The effects of technology on society

The effects of technology on society The effects of technology on society The term technology is derived from the Greek word technologia which means the practical application of knowledge, particularly in a specific discipline of study. It is worthwhile to note that technology is an abstract term that lacks a single universally acceptable concrete definition. Nevertheless, it can be defined as the usage and application of knowledge concerning tools, crafts, techniques, methods or systems of organization, or a material end product of these things, such as clothing. It is a word that is used collectively to portray or describe the advancements, undertakings, creations, abilities, views and knowledge of a distinct group of people (Basalla 14-15). On the other hand, a human society can be defined as a group of people who are delineated by their cultural identity, functional interdependence and social solidarity. A comprehensive definition of this term also takes into account the social status and roles of the people within society. By extension, a society may be taken to mean a group of people within a given region or country, or even the whole world in totality. As such, the meaning of society is closely linked to what is deemed to be social. It is also worth to note that members of any given society share some common characteristics, such as a common goal and a common interest or mutual concern (Jenkins 18-20). Throughout history, technologies have significantly affected human beings and other species of animals in their ability to control and acclimatize to their natural environment. Historically, human beings started applying the use of technology with the improvisation of the existing natural resources into simple tools and equipment. For instance, the realization of the capacity to control fire augmented the existing sources of food, while the invention of the wheel helped human beings to control their environment and enhance transport. On the other hand, modern technological advancements such as the telephone, the printing press and the internet have minimized physical hurdles of communication. They have also enabled human beings to interact rapidly and freely on a global scale by transforming the world into a global village. Nevertheless, it is quite clear that not all technologies have been used by human beings for peaceful purposes. For instance, technology has been used to construc t destructive weapons that range from clubs to nuclear weapons (Basalla 20-25). Human beings are divided in their opinions about the general impact of technology on society. Some people believe that technology has really helped human societies while others disagree with this claim. Nevertheless, technology has influenced different societies both positively and negatively in various ways. For instance, technology has helped many societies, especially in the contemporary world to improve their economies as well as allowing for the creation of a leisure class. In addition, technological processes have often led to pollution of the environment and exhaustion of natural resources, thus harming the earth and its environment. Different modes of technological implementation also influence the values of different societies and in many cases, arrival of new technologies often raise new ethical questions. For instance, technological advancements have led to an increase in the idea of efficiency with regard to human production, a term which was in the past only applied to m achines, and the challenge of conventional customs. This paper looks at how the use of machines has impacted on the capacity of workers, the effects of computer and the cell phone on society, and the general impacts of technology to the environment. In the contemporary world, machines continue to automate most of the critical industrial and household processes. For instance, machines have taken up, and are continuing to substitute human workers in most of the mundane jobs in industries. This is because of the evolvement of technology such that machines can even perform tasks which cannot be done by man. The application of advanced technologies, like artificial intelligence and robotics has proved to be more effective in performing life-threatening tasks such as space exploration and mining. Nevertheless, there is an increasing concern in many countries about the deteriorating position of the semi-skilled and unskilled workers due to improved technology. It is argued that technological advancements have made many of these menial jobs obsolete or poorly paid. This situation has been mainly augmented by the growing modern computing technologies. Technological advancements have also impacted greatly on the value of the skills of wor kers. Old workers usually find it very difficult to adapt to new and complex technologies, while young workers rapidly and readily acquire and employ skills that are tailored towards new technologies. As a result, such technologies increase the value of young workers, while they reduce the productivity of the old workers (Edward 53-65). Needless to say that computer technology has transformed the face of the world today (Edward 66). Computers are capable of storing, processing, managing and organizing large quantities of information and data. They have also given birth to the software industry, which is one of the most developed industries in the world. Internet technology seeded from the concepts of computer networking and has grown to be the most effective platform of communication in the world, with the largest information base that exists in the modern world. The internet infrastructure, through the worldwide web has made it possible for people to communicate through email, websites, downloads, media and file sharing, so transforming the world into a global village. The internet infrastructure has also made it possible for researchers, scholars and other people to share information across the globe almost instantly. The internet has also given rise to significant positive changes in the advertising and entertain ment industries. Advertisements can therefore reach out to the populations within very few seconds and consequently, this has promoted the entertainment industry which relies heavily on advertisement. Simply stated, the internet has made it possible for societies in modern times to link up and promote the sharing of information and globalization (Edward 67-70). Cellular communication has also transformed the communication industry and the larger society as a whole to a very great extent. One of the earliest technological advancements in communication was the invention of the conventional telephone which was followed by the telegraph. Mobile phones have expanded the horizons of communication in the modern world through their capacity to allow for expedient long distance communication. They have enhanced the communication process in society because they provide different ways through which people can use to communicate to others, such as through calling and sending text messages. Therefore, important information or message can reach the receiver in a few seconds. Mobile phones also help to develop and support communication, contact and communication processes within society. In spite of all of their advantages, they can also impact negatively on society. For instance, some teenagers share pornographic information and photos by sending them us ing their mobile phones and this has created a very serious concern. In general, inappropriate use of the internet and mobile phones for purposes such as pornography has really polluted the social culture of the modern world (Fox 89-92). Most of the modern technological processes lead to the production of excessive waste products commonly referred to as industrial waste, and pollution. These wastes can be classified as either toxic wastes, electronic wastes or radioactive wastes. Even though some of the produced material waste is recycled and used in other industrial processes, much of it is released to the environment and the result is environmental pollution, degradation and lack of sustainability. Very few technologies in the modern world are designed with the contemplation of the environment in mind. Most of the technological advancements are directed towards economic gain rather than on environmental sustainability and this has caused a lot of direct detrimental effect on the environment, such as the depreciation of the ozone layer which has led to global warming. Historically, many societies sought to maintain their environments since they were the sources of wealth for the people. However, in the contemporary world, societies have failed to maintain and manage their environments and this has greatly affected the whole universe. The more delicate and obvious impacts of technology on the environment include the exhaustion of the worlds non-renewable natural resources such as coal, ores and petroleum, and the pollution of water, air and land mostly by industrial wastes and disposal. Effects of these impacts include global warming, loss of coastal wetlands, destruction of natural habitats and deforestation. While organisms are capable of recycling the wastes of other organisms naturally, there is no such mechanism of recycling for technological wastes and therefore they remain harmful to the environment for long periods of time (Fox 98-102). In conclusion, the aforementioned are only but a few fields that can be influenced by technology. It is indeed not possible to enlist all the effects (both positive and negative) of technology on society. Even though technology is in overall beneficial to world societies, it is relatively clear that technological advancement may be accompanied by negative side effects and drawbacks. In fact, every new technology is accompanied by unwanted or unexpected side effects. Therefore, it is necessary for societies to adapt to technological advancements that have minimal side effects on them, the environment and future generations. Works Cited Basalla, George. The Evolution of Technology. New York: Longman Publishing Group, 1988. Edward, McClellan. Science and Technology in World History. Washington: John Hopkins University Press, 2006. Fox, Frank. Women, Gender and Technology. Illinois: University of Illinois Press, 2006. Jenkins, Reyes. Foundations of Sociology. London: Palgrave MacMillan, 2002.

Humorists in Society Essay

Humorists have played a substantial part in any society for as long as everyone can remember. Whether it’s your common, light-hearted comic or the one who’s trying to rebel and prove a certain point with humor, there will always be someone idolizing them. For instance, in his book Status Anxiety, Alain De Botton declared that humorists play an absolute vital role in our society because they are able to avoid otherwise dour consequences. While I believe that Botton’s logic is correct in many examples such as television comics and editorial cartoonists, there are also just as many other examples to prove how humorists are not completely vital. Television comedians do indeed avoid consequences by masking their underlying message with humor. A perfect example is the crew and hosts of Saturday Night Live. They are able to successfully take real life scenarios and manipulate them into their carefully planned skits, whether it’s about Barack Obama, other political figures, or any number of controversial current events; the cast and crew are able to dodge any repercussions because of their humorous effect. Not only do people use shows like Saturday Night Live as meaningless entertainment, but, if I have to guess, a lot of people also end up gaining valuable knowledge about what may be happening around the world. This assumption could be used to support Botton’s vitality point, considering many people don’t watch the news or make an effort to learn about current events, so one could conclude that these comical television shows are vital to society in order to act as a news casting show. While this might make sense initially, it also helps disprove Botton’s opinion. Because these shows use humor to get their point across, it is also skewing what actually may be happening for comical purposes, so while people may be gaining knowledge, they’re actually gaining a biased, misrepresented view to the situation. Among the many types of humorists included with the television comics, editorial cartoonists are yet another prominent group who use humor to represent current events, without being penalized for their controversial views. These cartoonists use visual stimuli to provoke a laugh from their viewers; they distort the appearance of people, recount sensitive issues in a entertaining way, and use subliminal messages to get their opinion out to  the public. Many of these editorial cartoonists aren’t penalized because they submit their work to an online board anonymously or they already have a â€Å"superior† reputation where nobody wants to create a dispute with them, but furthermore, these cartoonists aren’t penalized because the way they depict these events are within a common agreement of their viewers. Now there may be a plethora of types of humorists who don’t receive repercussions, but contrary to Alain de Botton’s reasoning, humorists are not absolutely necessary to our society. They may be able to successfully reach the public in an entertaining way to promote topical situations, however, humorists are not the only type of people who act to spread their opinions. Granted, humorists may be the only ones who don’t receive consequence, but activists, editorial columnists, and certain types of criminals all act in the same way many humorists do: advocating their opinions to the public. Activists create campaigns, go on strikes, and create public awareness to a certain incident; editorial columnists skillfully write a column and post it for anyone on the internet to access; certain criminals even commit their crimes in order to rebel against an unjust law. These examples all disprove Botton’s reasoning, humorists aren’t vital because there will alw ays be other people creating a public awareness to whatever may be inequitable. According to author Alain de Botton, humorists play a vital function in our society because they are able to say things that otherwise may be dangerous or impossible to say directly, as stated in his 2004 book, Status Anxiety. I personally believe his logic has its faults and strengths; while television comics and cartoonists may avoid these dangerous consequences, they are not the only ones to promote current events to the public, such as activists and editorial columnists. But regardless, it is well known by everyone how humorists have made a huge contribution to society for ages.

Migration, Immigration, and Emigration, and Their Effects

Vietnam has a wide variety of religions practiced in their country. Nine point three percent of Vietnams population are Buddhist, six point seven percent are Catholic, One point five percent are Hoa Hao, one point one percent are Cao Dai. Less than one percent are Protestant and Muslim. Even though Vietnam has a lot of variety of religions over eighty percent claim no religion (East and Southeast Asia, 2012). Even thought there is a wide variety of religions in Vietnam, most of the people who live there have a sense of the richness and variety of traditional Vietnamese religion.In older tradition the majority of Vietnamese people believed they inhabited a world alive with gods and spirits. They didn't make a distinction of the living world and the spirit or dead world. They also didn't make a distinction between the world human beings, nature, vegetable, an animal. the believed that the energy of these worlds are all connected. Because of this religion plays a big part in the daily l ife of a Vietnamese person. In addition, your social status also affects how and what you believe. or example, Confucian scholars, who prided themselves for their rationality, often scoffed at what they considered the superstitious nature of peasant religion. But they, also had religious believes that they lived by. Where you work also determines what you believe. Fishermen, were notorious for the variety and richness of their beliefs. Some beliefs were shared by all Vietnamese. Others were adhered to only in one region or a small locality. Some were so deeply embedded in the culture as to be considered a part of tradition, holding sway over believers and non-believers alike.Maybe because of the many religions or the way the Vietnamese people think, religion doesn't play a big part in their country as a whole, but it does play a big part in the lives of the citizens of Vietnam. Even though, half of the world's population lives in The Asia region people aren't migrating to Vietnam (S tephen Castles, 2009). Vietnam is a very traditional country with allot of different ethnic groups. Vietnam is home to fifty-four official ethnic groups, the majority of which live in highland areas. Although some large groups such as, the Cham or Chinese, live in lowlands or urban areas.I will go over a couple of the most known ethnic groups. There are eighty-five point seven percent of the Vietnamese are Kinh, which is said to be the native people of Vietnam. There are one point nine percent Tay people, who originates from the Chinese side of the Vietnamese – Chinese border. One point eight percent are Thai and are from Thailand. One point five percent are Muong which are the people who live in the mountains in Vietnam, and Khmer who come from Cambodia. One point two percent are Mong and they come from Mongolia. Less than one percent are Nung which are considered to be the â€Å"poor† people of Vietnam.The last five point three percent are labeled as other (East and Southeast Asia, 2012). Most people in Vietnam are natives to that land but their ancestors migrated from china long ago. Because of this migration doesn't play a big part in Vietnams present but it does play a big part in its history. Even though they have been ruled by other countries most of the time, they kept a strong belief in their country and culture. Migration in Asia isn't a new thing for them. Asians from these regions have been migrating for centuries. But in the 1970s and 1980s, international migration from Asia grew dramatically.The main destinations were North America, Australia, and the oil economies of the Middle East. Since the 1990s, migration within Asia has grown, particularly from less-developed countries with massive labor surpluses to fast-growing newly industrializing countries (Stephen Castles, 2009). In today's society migration has dropped. The reason for this is the Asian government wanted to control migration and migration rights were limited. They also made migration temporary in that region so people were prohibited to have family reunions.Even though migration has dropped, emigration has risen six percent over the past ten years (Stephen Castles, 2009). There are about 2. 6 million people leaving Asia to look for work. In the 21st century over 6 million Asians are employed outside of their own countries within the Asian region. This has grown a great deal since the 1980s and has helped the Asian region grow. A lot of Asia's were able to find work in the Middle East after the oil prices rose in 1973. This also contributed to the migration and emigration in Vietnam. The referred to these workers as contract labor.The companies that employed them made it clear that they couldn't bring family with them. In the 70s most of the works who migrated were male so the men of the house had to leave their families just to find work and provide for them. In the 1980s the economy was growing so rapidly and fertility was declining it cause a st rong demand for labor workers. Even though they in Asia, most of the workers aren't Asian. While existing flows from countries like Bangladesh, Indonesia, and the Philippines have continued, new source countries like Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and Burma have become more significant (Stephen Castles, 2009).In the 1990s there was a demand for female domestic workers that started in the Middle East and then Asia. If women didn't work in the domestic sector they often had the â€Å"typical female† jobs. Some examples of these jobs are entertainers(mostly prostitutes), restaurant and hotel staff, and assembly line workers in clothing or electronics. These jobs were poor paying and had terrible conditions. They were also associated with patriarchal stereotypes of female docility, obedience, and willingness to give personal services (Stephen Castles, 2009).Another big form of female migration in Asia is female migration marriage. Since the 1900s, foreign brides have been sought out by farmers in areas likes Japan and Taiwan. This is one of the only permanent forms of immigration in Asia that is permitted. From the Asian government sand point it seem that these practices with women help their country, but it is sexist and will put the government in a terrible situation with women rights groups. The diversity in the religion and culture have shaped the Vietnamese people into who they are today.Even though it doesn't play a big part in the economy or government, religion is still a big part of the lives of the Vietnamese citizen. The religion is mixed in with their culture which makes the citizens of Vietnam a pride people. With the ever growing Asian economy Vietnam is in a good place to grow also. Even though the country has had allot of adversity, it has overcome it all. In the future maybe they will work on their women's rights issues and continue to grow its economy. If that is done I have no doubt that the citizens of Vietnam will be happy and the economy wil l grow. ?

Third MeditationThe Existence of God Essay - 1124 Words

In the Third Meditation, entitled â€Å"Of God: That He Exists†, Rene Descartes presents an argument for the existence of God. Meditation III talks about what is real and how to justify it. Descartes acknowledges of being doubtful of bodily things but is absolutely assured that he exists and he clearly and distinctly perceives this fact. As he confirms: I am a thinking (conscious) thing, that is, a being who doubts, affirms, denies, knows a few objects, and is ignorant of many, - [who loves, hates], wills, refuses, who imagines likewise, and perceives. . . (Descartes p 66) However, he could not be certain unless all clear and distinct perception can be true. From this he concludes, whatever is clearly and distinctly perceived must be true.†¦show more content†¦(Descartes 67) Second, consists of â€Å"volitions or affections [i.e. willing or fearing], and other judgments† (Descartes 67). This means he cannot be mistaken with regard to the ideas of his own. Howe ver, he can make mistakes through his judgments. â€Å"There thus only remain our judgments, in which we must take diligent heed that we be not deceived† (Descartes 67). Thus, this leads Descartes into categorizing his idea by their origins. Ideas can be innate, adventitious, comes from outside of us, and can be made by us, example an idea of a unicorn. Of these three ideas, Descartes’ takes the greatest importance in adventitious ideas. He realizes that most of the time we believe we perceive things outside of our mind without any degree of reality. For example, his idea of the two suns: The one, by which it appears to me extremely small draws its origin from the senses, and should be placed in the class of adventitious ideas; the other, by which it seems to be many times larger than the whole earth, is taken up on astronomical grounds, that is, elicited from certain notions born with me. . . (Descartes 68) Obviously, both of these ideas cannot be true. Therefore, this leads him to scrutinize carefully the question of the external causes of reality. Descartes shows two notion of realityShow MoreRelated Descartes Third Meditation: Proof of Gods Existence Essay1370 Words   |  6 Pages Descartes Third Meditation: Proof of Gods Existence In Rene Descartes Meditations on First Philosophy, Descartes is seeking to find a system of stable, lasting and certain knowledge, which he can ultimately regard as the Truth. In his methodical quest to carry out his task, Descartes eventually arrives at the proverbial fork in the road: how to bridge the knowledge of self with that of the rest of the world. Descartesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ answer to this is to prove the existence of God. The purpose of this essayRead MoreComparing Aquinas And Descartes Arguments For The Existence Of God766 Words   |  4 PagesAquinas and Descartes both have arguments for the existence of God, with some similarities and a multitude of differences. Descartes presents two major premises in his argument with his degrees of reality principle and his casual adequacy principle. It is possible for Descartes to be influenced by Aquinas, but the arguments for the same thing differ greatly that even if any inspiration Descartes could have pulled from Aquinas work is minimal, to say the least. Comparing Aquinas and Descartes theyRead MoreEssay about Descartes Third Meditation: Proof of Gods Existence1382 Words   |  6 PagesDescartes Third Meditation: Proof of Gods Existence In Rene Descartes Meditations on First Philosophy, Descartes is seeking to find a system of stable, lasting and certain knowledge, which he can ultimately regard as the Truth. In his methodical quest to carry out his task, Descartes eventually arrives at the proverbial fork in the road: how to bridge the knowledge of self with that of the rest of the world. Descartes’ answer to this is to prove the existence of God. The purpose of this essayRead MoreAnalysis Of Descartes s The Six Meditations 1272 Words   |  6 Pagesthe six Meditations, Descartes comes to the conclusion that memories and dreams are deceptive and are not to be trusted. He discusses the existence of material objects, God, and himself. God exists and allows deception and Descartes’ ability to recognize that everything is false proves that he exists as well. He explains the difference between imagination and intellect, as well as the idea that the senses are deceptive and that knowledge comes from the m ind and reason. Descartes’ belief in God allowsRead MoreIn Descartes Third Meditation, he tries desperately to prove that god exists; he does so by900 Words   |  4 PagesIn Descartes Third Meditation, he tries desperately to prove that god exists; he does so by clearing all thoughts because they potentially could be false. He uses the fact that God thinks in order to prove his existence. In the third meditation he presents two arguments for the proof of his existence. I believe that these arguments contain many flaws. In the third mediation, Descartes moves forward in the establishment of the idea of certainty. He decides that the truths he earlier discovered inRead MoreDescartes Meditation Iii1297 Words   |  6 Pagesof First Philosophy Descartes tries to prove the existence of God in the third meditation. He does this by coming up with several premises that eventually add up to a solid argument. First, I will explain why Descartes ask the question, does god exist? An d why does Descartes think he needs such and argument at this point in the text. Secondly, I will explain, in detail, the arguments that Descartes makes and how he comes to the conclusion that God does exist. Next, I will debate some of DescartesRead MoreDescartes : Synopsis Of Meditations 1987 Words   |  4 Pages Descartes: Synopsis of meditations 1, 2, 3 (p530-546) In what follows, I will summarize and come up with some explications to the first three meditations covered by Descartes. The first deals with the method of doubt, the second deals with the human mind and body, and finally the third with the existence of God. I will summarize these parts separately, in that order. In the first meditation, the meditator, who’s Descartes, introduces us with â€Å"the method of doubt†. WhatRead MoreEssay on Mediations of First Philosophy by Descartes1296 Words   |  6 Pagesof First Philosophy† Descartes tries to prove the existence of God in the third meditation. He does this by coming up with several premises that eventually add up to a solid argument. First, I will explain why Descartes ask the question, does god exist? And why does Descartes think he needs such and argument at this point in the text. Secondly, I will explain, in detail, the arguments that Descartes makes and how he comes to the conclusion that God does exist. Next, I will debate some of DescartesRead MoreEssay on Descartes Meditations1153 Words   |  5 PagesDescartes Meditations The way Descartes chose to write this piece literature captivated me. Descartes was a very intelligent man who wanted to make sense of the world he lived in. The format he used was unusual. It seems to me that he may have used this format, which is a replication of the book of Genesis in the Bible, to have a deeper and more profound impact on the reader. There are many similarities between Descartes Meditations and the first book of the Bible, Genesis. ForRead MoreThomas Aquinas vs. Descarates Essays673 Words   |  3 PagesAQUINA’S V. DESCARATES Meditation III Several hundred years ago, two great philosophers Thomas Aquinas’s and Rene Descartes used the method of ontological argument for the existence of God and used intuition and reason alone to get to each other’s theory. Rene Descartes wrote out several mediations, but the one we’re going to touch base on is meditation III that he wrote in the 1600’s; While Thomas Aquinas’s wrote his five proofs of God in 1270 that specifies God’s existence in each proof; the one

The Truman Show vs Rear Window Essay - 1695 Words

What are the issues of watching and voyeurism in film? The intention of this essay is to discuss both films (The Truman Show, 1998 and Rear Window, 1954) alongside established theoretical criticism (Laura Mulvey and Norman K. Denzin) in an attempt to demonstrate how the issues of watching and voyeurism, as seen in todays mainstream Hollywood cinema, both engages and entices the spectator and to look at how the definition of the voyeur has changed. Before entering into a discussion about voyeurism in Rear Window and The Truman Show, an understanding of what is meant by ‘the dynamics of voyeurism’ in film must be attempted. The dictionary definition of a voyeur is: (1) a person who gains sexual pleasure from watching others when they are†¦show more content†¦The cinema offers pleasure of scopophilia where ‘it can be fixated into perversion, producing obsessive voyeurs and Peeping Toms whose only sexual satisfaction can come from watching, in an active contro lling sense, an objectified other.’ (Mulvey: 1988, p. 31) Whereas, narcissism is the pleasure of being looked at and the pleasure ‘comes from identification with the image seen,’ (Nichols: 1985, p.18). For example, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007) we see Robert Fords idolises Jesse intensely, as if he wants to pull on his boots in the morning. This movie describes Ford’s time in Jesse’s orbit as a series of abject disappointments and humiliations, mostly of his own accord. And as the film unwinds slowly, Roberts pinched and wretched narcissism is revealed, showing that the assassination was Ford’s tragedy as well as Jesse’s. An infamous folly he would regret and replay over for the rest of his life. Narcissism is the fascination with likeness and recognition (identification with ‘ego ideal’ subjectivity). Therefore, as seen in The Assassination of Jesse James ‘The sense of forgetting the world of the ego has subsequently come to perceive it [I forgo t who I am and where I was] is nostalgically reminiscent of the pre-subjective moment of image recognition,’ (Mulvey: 1988, p. 32). We can see that voyeurism is not onlyShow MoreRelatedMarketing Mistakes and Successes175322 Words   |  702 PagesJuggernaut Starbucks: A Paragon of Growth and Employee Benefits Finds Storms Boston Beer: Is Greater Growth Possible? 29 46 PART II MARKETING WARS 61 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Cola Wars: Coca-Cola vs. Pepsi PC Wars: Hewlett-Packard vs. Dell Airliner Wars: Boeing vs. Airbus; and Recent Outsourcing Woes 63 86 PART III COMEBACKS Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 McDonald’s: Rebirth Through Moderation Harley-Davidson: Creating An Enduring Mystique Continental Airlines:Read MoreContemporary Issues in Management Accounting211377 Words   |  846 Pagescan have a surprisingly up-todate feel about them: There is a strong tendency today to state numerically as many as possible of the variables with which management must deal. . . . Quantitative measures as tools are undoubtedly useful. But research shows that indiscriminate use and undue conWdence and reliance in them result from insuYcient knowledge of the full eVects and consequences. . . . The cure is sometimes worse than the disease. (Ridgway 1956: 240) Despite such long-standing and clear delineationsRead MoreStephen P. Robbins Timothy A. Judge (2011) Organizational Behaviour 15th Edition New Jersey: Prentice Hall393164 Words   |  1573 PagesUniversity James Gelatt, University of Maryland University College Joe Gerard, University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee Matthew Giblin, Southern Illinois University Donald Gibson, Fairfield University Cindi Gilliland, The University of Arizona Mary Giovannini, Truman State University David Glew, University of North Carolina at Wilmington Leonard Glick, Northeastern University Reginald Goodfellow, California State University Jeffrey Goldstein, Adelphi University Jodi Goodman, University of Connecticut Claude GraeffRead MoreOne Significant Change That Has Occurred in the World Between 1900 and 2005. Explain the Impact This Change Has Made on Our Lives and Why It Is an Important Change.163893 Words   |  656 Pagesrecognize, albeit more gradually, a second threat to global survival in the last years of the century—accelerated climate change brought on by the release of ever-increasing, polluting emissions into the earth’s atmosphere. But, as Richard Tucker shows, this ultimate peril comprises only one of the many strands of environmental degradation that have, in their intensity and cumulative repercussions, set the world history of the twentieth century off from all previous phases of the human experience

The Atlantic System and Africa - 2105 Words

CHAPTER 18 The Atlantic System and Africa, 1550–1800 I0.Plantations in the West Indies A0.Colonization Before 1650 * 10. Spanish settlers introduced sugar-cane cultivation into the West Indies shortly after 1500 but did not do much else toward the further development of the islands. After 1600 the French and English developed colonies based on tobacco cultivation. * 20. Tobacco consumption became popular in England in the early 1600s. Tobacco production in the West Indies was stimulated by two new developments: the formation of chartered companies and the availability of cheap labor in the form of European indentured servants. * 30. In the mid-1600s competition from milder Virginia tobacco and the expulsion of experienced†¦show more content†¦* 50. Slaves frequently ran away and occasionally staged violent rebellions such as that led by a slave named Tacky in Jamaica in 1760. European planters sought to prevent rebellions by curtailing African cultural traditions, religions, and languages. C0.Free Whites and Free Blacks * 10. In Saint Domingue there were three groups of free people: the wealthy â€Å"great whites,† the less-well-off â€Å"little whites,† and the free blacks. In the British colonies, where sugar almost completely dominated the economy, there were very few free small landholders, white or black. * 20. Only a very wealthy man could afford the capital to invest in the land, machinery, and slaves needed to establish a sugar plantation. West Indian planters were very wealthy and translated their wealth into political power, controlling the colonial assemblies and even gaining a number of seats in the British Parliament. * 30. Slave owners who fathered children by female slaves often gave both mother and child their freedom; over time, this practice (manumission) produced a significant free black population. 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Knowledge Audit for Business Analysis

Question: Describe about the Knowledge Audit for Business Analysis. Answer: Introduction The home care provider Buurtzorg is the fastest growing organization of Netherland and has become popular all over the world because of its unique business model of self governing nurse teams. Most health care service providers rely on different person for providing different services but in Buurtzorg they rely completely on nurses. The nurses here are responsible for providing medical service along with associated services to its clients. Buurtzorg with the help of its unique business model has able to provide high quality health care at low cost. Further it has also earned high satisfaction rating from its employees and clients (Nandram and Koster 2014). The purpose of this case study is to evaluate the business system and the performance of the Buurtzorg and how this model could be adopted in Australia. Background Buurtzorg Nederland is a not for profit organization. It has gained international prominence because of its self governing business model (Gray et al. 2015). This model has helped the organization to achieve low cost while delivering high quality home care services. It has achieved extra ordinary success over the year. From just one team in 2007 at the time of its inception it has grown to become 700 teams in 2015. It started its operation in Almelo city in 2007 and now it has grown internationally with more than 8000 nurses working in different parts of the world. As per the report published by KPMG Buurtzorg has cared 65000 patients by 2014. The popularity of Buurtzorg business system has forced many of its competitors to adopt similar business models. Many countries like Norway, Sweden, Japan, United Kingdom, and United States etc around the world are trying to adopt the Buurtzorg model for their local health care systems. It has simplified by the management process by creating a flat organizational structure through which all services are provided with the help of latest information technology (Nandram 2014). The survey conducted by Government agencies show that patients of Buurtzorg has high satisfactory levels (Takashima et al. 2015). As per the report published in nursing journal various surveys have been conducted on the nurses of Buurtzorg for more than one year has shown that it has the most satisfied workforce in Netherland (Monsen 2013). The growth of Buurtzorg has raised suspicion that it picks and chooses high value patients to boost its success. As a result the Dutch Ministry of health ordered an enquiry. They employed business consulting firm KPMG to study patient characteristics and business model in comparison to its competitors. The study showed that criticisms are unfounded Buurtzorg has indeed developed a low cost model that has contributed to its success (Kroezen et al. 2015). As per the study there is no sufficient evidence to suggest that it has achieved success because of its patient mix. Buurtzorg Health Care Model In Netherland the types of Home Care services that are provided to patients are temporary home care services after discharge from hospitals, patients with chronic medical conditions, patient with dementia and for end of life care. The organizations that are engaged in providing Home Care Services are required to enter into contract with government funded insurance companies. There are ten different types of services that are offered by these organizations and payments are made based on authorized hours. These authorized hours are calculated on assessment of individual patients (Mossialos 2015). The home care services can be divided into two parts medical service and associated general services. The medical service requires nursing experts but for providing other associated services like bathing, washing etc to patients generally nurses are not required. In traditional home care service model nurses are deployed to do the medical work and other semi skilled workers are employed for associated work. Generally there are no interaction between nurse and other care givers thus in most cases it was observed that nurses are generally not satisfied with their services. On the other hand patients are also unhappy with the quality of the service. Thus it can be said that both patients and nurses were dissatisfied with the traditional model (Shane 2015). Buurtzorg took a different approach and adopted a model that gave value to life and humanity over bureaucracy. The main aims, goals and structure of the model are discussed in the tabular format given below: Aims Goals Structure To rely mainly on professional nurses; To bring a sense of community in medical service; To develop resource network in neighborhood; and Maximize independence of patients and nurses. To create teams of nurses that are independent; The self governing teams are to provide both the medical and supportive services; To become a community care model that is both holistic and sustainable; To regain or maintain independence for patients; To teach self health care to patients and its families; To create local network of resources; To have faith on professionalism of its nurses. It has teams of 12 nurses that take the responsibility to provide complete care of almost 50 to 60 patients. It relies heavily on Information Technology System for scheduling, documentation and billings; It has also appointed coaches that are responsible for solving problems in the team. This coaches are themselves trained nurses. For other administrative purpose there is a small back office. Thus Buurtzorg care model has teams of 10 to 12 highly trained nurses that work with patients families for providing them health care services. Each team is responsible for caring of 50 to 60 patients in a particular neighborhood and they provide complete service. The services that the nurses are responsible to provide includes assessing the need of the patients, developing a proper action plan for each patient, implementing developed plans, scheduling medical services and visits as needed by patients and also responsible for documentation of medical history and billings. The most of the planning, scheduling and documentation works undertaken are done with the help of latest information Technology systems. The self regulated teams provide flexibility to both patients and nurses (Kreitzer 2015). The concept of managers has been changed to coaches that are responsible for solving problems in the team. As on 2015 Buurtzorg has 700 members and 15 coaches. The main function of the coach is to help team function rather than advising on patients care. These model offers independence to the nurses so they are not required to report to managers but their attendance and timing re maintained. The back office is very small and it is only responsible for financial administration (Monsen 2013). As per the agreement the remuneration of the nurses are based on their education level. Further there is also standard annual increase and bonuses depending on the level of performance and work done for Buurtzorg. Buurtzorg uses surplus revenue effectively by building community projects, encouraging innovation in organization and training nurses. Performance Buurtzorg has grown rapidly over the years. The main reason for such phenomenal growth can be analyzed as follows: This model of health care is highly popular among experienced nurses thus enabling them to recruit talented nurses. The high satisfaction level of both patients and nurse has enabled it to gain recommendation and word of mouth popularity. In a study published by Earnest Young in 2009 has shown that Buurtzorg was able to satisfy customers need in just 40% of the authorized patient care hours in comparison its peer companies required 70% of patient care hour. Further benefits that the study pointed out includes patients of Buurtzorg requiring care for less time, patients were quick in regaining autonomy, and there is also decrease in emergency admission of the patients in the hospital. In terms of operational efficiency the study suggests that it has achieved lower overhead cost than any of its competitors, further employees turnover and leave is much below the average industry standard. This study has successfully pointed out that Buurtzorg could meet patients need in fewer hours than its competitors. Thus providing high quality services at much cheaper price this helped the organization to gain government support and achieve high growth. Criticism The success is always accompanied by criticism. The competitors of Buurtzorg have claimed that in case of unplanned emergency its patients had to seek help from other organizations. There are other critics who claim that Buurtzorg chooses patients with multiple requirements so that they can show more billable hours (Nandram 2015). But there are no substantive proves or study to support this claims of its competitors. Rather it is argued that complex patients are referred by physicians to Buurtzorg thus justifying the patient mix this argument is also supported by the 2009 study done by Earnest Young. Further it is also argued that effective health care reduces the need for unplanned emergencies. Research The constant criticism by its competitors had forced Dutch Ministry of Health to appoint a consulting firm KPMG to look into these allegations. The study published in 2015 has shown that Buurtzorg is the best health care service in the country as per the reported experience of the patients. Further it provides fewer hours of care than other organization thus helping in savings. The study shows that its case mix adjustment cost is significantly low than other care providers. Statement showing cost Comparison Particulars Buurtzorg Other service provider Average Hours of care per client per year 108 hours 168 hours Average cost of Home Care $6990.00 $8695.00 Average follow up cost mainly nursing home cost $2207.00 $2730.00 Average follow up medical cost $8468.00 $5641.00 Total Case mix adjusted cost per client $16701.00 $17243.00 This analysis was extended by KPMG after noticing the nursing home and associated cost of home care patients such as physician and hospital cost. It was noticed that in comparison with other organizations patients of Buurtzorg have less probability to go into nursing homes but the cost of subsequent curative care were much higher than its peers. After including all costs the case mix adjusted cost of Buurtzorg was just below the national average. The reason behind such low nursing cost and high curative cost wee not analyzed in their report leaving such analysis for a follow up research report. The findings were ambiguous and contradictory because low nursing home cost suggests high efficiency and good home care whereas high curative cost suggests just the opposite. But in spite of this high credential of their nurses, increase in referrals from physician and the high satisfaction rate of the organization suggests that Buurtzorg is engaged in providing high quality health care servic es. The most patients of Buurtzorg are from referrals of physician. It is more likely that large share of population of patients may include more critical patients with downward health trajectory thus justifying high curative health cost. But the report fails to address this point. After complete analysis it may be concluded that Buurtzorg has satisfied self managed nurses providing low cost high quality home care to their patients. Health Care in Australia The next crisis that may be looming before Australian government is in health care system. The government is likely to face shortage of fund for delivering proper health care to its citizens because of rising health care cost. The challenges are faced from various quarters: Increase in average age of population and chronic disease; Increased cost of medical treatment; The need to develop a comprehensive policy for evaluating technologies related to health industry; There are problems relating to trained health workers; There are concern about safety and quality of health care; There is uncertainty of policy regarding distribution of resources public and private health care facility; Urban planning has failed to create sustainable community health care models; There are lot of things that are required to be done so that equal healthy care facility could be provided to indigenous population; For implementing an effective health care system it is required to have proper plans (Drummond et al. 2015). The system should be effectively designed so that it can address the problem of bureaucracy and shortage of funds effectively. The main aim is to provide effective health care in Australia by being: Available, appropriate , timely and affordable; Patient focused with care given to health literacy and independence; Focused on providing preventive care; Coordinated and integrated so that multiple and complex conditions could be adjusted effectively. Buurtzorg Model in Australia From Buurtzorg model Australian Health care system can improve a lot. The prevailing problem of bureaucracy in Australian health care system could be addressed. The most important feature of Buurtzorg is that there are no managers and HR department in Buurtzorg so there is minimum bureaucracy (de Blok 2015). Thus teams of nurse enjoy autonomy regarding their task. This has shown to improve employee satisfaction. This could solve the problem of manpower shortage in health sector of Australia. The team enjoys the power to recruit new personnels so they effective choose their own team. The adoption of Buurtzorg model will revolutionize Australian Health Care facility by putting the needs of the patient in centre and letting the autonomous team to organize the health care package. Everything in Buurtzorg is aimed at providing enough independence to professionals for enriching their services. There are no rules except need. On analysis of Buurtzorg model in United States it is observed that it faces many problems. It does not have proper referral source and it suffers from lack of work force of nurses to provide all the services. It also faces the problem of dealing with multiple players that have different payment rule and regulations. This has made it difficult for the nurses to follow the Dutch model where they only had to deal with government insurance company that has flat rate per hour. This similar problem exists in Australia thus success of USA model can be successfully adopted in Australia. Thus overall analysis shows that problem faced by the Health care industry can be effectively addressed through Buurtzorg model. References de Blok, J., 2015. Guest editorial: Nursing has got stuck in the system, so lets CHANGE THE SYSTEM!.Journal of Research in Nursing,20(7), pp.532-535. Drummond, M.F., Sculpher, M.J., Claxton, K., Stoddart, G.L. and Torrance, G.W., 2015.Methods for the economic evaluation of health care programmes. Oxford university press. Gray, B.H., Sarnak, D.O. and Burgers, J.S., 2015. Home Care by Self-Governing Nursing Teams: The Netherlands Buurtzorg Model. Kreitzer, M.J., Monsen, K.A., Nandram, S. and de Blok, J., 2015. Buurtzorg Nederland: a global model of social innovation, change, and whole-systems healing.Global Advances in Health and Medicine,4(1), pp.40-44. Kroezen, M., Dussault, G., Craveiro, I., Dieleman, M., Jansen, C., Buchan, J., Barriball, L., Rafferty, A.M., Bremner, J. and Sermeus, W., 2015. Recruitment and retention of health professionals across Europe: A literature review and multiple case study research.Health Policy,119(12), pp.1517-1528. Monsen, K., 2013. Buurtzorg Nederland.AJN The American Journal of Nursing,113(8), pp.55-59. Monsen, K.A. and de Blok, J., 2013. Buurtzorg: Nurse-led community care.Creative nursing,19(3), pp.122-127. Mossialos, E., Wenzl, M., Osborn, R. and Anderson, C., 2015. 2015 International Profiles of Health Care Systems. Nandram, S. and Koster, N., 2014. Organizational innovation and integrated care: lessons from Buurtzorg.Journal of Integrated Care,22(4), pp.174-184. Nandram, S.S., 2014.Organizational Innovation by Integrating Simplification: Learning from Buurtzorg Nederland. Springer Nandram, S.S., 2015. Implications and Discussion. InOrganizational Innovation by Integrating Simplification(pp. 163-170). Springer International Publishing. Runciman, W.B., Hunt, T.D., Hannaford, N.A., Hibbert, P.D., Westbrook, J.I., Coiera, E.W., Day, R.O., Hindmarsh, D.M., McGlynn, E.A. and Braithwaite, J., 2012. CareTrack: assessing the appropriateness of health care delivery in Australia.Medical Journal of Australia,197(10), p.549. Shane, C., Shapiro, T., Dunn, J. and Davis, J., 2015. Traditional Health Care as a Model for Modern Health Care. Takashima, R., Tanabe, K., Morita, T., Amemiya, Y., Fujikawa, Y., Yasuda, H., Kashii, T. and Murakami, N., 2015. Usefulness of a Collaborative Home Visit Program Between Hospital and Visiting Nurses.Journal of Hospice Palliative Nursing,17(6), pp.524-535.