Alzheimer's Agitation Prevention Music Therapy Research Paper

Alzheimer's Agitation Prevention Music Therapy - Research Paper Example Moreover, caretakers are also in a happy mood while serving the food making a psychological impact on the patient. The present article highlights the chief themes of agitation as well as aims to examine how intervention of music could control agitation in Alzheimer's patients. Introduction Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a debilitating condition that affects the elderly population. According to Peng (2003), dementia is a condition that â€Å"affects problem solving ability, decision making, judgement, our ability to orient ourselves in space, and our ability to put together simple sentences and understand and communicate with words†¦Dementia is a permanent, progressive disease that affects mostly the elderly.† AD is also a kind of dementia influencing memory of the individual, difficulties in languages, gross motor co-ordination is severely affected, the cognitive abilities are influenced, the decisive power of the individual is affected and thus an overall personality of the individual is altered (Alzheimer's Association, 2004). Agitation is considered as an improper verbal or motor activities. Patients may display four kinds of agitation behavior which are expressed under different themes- * Non-aggressive Verbal Behavior: Under this category illogical jabber takes place. The patient may ask repeated questions, bringing irritation to the caretaker. * Non-aggressive Physical Behavior is displayed when the patient gets bored, frightened or confused and seek security as well as expression for pain. The patient display rapidity, drifting, boring body motions, hoarding or stakeout. * Aggressive Verbal Behavior- The patient may utter abusive words, may curse the care takers which could be awful for the loved ones. * Aggressive Physical Behavior- Patient may display aggression in the form of physical action such as beating, scraping or kicking the care takers. These actions could be sometimes dangerous for the loved ones of the caretakers (Management of Agit ation Behavior). Management of agitation is of paramount significance for Alzheimer's patients. Modification of environment could serve as an imperative step to reduce the agitation. Music is known to be an entertaining action therefore listening to music have positive health implications. Music is calming to ears, relaxes brain and removes gloom and stress. Numerous studies disclose that music has the power to help ailing, injured, physically challenged, mentally unsound individuals or elderly population. These studies indicate that the presence of music serves as a therapy for these cases. Playing patient's favorite music can diminish the agitation. Music enhances the uptake of meals, relaxes the body when played during bath or exercise, fill the individual with positivity and enthusiasm. According to Clark et al (1998), music provides mental strength to the Alzheimer's disease and those suffering with dementia. Their study indicate that music afford a positive advantage as it aid s in diminishing agitation. This is displayed through the behavior of the patient as the patient becomes less aggressive especially during bath time and they also display reduced requirement for physical control. Literature Review Various studies have been carried out across the globe to study

What were the main effects of the 1979-1997 Conservative governments Essay Example for Free

What were the main effects of the 1979-1997 Conservative governments Essay What were the main effects of the 1979-1997 Conservative governments reforms to collective labour law and what distinguishes the approach taken by the current Labour administration? In order to answer this question collective labour law must be explained and defined so the effects of each government can be focussed in the appropriate area. This essay will then move on to examine the situation prior to 1979 so as to assess the extent of the Conservative administrations impact of collective labour law at that time, a type of before and after measurement. Having done this, the emphasis will switch to examining Thatcherite and Conservative ideology hoping therefore to explain the mechanics of the legislation that the Tories then introduced. Its effects will then be assessed. After this point this essay will turn its attention to Labour Party ideology, in order to use it as a means of putting into context the legislation which the party has introduced, this will then be assessed in greater detail. The link between New Labours administration and the European influence will also be examined at this point in the essay, and how this has impacted on British collective labour law. A summary will then be given and all conclusions will be drawn together in order to answer the set question. Brown (1993) said, It is generally more useful to use the term [collective labour law] to cover a broader set of joint regulatory behaviour, whereby employers deliberately permit representatives of employee collectives to be involved in the management of the employment relationship. This generally means that employers choose to liase with union representatives to discuss the manner in which the company is run and debate issues affecting its employees. Collective labour law is the legislation outlined by the government that regulates this area of bargaining and discussion, including union regulation, recognition, membership, organisation and industrial action (of all kinds). The Labour Party, formed in 1893, has its roots firmly in the industrialisation era. It is traditionally working class in membership. Jon Monks (cited in Salamon pg104) said that Labour and the trade unions had shared values: primacy of collective bargaining, expansion of the welfare state and state intervention to promote economic growth and employment. The Labour Party was elected to power in 1974. Though as New Labour the party has now adopted The Third Way at that time, it still supported the Corporatist ideology, part of which meant supporting the trade unions and collective bargaining. During this time, trade unions accounted for ninety per-cent of party membership, [provided the party with] eighty per-cent of its annual income [and] sponsored fifty per-cent of its MPs (Salamon pg105). The Employment Protection Act of 1975 (and Employment Protection (Consolidation) Act of 1978 encouraged trade union membership and activities as well as legislated so that statutory time off had to be given in order to enable union officials to complete their union duties. The act also facilitated trade union recognition by employers (under section 11 of the EPA 1975) with the instigation of a set union recognition procedure involving ACAS (Advisory Conciliation and Arbitration Service), and obliged employers to consult and share information with unions regarding organisational changes and matters directly affecting employees. However in an effort to protect all employees, not just union members, the act also provided legal procedures for extending the terms and conditions of the employment contract where major unions were not recognised and could not bargain on behalf of the employees. The legislation from that particular Labour administration also promoted conciliation, arbitration and employees participation (in the bargaining process). The act also tried to regulate incomes with the setting up of 26 regional wages councils to standardise incomes and set recommended minimum wage levels. In 1980 trade union membership in the following unions was; Transport and General Workers Union, 1887000, the Amalgamated Engineering Union, 1166000 and the General Municipal Boilermakers Union stood at 916000. In 1979 total union membership stood at 13447000 with a union density of 55. 4% (Bain Pierce 1983). It can be seen from the above that the Labour administration of 1974-1979 was one of support for trade unions, collective bargaining and collective labour law. Membership of trade unions was, it can now be see, at an all time high. However, all this was to change once the Conservatives came to power under Margaret Thatcher in 1979. According to Farnham, (1999, p215) [the change in State policy] had considerable implications for public policy on employee relations, which shifted from one focused on voluntary collective bargaining in conditions of full employment and strong trade unions (with attempts at bargained corporatism through social contracts) to neo-laissez-faire. Thatcherite and Tory ideology was indeed one of laissez-faire, liberalist (neo-unitarist) foundations. It was a kind of economical Darwinism, survival of the fittest. Mrs Thatcher is famous for having apparently said that there is no such thing as society. For this reason it is not possible to legislate for the benefit of it, only for individuals. According to Salamon (2000: p292) the Conservative government aimed to redress the perceived power imbalance in favour of trade unions and allow management to re-exert its prerogative which was to promote responsible trade unionism, to protect individual members against union tyranny and to promote employment opportunities and labour flexibility through de-regulating employment. It can be seen from this statement that the Conservative government very much believed in the individuals right not to join a trade union, and to give back control (it having been removed by the unions ability to strike without notice) of industries to the organisations themselves. Blyton and Turnbull (1994 p155) describe Mrs Thatchers opinion as being that the nationalised industries which should have virtue on their side were hopelessly distorted and confined by state control and the absence of market competition. The unions, who were beneficiaries of these monopolies were accomplices to the most scandalous inefficiencies and had to be stripped of power. This philosophy could perhaps explain the reason why the Conservatives chose to introduce eight acts of legislation affecting the unions within thirteen years. These acts covered three main points. They restricted the scope of lawful industrial action thereby reducing trade union power. They established rights to disorganise (Lewis cited in Salamon p107) by establishing non-membership rights thereby undermining the maintenance of collective relations. The final point is that the legislation intervened in the internal affairs of trade unions by promoting a representational democratic model, thereby reducing the influence of activists in union decision making. The acts themselves are listed as follows: The Employment Act 1980; this reduced employment rights under unfair dismissal and reduced in instances in which dismissal could be classed as unfair. It also placed restrictions on closed shops (where all employees must be union members) in that an employee could work in a closed shop but not be a member on the grounds of strongly held political convictions. New closed shops now needed 80% of its work force to be in agreement or 85% of all those voting in order to make their place of work a closed shop. A right to be re-instated after maternity leave was introduced, the trade union recognition procedure was repealed, a code of conduct regarding picketing was established and secondary picketing (picketing away from the site of the dispute) was outlawed. Secondary and sympathetic (workers in differing industries striking in support of other workers) strikes had restrictions placed on them. The grounds for refusal to join a trade union were extended. The Employment Act 1982; this reinforced many points from the previous act including the restrictions on closed shops, and protection and compensation payments for non-members. Ballots on closed shops had to be taken in all existing arrangements across the UK, and union labour only commercial contracts became illegal. The act made it legal to selectively dismiss striking employees and redefined trade dispute in that political strikes became illegal. The act also removed trade union immunities from the civil courts (which affected strike action). The Trade Union Act 1984; this act concerned itself with the internal affairs of the trade unions. It stated that ballots had to be held every five years to elect officials to the unions National Executive Committees, secret ballots had to be held before industrial action took place (and not more that four weeks before the action was to take place). Ballots also had to be taken to establish who the union was to give its political funding and this had to be reaffirmed every ten years. The act also redefined political objects on which the unions political fund could be spent. The Wages Act 1986; after this act the wages councils (of which there were twenty six) were only allowed to specify a single minimum wage rate of pay and a single overtime rate which applied to every worker regardless of skill. Workers under twenty one were no longer covered by this wage protection. The Sex Discrimination Act 1986; this removed the exemption that the small firms (five or less employees) had from the Sex Discrimination Act of 1975. The Employment Act 1988; under this act a union must hold separate ballots for industrial action if those who are likely to take part in such action have different places of work. Ballot papers must ask whether the member is prepared to take strike action or action short of a strike. Members were given the right not to be unjustifiably disciplined by their union, and a new commissioner for the Rights of Trade Union Members was appointed. The Employment Act 1990; when this act was passed pre-entry closed shops became illegal, unions became vicariously liable if any of its officials called for strike action without following the proper procedures, employers were given greater freedom to dismiss any employee taking unofficial strike action, and further restrictions were placed on secondary action. Trade Union Reform and Employment Rights Act 1993; under this act employees were given the right to decide which union they joined. Postal ballots had to take place now before any strike could occur, and unions had to provide employers with at least seven days notice before any strike action could take place. The twenty-six wage councils were abolished and ACAS requirement to encourage collective bargaining was removed. At the end of the Conservative run of administration (finally finishing with John Major as Prime Minister in 1997) it is evident that the legislation very much followed the Conservative ideology of individualism, legislating for the individual and stripping collectives of their powers, as evidenced by the following figures. In 1990 the Transport and General Workers Union membership stood at 1224000, the Amalgamated Engineering Union at 702000 and the General Municipal Boilermakers Union membership stood at 865000. In 1978 the total number of working days lost that year was 9405000 but in 1995 that number was just 415000. From this can be seen the total effect that the Tories had on collective labour law and bargaining. Blyton and Turnbull (1998 p263) said, Throughout the 1980s the Thatcher government had made a virtue out of standing firm. The Conservatives had actively discouraged collective bargaining and hindered the trade unions as much as possible, so much so that union membership had dwindled to the figures in the previous paragraph. In 1997 trade union membership stood at 7154000 employees, a massive drop of 6293000 from that of 1979, and a union density of 30. 2%, again a big drop of 25. 2%. The effects of the Conservative era of power can clearly be seen here. When John Major and his party were defeated, the unions were virtually powerless, with their membership drastically reduced. Labour is traditionally the party of the trade unions as has previously been discussed. However, since the birth of New Labour things have changed considerably. In the 1980s Labour became concerned by their apparent unelectability so its leaders reformed and modernised the party image, which included loosening the link between themselves and the trade unions, even incorporating a Business Manifesto for their 1997 election campaign. At this time the party also adopted The Third Way. This replaced the previous Corporatist ideology behind the party. The Third Way is a middle ground between the traditional socialist views of the old left wing party and the right-wing views held by the Conservatives. The result of the image overhaul and change in strategy is that the trade unions became part of a coalition supporting Labour, but not the senior partners as of old (Salamon: 2000). Accordingly the New Labour Party focuses much more on the fact that labour flexibility has become an increasingly important issue for government strategies which are aimed at improving economic competitiveness and reducing unemployment (Salamon pg 282). Unconditional labour market de-regulation could have a detrimental effect on socially desirable employment policies such as social benefits, training, employee protection legislation and even the national minimum wage. Labours employment strategy [now] emphasises inclusion, social partnership and fairness at work (but without special favours towards trade unions) (Salamon pg 292) It has re-introduced the statutory union recognition procedure, introduced a national minimum wage and has signed up to the Social Chapter (European Union legislation). Metcalf (who is a member of the Low-Pay Commission) believes that the commission is an exemplar of social partnership which rehabilitated the unions and employees into a process that contrasts sharply with the there is no such thing as society' confrontational Thatcher era. (Salamon pg293) For this reason since New Labour came to power in 1997 the government has heavily legislated in many areas, and employment has not been excluded from this. One act in particular has directly impacted on Collect Labour Law, which is:- The Employment Relations Act 1999. This act effects trade union recognition and de-recognition (bringing back in the standard procedures), access to workers when industrial action is being considered and ballots are taking place. It also affects ballot procedure. The time between ballot result allowing action to take place has doubled from twenty-eight days to two months. Unfair dismissal is also affected as workers can no longer be dismissed for lawful industrial action. Finally, union membership rights were changed slightly in that the act states people can not be refused employment because of their trade union affiliations. Everyone has the right to belong to a trade union and the right not to be excluded from one. Along with this element of the act is a section dictating that compiling a blacklist of union members by employers is also illegal. This act strengthened the trade union and employee position, but it could also be argued that it is not a great overhaul of the law given the Labour Partys legislative history during previous administrations. Labour could be seen to be attempting to pacify the unions whilst trying not to alienate big business. The remaining major issue to be considered in this area of the essay is Europes influence on Collective Labour Law and the government in the United Kingdom. Once Labour formed the government in 1997 the Conservative decision to opt out of the Social dimension of the Maastricht Treaty of 1992 was reversed under the treaty of Amsterdam 1997 and in so signing, Labour consented to the treaty and all its terms. Maastricht (1992) could be considered as the Constitution of the European labour Market. It dealt principally with issues of fair remuneration, a national minimum wage, improvement in working conditions, unions rights and development of the employees rights to consultation and information. There were three immediate effects (in the form of European Directives handed down by the European Commission) when the UK joined the treaty. The European Works Council Directive, Parental Leave Directive and the directive covering the burden of proof in Sex Discrimination cases. The only directive to have any direct impact on collective labour law was the European Works Council Directive. This was aimed at large multinational firms and ensured proper communication between employee representatives (such as shop stewards) and management. The Working Time Directive is one further outcome of the agreement to the Social Chapter. The basic rights and protections that the Regulations provide are a limit of an average of 48 hours a week which a worker can be required to work (though workers can choose to work more if they want to), a limit of an average of 8 hours work in 24 which night workers can be required to work, a right for night workers to receive free health assessments. a right to 11 hours rest a day, a right to a day off each week, a right to an in-work rest break if the working day is longer than six hours and a right to four weeks paid leave per year. As can be seen from the above legislation Labour has not acted according to their ideological heritage, preferring instead to develop greater support for market competition, deregulation and privatisation. The party more strongly believes in the Stakeholder Economy, Welfare to Work, Social Partnership and Fairness at Work (Salamon pg21) principals and schemes. Most of the legislation is concerned with individual rights at work and not at all with collective labour law or collective bargaining. To a certain degree Labour now has little control regarding employment legislation as it is handed down to the government by Europe. However, it was New Labours choice to sign the treaty and harmonise the United Kingdom with the other member states and so must accept and implement all directives that are issued. The effects of the previously mentioned legislation can be seen in the following figures. In 1999 trade union membership in the following unions was; Transport and General Workers Union, 881625, the Amalgamated Engineering Union, 717874 and the General Municipal Boilermakers Union stood at 712010. Whilst the TGWU and GMBU show a decline in membership (and so in the powers of collective bargaining), the comparison is in fact to 1990 when the Conservatives still had another five years in power, membership has actually slightly increased since 1997 In 1999 trade union membership stood at a combined total of 7801315 employees, an increase from 1997 (when New Labour came to power) of 647315. The number of working days lost due to industrial action also dropped in 1999 to 266400 from 415000 in 1999, a drop of 148600 (all above figures from Salmon pg113). So as can be seen above the actions of both parties during their respective administrations have had a profound effect on collective labour law and collective bargaining, with the Tories having most impact. Labour is conspicuous in that it has done comparatively little to over turn the Tory instigated legislation. The actions of both parties can be explained by their ideologies, with Labours changing radically during the last decade. Their approaches have differed in that the Conservatives stripped the unions (which are the primary partners in bargaining and negotiation) of the majority of their rights and were not concerned with how ruthlessly it was done. The individuals rights were improved, but only as a means of weakening union power and increasing the strength of big businesses and employers in accordance with Conservative thinking and strategy. The Tories refused to sign up to the Social Chapter as they believed that employment legislation should come from within the country that is to be affected by it and in joining would lose total legislative control. In contrast to this Labour have signed up to the Social Chapter and tried to make the employment situation better for employees as individuals. This is because according to the third Way which creates a perceived political and cultural ideology within which management, unions and employees have to work (Salmon pg 21) it would benefit both employers and employees. It can be seen from this that both parties have similar outcomes from their legislation (in so much as figures for union membership and days lost in industrial action have only improved in comparatively mediocre terms and figures) though each party has taken a different approach for differing reasons. Bibliography Books Farnham, D. (1997) Employee Relations In Context London: CIPD Salamon, M. (2000) Industrial relations Theory and Practice: London, Prentice Hall (4th edition) Blyton, P. and Turnbull, P. (1998) The Dynamics of Employee Relations, Basingstoke: Macmillan (2nd edition) Cully et al. (1999) Britain At Work, London: Routledge Incomes Data Services Ltd (2000) Trade Unions Employment Law Handbook: London: IDS Websites http://www.cipd.co.uk http://www.dti.gov.uk http://www.libr.port.ac.uk http://www.labour.org.uk http://www.conservatives.com http://www.tuc.org.uk

Criminal Courts And Prisons Criminology Essay

Criminal Courts And Prisons Criminology Essay Prisons institutions are essential in society due to the fundamental use of detaining and punishing criminals as well as to rehabilitate them in order to avoid re-offending. Prisons are guided by government officials. During the 1990s, private prisons were introduced in the UK. The main reason for the introduction of private prisons was to reduce overcrowding as well as costs, and to a certain extent improve prison standards. (Harding, 2001). The idea of involving private agencies in prison facilities has been expanded and recognised by the new labour, conservative and the new coalition government. In the 1990s, regardless of the labour government being strongly against the idea of prison privatisation, they were challenged by an increased prison population which led them to allow private sectors to bid for running new prisons; and also present prisons were not to be occupied by public sectors. As a result, major parties reached an agreement in support of private prisons. However, th ere have been constant critiques from academics and the several sections of the media (Teague, 2010). Prison privatisation is interestingly an old concept. This can be seen as during the 1800s; several prison institutions in the US were contracted to private companies who contracted inmates to business as labourers. This idea was shortened due to corruption and the violent opposition by several businesses who claim that there was an unfair competition due to unpaid workers. Nonetheless, modern prisons now work on a totally different framework to earlier prisons; with even promising features. The introduction of private prisons in modern society has perceived new changes in prisons structure. Prisons are now not only driven by the goal of serving punishment and rehabilitate offenders, but also to gain financial wealth from detaining criminals. The intentions of private prisons were merely to correct present faults from private sector prisons, such as overcrowding; in the process of this, private prisons have suffered heavy criticism. The cost of crime is on the increase due to increased crime rates. In early nineties, it was estimated to cost almost seven billion dollars each year in construction cost as well as the upkeep of inmate population. The price of employing prison guards, administrators, teachers and every prison services within its facility is not included in this cost. Allowing private companies to take over the running of these institutions mean that the associated costs may not be generated from tax payers money, which would mean that governments can make better use of the money to address other public areas needing attention. Private prisons come with several benefits that aim to reduce cost as well as other beneficial factors. Cost saving is one of the main benefits associated with prison privatisation. The increased rate of crime accounts for the cost which is used towards prisons. Crime is widely seen a social problem and due to this, investments of up to nine figure sums each year is spent on the development of prisons; in order to manage the increasing rate of prisoners. Furthermore, prisons also incur more cost for aspects like the recruitment of guards and administrators, as well as other necessary expenses such as healthcare, food, clothes and education. The majority of private prison supporters argue that the government spends far more money on public prisons than private prisons, and both sectors equally provide and maintain the essential quality service needed. The main reasons that these supporters gave in regards to the increased cost of public prisons are due to factors such as red tape and the several laws which increases the cost of public prison management. These factors have been eliminated in private sector prisons which has significantly reduced costs. Furthermore, with private sectors managing prisons, some of the costs that are associated with running prisons may be used for other government projects. This will enable better use of government fund to other possible serious areas that may need addressing in terms of development. The issue of competition privatization will ensure an increase of productivity and also reduced waste of resources. Research show that the boarding cost in private sector prisons is half the cost of public prisons (Young, 2003). Several other studies show that private sector prisons save over 20% in construction cost as well as up to 15% in management costs (Sloane, 1996). Although critics strongly argue that cost reductions in private agencies, may however worsen prison conditions (Smith, 2003). Private companies are also perceived to be more flexible and innovative than public sector prisons. In the early 1990s, ministers argue that private sector prisons had proposed new ideas in the running of prisons. It was proposed that private sectors have the imagination to run prisons and look at things from a different point of view as well as to consider new management techniques and create new measures. This view was recognised in the 1998 inspection of Buckley hall with the chief inspector crediting the prisons improvement to the flexibility in which contractors could present innovative ideas that are free from bureaucratic restrictions, and if possible could be removed in other institutions. Supporters argue that contracting cold be a reason for staff innovation and transformation in the longstanding obstruction. The economic theory states that there will be a reduction in the running of prisons if there is more availability in renting and selling of prison cells, the challenges in terms of the funding and efficient allocation of prison spaces. This plan aims to give back to society as it serves to preserve justice. The economic theory states that the difficulty of financial assistance towards the control of prison services will reduce if there is more availability in selling and renting prison cells, the challenges in terms of the funding and efficient allocation of prison space. Private prisons adapted this concept by trying to exploit opportunities through the use of prison run factories. The idea of this is to allow prisoners to earn whilst giving back to society via labour. More than half of the money generated through this method is used to cater for prison cells and support victims. This process not only generates money but enabled prisoners to acquire skills which they can use in the integration process back in society. They can use these skills to acquire them a living rather than to follow the path of crime and be recognised by society as ex-offenders, which could narrowly lead them back into this system (Young, 2003). Although the public prison tries to carry out this task, it is not as effective as private prisons. It is essential to note that the privatization process may lead to new approaches to criminal control and punishment other than using prisons to deny criminals of their freedom. For instance, new approaches can involve the detaining of criminals through the use of modern technology on the individuals body such as electronic monitor. However, this approach may cause concern due to the safety of individuals in society. This would raise questions on whether the given technique is effective enough in ensuring crime reduction as well as the punishment of offenders (Smith, 2003). In sum, prison privatisation has a lot of benefits due to internal factors such as cost effectiveness. The proposer of this system may use the benefits of private prisons to ensure that most prisons are privatised in order to improve prisons and ensure that justice is served in any given country. The idea of private prisons is certainly a plausible one, as it carries several advantages that benefit both the country as a whole as well as these institutions; although, in order to fully understand all its positive benefits, more studies need to be conducted in this area. This idea has the possibility of being successful if given attention. This is to ensure that social interests come before the need to maximize profits by the companies that have been given the contract to set up private prisons. It is important to realise that each benefits of private prisons has an equal amount of disapproval and this is the same case as public institutions. This is due to the debates surrounding any issue concerning the welfare of individuals in society. A sensitive issue like this one, will attract some challengers (Young, 2003) On the other hand, there have been several disadvantages and criticisms of privately run prisons. There have been a number of factors and researches to back these claims. This section of this essay will point out and address these issues, using a range of studies as well as discussions that have been conducted in order to allow the reader to understand this area well. Critics claim that profit is one of the main motives behind private sector prisons; therefore this factor contributes to conflict of interest. The idea of prisons is not only to punish and isolate offenders from society, but also to rehabilitate them in order to highly reduce the chances of re-offending. Though it is a good factor that private prisons are cost saving, this would consequently mean that private prisons are not as efficient as public prisons. This is due to gaining profits through prison management, which would mean that essential factors such as prison rehabilitation programmes and medical care are reduce d at the cost of prisoners welfare. As a result of this, it is a possibility that prisoners may experience poor living conditions, as well as the lack of effective rehabilitation programs. Furthermore, a report carried out the National Audit Office (2003) voiced concerns on several areas on services provided by private prisons. Factors such as inexperienced staffs and high staff turnovers were pointed on. Poor payment and poor working conditions are some reasons of high turnovers (Sloane, 1996). Also arguments on this topic pointed out that public prison were far safer than private prisons due to environment. This is based on the fact that prison workers in the private sectors had less experience than those in the public sector. This report further goes on to argue that the terms and conditions of the contract which private prisons were run had not been appropriately developed, which raised concerns about the commercial confidentiality that surround the terms which private prisons were under. Another aspect that is of interest to critics is the issue of bad scoring. Reports have revealed private prisons received bad scores in regards to management and security. This is due to failures in the numbers of deliberate criminal activities in this institution, assault and drug containment. Austin (2010) conducted a survey to investigate the welfare of prisoners in several private sector prisons. His findings revealed the intensity in which prisoners and staffs within this system had to cope with. A major discovery that was made within this process showed that there was an increase in the amount of assault cases within these facilities, than in public prisons. Findings show that the number of cases of assault on prisoners by staff had increased to 49%; whilst assaults by prisoners had increased to over 60%. This is almost doubled the figures in public sector prisons. This factor provides evidence to suggest that privately run prisons are less efficient in regards to performance ( Smith, 2003). The issue of low-balling is an aspect that has received some criticism. This is a tactic that is used on the government by contractors. The idea of this method is by under bidding fellow participants with the goal of winning and once they are announced winners, they then increase the figure. Worst of all, the competitors stands a chance of bankruptcy which leaves the government in a non-correctional position. If this method is introduced in this essential system that ensures that justice is served, then the country will see the provision of poor resources and facilities as well as technical hitches; therefore, this will make the whole purpose of this system loose its motives (Logan, 1990) The system has several benefits as well as disadvantages that may obstruct the process of privatizing prisons in any country. Some of the arguments by researchers may not be strong enough due to lack of evidence. On the other hands, some arguments against the idea of private prisons need to be taken into account due to sake of the welfare of individuals, which should be a major factor of any government (Sloane, 1996). Ethics and principles is a key aspect of societal needs in any given institution and it has been proven that there are certain aspects of private prisons that weaken this value. This is an issue that thoroughly needs to be reflected on. It is also important to question whether the issue of morality should be left in the hands of individuals whose ultimate goals are to search for financial gains and to make maximum profits. To a certain extent, this gives the idea that our society is no longer driven by morals, but greedy individuals who use any given opportunity to make money (Alter, 2010). While taking into consideration all the factors mentioned in this essay, the best technique of any given prison organisation appears to be private institutions. The reason for this is due to the number of benefits such as financial benefits, security aspects, prisoner well-being, and accountabilities which makes it a preferred choice. However, the issue of morality seemed to be totally ignored in this case. Should we, the peers of society shift the responsibility for the ultimate sanction by which we measure normative behaviour, to those whose soul motive is profit? Michael Foucault argued that prison institutions are a model, the point of origin, for the entire model of social control that characterised society through its improvement in morals. Has our society become one of opportunist motivated by greed? Foucault then went on to further state that punishment was paid out in days, months and years and draws up a quantitative equivalence between offence and duration. By pressuring i nmates to work, is the system not making the offender pay back more than what is original crime entailed. Would it be right to presume that private prison approach is a symptom or a reaction by private capitalism to the prospects created by societys temper tantrum approach to the problem of criminality in the context of free market supremacy? In the calculation of what is or should be the best system to guard and control social corruption, not only should we calculate the cost, but also the effect it will take on our morals. Prison privatisation is concept that sparks a lot of interest; prison privatisation holds many positive features that deserve further research. The concept of prison privatisation will certainly flourish- however, much care is required in regulation to assure that society interest is at the fore front and not the cooperation interest, and not developed by hucksters with the soul intention of turning a quick buck causing the sacrifice of quality. It is important to remember that for each positive point, there will be an equal rebuttal to counter it benefits, similar to public prison. There is no thinkable problem with private prisons that is not matched by an identical or closely related problem within government based institutions. It is primarily because they are prisons, not because they are contractual, that private operations face challenges of authority, legitimacy, procedural justice, accountability, liability and so on. A possible thought would be the combination of both syste ms, creating a union with safe-guards, quick response times, and technological changes, safety catering, educating and training inmates, while addressing the issue of morality within the criminal justice system. As to their advantages and disadvantages as standalone units both organisations have good and bad points; both suffer equal criticism and similar failings.

The True Story of Christopher Columbus Essay -- History, Discovery

He discovered the Americas. He started the first colony in the new world. He thought he was in Asia. Who is this brave explorer? Christopher Columbus. Smart and Wise Christopher Columbus was during his voyages. Christopher Columbus’s birth date is unknown but believed to be between August 25 and October 31, 1451 in Genoa, Italy (Columbus, â€Å"Early Years of Boyhood† par 1-3). His parents were Domenico Columbo and Susanna Fontanarossa (â€Å"Christopher Columbus Biography and Life Story† par 1). Christopher Was the oldest of five (Columbus, â€Å"Early Years of Boyhood† par 1-3). His brothers were Bartolomew, Giovanni, Pelligrino, and Giacomo (â€Å"Christopher Columbus Biography and Life Story† par 1). His fauther was a wool weaver who had Christopher help him. Later Christopher got a job of sailing on trade ships to Asia (â€Å"Christopher Columbus† par 1-4). Christopher as a boy always wanted to sail. He decided to find a shorter way to travel to Asia. Doing this he would become wealthy, spread the word of Christ, and to become famous (â€Å"Christopher Columbus† par 1-4). He sent Bartolomew to try to get support from England and Spain to allow the voyage but, they were denied. Then when Spain defeated Granada in 1492, Luis de Sontangel who was a royal treasurer convinced Queen Isabella that she was missing a great opportunity. Finally in April of 1492 Christopher Columbus received royal approval for the voyage (Columbus, â€Å"Success in Spain† par 1). Then on May 20, 1506 Christopher Columbus died (â€Å"The Journal of the Admiral of the Ocean Sea†, November 7, 1504 par 2). Besides all of the waiting for royal permission Christopher made some great discoveries. On Christopher’s first voyage he was sailing for King Ferdinand II and Queen Isab... ... He had really no impact on the world then because nobody knew he had discovered a new continent (â€Å"Christopher Columbus Biography† par 4). People have tried to search for the shipwrecks of Capitana and San Juan but have had no luck (Columbus’s lost ships, â€Å"The Capitana and San Juan 1503-1504†). Christopher did make a sacrifice of leaving 40 men behind to start a colony, but all those ended up being killed by Indians (â€Å"Christopher Columbus Second Voyage†) par 3). The discovery led to an age of exploration and conquering. It always showed that the world was a lot bigger than everyone thought (Levinson 99-100). After a decade passed after the death of Christopher Columbus the whole coast from Honduras to Prenambuco had been mapped (â€Å"Christopher Columbus and The Spanish Empire† par 15). So Columbus really made a important discovery but never lived to know it.

Laboratory Equipment Borrowing System of Lorma Colleges Skills Development Institute Essay

Nowadays, most people tend to search or find things that are easy to work on. We tend to be clingy, trendy, and work things automatically. So, we design you these â€Å"Laboratory Equipment Borrowing System†. It is an automated borrowing system. This offers equipment which you can be borrow or use temporarily ranging from different various equipment or whole laboratory equipment set-up as desire, creating easier process to make life more convenient and efficient. This system project contains all of the current information about the equipment, listed alphabetically by name. The borrowers information records, contact number and its location are installed in these system. The aim of the project is to work out a generic approach of providing a borrowing history and easy access of every equipment items of laboratory. We know that we also deserve an opportunity to understand and need to learn to try new set of things. Therefore, we help to develop and invent such a technological automated system. We will lend the most various tools and laboratory equipment items from our collection. Maintain its services and accessibility that are consistent with the entire school and the entire organization. Laboratory Equipment borrowing system is provided to students and faculties to show them how important are computers and other technologies in teaching and learning processes. One of the main purposes of this study is to help students to become wise and resourceful in terms of project making and other learning methods that are relevant to them. In short â€Å"Technology makes the work easy†. This documentation will only concentrate in the computer laboratory of Equipment borrowing system. Particularly the Organizational Set up and Operation, Machine set up Configuration and Structure, and the Layout of Facilities and configuration. And this study aimed to design laboratory management software to effectively manage equipment maintenance, borrowing and returning, failure analysis, inventory, scheduling, and flexible report generation process. The development strategies used in the project analysis, design and development include a thorough analysis and evaluation of both the existing and the first prototype of the proposed system. The software is also very acceptable in gaining real time visibility in equipment inventory, maintenance and borrowing and returning, and that it is also very acceptable in providing reports at the same time provide history recording of the different processes available. Laboratory Equipment borrowing system are instrument used in laboratory where the students conducted their experiment. The Laboratory Equipment borrowing system placed in a storage room intended for Laboratory Equipment borrowing system only which is organize and manage by the authorized personnel. The staffs in this room are responsible for taking care of the Equipment; they are obliged to pay it when something is missing. In order to avoid this obligation they are careful and wise enough to have a list of all apparatus in the storage. This list is their references on how many Equipment they have. The staffs also are responsible to take in charge of the Equipment that was borrowed by the students. The students can lend Equipment for their academic purposes provided with their instructor consents. The students also are responsible to take care of it and return it on time. Failure to do the condition will be given a sanction. This system designed and developed to solve the problem associated with the handling of laboratory equipment. The study is targeted to develop an effective and efficient system that will aid the company. The system is called Laboratory Equipment Borrowing System, which is basically monitors the equipment that have been taken out of the department and was use by borrower, provides a complete list of equipment that are available inside the Laboratory, creates a daily, weekly, monthly, semesterly and yearly report of personnel who borrows the equipment, creates an interface or form for the users/borrowers and admins to work on with. For what we have observed in the past years, most of the institution still uses the manual documentation, inventory, and request. Where the borrower will have to write all the items to be borrow on a logbook, while the custodian verifies and validates the items borrowed, by this kind of method, it might cause a lot of mistakes and it consumes a lot of time, while with an electronic type of logging in and validation of borrowed items, makes the borrowing more easy and quick, it benefits the custodian and the borrower. Checking of available items, will be more easy not like the manual, where the custodian will have to look at first the equipment and validate if its reserved for future event or if it’s not available for that day, while the electronic type of borrowing system, makes it more faster, because the custodian will just have to check on the computer it will show immediately if its available and how many are there available on the laboratory. When it comes to end of the month there will be a monthly report of the laboratory, where the custodian will have to compile every records of the borrowed equipment of the previous month, this will cost the custodian a great time, manually checks, compile and validate the records and he/she will have to encode and print a report, while if the custodian will use a Borrowing system he will just click a button, validate the equipment and print the report and he’s done, effective and efficient. In the United States of America, there is one university which we may call it reference of our study and system. The Case Western Reserve University, in Cleveland, where there is a completely student-run group devoted to promoting musical theater and they are named Footlighters, and they have the â€Å"S. L. E. B. S. † namely Sound and Light Equipment Borrowing System. The Footlighters have sound and lighting equipment that is available for CWRU USG, recognized student organizations to borrow for on-campus events, they have established their own policies, procedures and even a online borrowing form for the request of the equipment, and they can even request thru their website. Their procedure on borrowing equipment first is the equipment may only be borrowed by a properly trained individual on behalf of CWRU USG-recognized student organization of which he or she is a current active member. The equipment is available on a first-come, first-served basis. While the Footlighters will make every attempt to keep the reservations calendar current, no request is guaranteed until the Footlighters send a notification that the reservation has been confirmed. The requests for use of the equipment must be submitted at least 10 days in advance of the event, to allow sufficient time processing. They also have their own sanctions and can implement their own penalties on borrowers who made some violations on their borrowing rules. Here in Philippines, there is one particular school that offers the same concept like what we are currently studying, in Damarinas, Cavites, and the name of the school is De La Salle University-Dasmarinas. They have also their own guidelines in reservation of equipment and procedures to follow on borrowing and returning laboratory equipment. Their method is semi manual and automated, because students and faculties can have the form thru their own website and the half of that will be processed upon arriving in the laboratory. They also offer various equipment like, Laptop, Multimedia Projector, Projection Screen, Television, DVD Player ,etc. Their own system also manifest its own limitation, such as like schedule of borrowing, quicker checking of availability of equipment and complete documentation. Despite of the limitations on their system of borrow it still functioning state. As a student, one of our requirements in our course is to develop and study a system and be able to defend at the end of the school year. Here in Lorma Colleges, in the class of CPRO215 – System Development I a group of 4 is assigned to develop a system namely Laboratory Equipment Borrowing System – Skills Development Institute. The system will be a GUI based system, with user registration and Log-in system, inventory system, reservation system, monthly report features and printing functions. We are in cooperation of SDI and main prospect in making our system. Their Computer Laboratory will be our base location of innovation to develop improvements in their way of lending equipment to faculties and students of Lorma Colleges.

Music 1306

MUSI 1306 Study Guide-Twentieth-Century & Non-Western Music The section on twentieth-century music will involve chapters 1-8, 15-17. Chapters 1-3 will be utilized for the discussion of Non-Western music. It will be necessary to study these chapters, as well as the listening examples contained within, to achieve full comprehension of these sections. Twentieth-Century Overview (Chapter 1) Within the music of the twentieth century can be seen influences of folk and popular music, Asian and African music, and European art music from the Middle Ages through the nineteenth century.The principal parameters of music — tone color, harmony, tonality, rhythm, and melody — undergo vast changes in relation to the music of earlier periods. New musical innovations in this period include the prominence of the percussion section, new ways of playing conventional instruments, polychords, fourth chords, tone clusters, polytonality, bitonality, atonality, and polyrhythms. (Chapt. 2) Du ring the twentieth century, radio, television, and recordings had a direct impact on the listening habits of the public. Various institutions regularly commissioned new music.These include: ballet and opera companies, foundations, orchestras, performers, film studios, and wealthy music lovers. Also impacting the direction of Twentieth-Century music was the emigration of many famous composers to the United States because of World War II, the widespread dissemination of American jazz and popular music, and the role of universities in nourishing new music. (Chapters 3 & 4) Two artistic movements that were to have their musical counterparts in the work of Claude Debussy were impressionist painting and symbolist poetry. The painters Monet, Renoir, and Pissarro represent the impressionist movement in painting.Symbolist poetry is represented by Mallarme, Verlaine, and Rimbaud. Debussy was influenced by Wagner and Asian music, and he achieved many artistic successes and underwent person al tragedies during the course of his career and his life in general. (Chapt. 5) Neoclassicism is aptly described as an artistic movement that emphasizes emotional restraint, balance, and clarity. Neoclassical composers used musical forms and stylistic elements of earlier periods, particularly of the eighteenth century. Neoclassicism also reflects a reaction against romanticism and impressionism.Major contributions, outside of music, to the neoclassical style are the poems of T. S. Eliot and the paintings of Pablo Picasso. (Chapt. 6) Stravinsky’s career is typically traced from his early years in St. Petersburg, his studies under Rimsky-Korsakov, to his discovery by Sergei Diaghilev. The impact of the Ballet Russe on the entire cultural scene in Europe from 1909 to 1929, the success of Stravinsky’s three â€Å"Russian† ballets, including the famous 1913 riot, and his emergence as the twentieth century’s most celebrated composer are also principal topics o f discussion. Chapt. 7) Expressionism is defined as an artistic movement that â€Å"stressed intense, subjective emotion. † The movement is related to Freud’s work with hysteria and the unconscious, and can be seen as a German reaction to French impressionism (Chapt. 8) Arnold Schoenberg, in his early years, can be seen as a musical autodidact. His artistic progression from the late romantic style of his earliest music through the atonal works to the development of his twelve-tone system, are crucial to the understanding of future musical developments. Chapt. 15) Aaron Copland’s life spans from his early years in Brooklyn, his period of study in France, and his cultivation of the jazz idiom for a few years on his return to the United States. Copland’s works undergo distinct stylistic changes, including jazz and twelve-tone styles. Among his better-known works today are the ballet Appalachian Spring, and this chapter contains a Listening Outline for the se venth section, the theme and variations on Simple Gifts. (Chapt. 16) There have been distinct changes in musical styles since 1945.Among these are the increased use of the twelve-tone system, the growth of serialism and its applications to musical parameters other than pitch, chance music, minimalist music, musical quotation, the return to tonality, electronic music, the â€Å"liberation of sound,† mixed media, and new concepts of rhythm and form. (Chapt. 17) Some of the more modern innovations since 1945 can be seen in two of many important contemporary composers, and their representative compositions: Edgard Varese (Poeme electronique), John Adams (Short Ride in a Fast Machine). Twentieth Century Listening Claude Debussy Prelude to The Afternoon of a FaunIgor StravinskyThe Rite of Spring: Part I, Introduction Arnold Schoenberg A Survivor from Warsaw, Op. 46 Aaron CoplandAppalachian Spring: Theme and Variations on Simple Gifts Edgard VareseElectronic Poem: Opening Segment Jo hn AdamsShort Ride in a Fast Machine Twentieth Century Terms glissandopolychordfourth chord tone clusterpolytonalitybitonality atonalitypolyrhythmostinato impressionismpentatonic scalewhole-tone scale neoclassicismprimitivismexpressionism Sprechstimmetwelve-tone systemtone row; set; series serialismminimalist music chance music; aleatory music quotation musicmicrotonesNon-Western Music Overview (Chapt. 1) While nonwestern music reflects the diversity of the world’s social and economic systems, languages, religions, and geographical conditions, there are some features common to most musical traditions. A distinction can be drawn between the script tradition of European cultures and the oral tradition of nonwestern music. Also important are improvisational traditions and vocal techniques. In nonwestern music, melody, rhythm, and texture in contrast to harmony and polyphony, and the interaction between nonwestern and western music, are all important topics. Chapt. 2) The African continent can be divided into two large geographical areas, and this chapter focuses on the music of the countries below the Sahara Desert. Topics of discussion also include: the place of music in society, permeating virtually all aspects of African life, some of the more important instrument types and ensembles, including the mbira and â€Å"talking drums,† and African texture, vocal techniques, and performance practices. A representative work described in this chapter is Ompeh, a song from Ghana. (Chapt. 3)A brief survey of music and musicians in India typically focuses on the elements of Indian classical music. The melodic and rhythmic structures (ragas and talas), and the correct identification of the roles of typical Indian instruments, such as the sitar, tabla, and tambura, are also crucial topics in the understanding of music from this region. Ravi Shankar’s Maru-Bihag is representative of Indian classical music. Non-Western Listening Song from Ghana Ompeh Ravi Shankar Maru-Bihag Non-Western Terms membranophonechordophoneaerophone idiophoneheterphonycall and response tamburaragatala sitartabla