Modern British politics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Modern British politics - Essay Example The focus group is then asked questions to which it is to discuss and then to provide answers to the questions. More often than not these opinions are used simply to reassure the government, but more recently they have been used to form the new policies in areas that would have been otherwise neglected by the government. Those influencing the focus groups are usually influenced by their age, gender, and social class. Often times, these factors are represented in the focus groups that are found in the general areas of Britain. Individuals of different age groups are commonly looking for different things; the biggest division in the current economic situation is the fear of those ready to retire, and the fear of those that are just entering the job market. Therefore, focus groups have been influenced by these issues. Gender politics also comes into play, as many women are becoming more and more involved in politics and investing their voices in their political needs. Women are becoming more active in politics and the roles of political change. Some of this can be seen in the new laws revolving around divorce that have awarded women more monetary compensation, as in White vs. White. Women, because of their active status, are now winning around 50% of the assets in a marriage. Social class has always been an issue to consider as well, because social class has influenced the general needs of the various classes in Britain. The wealth of an individual can affect how he or she decides to vote, or what he or she decides to stand for. People who are in poverty will be more concerned about finding the various supports that they need, such as unemployment for those that have been recently laid off in the hard economic times. As far as age is concerned, older people tend to vote in the Labour part (around 60%) and younger individuals tend to vote for the Tories (around 65%). This can be seen from recent pollings. Since these age classes have distinct

The assignment is a short paper written in the style of a letter to

The is a short paper written in the style of a letter to the editor in the Wall Street Journal - Assignment Example The previous type of acquiring Pentagon’s projects through bidding has been keeping bidders away since complex projects led to (extra) impulse spending. Relying on contractors, as was the case in the past, can be termed as the reason why emerging nations such as Russia and China have been overshadowing our military. The reasons behind this include unnecessary expenditure, longer research times, and an overall lagging military force. This move concurs with the 2010 initiative titled â€Å"Better Buying Power† which sought to incorporate more military research in evaluating which resources were required, and how much they cost. This task was previously mandated to other contractors. If this trend is furthered, we are bound to experience lesser violation of federal performance and costs. I agree that as the United States, we possess sufficient reasons to expand our weapons research programs, and this will be achieved by decreasing our reliance on ‘other† contractors and encouraging more military

Patricia Piccinini and David Hockney Comparison

Patricia Piccinini and David Hockney Comparison Art explores many elements of life and the world. It explores and represents meanings in which are interpreted by the audience in various ways. Artists use different techniques to enhance their own individual message or perspective, whether it be distinctively clear or subtle. Artists such as Patricia Piccinini explore identity through life-like animal sculptures that resemble human characteristics. Her message is more powerful in analysis rather than first glance. David Hockney is also an artist who explores identity of the individual by representing lifes journey through his technique of photo montage. Art is the representation of the many elements of human life. It is the expression of emotion, the representation of objects or landscapes, life experiences and it can also be the representation of people and events. Identity can be represented as well as constructed in the visual arts. Many artists are able to do this in diverse and individual ways. Patricia Piccininis controversial artworks explore the identity and contrast between human and animal life. David Hockneys photo montage illustrates a very different approach to represent and construct identity. His artwork explores this concept through a narrative based artwork that represents lifes individual journey each must take in order to construct ones true identity. However, it is not only these two artists that explore identity. There are numerous artists who explore identity in a variety of ways. Some more subtle than others. This is because identity can be explored in so many different ways. Identity can be seen as a national identity, community identity, cultural, physical, professional, individual, sexual-orientation or marital status etc. There are many artists that explore these identities. Piccinini has explored the physical identity and relationship between human and animal. Whereas Hockney has explored the individual identity, and the path we journey through our lives Identity can be defined as individual characteristics by which a person is recognised or known. Art is a mirror image of a persons identity, circle of influence, and perceived worlds or realities. Art reflects what we feel, think, practice, believe, or imagine (Gaskins, N. 2010). Both Patricia Piccinini and David Hockney represent this in different ways by taking different approaches. Piccininis work is known for her extravagant and controversial life-like sculptures which present a more obvious meaning than that of Hockney. Through the use of symbolism, Hockneys photo montage creates a more subtle representation of identity. It is only with more analysis that Hockneys creation can be more understood. Although the audience perspectives can vary in conclusion as each individual can perceive this narrative type artwork and relate to the journey offered and constructed in different ways. The Young Family (2002-3) Apart from the image that is represented, there is often a second meaning within the artwork, (Clack, M. 2010). At a glance; the work of Patricia Piccinini is disturbing and questionable, hence the reason for the controversial perspectives. However if looked at with more depth and analysis, her artworks become interestingly engaging. The way in which she represents and constructs identity is far different to other artists. Patricia Piccinini is an artist who explores the frontiers of science and technology through her sculptures, photographs and video environments (Kent, R. 2002). Within her artwork she is able to construct a powerful message; that enables her to express personal view on a topic. The work makes public something other than itself; it manifests something other; it is an allegory (Clack, M. 2010). Personal identity and the issues surrounding it lie at the core of Piccininis project. Her works invite the question: what is it that makes us who we are? (Kent, R. 2002). Her artwork titled, The Young Family (2003) has sparked a lot of controversy because of the many perspectives it represents. Her life-like imagery is about compromises about being able to find beauty in a world which can never be perfect. (Papastergiadis, N. 2002). This artwork explores the distinction between animal and human characteristics. The similarities of both identities are obvious, which is what Patricia Piccinini is trying to portray. In a political and scientific perspective the inspiration behind this work is the expectation that we have of growing human organs in other species (Piccinini, P. 2003). In this artwork motherhood is one of the traits we share with animals; Patricia Piccinini has evidently shown this. From synthetic landscapes to artificial life forms, Piccinini creates a world in which fa ct, fiction and fantasy co-exist. She begs the question: what, in our rapidly changing world, constitutes the real anyway? (Kent, R. 2002). Pearblossom Hwy (1986) David Hockneys artwork, Pearblossom Hwy approaches the representation of identity in another way. Hockneys work clearly depicts his life and his love ones (Research Paper 2008). Represented in his artworks is a timeline of individual life on earth. He identifies that individuals have many paths they need to be inevitably travelled with many obstacles on the way. The art work consists of a lot of symbolism. Hockney has used the various stop signs in order to represent the individuals own life obstacles. In life many people will stop to think, is this decision Im about to make the right one? What path should I follow next? Who am I as an individual? etc. One of the many perspectives this artwork offers is that the collage is trying to say that in the beginning of life, people are unknowing of what they will do in their future or that they are lost in life. The end of the highway symbolizes certainty and strength about ones life. (Research Paper 2008). Hockneys art is created for his viewers. His drawings are designed in a special way so that they can be animated to be in the mind of the viewer (Research Paper 2008). David Hockneys aim is to take the audience on a journey that he has created, but one that means something different to each individual. This journey is the exploration of identity. He has captured within this artwork the similarities in lifes journeys, but it is how each individual interprets the story. Identity varies from society to society and individual to individual as variation of systems or personality (Art. 2010). In comparison to Patricia Piccininis artwork, The young family, Hockneys artwork relates solely to each individual. It explores numerous story lines as the interpretation of his artwork differs for each audience member. The identity he explores is more easily related to than that of Piccinini. Patricias outlook on identity explores the similarities between human and animal characteristics, very similar to the evolution theory, the apes transition into human form. Ideas about nature and its simulation are central to Piccininis works, inviting us to question what is real and what is not (Kent, R. 2002). Whereas Hockneys, Pearblossom Hwy explores the concept of what will the individuals future bring? Who am I? Who will I become?. It is more an intimate reflection of ones self. In conclusion, there are many artists who explore and represent identity in many forms and techniques. So in evaluating what is art. Many believe that it is the representation of the many elements of human life such as emotions, objects or landscapes, life experiences, people and events. Patricia Piccinini and David Hockney, while they both explore identity, their ideas and perspectives are entirely different. Patricia Piccininis controversial artworks explore the identity and contrast between human and animal life. While David Hockneys photo montage illustrates a narrative based artwork that represents lifes individual journey each must take in order to construct ones true identity.

Al Capone and Probation Essay -- essays research papers

Al Capone is the single greatest symbol of collapse of law and order in the United States during the Prohibition Era. The act of Prohibition brought power to Al Capone, which he used to expand his organized crime activities into a stranglehold over the city of Chicago. Liquor trade became very profitable during Prohibition, and the struggle for control over the bootleg empire erupted into a full-scale war between rival gangs in Chicago. Capone gradually came to symbolize all the criminal evils of prohibition; to many throughout the world, he became the symbol of a lawless nation#. Publicity grew around the actions of Capone, with accounts of his sordid activities published in newspapers along with his image of power, money, and wickedness#. Using the funds that he had collected from his bootlegging operations, Capone ensured that friends were elected to certain political positions, which in turn, amplified his control over Chicago#.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Alphonsus Capone was born on January 17, 1899 in Brooklyn, New York. Capone quit school in the sixth grade at age fourteen. He became part of the notorious Five Points gang in Manhattan and worked in gangster Frankie Yale’s Harvard Inn as a bouncer and bartender. While in New York Capone murdered two men and hospitalized a rival gang member, however he was tried for his crimes. With a reputation for a willingness to kill, Yale sent Capone to Chicago to work as a bodyguard.#   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Capone arrived in Chicago in 1919 and started to work for head mobster John Torrio.# Soon he was helping Torrio manage his bootlegging business and increasing the territory of gang control. Capone eventually became Torrio’s full partner in saloons, gambling houses, brothels, nightclubs, distilleries and breweries and earned a reported income of $30,000,000 a year from liquor alone#. Capone expanded his control into the suburbs to the extend that some places became known as â€Å"Caponeville.†# When Torrio was shot by rival gang members and consequently decided to leave Chicago and the â€Å"outfit†, he reportedly told Capone, â€Å"It’s all yours, Al.† #   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Prohibition did not create organized crime#. However, it did create a new opportunity for lawbreakers and for the spread of criminal activity. It allowed Capone to expand his force and gain incredible power over the city of Chicago. P... ...ion for the years 1925-1929 and for failing to file tax returns for the years 1928 and 1929. The Department of Justice also charged him with conspiracy to violate Prohibition laws from 1922-1931.# Although Capone had his lawyers offer to settle his tax claims for four million dollars, the Treasury Department was not willing to make any deals. Found guilty on several accounts, Capone was sentenced to eleven years in federal prison. After his release, Capone’s health deteriorated rapidly and he was forced to withdraw from the outfit. In 1947, at the age of forty-eight Al Capone died of health complications.#   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Through his organized crime activities, Al Capone seized the opportunity that the Prohibition Act created in the 1920s. By exploiting the demand for liquor created by Prohibition, his bootlegging activities helped to fund and expand his organized crime empire#. Al Capone has aroused the nation against prohibition’s gangs and developed a deep as lasting revulsion among the people. Brought to power by prohibition, Al Capone clearly demonstrated to America the evils of organized crime.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  

Quality Management Essay

Question You are a project management consultant assigned to a small manufacturing firm that has been experiencing a myriad of problems. After conducting interviews and fact-finding with key managers, you have observed the following: †¢Company revenues and profits have fallen dramatically over the previous 12 months, along with a drop in market share †¢Customer complaints have reached an all time high †¢Employee morale is at an all time low †¢The company has no formal quality program in place †¢No employee training program exists †¢High employee turnover continues unabated †¢Non-conformance costs are skyrocketing After analyzing your data, you are now prepared to present your findings to the company CEO. Discuss ten quality management improvement initiatives you would recommend, including quality tools to improve company poor performance. Note: To receive maximum credit, your response must be comprehensive. Company revenues and profits have fallen dramatically over the previous 12 months, along with a drop in market share Solution: First of all, it`s necessary to identify customers. Once it`s done, customer feedback needs to be gathered. Furthermore, customers` requirements must be collected, analyzed, and understood. The company must acknowledge their apparent customers such as the intermediate customers in upper management that make decisions on â€Å"X†`s future direction, the internal customers who are functional managers and employees interacting along the assembly, i.e. The next person in the process, and the external customers who buy its product. It must also recognize each of its invisible customers such as the governmental and environmental agencies that have fined the company for non-compliance so frequently in the past year. Ignoring them will continue to negatively impact revenue. Internally, â€Å"X† must interview all stakeholders as part of all project, program and portfolio planning to ensure undertakings are crafted to meet their expectations and the objectives of the company. External customer requirements may be gathered and transformed into specific, actionable process improvements using quality function deployment, a well- structured product development process which dictates what the market requires into a program to create, manufacture, and deliver it. However, teams should collaborate to arrive at a common understanding of the customer needs and determine the appropriate technical requirement of each stage. As soon as customer expectations are met, customer satisfaction will improve, resulting in a take-back of market share and an increase in revenue. Customer complaints have reached an all time high Solution: At first â€Å"X† company has to conduct a SWOT analysis, which provides data for an organization to create strategic plans, appropriating resources and developing tools or actions to bring about continued success to analyze the organization. Once the SWOT analysis has been completed, the organization is able to create the mission and vision statements. In addition to what was said before, customer satisfaction should be one of if not the main objectives. To understand the level of customers’ satisfaction, and desires â€Å"X† should implement surveys called â€Å"customer satisfaction survey.† These surveys will be sent to new and old customers during certain times a year. E-mail surveys also have to be provided for all customers. The surveys will be voluntary and, however many passionate customers gladly initiate the completion to offer their opinion. â€Å"X† also shall offer customer feedback options through different sources such as email, phone, mail, store, and social networks such as Facebook. With the different means of contact the organization will be able to bring in many opinions, complaints, and suggestions from their most prized company position, their customers. These different tools and methods of contact have to be established to constantly measure the company’s success, by measuring their customers’ satisfaction. When their customers are not satisfied the company is not succeeding. So with the use of these tools, they have access to areas that need to be addressed for the benefit of the customer. With the tools â€Å"X† could also further their quality planning for the company and future products. Alternatively, the organization might introduce ISO 9000. By doing so â€Å"X† may gauge fulfillment of its customer’s quality requirements and applicable regulatory requirements while aiming to enhance customer satisfaction and achieve continual improvement of its performance. Employee morale is at an all time low Solution: To start with, â€Å"X† company has to provide its workers a productive environment, in order to help them give their best. â€Å"X†`s management must act as true leaders who aim to help people and machines do their best. According to W.E. Deming, rather than criticize performance, supervisors should act as mentors to their workers and create an environment of trust and encouragement so workers experience a sense of pride in their work and the satisfaction of a job well done. Furthermore, workers who fear their bosses seek to meet the minimal expected standards rather than strive to give their best. Quality is neglected and respect for management is diminished. Conversely, people are at their best and are less likely to leave their jobs when they feel secure enough to ask questions and share ideas. The company has no formal quality program in place Solution: First of all â€Å"X† company shall start with measuring errors and defects. Then, when customer requirements are fully identified and processes are adjusted to meet them, processes must be monitored and measured to ensure the fewest errors and highest level of productivity. By utilizing statistical process control, â€Å"X† can apply statistical methods like control charts (Pareto diagrams, cause and effect diagrams) and designed experiments to monitor and control processes to operate predictably to produce the highest grade product with the least possible waste. Variations in a process that may affect the quality of the end product can be corrected, reducing the likelihood that problems will be passed on to customers. Second of all â€Å"X† needs to apply â€Å"adopt a zero tolerance policy for errors†. All products manufactured by this company must be durable and good quality. Moreover, a zero defect tolerance should be implemented to reduce and minimize the number of defects and errors in all processes. Therefore, the six sigma quality methodology, which aims to reduce process output variation so that on a long term basis it will result in no more than 3.4 defect parts or defects per mln opportunities, may be instituted to objectively measure and guide efforts toward zero defects. This must be combined with a policy â€Å"to do the right thing right the first time† for each process at every level/stage. If everything possible is done to eliminate the likelihood of errors and defects occurring, the need for inspection can be virtually eliminated, customer satisfaction will be greater, and profitability will be maximized. Anyhow, â€Å"X† company has to make a commitment to total quality. Another words, with the financial benefit of cost of quality to â€Å"X†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s bottom line understood, the company as a whole must declare total quality to be its first and most important priority. All its employees must not only be made aware of this new commitment to excellence and customer satisfaction, each must understand that he/she is responsible for achieving excellence by maintaining it within his/her area. Create a formal draft of the company’s quality policy, establishing quality as the driving standard for all its activities. No employee training program exists Solution: It`s very important to create an institutionalized training program. â€Å"X† company must create a formal training program conducted by qualified teachers in order for its workers to improve their skills for their current jobs as well as be amply prepared for the inevitable changes required of their positions in the future. Training sessions should be offered during work hours as well as outside of them for those who wish to attend night and weekend courses. A generous tuition reimbursement plan should be offered for all relevant training pursued externally by employees. Although, to broad the education of its workforce, â€Å"X† will allow its employees to contribute to the company in a more intelligent way, adding to its productivity and market adaptability. High employee turnover continues unabated Solution: Compensation is one of the most powerful motivator. Although not always possible, good performance should be rewarded. Making employees feel like the company success is their own. Though to celebrate each success, milestone, keep the updated on all company activities and let be the key participants in growth strategy meetings, give bonuses. Non-conformance costs are skyrocketing Solution: The organization has to understand what poor quality is costing. â€Å"X† must assess and understand the true financial impact of its continued non-compliance and low customer satisfaction versus the costs associated with process and product reform. Using a cost of quality approach, the costs incurred in maintaining acceptable quality levels is added to the cost of failure to maintain that level and meet customer requirements. Given the costs associated with reworks, delays, customer complaints, returns, and non-conformance fines, analysis clearly indicates that â€Å"X†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s internal and external costs resulting from failure to meet requirements and expectations far outweigh investing in the prevention of non-conformance to requirements and appraising its products for conformance. The cost savings from increased process efficiency and productivity alone will offset the cost of the necessary quality monitoring and control measures.

Importance of Teachers Essay

A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where is influence stops. – Henry Adams Teaching is a timeless profession. It is the basis of all other professions. Good teachers plant seed that make good doctors, good accountants, good public servants, good statesmen, good taxi drivers, and good astronauts. When former students return to see me over the years, my heart fills up in the knowledge that I have been part of a wonderful accumulation of experiences that followed them through life. – Mary Bicouvaris. If your plan is for a year, plant rice. If your plan is for a decade, plant trees. If our plan is for a lifetime, educate children. – Confucius I am a teacher because of teachers. They showed me that someone other than my mother could love me. – Guy Doud In a completely rational society, the best of us would be teachers and the rest of us would have to settle for something else. – Lee Iacocca What else is needed is something that teachers themselves are reluctant to talk about openly and it’s our respect for them. It’s what is missing in America, and it’s what has been too long withheld from a profession so important to our national well being, as important as doctors or captains of industry or TV commentators. From sunup to sundown, the school teachers you have seen tonight work harder than you do – no matter what you do. No calling in our society is more demanding than teaching. No calling in our society is more selfless than teaching. No calling in our society is more central to the vitality of a democracy than teaching. – Roger Mudd To me the sole hope of human salvation lies in teaching. – George Bernard Shaw Each of these quotes speaks to me, not merely because I am a teacher, although that is part of it. Like Guy Doud, I am in part a teacher because of other teachers, and love – directly expressed or not – was certainly part of it. It was my AP American History teacher Thomas Rock who challenged me to live up to what I could do, and it was Music Professor John Davison who demonstrated the deep love for every student who passed through his care, including me. I hope that I return both lessons with my own students. I know the importance of respect. I cannot demand it from my students but must earn it, in large part by acting with respect towards them. It might be helpful were the media and many politicians and far too many parents not reinforcing a different attitude. In part it is because we do not pay teachers, and if they make so little, they cannot be that important, right? Except, as I might note, in one 45 minute period I spend more quality time with some of my students than they get from their parents, which is a different tragedy. Our society needs to reexamine how we value people, and not have such an emphasis on money and overt power. The Henry Adams quote is one I have long cherished. The affects of my own teachers continue on me today. And I have now taught long enough to be no longer be surprised at some of the students who come back to thank me. It worries me that some of my long-term affects upon students might not be so salutary, which is one reason I try to be aware of how my words and actions can have impact far beyond their immediate purpose. I am only in my 13th year of teaching, but am already experiencing some of what Mary Bicouvaris writes about. If you are a parent, you have every right to demand that your children’s teachers see them as individuals, but please remember yours may be one of almost 200 children that teacher deals with every day. If you want more personal attention for your child, demand smaller classrooms, lower student loads per teacher so that they are capable of giving that attention. If you are a policy maker, remember that the decisions you make can support or prevent the kind of teaching environment that makes a difference in the life of a child. Teaching is about much more than cramming information into heads so that it can be given back on high stakes tests which really do not tell us all that much useful information. All of us have had teachers. And even if we were too shy, or too stubborn, to express our thanks at the time, we can always drop a note or make a call, or if possible stop by and say hello, and thank those who made a difference for us. Sometimes we worry about the students who pass through our care, that we did not do enough, care enough, and it can help a teacher who is wondering whether to continue the struggle to hear of the differences s/he made. Sometimes that can be the one thing that keeps a teacher going for one more year. I know I can make a difference. And I am not making these requests on my own behalf. But while I claim to speak for no one except myself, I also acknowledge that I have a voice – and a keyboard – that seems to be able to express in ways others may not be able to, to reach eyes and ears and minds to which many do not have access. So this is my offering today. It is about the importance of teachers. You probably already know about that importance, but I figured a gentle reminder might not hurt. Peace.