Learning from Mass Media Campaigns for Hiv/Aids Prevention Free Essays

Learning from Mass Media Campaigns for HIV/AIDS Prevention Reviews of mass media campaigns have a special interest for me. They demonstrate what can be done, and as importantly, what cannot be done, by relying on a 1P approach. I have talked about the 5% Solution before, and noted another review of mass media campaigns for changing health behaviors. We will write a custom essay sample on Learning from Mass Media Campaigns for Hiv/Aids Prevention or any similar topic only for you Order Now This post focuses on the findings from a review of recent campaigns to prevent HIV/AIDS. What is interesting in this report are the comparisons it draws to reviews of earlier campaigns in this area as well as the current state of the art and science. The authors used seven principles to guide their analysis: (1) conducting formative research on and about the target audience; (2) using theory as a conceptual foundation; (3) segmenting one’s audience into meaningful subgroups; (4) using a message design approach that is targeted to the audience segment(s); (5) utilizing effective channels widely viewed by and persuasive with the target audience; (6) conducting process evaluation and ensuring high message exposure; and (7) using a sensitive outcome evaluation design that reduces threats to internal validity and allows causal inferences about campaign impact to be made. The question they explore is: to what extent have recent HIV/AIDS campaigns in the literature adhered to these principles? Noar et al (2009) began with a search of peer-reviewed articles appearing from late 1998 through October 2007. Mass media had to be a central or prominent part of a campaign that focused on increasing safer sexual behaviors, reducing risky sexual behaviors, or encouraging HIV testing. At least one outcome measure had to be reported; 38 articles were identified that met these criteria, representing 34 different campaigns. The results on the variables of interest were: Formative research – 16 of the 34 studies (47%) reported any type of research with the audience or pretesting of messages. the most commonly reported activity was research about campaign messages, including pretesting messages or examining message preferences of members of the target audience. Only two studies used formative research to develop or test their outcome measures (a neglected part of the research process in too many studies). Using theory – 44% reported using theory, most often the Health Belief Model, Reasoned Action and Planned Behavior, Social Cognitive Theory, the Transtheoretical Model and Stages of Change and the Information-Motivation-Behavioral Skills Model. Audience segmentation – 94% (all but 2) described an approach to audience segmentation. Message design – very few campaigns used theory to guide development of persuasive messages. The authors note that while behavioral theories can suggest the type of content to include, HOW that content is formed into messages is often approached without explicit reference to relevant theoretical models such as message framing, emotional appeals, sensation-seeking, elaboration likelihood model and the use of narratives. Channels – 21% used a single media channel with television, radio and print media being the channel of choice. The remaining campaigns used other channels (billboards, brochures, Internet, newsletters) and a variety of promotional materials such as baseball cards, postcards, condom packs; a variety of interpersonal strategies including peer education and skill-building workshops and hotlines; and some also included community partners, coalitions and community mobilization in their activities. Process Monitoring – 82% of the campaigns reported audience exposure to messages, with a mean exposure of 77% of the targeted audience (a range of 35% – 100%). There was little reporting of frequency of exposure to campaign messages, and when those data were reported, it was difficult to make comparisons across studies. Outcomes – Pre-Post test designs using independent sampling were employed by a plurality of the campaigns (13 of the 34, or 38%). Eleven studies used only a post-test measure. The authors note that this means that 70% of the campaigns used weak outcome evaluation designs. In 24 of the campaigns (71%) behavioral outcomes were reported, most often either condom use or HIV/STD testing. Among the studies that used stronger designs (the other 30%), only 2 of the 10 found no statistically significant effects. Six studies reported significant changes in outcomes including talked with others about safer sex, continued abstinence, initiated condom use, increased condom use, reduced number of sexual partners, or were tested for HIV. The other two reported changes in behavioral intentions (for example, to use condoms and shifts in stages of change). The authors conclude that, when compared to another review of this literature in 2000, HIV/AIDS mass communication campaigns are increasingly: (1) targeting defined audiences developed through audience segmentation procedures; (2) designing campaign themes around behavior change (rather than solely knowledge or attitude change – though given their selection criteria, this is hardly surprising); (3) using ehavioral theories to inform campaign design; (4) achieving higher message exposure to campaign messages; (5) using stronger quasi-experimental designs with control groups for outcome evaluation (although still far too few studies use these stronger designs); and (6) including measures of behavior change (or behavioral intentions) in outcome assessments. This review highlights how mass communication efforts for HIV/AIDS prevention have shifted from general awar eness and knowledge outcomes to ones more tightly focused on achieving behavioral changes among defined segments of the population. While formative research has become commonplace, there are relatively few studies that use research designs that allow for drawing strong conclusions from their findings. This latter point does not mean that research designs must be randomized controlled studies, but as the authors note, even the addition of control groups or using time-series with control communities help address the question of whether there are alternative explanations for the observed effects (for example, that the respondents are not simply placating researchers with favorable or socially desirable responses to their questions). Social marketing is more than mass communication campaigns, but we often use mass media in conjunction with products and services, providing incentives and reducing costs of engaging in new behaviors, and increasing access and opportunities to perform these behaviors. Learning what works with mass media is important, but as other reviews have pointed out, it is not enough to achieve public health outcomes. Some marketers will note that health communication planners have adopted our practices of segmentation, targeting behavior change and using formative research. However, the importance of using theories that fit the problem of designing persuasive messages is one important takeaway. The other takeaway is the challenge of designing better studies to assess outcomes. Thinking about using comparison populations, or simply delaying intervention among some priority groups while continuing to assess important outcomes, can help us demonstrate that we have more than a very elaborate, and perhaps even effective, placebo. Reference: Noar, S. M. , Palmgreen, P. , Chabot, M. , Dobransky, N. Zimmerman, R. S. (2009). A 10-year systematic review of HIV/AIDS mass communication campaigns: Have we made progress. Journal of Health Communication, 14: 15-42. [free download] Add to del. icio. us †¢ Email this †¢ Save to del. icio. us †¢ Share on Facebook How to cite Learning from Mass Media Campaigns for Hiv/Aids Prevention, Essay examples

Cognition and Cultural Change in Social Class †MyAssignmenthelp

Question: Discuss about the Cognition and Cultural Change in Social Class. Answer: Introduction: Culture of an individual shapes his or her cognition, thinking, perception as well as the personality of the individuals. There are various aspects of culture, like values, beliefs and norms. These values affects the thought process of individuals. Whatever individuals perceive, understand and at times interpret, are largely affected by the individuals cultural values. For an instance, a well educated person who lives in a city will have different thinking and viewpoints than an individual that lives in a remote or underdeveloped area. They will have different opinions about life, one living in a city will work want to make career in his desired area and the one living in any remote an underdeveloped area will have different opinion, he might think of day to day survival. This big difference in their thought process is mostly because of the culture they have grown (Kahan et al., 2011). Cognitive abilities of an individual, thought process, attitude, personality and behavior are determined by the cultural values individuals have adopted. This is the main reason why individuals differ from each others, they have different perceptions. According to women living in conservative societies would not aspire high for their career, rather they will think of marriage and family lives. On the other hand according to it is not necessary that people living in conservative societies have conservative thoughts for example, the Noble Laurate Malala who belonged to a very conservative and remote area but her thinking was not affected by the environment she lived in rather she rose and fought for the right of other women. There are so many examples of individuals whose cultural values have not affected them rather they thought different from the masses, they challenged the norms and did not accept to follow the generally accepted rules or the values that was prevalent in the society . According to Yaghoobi Abdolahimoghadam, (2016) Culture does affect thinking process of individuals but there are other factors as well that have a greater impact on the cognition of human beings. Learning and experience are some of the factors that have greater impact on the cognition of individuals. According to a very famous philosopher Daniel Dennett, human beings are affected by the culture they have embedded in a very myriad way. The beliefs vary in different cultures across the word, and there are profound implications in the thought and behavior of human beings. This pattern of similarity within culture and differences between cultures in human beings are evidence of role of the acquired beliefs, desires and values of culture. Also, there are evidences of the similarity in the beliefs of individuals that occur between the cultures of human beings despite the specific patterns that occur in different cultures (Yaghoobi Abdolahimoghadam, 2016). Many psychologists and cross-cultural anthropologists have argued this fact, they have been focusing on the patterns of similarities and differences that occur between the cultures around the world. The nature and the extent or the roles that are played by cultural factors have been the one of the most discussed topic of psychology, anthropology and sociology. The differences between universalism and relativitism and culture and nature show the enduring interest. Emphasizing on the relations between culture and cognition a distinction between weak and strong cultural cognitions can be made. The fact that the contents of cognition are very much variable between different cultures are often conceded by the weak version of relationship between culture and cognition. The processes that determine these variables across the different cultures are cross culturally not variable (Kahan, 2014). For instance the language around the world differs in its basic features but there are certain similarities, there is universality in the grammars which are generated by universal psychological mechanisms. The evidence for the weak version of cultural cognition are provided by some empirical researches. For instance, the taxonomies for living things in various cultures have certain commonalities. Certain contents of the division are naturally different, there are cross cultural similarity in classifying the living beings in a hierarchical fashion. However there are certain different plants and animals found in different areas are different biogeographically (Riding Rayner, 2013). On the contrary the weak version of cultural cognition, the advocates of the strong version ensures that not just the content of cognition but also the nature of cognitive processes vary across different cultures. Culture hence is seen as radically influencing the fundamental nature cognitive and neutral architecture (Strandell, 2016). According to psychologist Santos, Varnum Grossmann, (2017) human minds are shaped and structured by cultures not just in terms of elements of cognition which are culturally bound but they also they also organize minds fundamentals, neurologically. Many psychologists give the evidences of such influences, which are based on neural organization. According to, people who are brought up in urban establishments respond in a different way to the visual tests than people who are brought in rural areas. He further claims that people of urban areas give response to the stimuli which are angular and structured more readily than the people brought up in rural ar eas (Santos, Varnum Grossmann, 2017). The cognitive anthropologists claim that environmental factors, that are mostly related to culture affect the nature of cognition. DAndrade puts emphasis that the relationship between culture and cognition needs to be conceptualized as they are reciprocal to each other. Culture representations influences the psyche which selects own their own and modifies as per the abilities of human cognitive system (Hutchins, 2014). Evolutionary theory The contemporary theorists of this field have shown interest towards the role of evolutionary theories in the working of human mind. It is argued by the evolutionary psychologists that to understand how mind works it is very important first pay attention to the problems that mind solves. The mind just like the body has evolved so it is necessary that it should be studied with the help of similar methods. The fact that evolutionary psychology gives new examples for the psychological sciences are rejected, it is argued that questions that are related to evolutionary theory are important to the understanding cognition and its relationship with culture. The evolutionary approach connects both the domain specific view and an anti-individualist approach to human cognition (Grossmann, Huynh Ellsworth, 2016). It is argued by evolutionary psychologists that cognitive modules are evolved mechanisms that have different phylogenic histories. It is also been argued that general purpose view of c ognition is not feasible biologically because the adaptive behavior differs largely in different areas. There is a way in which learning is being framed so that organisms are lead towards a narrow envelope which is important in this reference (Cerulo, 2015). From the evolutionary perspective cognition needs to be embedded in the real world. In order to generate adaptive behavior there has to be reciprocal relations between the mind and the environment including the social environment. Initially the modular theory of the mind and evolutionary would not seem enough to make the topic comprehensible, one would be unable to understand the role of culture in cognition. If the thoroughly epigenetic features of cognitive development are accepted then cultural diversity can be looked as natural outcomes of an evolution, domain specific mind embedded in a rich social and cultural environment. As per this perspective, cultural learning, do not completely determine the thought process of individuals. Communal mind creates culture and every mind is genetically structured (Berkenkotter Huckin, 2016). In order to study and understand the cultural diversity it is important to consider the discussions of cognitive anthropologists the exact area for conc eptual module is informational in organisms environment. For an instance the living things module are constructed to provide information regarding the different species that is seen by an individual in an environment. In the similar the module for our theory mind are made to generate explanations of human behavior in context of the desires, beliefs and values (Uzzell, Ponton Ardila, 2013). The cognitive operations in all the individuals remain same, the content though remains same which depends on certain local details. It can be concluded that cultural cognition occurs due to certain cognitive domain specific learning. The learning of human beings is not determined by the culture but also to the basic biological factors that is common to all the human beings and this explains the reason why some of the beliefs and basic judgments are common to all the cultures (Ellen, 2016). For instance it is known by all individuals that stealing, killing and torturing someone is not good, it has been mentioned in all cultures, these are basic judgments made by the human mind and not by any culture and hence it is common to all the religions. Apart from culture the consciousness of human mind in identifying the right and wrong is also to a great extent responsible for the decisions made by human beings. It is more often argued that every individual have their judgments, that does no t need any cultural norms rather it can be said that the cultural norms have been derived from these judgments that any sane human beings have and this is common to all (Rapoport, 2016). The norms set by the minds becomes the basis for human cognition. Apart from that a simple example can be taken that an individual was brought up in an environment of violence and have always believed that violence is the only way to get things done, but someday he experiences something that transforms his life, it could be a person or even incidence. The experience will change the perspective of that person, therefore in this case it can be concluded that human beings apart their culture are also influenced by experiences. It can be said that cognition cannot be restricted to cultural norms there are other factor as well that have a greater role to play in this regard (Leung Morris, 2015). According to the sociocultural perspective, human beings learn from what they think which I basically a function of social and cultural factors that are limited to the environment they have grown. This perspective focuses mostly on the factors that make individuals different rather than on the common factors in the perspective of human beings. There is a significant difference between the children who grow up in a technologically advanced society and the children who are born in hunter- gatherer society (Beebe et al., 2015). Children solve their problems based on their cognition, they are explorers. They keep discovering new things, it is being argued that there are certain cognition in the individuals who live in socially isolated places. Although, higher psychological processes require social contributions for cognitive growth. Cognitions are not characteristics of individuals rather they are functions that transfers among individuals (Fiske Taylor, 2013). There are many factors apart from culture and society that affects human cognition which shapes the perception of individuals. The impacts of culture on individuals with maximum number of exposure are very minimum. Experiences, education and interactions with different people in most of the cases affects the human cognitive abilities, but inborn human judgments that develop with growth and development of human beings and their brain have a larger impact than all these factors. This has been argued by many anthropologist and psychologists and still significant discussions are being carried on this topic, which is putting emphasis on the fact that cultural factors have impact on human cognition but that can be manipulated and transformed later by interaction, knowledge, experience and exposures. Cultural cognition are not long lasting. Even if they helps in shaping the cognition of the individuals there are factors that also affect the cognition of individuals. There are differences in the cultures all around the world but also there are certain similarities among the cultures that far away with each other. It is not only the culture of the individuals but the functions of the brain also have influence on the cognitive abilities of individuals and the psychologists have argued this topic, it is a very controversial topic and the argument is in favor of both the sides. References Beebe, J., Qiaoan, R., Wysocki, T., Endara, M. A. (2015). Corrigendum Corrigendum to: Moral Objectivism in Cross-Cultural Perspective (Journal of Cognition and Culture 15 (2015) 386401, doi: 10.1163/15685373-12342157).Journal of Cognition and Culture,15(5), 543-544. Berkenkotter, C., Huckin, T. N. (2016).Genre knowledge in disciplinary communication: Cognition/culture/power. Routledge. Cerulo, K. A. (2015). Culture and cognition.Emerging Trends in the Social and Behavioral Sciences: An Interdisciplinary, Searchable, and Linkable Resource. Ellen, R. (2016). The cultural cognition of time: some anthropological perspectives. Fiske, S. T., Taylor, S. E. (2013).Social cognition: From brains to culture. Sage. Grossmann, I., Huynh, A. C., Ellsworth, P. C. (2016). Emotional complexity: Clarifying definitions and cultural correlates.Journal of personality and social psychology,111(6), 895. Hutchins, E. (2014). The cultural ecosystem of human cognition.Philosophical Psychology,27(1), 34-49. Kahan, Dan. "Cultural Cognition Project at Yale Law School." (2014). Kahan, D. M., Jenkins?Smith, H., Braman, D. (2011). Cultural cognition of scientific consensus.Journal of Risk Research,14(2), 147-174. Leung, K., Morris, M. W. (2015). Values, schemas, and norms in the culturebehavior nexus: A situated dynamics framework.Journal of International Business Studies,46(9), 1028-1050. Rapoport, A. (2016).Human aspects of urban form: towards a manenvironment approach to urban form and design. Elsevier. Riding, R., Rayner, S. (2013).Cognitive styles and learning strategies: Understanding style differences in learning and behavior. Routledge. Strandell, J. (2016). Culture, cognition and behavior in the pursuit of self-esteem.Poetics,54, 14-24. Santos, H. C., Varnum, M. E., Grossmann, I. (2017). Class, Cognition and Cultural Change in Social Class. Uzzell, B. P., Ponton, M., Ardila, A. (Eds.). (2013).International handbook of cross-cultural neuropsychology. Psychology Press. YAGHOOBI, A., ABDOLAHIMOGHADAM, M. (2016). Investigating the relationship between moral reasoning and moral behavior in adolescents mediated by social cognition theory.

Jimmy Carter Essay Example

Jimmy Carter Essay Jimmy Carter became the thirty-ninth President of the United States of America on January 20, 1977. During his Presidency, he fulfilled campaign promises to develop a national energy program, protect the nations natural resources and aid education. The Egypt-Israeli Treaty of Peace and the Panama Canal Treaty gained the president worldwide recognition. Out of all the parts of Carters Foreign Policy, the two parts I found most interesting was human rights, and the strengthened ties with China. Out of the Carter administrations foreign policy, human rights were the foundation. In Carters Inaugural Address on January 20, 1977 he said, Our commitment to human rights must be absolutethe powerful must not persecute the weak, and human dignity must be enhancedThe world itself is now dominated by a new spirit. Peopleare craving, and now demanding their place in the sun- not just for the benefit of their own physical condition, but for basic human rightsBecause we are now free, we can never be indifferent to the fate of freedom elsewhere.No other issue was so close to Jimmy Carter than human rights. The President was committed at home and abroad to human rights and this gave the people trust and courage.He accomplished his goal by public verbal protest, private diplomatic persuasion, and military and economic consensus.One example of how the President was committed at home is when he addressed a congregation of civil rights leaders at Ebenezer Baptist Church here in Atlanta.Even the Presidents wife, Roselyn Carter, was involved in human rights. In November 1979, Roselyn Carter flew to Thailand to visit relief centers caring for refugees of the Vietnam-Cambodian War. Upon her return to the Untied States, thefirst lady spoke about her experiences on nation-wide television and her efforts brought aid to thousands. Even in Carters Farwell A

Technological Environment Affecting Indian Business Essays

Technological Environment Affecting Indian Business Essays Technological Environment Affecting Indian Business Paper Technological Environment Affecting Indian Business Paper As the population relies more and more on mobile phones, additional features were requested. A. High expectation of customers: Technology can change the buying patterns of customers. Customers are the crux whenever a business venture is created. Organizations produce to sell, but if the spending power of the consumers decreases or they become averse to a particular type of product or service, the organization will be affected immensely. It is important therefore, that business leaders are able to gauge he change in tastes and preferences of customers so that they are better prepared for any eventuality. People want better products with superior quality, safer and free from pollution. For all this to be achieved, more investment has to be done on Research and Development. High expectations can pose a challenge as well as opportunities to the business sectors. The most successful and powerful organizations are looked at with hope for the newest and best products and so it completely depends on their work methods to satisfy the customers with good products or lose their faith with bad products. B. Modernization and Arbitration: Technology has resulted in both Modernization and Complexity. Modernization is indicated by a change in peoples food habits, dress habits, speaking styles, tastes, choices, preferences, ideas, values, recreational activities and so on. People in the process of getting them modernized give more importance to science and technology. The scientific and technological inventions have modernized societies in various countries. They have brought about remarkable changes in the whole system of social relationship and installed new ideologies in the place of traditional ones. Arbitration denotes a diffusion of the influence of urban centers to a rural hinterland. It describes the growth of a society in which a major role is played by manufacturing industry. The industry is characterized by heavy, fixed capital investment in plant and building by the application of science to industrial techniques and by mainly large-scale standardized production. Due to technological changes people are trying to upgrade themselves from just agriculture to other options and opportunities. Hence only when a large proportion of inhabitants in an area come to cities arbitration is said to occur. Arbitration has become a world phenomenon today. An unprecedented growth has taken place not only in the number of great cities but also in their size. As a result of industrialization people have started moving towards the metro cities like Bungalow, Achaean and Iambi etc in search of employment. More and more rural areas are thus getting converted in to urban areas to accommodate the moving populations. C. Social Changes: The implementation of technology influences the values of a society by changing expectations and realities. The implementation of technology is also influenced by values. There are (at least) three major, interrelated values that inform, and are informed by, technological innovations: * Mechanistic world view: Viewing the universe as a collection of parts, (like a machine), that can be individually analyzed and understood. This is a form of reductionism that is rare nowadays. However, the neo-mechanistic world view holds that nothing in the universe cannot be understood by the human intellect. Also, while all things are greater than the sum of their parts (e. G. Even if we consider nothing more than the information involved in their combination), in Renville, even this excess must eventually be understood by human intelligence. That is, no divine orbital principle or essence is involved. * Efficiency: A value, originally applied only to machines, but now applied to all aspects of society, so that each element is expected to attain a higher and higher percentage of its maximal possible performance, output, or ability. Social progress: The belief that there is such a thing as social progress, and that, in the main, it is beneficent. Before the Industrial Revolution, and the subsequent explosion of technology, almost all societies believed in a cyclical hero of social movement and, indeed, of all history and the universe. This was, obviously, based on the cyclist of the seasons, and an agricultural economy and societys strong ties to that cyclist. Since much of the world is closer to their agricultural roots, they are still much more amenable to cyclist than progress in history. This brings on with it, some disadvantages too. Though social differences tend to be ironed out, status differences are created by technological advancements in Indian and other developing countries. In India, employees in foreign collaborations are paid more than employees working in local collaborations, though they do the same job in the same field. Moreover, modernization pressurize for more and more Genetically Modified Products over natural products and this several adverse affects like misaligning the natural pathways. It also leads to consolidation Of market towards the companies providing GM products. D. Social Systems: Of particular interest is the knowledge of technology. At this level, technology creates a distinct type of social system, namely, the knowledge society. In the knowledge society, use and transfer of knowledge and information, rather Han manual skill, dominates work and employs the largest portion of labor force. The knowledge worker will have to show why he should be retained, what benefit he can offer to the organization and how he can add value to whatever the organization does. He will have to create new jobs in consultation with his employer. The factories have brought down the prices of commodities, improved their quality and maximized their output. The whole process of production is mechanized. The process of industrialization has affected the nature, character and the growth of economy. It has contributed to the growth of cities or to the process Of arbitration. Development Of transport and immunization has led to the national and international trade on a large scale. The road transport, the train service, the ships and air transport have eased the movement of men and material goods. Post and telegraph, radio and television, newspaper and magazines, wireless has developed a great deal. They have helped the people belonging to different corners of the nation or the world to have regular contacts. The introduction of the factory system of production has turned the agricultural economy into industrial economy. The industrial or the capitalist economy has divided the social organization into two predominant classes- the capitalist class and the working class. These two classes are always at conflict due to mutually opposite interests. A. Productivity and Competition: Most of the organizations today fiercely contest with each other to woo customers. Although, the customer is in a win-win situation and gets many options to choose from, organizations for their part have to be on their toes with all preparedness to counter any marketing or publicity campaigns by the rivals to score over the consumers. If a rival is able to come up with an innovative product or service, other organizations then need to play the thatch-up game and this factor affects business immensely. It is the driving factor behind the technological advancements. In technology the competition is remorseless. In most businesses the competition might be able to do something as well as you and it will remove your excess profit. People will build hotels for instance until everyones returns are inadequate but not until everyones returns are sharply negative. Even in a glutted market a hotel tends to have a reason to exist it still provides useful service. For example, data suggests that during the years since 1991-92, when the Indian software arrives industry and, to an extent, the hardware industry was still in its infancy, there has been one striking structural feature characterizing the sector. Over this 1 7-year period when industry revenues have grown by more than 1 50 times or at a compound rate of 34 per cent per annum, a few firms have routinely dominated the industry. Thus the share of the top 20 firms in the industry throughout the period has fluctuated between 47 and 57 per cent, standing at 55 per cent in 1999-2000 and at 56 per cent in 2006-07. That is concentration as conventionally measured has been high and relatively table. What is more there is evidence that at the core of the industry concentration is in fact increasing. According to the results of Disquiets most recent survey, the share of the Top 20 firms in the revenues of the Top 200, which has been increasing consistently over the last few years, rose sharply from 54 per cent in 2005-06 to 64 per cent in 2006-07, as compared to a rise from 50 to 54 per cent between 2004-05 and 2006-07 (Datasets, July 1 5, 2007). Acquisitions such as that of I-Flex by Oracle and a sudden, sharp 1 36 per cent increase in the revenues of Tech Maidenhair partly explain this rend. But the fact of a high degree of concentration cannot be denied. With the increasing technology requirements of Indian businesses and government along with increased summarization, the Indian technology industry is expected to grow to RSI. 1. 8 trillion by 201 6, a growth of over 2012. Opportunities, the contribution of the Internet economy to the countrys gross domestic product (GAP) is expected to increase from 4. % in 2010 to 5. 6% in 2016, to touch RSI. 1 1 trillion, driven largely by the countrys demographic dividend. Also, the number of billion-dollar Indian companies ill increase from 141 in fiscal year 2010 to more than 700 by 2020, and these firms will require extensive use of technology to remain competitive. This thus, is leading to increased productivity in terms of quality and quantity by the major Indian industries. A number oftentimes factors can affect both true and measured productivity. For example, workers may work harder during periods of high demand and firms may use their capital assets more intensively by running factories for extra shifts; both factors can lead measured productivity to be too high relative to actual technological progress. Similarly, during periods of high demand, productivity can rise because firms take advantage of increasing returns to scale. Technology has brought about increased productivity in almost all sectors Of Indian Economy like Infrastructure, Agriculture, Communication and Information Technology through new techniques and methods. Some of the productivity improving technologies are: Replacing human and animal power with water and wind power, steam, electricity and internal combustion and greatly increasing the use of energy Energy efficiency in the conversion of energy to useful work Infrastructures: canals, railroads, highways and pipelines Mechanization, both production machinery and agricultural machines Work practices and processes: The American system of manufacturing, Tailors or scientific management, mass production, assembly line, modern business enterprise Materials handling: bulk materials, popularization and centralization Scientific agriculture: fertilizers and the green revolution, livestock and poultry management New materials, new process for their production and denationalization. Communications: Telegraph, telephone, radio, titillates, fiber optic neuron and the Internet Home economics: Public water supply, household gas, appliances Automation and process control Computers and software, data processing. B. Need to spend on Research and Development: Research and Development assumes considerable relevance in organizations as technology advances. Firms are required to consider, decide and take action on various issues. In the modern world, superior technologies, resources, geography, and history give rise to robust economies; and in a well-functioning, robust economy, economic excess naturally flows into rater use of technology. Moreover, because technology is such an inseparable part of human society, especially in its economic aspects, funding sources for (new) technological endeavourers are virtually illimitable. However, while in the beginning technological investment involved little more than the time, efforts, and skills of one or a few men, today, such investment may involve the collective labor and skills of many millions. Technology transfer is a complex, time-consuming and costly process, and the successful implementation of such a process demands continuous communication and o-operation between the parties involved. Furthermore, technology transfer cannot be effective if it experiences conflict with the economic and social needs of the people. In spite of the many differences in social, political, cultural, geographic and economic conditions, there are some common characteristics in the technological environments of developing countries. The most common technology transfer from industrialists to developing countries has been in agriculture and health care. As a result of improved health care systems, infant mortality rates have been cut while the incidence f once common diseases such as malaria and typhoid has been reduced in Latin America, south-east Asia and Africa (although the incidents Of the AIDS virus has increased alarmingly). Similarly, agricultural technology has increased agricultural productivity in Brazil, India and elsewhere. However, in most developing countries, technology has made little impact on the productive systems, income distribution and living conditions of the majority of the population. Moreover, as new technology comes in, the old one needs to be abandoned. The process of old replaced by new is called Technological Discontinuity. Such discontinuity occurs when a new technology cannot be used simply to enhance the current technology but actually substitutes for it to yield better performance. The R n D management must determine when to abandon present technology and when to develop or adopt new one. C. Increasing Intellectuality of jobs: With the advent of technology, jobs tend to become more intellectual or upgraded. A job hitherto handled by an illiterate and unskilled worker now requires the services of an educated and component worker. Introduction of new technology dislocates some workers. This makes it obligatory on the part f business houses to retrain its employees and to rehabilitate those displaced and non-trainable. Equal is the responsibly of the government to provide training and educational facilities to its citizens-those who pick up and acquaint themselves with the new technology, the job will be rewarding as they stand to gain through increased productivity, reduced prices and increased real wages. Along with upgrading jobs, technology has its impact on human relations. Since interaction and activity affect sentiments and they begin to feel and think about one another and about their situation. Not only bobs become more intellectual and knowledge-oriented, even the incumbents tended to become highly professional and knowledgeable. D. Unemployment: The problem of unemployment is a concomitant feature of the rapid technological advancement. Machines not only provide employment opportunities for men but they also take away the jobs of men through labor- saving devices. This results in technological unemployment. Labor displacing technologies can generally be classified under mechanization, automation, and process improvement. The first two fundamentally involve transferring tasks from humans to machines. The third monumentally involves the elimination of tasks altogether. Unemployment due to an increment in productivity generates an expectancy that no new jobs, or not enough new jobs, will arise to fill the void. Variants of this argument persist through the present day, as do counter-arguments to it. Average working hours have decreased significantly since the advent of modern efficiency producing technologies and continue to fall as less and less labor is needed to meet demand. The Great Indian Technologies From launching its first satellite to becoming self sufficient in food grain production to entering the nuclear power club, the last 60 years have seen India transform from a poor, struggling country into a modern scientific power that defied global pressure to carve out a place for itself in the field of science and technology Subbed Farm When India became independent, the political leadership -? like the people at large -? had magnificent dreams. They wanted to build a prosperous, modern India casting aside centuries of stagnation, poverty and backwardness. And one of the important facets of this vision was the harnessing of science and technology to deal with the huge economic and social challenges facing the country. In the early years the foundation for a gigantic, state-funded scientific establishment was laid. Scientific research in the Nan-strategic sphere was entrusted to the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (SIR) with its 37 laboratories and over 1 2,000 scientists. Similarly, the Indian Council for Agricultural Research took on the task of addressing problems of increasing agricultural output through its 97 institutes and 45 agricultural universities. -? India was a poor country, ravaged and plundered by colonialism. Yet, precious resources were set aside for all this because there was a vision that science should be put to direct use of society. These investments made 60 years ago have since borne fruit. Unlike any other post-colonial country (barring China) India can boast of one of the worlds largest scientific establishments with personnel to match it. How have these capabilities been put to use? How has the science and technology establishment tackled the halogens? The answers to these questions are not easy because its a mixed bag -? there are some well-known crowning achievements, but there is also a growing sense of unease about some issues where problems are mounting. Five areas can immediately be identified where Indian scientists have made significant strides. Their significance is not that they are fantastic discoveries that changed the world. They are remarkable because they were achieved against all odds, often in international isolation, and working with limited resources.

Health, Promoting Good Practice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Health, Promoting Good Practice - Essay Example She is currently on an acute mixed ward for older people; this is her 3rd day of hospital stay. Mrs Marie Brown lives alone in her own 4 bedroom detached house in the suburbs of the city. Her husband died 4 months ago from cancer. She had been married 58 years. She has one daughter who lives nearby called Claire. She works full time, but helps with shopping and housework(1). Mrs Brown keeps a large amount of cash in the house to pay bills rather than use the bank. Marie's nationality is French and English is not her first language. Marie has exhibited signs of short term memory problems since the death of her husband and has recently started to revert to her mother tongue of French. Mrs Marie Brown has osteoporosis and chronic obstructive airways disease. She uses a nebuliser 3 times a day to assist her breathing. She becomes short of breath on exertion. (Becomes short of breath when she moves around). Prior to admission Mrs Marie Brown could shuffle a short distance of 5-6 steps, whilst using her zimmer frame. She sleeps in one of her downstairs rooms, with a commode next to the bed and her armchair is within easy reach. At present she is unable to stand by herself and requires assistance of one person for toileting and personal care. A home carer attends twice a day, to assist with a.m. getting up, washed and dressed and making breakfast. They also attend in the evening to assist Mrs Brown to get undressed and into bed. The home carers hold keys to the house. Professionals Involved prior to admission A social worker (SW) for older people, from social services (SS) has assessed Mrs Brown following the death of her husband. The SW has arranged for the care package (Home Care and Meals on Wheels) to be in place. An Occupational Therapist, (Also from SS) has assessed Mrs Brown and has recommended and arranged for a commode, zimmer frame and bed and chair to be raised. The patient chosen for the purpose of this essay will be referred to as Mrs. Marie Brown. Mrs. Marie Brown is 78 year old women who suffer with rheumatoid arthritis. This also resulted in Brown having bilateral hip replacements. Brown is on steroid treatment, which leads to thinning of the skin and susceptibility to trauma (Mallet and Dougherty 2001). Brown lives with her husband and two grown up sons. Brown was refereed to the district nurse on her discharge from hospital following her second hip replacement. The initial referral was to check the surgical wound. However on arrival it was pointed out by Brown that she had a skin tear on her left shin that wasn't healing. The district nurse performed an assessment and concluded the wound was a venous leg ulcer as it had been present for 6 weeks. The district nurses used Sorbisan and Telfa to dress the wound. Twice weekly visits were carried out to Joe for a further 4 weeks, and it became obvious that the ulcer was not improving. The d istrict nurse had to make a decision on what care to provide. The decision was to try another dressing Aticoat which is impregnated with silver, and not to refer the

Accountability, representation & control Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Accountability, representation & control - Essay Example Accounting is the means to measure performance and maintain control in the organization. All organizations and businesses utilize some form of accounting whether it is basic ledgers or management and cost accounting. Accounting is the means to identify elements of sales, expenditure and profit as well as budgets, inventory and forecasts. Thus it is a method of achieving accountability as it monitors and accounts for every financial transaction and thus keeps a check on fraud, embezzlement and suspicious acts within the firm. However, accounts focuses on quantitative rather than qualitative data. It does not measure qualitative performance data such as satisfaction, achievement of goals, job commitment and quality among others. Accounting does not take into account the environmental degradation, labor practices, work environment and safety rules and regulations. Thus the issue of whether accountability in an organization is best measured by accounting is a complex one. Accountability is the willingness to assume responsibility for one’s actions. In the organizational context, every employee is responsible for his actions at the workplace and thus he should be held accountable for them. In order to be effective in maintaining accountability within the organization, organizations need to be focused on setting goals that are measurable and train employees to feel accountable for their actions. Consequences of their actions should be predefined and communicated and the organization should implement the rules that it has set. (Building Organizational Accountability). Apart from internal accountability, the concept of the organization being accountable for its actions is extremely important. As organizations develop into powerful systems that affect the world and its citizens they need to be held accountable for their decisions and policies. Accountability in the financial context does control performance and finance; however it is not really effective in contr olling child labor and sweat shops. Is accounting the most effective means of achieving accountability in organizations? All organizations are involved in book keeping; they keep accounts of their costs and expenditure and their sales and revenues. This results in accountability of the actions of managers and employees. At a higher level for corporations, audits provide accountability for processes and procedures as well as transparency and accuracy of accounting records. Internal audits result in employees being accountable to the company for their actions and external audits result in the organization being accountable for its procedures and policies. The Enron case resulted in stricter guidelines for organizations regarding representation, transparency and control. The Sarbanes Oxley 302 and 404 focus on corporate governance and practices that better control the organization’s practices and prevent corruption. However, as accounting and auditing deal invariably with financ ial aspects and maximization of shareholder value, it is vital to establish the basics of accounting which is cost. The concept of cost is the fundamental of finance. However, in accounting cost is monetary cost associated with consumption of resources whereas in economics cost includes opportunity cost which is the cost of foregone alternatives. In actuality, consumption of a resource leads to many costs including the cost to society, cost to environment and other living things for example; an organization manufacturing furniture will only take into account the cost of labor, materials and processes but not the costs of deforestation and environmental degradation. Thus the concept of cost used in accounting is limited and hence every control or measure implemented by accounting methods is limited to that definition of cost that does not hold the organization for costs it imposes on others. (M. Chwastiak) This results in the

Changing role of women in the UAE

Changing role of women in the UAE Women have been and are playing a vital role in developing their families for a long time. During the times of pre-historic periods, women have played an important role as bread owners and hence they assumed a definite cultural role. Evidences say that in the periods of Hunter-gatherer, women used to collect food while men used to go hunting. During the recent history, the role of women has changed to a great extent. Due to the modern changes like the economic reforms, feminist movements and the demands for equal opportunities, women in many parts of the world have right of entry to careers apart from the role of traditional homemaker. In these modern days, women started to gain power equivalent to men which was not there in the past days. In spite of this, a few people could not recognize women as a power and as an agent, who brings change in the society, may be due to the traditional beliefs or due to the fear of loss of power and authority over women. Not only do men have a fear of women empowerment, but studies say that women at work places are less encouraging towards their gendered (women). Apart from this, in many parts of the world, including the developed countries, women are paid less when compared to their peers in the male gender. This critical role of women in every field they are in is due to the fact that t hey are capable of multi-tasking i.e. doing more than one job at a time with more care and accuracy which men can hardly do. Background/Context Many believe that nonexistence of gender socialization would not exist at all. The list of top ten worlds most powerful people would contain the name of at least a woman personality constantly through years. Many renowned awards were designed and were won by the women in UAE which indicates the growing awareness about womens role for the society. History says that the role of women have been of utmost importance in the society. As men used to go out doing their jobs in the fishing and pearling industries for months, women used to take care of the needs of family besides raising their children, which cannot be denied to be an easy task in the hot desert weather. But, due to difference in the work done and a few other aspects, women were rarely treated at par with men. (Wilson) Issue Nowadays, with the recognition of women as a key person in the development, this face has changed to completely opposite. Women are making a significant progress towards better participation in events at both national level and also at local levels. A most significant achievement was during the time of elections in 2007 in which 22% of the seats were occupied by women. Presently, nine women among them are the members of the body of 40-members. Also, half of this strength is appointed which gives UAE a far superior degree of representation of women in the legislature than any other nations in the Gulf. Pre-Arguments Women of the Emirates have performed a key role in the modernizations processes through their participation in the womens associations throughout the country. These associations have laid stones to train the women in vocational courses, welfare assistance, placements and also in health care sector. Women of the Emirates are found in significant number in the five detailed economic industries, some details; females make up 20% of the public segment. Women outstandingly hold positions in the Education sector and also in the government with 30% women playing key decision-making roles. Not just in the field of job market, but UAE women also seem to have entered the education sector with the fact that the total enrollment of the female students in the higher education has grown to 40%. Apart from the above discussed facts about women in UAE which portray a growing trend of female empowerment in different aspects, there are areas in which women lag behind men which are to be concentrated upon. The healthy trend observed in education doesnt seem to be visible in the participation of women in the economy which stands at a mere 7%. A study at the global level on entrepreneurs proved that the participation of female entrepreneurs in the economy of UAE is extremely low when compared to men and women in other countries; let it be a startup company or an established firm. The women in UAE comprise of only a mere 4% in the private sector and they are mostly in the private financial companies. The female established industries contain of only 16.2% of the total net GDP in the Non-oil sector. (Women in United Arab Emirates, 2010) If the number of unemployed women is compared to the number of unemployed men, women stand at a higher figure of 71% and men are at 29. Efforts should be done to improve these numbers in order to see complete development in every field. Women also are active in the military establishment. Specially trained women cops would provide security to the female VIPs and also take part in the military activities. Discussion GOVERNMENT INITIATIVESS TO IMPROVE WOMEN EMPOWERMENT: The government of United Arab Emirates has tried to improve the roles played by women in the recent past. This made the UAE a leader for rights of women in the Arabian Countries. Before the discovery of oil in 1960, there were a very less number of opportunities for women in the country outside their home and family. As per the constitution, equality for women on par with men is guaranteed including the areas like legal status, title claims and even in access to the education. The stepping stones for women empowerment were laid by the then President, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahvans wife Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak. She was the founder of General Womens Union (GWU) which still stands as a powerful component of State and in participation in the various initiatives of the organization. (Salama, 2008) The leaders of Emirates have keenly tried to promote the complete participation of the women in society activities, aligned with the objectives of optimizing the human resources. Not only did the government take steps to improve the condition of women in the UAE but also, there were associations formed which work autonomously for the improvement of life of women. Not only operating in their circles, but the six existing women associations were joined together to expand their reach to the public more and more and to provide more services to women. The government has launched a new statute of law under which, new laws would be incorporated on issues related to protecting women and also to provide family guidance, divorce issues and compensation, etc. The UAE government has also signed agreements internationally to specific issues related to the women and children welfare. United Arab Emirates was the first country to establish a college for women army recruits among the Gulf countries. The Dubai Women and Children Shelter started by the government to protect women and children from domestic violence the face every day. Under this project, support and emotional care would be provided to the sufferers of abuse and crimes such as human trafficking. The government has launched many projects and awards for women to encourage them and make their role known to everyone. Example can be taken about the Intelaq project which aims at increasing the participation of women in the government departments. Because of these new initiatives, the government has offered women, the jobs that are reserved for men like the appointment of Fatima Saeed Obaid Al Awani as the countrys first female marriage registrar. (Salama, 2008) As a result of all the initiatives and projects, United Arab Emirates was ranked at 29th position among the 177 countries for Gender Empowerment Measures which is the best rating any country in the Arab World has received. Along with this, the Chairperson of the GWU, Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak was awarded with the Mohammad Medal, the highest honor given by the UN. (Women in the UAE, 2010) CHALLENGES WOMEN EMPOWERMENT FACES: Even after witnessing such a progress regarding the women empowerment and their participation in different activities related to development of the society, still they face discrimination and there are forces which try to stop this progress of women. The major rejection is from the male folks who cannot see women going ahead of them. Even as UAE has the highest number of women representation in the parliament, there are issues and challenges to be dealt with to completely eradicate the evil against women development. The government has taken appreciable steps and established applauding projects; progress of women is still facing problems in the private sector. The employment representation of women in the private sector is very less when compared to the strength of the male employees. Tradition and culture is another threat to the women development. The cultural and traditional factors impact every aspect related to the society. People with more traditional beliefs perceive that the development of women would trade-off the values and ethics being followed for many centuries and this would halt the progress of women. Women are meant to be good decision makers and can handle multiple tasks at a time where as men cannot. Women are known for their patience, strong analytical skills and dedication towards work which would bring them far ahead of the male employees. This fear of overpower and dominance by a female is a main cause why women cannot progress in the society. (Ioannidis) Harassment of women at the work place is another factor due to which the progress stops at the beginning that is women fear to enter into the male dominated world fearing harassment. Lack of funds and support is another reason why women entrepreneurs cannot do well in the market. Even after having a good idea and plan to start up the business, women can rarely progress in the market due to lack of available funds or due to lack of support from their colleagues. According to a recent research, the progress of a woman can be endangered by another woman if not by a male peer. Women employers rarely encourage their female subordinates to progress fearing dominance by their subordinates at some point and this clearly is another main obstruction to the women empowerment. CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS: From the discussion above, it is clearly evidential that the women are progressing in the path of empowerment and also it is made clear that the government has recognized the role of women in improving the society and her family. Women are known for making decisions in the right way at times of stake. The UAE has also been seeing a great amount of progress in this area: The women literacy rate has gone up to 90% in 2007; Increased number of women enrolled for the higher education when compared to men (24% more than men); Every five students have three female children in higher education; Women are 66% consisted in the government sector jobs; Women entering into crucial areas like the military, air force and police are a few important achievements apart from many others made in the UAE towards women empowerment. This process of empowering women is a continuous and never ending path in which every step taken towards attaining women empowerment would certainly earn the country and the s ociety a lot. While the above discussion states that women empowerment is a necessary for development of any country, there are also few factors that bar the progress of women and hence that of the country. Those are to be dealt with utmost focus and attention. The government should try to launch more programs in order to encourage female participation in the arts, culture and other social activities. It is also beneficial if the government provides all kind of monetary or mental support needed for female entrepreneurs which would benefit in attaining more development. Women in UAE are into the fields of army, police and air-force which were perceived as only male oriented areas earlier. This shows that with proper amount of training and guidance, women can perform well even in shop-floor related jobs. Women can be provided coaching in work related issues and also they can be educated regarding the traditions and culture so that the culture which is being followed from centuries would not get affe cted and also there would be development. From all the discussion above, it can be concluded that women are key role players in the development of any economy and an economy which gives a considerable amount of importance to this would definitely see progress towards success and development of the society as a whole. Also, it can be said that with proper care and education methods, the traditions wouldnt get disturbed and so is the progress of a country.