Christian Ethics in A Complex World Essay Example for Free

Christian Ethics in A Complex World EssayIn 2002 the account book entitled Choosing the Good Christian Ethics in A Complex World was by Dennis Hollinger was published. It gives an overview of the Christian ethics in todays complicated world. It is indeed a precious and unique book that assesses the framework and perspective of Christian ethics in relation to social issues. The approach is designed to widen initial ideas about relations among different races, policies, charitable sexualities, economics and many more.The approach of the author is very unusual that made the book more equalable. Hollinger wanted to connect his beliefs to his readers in a way that he wanted to imply something in choosing to do what is substantially and right. In every social issue at hand there is always an equivalent mistreat by step framework to be followed. The books weakness are the lengthy statements that bores readers easily, It may mislead readers since comprehension may be unwaveringly to acquire. It would be better if the author wrote it in a direct to the point manner.There are cases presented in the book that aids readers how to carefully analyze a real life scenario. It would be better for people not to complicate things as it is better if problems are looked down easily. In general the book is dreadful since it tackles about foundations of ethical theories. Hollinger outlines much of the essential data needed so that readers will understand the areas of pastoral care, Christian ethics and its interconnection with public policy.An general generalization is also given to see what does the author wanted to imply in this beautiful book. There were also judgments and ethical commitments presented in the second chapter of the book. The issues involving post modernness and modernity treatment s discussed. But this is the chapter that lacks focus because vague explanations were given on how the society operates in modernity but does not make t in academics. The ent icing part is that third part of the book presents figures about history tht guides readers on deciding in this contemporary world.A survey of recent Christian Ethics by Edward LeRoy is part of the book for readers to see an accurate statistics of the publics opinion. Biblical ethics is also presented that shows a deeper connection of choosing to do the good things in life. The best reference is still the Holy Scriptures. Talking about culture and its relation to faith is also presented by Hollinger in this book. He cited examples like the delineation of Christ and Culture by Niebuhr and how the church is placed in the center of a more organized society.Christ should still stand up amidst the complexities of things I every culture. As the author concludes the book the moral task before the Christian church today is immense. But God has called us, as he called Esther long ago in Persia, to be a divine presence for such a time as this (Hollinger, 2002). For good to succeed it is our d uty to return our moral commitments against the complex world. It is in humility that people can find goodness and it is God who is the true foundation of everything we do (Hollinger, 2002, p. 272).The book is designed to let readers be aware that choosing good should incorporate a broad and deep understanding of the word goodness. Having reflections on the book made it easier for readers to understand what he is nerve-wracking to point out. It is recommended to discuss a book like this in the classroom scenario so that all students ma practice the ethics of goodness inside the classroom and spread it outside as they grow. References Hollinger, D. (2002). Choosing The Good Christian Ethics in A Complex World. USA Baker Academic

Caring for populations Essay Example for Free

Caring for universes EssayIntroductionA association wellness nurse must(prenominal) be effective in targeting the population as a whole. The nurse leave alone determine the impoverishments for the biotic company by using the data compiled from a windshield survey. As verbalise in the text, A population focus also involves a scientific approach to community health nursing an sound judgement of the community or population is necessary and basic to planning, intervention, and evaluation for the individual, family, aggregate, and population levels (Nies McEwen, 2011). The purpose of this paper is to establish a priority health problem of the community of Harlingen, based on demographic, epidemiological data and a windshield survey of the ara. CommunityThe community assessment for this project is Harlingen, Texas. According to the 2010 unite States Census Bureau, its population is about 64,918 of which 47.8% be male and 52.2% are female. The density is approximately 1629. 1 residents per square mile. The racial makeup is 1.0% Black or African American, 79.5% Hispanic or Latino, 18.0% White, 1.9% from cardinal or more races, 1.3% Asian, 0.1% Native American. The median household income, 2008-2012 was $34,096 in Harlingen, compared to $51,563 in the state of Texas.The percentage of persons below poverty level from 2008-2012 was 33.2% in Harlingen, compared to 17.4% in Texas. The urban center of Harlingen is in the center of the Rio Grande Valley. It is a community which has a transient population of Winter Texans. These Winter Texans are generally retirees from the northern states, who come to the warmer climates to passing waterthe winter weather of their home states, usually between November and March. Harlingen has one mall, two medical hospitals and one mental health state facility, two libraries, one community college and numerous schools from primary to high school levels. Demographic and EpidemiologicalAccording to the website, County Health Rankings Roadmaps, for Cameron County in 2014, teen pregnancy is measured by the teen bloodline rate per 1,000 female population, ages 15-19. The number for Cameron county teen births is 80, the number for Texas as a state is 57. There is poor quality of life in relation to health in Cameron County. 30% of the population has poor or fair health, compared to 18% in Texas. Cameron County also has an adult obesity rate of 27%, 21% of tangible inactivity while there is 69% of access to exercise opportunities. 16% of the population suffers from excessive drinking and 396 counts of sexually transmitted infections. 36% of the population is uninsured, 86% graduated high school, 10.5% are unemployed and there are a whopping 48% of children in poverty, which has increased from the 2008-2012 numbers. The top causes of mortality in Texas are diseases of the heart, followed by Cancers and Respiratory diseases.Windshield surveyDuring the observation of Harlingen for the Windshield Survey proje ct, over pack residents were visible. The majority of the population is Hispanics, most were slightly overweight and appear relatively healthy. There are nursing homes and assisted living facilities in the community and they are mainly Hispanic and White older adults who are a integrate of thin and frail to obese and unhealthy. Women are seen pushing strollers on the jogging trails, while the young children play in the parks. There are groups of teens who play football and basketball in the same area. In the residential areas, some people can be seen outside maintaining their properties, while other properties are dilapidated.The general show of the residents are healthy, with some being overweight. I have seen a few multimedia billboards for the local hospital, which is displaying an ad for bariatric surgery, which is appropriate for the current overweight population. Harlingen has some urban center parks and Boys and Girls clubs and numerous gyms in the area that are heavily utilized. The restaurants in thearea are mainly along the expressway and lining the few main streets around town. There is no food sold along the street, but people can be seen sitting in the parks eating meals. In Harlingen, the population is overweight Hispanics and Whites who have access to healthcare and wellness measures, as it is advertised constantly. There is commensurate transportation and resources available for the population.ProblemAs stated before, Cameron County has an adult obesity rate of 27%, 21% of physical inactivity while there is 69% of access to exercise opportunities. While the averages for the state of Texas are 29%, 24% and 74%, respectively. Cameron County also has a limited access to healthy foods, 16% and 21% food insecurity and a mere 17% of children are eligible for free lunch. Since Harlingen and Cameron County have high obesity rates compared to the rest of the state, the Healthy People 2020 objectives applicable for Harlingen include NWS-11 (Develop mental) Prevent inappropriate weight gain in youth and adults and NWS-9 Eliminate very low food security among children. (Healthy People 2020, 2014) While these are two distinct objectives they are connected, oft education will be need to be done to ensure change. The community needs to be educated and held accountable for their actions, at times they are unaware of how much damage an unhealthy diet can do.The Community Health Nurse must prepare for these challenges and have a good thought of how to present information that will gain the interest of the population. A community health nurse must be well versed in the numerous efforts that are starting to prevent childhood obesity. There are new physical education requirements, nutrition standards for beverages and foods sold in school, to community initiatives to expand ride paths and improve recreational facilities (Koplan, Liverman Kraak, 2005). Families need to make their homes to more conducive to a healthful diet and daily p hysical activity (Koplan, Liverman Kraak, 2005).The nurse will need to get out to the community via health fairs, school assemblies, media outlets, etc. to get the message out there. Education on making healthy choices, getting adequate exercise and making small adjustments to their daily lives will help. According to the article, Relative and Absolute availableness of Healthier Food and Beverage Alternatives AcrossCommunities in the United States, there was a study that was conducted on 3 years of data from the Bridging the Gap Community Obesity Measures Project. It stated the mean healthier food and beverage ratio was 0.71, meaning that stores averaged 29% fewer healthier than less healthy products. There were less availability of healthy alternatives in Hispanic communities (2014).SummaryThe community health nurse needs to be an expert in assessing and diagnosing health concerns in the community to be able to set realistic goals that will maintain the health of the population. He alth promotion, education and community involvement are crucial. Nutritional education is essential and must include parents, teachers, and the child (Nies McEwen, 2011). The community should experience and understand the food pyramid, how to make healthy choices and the importance of balancing intake and exercise.ReferencesCounty Health Rankings Roadmaps. (n.d.). Retrieved November 20, 2014, from http//www.countyhealthrankings.org/app/texas/2014/rankings/cameron/county/outcomes/overall/snapshot Koplan, J., Liverman, C.T., Kraak, V.I., Institute of Medicine, (.(U.S.). (2005). Preventing Childhood Obesity Health in the Balance. Washington, D.C. National Academies Press. Nies, M. A., McEwen, M. (2011). Community/Public Health Nursing (5th ed.). MO Elsevier. Nutrition and Weight Status. (n.d.). Retrieved November 20, 2014, from http//www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topics-objectives/topic/nutrition-and-weight-status/objectives United States Census Bureau. (n.d.). Retrieved November 20, 2014, from http//quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/48/4832372.html Zenk,S.N., Powell, L.M., Rimkus, L., Isgor,Z., Barker,D.C., Ohri-Vachaspati,P., Chaloupka, F. (2014). Relative and Absolute Availability of Healthier Food and Beverage Alternatives Across Communities in the United States. American Journal Of Public Health, 104(11), 2170-2178. doi10.2105/AJPH.2014-302113

The Mission And Vision Of British Airways Business Essay

The Mission And Vision Of British Airways Business EssayBritish Airways is one of the oldest and the most reputed respiratory tracts functioning in the world. It was started on 1st September in the year 1974. It is the official airline of the United Kingdom. It is owned by the government of the United Kingdom but it is political campaign by private fuddleds. It is besides cognise as BA. It was formed by the liquefyr of four airlines they are The British Overseas Airlines Corporation (BOAC), The British atomic number 63an airways (BEA), Cambrian Airways and fin on the wholey the Northeast Airlines this took place on 31st march 1974. Thus BA was formed. It was one of the a few(prenominal) prestigious airline to fly the Concorde the ultrasonic passenger plane. It has a large-mouthed fleet of 239 aircrafts. It flies to 300 destinations. It employees 42,755 employ . It is a public limited company besides listed on the London argumentation exchange. The main headquarters of BA a re Heathrow airport and Gatwick airport both are situated in London. It is also a star alliance member. The positive receipts earned by BA in the year 2010 was 7,994 million.Mission And Vision-Visi build1.1 Mission, Vision, goals, object glass cycleIt is defined as A mission describes the transcription basic function in society , in terms of the harvesting and service for its customer-MintzbergThe above definition explains how important a mission is for a organization as it helps in building its own image in front of the customer that it wishes to give services to. It whitethornbe a just a sentence but it creates a image in the mind of the reader what the organization is do up of. It also helps to give the brand a matched edge as the mission statement provide help in showing the uniqueness of the brand. The mission statement of British Airways is as follows One finish seeks to en certainly our customers fly positive that, to pop offher, we are acting responsibly to take ca re of the world we live in. BA mission statement on variation creates a mindset that they always be safe on ground or in air and they want the customer to feel safe and confident when they fly British airways. They energize also maintained their mission statement as they fix least accident history and they always get spic-and-span fleets and always updated with latest technology.Values- Organizational values define the acceptable standards which govern the behaviour of individuals within the organization. Without such values, individuals will pursue behaviours that are in line with their own individual value schemas, which may lead to behaviours that the organization doesnt wish to encourage. Thus values are very important for the establishment for achieving the mass that it aims for(Value of Organizational value)(http//www.teal.org.uk/mat/page6.htm)(accsed on 22ndApril 2011) The values of BA are as follows-OBJECTIVE-Objectives are customaryly quantified statements of what the organisation actually intends to achieve over a period of time. According to Mintzberg (1997), Business Enviourment Viva books. He says that objective help the organisation to conduct activities that will help in acquiring the mission of the organisation. He also says while forming a the objective the organisation must use the SMART technique.The objective should contain these points. build 1.2 SMART ObjectiveThe objective of BA is as follows-Fig 1.3 Objective of BA1.b) Evaluate the extent to which an organization achieves the objectives of three berthholders.The individual or groups who have interest in how a organisation performs because they have some stake in it and thus it affects them in someway. In the modern world they are mainly of two types which include primary and vicarious stakeholders (Stokes D., (2002) Small Business Management (4th edition) Thomson universeations UK.) The primary and secondary stakeholder of BA have a effect on the airline as they are somehow cerebrate to to the organization. Thus in the table downstairs the actor has shown how both of these rotter affect the airlineStakeholdersGeneral InterestInfluenceShareholders.A Steady flow of r counterbalanceue.Should be head informed about(predicate) the risk and plans.Continuation of Business-Exercising ones right to vote-Checking the annual book as well as the statements.-To defend against ravish issuesManagers.Pay and Status.Job Security.Job Satisfaction-Growth of the organisation-Participating to improve the organisation with recommendationsEmployees.Job Security.Pay and Condition.Job Satisfaction-The union may go on strike-ExposureCustomers.Receiving unassailables and services of a reasonable quality.Receive optimum level of services.Great value for bullion paid-Choosing former(a) airline over BA-Bad impression about the airline-Not using it servicesSuppliers.Being paid promptly for the goods and services delivered.Receiving regular repayment of the capital provide d-Not delivery the Services on time.-Serving competitors presidential term and General Public.The organisation is meeting the relevant legal requirements.Social welfare of public is protected.Helping the nation and public to progress-Licenses, law and permits-Strict laws against them-Social activist-Boycott or appreciate the company.Fig 1.4 Shareholders their interest and influenceAll the organisation in the world to run smoothly and efficiently need to satisfy its stakeholders as they have a stake in the organisation which can affect the organisation in both good and bad ways as shown in the table above. Thus British airways is no exception even they have tried to meet the satisfaction of the stakeholders so as to progress more and achieve their targets. Below are given up the instances where British airways have satisfied its stakeholdersEmployees they are the most important part of the organisation for the smooth and progressive functioning of the organisation. As BA is a large organisation hence it employs a large no of employees whos need and wants he need to caters. Thus BA has done numerous changes like improving the body of work where they function reasonable working hours were allotted to them then they have also introduced heterogeneous crew programme which help them improve the sanctuary of themselves as well as the customer. BA has also started recruiting plurality from all over the globe so as to maintain a equality among the employees. Their wages are also improved compared to what they were paid earlier some changes were done by BA for some the union had fought to get it doneSociety are a study concern for organisation like BA because if society is not benefited from them they wont allow smooth functioning of the airline for the same reason BA has contributed a lot towards society by giving them employment in the firm also setting up various NGOs to help the underprivileged society also contributing some amount towards charity. They have even started cutting down their co2 gases by using much more fuel efficient engines as well as machines used at the airport thus contributing o save the enviourment.Customers are the important part for the organisation to progress because e if customers arent there then who will the airline serve and earn money from. As BA is in the service industry they need to take good care of their customers so as to improve their image as well as their market place standings. For the same they have improved their parsimony class confine by improving the quality of service provided also they have introduced the programme known as CUSTOMER KING which is for the first and business class travellers. They have also increased their security measure standard so to increase the safety of their passengers.Q.1c) Explain the responsibilities of an organisation and strategies employed to meet them?Social Responsibility of an organisation may be defined as the obligations that the organisation has towa rds the people and the enviourment in which the business functions. In other words the corporate affectionate responsibility is a act upon where the organisation can improve its functioning in outdoor as well as indoor processes so as to increase the vision, improvement and carry competitive advantage to the company.BA has to maintain the business ethical criterion responsibly they also known the importance of their stakeholders and hence they follow the regulation so as to protect the social, environmental, financial, and economical of the stakeholders. In order to complete these aspects BA follows all the legislation laws and rules rigid down for safety, employment and other such stakeholder related aspects. By following these laws and jurisdiction BA shows loyalty towards the corporate social responsibility as a business should show.Below are given few social responsibility that British airways follows and tries to do the needful for it (Corporate responsibilities (2007) one destination online (updated on 2010) Available at http//www.britishairways.com/travel/csr-corporate-responsibility/public/en_gb?link=main_nav Accessed 15th may 2011.Environmental Protection Act- BA has started to contribute a lot towards helping in saving the enviourment the reason being that there have been more strict rules by the government in recent years so to implement those and also create a healthy enviourment they have taken various steps in help protecting the enviourment The steps taken are as follows-Fig 1.5 Enviourment Protection ActSafety and Security Act- British airways are known for their stringent security measure that they follow. The safety of the passenger and crew are their toweringest priority. BA also follows the most advanced and sophisticated machinery in their services so as to assure the passenger that they are in safe hands. They also have a outstanding record in safety and security flied.Fig 1.5 Safety and Security MeasuresEmployees Act- The staff of a company are those people who work for a particular organisation or a industry, but apart from that they are a part of a large society where the organisation functions. The first labour law in Britain was made in 1974 for the people or employees of and organisation. The law consisted of various aspect that would help the employee to feel secured and satisfied in the workplace. Some of the laws were Self Organisation, Collective Bargains, To work what is fit to employee, and job security. Thus BA follows these rules laid down by the government and also supports it. So as to bring through the employees happy and smooth running of the organisation.2.)Using ponderer and any management tool you are familiar with evaluate the impact of macroeconomic form _or_ system of government measures and the influence of the global economy on British Airways and its stakeholders? grind polityImplications On BAPoliticalHeavy Regulation (AEA,2009)Increased Security due to past terrorist attacks(DFT ,2009).Compliance is necessary if BA wants to continue operations.Enough security measure should be undertaken to maintain the competitive advantage and beliefs in consumersEconomic-Economic Crisis the growth projected at only 2%in 2009(IMF,2008)-Pounds weakens against Euro Fluctuations of oil prices.Possible crepuscule in the business travel as companies are using alternate methods like telephone conferencing..BA will face poor exchange rate as well as due to the fluctuation it will affect their cost base as the rate they expertness get for the currency might get lowSocialThe population in UK is ageing given by national statistics.Due to recession there is increased unemployment.This a great opportunity for BA as older generations have more money and time to spend.TechnologicalNew technologies regarding the fleet and improvement and addition to the fleetThe number of people using e-check in has increased a lot.As there are new aircrafts coming in the market BA should keep its fl eet updated with these machines.BA should keep itself updated so as to remain in the competitionEnvironmental/ EthicalExpansion of its main terminal is difficult because it comes under Londons green belt sphereConsumer are aware of what are the effects of air travel as they are increasingly becoming more green.BA has to convert limited put into full utilisation of the capacity that it hasBA has to adopt to all its environmental strategies to keep the consumer with themLegalCollusion and Fixed PricingOpen skies Agreement(AEA,2009)Restriction on having mergers will affect their alliance with American airlines.BA has a great opportunity of transferring aircrafts between him and AmericaFig 2 Pestle on BA (www.scibd.com)The other macroeconomic policy that can effect BA are as follows--Monetary Policy in the UK is concerned with the decision of rate of interest and the supply of money in the economy. The one who controls the interest rate in the UK are the Bank of England Monetary Polic y committee. The current rate decided by the bank of England is somewhat 2.0% . If they decide to increase the rate then it wont be feasible for BA to borrow loans from them as they will have to pay very mettlesome interest rate thus they wont benefit from it. But if they lower the rates then BA can borrow from the bank and achieve their objective much quickly.-Exchange Rate Policy is handled by the government. The exchange rate is controlled by how much amount of gold and foreign exchange currency do they have in reserve in the central bank. The rate is even altered when the interest rates go superiorer(prenominal) or lower. If the exchange rate is high then BA will benefit as the goods it will buy will be cheaper as the currency they using will be higher and thus they can make profits. But if it goes down then BA will face losses as the things that were cheap will became expensive and they will have to increase the air fares which will see a decline in their sales.These are so me policy that the author think can BA . All the organisations in the world are affected by the social economic and enviourment factors globally. As BA is a large organisation operating in more than 300 countries hence it has to fulfil and satisfy all its stakeholder. Britains economy policy affects a lot of organisation below is given their policies that influence themGovernmentOrganisationsOverall Economic Policy-Market Demand-Cost of Finance-TaxationIndustry Policy-Protection vs Free treat grants,-Incentives, SponsorshipRegulation eg- Investor protection, company law, entry barrier, capacitySocial Policy-Work Place regulation,-Employment Law-Labour Supply-Skills, EducationForeign Policy-Trade promotion-Export CreditsEU and WTO obligations-Export promotion to alliesEnvironmental and infrastructure Policy-DistributionFig 2.2 Economic Policies of UKSocial Welfare policy which BA follows are it has introduced work place regulation which enables its employees to work freely in the wo rkplace as they have been given high level of training which helps them to do their work with much ease and perfection as well. The safety standard used by BA is also very high and the crew are also given sufficient amount of rest and training to function effectively. BA also has normal working standard and all the aspect that are included in the employment law. The employees are also given a lot benefits which include perks, pension, maternal quality allowance, social fund as well as other benefits which help make their private life better as well. These are some of the policy that BA follows towards its employees3.) Explain whether the problems facing the British airways can be found in a planned economic system and discuss whether the economic system in which the BA operates allocates resources better.Different nations of the world use different approaches or types of economic system. The core of the economic problem is infinite desires versus limited assets. The study of econom ics is basically how nations allocate their resources in the best way so as to maximize the productility and services to fulfil the satisfaction of wants. In modern economies there are various ways of dealing with scarcity. The various kinds of economy are as follows-Fig3.1The different types of economic systems (BPP, Learning media, (2007) Business essentials Business environment (3rd edition) viva books Pvt ltd London)The economy followed by Britain is a mixed economy because there is a balance between the market forces and the state interventions. The advantages of mixed economies are any one can set up a business and choose what to produce and even set their own cost. Even though they pay taxes they reap benefits through social programmes. The disadvantages of mixed economy are many business find it difficult to find a market for their products also they cant control the taxes they pay, merchants always recoil that they are very high.(http//www.blurtit.com/q917361.html) accessed on 14th may 2011)In mixed economy the decisions of resources provision would somewhat depend upon the forces of supply and demand curve and it might also depends on the aims and the objectives of the firm. BA after privatization faced a lot of changes as after the merger BA had changed some of its rule and accepted a few of the other airlines rule. It even started to fly to more international destination once the demand for that increased. Because of this reason their whole allocation shifted from one firm to anther and from municipal to international.Because BA is in a mixed economy there is always a chance of growth as the private firms will help them, too BA has to complete all the requirements that are jotted down by the stakeholders or even the government. But as of now BA is fulfilling all the criteria that are laid down by the government as well as also helping the airline to grow as much as it can. Thus conglomerate economy helps BA to allocate its resources better than any other economy would have.4.) State the market in which the British Airways operate and discuss whether it is easy to merge in that type of market (regulatory environment implication etc)? The level and amount of competition faced by the firms varies a great deal. There are many types of market and no market is similar to each other in some single firms dominate in other there might be a lot of competition for the same product or service. The market structures that the firms operate are different from each other.Figure 4.1 The Different market structures. undefiled competition- When there are many people in the market, and other condition are such , that no one can influence the price, all other things being equal.This occurs when there are lots of sellers and lots of buyers and nobody can have any effect on the total quantity for sale or the total amount that the buyers want. There is a freedom in the entry and exit of the industry.Monopoly- When there is only one supplier for a product or service in a market we call that as monopoly market. The business owns a key source for which substitute is very hard to find. The price of the product is decided by the firm itself.Duopoly- It is a market were two sellers compete with each other for a homogenous good . The output of the firm is believed to be fixed. The example can be If BA lowers its transatlantic fares then how will virgin react to it? It is a case between competition ad monopoly.Oligopoly- When there are a few large suppliers, whose business decisions affect each other they are said to be in oligopoly market. The example that author has chosen is from the airline industry as he can link it to BA. Suppose if BA was to lower their airfare for a particular sector on which even virgin flies then to be in the competitive race even virgin will have to lower its prices. Thus in oligopoly market if one makes a decision then it has to effect the other. New firms cant enter this market as it requires huge amou nt of investment. This lowering of prices of both the companies is known as price wars.Competition Commission-The competition commission is an self-governing public body established by competition Act 1998. It replaced the monopolies and Mergers Commission with a superior power to take authoritarian actions or measures in the closure of the company. BPP, Learning media, (2007) Business essentials Business environment (3rd edition) viva books Pvt ltd London).This body mainly makes sure that no organisation should form merger or cartels with each other to convert the market from oligopoly to monopoly market.5.)Explain whether the British airways have benefited from international business/trade and the European Union. What will be the business implication to the BA, if the UK, joins the European Monetary Union (EMU).International trade is the exchange of goods and services between countries. An import is the UK purchase of a good or service made overseas. An export is the sale of a UK made good or service overseas.BA is a international airline which operates in more than 300 destination. It operates in continents Asia, Europe, America etc. As BA being a British company it has chosen Europe as its global market. One of the reason being that it is the member of the European union. BA has benefited from international trade big time for many of the events like given below--There is free trade of aircraft between BA and American airlines hence they can upgrade their fleet without paying the duties-The land cost in Britain is very high compared to rest of Europe hence they use to set up big factories which they need at places where the land is cheap.-The labour in many parts of Europe is also very cheap compared to Britain.-The currency they use is accepted all over Europe and hence they dont even lose any money on exchange rate.-The raw material which is needed by BA is obtained at much cheaper rate from European countriesThese are some of the benefits that BA has by doing intenational trade with the European union members.Fig5.1 Trading benefits with Europe

Public Debt And Its Political Implications Economics Essay

Public Debt And Its Political Implications Economics EssayThe debt recoil or so called debt ceiling is the organic sum of money that the US presidential term is allowed to strike in order to cover the existing expenditures national defense, interest on the national debt, Medicaid and Medicare benefits and other expenditures. The debt limit enables the government to cover the disbursal that was negotiated between carnal knowledgees and death chairs in the past. Nevertheless, it does non apply for unexampled, un figureed expenditures. If the debt ceiling limits the government to pay for expenditures that are lawful obligations (e.g. interest on the national debt, government employee wages, and so forth), the debt ceiling evict lead to the default of the US (US Department of the treasury, 2012).The U.S. Debt-Ceiling Crisis and the Budget concur Act of 2011In whitethorn 2011, the exchequer declared that the debt ceiling of US $14.29 cardinal had been reached, but that extr aordinary measures could prevent a default and keep government operational. For several months after this announcement, the debt ceiling was in the center of a governmental battle between the Republi butt ends, who controlled the House of Representatives since the 2010 elections, and President Obama and the Democrats who controlled the Senate. The Re ordinaryans insisted on revenue add-ons and spending drops as condition for their approval of an plus in the debt ceiling. Both parties could not come to a compromise and by the end of July, the surface areas default approached. Finally, an capital of New Hampshire between President Obama and Congressional leaders was reached by the night of July 31, 2011 (Eells, 2013).On August 2, 2011, President Obama gestural the Budget Control Act (BCA) that raised the debt ceiling and thus averted the looming, first-ever US government default. The Budget Control Act authorized the increase of the debt limit in three installments. First, the Pr esident can require the immediate increase of the debt limit by US $four hundred billion. Second, the debt limit can be increased by additional US $500 billion, if a joint resolution of disapproval is not enacted. Thirdly, the President can require an additional number between US$1.2 one thousand thousand and US $1.5 trillion that is also the subject to congressional disapproval (Heniff et al., 2011).The first two debt increases, totaling US $900 billion, should be compensated by reductions in future federal spending. The BCA also determined caps on annual expenditures over the following ten years. Estimates on federal spending reductions by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) totaled US$917 billion. For the years 2012 and 2013, the limits on security and non-security spending are separate. For the eight years thereafter, the spending cap will be effective on a single discretionary category (Heniff et al., 2011).Another part of the BCA was the establishment of a Joint select c ommissioning on Deficit Reduction. This Committee is tasked with proposing inwardness to reduce the federal deficit by at least US $1.5 trillion over the undermentioned ten years. As a result, the BCA go forths at least one dollar of spending cuts for one dollar in debt ceiling raise (Heniff et al., 2011).However, if the Joint Committee fails to produce spending cuts of at least US $1.2 trillion, then the President will be authorized to increase the debt ceiling by US $1.2 trillion that need to be compensated by a combination of the spending cuts nevertheless produced by the Joint Committee and across-the-board spending cuts, including military expenditures, education, transportation, Medicare etc. (GAO, 2012).The political battle between Republicans and Democrats had several banish consequences. The delays in raising the debt limit in 2011 resulted in additional following costs for the Treasury of some US $1.3 billion only in the monetary year 2011, which do not include the multiyear effectuate on potentially increased interest expenses for Treasury securities of future issues. Other challenges for the Treasury in managing the federal debt under the effects of these delays were the complexity, the time spent and the technical issues that arose before the staff. Moreover, the Treasurys employees had to focus on extraordinary actions kinda of focusing on its authorized debt and cash management responsibilities and staff recrudescement (GAO, 2012).The US debt passed the 100%-of-GDP mark after the governments debt ceiling was increased. The new borrowing enlarged the US debt to US$14.58 trillion, surpassing the US $14.53 trillion size of the U.S. economy in the year 2010 and moving the USA into a fiscal situation ensampleised to countries whose public debt is utmoster than their annual gross domestic product lacquer (229%), Greece (152%), Italy (120%), Ireland (114%) and Iceland (103%). The last time the U.S. debt exceeded GDP was in 1947 after Wo rld War II and the deficit was due to extraordinary war spending (Money intelligence activity, 2011).As a result of the debt increase, bill Poors (SP) rated its USA long-term sovereign credit rank from abdominal aortic aneurysm to AA+ on August 5, 2011. The lowering of the long-term sovereign credit rating by SP reflects the rating agencys believe that the the effectiveness, stability, and predictability of American policymaking and political institutions have weakened at a time of ongoing fiscal and stinting challenges to a degree more than than was envisioned when agency assigned a negative outlook to the rating on April 18, 2011 (Swann et al., 2011). SP believed that the fiscal consolidation political platform that was agreed by Congress and the President was not sufficient to stabilize the general government debt burden by 2015. Additionally, the political positions of Republicans and Democrats were still far apart and the two parties only agreed on minor savings in discr etionary expenditures. The Select Committee had to provide more comprehensive solutions. The political disputes diminished the governments capability to manage public finances and distracted attention from the ultimate goals of a more balanced budget and improvement in economic growth.SPs prospect on the long-term rating is unfavorable. The agency can even decrease the long-term rating to AA, if, for instance, the US government cuts its spending less than was negotiated or the new arising fiscal burdens over the close two year period.The other two major rating agencies, Moodys and Fitch, kept their pennant credit ratings, although they argueed out that downgrades could follow if the US government fails to implement debt reduction measures or an economic slowdown happened (Detrixhe, 2011).After raising the debt limit to US $15.2 trillion in August 2011, Congress increased the debt limit to US $16.394 trillion in January 2012. By the end of August 2012, the amount of debt reached U S $15.977 trillion, which is approximately US $417 billion below the debt limit. As the government borrows roughly between US $100 billion and US $125 billion a month, the debt was estimated to hit the limit in December 2012 (Sahadi, 2012).By December 31, 2012, the USA reached its debt ceiling, but the Treasury declared that it can pay outstanding debt obligations and other bills for the next two months. This substance that a new political battle, between Congress and the White House, for another(prenominal) increase in the debt ceiling will start in the near future. make of the US government shutdowns in 1995-1996In 2011, the US government was close to defaulting on its public debt. The potential negative consequences of a default are more severe than that of a shutdown. Nevertheless, recent shutdowns can give an example of potential harmful effects of such fiscal issues on the public and economy. In history, the US government has experienced several shutdowns (Figure XY) that c onkred when Congress fails to adjust funding for the current fiscal obligations. In this situation the government can no longer borrow funds, but the federal government can touch on to operate, given the Treasury has the opportunity to generate additional revenues or to implement picky measures. Nevertheless, the continuing incapableness to borrow would result in a default (Masters, 2013).Figure XY. Appropriations financial backing Gaps Fiscal Years 1977-1998FiscalYear while gap CommencedFull day(s)of gapsDate gap terminated1977Thursday 09-30-7610Monday 10-11-761978Friday 09-30-7712Thursday 10-13-17Monday 10-31-778Wednesday 11-09-77Wednesday 11-30-778Friday 12-09-771979Saturday 09-30-7817Wednesday 10-18-781980Sunday 09-30-7911Friday 10-12-791982Friday 11-20-812Monday 11-23-811983Thursday 9-30-821Saturday 10-2-82Friday 12-17-823Tuesday 12-21-821984Thursday 11-10-833Monday 11-14-831985Sunday 9-30-842Wednesday 10-3-84Wednesday 10-3-841Friday 10-5-841987Thursday 10-16-861Saturday 10- 18-861988Friday 12-18-871Sunday 12-20-871991Friday 10-5-903Tuesday 10-9-901996Monday 11-13-955Sunday 11-19-95Friday 12-15-9521Saturday 1-6-96Figure Appropriations Funding Gaps (Source U.S. Library of Congress, Congressional Research Service)The longest US government shutdown was a shutdown in the years 1995-1996. The U.S. government was shut down for 21 days between the December 16, 1995 and January 6th, 1996 due to the budgetary mismatches between Democratic President Bill Clinton and Republican Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich. In 1995, Clinton denied to cut steeply Medicaid, Medicare and other non-defense expenditures for the 1996 budget. Gingrich responded with the threat that Congress would not approve the increase in the debt ceiling. This would lead the USA to default on its outstanding debt. The first shutdown lasted five days from November 13 until 19 when both parties made an agreement to balance the budget in seven years period. However, the White House and Congress co uld not agree how this procedure would be accomplished resulting in the second US shutdown for 21 days. Negotiations between the President and Congress over the next 21 days resulted in the agreed seven-year balanced budget plan. The plan consisted of the revenue enhancement increases and the little spending cuts (Fiscal Politics Policy from 1970s to the Present).Gressle (1999) showed the effects of the US government shutdown on the public and economy. The first and the second shutdowns in 1995-1996 years resulted in the furlough of an estimated 800000 and 284000 federal employees respectively. The second shutdown had vast effects on all sectors of the economy. A good example is the health care sector where new patients were not accepted into National Institute of Health (HIN) clinical Center and the hotline calls to HIN regarding health problems were not answered. Around 20000-30000 applicants for US visa were not served each day resulting in million dollar losses for airlines an d tourist industries. The conclusion of 368 National Parks led to the loss of 7 million visitors and US$14.2 million per day in tourism income by locals.After the 1995-1996 shutdowns, President Clinton better his image (Lader, 2008). The majority of Americans understood that both shutdowns were due to the Republican obstinacy. Nevertheless, the shutdowns in 1995-1996 showed the aftermaths of divided government and the shift of the political policy to the rightwing.Fiscal Cliff on that point are a lot of expressions for the issue often called fiscal cliff fiscal slope, austerity crisis or fiscal obstacle course. However, all of them describe the homogeneous process, particularly, the automatic impose increases and spending cuts that take effect on January 1, 2013. However, the first person who popularized the term fiscal cliff was the chairman of the Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke. The chairman use this expression in a speech to a congressional committee in February 2012 in referen ce to a combination of spending cuts and tax increases aline for January 1, 2013. Afterwards, the phrase was used widespread (Geoghegan, 2012).The majority of analysts predict that the implementation of the tax and spending cuts on January 1, 2013 will have no significant influence on the economy as a whole in the short run. At the same time, the long-term effects of these measures would be tremendous. If a deal can not be reached by the White House and Congress, it might have un indisputable effects on the economy such as a market panic, a drop in consumer spending, a decrease in business investments, etc. The Congressional Budget Office calculated that the budget deficit would decrease by US $0.5 trillion from 2012 to 2013 and the economy would slow down due to a resulting recession. Almost all Americans would experience a rise of their tax bills with the estimated increase at US $3500 and an after-tax income decline by 6.2% for the average family (Lowrey, 2012).On Tuesday Januar y 1, 2013, Congress approved a deal to end the long partisan dispute over the fiscal cliff. The main stirs that were set were the end of last years temporary payroll tax cuts (resulting in a 2% tax increase for workers), the end of certain tax breaks for businesses, shifts in the alternative minimum tax that would take a larger bite, a rollback of the Bush tax cuts from 2001-2003, and the beginning of taxes related to President Obamas health care law. At the same time, the spending cuts agreed upon as part of the debt ceiling deal of 2011 will begin to go into effect (Kenny, 2013).The agreement leads to the increase of the tax rate from 35% to 39.6 % for single persons who earn US $400000 and for couples with an income above US $450000 per year. Americans should also pay higher(prenominal) taxes on dividends and capital gains with the tax rate rising from 15% to 20%. Also, the tax for estates with a value above US$5 million will be taxed by 40% (previous rate 35%), but Republicans succeeded in indexing the threshold of US $5 million to inflation and thus smoothing the effects of the estate tax for tight Americans (Ungar, 2013).Among other changes were the extension of an additional year of unemployment benefits for nearly 2 million Americans, the doctor fix related to Medicare and tax credits for college tuition that were extended for another five years (Ungar, 2013).The agreement prevents a significant increase of income tax for roughly 100 million American families that earn less than US $250000 annually. However, the 2% payroll tax cut, that was originally part of the 2009 stimulus package, will expire (Montgomery and Helderman, 2013). The above measures will prevent the severe economic downturn that could happen in case of going over the fiscal cliff. President Obama pointed out in his brief statement that the new measures would produce US $620 billion in new tax revenues (Montgomery and Helderman, 2013).In conclusion, the new measures that were set to avoid the fiscal cliff were not the ultimate goal of neither Republicans nor Democrats. Republicans are not satisfied with the tax increases and the lack of spending reductions, while Democrats complain about the provisions regarding estates. It seems that the political dispute will observe in the near future and the agreement signed on December 31, 2012 was just a short-term fix to avoid the fiscal cliff.Foreign Holdings of US Public Debt and its Political ImplicationsA all-important(a) point in analyzing the current situation of US public debt and its political implications is the detailed understanding of orthogonal holdings. As of July 2012 (most recent data), foreign countries owned a total of US dollar 5.4 trillion of U.S. debt, which is approximately 34% of total debt outstanding of US dollar 15.9 trillion. The three largest single foreign holders are the central banks of chinaware, japan and Brazil. Comparing the situation in July 2012 with the state in July 2002, one ca n see that the proportion of foreign holdings in US public debt outstanding has big from approximately 19% to 34% (Treasury Direct, 2012). Figure XY shows that as of July 2012, mainland China is the largest single holder of US public debt with a share of approximately 7.2% followed by Japan with a corresponding share of about 7.0% (US Department of the Treasury, 2012).Figure Foreign Holdings of US Public Debt (Source Treasury Direct, 2012 U.S. Department of the Treasury, 2012)Given its low savings rate, the US economy is strongly dependent on foreign capital inflows from countries with high savings order (for example China1) to meet its domestic investment need and to fund the federal budget deficit. Important to understand is that the willingness of foreign countries to invest in the US economy and to purchase US public debt has helped to keep US real interest rates relatively low in the past, which until recently, contributed to a great uttermost to a fast US economic growth and enabled the country to consume more that it produces for a long time. just about renowned economists also argue that the US dependence on foreign savings was a bring factor to the US subprime crisis and the subsequent global financial crisis. However, the size and the recent growth of US public debt have raised jobs about the willingness of foreign countries to continue to invest in US public debt securities. For example, some Chinese analysts claimed that the government should diversify its reserves away from US dollar summations into assets of other currencies. An important short-term political implication of Chinas large holdings in US public debt is that, if China might suddenly decide to change a large share of its holdings, this would commence other foreign investors to sell off their holdings as well, which could dramatically destabilize the US economy. Possible consequences can be the depreciation of the US dollar as its supply on foreign exchange markets increase d and a large increase in US interest rates as a crucial source of funding for investments and the budget deficit is withdrawn from financial markets (Morrison and Labonte, 2012).Therefore, China seems currently able to destabilize the US economy through the sale of a large share of its US debt holdings, which can be seen as a financial weapon (Sandbrook, 2012). In addition, in the long run, if China reduces its US securities, the US would need to replace it with other foreign or domestic investors to fill in the gap. Those investors would probably have to be acquired through higher interest rates compared to those of today. Increased interest rates would cause a fall in all kinds of interest-sensitive spending. The reducing of Chinese Treasury holdings would all else equal cause the foreign demand for US assets do decline, which would then lead to a dollar depreciation (Morrison and Labonte, 2012). All in all, given a large reduction in Chinas holdings of US public debt, the con tinue on the US economy would still be dependent on whether this reduction takes place gradually or suddenly.Some US policymakers also argue that Chinas large holdings of US public debt give it leverage over the united States on economic and noneconomic issues. An illustrative example of this concern is Ding Gang, an editor of Chinas Peoples Daily2, who wrote in an editorial in August 2011 that the Peoples Republic of China should create a direct link between the amount of US Treasury holdings with the US arms sales to Taiwan. Gang states Now is the time for China to use its financial weapon to teach the coupled States a lesson if it moves forward with a plan to sale arms to Taiwan. In fact, China has never wanted to use its holdings of U.S. debt as a weapon. It is the United States that is forcing it to do so. China has no choice but to use it as a weapon to defend itself when facing threats to Chinas sovereignty (Gang, 2011). Altogether, Chinas holdings in US public debt can be seen as a strong instrument to put pressure on the United States with regards to political disputes between the two countries. As a result, the growing dependency of the US on China to purchase US Treasury securities to fund the countrys budget deficit has become a major concern to many US policymakers (Morrison and Labonte, 2012).However, the probability that China would suddenly reduce its holdings of US public debt is highly questionable because of the fact that doing so could potentially have a significant negative impact on the Chinese economy as well. The important causality which takes away Chinas incentive to sell is the fact that any Chinese attempt to sell a large portion of its US debt holdings could, on the one hand, dramatically reduce the value of its remaining holdings in international markets. On the other hand, a negative demand shock in the United States would also dramatically reduce US demand for Chinese exports, either through an appreciation of the Chinese Yua n against the US Dollar or a reduction in the US economic growth (especially if other foreign investors sell their US asset holdings as well and the United States are forced to raise interest rates in response) (Morrison and Labonte, 2012). This is especially severe because of the fact that China was the United States largest supplier of goods imports in 2011. US goods imports from China totaled U.S. dollar 399 billion in 2011, a 9.4% increase from 2010 and up 299% since 2000. Imports from China into the United States accounted for 18% of overall US imports in 2010 (Office of the United State Trade Representative, 2012). A sharp reduction of US imports from China could therefore have a significant negative impact on Chinas economy, which heavily depends on exports into the United States for its economic growth. Moreover, in the case of China, economic growth is also seen as a vital source of political stability and therefore in the interest of the government. Consequently, it can b e argued that the US and Chinese economies are mutually dependent3on each other, which, as a matter of fact, gives China very little leverage over US policy (Morrison and Labonte, 2012). The former US Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers called the mutual damage which would occur to the US and Chinese economies the balance of financial terror (Dorn, 2008). For some time, this balance of financial terror as well as the global financial trunk has kept China off from exploiting their power position (Dorn, 2008).Nonetheless, regardless of the balance of financial terror, growing bilateral tensions over the US public debt between the United States and China can clearly be observed. For example, the government-controlled Chinese newspaper Xinhua News Agency expressed a lot of criticism on US economic policies regarding the US public debt situationWith its debt approximating its annual economic output, it is time for Washington to revisit the time-tested common sense that one should live w ithin ones delegacy (Xinhua News Agency, July 2011).The days when the debt-ridden Uncle Sam could leisurely squander unlimited overseas borrowing appeared to be numbered as its triple A-credit rating was slashed by Standard Poors (SP) for the first time on Friday. China, the largest creditor of the military personnels sole superpower, has every right now to demand the United States to address its structural debt problems and ensure the safety of Chinas dollar assets (Xinhua News Agency, August 2011).To relieve further bilateral tensions between the two countries, China should pursue a more market-liberal path and the United States should abstain from implementing protectionist measures. Doing this, the US-China relationship should develop peacefully and global prosperity will continue. Consequently, the balance of financial terror would collapse and give way to free trade and capital freedom (Dorn, 2008).In conclusion, the main political issue from the perspective of the United S tates is not Chinas large holdings of US public debt per se, but rather the high US reliance on foreign capital in general and whether this reliance is sustainable in the future (Morrison and Labonte, 2012). Policymakers in the United States should therefore think about the medium- and long-run implications of the countrys high amount of public debt held by foreigners. To do that in an appropriate way, they have to take into account and to understand the economic and political relationships between the United States and its debt holders, with China leading the way. A first step to mitigate the problem is to launch political measures so that the United States increases its level of savings in the long-term in order to reduce the vulnerability to a possible shift away from US assets by foreign investors (Morrison and Labonte, 2012).The Role of U.S. Public Debt in the Global parsimonyUndoubtedly, the United States still plays an exceptional role in the global economy. First of all, th e country is the largest economy in the world. Secondly, it clearly dominates the global monetary system The United States capital markets are among the most liquid ones (Schuman, 2011) and the special status of the dollar as the worlds reserve currency has become an crucial aspect of Americas power, allowing the country to borrow effortlessly and maintain an assertive foreign policy (Warnock, 2010). In addition, the US dollar is the primary currency used in foreign exchange proceeding and trade. Also, as already mentioned in the chapter before, countries such as China and Japan store their national wealth to a large extent in US public debt. The perception has always been that the United States has a safe haven status, meaning that when investors get nervous, they increase dollar-based assets, and especially also US public debt (Schuman, 2011). Having utter all this, given the exceptional status of the United States in the world economy, the global economic and political consequen ces of the development of US public debt are substantial. change magnitude US public debt bears the risk of a fundamental change in the perception of the safe haven status of the United States. Schuman (2011) speculates on what would happen if this change in perception comes true4 US Treasury securities would be seen as riskier than before and would consequently lose their attractiveness. As a result, interest rates would increase in the United States, raising borrowing costs in the economy and making it more difficult for the US government to finance debt and budget deficits. This can potentially lead to a significant decrease in investments and consumption. The US dollar will presumptively depreciate, which will devaluate currency reserves around the globe. All those effects taken together will have negative consequences on the growth of the US economy, lowering living standards for Americans and eventually leading to a slower growth of the world economy. To put it simple, a los s of confidence in the United States as a safe haven results in higher interest rates, which will automatically have negative consequences on the world economy (International Monetary Fund, 2012). Therefore, the exceptional role of the United States makes its public debt situation self-destructive for the shape of the global economy due to the fact that overwhelming debt amounts can cause effects that potentially destabilize the world economy.In addition, the ten-year US Treasury bond has the status of the worlds risk-free asset, meaning that the United States is the basic standard by which risk in financial markets is assessed (Warnock, 2010). This is sometimes referred to as the risk-free standard and is a basic convention regularly used in all different kinds of valuations in the daily business world. In particular, the risk-free standard is an important measure in the context of corporate and asset valuation (Damodaran, 2008). Loosing the safe haven status of the United States as a possible consequence of the above-described developments means loosing the risk-free standard convention, resulting in global efficiency losses and higher risks of economic and financial fragmentation (Schuman, 2011).Although the United States exceptional status in the world economy makes its debt situation risky, that status obviously gives the country particular protection as well. A meaningful example of this protection is the warning of Standard Poors to downgrade the United States from its traditional prized AAA credit rating in April 2011 (Schuman, 2011) This warning was a strong signal that Standard Poors was not concerned about the special status of the US in the global economy, meaning that if the country is not able to get its debt situation under control, it will be confronted with a downgrade similar to those of Greece, Spain or Japan. However, financial market participants acted against what economic intuition and theory tells us. US Treasuries weakened immedia tely after Standard Poors announcement, a clear sign that investors were selling them. Nevertheless, they returned to their old strength shortly afterwards, suggesting that investors even bought US public debt after Standard Poors warning instead of selling them to a large extent (Schuman, 2011). Moreover, some reactions of major US bondholders indicated that they are not concerned about the countrys financial condition. For example, at the time Japanese Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda mentioned basically we continue to believe that US Treasuries are an attractive product for us (Channel NewsAsia, 2011).A further crucial point in the context of the role of US public debt in the global economy is the argument that US policymakers have been relying probably subconsciously on the exceptional status of the United States (Schuman, 2011).5The particular role of the US in the global economy leads to the outcome that the country does not have to face dangers other nations could never avoid. A political implication of this behavior is presumably that according to some critical authors and journalists the United States are one of the few heavily indebted developed economies that does not have a credible plan to control deficits and debt6(Schuman, 2011). To put it in simple words, US policymakers have possibly been banking on being like American International Group (AIG) or everyday Motors (GM) in America or UBS in Switzerland, acting as if the country is too big to fail7.In conclusion, one can state that a debt crisis in Portugal for example can potentially create uncertainty through world financial markets, and if a larger country such as Spain poisonous into crisis, this uncertainty could have destabilizing effects. But US public debt bears the risk of crashing the entire operating system of the global economy. Hen

Effects of Homework in Therapy Sessions

Effects of Homework in Therapy SessionsActivities given to clients to complete in amidst therapeutic sessions have become a commonly used component of psychological therapies, especially cognitive approaches (Beck et al., 1979). What is sometimes called homework has been used to help enshroud a wide variety of clinical problems including depressive disorders, schizophrenia and social phobia. This essay critically examines the empirical studies on homework and its influence on treatment outgrowths.The line homework can include a wide variety of different activities given to clients. Scheel et al. (1999) provide some typical examples of those most often used by cognitive therapists those involving reframing meanings, validation of internal experiences, social interactions and decision making. It has been hypothesised that homework is effective by encouraging the client to practice new skills learned in therapy outside of those therapeutic sessions (Burns, Adams Anastopoulos, 1985) . While the term homework has been criticised for its unpleasant connotations with schoolwork (Coon et al., 2005), the real, practical question is whether the process itself actually improves patient outcomes.Despite its broad use inside cognitive therapy, there has been relatively little research into its effectiveness until recently (Kazantzis, Deane Ronan, 2000). Broadly two types of studies have been carried out to examine the effect of homework on treatment outcomes correlational and those with a control group. Correlational studies have generally found a validatory association between adherence to homework and a more positive outcome. For example Burns and Spangler (2000) found that compliance to homework was significantly associated with reduced depression. These authors overly report that their effect sizes were large, translating to an average reduction of 16.6 points on the Beck Depression Inventory for those who completed their homework compared with a reduction of onl y 2.4 points for those who did little (or no) homework. Other studies have also reached similar conclusions (e.g. Burns Nolen-Hoeksema, 1991 Leung Heimberg, 1996). Despite these positive results these types of studies are always open to the criticism that they are weak evidence because of their correlational design. It may be, for example, that homework compliance is simply a result of forward motion rather than a cause.Better designs incorporating a control group which can, therefore, impute causativeity have not produced such definitive results, are far fewer, and older. or so have shown positive effects for homework (e.g. Kazdin Mascitelli, 1982), while others have failed to show a positive effect (e.g. Blanchard et al., 1991). This uncertainty was underlined by a meta-analysis of both the correlational and control group studies carried out by Kazantzis et al. (2000) which reported a weighted average effect size for 27 such studies as 0.36 only a small to moderate effect f ar smaller than that reported by Burns and Spangler (2000). This meta-analysis has also been criticised for including studies that were not controlled and some which had poor designs (Lambert, Harmon, Slade, 2007).The majority of studies since Kazantzis et al.s (2000) meta-analysis have also been correlational. Coon and Thompson (2003), for example, examined the use of homework in older adults with mild to moderate depression. Using a regression analysis they found homework was associated with better outcomes exactly this is still effectively only correlational data. Rees, McEvoy and Nathan (2005) recruited participants with both disquiet and depression and found homework was associated with better outcomes. But, again this study was correlational in design. For anxiety disorders, however, even correlational studies have proved less conclusive than for depression. Some studies of anxiety have found positive correlations (e.g. Wetherell et al., 2005), while others have not (e.g. oaken Adessky, 2002). For more serious mental disorders such as schizophrenia, empirical work is only just emerging and the results of two studies have found no birth between improved schizophrenia symptoms and homework compliance (Dunn, Morrison Bentall, 2006 Granholm et al., 2006).In conclusion, the picture emerging from the empirical literature is positive for the effect of homework compliance on outcome only when the correlational data is examined. This work suggests mild to moderate depression is responsive to homework, while anxiety disorders and psychosis is less so. Unfortunately these types of studies find it troublesome to counter the argument that homework compliance is simply a result of a better outcome, rather than a cause. Controlled experimental designs, which can make this causal distinction, have been few and are generally much less conclusive. Consequently, while the use of homework in cognitive therapy seems likely to do little deterioration (although the t erm may have some stigma attached), the extant research is yet to definitively demonstrate it has more than a marginal benefit.ReferencesBeck, A. T., Rush, A. J., Shaw, B. F., Emery, G. (1979). Cognitive therapy for depression. New York Guildford Press.Blanchard, E. B., Nicholson, N. L., Radnitz, C., Steffek, B. D., Appelbaum, K. A., Dentinger, M. P. (1991). The division of home practice in thermal biofeedback. Journal of Consulting Clinical psychological science, 59, 507-512.Burns, D. D., Adams, R. L. Anastopoulos, A. D. (1985). The role of self-help assignments in the treatment of depression. In E. E. Beckham W. R. Leber (Eds.), enchiridion of depression treatment, assessment, and research (pp. 634-668). Homewood, IL Dorsey Press.Burns, D. D., Nolenn-Hoeksema, S. (1991). deal styles, homework compliance, and the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral therapy. Journal of Consulting Clinical psychology, 59, 305-311.Burns, D. D., Spangler, D. L. (2000). Does psychotherapy h omework lead to improvements in depression in cognitive-behavioral therapy or does improvement lead to increased homework compliance? Journal of Consulting Clinical Psychology, 68, 46-56.Coon, D. W., Thompson, L. W. (2003). The relationship between homework compliance and treatment outcomes among older adult outpatients with mild-to-moderate depression. American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 11, 53-61.Coon, D. W., Rabinowitz, Y. G., Thompson, L. W., Gallacher-Thompson, D. (2005). Older Adults. In N. Kazantzis, F. P. Deane, K. R. Ronan L. LAbate (Eds.). Using Homework Assignments in Cognitive-behavioral Therapy (pp. 117-152). New York Routledge.Dunn, H., Morrison, A. P., Bentall, R. P. (2006). The relationship between patient suitability, therapeutic alliance, homework compliance and outcome in cognitive therapy for psychosis. Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, 13, 145-152.Granholm, E., Auslander, L. A., Gottlieb, J. D., McQuaid, J. R., McClure, F. S. (2006). Therapeutic factors contributing to change in cognitive-behavioral group therapy for older persons with schizophrenia. Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy, 36, 31-41.Kazantzis, N., Deane, F., Ronan, K. R. (2000). Homework assignments in cognitive behavioral therapy A Meta-Analysis. Clinical Psychology Science and Practice, 7, 189-202.Kazdin, A. E., Mascitelli, S. (1982). Covert and overt rehearsal and homework practice in developing assertiveness. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 50, 250-258.Lambert, M. J., Harmon, S. C., Slade, K. (2007). Directions for future research on homework. In N. Kazantzis L. lAbate (Eds.). Handbook of homework assignments in psychotherapy (pp. 407-423). New York Springer.Leung, A. W., Heimberg, R. G. (1996). Homework compliance, perceptions of control, and outcome of cognitive-behavioral treatment of social phobia. Behaviour Research Therapy, 34, 423-432.Rees, C. S., McEvoy, P., Nathan, P. R. (2005). Relationship between homework completion and outcome in cognitive behaviour therapy. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, 34, 242-247.Scheel, M. J., Seaman, S., Roach, K., Mullin, T., Mahoney, K. B. (1999). Client implementation of therapist recommendations predicted by client perception of fit, difficulty of implementation, and therapist influence. Journal of counseling Psychology, 46, 308-316.Wetherell, J. L., Hopko, D. R., Diefenbach, G. J., Averill, P. M., Beck, J. G., Craske, M. G., et al. (2005). Cognitive-behavioral therapy for late-life generalized anxiety disorder Who gets better? Behavior Therapy, 36, 147-156.Woody, S. R., Adessky, R. S. (2002). Therapeutic alliance, group cohesion, and homework compliance during cognitive-behavioral group treatment of social phobia. Behavior Therapy, 3, 5-27.

Social Order in P.D. James’ A Mind To Murder Essay -- P.D. James A Min

P.D. jam A Mind To Murder - Social Order One of the basic assumptions underlying any research worker novel is a sense of social order. The novelist assumes that the reader agrees that killing people is wrong it does non matter if the victims are exemplary citizens or odious individuals, it is the stainless act of snuffing unwrap a nonhers life that is against the social order. In P.D. James A Mind To Murder, Nurse Marion Bolams murder of her stuffy and sanctimonious cousin Enid illustrates a situation where the nurse and her invalid mother had suffered from her cousins stinginess James gives us a clear look at the manslayers fear that if Enid had been given time to change her will as she had threatened to do, the Marion and her mother would never get the money to which they considered themselves entitled. However, James urges us to understand, this does not matter. Murder, for whatever reason it is committed, is still murder, and it is al government agencys wrong. Howeve r, the murder of Enid Bolam is not the only violation of the social order which James describes in this book. Chief amongst his other villains is woodpecker Nagle, the young and attractive porter at the Steen Clinic. Peter is also a gifted painter, and is only working at the clinic to pay his living expenses while he waits for a prestigious arts grant to come his way. However, Peter is infected with the arrogance of those who feel that their talent entitles them to liberties unavailable to the rest of society. He bouncys in a magnificent studio apartment, and owns only the very best painting equipment. He obviously cannot afford this on a clinic-porters salary, so he figures out a way to, with Marion Bolams help, blackmail former patients into paying him fifteen pounds... ...r, who wasnt really at fault in any of this, has gone to live in a nursing home where she will be well-cared for, since her daughter obviously wont be there to do it. This isnt a perfect solution, but it isnt a perfect world, and it would be false to P.D. James premises to assume that everything can be returned to a state of Eden. However, James seems to feel that we as social beings have an obligation to keep everything as close to an ideal social paradigm as possible. Only in this way will everyone be in a position to achieve maximum happiness. The narcissism of Peter Nagle serves as a sober warning that we are not put on earth to ride roughshod over everyone else in our selfish search for happiness, but that happiness is a social construct in which everyone should reap equal benefit and for which everyone should assume equal responsibility.

Oppression in Sinclairs The Jungle and Steinbecks The Grapes Of Wrath

Oppression in Sinclairs The Jungle and Steinbecks The Grapes Of Wrath In The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair, and The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck, the characters are oblige with economic, social, and political problems that they must cope with throughout the story. Both books are similar in that they emphasize that in this country, one simply cannot win unless they play by natures rules.The economic problems of both stories were great. Jurgis (The Jungle) wishes to go to America to get rich. Buying a house stresses the whole idea of animals to have something that is theirs. This is also shown with the Joads. They go to California in search of money and something of their own as well. Both, however, are faced with strong economic problems. For Jurgis, it is the poor manag...