In our time – An exquisite combination of literary technique and absurd realism

Through an exquisite combination of literary technique and absurd realism, Flannery O'Connor reveals to the reader a grotesque underside of life in the rural south of the United States. By combining a certain flare for dialogue, an intense and primal understanding of human nature, and the constant use of irony, O'Connor paints a vivid image of the world she witnessed around her while commenting on society and the importance of traditional values. O'Connor transfers the vulnerability of one into many, and her mastery of shifting control within the cast of characters, ensures the uncertainty of the outcome and in the process. This reminds us that none of the roles in our lives are stagnant and that by intentionally blinding ourselves to what we do not wish to see or recognize, takes away more than just a view. Through the unique verisimilitude of her stories, she reveals to us that what we attempt to disregard inevitably emerges again and again. One of the most distinguishing aspects of O'Connor's literature are the characters she portrays and develops. Each represent philosophies and personalities, which are derived through the mid 20th century southern lifestyle. Their response to diversity and adversity eventually leads to horrific sadness, tragedy and death, or the exposure of bizarre and atrocious values. With the constant use of religious imagery, tragic foreshadowing and humorous irony, the stories â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find† and â€Å"Everything that Rises must Converge† clearly demonstrate and portray O'Connor's ideology of the gradual breakdown of society as a whole with the internal collapse of traditional values. Predominant themes such as religion and racism provide a powerful statement on O'Connor's perspective of society. Through the effectiveness of these techniques, Flannery O'Connor successfully analyzes the existential plight of human existence and its conflict with traditional and religious conviction. In both stories, the antagonist is always a representation of traditional values, whether it is of strong Christian belief or of racial bigotry, whereas the protagonist is seen to take the form of modern scientific beliefs. In the story â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find,† the antagonist is the Grandmother; she remains nameless throughout the story. The Misfit is the protagonist. Though it appears that the Grandmother is extremely manipulative and deceitful during the course of the story, as she was responsible for the deaths of the entire family, one must consider and observe the treatment she receives from her relatives. In the majority of the story, she is either ignored by her son and daughter in law, or rudely criticized by her grandchildren. The grandchildren are representative of the breakdown of respect and filial dependence seen throughout society. However, O'Connor also wanted to demonstrate the counterbalance to this concept: In my time,' said the grandmother, folding her thin veined fingers, ‘children were more respectful of their native states and their parents and everything else. People did right then. Oh look at that cute little pickaninny! ‘ she said and pointed to a Negro child standing in the door of a shack†¦ (Pg. 119) The idea that the grandmother refers to the Negro child as a ‘pickaninny' not only demonstrates blatant and unintentional racism, it subverts the lines of the respect that the hypocritical grandmother was previously referring to. Similarly, in the story â€Å"Everything that Rises†¦ , O'Connor demonstrates the breakdown of respect and dependence and generational confliction. The antagonist is played by Mrs. Chestny, who is similar to the grandmother in the sense that both mean well and both women hold strongly to their traditional beliefs. Julian Chestny, her son, takes the role of the protagonist, a smug and selfish young man who also represents a similar collapse. ‘They don't give a damn for your graciousness,' Julian said savagely. ‘Knowing who you are is good for one generation only. You haven't got the foggiest idea where you stand now or who you are. (Pg. 407) The fact that Julian has the right to question his own mother's authority and her wisdom and knowledge is direct evidence not only of his protagonistic, but of the lack of respect he has for this woman who obviously has seen and known much more than he has. O'Connor also exhibits the issue of racism in our society. Not only does she demonstrate it, but she executes the theme in such a way that it is obvious to the reader that she believes racial segregation will be witnessed in and around our society for many generations to come. One example of this is the fact that Julian does not realize that he himself is a racist. Being a hypocritical idealist, he displays an acute sense of anti-racism, but formulated in such exquisite irony, we find that he indeed is a racist due to his constant need to attempt to be anti-racist. Julian does not wish to accept the fact the descendant is unable to sever its bond with the ancestor. A generation cannot function without an impact from generations past. This is similarly found in â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find,† and evidence can be found within the quote presented earlier. The grandmother is openly racist in front of the children, even though she does not realize that her comments were racist, thereby supporting her racism as a whole. It is due to previous generations that succeeding generations remain true to and hold on to traditional beliefs and values. Ironically in the case that O'Connor depicts, is the value of racism. O'Connor shows to the reader that racism is an organic being: it is able to sustain itself and survive through generational passage of culture and tradition. However, this is where the importance of Christianity comes into focus in O'Connor's stories. Being a devout Christian, she believed that the sole path to redemption and absolution was through religion. According to O'Connor, the only way to redeem oneself was through grace. Though this is seen to a lesser extent in both these stories as compared to several others, O'Connor demonstrates several aspects of religious allusion and symbolic image. The breakdown of society is further emphasized with the use of religious symbol in ‘Everything that Rises†¦ â€Å". She was almost ready to go, standing before the hall mirror, putting on her hat, while he, his hands beside him, appeared pinned to the door frame, waiting like Saint Sebastian for the arrows to begin piercing him. (Pg. 405) The allusion made in this quote is that of Saint Sebastian, a Roman martyr and an officer of the Praetorian Guard until Diocletian discovered his Christianity. His life lay in the hands of Roman archers, which is often the subject of many paintings. The arrows are frequently seen piercing his back, and in the case of Julian and his mother, represent the burden placed upon Julian. The idea that Julian perceives his own mother as a burden is remarkable. Julian does not have a job and lives with his mother at her home. Not only is he ruthless and critical of her thoughts and beliefs, he does not even consider that he might be the burden. Julian's idealistic hypocrisy is countered and revealed in the conclusion of the story. The title itself is a foreshadowing quality of the story, as one can expect inevitable conflict and perhaps, concession and compromise. Julian's hypocrisy is ironic, as he claims to know the real world better than anyone else. In the end, he is forced to understand the real world with the passing of his mother, revealing his weakness and vulnerability and the extent of dependence that he has on his mother. A tide of darkness seemed to be sweeping her away from him. ‘Mother! ‘ he cried. ‘Darling sweetheart, wait! ‘ Crumpling, she fell to the pavement. He dashed forward and fell to her side, crying, ‘Mamma, Mamma! ‘ (Pg. 420) This is the only point in the story in which Julian actually calls his mother a ‘mother' and a ‘mamma', revealing a glimpse of his past childhood. On the same page O'Connor writes, The tide of darkness seemed to sweep him back to her, postponing moment to moment his entry into the world of guilt and sorrow. (Pg. 420) It is interesting that in the first quote, the tide sweeps Mrs. Chestny to Julian, and in the second it sweeps Julian to Mrs. Chestny. This further demonstrates Julian's dependence on his mother. He has finally been able to enter the real world, the world he claims to understand and recognize. In â€Å"A Good Man†¦ â€Å", O'Connor uses certain forms of foreshadowing in the early passages of the story to ‘warn' the readers of future occurrences, and of certain religious aspects. They passed a large cotton field with five or six graves fenced in the middle of it, like a small island. (Pg. 119) The presence of five or six graves stimulates a period of realization for the reader, as the family consists of six people, giving an eerie sense or prescience of events yet to take place. This gives the reader the impression that the conclusion to the story will be shrouded with death and despair. Though this example of foreshadowing does not directly relate to O'Connor's theme of religion in her stories, it does in a sense foreshadow a further foreshadowing. .. In case of an accident, anyone seeing her dead on the highway would know at once that she was a lady. (Pg. 118) This quote is interesting, since it is because of her, that the family strays off their original path leading to Florida to one that heads for Georgia. It is also interestingly ironic as they do in fact have an accident, and the person who finds her does not see her as a lady. O'Connor uses the symbol of the path/road to identify the paths we take in life, or in this case, the proper path of religion. If the Grandmother had been the lady she claimed herself to be and if she remained true to the righteous path of Christianity (that of truth, virtue, honest, etc. ), the family would not have ‘strayed off path', and the proper path would not have led them to death. With the encounter with the Misfit, we find him to exemplify the contemporary world, exposing his protagonistic qualities. ‘I wasn't there so I can't say He didn't,' the Misfit said. ‘I wisht I had of been there,' he said, hitting the ground with his fist. It ain't right I wasn't there because if I had of been there I would of known†¦ if I had of been there I would of known and I wouldn't be like I am now†¦ ‘ (Pg. 132) We find the Misfit not only questioning the existence of a Supreme Being, but also addressing a common dilemma of the human consciousness. Though we are aware and mindful of our own existence, we remain primitive animals with violent and primal qualities and nature. The clash between our primal and animalistic instincts is in constant confliction with our metaphysical human nature. The development that develops between the Misfit and the Grandmother is amazing. We find belief to be anything beyond what we can see, hear, touch, smell, etc. Accordingly, any form of spiritual or anti-spiritual ideology is a leap of faith. O'Connor shows the reader that what the Misfit realizes, and what the Grandmother eventually realizes is the fact that sacred dogma and religious belief can no longer compete with the scientific and methodical views and the immorality of the modern world. O'Connor personifies the contemporary views dominating the modern world with her use of the Misfit. As society evolves, it begins to ignore traditional values, and according to O'Connor, acts as a catalyst for the eventual total breakdown of society. In our time, there are misfits and there are lost souls, many of whom unexpectedly play the roles in O'Connor's stories as ‘prophets', searching for faith and absolution, the messengers of ‘lost conscientiousness'. These prophets are used as tools to not only expose the truths and cruelties of the modern world, but also ushers the readers into a psyche of dark and desperate thoughts and feelings which engulf the human soul, imbuing them with a state of utter helplessness in view of the imminent doom in which the reader can foresee during the story. This exposed darkness, which is a prominent figure in the human condition, takes the concept of the human condition itself to a particularly unnatural level and undesired truth of human understanding. From a grandmother who indirectly destroys her own family through her acts of attempted good will, to a non-existent and unresolved mother – son relationship united and divided under the influence and reality of racism and the tragedy that concludes the story, Flannery O'Connor makes a statement on the affiliation between the justification of religious and traditional values, and the corruption and destruction of society, ranging from the 40s / 50s era of black prejudice to an almost ludicrous extent of religious fanaticism. O'Connor's main statement was that humanity as a whole has strayed off its path, just as the Grandmother and her family did in â€Å"A Good Man†¦ â€Å". This story can arguably be labeled as a form of foreshadowing itself, as it shows what would happen if humanity continues on its irregular path. Just as the Grandmother and her family met brutal and untimely death as a result, O'Connor is showing us that we too, will experience this, should we continue life this way. Her numerous statements on the dark realities of our world are reminders of what we have to overcome. She demonstrates the constant clash between the modern and the traditional. We must understand that we contain and determine our fate. It seems plain that O'Connor feels that the eventual outcome will be the death of society. In the stories â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find† and â€Å"Everything that Rises must Converge†, Flannery O'Connor uses her prophetic characters in combination with Christian imagery, apocalyptic foreshadowing, and the ubiquitous evils permeating society to this particular level, and leaves the reader closing the book with a feeling of complete despondency for the future of mankind.

Patriarchy and the System

Patriarchy is a society system that large than oneself, which means not just about a person’s idea or one’s life. It is something larger than that. It tends to be organized around specific kinds of social idea and relationship. And restrictions on the establishment of regular, while the social relations of what is supposed to happen a common understanding of what is allowed and what is the expected behavior of individuals within the system. Race, sex, race, age, class, which was seen as patriarchy is based on the understanding of individualism, which need to increase and modify the action of a major type of personal social characteristics. As stated in Allen G. Johnson’s, Patriarchy, the System, â€Å"To live in a patriarchy culture is to learn what is expected of men and women—to learn the rules that regulate punishment and reward based on how individuals behave and appear. † (p. 74) As we can see, people are generally regulated by a unvisual concept which is patriarchy. This system is subject to personal choice, and only allow each person to choose to participate or in the expected behavior, relationships, and with understanding. These unwritten content has been produced and training with the patriarchal system to shape and guide the acceptance of actions, behaviors and individual experiences. Within the private and public relationship in the structure of patriarchy, patriarchy does use different strategies to maintain gender inequality and these strategies have achieved the status of women's subordination. Household strategy is considered to be the strategy of exclusionary and inequality. As Kirk and Okazawa-Rey wrote in their article â€Å"Making a Home, Making a Living†, â€Å"The father is the provider while the wife/mother spends her days running the home. This family if regularly portrayed in ads for food, cars, cleaning products, or life insurance, which rely on our recognizing—if not identifying with this symbol of togetherness and care. †(p. 303) This is an example of exclusionary strategy in the private area which is based on household production. The most common situation that women will face can be sexual harassment, age discrimination and against women with disabilities. What is more, women have to balance home and work flextime, such as part-time job, home and mommy track. Also they have to take care of children when they have families. It is unfair to not be able to do both, which stand for successful career and house wife, they have to make decision. Being underestimate the value of women and regulated with patriarchy privilege and oppression, people always expect women to take care of families but to work like a man. The household has a different structure to other institutional form. For example, the workplace. According to Joni Seager, â€Å"women are both â€Å"segregated† and â€Å"concentrated† in the workforce. They are employed in different occupations from men, and are over-represented in a limited number of occupations. † (p. 64) Under the construction of patriarchy, there are â€Å"women’s jobs† and â€Å"men’s jobs†, although the definition of these has changed over time, there still lot of limit for women to work. Usually, women just take a small rang of jobs, their jobs are lack of varieties and are used as low-wage service and industrial labors. Public institution can not oppress or exclude women directly from public structure, this situation force women go back to home and do what people expect them to do. Moreover, the system also regulates the students in universities. In the video â€Å"Playing in the closet: Homophobia in Sports†, the basketball team in Pennsylvania State University exerted pressure on their female basketball players of not to be a lesbian. This is another kind of patriarchy privilege and oppression. What happened in this team was that the coach, who is called Rane Portland, told her players that being a lesbian was forbidden in this team and dislodged some players who were considered to be the lesbian from their basketball team. Under the oppression, female players in this team not only failed their academic and basketball career, but also were traumatized in their bodies and soul. They were asked to fellow the standardization of behavior and were misled to a wrong way of gender differences. This is the way in which public institutions and individuals use their power to reveal how related the structures of patriarchy are. Gender inequality is an outcome of Patriarchy. Radical feminists defined as the patriarchal social system in which all social roles for women are in a subordinate position. Community is divided, being ruled. From this perspective, men are the main class, women are the ruling class. As Johnson Points out in his article, â€Å"because of patriarchy is, by definition, a system of inequality organized around gender categories, we can no more avoid being involved in it than we can avoid being female and male. †(p. 76) Patriarchal attitudes come into being in the family through the socialization process. The family, as a social institution, is a producing area for patriarchal practices by socializing the young people to recognize gender differentiated roles, so ideological factors is the roots of patriarchy. Men in society have a dominant temperament. With the development of socialization, this provides a higher social status of men which in turn led them to fill a social role in which they can exercise mastery over women. Patriarchy probably has the biggest part of gender inequality, it is continuance in this century is result from the reluctance of society to adapt to gender equality. People are fighting against the inequality in the system of privilege and oppression. As stated in Allen G. Johnson’s, Patriarchy, the System, â€Å"We need to see new ways to participate by forging alternative paths of least resistance, for the system doesn’t simply â€Å"run us† like hapless puppets. It may be larger than us, it may not be us, but it doesn’t exist except through us. Without us, patriarchy doesn‘t happen. And that’s where we have power to do something about it and about ourselves in it. † People created human society and developed it, at th e same time people establish a system to control peopel’ s activities and build their though. That means people can change the situation they are in and make it better. According to Seager, J. â€Å"The Penguin Atlas of Women in the World, Sports†,. the author listed the examples that â€Å"the French Open equalized payments to women and men tennis singles champions in 2006, the US Open stared offering equal prize money to women and men in 1968† As we can see, people, especially the female athletes, are challenging the rules that have been established to regulate them. While the female athletes acknowledging the existence of limitations and restrictions, each person has come up with their own efforts, in behavior, to change and improve the reality. Follow the crowd to the path was usually acceptable in the past, but now they choose taking the path of least resistance although it is hard. Independent action or behavior, our personal choice is to create an acceptable and positive against the oppression of patriarchy in our society the only way to change.

Establishing a connection between knowledge transfer and innovation diffusion Essay

Advanced Information Management (AIM) is a technology as well as a business consulting firm which focuses greatly or rather it is focused on advancing business efficiency (Forsgren & Johanson, 2014). The advanced information management helps in designing, implementation and supports the user centric applications of businesses and the various systems that provide the various clients with competitive edges as a means towards the achievement the highest returns from one of their most assets that are deemed valuable. In health, the advanced information management and its intelligence, bridges various clinical documentations, compliance coding and the overall quality. On the other hand, it also provides full compliments of the healthcare information management, which provide solutions for the various clinical needed transcriptions. It also combines various technologies, which entail speech recognition with the labor considered superior and management of accounts towards the simplification of the various documentations of clinics while maintaining the quality at higher levels. In addition, the speech recognition feature leads to the reduction of turnarounds and hence lead to the cutting down of cost as well as not disrupting workflow. Application of technology             Technology refers to the collection of different tools which include machinery, arrangements and the modifications and the different procedures that are used by people, human beings in this case (DeGarmo et al, 2011). On the other hand it can also be said to be the application of knowledge to the various practical goals of human life towards the manipulation or rather the changing of the human environment. Information management             About health, it refers to the practice or rather the activity of acquiring the analyzing and the protection of the digital as well as the traditional medical information that is seen to be very vital in the provision of high quality patient care. The widespread of the computerization, the health records have also been computerized largely. The paper based traditional way of keeping records has been largely replaced by the electronic health records. This transition has helped largely towards the timely provision of the health services. The electronic health records take very less time when it comes to the cases of retrieving the details of a patient as compared to the old paper based way, which was used in keeping of records which at times could be faced with loss a patient’s data. This time saving feature has greatly helped towards the timely provision of health care to the patients. Taking too much time in records before attending to the patients could le ad to death at times. The various tools of health of health informatics as well as the health information technology have been on the increase as their use has proved to increase the efficiency in the information management practice that have been put in practice in the various health care sectors. The information management has also played a major role in provision of the quality health care. For instance, the information management in Nuance, bridges the clinical documentation improvements, the coding, compliance as well as quality. It has on the other hand provided a full complement of the healthcare solutions, which are very necessary for the clinical transcriptions. The information management has also led to its simplification of the clinical documentation and the quality maintenance through the combination of the superior labor and the account management with the advanced technology of speech recognition. On the time saving factor, the platforms of speech recognition lads to the reduction of the times of turn around which save time and cut costs as they maintain the workflows of the various clinics in which they are incorporated. In the offering of the broad arrays of improvements in the clinical documentations and the provision of solutions in the record management, lead s to the provision of powerful links between the care and the patient revenue, which enables the health systems to better, manage the information, which is critical across the continued health care. This leads to the provision of a technology that is powerful as well as services that ensure the quality of service provision to be high. The quality indicators that are largely associated with the nursing profession have evolved largely from the nursing sensitive to the adverse event sensitive (Hockenberry & Wilson, 2013). Quality indicators are used to improve patient care in various ways. The quality indicators are the measure of the health care quality, which on their side is able in the putting in to use the various available administrative data. The quality indicators can largely be used in the highlighting of the various the quality concerns that are potential. It also leads to the identification of areas that are in need of further investigations as well as study and lead to the noticing of the changes that take place overtime. This helps in the improvement of the healthcare programs in a way that, the quality indicator would establish an area that is not performing well or on the other hand it’s in a poor state that limits it from providing a better health care service. Through quality indicators it cou ld be established rather that the paper based entry takes too much time in retrieving of a patients data and hence patients in critical conditions may die due to this delay and hence these would necessitate transition to electronic data entry which would be faster and improve health care. The quality indicator modules help in the representation of various aspects of quality, which are inclusive of patient safety indicators, inpatient quality indicators, the prevention quality indicators and finally the pediatric quality indicators. The prevention quality indicators are the various sets of measures that could be of great use to the inpatient discharge within a hospital to identify the quality of care in conditions such as the ambulatory care. These are various conditions in an outpatient care, which is good, is capable of preventing the hospitalization need or on the other hand, an intervention, which is early, can prevent a disease complication or its development to a more severe state. On the patient’s safety quality indicators, they provide information based on the potential in the complications of the hospital and the adverse effects that follow the different surgeries that take place as well as the complications, which come after childbirth. Hence, after th eir identification the various preventive measures are taken which lead to their prevention and hence overall improvements in health care. The difference between informatics and information technology is that, informatics includes the science of information, engineering of information systems as well as the practice of processing of information. The informatics in addition studied the behavior, structures as well as the interactions of the manufactured or rather artificial and the natural systems that do various duties such as the storage, processing and the communication of information. The informatics also develop and their own concept foundation as well as the foundations of theory or rather the theory foundations. The information technology on the other hand is the development study, design, implementation, support as well as the management of the information systems that are computer based which in particular were application of software and the computer technology at large. The available information technology systems in the health care environment include the electronic health records. These information systems enable the electronic storage of data and information pertaining patients and the assist its easy retrieval of the data. It can also be said to be the system of collection of the electronic information of health about a population or an individual patients records. It records the data and information in digital format which is capable of being shared across the different units of the health care organizations. Human Resource for Health Information System is also another system available which generally is the system used for collecting, disseminating, managing as well as the processing of data and information which regard the human resource for health. However, depending on the level of a countries development, the Human Resource for Health Information System could be paper based or computerized. Thirdly there is the Health information technolog y which is also an information technology that has been incorporated in health which on its hand it provides a frame work towards the description of the comprehensive management of the information of health that is across the systems which are highly computerized and in addition it provides a secure exchange of the information between the providers, the entities of quality as well as the insurers. The health information technology has been seen greatly as a technique or rather tool that would lead to the provision of an overall quality and safe health care to the various kinds of patients. Potential barriers to patient-centered care created by the use of various information technologies include aspects such as the misuse of this technology and the data collected. The misuse of the data collected leads to the mixing up of the information concerning patients hence leading to a reduction in the quality of patient care and the health care unit at large. Secondly, poor health electronic records system designation and its improper use would lead to adverse effects, which include the errors in the electronic health records which would jeopardize at a large extent the integrity of the various information that is encompassed in the electronic health records. These consequences which are as a result of the misuse, would be unintended are seen to be able to cause many cases of fraud as well as other abuse that could have very serious legal implications when the culprit is caught. According to a research that was done, it was suggested that since the introduction of the health inf ormation technology instead of leading to the various improvements in the health sectors which included the improvement in the quality of the data that is being recorded, it has greatly led to the recording of large amounts of data that has largely been regarded as bad. With this, it has led to further deterioration in the quality of patient centered care. The patient care technologies and the information management systems have greatly impacted the quality and the standards of the nursing processes in the different health units that have encompassed the use of these technologies. Through the use of information from these technologies nursing processes have been able to safely and orderly store and record a patients or rather patients data in a way that facilitate improved health care. The nursing process also in other hands adopts the communication techniques as well as the various techniques from the technologies used which enables them in reduction or rather the cutting down of costs and also increase in the effectiveness in the carrying out of their various nursing duties. Health Information Systems             The health information systems refers to the system that manages, captures or rather deals with the transmission of information which is related to the health individuals or the organizational activities that work within that sector that regards health. It incorporates aspects such as the disease surveillance systems as well as the laboratory information systems, the patient systems of administration and finally the management systems of human resource. The overall well-functioning of the health information systems is the effort which is integrated in the collection, procession and the reporting as well as using the information of health and the knowledge from it in the influencing of the decisions that are made, the policies, program action as well as the research. A decision making process that would be deemed sound or rather regarded safe at the various levels of health information systems would require the health statistics which are very much reliable. Decisi ons made based on evidence lead to the resource allocation processes that are more efficient at the levels of delivery and also the information concerning the effectiveness and the quality of the various offered services also contribute to the better out comes which in this case is the better health care. The information systems also help in tracking overtime performance, increase transparency a well as strengthening of transparency. Various nursing terminologies have been used and are still in use. The standardization of nursing languages is tools which are regarded as essential in the communications or rather the exchange of information for the professional nurses who are registered to offer hands in the planning and also the evaluation of the quality of the nursing care. Issues associated or rather with this standardization of the nursing terminologies could be seen in a case whereby in the using of the standardized nursing language in the documentation of school nursing was seen to provide a language which is common for the school nurses in the description of the interventions and the various responses of their staffs and students towards those interventions. Without the standardized nursing language the documentations of the nursing procedures could be persona or rather only activity descriptions that are locally understood because the words would have different meanings for the different classes or groups o f readers. Therefore the big issue that arose was that the information could not be translated or rather transformed in order to also fit in the other settings. Data standards lead to the provision of a meaning that is consistentto the data that is shared or rather data that is to be shared among the different information systems as well as the agencies that are found throughout the lifecycle of a product. These are inclusive of the representation, transmission, structuring, as well as data management or in other words the management of data. Some of the standardized data formats include the Clinical Data Acquisition Standards Harmonization (CDASH) which provides the standardized fields which greatly aid in the collection at clinical investigative sites. Secondly another format is the Study Data Tabulation Model (SDTM) which on its side aid in the provision of models that are standardized for the clinical study of the tabulations of the different data collected. Thirdly there is the Analysis Dataset Model (ADaM) which like the previous forms, aids in the provision of a model that is standardized for the analysis of different sets of data. In the reporting of the events that are deemed adverse, the formats such standard data set formats such as Individual Case Safety Report (ICSR) are used which in its side leads to the capturing of information that concerns the adverse events and the problems associated with a product that is reported to the public health as well as the organizations that are concerned with the improvement of the quality and finally the agencies concerned with regulation. The various types of Health Information System include the electronic medical reports (EMR) which is also known as the Electronic Health record. This system captures and provides storage of details concerning a patient. This system may also display information on the basis of the name of the physician. The master patient index is also a health information system that aids in the listing of all the patients who have ever been through the system or rather all the patients that have ever been treated in that particular health institution. The Master Patient Index typically serves as the foundational base of data for all the other systems that are patient related, which encompasses the administrative and the clinical aspects such as the scheduling of patients. The comparison between the two health information systems is that both of them are subject based systems that entail the storage ad recording of data. The other set of systems are the systems which are task based. These systems are responsible for the capturing and reporting of the information that relate to a specific task in relation to health care tasks such as the laboratory systems. This system are driven and directed by the Master Patient Index that also enable them capture information and paste it to the health record system. Healthcare information systems meet health care needs in various ways. For instance, in order for to effectively diagnose and give best treatment to the various patients, there is the arising of the need to atleast have access to the types of clinical information that include the health record of the patient. Additionally there is also the need for the important administrative information such as the availability of the resources that would offer support. The health care systems play a major role in such a case such that they would facilitate easy access to the patient’s records and the various clinical information that is needed. Hence with this it is greatly evident on how the health care information systems meet the health care delivery needs. Information Security             The health information security refers to the protection that is given to information and the systems of information from the accesses, which are unauthorized as well as unauthorized disclosure and modification. It’s an iterative process that has been in full driven by the technological enhancements as well as the various changes that have been evident in the health care environment. The security of information is achieved through ensuring of confidentiality, integrity and the information availability. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) are responsible for the regulation of the availability and the various breadths of group health plans as well as the certain health care insurance policies that are of the individuals. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) privacy rule leads to the regulation of the disclosure and the use of the health information that is protected and also that is held with covered titl es. The same act also provides the guidelines and the procedures that are to be used in the maintenance of security and privacy of the identifiable health information as well as outlining the various penalties that could be because of the violation of the laws. The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, addressed the various concerns of privacy and security that are in association with the transmission of the information of about health in an electronic form, in part, and through the ways of the various provisions that lead to the strengthening of the criminal and the civil enforcement of the rules that are laid down by The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). The interim final law of The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) conforms to The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) regulations that are used in its enforcement. Conclusion             In conclusion, we can simply state that the advanced information in management in the health sector has really played a major role towards the improvement of the quality of the health services that are being provided by the different health care units. They have also largely reduced the high costs of operations that had been earlier experienced in the use of the olden ways or rather the traditional based ways of data entry, retrieval among others. The advanced information management has also been seen to play a major role in the increasing of the accuracy in the diagnosis through its provisions of simpler and easier plat forms in which the required information could be extracted with much ease. It is therefore a suggestion that all health sectors should embrace this technological move in order to better their services. References DeGarmo, E. P., Black, J. T., & Kohser, R. A. (2011). DeGarmo’s materials and processes in manufacturing. John Wiley & Sons.Forsgren, M., &Johanson, J. (2014).Managing networks in international business.Routledge.Hockenberry, M. J., & Wilson, D. (2013). Wong’s Nursing Care of Infants and Children Multimedia Enhanced Version. Elsevier Health Sciences.Lawler, E. K., Hedge, A., &Pavlovic-Veselinovic, S. (2011). Cognitive ergonomics, socio-technical systems, and the impact of healthcare information technologies. International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics, 41(4), 336-344. Liyanage, C., Elhag, T., &Ballal, T. (2012).Establishing a connection between knowledge transfer and innovation diffusion. Journal of Knowledge Management Practice, 13(1).Menachemi, N., &Collum, T. H. (2011). Benefits and drawbacks of electronic health record systems. Risk management and healthcare policy, 4, 47.Mitchel, J. T., & Hays, J. B. (2013).U.S. Patent Application 13/786,683.Weeks, D. L., Keeney, B. J., Evans, P. C., Moore, Q. D., & Conrad, D. A. (2015). Provider Perceptions of the Electronic Health Record Incentive Programs: A Survey of Eligible Professionals Who Have and Have Not Attested to Meaningful Use. Journal of general internal medicine, 30(1), 123-130. Source document

Research Paper on Employee Relations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Research Paper on Employee Relations - Essay Example Rights and privileges of workers are put in place taking into account such limitations only. Maintaining good employee relations depends on how the rights and privileges of workers are treated by the organization. Finding good people often proves to be difficult for the organization, it is therefore essential to find ways to retain them as well. Good industrial relations or employee relations form part of such efforts. This study is an effort to analyze the essential tools and techniques used by organizations to manage the human resources in an organization and how the HRM has adapted itself to the changing economic scenario. In particular the objectives of this study are to have an assessment of; To get the optimum from a satisfied and participative individual is considered to be the ultimate objective of HRM policies. The global economy has made it almost mandatory for international corporations that an effective strategy is adopted for managing the human resources and the diversity. It is through their behavior that employees give expression to their commitment to work, level of motivation and their attitudes. Behavior includes all actions overt or covert, and verbal or non-verbal. This affects the overall efficiency of the person and the performance of the organization. ... Behavior includes all actions overt or covert, and verbal or non-verbal. This affects the overall efficiency of the person and the performance of the organization. Some of the organizations encourage Unions and Associations to represent the employees' issues and such organizations have a mechanism which encourages cordial relations between such unions and management as it helps in smooth functioning of the organization. But there are some other organizations which prefer to engage with individual employees for grievance redressal. Such a mechanism generally functions well in smaller organizations having lesser number of employees. The ultimate aim is to have a functioning relation with employees so that the company's functioning is not adversely affected. As a student of human resources management it is very crucial for me that I am fully aware about such a mechanism, the legal positions and how the system has evolved over the years. 1.3 Learning Outcomes We have learnt the basic concepts of human resources management during our study and do have a fair idea about the rules and regulations as well. Through this paper, an effort will be made to look around us and observe the functioning of some of the organizations, search for relevant news items in the contemporary media and sift through other views and findings from similar researches carried out by other scholars. The HR field has many dimensions and it affects almost all aspects of the organization, therefore analyzing all such fields will remain out of the scope of this study. But with the limited resources and the lessons learnt so far, I'll try to make the study as comprehensive as possible, so that I come out enriching my knowledge about the

Visiting a church Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Visiting a church - Research Paper Example And the first time I bothered to read said â€Å"judgment must begin at the house of God,† apparently my good friend and neighbor is a staunch member of the church. We planned to visit the church but didn’t reveal any of my motives to him. We were to visit the church on a normal Sunday service on 20th April, 2012. This date was convenient in some way as it was â€Å"Easter Sunday† my neighborhood friend was going to provide me with all the information that I needed as he had a lot of faith in me and he perceived me as if I was going to join the church, and become part of the staunch congregation like him. Roman Catholic Church was located and planted as a traditional charismatic/evangelical congregation in the mid-1980s. By late 1990s the congregation had taken on what is commonly known as â€Å"seeker sensitive† model of doing church. I noticed that the demographic of Roman Catholic Church was primarily suburban, Caucasian, middle class individuals and families ranging in age from twenty to fifty year olds. Roman Catholic Church is part of the denomination that was birthed in the midst of the Church Growth Movement in the late 1970. I also observed that the church relates to the community in a good manner. The community at large felt affiliated so much to the church because as my neighbor friend told me, the church is a place of solution to human’s problem, and agency providing answers in specific contexts, not only spiritually, but politically, socially and otherwise. Roman Catholic Church has attracted all sort socio-economic classes. It was evident during my visit to the church that all form of classes is represented in the congregation from the upper, middle, and low class. Some sporty automobiles that were present at the parking lot were evident that there was upper class, and some of the congregation did not have any cars they either walked or used a public means to

Strategic analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Strategic analysis - Essay Example In an organization it’s impossible to control everything therefore chaos must be expected therefore managers must expect opposition from other parties in the organization. They must be able to act democratically and be able to control their anger and emotions in order to deal with diverse reactions in the organization. Chaos also brings the attention of the top management about need to look at the issue at hands (Churchill, 1965). A dynamic system is a system that involves two parties that are in disagreement and require an external interference e.g. chaos in an organization that might require interference by the police agency. A leader can achieve order out of chaos through taking time and understand the major causes of chaos. This is through listening to the parties that are involved in the chaos together with their line of argument. This would work towards deciding on the side to take in order to solve the standoff. These parties also play a major role in giving the leader a possible solution to the chaos. It also gives the leader a variety of strategies that he/she can use in coming up with a lasting solution to the problem. Poor decision by the leader can aggravate the problem as both parties would be unsatisfied by the leader’s decision (Churchill,

Car belt design Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Car belt design - Assignment Example PLA material is bio plastic material that is mostly sourced from the bio materials having sugars in the form of form of starch and cellulose. It is 100% bio degradable material. The fibres derived from the PLA material can easily replace the nylon in cases where nylon is used extensively. Moreover, PLA material can replace the poly vinyl can be used to manufacture surgical as well as common use polythene bags. It requires less temperature to be converted in any form. The common type of material available as biodegradable plastic is poly lactic acid (PLA). However, the material available for the use is made up of poly-L-lactide (PLLA) that appears after the polymerization of L, L-lactide and PLA. The crystallization percentage of the PLA is about 37%. It achieves glass transition state at about 60- 85 o C. It melts at about 178 o C and the average tensile modulus is about 2.7–16 GPa. In pure condition, PLA can resist a temperature of about 110 o C. However, as the purity is altered heat resistance as well as abrasion resistance can be enhanced. PLA has the similar mechanical properties as compared to that of Polyethylene terephthalate (PETE). PLA can be turned into fibres of required length and diameter with the help of similar process used for the other thermo plastic materials. The process is often named as melt spinning process that converts melted. The most advantageous feature of the PLA is the bio-degradability of the material. Once the belt attains its age in car or other vehicle, the feature of biodegradability is much important as it decomposes the material naturally and does not bother the environment (Niaounakis, 2013, 161). Blending other polymers into the PLA enhances its heat resistivity. Other bio plastics like poly-D-lactide can be mixed with the PLA or PLLA to enhance the heat resistivity. The mixing of the other compounds can be altered according to the application. If ratio of the poly-D-lactide and PLA become 1:1,

Unhappy Customers Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Unhappy Customers - Personal Statement Example Unhappy customers On the other hand a satisfied customer pulls number of other customers towards the organization and service. Customers help defining success in a way that they set benchmarks for what is in demand, and things that need to be avoided or are out of date. For them its more about quality than the costs, they are willing to pay more for comfort and quality rather than low quality and more hassle of repair and low productivity. The policies so made should be customer centric. Customers’ response is related to the online sales and services as well as the physical world businesses responses. A relationship matrix can be defined in this way to identify all the factors and benefits that may be achieved through successful implementation of customer response and satisfaction. A prime example in this regard was seen when a musician had his guitar damaged in an aero plane flight and when the compensation was demanded, it was not provided; the same musician went on to make a song on the Unit ed Airlines services and this incident and ended up with millions of views to his video and song, this earned the company a bad name, and in the end they had to apologize and provide compensation, all to customer dissatisfaction (Cheryl Hamilton 2010). Customer Relationship Management is an approach towards establishing a relationship with the customers and working to their satisfaction and demand, in other words, a key to success. C.R.M stresses upon focusing on individual customer rather than masses, this helps knowing the customer behavior, the past experiences. The entire process would focus on the manufacturing strategy, the services to be provided after the product is prepared. Customer identification, differentiation, and personalization are few important terms and phenomena that need to be taken into consideration while dealing with the customers since every customer has a different taste than other, and so is the demand and requirement. The differentiation aspect helps identifying the customers that are more regular, have larger stakes on hold, and are slightly sensitive to the subject and services, and since all resources might not be available every time, implementing them at the right place and towards the right custome r becomes important. Paretho Principle is another similar concept related to the customer response. It is also known as the 80-20 rule, and according to it, the 20 percent customers that makes up for 80 percent of the sales. It is being stated that cost of making a new customer is far higher than retaining one. Even the 5 percent customers retained, results in 25 percent increase in overall productivity of an organization (Ronald S.Swift 2001). Besides customer satisfaction the individual characteristic of the product or service defines the rate of customer turnover from any company or brand. Customer response is considered a Key performance Indicator (K.P.I) and based on its value; the company’s performance is measured in the marketing world. Surveys are being conducted about particular product or service, or the overall experience of the customers with the company, based on their response in the rating scale, further strategies are being devised that helps molding the struc ture of company according to the need of customers. A company must be open to claims, and repairs, however the best policy is to prevent rather than repair, it helps in many ways, not

No More Wars by Woodrow Wilson Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

No More Wars by Woodrow Wilson - Essay Example Woodrow Wilsons succeded in convincing Europeans through his speech and fourteen points. As a result Germany stopped the war and surrendered within the next 10 months (Snell, 1954). In an interview conducted during the Paris Peace Conference held in 1919, Woodrow Wilson and Sir William Wiseman explained how Germany agreed to stop the war as a result of the famous speech and fourteen points. The speech highlighted the importance of democracy in bringing the losting peace in the Europe . Woodrow Wilson wanted to present United States as a role model before the rest of the world and it was this intention which made him present these fourteen points. He was of the opinion that the United State should not involve in war. He was a democratic person who had true feelings not only for the people of the United States but also for the whole world, who wanted peace in the world. He thought of the entire world that’s why he was a trustworthy person. People had belief and confidence in him and that is why the Fourteen Points given by him were admired by the people. He used this credibility and made an emotional appeal to the people by giving the Fourteen Points which were welcomed by the people. The logic which was used in his points was very clear about the peace and those were having a strong internal consistency, and the benefits of his points were very clear that if they follow his points, there will be no war in future. The speech was having emotions because at that time the people were fed up of war and they wanted peace and prosperity and the speech was based on the peace. The speech was accepted by the Germans and then by the Britian. The base of the speech was the world wide problem rather than based on just self interest. The address which is based on the Fourteen Points given by Wilson was a great help in betterment of his nation.

Anti-immigration and anti-bilingual education Essay

Anti-immigration and anti-bilingual education - Essay Example From chapter 9, multicultural education refers to the philosophy and the way of looking at the world. This is not limited to the learners or students enrolled at a particular school. It also has a touch on everything like how students relate to teachers and how well and conducive is the environment for the students. However multicultural education doesn’t have a boundary like it can only happen in school since the community or society where the student resides is also considered as part of this philosophy in action. Considering that the product of a multicultural education is a multicultural person, he or she continues to be searching for knowledge and continues to use this process in order for him to participate in the country’s goal for progress. Multicultural education invites a student to not just to think for himself but also for the society where he is. This is the reason why educators, in order for them to help in this multicultural education must consider the im pact of their teachings, their decisions whether the decision is made cumulatively or individually. It should also be considered that with the multicultural education, one of the goals is the critical consciousness of the students which is the start of one’s good path as it leads him to a life with free decisions, meaning he doesn’t forever become a follower of the norms but a critic of it in order for change to occur not just for his own benefit but the benefit of the many. And since long-existing rules.... But with an additional rule of speaking in English because it is a directive only implies no just pressure for the student but also the school's failure and the government's misinterpretation of the real need of students. This also implies that the social structure has already embraced the idea of the "modern" age or the "future" as non-existent without the English language, the very obvious discrimination not just in education but in race as a whole. (2) What is multicultural education Why do we need multicultural education Answer: From chapter 9, multicultural education refers to the philosophy and the way of looking at the world. This is not limited to the learners or students enrolled at a particular school. It also has a touch on everything like how students relate to teachers and how well and conducive is the environment for the students. However multicultural education doesn't have a boundary like it can only happen in school since the community or society where the student resides is also considered as part of this philosophy in action. Considering that the product of a multicultural education is a multicultural person, he or she continues to be searching for knowledge and continues to use this process in order for him to participate in the country's goal for progress. Multicultural education invites a student to not just to think for himself but also for the society where he is. This is the reason why educators, in order for them to help in this multicultural education must consider the impact of their teachings, their decisions whether the decision is made cumulatively or individually. It should also be considered that with the multicultural education, one of the goals is the critical

Flag Protection Act of 1989 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Flag Protection Act of 1989 - Essay Example (2) This subsection does not prohibit any conduct consisting of the disposal of a flag when it has become worn or soiled. (c) Nothing in this section shall be construed as indicating an intent on the part of Congress to deprive any State, territory, possession, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico of jurisdiction over any offense over which it would have jurisdiction in the absence of this section. (d)(1) An appeal may be taken directly to the Supreme Court of the United States from any interlocutory or final judgment, decree, or order issued by a United States district court ruling upon the constitutionality of subsection (a). (2) The Supreme Court shall, if it has not previously ruled on the question, accept jurisdiction over the appeal and advance on the docket and expedite to the greatest extent possible. " 1989 - Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 101-131, Sec. 2(a), amended subsec. (a) generally. Prior to amendment, subsec. (a) read as follows: ''Whoever knowingly casts contempt upon any flag of the United States by publicly mutilating, defacing, defiling, burning, or trampling upon it shall be fined not more than $1,000 or imprisoned for not more than one year, or both.'' Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 101-131, Sec. 2(b), amended subsec. (b) generally. Prior to amendment, subsec. ... any flag of the United States by publicly mutilating, defacing, defiling, burning, or trampling upon it shall be fined not more than $1,000 or imprisoned for not more than one year, or both.'' Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 101-131, Sec. 2(b), amended subsec. (b) generally. Prior to amendment, subsec. (b) read as follows: ''The term 'flag of the United States' as used in this section, shall include any flag, standard colors, ensign, or any picture or representation of either, or of any part or parts of either, made of any substance or represented on any substance, of any size evidently purporting to be either of said flag, standard, color, or ensign of the United States of America, or a picture or a representation of either, upon which shall be shown the colors, the stars and the stripes, in any number of either thereof, or of any part or parts of either, by which the average person seeing the same without deliberation may believe the same to represent the flag, standards, colors, or ensign of the United States of America.'' Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 101-131, Sec. 3, added subsec. (d). SHORT TITLE OF 1989 AMENDMENT Section 1 of Pub. L. 101-131 provided that: ''This Act (amending this section) may be cited as the 'Flag Protection Act of 1989' [1].'' Texas v. Johnson In first 20 years, the Act was upheld by the local courts and Supreme Court refused to notice it, but then in 1984, during the Republican National Convention in Dallas, Johnson set the flag on fire during the protest. He was convicted of desecration and was sentenced one year in prison and was also fined $ 2000.00. The case went to Supreme Court which affirmed this decision. As a result of this, Congress enacted the Flag Protection Act 1989, according to which, the country's flag should never be desecrated in any form

Jesus or Caesarion Essay Example for Free

Jesus or Caesarion Essay Ptolemy XV Philopator Philometor Caesar (June 23, 47 BC – August 23, 30 BC), better known by the nicknames Caesarion and Ptolemy Caesar, was the last king of the Ptolemaic dynasty of Egypt, who reigned jointly with his mother Cleopatra VII of Egypt, he was nominally the sole pharaoh. Caesarion was proclaimed a god, son of god and King of Kings. Caesarion, who was said to be Cleopatras son by Julius Caesar, was sent by his mother, with much treasure, into India, by way of Ethiopia. However, Caesarions guardians, including his tutor, either were themselves lured by false promises of mercy into returning the boy to Alexandria or perhaps even betrayed him; on the ground that Octavian invited him to take the kingdom of Egypt. The final conflict between Mark Antony (Marcus Antonius) and Octavian (future Emperor Augustus), Antony shared control of the Republic in a triumvirate with Octavian and Lepidus, but Lepidus was forced into retirement by Octavian in 36 BC, leaving Antony and Octavian as rivals. Two years later, in 34 BC, Antony granted various eastern lands and titles to Caesarion and to his own three children with Cleopatra. After losing the Battle of Actium to Octavians forces, Antony committed suicide. Cleopatra followed suit, according to tradition killing herself by means of a snake bite on August 12, 30 BC. She was briefly outlived by Caesarion, who was declared pharaoh by his supporters, but he was soon killed on Octavians orders, who would become the Roman emperor Augustus. Had Caesarion executed in Alexandria, following the advice of Arius Didymus, he advised Augustus to execute Caesarion, with the words ouk agathon polukaisarie (its not good to have too many Caesars) Augustus (Octavian) (September 23, 63 BC – August 19, 14 AD) is the founder of the Roman Empire and its first Emperor, ruling from 27 BC until his death in 14 AD. Augustus died in 14 AD at the age of 75. He may have died from natural causes, though there were unconfirmed rumors that his wife Livia poisoned him. He was succeeded as Emperor by his adopted son (also stepson and former son-in-law) Tiberius. Alexander Helios (25 December 40 BC possibly between 29 BC 25 BC) was a Ptolemaic prince and was the eldest son of Greek Ptolemaic queen Cleopatra VII of Egypt and Roman triumvir Mark Antony. Cleopatra Selene II (25 December 40 BC-anywhere from 9 March 5 BC to 6), also known as Cleopatra VIII of Egypt or Cleopatra VIII was a Ptolemaic Princess and was the only daughter to Greek Ptolemaic queen Cleopatra VII of Egypt and Roman triumvir Mark Antony. Ptolemy Philadelphus ( August/September 36 BC – 29 BC) was a Ptolemaic prince and was the youngest and fourth child of Greek Ptolemaic Queen Cleopatra VII of Egypt, and her third with Roman Triumvir Mark Antony. Octavian took him and elder siblings Alexander Helios and Cleopatra Selene II from Egypt to Italy. Octavian celebrated his military triumph in Rome, by parading the three orphans in heavy golden chains in the streets of Rome. The chains were so heavy they could not walk, prompting reactions of sympathy from the Romans. The three siblings were taken by Octavian and given to Octavia Minor, Octavian’s second elder sister and the siblings father Mark Antonys former wife. Tiberius (16 November 42 BC – 16 March 37 AD), was Roman Emperor from 14 AD to 37 AD. Pontius Pilatus, known in the English-speaking world as Pontius Pilate, was the fifth Prefect of the Roman province of Judaea, from AD 26–36. He is best known as the judge at Jesus trial and the man who authorized the crucifixion of Jesus. As prefect, he served under Emperor Tiberius.

The Importance Of Environmental Scanning Marketing Essay

The Importance Of Environmental Scanning Marketing Essay Marketing oriented firms mostly focus on marketing planning method through which a thorough analysis of market environment is carried out to scan opportunities within market environments, audit the skills and resources of the firm needed to maximize these opportunities, formulating marketing objectives and designing how firm offerings will be positioned among consumer segments when targeting them, and subsequently developing plans to implement and control them to sustain competitive advantage ( Dibb and Simkin, 2008). history of Just Us! Cafes Just Us! Cafes a coffee Roasters Cooperative was co-founded by Debbie and Jeff Moore in the year 1995 (Just Us!, 2012). The cafà © whose headquarter is located in Grand Pre, Nova Scotia, Canada was incorporated under the Cooperative Association Act as the first company (see Appendix 1) with a fair trade coffee roaster in Canada in 1996 (Just Us!, 2012). The vision of Just Us! Cafes is to be a market leader in fair trade business that stands for quality, fairness, professionalism and innovation while the mission of Just Us! Cafes is rooted in authenticity, cooperation, community, and justice (Just Us!, 2012). Just us! Cafes offers products include Coffee, Tea, Chocolate, Sugar, and pastries. Just Us! has 4 Cafes in Nova Scotia, Canada located in Grand Pre, Wolfville, Halifax and Barrington Street (Just Us!,2012). Just Us! has received many awards such as EK chamber of commerce Award as a Best Large firm in Kings County (2000), Ethics Award (2005), Acadia University President Award for Entrepreneur (2005) etc (Just Us!, 2012). 1.0 Critical Evaluation of the Importance of Environmental Scanning. Environmental scanning is simply the method through which marketing environment of an organisation is been closely monitored and carefully analysed (Jobber, 2007). The importance of environmental scanning are; Provides an understanding of Consumers Choice Criteria Body shop (a cosmetic industry) in its environmental scanning through market research in Canada, identified that 34% of consumers use ethical behaviour of companies (in addition to quality of product) as their choice criterion upon which their buying decision is based (Strandberg consulting, 2009). In addition, the impact of firms activities on the ecological habitat of consumers has been another criterion employed by consumers in their buying decision as consumers in Canada tend to embrace moves that decrease Co2 footprint in their environment (Bonini and Oppenheim, 2012). Environmental scanning reveals a paradigm shift in consumers value, attitude and beliefs about products as ethical issues have become a yardstick in their buying decision. The need to be highly sensitive to rapidly changing specific and general business environmental factors is a pre-requisite to the survival of an organisation where a quick change in product/ service line must be matched with changing consumer re quirements (Goyal, 2007; Albright,2007; Jobber;2007). Helps in Identifying Business Trends and Opportunities In 2008 alone, products (such as Flowers, Cocoa, Coffee, Rice, Shea butter) that were fairly traded was said to be imported from 59 countries (Eric, 2012). It takes a thorough environmental scanning of Canadian market to obtain this useful information about the fast growing fair trade business in both the food and non food segment (for example, fashion industry). With environmental scanning, Just us! Cafes and its competitors (Kicking horse, Kraft foods, StarBucks etc) were able to capitalize on the fair-trade opportunities and thus get sensitized on the drastic changing needs and expectations of their consumers. Environmental scanning offered these market players qualitative and quantitative information about the needs of their consumers, enabling them to strategise on how these needs could be met and as a result the image of these organisations were improved through a clear definition of what they stood for in Canadian fair trade wholesale and retail market (Costa, 1995). This is a n evidence that environmental scanning is linked to improvement in organisational performance (Slaughter, 1999). Provides Basis for Segmenting Consumer Markets Part of the achievements of Cafes in Canadian markets attributed to environmental scanning is ability of these brands to segment their products and services effectively and efficiently well. For example, all brands of Cafes in Canada (Kraft foods, Just Us!, Kicking horse, StarBucks etc) have been able to adopt a behavioural segmentation in the consumer markets where fair trade is used in one way or the other to gain market share as consumers beliefs, values and perception are rooted in fair trade. Psychographic segmentation that entails the strategy by which consumers are grouped base on lifestyle and personality characteristics (Jobber,2007) has been exploited by brands where Just us! Cafes had been targeting young, well educated consumers that are willing to offer premium price for fair trade products (Ethical Consumer, 2011) while Kraft Foodservice are caught romancing college students (perceived to be part of socially and environmentally conscious customers) with its All Life 100 % Colombian coffee brand (Rain Forest Alliance, 2004). Brands utilise Profile Segmentation where geographic variables like areas local names and culture (Jobber, 2007) are been used to differentiate their coffee from competitors and thus adapting their services and products to customers taste and culture, and locating their outlets in close proximity to their target consumers. Helps an organisation to identify it shortcomings and address them Through environmental scanning, Just Us! Cafes has been able to identify emerging issues and conditions leading the company to a dead end. This led management of Just Us! to develop an organisational structure where roles are allocated to employees based on their competencies and skills (e.g. the need for Juliet to handle the marketing functions of Just us! Cafes) to be able to deal with emerging issues confronting Just Us! Cafes. Limitation of Environmental Scanning. However, environmental scanning does not totally lead to an accurate prediction of business future and it does not guarantee effectiveness as witnessed in situation where many competitors of Just us! Cafes located in the heart of Nova Scotia had to close down their businesses when they couldnt survive in the midst of heated competitions. But businesses should ensure frequent environment scanning so as to increase their sensitivity to environmental signals rather than relying on analysis of historical data or predicting how such data will change (Johnson et al. 2008). 1.2. Internal and External Challenges Confronting Just Us! Cafes. Internal challenges are issues that focus on resources and competence (capabilities) of a company, revealing the strengths and weaknesses of such company while external challenges are concerned with the external environment in which the company operates, predisposing its activities to threat or presenting it with opportunities ( Hill and Joney, 2008). SWOT analysis of Just Us! Cafes Strengths Just Us! Cafes brand over the years has successfully won strong customer loyalty with strong preference for its products, services, and what the business stands for in Nova Scotia (fairness, justice and quality). The founders of Just Us! Cafes (Jeff and Debbie Moore) have a sound background experience in social and community development well aligned with their humanitarian philosophy (people before profit) enough to equip them in fulfilling their business mission (quality, fairness, and justice). The products and services (that are fairly traded and F.L.O certified) which Just us! Cafes offer her customers are immensely differentiated from competitors and thus give Just Us! Cafes a crystal clear market advantage over all her competitors. Just Us! Cafes management has a deep understanding of it distribution channel and an intimate relationship with wholesale and retail stores (Atlantic Superstore and Sobeys). Just Us! Cafes is equipped with employees that are committed to delivering products and services in a manner that meets and surpasses consumers expectation. Just Us! Cafes operates in favourable locations that are in close proximity with her consumers such as Grand Pre, Halifax, Wolfville and Barrington Street as well as a very strong presence in 3 key universities of Canada in Nova Scotia. Weaknesses Inability or lack of capability of Just Us! Cafes to expand it business to new markets within Canada. Just Us! Cafes doesnt have enough financial resources and competence as compared to some of its competitors tapping into the fair trade market. Just Us! Cafes have 4 Cafes (Wolfville, Halifax, Grand-pre and Barrington Street) just in Nova Scotia province. This is limiting its ability to reach enough consumers with its fair trade products as compared to Tim Hortons and Second cup who have 170 and 360 stores respectively. In the area of advertisement, Just Us! lacks experience and expertise. The reduction of revenue and the inability to defend and extend their core business shows lack of a good business strategy. Just Us! is too dependent on stores like Loblaws (also Just Us! competitor) and Sobeys as its distribution channel in the retail market. Threats Just Us! could face scarcity of fair trade products as a result of wide swing in commodity market. Transporting fair trade products from developing country to Canada may be stopped due to the need to lessen carbon emission to the environment. If importation of fair trade raw materials are stopped, the fair trade mission and strategy of Just Us! will be in jeopardy. The fair trade and organic business of Just us! Cafes have become fiercely competitive as competitors struggle intensely to attract and retain consumers in order to benefit from the attractive fair trade market. Fair trade certification is not recognised by the government of Canada and as such, no government policy has being designed for it and thus resulting in unfair practices among Just Us! competitors who portray their products as fair trade when they are not in the real sense. Consumers preferences for Just Us! products is changing rapidly resulting in fast decline in new product life cycle. Opportunities Majority of consumers in Canadian market are interested in fair trade products, presenting huge opportunities for Just Us! to increase their revenue through fair trade. Consumers are willing to offer premium price for fair trade products of Just Us! if they better informed. There is an increasing trend in the number of fair trade farmers from developing countries and thus leads to availability of fair trade products. There are still wide gaps or opportunities to explore by Just Us! in the fair trade market if a right strategy is put in place. PESTEL of Just Us! PESTEL Framework (Political, Environmental, Socio-cultural, Technological, Environmental (green) and Legal) are external factors/challenges that is common to all businesses. Political In Canada, though government policies contain rules and regulations for activities concerning healthy lifestyle of citizen as well as environmental protection, policy for fair trade market has not been developed by Canadian government. For example, CISO (2012) stated that Canadian Federal and Provincial Agencies (CFPA) are guided by respective purchasing departments in their purchasing decisions. At Federal level, Public Works and Government Service Canada (PWGSC)-who have standing offers (open contract) for many goods and purchase them on behalf of other Department-, make green purchasing or recommendations to the department through their office of Greening government operations but their recommendations do not include fair trade products Evidence of lack of attention given to fair trade in Canada is shown in the table 1.1 below. This made it easier for Just Us! competitors who are not dedicated to fair trade (maybe due to cost associated with it) to portray their offerings to the market as fairly traded. Country Policy or Guideline Specifies Certified Fair Trade Canada Federal à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Policy on Green Procurement (as of April 1, 2006 for all federal departments) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Sustainable Development Strategies (prepared by all federal departments every 3 years) and Departments Environmental policies and Departmental Performance Reports à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Environmental Petitions by Canadian Residents à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Department of Foreign Affairs Green Procurement checklist à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Department of Foreign Affairs Kit for Ensuring Green Conferences à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Environment Canada principles or practice on green purchasing, as well as a standard clause for product tenders and service contracts Provincial à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The Sustainable Development Act (Manitoba and Quebec) and related Sustainable Development Procurement Policies Local à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Ethical Purchasing Policies (Vancouver, Toronto, Black Diamond) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ No à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ No (for Foreign Affairs, others unknown) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ No à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ No à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ No à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ No à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ No à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Yes (no for Toronto) Table 1: Examples of Relevant Guidelines and Policies that Encourage Social and Environmental Purchasing in Canadian Government Agencies (CISO,2012). Economy Between 2010-2011, Canadas GDP was said to have grown by 2.8% a year (which was more than economies of other rich country, most especially U.S). However, in 2012, Canadas economy has been discovered to have a slow GDP growth of 1.9% as a result of lower prices for Canadas resource exports, weak demand of its goods from Europe and its strong currency (The Economist, 2012). This has led to recession presently in Canada, preventing Just Us! Cafes from implementing her expansion strategy. Also, Recession in Canada due to decline in GDP could result in budget pressure and spending cuts leaving consumer with little or no disposable income to spend on premium fair trade products that Just Us! offers, since availability of consumers purchasing power absolutely relies on income, prices, debt and savings (Kotler and Keller, 2012). Social-Cultural Over the last 3 decades, the main driver of fair trade is expressed to be the highly growing trend of ethical consumerism (Burke and Berry, 1974, cited in Opal and Nicholls, 2005, page 23).Consumers values, attitude and lifestyle are rooted in high quality, ethically sourced and healthy products. The preference for these attributes has created a great opportunities for fair trade markets and thus resulted in a highly competitive fair trade market that is becoming too heated for Just Us! the early player. Technological. From between 2002-2008, there was no record that reveals that Just Us! Cafes integrated e-commerce into their customer service operation despite the fact that e-commerce that includes online service had been the major driver of supply chain in coffee industry in the 21st century. However, Just Us! has integrated e-commerce into their customer service operation where customers orders are received and fulfilled via e-commerce. Environment and Legal The current trend in Western Europe involves series of public actions (legal) to reduce Co2 emission to the environment, seeing majority of firms been taxed heavily on the basis of Co2 emission that their activities (majorly machinery) dissipate to the environment (co2gram/kilowatt/hour). However, opportunities abound for organisations that can reconcile profitability with the protection of their business environment (Kottler and Keller, 2012). But this trend towards greener activities is partly a threat to Just Us! fair trade as the need to source for raw materials locally rather than sourcing from distant developing countries (which is the basis of fair trade) to lessen Co2 emission to the atmosphere due to transportation is becoming an emerging issue presently. On the other hand, weather is becoming quite unpredictable and this is a threat to farm productivity. For example, the Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) the worlds largest agricultural commodities traders recently got its net profits reduced by 60% due to a sudden drought in the U.S that hampered farm productivity (Financial Times, 2012). This can also pose threats to the fair trade markets, resulting in scarcities in the commodity markets, high prices for food and high cost of raw materials. Porters 5 forces for Just Us!. The Porters 5 forces as shown in Fig 1.1 below is used by businesses to indentify how profitable a particular business is (Johnson et al. 2008). Threat of New Entrants to Fair Trade Market There is a high threat of new entrants to the fair trade market with a growing trend in the demand for fair products. As a result of this, small, independent and well established cafes are competing with Just Us! as a result of this. Threat of Substitute for Just Us! products and Services As barriers to fair trade market are getting weaker, competitors are offering a similar fair trade product as Just Us! thereby presenting consumers with opportunities to replace Just Us! products if they do not meet their expectations. Bargaining Power of Suppliers The number of farmers producing farm produce has been reported to be growing. In 2008 alone, 59 countries have been reported to have supplied Canada. Thus, as the growing trend increases, the bargaining power of buyers becomes higher than the farmers. On the other hand, bargaining power is also dependent on the availability of produce. If there is scarcity of fair trade produce, then the bargaining power of farmers become higher. Bargaining Power of Buyers Logically, as barrier to new entrants gets weaker and threat of substitute get higher, end users may not be able to offer premium price for fair trade products of Just Us!. This gives consumers the ability to determine price. Threat of Rivalry Since competitors of Just Us! offer similar products to same group of consumers, competitive rivalry is certain. 1.3 Extent to which Challenges threaten the Future of Just Us! Up to a very large extent, challenges in the form of fierce competition (which is promoted by government policies), constant change in fair trade market (occasioned by rapid change in consumers preferences for coffee and other products) and lack of sustainable strategy of Just Us! to address these issues will lead to lower consumer base, reduction in market share and profit and as time goes on, Just Us! fair trade business will cease to exist in Canada. 2.0. Appropriate Framework of Analysis to Analyse Competitive Strategy Adopted by Just Us! In analyzing the competitive strategy adopted by Just Us!, marketing mix strategy (7Ps) will be adopted. Products: Just Us! satisfied the wants and needs of consumers with fair trade and organic products like Coffee, Tea, Chocolate, Sugar, and Muffins. Just Us! adopted a distinctive product differentiation strategy through provision of fair trade and organic products to its customers that are willing to pay premium. Just Us! also have specialty products lines such as Coffee (Rwanda Cafà © Femenino, Tarrazu Honey, Mexican Morning, Wisdom, Rainforest Rhapsody, etc), Teas (Chai Tea, Early green, Darjeeling loose, Maritime Breakfast tea etc) that meet various tastes of consumers. Price: For all Just Us! fair trade products and added services (atmosphere adapted to consumers taste), a premium pricing strategy was adopted by Just Us! where consumers are charged for added value in form of organic and fair trade products provided to them. Place: With respect to place, Just Us! pursued an adaptation strategy where atmosphere of different locations (Wolfville, Halifax, Grad Pre and Barrington Street) were adapted to taste, culture of consumers and making it comfortable as incubator for developing relationships among consumers within their communities. Just Us! adopted two types of strategic alliance in a bid to make their products available to consumers and in a bid to expand. The two types of strategic alliance adopted were; a.Logistical Alliance: where Just Us! formed alliance with wholesales and retail outlets (e.g. Loblawas, and Sobeys), health food shops, churches, universities (Saint Francis Xavier, Saint Mary University etc) that offer logistical service to ensure the availability of Just Us! products all around Canada. b. Product and Service alliance: although this type of strategic alliance failed Just Us!, Just Us! had once partnered with a local businessman in Toronto as part of their expansion strategy into Toronto market. Just Us! also formed partnerships with Acadia Cinema Cooperative to use the cinema service as a means to sell fair trade products. Promotion: In a bid to promote Just Us! fair trade offerings, 10% of its profit was allocated for opening fair trade coffee museum where consumers are enlightened about the advantages of fair trade. On top of this, a non-profit organisation known as JUDES (Just Us! Development and Education Society) was developed to create awareness for fair trade and societal development. Just Us! through JUDES also used documentary and educational activities to enlighten social institutions on the importance of fair trade. Just Us! also used newspaper, magazines (student magazines and discount coupons), outdoor advertising (board in Grand Pre), point-of-purchase advertising (Valentine, Christmas and other seasonal events), internet (www.justus!cafes.com), sales promotion (reduced Christmas merchandise) and PR, events and sponsorship (during CEDIF meeting). People: through proper recruitment and selection process, Just Us! was able to attract talented staff and committed employees which were subsequently trained to deliver finished products (e.g. Coffee and Tea) in a way that expressed quality and care. Process: part of the process of Just Us! aimed at preserving and delivering fresh and quality coffee to her consumers includes roasting Coffee for example in small batches after which they were packaged in the plant and subsequently sent to consumers. Process of Just Us! also involves close supervision of coffee quality at every stage of the production process (from raw materials to finished products) Physical Evidence: This is essentially environment that surrounds the fair trade products and services that are offered by Jut Us! (Richard and Gilligan, 2005). This includes; fair trade coffee museum in Grand Pre, the brown coloured logo of Just Us! that differentiated them from competitors, coffee bean manufacturing plant in Grand Pre , Just Us! theatre, gift shops and other facilities and equipment (tangibles) that communicate message concerning fair trade that Just Us! stood for. 3.0 Strategic Options Available to Just Us! Despite the continuous growth of consumers in fair trade segments since 2008 (now around 44% of consumers in Canada), Just Us!, a distinctive fair trade food business that was incorporated under the Cooperative Act and certified by Fair Trade Labeling Organisation (FLO) has seen it growth slightly increased between 2008 to 2011 (Figure 1.1) in the midst of competitors (Kicking Horse, Tim Hortons, Second cup, Kraft, Nestle etc) that are not deeply committed and consistent to fair trade model witnessing a high revenue from the fair trade market. For example, between 2009 to 2010, sales revenue grew by 1.72% to $7,103,981 with an increasing cost from 4,257,282 in 2009 to 4,310,222 in 2010 (Figure 1.2). Figure 1: Revenue of Just Us! between 2002 to 2011(Just Us!, 2012) Figure 2: The End of Year Statement of Just Us! Coffee Roasters (Just Us!,2012). To address these problem, Just Us! can engage one of these options; Consolidation This is the situation where Just Us! can strategise on defending their existing fair trade products (coffee, chocolate, tea, sugar) in their existing market in the province of Nova Scotia (Wolfville, Barrington Street, Grand Pre, and Halifax) . According to Safah (2008), this non-growth strategy is aimed at maintaining the business status quo to protect a business status in its environment. Just Us! can achieve consolidation through either; Defending their market share: Through Customer Relationship Management (CRM) , Just Us! can build a protective wall around its customer base (Smith and Zook, 2011) through effective management of individual consumers information in order to maximize loyalty ( Kotler and Keller,2012). Just Us! should invest in communication technology where consumers database will be housed and used effectively. For example, automated greetings should be programmed to respond to any occasions consumers are celebrating. CRM management should go beyond business transaction to personal affection and care for consumers welfare. Through this CRM, Just Us! will be able secure their consumers. Even CRM can also be done through social media where Just Us! club can be formed for the purpose of a two-way communication between Just Us! and existing consumers. Downsizing or Divestment In Figure 1.2 above, cost of good sold, administration and members expenses all constitute a higher cost to Just Us! Cafes. Just Us! could seek to consolidate by pruning its staff size to reduce cost of human resources or it could hold on to 20% of Just Us! products that contribute 80% of its revenue while the rest are shed off the Cafes product line. For example in Table 1.2 below, between 2004- 2007, fairly traded Tea and Sugar (though sugar is perceived to have adverse impact on health and thus fair trade honey could be a good substitute) have been observed to contribute a less margin to revenue and hence less growth to fair trade market in Canada. So Just Us! could remove these products from it portfolio while they concentrate on Coffee and Cocoa. Growth 2004 2005 2006 2007 Total market share % market rank Cofee 41% 56% 61% 55% $ 9,083,836 80% 1 Cocoa 115% 96% 91% 0% $ 1,253,849 11% 2 Sugar 139% 158% 97% 63% $ 789,150 7% 3 Tea 54% 74% 68% 339% $ 173,642 2% 4 Total Revenue 49% 65% 67% 50% $ 11,300,477 100% market share % 100% market rank Table 2: The growth of fair trade products in Canadian Market Market Penetration. Just Us! could also increase sales of their current fair trade products in the province of Nova Scotia in which they are presently operating (Halifax, Barrington Street, Wolfville and Grand Pre) through winning competitors consumers by planning and implementing effective promotion or distribution strategy or they could cut prices of their products Promotion A good promotional strategy with an appropriate channel to reach target markets will be one of the appropriate methods by which Just Us! can attract competitors consumers. Through integrated marketing communication, Just Us! can better coordinate its marketing tools in order to deliver its social and environmental responsibilities, quality, fairness and equity message in a clear and consistent manner to all consumers. For example, Just Us! is the only Cafà © business that is incorporated under the cooperative act which seeks greater fairness and poverty eradication in developing countries and on top of this, all fair trade products of Just Us! were certified by Fair Trade Labeling Organisation. Just Us! could choose to deploy it resources towards creating awareness about what it stands for and this could stimulate interest, desire and repeated purchase of its products. The landing page of Just Us! site (www.justus.com) should be decorated with prestigious awards obtained by Just Us! to affirm what they stand for and this could lead to customer conversion upon arrival to the landing page. Just Us! should also use social media to communicate their messages while using emotional adverts on Tv and Radio station to preach fairness in addition to what JUDES does for them. For example, over 4 years, Cadbury Schweppes had attributed its high revenue to high expenditure on promotional efforts. Distribution According to Chopra and Meindhl (2007), distribution has been expressed to be the major driver of an organisations overall profitability since it directly determines both supply chain cost and consumer experience. The presence of Just us! in 4 places within the province of Nova Scotia alone is not an effective means of reaching potential consumers of Just Us!. Tim Hortons (170) and Second cup (360) within Nova Scotia have been able to decentralize their shops in every nook and cranny to better reach their consumers and increase response time and convenience and through this, they have been known as a quick service restaurant in Nova Scotia. There is no point in having good quality fair trade products without reaching enough consumers. Even if there is no fund to lease or build more cafes, Just Us! could form more partnerships (logistical or product and service alliance) with more retail and wholesale outlets in Annapolis, Pictou, Inverness, Yarmouth, Antigonish, Hants etc. For example, Sainsbury has emerged as market leader in UK grocery market due to its ability of Sainsbury to open more convenience stores all around UK. Pricing strategy Just Us! could also use price to penetrate and attract competitors consumers. Just Us! involving itself in a price war wont go too well for the Cafà ©. However, a psychological pricing strategy could be adopted to increase demands for its quality fair trade products. For example, Apple used price to penetrate the market when it launched its 3G iphone at a cheaper price ($199) as compared to its competitors that were offering $399 for 2G iphones (Jobber,2007) Market Development Market development is another strategic option that Just us! can explore to increase it market share by selling fair trade products to new markets beyond the shores of Nova Scotia or outside Canada. For example, in Vancouver and Black diamond, Just Us! can seek to expand their Cafes to these provinces where there are ethical purchasing policies that favour their fair trade business model (as indicated in Table 1) unlike Nova-Scotia. Mergers or acquisition will be a fast way through which Just Us! can sell its existing products to Vancouver and Black diamond swiftly. For example, Just Us! could merge with Earths Choice a fair trade coffee roaster business in Vancouver or Cinnamon spoon in Black diamond . Other

Roles and responsibilities of journalist

Roles and responsibilities of journalist Introduction In my opinion, the main responsibility of a journalist is to report the news in a truthful, unbiased and apolitical way. As a result of this, I endeavour to make certain that my own writing adheres to this criteria. Both the Press Complaints Commission (PCC) and the Office of Communications (Ofcom) codes of conduct detail accuracy as one of the major guidelines that journalists should respond to. The PCC work to enforce their code of conduct in the newspaper industry and it is the cornerstone of the system of self-regulation to which the industry has made a binding commitment. (Press Complaints Commission 2009). As a practicing journalist I feel it is important to work in correlation with these codes right from the offset, so as to ensure my writing is of the highest standard throughout my entire career. I hope that this is evident in my journalism portfolio assignment. In this report I will be looking at the importance of accurate, unbiased journalism and how I have applied this to my own news stories. Discussing the roles and responsibilities of the journalist with reference to my own experience of working as a journalist Journalists have a number of roles and responsibilities that they must consider throughout the course of their entire career; but of course this depends upon the area of journalism with which they are involved. For the sake of my report I will be concentrating on the main area of journalism we have explored thus far and that is reporting the news. Whilst reporting the news, Journalists should take into consideration the audience and prospective publication, their editor and importantly, their own personal interests (for example, any legal obligations). While some journalists may choose to go against what could perhaps be described as an ethical grain, I feel that a truly successful journalist would always consider the above before submitting anything for publication. However, one could perhaps put forward the argument of public interest. Accurate A journalist has a service to the media prescribing public to make sure that the news they report is accurate. This is enforced by self-regulating bodies and media laws such as libel and defamation. Other laws are in place to make sure that journalists do not impose upon court trials, such as contempt of court. At present I am learning Teeline shorthand as part of my course module: Preparation for NCTJ Accreditation. One of the main factors that has made reporting accurately a real problem for me so far has been my inability to write at a high enough speed in court hearings and council meetings. All that it would take is one piece of information taken down incorrectly or missed out altogether and the credibility of a news story could be lost completely. While I dont think that I have made any errors in my work so far, it is definitely an issue for me. Hopefully as my Teeline skills improve, I will become more confident and begin to apply it to journalistic situations. On my first visit to Sheffield Magistrates Court, I was unfortunate enough to sit in on a hearing that was eventually committed to Crown court for trial before a jury. Legally, I would be unable to report on this story until sentencing was complete, something our assignment would not permit us to do. Because of this, I had to look for another case to write about that I could report on without the fear of contempt. I tried to ensure complete accuracy in my stories, lending extra care to the names and details of the people involved. While there were no real legal issues with my stories as they were not intended for publication, it was still important both for mine and the assignments sake for them to be precise. I tried to put myself into the mind-set of a professional journalist and consider their roles and responsibilities, which I think enabled me to write my stories as though they really were intended for an audience. Unbiased Further to accuracy, Journalists should ensure that their news writing is unbiased and presents the basic facts for their audience to determine their own set of judgements. Any opinions should be in the form of attributed quotes and a good journalist will show both sides of the story. As our assignment entailed writing up a report of a court case, I presented the facts in order of importance in the pyramid style we have been taught and without offering any opinions of my own. For my council story, I was dealing with a potential story of high human interest. The subject matter was fairly sensitive as it was regarding the confirmation of a school closure in Sheffield, affecting hundreds of local children and parents. I wrote my story using the facts and quotes I had obtained from a full council meeting, a cabinet meeting and relevant literature from both sides: the cabinet, education officers, school governors and the parents themselves. I think I succeeded in writing this story from a completely neutral and unbiased perspective. Due to the sensitive nature I wanted to make sure that my opinion did not come out in my writing. Whether I was for or against the closure was not important for the type of the story and my main intention was for the prospective reader to create their own opinion. Apolitical Sheffield is a Liberal Democrat council and throughout the council meetings there was some heckling from the Labour and Conservative party representatives that were present. I think I succeeded in keeping to the third responsibility for journalists that I outlined earlier by being politically neutral in this particular piece. I think my writing here is apolitical and my own political persuasions are not directly accessible in any of my three news stories. Plain English To help with the readability and accessibility of their news stories, Journalists should ensure that their writing meets the style of their specific publication and editor. Further to this, writing should be in plain English and without jargon. This is especially important in writing stories from court cases, council meetings and police statements. For our assignment, we were to write our three news stories in the guise of a regional newspaper reporter. I read a lot of regional journalism both online and in print and feel that I have a good knowledge of the writing style, which I hope is evident in my work. In addition, I always attempt to maintain a good level of plain English throughout my journalistic writing. I feel that my court story reflects this positively and reads well. Public Interest The final area I wish to explore is public and human interest. Above the ethical responsibilities, Journalists are encouraged to write interesting news as that is what really sells newspapers. Public interest is the Holy Grail for journalists and ideally all stories we write would draw a large amount of it. Public interest can also be used as a defence for when journalists go a little too far out of their way to obtain a story. For example, if a journalist goes against either the PCC or the Ofcom code of conduct, but it can be said that the story holds a significant amount of public interest, they may well escape unscathed. However, it is easy to question the ethical consequences of these actions. For my court and council stories I think that I have captured a good amount of public interest, as both stories have elements that make them newsworthy. I am slightly disappointed that my own sources story is not quite as successful in this element, but I still regard it as a fairly strong piece of journalism. While it does not have the immediacy and drama of the other stories, it takes a more feel good and festive approach. I feel I could have found a more exciting story, but quite liked the varied themes of my 3 pieces. Conclusion While I completely understand the need for bias and political standing to be kept separate from news stories and reports, not all aspects of the journalism trade call for this. For example, columnists build up an entire fan base and reputation based upon their witty and interesting take on the news. Being objective and impartial in journalism will serve a purpose as far as simply reporting the news goes, but one must learn to associate certain roles and responsibilities with different areas of the craft. I have always thought of myself as a competent writer, but have found the news writing side somewhat challenging since I started my degree. We have learned in our lectures and seminars that news writing follows a certain formula which I am doing my best to learn, but up until this most recent assignment my practice has mainly been writing from fictional briefs. While helpful, this does not give the journalist to be the real sense of reality that this task has provided. Sitting in on both court cases and council meetings in situations that were potentially life changing for those involved has been a much more rewarding experience for me. It is this encounter with the people directly affected by the news I am writing that I feel helps to shape the practicing journalist and give them sufficient respect for the importance of upholding their roles and responsibilities throughout the course of their career. One cannot truly appreciate the need for upholding the codes of conduct set in place by the PCC and Ofcom, or have a complete understanding of the necessary responsibilities being a journalist entails, without the first-hand experience of working with real people. I feel that my own stories in this assignment were successful pieces of news writing and further than that, of a sufficient standard for publishing in regional newspapers. However, I feel that the things I have considered in this report will be the catalyst for me to get out and improve my confidence and abilities further and actively try to investigate stories with a serious view to getting them published. Bibliography Press Complaints Commission. Editors Code of Practice. (2009). [online] Last accessed 05/01/2010 at: http://www.pcc.org.uk/cop/practice.html