which it is based, unless the parties have agreed otherwise or the award is on agreed terms. The award shall also state the date and place of arbitration. Each party shall receive a copy of the award. The ADR Act provides specific grounds for the Court to set aside an arbitral award in a domestic arbitration. They include cases of corruption, fraud, partiality, misconduct, and disqualification of arbitrators. The ADR Act also provides specific grounds for the Court to modify or correct an arbitral award— including miscalculation of figures, mistake in the description of a person, thing or property referred to in the award, an award upon a matter not submitted for arbitration, and imperfect form of the award. The Courts shall disregard any other ground raised against an arbitral award in a domestic arbitration (Ibid. ). In the case of international commercial arbitration, a Court may set aside an arbitral award when the arbitration agreement is invalid; when a party was not given proper notice of the appointment of an arbitrator or of the arbitral proceedings or was otherwise unable to present his case (SyCip Salazar Hernandez Gatmaitan, n. d. ). Other reasons include situations where an award deals with a dispute which is not arbitrable or contains decisions on matters beyond the scope of the submission to arbitration; the composition of the arbitral tribunal or the arbitral procedure was not in accordance with the parties’ agreement or the law; the subject matter of the dispute is incapable of settlement by arbitration under the law, or when the award is in conflict with the public policy of the Philippines (Ibid. ). At any time within one month after an arbitral award is issued in a domestic arbitration, any party to the arbitration may apply to the appropriate Regional Trial Court for an order confirming the award. The Court must grant the order unless the award is vacated, modified or corrected. Upon the granting of an order that confirms, modifies or corrects an award, judgment may be entered. The judgment may then be enforced as an ordinary judgment of that Court. For foreign arbitral awards, the New York Convention applies, subject to the commercial and reciprocity reservations (Ibid. . The basic procedure for recognition and enforcement is as laid down by the Convention. Despite the many attractive draws of arbitration, it is best to note the instances when alternative dispute resolution proves inappropriate, and practice judgment accordingly. It would be more judicious to resort to litigation when: (1) there is a significant imbalance in the parties’ bargaining power, as the strong er party may cow down the weaker one; (2) the party who has the use of the money at issue may benefit from a delay in itigation; (3) substantial legal issues are involved and must be dealt with accordingly, mindful of national and international repercussions; (4) there are multiple parties involved as it may be more difficult to implement alternative dispute, particularly where a class action is desired; (5) one of the parties wishes to establish a judicial precedent; (6) adversary is irrational and unreasonable, thus barring resolution; and (7) extensive discovery is needed or desired, as the Courts have a more thorough and encompassing framework, arbitration being relatively vogue and young in experience as compared to Courts (Grenig, 2005). Supporting Jurisprudence There have been two decisions in the field of arbitration that have set the tone of the Supreme Court and advanced the cause of arbitration in the Philippines. The first one is Transfield Philippines, Inc. vs. Luzon Hydro Corporation, G. R. No. 146717, 19 May 2006. There, the Supreme Court affirmed the enforceability of foreign arbitral awards and the right of the parties to an arbitration proceeding to obtain provisional relief from the courts. In Transfield, the Supreme Court had occasion – for the first time – to refer to Republic Act No. 285. What is significant in Transfield is the Supreme Court’s recognition that court-ordered provisional/interim relief extends to international arbitration. Such ruling sends a positive signal to future litigants that the Philippines is an arbitration-friendly jurisdiction. The second part of the ruling in Transfield affirms the right of a party to an international arbitration to enforce a final awar d in the Philippines, pursuant to the UNCITRAL Model Law and the New York Convention. The other, more recent case is Gonzales vs. Climax Mining Ltd. , G. R. Nos. 61957 and 167994, 22 January 2007, where the Supreme Court resolved petitioner Jorge Gonzales’s motion for reconsideration and respondents Climax Mining Ltd. , et al. ’s motion for partial reconsideration of the earlier Decision of 28 February 2005. The ruling in Gonzales is significant for several reasons. First, the ruling in Gonzales re-affirmed the summary nature of and the RTC’s limited and special jurisdiction over petitions to compel arbitration under Section 6 of R. A. No. 876. The jurisdiction of courts in a petition to compel arbitration is limited to determining the existence of an arbitration agreement. Trial courts should not allow themselves to be drawn into the fatal pitfall of prolonging the proceedings or touching on the merits. Second, modifying its earlier ruling, the Supreme Court in Gonzales introduced the widely-accepted doctrine of separability, which states that the validity of the contract containing the agreement to submit to arbitration does not affect the applicability of the arbitration clause itself. This doctrine of separability is, as pointed out by the Supreme Court, found in Article 16(1) of the UNCITRAL Model Law, which governs international commercial arbitration. Conclusion The efforts of Congress and the judiciary at improving the system of arbitration are welcome and timely. Today, two contemporary circumstances, one a local problem, the other an international phenomenon, acutely highlight the need to further promote and develop arbitration: hopelessly clogged court dockets and growing globalization. An inefficient court system impels aggrieved parties to look elsewhere for swift and impartial justice. On the other hand, international trade and transactions unavoidably give rise to disputes between nationals who come from different jurisdictions. The foreign businessman will understandably be wary of or uncomfortable with the local courts. Thus, he will seek to bring his dispute before the more neutral forum of arbitration. Parties wishing to have their conflicts resolved expeditiously will be looking increasingly to alternative means of settling their disputes, especially business, which abhors indefinite uncertainty. Under the circumstances, arbitration is truly worth cultivating. It possesses many attractive features. First, unlike judges, arbitrators are not burdened by heavy caseloads. The data hows that, as of November 2005, there are 349,085 pending cases before the RTC. Yet, there are only 804 RTC judges, or an average of 434 cases per judge. Hearing cases, sifting through evidence, and writing decisions is not an easy task. It becomes almost unmanageable if a judge has to contend with 434 cases. In contrast, before appointing an arbitrator(s), litigants can first verify from a potential nominee whether he or she can devote time to the case. Second, there is a large pool of arbitrators to draw from. Unlike the traditional judges, arbitrators do not have to be lawyers. They can be architects, engineers, investment bankers, stock brokers, or even laymen, depending on the subject matter or nature of the dispute. Third, the fees of arbitrators are not fixed by law. They are flexible and adjust according to the complexities of the case and the reputation of the arbitrator. Hence, litigants will be assured of an adequate supply of arbitrators. There is also reason for arbitrators to resist the temptation of corruption. The more competent, honest, and prominent the arbitrator, the higher the price he or she can command. Fourth, arbitration has the indirect benefit of de-clogging the court dockets by diverting cases away from them. The data shows that the number of cases filed outpace the number of cases decided. Judges can dispose of only so many cases at a time, especially given the restrictions that are imposed upon them. While the courts can only do so much in terms of the outflow of cases, arbitration has the potential of controlling the inflow of cases into the judicial system, especially at the RTC level where the number of cases filed annually have been more or less steady through the years. The court ystem can begin to work more efficiently only if the number of cases decided exceeds the number of cases filed. Until then, the courts find themselves trapped in a cycle of inefficiency. Thus, the courts also have a high stake in the success of arbitration. Fifth, arbitration addresses the concern of partiality. One of the appealing features of arbitration is that the parties get to choose their own arbitrators. Sixth, the costs of arbitration are borne by the parties. Arbitration pays for itself. Litigants who are dissatisfied with the judicial system can opt out of the judicial system. The potentially higher fees can be offset be a speedier resolution of the case and more satisfactory judgment. The Supreme Court first touted arbitration to be the â€Å"wave of the future† in BF Corporation v. Court of Appeals (1998). Eight years later, the Supreme Court repeated the same observation in Charles Bernard H. Reyes v. Antonio Yulo Balde II, G. R. No. 168384, 7 August 2006, that: It bears to stress that being an inexpensive, speedy and amicable method of settling disputes, arbitration — along with mediation, conciliation and negotiation – is encouraged by the Supreme Court. Aside from unclogging judicial dockets, arbitration also hastens the resolution of disputes, especially of the commercial kind. It is thus regarded as the â€Å"wave of the future† in international civil and commercial disputes. Brushing aside a contractual agreement calling for arbitration between the parties would be a step backward. † References Books and Journals Bernas, J. , S. J. (1996). The 1987 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines: A commentary 2009 Ed. ). Manila, Philippines: Rex Book Store. Grenig, J. E. (2005). Alternative dispute resolution (2nd Ed. . Minnesota: West Publishing Co. Laygo, J. (2010). Arbitration: A brief. Makati: Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines. Lim, F. E. (2001). Commercial arbitration in the Philippines. The Ateneo Law Journal, 46(2). Cases BF Corporation v. Court of Appeals, G. R. No. 120105 (1998). Chan Linte v. Law Union and Rock Insurance Co. , et al. , 42 Phil. 548 (1921). Charles Bernard H. Reyes v. Antonio Y ulo Balde II, G. R. No. 168384 (2006). Gonzales v. Climax Mining Ltd. , G. R. Nos. 161957 and 167994 (2007). Philippine Veterans Investment Development Corp. PHIVIDEC) v. Hon. Alejandro M. Velez, G. R. No. 84295 (1991). Transfield Philippines, Inc. v. Luzon Hydro Corporation, G. R. No. 146717 (2006). Laws New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards of 1958. Republic Act No. 876, Philippine Arbitration Law of 1953. Republic Act No. 9285, Philippine Alternative Dispute Resolution Act of 2004. UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration of 1985. Online Resources Lazatin, V. P. Prodigalidad, P. A. (2006). Arbitration in the Philippines. Retrieved from http://www. seanlawassociation. org/9GAdocs/w4_Philipines. pdf Parlade, C. O. (2005). Why litigate? Arbitrate! Retrieved from http://www. pdrci. org/web1/art001. html Supreme Court of the Philippines Annual Report. (2005). Adjudication: Caseload and disposition [Data file]. Retrieved fr om http://sc. judiciary. gov. ph/announce/sc_annual_report_2005. pdf SyCip Salazar Hernandez Gatmaitan Law. (n. d. ). A Guide to Dispute Resolution in Asia. Retrieved from http://www. herbertsmith. com/uploads/HSpdfs/Asia-guides-006/dispute resolution/12_Philippines. PDF