Monday, March 23, 2020

8 things a great boss does for you

8 things a great boss does for you In the working world, bosses usually fall into one of three categories: bad bosses, good bosses, and bosses that are just okay. You’ve likely had one of these so far in your career. And then, once in a blue moon comes along a  great boss- one that brings out the best in you and makes showing up to work a truly valuable experience. Does your boss go above and beyond? Read on to find out what a talented and nurturing leader does daily for employees.1. Gives recognition and feedbackA great boss sets out clear expectations and then lets you know regularly how you’re doing. Are you meeting expectations? Exceeding them? Are there a few areas where you need more focus? Also, when you succeed or go above and beyond, great bosses show you they’ve seen your extra effort and that they recognize how hard you’ve been working. Without this kind of validation- even the critical feedback- how can an employee hope to grow?2. Helps you market yourselfBosses have access to all kinds of data you may not. If your boss commends you for a new initiative or for reaching a set goal, that’s good. If they help dig up the numbers, i.e. the proof of the impact your actions have made for the company or industry, then they are arming you to succeed even more. Sure, your boss knows you might use these stats to market yourself elsewhere one day, but that’s not the point- the mark of a great boss is caring about the growth and development of employees, no matter where they may land.3. Empowers you to do great thingsYou’re not just allowed to voice your concerns and frustrations as they arise, you’re invited to- no, expected to. The environment of your office is one in which employees are empowered to take on challenges of logistics, products, processes, and procedures with the aim of bettering the company for themselves and everyone else involved. Great bosses aren’t threatened by giving their employees this leeway- they know chan ge from the inside is good change.4. Runs efficient meetingsA great boss’s meetings not only are short, sweet, and to the point- they are also only called when necessary. Great bosses don’t waste their time- or anybody else’s- on time-wasting trips to the conference room where people jot down useless notes. They keep the meeting schedule lean and mean and make each moment count for something. Employees leave meetings energized and keyed up to work, rather than feeling that the same things have been rehashed a different way.5. Encourages your personal growthGreat bosses help you to further your career, even if that means you’ll take your new knowledge and experience and leave your current position or company a little sooner. They give you projects and initiatives that match your interests and ambitions so you don’t feel stuck in a rut.   They also encourage you to take risks and give you the resources and support for those risks to bear fruit for both of you.6. Stands up for work-life balanceGreat bosses dial down the micromanaging and make sure their employees aren’t going home (or coming in to work) exhausted and depleted. They encourage you to take your vacation days, to make use of wellness plans, and to take regular breaks for fresh air, food, and hydration. They want you to flourish as a whole person, not just as some employee robot on their assembly line. And they never get their panties in a bunch about how long you take for coffee breaks or lunch- as long as you get your work done well. They loosen the reins and let you find your own stride.7. Gives credit where credit is dueGreat bosses won’t take credit for your ideas when they’re reporting to  their bosses- they’ll make it clear that a good idea was yours, thereby pushing you up the ladder and commending themselves for having hired you and cultivated your talent. Giving credit is a staple trait of good leadership, but it is unfortuna tely rare.8. Creates a welcoming office cultureIn a healthy workplace, employees feel safe and heard. Great bosses create and cultivate this environment. They earn trust and help their team maintain a real sense of camaraderie. In a great office culture, failures are merely opportunities to learn. Weak links are supported and helped along the path to improvement. Team members are chosen deliberately to complement this community of learning and growth.If your boss is good, consider yourself lucky. If your boss is one of the great ones, soak up all the knowledge you can- you’ve been given a rare professional gift that you should use to your advantage!

Friday, March 6, 2020

Common Chemicals and Where to Find Them

Common Chemicals and Where to Find Them This is a list of common chemicals and where you can find them or how you can make them. Key Takeaways: Locate Common Chemicals Many ordinary household products consist of relatively pure elements and compounds.If you have trouble locating a chemical, check for both its common name and its chemical name. For example, table salt is sodium chloride and saltpeter is potassium nitrate.Read labels to see whether additional compounds have been added. Impurities can have a significant effect on projects. acetic acid (CH3COOH H2O)Weak acetic acid (~5%) is sold in grocery stores as white vinegar. acetone (CH3COCH3)Acetone is found in some nail polish removers and some paint removers. It may sometimes be found labelled as pure acetone. aluminum (Al)Aluminum foil (grocery store) is pure aluminum. So is the aluminum wire and aluminum sheeting sold at a hardware store. aluminum potassium sulfate (KAl(SO4)212H2O)This is alum that is sold at a grocery store. ammonia (NH3)Weak ammonia (~10%) is sold as a household cleaner. ammonium carbonate [(NH4)2CO3]Smelling salts (drug store) are ammonium carbonate. ammonium hydroxide (NH4OH)Ammonium hydroxide may be prepared by mixing household ammonia (sold as a cleaner) and strong ammonia (sold in some pharmacies) with water. ascorbic acid (C6H8O6)Ascorbic acid is vitamin C. It is sold as vitamin C tablets in the pharmacy. borax or sodium tetraborate (Na2B4O7 * 10H2O)Borax is sold in solid form as a laundry booster, all-purpose cleaner and sometimes as an insecticide. boric acid (H3BO3)Boric acid is sold in pure form as a powder for use as a disinfectant (pharmacy section) or insecticide. butane (C4H10)Butane is sold as lighter fluid. calcium carbonate (CaCO3)Limestone and calcite are calcium carbonate. Eggshells and seashells are calcium carbonate. calcium chloride (CaCl2)Calcium chloride can be found as a laundry booster or as a road salt or de-icing agent. If you are using the road salt, be sure it is pure calcium chloride and not a mixture of various salts. Calcium chloride is also the active ingredient in the moisture absorbing product DampRid. calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)2)Calcium hydroxide is sold with garden supplies as slaked lime or garden lime to reduce soil acidity. calcium oxide (CaO)Calcium oxide is sold as quicklime at builder supply stores. calcium sulfate (CaSO4 * H2O)Calcium sulfate is sold as plaster of Paris in craft stores and building supply stores. carbon (C)Carbon black (amorphous carbon) can be obtained by collecting soot from the complete burning of wood. Graphite is found as pencil lead. Diamonds are pure carbon. carbon dioxide (CO2)Dry ice is solid carbon dioxide, which sublimates into carbon dioxide gas. Several chemical reactions evolve carbon dioxide gas, such as the reaction between vinegar and baking soda to form sodium acetate. copper (Cu)Uncoated copper wire (from a hardware store or electronics supply store) is extremely pure elemental copper. copper(II) sulfate (CuSO4) and copper sulfate pentahydrateCopper sulfate may be found in certain algicides (Bluestoneâ„ ¢) at pool supply stores and sometimes in garden products (Root Eaterâ„ ¢). Be sure to check the product label, since many different chemicals may be used as algicides. helium (He)Pure helium is sold as a gas. If you only need a little, simply purchase a helium-filled balloon. Otherwise, gas supplies usually carry this element. iron (Fe)Iron skillets are made of elemental iron. You can also pick up iron filings by running a magnet through most soils. lead (Pb)Elemental lead metal is found in lead fishing weights. magnesium sulfate (MgSO4 * 7H2O)Epsom salts, usually sold at a pharmacy, are magnesium sulfate. mercury (Hg)Mercury is used in some thermometers. It is more difficult to find than in the past, but many home thermostats still use mercury. naphthalene (C10H8)Some mothballs are pure naphthalene, though check the ingredients since others are made using (para)dichlorobenzene. propane (C3H8)Propane as sold as a gas barbecue and blow torch fuel. silicon dioxide (SiO2)Silicon dioxide is found as clean sand, which is sold at garden and building supply stores. Broken glass is another source of silicon dioxide. potassium chloridePotassium chloride is found as ​lite salt. sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3)Sodium bicarbonate is baking soda, which is sold in grocery stores. sodium chloride (NaCl)Sodium chloride is sold as table salt. Look for the uniodized variety of salt. sodium hydroxide (NaOH)Sodium hydroxide is a strong base that may sometimes be found in solid drain cleaner. The pure chemical is waxy white solid, so if you see other colors in the product, expect that it contains impurities. sodium tetraborate decahydate or borax (Na2B4O7 * 10H2O)Borax is sold in solid form as a laundry booster, all-purpose cleaner and sometimes as an insecticide. sucrose or saccharose (C12H22O11)Sucrose is ordinary table sugar. White granulated sugar is your best bet. There are additives in confectioners sugar. If the sugar is not clear or white then it contains impurities. sulfuric acid (H2SO4)Car battery acid is about 40% sulfuric acid. The acid can be concentrated by boiling it, though it may be heavily contaminated with lead, depending on the state of the batterys charge when the acid was collected. zinc (Zn)Zinc blocks may be sold by some electronics supply stores for use as anode. Zinc sheets may be sold as roof flashing at some building supply stores.

Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Respite Services Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Respite Services - Essay Example The Canadian occupational performance Measure is one respite programme that has been developed to help care givers in sustaining and enhancing their occupation. This program is abbreviated as COPM and it was developed in Canada in 1991 for the purpose of care givers. The COPM was specifically made for therapists. It measures a person's outcome in terms of perception of his/her work over a period of time. In doing this sit can detect any changes in the care givers perception of his/her occupation with the main objective of improving it. The methodological approach of this respite service instrument involves the administration of a semi-structured interview which is accompanied by a structure scoring method. In its ability to enhance performance, continuous tests are done and the scores recorded. In a series of assessments, a trend is developed that can be use to evaluate the performance of the client. The COPM instrument was used on about 170 children in Ontario and Quebec, Canada. Recruitment of these children took place in between 2002 and 2003. Occupational output, quality of life and expenses were determined at baseline level and at the study completion. Perception of care was quantified at the end of the investigation. The COPM assessed the client's thought of performance in daily routines. (Kiresuk, Smith, Cardillo, 1994) Scores derived from the COPM inclined by an average of 2... Occupational performance outcomes Scores derived from the COPM inclined by an average of 2.6 over the span of the research. Satisfaction scores on the COPM increased by 2.4. These outcomes were both statistically significant (p

Monday, February 3, 2020

Federal Acts Affecting MIS Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Federal Acts Affecting MIS - Research Paper Example For instance, this act forces the cable operators and service providers to provide a printed guideline containing information on public privacy whenever a connection is issued to a person. This act increased the customers’ confidence by ensuring a great deal of privacy and security of their information. On the other hand, this act forced the cable operators not to disclose their customers’ information as well as get approval of the customer prior to making use of their information. In this scenario, this act has offered an excellent support for ensuring the security of customer data (PUBLIC ACCESS AWARENESS ASSOCIATION, n.d; University of Miami School of Medicine, 2005). The telephone consumer protection act (TCPA) was introduced in 1991 and it was aimed at making sure that people are not pressurized by telemarketers as well as have the facility to avoid. Additionally, it also allows people to restrict autodialed calls that have the capability to connect two or more lines of a traditional communication structure of multi-line business. In addition, this act also ensures that the customers do not get unwanted publicity material via faxes connected to the personal telephone. Moreover, this act is an excellent solution for dealing with telephone technology abuse. Furthermore, this act also allows customers to ensure the safety of their personal information and data (Aydenemma, 2012; FCC, 2012; American Teleservices Association, 2012; Direct Marketing Association,

Sunday, January 26, 2020

Risk Management in Healthcare: Advantages and Disadvantages

Risk Management in Healthcare: Advantages and Disadvantages Submitted to : Mr. Emmanuel Badu Risk Management in healthcare facility The health care environment faces different and numerous of emerging risk, related to health care reform. The purpose of risk management is to pinpoint potential problems before they can affect and occur, so that the organization can planned and invoked ahead of time if needed. The risk handling process can mitigate unfavourable results on attaining objectives of the organization. This is a continuous and vital process of the business and management, and it should address the issues that can affect the achievement of objectives. Risk management must applied effectively that would mitigate and anticipate the risk that can critical the project. The effective risk management can measure by early and aggressive approach with collaboration and actively participation of stakeholders. Stable and strong management are important to build an environment that has open communication regarding possible risk. Internal and external risk must both consider for example cost, technical and schedule. Enterprise risk management helps ensure effective reporting and compliance with laws and regulations, and helps avoid damage to the entity’s reputation and associated consequences. In sum, enterprise risk management helps an entity to get where it wants to go and avoid pitfalls and surprises along the way. (Flaherty, 2004, p.1) Benefits of risk management in healthcare facility The healthcare facilities are always experiencing tremendous pressure from its consumer to provide highest-quality, reasonable cost care, workforce and aging population. Implementing this program has a place from planning to operations for handling crisis especially in healthcare facility where lives are handled. Challenges highlight that need to address in a healthcare facility are patient safety, regulations, policy, medical error and impact of legislation. The potential issues can have a big impact or can create a long term effects. Ignoring the potential risk can compromise patient care, financial losses and increase liability. Compliance is one of the benefit of implementing risk management, this ensure aspects of accreditation, licensure, medical conditions and coverage. This can prevent and protect the healthcare organization from degrees of loss. It can also provide effective mitigation or lessen the potential loss. â€Å"If you follow the principles of risk management you can mitigate collateral losses following an adverse event† (Hiatt, 2007, p.1). Another benefit is to provide a framework to increase patient outcomes, for example patient’s survey can inform the organization if clients are not satisfied with service, and this is an issue to consider for quality improvement. Lastly reduction of adverse effects, the organization should know there strengths and weaknesses to prepare them to face the challenges for providing quality care. Uncertain situation presents both risk and opportunity, it can erode or enhance the organization. Risk management enables the management to effectively fac e and deal with unexpected situation and increase its value. â€Å"Risk management is typically a hybrid function bridging a number of disciplines to reduce the incidence of organizational loss† (Hall, 2015, p.1) Risk management Reviewing activities and internal environment This component is the foundation of the framework, and it wraps how the health care facilities view and addressed the risk. It encompasses the management’s style and philosophy, it is a set of values, attitudes and practices to deal with risk. This is communicated within in the organization by policy statements and actions as well. The management aligned the people, process, and organization to facilitate successful action to cope in risk appetite. The said style is communicated and must be understood by the member of the organization. Every member of the organization should know the organizations philosophy, ethical values integrity, and culture of the workplace. Setting objectives Objectives are always aligned with tone of organization and always consistent with the risk appetite. It has four categories the strategic, operations, reporting and compliance. The objective should work well with all levels of risk that the organization accept in order to achieve its objective or risk tolerance. The successful risk management gives an assurance that the objectives will be reached and achieved within acceptable level of residual risk. Setting objectives is a tool that make and create target for the organisation to achieve. The healthcare facility need to set objectives to ensure all staff or employees are on the same level or same page when working in the facility. The employees will need to understand the reason behind the organisation to maximize the effectivity and efficiency. Management also need to set objectives for the employees to meet the level of expected action within the organization. According to Vitez (2009) â€Å"objectives should be clear, measurable and realistic† (p.1). Event identification This refers both on the internal and external circumstances. The organization identifies possible events that may affect negatively and positively on achieving its goals and objectives. Some of the internal categories originally from the choices of management; Operational risk, Empowerment risks, Information technology risk, Integrity risk, Financial risk, and decision risk. â€Å"The objective of risk identification is the early and continuous identification of events that, if they occur, will have negative impacts on the project’s ability to achieve performance or capability outcome goals† (Mitre Institute, 2007, p.1). Risk assessment with particular reference to the impact and likelihood risk The risk are identified, studied its impact, and the basis for determining how to solve and managed them. It’s a combination of qualitative and quantitative in order to determined and analyse how to managed and prioritize risk. The risk are ranked by levels this can help the managers to know and visualize future effects. First level is the Low exposition area refers to not significant situation that may be controlled, this usually can solve within the organization among the team. Second level Medium exposition area, this refers fair or not so urgent attention. The impact can be high and or low risk, but should managed accordingly to prevent high impact and prevent the likelihood. Third level is the High exposition area, refer to risk that need urgent attention, critical importance and on top priorities. Risk response plans The organizations management select the alternative risk response and the effects on risk that have high probability to happen and also the impact on financial against the benefits. Developing sets of plans to avoid, lessen and accept the risk. The four possible risk ask avoidance, treating, transferring and tolerance. Avoidance refers to response where you avoid or exit the causes of risk. Treating where action is implemented to lessen or mitigate the risk of unfavourable impact. Transferring means reducing or decreasing the likelihood and impact of risk. One of the popular transferring response is insurance. Tolerance refers to no action taken to the present risk. The organization must able to treat risk to know its causes and evaluate whether to manage or tolerate it according to convenience and opportunity of the response. Control activities Building strong actions plans, policies and procedures to be implemented to make sure the response to risk has positive and favourable outcome. This are also the policies and procedures build and implemented to make sure the risk action are has favourable outcome. Different type of control are preventive controls, manual controls, management controls and others. The control activities are part of the procedures by every organization to reach their objectives. It is the foundation for all other categories and components of internal control, gives discipline and structure. Information and communication It is important for the organization to have exchange of information that are relevant to risk identification and this should communicated within the organization. Effective communication and reporting is very vital to the organization’s risk management. The information can also be assessed through quality such as accurate, accessible, current and timely. The communication is also by shared mission and process, successful both informal and informal internal communication and external communication such as stakeholders. Poor communication has a big impact on the organization through increase of mistake and errors and increases stress and fears among the staff. On other hand, the effective communication of gives success within the facilities. Monitoring This is evaluation and assessment of the quality performance of the organization. This can be done by activities and different evaluation or can be both. The effectiveness of the organization or healthcare facilities on risk management should be monitored, to able to response properly, changes may implement, and to avoid crisis that may cause losses of the business. â€Å" If there was a health care risk management solution that could monitor any changes in criminal history or licensure status and instantly alert the employer if there has been new incident, that tool could be immensely helpful. (Wisjesinghe, 2010, p.1) This is really important because it can give information to the management for effectiveness and efficiency of the program. Also by means of monitoring the situation is always under control. Reference list: Garvey, P.R. (2013) Risk Identification retrieved from https://www.mitre.org/publications/systems-engineering-guide/acquisition-systems-engineering/risk-management/risk-identification Hall, S. ( 2015) The Role of Risk Management in Healthcare Operations retrieved from http://www.psfinc.com/press/the-role-of-risk-management-in-healthcare-operations Hiatt, C. (2011) 5 Tangible benefits of an Effective Risk Management Program retrieved from http://www.beckersasc.com/asc-accreditation-and-patient-safety/5-tangible-benefits-of-an-effective-risk-management-program.html Vitez, O. (2009) The Importance of Setting Business Objectives retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/importance-setting-business-objectives-4724.html Wijesinghe, D. (2010) Healthcare Risk Management : What’s your biggest exposure? Retrieved from http://hr.toolbox.com/blogs/really-know-your-contractors/healthcare-risk-management-whats-your-biggest-exposure-37663  © The International Academy of New Zealand 2013 DHM706 International Healthcare Policy Version 7Page 1 Assessment moderated on 12 August 2013

Saturday, January 18, 2020

Economic Development Models Essay

Different economic development models have been the product of theorizing from various economic and political contexts. With regards to underdevelopment, the dependency model was chosen for discussion in this paper because the model itself was developed from the experience of underdeveloped countries. The experiences of the Philippines and Venezuela were selected for comparison and contrast because of their relationship to one developed country – the United States where the former is a loyal ally and the latter is presently an ally turned critique. The Dependency Model The Dependency Model as a theory of economic development is based on the premise that in the world today, there exists an unequal relationship between satellite and metropolitan countries. This relationship is based on the evolution of an international division of labor under the world capitalist system which dictates that the role of underdeveloped satellite countries is to provide cheap raw materials and labor necessary for industries in the metropolitan or capitalist countries (Todaro 2006: 25). This is based on the assumption that economic and political dominance is held by capitalist countries and leads to the phenomena of neo-colonization that is the existence of dummy governments subservient to the economic interests of developed countries. Dummy governments are perpetuated by an elite class whose economic interests lie in the raw material export-finished products import orientation of domestic economy and whose political interests lie in protecting these class interests (Perkins, Radelet and Lindauer 2006:24). Some Marxist-leaning dependency theorists attribute these relationships to the occurrence of the crisis of overproduction evident in imperialism where the economic survival of metropolitan states largely depends on the additional role of satellites as markets for finished products (Perkins, Radelet and Lindauer 2006:24). The dependency theory was developed to mirror the underdevelopment and widespread poverty in Latin America which was a vastly contrasting experience to the trickle-down effect of economic wealth from capitalist countries as proposed in neoclassical models of economic growth. The dependency theory further opens alternative roads in attaining development. One is through local development of industries for domestic needs in order that resources would serve the interest of the general population which at the same time reduces the need to import (Todaro 2006: 401). This takes into account that genuine economic development is not only based on actual domestic production but more importantly in how resources and the gains in production actually benefit the people. However, this depends in part on the political will of third-world governments to effect necessary political and economic changes not for the elite but for the population living in poverty (Ferraro 2006). In general, the dependency model predicts a worsening and continued poverty in satellite states as long as the dependency relationship exists. Although there have been no actual third world experience proving the viability of certain methods undertaken to effect domestic economic development, the historical and prevailing circumstances of underdeveloped countries show that the only way out of dependency is through a change in the structural context in which it is rooted. Dependency in the Philippine Context The Philippines, located in Southeast Asia, has a population that is expected to hit 90. 4 million this year and is currently experiencing political turmoil as evidenced in coup-de-etat attempts, allegations of large-scale corruption in government and extrajudicial killings allegedy perpetuated by military forces. The Philippines traces its history to Spanish colonization which profoundly changed the historical direction of the feudal states, semi-slave and semi-communal societies that prevailed during that time. The primarily trading and subsistence based economy that co-existed in the archipelago were transformed into feudal kingdoms ruled by the Catholic Church and the Spanish bureaucracy (Agoncillo 1980:11-16). Economic resources were used to finance Spanish wars, the galleon trade and the excessive lifestyle of the Spanish while the native elite were co-opted into the bureaucracy to consolidate political control over the populace (Agoncillo 1980: 18). The defeat of Spain led to the handover of the Philippines to U. S. auspices through the Treaty of Paris in 1898. The U. S. , then a capitalist state, set up its own bureaucracy under the concept of benevolence assimilation and transformed the feudal remnants of Spanish rule into raw-material extraction for export and promoted the importation of finished products (Eviota 1992:8-9). Large-scale mines and logging operations were opened as well as semi-processing in the textile and electronics industries by multinational companies. A mix of export based agricultural production and semi-processing industry under colonial political conditions was created. The locals were educated and evangelized along Protestant religions which promoted an individualistic and highly consumerist culture, the origin of the Filipino’s propensity at emulating the American lifestyle. The members of the middle class were given Fullbright scholarships which provided the necessary training for their participation in the various levels of colonial economy, politics and culture. The social upheavals after the second world-war fueled movements for independence in U. S. colonies. This was the context in which Philippine independence was granted in 1946. However, economic structures essentially remained intact with the exception that the elite land-owners and big businessmen now made up the bulk of the political bureaucracy (Eviota 1992: 12). Economic and political pressure from the United States ensured the subservience of past and present Philippine governments and cooperation is to a certain extent a primary determinant for a president to stay in power (Agoncillo 1980: 65-68). Although Japan and the members of the EU also have stakes in Philippine import and export, it is largely dominated by U. S. economic interests. At present, the tenets of globalization are firmly enshrined in economic policies of recent and current governments. The large-scale privatization of public utilities involved in energy production and distribution, education and others are already underway. The deregulation of the prices of basic commodities such as oil and gas has been instituted since 1995. The liberalization of trade and agriculture has opened up these crucial aspects of the domestic economy to unfair competition from developing countries and the first world (Ibon 2008). Looking at present economic indicators, the Philippine gross national product for the past year stands at P7,274,660 million, GDP is at P6,651,320 million and balance of trade for 2007 is at $-114 million (NSCB 2008). Of the GDP, 14% is attributed to the agriculture sector, 31% to the industry sector and almost 55% to the service sector. Labor force accounts for 35% in agriculture, 49. 3% in the service sector and 15. 1 in the industry sector (NSCB 2008). The latter involves workers in mining and quarrying, construction, electricity/gas/water and manufacturing. The service sector also includes the growing number of Filipinos employed in call centers sprouting all over the country. In addition, overseas workers contribute about 10% to the total GDP and economic figures do not accurately reflect the cushioning effect of dollar remittances from these workers who leave the country because of the absence of meaningful employment in the country (Jimenez-David 2007). Top 10 Philippine exports include gold, petroleum products, coconut oil, woodcrafts and furniture, ignition wiring sets, other products manufactured from materials imported on consignment basis, cathodes and section of cathodes of refined copper, articles of apparel and clothing accessories, electronic products, metal components (NSCB 2008). Manufactured goods are mainly from export processing zones in various parts of the country. This reflects the semi-processed and raw material nature of Philippine production. Its top 10 imports on the other hand include cereal and cereal preparations, iron and steel, organic and inorganic chemicals, mineral fuels/lubricants and related materials, plastics in primary and non-primary forms, electronic products, textile yarn/fabrics/made-up articles and related products, telecommunication equipment and electrical machinery and electrical machinery/transport equipment (NSCB 2008). The imports reflect the absence of basic manufacturing industries in the country. Although, economic growth has been posted for the 4th quarter of 2007 other indicators should be taken into account to determine the state of economic development especially with regards to the poor. Simple literacy (2000) is 92. 3% and functional literacy (2003) is 84% (NSCB 2008). The top 10 causes of deaths include respiratory infections, tuberculosis, diarrhoeal diseases, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, perinatal conditions and heart diseases, ailments that are easily curable and preventable in the first world (NSCB 2008). In terms of income, the annual income for a family of 6 in 2006 was P173,000. 00, but unemployment and remains high with 6. 3% and 18. 1% respectively in 2007 (NSCB 2008). This translates to around 21 million people. In addition, inflation has most probably decreased purchasing power vis a vis the rising costs of petroleum products in the world market that affects the prices of basic commodities. If the daily cost of living is P680. 00, the annual income per family would only yield P254. 00 per day. Finally, the Philippines has a current $54. 4 billion foreign debt and continues to borrow for payment of debt interests and pad its annual budget deficits (Dumlao 2007). Loans usually come with corresponding Structural Adjustment Programs while loans for public sector projects are usually funded through a build-operate and transfer scheme in favor of companies from the funding country (Ibon 2008). In the realm of politics, the Philippines has the longest running communist insurgency in the world implying that there is a general discontent among a portion of its population (Ibon 2008). The Philippine government has responded by increased military spending and military equipment acquisition. It has also supported the war on Iraq by actually sending members of her military for combat and allowed the entry of U. S. visiting forces despite local calls sovereignty. Although â€Å"democratic† is generally used to describe local politics, elections are characterized by patronage politics, violence, massive vote buying and manipulation so that only the elite have the capacity to run for office (Eviota 1992:12). On a cursory view, current data seems to reinforce the historical developments outlined above and presents how the Philippines has come to be part of a continuing dependency relationship that is far from changing. Dependency in the Context of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela Venezuela, with a population of 26. 7 million in 2005, shares the same historical experience as the Philippines in that both have been subjected to successful Spanish colonization efforts. Exports were primarily cacao, cotton, beef and coffee until the early 1900’s (Salazar-Carillo and Cruz 1994:33). After Spain lost in the series of local uprisings against her, the political landscape was dominated by successive civil wars that served to oust an existing government and install another. In 1908 emerged a dictator, Juan Vicente Gomez who was elected by Congress under questionable circumstances and ruled unchallenged until 1935 with solid control over the military and presumably foreign support (Lieuwen 1969:50). The discovery of oil around that time drastically changed Venezuela’s economy, politics and culture. Necessary technology to develop oil as an industry was undertaken largely with the involvement of the foreign oil companies, notably Shell from Britain and later the Creole Petroleum Company from the United States (Salazar-Carillo and Cruz 1994:42). Both countries had friendly relationships with the Gomez dictatorship because of oil interests. Two decades later, Venezuela has established itself as one of the important sources of oil in the world. Royalty sharing between government and foreign oil companies was through a 50-50 scheme and as foreign revenue increased, it enabled the country to pay its foreign debt (Lieuwen 1969:46). However, much of the wealth created was accumulated by the dictatorship with its policy of well-arming the military to quell dissent. The focus given on the oil industry and overdependence on its revenues resulted in the neglect of other productive sectors such as agriculture such that Venezuela started food importation in the 1920’s (Tinker-Salas 2005:1). Foreign control over the oil industry was entrenched through the promotion of a culture among the intelligentsia that equated prosperity with the oil industry and that foreign oil companies are essential to economic development (Tinker-Salas 2005:1). This was despite the fact that a substantial portion of society, especially those in the agricultural sector who still comprised the bulk of labor force and the displaced peoples from the construction of the oil industry infrastructure, were poor. It is in these aspects that a form of dependency relationship between Venezuela and primarily the U. S. , who had greater control over oil concessions after the Great Depression, was developed. A different turn of events to the contrary occurred with the privatization of the oil industry in the 1970’s. The Petroleos de Venezuela, S. A. (PdVSA) was established as a state-owned company that undertook the sole extraction, processing and exportation of domestic oil (Tinker-Salas 2005:1). However, privatization created a business enterprise out of the oil industry that was virtually untouchable. Because they held (and misused) the bulk of the country’s revenue, the officicials of PdVSA had almost the same political powers as the president and created a sector of managerial personnel that constituted the elite in society (Tinker-Salas 2005:1). Thus, the general view that the oil industry never improved the standards of living of most brought to fore the smoldering class tensions that have been existent in Venezuelan society. The opening up once again of oil concessions to foreign oil companies in 1992 through the Apertura Petrolera policy fueled public perception that the PdVSA worked more for foreign interest than domestic advantages (Tinker-Salas 2005:1). This was the context in which Hugo Chavez found himself when he was elected president in 1998. Contrary to existing PdVSA practice, he instituted reforms in the oil industry, putting more government control in its operations, drafting new laws with regards to oil resources and allocating funds from oil revenue for social programs (Alvarez 2006). In 2001, Venezuela had a crude oil production rate of 3. 6 million barrels a day where about 60% of this is exported to the U. S. conversely supplying an estimated 11% of total U. S. imports of the product (EIA 2008). Though still largely dependent on income from the oil industry, Venezuela is starting to diversify in order to lessen the economic impacts of oil price fluctuations in the world market and decrease importation of basic food stuffs (Alvarez 2006). There are also efforts to decrease reliance on the U. S. oil market through market expansion to other countries in Latin America, China, Iran and India (Alvarez 2006). In addition, Venezuela has started providing foreign aid from its oil revenues to its Latin American neighbors and initiated agreements for a joint venture in natural gas extraction and the refining of crude oil produced in neighboring countries, solidifying its economic and political ties in the region (Alvarez 2006). These developments have earned both commendations and criticisms from the international community but generally seem to point to a nation’s attempt to remove first world control on local resources and industry and effect the delivery of social services from the wealth created as benefits for the people. With regards to how these reforms will significantly and reliably raise the current standard of living of Venezuelans and the Latin American region remains a subject for study by social scientists in the coming years. Its success will provide dependency theorists with empirical evidence of how a satellite state can break away from dependency. List of References Agoncillo, T. H. (1980) The History of the Filipino People. Philippines: Garotech Publishing Alvarez, C. (2006) Venezuela’s Oil-Based Economy [online] Available from [17 February 2008] Dumlao, D. (2007) Foreign debt stock up to $54. 4B [online] Available from [16 February 2008] Energy Information Administration (2008) Available from [17 February 2008] Eviota, E. U. (1992) The Political Economy of Gender: Women and the Sexual Division of Labour in the Philippines. New Jersey: Zed Books Lieuwen, E. (1969) Venezuela. London, New York and Toronto: Oxford University Press Ibon E-Media (2008) The Philippines and Globalization [online] Available from < http://info. ibon. org/index. php? option=com_content&task=blogsection&id=5&Itemid=27> February 2008] Jimenez-David, R. (2007) At Large Migrant Nation [online] Available from [16 February 2008] National Statistics Coordination Board-Philippines (2008). General Reference [online] Available from [17 February 2008] Perkins, D. , Radelet, S. and Lindauer D. (2006) Economics of Development (6th ed). New York and London: Norton Salazar-Carino, J, Cruz, R. (1994) Oil Development in Venezuela. London: Praeger Publishers Tinker-Salas, M. (2005) ‘Fueling Concern: The Role of Oil in Venezuela’. Harvard International Review 26: 5-10 Available from [16 February 2008] Todaro, M. P. , Smith S. (2006) cc Economic Development in the Third World (6th ed). New York and London: Longman Vincent Ferraro-Mt. Holyoke College (2006). Dependency Theory: An Introduction [online] Available from [16 February 2008]

Friday, January 10, 2020

Dbq Regarding the Literary Responses to World War 1 from 1914 to 1928 Essay

Historical Context: World War 1 (1914-1918) was a war that was inevitable, but almost entirely underestimated. As the war dragged on for four years and millions of lives were expended in the name of victory, many were greatly impacted culturally, mainly Europeans and Americans. In what was known as the lost generation, many poets and writers developed new forms of literature in response to the devastating consequences of the war. DBQ Prompt: Identify and analyze the various European and American literary responses to World War 1 created during the war and in the decade after the end of World War 1. Document #1 ————————————————- Source: Paul Valà ©ry, French poet and critic, â€Å"The Crisis of the Mind,† evaluation of European mind and civilization (1920). ————————————————- ————————————————- The storm has died away, and still we are restless, uneasy, as if the storm were about to break. Almost all the affairs of men remain in a terrible uncertainty. We think of what has disappeared, and we are almost destroyed by what has been destroyed; we do not know what will be born, and we fear the future, not without reason†¦ Doubt and disorder are in us and with us. There is no thinking man, however shrewd or learned he may be, who can hope to dominate this anxiety, to escape from, this impression of darkness. ————————————————- Document #2 ————————————————- Source: Roland Leighton, British soldier serving in France, letter to fiancà © Vera Brittain (1915). ————————————————- ————————————————- Among this chaos of twisted iron and splintered timber and shapeless earth are the fleshless, blackened bones of simple men who poured out their red, sweet wine of youth unknowing, for nothing more tangible than Honour or their Country’s Glory or another’s Lust of Power. Let him who thinks that war is a glorious golden thing, who loves to roll forth stirring words of exhortation, invoking Honour and Praise and Valour and Love of Country. Let him look at a little pile of sodden grey rags that cover half a skull and a shine bone and what might have been its ribs, or at this skeleton lying on its side, resting half-crouching as it fell, supported on one arm, perfect but that it is headless, and with the tattered clothing still draped around it; and let him realise how grand and glorious a thing it is to have distilled all Youth and Joy and Life into a foetid heap of hideous putrescence. ————————————————- Document #3 ————————————————- Source: Ernest Hemingway, American author and expatriate, â€Å"The Sun Also Rises,† expatriate character adventure (1926). ————————————————- ————————————————- You’re an expatriate. You’ve lost touch with the soil. You get precious. Fake European standards have ruined you. You drink yourself to death. You become obsessed with sex. You spend all your time talking, not working. You are an expatriate, see? You hang around cafes. ————————————————- Document #4 ————————————————- Source: F. Scott Fitzergerald, American writer, â€Å"This Side of Paradise,† examines post-war morality with fictional love plot (1920). ————————————————- I simply state that I’m a product of a versatile mind in a restless generation-with every reason to throw my mind and pen in with the radicals. Even if, deep in my heart, I thought we were all blind atoms in a world as limited as a stroke of a pendulum, I and my sort would struggle against tradition; try, at least, to displace old cants with new ones. I’ve thought I was right about life at various times, but faith is difficult. One thing I know. If living isn’t seeking for the grail it may be a damned amusing game. ————————————————- Document #5 ————————————————- Source: Eleanor Chaffer, French woman, poem â€Å"Lost Generation† published in a newspaper (1921). ————————————————- ————————————————- Look not for the flower of innocence in these eyes, ————————————————- Gravely and silently they have looked on death, ————————————————- Seen terror rain down from unfriendly skies, ————————————————- Learned while yet infants how frail is man’s breath. ————————————————- They have turned from a landscape where the ground ————————————————- Is poisoned and destroyed: give them a toy ————————————————- And it is held in their hands with no sound ————————————————- Of childish mirth. This solemn-faced small boy ————————————————- Is older than his father: in his face, ————————————————- Wisdom is the ghost that will not leave; ————————————————- The world to him is a wild and dangerous place; ————————————————- No covert here where he may hide and grieve. ————————————————- Look well on these, and on the world we made ————————————————- As heritage for them — and be afraid! Document #6 ————————————————- Source: Wilfred Owen, English poet and soldier, Dulce et Decorum Est, addressed to his mother, written 1917, published later (1920) ————————————————- ————————————————- If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues, My friend, you would not tell with such high zest To children ardent for some desperate glory That old lie: Dulce et decorum est Pro patria mori ————————————————- Document #7 ————————————————- Source: D.H. Lawrence, English novelist and poet, Lady Chatterley’s Lover, fictional protagonist has a love affair, examines structural morale (1928). ————————————————- ————————————————- Ours is essentially a tragic age, so we refuse to take it tragically. The cataclysm has happened, we are among the ruins, we start to build up new little habitats, to have new little hopes. It is rather hard work: there is now no smooth road into the future: but we go round, or scramble over the obstacles. We’ve got to live, no matter how many skies have fallen. ————————————————- Document #8 ————————————————- Source: Kathe Kollwitz, German expressionist artist, The Survivors (1922), by Kathe Kollwitz ————————————————- .