Civil Unions and Same-Sex Marriages Essay Example for Free

Civil Unions and Same-Sex Marriages Essay Questions about morality, family relationships, freedom of expression, and sexuality are at stake in the gay marriage debate. The main argument of the issue of same sex marriage is how much we should allow the government to control in issues like marriage in our private lives. â€Å"At Issue: Gay Marriage†, which is a book written by Debra Miller in 2012, includes a broad spectrum of views on the subject. One of the biggest issues in the gay marriage debate is the meaning of the separation of church and state in the United States. Some organizations and churches argue that state support of same-sex marriage is a breach of their religious freedoms which are protected by the US Constitution and if they are forced by laws enacted to include same sex marriages that they are being forced to accept acts that are against their religious beliefs. In a statement made concerning same sex marriage; some religious organizations and churches claimed that homosexual acts go against their religious beliefs and the natural moral law and that they should not be forced to perform marriages that go against their beliefs. Religious organizations say that to legalize homosexual marriage is religious persecution in their eyes. People that approve of gay marriage make the point that marriage is a legal right and a religious right as well because church and the state are separate. Activists argue that homosexual couples have a right to a marriage the same as heterosexual couples do. Another point that is called on is that people do not have to marry in a church but can do so in a court house as well and that no church or religious organization is bound to marry any couple. They are basically saying that churches are not forced to do anything against their belief system. One side will argue against federal laws that encompass and over rule state laws. Others will argue that each state should be able to make and enforce laws that concern each state as they see fit within their state governmental departments, like those concerning marriage laws. President Bush believed and stated that â€Å"the voice of the people is being compromised by the actions of a few judges in isolated cases†, (President George Bush, 2003). Former President Bush believes that laws like these could threaten every state in the union because of the â€Å"full faith and credit† clause in Article IV of the Constitution, (The United States Constitution, Article III, Section 2, 2013), which requires all states to honor the laws of every other state. President Bush said in an interview that the full faith and credit clause would require all states same-sex marriages performed anywhere in America. Bush, 2003) Civil Unions include heterosexual and same sex unions according to The Department of Internal Affairs, (The Department of Internal Affairs, 2004). Civil Unions differ from marriage because they are entered into by two people who chose to live together as man and wife and present themselves to the public and in private this way without an official marriage or marriage license. They consider themselves married but the government, whether state, local, or federal do not. At one time heterosexual civil unions were accepted and now are no longer recognized in most states. What this means is that people with a marriage license issued by the state are guaranteed certain rights, responsibilities, and privileges that people in civil unions are not given. These rights extend to the work place where insurance is guaranteed to a spouse of heterosexuals that are married but not to civil unions between same or opposite sex couples working in the same place. If same sex marriage and civil unions are both accepted and laws are enacted to approve of them then I believe this opens the doors to many other types of behaviors in the future that will do more harm than good to our society. These behaviors would include the right of an older person to marry a child for instance or to marry an animal or inanimate object even. We must ask ourselves one question and that is where we are willing to draw the line in our inclusions and amendments to the laws that were written to protect us in the beginning. The more we accept the more we are willing to accept as a society.

The Influence Of Money In Philippine Elections

The Influence Of Money In Philippine Elections Election campaigns are now on the roll. Politicians are getting busy thinking of many ways to ensure their victory in the coming elections. Different strategies and techniques are being used by these candidates in order to win the votes of the people. Aside from the techniques and strategies, money plays a huge role in every Philippine elections. The ability to win of the candidate lies on how much money he or she is going to spend for this coming election. The aspiring candidates will definitely spend a large amount of money to catch the hearts of the voters even if it means performing an illegal act. A single vote is very precious and essential for the win a candidate. And in order to possess this single sure vote, candidates resort to buying the votes of the people. Vote buying is overt in the Philippines. It is a disease that continuously rots our political and electoral system. It has already become institutionalized in our system and remains constant despite the condemnation of many Filipinos. Before, vote buying is usually the last recourse of a rich but unpopular candidate to hold a position in office. But today, even popular ones are engaging themselves to this kind of activity because popularity per se is not enough to assure the vote of the electorate especially in local politics. Vote buying reflects a powerful image of graft and corruption. It is just the stepping stone for doing a more fraudulent act. The vicious cycle of vote buying and vote selling in the Philippines is becoming more and more alarming. This paper aims to answer the nature of vote buying, strategies of vote buying in the Philippines, the reasons for doing vote buying and vote selling and to trace the history of vote buying in the Philippines. WHAT IS VOTE BUYING? Vote buying, according to Hicken (2006), includes the individual, immediate and private exchange of goods, services or cash for electoral support, usually in violation of legal norms. It simply means giving out or handing out money to leaders and voters. It also means getting the vote of the people to ensure winning. Vote buying is also a form of economic exchange (Schaffer, 2002) because there is money involve. TYPES OF VOTE BUYING Vote buying can be categorized into two types: direct vote buying and indirect vote buying. Both types are widely used in the case of the Philippines although the idea of direct vote buying serves as the more popular act. DIRECT VOTE BUYING It is the most common type of vote buying where direct payments, in many forms, are given to the voter. It may be in the form of cash donations, shares of stock or a promise of a particular plan of action or payment in exchange for a promise of vote (Dekel, E., et. al., 2004). INDIRECT VOTE BUYING It is a kind of vote buying done in a non obvious and straightforward approach. This type of vote buying uses campaign strategies that target the weaknesses of the electorate. Here in the Philippines, the strategy of the candidates is to use and take advantage of the different Filipino traits. Example of these traits are our values of utang na loob, pakikisama, our close family and kinship ties, our religiousness, and other social values like loyalty, support and trust. They effectively use the various traits to influence and temp us to follow their selfish plans. Bava (1998) gave a concrete example on how this character capitalization happens. Different parties and candidates hire poll watchers and workers who are tasked to distribute sample ballots for their party. Each poll watchers and ballot distributors are given 1500 pesos and 500 pesos respectively, per day of work from 7 am to 3 pm. A poll watcher only needs 4 things in order to land the job: 1) a ball pen 2) a tally sheet 3) at least 18 years of age and 4) a registered vote (Bava, 1998). The last requirement is the most important and advantageous in the part of the candidates. If the hired person is a registered voter, the employer will be sure that the employers vote will go to him or her. A person offered with this kind of job will definitely take the opportunity given all the privileges and comfort that it can give. They can earn almost 1500 pesos a day by just distributing pamphlets and sample ballots. Adding to the convenience is the free meals given to them by their employer. A nd if the candidate won in the elections, most of them are given permanent jobs in various government offices. This is where indirect vote buying takes place. This act, according to Bava (1998), displays the Filipino trait of utang na loob. If a person has done something good to us, we would do anything and everything to return that goodness. In this case, the poll watchers and other employees will feel obligated to vote the candidate/employer because of the job that was given to them. FORMS OF VOTE BUYING Money is the common type of material that the candidates use in order to buy votes. But vote buying not only takes the form of money. It can be other forms of material offers. Schedler (2002) and Schaffer (2002) made a list that summarizes the different kinds of offers into three categories. The first and the most common form is payment. A payment is an amount of money paid. Schedler (2002, p.4) described it as a commercial relationship in which partners trade equivalent values. The citizen trades his vote in exchange of money. The act of accepting money denotes that there is an indirect agreement between the giver and the receiver of the payment. The second kind of material offer takes the form of gifts. A gift is something that is given out of free will without paying something in return. In the context of vote buying, accepting a gift does not give you the responsibility and obligation of voting the giver. The last kind is in the form of wage. A wage is an amount of money paid in exchange of services rendered. Like gifts, it does not require any obligation to the candidate. FACTORS AFFECTING VOTE BUYING According to Schaffer (2002), there are three factors that affect the strategies of the candidates and the perception of the voters toward vote buying. These are socioeconomic, institutional and political factors. The first factor both affects the candidates strategies and the voters perception while the last two factors affect mainly the strategies of the candidates. SOCIOECONOMIC FACTORS One of the socioeconomic factors is the social class (Hicken, 2006). The formulation of the different strategies is influenced by social classes existing in society. The candidate must make a strategy that can produce strong and favorable impressions on people from different walks of life. It should cater to the needs of the entire high, middle and low class population. But it is impossible to come up with such strategies given that there is a massive gap and conflicting interests present among these social classes. Different social classes connote different needs and expectations. A strategy that might work to the lower class might be ineffective to the middle and higher class or a strategy that may be good to the higher class might harm those belonging in the lower class. Adding to the problem is the unequal number of population belonging to a certain social class. In the Philippines, the population of the lower class is greater than the population of the middle and higher class co mbined. The solution to these is to focus the strategy to those who constitute the majority. The easiest and most effective strategy to garner votes is to buy the votes of those who are included in this majority (which is the lower class). It will be very effective since those who belong in this class are financially unable who need money to sustain their everyday living. This scenario is very prevalent in the Philippines since many are members of the lower class. Almost all politicians who are running in office are focusing their campaign on the less fortunate because to them, greater number of voters means more number of votes and more number of votes means greater chances of winning. The second socioeconomic factor is education (Hicken, 2006) which affects the voters view about vote buying. For the high and some middle class voters, vote buying is a deviant and somehow an immoral behavior. Those in the higher and middle class are strong attackers of this practice. They are advocates of different anti-vote buying campaigns and they are known for organizing movements that educate the people about this kind of campaign strategies. They have this kind of opinion because education teaches them about these kinds of things. But for some middle class and most in the lower class (who cannot afford to have a higher education), they accepted vote buying because they perceive it as the time when they can receive free money that they can use to buy their necessities. INSTITUTIONAL FACTORS Hicken (2006, p. 48), stated that the rules and institutions under which candidates must operate can influence their incentives to purchase electoral support. Different institutional factors may encourage or discourage the use of vote buying. One institutional factor is the electoral system itself (Hicken, 2006). Under this factor is the district magnitude. It affects the strategy of the candidate because large constituency means larger amount of money needed to buy votes. Large district also has influence on the manner of distribution of the money. The strategy will be more expensive and costly since the distribution of money will take much longer and there should be an increase in the number of employees to properly accomplish the strategy. As a result, candidates will lessen the amount of money to be distributed to the people in order to prioritize other campaign strategies. POLITICAL FACTORS Political factors are different conditions and circumstances in society that affect the creation of various policies political choices. One of the variables under this factor is the election laws, particularly the anti-vote buying laws (Hicken, 2006). The degree of execution of different anti-vote buying laws affect how candidates device their strategy and distribution plans. In the Philippines, vote buying is illegal yet it continues to occur probably because of inefficiency of the laws and the law enforcers and the light punishments that will be given to the law breaker. There is no strict regulation of such laws in our country that is why the practice of vote buying is still a widespread act. More often than not, the law enforcers themselves are the protector of this scheme. BUDGET SOURCES The first thing that comes into our minds when we talk about vote buying is money. Money is the vital element of vote buying. It is the foundation of any vote buying scheme. We usually think that all vote buying funds are coming from the pockets of the candidates since most of them are members of the elite. But I think that the candidates are smart enough not to make use of their own wealth and to think of other alternative ways of budget sources. Some candidates most likely get their vote buying budget from their own political parties. Others accept donations from different business sectors given the condition that if they win the elections, they will repay them by giving them economic benefits and government protection. For example, the candidate accepted the donation from a construction company. If the candidate won the elections and plans to carry out road projects, he or she will be obliged to make the company the contractor of the said projects. Other candidates resort in getting illegal funds. Candidates who seek re-election have the advantage when it comes to money resources because they can easily tap pork barrel and other government funds. Some ask the help of drug syndicates, smugglers, kidnappers, gamblers and robbers to provide them with untraceable funds. It is true because we can observe that many crimes and illegal acts are happening during the election season. In return, the candidates give them financial support and protection. DIFFERENT STRATEGIES OF VOTE BUYING A carefully devised plan of action is needed to successfully carry out acts, especially if it is illegal. Candidates and politicians are wise in strategizing the effective way to buy the votes of the people. Usually, they even hire experts and professionals who are knowledgeable in fields concerning illegal campaign scheming. One specific strategy to ensure that the money given was translated into vote is what Bionat (1998) called Lanzadera system. In this strategy, the watchers give the voters an already completed ballot which will be dropped by the voters in the ballot box. After dropping the already completed ballot, the voter, then, takes with him or her the blank ballot and give it to the watcher. The watcher will complete that ballot and give it to the next paid voter. In this system, the money is given only if the voter returns with a blank ballot. I interviewed people from our barangay in Bulakan, Bulacan about the chronic vote buying in our place. They had first hand experiences on how vote buying takes place in our town. Based from that interview, I was able to learn other strategies and series of actions on how the scheme of vote buying happens. According to them, vote buying is usually conducted a night or two before the election day, usually around eight in the evening until midnight. Each politician has their own leader per community who is responsible for the identification of supporters and potential vote buying targets. They are also responsible in delivering the money to the house of the identified voters, at times in the appearance of paying the watcher. The intense vote buying is very evident and common in our place that the people are the ones coming and lining up in front of the politicians headquarters to ask for the money. Another strategy done by the candidates is getting the trust of barangay officials and other community leaders. In this way, the candidate can almost assume his or her hold in the community. The local leaders, then, are given large amount of money in exchange of buying the votes of their constituencies on behalf of the politician or the candidate. One more strategy that was mentioned by my neighbors is buying non-supporters. Candidates will offer those non-supporters with huge amount money. If they accept it, they will not be allowed to come out of their houses on the day of the election. There will be someone who will serve as a watchman that will ensure that the voter will abide to the agreement. Some politicians, in order to be extra sure, hire a bus that will take all the paid non-supporters to an out-of-town trip on the election day. Another strategy is the taking advantage of the politicians on our deep family and kinship ties. Some politicians use a relative or an influential member of a clan to convince members of the family and close friends to accept the money and to vote for that politician. Vote buying also happens during the election day itself as said by the interviewees. Buying may take the form of 100 pesos attached to the sample ballot. There are also ways in order to ensure that the paid voter will comply with the agreement. Before giving the money, they are required to give proofs that they voted that candidate. Usually, they bring with them a carbon paper or they are asked to take a picture of the ballot with a cell phone camera. Others asked the voters to make an agreed mark (a particular fold for example) on the ballot to serve as identification in the course of the counting of the votes. REASON WHY POLITICIANS BUY VOTES The primary reason why politicians buy votes is the hunger for power. Vote buying is a form of desperation to remain in power. Many politicians fight for the privilege of power because it implies influence and control over other individuals. They see power as the easiest way to achieve fame and fortune. Candidates want to purchase the vote of the people to obtain domination on different public organizations and mechanisms. They are not afraid to spend a big amount of money because once they are elected in office; they can easily recover the money that was used to pay those individuals. REASONS WHY PEOPLE SELL THEIR VOTES According to the April 2007 of the Social Weather Station (SWS), one in two of the registered voters think that there is nothing bad in accepting the money offers from the candidates (refer to Figure 1). Others may not see this from of money-giving as an attempt to buy their votes. They accept the money but it does not necessarily mean that they will vote for that candidate. Another reason is the offer seems as an opportunity to get the money, which was stolen by the politicians, back to the people. They might as well accept the offered money since it came from the taxes of the people. The April 2007 SWS survey also found that those in the rural areas were more probable in accepting money compared to those who live in urban areas (refer to Table 1). This shows that the primary reason for the selling of votes is poverty. Those who live in or below the poverty line mostly are unemployed individuals. They take the money because they needed it. For the poor, payment for a vote can mean a week without hunger. They just accept the offer because for them, dignity and pride cannot create food and money. Some may see elections as the only chance to obtain something from the government. They have this view that it is an obligation of a candidate to give money and other material things to their supporters. There are some reasons that we can consider negative in the part of the voters. People accept payments because they are being threatened. Most of the times, material offers are accompanied with terror, making them very difficult to refuse. Figure 1. In an election, it is not bad to accept money provided one votes according to ones conscience. Source: http://www.sws.org.ph/pr070503.htm Table 1. Rural areas approved accepting money compared to those in the urban areas. Source: http://www.sws.org.ph/pr070503.htm IS REFORM POSSIBLE? For the past few years, many have attempted to stop and eliminate the practice of vote buying in the Philippines. They even formed different organizations that promote the values of an honest election. But none of them actually succeeded. The effectiveness of efforts depends on how organizers or developers predicted the intensity of vote buying strategies as well as the various reasons why people accept the offers. A reform aims to change the behavior of the candidates and the voters. Reforms for givers usually take the form of strengthened laws. Example includes strengthened vote secrecy, tightened campaign finance rules and many others that aim to prevent anyone from buying votes. But these reforms led only to a limited success. Vote buyers, instead of stopping, have adapt themselves to the new environment. To escape punishments, they devised new ways on how to carry out vote buying like increasing the instances of indirect vote buying rather than direct vote buying. It became more uncontrollable even though new laws strained it to become more subtle. On the other hand, reform has always taken the form of voter education. Probably the most successful technique that was done to eradicate vote buying is the campaign against vote buying through different public service posters (see Illustration 1, Illustration 2 and Illustration 3). Successful in the sense that it enables the public to gain information about the wrongness of vote buying. But it did not really help in the removal of this unacceptable practice. None of the attempts to completely stop vote buying became successful. Law enforcers and reformists continue to devise stricter policies and laws against vote buying despite the fact that none of these actually really worked. Instead of wasting the time in just making stricter policies, they should consider focusing their attention on real roots of this act. Government should focus their attention more on improving economic development and education. By doing so, people will not have the reason to accept money in exchange of their votes. At this point in time, I can say that reform is really impossible. Reform will only be possible once our political and economic system become stable. Illustration 2: 3M public service ad, May 2001. blinded by money. Vote with your conscience. Source: Schaffer, 2005 Illustration 1: Namfrel Public Service Ad, May 2001. Your vote is valuable, it doesnt have a price. Your character is priceless. So, in this election, dont sell your character, dont sell you vote. Source: Schaffer, 2005 Illustration 3: Red Horse Beer public service ad, May 2001. A little pocket change wont put you ahead. Dont ask for a bribe. Vote for a good candidate. Source: Schaffer, 2005 HISTORY OF VOTE BUYING IN THE PHILIPPINES Vote buying is not just a recent development in Philippine elections. Its existence started with the coming of foreign colonizers and continued to flourish and evolve with the advancement of new technologies and the development of new ideas. Pre-colonial elections in the Philippines did not have vote buying because the leadership was assumed not through election but through succession. The same thing goes probably with the elections during the early Spanish period (17th to 18th century). I did not find any account stating that there was vote buying but I assume that there was none because there was no elections and the leaders were only appointed by the Spaniards. In the late Spanish period (19th century), Spanish colonial control in the Philippines declined as the Philippine revolution started. The revolution led to the development of a government established by Aguinaldo. Under this government, most officials were selected individuals from the principalia class and elections were only held for higher positions. There was no large scale elections during that time so vote buying was not an option. The coming of the American period started vote buying in the Philippines. The Americans gave all Filipinos the right to rule and the right to vote. Act No. 60, which became the organic law for all municipal governments, started the elite rule in the Philippines (Tangcangco, 1988). The Act provided a requirement that only allowed the elites to vote and participate in elections. The elites became powerful and they may have realized the advantage that the position can give them. They became accustomed to the power that was once denied by the Spaniards. From then on, in order to sustain this power, they did whatever means and costs to be elected in office. Here are some of the documented instances of vote buying from the American period until the present period. In the 1929 Elections (during the American period), money was very essential in the campaign period. Money was used to pay-off rivals to withdraw their candidacy, to buy the votes of the people, to threaten the people, and to bribe campaign leaders of the rival candidate. (Banlaoi Carlos, 1996). In 1940 Local elections (Commonwealth period), Money was again a very important tool. Specific example for this one is the case of Pedro Abad Santos of the Socialist Party. He was predicted as the winner of the gubernatorial race in the province of Pampanga because of his massive popularity to his constituents but his wealthy opponent won the election by almost 7000 votes. There was no evidence of the strategies his opponent had used but the Abad Santos camp was really sure that his opponent used his money to buy the votes of the people. Another example was the electoral protest of Dr. Hilario Moncado against Tomas Cabili. They were fighting for a congressional seat in Lanoa province. Moncado accused Cabili of unlawful campaign by promising free legal services and employment for those who will vote for him. (Banlaoi Carlos, 1996) In the 1949 National Elections (during the post-independence period), all forms of fraud and manipulation were reportedly done by President Elpidio Quirino to ensure his position as president. Quirino and his other candidates used massive and whole-sale vote-buying in forms of money, jobs and pork barrel. It was reported that Quirino had used almost four million pesos during his election campaign. The three provinces where the massive vote buying occurred include Negros Occidental, Nueva Ecija and Lanao. (Banlaoi Carlos, 1996) The 1969 Presidential and Congressional Elections was between The Nacionalista Party and the Liberal Party. This was considered as the bloodiest and dirtiest election (Banlaoi Carlos, 1996, p.111) prior to the Martial law period. Both parties reportedly used different techniques to ensure their victory. These included cheating, ballot stuffing and massive vote buying. It was stated in the reports that the Nacionalista Party and the Liberal Party spent around 700 million pesos and 300 million pesos respectively. That money came from the pork-barrel funds and was used as media fees and in buying votes. (Banlaoi Carlos, 1996). During the Martial law period, all kinds of wholesale fraud were committed including vote buying. In order to capture the loyalty of the rural people, Marcos personally distributed 4000 pesos to every barrio captain during his campaign. The barrio captains were tasked to divide the money among the inhabitants of the barrio. (Abueva, 1970). In the 1992 elections, there was a ban on media advertisements so the candidates had more cash to spend on their campaigns. Feliciano Belmonte, Quezon City congressional candidate at that time, was reported to have given cash and free tickets to Hongkong during his campaign. (Bionat, 1998) The media advertisement was also banned in the 1995 elections. According to Bionat (1998), mayors in Cebu received a bonus of 50,000 to 100,000 pesos for campaigning the 12 senatorial bets of the administration. Like what Marcos did, candidates also bought the votes of the grassroots leader. The difference is that the value of their support was more expensive. Barangay captains accepted a minimum of 500 pesos and a maximum of 20,000 pesos from the candidates. (Bionat, 1998) In the 2004 Presidential elections, Arroyo committed almost all kinds of fraud according to Tuazon (2006). One example is the Oplan Mercury that was exposed by Rudy Galang (one of the brains of this idea). The goals of this plan are to use public funds to the campaign, to provide money to local officials and to buy the support of those in the opposition. (Tuazon, 2006). Elections in the Philippines from pre-colonial era to the present show how we incorporate influences of colonial rule into our political system. The good and bad effects of these interventions became part of the changes in Philippine elections. History tells us that the face of Philippine elections has never really changed. We still continue to perform the practices of the past. The difference now is that it just assumes new shape and form. CONCLUSION In a poor country like ours, it is impossible to have a power because our politicians know our vulnerability to pressure and our hardships in life. Majority of our electorate are poor and have no means of livelihood, no education to back them up and they just resign themselves to taking alms and relief. The poorer the country the more prevalent vote buying is. They take advantage of our weaknesses but we cannot blame those who sell their votes. Filipinos minds are set for any answers that are immediate. That is why even when the act is illegal and unlawful, like selling votes, they instantly resort to it to easily come up with a solution to their problem, like poverty. People are quite fixated on short term solutions instead of long term ones. A 500 peso bill can buy you, lets say, a two days decent meal, but it cannot assure you economic stability in the future. For me, vote buying can be associated with surrendering ones right to vote and selling ones principle. I will definitely not sell my vote. Vote buying is based on morality. Money is good by itself but the act is evil because it violates my freedom, my dignity and my right as an individual. Vote buying is not a native Filipino idea. It was only a reflection of our colonial experience. But this experience manifest in us that it became a constant scenario in elections. History has an indirect effect on the start of vote buying in the Philippines. The desire for self-rule that was forbidden to the Filipinos for almost 300 years was suddenly bestowed to us that it might have created the idea of doing whatever it takes (may it be good or bad) to preserve and uphold this right.

The Three Main Aspects Of Globalisation Economics Essay

The Three Main Aspects Of Globalisation Economics Essay Assignment questions The current global downturn, the worst since the Great Depression 70 years ago, pounded the last nail into the coffin of globalization. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ I believe à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ that deglobalization is an opportunity. Walden Bello, The virtues of deglobalization, 3 September 2009, at http://www.fpif.org/articles/the_virtues_of_deglobalization. In a year when the Doha round of trade negotiations is technically doable, according to World Trade Organisation Director-General Pascal Lamy, discuss the issues raised by Walden Bello. Table of Contents Introduction WTO was born in 1995, with the main objectives of establishing the rules and encouraging the trades among nations (World Trade Organisation 2010). Institutions goal could be traced back to Bretton Woods system, set up to stabilizing world monetary system. To promote cooperation, Ministerial Conference has been set up once every two years as a stage for brainstorming of the ideas and concerns. At 2001 meeting in Doha, Doha Development Agenda, known as Doha round, was initiated. Though initially focused on disassembling impediment to trade for poor countries, its emphasis has been further to include globalisation and facilitation of world trade because it is perceived as an engine of growth and sharing of prosperity; it transfers capital, expands export, introduces new technology, promotes women as labour forces, and maximises wealth to trade (Fergusson 2008). Pascal Lamy, WTO chief, stated in 2010 that Doha round would ensure greater predictability and security, the value of which has been proven in the recent crisis. Though it is difficult to overcome trade impediment and negotiation issues, in November 2011 the roadmap for globalisation cooperation is agreed to be Technically Doable (Trade law centre for southern Africa 2010). Though globalisation sounds very promising, there also have been many critiques on the idea. First, globalisation has been argued to be a greedy tool of developed nations to colonize developing countries through economic control; Globalisation drives out local competitors, increases imports, drains profits out of countries, allows developed nations to exploit natural resources of developing countries, and exhausts non-renewable resources. Moreover, with the 2008 global financial crisis, globalisation was seen as a conveyance of economic depression rather than a driver of prosperity. Every country has adopted a more protectionism attitude towards foreign investment. Bello, one of the leading critics of globalisation, suggested his idea of the deglobalisation paradigm, looking at nationalization as an opportunity and a more stabilized alternative to growth. He has, instead, asked the states to emphasise trade in national rather than global level, protect local economy, upgrade quality of life, and support regional more than global institutions (Bello 2009). Figure 1 The globalisation or deglobalisation So is globalisation really beneficial or disadvantage to the participants? Is Doha Round belief correct that globalisation is a way to increase trade cooperation? Is Walden Bello right about his deglobalisation paradigm? Attempting to scrutinize this dilemma, this report will try to examine from both aspects with arguments from those who support as well as critique of globalisation, explore the costs and benefits of globalisation and, ultimately, seek the answer to the question: how the nations could maximize the benefits and minimize and limits the costs of globalisations? Supporter of Globalisation Globalisation has three main aspects which are economic, political and socio-cultural (University of Leicester 2009). Economic aspect focuses on the integration of global economies as well as flow of trade and capital across nation borders. Socio-cultural aspect emphasises on the exchanging of social and culture. Social aspect includes lifestyle, perception, and communication. Culture includes value, belief, tradition, and norm. The political aspect targets on interchange of political contact among countries (Held & McGrew 2005). The pros of globalisation would be explored through these mentioned aspects. Figure 2 three main aspects of globalisation Economic aspect Globalisation has encouraged more trades and increased the flow of capital among nations; For instance, businesses can seek their funding from foreign banks that offer the most competitive interest rate (Bhagwati 2004). MNEs have more flexibility to operate as well as locate their operations in any countries that offer advantages (e.g. cheaper labour cost or closer proximity with the customers); For example, many US corporations moved their labour intensive productions to China because Chinese workers have lower wage than the American counterpart. As a result, the world consumers can purchase goods and services at a lower price. Moreover, economic opportunity has been expanded, from domestic to regional and global consumers, as technology such as internet or cheaper transportation make possible for people to seek out new business connections (e.g. franchise). With more players selling the same goods to target customers, competition is increased; consumers will get the benefit of chea per price. There are many institutions among countries to encourage economic collaboration such as WTO, OPEC, APEC, ASEAN, EU and UNCTAD. Socio-cultural aspect Nowadays, the communication, information exchange, and mass media have been raised. This helps reduce the communication barrier so that people from different culture, life style, and society have more understanding of each other (Tomlinson 1999); For example, internet helps people to communicate easier and to find the information (such as news, fashion trend, education). Moreover, many US and UK universities open the opportunity by offering distant learning program with granted degree for foreign students who cannot afford high cost of living in the countries. This could help those people to improve their quality of life. Some problems such as poverty, health care, gender equality, child labour, and global warming are difficult or impossible to solve by individual nation. Globalisation has made such issues global awareness and concerns. It encourages harmony and willing from every country to help combat the problems (e.g. the global warming meeting held in Denmark). There are many in ternational organizations that help promote collaborations and tackle socio-cultural issues such as UNICEF, UNEP, UNESCO, and WHO. Political aspect Political tension was no longer individual problems between conflicting nations. Poverty in the Caribbean means more drugs on the streets in Washington and London. Conflict in the Balkans causes more refugees in Germany and here in the UK (Stiastny 1999). These problems can only be addressed by international co-operation. Globalisation promotes the circumstance of state interaction. Whether nations like it or not, we are all internationalists. There are a lot of collaborate institution among countries to strengthen the political collaboration UN, EU, and G7. Many conflicts were encouraged to be solved through peaceful approach, such as negotiation. After the end of cold war, globalisation inspires nations to develop friendly relationship, to help nations work together to improve quality of life, and achieve world harmony. Anti-Globalisation Globalisation became an unending controversy (Bhagwati 2004). Many critics are against globalisation because they can notice its disadvantages. To analyse how negative of the globalisation, the cons of globalisation would be seen through the same aspects as the benefits has seen through. Economic aspect According to the labour flow has distributed from developed countries to developing countries because the corporations always focus on maximising profit and try to find the lowest labour cost. The developing countries obviously have lower labour cost than developed countries. While job is increasing in developing countries, this make developed countries people losing job as well, especially for labour level. There are also many moments of crisis occur from globalist project such as Asian financial crisis (1997), the collapse of WTO Ministerial conference in Seattle (1999), and the collapse of stock market in Clinton boom (Bello 2004). Moreover, when the depression happens to one country, it will easily spread to other countries. For example, Greece great crisis heavily impact to countries in Europe zone and other countries in the world. This is because the crisis has reduced the investors confidence. Then this made Euro currency drop sharply as well. For another example, the root cause of the hamburger crisis may not be directly from globalisation. However, the globalisation stimulates and spread its effect throughout the world. Socio-cultural aspect Globalisation made the flow of culture happened, for example, the American and Western culture spread all over the world. The more powerful countries cultures have weakened the cultures of the others. The private corporations, which have the capital to invest, will have influence over the countries, in the case of media, society, and individual. Because of wider range of transportation and communication in the world, the decease will be easily spread from one country to another country. For instance, the Swine flu, which started from Mexico, distribute to other countries all over the world. Increase of environmental concerns and sustainability in developing countries because the distribution of factory, especially the polluting making factory, from developed countries to developing countries. Moreover, the war could be happened from competing for the world resources such as oil, coal, and iron. Political aspect Cerny (1997:251) states that the transformation of the nation-state into a competition state lies at the heart of political globalization. The less developed countries maybe at disadvantage and losing of control from developed countries. The illegal trade in drugs, arms, intellectual property, people, and money is booming. Like the war on terrorism, the fight to control these illicit markets pits governments against agile, stateless, and resourceful networks empowered by globalisation. Governments will continue to lose these wars until they adopt new strategies to deal with a larger, unprecedented struggle that now shapes the world as much as confrontations between nation states once did. (Naim 2003) How to make it works? In the previous sections, the benefits and disadvantages of globalisation were discussed. Both aspects seem to have good reasons to support the arguments. To seek the ultimate answer to the question that is globalisation good or bad? we may come to the point to accept the fact that globalisation is both. It depends on many interacting and interdependent forces that are the product of the dynamics of conflict and collaboration. Therefore, it is almost impossible to define singlehandedly that whether the globalisation is always good or bad. The emerging and more practical question is that how could state maximise the benefits and minimise the impact brought about by globalisation? To answer the question, Dicken (2010) suggested that countries should balance the forces of globalisation and anti-globalisation by sticking to the facts and that they should design and enact essential policies to both exploit the positive consequence and, at the same time, limit negative effect of globalisat ion. The major policies adopted by the states could be broken down into four main categories which are trade strategies, foreign direct investment (FDI) strategies, industry strategies, and labour market strategies. Figure 3 Striking balance between benefits and costs by state policies Political Policy Globalisation leads to a creation of corporation and discussion space, with the increasing trend towards emergence of international organization such as UN. Government should recognize the benefits of participation and collaboration through such international stage. For example, the suspected development of Nuclear weapon and Submarine conflict between North Korea and South Korea heighten the political tensions and threatened both countries to engage in war which would not be beneficial to both parties and would not be appreciated by other countries. South Korea developed a strategy to pressure North Korea through international stage by bringing the topic and concern to UN. Under the spotlight of globalisation, North Korea was under pressure to alter its stance and forced to negotiate or threatened sanctioned by other countries. Such example stresses on the political policy that becomes even more important tool of government that can help achieve states interest or goal. Trade Policy Trade policy includes import and export trading. The objectives of trade policy against imports are controlling import quotas, import licenses, rule of origin, subsidies to domestic producers, and protecting domestic firms from unfair competition. Also, the objectives of this policy against exports are setting export targets, creating free trade zone, and control voluntary export restraint. The example of major trade agreement among countries government are EU, NAFTA, AFTA, EFTA, and ASEAN. For example, China and U.S. are the world second and third largest exporter of Textile products (World Trade Organization 2010). U.S. textile industry got impact from low cost textile from China which distress local U.S. producers. U.S. government granted policy to limit import cheap cloth from China and influence export in this industry to China. Moreover, U.S. tries to influence WTO committee to oppose China from WTO because China heavily subsidise its textile industry and manipulate its currenc y to gain export advantages. U.S. government also granted trade agreements with several countries, such as the U.S. Korean Free Trade Agreement (KORUS), to reduce the U.S. job losses from original text favours Korean textile exporters (National Council of Textile Organization 2011). These policies accent on the trade policy that government enforcing its current trade rules. Foreign Direct Investment Policy There are two main categories of FDI polices which are inward investment by foreign firms and outward investment by national firms. Normally, the inward investment by foreign firms has more concerns. For example, Tesco, UKs largest retailer, firstly enter to Thailand in 1998 (Tesco Plc 2011). From this coming investment, there are both advantages and disadvantages to Thailands economy which need governments hand to maximise benefits and reduce costs. On one hand, for employment aspect, this big investment helps local people, especially who lost jobs from Asian crisis in 1997, had jobs in the stores and offices. Nowadays Tesco Thailand is holding approximately thirty thousand local employees and continuously having plans to develop its human resources. On the other hand, there are many local grocery stores in Thailand which sell goods on average price. When Tesco came with bigger scale of operation, hence higher bargaining power with suppliers, Tesco could sell goods on lower price an d wider range of products. Previously, local grocery stores still had more benefit on location because Tesco did not have much stores but nowadays Tesco was distributed to most of cities in Thailand. This made local stores lost customers, lost revenues, and cannot stand. From this concern, government should have foreign direct investment policy to protect its both local stores and people by setting price limit not too high and not too low which will affect each other. This help both parties can live together with no exploit each other and maximise the benefits to country. Industrial Policy Industry policy has main objectives to support declining industries, encourages strategic industries, stimulate new industries, develop depressed areas, and encourage entrepreneurship. For example, the industrial policy helps many industries in Europe countries to seize the opportunities in global business environment. EU emphasis on technology and ICT skill to help investors and businesses in any industries engage in sustainable and profitable. EU industry would therefore benefit from the fast-growing world market provided by globalisation. In other words, Europe would see rising industrial output, employment, and incomes over the coming decade. The government should give more attention to this policy. Cultural Policy Cultural policy is the government policy which related to national culture and art. The main functions of cultural policy are to promote diversity, accessibility, and heritage of culture. For example, for as long as internet has occurred, China has controlled and monitored its citizens how they use the internet. China government regulates the internet censorship for Chinese internet users via China firewall (James 2009). Although, there are many critiques throughout the world on this censorship, China still blocks and filter some websites that may be sensitive to its society and culture such as democracy topics. China believes that this could prevent its culture to be assimilated from the culture of other countries. For another example, the government from five countries, which are Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine, create culture exchange program, called Kyiv Initiative, which address on the cultural collaboration issues and cultural exchange among five countries. Th is strategic direction is very much in line with much contemporary thinking in European cultural policy, where there is a similar emphasis on regional and transnational co-operation, e.g. partnerships, networks, artistic mobility, collaboration between cities etc (Council of Europe 2006). Conclusion While Bello (2009) stated that deglobalisation is an opportunity, Lamy (Trade law centre for southern Africa 2010) said in completion of Doha Round session that globalisation is technically doable. To find the final answer, we should compound both perspective and let us see is it desirable? How to make it desirable? According to globalisation have benefits, risks, costs, and disadvantages. Then, to extract most advantages of out of globalisation, government should realise the major areas of potential impact from globalisation. If promises of globalisation are a dream, Bello is the wakeup calls for everyone who is enjoying that dream. From the previous sections, the suggestion is that the perspectives that government should adopt is neither globalisation nor deglobalisation but the ultimate decision of government should strike balance between globalisation and deglobalisation, not too extreme to only one side, to get the best way for its own country and the world. The nation need state intervention through state policy and also need learning process of government to maximize benefits and maintain an impact from globalisation. The corporation among the countries is also crucial. In today world, everyone is talking about gaining competitive advantages. Government is no exception. Usually, gaining competitive advantage means benefits for themselves but on others expenses. From previous sections, we can see that globalisation has both costs and benefits. Also, now we know how government could manage to extract those benefits and defence those costs. In my opinion, government should defence their benefits from other countries. In the mean time, government should implement the globalisation as win-win situation. Government should think and realize thoroughly because they can defence the other countries that tries to extract benefit on them. Draw benefit on our expense. Realise that best benefit man not come only for itself but collaboration to maxim ize well being. Growing and sustainable together. Now its the learning time how every country should behalf to get benefit from globalisation. Nowadays, the internet is one of engine to propel the globalisation. The Internet is a medium that allows people to communicate and interact with one another throughout the world.

Russia :: essays research papers fc

Comparative Politics Gerard Chretien RUSSIA: POLITICAL STRUCTURE: Summary: Why the democratic structure in Russia is proving to be unsuccessful. INTRODUCTION: The Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, disintegrating into thirteen different states. Ever since the political structure of Russia has been viable and lacks stability. Many reasons can be cited for this instability out of which the bearish economy and a shaky democratic system are the main causes. ANALYSIS: The reforms taken after Russia’s disintegration have yet to be proved fruitful. The economy is in no better shape then before and politically Russia has great set backs in the name of the ongoing war with Muslim freedom fighters in Chechnya. â€Å"The most important factor that needs to be established is economic growth. Successful economic development will ease the transition and enable violence and dissention among the races very avoidable. If resources are abundant and properly distributed then multiple markets can grow. However, when resources run scarce and competition arises for limited assets then violence and animosity become the only plausible alternatives. If two industries fiercely compete for limited resources then one is likely to be forced out of the market. A sound and developing economy is essential for the happiness and orderly conduct of the people (Barner-Barry & Hody, 1995)(1). Another problem cited in the progress is the difficulty of transition from communism to democracy when the government officials are trained in the old system. The process of privatization requires lengths of time and willingness of the people to take upon the businesses for which they require full governmental protection, easy paper work and full rights over their property. â€Å"If Russia is to make the transition, it must rediscover civil society (the informal network of family, church, service organization and the like). Strong civil society provides the political culture that supports liberal institutions, but the Communist Party deliberately destroyed many elements of civil society to ensure party dominance. Russia faces moral, economic, and legal gaps in its civil society. Hence Russia has a difficult road to achieve democracy.†(2) It was a widely held belief that with the fall of the Soviet Union Russia would make a rapid transition into democracy and free markets. â€Å"This overlooks the crucial role of political culture in shaping and supporting political and economic institutions. Russia did not have the political culture appropriate to western-style institutions and so became chaotic and lawless. For Russians, democracy became a dirty word, as it symbolized Russia’s troubles.

Persuasive Essay: Drunk Driving :: DUI, Alcohol, research papers

Each year numerous lives are lost due to careless and irrational driving. The disregard for safe driving has been a predicament to Queensland for years. For many years? police have relied heavily on speed cameras, breathe testing and heavy fines as a deterrent against unlawful drivers. Over the years fatality rates have increased, so Queensland Transport has composed a series of safe driving campaigns. On many occasions the transport department informs and advises the public about the importance of responsible driving. They propagate safe driving through the various channels of the media. Their safe driving campaign is now using effective propaganda aimed directly at speeding; drink driving and tired and reckless driving Repetition is often used in the safe driving campaign in order to successfully convey their message and also to ensure, that the viewer retains their main idea. Fear is also often used in an effort reach the viewer on an emotional level. Presently the Government and the transport department have worked in collaboration with one another to bring forth a message to the public about road safety. And since road fatalities have affected Australia so much that the advice has become propaganda in every sense of the term ? There is one idea propagated repeatedly in an emotional manner with appropriate cartoons and even name-calling. But has the massive propaganda campaign set out by the Government and the transport department been effective in ensuring the safety of motorist Philosophy is important when it comes to propaganda, mainly because a propaganda primarily focus?s on one main idea. The safe driving campaign is directed to be of the general good for the public. It convinces the common people of the importance of life and makes them aware of the consequences that come from small and simple choices they make everyday. Article #1 is a very effective piece of propaganda in that it captures the reader?s attention successfully by placing a picture of a dog in the focal point of the article. The dog plays a vital role in this piece of propaganda in that it represents a loved one, family and anything cherished. It shows what could be left behind, if a driver chose to ignore safe driving. The breed of dog is also very important. Choosing a sorrowful dogs face, further enhanced the emotions of the reader, as the article wouldn?t have the same effect if a dangerous dog was shown instead Persuasive Essay: Drunk Driving :: DUI, Alcohol, research papers Each year numerous lives are lost due to careless and irrational driving. The disregard for safe driving has been a predicament to Queensland for years. For many years? police have relied heavily on speed cameras, breathe testing and heavy fines as a deterrent against unlawful drivers. Over the years fatality rates have increased, so Queensland Transport has composed a series of safe driving campaigns. On many occasions the transport department informs and advises the public about the importance of responsible driving. They propagate safe driving through the various channels of the media. Their safe driving campaign is now using effective propaganda aimed directly at speeding; drink driving and tired and reckless driving Repetition is often used in the safe driving campaign in order to successfully convey their message and also to ensure, that the viewer retains their main idea. Fear is also often used in an effort reach the viewer on an emotional level. Presently the Government and the transport department have worked in collaboration with one another to bring forth a message to the public about road safety. And since road fatalities have affected Australia so much that the advice has become propaganda in every sense of the term ? There is one idea propagated repeatedly in an emotional manner with appropriate cartoons and even name-calling. But has the massive propaganda campaign set out by the Government and the transport department been effective in ensuring the safety of motorist Philosophy is important when it comes to propaganda, mainly because a propaganda primarily focus?s on one main idea. The safe driving campaign is directed to be of the general good for the public. It convinces the common people of the importance of life and makes them aware of the consequences that come from small and simple choices they make everyday. Article #1 is a very effective piece of propaganda in that it captures the reader?s attention successfully by placing a picture of a dog in the focal point of the article. The dog plays a vital role in this piece of propaganda in that it represents a loved one, family and anything cherished. It shows what could be left behind, if a driver chose to ignore safe driving. The breed of dog is also very important. Choosing a sorrowful dogs face, further enhanced the emotions of the reader, as the article wouldn?t have the same effect if a dangerous dog was shown instead

Managing Marketing Function

Managing the Marketing Function Project Management Course work MKT2280, 2011-2012 Lecturer: Masoumeh Mahdieh (m. [email  protected] ac. uk) Coursework description: Read the following questions and make sure you answer all parts listed for each question. You must email your coursework as one document in MS Word format to m. [email  protected] ac. uk by the deadline of 12 noon on Friday the 20 January 2012. You must also submit an identical hardcopy of your coursework to the Student Office at William building by the same deadline. Late submissions or submission through other methods will not be accepted. This coursework is worth 25% of your overall mark. Make sure that you clearly show your name and student number of all the group’s members and module code on the Cover sheet of your Report (use cover sheet template in appendix 3). Keep the submission receipt and a copy of your assignment in a safe place. Questions: 1. You are conducting a market research project for FUN Inc. Given the project information that follows, draw AON project network and complete the forward and backward pass. Compute ES, EF, LS, LF and slack time for each activity. Identify the project completion time and critical path. Also use the information to create a Gantt chart for the project. Be sure to show slack for noncritical activities. ID| Description| Duration | Predecessor | A| Contract signed| 3| None| B| Survey designed | 2| A| C| Target market identified | 4| B| D| Data collection| 7| B, C| E| Develop presentation| 3| B| F| Analyze result| 2| D| G| Demographics| 5| C| H| Presentation | 2| E, F, G| Note: To draw project network, Gantt chart and timing use the project templates from Appendix 1. 2. You are in charge of organizing a dinner-dance concert for a local charity. You have reserved a hall that will seat 30 couples and have hired a jazz combo. A. Develop a scope statement for this project that contains examples of all the elements. Assume that the event will occur in 4 weeks and provide your best guess estimate of the dates for milestones. B. What would the priorities likely be for this project? (Draw project priority matrix) Note: Use appendix 2 for project priority matrix and scope statement. 3. Nicolette Larson was loading the dishwasher with her husband, Kevin, and telling him about the first meeting of the Manchester United Tournament Organizing Committee. Nicolette, a self confessed â€Å"soccer mom,† had been elected tournament director and was responsible for organizing the clubs first summer tournament. Manchester United Soccer Club (MUSC) located in Manchester, New Hampshire was formed in 1992 as a way of bringing recreational players to a higher level of competition and preparing them for the State Olympic Development Program and/or high school teams. The club currently has 24 boys and aids (ranging in age from under 9 to 16) on teams affiliated with the Hampshire Soccer Association and the Granite State Girls Soccer League. The club’s board of directors decided in the fall to sponsor a summer invitational soccer tournament to generate revenue. Given the boom in youth soccer, hosting summer tournaments has become a popular method for raising funds. MUSC teams regularly compete in three to four tournaments each summer at different locales in New England. These tournaments have been reported to generate between $50,000 and S70,000 for the host club. MUSC needs additional revenue to refurbish and expand the number of soccer fields at the Rock Rimmon soccer complex. Funds would also be used to augment the club's scholarship program, which provides financial aid to players who cannot afford the $450 annual club dues. Nicolette gave her husband a blow-by-blow account of what transpired during the first tournament committee meeting that night. She started the meeting by having everyone introduce themselves and by proclaiming how excited she was that the club was going to sponsor its own tournament. She then suggested that the committee brainstorm what needed to be done to pull off the event; she would record their ideas on a flipchart. What emerged was a free-for-all of ideas and suggestions. One member immediately stressed the importance of having qualified referees and spent several minutes describing in detail how his son's team was robbed in a poorly officiated championship game. This was followed by other stories of injustice on the soccer field. Another member suggested that they needed to quickly contact the local colleges to see if they could use their Fields. The committee spent more than 30 minutes talking about how they should screen teams and how much they should charge as an entry fee. An argument broke out over whether they should reward the winning teams in each age bracket with medals or trophies. Many members felt that medals were too cheap, while others thought the trophies would be too expensive. Someone suggested that they seek local corporate sponsors to help fund the tournament. The proposed sale or tournament T-shirts and sweatshirts was followed by a general critique of the different shirts parents had acquired at different tournaments. One member advocated that they recruit an artist he knew to develop a unique silk-screen design for the tournament. The meeting adjourned 30 minutes late with only half of the members remaining until the end. Nicolette drove home with seven sheets of ideas and a headache. As Kevin poured a glass of water for the two aspirin Nicolette was about to take, he tried to comfort her by saying that organizing this tournament would be a big project not unlike the projects he works on at his engineering and design firm. He offered to sit down with her the next night and help her plan the project. He suggested that the first thing they needed to do was to develop a WBS for the project. A. Make a list of the major deliverables for the project and use them to develop a draft of the work breakdown structure for the tournament that contains at least three levels of detail. What are the major deliverables associated with hosting an event such as a soccer tournament? B. How would developing a WBS alleviate some of the problems that occurred during the first meeting and help Nicolette organize and plan the project? C. Where can Nicolette find additional information to help her develop a WBS for the tournament? Appendix 1: Project network template: ES LS LF EF A 3 Project Gantt chart: A| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | B| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | C| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | D| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | E| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | F| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | G| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | H| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | time| 1| 2| 3| 4| 5| 6| 7| 8| 9| 10| 11| 12| 13| 14| 15| 16| 17| 18| 19| 20| 21| 22| Project timing: Activity ID| Earliest start| Earliest finish| Latest start| Latest finish| Slack time| A| 0| 3| | | | B| | | | | | C| | | | | | D| | | | | | E| | | | | | F| | | | | | G| | | | | | H| | | | | | Appendix 2: Priority matrix: To fill the table, type X or shade the appropriate box with any colour | Time | Performance | Cost | Constrain| | | | Enhance | | | | Accept| | | | Scope statement: Project Objective: | Deliverables:| Milestones:| Technical requirement:| Limits and Exclusions:| Customer review:| Appendix 3: Cover sheet template Managing the Marketing Function Project Management Course work MKT2280, 2011-2012 Lecturer: Masoumeh Mahdieh (m. [email  protected] ac. uk) Date: Group’s details: Name| Student number| Signature | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

System Thinking and Action Research

System Theory and Action Research Susan M Ross Dr. Tyler Zerwekh September 15, 2012 Abstract Public health practices and policies are largely influenced by the population involved and seek to improve the overall health of the public. Achieving success in systems thinking requires making strategic decisions about what processes will best achieve the public health goals. Systems Theory Information Technology Systems Theory evaluates the relationship between information systems, and information technology, and people.Action Research is used in the field of public health to alleviate adverse conditions in communities by addressing the determinants of health, community-wide interventions, and health promotion. Examples of Action Research evaluate the computer usage and health information technology and health collaboration groups as well as promotion of information health management techniques. An emphasis on relationship is the heart of systems orientation.Systems thinking involving huma ns require an understanding of the nature of the system and its dynamics requires and an understanding of the people involved and the interaction with each other in the applicable network of the system. Action Research is a participatory, democratic process concerned with developing practical knowledge in the pursuit of worthwhile human purposes, theory and practice, in participation with others in the pursuit of practical solutions to issues of pressing concern to people, and more generally the flourishing of individual persons and communities. Reason & Bradbury, 2001). This paper will present a demonstration of a thorough analysis of a systems theory, action research, and an action research proposal to analyze the theory in relation to Caucasian socio-economic group. Systems Theory Fundamental systems-thinking perspectives and approaches that are shared across different fields are: (1) increased attention to how new knowledge is ained, managed, exchanged, interpreted, integrated, and disseminated; (2) emphasis on a network-centric approach that encourages relationship-building among and between individuals and organizations across traditional disciplines and fields in order to achieve relevant goals and objectives; (3) the development of models and projections, using a variety of analytic approaches in order to improve strategic decision making; and (4) systems organizing in order to foster improvements in organizational structures and functions (Leischow, et. al, 2008).Achieving success in systems thinking requires making strategic decisions about what processes will best achieve the public health goals for the designated population and how new discoveries can be disseminated effectively, and what structures and functions are needed to deliver the new knowledge. Effective knowledge flow results in better network performance, which allow for the achievement of systems-level change. Systems organizing have evolved from traditional management theory to a learn ing organizational theory, or an adaptive-systems perspective within other systems environments.Information Technology Systems Theory Information Systems (IS) theory is de? ned as concepts that speculate on social and technical relationships between Information Technology, Information Systems and social outcomes. Much IS theory originated in other disciplines and has been re? ned or applied to examine IT/IS issues. IS theory would also be classified as to include the technology acceptance model (TAM) and structuration theory and IT productivity models as applied to IS/IT phenomena (Chiasson, Davidson,2004) . Over the past years public health systems have evolved significantly.As personal computers became more powerful and operating systems became more usable with the advent of Microsoft Windows, Computer information systems were updated to make use of more modern features, capabilities and software. Public health agencies began to recognize that information technology was a legitima te target for investment to improve their ability to perform core public health functions. As agencies began to upgrade replace or create new systems that were more robust and specialized using modern database management systems and tools on more reliable platforms, and the Internet began to come into its own.The Center for Disease Control promoted its first System wide area communication and system integration projects through its Information Network for Public Health Officials (INPHO) initiative in 1993. (Artz, Salkowitz, 2007). Computer technology moved fairly quickly from the glass confines of the dedicated computer room to the general-purpose office. Over the past thirty years standards for technology have become an important fixture of organizational computing life.Enforcement of standards also varies greatly depending on the political support for Information Technology (IT). As applications became more network-aware and network dependent, the need to leverage network investme nts became critical. Public health agencies became more ambitions as technology became more enabling. Computer Information Technology has a lot to offer Public Health agencies: existing data sets may be consolidated and population-based, including experiences negotiating data sharing agreements and memoranda of understanding.With advancing technology national and international standards are being quickly developed to guide this functionality. (Artz, Salkowitz, 2007). Standards with compliance for patient information data sharing among different agencies, and back-up systems in the event of system failure and crisis are also among the concerns for globalizing Information Systems. Action Research Action research is a collaborative approach to research that provides people with the means to take systematic action in an effort to resolve specific problems.Action research focuses on methods and techniques of investigation that take into account the study population’s history, cult ure, interactive activities and emotional lives. Although action research makes use of many traditional data-gathering strategies, its orientation and purpose are slightly different. The basic action research procedural routine involves four stages; (1) identifying the research question (s), (2) gathering the information to answer the questions (s), (3) analyzing and interpreting the information and (4) sharing the results with the participants (Berg, 2004).Action Research is used in the field of public health to alleviate adverse conditions in communities by addressing the determinants of health, community-wide interventions, and health promotion. Indeed, action research is less a methodology and more a set of guidelines for the roles of the researcher and collaborators, interweaving theory and action and the function of the research knowledge.There are many subtle variations and iterations of action research, but a gross distinction could be made between action research that is co nducted by a researcher implementing an intervention at a community level for the dual purposes of change and knowledge outcomes versus community based participatory action research where those affected by the change and other important stakeholders participate in all stages of the research from design, implementation, and data gathering to analysis.Participatory action research approaches often have the additional goal of promoting critical consciousness where through cyclical stages of dialogue participants attain a greater understanding of their situation, which in turn may result in political or major social change (Mullett, Fletcher, 20). Critics of Participatory Action Research (PAR) have questioned whether the reality of participatory research is ideal for promoting a healthy community.The language of participation in health promotion research, and the inattention to gender, social and cultural (as in the use of universal terms like â€Å"the oppressed†) differences in participation in research processes do not always comport with the outcome values of PAR. Further, while participatory approaches can stimulate capacity building and community development, they can also bring unequal players to an uneven table to participate in difficult predetermined decision making (Minkler, 2000).Action research also called participatory research is an alternative philosophy of social research. Three particular attributes are often used to distinguish participatory research from conventional research: shared ownership of research projects, community-based analysis of social problems, and an orientation toward community action. Critical action research expresses a commitment to bring together broad social analysis—the self-reflective collective self-study of practice, the way in which language is used, organization and power in a local situation, and action to improve things.Critical action research is strongly represented in the literatures of educational action research, and there it emerges from dissatisfactions with classroom action research that typically does not take a broad view of the role of the relationship between education and social change. Critical action research has attempted to take account of disadvantage attributable to gender and ethnicity as well as to social class in its initial point of reference (Kimmis, McTaggart, 2007). Examples of Action Research Lau and Hayward (1997) used an action research approach in a study to explore the structure of Internet-based collaborative work groups.Over a two-year period, the researchers participated as facilitators in three action research cycles of problem-solving among approximately 15 instructors and project staff, and 25 health professionals from various regions striving to make a transition to a more community-based health program. The aim was to explore how Internet-based communications would influence their evolution into a virtual collaborative workgroup. The first phase was taken up with defining expectations, providing the technology and developing the customized workgroup system.The next phase saw the full deployment of the system, and the main lesson learned was that the steepness of the learning curve was severely underestimated, with frustrations only minimally satisfied by a great deal of technical support provided by telephone. The final cycle saw the stabilization of the system and the emergence of the virtual groups. The interpretations of the study suggest that role clarity, relationship building, information sharing, resource support, and experiential learning are important aspects in virtual group development.There was also a sense that more research was needed on how group support systems can help groups interact with their external environment, as well as on how to enhance the process of learning by group members. Comstock and Fox (1995) have written about their experiences in integrating computer conferencing into a learning co mmunity for mid-career working adults attending a Graduate Management Program at Antioch University in Seattle. Their findings relate to establishing boundaries to interaction, creating a caring community, and building collaborative learning.Students were expected to use the system for collaborative learning using three forms of conversation – dialogue, discussion and critical reflection. Dialogues were enjoined as a result of attempts to relate classroom lessons to personal situations at work, with a better understanding provided by multiple opinions. Discussions, distinguished by the goal of making a group decision or taking an action, required a fair degree of moderation, insofar as participants found it difficult to reach closure.The process of reflecting critically on ideas was also difficult – participants rarely took the time to analyze postings, preferring a more immediate, and more superficial, conversational style. The authors conclude with four recommendatio ns: 1) be clear about the purpose of the computer conference and expectations for use; 2) develop incentives for widespread and continuous participation; 3) pay attention to affects of the software on the way the system is used for learning; and 4) teach members of the community how to translate face-to-face collaborative processes to the on-line environment (Reason, & Bradbury, 2001).Action Research Proposal The Affordable Care Act calls for a greater reliance on the internet as a means of communicating health and coverage information, yet variations in the current usage of the internet by some populations have important implications for implementation. Based on the results of The Washington Post, the Kaiser Family Foundation, and Harvard University Race and Recession  Survey(2011),  six in 10 adults overall say they have ever used the Internet to access health information, and access differs by race and  income.Forty-three percent of Hispanics report having ever used the Int ernet to access health information, while 56 percent of blacks and 65 percent of whites report doing so. The differences are even more striking among those with lower incomes. Just three in ten Hispanics with incomes under $40,000 say they have ever used the Internet to access health information, compared with 44 percent of blacks and half of whites with similar incomes. More than 70 000 websites disseminate health information; in excess of 50 million people seek health information online, with likely consequences for the health care system.The Internet offers widespread access to health information, and the advantages of interactivity, information tailoring and anonymity. However, access is inequitable and use is hindered further by navigational challenges due to numerous design features (e. g. disorganization, technical language and lack of permanence). Increasingly, critics question the quality of online health information; limited research indicates that much is inaccurate. Meag er information-evaluation skills add to consumers' vulnerability, and reinforce the need for quality standards and widespread criteria for evaluating health information (Kline, Haynes, 2001).An action research project evaluating the effects of the information technology theory on Caucasians over a period of time would be helpful in providing evidence based research for the Information Technology Systems Theory. The research project would review a group of Caucasian males and females in the same age range, the same level of computer skills and education. The focus of the research is to determine if the majority of access to healthcare was through the use of Information Technology would it create a healthier group then a group with minimal access to healthcare period.The group would be evaluated for a year. During the time frame the group would have an in-person visit with a doctor once every six months except for an emergency. The visit would include a complete physical and required wellness checks. Follow-up visits would be via Skye or video-conferencing. The group would be deemed physically and mentally fit excluding family history of health issues. The group would be given a pass to a fitness center for a year to maintain their health, and would have to maintain contact with a nutritionist and their physician via the computer e-mail o a regular basis.The group would also have access to the Internet anytime they want for the evaluation time. The rest of the environmental and social aspects would be determined by each participate of the research project, meaning that each participates could be local or global as long as there is consistent monitoring of the all of the participates. The evaluation would incorporate Action Research and Critical Action research as some instances would take into account the social economic status of the participants. Given that the largest percentage of whites used the computer and there is a large portion of people that lack acce ss to healthcare in all races.Minimizing variables, such as computer knowledge and education levels and providing all necessary tools to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Researchers would have options to focus the variable changes if there are any on the social economic condition of the individual participants. In conclusion Systems thinking involving humans require an understanding of the nature of the system and its dynamics requires and an understanding of the people involved and the interaction with each other in the applicable network of the system.Public health agencies began to recognize that information technology was a legitimate target for investment to improve their ability to perform core public health functions. Computer Information Technology has a lot to offer Public Health agencies: existing data sets may be consolidated and population-based, including experiences negotiating data sharing agreements and memoranda of understanding. Action research approaches can stimulat e capacity building and community development in designated social status groups if the focus is correctly designated. References Arzt, N. H. Salkowitz, S. M (2007), Evolution of public health information systems: Enterprise-wide approaches, p4-6, 11-13, 18-22. Berg, B. L. , (2004), Qualitative research methods for the social sciences, retrieved on August 23, 2012, from http://digilib. bc. edu/reserves/sc210/piat/sc21007. pdf Chaisson, M. W. , Davidson, E. , (2004), Pushing the contextual envelope: developing and diffusing IS theory for health information systems research, Elsevier Ltd. pg 157, retrieved on September 13, 2012, from http://www. butlercommonplace. org/thoughts/images/d/d0/Chiasson_et_al_2004__Info_and_Org. df Comstock, D. , ; Fox, S. , (1995),  Ã‚   Computer conferencing in a learning community: opportunities obstacles. †Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www. seattleantioch. edu/VirtualAntioch/DRAFT7HT. HTM (14/04/1998). Kemmis, S. , McTaggart, R, (2007), Participatory action r esearch, Communicative action and the public sphere, retrieved on September 13, 2012, from http://www. corwin. com/upm-data/21157_Chapter_10. pdf Cline, R. J. W. , & Haynes, K. M. , (2001) Consumer health information seeking on the Internet: the state of the art, Oxford Journals, Volume, 16, Issue 6, pp671-692, etrieved on September 13, 2012, from http://her. oxfordjournals. org/content/16/6/671. long Lau, F. , and Hayward, F. (1997). â€Å"Structuration of Internet-based collaborative work groups through action research. Retrieved on September 13, 2012 from   http://search. ahfmr. ab. ca/tech_eval/gss. htm (11/4/1998). Leischow, S. J (2008), Systems thinking to improve the public’s health, American Journal of Preventive Medicine, retrieved on September 9, 2012, from http://dccps. nci. nih. gov/brp/scienceteam/ajpm/SystemsThinkingImprovePublicsHealth. pdf. Mullett, J. Fletcher, S. , (2011), Action research in public health, Oxford Index, retrieved on September 13, 2012, fr om http://oxfordindex. oup. com/view/10. 1093/obo/9780199756797-0018 Minkler, M. , (2000) Using participatory action research to build healthy communities, Public health reports, Focus on healthy communities. Retrieved on September 13, 2012, from http://www. ncbi. nlm. nih. gov/pmc/articles/PMC1308710/pdf/pubhealthrep00022-0089. pdf Reason, P. , ; Bradbury, H. (2001). Handbook of action research: participative inquiry and practice. London: SAGE. Retrieved on September 7, 2012