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critical analysis of The Third Way

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Introduction

Introduction

The governance of any country has always been touted as having an incredible impact on the wellbeing of that country, as well as its populace. Throughout the human society, governance has mainly been founded on two ideologies namely socialism and capitalism. Different countries have taken up different ideologies in line with their interests (or the interests of the elites), all in an effort to enhance their wealth and wellbeing, both in the long-term and the short-term. On the same note, different ideologies have been found as effective in different times for different countries. In the case of Europe, a large part of its history has been leaning on leftist or socialist policies. In fact, the political geography of Europe at the end of the 20th century was predominantly governed by left-of-center governments, which took up 11 of the 15 European Union states. However, this number has been changing fast towards the right with only 8 of the states being under left-of-center government in 2002, a number that could continue reducing or changing. Not only has the moderate right returned to power, but the far right has also being incorporated in power. Questions, however, emerge on whether these changes are symbolizing an ideological transition where free markets have become more popular and applicable in the modern society. Scholars state that just as the grasp of power in the mid-90s did not mean that the European Union was leaning to the left, the electorate today may not be leaning to the right. The only reasons why the right may be performing well is because they have a more refined political outlook that is more appealing to a larger part of the population and even gotten rid of varied ideologies that made them less appealing to the electorate. In addition, the center-left was dogged by policy failure. However, as Giddens noted in an article in The Guardian, voters in these times are largely non-ideological taking neither the right nor the left. The varied weaknesses of the right and the left politics have given rise to a new political stand christened “The third way”. As a chief proponent of the third way, Giddens notes that the third way is based on two key elements. These are the reformation of welfare systems and labor markets so as to emphasize on creating jobs or enhancing employment, as well as the necessity of addressing varied issues that were traditionally under the domain of the right. The Third Way is essentially Giddens’ political philosophy that has the sole aim of redefining social democracy for globalization or post- Cold War era. Giddens’ main argument, in this case, is that the political concepts pertaining to the right and the left are crumbling down mainly because they do not present a clear alternative to capitalism. These are the ideas that informed Giddens’ book, “The Third Way: The Renewal of Social Democracy”. In this book, Giddens comes up with a framework that underlines justification for the “third way”, as well as a broad set of policy proposals that mainly aim at taking British politics towards the progressive center-left.

On the overall, The Third Way is mainly composed of a description of the current situation in which the European Union is after the crumbling of socialism. The book circles around five dilemmas that the European Union faces. First, he notes that globalization has given an entirely new meaning to sovereignty, government and nationhood. In addition, he notes that there is an entirely new individualism that, though not necessarily selfish, underlines the notion that the social solidarity may never again be imposed from the top to the bottom. As much as there is an element of dynamicity in the distinctions between the right and the left, the left is seen as more sympathetic to equality and social justice. Third, Giddens underlines the fact that some jobs can only be undertaken by governments, irrespective of the fact that the effectiveness of pressure groups is increasing relative to the influence of politicians (Giddens 6b). He notes, however, that there exists some problems such as the European Union’s future, global warming and devolution, pertaining to which it is imperative that people think in the line of left vs. right. Lastly, he notes that as much as there may be exaggeration of environmental dangers, experts often differ in which case it would be dangerous to be optimistic about them.

The book seems to be specifically addressed to the left, to whom it throws two key challenges. First, it challenges the left to be more attentive to issues that fall outside the left-right range or spectrum. While he agrees with Norberto Bobbio’s thesis to the effect that the distinction between the left and right is crucial and that inequality remaining at its core. He, however, believes that a large number of ideas that fall within the spectrum of left-right politics have been entirely neglected (David 13). These include global warming and devolution, as well as the question on whether work should remain a key life value. Secondly, Giddens challenges social democrats to reevaluate the role that welfare plays in the society. He opines that welfare is undemocratic and does not offer enough space to personal liberty, not to mention the fact that it may be inefficient, bureaucratic and alienating (Giddens 13a). However, he does not agree with those in the right as to having these reasons as sufficient to eliminate the welfare state rather it should be a clarion call for reforming the welfare state (Giddens 13a). Giddens feels that nongovernmental organizations should be used to channel money in instances where it would be efficient to do that and use such finances in a manner that results in recapturing of public space, strengthens civil liberalism and establishes a more open, democratic and cosmopolitan or broad-based society.

The ideas outlined in this book may be further understood by examining Giddens musings in 1999. Giddens quotes recent sociological research done in the United States, Germany and Britain, noting that it challenges social democratic and traditional socialist policy. This research raised questions pertaining to the response of traditional left-of-center to poverty, as well as the related social problems (The higher education, 3). He notes that the research places emphasis on the necessity of the third way, as well as its importance. Giddens notes that while the left may have seen the poor as victims, most people react actively to their lives. He underlined the importance of a well-funded welfare, as well as a welfare system that catered for people’s needs rather than creating dependencies. Given that socialism as a doctrine may be dead, Giddens advocates for the establishment of a capitalist society that is more humane and incorporates the values that were predominantly seen as for the left including protecting the weak, solidarity and equality (The Higher Education 11).

The key aim of the book was finding a way that goes beyond market fundamentalism, as well as the traditional social democracy and apply the framework to a broad range of political problems right from those of a global scale to those that people have in their everyday life. He acknowledges that capitalism, when left on its own, is economically inefficient, incapable of reproducing itself in the long-term, as well as socially divisive (Giddens 3a). It is imperative that social democrats are preoccupied with establishing public goods, public institutions and public realm after the long instance in which the market based policies were the in-thing. He notes that the public sphere is note tantamount to the state. It is imperative that the reformation of the state is emphasized on especially in instances where it does not respond to the concerns of the citizens, where it has evolved into overly bureaucratic or been captured by the interests of the producers. Social democrats must recognize and deploy the distinctive qualities of the markets, especially it fluidity and ability to respond to numerous pricing signals, as well as stimulate growth (Giddens 14b). However, it is imperative that the markets are regulated so as to shape them and channel their efforts to public purpose. This is especially with regards to regulating the world financial markets which make up the single most pressing problem in the world economy.

As much as the book comes as incredibly comprehensive, it goes without saying that it suffers the risk of simplicity. Mr. Giddens has admitted that he is merely offering an outline. However, scholars note that this comes as a deceptive category of modesty especially considering that the claims that he puts forward are essentially an integrated political program that encompasses every key sector of the society (David 34). However, scholars note that Giddens should have brought about at least a new proposal that has the capacity to ruffle some feathers or that is a bit radical. The problems that the European Union is facing cannot be eliminated through the same strategies that have been proposed in the past. Some element of radicalism is imperative, but is lacking in the integrated political program that Giddens advances. The program is ultimately a list of traditional appeals to what scholars call civic virtue, where every bet has been avoided and all hard choices evaded. The ideas that are presented here are simply similar to what can, without any risk whatsoever, be incorporated in any social democratic party’s manifesto in an effort to mend up its tattered image. This is seen as the case for Giddens who was a chief economist for Tony Blair.

On the same note, there is confusion as to why he should be addressing the book to social democrats and make a raft of proposals on what they should do to reform their policies, yet call upon capitalism to make changes, as well so as to be more responsive to the concerns of the public or the electorate. In essence, it is unclear where the author aims at effecting the changes or even what he sees as the best alternative of governance for the European Union in the short-term and the long-term (David 45). This, however, does not negate the fact that the book would make an awesome read for individuals who aim at understanding where the different forms of governance go wrong, as well as what strategies would come in handy in solving the problems.

Works cited

Giddens, Anthony. The Third Way. Cambridge: Polity, 1998. Print.

Giddens, Anthony. The third way can beat the far right: By modernising, liberalising and being tough on immigration. The Guardian, 2002 Retrieved 2nd March 2013 from HYPERLINK “http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2002/may/03/eu.thefarright” http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2002/may/03/eu.thefarright

Giddens, Anthony. The Third Way Revisited. Social Europe Journal, 2010 Retrieved 2nd April from HYPERLINK “http://www.social-europe.eu/2010/11/the-third-way-revisited/” http://www.social-europe.eu/2010/11/the-third-way-revisited/

The Higher Education. Giddens defends third-way politics. The Higher Education, 1999. Retrieved 2nd April from from HYPERLINK “http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/148571.article” http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/148571.article

David, Halpin. Hope and Education: The Role of the Utopian Imagination, London: Routledge, 2003. Print

Critical analysis of the claim that healthy image issues are not brought about when young girls and toddlers participate in p

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Position Paper

The claim I will present at the end of my opening paragraph is that pageants for toddlers and young girls, do not create a healthy body image. In order to ensure that tourism levels in the United States progressed, the idea of beauty pageants came up. This initiative started in the year 1921, and up to date, many pageants’ for children are taking place all over the country. Parents are making their young toddlers and especially girls, to participate in beauty pageants. Most of them engage in this act, despite their children not being willing and even ignoring the impact, which it might have to the toddlers in the future (Neumark-Sztainer & Paxton & Hannon & Haines, 2006. 244).

This paper seeks to give a critical analysis of the claim that healthy image issues are not brought about when young girls and toddlers participate in pageants.

Critical analysis on the impact of pageants’ on young girls and toddlers in terms of health and body issues created

My first supporting statement is: sexualization is experienced by the young girls and toddlers as a result of participating in pageants.

This is an example of a fact.

I will need to provide the following backing to convince readers that my support is valid: 

There are many ways through, which sexualization occurs, when the young girls and toddlers participate in pageants. Most times, the contestants become aware of themselves and this is usually in a negative manner. They tend to ‘sexy’ practices and behaviors, which are witnessed in adult contestants. These can be through putting on fake lashes, having on excess make up, as well as putting on high heels, among other things (Neumark-Sztainer & Paxton & Hannon & Haines, 2006. 246).

The young participants are harmed by the culture that is extremely sex saturated at the various pageants. In turn, they develop negative psychological thoughts and behaviors concerning their body. According to studies done, in the future, such children are prone to have weight issues in the future. Often, they try every means possible to ensure that they have bodies, which resemble that of others participating in other pageants’. They can even go to extreme measures to ensure that they achieve the ideal weight by taking dangerous slimming pills, going on unhealthy diets, among others (Neumark-Sztainer & Paxton & Hannon & Haines, 2006. 249).

My second supporting statement is: Self image issues are raised as a result of the young girls and toddlers participating in pageants.

This is an example of an Interview.

I will need to provide the following backing to convince readers that my support is valid: I once was lucky to obtain the opportunity to meet a six year old girl, known as Ashley, who regularly participates in beauty pageants. According to her parents, enrolling her into the pageants is a mistake that they regret (Jones, 2011. 1). This is because their daughter has become excessively obsessed with her appearance and in particular her body appearance. It has reached a point whereby, she does not attend school because she sometimes wakes up feeling ‘fat’. Ashley frequently watches beauty pageant shows and even at school, she is known for being excessively concerned with her body and self image. Attempts to take Ashley to a children’s counselor have not yielded any efforts as she is still obsessed with her body image.

Indeed, it is true that pageants are causing young girls and toddlers problems related with their bodies. They seem to grow up knowing that being skinny is the in thing and if one is not, they are considered as being outcasts.

My third supporting statement is mental and physical health issues.

This is an example of a cause/effect prediction.

I will need to provide the following backing to convince readers that my support is valid: It is true that people who are obsessed with their weight and self image have a type of psychological problem. Since the young girls and toddlers are obsessed with appearing a certain way, they will often be affected mentally. In that, if they fail to resemble other pageant contestants they will probably become depressed, and others will suffer from anorexia or bulimia. This means that the source of the problem is participating in pageants and the effect is physical and mental health issues (Neumark-Sztainer & Paxton & Hannon & Haines, 2006. 250).

I will address the following counterarguments:

The counter argument concerning sexaulization is that they might be influenced to grow up having healthy bodies since, from childhood that are aware of its importance.

The counter argument, which exists concerning self image, is that the young girls and toddlers are aware of the importance of not being obese, and in turn, find ways to always keep in shape.

The counter argument, which exists concerning mental and physical health issues, is that the young girls and toddlers are influenced by their parents to engage in healthy eating habits. Also, parents play a vital role in ensuring that they influence and motivate their children positively.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it is not advisable that parents enroll their young girls and toddlers in pageants. This is because the outcomes are extremely dangerous and may even lead to death in some situations. In turn, caution should be taken before children are enrolled in pageants.

Work Cited

Jones, Mary. (2011). Personal Interview.

Neumark-Sztainer, D. & Paxton, S. & Hannon, P. & Haines, J. ‘Does body satisfaction matter? Five-year longitudinal associations between body satisfaction and health behaviors in adolescent females and males,’ Journal of Adolescent Health, 39, (2006):244–51.

 

Critical analysis of the article, A Matter of Life and Death

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Critical analysis of the article, A Matter of Life and Death

Introduction

The article, A Matter of Life and Death, highlight medical cases in the western nations where medical professionals perform medical surgery on their patients in order to save their lives despite serious complications, which may arise from such operations. There are two possible discussion questions from these articles. The questions are as following; are the medical experts obliged to take such actions without the consent of the patients or their partners? Is this form of treatment fair to the patients since they are not originally from the US?

Body/analysis

The author takes his readers through research findings from one chapter to another with each chapter dealing with each issue at a time. For instance, he uses the first chapter to mention the families involved or families who have undergone these vices/ practices. This technique of the author using each chapter to introduce and analyze the topic of discussion helps the readers to take their time and understand the author`s point and arguments without much hustle. It shows that the author is sensitive and has the interests of his readers or audiences at heart. It implies that, the author yearns to be understood by anyone who reads his article. From this first analysis of the author`s style of writing, it is evident that he is a good writer and has good analysis skills. His analysis skills are expressed in his mode and style of writing and argument.

In the article, the author uses each chapter to support the next one throughout the article. For instance, the second chapter to some extent relies on the first one. The third chapter also relies on the second one and so forth. This style of writing is well calculated as it takes the audiences from step to another without much confusion. This style of writing works better for the audiences since it does not exhaust or derail them. This makes the readers or the audiences to enjoy the readings keeping them glued to the article until he or she finishes reading the piece. This also shows that the writer or author of the article has good oratory and writing skills since he engages his audiences from one-step to another.

Despite these good writing skills, the author made some fallacy while writing or researching for resources in order to come up with the article. For instance, he does not exhaust all the areas required in order for the audiences to synthesize and understand some parts of the article. For instance in the second chapter where the author gives account of the events where the patients who underwent medical surgery, he only gives brief information about the events. Some of the information from these chapters may be vague making it difficult for the audiences to understand the concept of the said chapter. The writer ought to have given a more detailed account of the events, which took place using simple and clear language understandable to the audiences.

Conclusion

From this analysis and review of the article, A Matter of Life and Death, it is evident to that the writer of the article has good writing skills. This is portrayed by his writing styles where he displays an organized mode of writing. For instance, he uses each chapter at a time to relay his points to the audience in a simple and organized manner. The author also uses a style by which each subsequent chapter depends on the previous one throughout the article. This makes it simple for the readers to keep track of each event throughout the reading. This makes the article a well-calculated piece. The form of treatment imposed on these patients is not fair since they are sidelined since they are natives of the US.

Critical Analysis of the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis

Critical Analysis of the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis

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Introduction

The 1997-1998 Asian financial crisis is one of the worst global financial and economic contagions that raised controversial debates among economic and financial analysts. This Asian Financial Crisis begun at the onset of the third quarter of the 1997 calendar year and it happened to be the third regional currency crisis since 1990, with the 1992-1993 European and the 1994-1995 Latin American currency collapses being the first and second respectively (Reinhart, & Kenneth, & Rogoff, 2009, 78). Although these earlier currency and economic crises flashed strong warnings to the leading financial institutions (International Monetary Fund) and governments on the possibility future regional financial and economic contagion, such institutions and political authorities failed to read the signs. The East Asian regional currency and financial crisis was not foreshadowed until mid-1997 when the lights flashed warnings of a possibility of a regional financial crisis. Other than Thailand that was it serious current account deficits between 1995 and 1996, other East Asian economies looked safe from currency devaluation (Rose, & Mark, 2009, 56-7). Notably, the cautionary marks of the Thais economy indicated that the possible currency crisis was sustainable both in the long-run and medium term given that over 80% of the Thais current accounts drawn financial support from the private capital inflows accounts (Radelet, & Jeffrey, 1998, 96-7). Therefore, there was no cause of alarm to the East Asian economy at large, including the most vulnerable country – Thailand. The East Asian governments blamed the financial panic and contagion for the of the 1997 exchange rate collapses and strongly believed that the currency crisis had nothing to do with the bad economic and political policies of the East Asian states. This research paper explores the possible causes and effects of this Asian Crisis-5 that mainly affected Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, and South Korea. The paper will further discuss the lessons learnt from this East Asian crisis.

Cause of the 1997-98 Asian Financial Crisis

A study by Sachs, & Wing (2000, 66) identified investment boom as the primary source of the Asian crisis. During the first half of 1990s, the East Asian economy posted impressive economic growth and development that was described as the Asian miracle that was characterized by a 6-9% annual economic expansion, unprecedented Gross Domestic Product growth, and export boom (Radelet, & Jeffrey, 1998, 56). A combination of relatively educated and cheap labour, massive capital inflow and direct foreign investments, and abolition of international exports and trade barriers in a number of East Asian countries contributed to the region becoming export powerhouses. This was measured by the 18%, 16%, 15%, 14%, and 12% export growth in Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong, and South Korea respectively (Radelet, & Sachs, 1998, 112). The increased returns generated by the unprecedented export led growth and expansion in Asian fueled a massive investment boom particularly in residential and commercial property, infrastructure, and industrial assets. This led to a soaring in the prices and value of residential and commercial property in major Asian cities such as Bangkok and Hong Kong. Consequently, the region witnessed investment boom in the real estate and housing sectors with heavy financial institutional borrowings to fund the booming property and real estate investments. According to Kaminsky, Saul, and Carmen, (1998, 44), the South East Asian governments of also contributed to the investment boom by heavy investing in infrastructural projects and providing incentives to encourage private investments. The investment boom resulted into excess capacity in the housing and real estate sector, thus low returns than anticipated by the investors. This ballooned investment volume during the 1990s exceeded the demand capacity, thus a significant decline in the economic returns that further led to a rapid rate of default repayment of the loans.

The second factor behind the Asian financial crisis was the regional financial and economic liberalizations. These South East Asian countries encouraged financial liberalization that allowed for easy conversion of foreign currencies into local currencies purposely to stimulate direct investments and foreign trade (Lane, & Gian, 2008, 77). Capital account transactions and capital flows were least regulated, leading to unregulated capital inflows from international banks in the form of loans extended to local companies and banks. Such highly liberalization financial policies and regulations resulted into excess foreign debts owed by the private sector. According to Dornbusch (2001, 823), the Asian financial crisis was attributed to panic and withdrawal by the lenders. The collapse of Thailand’s currency caused panic among foreign lenders and investors, resulting into credit crunch and bankruptcies. A significant proportion of foreign investors withdrew their financial resources. As a result, the troubled domestic currencies flooded the foreign exchange and capital market, thus exerting depreciative pressure on the local exchange rates (Radelet, & Jeffrey, 1998, 67).

Effects of the Asian Financial Crisis

The 1997-98 Asian financial crisis adversely affected the South East Asian macro and micro-economics performance. In general, the region that at one point boasted of the fastest growing economy in the world suffered a major economic and financial setback with a sharp drop in the GDP from over 8% in 1996 to negative 1.4% GDP (see table 1), representing economic retrogression (Corsetti, Paolo, & Nouriel 1998, 22). Thailand was the worst hit country out of the five countries that were at the helm of the Asian crisis with its GDP posting 10.8% retrogression in 1998. The South East Asian economic contraction following the 1997-98 financial crisis majorly impacted on the economic capacity to create employment opportunities. The collapsing of the leading financial institution and the decline in private investments in South East Asia led to forced laid-off of employees. Therefore, the rate of unemployment in Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Philippines sky rocketed to reach a record high of 6.4% in 1999 (Sachs, & Wing, 2000, 38). As a result, the purchasing power of the employees significantly dropped, further hurting economic growth prospects. Following retrenchments, increased underemployment, and loss of employment opportunities, poverty index in Indonesia went up to 24.2% in 1998 but slightly dropped to 23.5% in the following year (Eichengreen, 1999, 18-9). Socially, the decline in the real wages forced the consumers to cut their healthcare expenditure, thus deterioration in their social and health status. Besides, the crisis led to a significant drop in school enrolment as incidences of child labour rapidly increased in Thailand and Indonesia in order to supplement on their family income.

Lessons Learnt from the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis

Although the 1997 Asian crisis came to end, it raised a number of critical issues regarding the international financial and economic systems, with particular emphasis on the development of sound international financial architectural policies. As explained Mishkin (1999, 715), the Asian crisis served as a strong lesson that prevention of such crises in future calls for designing of sound and sustainable macroeconomic policies and frameworks to govern the operations of the financial institutions. In support for Mishkin (1999), Lane and Gian (2008, 330) argued that although desirable, excessive financial and economic liberalizations are hurtful to the economy, therefore some regulations are necessary. While drumming support for the role of financial liberalization, Moreno, Gloria and Eli, (1998, 81) explained that strengthened international surveillance that focuses on complying with the international monetary standards and incorporation of regional financial policies would be essential in sounding alarm about any upcoming financial problems. He further argued that financial institutions should advance modern risk management strategies, including improved financial regulation and supervision for both creditor and debtor countries. Had this been done, then the Asian financial crisis would have been prevented. More importantly, Moreno, Gloria and Eli, (1998, 81) asserted that transparency is very fundamental in crisis prevention. According to Kaminsky, Saul, and Carmen, 1998, 43-4) lack of transparency by the central banks in the region with respect to the region’s international reserve position further exacerbated the financial market panic among investors and creditor, thus leading to the massive withdrawals witnessed in South East Asian.

Conclusion

In conclusion, although the financial panic and economic withdraws played a role in the spread of the Asian financial crisis, the contagion was primary attributed to investment boom that led to excess economic capacity than the effective market demand. In addition, weaken financial policies and liberations majorly contributed to this regional problem that adversely impacted on the economic, social, and political conditions in the South East Asian countries. The weaknesses of the financial sectors reflected the inability and ineffectiveness of the lenders and creditors to effectively allocate credit with least moral hazards involved. Therefore, the South East Asian economy recovery process calls for reforming and strengthening the financial institutions and systems to avoid a repeat of the same in future.

Reference List

Corsetti, G., Paolo P., & Nouriel R. 1998. “ Fundamental Determinants of the Asian Crisis: A Preliminary Empirical Assessment.” Federal Reserve Bank of New York Working Paper, pp.23-5.

Dornbusch, R. 2001. “A Primer on Emerging Market Crises.” NBER Working Paper, 8326.

Eichengreen, B. 1999. Toward a New International Financial Architecture: A Practical Post-Asia Agenda. Washington, DC: Institute for International Economics, pp.18-20.

Kaminsky, G., Saul, L. & Carmen, R. 1998. “Leading Indicators of Currency Crises,” IMF Staff Papers. Vol. 45 (March).

Lane, R., & Gian, M. 2008. “The Drivers of Financial Globalization.” American Economic Review 98(2, May), pp. 327–332.

Marshall, D., 1998. “Understanding the Asian Crisis: Systemic Risk as Coordination Failure.” Economic Perspective Third Quarter: 13-28. Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.

Mishkin, F. 1999. “Lessons from the Asian Crisis.” Journal of International Money and Finance, 18, pp. 709–723.

Moreno, R., Gloria P., & Eli, R. 1998. “Asia’s Financial Crisis: Lessons and Policy Responses.” In Asia: Responding to Crisis. Tokyo, Asian Development Bank Institute, pp.78-85.

Radelet, S., & J. Sachs, 1998. The Onset of the East Asian Financial Crisis. NBER Working Series No. 6680, National Bureau of Economic Research, Massachusetts, pp.112-4.

Radelet, S., & Jeffrey, S. 1998. “The East Asian Financial Crisis: Diagnosis, Remedies, Prospects,” Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Vol. 1, 56.

Reinhart, M., & Kenneth, & Rogoff, G. 2009. This Time Is Different: Eight Centuries of Financial Folly. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, pp.65-7.

Rogoff, K. 1999. “International Institutions for Reducing Global Financial Instability.” Journal of Economic Perspectives 13(4), pp. 21–32. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2647011.

Rose, K., & Mark, M. S. 2009. “Predicting Crises, Part II: Did Anything Matter (to Everybody)?” FRBSF Economic Letter 2009-30 (September 28). http://www.frbsf.org/publications/economics/letter/2009/el2009-30.html

Sachs, J., & Wing, T. W. 2000. “Understanding the Asian Financial Crisis,” in Wing Thye Woo, Jeffrey Sachs and Klaus Schwab (ed.), The Asian Financial Crisis: Lessons for a Resilient Asia, MIT Press.

Appendix

Table 1 – GDP Growth 1994-1997 (%)

Country 1994 1995 1996 1997

South Korea 8.6 8.9 7.1 5.5

Indonesia 15.6 8.2 8.0 4.7

Malaysia 9.2 9.5 8.6 7.8

Philippines 4.4 4.8 5.8 9.7

Singapore 10.1 8.8 7.3 7.6

Thailand 8.9 8.8 5.5 -0.4

Hong Kong 5.5 3.9 5.0 5.3

China 12.7 10.6 9.5 8.8

Taiwan 6.5 6.0 5.7 6.8

Source: International Financial Statistics of the International Monetary Fund, Dec. 1997.

Critical analysis of parents with their children and the broad theory of parenting in Titus Andronicus

Titus endogenous

Critical analysis of parents with their children and the broad theory of parenting in Titus Andronicus. The major cases under consideration are Tamora, Titus and Aaron. The general and broad theory of parenting has been analyzed using these three principal cases as the benchmarks.

Thesis

Titus Andronicus play is a revenge tragedy, which is fascinating and reveals human personality and character.

Introduction

Titus Andronicus play presents characters whose interactions make the play interesting and worrying. The characters treat their families differently and uniquely depending of the circumstances at hand. Shake spares’ Titus Andronicus play is a revenge tragedy, which is fascinating and reveals human personality and character. The brilliant selection of the characters of the play, whose diverse personalities interact with a brutal and unforgiving setup, draws the audience into the personality-disoriented world. The author clearly portrays the functional and dysfunctional differences in the characters of the play (Shakespeare, William.1999, 371). The characters evoke sympathy from the audience in almost every act of this play however; they maintain the brutality and revenge towards one another on family lines, which comes into a terrifying climax that leaves a few of the characters alive. The way Shakespeare slays his characters in this tragedy play is elaborate and worrying that leaves one to wonder whether the characters had any meaning in the playwright. This thesis is about how different characters interact with their children in the play and how their interactions compare with the broader theory of parenting (Brower, 1979, 26-28). Focus will be on major characters of the play such as Tamora, Titus and Aaron.

How does Tamora treat her sons? Concentrate especially on her plea in Act 1 scene one, and her interaction with her sons in Act 2, scene three

Tamora is a loving mother and likes her sons so much. When Titus demanded the sacrifice of Tamora’s son, Tamora pleads for the son’s rescue but all in vain. She cried for his son passionately but Titus remained stubborn until he offered Tamora’s son as a ransom to appease the spirits of his death sons. From the play, Tamora pleads “victorious Titus rue the tears I shed, a mothers tears in passion for his son” the pleading shows how the mother loved his son and how she treated him with respect. She does not want his son to be slaughtered in the streets and that is the reason she asks rhetorically “but, must my son be slaughtered in the streets,…” in act two scene three, Tamora is very bitter when he remembers the way Titus scarified his son despite her pleas. She encourages his sons to avenge the sacrifice of their brother by raping the daughter of Titus. She calls his sons sweet revealing that he loved them so much and relied on them to avenge for her. She encourages the sons to commit crime by raping Titus daughter regardless of the consequences of the crime. She is a mother who could take risks and going as far as risking the death of his other sons by asking them to revenge by committing crime. She commends them by saying “so should I rob my sweet sons of their fee: no let them satisfy their lust on thee”. As the play unfolds, Chilon and Demetrius rape Lavina and amputees, her limps and tongue. Tamora treats his sons with an elevated respect and she instigates the feeling of animosity to Lavina when she lies to her sons. She portrays an antisocial behavior when she closes her ears to the peas of Lavina before the rape and mutilation tragedy occurs. She threatens her sons with the loss of love if they do not go ahead to rape Lavina. Tamora portrays antisocial personality disorder by holding parental love for ransom. She manages to convince his sons to carry out such a heinous deed of raping and mutilating Lavina as revenge for the slaughter of her son. This is an exhibition of extreme ruthlessness, and unrestrained lusciousness’.

How does Titus treat his offspring?

The story of Titus Andronicus when he returns from a worrier from war is dramatic in the way he reacts to situations. The return of Titus with the corpse of his son who he had lost in war is a clear indication that he was passionate father who loved his offspring and could not leave the body of his son rot in the fields of war. After the sounds of the trumpets and drums before the burial of Titus son, he gives a speech and laments for loosing may of his sons in war. Titus loves his son Lucius very much until he offers to fulfill his demand of a human sacrifice as a way of mourning the loss of his brother. Timor’s son is chosen by Titus to be sacrificed to appease the spirits Titus’s death offspring. He sticks to religion and tradition and refuses to listen to Tamora’s pleas of his first-born son, finally slaughters Alarbus Tamora’s son in cold blood as a ransom for the death of his sons and fellow citizens.

Titus wants his children to be like him that is why he goes an extra mile to make very dangerous moves for the sake of his offspring. He dares and kills Tamora’s son an act that leads to bitter rivalry between the two families. Tamora and her remaining two sons swear to avenge the death of Alarbus, which they finally accomplish by raping and mutilating Lavina Titus daughter. Titus is un-understandable; he lamented the death of his sons during the war and even sacrificed human blood to appease their spirits but turns out to be ironical when he stabs his son to death. He reacts brutally to his son killing him and still pursues his daughter Lavina to return her back to the emperor. He reacts unjustly and remorselessly to his son Mutius whom he stubs to death. Titus portrays this merciless and inhuman behavior even though he was fighting to get access to his daughter whom Mutius was denying him asses to before he is stubbed to death.Titus manages to bring her daughter to the emperor together with his lover. Tamora pretends to plead mercy for Titus against punishment for kidnapping Lavina. Tamora was only cheating on Titus when indeed in the heart she had great wrath of revenging all the Titus had done to her. When an opportune moment arrives, the sons of Tamora gets hold of Lavina whom they lusted for, they raped her, and mutilated her so that she could not be able to tell Titus who tortured her. When news went all over about Lavinas issue, they plotted that, the sons of titus are the ones who raped and mutilated Lavina. Titus offers himself to be cut a hand so that his sons are pardoned from slaughter sentence. It is an expression of true father love to his family and offspring. Titus decided to kill her daughter whom he loved very much to rescue her from her misery. He did this act out of love and did not want to continue seeing her beloved daughter suffer the consequences of rape and mutilation. Titus swears to revenge for the brutal actions committed to his family, which he finally fulfils by preparing the pie, and uses it to kill Tamora

Aaron

Aaron is a protagonist in the story, his actions and behaviors reveal him as a loving husband to his lover and his kids he celibates Tamora’s tile and knows that the success of Tamora is his as well. Aaron is in full support of the revenge mission against Titus over the slaughter of Tamora’s son. He is the one who proposes that Chiron and Demetrius rape and mutilate Lavina. Aaron impregnated Tamora the emperor’s queen and at birth Tamora gives birth to a black baby, whom the nurse asks Aaron to kill but he refuses. The refusal to kill his own baby shows how Aaron is a responsible farther, he even plans on how he will take this baby to the Goths for protection. Aaron is again found protecting his kid when they are captured by a Goth and sentenced to hang. He tells Lucius that he will confess everything if his child was spared. When his plea is heard, he confesses how Chiron and Demetrius raped and mutilated Lavina. He boldly unfolds the hidden stories and brags about his evil part in them. Aaron is very defiant and brave in defending his family even when situations are unfriendly.

What do these comparisons say about a broader theory of parenting that might be present in Titus Andronicus?

The shake spares Titus Andronicus comparisons of how different parents treat their children say a lot about the parenting theory. For instance, right away from the beginning of the story Titus is seemed to treat his sons with respect and love. When he returns to the emperor, he laments the death of his sons and desires that they remain to be like him a true warrior. However, as the play unfolds, Titus stubs his son ruthlessly to death. One wonders which parent can do such a horrible thing and not worry or feel sorry. His parental love is questionable. To make matters worse he kills his daughter Lavina only to comfort himself that he killed her to rescue him from her misery of rape and mutilation. Which parent with true paternal love can kill his children as easily as Titus does? He is a cruel, unforgiving, harsh parent (Swick, Johnson, 2011,p.g56-98).

On the other hand, Tamora expresses true love for his children, he loves his sons and this is the reason why he pleads for his sons sacrifice decree. The reveals maternal love to his sons only, her love and care are questionable when he gives a deaf ear to the pleas of Lavina over rape and mutilation from his sons. As a mother and feminist, she should not have left Lavina to be raped and mutilated. In addition, her morals are questioned given that she loved Aaron and yet she is married to the emperor, when she gives birth to a back child, she abandons the child and requests that Aaron kills the infant. According to Greenblatt, Stephen et. al., eds. (1999),This clearly shows a picture of antisocial, racist and discriminative mother who is careless on matters of live and its dignity(p.g 47-90).

Aaron is a supper man, despite the whole community declaring the birth of the black baby an abomination to the emperor; he stands firm and protect his child. When the nurse and the sons of Tamora asks him to kill the child he refuses and makes planed to take the child to goal to be protected. When him and the kid are captured and returned to the emperor and a death sentence is declared upon then, he still goes ahead to plead for the kid. He promises to confess all if his child is spared. When his plea is granted he confesses the hidden part f the story boldly and courageously knowing that even if he dies the child will be save. This is a true parental spirit and fatherly love.

Works cited

Brower, Reuben A. “Titus Andronicus: Villainy and Tragedy.” In Shakespeare: TheTragedies, edited by Robert B. Heilman, 28-36. Englewood, 1979.

Greenblatt, Stephen ET. al., Eds. The Norton Shakespeare Based on the Oxford Edition. New

York: Norton, 371, 1997.

Shakespeare, William. Titus Andronicus. The Norton Shakespeare. Ed. Greenblatt, Stephen. New York, NY: Norton, 371 – 434, 1997.

Shakespeare, William. The Norton Shakespeare. 1. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1997.

Swick, Johnson: “Cultural influences on parenting: Implications for parent educators”. Journal of Instructional Psychology, 12(2), 80-85, 2011.

Critical Analysis Of Medical Device Markets In Germany And Canada

Critical Analysis Of Medical Device Markets In Germany And Canada

Table of contents

Introduction

About the business

About the product

Literature review

Canada

Background information

Marketing strategy and structure

Marketing plan

Successes

Failures

PulseMedTech take

Germany

Background information

Marketing strategy and structure

Marketing plan

Successes

Failures

PulseMedTech take

Results and Discussion

Summary and Recommendations

Introduction

About the business

Medical devices are gaining importance in health care industry. An issue of great importance among medical devices manufacturing firms is exposure and implementation of regulatory requirements. This is the reason why medical devices manufactures have gained a lot of market for their products in the recent past. However like all other commodities medial devices are expected to experience growth slowdown due to recession, exchange rate fluctuation and differences in regulations governing their usage in various countries.

PulseMedTech is a medical device manufacturing company that is based in UK. The company specializes in manufacturing class II medical devices. Due to the stringent regulation challenges in the UK PulseMedTech has been unable to launch their products in the UK and instead opted to market their brand elsewhere in Germany and Canada. The major reasoning behind this is the liberalization of medical equipments market and ageing populations that require more medical attention in these countries. Besides this, it is also an undisputed fact that 3 out of 5 of the largest medical device markets globally are in Europe; Germany, Britain and France.

About the product

In general terms medical device is an apparatus, article, instrument or equipment which can be applied alone and or combined with others (even software) on human beings for medicinal purposes. It can be intended to cure, monitor, diagnose, prevent, treat, monitor or alleviate a disease, suffering, or an injury. A medical device can also be used to control conception. It is vital to note that a medical device doesn’t achieve its major intended action on or in the human body through immunological, metabolic, or pharmacological means, but it can be aided in its function through such means. Examples of medical devices include x-ray machines, band aids, hip implants, lenses, crutches, beds and in vitro diagnostic devices. Each and every country has its own way of classifying their medical equipments. The USA for example classifies their medical devices as class I, II, and III. Here class I is for general controls, class II is for special controls whereas class III is for pre-market approval. In this case class I devices are the less risky whereas class III is the most risky. On the other hand most countries in Europe classify their medical devises as class I, class I sterile, class I measuring, class IIa, class IIb or class III where class III devices are considered to be the most risky.

Literature review

Canada

Background information

Canada is a very promising country for us to market our products for various reasons that would be outlined shortly. To start with Canada is a neighbour to the USA who is the major market for medical devices. Secondly Canada is a wealth and technologically advanced country with about 400 medical equipments manufacturers. The manufacturing plants are mostly located in Ontario, British Columbia and Quebec. In addition Canada has being ranked in position 1 out of the G7 countries as a good market for medical devises. This is a clear indication that we are entering a very ripe market which needs to be studied and then exploited fully. Canada is a bona fide member of (NAFTA) i.e. North American Free Trade Agreement. It has also signed a Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRA) for medical devices with other nations like: Norway, Switzerland, Iceland, Liechtenstein and EU (invest in Canada, 2007) website.

Regulation of medical devises in Canada

The body that is manifested with the responsibility of regulating medical devises in Canada is Health Canada. It has two major divisions i.e. Therapeutic Products Directorate and Health Products. The authority which gives it power is the Food and Drugs Act. The medical devices in this country are subjected to the Medical Devices Regulations which is under the Food and Drugs Act. The Regulations clearly spell out the requirements governing the importation, sale and marketing of these devices in Canada (Health Canada, 2007).

Classification of medical devises in Canada

The classification of medical devises in Canada is more or less the same with that of the neighbouring country USA. The classification has been harmonized with that of EU. The classification divides these medical devices into class I, II, III and IV. Class IV devices represent the highest risk while class I devices the lowest risk. This classification that is risk-based is harmonized to classification systems of the EU and USA. This is basically to say class I, II, III and IV corresponds to the European class of I, IIa, IIb and III.

Product registration in Canada

To register a medical device in Canada, it must be classified as either class I, II, III or IV product. The quality management systems have to be applied to all the products except those belonging to class I devices. Canada has also adopted ISO 13485:2003 as its national standards

by labeling it CAN/CSA-ISO 13485:2003. For class II medical devices the quality system has to satisfy these requirements i.e. CAN/CSA-ISO 13485:2003. This however excludes the design. For those medical devices in class III and IV; the quality system is ensures that they satisfy the necessary requirements for CAN/CSA-ISO 13485:2003. This one includes design. Moreover the manufacturer is supposed to identify the perils that are inherent in the product. In the product License Application of class IV medical devices, there should be assessment of potential risks. The authorities recommend that it should work in accordance to ISO 14971 standards (MDB, 2003).

Importers and distributors of medical devices have to obtain a license allowing them to establish their business in Canada. However if you are importing or distributing custom made and special access devices, you are exempted from this regulation. Establishment license is also required for class I products. For you to advertise or sell a class II, III or IV medical devise in Canada, you only need a device licensing. Establishment license is not necessary, even though importers and distributors do. PulseMedTech will also require a declaration of conformity to standards to advertise or sell in Canada. Class III and IV Custom-made products requires authorization from the Ministry of Health before importation into Canada (MDB, 2003).

According to the New Medical Devices License, the following lists all the information that PulseMedTech will be required to avail in order to be given a license for their class II Medical Device in Canada:

Device name

Device classification

Device application history

Name and Address of PulseMedTech as it appears on the product label

Physical address for Regulatory Correspondence

License Application Type

Device Preferred Name Code (Optional)

Device Usage Category

If the device contains a drug

Purpose of the device

Device details

List of Standards Complied with in the Manufacture of the Device

Attestation of Safety and Effectiveness

Attestation of labeling

Signature

Further information on each section mentioned above and also what differs between various classes can be obtained from “Guidance on How to Complete the Application for a New Medical Device License” website (2003). Additional details can be obtained from the Regulations, Part I, sec 32. The products shall contain proper directions as far as storage, conditions of administration and usage is concerned. The above information shall (at the minimum) be in English or French. The Mandatory Problem Reporting part of the Regulations spells out the rules as to what kind of incidents needs to be reported, content of the reports and time frames for reporting. These rules have been harmonized with the European Union vigilance reporting needs.

Marketing strategy and structure

As far as market structure of class II medical devices in Canada is concerned, it can be said to be monopolistic. This is to say that there are many other firms in the market offering the same type of goods like PulseMedTech (Case et al, 1999). Therefore we expect to operate in a highly competitive environment. As already pointed out there are about 400 registered medical devices manufactures in Canada! These calls for a proper marketing strategy form our marketing team. Without it we may not be able to capture a sizeable market in this particular country. Even if there are lengthy procedures to entry in this market, it does not in any way exclude potential of other new players entering the market. This combined with the many firms already in the market makes matters even worse. PulseMedTech will have to work extra hard to seek ways of capturing a sizeable market and then concentrate in serving it well to put off any potential new entrants (Case et al, 1999).

Using Michael Porter’s generic marketing strategies (Porter, 2008) , the strategies employed by our competitors are: market segmentation, cost leadership and market differentiation. The current market strategy of our competitors is diversified owing to their large number. However majority use cost leadership and market segmentation. This has helped them acquire a reasonable market share based on these strategies. Cost leadership is a type of market strategy where a company positions itself as the most affordable in the market. This cost benefits arise from a number of factors mainly economies of scale, low quality product, exclusive undue advantage and etc. About 30% of the firms use this method to market their products. Further research has shown that this companies target markets in Africa and Asia where need for affordability is the overriding criteria. Otherwise Canada is a wealthy country where issues of cost does not matter that much (Porter, 2008).

A further 35% of the medical device manufactures in Canada were found to be using market segmentation as their preferred mode of marketing strategy. Segmentation is a marketing strategy method that classifies market according to their income levels. They targeted the wealthy class and the mid level households who constitute majority of citizens in Canada. Others also target markets outside Canada where demand is high e.g. USA. The remaining firms either used product differentiation alone or in combination with the other methods. This is equally effective depending on desired results of a particular firm (Baker & Michael, 2008).

Marketing plan

Marketing plan is a general term referring to all those actions a business concern undertakes in order to market its products. It is wide and varied the choice of one or more methods are determined by a number of things. This includes regulations, competition level, type of product, available funds and etc (Baker & Michael, 2008).

Market plan being used by our competitors are numerous hence it will be difficult to highlight down here on what exactly they use. That may require a special study by our marketing department.

Successes

Generally speaking the success rate of medical equipment manufacturers in Canada has been good. Provided that you identify a particular market niche and focus on serving it satisfactory and efficiently, you are bound to succeed. Being a sensitive product, strict adherence to regulations is paramount otherwise you risk being deregistered. Successful companies in the medical device industry have made a fortune for themselves and are some of the most talked after corporations in the stock exchange markets. PulseMedTech can be a success story if they use the right approach to market their product (Invest in Canada, 2007).

Failures

Going by the recent statistics in Canada, medical devices sector is one of the fastest growing in the Canada economy. This is due to the fact that Canada is a wealthy country, population is ageing, and economy is good. In addition proximity to world major consumer – the USA has also immensely contributed to this success. It is not surprising therefore that in the last 5 years very few medical device manufacture have failed. This notwithstanding however, a few corporations have closed due to various reasons. They include; stiff competition, inability to comply with the safety requirements and failure incidences of their products. This led some of them to close shop totally, merge or face penalties from the regulating authorities. PulseMedTech can only be a failure story if it does not comply with the regulating authorities requirements. Otherwise on business ground, it is very promising (Invest in Canada, 2007).

PulseMedTech take

All this background studies, investigation and case studies into the medical device market in Canada are very encouraging. The market is very ripe and ready for our products. All we need is to develop working policies, strategies and compliance tests that will favour us in this great country. They should help us not only to capture but also retain a considerable market in the mid term and long term.

Market strategy

As far as market strategy is concerned, PulseMedTech should plan to enter the Canadian market using two major strategies, namely market segmentation and differentiation (Nagle, Thomas & Holden, 2002). Under product differentiation, PulseMedTech should position its brands as durable, functional and efficient. They should be seen as unique from those made by rival firms. This is vital for a wealthy country like Canada which has advanced technology. With regards to market segmentation, we plan to market our products to mid level and high end consumers. Even though there are many firms using this method it has proved to work nevertheless. This also means quality, efficiency, and safety should be the overriding criteria in manufacturing our products. If we err in this point, we may as well forget the Canadian market.

Market plan

In order for us to develop a good marketing plan for PulseMedTech we will need to do a step by step analysis of a number of issues. This are the issues we feel will directly impact on our business. After fully understanding our business environment, it will be easer for us to develop a working plan (Nagle, Thomas & Holden, 2002).

Marketing environment

In order for us to fully understand the business environment in Canada, we will need to conduct a thorough market analysis using the PESTEL methodology.

PESTEL Analysis

PESTEL analysis is a business strategic planning tool that is employed to perform a thorough business macro environment analysis to determine the best decision to be made in any given instance so as to survive. It is a very useful business tool because businesses operate in constantly changing environment. In his review Philip Kotler, a Harvard professor, said that PESTEL is a vital strategic tool for measuring business potential, direction, growth or decline and current position (Kotler, 1998). Using this method the possibility of PulseMedTech to establish a market in Canada can be analyzed in the following manner.

Political: This has to do with politics of the day prevailing in a country. It is generally assumed that if political temperatures are down; businesses tend to flourish and the vice versa is also correct. In this particular acquisition it can be said that it is neutral and thus not expected to cause much rubble in our operations. However future political challenges can not be ruled out. For instance the term of current parliament is almost expiring and nobody is sure of what the future politics of Canada will look like. Let’s hope that being a mature country democratically the transition will be peaceful (Kotler, 1998).

Economic: As already mentioned, the economic growth of Canada has not been very good in the recent past, but it is expected to pick up soon after the recession. This should not be a big challenge to our quest to enter this market. Unemployment levels, inflation, exchange rates and lending rates show promising trends. This may partly explain the reason why Canada is ranked best among the G7 countries as a good market for medical products. Besides these the stock market prices of medical devices manufacturer are doing quite well (Aharon, Gavious & Yosef, 2010). For this reason we may say that the decision to enter this market may not be a bad deal after all.

Social: These are those social trends that are perceived to affect the business either in a positive or negative manner. They include such factors as age structure, demographics, rural-urban migration, literacy levels and etc. In Canada majority of the population is ageing, this means that demand for specialized medical care will be high whereas services to children will be lower. PulseMedTech is expected to operate in a new territory therefore social factors may have great impact. As such we also need to do a good demographic study before mass importing our products to Canada. This is because not all class II medical devices are intended to be used by elderly people. Mass importing them without a plan will lead to unnecessary inventory costs (Kotler, 1998).

Technological: These are trends in new technology that keep on advancing on daily basis. Technology can create new products and services as well as phase out existing ones. For instance mobile telephone created new business for GSM carriers whereas it spelled doom for other business like the postal and courier services. PulseMedTech is expected to use both existing and new technology to grow its business portfolio. This is evidenced from the fact that its products are as a results of new ground breaking technology. This is just what a country like Canada needs. New technologies keep on advancing on daily basis hence we should be on toes so as not to lag behind. We should also use technology in our day to day operations so as to minimize costs and help us deliver swiftly and efficiently. If well adapted, technology can considerably reduce PulseMedTech’s operational costs and subsequently grow its profit margins (Porter, 2008).

Environmental: These include such factors as climate and weather changes in a period of time. Changes in environment are hard to determine or control and they have greater impact on businesses either directly or indirectly. For instance if there is a drought, farming will be affected directly and this will also have an impact on insurance and banking firms indirectly. This means citizen’s disposable incomes will be affected and subsequently their ability to buy our products will be affected. If recent statistics in global warming is anything to go by, then we are in for a rude shock! (DiMento, 2007). Sadly, there is little that management of PulseMedTech can do to change this scenario. Let’s just keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best.

Legal: Legal factors have to do with government regulations that come into play from time to time. Currently in Canada, rules that govern health industry can be said to be liberal and thus our firm is expected to reap from this. Nevertheless to mention there are changes in consumer protection, taxation of foreign corporations and employment laws which may have an impact on our operations. Again on this frontier PulseMedTech has little to play to control such legislations. Ours will be to ensure we comply with the safety, conformity and standardization regulations. This is our core mandate. We hope that these regulations will not have adverse effects on our operations; otherwise we may be forced to think twice. On this issue we may need to consult a legal expert on this before fully entering the market (Straub & Thomas, 2007).

Verdict

Under the PESTEL analysis, it can be said that marketing our product in Canada is a worthwhile venture. If we enter the market using the right approach we are bound to succeed. However it is important to remain cautious to any unforeseen circumstances that may arise in this endeavor.

In summary we are going to use the following market plan to market our products in Canada.

PulseMedTech take on market plan

Target market: In broad our market is in Canada as a country. Whilst in Canada we will be required to segment our market even more so as to serve our customers even better. According to the research we have conducted the following have been identified as the key market segments:

Hospitals (both public and private)

Schools and colleges

Military bases

NGOs establishments

Children, orphan and eldery homes

Pricing method: given the fact that Canada is a wealth country, we should think of using cost plus pricing strategy. This is taking all the total manufacturing costs add a desired profit margin and there you are. You have found a price to sell your products. This we hope will help us seize a considerable market share besides giving us a competitive advantage. Our goal will be to break even in the short run before starting to reap profits in the medium term and long run (Baker & Michael, 2008).

Marketing methods: Canada is a technologically advanced country, the population is ageing and it has one of the well developed mass media industry. Therefore we need to use an appropriate method that will not only reach as many clients as possible but also cost effectively. The following are the main marketing methods we suggest PulseMedTech to use.

the internet

the press

direct marketing

publicity

2.2 Germany

2.2.1 Background information

Germany is ranked the 3rd largest medical devices market behind USA and Japan. In 2011, the Germany medical devices market was esteemed to be about US$ 19.5 billion. Germany population was estimated to be about 20% of the 81.6 million total population of Western Europe in 2011. Healthcare expenditure is high and stands at over 11% of GDP. However, the government is increasingly constraining this expenditure. This program of reducing healthcare expenditure has made the local market to remain tight with continued downward pressure on prices. In recent years the government funding for hospitals has stagnated making the public sector hospitals to maintain the existing equipment instead of investing in new appliances. This has made domestic producers of the medical devices to be reliant on export market (invest in Germany, 2009).

Germany is generally known to be producing high quality medical equipment especially dental related products, diagnostic imaging and optical technologies. But, despite strong domestic manufacturing industry, imports, amounted to US$13.8 in 2009 and supplied about 70% of the medical market. Healthcare reform program which is being initiated by the first ever coalition government, is aimed at increasing healthcare expenditure, while increasing financial resources through higher health care insurance contributions. In January 2004 and July 2007 major health care reforms were introduced and were mainly aimed at increasing the competition between health insurance providers. This in turn gave rise to a stiff competitive environment for healthcare goods and services suppliers (invest in Germany, 2009).

Demographic data

Germany has a total geographical area of 356854 square kilometers with a population of about 82.3 million people. Of the 83.3 million people, 13.7% are children age between 0-14 years, 66.1% are youth and middle age ranging from 15-64 years, and 20.2 % are the aged 65 years and above. Health care expenditure per capita in 2007 was $3515. The number of hospitals in Germany was 1446 public and 637 private as per 2008 data. In Germany hospitals are financed in a dual system where the inpatient services are based on DRG system and out patient free-for- service program.

Medical devices industry

The Germany medical device market is one of the biggest in Europe. In 2008 alone, this market in Germany was estimated to be worth well over $12.4 billion. In 2006 alone, €21 billion were spent on medical devices, €15.9 billion in domestic sales, and €10.2 billion in export sales. About 86% of domestic medical products are exported. The medical market in Germany is more favorable for reusable medical devices than disposables because of high environmental awareness. The medical device market is featured with 50 multinational corporations and many other SMEs. Some of the major global players in Germany include; Fresenius, B. Braun Melsungen, Otto Bock, Dragger medical, and Siemens Medical solutions. The above manufactures deal mostly with imaging and surgical instruments. In entering Germany medical market, one should understand that there is a lot of competition from locally produced products. Also considering that the market size is wide one may need to have more than one distributor. But if one decides to use a single distributor then it is advisable to find out how reliable is their country wide distribution network so as to be able to reach all the potential customers (FDA, 2007).

From the fore going, Germany is the 3rd largest market for medical devices in Europe. However, economic analysts argue that like other sectors, medical device market might be impacted negatively by the economic recession in the short run. This news is a bitter pill for domestic manufacturing industries, which risk loosing a lot of money due to their dependence on demand for export of their products. The economic downturn will as well lead to a strain on medical health spending. Despite the downturn, Germany is expected to return to growth with medical device markets leading by about 3.4 % by 2016.

Factors affecting medical device markets growth

Medical device market growth in Germany is affected by a number of factors. To begin with, Germany manufactures high value and mature medical devices for better standards of health care. However, technology keeps on changing thus bringing a dilemma between trying to contain sky rocketing health costs and desire to remain leaders in technological innovation. Therefore, Hospitals have no otherwise but to invest in the provision of new medical equipments and technologies to maintain high standard of medical care (Malueg, 2008).

Additionally, efficient healthcare services are needed to deal with the increasing financial constraints and the needs of ageing population. As a result, there is increased demand for efficiencies such as medical devices that allow minimal invasive surgery, increase the number of operations conducted in a day and keep a faster healing of patients. Despite of recession pressure, market growth rate over the years is promising.

Further, Germany is among Western Europe countries which record a strong growth in import market in the recent years. The import market enjoys a lion’s share of about 80% of the market! Of importance is that, trade among EU countries revolves around import market and organizations who want to exploit the full potential in Germany need to ensure that they have an effective distribution and marketing network (Malueg, 2008).

Finally, medical device market growth potential is affected by changes in the regulatory environment or government measures like spending controls on medical devices. High numbers of migratory population and the increasing population of elderly people will all see demand for medical devices and equipment grow tremendously. Of course this is good news to PulseMedTech.

Classification of medical devices in Germany

In Germany market, medal device are classified as class I sterile, class I measuring, class IIa, class IIb or class III where class III devices are considered to have the highest risk. In-vitro diagnostic devices have there own classification systems. Information concerning European classification system is found in MEDDEV2.4/1. And classification rules can be found in Annex ix of directive 93/42/EEG. However, global harmonization task force (GHTF) after discovering that there are some difficulties encountered due to different classifications, in different countries, it developed recommendations on global classification system where medical devices are classified into class A,B,C and D. under this method class D represent those with the highest risk. These recommendations are meant for regulatory authorities and not for companies. Medical devices are given nomenclature during classification. There are two types of nomenclature namely; emergency care research institute (ECRI) nomenclature whose classification is harmonized with USA and the Global Medical Device Nomenclature (GMDN) codes which are harmonized with EU classification terms. For any company to register a medical device in EU it needs the nomenclature system. This is because the nomenclature system details the terms that describe a group of products that have similar features (Medical Products Agency, 2006).

Quality management systems for medical devices in Germany

Germans regards health care highly and thus require quality services. Manufacturers are under no obligation to manufacture suitable quality medical devices for such a market. Good manufacturing practice is the most common requirement for quality. Any company wanting to launch a medical device in Germany must put forward quality so as to win the market. Also it must comply or adjust to the regulatory frame work in Germany. The GHTF is a body of regulatory authority that works to harmonize the regulations for medical devices so as to improve on quality, safety and effectiveness of devices. It has provided guidelines for pre-market evaluation, market performance, post market surveillance, auditing, quality conformity and clinical safety/performance (GHTF, 2008).

Doing Business in Germany

In order for PulseMedTech to manage to enter the Germany market, it must understand the business environment in Germany very well. Germany economy is the 4th largest in the world after the expansion of the European Union, accounting for more than 20% of the EU GDP. Germany is among the greatest trade partners of USA and is the sixth largest market for USA export. The “social market” economy of Germany greatly follows free-market principles but, with a good amount of government regulation and generous social welfare programs. As earlier pointed out Germany forms one of the greatest consumer markets in the European Union with a population of about 83,000,000. It is important to note that Germany’s market place goes beyond its borders. Germany’s population, volume of trade, its geographical location and area at the centre of 27 members of European Union makes it a cornerstone around which all international concerns seek to build their market expansion (invest in Germany, 2009).

Market challenges in Germany

Germany experienced sharp economic decline in 2009 where the GDP fall by about 5 %. This was mostly due to plummeting exports (about -14.7%) and sharp fall in capital expenditure by -8.65%. Despite this fall the gover

Critical analysis of Jeffersons First Inaugural Address

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Critical analysis of Jefferson’s First Inaugural Address

In the year 1801, in the month of March, Thomas Jefferson was elected as the United States third president. As was the norm, he had to give a speech during the inauguration ceremony. Jefferson was not a public speaker, who was effective as well as articulate. According to historians, the speech was not audible and only few people were able to hear him. Also, it was described as an awkward moment. Jefferson wanted to ensure that there was unity between Republicans and Federalists and this is what makes his speech famous. He believed that there is a difference between principle and opinion. This is after he commented that everyone in the United States was a Federalist as well as a Republican (Cogliano, 2006. 56).

Before Jefferson was elected to office he was known for being against the policy of Federalists. He showed hostility towards them most times and thus it might seem that after making the comment, he was being a hypocrite. Jefferson wanted to assure American citizens that he would have an excellent administration. According to him, there would be a dissent, which would be new .The principle, which Jefferson advocated for were fair. This means that Jefferson had to ensure that America was controlled by Federal and Republican policies (Cogliano, 2006. 57). With deeper understanding of the remarks made by Jefferson, one recognizes the truth concerning the matter. Currently, there is hostility between Republicans and Democrats. The relationship between the two is often compared to that, which has characteristics of a Federal one.

The politics, ideas, philosophies and worldview of Republicans, is different as compared to that of Democrats. Conservative is used to describe Republicans, while liberal describes a Democrat. Jefferson wanted to bring about a political environment, which is harmonious, despite there being opposing ideologies. The American political scene has its fair share of squabbles, which are of a partisan nature. Americans believe that the existing government is dysfunctional and this is because polarization has affected them. Hyper- partisan and harsh are words, which have been used to describe the administration of President Obama. This is according to John Boehner, who is a House Republican. Republicans are facing hostility from Obama whereby, he seeks to ignore them. Policies enacted by the Democrats are considered as being incompetent, as well as them failing to meet citizen’s expectations. This is similar to what those opposed to Jefferson thought concerning the Federal government (Cogliano, 2006. 61).

Similarly Obama has the same intentions as those of Jefferson, in terms of promoting unity. Partisan passions seem to take over Whitehouse, according to Obama and the consequence is that work is not being done. People do not want to be governed, while hostility exists among their leaders. Americans are tired of partisan that exists in the political arena. When Jefferson called for unity, there was no much tension as it exists today. Partisanship, which exists today, has brought about a negative impact on civics and governance. Legislation that is extremely vital is being overlooked at by congress members and this has brought about the differences between Democrats and Republicans. In conclusion, it is true that history plays a vital role in any future as has been witnessed in the speech by Jefferson. The political climate of America should be changed, in order to ensure that the constitution is being adhered to. In turn, Jefferson’s dream of enhancing unity will have been realized (Cogliano, 2006. 62).

Work Cited

Cogliano, Francis. Thomas Jefferson: Reputation and Legacy. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2006. Print.

Critical Analysis of Heward Faulty Notions on Special Education Experience

Critical Analysis of Heward’s Faulty Notions on Special Education Experience

Introduction

Teaching and learning experiences define the general performances of the teacher and the student in the formal education setting, usually attracting extensive research and academic debate. Despite the interest that the formal education has sparked among many scholars and theorists, there are several points of discord on the generally accepted philosophies that define teaching and learning. In light of the controversy marring the debate on the appropriate practices or perceptions about the established systems, special education must be handled with extra caution due to the delicate nature of the students’ education needs. Clearing the controversy would be deemed necessary by educationists who dedicate their attention to students with special needs, assisting them to formulate the appropriate procedures favouring the special needs thereon.

Researchers such as William E. Heward have devoted a significant contribution of their academic research to the question of the effectiveness of the teaching and learning experience in the classroom. In one of such papers that the researcher has delivered (Heward, 2003), the author identifies ten specific notions that he labels faulty in as far as the classroom experiences of the teacher and the student are concerned. In the paper, a deliberate attempt to unravel the causes of compromised effectiveness education experience is manifested, which strikes an important interest for the following discourse. This discourse critically enumerates the credibility of the author’s position, by analysing three of the identified ten points.

Thesis statement: the effectiveness of special education experience can be defined by analysing the weight of three of Heward’s notions namely; impact of curricula, measuring student performance and impact of internal motivation to learning outcomes.

Firstly, Heward (2003) holds the position that there is a faulty notion among scholars as well as education stakeholders that structured curricula impedes the appropriate learning experience. The author reckons that it is wrong for education theorists and stakeholders to imagine that the standardisation of the curriculum acts as a barrier to explorative learning. In the notion, students and the teachers are confined within the limited predetermined scope, which negatively impacts on the student’s learning experience. According to the author, several points of reference have been made by school system reform campaigners who identify this as a dangerous restriction which turns out to be boring to learners. Advocates of this notion therefore make calls for an open curriculum where children with special needs have unlimited scope of learning content presented to them, to expand chances of the identification of their special capabilities. In the same breath, other supporters of the notion contend that it is wrong for anyone or group of persons to dictate what children with special needs should learn with little freedom of choice. On his verdict, Heward postulates that it is wrong to dispel the importance of a standardised curriculum since it has been documented that its application and strict adherence delivers appropriate results.

Critiquing this position gives two lines of thought regarding the application of a structured syllabus. On one hand, the author mentions that advocates of the notion have been championing for reforms in the school system. This implies that by negating the claims of the notion to the effect that the standard syllabus system is ineffective, the author assumes that there is no need for reforms in the education system. On the other hand, by celebrating its application assumes the ideal situation where the system strictly adheres to the set syllabus. In both scenarios, there are several assumptions held by the author leaving the fate of the children with special needs at the mercy of assumptions. It is my opinion that the element of gambling with the life of a child with special needs is not worth the debate, but a comprehensive solution ought to be sought from an alternative solution. While the positive impact of the structured curricula is taken into consideration, the calls for its overhaul by a section of scholars and education reformists must hold water until we settle for an acceptable formula across the divide. I therefore agree to some level of confidence that structured curricula have their shortcomings, without giving an umbrella position on its overhaul or replacement with other curricula.

To this end, I hold the personal opinion that a hybrid curriculum would complement the positive attributes of each of the two curricula. On one hand, research demonstrates on the impeccable results that the student centred system has for instance in the study conducted by Loten and Schwartz (2004). In this study, the authors reveal that cognitive behaviours of the students using the Problem Based Learning (PBL) recorded plausible results regarding students perceptions on certain complex courses. The authors gave recommendations that the results of the study demonstrate the untapped strength of the curriculum system that Heward clearly disputes. Similar sentiments are recorded in Leung and Wang (2008), by giving a mechanism of testing performance in a hybrid curriculum system which enables grading for attributes where ordinary standardised curricula fail. In such a system, learning would be complemented by the elements of both systems flanked by the appropriate supporting machinery.

Tapping from the benefits of both education systems would facilitate a healthy learning and teaching experience. In a separate computer science research, researchers have found out that merging two curricula designs could pay off than using a single model (Mabis and Mitchell, 1978). This implies that the special needs of children with disabilities could be handled better across the spectrum of their needs by facilitating a variety of curricula packages, with an aim of serving the interests of the students at all levels of their capabilities. Other scholars give a specific account of special-needs dentistry classes by exploring the benefits of PBL which equally point at tremendous results, which confirms that it holds true for special needs students at a an advanced level of education (Bedi, Champion and Davies, 2002). The impact of definition curricula notions is therefore very important in special education

Secondly, Heward identifies that it is a faulty notion to associate teachers input in measuring students’ performance as an impediment to appropriate effectiveness in performance. According to the perspective taken on this notion, there are various performance measurement models which depend on method of measurement and frequency of performance. Due to the definition intricacies for the particular performance measurement in question, there has been debate to the adequacy of the measurement procedure. These arguments arise from the fact that education performance is very complicated to capture i bearing in mind that education is multifaceted discipline that would probably need more complex performance measurement tools that are actually inexistent. The fact that learning is a complex process poses a challenge to many regarding the form of mechanism to employ towards the facilitation of a comprehensive performance assessment and measurement. As such, a school of thought has developed to the effect that what a teacher needs to do in performance assessment should not be a measurement program. This sparks a difference from Heward’s perspective, which holds the opinion that the teacher should facilitate performance measurement which is fairly logical (Heward, 2003).

From the perspective held by Heward, a deep analysis demonstrates that it is wrong to assume that performance measurement is harmful to the learning experience since there would be no other way to introduce review standards of learning progress in a presentable unit. It is clearly manifested that the lack of a method that captures the appropriate learning outcomes could be problematic for either argument if learning has to be reviewed. In a different perspective, arguing that teachers waste a lot of time in administering faulty progress assessment by way of measurable outcomes is incorrect. Whereas it might not be possible for the available performance measurement tools to reveal certain attributes of the learning outcomes, it is agreeable to a certain level of confidence that students feel motivated in the process of being placed under a measurement system. Special education progress would certainly need to be monitored in a manner that would enable the teacher to make the appropriate interventions using the best possible techniques that become available. While making observational assessment may not comprehensively tackle all the learning outcomes, lack of measurement would still be deemed appropriate.

To this end, it is my opinion that the Heward’s position is sustainable due to the effectiveness element in question; bearing in mind that effectiveness is a measurable aspect of the teacher’s performance. In order to create a balance in the experience of the learner and the teacher, it is appropriate that a simplified and standardized technique be applied on both parties. On the same note, Kohn, a major researcher supporting the impracticality of the teacher’s use of students’ performance measurement tools has faced widespread criticism (Heward, 2003). According to the author, education performance measurements representing elements of all learning outputs must be supported. In such an argument, the author confirms that despite the possibility of an assessment inadequacy to cater for certain learning elements in the measurement, special education can still be modified and optimized to relate with the special needs that the students have. I concur with the position that optimization of the system could cater for the various fears that researcher such as Kohn (1998), regarding the impracticality of measuring performance. To dispel such a notion as supported by such education paradigms, I hold the opinion that the inherent conditioning that a classroom with a measurement system acts in a positive way to motivate students to expect certain review of performance based on a quantification standard. In such a perspective, the teacher contributes towards setting standards that quantify performance.

Apparently, the sustainability of such notions as propagated by researchers such as Kohn is based on wrong interpretations of education performance. Kohn (1998) expresses the feeling that presentation or definition of academic engagement as work to be a wrong tenet is perhaps the reason why he makes such inaccurate attack on performance measurement. Kohn is on record for having said that academic terms such as seatwork and homework are misplaced and inappropriate to be applied in academics (Kohn, 1998). In such a notion, it is incorrect to make appear that students in the special education curricula ought to feel like they have not invested their input to deliver work. Education is perhaps the single most engagement that possesses all elements of work than most other work definitions, even outside the academic definitions. As such, it beats logic for measurements to such ideology since all types of work are approached from an interpretation that rewards coincide with level of input and commitment invested at the end of the stipulated time. In the opposite interpretation, I feel that involving measurable assessment techniques, the appropriate interpretation of education input will be captured and the rewards will act as motivational attributes that the students will want to achieve. Separately, by involving such interpretations, the overall intention of nurturing young people into professions, which are all about work, should begin by defining the core importance of holding work seriously. Professional mind set is generally work-oriented, which could be done a great deal of support by ensuring that students develop the winning perception about their professional goals. Student performance measurement is therefore central to the definition of effectiveness in special education experience.

Finally, analysis is made on Heward’s notion that internal motivation is central to learning experience in students with special needs to the effect that it is inaccurate. It is clear that he holds the opinion that internal motivation in students with special needs is not very definitive to their actual learning (Heward, 2003). According to the author’s initial introduction of the notion’s presentation, there is “substantial” supporting documentation that the teacher’s influence through praise and approval is vital in shaping up performance. However, the author opts to make an opposite perspective to the effect that extrinsic attempts to manage a student’s interest in academics usually damage the overall interest in the same. In such a perspective, the author supports major works by Kohn (1993) which illustrate the irrecoverable damage that such motivational attempts have on the performance of the student. Heward concurs with the position held by the author in his works that motivation input such as praise and incentive plans contribute to reverse impacts that lower motivation and interest in academics. It is clear that all the information that the opinion on this notion is based on the side taken by famous education theorists who give an opinion on contentious education issues. In that respect, I find it appropriate to mention that Heward ought to have taken serious considerations regarding the reliance of such information, most of which has little backing from documented practicality.

Critiquing the position held by Heward punches holes in his perceptions about the internal motivation impact, which ironically, he initially agrees has significant evidence regarding its applicability to motivate students. Despite further agreement that Kohn’s position is not empirically sustainable, it follows that making a position based on Kohn’s work is equally not empirically sustainable. This ensues in a debate manifested in the work of Banko, Cameron and Pierce (2001), who on a lenient note argues that intrinsic motivation is not affected by extrinsic input from the teacher. From the opinion of these two theorist perspectives, it is clear that Heward cannot make the appropriate decision that would facilitate an independent judgment on whether it is an accurate notion to dispel extrinsic motivation. In a delicate education system as special education is, it is perhaps for any opinion giver to weigh out the impact of each factor that the student with special needs is subjected to. It is certainly inaccurate to allow an umbrella account of special education without factual support on the misplacement of intrinsic motivation on students with special needs. It follows that

To this end, I hold the personal opinion that learning is a psychological process that heavily relies on the cognitive aspect of the subjects. In line with cognitive development, it is certainly undisputable that the environmental factors play a very central role on the level of positive conditioning that is likely to facilitate learning. According to Factoidz (2010), classical conditioning is perhaps one of the most readily acceptable learning processes that teaching can exploit. It is clear that continued conditioning of the subject in a process of learning is very important in imparting certain desirable attributes or responses. In that case, it follows that by facilitating continued mental support to students can elicit certain desirable interests that supports the learning process. In the case of students with special needs, it can be said that by assuming their capacity is similar to those students who show little impact to extrinsic motivation would be eliminating the benefits of mental conditioning. In my opinion, it is not wrong to imagine that there are students who would severely be demotivated by attempts of the teachers to motivate them extrinsically but it is terribly wrong to allow a blanket notion across all students. Perhaps more studies should be conducted to identify what proportions of students get a negative motivational impact from such input, yet a separate study objective to find out what proportion would be unaffected ought to likewise be conducted. In my own estimation, it follows that if these two study objectives confirm my projection, which holds true in many related cases, it is then sustainable to extrapolate that there would be a significant proportion that will find it helpful to have intrinsic motivation positive in their academic performance.

Tapping from such extrapolation, it is deemed incomplete for any cognition oriented teaching process to exclude mental support for the learner in order to gain the appropriate confidence. A balanced learning process must depict some of the basic learning principles among which is mental involvement and critical problem solving. Within the learning intricacies, it is expected that cognition ranks among the most important elements of the teaching expectations that a teacher imparting the knowledge targets. As such, the training aspects of the cognitive development of the child with special needs must constantly be provoked in order to arouse the necessary learning responses. Creation of perceptions about the learning process in a student’s mind facilitates the motivational responses that the teacher desires in the results. It is therefore very important that motivation triggers the core learning interest in the student with special needs. Resolving controversy around intrinsic motivation factors must therefore enhance definition of the education experience in special education.

In conclusion, special education needs of the students must be approached from a sober analysis of the teaching and learning effectiveness. Improvement of the learning experience must depart from the generalizations that ordinary education systems make, and adopt a more optimised approach for the sake of the special needs that the student has. While debate regarding the opinion on major issues should attract the necessary interest from all quarters of education stakeholders, it is important that the debate considers delivering concrete contributions based on tangible evidence. Consolidation of opinions from various stakeholders might prove to be the solution to the questions raised regarding disagreements in major areas of the debate. While development of special education cannot be conducted in the exclusion of regular education, it is important that the special needs of students with exceptional needs are considered to avoid generalisations that disadvantage some of the students.

Issues of definition and interpretation of the various special needs that students have in the classroom must be resolved adequately in order for the teacher to facilitate learning for the various needy students. Perhaps the most important development in the special education sector is the demystification of the disability aspect that students with special needs have (Sacks, 2001). By defining the actual needs that special education must take care of, it becomes easily manageable for the teachers and education policy makers to decide which notions to fight off, and the appropriate culture to cultivate towards according sufficient support to learners with special needs. By defining the special needs education needs, it is possible to improve effectiveness and education experience. One step to do this can be through analysing the weight Heward’s faulty notions, whose three of the most important include; impact of curricula, measuring student performance and impact of internal motivation to learning outcomes.

References

Banko, K. M., Cameron, J., & Pierce. W. D. (2001) “Pervasive Negative Effects of Rewards on Intrinsic Motivation: The Myth Continues,” The Behaviour Analyst. 24:1-44.

Bedi, R. Champion, J. A. & Davies, R. (2002) “Introducing Problem Based Learning to Special Needs Dentistry- A Case Study,” Primary Dental Care, 9(1):9-13

Factoidz (2010) “Learning through the Process of Classical Conditioning,” Retrieved from: HYPERLINK “http://factoidz.com/learning-through-the-process-of-classical-conditioning/” http://factoidz.com/learning-through-the-process-of-classical-conditioning/

Heward, W. L. (2003) “Ten Faulty Notions about Teaching and Learning that Hinder the Effectiveness of Special Education,” Journal of Special Education, 36(4):186-205

Kohn, A. (1998). What to look for in a classroom. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers

Koln, A. (1993) “Why Incentive Plans Cannot Work.” Harvard Business Review, 71(5):54-63

Leung, K. & Wang, W. (2008) “Validation of the Tutotest in a Hybrid PBL Curriculum,” Advances in Health Sciences Education, 13(1):469-477 Doi: 10:1007/s10459-007-9059-1

Loten, E. G. & Schwartz P. L. (2004) “Influence of Type of Curricula on Students’ Perceptions of the Medical Course: a Compilation of Results from the Cognitive Behaviour Survey, Attitudes toward Social Issues in Medicine Survey, and Learning Environment Questionnaire,” Teaching and Learning in Medicine, 16(2):123-132

Mabis, B. & Mitchell, W. (1978) “Implementing a Computer Science Curriculum Merging Two Curriculum Models,” ACM SIGCSE Bulletin, 10(3):151-155 Doi: 10.1145/953028.804250

Sacks, A. (2001) Special education: a reference handbook. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, Inc.,

Critical Analysis of Gate-keeping as Monitoring and Supervision

Critical Analysis of Gate-keeping as Monitoring and Supervision

Student Name:

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Nursing:

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October 2, 2013.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF GATEKEEPING AS MONITORING AND SUPERVISION

The case study RN as gate keeping as monitoring and supervision which has been undertaken by Dr. Jillian D Brammer gives a useful insight into the general training and supervising of clinical nurses. Through it, a critical analysis can be made. It is apparent that serious ethical and legal issues are raised and that they demand a sober and practical approach so that they can be fixed.

According to Dickson, Walker & Bourgeois (2006, pg 3) work ethics simply relates to opting to what is considered to be the right thing within a particular work premise or executing your duties in a manner that is in tandem with the dictates and demands of morality and decency. For instance the RN insists that her student should administer amino glycoside medication through an intravenous cannula, rather than the conventionally recommended way of diluting using a burette even when the student is completely prefers the latter method to the former. In fact, the RN further insists that the student pushes the drug within ten minutes without minding the health status and even the advanced age of the patient (Brammer, 2008, p 5). When the student insists that she must take at least 10 minutes to administer the medication, the RN walks off. From the three instances, serious issues that borders on ethics are raised. It is apparent that the RN ethical convictions real questionable from this case study, the student emerges top as the only person who upholds the principles of morality and decency.

If, say the student could have administered the drug as per the RN instructions, may be the patient could have developed complications given his advanced age and a frail body. This will have necessitated legal from the patient’s family members (Lyneham, Parkinson, & Denholm, 2008 p, 4). To this level, it therefore important for different health institutions to come up with measures of curbing such gross professional negligence and complacency aspects.

Autonomy is defined as the ability to act differently from others. From this case study and when viewed from the patient’s perspective, it is practiced in a manner that is prone to yield negative results than the real intended outcomes. A case in question is the blatant demand from the RN that her student administers amino glycoside medication within a minute besides using intravenous cannula rather the generally accepted and recommended way. Though this shows that the RN wants to practice some element of autonomy, however the results are likely to be fatal.

The benefits that are obstructed from the patient are; receiving quality and effective medication. Instead, the patient is at risk of receiving crude services that are real a threat to his health at worse his life. All these can be mitigated if proper monitoring and supervision mechanisms are put in place. Also, there need to be stringent disciplinary measures meted on those, like the RN who are found culpable to have flouted the law and other nursing standards.

Veracity refers to truth or accuracy when reporting or disseminating any information. In this case study, neither the patient nor his family members has been given accurate information as regards to how the patient is being treated and his general health standard. For instance, what deters the nurses from giving adequate information to the patient? Even when amino glycoside is administered in a questionable manner, the patient is not informed. In some cases, there can be genuine reasons as to why clinicians and nurses may opt to conceal some information from only the patient, but they must at least inform some family members. In the case study, there appears no genuine reason as to why information is not given either to the patient or to his family members.

Confidentiality simply means a set of regulations that binds one from divulging any sensitive information to any party considered any party considered an ‘outsider’ (Kingsnorth-Hinrichs, 2009, p 6). To some extent, some information ought to remain within the confines of a particular because if disclosed, the effects could be very catastrophic. However, there comes a time when confidentiality must be breached. From the case study, confidentiality is a real issue especially when the student discloses such sensitive information as to how he was made to administer amino glycoside medication to an old and frail patient using a method that is less recommended which even himself is opposed to and moreover in the shortest time possible.

According to Brammer (2008, p. 4) advocacy is defined as an act of backing and advancing a particular cause or conviction. From the case study, a good example of advocacy refuses to administer amino glycoside medication within a minute. The student is therefore advocating for the drug to be administered through the conventionally recommended method and when the RN insists on this method, the student backs down but believes that he has to take time while administering the medication unlike what the RN tells her. But this student is fortunate to have on her side an apt advocate who defends her cause and this promotes student confidence.

Some of the legal aspects and nursing standards are; proper administration of drugs as per the physician’s prescription, students to be accompanied with their tutors whenever they are treating patients and also there must be effective communication between the nurse/clinician and the patient or his family whenever there is need to change the form of treatment from the previous one. In the case study, these laws and nursing standards have been breached. For instance, there is no absolute dissemination of information from the facility management to the patient as regards hi state of health (Myrick & Yonge, 2005, p. 3). Two, the tutor walks off and leaves the student with the patient and finally, the RN tries to coerce the student to use a less recommended treatment method of administering amino glycoside medication through the use of intravenous cannula.

The stakeholders are; patients, hospitals, nurses and doctors. It is obvious that these groups have different interests. For instance, the interest of patients is to get quality and satisfying services from doctors, nurses, clinicians and other hospital staff. Doctors and other medical practioners have interest of providing quality services, accumulating experience, sharpening their skills and also building on their CVs.  Hospital managements have targets of being recognized as quality service providers hence promoting public confidence in them (Curtis, Bowen & Reid, 2007, p. 5).

It must be emphasized that all the stakeholders have something to lose in an event the others don’t do their part effectively (Curtis, Bowen I& Reid, 2007). For example, what can a patient stand to lose if a nurse or doctor errs when treating him? Or what will happen if the general public looses confidence in a particular hospital? In the first question, the patient can develop complications that can even threaten his or her life. In the second case, hospitals stand to lose their operational ability These interests are very significant and it is they that define these stakeholders. As a result of this, each stakeholder must do what they can to safe guard their interests that are dear to them. These interests are very powerful and legitimate especially if pursued through ethical manner. The problem at hand is professional negligence and complacency at a nursing training centre is real and very urgent. If it is not solved in time, it will degenerate into a more serious problem in the facility. The way the RN operates, she appears to be busy elsewhere and this could be the reason as to why she instructs the student to bypass the recommended way of administering amino glycoside and deploy a method that will take less time. This is what must be discouraged at hospitals. Doctors, clinicians and nurses must understand that, unlike machines that can be fixed, human bodies should not be used as specimen (Sulosaari, Suhonen & Leino-Kilpi, 2010, p. 4).This problem when perceived from an alternative ethical pedigree; say the RN walking on the student and leaving her with the patient is very unprofessional and totally unacceptable as Curtis, Bowen & Reid (2007, p. 5) noted.

From the case study, a number of conflicts can be cited. There is a conflict between the RN and the student as pertains to the time that amino glycoside should be administered. The RN instructs the student to administer the medication within a minute yet the student is convinced that, the medication ought to give the drug slowly so as to minimize discomfort to the patient who she describes as ‘old and frail.’ There is also a second conflict between treatment options. Amino glycoside medication can be administered in two ways: diluting it in a burette before giving it. It can also be administered intravenously through the use of intravenous cannula. Whereas the former is conventionally recommended, the latter is not. One of the ways of minimizing these conflicts like that between the student and RN is through a consensus between the two and as regards the treatment options; there ought to be clear guidelines on when each should be used (Scott-Tilley, 2008, p.7).

Deans (2005, p. 4), argues that ethical concepts are ideas that can help stakeholders within an organization to come up with best practices that abide by the moral demands and standards of that particular organization. Some of the ethical concepts that can guide the management are: Virtue and action. Virtue ethics normally border on ‘we should be’ whereas action ethics dwells on what must be done. From the case study, it is important that the management, through various policies promotes virtues and in situations like the case of the student and the RN, the management must take real while interrogating the effects of such action. This will depict the hospital management as a caring health provider (Jones, 2009, p.9).

Some of the legal frameworks that can assist the management in handling such gross professional conducts are; terminating the contracts of employees like the RN who are not adhering to the professional codes of conduct when dealing with patients and this will limit the number of legal suits arising from mistakes of RNs against the training facility (Axley, 2008, p.11).

The decision that must be taken as regards the issue from the case study is to suspend the NR pending investigations into claims of professional negligence and complacency that she demonstrated. The guiding principles of efficient monitoring and supervision in the training facility have promoted positive learning experiences. These are balanced when students are efficiently supervised and allowed to have an alternative approach to issues. The decision to suspend the RN pending investigations can be communicated through the training facility board of directors. The board will have an opportunity to deliberate on the best way of addressing the issue so that to safeguard the interests of the training facility.

In summary, there ought to be efficient monitoring and supervising of the training of nurses so as to produce highly skilled and positive minded medical practitioners.

References

Axley, L. (2008). Competency: A concept analysis. Nursing Forum 43(4), 214-221

Brammer, J.D, (2008). RN as gatekeeper: gate-keeping as monitoring and supervision Journal

of Clinical Nursing 17, 1868–1876

Curtis J, Bowen I & Reid A. (2007).You have no credibility: nursing students’ experiences of

horizontal violence. Nurse Education in Practice 7, 156–163

Deans, C. (2005). Medication errors and professional practice of registered nurses. Collegian,

12(1), 29–33

Dickson C, Walker J & Bourgeois S (2006). Facilitating undergraduate nurses clinical practicum:

the lived experience of clinical facilitators. Nurse Education Today 26, 416–422

Jones, S.W. (2009). Reducing medication administration errors in nursing practice. Nursing

Standard, 23(50), 40-46.

Kingsnorth-Hinrichs, J. (2009). Growing new graduates: It takes a village. RN 72(1), 40-

41, 44.

Lyneham, J., Parkinson, C., & Denholm, C. (2008).Explicating Benner’s concept of expert

practice: Intuition in emergency nursing. Journal of Advanced Nursing 64 (4), 380-387.

Myrick F & Yonge O (2005).Nursing Preceptorship: Connecting Practice and Education.

Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Philadelphia.

Ramritu PL & Barnard A (2001) New graduates’ understanding of competence. International

Nursing Review 48, 47–57.

Rischel, V., Larsen, K., & Jackson, K. (2008). Embodied dispositions or experience? Identifying

new patterns of professional competence.Journal of Advanced Nursing 61(5), 512-521.

Scott-Tilley, D. D. (2008). Competency in nursing: A concept analysis. The Journal of

Continuing Education in Nursing 39(2), 58-64.

Sulosaari, V., Suhonen, R., & Leino-Kilpi, H. (2010). An integrative review of the literature on

registered nurses’ medication competence. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 20, 464-478.

Netflix’s Marketing Management Philosophy

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Netflix’s Marketing Management PhilosophyThere are some marketing management philosophies that various businesses adopt which include production, selling, product, marketing and social-marketing concepts. Netflix is one of the most famous entertainment companies in the world believes in customers’ satisfaction as their best marketing strategy. To achieve this, it adopts marketing concept as its prominent marketing management philosophy which best suits in providing consumers’ utility especially by the use of the online platform. With the application of philosophy, Netflix company greatly emphasis on understanding their customer’s requirement and as a result they produce the best products as well as services which at the end enhances their client’s satisfaction. Customers’ satisfaction comes to hand on hand with quality, setting fair prices for their commodities, updating the consumers on the newly available products to keep them in the truck as well as delivering their products in time. Therefore, the business has established a perfect market niche and has also outfitted its competitors. Starting with finding the market, Netflix has focused on the clients’ needs and by the use of integrated marketing means consumer utility is accomplished making the company leap its abundant profits.

Mission statement being an essential directorate to achieving goals of every running business, it has played a vital role in making Netflix firm stand firm in its operations as well as hitting their targeted objective. In this case, the company’s mission is ensuring customer’s satisfaction as it is the best in fitting out the competitors and also getting maximum profit.

Extra-plus Motors mission statement

Extra-plus Motors dealers provide the best and exclusive vehicle trading experience. Good customers’ services act as the focal emphasis on the products and services provided. Get a new automobile-free from air pollutant emissions and also exchange the antique car with the latest vehicle model. The firm adopts friendly and fair payment methods which every client can afford as everyone’s effort is valued. It is made possible through the adoption of hire purchase method where a customer can make a recommendable deposit when purchasing a vehicle and be the set monthly installments within the stipulated period. Transportation facilities are the first stimulators to technological and economic development. Walk with new technology, stay a step ahead of others and be the boss.