Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Interperson Communication Skills

It was only around the sass's that it became consider as an actual practice (Benjamin, 2006). This assignment will deal with some of the most influential of these psychological practices which have developed and evolved since the inception psychology all those years ago. This will be achieved in the way of Deadlier, Gestalt and Person-centered therapies as examples. This will involve focused commentary on their historical background and key concepts with mention given to the therapeutic goals of each of the respective theories. â€Å"Psychology has a long past, but only a short history. (Boring, 1929, p. 9) Deadlier Psychology Deadlier psychology is the psychological method founded by Alfred Adler which was formulated around the idea of â€Å"individual psychology'. Individual Psychology is a humanistic approach and is a modification of Freud ‘s psychoanalysis which encapsulates a body of ideas and approaches more focused on our actual motivations, as an indivisible whole, in our behavior towards a life goal. These goals come in divisions of short term and long term with all the stops in-between being goals that indeed affected our behavior today in our everyday lives.It was Adler ‘s insistence that people were motivated by social influences (as nothing materializes in isolation) and that one was, to a large extent, responsible for who they are and couldn't blame others for the predicaments and short comings they may be experiencing in their current existence (Adler, 1964). Deadlier psychology believes that a person forms a methodology to life within the first 6 years of living and the therapy places great focus on feelings of inferiority.However these feelings of inferiority are not viewed as symbols of deficiency or fragility, but rather a driving source of creativity (Corey, 2009). Deadlier Psychology calls these feelings of inferiority â€Å"the inferiority complex† (which is defined as an intense feeling of inadequacy often culminating in shyness or general evasive behavior) and the therapy is often associated with â€Å"the superiority complex† (defined as the overblown or distorted feeling of superiority to others), albeit Deadlier psychology renders the latter as more of a defense mechanism for those who truly do feel inferior to others (Adler, 1998).In therapy, Deadlines endeavourer to look at the life of the individual from his subjective reality as they believe how the client perceives life is ended more important that what reality demonstrates. This is called the phenomenological perspective and will incorporate various aspects of the clients thought process including his viewpoint, sentiments, beliefs and values. This is of utmost importance as in order to understand the whole person, deadlier psychology states that we cannot be understood in pieces but rather all components of ourselves must be comprehended as a unified whole.This is known as the holistic concept (Corey, 2009). It is here where ef fective empathy is especially important in this hereby, which is in contradiction of Freudian theory that the client must be a blank slate. It would be this empathy and the fact that Freudian therapy encouraged the analyst to be silent during free association, whilst Deadlier psychologists are encouraged to make inquiries and have discussions about the client that would be considered 2 of the major differences in the respective theories (Burrow, 1917). At the beginning of this section on Deadlier psychology I made referenced to the importance of social influences.These influences are articulated as social interest ND are defined as the theory that endeavourers to characterize the relationship between an individual and the people he deals with in his community. It is a trait that is inherent in all human beings which can be trained and developed. Deadlines testify that the more refined and developed ones social interest is, the more it will lessen any feelings of inferiority (Adler, 1998). In therapy, the Deadlier psychologist will attempt an assessment of the clients â€Å"family constellation† which encapsulates the circumstances an individual is born into, including gender and birthing order (Adler, 1964).Particular attention is given to the relationship between siblings in the birthing order and continues through the individuals early recollections. These recollections are very important as they create formative happenings that emphatically develop ones personality. It is hoped that by the end of this process the client will be able to recognize or discern where they went wrong, which could range from conceptual errors and adverse processes (Adler, 1998). Deadlier psychology goes further to say that even though children may be raised in to their location in the birth order.Generally the oldest child enjoys more attention ND whilst no other siblings have been born, has a tendency to be spoiled more. This all changes, however, at the arrival of a new s ibling and will generally find them self evicted from the favored position. The second child from the time of birth shares the attention with the first born, but competitiveness develops which can have an influence their development later in life. This second born is generally quite the opposite of the elder sibling. The middle child often feels excluded.A burden is laid on this child as they often become the middle man, the keeper of the peace who tries their best to keep situations together. The youngest child will always be viewed as the baby and results in the individual being pampered and has a tendency to get things their way. The only child seems to be a mixture of sorts. They share some similarities of the oldest child in this model, but tend not to discover how to share or collaborate with others their age. The only child is also often pampered like the aforementioned youngest child and may want to be the centre of attention at all times (Corey, 2009).In the preceding text I made references to the pampering of a child. Deadlines believe that pampering does play a direct role in a child's placement as spoilt children are raised to expect their requests to be law. This is a result of the parenting figures allowing the child a feeling of eminence, a feeling that the child can get almost anything they want without them striving to have earned it and this generally leads to the child believing this eminence is a birthright. For these children it has become commonplace for them to take and not to give.All this as a consequence could result in the child later in life losing their independence, and not knowing how to resolve issues for themselves (Adler, 1998). In my studies of Freud and Jung I was very intrigued in their dream analysis so was very interested to see how Deadlier psychology views this concept. Whereas Freud viewed dreams as a method of solving issues from the past, Deadlier psychology rather views dreams as a recital of conceivable future even ts and could reflect an individual's current issues (Corey, 2009). Meanings are not determined by situations, but we determine ourselves by the meanings we give to situations. † (Adler, 1937, p. 14). Person-centered Therapy Person-centered therapy (also referred to as Organic Psychology) is the psychological method founded by the humanistic psychologist Carl Rogers. It is centered on the idea that the individual has enormous potential for understanding themselves and therefore is best placed in the resolving of their own issues without any direct interjections from the therapist. Hence the therapy revolves around the individual as the promoter and architect of their own self change (Corey, 2009).So it would be pertinent to say that one ‘s self concept is of great emphasis in this therapy and thus is defined as the personal perceptions one believes about themselves (Rogers, 2003). The therapy furthermore states that all of us have the capacity for growth towards fulfillme nt of our life ‘s wishes and aspirations. That being said, it is of utmost importance that the therapist provides a comfortable threat free environment for the individual, as to lower their guard, to make it easier for them to defensiveness (Meaner & Throne, 2007).If the aforementioned life aspirations, potentials and fulfillment are indeed reached this is referred to as self actualization and it is the conviction of this therapy that this tendency is the one essential motive driving all of us. If this tendency is promoted and helped along, the person will flourish and develop and start living what they term â€Å"the good life†. By â€Å"the good life† the therapy is referring to the idea that the individual will have reached an apex of a positive mental outlook, have reached a level of congruence and would begin to trust their feelings.Conversely if that tendency is constrained or blocked, the person will deteriorate and/or have greater difficulties (Rogers, 19 51). The importance of this can never be underestimated and is of particular importance as Rogers confirms: â€Å"The organism has one basic tendency and striving – to actuality, maintain, and enhance the experiencing organism† (Rogers, 1951, p. 487). The organism Rogers (and indeed the entire therapy in general) in that quote makes reference to is the individual person as a whole inclusive of one ‘s emotions, thoughts and welfare (Rogers, 2003).Person-centered therapy has similarities to Deadlier psychology in the way of Idler's social interest concepts which reflects in Rogers core conditions of therapeutic change. The basis of this is in the emphasis Deadlier psychology invests in caring ND empathy being at the centre of therapy regarding social interest (Watts, 1998), but whereas Deadlier psychology tries to get to the crux of the issue through applied techniques, the Person-centered therapist is non-directive and allows the client to lead the conversation.Th e therapist will ask questions and forward scenarios relevant to what the client is discussing, without answering any directed questions, in an attempt to empower the client to indeed realize the issue at hand and the solution to it for themselves (Rogers, 2003). Initially there were 6 conditions that ere fundamental to Person-centered therapy that are necessary in order to achieve therapeutic change and stimulate growth in a client. The first of these is that two people must engage in psychological contact in order for therapy to commence.The second condition refers to the fact that the client is assumed to be in a state of incongruence (the discrepancy between the matching of your experiences and awareness which results in there being an imbalance between the alignment of your feelings and actions). The next condition is that the therapist himself must be fully self-aware and congruent with the client at all times. The fourth condition is that the therapist portrays unconditional positive regard (UPPER) towards the client.At number five is that the therapist must, above all else, display empathic understanding towards what the client reveals without getting emotionally involved. The final condition is that the expression to the client of the therapist's empathy and positive regard must be achieved to a minimal degree (Rogers, 1957). Over the years, however, the aforementioned 6 conditions have developed, revised and hence reduced to 3 core conditions as over time the others were viewed as nonessential.The 3 conditions that remained and are practiced today are firstly â€Å"congruence†; defined in Person-centered therapy as the therapist having to be as genuine as he possible can towards the client, which is essential as it aids in the establishment of trust between the client and the therapist and thus is considered by many to be the most important part of counseling. The second core condition is â€Å"empathy', which is the issue at hand from the cl ient's perspective (I. E. – what the client is feeling). The therapist needs to appear incredibly authentic and sensitive during sessions, but just always be careful not to confuse empathy with sympathy.Furthermore the therapist must pay attention to the client's experiences as if they were their own, but not at the expense of becoming lost in those emotions. This is referred to as accurate emphatic understanding. The third core condition is â€Å"unconditional positive regard and acceptance† (UPPER). This encapsulates the concept that regardless what the client reveals during therapy, be it good or bad, it will be accepted unconditionally by the therapist with no Judgment passed whilst showing meaningful and genuine understanding for the client.This leads to the client being more at ease and more willing to share experiences without fear of being Judged (Corey, 2009). Person- centered therapy believes that these conditions, as well as the aforementioned self actualiza tion, are all necessary in the achievement of becoming a â€Å"fully functioning person†. A â€Å"fully functional person† is the state of being reached when a person is fully congruent and comfortable with living life in the present (I. E. – not held back by past bad experiences and lives considerably more freely) and when the client has cached this state, it is then that the therapist will begin the â€Å"ending† discussion.The â€Å"ending† discussion refers to the therapist initiating the idea of terminating the sessions as sooner or later; the client needs to go it on their own (Meaner & Throne, 2007). â€Å"It is the client who knows what hurts, what directions to go, what problems are crucial, what experiences have been deeply buried† (Rogers, 1961, p. 11). Gestalt Therapy Gestalt therapy is the existential, phenomenological and process based approach formulated by Frizz and Laura Peres which focuses on the human mind and behavior n i ts entirety in relation to the individual's environment (I. E. The whole is more relevant than the quantity of its parts). Gestalt too initially stemmed from Freud ‘s psychoanalytic ideals, but took issue with Freud ‘s view of individual's being mechanistic and insisted how one acts and reacts in the present is far more important than understanding ones past (Corey, 2009). This isn't to say the past was completely overlooked and undervalued, but its relevance was more focused on how events and situations affects one now in the present as all our adaptations to the resistances and events we experienced through our development manifests in our present (Peres, 1969).Clients who engage in Gestalt therapy are generally in a phase of existential dilemma and need to learn to be accountable for their own existence. Gestalt therapy believed that the solution to such issues was found in the client gaining awareness and once this was achieved, genuine adjustments and changes would happen naturally (Nelson-Jones, 2000). Gestalt therapists in the quest for the client to become aware will encourage the client to face the experience in question head on, rather than simply discuss it.For example instead of discussing the bullied abuse the client received at school, the client will be urged to try becoming that tormented child during sessions. This awareness was made up of the client being able to be self accepting and gaining a greater understanding of Person-centered therapy in the way they all prized empathy and accepted the notion of the client having the inherent capacity of being able to accomplish great freedoms and self-reliance.Gestalt does, however, differ from person-centered therapy fundamentally in the way person-centered therapy wishes to limit the therapist's role o that of to a passive mediator of information and that the client already deep down has the solutions (Rogers, 2003), whereas the Gestalt therapist isn't there to Just pay attention and li sten but also engage in dialogue and moreover make the client aware of what presently is happening (Peres, 1969).Furthermore these Gestalt therapy sessions don't follow particular guidelines so therapists are encouraged during to devise experiments and be creative to maximize the client's awareness to the â€Å"what† and the â€Å"how' they are doing things (Yonder, 1993). Gestalt therapy places significant stress on the concept of contact and believes it is necessary if growth is to take place during sessions with clients. Contact is defined as the audible, physical, visual, odorous and actual movement made between those involved in the therapy.Part of the importance of contact is also identifying the disruptions and defiance's to contact that may occur during therapy (Nelson-Jones, 2000) . The most common of these resistances are: â€Å"Interjecting†, which refers to the acceptance of information without entirely considering whether it is something you potentially c oncur with and in most instances not even understanding its meaning. This form of resistance is loaded with ‘should haves', ‘must haves' and ‘l still need to do ‘s' during therapy. â€Å"Projecting† refers to us renouncing facets of ourselves by assigning them to our given environment.Every time we attempt to interpret the world, we project and we tend to see in other people what indeed belongs to us. â€Å"Retroflection† is when we grant ourselves what we indeed want from the environment (I. E. – doing to ourselves what we would actually like to do to another). â€Å"Confluence† involves the fading or blurring of the boundaries that stand between others and us. â€Å"Deflecting† is when he individual dilutes life in the way of making serious issues not seem as serious as they indeed are. Humor and changing of the subject are good examples of deflecting. Desensitizing† is when we chose to block out issues or scenarios we don't want to experience or identify. In Gestalt therapy, this is viewed as a fundamental resistance. â€Å"Egotism† gets a special mention under this section as whereas it isn't directly viewed in gestalt therapy as a resistance as such, it is a familiar component in all the manifestations of our impairments and has been recognized to interfere with good contact (Latter, 1973). In Gestalt therapy, the relationship between the client and the therapist is a dynamic communication which is characterized by empathy, acknowledgement and responsibility.This communication has 4 main aspects including â€Å"inclusion† (being as present as possible without passing any judgment on what the client has to say), â€Å"presence† (the therapist finds ways to express them self during the session towards the client), â€Å"commitment to dialogue† (makes for an understanding and allowance for communication between therapist and client) and â€Å"dialogue is lived† (implying the communication doesn't deed to be only verbal, but can in fact be any method that expresses energy between client and therapist) (Yonder, 1993).There are 6 main principles to Gestalt therapy and are characterized as follows: First is the principle of â€Å"field work†. This therapist gives special attention to how the client connects with his environment. Secondly is the principle of â€Å"holism† which quite simply put, includes everything about the client including thoughts, emotions, dreams and reactions as gestalt therapists assign no preferable value to a particular part of the client. â€Å"Unfinished equines† is the third principle and in gestalt therapy is construed as the unspoken or unexpressed feelings that seem to have attached themselves to specific memories from our past.These feelings can raise their ugly head in our lives and be demonstrated by means of resentment, anxiety, anger and guilt. These hide in the background of our being and find their way into the present in a number of self- defeating expressions and acts. The fourth principle is â€Å"the figure-formation process† which pays attention to how the client regulates and shapes their surroundings from nocturne to Juncture. It furthermore keeps a keen eye on how some element of the environment can appear from the client's background and make itself a centerpiece of the client's attention. Organism self-regulation† is the fifth principle and it makes reference to the innovative adjustment the client makes in relation to his surroundings. The final principle is called â€Å"the now' and is focused on the client truly being in the present as attention given to events from the past, as well as the future, could be a mental diversion to keep the client from dealing with issues in the present moment (Corey, 2009). â€Å"I am not in this world to live up to other people's expectations, nor do I feel that the world must live up to mine. † (Peres, 1969, p. 21).Conclusion In the modern day there is a plethora of psychological methods and therapies, which begs the question: â€Å"Which one is the best and most practical to adopt? † I don't imagine there is a clear and elementary answer to this question, but if I had to be as bold to commit to an answer, I'd imagine my answer would be: â€Å"Somewhere in- between. † My answer isn't as cryptic and inconclusive as it may first appear as wrought all my research for this assignment, as well as previous endeavourers, I have recognized that all the respective methods have their pertinent, compelling and intriguing arguments or merits.They also do, however, seem to have their limitations to lesser or greater degree. So for myself it would make practical sense to use one approach as a basis for therapy, but include all the redeeming aspects of the others if need be. Regardless of one ‘s viewpoint on the approaches I have discussed in this assignment, I can à ¢â‚¬Ëœt help but feel the more tools we have at our disposal, the better

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Hasty Generalisation

Hasty generalization (Anecdotal) Definition: Making assumptions about a whole group or range of cases based on a sample that is inadequate (usually because it is atypical or just too small). Stereotypes about people (â€Å"librarians are shy and smart,† â€Å"wealthy people are snobs,† etc. ) are a common example of the principle underlying hasty generalization. Example: â€Å"My roommate said her philosophy class was hard, and the one I'm in is hard, too. All philosophy classes must be hard! † Two people's experiences are, in this case, not enough on which to base a conclusion. The person committing the fallacy is misusing the following type of reasoning, which is known variously as Inductive Generalization, Generalization, and Statistical Generalization: 1. X% of all observed A's are B†s. 2. Therefore X% of all A's are Bs. The fallacy is committed when not enough A's are observed to warrant the conclusion. If enough A's are observed then the reasoning is not fallacious. Tip: Ask yourself what kind of â€Å"sample† you're using: Are you relying on the opinions or experiences of just a few people, or your own experience in just a few situations? If so, consider whether you need more evidence, or perhaps a less sweeping conclusion. (Notice that in the example, the more modest conclusion â€Å"Some philosophy classes are hard for some students† would not be a hasty generalization. ) Here are some more examples of hasty generalisations fallacies. See if you can identify the fallacy and write this in the following format â€Å"A means B. † We will then discuss what is wrong with each one: 1. Bill: â€Å"You know, those feminists all hate men. † Joe: â€Å"Really? † Bill: â€Å"Yeah. I was in my philosophy class the other day and that Rachel chick gave a presentation. † Joe: â€Å"Which Rachel? † Bill: â€Å"You know her. She's the one that runs that feminist group over at the Women's Center. She said that men are all sexist pigs. I asked her why she believed this and she said that her last few boyfriends were real sexist pigs. † Joe: â€Å"That doesn't sound like a good reason to believe that all of us are pigs. † Bill: â€Å"That was what I said. † Joe: â€Å"What did she say? † Bill: â€Å"She said that she had seen enough of men to know we are all pigs. She obviously hates all men. † Joe: â€Å"So you think all feminists are like her? † Bill: â€Å"Sure. They all hate men. † 2. â€Å"Our English teacher made us ready read some poetry last year, and it was really boring. I know now that I will never like poetry† 3. Fred the Australian, stole my wallet. Thus, all Australians are thieves. 4. I asked six of my friends what they thought of the new taxes and they agreed that they are a good idea. The new taxes are therefore generally popular. 5. All swans are white. 6. Critical thinking is not part of my university application therefore Critical Thinking has no value After the discussion write 2 or 3 examples of ad hominem/tu qouque’s of your own. India is the country with the largest population therefore Indian people love to have sex Han Eol is good at badminton therefore all Koreans are good at badminton The Virginia Tech Massacre was done by a Korean, therefore all Koreans are terrorists James Koay gets good grades therefore all Asians are smart Blondes are dumb therefore Carrie Sharp is dumb

Death as a Main Theme of Philip Larkin’s Aubade

Aubade is the last poem by Philip Larkin. This poem became the culmination of his life and work and contains basic ideas of Larkin’s philosophical and literary credo. This poem became Larkin’s profound and personal investigation of the theme of death. Published in the Times Literary Supplement for the first time, this poem became a characteristic feature of his literary work. The poem is full of symbolism. The very title, Audabe, or Morning Serenade, creates anticipations in the minds of the readers and Larkin uses contrast in order to deliver his message to the readers. His aubade turns to be anti-aubade and this sad irony only underlines contrast and irony, used by the author. He uses a popular romantic title for his poem in order to underline the loss of innocence in the perception of the world.The very first lines of the poem describe typical day of routine life of the person, who does not see any sense in his life and spends dull days and sleepless nights thinking about inevitable death.Till then I see what’s really always there: Unresting death, a whole day nearer now, Making all thought impossible but how And where and when I shall myself die (Larkin 69).The theme of death and depression is typical for the works of Larkin. The theme of death and fear of dying goes through the entire poem. Scepticism and pragmatic view on religion give special shades of meaning to the theme of death. He speaks about it without idealization and pathos but, at the same time, he does not hide his feelings of fear and despair in front of this phenomenon. His pessimistic and gloomy mood makes the poem sound accordingly. As famous Donald Hall wrote about Philip Larkin in his article, â€Å"This is the man who famously said that deprivation was for him what daffodils were for Wordsworth. Yet surely the results of this life, in the shape of his poems, are gifts, not deprivations† (Hall 117).Larkin got the reputation of a melancholy poet. His light sorr ow and gloomy intonations became a visit card of all his literary works. Mixture of wit, humour and sad irony add special zest to sad motifs of Aubade.Dread of death creates a dark background of the poem. The author thinks about things he did not accomplish yet and describes gradual extinction and the most terrible thing.The sure extinction that we travel to And shall be lost in always. Not to be here, Not to be anywhere, And soon; nothing more terrible, nothing more true (Larkin 69).He can not stop thinking about state of non-being, which will naturally become a final destination for everybody. Being away from pathetic feelings he looks for a distinct place, which would become the house for humans after death and does not find such a place. This though deprives him of sleep and fulfills all his thoughts.His vision of death is determined by his philosophical credo and religious beliefs. All Western tradition regards death as an eternal rest and, if not to turn to religious explanati ons, the death appears as a final termination of the human existence.  Ã‚  Larkin rejects this view, calling the death â€Å"unresting†. This word combination makes and oxymoron as the term â€Å"death† itself assumes rest and calmness (Webster's New World College Dictionary).   Ã‚  Finally, the theme of death as an unresting thing, which does not bring pleasure and calm, becomes one of the main themes of the poem. He also uses unresting in another shade of the meaning. He turns to the word unresting in order to show that death is a phenomenon which can not be escaped or avoided by anybody. Nobody can escape death and all people are equal in front of it. As he states in the poem, â€Å"Most things may never happen: this one will†Ã‚  (Larkin 69).The very structure of the poem serves in order to help the author to deliver this message to the readers. Somewhat unusual structure of the poem does not make logical pauses at the end of the stanzas. The parts of the poem are connected so closely that they turn to each other as a continuous process, where motion does not stop for a single second. Sentences do not end at the end of the lines. Larkin uses long sentences, which rest for several lines and even when they end, it usually happens in the middle of the line, so that the next sentence starts immediately. For example, â€Å"no sight, no sound, / No touch or taste or smell, nothing to think with, / Nothing to love or link with†Ã‚  (Larkin 69). Such structure does not let the reader rest and make poses.It reminds the readers about the flowing nature of life, when people can not stop and have a rest haunted by the unresting death. Even in the cases when there are poses at the end of the lines the sentences are not completed, and the reader can not keep long poses, since the line does not contain a terminated thought and next lines continue ideas from the previous ones. Making a pause between the lines and having a rest becomes same im possible, as having a pause in one’s life and taking time to think over important things and finish things, which are not finished.Special structure of sentences is not the only means used by Larkin in order to attract the readers’ attention to the unresting nature and inevitable character of death. Gloomy and depressive tones of the poem show this very nature of death. The author uses sad irony and light sorrow in order to show naivety of people, who try to escape thoughts about death and pretend that this will never happen to them, even despite they are surrounded by death every day of their lives. People seek for stability and guarantees but finally it turns out that death can be the only stable thing in this world.The second stanza illustrates the author’s attitude to religion. Larkin does not believe in the pictures of afterlife, created by different religious doctrines.   His pessimistic attitude towards religions does not let him accept any kind of non- rational explanation of the life after death. â€Å"Larkin’s last major poem, Aubade is to conclude his religious poetic oeuvre with an internal argument of the poetic persona on religion and what remains after death† (Lerner 183). The author spends sleepless nights thinking about death. He spends hours trying to imagine the state, where all the senses cease their existence and a person looses all connections with the existence. Larkin goes further than just philosophical reflections about the death, he thinks about physical experience of â€Å"no-being†. As he states, â€Å"This is what we fear—no sight, no sound, / No touch or taste or smell, nothing to think with, / Nothing to love or link with† ( Larkin 69).Physical nature of death becomes the focus of Larkin’s attention. Such an attitude reduces human life to physical existence and that is the reason the author becomes so desperate to find any explanations of things, which will happen t o him after death.   As states Adam Stainer, â€Å"His inability to palliate his mind’s sense of panic mirrors the other figure depicted as unresting in the poem—death itself†   (Stainer 16). And even her unresting nature of death is obvious. Looking for a possible description of the state of non-living, Larkin can not escape a thought that this state will last forever. He regards the death not as a single event, which causes transformation, but rather as a continuous process of perpetual anaesthesia, where people stay forever.Larkin uses irony to show how eternal state of nothingness can be the most terrible thing, which brings neither calm nor peace.   What is notable, even during short period of life people can not get rid of the threat of death. It surrounds them whatever they do and the author does his best to show this state of living under constant threat in his poem. Ceaseless nothingness appears to be the biggest Larkin’s fear and this thou ght does not let him fall asleep at nights and deprives him of calm and happiness when he is awake.In the next stanza he speaks about courage, which turns to be useless in the face of death. Merciless nature of death makes no distinctions between those, who are afraid of it and who are not.The last lines of the poem contain a deep metaphor, making a contrast between routing life and death, which he can not forget about even for a minute.Meanwhile telephones crouch, getting ready   to ring In locked-up offices, and all the uncaring Intricate rented world begins to rouse. The sky is white as clay, with no sun. Work has to be done. Postmen like doctors go from house to house (Larkin 69).Postmen, walking from one house to another, symbolize for Larkin inevitable approaching of the dawn, which, in its turn, symbolizes an inevitable approach of death. He compares them to doctors, who must save people’s lives but constantly fail, as nobody can overcome death. Careless world wakes up in order to make one step towards death. For Larkin this is a phenomenon he can neither escape, nor forget.  The author does not separate thoughts about his own death from the general philosophical questions. This underlines Larkin’s perception of the death as the most private and the most common and public event at the same time.Works CitedAgnes, Michael, ed. in chief, Webster's New World College Dictionary, fourth edition, MacMillan, 1999.Hall,   The New Criterion Vol. 4, No. 6, February 1986.Kirszner, Laurie G., and Stephen R. Mandell, eds. Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing. 6th ed. Boston: Wadsworth, 2007.Larkin, Philip. Collected Poems,   Farrar Straus & Giroux, 1989.Lerner, Laurence: Philip Larkin. In Writers and Their Works series.   Plymouth: Northcote House Publishers Ltd., Plymbridge House, 1997.Steiner, Adam. Honors British Literature. Dr. Fraser. Concepts of Rest and Unrest in â€Å"Aubade†, 2005.Salwak, Dale ed. Philip Larkin: The Man and H is Work. London: MacMillan, 1989.

Monday, July 29, 2019

Internet and Everyday Life Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Internet and Everyday Life - Essay Example Consequently, the present research contains profound sociological significance in its nature and scope. The internet is rightly viewed to be one of the most influencing inventions of all times, which has paved the way towards introducing of fastest possible modes of communication and interactions for the people across the globe (Bakardjieva 2011, p. 59). Consequently, one could enter into a detailed and comprehensive communication with the persons living thousands of miles away from him within a jiffy (Bakardjieva 2011, p. 60). The individuals can enter into business contracts, and could have an access to sufficient information about health, learning and other topics while staying at one’s computer by one click only through the internet. Hence, internet has made the contemporary era life to be exceptionally swift and speedy one in all regards; same is equally the case with the amusement and recreational activities people get involved into in one way or the other, predominantly sex, romance and dating (Gibbs et al 2011, p. 72). Burkitt has declared both performing of professional obligations as well as enjoying recreational moments as inevitable parts of everyday life (2011, p. 212). Bakardjieva is of the opinion that the internet surfing has obtained the status of an essential part of daily routine, which is consumed during both professional and recreational activities in contemporary era (2011, p. 58). Cooper (2000) ascertains that over one tenth of the aggregate internet users spend over 11 hours a week searching for and looking at sexual content (Zitzman 2007, p. 11). Hence, a considerable part of daily routine is spent on the internet; out of which most of the time is consumed in watching porn sites (Attwood & Smith 2014, p. 2). In past, internet was consumed by the professionals only at offices and workplaces, and was meant

Sunday, July 28, 2019

BP Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

BP - Case Study Example Marketing ethics is the moral principles that guide operations and regulations of marketing practices (Hill and Ryan 50)Â  . Social responsibility suggests that organization or individual’s actions should benefit the society. Ethical marketing and social responsibility are main concern in this case, for example, BP Company does not hold its ethical marketing conduct and social responsibility. This is evidenced when the company’s social and ethical conduct is coincides with its promise to remain responsible environmental steward. The company is faced by numerous cases of environmental negligence and it also disregards the safety of its employees. In a bid to repair its image after violation of many environment acts, BP Company tried to launch new products that could provide alternatives to oil use and solve the environmental problems that were characterized by the petroleum business. The company launched solar, bio-fuels, carbon sequestration and storage. The company also foresaw the implementation of other energy saving measures. The launch of all these new products were aimed at providing solutions to ever increasing challenges of BP. Unfortunately, the launch of new products failed to solve the company’s woes as the company faced more environmental problems, explosions, and safety issues. BP Company had sustainability challenges since it could not maintain its policies. The company promised to be environmental conscious but ended up having many environmental violations. It introduced new products to tame the many ethical challenges it was facing and repair its tattered reputation, unfortunately, more ethical concerns and environmental violations were reported. BP Company could not implement sustainable environmental and ethical conduct to avert the challenges it was facing (Thiele 55). Corporate branding is the process of promoting a corporate entity’s brand name rather than

Saturday, July 27, 2019

Implementation of the IOM Future of Nursing Essay

Implementation of the IOM Future of Nursing - Essay Example As a consequence, it led to the establishment of the Committee on The Robert Wood Johnson (RWJF) initiative on the Future of Nursing. This committee established a vision for the transformation of the health care system to deal with these issues (American Nurses Association, 2011). This initiative was dabbed Campaign for Action, released in October 2010. The objective of this article is to explore the work of the RWJF at the Institute of Medicine that resulted in the Institute of Medicine report, â€Å"Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health.† Background Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) approached IOM in 2008 to create a two-year initiative regarding the prospects of nursing, with the main objective of recommending an action-oriented blue-print for nursing future. The recommendations included the necessary changes in public and institutional policies at the local, national, and state levels (American Nurses Association, 2011). During deliberation, The IOM committee established four key messages which dominated the recommendations and discussion represented in the report (Institute of Medicine, 2010): a) Nurses should practice fully in line with their training and learning b) Nurses ought to undergo higher training with the help of improved system of education that encourages academic development c) Nurses ought to partner fully with doctors and health professionals in redesigning the United State’s health care d) Effective workforce policy making and planning need an improved information infrastructure and better data collection. Importance of the IOM "Future Of Nursing" Report Related To The Nursing Workforce The recommendations of IOM report are of immense importance to patients, nurses and the profession at large. For instance, the recommendation that the role of nurses be expanded recognizes the need to give nurses the opportunity to practice in line with their professional learning and training (O'Neil & Coffman, 2008). This gives nurses the opportunity to transform the complex health care system in order to meet the future needs, with highly educated nurses who are at liberty to practice in accordance with their academic qualifications. This is instrumental in development and implementation of policies that focuses on closing the gaps of health care delivery system to patients (Committee on the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Initiative on the Future of Nursing, 2011). The freedom to practice enables nursing profession to move into the intermediary opportunities established by health care reform which have impacted on everyone in their family for generations (American Nurses Association, 2011). The IOM report is also beneficial as it would help in expansion of nursing faculty, increasing the nursing school’s capacity and ensuring that nursing education is redesigned so as to be able to produce adequate competent nurses to cope with the current and prospective health needs. This would help in reducing the number of the nursing shortage within United States, thus improving the quality of health care standards (American Nurses Association, 2011). Future of Nursing Intention The reason behind the Campaign for Action initiative is to work towards addressing the rising need for care by the application of the nurses’ experiences, talents, skills, and knowledge. The campaign was also initiated to provide guidance toward the execution of the suggestions of IOM’

Friday, July 26, 2019

Product design Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Product design - Essay Example Usually, the failure of a new product results because of the weakness of its product design. (Roqueta, 1992) One of the prominent weaknesses in this portable CD player is that it has buttons whose placement is not too comfortable. The placing is awkward, thus making it difficult for the consumers to use. Moreover, since the CD player is portable, the usability and smoothness of the buttons play a major role, since they have to be used on the go. But rather than being extremely user friendly, their placing is not up to date, making it inaccessible to the consumer easily. These buttons are very small in size, thus this result in pressing some other button when the consumer intends to press a specific button. The button of switching between the AM and FM also looks very out of place, since its look is very different from the rest of the player. It is made of very thin rubber, which doesnt complement the stylish outlook of the remaining CD player. The design is perfect when the entirety is in congruence with each other. Second issue with the product design is that of the SonicStage software that comes with the player. The problem with it is that it is too slow in function. The software is supposed to compress the music of consumers, such that the quality is maintained and it can easily fit into one single CD. But the problem starts when the software is converting the MP3 format of the song to the ATRAC format of the Sony CD player. This process is very sluggish, and takes place at a snails pace, thus eating up a lot of time of the consumer and also increasing their frustration with the slowness of it. Moreover, as promised that the quality of the songs would not change, this does not happen to. The songs are now of lesser quality than they originally were, after the conversion has taken place. In addition to that, the SonicStage software

Thursday, July 25, 2019

Technology Article Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Technology Article - Assignment Example The Public Switched Telephone Network and the Wired Internet are mesh networks that have been present for some time. Wireless net technology allows the building of electronic networks without having to dig up buildings and streets since it does not need any physical wiring. Besides, it is flexible in coverage and can reach areas that are beyond other wireless technologies and networks (Lee, Zheng, Jianliang, Shresttha& Deepesh, 56). The nodes of WMN are made up of mesh clients and mesh routers. The mesh routers, which usually have minimum mobility, provide access to network for both convectional and mesh clients. WMNs’ interaction with other networks can be made possible through the bridging and gateway functions within the mesh routers (Akyildiz, Wang & Wang, 1). The mesh clients, like desk tops and laptops, can either be mobile or stationery and are able to generate a client mesh network with mesh routers and among themselves. Each node works both as a host and as a router that forwards packets for the other nodes that are not within the range of direct wireless transmissions with their destinations. WMNs may face steep competition from other broadband technologies like the xDsL, cable, satellite internet and Broadband Wireless Local Loop but they posses significant advantages that make them a viable alternative according to Jun and Sichitiu (1). Some of the applications and scenarios where this technology appears to be more affordable and versatile than other wireless or wired technologies include in emergency situations, extensive coverage areas and unwired, under-wired or hard-to- wire areas (Lee et al., 56). Examples of extensive coverage area are stadiums, offices and campus networks while hard-to-wire areas include highways, golf courses and conduits. WMNs are anticipated to reduce limitations and improve the performance of wireless local area networks, ad hoc networks, wireless

Law of Tort Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Law of Tort - Coursework Example Nevertheless, Gearty reports, an action in private nuisance now covers a wide array of malfeasances such as â€Å"smelly oil depots, noisy speedboats† as well as â€Å"dangerous natural hazards† and can even cover using one’s premises â€Å"for prostitution.3 It therefore follows that the manner in which an individual uses his/her own land can interfere with another’s enjoyment of his/her land. Loyd LJ reflects the essence of these developments in the tort of private nuisance and Professor Winfield’s definition of private nuisance.4 In this regard, Lloyd LJ identified three specific kinds of private nuisances. First a private nuisance exists when a neighbour’s land is encroached upon. Secondly, a private nuisance occurs with a neighbour’s land sustains physical damages directly and finally, private nuisance occurs when the quiet enjoyment of the neighbour’s land is interfered with.5 It would appear that the first definition of private nuisance is essentially the same as the third definition. ... To begin with, in order to successfully claim damages for private nuisance, the harm must be reasonably foreseeable.6 The requirement of reasonably foreseeable damages effectively replaces the previously available defence of natural use of the land as expressed in Rylands v Fletcher.7 Rylands established that in the event an individual makes unnatural use of his land and that unnatural use results in an escape that is likely to cause harm, and no steps are taken to circumvent that escape, liability will exist for any damages that are natural consequences of that escape.8 Rylands therefore implies that the natural use of one’s land may not give rise to liability for private nuisance or nuisance generally. Cambridge Water v Eastern Counties Leather however, changes this defence by insisting that the resulting harm must merely be reasonably foreseeable. Brearly explains that the natural user defence was significant for preventing a floodgates of nuisance claims. However, the natu ral user defence was â€Å"intrinsically flawed† in that it could conceivably render ensuing harm from the natural use of one’s land incapable of recovery.9 Therefore the requirement that the harm itself is reasonably foreseeable falls more comfortably under the definition of private nuisance and ensures that interference in the private use of one’s land should not only result in harm, but that harm should be reasonably foreseeable. This requirement is more likely to balance the rights of the neighbour’s use of his land and the defendant’s use of his own land. The unnatural and natural use of one’s land does not always result in harm or interference in one’s neighbour’s use of his/her land. Interference with one’s enjoyment of the use

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Recruitment, Selection, Training and Development Essay

Recruitment, Selection, Training and Development - Essay Example The credit crunch has implications both on recruitment and selection on one hand and training and development on the other hand of human resources across organisations in the United Kingdom such as Standard Chartered (Amyx, 2004, pp121-9). The rate of unemployment increases releasing the tensions associated with shortage of skills. But where the skill shortages result from the constraints of supply side, then the tension remains. Similarly, the skills arose from buoyant demand will disappear (Venugopal Reddy, 2010, pp256-289). The tight search for talents will continue after recession at a comparatively lower level. Additionally, the management of talents is focused on the retention of strategic personnel. The rate of growth for wages will be moderate, but will shrink mostly in sectors where a significant proportion of the pay benefits comprise bonuses due to the need to reduce costs (Allison, 2013, pp178-234). The company will have to revise its current salary schemes as it tries to look for cheaper means to finance its activities. The earnings of the public sector will trigger industrial unrest as negotiations for wages will become more difficult with the trade unions. Marx explains the credit crisis from the perspective of the business cycle. The business cycle refers to the booms and slumps in an economy. He explains the occurrence of the boom as when invest heavily while anticipating generation of huge profits. This results into competition among the firms. Consequently, output expands rapidly. The investments by firms to widen their profit bases again create an opportunity for other firms which supply them with capital goods, for example machinery, and other products. The economy experiences booms as more output is produced and reduced unemployment rates (Amyx, 2004, pp121-9). This boom does not last as accumulation of capital with time reduces the profits made by the companies. According to Marx, the

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

Native American Religion and Education Term Paper

Native American Religion and Education - Term Paper Example Whereas the natives can educate others about their cultures, they need someone to stay with them for some period of time in order to teach them. Besides, Brindley argues that the individual must prepare for successful participation in their culture and understanding the culture of these people for them to understand them (page 33). Teaching through ethnography is not only challenging but also complex (Alberts 24). This is because, their religious beliefs only permits them to learn from the locals. Therefore, for the foreigners it takes time before they can start teaching. Besides, these people will only learn through oral face-to-face communication (Alberts 24). Hence, this poses a challenge where in some cases face-to-face education is not possible. Secondly, the established schools should embrace the local culture. According to Brindley, the natives will only accept, respect and support that institution that teaches the native religion (page 34). This means for integration of the education system to these communities they should be inclined towards teaching the values of the indigenous religion. Whereas this may not seem to be a major issue, it has a greater impact on teaching other forms in this community, as other types of religion seem incompatible with their education system. Besides, establishing education institutions in these places is challenging (Gorman 44). Though initially received with rejection the cultural and religious views of the local people are adjusting to accommodate the current education. Both Alberts and Gorman agree that, religious beliefs and practices are in constant reshape with the dynamic environmental situations and interaction with other religion (page 33, 13). Schools are validating both the contemporary and traditional religions for their students. Inversely, the traditional education is also contributing to the larger multicultural society (Brindley 34). Therefore, the educators need

Monday, July 22, 2019

Books are dead Essay Example for Free

Books are dead Essay It could be said that books are dead which leads to the question, What are people doing instead? People are buying and using modern technology indeed of reading books because books are tedious. Would you rather read through a whole chapter in a book just to find an answer to a question, or type in key words into a search engine on a computer and the information be found instantly? Other technologies such as; video, internet and DVD, have superseded them. The more advanced technology appeals to a wider audience and society is not pressurised into enjoying it from an early age if they do not want to, as in the case of books. Books are seen as primitive and dated because they have less to offer the next generation in the form of enjoyment. Furthermore, books are not fashionable in the twenty-first century. This is because popularity within the community is directly proportional to whether the individual has the newest technology or not. The most popular individual has the most recent technological development, such as the latest mobile telephone, and the not so popular individual is left behind, still reading books. Technology is a way to show off and showing off is a way of making new friends and keeping the existing ones. In addition, we would not have moved forward in time without new technology. For example, in the future, we will be able to travel into space and back, which we would not be able achieve using books. Of course, the maths and science would have originated from books but you would need technology to apply it. There is not point in publishing books anymore because no one has the time to sit down and read them. This is because they are boring and it is too much effort. You also have to be in the right mood to read a book, whereas you do not need to be with technology since there are so many alternatives. Books are a waste of paper and ink, and are we not trying to save the environment? Moreover, books are made by technology, for example, the printing press is made up of machines. So why not use technology in other ways that will be appreciated more? On the other hand, books have survived every new technological development, unlike the video recorder being superseded by the DVD recorder, within a few decades. Books have, and will stand the test of time because one can escape into a story in a book and enjoy it without the need for anyone else. Disappearing into a book is an escapist fantasy because you can interpret it in so many different ways. It also makes a nice change from the more advanced technology the world has to offer.

Sunday, July 21, 2019

Empirical Literature on Asthma Care

Empirical Literature on Asthma Care This brief critically considers the empirical literature on asthma care. Emphasis is on UK studies although research from the USA (and other countries) is also considered. It is argued that both environmental and genetic factors are implicated in asthma onset, based on epidemiological evidence. Deficits in care provision persist: these gaps in care may be attributable to a wide range of modifiable factors, including unsatisfactory health professional (GP, nurses) input, limited use of care plans, and patient unawareness. Overall, however, conclusive inferences about asthma care provision are hampered by: A preponderance of retrospective/correlational studies, and a paucity of randomised control trials, which demonstrate causality; A paucity of research on particular gaps in asthma care; Failure to account for third-variable moderator effects. The Office for National Statistics (2004) publishes comprehensive statistics on asthma-related mortality, morbidity, treatment, and care, collapsed by demographic categories. Data is collected from the General Practice Research Database (GPRD). Issues addressed include mortality, prevalence, time trends, patients consulting general practice, incidence of acute asthma, and hospital inpatient admissions. Research suggests that health care providers often fail to agree on the precise criteria for diagnosing asthma, whether mild or severe (e.g. Buford, 2005). Severe asthma is often defined based on pulmonary function measurements, such as forced expiratory volume in 1 second, and hospitalisation. However, neither of these indicators reliably predicts asthma severity (Eisner et al, 2005). Eisner et al (2005) evaluated the efficacy of a method for identifying a cohort of adults with severe asthma based on recent admissions to an intensive care unit (ICU) for asthma. Four hundred adults with severe asthma enrolled at seventeen Northern Carolina hospitals were surveyed. A control group of patients hospitalised without ICU unit admission was also recruited. The study examined whether admission to an ICU unit is in itself a reliable indicator of asthma severity. Asthma patients with a recent ICU admission generated higher asthma scores (based on the frequency of current asthma symptoms, use of steroids and other medications, and history of hospitalisations/intubations), and poorer quality of life, were more likely to have been hospitalised, visited an asthma specialist in the previous twelve months, been in an asthma-related emergency department, and received inhaled corticosteroids in the past year. Data analysis controlled key background variables (e.g. demographic factors), increasing confidence in the reliability of the findings. However, this study was based on quasi-experimental design and hence may be confounded by sampling bias. Trends in annual rates of primary care consultations, mortality, and hospital visits/admissions were monitored for children under 5 years and 5-14 year olds. For children aged For 5-14 year olds, weekly general practice visits rose in the early 1990s (circa 70/100,000 in 1990), showed a fluctuating pattern through the mid 1990s, but has declined steadily since 1997 (about 50/100,000 by 2000). The number of patients treated annually for asthma has risen slowly but steadily, although this increase seemed to level out by the mid/late1990s. Both mortality rates have dropped steadily since the early 1990s, from about 14 million in 1990 to circa 2 million by 2000. Annual hospital admissions has also fallen steadily, from just under 30/10,000 in 1990 to about 15/10,000 by 2000. These patterns suggest an increase in self-management (e.g. action plans) that obviates the need to visit a general practice, and that asthma care overall is having the desired effect on mortality. The prevalence of wheezing and asthma in children has generally increased during the last 40 years. Although there is a paucity of reliable national statistics, data is available from specific parts of the UK, notably Leicester, Sheffield, and Aberdeen (see Figure 1). The prevalence of wheezing increased from 12% (1990) to 26% (1998) in Leicester, and from 17% (1991) to 19% (1999) in Sheffield. The prevalence of asthma showed a similar pattern in both cities, rising from 11% (1990) to 18% (1998) in Leicester, and from 18% (1991) to 30% (1999) in Sheffield. Wheezing incidence rates for Aberdeen increased from 10% (1964), to 20% (1989), 25% (1994), and 28% (1991). Data from national birth cohorts suggests a sharp increase in the average weekly GP consultations for hay fever/allergic rhinitis from 1991 to 1992. The rates rose from circa 13/100,000 (0-4 year olds) and 40/100,000 (5-14 years olds) in 1991 to about 25/100,000 (0-4 year olds) and 76/100,000 (5-14 year olds) as 1992 approached. Trends subsequently dropped off slightly but then started to show an increase again around 1998. By the year 2000 the figures were roughly 20/100,000 (0-4 year olds), and 56/100,000 (5-14 year olds). Data from a nationally representative sample of schools across the country suggests that the prevalence of asthma was fairly even across different regions. However, Data for England suggests a higher prevalence outside big cities. The greatest proportions of wheezing was found in the South West, while the highest proportion of asthma cases was found in East Anglia and Oxford (see Figure 2). In a recent Annual Report, Asthma UK (2003/2004) noted that one child in 10 has asthma and a child is admitted to hospital every 18 minutes due to an asthma attack. Over 600 copies of Asthma in the Under Fives are downloaded from the UK Asthma website monthly and on average every classroom in the UK has at least 3 children with asthma. The impact of acute asthma can be debilitating. Around 5.2 million people in Britain are presently being treated for asthma, and asthma prevention/care costs the NHS on average almost  £900 (i.e.  £889) million per year. GPs across the country treat over 14,000 new episodes of asthma each week, and UK Asthma met almost 25,000 requests for health promotion documents and other materials. About 40% of workers who have asthma find that working actually exacerbates their asthma, and 1 in 5 asthmatic people feel excluded from areas of the workplace in which people smoke. Over 12.7 million working days in the UK are lost as a result of asthma, and it is estimated that the annual cost of asthma to the economy is  £2.3 billion. Asthma UK also states that 82% of people who are asthmatic find that passive smoking triggers their asthma, and 19% of people with asthma indicate that their medical condition makes it difficult for them to play with children in their family. One in 3 children has had their routine daily activities disrupted due to asthma and 39% of asthmatic people are badly affected by traffic fumes (which stop them exercising). About 500,000 people have asthma that is very difficult to control. In 2003/2004 over 90 researchers worked on Asthma UK-funded projects and, Asthma UK spent  £2.5 million on asthma-related research. The group funded/is funding 63 research projects. These statistics paint a rather bleak picture of asthma prevalence, incidence, and the effects on people’s lives. Numerous epidemiological studies have been published that address the etiology of asthma in population groups (International Archives of Allergy Immunology, 2000; Kitch et al, 2000; Schweigert et al, 2000; Tan, 2001; Court et al, 2002; Smyth, 2002; Weissman, 2002; Tan et al, 2003; Wenzel, 2003; Gibson Powell, 2004; Barnes, 2005; Pinto Almeida, 2005). Barnes (2005) considered evidence on the role of genetic factors in resistance to atopic asthma, Studies which focus on the role of genetic factors in resistance to tropical/parasitic diseases (e.g. malaria) overlap with genetic associations found for asthma. It was concluded that genetic factors might be implicated in the development of allergic illnesses. Pregnancy is thought to increase the probability of asthma attacks in about 4% of all pregnant women. Beckmann (2006) assessed eighteen pregnant women with asthma. The study was based on a longitudinal design. Participants were recruited from local prenatal clinics and private enterprises, and enrolled during the first trimester. Patients kept a daily log recording peak expiratory flow data until delivery. Three peak-flow assessments were recorded after which the best value was entered into the log. Asthma was diagnosed by a health professional. Participants were also required to record asthma symptoms, exacerbations, medications, and cigarette use. To increase participation, subjects were reminded by telephone to complete their log. Data analysis showed that peak expiratory flow (PEF) was variable as a function of particular trimesters. Peak air flow was highest during the second trimester, with a statistically reliable difference between the second and third trimester. Unfortunately, the small sample size limits the generalisability of the findings. However, the study was based on a longitudinal design, allowing tentative causal inferences. Schweigert et al (2000) reviewed the literature on the role of industrial enzymes in occupational asthma and allergy. Enzymes used by detergent manufacturing companies (e.g. amylases, cellulases) are toxicologically benign, with mild irritation effects on the body. However, these enzymes do affected asthma and allergy. Thus, the industry is required to adhere to exposure guidelines for these enzymes. Kitch et al (2000) considered literature on the histopathology of late onset of asthma (i.e. onset in adulthood), and whether allergic exposure and sensitivity have the same impact on asthma development in adulthood as they do in children. Epidemiological studies suggest that the prevalence of asthma in older adults aged 65years or more is between 4% and 8%. The illness appears to be more common in women, especially those with a long history of smoking, and with respiratory symptoms (e.g. cough, wheeze, shortness of breath). Asthma in adulthood often developed before the age of 40, with maximum incidence occurring around early childhood. Beyond the age of 20 years the incidence of asthma tends to remain stable through young, middle-aged, and older adulthood. Death rates in adults are generally lower than figures for children; â€Å"Mortality rates attributable to asthma among those aged between 55 and 59 years of age and 60 and 64 years of age were 2.8 and 4.2 respectively, per 100,000 people, the highest rates among all age groups† (p.387). However, as adults get older asthma is less and less likely to be identified as the main cause of death due to the increased incidence of other pathology. Epidemiological research in Japan highlights a link with air pollution (International Archives of Allergy Immunology, 2000). The prevalence of asthma among kindergarten and elementary school children has increased steadily since the early 1960s, rising from 0.5-1.2% between 1960 and 1969, to 1.2-4.5% (1970-1979), 1.7%-6.8% (1980-1989), and 3.9-8.2% (1990 onwards). By contrast, data indicates little or no change in asthma prevalence amongst adults. Figures range from 1.2% in 1950-1959 to 1.2-4.0% (1960-1969), 0.9-5.0% (1970-1979), 0.5-3.1% (1980-1989) the 1960s to 1.6-2.9% (1990 onwards) (see Figure 3). Asthma in Japanese children is more common amongst boys than girls although this gender difference has diminished noticeably since the 1960s. Asthma usually appears in infancy or early in childhood but has been known to begin across all age groups. Inherited (genetic) dispositions to allergies have been implicated in the onset of asthma. There is normally a strong correlation between asthma onset and a family history of asthma. Overall, asthma-related mortality in Japan has decreased since the mid 1990s. Delays in seeking treatment and rapid exacerbation of symptoms have been strongly implicated in asthma mortality. Unfortunately, this article offers little information about the designs of studies reviewed. Inferences regarding the possible causes of asthma morbidity and mortality may be inconclusive if much of the evidence is derived from cohort studies, rather than case control studies that more effectively eliminate alternative causes. The premenstrual period in women has been implicated in asthma exacerbation. Tan (2001) reviews epidemiological literature suggesting that female sex-steroid hormones may be significant in understanding the premenstrual-asthma link, albeit the available evidence is tenuous. The luteal phase of the menstrual cycle is associated with airway inflammation and hyper-responsiveness, and hence may explain asthma exacerbation during the premenstrual phase. However, this increase in asthma severity can still be treated effectively using the normal drugs. Studies suggest that premenstrual asthma affects the rate of hospital admissions – the majority of adults admitted are women, indicating that hormonal factors play an important role. Other evidence suggested that emergency presentations increased before ovulation. It is suggested that oral contraceptive pills or gonadotrophin releasing hormone analogues may be especially effective treatments. However, premenstrual asthma was rarely associated with serious mortality. Unfortunately, most of the studies reviewed were retrospective and questionnaire based, and hence subject to response bias. There was a paucity of randomised control trials, or pseudo experiments that may permit causal inferences. Court et al (2002) considered the distinction between atopic (extrinsic) asthma, common in younger people, and non-atopic (intrinsic) asthma, found mostly in older groups. Additionally, they also considered whether identification of asthma cases in epidemiological research should be based on a doctor’s diagnosis or self-reported asthma symptoms. Nearly 25,000 people in England were surveyed. Data was collected regarding whether participants had experienced wheezing in the past 12 months and/or had been diagnosed as asthmatic by a doctor. People with atopic asthma were more likely to have experienced wheeze and been diagnosed as asthmatic in the past, compared with the non-atopic group. Logistic regression analysis showed that gender, social class, smoking status, living in an urban/rural area, and house dust mice (HDM), were all risk factors for the presence of wheeze both with (age not significant) and without (urban/rural area not significant) a diagnosis of asthma. Wheeze/asthma was more prevalent in women, younger people, lower social classes, previous/current smoking, living in an urban area, and greater HDM IgE levels. Smoking status, social class, and age were all risk factors for wheeze in both atopic and non-atopic cases. Gender was also a risk factor for atopic subjects, and urban living for non-atopics. Other research has considered the epidemiology of severe or ‘refractory’ asthma, which is rather less well understood compared with milder forms of asthma. Wenzel (2003) reviews evidence indicating that severe asthma (defined as asthmatics requiring continuous high-dose inhaled corticosteroids or oral corticosteroids for over half of the preceding year) may account for circa ≠¤ 5% of asthma cases. Data from a large Australian-based study, which has followed a large cohort of asthmatics for over three decades, implicates childhood pulmonary problems with reduced lung function in adulthood. Data suggests that over two-thirds of severe asthmatics were afflicted with asthma in childhood. Other risk factors implicated include genetic mutations (in the IL-4 gene and IL-4 receptor), and environmental factors (e.g. allergen, tobacco exposure, house dust mite, cockroach and alternaria exposures), respiratory infections (e.g. pathogens like chlamydia), obesity, gastroesophageal reflux disease, increased body mass index, lack of adherence to corticosteroid regimes, and poor physiological response to medication. Physiological factors are also implicated, notably structural changes in airway reactivity, inflammation of the peripheral regions of the lungs. Steroids are the main form of treatment. Tan et al (2003) demonstrated the role of respiratory infection in patients with severe (i.e. near fatal) asthma, acute exacerbations, or chronic obstructive pulmonary illness (COPD). Participants had all been diagnosed as asthmatic by a physician and were undergoing treatment. All showed evidence of forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) increase of 200mL. COPD patients were suffering from chronic cough and dyspnea, with a predicted FEV1% 50%, with no ÃŽ ²-agonist reversibility. Near fatal cases were patients undergoing ventilatory support in the intensive care unit of a hospital (National University Hospital and Alexandria Hospital, Singapore) as a result of a severe exacerbation. Acute asthma subjects were characterised by non-improvement following administration of ÃŽ ²-agonists, and/or severe exacerbation judging from clinical/blood data. Analysis showed that near-fatal cases were the least likely to have the influenza A + influenza B virus, but the most prone to have adenovirus and picornavirus, compared with the other two groups (see Figure 4). This suggests that viral infection may be a risk factor for severe asthma. However, due to sampling size/bias (n= 68), and failure to control for key background variables (e.g. asthma history, smoking history, prior medication use, and outpatient spirometry), the findings can be considered tentative. Smyth (2002) reviewed epidemiological studies on asthma in the UK, and worldwide. The number of new asthma cases seen by GPs has increased noticeably since the mid 1970s. Nevertheless, asthma incidence has tended to decrease since the early 1990s, consistent with data from the Office for National Statistics (2004). By the year 2000 circa 60-70, 40-50, 20-25 new cases (per 100,000 of a given age group) were reported amongst, respectively, preschool children, 5-14 year olds, and people older than 15 years. Significant ethnic differences have been reported, with high asthma prevalence in Afro-Caribbean children. Since 1962, the number of preschool children hospitalised for asthma rose steadily, then peaked in the late 80s and early 90s, and has begun to decline since. The hospitalisation rates in 1989 were 90/10,000 (preschool children), 30/10,000 (5-14 year olds), and 10/10,000 (15 years or older). By comparison the rates for 1999 were 60/10,000, 20/10,000, and 10/10,000 respectively ( see Figure 5). The British Thoracic Society identifies specific benchmarks or ‘best practice’ which health professionals are required to meet when caring for asthma patients (BTS, 2004). These recommendations are mostly based on scientific evidence from RCTs, epidemiological studies (cohort and case-control), meta-analytic reviews, and other good quality research. The recommendations related specifically to the following topics: Diagnosis and assessment in children and adults (e.g. key symptoms, recording criteria which justified diagnosis of asthma); Pharmacological management (e.g. use of drugs [inhaled steroids, ÃŽ ²2 agonist] to control symptoms, prevent exacerbation, eliminating side effects, employing a ‘stepwise’ protocol for treatment); Use of inhaler devices (technique and training for patients, agonist delivery, inhaled steroids, CFC vs. HFA propellant inhalers, suggestions on prescribing devices); Non-pharmacological management (e.g. breast feeding and modified milk formulae for primary prevention, and allergen avoidance for secondary prevention, alternative medicines); Management of acute asthma (initial assessment, clinical features, chest x-rays, oxygen, steroid treatment, referral to intensive care) Asthma in pregnancy (drug therapy, management during labour, drug treatment in breastfeeding mothers); Organisation and delivery of care (e.g. access to primary care delivered by trained clinicians, regular reviews of people with asthma, audit tools for monitoring patient care after diagnosis); Patient education (e.g. action plans, self-management, compliance with treatment regimes). Overall, despite these guidelines, recent research suggests that patients’ treatment needs are not being met. For example, Hyland and Elisabeth (2004) report data on the unmet needs of patients. Focus groups were organised between parents, patients, and clinicians. Patients and parents reported various needs that weren’t been met including frequent exacerbations, and a preference for less complex drug regimens (i.e. with fewer drugs). Many individuals had worries regarding treatment and experienced asthma symptoms 3 or more days per week. As Levy (2004) suggests, there is a need for health professionals to address these concerns, especially in relation to the BTS guidelines. Levy, a GP and Research Fellow in Community Health, identified current deficiencies in the care of asthma victims. These comprised: Higher than expected exacerbations (42/1000 patients per year); Under-diagnosis: more patients presenting for treatment with uncontrollable asthma, who had not been diagnosed previously; Deficiencies in treatment uptake: many patients fail to collect their prescriptions; Many patients with symptoms delay presenting for treatment, until their medical situation becomes critical; Health care professionals are failing to assess patients objectively (PEF, oximetry), both pre- and post-treatment; Failure to adhere to national guidelines for the care of acute asthma (e.g. not enough oral steroids and ÃŽ ²-agonists are prescribed for patients presenting with asthma attacks. Considerable variations across GPs, NHS Trusts, clinics, and other sources of care provision: patient follow-up appointments range from a few days to six months, in direct violation of standards set by the British Thoracic Society (BTS, 2004). Levy suggests various strategies for improving asthma care including diagnosis criteria (e.g. â€Å"any patient with recurring or respiratory symptoms [cough, wheeze, or shortness of breath], or who has been prescribed anti-asthma treatment should be considered to have asthma† (p.44)), use of computerised templates, having systems or triggers in place for recalling patients (e.g. patients requesting more medication, or who have been seen out of hours), introducing more effective protocols for monitoring and informing asthma patients (e.g. using a checklist to ascertain various key information on patients status, such as effects of asthma on patients life, recent exacerbations), providing written self-management plans (e.g. how to detect uncontrolled asthma, using PFM charts), and having an agreed procedure for managing acute asthma attacks (e.g. selecting a low threshold for using oral steroids). Currently there is a lack of research testing the value of these recommendations on asthma health outcomes. However various strategies are continually being implemented in various parts of the country to improve the quality of asthma care. For example, Holt (2004) describes the effects of implementing the RAISE initiative, launched by the National Respiratory Training Centre, in a primary care setting. This scheme is designed to raise awareness of existing variations in standards of care, improve standards of care through education, support, and feedback, increase awareness and understanding of respiratory disease, use asthma as platform to demonstrate the value of shared experiences across different agencies/professionals, and augment the profile of primary care settings as the main source of asthma care and innovation. The RAISE led to various improvements, such as: The use of ‘active’ and ‘inactive’ asthma registers, to distinguish patients who currently have asthma symptoms from those who don’t. Introduction of computerised templates to improve accuracy and reliability of data recording during consultations (e.g. progressing sequentially from assessment of symptoms, to peak flow, inhaler, and advice stages). Use of symptom questionnaires (e.g. handed out with repeat prescriptions) that help patients with well-managed asthma decide whether they can opt for a telephone consultation, rather than taking the trouble to visit the practice for a face-to-face consultation. Haggerty (2005) identifies several factors paramount to effective care and management of asthma in UK patients. These comprise adequate patient education about the nature of asthma (e.g. number of asthma episodes, use of quick relief medicines, long term symptoms, restrictions on daily activities, and emergency visits), use of asthma action plans, and customised treatment plans (to achieve early control), and addressing patients own concerns and perception. Treatment for asthma is usually in the form of regular inhaled corticosteroids (ICS), oral corticosteroids (OCS), and ÃŽ ² agonists. These treatments are usually administered by a health professional when symptoms manifest and/or become severe. However, since asthma can often exacerbate rapidly, before an individual can seek medical help, it is vital that asthma patients receive the necessary care from health professionals, and also self-management skills. GPs and nurses play a critical role. Griffiths et al (2004) conducted a randomised control trial to assess the effect of a specialist nurse intervention on the frequency of unscheduled asthma care in an inner city multiethnic clinic in London. The role of specialist nurses in asthma care has been uncertain. Interventions in which specialist nurses educate patients about asthma, after hospital attendance with acute asthma, were shown to have inconsistent effects on unscheduled care. However, outreach initiatives to educate medical staff had shown no effect. Thus, an intervention was designed that combined patient education with educational outreach for doctors and practice nurses. It was suspected that such an integrated approach would benefit ethnic minority groups, especially given their higher hospital admission rates and reduced access to care during asthma exacerbation. The key research question was whether specialist nurses could improve health outcomes in ethnic minority groups. Outcome variables were the percentage of patients receiving unscheduled treatment for acute asthma during a 12 month period, and time to first unscheduled attendance with acute asthma. The study was based on 44 practices in two east London boroughs. Participants comprised over 300 patients (aged 6 to 60) who were admitted to or attending the hospital, or the out of hours GP service with acute asthma. Half the sample were classified as South Asians, 34% were Caucasian, while 16% were Caucasian. The intervention was based on a liaison model. Practices were assigned to either a treatment or control condition. Practices randomised to the treatment condition ran a nurse led clinic involving liaison with GPs and practice nurses, incorporating education, raising the profile of guidelines for the management of acute asthma, and providing on-going clinical support. In practice these practices received two one-hour visits from a specialist nurse who discussed guidelines for managing patients with acute asthma. Discussions were based on relevant empirical evidence. A computer template was provided to elicit patient information on various treatment issues, such as inhaler technique and peak expiratory flow, and offer self-management advice. By contrast, control practices received a visit promoting standard asthma care guidelines. Data analysis showed that the intervention lengthened the time to first attendance (median 194 days for intervention practices, and 126 days for control practices), and also reduced the proportion of patients presenting with acute asthma (58% treatment practices versus 68% in control practices (see Figure 6). These effects were not moderated by individual differences in ethnicity, albeit Caucasians seemed to benefit more from the intervention compared with minority ethnic groups. O’Connor (2006) noted that asthma care in the UK remains below the required standards. The majority of the 69,000 hospital admissions and circa 1400 deaths annually are attributable to poor patient adherence to treatment regimens. Nurses, it is argued, play an important role in promoting adherence. Additionally, use of a new inhaled corticosteroids – circlesonide – may also help increase adherence. Circlesonide is much easier to use than more established asthma drugs (e.g. it has a once-daily dosing). Evidence is reviewed suggesting that peak expiratory flow remains stable when patients are given circlesonide compared with a placebo. Tsuyuki et al (2005) assessed the quality of asthma care delivered by community-based GPs in Alberta, Canada. They reviewed clinical charts for over 3000 patients from 45 primary care GPs. Of this number 20% had ever visited an emergency department or hospital, 25% had evidence that a spirometry had been performed, 55% showed no evidence of having received any asthma education, 68% were prescribed an inhaled corticosteroid within the past 6 months, while a very small minority (2%) had received a written action plan. Figure 6 shows percentage of participants receiving medication. Sixty-eight percent were prescribed an inhaled corticosteroid, 11% were given an oral corticosteroid, and 80% received a short acting ÃŽ ²-agonist, while 8% were prescribed a long acting ÃŽ ²-agonist. Participants with an emergency room/hospital event were (marginally) more likely to be prescribed medication (no group differences in use of short acting ÃŽ ²-agonists). Regarding pulmonary testing, 25% had evidence of a pulmonary function test (not peak flow), 46% had peak flow monitored, 34% showed no evidence of pulmonary function tests, while 26% had an x-ray. Again individuals with an emergency room/hospital event were more likely to be tested (see Figure 7). Data about education received by patients was also evaluated. Twenty-two percent received information about environmental triggers, 20% on inhaler use, 10% on how to perform a home PEF test, 2% on written action plans, while 55% received no education at all. Those with an emergency room/hospital event were more likely to receive education. Receiving asthma education, use of spirometry, and prescription of inhaled corticosteroids, were all predicted by number of asthma-related clinic visits (4 or more) and having an emergency room/hospital event. Additionally, asthma education was predicted by cormorbidities, and absence of documentation regarding asthma triggers, while use of spirometry was predicted by being a non-smoker, and symptoms or triggers. Finally, use of inhaled steroids was predicted by symptoms. Overall, this study highlights numerous gaps in the care provided by GPs, partly echoing criticisms of GPs in the UK (Levy, 2004). For example, Levy (2004) cited ‘under

Accountability Representation Control Three Pillars of Organizational effiency

Accountability Representation Control Three Pillars of Organizational effiency Accountability, representation and control are often perceived as the three different entities; however, they are three interconnected topics which form the base of the organization. They function on the various aspects of the accounting which is a diversified field and can be studied under these three heads in more detail. I have tried to illuminate the major aspect of all these three topics with respect to accounting and then how these issues are applied in the recent economic debacle. To begin with first I would like to bring the notion of accountability and then representation and then control and lastly, the recent financial failures. Accountability: An Introduction Accountability breeds responsibility. This famous quote by Steven R. Covey gives the meaning of accountability in rather general terms. The concept of accountability can be defined as the process through which a person is held answerable for his actions and deeds.. Under the umbrella of the organization the notion of accountability can be stated as the phenomenon through which whether a person at the higher level of hierarchy or at the lower level is accountable for his works and services that he renders to the organization. Accountability from the organizational perspective bears great importance as it is the measure through which the performance of the organization and a person serving can be judged and analysed. Accountability has different forms which can be studied and understood by the findings of John Roberts (1991). He tries to explore different contemporary forms of the accountability and the possibilities in which accounting can be perceived. First, the individualising form of accountability can be studied in which the accountability contributes in making the realization of the image an individual perceives about it. (John Roberts,Page No. 358,1991). This perspective helps a person to polish his senses and action thereby improving his image that is noticed by others. Second view of accountability that Roberts illustrates is the socialising form in which a person can improve its performance and efficiency by interacting with some of the experienced people in the organization. Accountability institutionalizes the use of accounting through which it operates in the organizations and firms. How Accountability Works? Accountability within the organizations mainly works through three different levels of accounting. They are auditing, management accounting and financial reporting (Lightfoot, 2009 Accountability,2009 Available on https://blackboard.le.ac.uk/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_id=_2_1url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_3872_1%26url%3D)). Financial reporting and management accounting aspect of accounting has been dealt in detail in representation and control part respectively. The third and more applicative form in which accountability holds in the organizations is the auditing in which companies accounts are checked and verified by some agency or authority assigned for it is covered in detail here. When it comes to organizational perspective the application of accountability expands. From the past there has been a practice in business and organizations to maintain the accounts of each and every transaction that takes place in the organization. In mode rn era this system has become more advanced and transparent. The organizations can be judged or held responsible economically on the grounds of the accounts or financial statements that they produce. This involves the concept of auditing of company accounts. Audit serves as a vital economic process and play an important role in serving the public interest by strengthening the accountability and reinforcing the trust and confidence in financial reporting ((Available on http://www.icaew.com/index.cfm/route/139474/icaew_ga/Technical_and_Business_Topics/Thought_leadership/Audit_Quality_Forum/Agency_theory_and_the_role_of_audit/pdf, 2005) ,2005). Auditing of accounts are generally performed by the people employed by the owner of the company, these persons are called auditors, agents or stewards. They generally work in the interest of the company with focus on the economic performance of the institution. This phenomenon is called as agency theory which suggests that because of the informa tion asymmetries people employ agents or stewards who works for the benefit of the company. Auditing gives a clear idea of accounts and also imparts the correct information to the shareholders. In UK, the auditing system was enforced after the application of Company Law Act 1985 where each and every registered company were supposed to produce an annual audit. (Available on http://www.icaew.com/index.cfm/route/139474/icaew_ga/Technical_and_Business_Topics/Thought_leadership/Audit_Quality_Forum/Agency_theory_and_the_role_of_audit/pdf,2005) . Interplay between Accounting and Accountability Accounting can be defined as the process of identifying, measuring and communicating the financial information about the entity to permit informed judgments and decisions by users of information. ( American Accounting Association as quoted in Atrill and McLane , Page No.5, 2002). Initially there were cruder forms of accounting first one was double entry system which was a binary system method used for recording the events in which all the debits and credits were represented in the tabular form and the second was bookkeeping which was the maintenance or the summary of all the financial transactions taken place.(Arizona, 2001). Accountability often comes to play where there is some accounting failures or discrepancies and the company or the person producing the account is held responsible. Historical perspective of Accounting The topic of emergence of accounting and some other new fields in accounting which has helped in making the inefficiencies of the individual visible and thus holding them responsible using the techniques of accounting viz standard costing and budgeting. Moreover, the authors have underpinned the notion of improving the individual performance by using these forms of accounting that emerged over the years. The studies of the accounting past reveal that the concept of accounting has changed over the years as per the nature and the requirement of the changing business scenario (Miller and OLeary 1987). One advantage of studying the concept of accounting from historical perspective is that a person can analyse where the accounting concept went in discord with respect to the demanding environment and these views can be elucidated and worked out at present. Representation an Overview Representation from the purview of accounting can be further studied as financial accounting is an important branch of accounting which deals with the accounting outside the organization as company . This comes under the financial aspect of accounting. Financial statements or reports can be defined as the [tool] which provide a picture of the financial position and performance of the business. (Atrill and Mclaney,2008:Pg No. 38)There are various objectives of producing financial statements such as informing the investors or creditors about the current positioning of the company, to keep a record of all the economic transactions taking place within the company, to help managers in taking decisions etc.( Lightfoot,Chapter No.7 Representing accounting 2009). There are three forms of financial statements produced viz. cash flow which is the net movement of the cash taking place over a period of time often referred to as the difference of cash in and cash out (Atrill and Mclaney,2008; Ge offrey Lightfoot Chapter 2 Representation of accounts and representation of theories of accounting. ,2009), the income statement which is also called as profit and loss statement and is the statement of sales and related costs(Atrill and Mclaney,2008; Geoffrey Lightfoot,2009) and finally the balance sheet which is the amount of assets and amount owed externally( Geoffrey Lightfoot, Chapter 2 Representation of Accounts and representation of theories of accounting : PageNo 5). All three aspects form the basis of the financial reporting of the organization. These are the methods which every company follows while producing their financial statements. Uses of Accounting: Creative accounting Companies often use these in a fraudulent way to produce accounts. These kinds of accounts are called as creative accounts and the practice is called creative accounting (Atrill and Mclaney,2008). It can be defined in a more specific way as the alteration in the accounting rules that raises concerns over the quality of published financial statements that is in line with what company wants others to see rather than what is fair and true regarding the financial position and performance. (Atrill and Mclaney,2008).There are mainly four methods of creative accounting which an organization can adopt. First, is the overstating revenues in which companies tend to exaggerate the revenues (total amount of money that a company receives by selling off goods or providing services). This is a core issue reported in many of the recent financial failures. Second is the massaging expense in which the directors handle the future costs of assets (anything that can furnish the money in the present or f uture; it can be tangible or intangible) skilfully which can in return make it possible to derive a consistent profit figures in the future. Third is the hiding or concealing of any losses or liabilities(help to make financial statements look in a great position. There has been a number of instances in the past of organization that this form of creative accounting has been adopted by the companies such as Enron Corporation failure was mainly because of this where they tried to hide their falling assets values ( Atrill and Mclaney,2008: Pg No.183). The notion was to represent the company accounts statements in a falsified way so that it may look healthier. Lastly, it can be overstating assets which are projecting the high values of asset than the fair market value which is again a spurious method of accounting. These practices are very much reported in the companies in recent past. But the major roll back in the history of accounting came after the Enron failure broke out in the year 2001 which caused the investors to lose money, a law was passed in the US in the year 2002 called the Sarbanes and Oxley Act (SOX) whose main objective is safeguarding the interest of the investors by completely revolutionising the financial reporting system (Ritto,2008). This law helps in keeping a check on the recording derivatives (that derive their value from the underlying assets) transactions. (Cunningham,2006:40) Key feature used by Enron Company to forge its accounts. Furthermore, many of these topics have been argued by a number of authors who have studied these topics in detail and have drawn various inferences ( Chwastiak and Young 2005;McSweeney1997). McSweeney has tried to focus on the authenticity of the financial reports that a company produces and termed it as representational faithfulness (McSweeney1997). These authors suggest that there are various conditions in which these financial reports cannot be trusted. McSweeney(1997) analysed two texts derived from US Fin ancial Accounts Standards Boards statement of financial accounting concept No.2:qualitative characteristic of accounting information(1980),and Tom Lees Cash Flow accounting(1984).( McSweeney1997: Pg No 694). In both of these texts McSweeney tried to reiterate that the representational faithfulness can be achieved only if the financial reports that are published should match with the economic transaction, events and circumstances that it purports (McSweeney1997: Pg No 695). Moreover, he argues that the representational faithfulness depends upon how well informed the reader is, if the reader has all the information then he can judge the authenticity and faithfulness of the representation himself. In addition to that he also gives the notion that the representation may be imprecise or in other words the accounting representations cannot always be accurate, it may vary but the question here is how much this variance must be considered. McSweeney affirms that impression can be a conseque nce of choice or to be unavoidable(McSweeney1997:page no 697).However, later on in the article when he studies the second text of Tom Lee in which Lee suggests that the Cash flow accounting can be a solution which offers accurate financial reporting without ambiguities. However, there are some authors who remain cynical in approach when it comes to discussing the annual reports that the companies produce (Chwastiak and Young,2005). They suggest that companies often do not care when it comes to projecting the profit maximisation in the annual reports. The financial reports are regarded as the dominant discourses which are always concerned to depict the profit maximisation without considering any other aspects like the earth hazards, human and animal hazards etc. He name these practices silencing of injustices (Chwastiak and Young,2005;Page No.534). Control Control can be defined as the method by which something is monitored or dominated. From organizational perspective the concept of control involves management accounting which is the branch of the accounting that deals with the nuances of management in the companies. It involves the notion of corporate governance which includes all the processes used to gain control over a firm.Control involves mainly two key features viz. future planning and decision making. Control can be accessed by the managers who have the related expertise in the relevant field however, Armstrong investigates that there has been a change in the recent management system which contradicts with the findings of the F J Taylor of scientific management which opines that the managers often have related experience in their relevant field and also Henri Foyal who also strengthens this view (Armstrong,2001). However, he further suggests the techniques in management system that completely revives the management system cove red in detail in latter part of the essay. Means and Measures of Control There are mainly two ways through which organizational control can be achieved. First is the budgeting and the other one is cost accounting. Budget Control Often control in the companies is achieved through proper future planning. This involves the budgeting where the future planning regarding the budgets of the companies are predicted and calculated and then the variances from the calculated performance and actual performance is calculated (Atrill and McLaney, 2008). As budgets are a sort of representation we can see the amalgamation of both the fields that is representation and control in one field. The main aims of budgeting are the monitoring variance, synchronization of activities in the organization, planning resource allocation (Geoffrey Lightfoot, Chapter4 Management Control and Control of Management 2009). Additionally, it also helps in the judgment of managers performance where it serves both as the measure of accountability and control as well (Geoffrey Lighfoot,Chapter 5 Management Control and Labour Processes 2009) Managers are also involved in the process of risk management where they can be held accountable in predicting the difference between the prepared budget and the variances. This is an important factor of failure of financial institutions. Budgetary control pattern can be further studies under two control systems: Feedback control system:- In this system first the budget is prepared and then the comparison between the actual performance and the prepared budgetary performance are juxtaposed and then the third step is the response to the variances and exercising control. It is a very useful measure by which the senior level management exercise the control and accountability over the junior level of managers in their budget preparation therefore, pressing towards the objectives of the business(Atrill and McLaney,2008;Glautier and Underdeum, 2001). Feedforward control system:- In this system anticipations are made as to where the prepared budget can go wrong. In this type of forecasting practice it is possible to know the short comings of the prepared budget and then actions would be taken on those areas and improved budget can be prepared (Atrill and McLaney,2008;Glautier and Underdeum ,2001). Activating based costing method (ABCM) This is another method which serves as a measure of planning and control. This involves the allotment of the costs and the services. This was formulated as a measure to revamp the obsolete process of the cost management system that involves the inefficiency of specifically predicting the production and services costs or convey the useful information for decisions. This is again an area where the concept of control and accountability is related as the managers performance can be measured based on the decision making of inaccurate data. ( Glautier and Underdeum, 2001).This is the technique that Armstrong consider in his paper as a modelling process which was developed to curb the inaccuracy of the previous accounting systems which comprises of single allocation base to the overheads costs.(Armstrong,2001). Senses of Control Senses of control imply various factors which can affect the organization working and its performance. It can be distributed into two fields viz. internal control or management control which are the process formulated to convey the reasonable assurance as regards to the attainment of the objectives of the organizations and external control (Cunningham,2006). These can be further classified in to two categories. They are as follows: Bureaucratic Control:- It refers to the usage reward, policies and rules that augments the performance of the employees in the organization. ( Available on http://www.strategic-control.24xls.com/en112 accessed on 09.12.2009) Clan Control:- It implies the use of the informal measures to enhance the efficiency of the employees working in the organization. ( Available on http://www.strategic-control.24xls.com/en112 accessed on 09.12.2009) The second type of control mechanism is external control in which the functioning of the organization is affected by some external factors. This involves market control process which employs the usage of price competition to judge the outputs. For market control system to operate there must be a reasonable degree of competition in goods or services it should be possible to clearly mention the requirements. (Barnat, 2005). Financial Institution failure All the three issues that we have discussed are the major factors which comes into play in the recent collapse of financial institution. Financial crunch or the recession of 2008 was mainly due to the failure of financial institutions. A financial institution can be defined as an institution which provides financial services to its clients. The recent failure of market was mainly caused due to the fall of Lehmans brother which was global financial player and dealt in a range of financial services like investment banking, fixed income sales, research and trading. It was in the month of September 2008 that it filed for bankruptcy with $639 billion assets and $619 billion in debt, its bankruptcy surpassed all the other reported bankruptcy like that of Enron and World.com.( http://www.investopedia.com/articles/economics/09/lehman-brothers-collapse.asp?viewed=1,2009). The reason of the failure of Lehman brothers was that during the economy boom time in US in the year 2005, it owned a stak e in the ownership of five mortgagers (acquired) including some of those who had tarnished image of credit history such as BNC mortgage, and Aurora Loan services, which were major subprime lenders at the same time Lehman also reported a record high of revenue earnings in the previous years enabled it to mount the profit rate 56% from 2004 to 2006. After the credit crisis broke out in 2007, it continued to its policy of lend more money in acquisition (Mortgage back securities) in order to boost up more profits. But due to credit crunch Lehman brother had to suffer losses(http://www.investopedia.com/articles/economics/09/lehman-brothers-collapse.asp?viewed=1,2009). It was here that the higher managerial authorities must have been held accountable. The argument of Chwastiak and Young seems relevant here that the financial entities are only concerned with the profit maximization. Secondly, the second factor of failure of Lehman brothers its high leverages value (usage of debt to fortify the investment in order to maximise the profit (loss)) (http://www.investopedia.com/articles/economics/09/lehman-brothers-collapse.asp?viewed=1,2009)). Here the problem with the recording derivatives can be seen in which the Lehman failed. The third factor was the risk management failure in which the senior management failed in assessing the risk of the future and therefore, failed from the internal control perspective. Besides this there are other examples also like the failure of Merrill Lynch, Arthur Andersen etc. that failed to comply with the three issues viz accountability, representation and control. These three topics are very vital in respect to the organizations as it forms the three pillars on which the functioning of an organization is based. However, often these issues are overlooked and the companies suffer losses and eventually market collapses thereby undermining the public interest. However, after the recent failures and crisis the governments have taken up controls over economy in the recession hit countries and are trying to revive the global market scenarios. Nonetheless, it cannot be achieved until these issues are strictly considered with compliance.