How Work Affects Family Life Essay

Today, the term â€Å"family† is difficult to define. All families are unique, and they can range anywhere from single parent families to extended families. Most importantly though, it is in the family where the next generation is being built. Parents must provide security and support for their children, and they need to be prepared for the challenges of balancing work and family in today’s society. In traditional families, there was a mother, a father and their resulting children. The father would most often be the earner of the family, and the mother would stay at home and take care of the children. Things have changed considerably in the twenty-first century. Now there are more dual-income families, single-parent families, and there are many more women in the labour force. This poses a great change to family life, and many parents are working a â€Å"double day†. They have their regular full time jobs where they earn an income, and then they have to come home to more work such as cooking, cleaning and grocery shopping. Like all systems and interactions, conflict arises between work and family issues. This issue causes conflict for every member of the family, and they need to discover ways to resolve this conflict. According to the feminist theory, â€Å"gender is basic to all social structures and organizations†. (Eshleman & Wilson, 2001:23). Obviously, it is also basic to the conflicts of work and family life. Today, both men and women must go to work to support their families, but it is usually the woman who has to come home and do the cooking, cleaning and grocery shopping, while her husband plays with the kids or watches television in the living room. This is definitely a concern that needs to be addressed, and although there have been some improvements in this area, much more can still be done. More improvements have also been made by employers, unions and the government to benefit families who have full time jobs. Although, they have made steps towards improving this dilemma, there are still many issues that need to be dealt with. The social conflict theory states that â€Å"conflict is natural and inevitable in all human interaction† (Eshleman & Wilson, 2001:15). It is not seen as a negative theory, it just calls for people to be aware that conflict will arise, and that they need to come up with solutions to these struggles. This is no different in the family. Today’s families have to deal with tension on the macro level and the micro level. Work and employment affect both the  macro and micro elements of the family. More and more varieties of families are coming about, such as dual-income families, single-parent families, and families who take care of their children as well as their parents. These people face tribulations everyday of their lives while trying to juggle work and their family. Mostly in dual-income families, and single-parent families, people are performing a â€Å"double day†. According to Eshleman and Wilson (2001), the double day, or second shift, refers to the combina tion of paid and unpaid work most people do. The family member earning the income â€Å"often feels stress and encounters difficulties trying to meet their responsibilities as family members and as employees† (Coates, 1991:1). This affects their performance at work and at home. They are caught in the middle between having to work to support the family, and wanting to create a good environment for their family to grow in. Society tells these parents that â€Å"they are bad [parents] if they don’t go to the school play and bad employees if they do go and take time off from work† (Denholtz, 2000:91). The children or elderly people in the head of the household’s care also suffer from the work/family conflict. Children are often raised by other people other than their own parents, such as nannies, teachers, other relatives or day care workers. Many children must learn to grow up a lot quicker than they would normally have to if their parents were always around which could be good in some cases, but not so good in others. Every member of the family must have a role, and know that role. Partners must discuss who will do the dishes that night, and who will take the children to baseball practice. Children must also help out with household chores, and take some responsibility for themselves. If all members of the family can come to a specific agreement, and implement a good plan to satisfy everyone, work and family can be managed. All that is needed are the right attitudes and resources. Several couples in Crysdale’s study of working class people in downtown Toronto said that they manage trouble at work by leaving it at the door when they come home (1991:103). There was not always an issue between family life and work. Typically, the only women who would work were young, single females with no other obligations. Married women would stay home with their children, do all the  housework and make sure supper was on the table for their husbands when they came home from work. The predicament between work and family arose when women began participating more in the labour force during and after World War I. Their involvement in the labour force has steadily increased since the beginning of the twentieth century, while men’s participation has decreased. According to Eshleman and Wilson (2001), 16.2 percent of women over the age of fifteen were employed in 1911, and approximately 60 percent of women are employed today. So in under a century the number of women working has almost quadrupled. There are many different reasons explaining why more and more women are joining the work force. It basically first started during World War II, because there was a great need for workers in factories, stores, etc., and the men were off fighting in the war. Therefore, the women had to join the labour force, and after the war, when they could leave their jobs, many women chose to stay instead of becoming a housewife once again. In the 1960’s, there was a women’s liberation movement, and this time period was the most significant change in women’s roles. Wives and mothers wanted to be free from the constraints placed on them in the home, so many of them decided to go to work. Prior to this, mainly single women were working for pay, but since then the gap between single and married women has decreased. Also, there has been an increase in the number of blended families, common-law relationships, and single-parent families which forces most members of these families to find paid work in order to financially support their family. Most single parents must go to work to provide for the family because they have no help from the mother or father of their children. Altogether, many different circumstances have led to the increa sed problems between work and family life. As we can see, as women gained a more significant role in the labour force, and as different types of families arose such as single-parent families, the conflicts also increased. When Eshleman and Wilson are explaining the feminist theory they ask the question, â€Å"What about women?† Their answers to this question are: Based on the ideas that the experiences of women are different from those of men, are unequal (less privileged) to those of men, and are actively  oppressed (restrained, subordinated, used and abused) by men. (p. 23) This definition works perfectly into the dilemma between men and women’s roles in the family and in the work force. We must always consider women and gender when making assumptions about the family and work because they are inseparable issues. Even with the intense changes that have taken place in the family structure and the workforce, there is still the general idea that a woman’s first and foremost responsibility is in the home, even when she is engaged in work outside of the home. Women workers experience much more stress and difficulty in balancing work and home than men do, because they â€Å"tend to bear a disproportionate share of household tasks and family responsibilities† (Coates, 1991:8). Coates (1991) listed some important statistics from a survey by the Conference of Canada in his article. He concluded that women reported spending an average of 16.5 hours per week on ‘home maintenance’ compared to 9.8 hours by men. Three-quarters of the women reported that they had the majority of responsibility for making child arrangements compared to 4.1 percent of men, and women were almost four times as likely to stay home with their children when they were sick. Basically, the work and family issue has been viewed only as a woman issue, which creates problems between husband-wife families. This is a micro example of the social conflict theory. Work creates conflict within the family between the husband and the wife, in deciding who will perform what tasks within the family. More recently, men have been accepting larger responsibilities within the family â€Å"either through choice, or necessity in their role as a single parent in the paid workforce†. The gaps between men and women’s responsibilities in the home are decreasing, but there is much more to be done about this matter. Child care is the largest concern parents have when it comes to their family and their work. There are many options available for parents when it comes to childcare, such as daycare, nannies, relatives, babysitters, and schools, although it is not that easy. Some families cannot afford daycare or nannies; some do not have families they can rely on for childcare and some parents’ work schedules do not accommodate babysitter’s hours. The age of  the child is another factor that has to be considered when planning on childcare. If the child is an infant, one of the parents usually has to be with them all day, and not all employers offer maternity or paternity leave. When the child is a toddler, they have not yet reached the age that would allow them to be in school from nine o’clock until three o’clock, so they still need someone in their care for the entire day. When the child reaches the school years, there are still a few hours before and after school that needs to be taken into account. After the child has reached an age in which he/she is able to take care of themselves, transportation between school, home and extracurricular activities comes into account. All of these factors contribute to the hardships parents face when trying to balance work and family life. Aside from the family, corporations and employers need to address the problems of stress placed on their employees while trying to manage between work and home. This incorporates the macro level of the social conflict theory. Fernandez states that: There is a high correlation not only between missed work and caring for a sick child, but also caring for a sick child and leaving work early, coming in late, dealing with family issues during working hours, and on-and-off-the-job-stress. As the families continue to grow and change, the companies need to implement a vast range of improvements in order to reduce the great demands of parenting and work. This will not only help the parents out with their family, but it will create a less stressful environment for all of the employees, and therefore, it will improve the company. Many companies have already taken certain steps in doing this, but there is still much more that can be done. One suggestion is job-sharing, which is â€Å"a form of part-time working wherein two people choose to share the salary, benefits and responsibilities of one full-time job† (McRae, 1989:16). This benefits parents who want to maintain paid work and also want to be at home with their children. Homeworking is another example, and it is when a person takes on paid work from the home. This has become increasingly easier to  manage with new technologies such as the Internet. Shift work would also help to balance out the time between work and the family. The shifts could correspond with the hours that the children are in bed, or are at school, which allows the worker to spend more time with their family. More steps need to be taken in this area, such as on-site day care, paid leave to attend to a sick child or family issue, and included day-care costs. We have reached a point in society when it is time to come to a compromise between work and family life, and flexibility needs to be offered whenever it is needed. In all, families have changed a great deal in the last century, and we need to keep up with these changes and offer new suggestions towards improving family life. Work places a great demand on all families, including dual-income families, single-parent families, blended families, and extended families. Parents are struggling everyday with the conflict between work and family life. It works in a viscous circle, because families need money to support their families, but at the same time they need a lot of extra time to spend with their families. The burden is placed more on women than it is on men, because taking care of the household is still seen as the â€Å"woman’s job†, even if she is engaged in paid work. Men need to start doing their equal share around the house to make it easier on the demands of the woman. More steps need to be taken in child care facilities, because that is the main problem working parents face today. Companies must implement new plans in order to meet the needs of their workers. Altogether, it has been an ongoing battle for parents who are trying to balance between work and family life, and as the family continues to grow and change so must the laws behind flexible work hours, day care, and permissible absence for family issues.

Positive Behaviour Essay

Definition Behaviour that tends to satisfy the desires of the respondent is Positive Behaviour . It will become apparent that by this definition some positive behaviour may lead to antisocial (so called â€Å"negative†) responses and hence is not recommended. Furthermore, some behaviour that is itself socially acceptable and apparently positive is not, by this definition, actually positive because it does not tend to satisfy the desires of the respondent. The reverse is also true: some behaviour that is social not acceptable and apparently negative is yet actually positive because its operates to satisfy the desires of the recipient. Illustrations of Positive Behaviour Actions that can be classified under the following headings are customarily called positive: Showing interest Agreeing Making balance criticism Approving Showing affection Co-operating Protecting Praising Understanding Forgiving Although in some ways, the line between positive and negative behaviour exists in the eye of the beholder. Your value system, which stems from your family and cultural background as well as your own life experiences, will determine what you believe to be positive behaviour. Your feelings about yourself and life in general will also colour your perceptions. When adults feel positive about themselves, they are better able to understand and accept children’s behaviour. Positive behaviours are those which help children/venerable person move along toward the goal of becoming well-adjusted, fully functioning adults. In other words, behaviour that is typical of a particular stage of development, that paves the way for the next stage, is positive. Positive behaviour is not, therefore, the same thing as compliance with adult wishes, especially if those adult wishes reflect a lack of knowledge of children’s or venerable person’s development. Some positive behaviour can appear downright negative! Some authors argue that there are predictable times in the lives of all children/venerable person when their behaviour â€Å"falls apart†: when they seem to move backward in development in ways that perplex and dismay their parents and caregivers. These times invariably signal a rapid spurt of physical, cognitive, or socioemotional growth. An example might be the child on the verge of walking, whose frustration at being left behind evokes a sudden change in disposition and screams of rage. We can view these periods, not as crisis points, but rather as â€Å"touch points,† unparalleled opportunities for understanding and supporting development, if we anticipate them positively and avoid becoming locked in power struggles. By studying child/venerable person development and carefully observing the behaviour of many them, you can learn to adjust your expectations so that the behaviour you expect is within the bounds of possibility for children to achieve. By observing the behaviour of a particular child child/venerable person over time, you can begin to understand what particular behaviours mean for that person. You may begin to see how behaviour that seemed irritating to you actually serves a positive function for a child/venerable person. Focusing on positive behaviour places negative behaviour in better perspective and develops a more accurate impression of the whole child/venerable person. It allows you to emphasize strengths and help children overcome weaknesses.  Early childhood educators with heightened awareness of positive behaviours will set the stage so that those behaviours can occur, and will respond in ways that make these acts occur more often. In other words, they will use techniques of indirect and direct guidance. Positive behavioural support According the Department of health, Positive behavioural support (PBS) provides a framework that seeks to understand the context and meaning of behaviour in order to inform the development of supportive environments and skills that can enhance a person’s quality of life. Evidence has shown that PBS-based approaches can enhance quality of life and also reduce behaviours that challenge which in turn can lead to a reduction in the use of restrictive interventions. It is founded on principles that have applicability for a much broader range of people and may use different terminology. PBS provides a conceptual framework which recognises that people may engage in behaviours that are challenging because: †¢ they have challenging or complex needs that are not being met – these could be associated with unusual needs and personal preferences, sensory impairments, or mental or physical health conditions †¢ they are exposed to challenging environments in which behaviours of concern are likely to develop – examples might include environments which are barren and lack stimulation, where there are high levels of demand placed on people, where there may be institutional blanket rules, restricted or unpredictable access to preferred activities and those things the person values and where there is insufficient availability of positive social interactions, or where personal choices are not offered and/or honoured †¢ they typically have a generally impoverished quality of life. PBS approaches comprise a number elements: †¢ Using person-centred, values-based approaches to ensure people are living the best life they possibly can. This involves assisting a person to develop personal relationships, improve their health be more active in their community and to develop personally. When done properly, person centred planning processes make sure that those who support people get to know them as individuals. †¢ Skilled assessment in order to understand probable reasons why a person presents behaviours of concern; what predicts their  occurrence and what factors maintain and sustain them (this area of assessment is often referred to as a functional assessment). This requires consideration of a range of contextual factors including personal constitutional factors, mental and physical health, communication skills and the person’s ability to influence the world around them. Patterns of behaviour provide important data, skilled analysis of which enables key areas of unmet need to be understood. †¢ The use of behaviour support plans which have been informed by an assessment of these factors in order to ensure that aspects of the person’s environment that they find challenging are identified and addressed, that quality of life is enhanced and that wherever possible people are supported to develop alternative strategies by which they can better meet their own needs. These are referred to as primary preventative strategies. †¢ The behaviour support plan must detail the responses such as de-escalation techniques, distraction, diversion and sometimes disengagement to be used by carers/staff when a person starts to become anxious, aroused or distressed. These are referred to as secondary preventative strategies and aim to promote relaxation and avert any further escalation to a crisis. †¢ Behaviour support plans include guidance as to how people should react when a person’s agitation further escalates to a crisis where they place either themselves or others at significant risk of harm. This may include the use of restrictive interventions. Within behaviour support plans these are as identified as tertiary strategies. Any person who can reasonably be predicted to be at risk of being exposed to restrictive interventions must have an individualised behaviour support plan. Care programme approach care plans, personal recovery plans or other personalised approach planning structures may also incorporate behaviour support plans. They must always include clear evidence of health and social needs assessment, and be created with input from the person, their carers, relatives or advocates. This should identify: †¢ The context within which behaviours of concern occur †¢ Clear primary preventative strategies which focus on improvement of quality of life and ensuring that needs are met †¢ Secondary preventative strategies which aim to ensure that early signs of anxiety and agitation are recognised and responded to †¢ Tertiary strategies which may include detail of planned  restrictive interventions to be used in the safest possible manner and which should only be used as an absolute last resort What are the Positive Strategies for Supporting Behavior Improvement? There are many possible contributors to the development of challenging behaviours. It is important to investigate and evaluate these, but also to take action sooner rather than later, since many behaviors can become increasingly intense and harder to change as time goes on. Often a necessary approach to managing behaviour involves a combination of addressing underlying physical or mental health concerns, and using the behavioral and educational supports to teach replacement skills and self-regulation. There is no magic pill, but there are a number of strategies that can often be helpful. The use of Positive Behavior Supports is more than just a politically correct approach to behavior management. Research shows that it is effective. The alternative is usually punishment, which decreases the likelihood of a behavior by taking something away (such as removing a favorite toy) or doing something unpleasant (yelling, spanking.) While punishment might work immediately, it has been shown to be ineffective in the long run and can increase aggressive behavior, provide a model for additional undesirable behaviors, and strain the relationship with the caregiver (you). It is worth noting that to continue to be effective and maintain improvements, positive supports and feedback need to be ongoing as well. â€Å"Withholding reinforcement for problem behavior (i.e., extinction) is technically an example of punishment. Proponents of Positive Behavior Support (PBS) acknowledge that controlling access to reinforcement is necessary when trying to change behavior. What PBS does not condone is the use of aversive (e.g., demeaning, painful) procedures to suppress behavior. Such approaches have been demonstrated to be ineffective in producing durable changes in people’s behavior and do not improve to quality of their lives.† –Association for Positive Behavior Support If you have made changes to improve your child’s health or happiness, and these have not helped to improvehis behaviour in a reasonable time frame (a couple of weeks), or you are concerned about safety, help may be needed. Positive strategies and an intervention plan can be developed by a behavioral or educational team, usually in response to what is learned in a functional behavior assessment  (FBA) as described in the previous section. When several challenging behaviors exist, it is important to establish priorities. You may want to first target behaviors that are particularly dangerous, or skills that would help to improve situations across several behavioural scenarios. Remember to set goals that are realistic and meaningful. Start with small steps that can build over time. A non-verbal child is not likely to speak in full sentences overnight, but if learning to hold up a ‘take a break’ card when he needs to leave the table allows him to exit, and keeps him from throwing his plate, that is a huge success. A plan for our team should meet four essential elements: Clarity: Information about the plan, expectations and procedures are clear to the individual, family, staff and any other team members. Consistency: Team and family members are on the same page with interventions and approaches, and strive to apply the same expectations and rewards. Simplicity: Supports are simple, practical and accessible so that everyone on the team, including the family, can be successful in making it happen. If you don’t understand or cannot manage a complicated proposed behavior intervention plan, speak up! We have to recognize that many skills take time to develop, and that changes in behavior require ongoing supports to be successful. In some cases, especially when you are ignoring a behavior that used to ‘work’ for your child, behavior may get more intense or more frequent before it gets better. Your team should keep good records and track progress and responses to intervention to know if the plan is effective. Being realistic at the outset is crucial. It can help parents and caregivers appreciate that they are making small yet meaningful changes in their lives and the lives of the individual they care for. Making goals realistic means they are achievable. Being realistic keeps the picture positive. It focuses attention on progress towards to a goal, rather than perfection. Setting a real Positive Behaiviour Support Our team should develop strategies for you to use to increase the behaviors you want to see in your child. These will need to be individualized to his  particular needs and challenges. They can often be helpful in building a sense of pride in accomplishments and personal responsibility, and a sense of what is expected. This will reduce the anxiety and reactivity that results in aggression or other behaviors. Some helpful strategies: Celebrate and build strengths and successes: we tell him what he does well and what you like. A sense of competence often fosters interest and motivation. Strive to give positive feedback much more frequently than any correction or negative feedback. ‘Great job putting your dishes in the sink!’ Respect and listen to him: We may have to look for the things he is telling you, verbally or through his choices or actions. ‘You keep sitting on that side of the table. Is the sun in your eyes over here?’ Validate his concerns and emoti ons: Do not brush aside his fears or tell him not to worry. His emotions are very real. Help to give language to what he is feeling. ‘I know you do not like spiders. I can see that you are very afraid right now.’ ‘I can see that you are angry that our plans have changed.’ Provide clear expectations of behavior: Show or tell your child what you expect of him using visual aids, photographs or video models. A great way to teach new skills is Tell-Show-Do. Set him up for success: Provide accommodations. Accept a one word answer instead of demanding a whole sentence. Use a larger plate and offer a spoon to allow him to be neater at the dinner table. Use Velcroshoes or self-tying laces if tying is too frustrating. Ignore the challenging behavior: Do your best to keep the challenging behavior from serving as his way of communicating or winning. This is hard to do, but in the long run it is effective. Do not allow his screams to get him out of brushing his teeth, or his biting to get him the lollipop that he wants. Behaviors may get worse before you start to see them get better. Stay the course! And make sure all family and team members are consistent in this approach and that you pair this with other positive strategies. Alternate tasks: Do something that is fun, motivating or that your child is good at. Then try something hard. He will be less inclined to give up or get agitated if he is already in a positive framework. Teach and interact at your child’s or loved one’s learning level: Take care to set him up for growth and accomplishment, rather than the anxiety produced by constant failure or boredom. Give choices, but within parameters: Everyone needs to be in control of something, even if it is as simple as which  activity comes first. You can still maintain some control in the choices that you offer. ‘Do you want to eat first, or paint first?’ Provide access to breaks: Teach the individual to request a break when he needs to regroup (e.g. use a PECS card that represents â€Å"break†). Be sure to provide the break when he asks so he learns to trust this option and does not have to resort to challenging behaviors. Promote the use of a safe, calm-down place: Teach him to recognize when he needs to go there. This is a positive strategy, not a punishment. Set up reinforcement systems: Use simple, predictable processes that reward your child for desired behavior. Catch him being good and reward that, verbally and with favored activities, objects or ‘payment.’ ‘I love that you stayed with me during our shopping trip. You earned a ride on the airplane toy!’ Allow times and places for him to do what he wants: Even if it is a ‘stim’, it is important to provide these options when it is not an intrusion or annoyance to others. Reward flexibility and self control: ‘I know you wanted to go to the pool today and we were surprised when it was closed. For staying cool and being so flexible about that change in plans, let’s go get some ice cream instead!’ Pick your battles: Strive for balance. Focus on the behaviors and skills that are most essential. Be sure to include positive feedback and intersperse opportunities for success and enjoyment for you, your family, and your loved one with autism. Be resilient. Celebrate the fun and the good things! Use positive/proactive language: Use language that describes what you want the individual to do (e.g. ‘I love how you used a tissue!’ ), and try to avoid saying ‘NO’, or ‘don’t’ (e.g. ‘stop picking your nose.’ ). Setting Realistic Behavioral Goals: Setting goals allows us to objectively measure progress toward an identified desired outcome. It also allows caregivers and parents to ask themselves, â€Å"What behavioral changes would really make the greatest improvements in our lives together?† It allows them to identify what really matters. For instance, it may be more important to address a behavior such as throwing things during a classroom activity than to address that person’s tendency to stand up during meals. Adapt the Environment As you learn to think like a detective about your child’s behaviour, your observations (or the FBA) are likely to show that behaviour occurs at specific times, with certain people or in particular environments. You and your team will need to tune in, learning to recognize the signs of increasing tension, anxiety or frustration that eventually lead to challenging behaviours. Often there is a ramping up, or escalation period, and learning to recognize that early and using many of the approaches here can help to calm a situation and prevent behavioural outbursts. Sometimes these signs may be very subtle—red ears, a tapping foot, heavier breathing, higher pitched speech—but it is essential that everyone on the team responds to the importance of tuning in and working towards de-escalation. Changing the environment can often reduce behavioral episodes. Expand situations, relationships, places and opportunities that are successful. If possible, try to adjust or avoid situations that are triggers for challenging behaviour. Incorporate ways to reduce frustration and anxiety and increase understanding. Below are some things to consider when working to create a more successful environment: Organize and provide structure: Provide clear and consistent visual schedules, calendars, consistent routines, etc. so that the person knows what is coming next. Inform transitions and changes: Recognize that changes can be extremely unsettling, especially when they are unexpected. Refer to a schedule, use countdown timers, give warnings about upcoming changes, etc. we can use Visual Supports: Pictures, text, video modeling and other visuals are best for visual learners, but they are also critical because they provide information that stays. The ATN Visual Supports Tool Kit provides a step-by-step, easy-to-understand introduction to visual supports. Provide a safe place and teach when to use it: A calming room or corner, and/or objects or activities that help to calm (e.g. bean bag) provide opportunities to regroup and can be helpful in teaching self-control. Remove or dampen distracting or disturbing stimuli: Replace flickering fluorescent lights, use headphones to help block noise, avoid high traffic times, etc. Pair companions or staff appropriately for challenging activities or times: Some people are more calming than others in certain situations. If going to the store with dad works better than with  mom, focus on that and celebrate successes. Consider structural changes to your home or yard: These changes might address some of the specifics of your situation to increase independence or reduce the risks when outbursts occur. Making Homes that Work includes a range of potential changes that can be made to reduce property damage, improve safety, and increase choice and independence. Communicate to Others Many families have found it helpful to communicate to those around them about their child’s special needs and some of the behavioral situations that might arise. Sometimes it is helpful to let others know what is going on so that they can also be observers and help provide helpful input about your child. Some families have found it helpful to talk to their neighbours, or to communicate with others in the community using stickers, cards, or other visuals. Parents can carry a note card standing such this one : Positive and Proactive Care: reducing the need for restrictive interventions People with learning disabilities whose behaviour is challenging will have physical interventions used on them at some point in their lives. In the absence of a lawful reason, using force, or threatening to use force, could give rise to a criminal charge, as could locking someone in their room. The Mental Capacity Act defines the unlawfulness, and the appropriate penalties for actions of illtreatment or neglect. A physical intervention in relation to challenging behaviour is described by the British Institute for Learning Disabilities (Harris et al, 1996) as ‘A method of responding to the challenging behaviour of people with learning disability and/or autism which involves some degree of direct physical force which limits or restricts the movement or mobility of the person concerned.’ They define three types of physical intervention direct physical contact between a member of staff and a service user: for example holding a person’s arms and legs to stop them attacking someone the use of barriers such as locked doors to limit freedom of movement: for example placing door catches or bolts beyond the reach of service users materials or equipment that restricts or prevents movement: for example placing splints on a person’s arms to restrict movement. The Department of Health/Department for Education and Skills guidance (2002) outlines the requirements when physical intervention are planned and these include agreement by the multidisciplinary team, including consultation with others as appropriate put in writing, together with the behavioural plan (they should never be the only plan for managing behaviour) be supervised by appropriately trained staff  be recorded, so that the circumstances of any physical intervention and methods used can be monitored. This guidance also emphasises that the physical interventions should be used as infrequently as possible be in the best interests of the service user be part of a broader treatment strategy not cause injury maintain the person’s dignity. And also, The Human Rights Act (HRA)15 imposes a duty on public authorities, (including NHS Trusts, Local Authorities, and police forces) and services exercising functions of a public nature not to act in a manner that is incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights13 (ECHR) rights that have been made part of UK law by the HRA.

Passage Analysis Essay †The Lord Of The Flies by William Golding Essay

â€Å"†¦. he was thin and bony, and his hair was red beneath the black cap. His face was crumpled and freckled, and ugly without silliness. Out of this face stared two light blue eyes, frustrated now, and turning, or ready to turn, to anger.† This is a description of Jack’s physical self. Apart from the fact that his eyes were to turn red because of frustration, Jack sounds like an adorably cute twelve year old. Just like we are always told to never judge a book by its cover, we should never judge a person based on their physical appearance. Jack Merridew is far from an adorable kid. Behind those pretty light blue eyes lies not a human being but a snake, a dog, an ape. An evil prehistoric man, as described on pages 48 and 49. This passage is important because it plays as an introduction of Jack’s true personality, element that is essential in the rest of the novel. In this passage, it is said that Jack is seduced by the sound of pig footsteps on the ground, showing how obsessed he will become later in the book about death. The fact that in this passage he does not succeed at achieving his goal, and becomes frustrated, contributes to the brutality in his future hunts and the creation of a celebration dance. It also contributes to Jack’s realization that he cannot do this alone, bringing the rest of the hunters in to his world of mad savagery. The passage is significant to the whole plot of the book, since it explains the involvement of the other boys in the killing scenes and Jack’s blood driven personality. The scenery described in the passage is also important. It achieves its goal in demonstrating the difficulties presented when being inside the jungle. The dense air that is trapped in between the trees, under their branches makes it a hard place to breathe in. The tangled creepers, branches and bushes in general, make the jungle a hard place to walk through. Another important aspect of the jungle description in the passage, are the pig runs. These will be important in the future of the book since they are the only â€Å"clearing† in the thick jungle and witnesses of the deaths that will occur on them. As said before, the true personality of Jack comes afloat, for the first time in the book in this passage. The way he is described as a snake, is symbolic to the strong evil force in him. Symbolic of how, later on, in the book, he betrayes Ralph and stops at nothing to achieve what he wants. Complete power over the island and its inhabitants. The description of him as a dog is symbolic of his actions. How he just goes ahead with what his instincts tell him, and not really thinking about the consequences of his actions. He is just driven by the fun and freedom these momentarily provide. And last, but not least, his description of being like an ape symbolizes the decrease of civilization in each and every one of the boys. It is a visual comparison of Jack to a prehistoric animal. How he is going back into the basics of mankind. In conclusion to all the reasons presented, on why this passage is significant in the story of Lord of the Flies, it is to be summarized into just one phrase. This passage is simply an excellent introduction to one of the most influencial characters in the novel; Jack Merridew.

List and briefly describe at least five of the programs included with Essay

List and briefly describe at least five of the programs included with Microsoft Office 2010. Provide an example of when you might use each one - Essay Example It is a valuable program for analyzing numerical figures. This program is very helpful in making budget reports, calendars or invoices (Microsoft Corporation, n.d.) The PowerPoint program enables the user to make powerful presentations (Microsoft Corporation, n.d.). It now allows easier coordination with other people through co-authoring which makes it possible for collaborators to work at the same time on one presentation (Microsoft Corporation, n.d.). It is used to make office report presentations and slideshows. This program â€Å"creates professional quality publications and marketing materials† (Microsoft Corporation, n.d.). Publisher is a valuable program for making advertising materials, newsletters, greeting cards and brochures. This is the database program of Microsoft Office. It is used to manage and organize information with the use of its templates and other modular components. This program is very useful in setting up a database of a company’s customers. It is also beneficial for creating database for an organization’s workforce. Microsoft Corporation. (n.d.). Whats new in PowerPoint 2010? Retrieved February 17, 2012, from Microsoft Corporation Web site: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/powerpoint-help/what-s-new-in-powerpoint-2010-HA010336563.aspx Microsoft Corporation. (n.d.). Word 2010 features and benefits. Retrieved February 17, 2012, from Microsoft Corporation Web site:

Dating in the Workplace is not Ethical Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Dating in the Workplace is not Ethical - Essay Example The reason being that â€Å"he had an affair with a female employee† which was not in agreement with the company’s Code of Conduct. The practice of dating happens much often in the workplace setting. People meet each other and get interested in each others’ lives and hobbies, and finally develop relationships. Workplaces are the offline social networks as opposed to the online social networks. Men and women get into contact and start seeing each other. Workplace happens to be a convenient place to go find a suitable person because an employee might not have extra time to spend somewhere else looking for one. However, working in a company does not necessarily mean that one is going to find his soul mate; instead, one is supposed to work toward the establishment of organizational goals and must not jump into relationships because honesty is rare. â€Å"Don’t dip your pen in the company ink!†, is an old saying Gardner quotes in his article. Experts adv ise employees not to date because there are many ethical issues related to it. There are cons of workplace dating that outweigh the pros. But the bitter reality is that employees will not stop dating each other. Let us now discuss the ethical considerations that come with the issue of workplace dating. Ethical Considerations Dr. ... But he decided to make it more than a professional relationship.† This means that although it is perfectly normal to develop a professional relationship between men and women at the workplace, yet it is not suitable by any means to make the relationship personal. Many companies even follow a Code of Conduct that all employees must have to abide by, which prohibits them to date at the workplace. Siegel further asserts that coworker relationships are not that much of an issue as hierarchical relationships like between a boss and a subordinate. When such a relationship develops, it is time for one of the two to quit the job because they are many ethical considerations that are being disturbed. Mixing of sex and power is not at all favorable for the reputation and success of the company in the long run. Sexual Harassment Although workplaces are great places for people to meet and develop relationships, yet an increase in the number of sexual harassment lawsuits warns employees not to develop hasty relationships through dating (Covey and Narvell 130). There are strict penalties for sexual harassment at work and reputed companies do not bear such employees. A male employee may be charged as a sexual harasser if, for example, he has been in a relationship with a female co-employee and after a break-up, still goes after her to patch things up. The latter may file a lawsuit against him for sexual harassment. Also, in case of hierarchical-based relationships, when a boss dates his secretary, for example, then it is not at all necessary that the relationship is mutually consented because there is element of power in it which cannot be ignored. Law will tend to protect the subordinate rather than the boss if at any point in time the former one files a

Segregation along gender lines Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Segregation along gender lines - Essay Example Horizontally, women are disproportionately clustered into a narrow range of jobs that are regularly regarded to be ‘ghetto occupations’. Ghetto occupations have been classified as those which are female dominated and of low status, poor pay, with narrow job content, and that have few prospects of promotion. Introduction Occupational segregation is an obstacle used in the workplace to prevent women from realising their full potential in the market. It can also prevent employers from finding the most qualified personnel to fill job vacancies. Occupational segregation negatively affects the national as well as global economy. In Britain, many female workers are affected by vertical as well as horizontal segregation. This basically means that female workers tend to hold different jobs from the male workers which are of lower status and have lower pay packets. Female workers also tend to be directed towards industries that have a huge demand for workers who only work part tim e. Occupations which are usually peopled by female workers, and which tend to have low pay are often referred to as ‘pink-collar’ jobs or even ‘ghetto’ occupations. Causes of Segregation in the Workplace Limited Access to Career Options Gender stereotyping experienced by women during their formative years can affect their choice of occupation (Van Langen, Bosker and Dekkers, 2006). Gender stereotyping includes implicitly and explicitly expressed social attitudes within a person’s community. ... Even in developed nations like Britain, these attitudes are still present. When women are socialised to take on the ‘helping professions’ such as teaching, nursing, and secretarial work, it affects their decisions about the type of university courses they choose (Tracey and Nicholl, 2007). There are other institutional as well as structural barriers like biased marketing which discourage women from taking advantage of measures such as vocational training programmes for traditionally male jobs. Corporate culture and practice Other realities that compel women to choose to work in occupations that may not afford them large salaries or even a chance for promotion is because of the lack of the implementation of female-friendly practices in many corporate organisations. There are many organisations today that have instituted the acceptance of progressive employment agendas as one of their main objectives (Wynarczyk, 2007). However, this is not often implemented in the corporat e culture. Many women working in corporate organisations have to handle the reality of long hours which leave the worker with no time for his or her family, for example. The abilities of women are also not often viewed as strengths but as good personal skills. For example, the role of teaching young children has traditionally been occupied by women. Pre-school teachers play a very important role in society and are virtually responsible for teaching children all the social skills that are necessary to function in society. However, their importance is downplayed and their salaries are not at par with their services. This means that female workers face constraints in being

Currency Exchange Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Currency Exchange - Essay Example Around 1967 the GBP was devalued by 14 per cent, a major economic policy decision. Since then, the Sterling, on average has either depreciated or appreciated by 14 per cent every two years. The figure below shows how the exchange rate between the Sterling and the United States dollar has performed over a 5 year period. Around the mid 2008 shows a sharp drop in the exchange rate from around 2.0 to a low of 1.4. The significant change in the movement is attributed to the financial recession of the 2008. Sterling/US dollar exchange rate over the last one year For the past one year, the Sterling has been weak against the USD making the USD an expensive and valuable asset. This means that the clients needing to buys the currency are paying more and more. The reason for this slide may be due to the steps forward by Europe and the US. For instance the situation in Italy may be the key factor for the change in exchange rates which could go on for the next couple of weeks. Also, with a furthe r round of Quantitative Easing expected in the UK, the Sterling has been losing ground against the USD. Rates have dropped and whilst many expect this trend to continue should QE be confirmed, this in my view is being priced by the investors. Notably, the pound is not only losing ground against the USD but against other major currencies and the recent drop against the Euro and the Australian Dollar are no coincidence. It is floating around 1.50 against the USD and at an all-time low against the AUD. The following figures give the performance of the Sterling against the USD for a the last 12 months, narrowing down to 6 months and 3 months respectively. Key factors affecting the Sterling Being the sixth largest economy in the world and the third largest economy in Europe, the United Kingdom has a lot to boast about. For instance, the United Kingdom is able to produce over 60 per cent of its food with less than 2 per cent of the labour force. The United Kingdom also has numerous resour ces at its disposal, for instance oil, natural gas and coal. However the country was hit hard the financial crisis with growths rates going down to 0.3 per cent in Quarter 1 of 2010 and 0.4 per cent growth in Quarter 4 of 2009. The UK has a capitalist economy that is highly productive with a strong financial services industry. On a global basis the British Sterling Pound is undervalue. For instance, the purchase price parity shows that the Sterling should fall in value over time, but high investment flow potential means the opposite is what will happen, that is the Sterling will increase in value. According the United Kingdom’s Value Investor Survey, which reflects short term investment, the economic environment is very favourable for long term economic growth because of high scores on the government transparency, economic diversity and economic freedom. An undervalued currency, a favourable business environment and a moderate investment flow potential leads to a positive out look for the United Kingdom investments. Factors that have positively affected the British Sterling Pound are lower rates of unemployment and the foreign students. The UK, the US and Australia are the leading centres in attracting foreign students to study in their countries. These students obviously provide many social and monetary benefits that propel the economic activities of the host countries. Some factors that have negatively affected th

Voting and Turnout Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Voting and Turnout - Essay Example But personally speaking, I don’t agree to their argument. Cost factor of $25 on the registration of voters is a one time cost. If the general opinion favors abolition of the cost that should be considered for exemption by the government and voter IDs should be provided at the government expense so that those who speak against these laws could not find an excuse due to the cost factor of $25. I do not agree with the analysis of the New York Times that the number of 120 fraud cases filed by the Justice Department is not a big enough number. On the contrary, I agree with the opinion of Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, that voting frauds are a genuine threat, and only voter IDs can help check it (Lee, 2012). Any step taken by the government to leak-proof the voting process will help the democratic process in the long run. It is the ethical responsibility of the federal government, irrespective of which party is in power, to provide voter ID cards to the poor classes, senior citizens and minorities at its own cost Lee, S. (2012, Nov. 5). Everything you’ve ever wanted to know about voter ID laws. ProPublica.org. Retrieved from

Higher cigarette taxes make smokers happier Essay

Higher cigarette taxes make smokers happier - Essay Example Each year in the United States, more than 400,000 smokers die of smoking-related illnesses. Smoking kills more people than AIDS, car accidents, alcohol, homicides, illegal drugs, suicides, and fires combined! Diseases associated with smoking include heart disease, lung cancer, chronic bronchitis, and emphysema. Smokeless tobacco is linked to oral cancers and can cause tooth abrasion, gum recession, and leukoplakia.Yet, despite these frightening and startling revelations, people still persists and the few that quit are replaced in many folds by new entrants. This inevitably leads to the question of what could be done to control cigarette consumption by Government in view of the challenges it poses to public health and the Nation manpower development. Government all over the world has toiled with the idea of levying high tax on tobacco products like cigarette in a bid to discourage its consumption.However, whether this has been achieved or not is evidenced in the increase turnover of Tobacco companies. Consider the scenarios below which tend to provide more insight into the effect of higher taxes on the average smoker. Adeolu is 47 years old. He has been smoking cigarette for the past 30 years.

A Brief Review of Creativity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

A Brief Review of Creativity - Essay Example The idea that creativity is a result of brain function is based on observations of patients who experienced the split-brain operation (in them, corpus callosum was cut completely). The authors of the article present brief descriptions and examples of how patient with split brain behave in different situation. Then, the authors describe the fundamental finding that the hemispheres can function both independently and simultaneously. In this regard, Bogen and Bogen present their views on creativity and lack of creativity in the end of the article. More specifically, they state that corpus callosum plays an important role in creativity for it transfers information between the two hemispheres. For creativity, a partial hemispheric independence is important as well due to the fact that it is responsible for the dissociation of different stages creativity goes through in its development. While the above-mentioned stages of creativity take place in different hemispheres, corpus callosum passes the information obtained at these stages from one hemisphere to another, and it is this transfer which results in creativity. Bogen, J. E., and J. M. Bogen. "Split-Brains: Interhemispheric Exchange in Creativity."California Institute of Technology. N.p., 2003. Web. 18 May 2015.

History of public administration Essay Example for Free

History of public administration Essay Glossary Bibliography Biographical Sketch Summary Historical accounts of African public administration often highlight the colonial setting and usually overlook pre-colonial Africa. The African civil service has its roots in precolonial institutions on which European powers relied to build the colonial state and consolidate their administration. Thus, this chapter analyzes the development of African administration from the pre-colonial era up to the present. The first section discusses the pre-colonial period. The colonial system constitutes the second section. The third section deals with the post-colonial period and discusses some problems associated with African administration. 1. The Pre-Colonial Period: From the Ashes of Pharaohs to the Berlin Conference At the end of the prehistoric period (10 000 BC), some African nomadic bands began to settle more permanently in villages along the Nile River to develop the political foundation of ancient Egypt. As these early farmers increased their mastery over soil and animal life, irrigation became a key development strategy to increase food production, which in turn multiplied their populations. Eventually, different villages came to recognize their common interests, to coordinate their efforts and broaden community linkages. People from different communities joined together through confederation or conquest for purposes of commerce or defense, and developed African  ©Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS) PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND PUBLIC POLICY – Vol. I Development of African Administration: Pre-Colonial Times and since Emizet F. Kisangani empires, kingdoms, and chieftaincies. Two types of systems, hierarchical political systems and horizontal or acephalous societies, developed to help generate stable communities and foster prosperity. U SA NE M SC PL O E – C EO H AP LS TE S R S Stateless societies were small political entities and had no bureaucracies as they were mostly based on kinship. Hierarchical societies, however, had bureaucracies to carry out certain functions such as collecting taxes, supervising ceremonies, entertaining dignitaries, and compelling people to do the rulers’ bidding. These polities, which evolved before the arrival of Europeans in Africa, were either centralized or decentralized political entities presided over by emperors, kings, chiefs, or military commanders. The following analysis covers the first hierarchical form of rule that emerged some three millennia BC in ancient Egypt, followed by a brief overview of Medieval Africa. The final sub-section discusses the African administration up to the Berlin Conference in 1884-1885. 1. 1. Ancient Civilization of Africa: The Case of Egypt Around 3300 BC, farming lineages along the Nile Valley joined together as villages to increase production of food and to defend themselves against outsiders. From these villages regional confederations of Upper and Lower Egypt developed. By 3100 BC, a central authority emerged and unified these confederations under the rule of divine pharaohs. From 2700 to 2181, six dynasties succeeded each other to form the Old Kingdom. A century and a half of civil war and provincial rivalries gave rise to the First Intermediate Period and the Middle Kingdoms that ruled Egypt from 2080 to 1640 BC. The Middle Kingdom was replaced by the Second Intermediate Period and the New Kingdom from 1570 to 1090 BC. Three dynasties (18th through 20th) ruled in the New Kingdom and the Third Intermediate Period began around 1089 BC with the Kushite Kings. The Egyptian empire was multinational consequent to the conquest of foreign nations. The Old and Middle Kingdoms were highly centralized and ruled by â€Å"god-kings† or pharaohs. With its capital at Memphis, the Old Kingdom was divided into provinces. Next to the king was the vizier, the administrative hand of the king, who was also in charge of day to day administrative, fiscal, and judicial matters. Although very few administrative documents have survived, court documents provide a glimpse of the Egyptian bureaucracy. Three basic administrative divisions existed: the Department of the Head of the South, the Office of Government Labor, and the Treasury. The Palermo Stone provides further evidence of administrative structure in the collection of revenue and in the assessment of Egyptian wealth. On the Stone was documented a biennial administrative census that left nothing unaccounted for, so that taxes could be assessed even on the basis of canals, lakes, wells, and trees of an estate. The system consisted of a hierarchical structure with diverse administrative agencies spreading throughout the kingdom for effective management. Another governmental task was the administration of justice, on which was founded the concept of ma‘at (or justice), whereby some high priests bore the title of priest of Ma‘at. In addition to the capital city of Memphis, there were other towns of importance that  ©Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS) PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND PUBLIC POLICY – Vol. I Development of African Administration: Pre-Colonial Times and since Emizet F. Kisangani made up provinces headed by town governors, who were also chief priests in charge of temple revenue in many parts of Ancient Egypt. Provincial temples were the subject of central government regulations to avoid any strong power at the provincial level. However, during the first intermediate period, the office of governor in charge of civil affairs became the office of chief priest. U SA NE M SC PL O E – C EO H AP LS TE S R S The role of bureaucracy in these early kingdoms was to facilitate the transfer of resources from different provinces to the king’s court. If early administrations were in charge of maintaining irrigation and agricultural output, later administrations seemed to be more involved in supervising construction work and wealth transfer. The proliferation of these later types of bureaucracies, at the expense of those that used to maintain the agricultural system, would probably have produced pressures on the agricultural output and might have been the first sign of political decay in Ancient Egypt. The centralized system itself between the king, court officers, and ambitious governors may also have led to the same result. The New Kingdom and the Third Intermediate Period generated a great mass of documentation about Egyptian political and administrative life. The form of government remained the same, based on divine kingship. The government always stressed the religious function of the political system. Under the auspices of Gods, the government was expected to maintain the integrity of Egyptian territory and expand its frontiers. The most important function of the government was to create civic and individual security, and the vizier carried out the duty of ensuring that law and regulations were obeyed throughout the bureaucracy. The society was divided into hierarchical stratifications with the king at the top, a small group of high-ranking and wealthy officials next, and a much larger group of bureaucrats (scribes), priests, soldiers, stable masters, citizens, cultivators, and herdsmen filling the bottom layer. The Egyptian political system under the New Kingdom and the Third Intermediate Period was divided into an internal government and a government of conquests. Internally, the civil government was run by two viziers (northern and southern), overseer of the granaries of upper and lower Egypt, and the chief taxing master. The two viziers also supervised the overseer of the treasury and lower level officials in charge of bureaucracy, judiciary, and the police. At the lowest level of the administrative hierarchy were the chiefs, town mayors, and councils. The government of conquests had several governors who supervised vassal kings and their battalion commanders. Most of the Northern Lands were small and scattered, and under the direct control of various battalion commanders. The goal of this decentralization scheme was to obstruct anyone from controlling a large estate and challenging the king’s power. The governor of the Southern Lands was the Viceroy of Kush and his role became important internally at the end of the Twentieth Dynasty. He also supervised two deputies and a battalion commander. Military forces were all centralized under one commander. In addition to these administrative entities, there existed a religious government hierarchy, with the â€Å"overseer of prophets† at the top, a position held at various times by a vizier who was the head of two high priests. Below them was the priesthood bureaucracy. The corps of the centralized system was maintained by a small group of powerful officials. They headed each department and reported directly to the king who appointed  ©Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS) PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND PUBLIC POLICY – Vol. I Development of African Administration: Pre-Colonial Times and since Emizet F. Kisangani and removed them. The bureaucracy consisted of a group of educated scribes whose role consisted of collecting taxes, conducting censuses, regulating agriculture, and administering justice and law with a small police force. A professional army was divided into various units, each with its own hierarchy of officers. U SA NE M SC PL O E – C EO H AP LS TE S R S Pressures on land and rising inflation may have been politically significant in later days of the New Kingdom, though bureaucratic inefficiency and abuse of power were probably the main causes of economic collapse. Besides the deterioration of administrative integrity, another major cause that weakened the kingship was the changing relationship between the king, civil government, army, and a few powerful families. Some families came to control major economic resources of the state, and the civil service became less susceptible to royal control. In addition, the kings’ tours of their provinces became less frequent, and royal princes and other deputies carried out religious rites formerly performed by the kings. During the ensuing Third Intermediate Period (1069 664 BC), Egypt was in perpetual crisis and the Egyptian civilization disappeared after the Roman conquest around 30 BC. In summary, the evolution of Ancient Egypt is characterized by the rise and fall of large scale governments that reflect alternating periods of unification and fragmentation. 1. 2. Medieval Africa Medieval Africa was different from the Ancient in several respects. First, Medieval leaders attempted to balance local traditions and regional autonomy in response to their peoples needs by developing and consolidating large-scale kingdoms and empires for purposes of trade or defense. A second difference was the impact of Islam on African societies. Muslims believed that one God (Allah) called on them to undertake jihads (commonly known as holy war against non-believers) when necessary. The most renowned of Africas medieval empires of Mali, Songhay and Morocco rose to the highest stages of their international influence with Islam as the imperial religion. Other medieval African kingdoms and empires developed indigenous political ideologies based on regional customs and beliefs, while Coptic Christianity remained the official state religion in the Abyssinian kingdom of medieval Ethiopia. In 969 A. D. , Muslims from the Maghreb conquered Egypt and established the Fatimid Dynasty in Cairo (c. 970-1170 A. D. ), which was highly hierarchical and whose military was highly professionalized. This strict hierarchy of officials, and the controlling powers of the vizier, left room neither for the autonomous tendencies of provincial governors nor for the growth of widespread corruption. Tolerant of other religions, the system let Copts and Jews occupy prestigious positions in the administration. The centralized administration controlled tax revenues, the payment of troops, and the allocation of military fiefs. The Fatimid administration was in charge of regulating and distributing the waters of the Nile River. Dams and canals were regularly repaired and improved; even an occasional period of low water did not greatly damage the general economic situation. When the Fatimid rule in Egypt was threatened by European Christian Crusaders (c. 1170), it was Egypts professional soldiers, or Mamluks (slave-soldier), who rallied behind Saladin to defeat the Crusaders. He then established a new Mamluk Dynasty in  ©Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS) PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND PUBLIC POLICY – Vol. I Development of African Administration: Pre-Colonial Times and since Emizet F. Kisangani Cairo from 1171 to1517. By the thirteenth century, the institution of the slave-soldiers became an integral part of the political and social system in many Muslim countries. The Mamluk oligarchy never accepted in its ranks someone who was not a slave soldier, so that the military establishment not only remained hierarchical, but also continued to be a caste dominated by slave soldiers. U SA NE M SC PL O E – C EO H AP LS TE S R S Most Mamluk caliphates were divided into military fiefs centralized under one single Caliph. The basic administrative entity was the village because the Mamluk dynasty obtained most of its revenues from landed estates. A major innovation to ensure payment was that the peasants were prohibited from leaving their villages without permission. In addition to land taxes, the Mamluk caliphates drew their revenues from customs duties, based on ad valorem and the religion of the merchants, so that Christian importers had to pay taxes as high as 30%, whereas Muslim importers paid only 10%. This canonical tax was abolished under the reform of 1316. Several other kingdoms, such as Ghana and Mali, developed in Medieval Western Sudan. But the best known was the Kingdom of Songhay founded around the trading town of Gao (c. 1000 A. D. ). The Songhay Kingdom broke away from Mali and subsequently arose to become the third great empire in the medieval western Sudan (c. 1460-1590). Songhays founding emperor, Sunni Ali, established imperial authority northward into the Sahara in order to control international trade routes and valuable deposits of rock salt (which was mined and cut into large blocks to be traded for gold). Following Ali’s death, one of his generals, Muhammad Toure, overthrew the legitimate heir, and embarked on a hajj to Mecca. In 1496 he returned to wage jihad against nonMuslims. He conquered new territories and ruled over Songhays expanded empire as Caliph of West Africa. Under Muhammads authority (1493-1528), Songhay, especially the towns of Timbuktu and Jenne, rose to become one of the medieval worlds largest multinational empires. The administrative system was open enough to provide lower level citizens some type of upward social mobility. The empire was highly decentralized and Islam was used as a tool to assimilate different communities. Different categories of slaves cultivated fields, constructed adobe buildings and mosques, acted as porters, or served as soldiers and officials in the imperial government. Some of the latter rose through government and military bureaucracies by virtue of meritorious work to achieve high positions of administrative responsibility, as did soldier Muhammad Toure, when he rose by military merit to become a general and then became the emperor of Songhay. As emperor of Songhay, Muhammad established effective central supervision over provincial governors. He also reformed Songhays imperial government so that merit (rather than birth) became the principal criterion for advancement in bureaucracy. Eventually, after Muhammad became blind and was deposed in 1528, Songhays trans-Saharan trade declined. This was also partly due to competition from European sea traders along the West African Atlantic coast, which undercut the trans-Saharan gold trade. After severe political crises of succession disputes, rebellions and civil war that Songhay emperors faced during the 1580s, their imperial army was decisively defeated by Moroccos elite musketeers at the Battle of Tondibi in 1591. Other kingdoms and chieftaincies came up throughout Central, Eastern and Southern  ©Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS) PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND PUBLIC POLICY – Vol. I Development of African Administration: Pre-Colonial Times and since Emizet F. Kisangani Africa. Although some of these polities were decentralized or confederated, most of them developed as centralized systems where the king or the chief represented the top, followed by the house of the king or an inner circle of advisors, and finally the Council of Elders as the legislative branch. The army and bureaucrats were in charge of maintaining security and law, collecting taxes, and conducting censuses. In most polities, age was a major social feature of stratification, while in other areas the system was meritocractic. 1. 3. Beyond the Medieval Era to the Nineteenth Century U SA NE M SC PL O E – C EO H AP LS TE S R S In the late 1500s and through the 1700s, Europeans and Arabs introduced new weapons and made new demands for captives of war throughout Africa to meet the demands of a growing international slave trade. Consequently, many of Africa’s previous patterns of political and economic growth were disrupted, even though many of the great traditions of medieval African politics and administration continued to guide their evolution. As African kingdoms and empires continued to develop, and trade between coastal cities and interior regions expanded throughout the continent, various African peoples established political confederations based on religious ideology, commercial linkages and/or military authority. Such confederations were committed to establishing broader nationalist ideologies, promoting literacy and advancement by merit, expanding both regional and international commerce, and undertaking significant administrative and military reforms. The first great reformer and leader in North Africa was an Ottoman military commander, Muhammad Ali (1805-1848). He established the first secular schools, engineering and medical colleges, modern factories, modern printing presses, and stateowned textile and munitions factories. His successors continued his policies of borrowing foreign capital and building projects, such as the Suez Canal that was completed in 1869. In the west, the original Asante confederation, established by seven clans near the city of Kumasi (in modern day Ghana), united around the symbolic Golden Stool of their ruler Asante-Hene. This confederation built roads and promoted agriculture, commerce, industry and education through self-help and self-reliance. The Asante emperors implemented several modernization policies in administration that included promoting advancement by merit and the development of state enterprise through public investment. By 1874, the British imperial army defeated the Asante army and annexed the Fante territories into their Gold Coast colony. In East Africa (c. 1800-1885), there was also a movement toward centralization of authority and broadened commercial linkages throughout the region, from Ethiopia’s Highlands to the Limpopo River in Southern Africa. In the first half of the nineteenth century, however, Africa continued to be significantly disrupted by international trade in slaves, even as new Euro-American markets began to demand large imports of such African-based commodities as palm oil, cotton, peanuts, and ivory. By mid-century, European merchants realized that Africans could produce such valuable exports more efficiently and humanely by working in their own countries than by working as slaves in the Americas. Many other nineteenth century African nations were consciously modernizing their various political economies and shifting to regional confederacies,

A Character Study Of Patrick Bateman Essay Example for Free

A Character Study Of Patrick Bateman Essay This character study focuses on is Patrick Bateman, the anti-hero protagonist of American Psycho, an often misunderstood satire of the upper class American lifestyle by Bret Easton Ellis. The book is set in New York in the 1980s, and let the reader see through the eyes of the protagonist himself by using first narrative. Therefore when reading the novel it feels as if one is reading a diary, although there are no strict time intervals between each chapter. The storyline is very simple. The novel depicts the everyday life of Patrick Bateman with every minute detail. We are put right into a typical scene of Batemans life straightaway at the start when we see him and his friends at a posh dinner party. Immediately we get the idea that he is very rich and lives his life in style. The foods at the dinner party are exotic and Bateman couldnt help keep showing off his platinum American Express Card. Like his friends, he loves to mock homeless people and those less fortunate than him. One of his favourite tricks is to pretend handing a dollar note to a beggar and then taking it away in the last second whilst taking pleasure from the disappointment of his victim. He also possesses some good qualities. For example, he is extremely intelligent and shows disgust in discrimination of any kind, provided that those people are on the same level as him. He even ridiculed a colleague for his anti-Semitic comments. However these good qualities are actually a fai ade, hiding his true personality. Contrary to what appears, he is strongly homophobic, racist, anti-Semitic and unfair to women. This can be demonstrated by his opinion of rap music, describing it as too niggerish. His views on women were they are only there to help men carry on the human race. Patrick Bateman is also very health conscious. Except for an occasional cigar, he does not smoke and loathes others who do. He also imposes a strict healthy foods regime on himself. His regime is somewhat similar to a vegans. He eats mostly fruit and almost never meat, with a special emphasis on exotic foods. His favourites include kiwi fruit paste and Japanese apple-pears, costing him an inordinate amount for each. To complement his dietary regime, Bateman frequently utilizes his exclusive, private health centre named Xclusive. Furthermore, he uses a wide range of health care products and medicines. These are actually Ellis exaggeration of what happens in real life, where the social elites desperately try and keep themselves healthy, with any means possible. During the day Bateman can be seen as a normal upper class person, but during the night things are completely different. When asked about what he does during the night, he replies I have to return some video tapes. This has become the euphemism of his night-time activities. At night, he indulges himself in murdering innocents and raping unfortunate individuals. Sometimes the shock of doing these things gets to him, and he starts to have panic attacks. Its during these panic attacks we see really how weak he is. He often confesses his crimes to total strangers. However they always ignore him and think its a joke. This, combined with how characters in the book often mistakes one person for another, is Ellis way of representing how in the modern world we dont really care about who we are talking to. One thing that cannot be ignored about the novel is how explicit it is. Rapes, murders and grotesque actions are described with nothing left out. For example, in one of the scenes Patrick Bateman drinks his own urine and in another scene, he cuts out the eyes of a homeless person. To give you an idea of what the language is like, heres an extract from the book: I push the serrated blade into its [a dogs] stomach and quickly slice open its hairless belly in a squirt of brown blood, its legs kicking and clawing at me, then blue and red intestines bulge out and I drop the dog onto the sidewalk. He [the owner] just stare in horror saying oh my god oh my god as the sharpei drags itself around in a circle, its tail wagging, squealing, and it starts licking and sniffing the pile of its own intestines, spilled out in a mound on the sidewalk, some still connected to its stomach. From this you can see how graphical the book is. Unfortunately this is only a small piece of the whole story and this extract is the most weak in terms of disgust in the book. This simply enforces the idea of how demented and psychotic Patrick Bateman is. The irony of the novel is that Bateman does completely opposite things whilst insisting what he does is always right. For example, he often mocks his colleagues for making discriminatory comments, but he is secretly just as discriminatory. While he outlandishly keeps himself fit and healthy, he abuses cocaine and anti-depressants. This is the core of Ellis satire, where he makes fun of the upper class, which insists on their perfection but actually is ignorant on how imperfect they are. Also in the novel Bateman dedicates a single chapter plus many parts of other chapters detailing his material wealth. Also he tirelessly compares his belongings to those of someone else. Indeed in one scene he discovered that another persons business card was of a better quality and design than his and thus started to have intense jealousy for that person. This can be interpreted as Ellis satire directed at the greed of humans and our desperate struggle to have the best of everything. After he commits his final murder, Bateman does not feel good and high as he described it. Instead, he feels nothing. Not even killing can satisfy him now. It is astounding how he was never suspected of any of the numerous murders he committed. At the end we discover that he may have imagined all his acts of atrocity. This deliberate ambiguity is the only mercy Ellis has for this truly evil character. Despite this, I pity Patrick Bateman, for he tried to find pleasure, like we all do but in other ways, and failing to do so. In the end, he is left hollow with no emotion left whatsoever. Its pitiful how one can become mentally deranged on ones quest for personal gain.

Protein Purification Methods And Structure Functions Biology Essay

Protein Purification Methods And Structure Functions Biology Essay Protein purification is the method by which particular protein of interest is being separated from a complex mixture. This is a very important process in order to understand the structure, function and interactions of particular protein. First of all separation of protein from the matrix containing it and then its separation from non protein parts and finally separating desired protein from other proteins. There are three general analytical purification methods on the basis of protein properties. Firstly on the basis of isoelectric point, then size or molecular mass and lastly on the basis of hydrophobicity or polarity. Purification of protein is generally dependent upon its properties which are determined by its amino acid sequence. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protein_purification). Molecular parameters of human TNF alpha such as molecular weight and isoelectric point was studied by using the postparam program of ExPASY web tool. The molecular weight was found to be 58675.5 and th eoretical pI was 5.06. Purification The recombinant human TNF alpha is synthesized by the transformed K. lactis and was secreted out into the nitrogen free minimal medium because of ÃŽÂ ±-MF signal sequence present in the expression vector pkLAC2. Purification of human TNF alpha was done in few steps procedure. The first step in the purification of particular protein is its recovery from the medium and in this case TNF alpha is released outside of the cell in extra cellular medium. This is done by the help of centrifugation at 5000 rpm for 20 minutes to separate cells and the culture media. The desired protein is present in the supernatant from where it is collected and subjected to further purification. Affinity Chromatography The human TNF alpha protein has been tagged with the hemagglutinin (HA) peptide. In order to purify the protein, Pierce HA Tag IP/Co-IP Kit (Thermo Fisher Scientific, 2010) was used that provide affinity resin and other reagent to perform immunoprecipitation or co-immunoprecipitation reactions by using HA tagged protein as bait. This kit contains the prepared agarose affinity resin, buffers, microcentrifuge spin columns, a positive control and easy-to-follow instructions. Highly specific anti- HA anitibody is covalently immobilized on the beaded agarose in the kit. There is precipitation of HA tagged protein on the agarose after incubation. This specific interaction complex is being easily eluted from the resis by using simple washing steps and then is supplied with SDS-PAGE sample loading buffer for further analysis. SDS-PAGE After isolating and extraction of the desired protein, its purity is checked by using a technique known as SDS-PAGE (Sodium dodycyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel). SDS-PAGE is a technique used for the characterization and separation of peptides and proteins in a complex mixture. The characterization of SDS-PAGE depends upon the molecular weight of a particular protein and its electrophoretic mobility. The structure of protein also effects its migration of protein through the gel. Sodium dodycyl sulphate (SDS) is anionic surfactant produce a negative charge coat on the proteins. These charged particles move towards their opposite charge electrode under the influence of electric fluid during electrophoresis. The electrophoresis of the protein through the gel is majorly affected by the ionic composition, pH and temperature of electrophoretic medium. In electrophretic migration, the pour size of the gel is also one of the major factors that affect electrophoresis. (Creighton, 1998) After loading the sample, the gel was run at constant current for 2-3 hours. Uniform bands were observed on the gel indicating the purity of protein. Mass spectrometry Mass spectrometry is a technique which can be used to determine the purity of protein. As molecular weight of a protein is an important characteristic, that can indicate its purity. Mass spectrometer is a technique that detects mass to charge ratio of ions. The procedure involved is first loading of the sample for ionization in mass spectrometer. The molecules can be manipulated easily when they are ionized. These ionized molecules are separated on the basis of their mass to charge ratio in analyzer region. Afterwards, these separated ions are detected analyzed by the detector. Mass spectrometer works in a high vacuum, so that the traveling of the ions is not hindered by the air molecule during their passage from one end to the other. The mass obtain in the result is analyzed and compared with the known mass of TNF-alpha. In case of similarity in the masses, it is confirmed that the protein is completely pure. Any dissimilarity indicates that the protein is not completely purified. (Creighton, 1998) Biological Activity of TNF-alpha The biological activity of TNF-alpha can be determined by Human TNF-alpha Elisa kit (Signosis, Inc 2010). The principle of this assay is based upon solid phase ELISA. The mouse anti human TNF-alpha antibody is used in this assay for immobilization of TNF-alpha protein. For detection purpose, goat anti human TNF-alpha antibodies, which are conjugated to horseradish peroxidase (HRP) with streptavidin are used. The two antibodies and the sample are incubated for allowing the reaction to take place. It leads to a sandwich formation of TNF-alpha protein in between the two antibodies. The wells are then washed after incubation, so that the unbound enzyme-linked antibodies are removed. Tetramethylbenzidin (TMB) is added in the well which is a HRP substrate. It develops a blue color while reacting with streptravidin-HRP conjugate. A stop solution is then added which changes the blue color into yellow. It is then analyzed spectrophotometrically. Absorbance is measured at 450 nm. (Signosis, In c 2010) Component of Human TNF-alpha Elisa Kit Mouse anti-human TNF-alpha antibody coated 96 well microplate. Goat anti-human TNF-alpha antibodies, biotin labeled. Streptravidin-HRP conjugate. Substrate. Standard recombinant TNF-alpha (290ng/ml) Assay wash buffer. Blocking buffer. Stop solution.

Observational Abilities Test :: essays research papers

Observational Abilities Test INTRODUCTION What is true in the eyes of one, can be seen as a delusion in another. We, as a society, are made up of a dramatically diverse amalgam of cultures and abilities. Finding out what those differences are can help us reach a better understanding of each other, thus a more equitable relationship can be developed. Therefore, finding the observational abilities of a given group may help yield some interesting and valuable information. In the following study several groups were tested on their observational abilities. In order to develop such a test, it was necessary to devise a structured approach for gathering and interpreting the information. Therefore, the scope of the test was formulated based on hypothesis testing. The following hypothesis was established as the criterion for the test: Null hypothesis (Ho) : Males and females do not have different observational abilities Alternative Hypothesis (H1) : Males and females do have different observational abilities EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN The study consisted of 3 groups of varying size and structure. During the initial phase, the members of the study were unaware that any test was being conducted. The locations of the test were Wilford Hall Medical Center : Primary Care Meeting, University of the Incarnate Word : World Literature Class, and University of Texas at San Antonio : Business Statistics Class. The sample sizes and constructs were as follows: Wilford Hall Medical Center : 30 people - 19 (F) 11 (M) University of the Incarnate Word : 19 people - 9 (F) 10 (M) University of Texas at San Antonio: 32 people - 11 (F) 21 (M) The test subjects were all presented with the same scenario, given the normal degree of variation. The procedure of the test was as follows: - The instructor/manager was advised that a test would be conducted sometime during the period. - A male messenger with black hair and wearing a blue shirt and slacks, would enter the room unannounced. - The messenger would hand an envelope to the instructor. - The messenger would then say, "This is from Debbie". - The messenger would then exit the room. The instructor/manager had been asked to wait 10 minutes, then the instructor/manager would pass out a form for the respondents to fill out (Results: Sample Form). All the data was compiled and corrected, then the data was inputted into the SPSS statistical program for analysis. Each correct answer on the form was given a value of 10 and each incorrect answer was given a value of 0. The male and female respondents were analyzed individually by sex and group (Results: Descriptives), Then the relevant scores and data of the groups were evaluated against each

Foodborne Illness Essay -- Food Illness Health Medical Essays

Foodborne Illness   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Food borne illnesses are caused by consuming contaminated foods or beverages. There are many different disease-causing microbes, or pathogens. In addition, poisonous chemicals, or other harmful substances can cause food borne illnesses if they are present in food. More than two hundred and fifty different food borne illnesses have been described; almost all of these illnesses are infections. They are caused by a variety of bacteria, viruses, and parasites that can be food borne. (Center 1)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Food safety is an increasingly important public health issue. Governments all over the world are intensifying their efforts to improve food safety. Food borne illnesses are diseases, usually either infectious or toxic in nature, caused by agents that enter the body through the ingestion of food. â€Å"In industrialized countries, the percentage of people suffering from food borne diseases each year has been reported to be up to 30%. In the United States of America, for example, around 76 million cases of food borne diseases, resulting in 325,000 hospitalizations and 5,000 deaths, are estimated to occur each year.† (Geneva 2)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The most commonly recognized food borne infections are those caused by the bacteria Campylobacter, Salmonella, and E. coli 0157:H7, and by a group of viruses called Calicivirus, also know as the Norwalk viruses. â€Å"Thousands of types of bacteria are naturally present in our environment, but not all bacteria cause disease in humans.† (Schmutz 1)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Campylobacter is a bacterial pathogen that causes fever, diarrhea, and abdominal cramps. It is the commonly identified bacterial cause of diarrhea illness in the world. These bacteria live in the intestines of birds, and most raw poultry meat has the bacteria in it. Eating undercooked chicken or other food that has been contaminated with the juices dripping from raw chicken is the most frequent source of this particular infection.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Salmonella is also a bacterium that is widespread in the intestines of birds, reptiles, and mammals. It can spread to the human species a variety of different ways; through foods or animal origins. Some examples of food involved in outbreaks are eggs, poultry and other meats, raw milk and chocolate. The illnesses it causes are typically fever, diarrhea, and abdominal cramps. In people with poor underlying health or weakened immune... ... the time out to inspect the food you are grabbing. Make sure dates are current, the color is normal, the temperature is normal, and it was properly prepared (washed or cooked). A college student could become very sick or even die from a small mistake. Students need to be cautious with their busy lives. Work Cited Archuleta, M. (n.d), Keeping Food Safe. Guide E-508, pp. 1-11, 10/7/2003, www.cahe.nmsu.edu/pubs/_e/e-508.html Bogart, Carol. Kids hospitalized, festival cancelled in wake of E. coli outbreak at Wyandot County Fair. 6 October 2001 http://www.oweb.com/Advertiser-Tribune/text/N100601a.html Center for Disease Control, Food borne illness. 3 September 2003   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  http://www.cdc.gov/nicidod/dbmd/diseaseinfo/foodborneinfections_g.htm â€Å"FDA Sees Surge In Food Poisoning Dietary changes, imports cause risk.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  San Francisco Chronicle 18 March 2001: A8. Geneva, Sue. Food Safety and Food borne Illness. 25 January 2002   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  http://www.who.int/inf-fs/en/fact237.html Greene, Alan. Food Poisoning. Dr. Greene.com. 7 August 2002 . Schmutz, P.H. Food borne Illness: Prevention Strategies. 2 February 1999   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  http://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheet/HGIC3620.htm

Gillian Anderson :: essays research papers

Gillian Anderson has exceeded the point of recognition, and has become a role model for young and old alike. Her popularity has evolved over the years due in part for her notorious role as Special Agent Dana Scully, on the once cult hit television series The X-Files. With the show now entering its 7th season, presumed to be its last, the concern of the once apprehensive Gillian losing the role of Scully is no longer an aspect. The reputation of the character has brought the actress apperception, which has lead to her being featured on magazine covers, in books, on CDs, at conventions, in movies, and she’s one of the most popular candidates for a website to be created about. Nonetheless, Gillian Anderson has gone from virtually unknown to known all over the world, and that itself is reason enough for her to be written, and read, for that matter, about. Gillian Leigh Anderson began her life in Cook County, Chicago on August 9, 1968. By the time she was only a mere 6 months old, her and her family were residing in Puerto Rico. At the age of 1, she relocated once again, this time in London, England. At this point, it is safe to say that the Anderson family was somewhat nomadic. Now being an inhabitant of England, the family moved several more times. At the age of 5, Gillian was living in Crouch End in north London, where she attended her first school. By this time Gillian had spent most of her life in London but had picked up her parents’ American accent. Her classmates teased and taunted her, and she was bullied in the schoolyard. She immediately learned how to fight back, and she practiced her north London accent until it became impeccable enough to call her own. By the time Gillian was 11, with a settled home life, lots of friends, and the memories of once being an outsider well behind her, her parents decided to move ba ck to the United States. Gillian and her family relocated for the last time, in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Now back in the states, Gillian’s accent once again alienated her from the other children, but this time it was for obtaining a British, not American, accent. She had left the exciting London behind and by contrast Grand Rapids hardly measured up. Grand Rapids is a sleepy prairie town, and the kids were totally out of it as far as she was concerned.

Animal Farm Essay

In the novel ‘Animal Farm’, power is what destroys the farm in the end. Although power can be used for good, it can also be used for evil when too much is given. The quote â€Å"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely† (Lord Acton) is portrayed in this book. In the beginning of the novel, Old Major uses his power over the animals to carry through his plan of the Rebellion. It could be argued that the way he was using his power was for the good of the farm, but he took advantage of his status at the farm and used it to persuade them into doing what he wanted. â€Å"Old Major (so he was always called, though the name under which he had been exhibited was Willingdon Beauty) was so highly regarded on the farm that everyone was quite ready to lose an hour’s sleep in order to hear what he had to say† (Orwell 25). This was the beginning of the use of power. After Old Major had died, the power had been passed along to the other pigs Napoleon, Snowball and Squealer. This is when we start to see the power turning into evil. In the beginning they wanted to make it a truly equal society and they did this by making the Seven Commandments; one including â€Å"All animals are equal†. But throughout the book, we see that the pigs become the ‘leaders’, which therefore means that everyone is not equal. The pigs naturally have the power because of their intellect. â€Å"The pigs did not actually work, but directed and supervised others. With their superior knowledge it was natural that they should assume the leadership† (Orwell 45). The pigs use their superior knowledge and their power to brainwash and convince the other animals of whatever they wanted them to think or do. They would change the commandments to whatever suited them, and the other animals would just follow along because â€Å"Napoleon is always right†. The pigs would twist their own words, like voluntary, to make them think they had freedom. â€Å"This work was strictly voluntary, but any animal who absented himself from it would have his rations reduced by half† (Orwell 73). Wherever there is power, there is always conflict. Napoleon and Snowball were both in power, but Napoleon wanted it all for himself so he got rid of  Snowball with his dogs. After this everything got worse. Napoleon had all the power to himself, which made him greedy and evil. There was food shortages and hard labour for everyone but the pigs. The pigs had special treatment like living in the farmhouse and sleeping in beds. â€Å"It was absolutely necessary, he said, that the pigs, who were the brains of the farm, should have a quiet place to work in† (Orwell 79). The pigs used their power for these benefits. Eventually Napoleon was ‘elected’ president. He used his power to make the animals think they were voting, but really there was only one candidate. At the end of the book we find out that all of the hard work put into the Rebellion and into getting rid of the humans to make the animals lives better, was all a waste of time. The power got to the pigs heads and made them turn the farm into something even worse than it was before. The pigs had turned into exactly what they were fighting to get rid of. The abuse of power is what made the pigs become like humans. â€Å"Twelve voices were shouting in anger, and they were all alike. No question, now, what had happened to the faces of the pigs. The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which† (Orwell 139). Power can mean many different things. In ‘Animal Farm’, power was abused and was used for evil. It was used to take control over others, and to take away their freedom. This novel proves that equality in a society is impossible to achieve. The need to have and to gain power will always get in the way of being a truly equal society.