Computer Simulation of Action Potentials in Squid Axon Assignment

Computer Simulation of Action Potentials in Squid Axon - Assignment Example During the experiment, it was seen that the latency of the response was dependent on the strength of the stimulus, and not on the duration by which the membrane is exposed to the stimulus. However, in contrast to latency, the strength of the action potential was not modified by either strength or duration of stimulus. As well, it was observed that another stimulus cannot produce an action potential if given immediately after a previous stimulus. This refractory period is caused by the deactivation of voltage-gated Na+ channels and opening of K+ channels, resulting to the return of the membrane potential to its negative state. In conclusion, the action potential, and subsequently the signal transmission based on it, is dependent on the opening and closing of ion channels present along the membrane. INTRODUCTION Action potentials are rapid changes in the membrane potential. In turn, this potential is based upon the differences in concentrations of ions, each of which is charged either negative (anion) or positive (cation), across the membrane. The concentration difference is due to a selectively permeable membrane, which prevents the ions from transferring sides to equalize the number of ions between inside and outside a cell. But why is there a concentration gradient in the first place? The Na+-K+ pumps along the cell membrane force three Na+ outside and two K+ inside the cell. As a result, there is a net deficit of positive ions and a resulting negative potential inside the cell. In a resting state, the membrane potential is -90 millivolts (90 mV). Upon depolarization, the membrane rapidly becomes very permeable to Na+, through its voltage-gated channels, allowing the excess of Na+ to pass through into the cell. As a result, the resting potential is changed to as much as +35 mV. Through repolarization, the resting potential is gained back not long after depolarization, when Na+ voltage-gated channels close and K+ passively diffuse down its concentration gradien t through its own voltage-gated channels (Guyton and Hall, 2006). However, entry of Na+ does not immediately cause depolarization. The number of Na+ that enter the cell must be more than the amount of K+ that gets out of the cell since the membrane is more permeable to K+ than Na+. Thus, the sudden change of membrane potential to -65 mV is the said threshold for stimulating the action potential (Guyton and Hall, 2006). Any electrical stimuli above this threshold produce an action potential with the same amount of strength, as stated by the all-or-none concept (Purves et al., 2004). In addition, a new action potential cannot occur unless the membrane is still depolarized. This is because the Na+ voltage-gated channels necessary for depolarization is still deactivated during repolarization. At this point, called the refractory period, no amount of stimulus can initiate action potential (Finkler). Hodgkin and Huxley characterized the voltage-gated channels involved in the generation of action potential. According to these scientists, the Na channels have two gates (the activation and inactivation gates), while K channels only have one. At resting state, the Na+ channels have the activation gate (facing extracellularly) closed while the other gate is opened. At this time the K+ channels are closed as well. When the channels are activated, both the activation and inactivation gates of Na+ channels are opened. Finally, upon repolarization, the inactivation gate is closed, while the other is opened. K+ channels are opened as well. To mathematically describe the effects of such changes on membrane potential, they also provided equations to describe the relationship among Na+

Cultural Hybrids Essay Example for Free

Cultural Hybrids Essay There are many people from different countries with different cultures who want to live the American Dream. They want the idea of freedom and they feel that United States is the only country in the world who can give the people the liberty it offers. The life of a person whom no one speaks with because of one’s difference can be quite miserable. The story â€Å"This is what it means to say Phoenix, Arizona† by Sherman Alexie shows the audience how different the life of Native Americans are compared to modern day Americans. Throughout the story, details about events that happened in Victor and Thomas’s life which combines the Indian and American side of their heritage were given. Alexie was trying to tell the readers how the Indians in the reservations want to hybridize their Native American and modern American culture. Since Thomas and Victor both grew up in the reservation, they see a big difference their lives are compared to the modern day Americans. The first detail that illustrates my thesis was the Fourth of July celebration when Victor and Thomas were kids. Thomas states, â€Å"It’s strange how us Indians celebrate the Fourth of July. It ain’t like it was our independence everybody was fighting for† (16). Alexie displays how Indians try to act more Americanized in order to fit in better with the modern American crowd. Back then, no one besides their own might have spoken to them because they were different so they want to be accepted. For example, the event when they were in the airport and had talked to the gymnast, Victor says, â€Å"Everybody talks to everybody on airplanes. It’s too bad we can’t always be that way† (19). Alexie sends the readers a message of how in their minds, the only way that they were going to be liked was by forgetting their Native American culture and acting more like the modern Americans. Another factor the author provides the audience of this hybridization was through the remains of Victor’s father. Alexie writes, â€Å"They set him down carefully behind the seats, put a cowboy hat on the wooden box and a Dodgers cap on the cardboard box. That’s the way it was supposed to be† (20). The cowboy hat displays the Indian side of their heritage and the Dodgers cap conveys the American side. In this situation, Alexie provides a clear view of how the characters combine their two different cultures. It is not the fact that they are forgetting the beliefs they grew up with; they blend the two cultures together to better their lives in both nation. Next was the Spokane falls incident with Thomas and Victor’s father. Thomas utters, â€Å"He drove me over to Denny’s, bought me dinner, and then drove me home to the reservation† (20). Denny’s is an American fast food restaurant. The way Alexie combines the fact that they eat at a modern American restaurant and then goes home to the reservation once again shows the mixture of the two customs. In addition to the modern American cultures, Alexie also shows how Victor and Thomas hold on to their Native American heritage. When Thomas and Victor were kids, they had stolen a car and parked it in front of the police station. Now in the modern days, if a kid was to do this, it would be a crime and the kid would be punished. Yet the turn out for this was the exact opposite. Instead of being scolded, everyone cheers â€Å"You were very brave. Very brave† (17). They even thought of themselves as warriors. Moreover, the fact that they still call each other junior also shows a way they keep their tradition alive as Native Americans. Nowadays, people do not often call each other with respect. They just call a person by their name no matter the age. The Native Americans, on the other hand, gives the people who are older a term that shows respect. Thomas states, â€Å"Everybody on this reservation is named Junior† (17). Victor and Thomas were two of the youngest people that live in the reservations therefore everyone to them are called Junior. It is a symbol for elderly. Alexie uses Victor and Thomas Builds-the-fire as the representation of these two cultures. Thomas is the person who sticks to the old fashioned, Native American values while Victor illustrates the modern day Americans and wanting to fit in. Thomas is more traditional. He demonstrates the old Native American beliefs. Victor, on the other hand, lives in the present. Both holds on to their Native American beliefs while also trying to grasp the modern American traditions. Alexie clearly represented the hardships the Native Americans have had living in the poor reservations by using details about Thomas and Victor’s life growing up. Being judged at by the way a person is or what culture they came from is a big reason why Victor and Thomas, but mostly Victor, try to act more like the modern day Americans. Although some traditions were forgotten as they grew up, in many ways, they still held on to the fact that they are still Native Americans. Some events in their life displays Victor and Thomas turning away from their culture but still is able to remember it. No matter where a person is or who they communicate with, a culture one grew up with can never be easily forgotten.

Literature and Astronomy Essay -- College Admissions Essays

I Wish to Expand my Knowledge of Literature and Astronomy "Where the telescope ends, the microscope begins. Who is to say of the two, which has the grander view?" - Victor Hugo Hugo's words ring true for me because my principal academic interests fall into two main categories: literature and astronomy. In literature, I have learned that there is a great amount of meaning to be found through careful analysis; one must often look at literature "under a microscope" to discover its deepest value. Yet in studying astronomy, I have begun to feel that the greatest mysteries of life, such as "Where does life come from?" and "What role do we play in the universe?" can only be solved by looking through a telescope. My interest in these two subjects reveals my main academic goal: I wish to explore these areas as fully as I can. I feel that this approach will result in one of the two fields emerging as my deepest passion and career direction, and the other remaining a lifelong interest. While I hold this goal close to my heart, I know that the journey toward it, upon which I have already e...

Comparing Marvell’s To His Coy Mistress and Herrick’s To the Virgins, t

Comparing Andrew Marvell’s To His Coy Mistress and Robert Herrick’s To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time Ever since the beginning of time, love has played an enormous role among humans. Everyone feels a need to love and to be loved. Some attempt to fill this yearning with activities and possessions that will not satisfy – with activities in which they should not participate and possessions they should not own. In Andrew Marvell’s poem, â€Å"To His Coy Mistress,† the speaker encounters an emotion some would call love but fits better under the designation of lust for a woman. In contrast, the speaker of Robert Herrick’s poem, â€Å"To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time,† urges virgins to marry, to make a lasting commitment in which love plays a vital role. Comparing these poems reveals differences between love and lust. Despite the contrasting depictions of love and lust, both poets portray the underlying theme of carpe diem – â€Å"seize the day† – using the sun to show the brevity of any single person’s time on earth, and ut ilizing societal standards to back up their arguments. Though some may argue that the speaker in Marvell’s poem loves his mistress, he comes across as experiencing no emotion aside from lust. The speaker merely mentions the word â€Å"love† three times, all in the first stanza. Nowhere does the speaker connect this so-called love with his girlfriend’s personality traits, but always with her physical appearance. The speaker explains that if he had all the time in the world, he would adore for â€Å"an age at least† all the parts of her body and â€Å"the last age should show your heart† (17-18). The speaker’s overemphasis of his girlfriend’s body in place of concentration on her personality and heart – one’s more important traits – ... ...ilize similar arguments in attempt to persuade the person or people to whom they speak. Specifically, both speakers convey the concept of carpe diem through the analogy of the sun. They address their situation in a skewed manner, though. While they have the opportunity to focus on true love, they fail to seize that opportunity. Instead, the speakers concentrate on society’s definition of love, namely, beauty, requesting a response based on the superficial, outward appearance of a woman. Works Cited Herrick, Robert. â€Å"To The Virgins, To Make Much Of Time." Literature An Introduction to Critical Reading. Lee A. Jacobus. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1996. Marvell, Andrew. "To His Coy Mistress" and Other Poems. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1997. New American Standard Bible, The Lockman Foundation, 1995. Available http://www.lockman.org

Integrative Approaches to Psychology and Christianity Essay

Just as the title describes, Entwistle explains within the book the attempts and varied approaches of integrating both psychology and Christianity, two entities which seem to have been at odds with each other since the time of Galileo. By explaining key historical conflicts, such as instances of friction between religion and science, readers are able to understand how psychology and Christianity are intertwined, and how the same principles that hold them together also seek to push them apart. As said best by Entwistle, â€Å"The interaction of psychology and theology is virtually inevitable due to their mutual interest in understanding the ambiguities and mysteries of human behavior, and healing human brokenness.† (Entwistle, 2010, p.51) According to Entwistle each person has their own worldview, a unique way in which one sees the world around them shaped by their own experiences, knowledge, and culture. The family we were born into, the town we grew up, the continent our town is located all help shape our worldview. Our worldview allows us to question if what we believe is true and if our beliefs have a place within our religion. In taking a Christian worldview believing and understanding in the creation, Fall, redemption, and consummation provides a starting point for integration by allowing Christians to understand how the world around them began and their place in that world. (Entwistle, 2010, p.67) Five paradigms are described as ways of relating psychology to Christianity and they are as follows: enemies, spies, colonialists, neutral parties, and allies as subjects of one sovereign. As enemies, there is no possible way that psychology and Christianity can be integrated. As spies, allegiance is held to one while borrowing principles from the other. As colonialists, there is a recognition of the importance of psychology, but does not attempt to use any of its principles. As neutral parties, both psychology and Christianity recognize findings that are paramount between the two, however both are separated from one another. And lastly, as allies the integration of both psychology and Christianity embrace the word and works of God and his ability to rule over both disciplines. (Entwistle, 2010, p.154) In conclusion, the road to integrating psychology and Christianity continues to be a long one. As Christians, we know that God is the creator of man and that we are born in His image but have sinfully fallen short, and that Jesus died for our sins so we are able to seek forgiveness. The Bible remains our guide for daily living. Psychology is the scientific study of the mind and our behaviors attempting to explain why we think and behave the ways we do. â€Å"Rather, the task at hand is the difficult work of reading the psychological and biblical sources, checking the research and the interpretations, and then asking how together they can help us attain a more complete picture of the human condition.† (Entiwistle, 2010, p.267) Concrete Response In reading this book it triggered a memory from over ten years ago. In 2001, I lost my great-grandmother to heart related issues. For me her death went farther than just losing a relative. As far back as I can remember my great-grandmother was a part of my daily life. My mother had me when she was still in high school so naturally she still lived at home. My father was nonexistent in my life so my world revolved around a house full of women: my mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. I had just graduated high school and was anxiously approaching the start of my first semester in college the following August. Everyone else in the household was at work, while I was enjoying my summer vacation. It was still early in the morning and my great-grandmother had decided to lay down for an early nap. At this point in her life she needed help remembering when to take her medications so I went to her bedroom to wake her up. Upon entering her bedroom I did not notice anything out of the ordinary, but as I nudged her and called her name I became more frantic as the realization of my worst fears came to fruition, that no matter what I did she would never wake up again. One of the first questions that came to mind was, â€Å"Why God?† Then, â€Å"Why me?† soon followed. But as a Christian, I understood that God has a plan for all of us. When I was able to see through my grief I knew that her suffering on Earth was over and she was in her heavenly home. However, this event solidified in my mind the concept that we are mortals and our days on Earth are numbered. In some way I feel this event helped shape my decision to help others. Reflection In reading this book, some questions come to mind. While discussing the history and innate differences between psychology and Christianity why did Entwistle not find it relevant to discuss the ways the two had been integrated in the past? Relevant to the history of both are the few people through history that have used both psychology and theology in healing the minds and bodies of followers. Even Native American shamans used both the healing properties of plants and medicines and their belief and worship of spiritual beings to restore health to believers. I think it is important that in moving forward for one to understand the past in preventing history from repeating itself and by learning from others mistakes. Another point I feel that Entwistle failed to make is the possibility of our worldview changing. I feel that although our worldview is shaped over the course of our life that there are reasons that would cause a person’s worldview to change dramatically. For instance, let’s consider a child that has known nothing but abuse and neglect since being brought into the world. Everything they know about the world is skewed by the will to merely survive from day to day. Consider how that child’s worldview would change once that child has been removed and placed with either a foster-family or relative that can begin to teach them that love, trust, and stability do exist in the world. Would that child now hold a different worldview? Action I believe that I have learned many things concerning the integration of psychology and Christianity. The community mental health facility in which I work does not endorse the use of religion in counseling sessions due to their ethics and boundaries policy. However, I feel by allowing the client the opportunity to discuss their own feelings and stance on religion opens the door for me as a therapist to utilize that information in integrating religion into their counseling sessions. By allowing them to include such an integral part of their life I feel they are going to be more successful in overcoming illness and life problems that are their undoing. In conclusion, knowing that I have such limited expertise and experience in combining both religion and psychology, I think it is important as a therapist to know if you are practicing outside your realm of knowledge, therefore I am interested in learning what facilities exist that provide Christian counseling in proximity to my hometown. Clients should feel empowered and have options with which services they receive. It is through my years of working as a therapist that I have also learned clients’ want to feel like they are choosing what is best for themselves rather than being forced. I know I share the same views in my own life and hope I can help others heal within theirs. References Entwistle, D.N. (2010). Integrative Approaches to Psychology and Christianity. (Second Edition e.d.). Eugene, OR: Cascade Books.

Major General Abner Doubleday in the Civil War

Major General Abner Doubleday in the Civil War Born at Ballston Spa, NY on June 26, 1819, Abner Doubleday was the son of Representative Ulysses F. Doubleday and his wife, Hester Donnelly Doubleday. Raised in Auburn, NY, Doubleday came from a strong military tradition as his father had fought in the War of 1812 and his grandfathers had served during the American Revolution. Educated locally in his early years, he was later sent to live with an uncle in Cooperstown, NY so that he could attend a private preparatory school (Cooperstown Classical and Military Academy). While there, Doubleday received training as a surveyor and civil engineer. Throughout his youth, he expressed interests in reading, poetry, art, and mathematics. After two years of private practice, Doubleday received an appointment to the US Military Academy at West Point. Arriving in 1838, his classmates included John Newton, William Rosecrans, John Pope, Daniel H. Hill, George Sykes, James Longstreet, and Lafayette McLaws. Though regarded as a â€Å"diligent and thoughtful student, Doubleday proved an average scholar and he graduated in 1842 ranked 24th in a class of 56. Assigned to the 3rd US Artillery, Doubleday initially served at Fort Johnson (North Carolina) before moving through several assignments in coastal fortifications. Mexican-American War With the outbreak of the Mexican-American War in 1846, Doubleday received a transfer west to the 1st US Artillery. Part of Major General Zachary Taylors army in Texas, his unit commenced preparing for the invasion of northeastern Mexico. Doubleday soon marched south and saw action at the hard-fought Battle of Monterrey. Remaining with Taylor the following year, he served at Rinconada Pass during the Battle of Buena Vista. On March 3, 1847, shortly after the battle, Doubleday was promoted to first lieutenant. Returning home, Doubleday married Mary Hewitt of Baltimore in 1852. Two years later, he was ordered to the frontier for service against the Apaches. He completed this assignment in 1855 and received a promotion to captain. Dispatched south, Doubleday served in Florida during the Third Seminole War from 1856-1858 and also helped to map the Everglades as well as modern Miami and Fort Lauderdale. Charleston Fort Sumter In 1858, Doubleday was posted to Fort Moultrie in Charleston, SC. There he endured the growing sectional strife that marked the years immediately before the Civil War and commented, â€Å"Almost every public assemblage was tinctured with treasonable sentiments and toasts against the flag were always warmly applauded.† Doubleday remained at Fort Moultrie until Major Robert Anderson withdrew the garrison to Fort Sumter after South Carolina seceded from the Union in December 1860. On the morning of April 12, 1861, Confederate forces in Charleston opened fire on Fort Sumter. Within the fort, Anderson selected Doubleday to fire the first shot of the Union response. Following the forts surrender, Doubleday returned north and was quickly promoted to major on May 14, 1861. With this came an assignment to the 17th Infantry in Major General Robert Pattersons command in the Shenandoah Valley. In August, he was transferred to Washington where he commanded batteries along the Potomac. On February 3, 1862, he was promoted to brigadier general and placed in command of the Washington defenses. Second Manassas With the formation of Major General John Popes Army of Virginia in the summer of 1862, Doubleday received his first combat command. Leading the 2nd Brigade, 1st Division, III Corps, Doubleday played a key role at Brawners Farm during the opening actions of the Second Battle of Bull Run. Though his men were routed the next day, they rallied to cover the retreat of the Union army on August 30, 1862. Transferred to the I Corps, Army of the Potomac with the rest of Brigadier General John P. Hatchs division, Doubleday next saw action at the Battle of South Mountain on September 14. Army of the Potomac When Hatch was wounded, Doubleday took command of the division. Retaining command of the division, he led them at the Battle of Antietam three days later. Fighting in the West Woods and Cornfield, Doubledays men held the right flank of the Union army. Recognized for his superior performance at Antietam, Doubleday was brevetted to lieutenant colonel in the Regular Army. On November 29, 1862, he was promoted to major general. At the Battle of Fredericksburg on December 13, Doubledays division was held in reserve and avoided taking part in the Union defeat. In the winter of 1863, I Corps was reorganized and Doubleday was shifted to command the 3rd Division. He served in this role at the Battle of Chancellorsville that May, but his men saw little action. As Lees army moved north in June, Major General John Reynolds’ I Corps led the pursuit. Arriving in Gettysburg on July 1, Reynolds moved to deploy his men in support of Brigadier General John Bufords cavalry. While directing his men, Reynolds was shot and killed. Command of the corps devolved on Doubleday. Racing forward, he completed the deployment and guided the corps through the opening stages of the battle. Gettysburg Positioned northwest of the town, Doubledays men were badly outnumbered by the approaching Confederate army. Fighting valiantly, I Corps held their position for five hours and was only forced to retreat after XI Corps collapsed on their right. Outnumbered 16,000 to 9,500, Doubledays men inflicted 35-60% casualties on seven of the ten Confederate brigades that attacked them. Falling back to Cemetery Hill, the remains of I Corps held their position for the remainder of the battle. On July 2, the commander of the Army of the Potomac, Major General George Meade, replaced Doubleday as commander of I Corps with the more junior Newton. This was largely the result of a false report submitted by the XI Corps commander, Major General Oliver O. Howard, stating that I Corps broke first. It was fostered by a long-running dislike of Doubleday, whom he believed indecisive, which went back to South Mountain. Returning to his division, Doubleday was wounded in the neck later in the day. After the battle, Doubleday officially requested that he be given command of I Corps. When Meade refused, Doubleday departed the army and rode to Washington. Assigned to administrative duties in the city, Doubleday served on courts martial and commanded part of the defenses when Lieutenant General Jubal Early threatened to attack in 1864. While in Washington, Doubleday testified before Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War and criticized Meades conduct at Gettysburg. With the end of hostilities in 1865, Doubleday remained in the army and reverted to his regular rank of lieutenant colonel on August 24, 1865. Promoted to colonel in September 1867, he was given command of the 35th Infantry. Later Life Posted to San Francisco in 1869, to head the recruiting service, he obtained a patent for a cable car railway system and opened the citys first cable car company. In 1871, Doubleday was given command of the African-American 24th Infantry in Texas. After commanding the regiment for two years, he retired from the service. Settling in Mendham, NJ, he became involved with Helena Blavatsky and Henry Steel Olcott. The founders of the Theosophical Society, they converted Doubleday to the tenets of Theosophy and Spiritualism. When the pair moved to India to continue their studies, Doubleday was named the president of the American chapter. He continued to live in Mendham until his death on January 26, 1893. Doubledays name is most commonly known due to its association with the origins of baseball. While the 1907 Mills Commission Report states that the game was invented by Doubleday at Cooperstown, NY in 1839, subsequent scholarship has proven this unlikely. Despite this, Doubledays name remains deeply linked to the games history.

Essay Sample on Child Welfare and Protective Services

Essay Sample on Child Welfare and Protective Services Child protective services is an integral piece of the puzzle of today’s healthy society. In recent times, a concerned eye has been turned to the way policies and practices are used in areas of child protection and in the treatment and support of the families and child’s welfare. The lack of support for the families involved in child abuse from child protective services takes away from the intended effectiveness of the program. This lack of support would be easily rebuilt if a holistic approach for treating the complete abuse and neglect situation were implemented. The absence of government funding has plundered any efforts to turn this desperate situation around. This leads me to a conclusion that child protective services is in dire need of reform. Some of possible avenues of improving this nation’s child welfare system are increasing the allocated annual funding amount from the federal government to provide more sufficient wages and to enabling the hiring of mo re qualified social workers. Also, incorporating a holistic approach, including more community-based programs to combat the growing number of cases of child abuse neglect in the United States would be advantageous. Child protective services is a complex system of assessments, investigations and conclusions. A simple understandable overview of these services comes from a United States Department of Health and Human Services manual discussing child protection services: Child Protective Services (CPS) is the central agency in each community’s child abuse and neglect service delivery system; it is responsible for ensuring that preventive, investigative and treatment services are available to children and families endangered by child abuse and neglect. As a result, child protective workers must perform a variety of functions when responding to situations of child maltreatment and, such as, play a variety of roles throughout their involvement with child protective clients. Reporting a suspected case of child maltreatment to the local child protective service agency (or a family member’s own request for help with the problem) initiates the CPS response process. Once the intake and invest igative processes and the initial assessment and service planning processes are completed, the stage is set for implementation of ongoing services. (1) This description of the process of child protective services (For the remainder of the paper child protective services will be referred to as CPS) sounds acceptable and workable. However, an increasing number of child abuse and neglect cases have presented themselves in recent years (Waldfogel). As Jane Waldfogel writer for Child Welfare, points out, â€Å"About three million children were reported to the CPS in 1997, a more than fourfold increase over the number reported just 20 years earlier.† In our society today, with increased violence and agitation the number has risen dramatically again. As Bagley and Mallick, renowned social psychologists and intellects, point out to support this theory, â€Å"Caseloads of child protection workers increased dramatically in response to widespread concerns about CSA (child sexual abuse)† (30). In consensus with Bagley and Mallick, a U.S. Newswire via Comtex states that, â€Å"The number of children coming into the child welfare s ystem remain at unacceptably high levels because of substance abuse, poverty, joblessness, housing, and other social problems.† This increasingly high number of reports turning into caseloads for social workers has combated the effectiveness of the above CPS process. The high number of caseloads per social worker ratio is driving down the original intended purpose of CPS. A reform to the initial program is in order to accommodate the new dilemmas. As Jane Waldfogel agrees, â€Å"Children at risk are not being adequately protected, and they and their families are not receiving the services that they need.† She goes on to discuss a meeting of the National Association of Public Child Welfare Administration in 1988. During this meeting, child welfare professionals concurred that the CPS system needed immense change. Two avenues that were presented were, â€Å"An expanded voluntary/preventive family support system, and an adequately funded child well-being system† (Wa ldfogel). The services that are in need more often than not get overlooked and not accomplished. For example, here is a fictitious scenario of the more and more prevalent situations occurring daily in CPS. A report has been issued by someone outside or inside the family and an investigation ensues. The social worker put on the case has his or her hands already completely tied with an overload of cases as proved prior in this paper. Even though the CPS has a system to supposedly prevent this from occurring called the specialization of roles, the outcome seems to still be non-productive (United States 2). The specialization of roles is a breakdown of duties with in a CPS agency where a social worker will only be assigned one duty such as investigating, case managing or ongoing services. This separation or specialization of roles is supposed to, â€Å"improve the quality of service provided, increase job satisfaction, and reduce worker burnout† (United States 2). This specialization of rol e technique has failed because of a system growing out of its boundaries. To continue, the caseworker of a CPS agency is responsible to respond to all allegations. If upon investigation, there is evidence of abuse and neglect the case gets registered and remains open for long or longer-term CPS care. If upon investigation, there is not enough evidence towards accepting the case or the evidence is not entirely grotesque or obvious, the child’s report of abuse and neglect will be tossed aside and disposed of. A big reason on why these seemingly less aggressive case accusations get disposed of or overlooked is because the child welfare system is overloaded. As L. Davies, et al. authors for Social Work Education, points out, â€Å"In the sphere of the formal child welfare system, attention is increasingly focused on assessing only the most extreme and obvious cases of abuse and neglect to ensure the protection of children at greatest risk† (623 – 624). Formal child welfare, in more recent times, has become more narrowed in its’ approach to child protection from the reason that was discussed earlier in this paper, an influx of child abuse and neglect accusations. This higher caseload situation is then compounded with reduced resources and a lack of support for both families and workers (Davies, et al. 623). This cycle is seemingly vicious and detrimental to the children and families involved, as can be envisioned. To reinforce the above statements, Jane Waldfogel cites a study by Kamerman and Kahn concluding that, â€Å"the states were so overwhelmed by their child protective responsibilities that they were unable to provide either quality child protection or child welfare services.† Another reason accusations of child abuse and neglect are seemingly more and more dismissed, other than the fact of high caseload average is â€Å"the often inexperienced front-line workers† (Davies, et al. 624). This inexperience is also compounded with a â€Å"near total disappearance of supervision and support† (624). These two factors feed off each other to each detriment and both gnaw on the lack of resources. Again, it is this vicious no-end cycle. To keep in discussion with the above, social workers can also flat out ignore accusations of child abuse and neglect. As discussed by Bagley and Mallick, â€Å"Another way for social workers to cope is to ignore many referrals, only accepting those which fit perceptions of what is an important or deserving case. In the U.S. today some 40 per cent of allegations of child sexual abuse made to social workers are not investigated further† (31). These selections of the most grotesque cases should not be the way CPS operates. Reform for this selection problem needs to be solved from the beginning, the government allocation situation. The increase in funding would in turn provide more social workers, more training for the social workers, and better and more community-based services that would unify the child welfare system. These changes, beginning with more government money would provide for a smoother running productive CPS machine. To concur with the issues at hand facing CPS from the above paragraphs some of the same troubling issues arose at a council of intellectuals with knowledge and experience in the child welfare system. They came to discuss issues about CPS and how it is in need of reform. This council of intellects was called the Executive Session on Child Protective Services and convened at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government in 1994 (Waldfogel). One of the observations that was made that correlates with CPS social workers overlooking cases is overinclusion. This means that, â€Å"Some families that are currently in the system should not be. Inappropriately included lower-risk families receive an unnecessary adversarial response from the child welfare system, while children who are at serious risk get less attention than they deserve and are therefore not adequately protected† (Waldfogel). Another observation that goes hand in hand with overinclusion is underinclusion. This simply means that some families that should receive CPS don’t. â€Å"These include some families that are missed by reporters, some that are known to reporters but are not referred for help (or that would accept help on a voluntary basis) but do not receive help because they have not yet crossed the line into serious abuse and neglect† (Waldfogel). Another conclusion that was agreed upon was the problem of capacity. The number of cases has far outgrown the capacity of CPS social workers to serve them appropriately. This is apparently not a new problem but, â€Å"an increasingly severe one.† â€Å"The number of child abuse and neglect reports has grown tremendously over the past 20 years; the reported cases also have become tougher† (Waldfogel). Yet, another conclusion of CPS issues by the Executive Session is one of service delivery. This means that families and the children involved are not getting the right type of service in a timely manner. â€Å"Se rvice delivery tends to be uneven across communities.† As well as, â€Å"Families often have multiple and overlapping problems, but services for them tend to be fragmented and delivered in separate locations by different professionals† (Waldfogel). This problem reinforces the suggestion of creating a more holistic approach to CPS by incorporating more and better community-based programs to better completely serve the families and the children involved in abuse and neglect cases. One final conclusion the board of CPS professionals came up with is the issue of service orientation. â€Å"The basic orientation of the CPS system may not be right for some families in the system. CPS’ dual mandate-to protect children and to preserve families-has led to tensions within the system about which goal is and should be preeminent. CPS has had trouble finding the right balance between these competing goals, and has tended to adopt a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach, w hich ill serves families whose needs may vary and change over time† (Waldfogel). This too reinforces the notion that a more holistic approach is needed to ‘rebalance’ the CPS system and to curb the increasing number of child abuse and neglect cases. From what was discussed above, the CPS system is in dire need of more community-based systems. As Waldfogel points out, â€Å"Instead of CPS acting alone to address problems of child protection, CPS would develop partnerships with a broad range of community agencies, such as police, schools, and public and private agencies, and informal sources of help, such as neighborhood associations, congregations, and families themselves.† This idea of integrating many sources to provide a complete holistic treatment plan seems to be the most proactive avenue. Jane Waldfogel goes on to say that the way to incorporate these systems depends on the, â€Å"seriousness of the family’s case, the need for authoritative state intervention to protect the children, and the need for other types of interventions to protect the children and promote their well-being.† Community support can alleviate many stressors on families and improve the waning formal child protective services. An example of a community-based program that is currently running and promoting excellent services to families and children is the Albany Teen Center (Davies et al. 626). This center offers a large selection of services including â€Å"a school program, a nursery, health promotion including a nurse on staff, individual counseling, discussion and support groups, housing assistance, collective meal preparation, clothing and equipment exchange, emergency supplies of food, formula, diapers, bus tickets as well as respite childcare† (626). This center is an exceptional but tangible example of other avenues to incorporate into the CPS realm of support. All of the above services are carried out in a loving nurturing environment with practical assistance compliant to the families and children’s needs. The staff members do not appear as professional as CPS social w orkers but are all very qualified having many years experience and expertise in social service issues. This appearance also benefits the relationship between the client and the employee by bridging the gap and yearning for a more family atmosphere. Another great aspect of this center is that it is voluntary. The families or mothers, and their children are not required by law to seek help there so by going on their own volition, the Albany Teen Center has a high success rate of reestablished healthy families. The Albany Teen Center is a key unifying institution that helps to balance child protective services and the social workers case loads. When the need arises to contact CPS because of an abuse and neglect issue, it happens in an already established positive atmosphere that has trust between the client and employee. As one Albany Teen Center staff member illustrates: One of the advantages we have over CAS (Children’s Aid Society) is that people are in their natural humor when they come here; they are relaxed and comfortable, and they get into groups that talk about relationships issues; they get into the nursery and we see them interact with their kids. And once they come in more regularly and feel comfortable, they establish relationships and talk about stuff. (627). The Children’s Aid Society is the formal CPS facility in that area and the two work productively hand-in-hand. As one Albany staff member reiterates, â€Å"We do the documentation for CAS. [†¦] But we also offer a lot here. [†¦] There are things that bind us together with CAS and these families† (629). Saying that, the Albany Teen Center plays an important role in the system of child protection. A disturbing issue that seems to be the number one deterrent on why CPS is not propelling forward out of the black hole that it is in is the lack of federal money. The lack of federal funds is also why community-based programs have a hard time prospering and growing. As Mark E. Courtney, Ph.D. and an affiliate at the Institute for Research on Poverty at the University of Wisconsin, states that, â€Å"Federal funding for child protection investigations, prevention programs, and treatment services is more limited, and expenditures have not risen apace with reports of maltreatment† (88). This sad but true story depicts the broken cycle of the federal government’s budget allocation system. This broken cycle also reflects the government’s unwillingness to care for the nations population and their welfare. For example, in fiscal year 2002, the total federal government budget allocation for child welfare services which encompasses community-based centers, education, tra ining, and administration expenses was 75, 571 million dollars (United States, 2004 325). Relatively speaking, the military budget for the year 2002 according to Howard Zinn, a renowned historian and social activist, was 300 to 400 billion dollars (682). To help put into perspective how much money this really is, Howard Zinn goes on to say, â€Å"It was estimated by the World Health Organization that a small portion of the American military budget, if given to the treatment of tuberculosis in the world, could save millions of lives† (682). A portion of that money could also save millions of abused and neglected children’s lives as well. Obviously, there needs to be some fundamental changes in how our federal government perceives the value of lives for anything to radically shift in a positive direction. As a U.S., Newswire points out, â€Å"As we ensure security in our homeland, we must also ensure that our homes and communities are safe from abuse and neglect† (Comtex). This comment is absolutely agreeable and if complied with, changes in the future will occur and the downward spiral of CPS will end. The horror stories of children falling through the cracks because of a lack of support and cooperative functioning between CPS and community-based programs as well as the lack of federal government money are common . The stories of these kids are phenomenally terrifying. For example, a boy named David. David was 22 months old. â€Å"He weighed 13 pounds, 4 ounces and when found, he was covered with bruises, had months-old fractures and at least 22 bite marks.† (Miller, et al.). He died on February 21, 2000. â€Å"Natalie Gomez-Perez, 2, of Kissimmee, Florida was beaten by her mother’s boyfriend, her spleen ‘hit so hard that blood was forced out’† (Miller, et al.). Tony Bragg Jr., just 9 months old, died of a blow that tore his heart. His father threw him into a utility closet and left him to die† (Miller, et al.). These cases, though severe are not rare by any means. These are simply the effects of, â€Å"bureaucratic failure† (Miller, et al.). The United States of America is one nation under god, indivisible, under liberty and has justice for all. Those words are said in institutions all over the United States with confidence and truthfulness. That phrase, under liberty and justice for all, is it true? From research and history, the truthfulness of liberty and justice seem to be waning. Child protective services is a wonderful system and it dueled up with community-based programs is a double success. However, the only feasible way to incorporate the two are by money. The largest company in America with money is the federal government and the budget allocation for the child welfare system as far as Washington is concerned, is minimal to the child welfare systems reported needs. The only way I can foresee to change this monumental problem is to get the word out. People need to be aware of this situation so the federal government will become aware of this problem. The child protective services will ultimately implode and be wiped out if financial help is not applied. The only true factor holding productive reform work up is money. Money is the key to child protective services and community-based programs uniting. Money is the only element holding back the hiring of more social workers that are qualified. Money is the single deterrent to why there is a huge problem in overloaded caseworkers. Child protective services needs financial aid to be able to spread the work load amongst numerous employees to resist further negative reports of abuse and neglect and to climb out of this black hole they’ve been put in by the federal government. It is a tragedy that the United States government refuses to acknowledge this problem and continues the practice of turning the other cheek. To comply with what was stated above, the purpose of this essay was to get the word out to the population and hopefully sooner than later, get the attention of the United States federal government. You can also order a custom essay, term paper, research paper, thesis or dissertation on child welfare from our professional custom essay writing service which provides students with high-quality custom written papers at an affordable cost.

Biography of George Washington, First U.S. President

Biography of George Washington, First U.S. President George Washington (February 22, 1732–December 14, 1799) was Americas first president. He served as commander-in-chief of the Colonial Army during the American Revolution, leading the Patriot forces to victory over the British. In 1787 he presided at the  Constitutional Convention, which determined the structure of the new government of the United States, and in 1789 he was elected its president. Fast Facts: George Washington Known For: Revolutionary War hero and Americas first presidentAlso Known As: The Father of His CountryBorn: February 22, 1732 in Westmoreland County, VirginiaParents: Augustine Washington, Mary BallDied: December 14, 1799 in Mount Vernon, VirginiaSpouse: Martha Dandridge CustisNotable Quote: To be prepared for war is one of the most effective means of preserving peace. Early Life George Washington was born on February 22, 1732, in Westmoreland County, Virginia to Augustine Washington and Mary Ball. The couple had six children- George was the oldest- to go with three from Augustines first marriage. During Georges youth his father, a prosperous planter  who owned more than 10,000 acres of land, moved the family among three properties he owned in Virginia. He died when George was 11. His half-brother Lawrence stepped in as a father figure for George and the other children. Mary Washington was a protective and demanding mother, keeping George from joining the British Navy as Lawrence had wanted. Lawrence owned the Little Hunting Creek plantation- later renamed Mount Vernon- and George lived with him from the age of 16. He was schooled entirely in Colonial Virginia, mostly at home, and didnt go to college. He was good at math, which suited his chosen profession of surveying, and he also studied geography, Latin, and English classics. He learned what he really needed from backwoodsmen and the plantation foreman. In 1748 when he was 16, Washington traveled with a surveying party plotting land in Virginia’s western territory. The following year, aided by Lord Fairfax- a relative of Lawrences wife- Washington was appointed official surveyor of Culpeper County, Virginia. Lawrence died of tuberculosis in 1752, leaving Washington with Mount Vernon, one of Virginias most prominent estates, among other family properties. Early Career The same year his half-brother died, Washington joined the Virginia militia. He showed signs of being a natural leader, and Virginia Lt. Gov. Robert Dinwiddie appointed Washington adjutant and made him a major. On Oct. 31, 1753, Dinwiddie sent Washington to Fort LeBoeuf, later the site of Waterford, Pennsylvania, to warn the French to leave land claimed by Britain. When the French refused, Washington had to retreat hastily. Dinwiddie sent him back with troops and Washingtons small force attacked a French post, killing 10 and taking the rest prisoner. The battle marked the start of the French and Indian War, part of the worldwide conflict known as the Seven Years War between Britain and France. Washington was given the honorary rank of colonel and fought a number of other battles, winning some and losing others, until he was made commander of all Virginia troops. He was only 23. Later, he was sent home briefly with dysentery and finally, after being turned down for a commission with the British Army, he retired from his Virginia command and returned to Mount Vernon. He was frustrated by poor support from the Colonial legislature, poorly trained recruits, and slow decision-making by his superiors. On  January 6, 1759, a month after he had left the army, Washington married  Martha Dandridge Custis, a widow with two children. They had no children together. With the land he had inherited, property his wife brought with her to the marriage, and land granted him for his military service, he was one of the wealthiest landowners in Virginia. After his retirement he managed his property, often pitching in alongside the workers. He also entered politics and was elected to Virginias House of Burgesses in 1758. Revolutionary Fever Washington opposed British actions against the Colonies such as the British Proclamation Act of 1763 and the Stamp Act of 1765, but he continued to resist moves to declare independence from Britain. In 1769, Washington introduced a resolution to the House of Burgesses calling for Virginia to boycott British goods until the Acts were repealed. He began to take a leading role in Colonial resistance against the British following of the Townshend Acts in 1767. in 1774, Washington chaired a meeting that called for convening a Continental Congress, to which he became a delegate, and for using armed resistance as a last resort.  After the battles of Lexington and Concord in April 1775, the political dispute became an armed conflict. Commander-in-Chief On June 15, Washington was named commander-in-chief of the Continental Army. On paper, Washington and his army were no match for the mighty British forces. But although Washington had little experience in high-level military command, he had prestige, charisma, courage, intelligence, and some battlefield experience. He also represented Virginia, the largest British colony. He led his forces to retake Boston and win huge victories at Trenton and Princeton, but he suffered major defeats, including the loss of New York City. After the harrowing winter at Valley Forge in 1777, the French recognized American Independence, contributing a large French Army and a navy fleet. More American victories followed, leading to the British surrender at Yorktown in 1781. Washington formally said farewell to his troops and on December 23, 1783, he resigned his commission as commander-in-chief, returning to Mount Vernon. New Constitution After four years of living the life of a plantation owner, Washington and other leaders concluded that the Articles of Confederation that had governed the young country left too much power to the states and failed to unify the nation. In 1786, Congress approved the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to amend the Articles of Confederation. Washington was unanimously chosen as convention president. He and other leaders, such as  James Madison  and  Alexander Hamilton, concluded that instead of amendments, a new constitution was needed. Though many leading American figures, such as  Patrick Henry  and  Sam Adams, opposed the proposed constitution, calling it a power grab, the document was approved. President Washington was elected unanimously by the Electoral College in 1789 as the nations first president. ​Runner-up John Adams became vice president. In 1792 another unanimous vote by the Electoral College gave Washington a second term. In 1794, he stopped the first major challenge to federal authority, the Whiskey Rebellion, in which Pennsylvania farmers refused to pay federal tax on distilled spirits, by sending in troops to ensure compliance. Washington did not run for a third term and retired to Mount Vernon. He was again asked to be the American commander if the U.S. went to war with France over the XYZ affair, but fighting never broke out. He died on December 14, 1799, possibly from a streptococcal infection of his throat made worse when he was bled four times. Legacy Washingtons impact on American history was massive. He led the Continental Army to victory over the British. He served as the nations first president. He believed in a strong federal government, which was accomplished through the Constitutional Convention that he led. He promoted and worked on the principle of merit. He cautioned against foreign entanglements, a warning that was heeded by future presidents. He declined a third term, setting a precedent for a two-term limit that was codified in the 22nd Amendment. In foreign affairs, Washington supported neutrality, declaring in the Proclamation of Neutrality in 1793 that the U.S. would be impartial toward belligerent powers in a war. He reiterated his opposition to foreign entanglements in his farewell address in 1796. George Washington is considered one of the most important and influential U.S. presidents whose legacy has survived for centuries. Sources George Washington  Biography. Biography.com.George Washington: President of the United States. Encyclopedia Brittanica.

Education in Germany vs Education in China Essay

Education in Germany vs Education in China - Essay Example This has allowed every individual to get educated and encourage others to join educational institutions so as to acquire knowledge and skills. Education enlightens thoughts and beliefs of individuals, making them eligible for this competitive world. So, education is encouraged by every developing and developed country since they require highly educated workface for its industries in order to add value to the economy (Li, 2013; KPMG, 2010). Germany and China forms two different systems and follow individual traditions. Both the countries are approaching globalisation and have already encountered a number of challenges, which have strengthened their determination towards overcoming any further issues. China is identified as a booming market for future generation and Germany as the driving force of economy in Europe (KPMG, 2010; Rudolph, 2014). The countries in order to maintain this position try to employ the best and modern technology, which provides them the support to stay ahead of other nations. For maintaining best technology and apply most apt process, efficient employees are required. The employees are basically residents of the countries who give in their full effort for contributing to companies wherein they work as well as development of the economy (KPMG, 2010). The famous slogan â€Å"Education needs modernization and modernization needs education† (KPMG, 2010) highlights the problems encountered by China. The country is experiencing stages of rapid transformation from an agrarian society to modern and globalised economy. However, it is observed that education has always been given high priority in China. Globalization and invention of advanced technology have escalated the procedure, which had commenced in 1979 with Third Conference of the Eleventh Central Committee of Chinese Communist Party (KPMG, 2010). Modernization is highly dependent on development of economy, which basically concentrates on

THE BLIND ASSASSIN BOOK BY MAGARET ATWOOD (Book Report) Essay

THE BLIND ASSASSIN BOOK BY MAGARET ATWOOD (Book Report) - Essay Example This sense that somehow Iris was once whole and is now damaged is communicated, when she calls herself â€Å"†¦a brick-strewn vacant lot where some important building used to stand.† (Atwood 43)1 It becomes clear later that her ruin is of her own making, brought about through her deliberate blindness towards her own motivations that underlay the choices she made. Thus she says: I did believe, at first, that I only wanted justice. I thought my heart was pure. We do like to have such good opinions of our own motives when we’re about to do something harmful, to someone else. (497) In old age, Iris is painfully aware of at least some of her motives. However, she is still not entirely honest because it is quite clear that she knew ‘back then’ as well. Thus â€Å"we do like to have such good opinions of our own motives† (497) communicates a sense of ‘deliberate’ self-deception. Her primary punishment is reserved for Laura, for the role she played in the lives of Richard and Alex and perhaps also because she was ‘good’. She also vindictively destroyed her husband’s career. What was it she wanted? Nothing much. Just a memorial of some kind. But what is a memorial, when you come right down to it, but a commemoration of wounds endured? Endured and resented. Without memory there is no revenge.† (508) Revenge then was what Iris had wanted all along. This manifests itself also clearly in the spiteful way in which she communicates Alex’s death to Laura. â€Å"Laura, I hate to tell you this, I said, but whatever it was you did, it didn’t save Alex. Alex is dead.† (488) This ‘whatever’ Laura did to save Alex was giving in to Richard’s sexual demands and Iris was fully aware of Laura’s ‘martyr’ mindset. Her sister had been a heavy burden to the young Iris and once, after Laura tried to sacrifice herself for her dead mother, Iris had been close to ‘letting go’. Now destroying Laura’s

International business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words - 2

International business - Essay Example general manager of Lincoln Electric (Shanghai) Welding Company, Ltd., Jeffrey Kundrach sensed that the right time has come to evaluated the circumstances and start concentration on the management and labour practices of the corporation (Sparrow, Brewster & Harris 2004). The objective of this study is to review and analyse Lincoln Electric’s international human resources (HR) practices as are affected by the decision to establish a subsidiary in China. Early outcomes and future issues or problems will be discussed. Lincoln initiated a new attempt at expanding in Asia in the mid-1990s, after the shutting down of the Japanese company. This followed the 1995 opening of a new management organisation for the company involving new executive positions and complementary personnel to supervise each of the five major strategic locations: Asia, Latin America, Russia-Africa-Middle East, Europe, and North America (Business Week 2003). Michael Gillespie, being a British national and having associated with Lincoln from ESAB, the major competitor of Lincoln in Europe and Asia, was assigned head for the Asian region. Asia was at present a primary target of the company and Gillespie was summoned by Massaro to develop an innovative and competitive approach for the region (Business Week 2003). The plan of Gillespie was to build regional competencies and create a unified manufacturing business and sales with Asia (Briscoe & Schuler 2004: 428): The intention was to stop regarding Asia Pacific as a market to which we could export, to which we could sell our surplus production. So what we tried to do was to bring Lincoln to Asia rather than just sending American or Australian products into Asia, and decided that the right thing to do was to produce within the region for the region, products that were appropriate to the region, rather than simply trying to sell products that were right for the US or Europe. A regional administrative centre was launched in Singapore. The regional

Ethical Issues related to the Physician Sunshine Act Coursework

Ethical Issues related to the Physician Sunshine Act - Coursework Example or design of clinical trials or development of medical devices should be encouraged since they help in the enhancement of the existing technology for the benefit of patients. By gaining the ability of accessing information regarding their physicians’ financial relationships with pharmaceutical companies, the public will be greatly informed regarding possible conflict of interest as well as protect them from potentially injurious doctor-industry relationships. In addition, patients will get a better grasp of when and whether associations with manufacturers manipulate the physician’s decisions (Twomey &Jennings, 2014). Exceptions such as gifts of less than $10, educational materials for patient distribution and product samples are important and serve to pass new products to the market in addition to assisting in education and research. Provision of free gifts or food makes the message being delivered more palatable as well as to be more favorably received by the

A Mobile Application for Home Depot Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

A Mobile Application for Home Depot - Case Study Example The flow of information within the organization network determines the efficiency of operations and the ease of access of information of customers. Maintaining up to date records and managing inventories is an attribute that allows organizations to remain viable within a competitive economy, for this reason, it is crucial for organizations to manage their information distribution networks and manage the people and their access to information to achieve effectiveness in an organization. Home Depot is an organization that has remained behind in innovation and integration of information technology in their distribution networks. Consequently, the organization has underperformed owing to their old information management systems that are ineffective and poor development of their website. The new CEO of new depot has a vision for the information distribution network of the organization. To start with, he builds a mobile network for information flow within the organizations. First phones wi ll allow the organizations to manage their inventories in real time as the selling operations take place. This real time update of the inventories will ensure that business records are effectively maintained without requiring manual entry of information. In addition, the associates of Home Depot can, through the mobile application, seamless monitor inventories remotely from any store. Resultantly, business operations will be automated, making it easier for even one manager to monitor all business operations remotely. Secondly, the organization strategy to develop an interactive website will form a core part of their information distribution network. Through the website, they can disseminate marketing information to their target customers which is expected to make the public more conscious of their products and attract more online buyers (Reynolds 6). Developing an effective information distribution network will harness more profits for the organization by ensuring that information f lows effectively to the customers, and that business operations are timely and automated. Management of people for retrieval of knowledge is a critical aspect of business organizations. The CEO of Home depot has integrated technology in people management to ensure that both employees and customers are well coordinated. His idea to equip the employees with First Phones is geared towards the development of an effective communication between the employees of Home Depot. As Reynolds (6) points out, communication is a key aspect of the people management in a business environment. First phones will allow employees to communicate effectively from their locations and coordinate with each other without having to respond to the fixed walkie-talkies that demand a fixed employee presence, which will hasten communication. The blogger site will allow customers to post their feedback and receive answers from their questions. In turn, customer feedback can be adopted to develop goods that correspon d to customers’ preferences. Consequently, Management of the information systems will be a customer value approach that will help to satisfy customers better. Case Study, Marketing With Facebook Marketing policy is the vehicle that drives an organization’s products from their point of development to their point of selling at the customer site. Currently, information technology has opened an avenue for organizations to distribute their product information to their customers and allow customers to acquire this information. The internet platform has become a superior strategy for organizations to define the face of the marketing policy and roll out their products more efficiently. Facebook is one of the social media online services that have been embraced for organizational marketing. Organizations utilize

Ethical Issues related to the Physician Sunshine Act Coursework

Ethical Issues related to the Physician Sunshine Act - Coursework Example or design of clinical trials or development of medical devices should be encouraged since they help in the enhancement of the existing technology for the benefit of patients. By gaining the ability of accessing information regarding their physicians’ financial relationships with pharmaceutical companies, the public will be greatly informed regarding possible conflict of interest as well as protect them from potentially injurious doctor-industry relationships. In addition, patients will get a better grasp of when and whether associations with manufacturers manipulate the physician’s decisions (Twomey &Jennings, 2014). Exceptions such as gifts of less than $10, educational materials for patient distribution and product samples are important and serve to pass new products to the market in addition to assisting in education and research. Provision of free gifts or food makes the message being delivered more palatable as well as to be more favorably received by the

CRM and Sales Management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

CRM and Sales Management - Assignment Example Secondly, the changes in the business environment may require adjustments in the approaches to the application of the 4Ps, which would mean that it is not the overhaul of the marketing mix that forms the solution to the ever changing business environment, but the approach in its application. Lastly, the continued application of the marketing mix limits the development of further market controllable factors, which are more plausible to suit the current marketing environment. In the light of this, it becomes essential to distinguish what informs the current business environment, and creates the prospective of fulfilling the marketing need; consumer satisfaction (Belohlavek, 2008 p23). In arguing out this case, this discussion supports the proposition that the marketing mix is inadequate in the changing marketing environment, and thus needs revision to incorporate the presently developed, yet vital controllable factors that are influencing the survival and suitability of a commodity in the market. The marketing mix is composed of four business environmental components, namely price, product, place and promotion. These components can be controlled in order to enhance consumer satisfaction, through a product offering that meets customers’ expectation in terms of its affordability, ability to satisfy the existing consumer needs, accessibility of the product to the consumers and the efficient channels through which the consumer is made aware of the product (Bowman & Gatignon, p12). The traditional proposition is that, if the product fulfills all the four aspects mentioned above, then it was suitably placed in the market, and thus would survive the tides of ever changing business environment. However, it has become apparent that the marketing mix is no longer sufficient to enable a product or any brand overcome the waves of the ever-changing business environment, since the customers’ needs, preferences and priorities are also constantly changing (Prenzel, 2010 p56). According to Professor Koichi Shimizu's 7Cs Compass Model, the concept of place is no longer the most relevant aspect of modern day marketing, but rather convenience (Luudicke, 2006 p72). As opposed to ensuring that the supply chain is most appropriate to connect the producer and the consumer, the emphasis is now making the purchasing experience for the consumers more convenient. For example, Amazon.com is one of the organizations that deal in offering its products over the internet, which has placed more emphasis on convenience than on place (Wenderoth, 2009 p87). This is because, such an organization does not rely on a physical distribution channel, but on the internet, which requires complete customer understanding, before a purchase is made from their site. While it would be most beneficial for the organizations offering physical tangible products to improve the supply and distribution chain, it would be more beneficial for the online organizations offering their pro duct over the internet to improve convenience and the purchasing experience of the customers (Burgers, 2008 p11). Therefore, while the distribution channels formed the basis of place as the component of the traditional marketing mix, convenience informs the basis of the digital and online marketing organizations. Therefore, there is a need to include convenience among the component of the marketing mix, to cater for the current growth in digital

My Ambition Essay Example for Free

My Ambition Essay My ambition in life has always kept changing frequently, like as a dancer, as an artist, a writer or a doctor since I like biology . But I have realized that by just liking something that is related to it cannot assure someone to become that. Every ambition has so many fields to look through to achieve. One may not be successful in all the related paths but can be in at least a few. But now I feel its time for me to have a particular goal to reach. I don’t want to be focused completely on it but also want to be flexible at the same time. At home my father always dreams of me becoming a scientist like him, for that’s natural. But if anyone asks me now, about my ambition, may be it’s for sure I would like to tell I would become a scientist. This is not because my family wants it or because of their view, it’s because I have seen how life changes with a job like this. I always think of doing something different from others so that I am being recognized and also to do something new and worthy. A scientist lives with all reality. There is nothing better. I would love to work for the country’s development and to retain its prestige. As far as I have seen, I know that a scientist job would do better for me to do this. I don’t want to be just a scientist but also a researcher. A work becomes a research when one does something which is not known to the person doing which brings out wonders. I would like to learn every moment rather to do what others have done. It may be a hard job to do, but I like being complex. I want to work with others view to improve or invent something that is needed by the world. On a daily basis, I see my father’s work as a scientist or as a researcher discovering something that is unusual. Every day becomes a day to solve problems This very much surprises me . It also won’t be wrong to say that his works, deep involvement, seriousness, ect have actually put an impact on me. I would rather say, he has influenced me to carve out my future. I now dream to get into the field of my father and would put in a complete contribution to achieve my goal, by also having a complete support from my family . By becoming a scientist I will not only fulfill my parents dream but also can fulfill my wishes to live in my own way, with my own ideas like a free bird. I also wish to become a role modal to the rest of the world. The value of achievement lies in achieving. But at the same time I remember that it needs lot of work from now, only then can I turn a dream into reality. Sincere hard work always fetches. It may not just be a proud moment for me, but also for my parents and for my country. The will to succeed can overcome greatest adversity. So, my ambition to become a scientist begins or has already begun.

European Union Decision Making

European Union Decision Making Introduction The European Union (EU) decision making process is quite a complex perform which involves more than one institution most of the times. The European council, the European parliament, and the European commissions are the key players within this key complex and multi-party process. More than the past five decades the European Parliament (EP) has motivated from being a mainly consultative assembly to being a genuine co-legislature. The growth in the European Parliaments powers was accompanied by a revaluation of its Standing Committees. The European Parliament (EP) is now generally seen as a co-legislator with the Council is a comparatively new development. It did not enjoy any effective rights of participation in the legislative process for more than three decades. As an assembly it started out with only two key powers: the supremacy to pass a motion of censure against the High Authority and the power to be consulted by the Council on selected legislative proposals. The opinions given in this traditional consultation procedure were non-binding. The Single European Act (SEA) 1987 represented a key step promote for the EP. It manifest the inauguration of a new triangular relationship between the Council, the Commission and the EP by introducing the co-operation procedure, which significantly enhanced inter-institutional dialogue, giving the EP the first opportunity to loosen its legislative power and to make use of its agenda-setting powers. The positive experiences structure of the co-operation procedure, the EPs legislative competencies were extended by the Treaty on European Union (TEU) commonly known as the Maastricht Treaty, 1993. Through the co-decision procedures beginning the Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) were, granted the power of veto in several policy areas, for the first time. The EPs role considerably strengthened by the Treaty of Amsterdam (1999), especially as regards its involvement in the legislative process. The procedure of co-decision has been extended from 15 to 38 Treaty areas or types of Community action and now applies to new areas within the fields of transport, environment, energy, development co-operation and certain aspects of social affairs. A new element in the Amsterdam Treaty is the reform of the co-decision procedure. Most significantly, a legislative act can now be adopted at the first reading if either the EP fails to suggest amendments to the Commission proposal or the Council agrees to the changes suggested by the EP. The EPs powers were accompanied by a revaluation of the EP Standing Committees. In the EU policy-making process they have become a key element and can be seen as a very important contribution to the determining of legislation. Operating Mode The EP Standing Committees have been described as the â€Å"legislative backbone† of the EP (Westlake 1994, p. 191). Under the proficiency of these committees everything that could possibly be dealt with by the EP, which officially examine only questions referred by the Bureau. The proposals in the practical political process, incoming legislative directly go to the responsible committee or committees. EP committees Development By 1953, committees have played a vital role within the EP from its setting up: seven committees had already installed by the Common Assembly. In 1979, after the direct elections, 16 standing committees were established. By the year of 1999 their number gradually increased to 20. At that point there was a growing feeling, however, that the number of committees should be reviewed with the main objective of distributing the new legislative obligations resulting from the Amsterdam Treaty more evenly (Corbett; Jacobs; Shackleton 2000, p. 105) The number of EP Standing Committees was subsequently reduced from 20 to 17 after the June 1999 elections. They each cover a particular area or policy field of the EUs activities and now have been reshuffled for the purpose of: (Christine Neuhold, 2001) merging issue clusters (external economic relations has been merged with industry and research and the Committee on Regional Policy now deals with policies concerning transport and tourism), emphasizing new priorities (e.g. equal opportunities now has a more prominent role in the Committee on Womens Rights and the same is true for human rights in the Committee on Foreign Affairs), ensuring greater committee oversight. The EPs committee structure does not correspond to any particular model. The Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, CFSP committee is, according to Westlake, clearly modeled on its equivalent in the United States Senate, but has far fewer powers (Westlake 1994, p. 135). Key players in committees We usually found that committee proceedings are to a large size formed by key players in the committee: committee chairmen, vice-chairs and rapporteurs, generally whose role is well known, and also draftsmen of opinion, shadow rapporteurs and committee co-ordinators. The chairmen and three vice-chairmen are its formal officeholders within each committee. When sensitive votes are held in plenary, the chairman presides over the meetings of the committee and can contribute considerably to shaping legislation. The function of the vice-chairmen is generally to stand in for the chairman when he/she is not available. Once a committee has decided to draw up a report or an opinion it nominates a rapporteur (when the committee bears primary responsibility) or a draftsman (when it has to give an opinion for another committee) (Corbett, Jacobs, Shackleton 2000, p. 108, 117). The group co-ordinators play an important role separately from the official officeholders. A co-ordinator selects by each political group who is responsible for allocating tasks to the group members as its main spokesperson. By opposition political group(s), mainly to monitor the work of the rapporteur are appointed the so-called shadow rapporteurs. By political groups the EP committees are composed on a cross-party basis and the composition process is organized in various ways through procedural rules, and by way of bargaining. Assigning leadership positions within committees is formally based on the dHondt procedure, whereby political groups have the choice of which committee they want to chair in an order determined by the size of the group (Christine Neuhold, 2001).   The individual (both full and substitute) members are chosen by the political groups with the aim of ensuring that each committee reflects the overall political balance among the groups in the EP(Christine Neuhold, 2001). The pivotal role of the committee chairmen, a position that has been described as a â€Å"prized office for MEPs† (Hix 1999), can be illustrated by the contrasting examples of two different directives. Even though the committee chairs were heavily lobbied in both cases, especially by industry, the outcome was highly different Normally the selection of rapporteurs and draftsmen is decided within the individual committees by a system, which is more or less the same in all committees. Each political group has, according to its size, a quota of points. The group co-ordinators then discuss reports and opinions to be distributed, decide how many points each subject is worth and make bids on behalf of their group, the bids based in theory (but not always in the practical political process) on the relationship between the number of points already used by the group and the original quota (Corbett, Jacobs, Shackleton 2000, p. 117). Political groups Significance within committees If committees are the legislative backbone of the EP, the political parties are its lifeblood or the institutional cement pasting together the different units of the Parliament (Williams 1995, p. 395). Each party group in the EP represents a very heterogeneous collection of established groups and temporary alliances (Raunio 2000, p. 242). For the legislative period of 1999-2004 eight political groups are represented in the EP (and a number of non-aligned members). In the elections of June 1999 the PES lost more than 30 seats while the EPP-ED gained 52 and now holds (with 233 seats) a 53-seat majority over the PES. It must be pointed out, however, that these two large political groups together hold more than 66 % of all EP seats. In comparison the European Liberal Democratic and Reformist Group (ELDR), which is the third strongest party within the EP, has only 50 members, i.e. 8 % of the seats (EU Committee of the American Chamber of Commerce in Belgium 1999, p. 13). Political groups have their own staff, in which the total number of employees to which a group is entitled, is linked to the groups size and based on the number of languages used in the group. (Christine Neuhold, 2001). Within the larger groups between two to three staff members observe and follow the work done by each committee, whereas one official might be responsible for observing the work of three or four committees in smaller groups (Raunio 2000). A variety of functions perform within the groups by the staff. One very main aspect is to follow and to prepare the committee proceedings and to support the rapporteur i.e. the shadow rapporteur in their political work. The existing task this involves varies from committee to committee. For example in the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development the respective administrator is responsible for drawing up voting lists, whereas in the environment committee the Political Group Staff would only bring the voting lists into a readable form. When trying to co-ordinate their positions or exchanging views the rapporteur might in selected cases not negotiate with the shadow rapporteur but with the responsible administrator (Christine Neuhold, 2001). Expertise and openness significance of committee debates EP committees can exploit a growing pool of expertise. When it comes to supporting the rapporteur or draftsman of opinion in the performance of their task the EP Committee Secretariat is attributed great importance. The officials help increase the functional capacity of the EP by assisting the individual MEPs and the committees. The committee staff not only provides scientific and technical information, but also gives advice on â€Å"political† issues (Christine Neuhold, 2001). Separately from the Committee Secretariat interest groups are another important source of information. For the representation of interests Lobbyists gradually notice the importance of the EP. MEPs act in so far as possible as representatives of the European people, however if they are elected by local constituencies. They have to integrate interests with relevance to Europe as a whole and are therefore contacted by actors working within the myriad of networks to be found in the EU system of multi-level governance (Benz 2001, p. 7). Wessels reports that average MEPs have roughly 109 contacts with interest groups from the national and supranational level each year. In total this amounts to some 67,000 contacts and interest groups annually (Wessels 1999, p. 109). A remarkable improvement in the EPs activities is a great increase in the organization of public hearings by the committees. These hearings can serve up numerous purposes: they can facilitate the identification of or familiarization with a particular issue, assist a committee in the scrutiny of draft legislation, and facilitate identification of preferences. A remarkable example is the drinking water directive: a public hearing, involving a wide range of experts and interested parties, was conducted on the revision of this directive. The key conclusion reached was that there is a critical need to evaluate the existing series of directives and decisions on water quality. Consequently of this hearing particular deficits and problems within this context were recognized and methods of reform were proposed. Relations of EP committees with other EU institutions The connection between the EP and other institutions on the European level has evolved extensively with the introduction of first the co-operation and later the co-decision procedures. Co-operation marked an end to the old bipolar relationship between Council and Commission and the beginning of a triangular relationship in which the EPs legislative input was limited at the outset, though it gradually increased later (Westlake 1994, p. 137). Relations with other institutions throughout the legislative process during co-decision The introduction of the co-decision procedure by the Treaty of Maastricht has been regarded as a major step forward for the EP and â€Å"the cause for parliamentary democracy† at the EU level (Shackleton 2000, p.325). Negotiation between the Council of Ministers and the EP committees has established by the new Treaty provision. As soon as the Amsterdam Treaty took effect these contacts were intensified, mainly as a result of the possibility of concluding the procedure at first reading. Both institutions have paid close attention to the â€Å"Joint declaration on the practical arrangements for the new co-decision procedure† of May 1999, which encourages appropriate contacts with the aim of â€Å"bringing the legislative procedure to a conclusion as quickly as possible† (Christine Neuhold, 2001). Each Council Presidency is in contact with the responsible EP committee, and the respective Minister approaches the committee to present the priorities of the Presidencys programme and also illustrates the particular achievements at the end of the six-month period. Even after Amsterdam there are no clear procedural guidelines for the first reading. The most contentious question is how to mandate the representatives of the EP for negotiating with the Council. An additional open question is which members of the Council and EP hierarchy should meet with whom. At the first reading as a means of speeding up the procedure the EP sees the possibility of reaching an agreement, but not something that should be accepted at any cost. Within the conciliation procedure a process of exchange has developed where both sides are open to make concessions, but at a price that differs according to each set of negotiations (Shackleton 1999, p. 331). The procedure has evolved significantly since its introduction by the Maastricht Treaty, â€Å"where a lot was not written down† and even the basic procedural issues were not always clear. Considering the problems of conciliation, the so-called trialogue meetings are of great significance during its preparation. These sessions, neither the Treaty nor the EP Rules of Procedure, have been formed to an extent under the motto â€Å"necessity is the mother of invention†. They were answer back to the gap left in the Treaty between the Councils second reading and convention of the conciliation committee. The Treaty provisions do not require what, should happen after the Council has given its view on the EPs second-reading amendments and before the delegations meet in the conciliation committee. There were occasional bilateral contacts between Council and EP during the first year and a half after the Maastricht Treaty came into effect, but no structured dialogue. As a result both institutions attempted to find compromises in a room, which could hold over 100 persons. Only in the second half year after the Treaty came into effect was the conclusion finally drawn that this was not an efficient forum for institutional dialogue and that conciliation needed to be prepared by a smaller group (Shackleton 1999, p. 333). In light of the smaller number of persons taking part in trialogues, namely the vice-president concerned; the chairman of the responsible EP committee; and the rapporteur At the level of the trialogue and only have to be â€Å"rubber-stamped† in conciliation a large percentage controversial issue is already solved. The optimistic function of the trialogue is illustrated by the directive on end of vehicle life. At second reading the EP adopted a total of 32 amendments. In a series of trialogue meetings, compromises were reached regarding a considerable number of amendments Study conducted on the effect the co-decision procedure has on the EP committees has shown that co-decision has led to a structural concentration of the bulk of the workload on only three out of 20 Permanent Committees. The three committees dealt with the majority of the draft legal acts submitted under co-decision were: (Christine Neuhold, 2001) Committee on the Environment (36.7 %); Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs and Industrial Policy (25.9 %); Committee on Legal Affairs (16.9 %). As regards the amount of time needed to conclude a co-decision procedure, the analysis reflects that the Committee on the Environment with the heaviest co-decision burden of all committees stabilized the amount of time required for adoption. The Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs and Industrial Policy and the Committee on Legal Affairs have even reduced the time needed for the adoption of legislative acts considerably since co-decision was introduced in 1993 (Maurer 1999, p. 29). Role of EP committees within the implementation process One more significant issue is the process of implementing legislation. In the system of comitology, EP committees play only a marginal role. Comitology is a short-hand term for the process by which certain powers of implementation are delegated to the Commission. The comitology committees are composed of representatives of Member State governments and as such are not democratically elected (Bradley 1997). Since installation of the first comitology committees, the EP has put forward far-reaching demands as regards its involvement in the comitology system. Translating them into political science terms, they could be summarised in the following manner (Hix 2000): clear definition of legislative and executive matters so that the executive authority would be strictly responsible for implementing measures; when implementing acts have been adopted by way of co-decision in the legislative process, the EP should be put on an equal footing with the governments of the Member States; limitation of the executive powers of the Member State governments (at least to a certain extent); the right of the EP to examine all draft implementing acts before they are adopted with the implementation timetable; the right of the EP to veto legislation before it is implemented. Connection to EU citizens: the problem of accountability and responsibility The concept of accountability for this study is defined in two ways: primary, to be accountable is seen to be in a position of stewardship and thus to be called to answer questions about ones activities and administration. This is very much connected to ensuring a certain degree of openness and transparency within the decision making process. Choices and debates have to be broken down in such a way that citizens are able to understand them and have a certain degree of insight into decision-making processes. Second, to be accountable is perceived as being censurable or dismissible (Bealey 1999, p. 2; Lord 1998). Because of the fact that they are directly elected, the members of the EP are directly accountable to their electorate. Though, the electoral procedures of the EP are questionable as regards the principle of political equality. Concerning accountability, it is also doubtful whether electors are adequately informed about the EPs activities, and they seem to have insufficient motivation to monitor the EP by participating in elections: the average turnout of 49 % in the 1999 EP elections speaks for itself(Christine Neuhold, 2001). The complex EU decision-making procedures are not transparent and sometimes rather difficult to describe and understand, when the process reached by a majority. European parties be unsuccessful to organize dependable factions and the relationships between the EP and other EU institutions, specially the Council, are difficult to comprehend. One of the problems the EP is presently facing is that the EP does not have the authority of a legislature. As a co-legislator together with the Council, it cannot be held accountable for decisions it makes on its own (Benz 2000, p. 16). Additionally, there is no European government that can be held accountable to the EP. The EP has to give the rights of its vote of approval to the Commission and to the Commission President. By vote of censure, it can also force the entire Commission to resign. The EP hence has the power to vote the Commission out of office. Though, it is not the EP but the European Council that selects the President and the members of the Commission. In consequence the composition of the executive is not based on the results of European elections. Changes to the Treaties do not have to be ratified by the EP, nor are members of the EP present at Intergovernmental Conferences held with the aim of Treaty reform (Raunio 2000, p. 231). By this study it has been reflected, complex forms of inter-institutional bargaining make it difficult to pinpoint what decisions were taken by whom. Main decisions are taken in smaller groups such as the trialogue that permit for the achievement of consensus with other institutional actors such as the Council. However, the conclusion of complex deals obscures who has won or lost on particular issues. The circumstances is problematical by the fact that MEPs are like members of any national parliament confronted with a fundamental conflict of roles, specifically that of the competent co-legislator versus the representative of the interests of the people who elected him/her. The previous requires expertise and knowledge and complicated negotiations within the committee and with representatives of the EU institutions. The concluding requires stable contact with the EU citizens. The burden of committee work will require more time and effort of MEPs, making it more difficult to tend to the interests of the â€Å"potential voter† With the growth in the EPs legislative tasks. Concluding notes The actual authority of the EP is at least partly based on the work of its committees. In shaping EU legislation they play a vital role. This becomes noticeable when taking a final look at what EP committees achieve: Operation of economization: From an improved familiarity with the subject, EP committees make processing of a growing workload possible and benefit. To cope with its increasing legislative workload, committees play a vital role in the EPs quest. This improved burden for committees has not led to a slowing down of the decision-making process. Information acquisition: This improved familiarity of committee members with particular issues leads to improved specialization, thereby increase the confidence of non-committee members in the work of the committee. It has found that the EP committees constitute an important arena for the communication of interests. MEPs can use a rising pool of expertise from members of the Committee Secretariat on the one hand and on the other hand representatives of interests groups or NGOs. Co-ordination: Committee members are selected on a cross-party basis and through different means: throughout the political groups, procedural rules, and bargaining. The political groups within the EP have found different means to maximize their influence within committees, for instance by appointing shadow rapporteurs and group co-ordinators. Committees however provide an arena for the political groups to deliberate in order to find the necessary majorities, something not possible in plenary sessions. Input of smaller political groups: committee membership provides a real chance for representatives of smaller political groups in certain instances for example the Greens/EFA to take part in the shaping of legislation, by appointing the rapporteur for example. Consensus-building: The EP committee construction can give to consensus-building by providing an arena for detailed deliberation, which is not possible in plenary. It has found that divisions in committees are very issue-specific, and it must be noted that the committee lead very often plays an integrative role. Publicity: Committee meetings are usually open to the public and also the media. Committees permit members and committee chairs in particular to make publicity, at least when controversial topics such as the BSE crisis are on the agenda. Beyond this categorization, this provides an overview of how EP committees operate rather more normative, conclusions. The Standing Committees and the EP operate in a very different environment than the committees in national parliaments, a key difference being the lack of a European government directly accountable to the EP and the unique forms of decision-making in the multi-level system of European governance. In this process of relations with other EU institutions, remarkably the Council and the Commission, the EP committees play a vital role. The EPs work environment brings order and structure by the committee-based division of labor. Committees present personnel and structural resources which build up the negotiating position of the EP vis-ÃÆ'  -vis the Council, for instance in the co-decision process. Vital players in committees for example group co-ordinators, chairmen and rapporteurs not only contribute to cohesion and coherence within committees, but play a very important role in finding useful solutions to problems, so raising the committees output significantly. It has found that key players are often appointed due to their expertise in the particular policy area, which is sometimes gained throughout work within the industry previous to their parliamentary career. This and the fact that they can use a growing pool of expertise enhances their standing vis-ÃÆ'  -vis other institutions. It is also found that political actors who have acquired experience with these very specific forms of inter-institutional negotiations are selected to deal with co-decision, thus contributing to the level of trust and coh erence, particularly during conciliation. By the negotiations this is illustrated which dealt with the SOCRATES programme, the revision of the directive on open network provisions regarding voice telephony where the rapporteur was re-appointed, and the Fifth Framework Programme. Committees enlarge accountability of the EP as much as their meetings are usually open to the public and committee documents for instance draft reports are rather freely available. By meeting visiting groups and spending a large part of the working week in their constituencies, i.e. Member States Committee members also try to build up the link to EU citizens. Moreover committees enable effective communication of relevant (citizen) interests to those involved in the process of governance. Contact with lobbyists has normally become part of the daily business of committee members. In spite of these positive aspects, EP committees can do little to alleviate general structural deficits regarding accountability and legitimacy within the multi-level system, such as the lack of a European government, which is directly accountable to the EP.