Performance Measurement and Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Performance Measurement and Management - Essay Example Then for the last fifteen to twenty years the demands of call centers have tremendously increased. A call center is an operation where employees or agents use computers and specially designed phones to receive calls, do outbound calls on some occasions. These calls then are operated by automatic call distribution (inbound) or predictive dialing system (outbound). The computers that the agents used are specially develop to verify customer data, gather information, and store gathered data (Taylor and Bain 1999). The call center industry provides various types of services and products. There are call centers that handle medical accounts like prescription handling and order taking; some provide service for bank companies like credit and loans, some provide service for reservations in a hotel or air flight, some centers do provide technical support like those who handle internet connectivity and computer troubleshooting. The call center management uses several tools; one of these tools is the automatic call distribution system. This system provides the company various information essential to keep the business running. The system automatically place callers on queue while the agents are busy assisting other customers. The ACD system also presents wide array of statistics necessary for the operation of a call center. The ACD system provides statistics like how many possible calls are to come in for a specific time (this statistic helps the managers control the number of agents that needs to be on the phone on a particular time), the system also presents the number of agents on call and the number of agents waiting for calls to come in. The system provides the ideal length of call time per customer versus the length of waiting or avail time of agents. The system at the end of the shift will display the number of calls the entire account has answered, dropped,

The Effectiveness of a Market Research in Ensuring the Profitability of Laundry Business in Dumaguete City Essay Example for Free

The Effectiveness of a Market Research in Ensuring the Profitability of Laundry Business in Dumaguete City Essay Laundry shops nowadays are very common in Dumaguete City. Everywhere you go, you can see a laundry shop. That is why business is very competitive. The worse thing is that there are times laundry shops have small income since most people have washing machines in their home. For a laundry business, increasing profitability is important especially small laundry services. That is why there is market research. Like what Philip Kotler (1999) said, â€Å"Competing[underscoring added] in the new millennium will demand more skillful marketing than ever before. Marketers must become more world class in their marketing decision making practices. Monitoring your success and doing course corrections are critical for survival and growth in the new millennium, he warns (p. 6C). To clarify, although many laundry businesses in Dumaguete City do not undergo market research, acquiring both positive and negative information about the behavior of the customers and competitors through market research can ensure the profitability of laundry businesses in Dumaguete City as it helps define the scope of the specific services an owner wants to offer, helps in identifying the right strategies for a faster service, and helps in acquiring new costumers especially commercial clients (universities, hospitals, hotels). This paper represents the discussion on why market research is effective in ensuring profitability of laundry businesses in Dumaguete City in four parts. The first part shows that market research defines the scope of the specific services an owner wants to offer. The second part also shows the identifying of the right strategies for a faster service. The third part mention about acquiring new costumers especially commercial clients (for example: universities, hospitals, hotels, resorts, etc. ). The final part presents the reasons why market research is not widely used by laundry businesses in Dumaguete City and arguments regarding how to overview these reasons. With market research, the owner can define the scope of specific services to offer. Through defining the scope, the owner can obtain opportunities to add extra services. And in adding extra services can be done by recognizing the prospects to serve various groups of customers. In this way, the â€Å"take all comers† approach will be very effective in the business. The owner will never turn away any customer that wants to do business. Being a business with a variety of services will also make the it recognizable in your community, especially when the it is the only one with many services to choose from. The downside of this method is you cannot attempt to have low prices because of the expenses (Clark, n. d. ). Expanding the services can be achieved by identifying the unmet needs of a certain group of customers. From an anonymous author of Strategyn (n. d. ): â€Å"Looking through a jobs-to-be-done lens, we see that a market opportunity exists when customers struggle to get a job done. Indeed, addressing those unmet needs is the key to success. † Surely, Conducting a focus group is helpful in identifying the unmet needs of customers. A focus group is a small six to ten different people group that will have an open discussion about specific topic. This will help in discovering the unmet needs of the business’s customers since it will bring out different opinions or complaints. To put it in another way, interviewing customers is a great tool in knowing the unmet needs of clienteles. Just like the importance of interviewing by Zhivago (n. . ): â€Å"You simply cant be successful in marketing if youre not talking to customers. There is no other source of political power. † Without customers, a business can never gain income. Pleasing the customer is always a way to have a reason to always specifically choose a laundry business to go to. In addition, considering what services clients want to acquire is another good way to know the unmet needs of cust omers. When customers mutter suggestions or ideas, always pay attention to what they are saying. And when considering the services clients want to inquire, they will always feel they are well respected and important. That feeling is always good to have with customers because they will make the business special to them also (Friedmann, n. d. ). Another thing is, by defining the scope; the owner can acquire information from clientele to expand existing services. â€Å"To discover customer requirements or expectations for service†, one of the â€Å"ten most common objectives† in service business (Walker, Boyd, Larrech, 1996, p. 2), can be helpful in increasing the quality of existing services. Expanding existing services are always good. This way, the laundry business’ existing services will be well equipped, updated and fast. Moreover, The owner may observe the comments of the clients to the existing services. Comments usually are in two ways: positive and negative. Especially with customers, always contemplate the comments they made, whether good or bad. Dep ending on their comments, the business can expand its existing services or abolish them. Another is the businessman may interview valued customers to suggest the services they want to expand in the business. Interviewing is always an option. Since when interviewing customers, the interviewer (someone hired from a laundry business) can be up and personal with the interviewee (customer of a specific laundry shop) making them comfortable and be able to express their opinions and ideas about the services they want to expand or the services they do not like. In the same way, the proprietor may administer questionnaires about the services of the laundry business to a specific group of clients. Even though there is a great liability when conducting questionnaires, it is still important to do since some customers are busy or they do not want to be interviewed, a survey can be a great help especially when the business is in need of a large number of people with their opinions and ideas. Another keypoint by means of market research, the owner can identify the right strategies for a faster service. And examining the size of the market that includes knowing how many people have the unmet need may provide information about the right strategies for having a faster service (using what type of detergent, softener, bleaching powder, folding method, and how to deliver the items). Firstly, Examining the size of the market can identify common problems that may arise among workers. Getting workers’ opinion is an effective way to know the problems in the workplace. And evaluating workers’ performance is also essential in ensuring a productive environment in the workplace. Edwards (n. d. ) wrote about how to solve conflicts between employees: â€Å"Identify the problem. Handle the problems as soon as possible. Talk to each employee†¦ask what he has a problem with. Face-to-face discussion usually in from[sic] of a private meeting (underscoring added), is one of the most successful approaches to conflict resolution because it concentrates on solving the problem directly. † This way the harmony and togetherness of the staff will go back. With no more tension and aggression, the work will be faster and more precise (Hester, n. d. ). Also, investigating the scope of the market can lead to the inspection of valued customers for a better approach. And asking for feedbacks can help inspect valued customers for a better method. Receiving customer feedback enables a business to correct any issues or concerns customers may have with laundry’s services. When customers provide feedback, a laundry shop is able to save money, time and improve relationships with customers. Not being in tune with the customers is like living in an alternate reality; the way you think your customers feel about your services is not always the same as what your customers really think about your services. A dissatisfied customer may tell five or six other people about his/her bad experience, which could harm the laundry business’ reputation. Feedback allows you to correct these problems. And then, improving the operations of the laundry business through the use of right strategies will result to a faster service. Increasing employees in the business (from doing fry cleaning, ironing, transporting, folding, etc. will surely result to a faster service. Having more employees will make the work done faster, especially when workers are in harmony and in sync. Likewise, having up-to-date machinery will improve the operations of the laundry business. Usually costumers nowadays want to go to a laundry shop with a fast service. With machinery, doing the work will become firme r and accurate. Especially with washing machines, having a recent model will surely boost the business’ work process. Identically, having a multitude of transportation vehicles can help improve the operations of a laundry business. With multiple vehicles, the business can deliver clothes at the same time. This is also used when the business experience the same time in delivery of clothes to different customers but their houses are so far away from each other. The last keypoint by way of market research, the owner can acquire new customers especially commercial clients (universities, hospitals, hotels). With this, drawing the attention of potential customers is a great way of acquiring them. And in applying the right kind of advertising strategies can draw the customers’ attention. Advertising is a fast way for the business to be notice by people. With proper advertising, it will have a great impact on selling the services of the business especially when maximizing the business’ money to make an effective advertisement of any kind (anonymous, n. d. ). Also, accommodating promos for big customers can also attract possible commercial clients. Promos are a great way to attract customers. Every person is always attracted when catching worthwhile promos especially when they can benefit from it the most. In the laundry business, it does not hurt the business when it will rarely run promos for customers. The business should always show they are not greedy. And in inquiring for the clients’ expectations is an approach to know how to acquire new customers. From the important customer expectations by McGraw (2007): Customer expectations are beliefs about service delivery that serve as standards or reference points against which performance is judged. Because customers compare their perceptions of performance with these reference points when evaluating service quality, thorough knowledge about customer expectations is critical to services marketers. Knowing what the customer expects is the ? rst and possibly most critical step in delivering good quality service. Being wrong about what customers want can mean losing a customer’s business when another company hits the target exactly. Being wrong can also mean expending money, time and other resources on things that do not count to the customer. Being wrong can even mean not surviving in a ? ercely competitive market. (p. 55) Just like satisfying their needs may result to clients’ loyalty. And having a good atmosphere in the business may produce secured customers. Smith (2013) talks about the advantages for having a welcoming atmosphere for laundry shops: â€Å"Having a welcoming atmosphere for example, can tremendously improve your performance and profits. Employees, co-workers, and customers appreciate a welcoming environment because it reduces stress levels (n. d. ). † There are so many misinterpretations about market research and its uses. For some, market research means a difficult method that only professionals can do. For others, market research is just a useless thing because it provides data that are very hard to understand (Chapman, n. d. ). There are also the reasons why market research is not widely used by laundry businesses in Dumaguete City. Firstly, many laundry businesses experienced budgetary onstraints. Processing and gathering data requires a huge amount of money. There are some companies that don’t have experts to conduct extensive market researching. Because of that, they will rely on secondary sources because of its cheapness but these data is not perfect. It will have many flaws and the liability of the data will increase (Riley, 2012). As what Breen and Blankenship (1999) have written, â€Å"Almost everyone fails to understand that most marketing research studies can be done quite adequately in a ‘cheap and dirty’ manner† (p. ). Due to the lack of information and budget, many laundry businesses ignore the benefits of market research. Even though the business will suffer budget constraint, with effective market researching, the business will gain back its income and acquire more. The business will have more benefits in conducting market research than not conducting it at all. Aside from that, they dont have enough knowledge about the used of low-cost methods of market research. In addition, most of the laundry businesses suffer from time constraints. Time is directly related to the costs, as the longer the research takes, the more costly it may turn out for the company. Questions must be prepared, answers must be provided by volunteers and answers must be examined by employees within a given time period. When the research takes longer, it is because the researchers are taking it seriously. Especially when giving surveys to people, it will take time and effort. Time is one of the important factors in conducting market research. Having limited time for this kind of research may result to inaccurate data and faulty conclusion. As an effect, many businesses owners dont prioritized market research. But sacrificing time is the least of the business’ worries. Conducting market research does take time, but when it will be finished, it will really help the business. Improving the business is much more pleasing than not doing anything at all. Another reason is that many laundry businesses’ owners questioned the reliability of the data acquired from market research. Data is the most critical in market research. This is really depending on the people answering the survey and avoiding bias interviewers. To ensure this, expenses will increase but this is a necessity if the researchers will want to avoid suspicious answers (Riley, 2012). Everything in this world revolves around money. Especially when getting information. Some people want to be paid when they will share their information. But in this way, the information the researchers have gathered will be accurate, and not biased. Sacrificing a little bit of money for people to give their answers is expected. Especially when Dumaguete is surrounded with many beggars or poor people. But even though it will cost a lot, benefits and advantages of market research is more than the disadvantages it held. Lastly, Countless owners of laundry businesses suffer from limited volunteers when they conduct market research. From Mary Jane’s (n. d. ) study: â€Å"Market research is primarily based on people’s opinions and views of a single product or service. The lack of respondents may also be a negative factor for a company’s market research. If the company sends out an online questionnaire, not everyone can fill it out, especially those with limited Internet access, for example. Another disadvantage of performing market research is the lack of an experienced interviewer representing the company. † There is a need to have enough respondents in conducting market research. Because of the fact that the word market research may entails a difficult responsibility or job, volunteers for different methods of market research are low. There are also the means on how to refute the opposing viewpoints stated above. The first one is lessening the budgetary constraints in conducting market research. This may be done in two ways. One way is the use of inexpensive materials. Free resources are available such as free statistical records compiled by federal, state and local government. Talking to a customer is a low-cost way of communicating to respondents. By also doing this, the researcher is able to directly talk with a potential costumer. Some may think this method is effective because potential costumers will label the laundry business conducting market research as friendly. And the use of cheap labor like consulting to professor instead of hiring a market researcher is a very effective way of saving money (Davis, n. d. ). Another way is knowing the right number of respondents. This will result to saving of money because no wastage will be done in terms of the materials in surveying, the cost of transportation, and etc. The second is reducing the problems of time constraints. It can be accomplished by setting a specific goal. Having a goal will direct you to the right path and as a result, time will be managed. Reducing the problems in time constraints can also be achieved by applying the right methods that are suitable in the study. No repetition is needed when the researcher apply the suitable method. Doing this can also gain more accurate data. The third is having a reliable data. This is very essential in making decisions and in evaluating past performances (Peter, Donnelly, Tarpay, 1992, p. 42). The first way to have this is through the use of the mastered method. A researcher can do the research well when using his/her mastered method. With that fact, the researcher can obtain reliable data that are needed in the study. The second way is through the choice of the right kind of respondents. The researcher must know who to ask or who to survey because only the right people can give accurate data. And lastly, the following can do taking enough volunteers: First is through the making of right-formatted cover letter. This will entail a great impression to the respondents. An interviewer is most likely to cooperate when he/she receives precise cover letter. Correct formation of cover letter can help convey the respondents to comply voluntarily and accordingly (Shuttles, Bennett, 2013). The second is through giving of ideas to respondents about the goals of the market research. The researcher must give the respondents a quick background or objectives of the study. This will help gain volunteers because the respondents will understand the study and will be more willing to do the research. The last way to acquire more volunteers is through ensuring the respondents about the data that it will be kept confidential and will be used correctly in the study. In this way, the researcher can get their trust and loyalty. And also the volunteers will be eager to answer any questions about the study. Based on the sources that the researcher has gathered, there is enough information for the researchers to analyze the effectiveness of market research. The researchers conclude that Although many laundry businesses in Dumaguete City don’t undergo market research, acquiring both positive and negative information about the behavior of the customers and competitors through market research can ensure the profitability of laundry businesses in Dumaguete City as it helps define the scope of the specific services an owner wants to offer, helps in identifying the right strategies for a faster service, and helps in acquiring new costumers especially commercial clients.

Ancient Greek Health Theories: Understanding the Melancholic Mean in Aristotelian Problema XXX.1 :: Philosophy Medicine

Ancient Greek Health Theories: Understanding the Melancholic Mean in Aristotelian Problema XXX.1 ABSTRACT: In ancient Greek theories of health, it was the equal balance or mixing of the humors or elements (i.e., the isonomic mean) that comprised the ideal healthy state. In the Aristotelian Problema XXX.1, however, there is a description of a form of melancholic constitution that is both 1) itself characterized as a mean, and 2) thought to lead to intellectual outstandingness. This is theoretically problematic since the melancholic constitution was by definition a constitution in which there was a natural preponderance of black bile. Thus, there appear to be two incompatible means that are descriptive of the ideal in ancient Greek medicine: the isonomic mean that underlies the ideal healthy state, and the melancholic mean that describes the melancholic who is capable of greatness. This paper attempts to understand the melancholic mean as described in Problema XXX.1 by considering the two different but related models of this mean that are suggested in the text. A reconciliation of the two somatic ideals is argued for on the basis of what else is said in the Problema, as well as ideas found in the Hippocratic work Airs, Waters, Places and other Aristotelian Problemata. Why is it that all those who have become eminent in philosophy or politics or poetry or the arts are clearly of an atrabilious temperament, and some of them to such an extent as to be affected by diseases caused by black bile, as is said to have happened to Heracles among the heroes? (Problemata XXX.1 953a10-14) (1) So begins the Aristotelian Problema XXX.1. Why indeed! The atrabilious temperament or melancholia is, according to Aristotle, a natural disposition in which there is a preponderance of black bile over the other humours. The healthy somatic ideal, however, was conceived by Greek medical theorists as the equality of the humours, either with respect to their quantity or their relative strengths (quality); disease was by definition an excess of one of the humours or elements. If the ideal state with respect to the humours was equality or isonomic proportion, but "all those who have become eminent in philosophy or politics or poetry or the arts..." be melancholics, then which state is the ideal — health or melancholia? The explicit association of melancholia with genius is found for the first time in this Problema. The author was working within a long tradition that linked the ideal state with a mean.

How did the Constitution set the precedent for the Civil War? Essay

Although the Constitution was very effective in its early years, the writers had made the mistake of leaving several important issues open and unresolved such as slavery, ratification, and the conflicts between the North and the South. The Constitution ultimately contributed to the failure of the union because of the issues that were not resolved, and therefore caused controversy in the years leading up to the Civil War. The document was originally formed with the intention of unifying the newly formed United States of America. Since then, the Constitution was effective in protecting the rights and ideals of the people. But later on the Constitution had influenced a split both politically and ideologically between the North and the South. One of the most controversial issues between the North and the South was slavery. The Constitution only addresses how slaves were to be counted in terms of population, and did not fully settle the idea of slavery. As a result of their avoidance of addressing slavery, it [slavery] became one of the main issues that led to civil war. Over the years slavery was a topic of controversy that was boiling up in the eyes of the North and the South. â€Å"In fact, they [the Founding Fathers] did not want a balance, except one which kept things as they were, a balance among the dominant forces at that time.† What Zinn was trying to say was that the Constitution did not pay much attention to slavery and its â€Å"fate†. Two writers of the time spoke out against slavery, even though the law made it legal. Ralph Waldo Emerson states in Document D, â€Å"An immoral law makes it a man’s duty to break it.† , meaning that just because something is made a law does not make it right, and unable to be changed. William Lloyd Garrison in Document E states, â€Å"The Constitution which subjects them to hopeless bondage is one that we cannot swear to support.† Garrison does not support a Constitution which allows people to be treated as property, and believes that the issue of slavery must be settled. Not addressing the problem of slavery resulted in it being much more difficult to deal with after being ignored for so long. The writers of the Constitution can be blamed for not settling the issue of slavery, and leaving it to grow and expand into the largest cause for the division of the union, and ultimately the Civil War. While slavery is cited as the most common cause of the Civil War, it is believed that there were  several other factors involved. In other words, though slavery was the major cause it was certainly not the only cause. The ratification of the Constitution was also another process which â€Å"exposed the emerging political differences of the new nation† and eventually led to Civil War. During this process there was a conflict between Federalists and Anti-Federalist who supported and rejected different things. When discussing about the federal government that the Constitution (Founding Fathers) decided to have, Federalists â€Å"not only believed that such an interest did exist, but they were also convinced that it could only be properly fostered and cared for by a strong unitary government† says Elkins in his chapter â€Å"The Founding Fathers: Radicals or Conservatives†. On the contrary, the Anti-Federalists believed â€Å"that such a government would limit not only the sovereign power of the states but also their own power within those states† The consequent debate between Federalists and Anti-Federalists produced the Bill of Rights, but it certainly did not solve the disagreement between the Federalists and Anti-Federalists since they (Anti-Federalists) were still opposing the federal government, even after the declaration of the Bill of Rights. After the Constitution was adopted by all of the States in 1789, uniting the States into one nation, differences between the States had been worked out through compromises. These differences between the Northern States and the Southern States had become so great that compromise would no longer work. One of the many debates that there were between the North and the South was the issue of taxes paid on goods brought into this country from foreign countries. This kind of tax is called a tariff. In 1828 Northern businessmen helped get the â€Å"Tariff Act† passed. â€Å"It raised the prices of manufactured products from Europe which were sold mainly in the South.† The purpose of the law was to encourage the South to buy the North’s products. It angered the Southern people to have to pay more for the goods they wanted from Europe or pay more to get goods from the North. Either way the Southern people were forced to pay more because of the efforts of Northern businessmen. This conflict was not settled at all, since there was no consensus reached by both regions. This added up to the many disagreements  that existed between the North and the South, eventually making the Constitution (since it didn’t satisfy all the Americans), set the precedent for the Civ il War. The Constitution is definitely a major reason for the failure of the union. Although it was originally constructed as a sign of unity for the United States, it resulted in the disunity and sectional tensions which ultimately led to the Civil War. The document’s unresolved issues of slavery, ratification of the Constitution, and the many conflicts between the North and the South were the main causes for it to lead the country towards the Civil War. WORKS CITED About.com, 2003: Origins of the Civil War Conflicts (December 21, 2003) Brogan, Hugh: The Penguin History of the United States of America : London: Penguin, 1985 Elkins, Stanley: â€Å"The Founding Fathers: Radicals or Conservatives?† Quint, Howard H., Dean Albertson, Milton Cantor, eds. Main Problems in American History, Vol.1. Chicago: The Dorsey Press, 1988. Harrington, Sandra: Framing of the New Nation. Honors US History I, Hackensack High School: Hackensack, 2003 Zinn, Howard: â€Å"A Kind of Revolution† A People’s History of the United States. New York: HarperCollins, 1999.

How Miller Creates Conflict in the Crucible?

English Controlled Assessment Draft: Conflict in the Crucible The play I am studying for this essay is called â€Å"The Crucible† and I will be focusing on Act 1 of the book. The question I will be answering is what’s the most powerful type of conflict in the opening act of the crucible? The word conflict means a state of disharmony, opposition and or fighting. The conflict portrayed in the Crucible is often described as tools used to describe events in Millers time period.For example, witchcraft doesn’t exist in Salem yet that is the basis of the storyline of the play and many people die as a result of accusations over witchcraft. During the time Miller wrote this book, the cold war was happening and many people in America were accused of communism (including Miller himself), when they were accused they were routinely asked to give names of other communists which is the same as the ‘witches’ in Salem were asked, whether the devil â€Å"come-with an other person† and many of these people turned out to not be communists in the first place same as the accused ‘witches’.So it seems that Miller uses the fact there were not any witches in Salem as a metaphor suggesting there were not any communists in America. Miller conveys Putman as a source of conflict as a result of his rivalry for power with Parris. This is demonstrated when Mr Putman is seen as attempting to stir drama over Parris’s daughters situation â€Å"No witchcraft! Now look you Mr Parris†.As Parris is so plainly defiant in his denial of â€Å"witchcraft† affecting his daughter, this portrays Mr Putman as deliberately trying to annoy Parris to most likely make him look like a loose cannon in the eyes of Salem to steal his job. Which makes sense as Miller tells us that the Putnam’s resent Parris and Mr Putnam wanted his brother in law to have Parris’s position. The directive â€Å"Now look you† magnifies this a s although Parris has more authority than him, he is already seen as trying to order Parris around.This is then amplified when Parris replies stating â€Å"They will howl me out of Salem for such corruption in my house† as Mr Putnam is seen as the main rival to Parris, it seems that Parris implies that Mr Putnam is the one who will â€Å"howl† him out of Salem. In addition, the word â€Å"Howl† at first seems to be a hyperbole as Salem is first thought of as a good religious community, but it then creates contrast towards the end of act one as the town is seen as willing to give the death penalty to children because they think that their witches â€Å"This woman must be hanged! . This creates tension throughout the audience as it makes them realize Salem isn’t as united as it first seemed and there is a massive power struggle between the two families as â€Å"howl† also portrays Mr Putnam as a monster, more specifically a werewolf which is a mytho logical predator and predators like to be at the top of the food chain. However, Parris already has a place on top of the metaphorical food chain which places Putnam and Parris as natural rivals.Also, it creates tension in the audience by showing just how important power is in Salem as Parris and Putman both care more about power and their reputation than their own daughters. Miller’s intentions of this may be to show that people will act in extreme ways to protect themselves including neglecting their daughter, which links back to Millers era as many accused communists were interrogated under torture and many tried to escape leaving behind their families.In the play â€Å"the crucible† Miller portrays a community in conflict when proctor’s commitment to their puritan ideology is doubted. This is demonstrated when Proctor states â€Å"No, No, Abby. That’s done with† when Abigail appears to flirt with him. The connotation of â€Å"That’s don e with† suggests that Proctor once committed the sin of Adultery with her which is a very serious sin to the Puritans. The repetition of â€Å"No, No† shows that proctor knows he’s done a bad thing not just in terms of the Puritan Ideology but also in terms with his own morals.However, the fact Abigail wants to do it again and doesn’t consider it a bad thing shows the conflict and divides between the older and younger generations in Salem as the younger generation’s challenge the Puritans rules without remorse. This creates nervousness within the audience as it demonstrates just how fragile the unity of the community in Salem is. It also links back to Miller’s intentions as he may be trying to suggest that paranoia divided communities as it did in America when many people were being accused of communism over little things.Miller intensifies a sense of conflict towards the end of act 1 through a fast paced scene when multiple accusation of wit chcraft are made. This is started when Abigail exclaims â€Å"I want to open myself! † and from there onwards Betty also takes up the chant and blames people â€Å"I saw Martha Bellows with the devil! † The fact that the curtain descends with â€Å"Devil† as the last word spoken reflects the state of fear on stage and the divides caused by this conflict to Salem as normally the people of Salem talk about God but as a result of this conflict they end by talking about he Devil, an abnormal thing for them. The use of Exclamation marks, snappy sentences and the amount of accusations made infers that it is a fast paced, loud scene and reflective of the hysteria on stage. This creates dramatic irony towards the audience as they know the truth which is that witchcraft doesn’t actually exist, the fact witchcraft is punishable by death shows them that the girls are willing to let someone else die to prove themselves innocent thus creating a sense of conflict.The r epetition of the word â€Å"Devil† towards the end makes the audience feel sympathy towards the people that are getting blamed as they know that none of it is actually true. This can be linked back to Millers intentions as he may be trying to show that when people fear for their life they are willing to lie and blame others to save themselves which also occurred during the cold war (Millers era) when people lied and blamed other people of being communists to avoid themselves going to prison.To conclude, there have been many powerful conflicts throughout act 1, my final judgement is the rivalry of power between Parris and Putnam is the most powerful conflict. This is important as it provides the baseline for the story line. Parris states that there are ‘factions’ after his position in Salem, It is likely that he is meaning the Putnam family as they are seen as a main antagonistic rival in ‘The Crucible’ against Parris. He describes calling for Reveren d Hale as a â€Å"precaution† but denies that â€Å"witchcraft† is the reason for his daughter’s problem.As a result it is likely that he called for Mr Hale just so Mr Putnam doesn’t complain and demand his removal from power, so it is essential that Miller introduced with this conflict as without it the play wouldn’t be as gripping. This conflict effects the audience by making them realize that even before witchcraft entered the picture there was already a fragility in the community relations in Salem and it’s likely that these conflicts would probably at some time be realised and spark irrational action. Witchcraft is seen as just the trigger to this.

Down Falls of Spartans essays

Down Falls of Spartans essays The Spartan society, although very strong militaristically, had many down falls also. They had different ways of going about there daily routine. In Spartan society nothing belonged to you, any adult could reprimand your child, also they were to focused on the army. I am glad I do not live in a Spartan Society. In a Spartan Society everything was everyones. Anyone could just borrow other peoples belongings such as slaves or tools. I know personally I do not like people coming and borrowing anything they want whenever they want. I realize their intent was to better the society, but I also think people need to be individuals sometimes and have there personal things. I think people should have the right to have their own property and do with it what they please. I feel the most strongly about this aspect of Spartan society. I am against the community punishing everyones child. I believe that your child is your responsibility to mold into what you want them to become. I would never let someone else spank, or scold my child if they had done something wrong. There has to be a bond between you and your child and that can not be messed with from other people in the community. These days we have laws that prevent other people from touching our children. I am also not fond of how the young boys and there mentors would bond. I think it is disgusting how they would have homosexual times with the young kids. Even if your good friends with the kid, I do not think it is helping anyone in the community to do this. If you want to come close to each other then go out and play a game or eat together. There is no need for homosexual tendencies. Sparta was mainly focused on the army; they ate well, worked out, and had bonds with one another. They did not take much time to develop the other parts of society, such as art, or music, or dance. Everything seemed t ...

A Great Deliverance Essay essays

A Great Deliverance Essay essays The Use of the Sidekick in Contemporary Detective Fiction It is sometimes difficult to find a detective novel worth reading, especially amidst all of the grocery store trash that many people seem to thrive on and consider great literature. However, two contemporary authors are rising to meet just that challenge. Elizabeth George and Patricia Cornwell do not use cheap tactics to win readers over. They take classic detective fiction approaches to make their novels interesting and worth reading. By using creative techniques as well as contemporary approaches to investigation, both authors are able to create and redefine detective fiction for the new age of readers. One of the most classic themes of detective fiction is that of the detective and a sidekick. This has become an age-old tradition, dating back to Edgar Allan Poe and more famously, Arthur Conan Doyles Sherlock Holmes and Watson. Both Patricia Cornwell and Elizabeth George make good use of this theme in their novels Postmortem and A Great Deliverance, respectively. Cornwell and George address contemporary societal conflicts as well as the problem of keeping a balance of normalcy and reality within the detective fiction novel through the use of similar detective sidekicks. Detective assistants are a critical yet necessary aspect of solving crimes. They occur throughout the history of the detective fiction genre, beginning with Poe and the unknown narrator who assists Auguste Dupin in solving his murder cases. The sidekick however, has developed and changed much over the years from this beginning nameless and mostly voiceless character. Instead of simply standing back and narrating as the detective solves the crime, cotemporary assistants have become just as involved in the crimes as the primary investigators. They make judgments, provide new ideas, and even in some cases use their own deduction and skills to save the ...

Cómo registrarse para votar en Estados Unidos

Cà ³mo registrarse para votar en Estados Unidos Para votar, 49 de los 50 estados de Estados Unidos exigen estar registrados, pero las leyes que regulan cà ³mo registrarse  son diferentes en cada estado. En este artà ­culo se especifica cules son las opciones en cada uno de ellos. Por sus graves repercusiones conviene empezar subrayando cules son las consecuencias de votar cuando no se tiene derecho. Castigo por votar en elecciones en Estados Unidos cuando no se tiene este derecho Solo los ciudadanos estadounidenses mayores de 18 aà ±os no incapacitados legalmente pueden votar en Estados Unidos. Si un extranjero vota est cometiendo una violacià ³n migratoria grave que puede ser castigada con la deportacià ³n, incluso en los casos en los que el votante fuera un residente permanente legal. El derecho de los ciudadanos a votar puede estar suspendido temporalmente. Por ejemplo, cuando estn en prisià ³n. Las reglas de cada estado establecen cà ³mo y cundo se recupera ese derecho, asà ­ como si afecta o no a las personas condenadas pero en libertad condicional  o que han recibido un parole. Votar cuando la ley del estado lo prohà ­be puede estar castigado con pena de prisià ³n, por lo que si alguna vez se ha sido condenado por algà ºn delito o falta es altamente recomendable verificar las reglas que aplican en el estado  donde  vive. Es una falta grave brindar informacià ³n falsa en las planillas para registrarse para votar. Los ciudadanos americanos que habitualmente viven en otro paà ­s pueden conservan su derecho a votar en las elecciones estadounidenses. En la mayorà ­a de los estados es posible registrarse en el Departamento de Vehà ­culos Motorizados cuando se tiene que ir a esa agencia en persona a realizar trmites para sacar o renovar la licencia de manejar o registrar un vehà ­culo. Tambià ©n en muchos estados es posible ver en la calle mesas de inscripcià ³n de votantes, por ejemplo, a la salida de los lugares donde tiene lugar las ceremonias de naturalizacià ³n. Son todas legales y es posible registrarse en ese momento. Cà ³mo registrarse para votar en los 10 estados con ms poblacià ³n latina Estas son las reglas en cada uno  de los 10 estados con ms poblacià ³n latina en orden decreciente: California En California la  inscripcià ³n para votar puede hacerse online  o por correo ordinario. En el primer caso es necesario tener a mano el nà ºmero de identificacià ³n (I.D.) o de la licencia de manejar de California y el nà ºmero del seguro social. Para registrase por correo, debe  llenar el  National Mail Voter Registration Form  y enviarlo a la direccià ³n indicada en ese formulario. Para votar en California es necesario registrarse al menos 15 dà ­as antes de celebracià ³n de las elecciones. Texas Solo es posible registrarse para votar en Texas enviando un formulario oficial a la direccià ³n que aparece en el mismo y  que puede obtenerse en cualquiera de las siguientes oficinas:  Voter Register  del condado en el que se vive, oficina del Secretario de Estado, bibliotecas pà ºblicas,  escuelas secundarias  y muchas oficinas de correos. En ese formulario se exige escribir uno de los siguientes tres nà ºmeros: licencia de manejar de Texas, nà ºmero del seguro social o nà ºmero de identificacià ³n personal del  Texas Department of Public Safety. Si no se tiene ninguno de esos tres nà ºmeros, para votar ser necesario mostrar una identificacià ³n.  El formulario oficial debe ser enviado como mà ­nimo 30 dà ­as antes de las elecciones. Texas es, adems, un estado en el que los ciudadanos naturalizados que utilizaron la licencia de manejar como I.D. para registrarse han sido excluidos de los listados de votantes registrados. Ese es uno de los problemas que pueden encontrase los migrantes en Texas. Florida Para votar hay que registrarse al menos 29 dà ­as antes de las elecciones llenando el formulario  DS-DE 39  y envindolo por correo a la oficina supervisora de las elecciones en el condado en el que se reside. El formulario tambià ©n puede presentarse en persona en cualquier biblioteca pà ºblica, oficina de reclutamiento de soldados, oficina electoral o en las de  FLHSMV  (Departamento de Vehà ­culos Motorizados de Florida). Nueva York Este estado permite  registrarse online, pero en este caso es necesario que el distrito para el cual el votante desea registrarse tenga el mismo cà ³digo postal que aparece en la licencia de manejar. Tambià ©n es posible hacerlo por correo, completando  el formulario de inscripcià ³n  (disponible en espaà ±ol) o en persona, utilizando esa misma planilla y presentndose en la oficina electoral del condado  donde  se vive. Illinois Para registrarse en Illinois se pide residencia en ese estado por al menos 30 dà ­as. Para votar, la inscripcià ³n debe hacerse al menos 27 dà ­as antes de las elecciones. Es posible registrarse en persona en la Oficina del Comisionado Electoral del distrito en el que se reside, en las oficinas del Secretario del Condado, municipales o de reclutamiento de soldados. Tambià ©n es posible hacerlo en las escuelas o en las bibliotecas pà ºblicas. Adems, se admite la posibilidad de registrarse por correo, enviando la planilla de la Aplicacià ³n para Registrarse como votante en Illinois conocida como  Form SBE R-19  a la oficina electoral del condado  donde se reside o a la central del estado. Es necesario enviar una copia de dos documentos para probar la identidad y residencia en el estado. Finalmente, tambià ©n es posible  la inscripcià ³n online. Arizona En Arizona es necesario registrase al menos 29 dà ­as antes de las elecciones y ese dà ­a se exige mostrar una I.D. para poder votar. Adems, para registrarse es imprescindible mostrar un documento que acredite la ciudadanà ­a estadounidense como, por ejemplo, el pasaporte de EE.UU., el certificado de naturalizacià ³n o el certificado de nacimiento. La inscripcià ³n puede hacerse en persona en la oficina del  County Register  o por correo, enviando a esa oficina el formulario.  Tambià ©n puede hacerse online, pero solo si el estado tiene previamente en rà ©cord la firma digital del solicitante o por correo ordinario. Nueva Jersey Es necesario residir en ese estado por al menos 30 dà ­as para registrarse para votar y  utilizar un formulario  que debe ser entregado en las oficinas de las agencias estatales o enviado a las oficinas electorales locales. Tambià ©n puede entregarse en los despachos de reclutamiento del ejà ©rcito en ese estado. Colorado El estado de Colorado es uno de los que ms opciones brinda para registrarse al  admitir las modalidades online, por correo ordinario, email, fax, o en persona. En este à ºltimo caso, debe presentarse a las oficinas de reclutamiento militar, asistencia pà ºblica estatal, secretario del condado  donde se reside, Departamento de Vehà ­culos Motorizados o centros de votacià ³n y servicio  al votante.   En todas las instancias, excepto  online, es necesario completar  el formulario  Colorado Voter Registration Form  (Form  100). Nuevo Mà ©xico Es necesario hacerlo al menos 28 dà ­as antes de las elecciones. El trmite se puede efectuar en la oficina del secretario del condado  en persona o por correo, o en el Departamento de Vehà ­culos Motorizados al solicitar la licencia de manejar, renovarla o cambiar algà ºn dato. Georgia En este estado es posible  registrarse online  o por correo. Solo es posible hacerlo en persona en las oficinas del Departamento de Vehà ­culos Motorizados cuando se saca la licencia de manejar por primera vez o se renueva. La tarjeta de registracià ³n se recibe en un plazo de 4 semanas, pero para votar es necesario, adems, mostrar una I.D. con foto, como la licencia de manejar, pasaporte estadounidense, I.D. de empleado del gobierno federal, estatal o local, I.D. militar o de una tribu indà ­gena o una I.D. de votante, emitido por el estado de Georgia a las personas que no tienen ninguna de las identificaciones seà ±aladas. Cà ³mo registrase para votar en el resto de los estados, por orden alfabà ©tico Alabama En Alabama, la inscripcià ³n tiene que realizarse al menos 14 dà ­as antes de las elecciones admitià ©ndose las formas online o por correo ordinario. En este à ºltimo caso, debe llenar el State of Alabama Mail-In Voter Registration Form  (Form NVRA-2)  y enviarlo a la oficina local del Board of Registrars. Tambià ©n es posible registrarse en persona en cualquier oficina local del Board of Registrars, bibliotecas pà ºblicas, agencias de Medicaid y en el Departamento de Recursos Humanos. Adems de registrarse, el dà ­a de la votacià ³n debe presentar una I.D. con foto como, por ejemplo, la  tarjeta de I.D. o licencia de manejar de Alabama, pasaporte de EE.UU., tarjeta tribal, I.D. de votante, tarjeta de empleado o estudiante de una universidad pà ºblica o privada, o tarjeta militar. Alaska Las opciones para registrarse son online, por correo o en persona. En estas dos à ºltimas opciones, debe enviar la planilla  State of Alaska Voter Registration Application  (Form C03)  a la oficina local de la Divisià ³n de Elecciones, con copia de certificado de nacimiento, pasaporte de EE.UU., tarjeta I.D. o licencia de manejar de Alaska. Arkansas Solo es posible registrase en persona en la oficina del secretario del condado o por correo enviando el formulario a la direccià ³n consignada en el mismo. Es necesario indicar el nà ºmero de la licencia de manejar de ese estado o los cuatro à ºltimos nà ºmeros del seguro social. Carolina del Norte Es necesario registrarse al menos 25 dà ­as antes de las elecciones. Es posible hacerlo por fax, email, correo o en persona en las oficinas del Departamento de Vehà ­culos Motorizados (DMV) o de las agencias estatales de empleo, salud mental, salud pà ºblica o incapacidad. En todos los casos es imprescindible completar el  formulario oficial de inscripcià ³n. Carolina del Sur Para votar en Carolina del Sur es necesario registrarse como mà ­nimo 30 dà ­as antes de las elecciones. Es posible hacerlo online, en persona, presentndose en una oficina del Board of Registration del condado  donde se vive o del Departamento de Vehà ­culos Motorizados. Finalmente, tambià ©n se admite la posibilidad de registrarse por correo, llenando el formulario del  South Carolina Voter Registration Mail Application  y envindolo a la oficina local del Board of Registration. Adems, para poder votar, es necesario proporcionar al estado de Carolina del Sur una I.D. con foto para que pueda guardarse  en sus archivos. Si no se tiene una licencia de manejar de ese estado, es necesario obtener una tarjeta de votante, para lo cual es necesario probar con otra documentacià ³n los siguientes puntos: identidad, fecha de nacimiento, ciudadanà ­a estadounidense, residencia en Carolina del Sur y nà ºmero del seguro social. Connecticut Es posible registrarse online  o por correo completando el formulario  State of Connecticut Mail-In Voter Registration y envindolo al ayuntamiento de la localidad  donde se reside. En esos edificios tambià ©n se admite la inscripcià ³n en persona. En el estado de Connecticut es posible registrarse el mismo dà ­a de las elecciones, pero no en los lugares donde se vota, sino que se exige presentarse antes en el  Registrar of Voters  local con una  I.D. y un documento que muestre la direccià ³n  donde  se reside. Dakota del Norte Este estado no tiene inscripcià ³n previa para votar en las elecciones. El dà ­a de los comicios, los ciudadanos deben mostrar una identificacià ³n que pruebe su nombre completo, fecha de nacimiento y residencia mà ­nima de 30 dà ­as en Dakota del Norte. Dakota del Sur Para votar es necesario registrarse al menos 15 dà ­as antes de las elecciones. Es posible hacerlo completando un formulario y envindolo a la oficina local del auditor del condado. Otra opcià ³n es presentarse en una oficina local del auditor del condado, del Departamento de Vehà ­culos Motorizados, oficinas de gestià ³n de los cupones de alimentos o de Recursos Humanos, o agencias de reclutamiento de soldados. Delaware En Delaware es posible registrarse por telà ©fono, en persona en las oficinas estatales de Servicios Sociales y Salud, Departamento de Vehà ­culos Motorizados o Departamento de Trabajo, o por correo, enviando la aplicacià ³n a la direccià ³n que figura en esa planilla. Para registrarse por primera vez hay que enviar o mostrar una I.D. del estado o la licencia de manejar y, si no se tiene, la tarjeta del Seguro Social. Adems, debe mostrar un documento que acredite residencia actual, como cheque que se recibe del gobierno, factura de la electricidad, extracto bancario, etc. Hawaii En Hawaii es posible registrarse online, para lo cual debe tener a mano una ID. del estado o la licencia de manejar y la tarjeta del nà ºmero del Seguro Social. Tambià ©n puede hacerse por correo, llenando la planilla del Voter Registration and Permanent Absentee Form  o en persona en ayuntamientos, oficinas de correo, bibliotecas pà ºblicas, agencias estatales o en los campus del sistema estatal de la Universidad de Hawaii. Idaho En Idaho solo es posible registrarse en persona o por correo llenando la planilla Form ERM-1. Las personas que se registran por primera vez deben  enviar o presentar copia de una I.D. o copia de una factura de servicios pà ºblicos, nà ³mina o extracto bancario en el que aparezca reflejada la direccià ³n del votante. Para registrarse es necesario haber vivido en el distrito  donde se quiere votar por al menos 30 dà ­as.   Indiana Para registrarse hay que probar que se ha residido en el distrito  donde se quiere votar por al menos 30 dà ­as. Es posible hacerlo en persona, por correo o tambià ©n online. El dà ­a de las elecciones  ser necesario mostrar una I.D. estatal o federal en la que el nombre coincida exactamente con el del registro de votantes. Iowa   En Iowa se requiere registrarse al menos 11 dà ­as antes de las elecciones y solo es posible hacerlo en persona o enviando el formulario de inscripcià ³n  por correo a la oficina local del Departamento de Vehà ­culos Motorizados o a la del auditor del condado  donde se reside. Kansas Para votar en Kansas hay que registrarse al menos 21 dà ­as antes de las elecciones. Es posible hacerlo en persona, online, fax, email o correo ordinario. En cualquier caso, se exige prueba de la ciudadanà ­a estadounidense, como puede ser el pasaporte, el certificado de naturalizacià ³n, etc. Kentucky Las personas con residencia en Kentucky por al menos 28 dà ­as pueden registrarse para votar en dicho estado por correo, en persona o utilizando un formulario electrà ³nico.   Louisiana Es posible registrarse en persona, por correo o por internet. En este à ºltimo caso, el formulario pide un cà ³digo Audit. Para encontrarlo, debe buscar en la licencia de manejar o I.D. emitido por ese estado. Maine Es obligatorio completar el formulario de inscripcià ³n  que puede enviarse por correo o presentarse en persona en las oficinas del registro municipal del lugar  donde se vive, en las oficinas del Departamento de Vehà ­culos Motorizados o cualquiera agencia estatal o federal. Maryland Este estado permite registrarse a los ciudadanos con residencia durante al menos 21 dà ­as. Puede  realizarse online, en persona o por correo. En algunos casos, a los votantes por primera vez se les puede solicitar una I.D. que puede ser la licencia de manejar, tarjeta militar o de estudiante, pasaporte de Estados Unidos o una factura de un servicio pà ºblico de los à ºltimos tres meses.   Massachusetts Este estado permite la inscripcià ³n online, en persona o por correo para los ciudadanos con al menos 16 aà ±os cumplidos, sin embargo, solo se puede votar a partir de los 18. Michigan Este estado exige residencia previa por 30 dà ­as para permitir la inscripcià ³n, que puede hacerse en persona o por correo en las oficinas del Secretario del Condado. Adems, el dà ­a de las elecciones debe presentar una I.D. con foto, como la licencia de manejar de ese estado o una tarjeta militar. Si no se tiene, es necesario firmar una declaracià ³n jurada. Minnesota Para registrarse en ese estado es necesario residir en à ©l al menos 20 dà ­as antes de la inscripcià ³n. Puede hacerse online, por correo o en persona en la oficina del secretario del condado. Incluso es posible registrarse el dà ­a de las elecciones en el lugar de votacià ³n. Mississippi Este estado exige residencia por un mà ­nimo de 30 dà ­as antes de registrarse. Es posible hacerlo completando el formulario y envindolo a la oficina del Secretario del Condado  donde se reside. Missouri La forma para registrarse es por correo, enviando el formulario de inscripcià ³n a la oficina del Secretario del Condado  donde se reside. Montana Montana exige una residencia mà ­nima de 30 dà ­as para permitir la inscripcià ³n y, a diferencia de otros estados, no permite hacerlo online. Las opciones son por correo,  enviando un formulario  a la oficina  electoral del condado  donde se reside (cuya direccià ³n est en ese formulario), o presentndose en persona en dicha oficinas. Nebraska Es posible registrarse online, por correo o en persona. En estos dos à ºltimos casos, es necesario llenar un formulario especà ­fico. En el primer caso, se exige tener licencia de manejar o una I.D. de ese estado. Nevada Para registrarse en Nevada se exige ser residente de ese estado por un mà ­nimo de 30 dà ­as y de un mà ­nimo de 10 dà ­as en el distrito donde se va a votar. Es posible registrarse en persona o por correo  en las oficinas del Departamento de Vehà ­culos Motorizados. Tambià ©n se admite hacerlo online en espaà ±ol, pero es necesario tener una licencia de manejar o una I.D. de ese estado. Nuevo Hampshire Para registrarse hay que probar identidad, residencia en el estado, edad y ciudadanà ­a estadounidense. Como lugares para registrase se admiten las oficinas del secretario de la ciudad o el propio lugar de votacià ³n el dà ­a de las elecciones. Ohio Para votar en las elecciones, los residentes de Ohio deben registrarse para votar al menos 30 dà ­as antes de la fecha electoral. Es posible hacerlo online. Tambià ©n es posible hacerlo en cualquier oficina del Departamento de Vehà ­culos Motorizados cuando se tiene una cita para obtener la licencia de manejar, su renovacià ³n o para notificar cambios de nombre o de direccià ³n. Oklahoma Los residentes en Oklahoma deben  completar el formulario oficial  para registrarse para votar al menos 24 dà ­as antes de las elecciones. Se les pide el nà ºmero de la licencia de manejar de ese estado y, si no la tienen, el nà ºmero del Seguro Social. Oregà ³n Los residentes en el estado de Oregà ³n pueden registrarse a partir de los 16 aà ±os, aunque solo se puede votar a partir de los 18. Los nuevos ciudadanos estadounidenses deben gozar de ese estatus por al menos 21 dà ­as antes de registrarse.   Para registrarse existen varias opciones: online en espaà ±ol, para lo que es necesario tener a mano la licencia de manejar o licencia de identificacià ³n de ese estado, en persona en la oficina electoral del condado donde se reside, o por correo, enviando la planilla SEL 500 a la oficina electoral del condado. Tambià ©n puede  registrarse cuando saca la licencia de manejar. Pensilvania Los residentes en  Pensilvania por un mà ­nimo de 30 dà ­as pueden registrarse para votar en cualquier oficina del Departamento de Vehà ­culos o por Internet rellenando el formulario del Departamento de Estado de Pensilvania. Se exige a los nuevos ciudadanos al menos un mes antes de la fecha de la votacià ³n para estar autorizados a votar. Rhode Island Aunque no se puede votar antes de cumplir los 18 aà ±os, es posible registrarse para votar a partir de los 16. Puede hacer online o por correo ordinario enviando el formulario  Rhode Island Voter Registration Form o el  National Voter Registration Form a la oficina del Board of Canvassess del condado donde se reside.   Tambià ©n se admite la inscripcià ³n  en persona entregando cualquiera de esos dos formularios en el Board of Canvassess o en una oficina local del Departamento de Vehà ­culos Motorizados (RI DMV). Finalmente, Rhode Island exige registrarse un mà ­nimo de 30 dà ­as antes de las elecciones para poder votar. Tennessee Para votar en las prà ³ximas elecciones es necesario registrarse al menos 30 dà ­as antes. Puede hacerse enviando el formulario de inscripcià ³n a la oficina local de la comisià ³n electoral del condado donde se reside. La otra opcià ³n es presentarse en una de las siguientes oficinas: oficina del secretario del condado, bibliotecas pà ºblicas, registro civil (Register of Deeds), Departamento de Salud en el rea de gestià ³n del programa WIC, departamentos de veteranos, recursos humanos, salud mental o vehà ­culos motorizados. Utah En Utah es posible inscribirse online hasta 7 dà ­as antes de las elecciones. Tambià ©n es posible enviando el formulario State of Utah Mail-In Voter Registration Form a la oficina del secretario del condado donde se reside. Una tercera opcià ³n es registrarse en persona al menos 30 dà ­as antes de las elecciones en la oficina del secretario del condado, colleges o universidades pà ºblicas, oficinas del Departamento de Vehà ­culos Motorizados.   Vermont En Vermont es posible registrarse online, en persona en el Departamento de Vehà ­culos Motorizados cuando se realizan gestiones para sacar la licencia, renovarla, solicitar una inscripcià ³n  del auto o renovar una que ya se tiene. Tambià ©n es posible presentando el Vermont Application for Addition to the Checklist (VT Voter Registration)  (Form SOS-VR)  en la oficina del secretario de la ciudad o municipalidad, o envindola por correo a la misma direccià ³n. Cualquiera que sea la forma que se elige para registrarse, es necesario presentar o enviar copia de uno de los siguientes tres documentos: licencia de manejar de Vermont, factura de un servicio pà ºblico, extracto bancario o un documento oficial del gobierno. Adems, hay que jurar o prometer lo que se conoce como Juramento del Hombre Libre (Freeman ´s Oath, en inglà ©s). Virginia Para registrarse online es necesario enviar el nà ºmero del seguro social y de la licencia de manejar de ese estado. Tambià ©n es posible hacerlo en persona o por correo completando el formulario  Voter Registration Application  (Form VA-NVRA-1)  a la oficina local de inscripcià ³n  de voto. Finalmente, otra opcià ³n es presentarse en una oficina del Departamento de Vehà ­culos Motorizados. Virginia Occidental Es posible registrarse online, en persona en el Departamento de Vehà ­culos Motorizados, en la oficina del secretario del condado donde se reside o por correo ordinario, enviando un formulario oficial a la oficina del secretario del condado. La inscripcià ³n debe tener lugar al menos 21 dà ­as antes de las elecciones en las que se desea participar. Washington En el estado de Washington es posible registrarse online, en persona en las oficinas del Departamento de Vehà ­culos Motorizados o por correo, enviando el  Washington State Voter Registration Form a la oficina del condado donde se reside. Quienes se registran online o por correo deben hacerlo cuatro semanas antes del dà ­a de las elecciones. Sin embargo, quienes se registran en persona pueden hacerlo hasta siete  dà ­as antes de la celebracià ³n de los comicios. En el estado de Washington solo se vota por correo.   Wisconsin Es posible registrarse online  o por correo, completando el formulario  Application for Voter Registration  (Form EL-131)  y envindolo al secretario municipal al menos 20 dà ­as antes de las elecciones. Tambià ©n es posible registrarse en persona en dicha oficina hasta las 5 p.m. del viernes anterior a las elecciones. En todos los casos es necesario presentar prueba de residencia en el estado y, adems, una I.D. o licencia de manejar de Wisconsin y, si no se tiene, el nà ºmero del Seguro Social. Wyoming Es posible registrarse en persona en la oficina del secretario del condado o por correo llenando el  Wyoming Voter Registration Application and Change Form, firmndolo ante un notario y envindolo a la oficina del secretario del condado donde se vive.   Es todos los casos es necesario probar la identidad, para lo cual se admite cualquiera de los siguientes documentos: licencia de manejar de Wyoming, pasaporte de Estados Unidos o I.D. militar o de una escuela. Finalmente, tambià ©n es posible registrarse el dà ­a de las elecciones en el colegio electoral. A tener en cuenta Una vez que se registra una persona, no necesita volverlo a hacer a menos que cambie de nombre o de direccià ³n. En estos casos, es necesario notificar los cambios. Sin embargo, los ciudadanos condenados por un felonà ­a no pueden votar mientras cumplen sus sentencias. Cada estado establece sus propias reglas sobre cundo pueden volver a votar: cumplimento de condena, de parole, o libertad condicional (probation), de todas ellas o, incluso, ajustar la prohibicià ³n al tipo de crimen cometido. Por sus posibles graves consecuencias se recomienda no votar a las personas que han sido condenadas por una felonà ­a mientras no se verifique si se est autorizado a hacerlo.  ¿Por quà © es importante hacerse ciudadano? En Estados Unidos, ms de ocho millones de residentes permanentes legales califican para solicitar la ciudadanà ­a estadounidense por naturalizacià ³n. Las ventajas son muchas, no solo votar. Por ejemplo, protege frente a la deportacià ³n, amplà ­a los casos de familiares que pueden ser pedidos y agiliza los plazos e, incluso, abre categorà ­as de trabajos que estn vedadas a quienes no son ciudadanos. Puntos Clave: registrarse para votar en EE.UU. Solo los ciudadanos estadounidenses pueden votar en las elecciones federales. Es un delito muy grave votar sin ser ciudadano con consecuencias migratorias serias.Para votar es necesario registrarse. Cada estado establece sus propias normas sobre requisitos, plazos y modos de hacerlo.Aproximadamente 6 millones de estadounidenses no pueden votar por haber sido condenados por una felonà ­a. Cada estado establece sus propias reglas para determinar en quà © momento se puede restaurar ese derecho.Florida es el estado con ms estadounidenses apartados del derecho a votar por haber cometido una felonà ­a: aproximadamente 1,5 millones. Este es un artà ­culo informativo. No es asesorà ­a legal.

Historical & Contextual Studies in Fashion Essay - 2

Historical & Contextual Studies in Fashion - Essay Example The essay "Historical & Contextual Studies in Fashion" discusses if the city of Paris still the center of the fashion. Currently, Paris is still one of the leading fashion centres alongside London, Milan and New York. Fashion around the world is still evolving, but the shopping centres of Paris are still the same, with a lot of shoppers from around the world and the famous High End Couture still receiving a lot of attention. Summer shopping is specifically becoming a common practice in Paris as people move around browsing boutiques along the arcades of historic Palais-Royal and the spectacular Canal of St. Martin. Fashion shopping is like a hobby for many people visiting the town, and fashion is like a tourist attraction in the entire Paris. This essay argues that Paris was once a centre for fashion and this is still the case until today considering the continuous fashion shopping practice that has dominated and evolved for centuries. Arguments for the proposition that Paris is still the centre of fashion in the world are far and wide. These arguments are basically about the history of Paris and its fashion institutions, and the factors that have influenced it throughout history. Paris is known throughout history as culturally fashioned city. Fashion has been considered as the cornerstone of national identity in Paris and France since the 19th century. By the second half of the century, fashion had become a booming business in France, with its base in Paris. Fashion developed alongside wider changes of the society.

Talent Management & Succession Planning in the Work Environment Assignment

Talent Management & Succession Planning in the Work Environment - Assignment Example In order to achieve the above functions, proper and reliable communication structures are also paramount. It is often said that the strength of a team or an organisation in general, lies in the diversity of its workers, which in this case is defined by the existing differences in knowledge, talents and innovativeness among each other. In addition, it can create and nurture new talents to succeed those that are retiring and transferring from their jobs. This paper focuses on talent management and succession planning, and how these processes are conducted in businesses in their bid to remain competitive and successful. It also examines a case study to identify how these practices are designed and implemented by Apple Company. Current advancements in the business world require that business invest in reliable human capital in order to maintain their excellence and better performance. The advancements include; changes in information and technology, competition strategies and methods of successful business management. In this understanding, human resource managers in organisations have to work closely with the top management in order to attract, hire, develop and retain talents. However, despite these efforts, skills shortages in the current business environment continue to present both socio-economic and cultural challenges as talent crosses borders in industries globally. Analysis of human resource trends and skills are needed in businesses because of the shifting demographic patterns, international and global supply chains, an aging workforce as well as occupational mobility. For this reason, human resource managers are expected to devise effective strategies in harnessing and managing their talents (Cheese and Robert 11-12). The success of talent identification and management approaches places organizations in better positions to establish themselves firmly in the changing business environment, both locally as well as on a global

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Gender problem - Coursework Example All these emanate from the fact that the boys believe that they exist in a boy world that expects them to be tough, aggressive, stern and even defiant. In terms of historical background, masculinity crisis in the boys in the educational setting has had a long record. Since time immemorial, lots of men have continually continued to suffer the wrath of living up to their societal constructed masculinity. The same masculinity has been expressed in the educational setting where the boys are expected to be tough and not show any form of passiveness. The boys, therefore, become aggressive and chose not to adhere to the school’s regulations. In the end, the boys do not perform as expected of them. Jones and Myhill (2004a) indicate that for a long time, the boys have been associated with misbehavior that leads to their underachievement in education. This stereotype has continued to discriminate the boys in the classroom setting; thus, placing them at a lower bar than the girls as far as education matters are concerned. The crisis of masculinity instilled in these boys continues to derail their abilities to act normally. They act as per the requirements of the society and their peers. Boys will then continue to be troubled and the girls hopeful (Jones & Myhill, 2004b).The gender gap; as a result, keeps widening. In the present day society the crisis of masculinity in the education setting is also evident. As seen in the research conducted by Whitmire &Â  Bailey (2010), the performance of the boys has greatly been hampered by the construction of masculinity that has led to the school environment being too harsh for them. The boys then find it difficult to live up to the expectations of the school authorities. So as to reverse the situation, Gibson & Martinez’s (2003) work relates to recommendation that the boys may be taught that they can use their masculinity to compete with the girls

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Tourism Operations Management - Essay Example Task 1(L01) Tour operations sector In travel and tourism, tour operators are the ones which combine two or more businesses in a package which is ultimately offered to the consumer as a holiday package. In UK there are two kinds of tour operators- mainstream tour operators and specialist tour operators (Meyers, n.d, pp.8-9). Mainstream tour operators are the ones who sell mainstream tour packages like air, sea, sand sun to the customers while the niche tour operators serve highly specified tour packages like beaches but of a lower standard. The major mainstream companies in UK are Thompson or Thompson Holidays, Thomas Cook, Airtours and First Choice. The products offered by them are the beaches in locations like the Caribbean, Thailand and Malaysia. A number of specialist tour companies have also come up in UK as there is little competition among the specialist tour operators. Major tour operators- introduction Thompson or Thompson Holidays is a part of TUI travel PLC (Cruiseship rati ngs and reviews all cruises with operator Thompson Holidays, n.d). The company known originally as Thompson Tour Operations was renamed as Thompson Holidays in 1997. It was floated in the London stock exchanges in 1998. Thomas Cook was started in 1841 by a person named Thomas Cook. He floated his company commercially in 1845 for the first time. A travel brochure was also provided by it for the first time (Thomas Cook history, n.d). Airtours is well known for providing innovative tour packages to its customers according to the changing lifestyles. It targets the cheap or lower budget market but because of the high level of innovation and ideas it has become one of the top market leaders in UK. (Airtours, n.d). First Choice is the fourth largest tour operator in UK. It was established in the beginning of the 1970s when two companies named Continental Air Brokers and Economy World Travel decided to merge and form Owners Abroad (Wholesale) Ltd. in 1973. Later, the company decided to cha nge its corporate name and in 1994 the company was renamed as First Choice Holidays (First Choice Holidays PLC History, n.d). Since mid-1997, these four players occupy 53% of the holiday market in UK in 2000 (Pender, Sharpleyfirst, n.d, pp.48). Market Segmentation UK travel and tourism market is more oligopolistic in nature because of the presence of only four major players. The process of dividing the consumer base on the basis of common needs is known as market segmentation. The British travel market is divided into the following five segments. These five segments are categorized on the level of experience they have in traveling and the attitude and comforts they seek from the travel experiences. †¢ Self-Challengers †¢ Comfort Adventurers †¢ Cocoon Travelers †¢ Pushing Boundaries †¢ Taste & Try Self-Challengers are the groups who are more affluent economically and are highly educated. They are most likely to be unmarried and between 18 to 75 years of age. Australia seems to be the favorite holiday destination amongst the self challengers. They are the travelers who go to holidays with a learning quest. Comfort Adventurers are the ones who have the curiosity to visit the places before they are visited by the local market. They do not compromise with safety and comforts. Cocoon Travelers are the ones who take inspiration from newspapers and experiences of others. They are basically married, having

Writing Assignment # 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Writing Assignment # 1 - Essay Example One of the factors that reduce diabetes type 2 is physical activity; however, the researchers had also made observations that coffee consumption further reduced the incidences of high blood glucose levels. This was the major reason for this study. The researchers formulated a hypothesis to give a tentative explanation of what they had observed. The researcher hypothesized that regular consumption of coffee lowers the risk of developing diabetes type 2 conditions. This came in the mind of the researcher after observing that there were few or no cases of this condition among those people who consume coffee regularly. The experiments were necessary to prove right or wrong the researcher’s hypothesis. The hypothesis that the researcher made was testable and also addressed a specific point. The next scientific method that was used in this study was testing the hypothesis that the researcher formulated earlier. The researcher arranged an experiment to test the hypothesis. In the experiment, black canned coffee was used after being diluted with water. Concentrations of various components of coffee were determined for example caffeine was 290 mg/l, chlorogenic acid was 190 mg/l, and trigonelline was 230 mg/l. The animals that were used in this experiment were male KK-A each four weeks old. All animals were maintained in the same controlled conditions of temperature and humidity to ensure that different environmental conditions do not affect the results of the experiment. The animals were left to access water and standard laboratory food three days prior to the experiment. The composition of the foods that the mice accessed in the laboratory was proteins, non-nitrogenous foods, crude ash, crude fiber, energy, and sufficient minerals and vitamins to ensure that the health o f the mice was maintained (Yamauchi, 2010). To test the hypothesis two experiments were performed. In the first experiment, mice were separated into two categories. The first group

Tourism Operations Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Tourism Operations Management - Essay Example Task 1(L01) Tour operations sector In travel and tourism, tour operators are the ones which combine two or more businesses in a package which is ultimately offered to the consumer as a holiday package. In UK there are two kinds of tour operators- mainstream tour operators and specialist tour operators (Meyers, n.d, pp.8-9). Mainstream tour operators are the ones who sell mainstream tour packages like air, sea, sand sun to the customers while the niche tour operators serve highly specified tour packages like beaches but of a lower standard. The major mainstream companies in UK are Thompson or Thompson Holidays, Thomas Cook, Airtours and First Choice. The products offered by them are the beaches in locations like the Caribbean, Thailand and Malaysia. A number of specialist tour companies have also come up in UK as there is little competition among the specialist tour operators. Major tour operators- introduction Thompson or Thompson Holidays is a part of TUI travel PLC (Cruiseship rati ngs and reviews all cruises with operator Thompson Holidays, n.d). The company known originally as Thompson Tour Operations was renamed as Thompson Holidays in 1997. It was floated in the London stock exchanges in 1998. Thomas Cook was started in 1841 by a person named Thomas Cook. He floated his company commercially in 1845 for the first time. A travel brochure was also provided by it for the first time (Thomas Cook history, n.d). Airtours is well known for providing innovative tour packages to its customers according to the changing lifestyles. It targets the cheap or lower budget market but because of the high level of innovation and ideas it has become one of the top market leaders in UK. (Airtours, n.d). First Choice is the fourth largest tour operator in UK. It was established in the beginning of the 1970s when two companies named Continental Air Brokers and Economy World Travel decided to merge and form Owners Abroad (Wholesale) Ltd. in 1973. Later, the company decided to cha nge its corporate name and in 1994 the company was renamed as First Choice Holidays (First Choice Holidays PLC History, n.d). Since mid-1997, these four players occupy 53% of the holiday market in UK in 2000 (Pender, Sharpleyfirst, n.d, pp.48). Market Segmentation UK travel and tourism market is more oligopolistic in nature because of the presence of only four major players. The process of dividing the consumer base on the basis of common needs is known as market segmentation. The British travel market is divided into the following five segments. These five segments are categorized on the level of experience they have in traveling and the attitude and comforts they seek from the travel experiences. †¢ Self-Challengers †¢ Comfort Adventurers †¢ Cocoon Travelers †¢ Pushing Boundaries †¢ Taste & Try Self-Challengers are the groups who are more affluent economically and are highly educated. They are most likely to be unmarried and between 18 to 75 years of age. Australia seems to be the favorite holiday destination amongst the self challengers. They are the travelers who go to holidays with a learning quest. Comfort Adventurers are the ones who have the curiosity to visit the places before they are visited by the local market. They do not compromise with safety and comforts. Cocoon Travelers are the ones who take inspiration from newspapers and experiences of others. They are basically married, having

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Mental and Behavioral Health Services Essay Example for Free

Mental and Behavioral Health Services Essay While the future of Mental and Behavioral Health Services continue to strive through many striving goals to develop continuous practices, treatments, evaluations, policies, and research, advancements are taking place to better the future of this program and its outreach to the people. Mental disorders are common in the United States and internationally. An estimated 26.2 percent of Americans ages 18 and older — about one in four adults — suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year.1 When applied to the 2004 U.S. Census residential population estimate for ages 18 and older, this figure translated to 57.7 million people.2 Even though mental disorders are common in the population, the main load of illness is concentrated in a much smaller proportion — about 6 percent, or 1 in 17 — who are suffering from a serious mental illness.1 In addition, mental disorders are the leading cause of disability in the U.S. and Canada.3 Many people suffer from mo re than one mental disorder at a given time. Roughly, 45 percent of those with any mental disorder meet the criteria for being strongly related to having 2 or more disorders.1 Awareness of having a disorder is very uncommon in the U.S. DEFINED FUTURE PROBLEMS Behavioral health is a state of mental/emotional being and/or choices and actions that affect wellness. Substance abuse and misuse are one set of behavioral health problems. Others include, but are not limited to, serious psychological distress, suicide, and mental illness (4. SAMHSA, 2011). Many of these problems are far-reaching and take a toll on individuals, their families and communities, and the broader society. Research allows us to get a better picture of what the future looks like and what people need to be continuing to do and improve on. By looking over research, statistics predict that by 2020, mental and substance use disorders will exceed all physical diseases as a major cause of disability worldwide. The annual total estimated societal cost of substance abuse in the United States is $510.8 billion, with an estimated 23.5 million Americans aged 12 and older needing treatment for substance use. Along with that, every year almost 5,000 people under the age of 21 die as a result of underage drinking and more than 34,000 Americans die every year as a result of suicide, almost one every 15 minutes. Also, Half of all lifetime cases of mental and substance use disorders begin by age 14 and three-fourths by age 24—in 2008, an estimated 9.8 million adults in the U.S. had a serious mental illness. The health and wellness of individuals in America are jeopardized and the unnecessary costs to society flow across Americas communities, schools, businesses, prisons jails, and healthcare delivery systems. Many programs and services are working together to minimize the impact of substance abuse and mental illnesses on America’s communities. Many practitioners have a very deep understanding approach to behavioral health and perceive prevention as part of an overall continuum of care. The Behavioral Health Continuum of Care Model helps us recognize that there are multiple opportunities for addressing behavioral health problems and disorders based on the Mental Health Intervention Spectrum, first introduced in a 1994 Institute of Medicine report, the model includes these components: ( It is important to keep in mind that interventions do not always fit neatly into one category or another) * Promotion: These strategies are designed to create environments and conditions that support behavioral health and the ability of individuals to withstand challenges. Promotion strategies also reinforce the entire continuum of behavioral health services. * Prevention: Delivered prior to the onset of a disorder, these interventions are intended to prevent or reduce the risk of developing a behavioral health problem, such as underage alcohol use, prescription drug misuse and abuse, and illicit drug use. * Treatment: These services are for people diagnosed with a substance use or other behavioral health disorder. * Maintenance: These services support individuals’ compliance with long-term treatment and aftercare. Two strategies for promoting the more important and most effective openings in having access to mental and behavioral health services include providing education to reach the public, and the prevention and early intervention matters intertwining with the Continuum model components of treatment and maintenance. 7 The New Freedom Commission Report and Surgeon General’s Report both emphasized the importance of changing public attitudes to eliminate the stigma associated with mental illness. Advocates for the mentally ill identify stigma and discrimination as major impediments to treatment. Stigma prevents individuals from acknowledging these conditions and erodes public confidence that mental disorders are treatable. A plurality of Americans believe that mental illnesses are just like any other illness; however, 25 percent of survey respondents would not welcome into their neighborhoods facilities that treat or house people with mental illnesses, suggesting that some level of lingering stigma persists.8 Sixty-one percent of Americans think that people with schizophrenia are likely to be dangerous to others9 despite research suggesting that these individuals are rarely violent.10 With that being said, the media plays a large role in shaping how the youth think and behave from many of the messages kids receive from television, music, magazines, billboards, and the Internet use. However, the media can be used to encourage positive behaviors as well. Four evidence based communication and education prevention approaches are through public education, social marketing, media advocacy, and media literacy that can be used to â€Å"influence community norms, increase public awareness, and attract community support for a variety of prevention issues† (SAMHSA). Public education is usually the most common strategy and is an effective way to show support to the development and success of programs and increase awareness about new or existing laws, publicizing a community based program, and reinforce instruction taught in schools or community based organizations. Through social marketing, practitioners use advertising philosophies to change social norms and promote healthy behaviors. Social marketing campaigns do more than just provide information and tries to convince people to adopt a new behavior by showing them a benefit they will receive in return.11 Social marketing campaigns are being used in a variety of social services and public health settings. Media advocacy involves shaping the way social issues are discussed in the media to build support for changes in public policy. By working directly with local newspapers, television, and radio to change both the amount of coverage the media provide and the content of that coverage, media advocates hope to influence the way people talk and think about a social or public policy12. Media literacy is a newer communications strategy aimed at teaching young people critical-viewing skills. Media literacy programs teach kids how to analyze and understand the media messages they encounter so they can better understand what they’re really being asked to do and think. Inferences about a program effectiveness relies on three things: (1) measures of key constructs, such as risk and protective factors or processes, symptoms, disorders, or other outcomes, and program implementation, fidelity, or participation; (2) a study design that determines which participants are being examined, how and when they will be assessed, and what interventions they will receive; and (3) statistical analyses that model how those given an intervention differ on outcomes compared with those in a comparison condition 19 In the past, practitioners and researchers saw substance abuse prevention different from the prevention of other behavioral health problems. But evidence indicates that the populations are significantly affected by these overlapping problems as well as factors that contribute to these problems. Therefore, improvements in one area usually have direct impacts on the other. According to the Substance Abuse and National Health Services Administration, not all people or populations are at the same risk of developing behavioral health problems. Many young people have more than one behavioral disorder. These disorders can interact and contribute to the presence of other disorders. Besides extensive research documenting strong relations between multiple problems, it’s not always clear what leads to what. Mental and physical health is also connected. Good mental health often contributes to good physical health. In the same way, the presence of mental health disorders, including substance abuse and dependence, is often associated with physical health disorders as well (OConnell, 2009). One major advancement that has been recently made is from The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, adding a new search feature to its National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices (NREPP) Web site. The feature allows users to identify NREPP interventions that have been evaluated in comparative effectiveness research studies. Both the Obama Administration and the U.S. Congress have championed additional investments in comparative effectiveness research to enhance public understanding about which healthcare interventions are most effective in different circumstances and with different patients. The new NREPP feature can provide added information for States and communities seeking to determine which mental health and substance abuse prevention and treatment interventions may best address their needs. The Surgeon General’s notes that â€Å"effective interventions help people to understand that mental disorders are not character flaws but are legitimate illnesses that respond to specific treatments, just as other health conditions respond to medical interventions.† (7) The two major influences that are targeted upon are risk and protective factors. According to SAMHSAs levels of risk and interventions, some risk factors are causal; others act as â€Å"proxies†, or markers of an underlying problem. Some risk and protective factors, such as gender and ethnicity, are fixed, meaning they don’t change over time. Other risk and protective factors are considered variable: these can change over time. Variable risk factors include income level, peer group, and employment status. Many factors influence a person’s likeliness to develop a substance abuse or related behavioral health problem. Effective prevention focuses on reducing those risk factors, and str engthening those protective factors, that are most closely related to the problem being addressed. Taken into consideration that preventive interventions are most effective when they are appropriately matched to their target population’s level of risk, The Institute of Medicine defines three broad types of prevention interventions, universal, selective, and indicated. Universal preventive interventions take the broadest approach, targeting â€Å"the general public or a whole population that has not been identified on the basis of individual risk† (OConnell, 2009). Universal prevention interventions might target schools, whole communities, or workplaces. Selective preventive interventions target â€Å"individuals or a population sub-group whose risk of developing mental disorders [or substance abuse disorders] is significantly higher than average†, prior to the diagnosis of a disorder (5. OConnell, 2009). Selective interventions target biological, psychological, or social risk factors that are more prominent among high-risk groups than among the wider population. Indicated preventive interventions target â€Å"high-risk individuals who are identified as having minimal but detectable signs or symptoms foreshadowing mental, emotional, or behavioral disorder† prior to the diagnosis of a disorder (6. IOM, 2009). Interventions focus on the immediate risk and protective factors present in the environments surrounding individuals. A more harsher or serious way of approaching prevention is through policy adoption and enforcement. Policy can be broadly defined as â€Å"standards for behavior that are formalized to some degree (that is, written) and embodied in rules, regulations, and procedures.†13 In order to work, these standards must reflect the accepted norms and intentions of a particular community. There are six major types of policy SAMHSA uses to prevent alcohol and other drug use through economic policies, restrictions on access and availability, restrictions on location and density, deterrence, restricting use, and limiting the marketing of alcohol products. Policy can be an effective prevention strategy—as long as the laws and regulations you put in place are consistent with community norms and beliefs about the â€Å"rightness† or â€Å"wrongness† of the behavior you want to legislate14. â€Å"The key to effective enforcement is visibility: People need to see that substance use prevention is a community priority and that violations of related laws and regulations will not be tolerated.† 6 Strategies that we use today for Enforcement are through surveillance, community policing, having incentives, and penalties, fines, and detentions. There have been many areas of progress in preventive intervention research since the 1994 Institute of Medicine (IOM) report Reducing Risks for Mental Disorders: Frontiers for Preventive Intervention Research. Experimental research has greatly improved mainly due to the advances in the methodological approaches applied to intervention research. For a range of outcomes, while the different types of intervention research has increased, so has the number of studies providing economic analyses in the costs and benefits of these interventions. As the 2001 U.S. Surgeon General’s report on children’s mental health indicated, there is a current need for improved and expanded mental health services for children and adolescents (15). There is a greater need for greater access to a variety of mental health services for children including both medication for emotional or behavioral difficulties and treatments other than medication. Recent research studies have documented the increased use of psychotropic medications (16). Less is known, though, about the use of nonmedication treatments for the emotional and behavioral difficulties of U.S. children. These treatments may include community-based services such as behavioral and family therapy provided by mental health professionals in clinic and office settings and school-based services such as assessments of mental health problems, individual counseling, and crisis intervention services for students (17,18). With the information collected by the mental health service questions in the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), it will be possible to monitor future trends in the use of both medication and other treatments for the emotional and behavioral difficulties of children. Recommended changes by the Surgeon General include: †¢ improve geographic access; †¢ integrate mental health and primary care; †¢ ensure language access; †¢ coordinate and integrate mental health services for high-need populations. (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2001) 1. Kessler RC, Chiu WT, Demler O, Walters EE. Prevalence, severity, and comorbidity of twelve-month DSM-IV disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication (NCS-R). Archives of General Psychiatry, 2005 Jun;62(6):617-27. 2. U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates by Demographic Characteristics. Table 2: Annual Estimates of the Population by Selected Age Groups and Sex for the United States: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2004 (NC-EST2004-02) Source: Population Division, U.S. Census Bureau Release Date: June 9, 2005. http://www.census.gov/popest/national/asrh/ 3. The World Health Organization. The global burden of disease: 2004 update, Table A2: Burden of disease in DALYs by cause, sex and income group in WHO regions, estimates for 2004. Geneva, Switzerland: WHO, 2008. http://www.who.int/healthinfo/global_burden_disease/GBD_report_2004update_AnnexA.pdf. 4. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2011). Leading change: A plan for SAMHSA’s roles and actions 2011-2014. Rockville, MD: SAMHSA. 5. O’Connell, M. 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