The Development Of App Preceptors Essay - 977 Words

The focus of the evidence in this literature review is to explore the need for and the development of APP preceptors to aid in new hire transition to practice, with a focus on CRNA preceptors. The review will begin broadly by presenting the evidence that supports the need for preceptor program development due to the common themes identified by novice APPs. Then, the need for preceptor development will be discussed. Finally, the review will conclude with current evidence that preceptor development is not only needed, but is effective in bridging the practice gap for novice APPs. Significant Studies A review of the literature was performed and yielded 26 articles relevant to precepting programs for novice nurses and advanced practice providers (APPs). For the sake of brevity, only the literature regarding novice APPs will be evaluated in this paper: six studies. Two had a date range exceeding 10 years, and were included in an attempt to fully explore the applicable literature. All of the articles reviewed can be found in Appendix A. The Johns Hopkins Evidenced-Based Practice Evidence Rating Scale was used to evaluate the literature (Newhouse, Dearholt, Poe, Pugh, White, 2007). Of importance, in a review of over 300 articles, Billay and Myrick (2007) concluded that the preceptors’ greatest assets were their knowledge and experience. The authors also identified that for a preceptor model to succeed, a well-developed program was essential. As a literature review, this wasShow MoreRelatedApplication Of App Preceptor Programs Essay964 Words   |  4 Pagesexplore the need for of APP preceptor programs to aid in new hire transition to practice. The review will begin broadly by presenting the evidence that supports the need for preceptor program implementation due to common themes identified by novice APPs. Then, the need for preceptor development will be discussed. Finally, the review will conclude with current evidence that preceptor development is not only needed, but is effective in bridging the practice gap for novice APPs. Significant Studies ForRead MoreKyruus case Essay13147 Words   |  53 PagesFor the exclusive use of F. Habib 9 -8 1 3 -0 6 0 REV: DECEMBER 5, 2012 ROBERT F. HIGGINS PENROSE O’DONNELL MEHUL BHATT Kyruus: Big Datas Search for the Killer App â€Å"At the bottom of the Oakland experiment was a willingness to rethink baseball: how it is managed, how it is played, who is best suited to play it, and why.† â€Å"First came radical advancements in computer technology: this dramatically reduced the cost of compiling and analyzing vast amounts of baseball data. Then came the

Military Technology - 2354 Words

Military Technology Technology in the military has greatly increased strength and eased the ranking among world powers and effected the development of new military weapons. The term Survival of the fittest means that the strong will succeed but the meek will not, this is the case with military technology. The U.S. has the best technology in the world, therefore we are the highest military power. Technology is a very important part of warfare. Technology is driven by the military. The armys race during the cold war, spawned some of the greatest technical achievements in human history. Space travel for example is a result of the X-plane project. The Internet was produced by the military as well. If we stop investing in military†¦show more content†¦They were built strongly and carried cannons capable of destroying enemy ships. In todays age, the aircraft carrier and battleships are the rulers of the sea. Aircraft carriers were first developed in WWII along with planes. Conventional naval guns were limited to a range of about 20 miles, but by World War II the aircraft carrier, a ship capable of launching, recovering, and storing aircraft that could themselves destroy ships had extended the battle range of surface fleets by as much as 300 miles. In doing so, it had a profound effect on naval warfare. The airplane had just begun to go to sea on the eve of World War I. In November 1910 the American scout cruiser USS Birmingham launched the first airplane ever to take off from a ship, and two months later a plane was landed on an improvised flight deck built onto the armored cruiser USS Pennsylvania. In 1913 a British cruiser, HMS Hermes, was converted to carry aircraft. In 1916, flying-off decks were built aboard several British ships, and by 1918 the Royal Navy had a converted passenger liner, HMS Argus, that could land and launch planes on a flight deck extending from bow to stern. The Argus was the worlds first true through-deck aircraft carrier and was thus the prototype for all later carriers. (Britannica). Aircraft carriers carry a crew of 5500 men along with lots of state of the art technology. From tracking systems to propulsion, the whole ship is run with technology. TheShow MoreRelatedBenefits Of Military Technology On Technology1688 Words   |  7 PagesBENEFITS OF MILITARY TECHNOLOGY While violence and conflicts are often associated with military technology, its developments have actually brought us some benefits as well. An interesting fact is that the benefits of military technology in civilian applications most of the time was not part of the primary purpose when deciding to fund its development. This goes to show that the implications of a new technology being developed can go far beyond what is originally imagined. One of the inventions thatRead MoreU.s. Military : History Of Technology And Protection1568 Words   |  7 PagesENG 1123, Period 4 27 March 2017 The U.S. Military: History of Technology and Protection The U.S. military has been around since the early days of the United States. They have always been there to provide protection for its citizens. Many people are against war, but most can appreciate what soldiers do to protect this country. Military actions are not cheap though because of the equipment and technology that is required to do their job. The military is a certain service that the United StatesRead More Science, Technology and America’s Military Essay1427 Words   |  6 PagesScience, Technology and America’s Military When it comes to the latest and fastest computers there is one place that all that technology can be found, the United States Military. There is no doubt that the U.S. Military is one of, if not the most technologically advanced armed forces in the world. â€Å"Over our countries development we have changed from a â€Å"grind it out† fighting machine, to a more advanced, rapid tactical corps to meet the different battle situations found in today’s worldRead MoreEssay about Technology Used on the Military Battlefield596 Words   |  3 PagesTechnology Used on the Military Battlefield In today’s busy world of technology, where it seems like we can hardly keep up with the daily advances being made, the United States Military is posed on the cutting edge. The military spends billions of dollars each year on electronic technology research with private firms such as International Telegraph and Telephone Aerospace/Communications Division (ITT A/CD). There is a wide range of uses for computers on today’s battlefield. Two of the majorRead MoreTechnology And The Military Technology1128 Words   |  5 PagesInsurgent technology though not as advanced as the military technology was arguably more effective. The insurgent’s use of ingenious bomb technology was extremely effective against the U.S. civilians, U.S. soldiers, and the Iraqi people. It was effective against U.S. civilians because it made them want the war to stop so that the soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan would leave, which is the goal of any insurgency. â€Å"A bomb’s ability to destroy a target depends on two things: its explosive power andRead More Military Technology Essay2343 Words   |  10 PagesMilitary Technology   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Technology in the military has greatly increased strength and eased the ranking among world powers and effected the development of new military weapons. The term â€Å"Survival of the fittest† means that the strong will succeed but the meek will not, this is the case with military technology. The U.S. has the best technology in the world, therefore we are the highest military power.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Technology is a very important part of warfare. Technology is driven by the militaryRead MoreAdvanced Military Technologies544 Words   |  2 Pages21st century technologies have forever altered the military landscape. Due to the changing landscape, questions have arisen regarding the legality and ethics of the use of such technologies. Advanced military technologies such as directed energy weapons, autonomous vehicles and robots, and cyber weapons seem to seem to fall into categories of weapons not yet created or restricted, challenging the long established international humanitarian laws. (Allenby) Technology changes more rapidly than we mightRead MoreMIlitary Advantages in Technology Essay1823 Words   |  8 Pagesmore difficult. It has gone from using your smarts and your survival skills to winning a war by having the upper hand on technology. This means having the bigger and better weapons. Stronger and faster aircrafts. The military has become driven by t echnology. All military both in the United States and foreign military forces depend on technology to win wars. Overtime technology has raised to such a degree that warfare has actually come to the point that it is based on who has the most technologicalRead MoreMilitary Technology And Technological Advancements2082 Words   |  9 PagesOver the years, military technology kept on changing and has advanced from rifles to the nuclear weapons. The 20th century saw a drastic change in the military technology and military thinkers adapted to this change and took it as a way to totally transform the war. These technological advancements added new dimensions to warfare through a combination of firepower, mobility, and maneuver. Warfare has now transitioned to become the battle of wits, nerves, technology and tactics. Military thinkers developedRead MoreMilitary Technology And Its Impact Today2410 Words   |  10 PagesConnor Aitken English 8 CP 2/23/15 Burke Military Technology and Its Impact Today The True Impact of Technology Bill was in the hills of Afghanistan, approaching an enemy compound that held a high value target. This target was a rebel leader attempting to spread radical Sunni beliefs on the infidels. As a definite threat to his region and a potential threat to America he had to be taken out. This could be accomplished by Bill s squadron. If Bill s team of four have to enter the compound and eliminate

academic communication Free Essays

string(97) " is responsible to give significance to the verbal and gestural symbols used by the transmitter\." Introduction This is about academic communicating procedure theoretical account and its constituents ; how they would breakdown into three different phases and stairss to avoid them. Communication is the most of import portion of our life. We begin to larn some of the accomplishments of communicating before we are born, and most of us will go on to utilize them until the twenty-four hours we die. We will write a custom essay sample on academic communication or any similar topic only for you Order Now We communicate with friends, household, workplace ; we may pass on indirectly: we watch films, and listen to music. These are all communicating procedure in different phases. We will discourse about it in this assignment. Harmonizing to Weick and Browning ( 1986 ) , communicating is the procedure of conveying information from one individual to another. Gerbner ( 1967 ) adds that communicating may be defined as societal interaction through messages. Another bookman Theodorson ( 1969 ) defines communicating as the transmittal of information, thoughts, attitudes, or emotion from one individual or group to another chiefly through symbols. Osgood et Al ( 1957 ) besides remarks that we have communication wherever one system, a beginning, influences another, the finish, by use of alternate symbols, which can be transmitted over the channel linking them. On the footing of above definitions, communicating is the sharing information between two or more people to make a common apprehension. However, making a common apprehension does non intend that people have to hold with each other. They should hold an accurate thought of what a individual or group is seeking to state them. Communication is besides a procedure, and like most procedures it can be usefully modelled. Gathering a theoretical account frequently helps in believing about and understanding procedures and systems. The basic communicating procedure starts when the transmitter formulates an thought or thinks of something to state. The thought is so encoded or transformed into meaningful symbols. Turning the formulated ideas into spoken or written words constitutes encoding. Thought and thoughts have to be in some signifier of codification to organize catching messages. These encoded messages are so transmitted via voice, missive, electronic mail, telephone or some other channel to the receiving system. Geting the message from the transmitter to the receiving system is really of import, unless the communicating goes from one individual to another there is no communicating. Messages transmit via a channel. Channel refers to the peculiar engineering or method used to acquire the message to the receiving system. Major communicating channels are letters, e-mail, face-to-face conversation, telephone, facsimile, newspapers, booklets, movie, picture, wireless, telecasting, web sites and postings. Then the receiving system decodes the message – interprets the message, and gives feedback to the transmitter. Feedback helps both transmitter and receiving system determine the lucidity of the message. Feedback is a response from the receiving system. With feedback, the procedure becomes a conversation or bipartisan communicating. Beginning: adapted from Himstreet, Baty and Lehman ( 1993 ) . However, a major progress in communicating theory came with Claude Shannon ‘s 1949 publication of his mathematical theory of communicating. He and other information theoreticians at the Bell Telephone Laboratories were concerned with the procedure of reassigning signals accurately from transmitter to receiver. Their concern was non with words or word significances but with coded stuff sent from one machine to another – from a orbiter to earth or from one computing machine to another. Shannon ‘s communicating theoretical account was critical for communicating research as Johnson and Klare ( 1961 ) say in their reappraisal of communicating theoretical accounts: â€Å"Of all individual parts to the widespread involvement in theoretical accounts today, Shannon ‘s is the most of import. For the proficient side of communicating research, Shannon ‘s mathematical preparations were the stimulation to much of the ulterior attempt in this area.† Beginning: adopted from Shannon and Weaver ( 1949 ) . Shannon and Weaver ‘s ‘mathematical theoretical account ‘ describes communicating as a additive, one-way procedure. Harmonizing to Shannon ( 1949 ) , communicating procedure consists of basically five constituents: 1. An information beginning which produces a message or sequences of messages to be communicated to the having terminus. The message may be assorted types such as a sequence of letters as in a telegraph or teletype system ; a individual map of clip. A message is composed of a set of symbols. These symbols can be verbal or gestural. Verbal symbols are words used when talking or composing. Letterss, memorandas, studies, booklets, catalogues, manuals, and one-year studies are composed of verbal symbols. These symbols are besides used when talking face-to-face or on the telephone, take parting in a conference or meeting, or presenting a address. Gestural symbols such as gestures, position, facial looks, visual aspect, and clip, tone of voice, oculus contact, and infinite ever accompany verbal symbols. All messages contain gestural symbols that help the receiving system interpret verbal symbols. If verbal and gestural symbols struggle, receiving systems by and large believe the gestural symbols over the verbal symbols. For illustration, a gross revenues representative may state that your history is really of import but so keeps you waiting. The representative ‘s gestural communicating may do you to oppugn the representative ‘s earnestness, and you may make up one’s mind to take your concern elsewhere. 2. A sender which operates on the message in order to bring forth a signal suitable for transmittal over the channel. 3. The channel is simply the medium used to convey the signal from sender to receiver. The manner a transmitter selects to direct a message is called the channel. Letterss, memorandas, and studies are the most common channels for written messages. One-to-one conversations, telephone conversations, and meet ings are common channels of unwritten messages. Electronic mail, videoconferences and voice mail are common channels of electronic messages. Choosing the appropriate channel is important. 4. The receiving system normally performs the reverse operation of that done by the sender, retracing the message from the signal. 5. The finish is the individual for whom the message is intended. Here the finish is the receiver. A individual or things to whom a message is sent is the receiver. The receiver is responsible to give significance to the verbal and gestural symbols used by the transmitter. You read "academic communication" in category "Essay examples" The significance receiving systems give to message depends on their several educational backgrounds, experiences, involvements, sentiments, and emotional provinces. Miscommunication consequences if the receiving system gives the message a different significance than the transmitter intended. As it is seen from the diagram, Shannon did non include feedback which is truly critical for effectual communicating. Shannon ‘s communicating procedure theoretical account was stimulus phase for other behavioral scientists ; because they developed his theoretical account more advanced and included feedback as an of import phase. Feedback is a message or portion of a message that the receiver returns to the transmitter so that the message may be modified or adjusted to do it clearer to the receiver. When one individual responds to another ‘s message, the response is called feedback. Feedback is the reaction of the receiving system to the message received. It may besides be gestural ( a smiling, a scowl, a intermission, etc. ) or it may be verbal ( a telephone call or a missive ) . Feedback is a critical constituent of effectual communicating because it helps find whether the receiving system has understood the message. These communicating procedure constituents may breakdown at different phases. First of wholly, we will specify the significance of dislocation or barrier. Breakdown to communication include anything that prevents a message from being received or understood. Barriers/breakdowns are, hence, synonymous in many ways with noise though technological noise ( e.g. inactive on telephone lines ) is less of a barrier and more of an obstruction. A technological job does non normally stop communicating, though it may barricade it temporarily. Technological jobs are besides possibly the easiest jobs to work out. When equipment fails, is unsuited to the undertaking for which it is used, or when the job is every bit simple as an wrong telephone figure, this can normally be rapidly identified and remedied. Technological jobs are, hence, a signifier of noise but they are an obstruction instead than a barrier to communicating. Barriers are normally of homo instead than technological beginning. Human barriers are frequently less seeable but by and large more eventful. These three barriers are: Socio-cultural barriers ; Psychological barriers ; Organisational barriers. Socio-cultural barriers. Communication ever involves other people. An person can be a bearer of civilization but one individual can non make civilization. Culture is a group or societal phenomenon. Culture is powerful. The linguistic communication we use, the nutrient we eat and how we eat it, how we dress, what we believe and so on, are all powerful cultural traits. We accept them as if they were non-confrontable and non-debatable. Culture occurs at national, cultural, regional and even organizational degree can be a barrier to communicating exactly because civilization is both powerful and shaping of groups. The cardinal socio-cultural elements that may be barriers are: Groupthink is the societal phenomenon which occurs when group behaviour dominates and stifles the decision-making procedure ( Janis 1982 ) . It occurs when societal norms or a group ‘s desire for consensus overwhelms its desire to make determinations that are in its best involvement. It is what happens when shared values and conformance get out of control. Group think is a major job in concern, where people work extensively in groups and squads. For case, group members over-communicate or emphasize their similarities in beliefs and values while, at the same clip, concealing or under-communicating their differences. This consequences in the visual aspect of tight similarity within the group. Another illustration, the group develops and maintains strong shared beliefs without oppugning their truth or their implicit in premises. Rather than acknowledging some direction or strategic mistake to explicate failure, the group will apologize or fault external forces. Conflicting values and belief. Culture is based on shared beliefs and values. When communicating occurs across cultural boundaries, the potency for misinterpretation is magnified. Cultural and societal norms are so deep-rooted that people act upon them without being consciously cognizant of making so. When cross-cultural concern ventures fail, the participants are frequently unable to understand why. It is normally a communicating failure stemming from a deficiency of cognition about each other ‘s basic values and norms. Administrations need to guarantee they are familiar with possible cultural differences before trying to make concern across civilizations. Languages and slang. Even when we ‘re pass oning in the same linguistic communication, words mean different things to different people. Age and context are two of the biggest factors that influence the linguistic communication a individual uses and the definitions he/she gives to words. When Michael Schiller, a concern adviser, was speaking with his 15-year-old girl about where she was traveling with her friends, he told her, â€Å"You need to acknowledge your ARAs and step against them.† His girl â€Å"looked at him like he was from outer space.† ARA stands for answerability, duty, and authorization. This point is that although we all can talk the same linguistic communication, but the usage of that linguistic communication is far from unvarying. If we knew how each of us modified the linguistic communication, communicating troubles would be minimized. Psychological Barriers are those associating to the person and the person ‘s mental and emotional province. Key psychological barriers are: Filtering. Peoples tend to hear what they want to hear and see what they want to see. For illustration, at Beacon Research Associates, a mid-sized, societal study company, leaders of each research squad were informed by missive of their budget allotments twice a twelvemonth. When the undertaking director received his allotment, he scanned the missive, took note of the sum of his budget and quickly filed the missive. What he did non notice was the paragraph which stated that the research allowance had to be used up in this budget period within six months. Any excess sum could non be carried frontward into the following period. The director selected from all of the information in the missive merely the informations in which he was interested – his budget allotment – and filtered out the remainder. The consequence was that six months subsequently he was really surprised to larn that the balance of his budget financess was recalled, which put terrible force per unit area on some undertakings. Often our consequences and prejudices are a consequence of personal value systems or our cultural backgrounds. The key to avoiding filtrating jobs is to listen carefully, to read carefully and to be cognizant that we all have a inclination to be selective about the information and information with which we are confronted. Percepts are how we view the universe. We choose our friends because they tend to believe like us, act like us, believe the things in which we believe and do the sorts of things we do. We frequently are non even cognizant that our perceptual experiences influence so many countries of our life. We have perceptual experiences of world that we trust and we behave harmonizing to those beliefs which, in bend, act upon our behavior. Our perceptual experiences can be barriers to communicating. We can decline to admit or go to to what is being communicated because we have preconceived thoughts about its relevancy to our lives. Faulty memory. Sometimes we do n’t retrieve what has been communicated to us ; this will take to incomplete or uneffective communicating. Good memory accomplishments can be learnt and should be practised in order to go an effectual communicator. Poor listening accomplishments. Inadequate memory accomplishments can besides be attributed to hapless hearing. Day-dreaming, reading, listening to another conversation instead than the 1 in which we are engaged, looking around the room and merely by and large non concentrating on listening represent hapless listening accomplishments. Emotional intervention. Emotions can be a barrier to communication both in sending and receiving messages. When people are angry, fearful or sad their communicating accomplishments can be impaired. We can non command person ‘s emotions ; nevertheless we can command our ain emotions to a grade. How the receiving system feels at the clip of reception of a communicating influences how he/she interprets it. The same message received when we ‘re angry or distraught is frequently interpreted otherwise than it is when we ‘re happy. Extreme emotions such as exultation or depression are most likely to impede effectual communicating. Organizational barriers chiefly relate to the administration ‘s construction, civilization, forms of work and communicating flows. The most common organizational barriers are: Information overload. Persons have a finite capacity for treating informations. When the information we have to work with exceeds our processing capacity, the consequence is information overload. And with electronic mails, IM, phone calls, facsimiles, meetings, and the demand to maintain current in one ‘s field, the potency for today ‘s directors and professionals to endure from information overload is high. Message competition. Information overload leads to message competition. The sum of information we deal with every twenty-four hours forces us to do picks about what is of import and what can be ignored. A director can have a 100s of messages a twenty-four hours in different signifiers. Directors are put under more emphasis by the possible danger of losing or disregarding of import messages and therefore endanger their effectivity. Information deformation. A potentially bigger cost can be paid by administrations that suffer from information deformation. Taller structures mean that information has to go through through more sections and people before acquiring to its finish. This may do the information to be distorted due to misconstruing. Message filtrating. Directors select the communications to which they pay attending by filtrating or testing them. When go throughing on information directors one time once more filter information or reproduce it in brief signifier for the ingestion of others. This procedure happens at many degrees in administrations. Status differences. Directors tend to listen less carefully to subsidiaries. This will take dislocation of communicating. Structural jobs. Administrations can be structured with many beds and directors in the top would hold less communicating with the below employees of the hierarchal construction. The greater the distance – physical, societal or cultural, between two points, the longer it will take to acquire information from one point to the other. George Eliot says: â€Å"The people of the universe are islands shouting at each other across a sea of misunderstanding.† It is really critical to hold effectual communicating in order to be successful. It can be achieved by avoiding communicating dislocation. These stairss are: directing clear messages to the receiving system, and finish the message adequate to enable both the transmitter and the receiving system to make a common apprehension ; transmitter should avoid the specialized linguistic communication such as slang when composing to an foreigner ; message should be in platitude linguistic communication non cliches or local expressions that mean nil to a non-native talker ; the receiving system should besides be a good hearer by halt speaking, put the talker at easiness, keeping oculus contact, being open-minded, inquiring inquiry or giving a feedback. A communicator should digest bad wonts in order to set up good resonance sometimes ; should avoid accusals ; should concentrate on behavior non a individual ; should be specific instead than general ; should avoid defensiveness ; should portion in formation instead than giving advice ; should propose more acceptable options ; should give positive feedback. Deep external respiration, remaining entirely for a piece will assist get the better of emotional barriers. Administrations should concentrate on jobs and issues ; they should listen and promote subsidiaries efficaciously despite of their position. Employers should pay attending to the words and feelings of the employees that are being expressed. If an administration receives many messages from the clients, they should use excess staff for specifically looking after the messages and facsimiles. Communication is good or effectual when members of an administration portion information with each other and all parties involved are comparatively clear about what this information means. Decision We have discussed about communicating, Shannon ‘s mathematical communicating procedure and its constituents ; the barriers to communicating and steps how to avoid them. As discussed earlier we communicate because of a demand: a demand to acquire our thoughts across to others. Like animate beings, we communicate with sounds, although unlike animate beings, we have evolved address, which can convey complex thoughts. Unlike animate beings, excessively, we can encode these sounds into symbols, therefore giving the thoughts their ain extended and independent life crossing the coevalss. Communication can be seen as a round procedure. Person has an thought they wish to go through on. They determine who is to have the thought, and how it is to be recorded and transmitted. The chosen receiver becomes a transmitter when they deliver feedback to the conceiver of the thought to demo that is has been received and understood. Peoples engaged in communicating encode and decode messages while at the same time functioning as both transmitter and receiving systems. In the communicating procedure, feedback helps people resolve possible misinterpretations and therefore better communicating effectivity. Communication takes two signifiers – verbal and non-verbal. Although non-verbal is of import, verbal communicating is the manner that we communicate the thoughts, ideas or instructions we need to go through on. We do this in two ways: spoken and written. For a communicating to be effectual it has to be received and understood. There are two peculiar accomplishments concerned with apprehension: hearing efficaciously and reading attentively. Communication is one of the most of import procedures that takes topographic point in administrations. Effective communicating allows persons, groups, and administrations to accomplish their ends and execute at high degrees, and it affects virtually every facet of organizational behavior. Bibliographic Mentions Forsyth, P. and Madden, D. 2005, Business Communications, ICSA Publishing Ltd, Norfolk. George, J. M and Jones, G. R. 2008, Understanding and Managing Organizational Behavior, Pearson Prentice Hall, 5th ed. , US. Himstreet and Bary 1965, Business Communications, 2nd ed. , Wadsworth Publishing Company, California. Himstreet, Baty and Lehman 1993, Business communications, 10th ed. , Wadsworth Publishing Company, California. Judge, R. 2009, Organizational Behavior, 13th ed. , Pearson Prentice Hall, New Jersey. McQuail, D. and Windahl, S. 1982, Communication Models for the Study of Mass Communication, 2nd ed. , Longman Publishing, New York. Rouse, M. J. and Rouse, S. 2002, Business Communications, Thomson Learning, Cornwall. Shannon, C. E. and Weaver, W. 1949, the Mathematical Theory of Communication, the University of Illinois Press, Urbana. Steil K. Lyman 1983, Effective Listening: Key to your success, Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Canada. hypertext transfer protocol: //patchwork-st.blogspot.com/2007/03/how-to-avoid-communication-breakdown.html ( 13.04.2009 ) hypertext transfer protocol: //www.coachingachievement.co.uk/overcoming_communication_barriers.htm ( 13.04.2009 ) How to cite academic communication, Essay examples

Information System Free Sample Management of Information Systems

Questions: 1. What is systems thinking and how can management information systems enable and (possibly) improve business communications? 2. Define Globalization 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0. What kind of business data did business managers collect and use for each? 3. Why are competitive advantages temporary? 4. What are Porters three generic strategies and how can a company add value by using Porters chain analysis? 5. Define and Porters Five Forces model and explain each of the forces. Then, create a Porters Five Force analysis for one of the following products: desktop computer, telephone, or walkman? 6. Imagine your new CEO wants to reorganize the AAA Management Company so it is more efficient and effective. Look at the model below and analyze the CEOs reorganization plan. Explain the advantages and disadvantages of the structure he proposed, and then reorganize the structure so it provides optimal benefits to operations of the company? Answers: 1. System thinking is a holistic process that emphasizes on interrelation of constituent parts of the system and also performance and operation of the system within a specific time period. It is also a process for collecting feedback which helps to maintain stability. Management information system mainly emphasizes on the processing the relevant data into information. MIS includes the system thinking process which helps the organization to work cross-functionally. MIS has many benefits towards the business communication. It helps to maintain communication among the system users and the information system staffs making the process of communication more effective. It is also a time saving system which helps the employees to collect the data automatically. With such faster accessibility facility, the managers are able to make decisions more quickly (REDDY et al., 2009). 2. Globalization 1.0 was started during the discovery of world by Christopher Columbus and the world decreased to medium from being large. Then for around 100 years, the world was ruled by the white people who mainly controlled the business. Data examples can be attributes related to trade through shipping routes. Globalization 2.0 started around 1800 at the time of Revolution of the industry when the world started decreasing further in to smaller units. In this era, the international companies controlled the business process. The data examples can be trade attributes through corporations Globalization 3.0 started in early 2000, where the world became tiny from being smaller. During this era, people of different background dominated the business. Data examples can include the trade attributes through individual people (prenhall.com, n.d.). 3. Competitive advantage can be defined as a service or product features that are valued by the customers compared to the competitors offerings. However it is to be noted that the competitive advantages can never be permanent. This is because the business environment is dynamic and the needs of the customers are rapidly changing. So, even when a company thinks of meeting the needs of the customers offering competitive advantage like suppose offering low price products with high quality, all similar competitors starts offering similar advantages to the customers. This nullifies the competitive advantages of the previous company (A. D'Aveni, Battista Dagnino and G. Smith, 2010). Thus competitive advantage is temporary.4. Porters three generic strategies are cost-leadership, differentiation and focused strategy as shown below. The cost leadership is the process of gaining the competitive advantage by minimizing the cost, differentiation is the process of offering products with unique fu nctionality, feature,, support and durability and focus strategy includes both cost and differentiation. The objective of Porters value chain is to develop competitive advantage and create value for the potential customers by identifying the business process effectively. This tool helps to identify the activities of the organization and how they are interrelated to determine the profit and cost of the organization. The value chain process includes two categories one is primary activities like the manufacturing, selling, delivering, after sales services and the support activities include procurement, technology development, human resources and firm infrastructure (Mullins and Walker, 2013). 5. Porters five forces Model mainly examines the competitive forces within business environment for assessing the profit potentiality within the industry in which the organization operates in. The five forces are: Threat of Rivalry: It is force due to competitors in the market, the competition is low if competitors are complacent and fierce if the competitors are high. Bargaining Power of Buyer: It is the buyers ability to influence the prices that they want to pay for the products. Bargaining Power of Supplier: It is the ability of the suppliers to affect the prices that they charge for their supplies like services, labor or materials Threat of new entrants: It is the low if the new entrants find barriers to enter in the industry and high if there are no barriers. Threat of Substitutes is low when there are fewer alternatives to choose from and high if the services or products alternatives are many to choose from. Source: Made by Author6. The advantage of following the previous structure as shown below is that the structure is simplified. There is no substructure and everybody have a single reporting person. However, the disadvantage of using this structure is that it is not rightly placed according to roles and responsibilities. Considering CEO as the president of an organization, he is the highest ranked executive of the organization whose main aim to develop the organization by maintaining a functional structure. Thus the new structure should be: Source: Made By Author Reference D'Aveni, R., Battista Dagnino, G., G. Smith, K. (2010). The age of temporary advantage. Strategic Management Journal, 31(13), 13711385. Mullins, J., Walker, O. (2013). Marketing management. New York: McGraw-Hill. prenhall.com,. Fueling Globalization through Information Systems. Retrieved 9 January 2015, from https://www.prenhall.com/behindthebook/0132335069/pdf/Jessup_CH02.pdf Reddy, g., srinivasu, r., rikkula, s., rao, v. (2009). Management information system to help managers for providing decision making in an organization. International Journal Of Reviews In Computing, 5(1).

Puryfying Used Cooking Oil free essay sample

The researchers are trying to figure out the effects of sedimentation, activated carbon, and decantation and boiling on purifying used coconut, palm and vegetable oil. The researcher’s experiment resulted to the change of appearance, odour and viscosity of each type of oil. The now purified cooking oil is faster to heat which makes cooking easier, faster and more efficient. The purified oil is quite beneficial however it does not take in as much taste as the unpurified ones. Overall the experiment was very successful in terms of finding the positive differences in each type of oils. The vegetable oil was the best product of all the processes because it had shown the best improvement in all aspects including appearance, odour and viscosity compared to the coconut and the palm oil in the experiment. This study can benefit people who love to cook. Acknowledgements The researchers would like to thank the following for making this study successful: †¢The Anico family for openly welcoming the researchers into their home without hesitation. We will write a custom essay sample on Puryfying Used Cooking Oil or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page †¢Ms. Michelle Baldevarona for being patient in helping with the SIP in every step of the way. †¢Most of all, the Heavenly Father for blessing the researchers with minds that are capable of interpreting the information taught and transferring it to useful knowledge. Chapter 1 Introduction Background of the Study In the commercial world of fast food restaurants and Filipino homes, lessening expenses is one their main goals. Most fast food restaurants, such as Jollibee and McDonald’s, try to lessen expenses by reusing cooking oil. More than not, they reuse cooking oil without making sure that it is still sanitary and healthy to use in cooking. Because most Filipino dishes include the use of cooking oil, it is a primary ingredient in many dishes. Therefore, many health concerns are raised, such as increase of cholesterol due to the reused fats present when cooking oil is reused without ensuring its sanitary and nutritional value. Cooking oils undergo a complex series of changes and reactions during heating and frying. Used cooking oils could be purified by removing the odour, undesirable taste and colour substances. Activated carbon, the process of decantation, sedimentation and boiling are potential means of improving the quality of the used edible cooking oils. Statement of the Problem Will sedimentation, activated carbon, boiling and decantation purify coconut, palm and vegetable oil? Which oil is the best product from the purification processes? Hypothesis Purified cooking oil is equitable with unpurified cooking oil in terms of content and quality such as appearance, odour and viscosity. Definition of Terms Activated Carbon is a form of carbon processed to be riddled with small, low-volume pores that increase the surface area available for adsorption or chemical reactions. Coconut Oil an edible oil extracted from the kernel or meat of matured coconuts harvested from the coconut palm Decantation is a process for the separation of mixtures, by removing a top layer of liquid from which a precipitate has settled. Palm Oil – is an edible vegetable oil derived from the mesocarp (reddish pulp) of the fruit of the oil palms Sedimentation – natural process where solid materials sink to the bottom given a period of time Vegetable Oil is a triglyceride extracted from a plant Significance of the Study The study will benefit people who use cooking oil to prepare meals. This will not only save them money but it can also ensure them that their food would still be edible due to the fact that reused cooking oil can easily become rancid (spoiled) and deteriorated to the point it produces undesirable flavours and odours. Besides ruining what would have been a perfectly good meal, rancid oils also contain free radicals that are potentially carcinogenic. Scope and Limitation This study covered the purification of used cooking oils through the use of activated carbon, the process of decantation and of boiling. The researchers used vegetable oil, palm oil and coconut oil to be experimented on. Variables such as the amount of cooking oil used, the length it took to coo, the temperature and food used to cook were controlled. On the other hand, the manipulated variables were the types of cooking oil. Chapter 2 Review of Related Literature Uses and Effects Filipinos are fond of using cooking oil in their homes. They are also conscious of saving money by reusing these oils. But when cooking oils are reused without purifying it, some health hazards may occur. One of these is the formation of 4-hydroxy-trans-2-nonenal (HNE) which is due to the food particles left from the previous food cooked which are reheated again. HNE can cause cardiovascular disease, stroke, various liver disorders, and cancer. Activated Carbon Activated carbon is a form of carbon processed to be riddled with small, low-volume pores that increases its absorption of liquids when passed through it. This can remove the unwanted food particles and further purify it. Sedimentation Sedimentation is the tendency for particles in suspension to settle out of the fluid in which they are entrained, and come to rest against a barrier. Decantation Decantation is a process for the separation of mixtures, by removing a top layer of liquid from which a precipitate has settled. Usually a small amount of solution must be left in the container, and care must be taken to prevent a small amount of precipitate from flowing with the solution out of the container. It is frequently used to purify a liquid by separating it from a suspension of insoluble particles. Coconut Oil Coconut oil is an edible oil extracted from the kernel or meat of matured coconuts harvested from the coconut palm (Cocos nucifera). It has various applications in food, medicine, and industry. Coconut oil is commonly used in cooking, especially for frying and is a common flavor in many South Asian curries. It has been used for cooking (in tropical parts of the world) for thousands of years. Coconut oil is used by movie theatre chains to pop popcorn, adding a large amount of saturated fat in the process. Palm Oil Palm oil (also known as dende oil, from Portuguese) is an edible vegetable oil derived from mesocarp (reddish pulp) of the fruit of the oil palms. Palm oil is naturally reddish in color because of a high beta-carotene content. It is not to be confused with palm kernel oil derived from the kernel of the same fruit, or coconut oil derived from the kernel of the coconut palm (Cocos nucifera). The differences are in color (raw palm kernel oil lacks carotenoids and is not red), and in saturated fat content: Palm mesocarp oil is 41% saturated, while Palm Kernel oil and Coconut oil are 81% and 86% saturated respectively. Vegetable Oil A vegetable oil is a triglyceride extracted from a plant. Such oils have been part of human culture for millennia. The term vegetable oil can be narrowly defined as referring only to substances that are liquid at room temperature, or broadly defined without regard to a substances state of matter at a given temperature. For this reason, vegetable oils that are solid at room temperature are sometimes called vegetable fats. Viscosity The viscosity of a fluid is a measure of its resistance to gradual deformation by shear stress or tensile stress. For liquids, it corresponds to the informal notion of thickness†. Viscosity is due to the friction between neighbouring particles in a fluid that are moving at different velocities. Chapter 3 Methodology Subject of the Study This study made us of three kinds of cooking oil which are mainly used in Filipino homes. These cooking oils are namely vegetable oil, palm oil and coconut oil. Materials ? cup of vegetable oil ? cup of palm oil ? cup of coconut oil Activated carbon Bottle where the decantation process will take place Pot where boiling can happen Procedures 1)After the cooking oil has been used, let the oil stand for a while so that the food particles can settle at the bottom. 2) Pour it through a bottle which in the middle contains activated carbon and has holes at the bottom for the oil to pass through. 3)When youve removed the solids and particulates, pour an amount of water equal to the volume of oil into a large pot or kettle with deep sides. Pour in your oil. Add about 1/2 teaspoon of salt per quart of total liquid to the pot. 4)Bring the oil and water mixture to the boil, and then boil it hard for about 5 to 10 minutes. The darker, more scorched, and/or more strongly flavored the oil, the longer you should boil the mixture. 5)Remove from the heat, and set aside to settle out. It takes about 10 to 30 minutes for the oil to completely separate and come to the top. 6)Pour off the water portion as completely as possible and discard. 7)Put the oil portion back into the deep pot or kettle. Over medium heat, bring to the boil (which for oil is hotter, obviously, than for water. Reduce heat until it is boiling and popping a bit, but slowly. The goal here is to evaporate all of the retained water. When the oil becomes very clear looking and no longer makes any sound (no popping or sizzling sounds), has no more bubbles rising, and no more steam comes to the top, its done. 8)Allow to cool, then bottle in an airtight container for reuse. Chapter 4 Presentation, Analysis and Interpretation of Data Table 1: Observation after Cooking Oils Used and After the Purification Process Type of Cooking OilAppearanceOdour Unpurified Vegetable OilLooks like regular cooking oilContains a subtle scent of something burnt Purified Vegetable OilVery clear yellow colorSmells like original vegetable oil prior to being used Unpurified Palm OilVery dark yellowish-brown colorContains a subtle scent of hotdog Purified Palm OilSlightly lighter shade than previous colorStill contains a subtle scent of hotdog Unpurified Coconut OilMurky yellowish-brown colorContains a subtle scent of hotdog Purified Coconut OilMurky light yellow color Contains a subtle scent that can’t be indentified Major variations were observed before the oils were cooked and after the oils were purified with the processes of sedimentation, activated carbon, decantation and boiling using 6 regular sized hotdogs which were cooked with the temperature between 180 degrees Celsius to 190 degrees Celsius (medium heat) in the span of 5 minutes. Table 2: Viscosity Test Type of Oil1st Trial2nd Trial3rd TrialAverage Unpurified Coconut Oil1. 28 secs0. 98 secs1. 20 secs1. 15 secs Unpurified Palm Oil0. 99 secs1. 15 secs1. 18 secs1. 11 secs Unpurified Vegetable Oil1. 10 secs0. 97 secs1. 15 secs1. 07 secs Purified Coconut Oil 0. 95 secs1. 03 secs0. 91 secs0. 96 secs Purified Palm Oil1. 10 secs0. 93 secs0. 96 secs1. 00 secs Purified Vegetable Oil0. 97 secs1. 06 secs0. 94 secs 0. 99 secs The test was done with 100ml of different cooking oils, both purified and unpurified. The weight dropped into each of the container weighed 50grams. The most viscous liquid was the unpurified cooking oils and the unpurified was the lesser viscous one. The viscosity of the cooking oils affects how fast it takes to heat it. The more viscous a substance is, the longer it will it take to heat it. Although less viscous oils are faster to heat, foods cooked in it do not take in as much as the taste of the oil compared to the more viscous one. The purified oils were less viscous due to the purification processes done with it. Chapter 5 Conclusion and Recommendation Summary The outcome of the researchers’ purification of the cooking oils deemed to be successful. These positive differences were proven in the observation table and viscosity test. The three oils used, mainly coconut, palm and vegetable, all showed these differences in their appearance, odour, and viscosity. Conclusion Our experiment proved to be successful in terms of finding key differences in both the used and purified cooking oils. Based on the tables presented; there were significant differences between the unpurified cooking oil and the purified cooking oil in terms of its colour, odour and viscosity. The purified cooking oils; however, proved to be more beneficial in those different aspects. But overall, it was the vegetable oil that was the best product of our purification process because it had the most improvement in appearance, odour and had the lesser change in viscosity compared to the other two. Recommendations For future use and investigation, the researches recommend that a wider variety of oils, such as olive, canola and peanut, should be tested. The researchers also recommend that more purification processes should be tested with the oils to further purify it. And lastly, a nutritionist is recommended to tests the nutritive value of these oils whether or not they have changed after being used and after purifying it.

This essay will look at two different research methods used in the aviation industry The WritePass Journal

This essay will look at two different research methods used in the aviation industry Reference: This essay will look at two different research methods used in the aviation industry It is important for organisations to find out the needs and wants of its customers. Select two different research methods of which one must be quantitative and one qualitative and compare and contrast them. In addition, critically appraise their strengths and weaknesses and their application within your industry. This essay will look at two different research methods used in the aviation industry, these are qualitative research focus group method and quantitative research survey methods. Moreover, in comparing and contrasting these methods, also the author will critically appraise their strengths and weakness as they apply in the aviation industry. Marketing is an activity to improve the flow of goods, services and ideas from producers to consumer needs and wants. The four key aspect which an organisation has to take into version when meeting the needs of its customer is the four Ps, or else known as product, place, price and promotion. These four aspects are often referred to as the four Ps of the marketing mix (Koetler 2003). Through successful use of market and marketing research, organisation should be able to find out the needs and wants of the customer and try to delivers benefits that will enhance or add to the customers lifestyle, while at the same time certify that the fulfilment of these needs results in a healthy turnover for the business (Seaton,1996). And according to Swarbrooke and Horner (2007), passengers’ needs are very important in the aviation industry and customers’ behaviour can influence sales, when their needs and wants are not to given the required attention. The aviation industry is dedica ted to meeting customers’ increasing demands and enabling sustainability at the same time, maintaining environmental responsibility and social development, and economic progress in optimal balance. Besides, the aviation business needs to take into consideration the full potential of the industry which has yet to be realised by business people (Veal, 2006). Consistent withKent(2007) qualitative methods stand in contrast to quantitative methods. The core differentiation between the two groups of methods are that quantitative methods entail numbers, for instance, what is the number of passenger are travelling on a low- cost airlines whereas qualitative method do not. In the case of qualitative methods the information are not base on such analysis. By contrast, with quantitative method, the data collected are vulnerable to statistical analysis and the conclusions are base on such analysis. In consequence, there is a affinity for qualitative method to involve the gathering of large amounts of relatively detailed information about relatively few cases and for quantitative method to involve the gathering of relatively small amounts of data on relatively large numbers of cases (Middleton, 2005).   But generally, research companies cannot expect the ways in which customer think about different products and such methods are unsuitable for expl oring consumer attitudes, feelings, needs or perceptions. It always possible to make hypothetical response and ask customers to agree or disagree, but these may not get at what really matter to forthcoming buyers (Lambin, 2000). On the other hand, Chisnall (2005) indicate the fact that qualitative research provides context, insights and ideas for more research, but also with regard to preferred research methods and philosophical beliefs. Quantitative methods are often believed on objective reality that can be reasonably captured in quantifiable, theoretical frameworks, whereas qualitative methods often rely on a subjective and interpretative understanding of the world. Classically, quantitative research use numerical data, and it characteristically has structured and prearranged research question, theoretical frameworks and designs (Punch, 2005). Nevertheless, Kotler (2006) propose that researches might use quantitative method to test hypothesis, express the market or target population characteristics, and check relationships among variables. The results guide to formal conclusion and recommendation to inform decision-making. The idea is to get sufficient response that the research will feel confident that t he results are representative and reflect the market. According to Masterson and Pickton (2004) ,the essential characteristics of quantitative research are, defined objectives that include hypothesis, focused research design identifies who, how, what, why and when, large enough sample to allow for simplification, and heart of the research. The basic characteristics of qualitative research are, broad objectives; small samples, results tend not to be generalised or target population except for a chosen target group; and it is best used early in order to classify issues and again later in the process to validate (Koetler,2006). In agreement with Chisnall (2001) quantitative methods consists of a questionnaire surveys are useful for getting a great deal of specific information. These are best appropriate for descriptive researches and airlines and airports do use these when carrying out market research. Surveys can enclose open-ended questions for example â€Å"In which city did you board this flight?† Open ended questions have the advantage that the respondent is not limited to the options listed, and that the respondent is not being influenced by seeing a list of responses.   Conversely, open-ended questions are often overlooked out by respondents, and coding them can be quite a challenge. Surveys come in various different forms like mail surveys, in person, through the internet or by putting out questionnaires. One principally interesting point about questionnaires is that they can be adjusted to allow for national differences in insight of service standards, for example. This is an important for an airline like Cathay Pacific which has a multicultural, multinational market.   Many airlines aim their passengers with questionnaire surveys on board, to develop their service level. Hence, researches use different types of questions for questionnaire surveys like closed questions, likert scale, semantic differential and importance scale.   Ã‚  The strengths of some survey methods are relatively inexpensive and large number of people can be surveyed. At the same time surveys have weak point such as response rates are typically quite low and there is no communication and feelings and thoughts will not be expressed as freely as need be thus they can be viewed as unpredictable.(Baker,2007). The benefit for the use of qualitative research method, according to Masterson and Pickton (2004), is to get the member to talk their knowledge, give opinions about situation and to act in reaction to situation or prototypes. A focus group are valuable when the aviation industry wants to initiate a new product or change an existing one.   A focus group commonly involves having some 8-12 people come together in a room to discuss their consumption preferences and experiences.   The group is usually led by a moderator, who will start out talking largely about topics to the product. in most cases, focus groups are very good for getting depth for example, finding out what kinds of issues are important for consumers in a given product category.  The focus group will aim the gap in the aviation industry which has yet to receive potential utilisation by business people. Evaluation of the narrowing gap depicts customer expectations from the airline companies based on customer wants and needs and indicators of presentation impact. Focus groups also have some negative aspects, for example they can be time consuming, difficult to get members enthusiasm to open with their views depending on the question asked and, participants are viewed as a small group representing a whole population (Seaton1996). On the other hand, the strong point of focus group inspire greater intensity of ideas and participants in an interactive way where deep feelings and thought are considered in answering question posed (Middleton, 2001) Business research proposal are important across various professional fields and industries, as they assess the market viability of a business in the modern competitive environment. It is important for a business or organisation to conduct market research that is essential to understand the needs of customers in the competitive business environment. The aviation industry is among the many industries in the economic sector, which faces numerous risks and challenges. It has yet to be exploited to its full potential coupled with a gap in the industry which has not been utilised. While research cannot guarantee the success in decision- making it does at least reduce the risks of making a bad decision. So some research is better than none at all. Ultimately the choice will depend upon the nature of the research question and time and resource available. Reference: Anderson, D. R. (2005). Corporate survival: The critical importance of sustainability risk management. Business Insurance. Australian Airline Group (2008). Risk andOpportunityManagement. Byars, L. (1991): Strategic Management, Formulation and Implementation Concepts and Cases,New York: HarperCollins. Hilltop, J. (1994): European Human Resource Management in Transition;New YorkPrentice Hall Johnson, G. Scholes, K. (1993): Exploring Corporate Strategy. Text and Cases,Hemel Hempstead: Prentice-Hall. Kotter, J. Schlesinger, L. (1991): Choosing strategies for change. Harvard Business Review. Lane, L. (2007). Risk and Reward: Getting the right balance, business opportunity and risk management. IT adviser. Nomura, K. (2003). Managing risks in airline industry:Japanand the World Economy. Rampton, L. (2003): Human Resource Management;New York;MelbournePress Romanova,I.(2004). Air Transport in theUK: Current Trends and Future Scenarios.

Comprehension Strategies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Comprehension Strategies - Essay Example Systems that are openly distributed can be sources of information whose reliability is not certain. More so, the process of looking up for information in large masses of given data can prove to be a hectic and difficult process. In this life, we are often faced with similar situations calling for the need to make judgments on the reliability of information and the most effective method of accessing such information. Most people depend on the Internet as their main source of information but the uncertainty and complexity associated with the expanding Internet has made the users experience several problems. The problems include; how reliable the information they obtain from the Internet is. Most of the information from the Internet are on pages identified with queried keywords. This is meant to easily get at the information required but it ends up failing to qualify the information obtained with the data on the information sources themselves (George, 2006). Every person has his or her credibility standards when it comes to information they need. In most cases, this depends on the application of the information. This calls for the need to get it right every time one needs to evaluate different sources and settle on a judgment call. Most people depend on the Internet as their main source of information thus they have to be guided against the uncertainties and complexity associated with the expanding Internet. It is also close to impossible for any Internet user to sieve through all the available information from the Internet and pick out the best suited information. Following this situation, it is evident that reputation and trust play an important role in determining the credibility of a particular source. Some of the ways of determining if an Internet source is credible and can be trusted include The other problem is the issue of sematic mapping; the use of key words to locate information from different sources from the Internet can be misleading as the keywords used may have several meanings in relation to the language used or the context. It is also close to impossible for any Internet user to sieve through all the available information from Internet and pick out the best suited information. Following this situation, it is evident that reputation and trust play an important role in checking on such problems. It’s the nature of every human being to put more weight to the ideas and opinions of the people they trust and know well. Hence, by having the process of retrieving information be guided by trust , chances are that such information will end up being more reliable than the information obtained from arbitrary sources. This approach also checks on the information overload issue now that the internet users will only reach out to sources they trust. One can have the confidence to regard a source to be credible if the author of the source has a degree or a better credential on the subject. In a situation where the source has no autho r or the organization is not named, then there are high chances that the source is not credible. More so, there are sources where the authors are named but they end up not being credible (George, 2006). If the work is original, the ideas presented are the ones that have to be evaluated and not the author’

Financial Regulatory Systems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Financial Regulatory Systems - Essay Example All these points are dealt with close contrast between Australian and Singaporean financial system. The main aim of the paper is to deal with some important points that make a well-structured financial system by comparing the Australian system with that of Singaporean one. It brings sharp contrast of the western financial system with that of Asian. The paper stresses the importance of institutional structure in the design of strong financial regulatory system. After thorough study of sources like International Monetary Fund's report on Australia's and Singapore's financial system, the report of Monetary Authority of Singapore (2006), Perkins, J.N.O., book , The Dergulation of the Australian Financial System: The Experience of the 1980, Ng Nam Sin's speech in 2004, Ginnie Teo's articles on Singapore. There are other sources of information that help to make this paper worthwhile. The main findings of the paper is the structure and functions of the financial regulatory system in Australia and Singapore and the related changes that both the nations have brought in to stand as the ultimate destination the financial sector. The paper concludes with the point that how both the nations are trying to become the regional financial services hub. For this the two countries are ready to bring certain changes in each other system to show their prowess in the financial sector. ... e some recommendations in the form of table, which is vital for financial stability and that's more important for any country to fit into the global financial regulatory system. "Identify and discuss the differences and similarities between the structure of the Australian Financial regulatory system and one Asian country, such as Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia or Hong Kong". Introduction Maintaining financial stability is an important step towards the development of economy. Every nation is now working hard to bring financial stability. It not only checks the inflation but also brings transparency in the financial system, including the activities of hedge funds. The main objectives of the financial regulatory system are to maintain market confidence in the given financial system; to create public awareness of the financial system; to protect the consumers and to minimize financial crime. A well-structured financial regulatory system encourages competition and diversity in the provision of financial services through information disclosure, auditing and enforcement. It is a known fact that the financial system structures changes continually in response to financial innovations and to changes in both the economic environment and the regulatory framework. If we are talking about the world-class financial regulatory system then Australia tops the list. Australia has built a world-class financial sector regulatory regime, which provides security and integrity, through a sound, flexible and strong system of financial regulation. It is specially designed to prevent systemic failure, and avoid unnecessary burdens on business. Even some of the Asian countries such as Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, etc. are also trying to ensure a strong financial regulatory

To what extent has globalization influenced one or more aspects of the Essay

To what extent has globalization influenced one or more aspects of the culture in your country illustrate your answer with examples - Essay Example But likewise, as economies become more intertwined, we find that they can also become more vulnerable to unexpected shifts and new forms of opaqueness. This isn’t a reason to turn away from globalization, but it is a reason to be vigilant. This essay will look at the way Russia has become more dependent on other countries through the process of globalization and it will suggest that this has mostly been for the best. Although the exact moment of globalization occurring in Russia is a debatable question considering the length of Russia’s history and its extensive involvement in world affairs, it could be send that most of the post-Soviet period has been marked by the rapid acceleration of Russia’s integration into the world economy. Boris Yeltsin, Russia’s first post-Soviet leader, led the country through a kind of economic shock therapy that involved deregulating markets, selling off state assets, and making Russia a better place to do business. It took awhile for these changes to help make Russia into a stable place to do business, but this began to happen under the premiership of Vladimir Putin. He was helped of course by rising world demand for Russia’s energy and other commodities. Prices for have been increasing a lot in recent years (before collapsing recently), and this helped Russia look to the rest of the world as a good place to do business. Britain decided to go full steam ahead with economic global integration. Of course, with current economic events shaking the world economy, we begin to see some of the potential negative effects of globalization for Russia. The problems point to one of the serious drawbacks of globalization: when you open your economy up to the other economies of the world you can get very rich as long as they do well—but you also become very vulnerable to their problems too. But in the course of this important debate it is vital to remember the benefits that have come with globalization. These changes have not

Alcohol Consumption Interventions

Alcohol Consumption Interventions To investigate how interventions may work we will look at the effects of alcohol consumption on individuals and populations, and draw attention to the search for policies that protect health, prevent health problems such as liver cirrhosis, cardiovascular disease and disability, and address the social problems associated with the misuse of alcohol consumption. What alcohol policy is why it is needed, which interventions are effective, how policy is made, and how scientific evidence can inform the policy-making process? Also looking at why the higher the average amount of alcohol consumed in a society, the greater the incidence of problems experienced by that society. We will access the policy responses that are considered to reduce alcohol consumption: alcohol taxation, legislative controls on alcohol availability, and age restrictions on alcohol purchasing, media information campaigns, school-based education, community action programs, and treatment interventions. Considering the influence of environments that people live in, effects of cultures and social norms that define the appropriate uses of alcohol. The value of population thinking in alcohol policy, and its ability to identify health risks and suggest appropriate interventions comparing different intervention strategies in terms of their effectiveness, and the ever-changing process that needs to constantly adapt to the evidence of new research results and tested intervention if it is to serve the interests of public health. One of the biggest determinants to alcohol consumption is the advertising and marketing of alcohol products by the drinks industry. The extent and the nature of alcohol marketing will be examined to illustrate its effects on consumption, cultures and social norms. We will show that more evidence is needed to progress education as a viable intervention. Showing evidence that the majority of the population, alter their damaging drinking through the phenomenon of spontaneous remission, maturing out or self change. It is good practice to learn from the past to plan for the future, the control of alcohol production, distribution, and consumption, has been around for thousands of years, such as requiring that all wine be diluted with water before being sold, these were devised by monarchs, governments, and the clergy to prevent alcohol-related problems. But it was not until the rise of modern medicine and the emergence of the world Temperance Movement in the 19th century that alcohol policy was first seen as a potential instrument of public health. Between 1914 and 1921, laws prohibiting the manufacture and sale of all or most forms of beverage alcohol were adopted in the United States, Canada, Norway, Iceland, Finland, and Russia (Paulson 1973). Most of these laws were repealed during the 1920s and 1930s, and replaced by less extreme regulatory policies. To view alcohol policies through the narrowly focused perspective of prohibition, however, is to ignore the fact that most policy-making during the past century has been incremental, deliberate, and respectful of peoples right to drink in moderation.: Alcohol control policies in public health perspective (Bruun et al. 1975), Sponsored by the World Health Organization (WHO), the monograph drew attention to the preventable nature of alcohol problems and to the role of national governments and international agencies in the formulation of rational and effective alcohol policies. Alcohol control policies stimulated a heated debate not just among academics, but also among policy-makers. The most significant aspect of the book was its main thesis: the higher the average amount of alcohol consumed in a society, the greater the incidence of problems experienced by that society. Consequently, one way to prevent alcohol problems is through policies directed at the reduction of average alcohol consumption, particularly those policies that limit the availability of alcohol. In the early 1990s, a new project was commissioned by WHO to review the development of the world literature pertaining to alcohol policy. The new study produced Alcohol policy and the public good, a book that proved to be as thought-provoking as its predecessor (Edwards et al. 1994). The book concluded that public health policies on alcohol had come of age because of the strong evidential underpinnings derived from the scientific research that had grown in breadth and sophistication since 1975. After reviewing the evidence on taxation of alcohol, restrictions on alcohol availability, drinking and driving countermeasures, school-based education, community action programs, and treatment interventions, it was concluded that: The research establishes beyond doubt that public health measures of proven effectiveness are available to serve the public good by reducing the widespread costs and pain related to alcohol use. To that end, it is appropriate to deploy responses that influence both the total amount of alcohol consumed by a population and the high-risk contexts and drinking behaviours that are so often associated with alcohol-related problems. During the past decade there have been major improvements in the way alcohol problems are studied in relation to alcohol policies. With the growth of the knowledge base and the maturation of alcohol science, there is now a real opportunity to invest in evidence-based alcohol policies as an instrument of public health. In 1994, Edwards and his colleagues provided a broader view of alcohol policy, considering it as a public health response dictated in part by national and historical concerns. Though there was not an explicit definition of the nature of alcohol policy, its meaning could be inferred from the wealth of policy responses that were considered: alcohol taxation, legislative controls on alcohol availability, and age restrictions on alcohol purchasing, media information campaigns, and school-based education, to name a few. Public policies are authoritative decisions made by governments through laws, rules, and regulations (Longest 1998). The word authoritative indicates that the decisions come from the legitimate scope of legislators and other public interest group officials, not from private industry or related advocacy groups. Based on their nature and purpose, alcohol polices can be classified into two categories: allocative and regulatory (Longest 1998). Allocative policies are intended to provide a net benefit to a distinct group or type of organization (sometimes at the expense of other groups or organizations) in order to achieve some public objective. The provision of treatment for alcohol-dependent persons is an example of a policy that seeks to reduce the harm caused by alcohol or to increase access to services for certain population groups. In contrast to allocative policies, regulatory policies seek to influence the actions, behaviours, and decisions of others through direct control of individuals or organizations. Economic regulation through price controls and taxation is often applied to alcoholic beverages to reduce demand and to generate tax revenues. Laws that impose a minimum purchasing age and limit hours of sale have long been used to restrict access to alcohol for reasons of health and safety. From the perspective of this paper, the central purpose of alcohol interventions is to serve the interests of public health and social well-being through their impact on health and social determinants, such as drinking patterns, the drinking environment, and the health services available to treat problem drinkers. Drinking patterns and behaviours that lead to intoxication, which leads to accidents, injuries, and violence. Similarly, drinking patterns that promote frequent and heavy alcohol consumption are associated with chronic health problems such as liver cirrhosis, cardiovascular disease, and depression. Alcohol is causally related to more than 60 International Classification of Diseases codes (Rehm, Room, Graham, and others 2003); disease outcomes are among the most important alcohol-related problems. 4 percent of the global burden of disease is attributable to alcohol, or about as much death and disability globally as is attributable to tobacco and hypertension (Ezzati and others 2002; WHO 2002). The conclusions for alcohol policy are the same, whether alcohol is the sole causal factor for or consequence, a causal factor among many others or a factor mediating the influence of another causal factor. In all cases alcohol contributes to social burden, and public policy must strive to reduce this burden, as well as the alcohol-related burden of disease. While there may be some offsetting psychological benefits from drinking (Peele and Brodsky 2000), from the point of view of minimizing the social harm from drinking, the general conclusion is that the lower the consumption, the better. The environmental determinants of alcohol-related harm include the physical availability of the product, the social norms that define the appropriate uses of alcohol (e.g., as a beverage, as an intoxicant, as a medicine), and the economic incentives that promote its use. Health and social policies that influence the availability of alcohol, the social circumstances of its use, and its retail price are likely to reduce the harm caused by alcohol in a society. Overall, the conclusion must be that alcohol consumption levels affect the health of a population as a whole. In addition to this, the predominant pattern of drinking in a population can have a major influence on the extent of damage from alcohol consumption. Patterns that seem to add to the damage are drinking to intoxication, and recurrent binge drinking. Another important determinant of health in relation to alcohol is the availability of and access to health services, particularly those designed to deal with alcohol dependence and alcohol-related disabilities. Alcohol-related health services can be preventive, acute, and rehabilitative, and can be either voluntary or coercive. Health policies have a major impact on the alcohol treatment and preventive services available in people within a country through health care financing and the organization of the health care system. Bondy S.J. (1996) Public health is concerned with the management and prevention of diseases and injuries in human populations. Unlike clinical medicine, which focuses on the care and cure of disease in individual cases, public health deals with groups of individuals, called populations. The value of population thinking in alcohol policy is in its ability to identify health risks and suggest appropriate interventions that are most likely to benefit the greatest number of people. The concept of population is based on the assumption that groups of individuals exhibit certain commonalities by virtue of their shared characteristics (e.g., gender), shared environment (e.g., towns, countries) or shared occupations (e.g., alcoholic beverage service workers) that increase their risk of disease and disability, including alcohol-related problems (Fos and Fine 2000). They also provide epidemiological data to monitor trends, design better interventions, and evaluate programs and services. In the context of the public good served by effective alcohol policy refers to those things that benefit most for a given society. One such public good would be effective intervention that would reduce alcohol related harm. Just as the eradication of malaria or (HIV) infections globally are seen as global public goods (Smith et al 2003). By locating alcohol policy within the realm of public health and social policy, rather than economics, criminal justice, or social welfare, Authorities tend to approach alcohol as a major determinant of ill health. Health is viewed not only as the absence of disease and injury, but also as a state in which the biological, psychological, and social functioning of a person are maximized in everyday life (Brook and McGlynn 1991). The way in which health is defined and valued within a society has important implications for alcohol policy. If it is defined narrowly as the absence of disease, then the focus is often placed on the treatment of alcohol dependence and the clinical management of alcohol-related disabilities, such as cirrhosis of the liver and traumatic injuries. If health is defined more broadly, then alcohol policy can be directed at proactive interventions that help many more people attain optimal levels of health. Health is influenced by a variety of factors, including the physical, social, and economic environments that people live in, and by their genetic make-up, their personal lifestyles, and the health services that they have access to. An attempt is made to synthesize what is known about evidence-based interventions that can be translated into policy. By comparing different intervention strategies in terms of their effectiveness, scientific support, generalism, and cost, it becomes possible to evaluate the relative appropriateness of different strategies, both alone and in combination, to present problems and future needs. As the scientific basis for alcohol policy begins to take shape, it is becoming apparent that there is no single definitive, much less politically acceptable, approach to the prevention of alcohol problems; a combination of strategies and policies is needed. If this realization is sobering, so too is the conviction, argued in this paper, that alcohol policy is an ever-changing process that needs to constantly adapt to the evidence of new research results and tested intervention if it is to serve the interests of public health. It will require extraordinary measures, some of them relatively painless to implement, others more demanding in terms of resources, ingenuity, and public support. Another important factor is the social norms of a society where there are important differences in the cultural meaning of drinking for men and women. Societies normative expectations regarding the use of alcohol vary across age groups and between men and women. In some societies, drinking has been almost exclusively a province of men (Roizen 1981), In many societies, abstention rates increase in the later stages of life for both men and woman (Demers et al. 2001; Taylor et al. 2007). This reflects social norms as older people are not suppose to get intoxicated and party as is common amongst young people. Most societies use taxation of alcoholic beverages to bring in revenue in larger or smaller quantities to relevant budgets. Alcoholic beverages are, by any reckoning, important, economically. The benefits connected with the production, sale, and use of alcohol come at an enormous cost to society. Public health specialists and policy-makers who forget this fact do so only at their peril (Edwards and Holder 2000). Also social customs and economic interests should not blind us to the fact that alcohol is a toxic substance. It has the potential to adversely affect nearly every organ and system of the body. No other commodity sold for ingestion, not even tobacco, has such wide-ranging adverse physical effects. Taking account of alcohols potential for toxicity is therefore an important task for public health policy. Especially the past decade, it can be said that remarkable progress was made in the scientific understanding of alcohols harmful effects, as scientists discovered biological, chemical, and psychological explanations for humans propensity to consume what has been called the ambiguous molecule (Edwards 2000). One of the biggest determinants to alcohol consumption is the advertising and marketing of alcohol products by the drinks industry. The extent and the nature of alcohol marketing have changed globally in the last decade, and the research has also expanded considerably to better understand its effects. Most of the new research is directed to the measurement of the impact of marketing on youth. More is now known about the effects of marketing on younger peoples beliefs and intentions to drink as well as on their drinking behaviour. Research has investigated the impact of marketing other than the broadcast and print media advertising, although some of the new media and marketing approaches being used by the alcohol industry remain unmeasured and under-researched. The first examination is the current state of alcohol marketing and what is known about the way in which marketing has its impact. Second, two different policy approaches codes of content and restrictions to reduce exposure are assessed for their likely impact on consumption and harm. Interventions that change exposure to advertising have often been limited and evaluations have mixed findings. More effort has gone into the establishment of codes aimed to affect the content of the advertising. Conclusions regarding the likely effects of these approaches can be made based on theoretical understanding and empirical evidence about the way in which marketing has its effects and its measured impacts. Conclusions may also be informed by research on tobacco advertising where the impacts are established and widely accepted (Lovato et al. 2004; Henriksen et al. 2008). The alcohol industry insists that they only advertise to promote their own particular brands, and that the advertising does not affect any rise in the consumption of alcoholic beverages. Research and evidence shows that the commodity chain analysis highlights the importance of advertising, sponsorship and other forms of marketing to a globalized alcohol industry (Jernigan 2006). The marketing of the products and brand(s) produced is essential for the profit-making enterprise. Marketing now involves much more than advertising using traditional media outlets such as print, television, and radio. Marketing exploits the possibilities provided by the design of products. New products and packaging have been developed to meet the needs and wants of different sectors of the market (Brain 2000). Pre-mixed drinks in which spirits or beer are made more palatable by the addition of a soft drink base or fruit flavourings have expanded in sales very rapidly and have become associated in some contexts, but not all, with heavier consumption (Huckle et al. 2008b). Packaging has increased acceptability and palatability of alcoholic beverages among young people (Copeland et al. 2007; Gates et al. 2007). It utilizes a range of new media opportunities including electronic means, and a key element is the sponsorship of sporting and cultural events. The measured media (usually broadcast and print) is known to be an underestimation of the marketing effort by a factor of two to four (Anderson et al. 2009b). Marketing at the place of sale has become increasingly important with an expansion of alcohol sales into more retail outlets. This often goes hand in hand with pricing promotions. For example buy-some-get-some-free (Jones and Lynch 2007). Promotion of alcohol brands in electronic media is a major part of marketing. Advertising is also shown in cinemas and this is increasingly supplemented by product placement in movies and television. Newer forms of electronic communication such as internet networking sites e-mail and cell phones have also provided new opportunities for alcohol promotion which are popular with young people (Jernigan and OHara 2004). Sports and cultural events, particularly those with appeal to young people, are widely sponsored by alcohol brands. They also provide opportunities for direct marketing through free gifts and exclusive pourage rights (Hill and Casswell 2004). Carlsbergs sponsorship of the EURO 2004 football/soccer championship was reported to grow the brand by about 6% worldwide; Carlsberg told shareholders that its signage had appeared in the background of television sport coverage for an average of 16 minutes per game (Carlsberg 2006). Much of marketing, including that based on sponsorship, crosses national boundaries. (Breen 2008). The theology is that the first stage is liking alcohol advertisements, followed by a desire to emulate the featured characters (including those that depict the lifestyle of young adults), and then the belief expressed that acting this way will result in positive benefits (Austin et al. 2006). Much of the marketing that targets young people is driven by an understanding of the importance of alcohol consumption for identity formation. The advertising is designed to provide humour, attractive ideas, images, phrases, and other resources that are used in the process of peer-to-peer interaction as identity is formed and communicated (McCreanor et al. 2005). The longitudinal studies have been subjected to systematic reviews. The strength of the association, the consistency of the findings, the temporal relationship, the dose-response relationship and the theoretical plausibility of the effect have led to the conclusion that alcohol advertising increases the likelihood that young people will start to use alcohol and will drink more if they are already using alcohol (Jernigan 2006; Smith and Foxcroft 2009; Anderson et al 2009b). Experience with policies to restrict the negative impacts of marketing is less well developed than with other areas of alcohol policy. In part this reflects the rapid developments and financial investment in marketing and media over the last four decades and a failure of policy developments to keep abreast of marketing practices. Research has suggested that voluntary codes are subject to under-interpretation and under-enforcement (Rearck Research 1991; Saunders and Yap 1991; Sheldon 2000; Dring and Hope 2001; Jones et al. 2008); including a bias in favour of the corporations represented on the decision-making board (Marin Institute 2008a). There are also documented cases of the instability of such voluntary codes in response to changing market conditions (Martin et al. 2002; Hill and Casswell 2004). Following the introduction of a co-regulatory approach in the UK, in which a government agency was delegated the handling of broadcast complaints to the Advertising Standards Authority (funded by the Alcohol industry), a code change was introduced. Research demonstrated that advertisements continued to contain attributes that appealed to young people and the data showed a link between exposure to advertisements and consumption of specific beverages (Gunter et al. 2008). This substantial body of research has shown that, even if alcohol marketing remains in line with codes on alcohol advertising content, it nevertheless encourages drinking and has an impact on younger peoples beliefs and alcohol consumption levels. A recent analysis of self-regulation by the alcohol industry in the UK concluded it was not an effective driver of change towards good practice (KPMG 2008b). Overall there is no evidence to support the effectiveness of industry self-regulatory codes, either as a means of limiting advertisements deemed unacceptable or as a way of limiting alcohol consumption (Booth et al 2008). Research has also suggested that the effects of marketing on beliefs about alcohol counteract any possible effect from health promotion activities (Wallack 1983; Centre on Alcohol Marketing and Youth 2003). Recipients, who bring their own cultural and social experiences to their interpretation of the marketing, may perceive heavy drinking or intoxication as represented within the advertising even when it is not shown directly (Duff 2003; McCreanor et al 2008). This is particularly likely to have an impact on efforts to reduce heavier drinking as a cultural norm. Direct effect on exposed individuals is not the only concern which underpins restrictions on marketing, however. It is possible that widespread marketing, which promotes alcohol as a positive and commonplace element of everyday life, has an impact on social norms around alcohol which may, in turn, affect the acceptability of more restrictive policies and practice. In effect, marketing is a force for ensuring that alcohol is dealt with as if it were an ordinary commodity (Casswell 1997). There is clearly a need for an independent review of the evidence, with a view to impose restrictions that can meet public health goals. In some jurisdictions there are restrictions, typically by regulation, on exposure to alcohol marketing by media type, beverage type, time of broadcast or composition of media audiences (particularly of younger people). Most research has focused on exposure of young people to the measured media. This varies by country. In the USA, young people aged 15-26 years on average reported seeing the equivalent of almost 360 advertisements per year, the majority on television. Restrictions imposed by agreement among industry actors are inherently unstable. In the context of the EU and other trade agreements, they may be subject to legal attack as an illegal restraint of trade. They may also be easily breached or dropped. The effect of partial bans was also reported not to have affected consumption in seventeen countries over 26 years (Nelson 2008a), in a study with material that included at least fifteen consequential changes in bans. A comprehensive regulation of alcohol marketing, and one which has maintained political support for more than a decade, one of the key elements of the Loi Evin (relevant to the need to control the current ongoing proliferation of marketing approaches) is that advertising of alcohol is prohibited in all media unless the law provides for an exemption; there is a complete ban on sponsorship and on advertising in many media, including television and cinema. Such advertising regulation has been challenged. However, restrictions on alcohol advertising to meet public health goals have been upheld by the courts, although sometimes with some modification. However, the findings of an effect of exposure to marketing put the question of controls on advertising high on the policy agenda. The extent to which effective restrictions would reduce consumption and related harm in younger age groups must remain somewhat of an open question. The most probable scenario, based on the theoretical and empirical evidence available, is that extensive restriction of marketing would have an impact. The evidence suggests there can be other effective restrictions other than advertising, strategies such as availability can have an effect studies of restriction on alcohol availability support the conclusion that such strategies can contribute to the reduction of alcohol problems. The best available evidence comes from studies of changes in retail availability, including reduction in hours and days of sale, limits on the number of outlets and restriction on retail access to alcohol. For young people, laws that raise the minimum legal drinking age reduce alcohol sales and problems. This strategy has the strongest empirical support (Shults et al 2001; Wagenaar and Toomey 2002), with dozens of studies finding substantial impact on traffic and other casualties from change of the drinking age. The cost of raising the drinking age is low, and as the evidence shows that in the USA they estimated that thousands of lives have been saved over the last decade (Wagenaar et al. 1998). A WHO analysis of the relative cost of a restricted access option estimated that Saturday closing would have considerable societal benefits in most parts of the world, though that would still be less than the result from a substantial price rise in alcohol via taxation.(Chisholm et al. 2006; Anderson et al. 2009a) This provides evidence that regulations backed up with enforcement can be effective in reducing alcohol consumption and problems; this is also used to force all sellers to hold a specific license to sell alcohol beverages, if there is any sales infringements the license can be suspended or revoked. As well as restrictions and regulation strategies, measures to reduce the harm in drinking situations are thus a useful option in the mix of strategies for preventing, alcohol-related problems. The less the political process is willing to support general alcohol control and tax measures the more important local harm reduction measures become. Alcohol policies are primarily the concern of local, regional, and national governments, which often view the provision of treatment as part of a comprehensive approach to alcohol-related problems. In addition to its value in the reduction of human suffering, treatment can be considered as a form of prevention. When it occurs soon after the onset of alcohol problems, it is called secondary prevention; when it is initiated to control the damage associated with chronic drinking, it is called tertiary prevention. As one of the first societal responses to alcohol problems, treatment interventions have not been critically examined as policy options, despite the resources they consume and the scientific evidence that is available concerning their effectiveness and costs. To what extent are alcohol treatment and early intervention services effective in reducing population rates of alcohol-related harm? Other questions relevant to treatment policy include the following: Should people with these conditions be managed within the general health care system, specialized addiction services, social welfare agencies, psychiatric facilities, the criminal justice system, or a combination of these entities? What is the optimal amount and best combination of services needed to serve the needs of a country or a geographic area? What kinds of treatment systems are best suited to prevent the marginalization of people with chronic alcohol problems? How can treatment services best be organized to provide the most effective treatment at the lowest cost? Treatment for alcohol problems typically involves a set of services, ranging from diagnostic assessment to therapeutic interventions and continuing care. Researchers have identified more than 40 therapeutic approaches, called treatment modalities, which have been evaluated by means of randomized clinical trials (Miller et al. 1995). Examples include motivational counselling, relapse prevention training, marital and family therapy, aversion therapy, cognitive-behavioural therapy, pharmacotherapy, and interventions based on the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous. These modalities are delivered in a variety of settings, including residential facilities, psychiatric and general hospital settings, outpatient programmes, and primary care. More recently, treatment services in some countries have been organized into systems that are defined by linkages between different facilities and levels of care, and by the extent of integration with other types of services, such as mental health, drug dependence treatment, and mutual help organizations (Klingemann et al. 1993; Klingemann and Klingemann 1999). Most treatment research and the scientific evidence derived from it are component-based, focusing on a single intervention or episode of care. In general, the research, evidence can be organized according to three types of intervention within the emerging treatment systems of countries where information on efficacy and effectiveness is available, interventions for non-dependent high-risk drinkers, formal treatment) for problem drinking and alcohol dependence, and mutual help interventions. Harmful drinking typically precedes the development of alcohol dependence, and by definition it can cause serious medical and psychological: problems in the absence of dependence. With the increased interest in clinical preventive services in both developed and developing countries, early intervention programmes have been developed by WHO and national agencies to facilitate the management of harmful drinking in primary health care and other settings Interven