Leadership roles and responsibilites Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Leadership roles and responsibilites - Essay Example It has been viewed in Ofsted report that additional funding is accessible for the college in order to deliver well-equipped preparation courses to its learners throughout the globe. The additional funding, curriculum design and the offers which formulate by the college ultimately pose significant impact upon teaching and learning of the students by a greater extent. The college seeks to deliver more standard preparation courses by investing substantial amount in human capital for attracting as well as increasing its students level. In order to build skills within the team, the college introduces online training courses and establishes curriculum sessions as training modes for its teaching staffs (Ealing, Hammersmith & West London College, 2012). 9 References 10 Part 1 Organizational Context The person possessed 12 years of knowledge or experience as a tutor, teacher and manager in the field of education. The tutor within the educational context performed certain effective leadership qualities such as development manager, course team leader, program manager and technical team leader. Moreover, the tutor also provided active support in different areas which include classroom management, resource planning and quality control of the teaching courses. In relation to organisational context and Ofsted report, it has been viewed that Ealing Hammersmith and West London College aims to deliver a welcoming multicultural setting for its staffs, learner as well as visitors. In order to fulfil this aim, the college regularly performs ethical and legal responsibilities in order to eradicate any sort of discrimination or harassment and tends to promote better relations with every member linked with the college. The management section of the report affirmed that the college has implemented a kind of whole organisation approach which ensures that the learners of the college are able to perform their roles in a secured and inspiring environment. The Ofsted report also stated that as the college is the biggest provider of Further Education (FE) programs in the United Kingdom, the managerial approach of the college might reflect or play a chief contributory part upon the position of FE in the ever changing arena of funding (Ealing, Hammersmith & West London College, n.d.). A Brief Description of Three External and Three Internal Factors External- Changing policies of British Government and UK Border Agency (UKBA), rapid emergence of Information Technology (IT) and alterations in visa regulations for entry to international students. Internal- Interdepartmental competitiveness and lack of a unified delivery approach, standard hours of teaching and superior level of diversity in all classes. The aforementioned external as well as internal factors can impose significant impact upon the educational culture by a significant level. In this similar context, the external factor of changing policies of British Gov’ and UKBA can reduce the inflow of international students to the UK. The rapid emergence of IT might support the teachers to keep themselves with regular updates relating to current technologies. The alterations in visa regulations might affect the students coming to study in different colleges. The internal factor of interdepartmental competiveness along with lack of a unified delivery approach can negatively affect the organizational culture. Another internal factor of

Analyse the role of the Marriage Amendment Act 2002 (Commonwealth) in Essay

Analyse the role of the Marriage Amendment Act 2002 (Commonwealth) in attempting to adress the perceived social problems - Essay Example The marriage institution as a socially sanctioned union for procreation and child-rearing has been found in all societies, but in widely varying forms. Marriage is sometimes used to establish the legal father of a woman’s child and vice versa; gives the both partners control over the others sexual services, labor and property; establishes a joint fund of property for the benefit of children; establishes a relationship between the spouses. The most common type of marriage is treated as the union of one or more men with one or more women. Marriage is usually heterosexual and entails exclusive rights and duties of sexual performance. Prior to all the hoopla about marriage, the society has seemingly established certain norms and practices that govern the act of marriage. Laws are made to preserve marriage and the family as the basic unit of society. Such laws over the years have seen so many changes in order to adapt to the changing attitude in the society. Dissenting opinions hav e resulted to so many arguments that question the laws passed by each country and are equated as a restrictive measure in the marriage act to satirically portray a morally upright society. Yet in this current period of history when equal rights are commonly fought and granted by the governments, society has also substantially gained a relaxed observance towards the practices that prevailed 25 years ago in the marriage union. Times have changed and society has grown as a whole thereby certain laws are explored that allow equal treatment of rights and preferences as applied into the laws of marriage. However, religions have lobbied against a so-called break-up of the covenant that establishes an exclusive marital union in religion as recognized in modern society. Other celebrated unions that are beyond the religious were sometimes shunned in the last century. Our egalitarian government has given us given us the freedom to choose and practice of our own religion and allowed us to treat

Factors in Health Services Management

Factors in Health Services Management Members Joanne Tolentino Rosarie Ann Nicole Trespeces Karenne Melo Daisy Kumari Shrestha The ever changing health system poses challenges that require capacity and capability in attaining success. Managing a health care industry requires extensive knowledge, skills and positive attitude in order to run the organization effectively and efficiently. To have an in-depth understanding on operations management and organizational performance, in this paper equal rights in public health care, demographic data, epidemiological characteristics, public health, culture, sources of power, and political aspects of the organization will be discussed. Demographic, Epidemiological and social environment In the health care arena, the primary focus of the health professionals is to provide care for the sick and promote health and well-being to people. The constant challenge, however, is to give equal rights for them to have access to public health. Equal rights for people is almost the goal not of just a single organization, but of every nation for their locals. Thus, equality in the delivery of health services must be observed at all times that no one shall be deprived of access to public health, regardless of age, color, ethnicity, gender, or socioeconomic background. The surge of the influenza incidence in Auckland, New Zealand alarms Kiwi-Asian Persuasion Medical Center (KPMC) to take necessary actions. To prevent transmission or halt the health problem, KPMC not only prepares the skilled staff to provide but also reaches out to organizations to address the health problem. Although income or money plays a crucial part in determining the type of service a person affected with influenza or any health problem could afford, the (KPMC) aspires to provide holistic care with high consideration to health equality and Treaty of Waitangi. This means that the hospital practices free financial access to health services that each individual is entitled to receive holistic care. The health budget is generated from the New Zealand government or fund from the ministry of health. To ensure that equality is addressed, the hospital will conduct research works on how to bridge or close gaps in health and social inequalities. Hence, health policies and laws shall be formulated. Other alliances, non-profit organizations, and national and international organizations related to health will be requested to provide support to attain KPMC’s aspiration in providing equality in health through financial free services to all. According to Bonita and Kjellstrom (2006), epidemiology is that the study of the distribution and determinants of health related states or events in specified populations and the application of this study to the prevention and control of the health problems. The epidemiological data are employed to arrange and measure methods to prevent disease and as a guide to the management of the patients in whom illness has already developed. For the epidemiologic study various demographic data such as population, gender, age group, ethnicity categories are required. The main features of epidemiology is the assessment of the disease outcome in a risk of the population. The risk of population is the group of people, healthy or sick, population from different ethnic group, different age group, and a different gender. Hence, statistical data for epidemiological study and the primary source of demographic data can take from the census is much needed. New Zealand is derived from the national census, which is carried out every five years. Census encompasses information about variables, including age, gender, ethnicity, birthplace, occupation, accommodation, education, socioeconomic status, divorce, employment, long term illness etc. The analytical techniques applied to epidemiological data consist of general statistical approaches as well as special techniques that have been developed to fit the needs of particular epidemiologi cal study designs. While mathematical formula which may be used for statistical data, such as live birth, deaths, fetal deaths, marriages, migrates, health and disease etc, (Koch, 2015). According to World Health Organization (2015), conditions in which individual bears, nurture, live and work that impact an extensive variety of health, operating and life quality results are the social determinants of health. These conditions are formed by the delivery of financial, authority and properties at national and global levels. Resources that improve quality of life can have an important inspiration on population health outcomes such as safe and reasonable housing, education access, safety in public, healthy food availability, local and health emergency and environments free of life- threatening. Breakthrough reports on movements to expand health and reduce inequalities has been created by the World Health Organization (WHO). Social health inequalities that have impact on the spread of influenza in Auckland are health behaviors such as unhealthy diet and inactive lifestyle, social environment or social characteristic like low income, physical environment wherein where the individual lives and the living conditions and health services such as access to low quality health care or having no insurance coverage. These determinants of health also interact with and influence person behaviors too, and these also contributes in the development of social patterning of health, illness and disease. One and all has the right to achieve holistic health that is the reason why government and non- government organizations are combating and addressing those determinants of health. Cultural and Political Environment According to Root (2015), external environment of an organization is those factors which affect the outside of an organization’s ability to function smoothly. Among the five external general environment factors which affect the organization directly one of the most critical external factors is economic environment. According to Jorge (2014), this factor talks about the comprehensive of the nature of economic system of the country, business cycle, the socio economic infrastructure etc. Other external factors, including legal or ethical, political, technological and international factors that relate to the values, attitudes and concerns of the target people and their economic capabilities to afford the services. The political, ethical and legal environment related to the organizational laws and to meet the ethical or social responsibility standards to the communities Gupta (2009). Organizational Culture The Kiwi-Asian Persuasion Medical Center is a Christian, government-run institution committed to deliver high quality holistic care to the poor, sick and the dying. This institution strongly believe that every client, regardless of their ethnicity and culture, should feel comfortable, safe and secured just like home. Thus, Kiwi-Asian Persuasion Medical Center became known for its â€Å"feel-at-home† ambiance (Study, 2003). The hospital is painted with soft, vibrant colors to promote calmness. For a more relaxing place, lazy boy chairs are provided for both the visitors and the clients. All employees must greet every client coming in and out of the hospital with a warm smile. Though they are in a hospital, patients should feel the comfort of their own home. Also, the success of this organization is because of the core values that this institution upholds (Riley, 2014. Cultural diversity is one of the core values of the culture of this institution. The workforce want all clients to be treated like family despite cultural differences. Diversity should be respected and embrace within the workplace. Another core value of this institution is team spirit, working hand in hand in providing care to the clients. Thus, creating a positive relationship with colleagues and clients. Accountability for the actions, decisions and policies made when providing care for the patient. It is also very important to practice balance. Every employee shall maintain a healthy work-life balance to avoid poor performance. Lastly, excellence in providing the best quality health care service shall be upheld at all times. This is by inspiring moments of optimism in giving care in order to create value and make a difference in the lives of every client that is admitted in this institution (Wendy, 2013). By aligning the significance of these values with the employees, Kiwi-Asian Persuasion Medical Center has successfully created a strong organizational culture. Task external environment The task environment is closer to the organization and includes the sectors that conduct day-to-day transactions with the organization and directly influence its basic operations and performance (Daft, 2012). External task environment includes competitors, competitors, suppliers, and labour market. Customers are the people and organizations in the environment that acquire goods or services from the organizations. In the health care, patients are the customers of the hospital. The success of the organization largely depends on them since they are the recipient of care. The satisfaction of the patients mirror the performance of the employees and how the managers run the organization. Competitors are the organization in the same industry. They present challenges as they vie for customers in a marketplace with similar products or services (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt., 2014). In the health care, competitors are public health organizations like hospitals that provide similar health services. According to Gupta (2009), it is important to know all the competitors, their organizational size and skills pool, their competitive advantages, their marketing strategies, off shore development. The main point here is to maintain standards by observing quality assurance and keep customers despite the existence of similar organizations. Suppliers provide the raw materials the organizations produce its output (Daft, 2012). In health care, the needed resources are the hospital supplies and equipment used in the delivery of care. They affect the organization because of the dependency of the organization on the raw materials to provide adequate care. Thus, a good team up is necessary to receive high quality supplies at lower prices in order to save money while maintaining quality (Daft, 2012). Labor market as stated by Johnson (n.d.) refers to the people a company hires to fill its position. Employees in the hospital should be more than competent and with certain characteristics in order to maintain quality services and uphold global competitiveness. Those who are involved in direct patient care should be highly qualified, skilled or trained otherwise poor health services will be afforded to patients. This in turn would cause harm and danger to both the organization and the population of people being cared for. Sources of power According to Raven (2015), leadership management and power are relatively connected. Individuals have the tendency to obey people who are powerful. Leaders have different power for different reason. Power is the capability to influence the behavior of other individual with or without enforcing force by means of diverse strategies to make a necessary action. It is an instrument that can end up to either optimistic or pessimistic results in an institution. Power is a fundamental and unpreventable part in any institution. No leaders can be effective and competent starved of understanding and use of suitable power. There are two (2) types of power, the position power and the personal power. Under position power, includes legitimate power, reward power and coercive power. On the other hand, expert power and referent power falls under personal power (French, 2012). Legitimate power is often called positional power. This power originates from the position, role and status of an individual in an institution. It typically consist of formal authority. Reward power emanates from the capacity of an individual to deliberate treasured material rewards or produce added positive incentives. Incentives take account of increase salary, role promotion and positive commendations and appraisal. Coercive power is the capacity to impact individual by means of threat and giving of sanctions and negative penalties which encompasses of direct reprimand or suppression of anticipated rewards. Knowledge is a power. Expert power comes from an individual’s superior skills and knowledge in a certain area. Individuals who exert expert power is usually valued by the institution for their problem solving skills as they can accomplish critical responsibilities. Referent power comes from the capacity of a person to appeal individuals and form their reliability and fidelity. This power comes from appeal and charisma. According to B. Meadows (2011), all sources of power can be used in combination and people often have access to more than one power for the benefit and advancement of the institutions. Leaders use diverse power tactics to force other individual into desired actions and movements. For the KPMC, reward power will be highly employed as it tends to have an influence, impression and impact on the actions, behaviors and attitudes of the employees. Consequently, it will greatly motivate and inspire employees to be an effective and efficient part of the team and to work better as there will be a reward waiting. Rewards can be either tangible or intangible. Even simply openly or secretly admiring an employee for a task well done is deliberated as reward power and can be a valuable administration tool. By employing reward power in the institution, leaders can make an alteration from controlling and leading to modelling and impelling the growth and development of the employees by using reinforcing reward power. Opinions, ideas, decisions of leaders who exercise expert power are held in high regard by the employees; hence, greatly impact and affects their actions and behaviors. Good and Bad Political Aspects In all organizations, conflict and problems may arise due to competition or rival interests between groups and individuals (Mitchell, 2005). The tension brought about by diversity should be resolved through political means. However, politics has also its downside that can sometimes lead to the total destruction of the organization. Negative politics include the use of unethical tactics to regain power. One negative approach they use is backstabbing wherein a person pretends to be a friend but all the while talking about you in detrimental ways behind your back. An example of these is saying something bad about your friend to your other colleagues to destroy her reputation. Another approach is to embrace or demolish rivals in your organization who has suffered past hurts. It is when you fire people who do not favor the takeover. Next is stealing credit to people whom credit is due. Also, territorial games exist which involve competing for resources that gives power such as relationshi ps, authority and information. Good mouthing an employee to make them transferrable is also an unethical tactic. It usually happens when an unwanted employee is suddenly given an outstanding performance which makes her more marketable and more prone for a transfer. Another negative approach is putting a weak manager in place to help secure your position. It usually happens when a manager hires an incompetent assistant manager who is more unlikely to get a promotion. Continuous use of these unethical tactics may undermine organizational goals. However, by promoting good politics it channels away employees from using negative tactics. Some influential tactics use is leading by example. A manager must be a role model to her employees by being consistent with her words and actions. Next is using consultation to encourage employees for their ideas and opinions. Assertiveness as a positive tactic is also practiced. This refers to being straightforward with the person without violating their rights. Managers often use reasoning and logic as an influential tactic to get employees to follow their orders. Another is ingratiation wherein a person acts friendly when asking others for a favor. Lastly, exchange is also an approach for influencing employees by offering a barter with others. When these political tactics are used appropriately it can promote positive resolution to the tension rising in the organization (Mitchell, 2005). References Article Library. (2015). Types of Power in Leadership. Retrieved on March 28, 2015, from http://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/business-management/6-important-types-of-power-in-leadership/2560/ Bonita, R., Beaglehole,R., Kjellstrom, T. (2006). Basic epidemiology. Retrieved on March 26, 20015 from http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/2006/9241547073_eng.pdf Creative Vision Foundation. (n.d.). What is epidemiology? Retrieved on March 26, 2015 from http://www.bmj.com/about-bmj/resources-readers/publications/epidemiology-uninitiated/1-what-epidemiology Daft, R. (2012). Management 10th ed. USA: South-Western, Cengage Learning. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. (2014). The External Environment. Retrieved on March 27, 2015 from http://www.cliffsnotes.com/more-subjects/principles-of-management/managerial-environments/the-external-environment Johnson, S. (n.d.). Five Components of an Organization’s External Environment. Retrieved March 29 from http://yourbusiness.azcentral.com/five-components-organizations-external-environment-8944.html Mind Tools. (2015). Five Forms of Power. Retrieved on March 28, 2015, from http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_56.htm Mitchell, R. (2005). Introduction to Organizational Politics. Retrieved on March 23, 2015, from www.csun.edu/~hfmgt001/politics.doc Riley, J. (2014). Organizational Culture- The Crucial Importance of Core Values. Retrieved on March 22, 2015, from http://beta.tutor2u.net/business/blog/organisational-culture-the-crucial-importance-of-core-values Root, G. (2015). Five Components of an Organization’s External Environment. Retrieved on March 28. 2015 from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/five-components-organizations-external-environment-17634.html Study. (2003). What is Organizational culture? Definition Characteristics. Retrieved on March 22, 2015, from http://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-organizational-culture-definition-characteristics.html The Fast Track. (2011). Five Types of Power in Leadership. Retrieved on March 28, 2015, from http://quickbase.intuit.com/blog/2011/08/26/the-5-types-of-power-in-leadership/ Wendy. (2013). Company Core Values: Why to have them and How to define them. Retrieved on March 22, 2013, from http://blog.7geese.com/2013/03/12/benefits-of-having-core-values-and-how-to-set-them-in-your-organization/

The Sight Of Science :: essays research papers

The Sight of Science It is a truth universally acknowledged that he whose mind is ahead of his time and above that of his peers may not be understood by his fellow people and be subject to critisizm and persecution. Galilei Galileo, Francis Bacon, and Rene Descartes were among the first to break away from the conventional views of their times to find a place for science in a society and propose the way it should be practiced. All three authors agree on some points but differe markedly on others. Bacon insists on the importa nce of experimentation and relative uselessness of senses and experience, while Decartes thinks them imporatnt for understanding of nature. Galileo stresses the need for separation of science and religion, while Descartes deems the correctness of the method of scientific thought to be most important. Yet all three writers agree that natural science should be freed of the grip of theology and human ethics, what sets them apart from previous generations of scientists and thinkers. In his Discoveries, Bacon goes at great length to discuss the influence the prescientfic mode of thinking has had on generations of scientists, and tries to Descartes asserts that the mathematical method of examining the relationship between objects and expressing them in concise formulas, applied to the entire realm of knowledge, permits him to exercise his own reason to the best of his ability. Since nothing in philosophy is certain, it is evident that he must discover his own philosophical principles. Galileo's views on science and religion, as seen from his Letter to the Grand Dutchess Christina are very radical for his times. He suggests that physical sciences must be separated from theological studies because the goals of the two disicplines are totally different: theology is concerned with salvation of the soul, while the sciences are concerned with understanding of nature. He believes that the clergy apply faith where ther is none involved -- one cannot undersand nature just by quoting the Scripture because the nature, a fruit of God's infinite wisdom., defies the simple explanation men's feeble minds attempt to find in the Bible. To truly understand nature, one has apply the little of the reason that God has given to him and look "between the li nes" for the true meaning of the Bible. There are a number interpretations one can find because the Bible is often general and simplistic; Galileo suggests that the best way to find the true meaning is to disprove the false conclusions by finding contradicions in nature, as determined by accurate experiments rather than fervent meditation. It is a job of scientists to examine nature and it is

A heroic Act

It began to rain as he pitched the last mound of soil onto the boy's grave. He let the shovel slip from his hands and fall on the earth beneath his boots. Picking up the boy's bag which he had found with a clay jar that had been smashed into pieces near the boy, he looked at the contents and stared at them for a while, remembering what had occurred which seemed only moments ago†¦The boy’s name was Kaj. He was an orphan. His parents died at the hands of some forest bandits while delivering baby wolf skins to the Pronteran Marketplace. His father used to hunt for their meals, now only he was left to do the job for himself and his little sister, Chala.A small bag hung across the skinny lad’s shoulder as he walked across the forest clearing. He knelt by the river and opened his bag. A look of sadness showed on his face as he looked at what he would be bringing home for supper, a few small carrots he had found in a rabbit’s hole, some herbs he gathered from plant s, and an apple.He took out the only other item in the bag, a clay jar. He filled up the jar with water from the pool before bending down to take a drink himself. Carrying the jar in one hand while slipping the bag across the other hand’s shoulder, Kaj stood up and proceeded on his way. Preoccupied with his burden both on his hands and in his heart, the boy failed to notice a thin, dry piece of wood that was lying on his path.CRACK!The sound of the branch breaking beneath his bare foot was more audible than what would have been normal. It was a terrifying shout that commanded ancient powers into reality. As the old forest saying went, â€Å"It is bad luck to step on dead branches†.â€Å"The boy is not a match for you, as you are not one for me.† The knight’s voice was calm and stern, â€Å"Come on, I’ve been itching for a fight.†A burst of steam came out of each of the horned figure’s huge, ringed nostrils. With eyes of livid anger it raised its sight above the figure of the frightened child and looked straight in the eyes of the armored warrior on top of a heavily feathered PecoPeco.â€Å"You will die today, insolent meatling!† It growled ferociously, slapping the form of Kaj away with the back of its massive left hand to make room as he slowly walked towards Blueberry.As the distance between them shortened, the minorous charged at the knight. Blueberry stood defiant as the huge creature lunged at him with its great hammer. In a rush of anger and fury, the hammer smashed against the side of the knight, drawing a brief smile from the creature’s face which almost instantly changed to a look of fear and disbelief as it saw Blueberry’s great steel shield holding the blow of it’s hammer without so much as a dent.The sudden shock of the minorous prevented it from seeing its opponents other hand pierce a frost-tipped spear through the armor of its hide and passed its brutish heart. The knig ht’s weapon continued its assault, pushing through every sinew until its tip emerged from the creature’s back, burying the entire arm of its wielder with its shaft deep in minorous flesh.With the minorous hanging lifeless at the length of his ice pike, Blueberry withdrew his weapon from the creature, letting the brute fall heavily on the bloodstained grass. Pandora sat down at her master’s whim, as the knight’s free hand reached for the ring between the dead creature’s nostrils and pulled it out.Blueberry looked at the dull silvered piece of jewelry for an instant before throwing it at the direction of the still prostrate form of the boy.â€Å"You can stand up now. You might want to sell that thing in Prontera.† he called out.

Promotional Process for the Fire Department Essay

Promotion process is an activity that is conducted in a given frequency in order that individuals in the fire department will qualify for promotion and allow taking of the testing for these individuals. Most of the fire departments require that before an individual is promoted in the rank do an exam. Most of the professional fires fighting departments require professional qualifications like a bachelor’s degree. In order to qualify for a promotional process in the fire department, one may require to have been employed in a good length of time, training and certification to the subjects related to the fire fighting, and educational requirements. Such eligibility is communicated for example prior to the date of the beginning of the promotion process. Usually, the evaluation procedures will also be published and the scores communicated. The written examination and subjective evaluation are administered for a particular rank the promotion process includes administration of the examination and the evaluation, and posting of the scores and determination and posting of the seniority and ascertained merit scores. The passing score is the aggregate score for all the components tested or examined. The score may be announced prior to the date of promotion. The law may stipulate that the components of the written exam reflect the issues related to the duties to be performed in the rank expected for that examination. The appointing authority may appoint agents to administer the examinations, and will test a written exam based on the material which they identify and make available to the potential examinees at least 90 days before administration of the examination. Grading of this written exam is done at the examination site on then examination day after completion of the test in front of observers. If done offsite by an agent, the observers will be expected to observe sealing and shipping and the opening latter upon return from the agency. T6ehre are bases for awarding ascertained merits based on education and training, certification which may be published earlier on. Subjective evaluation may include an oral interview, tactical evaluation, performance evaluation, or other components based on the subjective evaluation of the person. Applicants will be notified of the component prior to application of it. The examinee may be assessed to determine their leadership, communication, interpersonal, incident command and judgment. Significance of Problem This paper will seek to discuss issues related to and answer the following questions related to the issues in the fire departments. †¢ Why is the test generated from an outside party with no fire dept. ties? If the department are fare enough should the agencies still be used and the necessity of it. †¢ Why is the cut-off grade not given until the test is completed? †¢ Why is the passing cut-off grade lower than normal academic requirements? †¢ Is the test politically based or is it set for all to succeed? Studying these issues would help one to know the effects of the tests and their impact. Research on these and related issues would reveal irregularities existing, and look for ways to mend the holes. Source Review Tests for promotion in the fire department involve written and evaluation test. In a writing test for uniform fire department personnel, bonus points are assigned so that a third of the group will receive a minimum of 75%. Except for the position of a fire captain where three quarter of the participants is allowed to achieve this. A passing score for the next evaluation is a 75% mark. A second written test would be conducted if only one or none passes since the requirement for further evaluation except for the only one that passes alone who has the chance to choose when to take the next evaluation. He may also stand with the previous mark or sit for another one. Some of the things that may be tested in an evaluation are cooperation, initiative, personal effectiveness, attitude towards others, use and delegation of authority, organization and planning, persuasive ability, training and utilization of the subordinates, integrity and loyalty on the part of the leadership ability. They may also require knowing the health and physical fitness of an individual which may entail scrutiny of frequency of accidents while at job, physical condition of the individual, sick leave activity, attendance and ability to perform all duties physically. According to Spielman (1996), firefighters were proposed to wait a minimum of five years before qualifying to take promotion examinations, and proposal by the Union Local 2 added that the seniority and education points be awarded in a weighted process which also factors in test scores and in-person interviews. The committee which recommended changes to the Chicago fire department and handed the report to the then, Mayor Darly, called for oral portions in exams to consist a greater percentage of testing knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to do the job . Irregularities in the tests The fire fighting departments has not been without complains. Cheating in the promotional examinations has been reported in the fire service for example in Boston, MA where cell phones were used by FFs to text answers to their friends; in Baltimore, MD where top scorers had questions from 2001 examinations that were reused and in Chicago, Illinois where FFs cheated on EMT training examination (Bellenger, & Dean). Thus their administration should be carefully checked to make sure that such incidences do not occur. Exams for promotion have also been dogged with issues of discrimination of people with their races. For example, in the 1990 exam, out of the 117 who qualified for promotion, there were only 17 black. In a memo to city officials in the 2000, the Madison Fire fighting Department was accused of being discriminatory and unfair by the city’s affirmative director, Kirbie Mack. The department, according to The Capital Times (Shepard, 2000) had promoted no person of color since 1996, out of a total of 47 people. The fire Chief Amesqua had argued that the reasons people of color had not been promoted to lieutenant position was because a few had applied and that seniority had placed them low on the list for selection. Data however had indicated that such low applications were real and in the then three recent promotional cycles, 14 people of color out of 150 had applied and three had failed to show up for the written exams while five failed it. Only six made it to the final position out of the 100. He latter in January 12, 2001 (Judith, 2001) denied this allegation that his department was discriminatory and unfair, and presented figures to show that the diversity in the department mirrored the larger community: the people of color made 9 % of Dane County’s population and 16 % of employees in the fire department. In the Chicago Fire Department , only less than 5% of the department in 1970s composed of the blacks and the Hispanics and the Justice Department sued the city; the case which was settled by the court orders requiring hiring and promotion of more minorities in the department. The city is said to have responded by stopping to hire for years (Judson Miner-an attorney representing the black fire fighters and the city’s corporation counsel in 1980s). There was a strike that followed and a contract to affirmative action was settled on till 45% were employees in the department. In 2004, according to out of the total of the uniformed department, about 31% represented the minorities. There are whites who have raised issues as being passed over in favor of the minority groups and view it as unfair. Wherever the truth lies, firefighters feel the heat when they go out and do their jobs. Causes and reduction of irregularities Irregularities may occur as a result of delayed time which could allow manipulation of the results to favor some candidates. The cut off grade is delayed so that there will be regulation of the number qualifying. If everybody was to qualify, then there would be a problem in choosing the person to occupy the position. Usually, the examination should be set free of political influence. There have been claims of bias towards some of the races who have been said to be discriminated against. Reduction of irregularities can be achieved by a careful selection of an unbiased agent to administer the test. The process should be as open as possible to avoid bias and arising of complains. If the tests are not conducted in an open way it is difficult to avoid problems and claims. Conclusion/Recommendations There are laws as discussed regarding promotion process in the fire department. Requirements include academic qualifications, work experience and personal abilities to do the job. All these can be proved when one passes examinations that are administered for promotion in the field. These include the written and evaluation tests. Cases that are received of allegations should be addressed a proper means sought to reduce such occurrences. There are issues that have been raised in the past concerning issues of promotion that needs to be addressed and a long lasting solution sought. Promotion process itself ought to be a fair, open and a clean process. The problem underlying could be as a result of the process itself; the delays and issues to do with the agents. The fire department must ensure that current stringent measures are put in place to allow only agents who qualify to standards administer the examinations so as to minimize cases of complains. Since affirmative actions have raised issues, they should be scrutinized and offered at an open way where everybody will understand and know. The process should be kept as open as possible. Reference Baker Bill. Policy 12-1 Promotion system for uniform fire department personnel. 1 March 2000. Fire Department. Retrieved from http://www. cityof. lawton. ok. us/CityCode/Administrative_Policies/Section_12/1. html on 9 October 2008. Bellenger, B. L. and Dean C. R. Cheating on promotional public safety examinations: Strategies for responding to a widespread test scrutiny compromise. Personnel Board of Jefferson County. PDF. Retrieved from www. ipmaac. org/conf/08/bellenger. pdf on 9 October 2008. Fire promotion assessment package. Fire & Police Selection Inc (FPSI). Retrieved from http://www. fpsi. com/fire_promotional. html on 9 October 2008. Jason Shepard. Bias Alleged in fire promotions. (Front). The Capital Times (Madison, WI). November 11, 2001. Judith Davidoff. Amesqua: No bias in promotions. (Local/State). The Capital Times (Madison, WI). January 12, 2001. Spielman Fran. Panel offers Fire Dept. promotion proposals. September 13, 1996. Chicago Times.

To Kill a Mockingbird story Essays

To Kill a Mockingbird story Essays To Kill a Mockingbird story Essay To Kill a Mockingbird story Essay Essay Topic: To Kill a Mockingbird To Kill a Mockingbird Journal Entries Project Steffanie Trout Hypocrisy An example of hypocrisy that really stood out in the book To Kill a Mockingbird was Mrs. Gates. In the beginning of the novel she told her class about the evil things Hitler is doing in to the Jews in Germany, then later Scout overhears her talking about Toms conviction and she says that the black folk in the community needed to be kept in their place. For this she is a hypocrite. She acts as though she believes in freedom and Justice, but when it comes to people of color she believes that they do not deserve any rights. Self-Control In To Kill a Mockingbird there are many situations that make me believe that Bob Ewell lacks self-control. He cannot keep a Job and tends to spend all his money on alcohol. He is a disgrace, drunkard, who even beats his children. Through my eyes and in my opinion, he is a perfect example of what some would call white trash. He has no morals, as well as being a liar. He accuses Tom Robinson of sexually assaulting his daughter, Mayella, when he knows that Tom is innocent. He spits in Attics Finchs face, and attacks Jem and Scout. When he attacked the children he had o idea that Arthur Radley would be there to come to their defense. Bob Ewell loses his life because of his lack of self-control. Courage I think that Mrs. Dubose showed true courage in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird because she can look at herself and recognize her flaws, then try to fix them. She is aaddicted to Morphine and decides that she wants to die free of her weakness. Through this she even went through withdraws that are difficult to survive Her head moved slowly from side to side. From time to time she would open her mouth wide, and I could see her tongue undulate faintly. Cords of saliva would collect on her lips; he would draw them in, and then open her mouth again. Her mouth seemed to have a private existence of its own. She accomplishes her goal, although she needed help from Jem. It takes true courage to be able to face and concur an addiction, such as drugs. Integrity Atticus Finch is one of the most honest and moral characters in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird. As a lawyer Atticus represents something that everyone working in the justice system should. He is fair, does not hold grudges, and can look at all situations from many points of view. Atticus Finch is the same in his house as he is on the ublic streets. and this is also how he acts in the courtroom. As a parent he teaches his children moral guidance. He is a man of his word and is full of respect. Atticus trles to 100K at everyone as an Inalvlaual, even tnose wno are outcasts to society H sees the good in everyone and is committed to making his children feel and act the same way. Confidence Jem Finch shows a lot of confidence in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird when it comes to his fathers Tom Robinson case. Jem does not fully understand the racisms that is going on around him because of his father keeping him protected from it since birth. This also explains why Atticus was nervous when the court case comes, as he knows Jem is going to be exposed to complex problems, one being racism. Jem knows that the case should be thrown out of the courtroom because, unlike the white Jury, Jem does not see color as a factor in the Judgment of a human being. Jem believes that the evidence presented in the case clearly demonstrates Tom Robinsons innocence, and he is correct in his views. Jem is confident and believes that Atticus is going to win and is very surprised and confused when his father loses the case.

Lpool Essays

Lpool Essays Lpool Essay Lpool Essay Liverpools post-Second World War decline took its toll on Toxteth. Increasing unemployment in the city, lack of government action, institutionalised racism within the police force and general poverty led to the 1981 Toxteth riots, for which the area is probably most famous. and crime Liverpools post-Second World War decline took its toll on Toxteth. Increasing unemployment in the city, lack of government action, institutionalised racism within the police force and general poverty led to the 1981 Toxteth riots, for which the area is probably most famous. Immigration to Toxteth took place from the 1950s to the present day, mostly from Africa and the Caribbean with relatively few from the Indian sub-continent. July 1981 saw the riots, in which dozens of young males caused a great deal of damage and many injuries. Poverty, unemployment, racial tension, racism from the local white population and hostility towards the police were largely blamed for the disturbances, which were among the worst scenes of unrest seen during peacetime in Britain at that time. Hundreds of people were injured, one man was killed by a police Land Rover, and countless buildings and vehicles were damaged. [4] Crime rates in Toxteth have been high for many years. As well as racial and civil unrest, vehicle crime has also blighted Toxteth. The highest-profile instance of vehicle crime in Toxteth came on 30 October 1991, when two children (nine-year-old Daniel Davies and 12-year-old Adele Thompson) were killed by a speeding Mazda sports car driven by 18-year-old joyrider Christopher Lewin on Granby Street. Adele died at the scene, and Daniel from his injuries a week later. Lewin was found guilty on a double manslaughter charge at Liverpool Crown Court on 24 September 1992 and sentenced to seven and a half years in prison, as well as being banned from driving for seven years. At the end of his trial, relatives and friends of the two victims pelted him with missiles and threatened to attack him. Five of them were ejected from the court. [5]

Lord Randalls Anonymous Folk Ballad

Lord Randall's Anonymous Folk Ballad The folk ballad Lord Randall is an example of an Anglo-Scottish border ballad. These songs were sung acapella  and  often had repeating lines. History of the Ballad Sir Walter Scott collected border ballads and published them in his Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, published in three volumes from 1802 to 1803. Scott is known for his 1805 poem The Lay of the Last Minstrel, which brought him to literary fame. He was offered the position of Poet Laureate in 1813 but declined. Lord Randall tells the tale of a noble young man who has been poisoned by his lover. He comes home to his mother and complains that he is fatigued and only wants to lie down on his bed. He repeatedly pleads with his mother to make his bed so he can finally rest. His mother repeatedly questions him on what he has been doing and teases the story out of him. He has been poisoned by his false-hearted lover, and he bequeaths his belongings and treasures to his siblings. The structure of the song is reminiscent of the nursery rhyme Billy Boy, but instead of the hero being poisoned by the young lady, he bakes her a pie and decides she is too young to leave her mother. It also is mirrored in the campfire song, Green and Yellow. The song is a source for many  modern artists and authors. Bob Dylan used it as the basis of A Hard Rains A-Gonna Fall. Many artists have covered the folk ballad on their albums and releases. The Lord Randall Anonymous Traditional Folk Ballad â€Å"O where ha you been, Lord Randal, my son?And where ha you been, my handsome young man?†Ã¢â‚¬Å"I ha been at the greenwood; mother, mak my bed soon,For I’m wearied wi hunting, and fain wad lie down.†An wha met ye there, Lord Randal, my son?An wha met you there, my handsome young man?†Ã¢â‚¬Å"O I met wi my true-love; mother, mak my bed soon,For I’m wearied wi huntin, an fain wad lie down.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"And what did she give you, Lord Randal, my son?And what did she give you, my handsome young man?†Ã¢â‚¬Å"Eels fried in a pan; mother, mak my bed soon,For I’m wearied with huntin, and fain wad lie down.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"And wha gat your leavins, Lord Randal, my son?And what gat your leavins, my handsom young man?†Ã¢â‚¬Å"My hawks and my hounds; mother, mak my bed soon,For I’m wearied wi huntin, and fain wad lie down.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"And what becam of them, Lord Randall, my son?And what became of them, my handsome young man?†Ã¢â‚¬Å "They stretched their legs out an died; mother, mak my bed soon,For I’m wearied wi huntin, and fain wad lie down.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"O I fear you are poisoned, Lord Randal, my son!I fear you are poisoned, my handsome young man!†Ã¢â‚¬Å"O yes, I am poisoned; mother, mak my bed soon,For I’m sick at the heart, and I fain wad lie down. â€Å"What d’ ye leave to your mother, Lord Randal, my son?What d’ye leave to your mother, my handsome young man?†Ã¢â‚¬Å"Four and twenty milk kye; mother, mak my bed soon,For I’m sick at the heart, and I fain wad lie down.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"What d’ ye leave to your sister, Lord Randal, my son?What d’ ye leave to your sister, my handsome young man?†Ã¢â‚¬Å"My gold and my silver; mother, mak my bed soon,For I’m sick at the heart, an I fain wad lie down.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"What d’ ye leave to your brother, Lord Randal, my son?What d’ ye leave to your brother, my handsome young man?†Ã¢â‚¬Å"My house and my lands; mother, mak my bed soon,For I’m sick at the heart, and I fain wad lie down.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"What d’ ye leave to your true-love, Lord Randal, my son?What d’ ye leave to your true-love, my handsome young man?†Ã¢â‚¬Å"I leave her hell and fire; mother, mak my bed soon,For I’m sick at the hea rt, and I fain wad lie down.†

Lit Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Lit - Essay Example In the early days, those schools not attached to a church were primarily intended for the sons of nobility as a means of preparing them for future leadership and, by the seventeenth century, many schools had opened that were supported by private foundations with positions being offered to the poor. The earlier schools catered to specific social classes, frequently requiring students to live within the grounds during the instructional period and sometimes functioning as full-service orphanages. Schools were structured to admit both boys and girls, only boys or only girls depending upon the proprietor and the method of instruction was also left to the discretion of the proprietor. There was widespread concern, however, that educating the masses would lead to large-scale uprisings, so these early attempts at the formation of a national education system began to fade replaced by trade schools, apprenticeships and a general apathy on the parts of the wealthy and the poor alike regarding f ormal education. By the early nineteenth century, the period classified as the Georgian period, curriculum at these schools had been mostly structured to provide appropriate instruction for the particular social class to which it catered (Gillard, 2004). Although this was almost universally true, there was no national curriculum, no standardized block of subjects to be taught and methods of instruction varied as widely as the reputations of said schools. This lack of a formalized national curriculum or even basic curriculum guidelines made it easier for the other form of education system in England to flourish as well. Those families who could afford it often hired governesses for daughters or tutors for sons to instruct their children upon the family grounds, instructing the children in those subjects the family felt important and the educator was qualified to teach. These qualifications were

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 3

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks - Essay Example Lacks died of cancer but her cells live on. Henrietta Lacks’s story holds great importance because of the fact that there are several ethical issues that raises concern. The ethical issues raised in those times, exist even today in some places; however there are certain legal procedures and laws that lay down guideline for the ethics to be followed by researchers. The first ethical issue that comes to my mind is that of â€Å"confidentiality†. The ethical issue of confidentiality in research means that the identity, privacy and all information about the patient must be treated as highly confidential in nature. The identity of people being used for a particular research or study should never be revealed. It is the researcher’s responsibility to protect the identity. However, in Lack’s case, confidentiality was not maintained. The researchers did not reveal only her name but also revealed her race to the world. In those times, there were no binding laws that called for confidentiality on part of the researchers. Today, it is mandatory for researchers using human tissues to respect the privacy of the subjects and safeguard their identity. One of the most popular to keep things confidential is the use of pseudonymisation or use a code in place of real identification of the human subjects (Kalra et al, 2006) The next ethical issue worth that I would like to discuss is that of â€Å"informed consent†. Human tissues and cells are of great importance to the research world however these tissues and cells need to be procured from people with appropriate consent. People have the right to know how their cells are being used for research. In Henrietta’s case, she was not informed about her doctor’s decision of tumorous cell extraction. She was not even asked for consent. In the 1950’s, issues about informed consent was still in infancy stages, so Dr.Gey was not compelled in any way to ask Henrietta Lacks’s consent for

Consumer Cultures, Environmental Futures Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 1

Consumer Cultures, Environmental Futures - Essay Example Catfish is one of the types of fish that people consume, which differentiate the consumers along different lines of the economy, society and political differences. Through this differentiation, people have different perspectives of looking at the catfish both from the perspective they may have from the influence they have from their culture and social ties. The analysis of production and consumption of catfish will help in explaining the various reasons that make it a consumer product of a specific group of people within a society, which may mean a lot of structure formulation within a society. The analysis focuses on the sources of catfish and the places in which it is a common form of food while in some others; it could be a rare commodity (Tucker and Hargreaves, 2004, p.27). Catfish are popularly produced in different places in the world as one of the small-fish that people consume as food for their own and which they sell to a few people around their environment. However, researc h shows that production of small-fish in sector of fishing is an aquaculture that usually target different people who fall in the low economic classes in the society. In the economy, consumption of these small-fish is therefore, related to specific people in the country who could be a having similar general characteristic (Tucker and Hargreaves, 2004, p.39). Catfish is mostly common among the Vietnamese who invest in production of the organisms for food in different place in both large-scale and small-scale levels of the economy. This production is facilitated by the demand that is raised for the food that that has some contents of fish and the different levels of production of catfish through the aquaculture technology implies the different demanding issues that surround food fish production within the society. In this respect, when food fish demand increases, people have adopted various ways through which they can improve the amount of products they obtain from their investment. I n the Vietnamese culture, fish are highly regarded and therefore, people adopt aquaculture in order to meet the local demands as well as the needs of others that are away from the country. In the aquaculture for production of the catfish species of the fish, there are different factors that favour the production in the area, which motivate people to invest in the production as a mode of subsistence or as a commercial activity. In order to produce, people depend on different opportunities that the environment offers, which help people to exploit it for their benefit. In this respect, people have different ways through which they produce the catfish to the different market in Vietnam or away from the country. The most common factors that are important in determining the production of the catfish include the sources of water where the fish will grow, the availability of fingerlings that grow to be the mature catfish and the space that is available for people in to establish their produ ction and the aquaculture. In most cases, people who invest in aquaculture try to establish their production by varying the conditions in the condition of the environment to allow the production even in places that are not very favourable for production. This aquaculture in

Carbon Emissions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Carbon Emissions - Essay Example It has plans of using the latest science to be able to reduce the percentages of the gas that is daily being emitted. By the year 2030, it hopes that it would have been able to reduce the percentage by 60%. (Grubb, 1989) However, the consumers' lifestyle in the U.K. has also contributed to the increase of carbon emissions. Being the director of communications for carbon trust, I would want to see that these levels go down and that the problems caused by carbon emissions are managed. The problems associated with carbon emissions are many. This is why I want to look for a Public Relations consultancy firm that will be able to educate U.K. citizens about the dangers of emitting a lot of carbon in the atmosphere. Carbon emission is the major cause of global warming. This results due to greenhouse effect and it is a detrimental and the worst thing that can ever occur. The accumulation of carbon in the atmosphere causes temperatures to rise by approximately 3.6 F. Consumers' lifestyles in the U.K. have really played a major role in the increase of carbon that is emitted daily to the atmosphere. There are some things that they need to be warned about if the level is to go down. 40% of the carbon is produced by vehicles. The citizens have not been using environment friendly forms of transport. To start with, vehicles are owned by almost everybody. Journeys by public vehicles would reduce 90% of the emissions that is caused when everyone uses their personal vehicles. (Fraser, 1994). Then, the exhaust emissions of the vehicles are not made in such a way that it can limit the amount of exhaust fumes released. The more the exhaust fumes being released, the more the level of the emission of carbon dioxide to the air. The fuels they use produce a lot of carbon. It has been noted that the use of petrol as fuel contributes to large amounts of carbon emission. If alternative fuels are sought and the citizens encouraged using these, then there would be u p to 75% reduction in the amount of carbon that would be emitted to the atmosphere. Fuels such as ethanol have been proven to produce low levels of emissions. Therefore, it would be prudent enough for the citizens to adopt this type of fuel. The government wants to come up with a program that will enable filling stations to be able to lease out electric car batteries to car owners. Citizens of the U.K also use the heating system, which has been known to emit some levels of carbon. (Rose, A. et al, 1998). This fact has been discussed in meetings organised by the government. It was decided that the heating system was mainly used because of the poor standards of the houses that the people lived in. Therefore, the government set up a policy that required all landlords to build houses up to standards that do not require any heating system. This was in the faith that it will help towards reducing the levels of carbon emission. The use of garden floodlights and incandescent light bulbs have been on the increase in the U.K. These are also responsible for the carbon emission. These causes of carbon emission are not known by most of the people in the U.K. A lot of people contribute to the levels of carbon emission without knowing. Therefore, this calls for an introduction of some channels through which the relevant information can reach them. This is why I thought of consulting a Public Relations

What Is Electrical Engineering Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

What Is Electrical Engineering - Research Paper Example Electrical engineers are continuously putting their efforts to improve communication between people by designing easy to use communication technologies, such as, cell phones and notebooks. Electrical engineering not only facilitates long distance communication but also serves the world in many other areas related to technology. Therefore, we can say that electrical engineering is one of the major fields of engineering which is playing a considerable role in technological progress all over the world. What Do Electrical Engineers Do? In the present world, electrical engineers are putting their efforts in solving electricity shortage problems by identifying and designing new electricity generating systems. â€Å"Electrical engineering mainly deals with the generation and distribution of power and maintenance of large power systems† (Dhulipala). Some of the major fields related to renewable energy systems in which electrical engineers have really shown their potential, knowledge, and skills include generation of hydropower energy, wind energy, and geothermal energy.Electrical engineers design new electronics, which they also test for quality and reliability. â€Å"The engineer is often responsible for overseeing the installation of the product to ensure it is installed properly and safely† (Partington). ... Electrical engineers mainly deal with the production of electricity by designing circuits. â€Å"An electrical engineer has many potential job functions but most work on designing products that are powered by or produce electricity† (Partington). â€Å"One of the tasks of an electrical engineer would be to develop electrical system products for household uses or for business uses† (Shipway). Electrical engineers design different electricity-based products, which serve people as well as countries. Electric products, such as, televisions, radios, computer systems, mobile phones, laptops, audio and video systems all involve the input of electrical engineers. Let us now get an overview of some of the major technological developments, which could have been impossible without input of the efforts electrical engineers. Electric Cars Electric car is one of the major developments related to the field of electrical engineering. An electric car is a vehicle that makes use of batte ries and electric motors instead of gasoline engines. The batteries are rechargeable and control the main parts of the cars. Some of the most considerable features of electric cars include more reliability, convenience, less noise, up to 500 hundred percent more efficiency as compared to internal combustion engines, regenerative breaking system, and no emission production. There is no emission of fuels from electric cars because they do not use gas for any purpose. Compared to the internal combustion engines, electric cars provide up to three times more stored energy to the wheels. It is due to these benefits that today electric cars are becoming more and more popular in

MPH502-Introduction to Public Health (Module 3 CBT) Essay

MPH502-Introduction to Public Health (Module 3 CBT) - Essay Example Right from the early days of industrial revolution, substantial portions of rural population together with migrants coming in search of work from other countries flocked to cities and towns that resulted in overcrowding, slum conditions and squalor with the associated problems of garbage, sewage, pollution and unclean drinking water that had negative impact on public health. Citizens quite rightly veered round to the opinion that control of diseases and maintenance of public health should fall in the public domain of governmental responsibility and there should be relevant laws and regulations that would ensure each citizen gets the chance to lead a healthy life with government being responsible to provide all the necessary amenities and maintain decent standards of public health. Governments of both industrialized and developing countries have since then passed numerous legislations in this regard and public health is quite rightly now firmly entrenched in the domain of public autho rity and public administration. Neither the governments nor the citizens deny that the primary responsibility of public health rests with the government of the country. Public health professionals quite obviously desire that there should be progressively larger allocation of funds towards prevention of diseases rather than fighting them when they threaten to go out of hand and become a matter of serious concern. Prevention, as the saying goes, is always better than cure. But in the political climate prevailing in late and middle 1990s it was becoming increasingly difficult for public health professionals to emphasize the importance of prevention as some of the law makers were of the opinion that the threat to public health was made to look more sinister than it actually was. Though there might be some instances of such overdrive, one agrees wholeheartedly with the author’s concern about prevention of a disease before it snowballs into a public health crisis. (Gostin L. O.,

What Is Electrical Engineering Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

What Is Electrical Engineering - Research Paper Example Electrical engineers are continuously putting their efforts to improve communication between people by designing easy to use communication technologies, such as, cell phones and notebooks. Electrical engineering not only facilitates long distance communication but also serves the world in many other areas related to technology. Therefore, we can say that electrical engineering is one of the major fields of engineering which is playing a considerable role in technological progress all over the world. What Do Electrical Engineers Do? In the present world, electrical engineers are putting their efforts in solving electricity shortage problems by identifying and designing new electricity generating systems. â€Å"Electrical engineering mainly deals with the generation and distribution of power and maintenance of large power systems† (Dhulipala). Some of the major fields related to renewable energy systems in which electrical engineers have really shown their potential, knowledge, and skills include generation of hydropower energy, wind energy, and geothermal energy.Electrical engineers design new electronics, which they also test for quality and reliability. â€Å"The engineer is often responsible for overseeing the installation of the product to ensure it is installed properly and safely† (Partington). ... Electrical engineers mainly deal with the production of electricity by designing circuits. â€Å"An electrical engineer has many potential job functions but most work on designing products that are powered by or produce electricity† (Partington). â€Å"One of the tasks of an electrical engineer would be to develop electrical system products for household uses or for business uses† (Shipway). Electrical engineers design different electricity-based products, which serve people as well as countries. Electric products, such as, televisions, radios, computer systems, mobile phones, laptops, audio and video systems all involve the input of electrical engineers. Let us now get an overview of some of the major technological developments, which could have been impossible without input of the efforts electrical engineers. Electric Cars Electric car is one of the major developments related to the field of electrical engineering. An electric car is a vehicle that makes use of batte ries and electric motors instead of gasoline engines. The batteries are rechargeable and control the main parts of the cars. Some of the most considerable features of electric cars include more reliability, convenience, less noise, up to 500 hundred percent more efficiency as compared to internal combustion engines, regenerative breaking system, and no emission production. There is no emission of fuels from electric cars because they do not use gas for any purpose. Compared to the internal combustion engines, electric cars provide up to three times more stored energy to the wheels. It is due to these benefits that today electric cars are becoming more and more popular in

Alicia Essay Example for Free

Alicia Essay Alicia she was just a worrier. She said she would feel keyed up and unable to relax. At times it would come and go, and at times it would be constant. She is now afraid to go to a simple dinner party or even go to a restaurant. She stays in bed most days and hardly leaves her house. Thoughts Alicia has are racing and she says it’s hard to let things go. Alicia also has sleeping problems, trouble concentrating, lightheadedness, and worries about everything. I would diagnose Alicia with social anxiety disorder. This is an anxiety disorder in which a person has an excessive and unreasonable fear of social situations. Anxiety arises from a fear of being closely watched, judged, and criticized by others. A person with social anxiety disorder is afraid that they will make mistakes, look bad, and be embarrassed or humiliated in front of others. With this fear, they might not go around social situations at all. Without treatment, social anxiety disorder can negatively interfere with the persons normal daily routine. (MayoClinic,2013) Symptoms of social anxiety disorder can include: avoidance of social situations, anxiety in social situations, confusion, fast heartbeat, tension, and confusion. I will tell Alicia that this is a very common disorder. This disorder is second to depression, and it is more common in adult females than males. There is no known cause, but biological, psychological, and environmental factors may have an influence. Since these symptoms listed above are present, I will evaluate further by by asking questions about Alicia’s medical history and performing a physical exam. No lab tests will be done. If no physical illness is found, I will recommend her to see a psychiatrist or a psychologist. Along with this evaluation and seeing a psychiatrist or a psychologist, the most effective treatment currently is cognitive behavioral therapy or CBT. Medication is also used to help ease the symptoms of social anxiety disorder so that cognitive behavioral therapy is more effective. (MayoClinic,2013) CBT is a guide to make someone’s thoughts more rational and tells them to stop social situations until symptoms subside. Therapy may include real life situations or exposure therapy. The medication that can be used to help with CBT is antidepressants, tranquilizers, and beta blockers. MayoClinic,2013) With good treatment, Alicia can improve and enjoy a more productive life. Mrs. Arthur Mrs. Arthur is constantly afraid of catching cancer from contact with other people. She is particularly afraid of touching people who may have been in hospital where cancer patients have treatment. She tries to avoid touching anyone because they may have touched someone else who has had contact with cancer. Because of this she tries to avoid going out of the house at all. If she does touch someone, she has to wash her hands and her clothes extremely thoroughly, sometimes taking hours. She also insists that her husband and children should take off their clothes and wash themselves thoroughly whenever they come into the house. Her family is becoming increasingly impatient with this. She knows these fears are unrealistic but she cannot seem to stop. I would diagnose Mrs. Arthur with Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). OCD is a type of anxiety disorder that traps people in endless cycles of repetitive thoughts and behaviors. People with OCD are constantly distressed with thoughts, fears, or obsessions they cannot control. The anxiety from these thoughts leads to an urgent need to perform certain rituals or routines. The compulsive rituals are performed in an attempt to prevent the obsessive thoughts or make them go away. (PubMedHelp,2013) Doing the rituals may only temporarily relieve the symptoms. Sometimes the rituals will last hours upon hours and interferes with their normal lifestyle. Symptoms of OCD include: obsessions, compulsions, fears of germs, causing harm, or making mistakes. They will repeatedly bath, shower, or wash their hands. They will also avoid touching things, and repeatedly check things. They may also clean a lot, count things, or do things in a specific order. There is no known cause of OCD but biological and environmental factors may be an influence. There is also no lab test to diagnose OCD. I would clearly diagnose Mrs. Arthur by simply looking at her symptoms and evaluate how much time she spends doing her â€Å"rituals†. OCD can be treated with medications and cognitive behavioral therapy. Cognitive behavioral therapy is a therapy to teach people with OCD to confront their fears and reduce anxiety without performing the ritual behaviors. Also called exposure therapy. Medications that can subside symptoms are antidepressants or a serotonin inhibitor. Electroconvulsive therapy or ECT is a therapy that uses electrodes that are attached to the patients head and a series of electric shocks are delivered to the brain, which induce seizures. The seizures cause the release of neurotransmitters in the brain. (PubMedHelp,2013) In the end, it relieves symptoms or treats OCD altogether. In most cases, these treatments can successfully help Mrs. Arthur with her OCD. With ongoing treatment, she can have long term relief from symptoms and gain a normal life again.

Force majeure and hardship

Force majeure and hardship INTRODUCTION A basic and universally accepted principle of contract law is pacta sunt servanda. This principle means that each party to an agreement is responsible for its non-execution, even if the cause of the failure is beyond his power and was not or could not be foreseen at the time of signing the agreement. The principle reflects natural justice and economic requirements because it binds a person to their promises and protects the interests of the other party. Since effective economic activity is not possible without reliable promises, the importance of this principle has to be emphasized. On the other hand, practice has demonstrated that on many occasions application of this principle may lead to the opposite of its aim. That is to say, the situation existing at the conclusion of the contract may subsequently have changed so completely that the parties, acting as reasonable persons, would not have made the contract, or would have made it differently, had they known what was going to happen. This situation is unlikely to arise with short-term contracts, which often exhibit a simple structure where non-performances are exchanged for money. In international trade, however, many contracts are of a more complicated structure, and even if they are not long term contracts, they frequently exist over a substantive period. International trade transactions generally imply a greater element of uncertainty because they are subject to political and economic influences in foreign countries. Different legal concepts deal with this problem of changed circumstances and provide for the discharge of the duty to perform of one or both parties when a contract has become unexpectedly onerous or impossible to perform. The classic concept of force majeure is primarily directed at settling the problems resulting from non-performance, either by suspension or by termination. Concepts likeimpr ¿Ã‚ ½visionor hardship are mainly directed at the adaptation of the contract. Although all legal systems take notice of the situation of changed circumstances, the conditions under which they allow the defence of force majeure vary. Furthermore, the adaptation of the contract is not universally accepted. Attempts have been made to tackle these problems on an international level. In particular, the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) addresses the issue of changed circumstances. It avoids reference to the existing concepts because it has developed a system of its own. This concept, however, is generally not regarded as being able to solve the problem entirely. Parties to international sales transactions, therefore, frequently include special clauses in their contracts dealing with matters of hardship and force majeure. This paper aims to give some idea of the concepts of hardship and force majeure in the context of international sales transactions. First, the concepts will be discussed on a theoretical basis. The different approaches to the situation of changed circumstances in the major legal systems will then be discussed. Article 79 of the CISG will be introduced, interpreted, and its scope determined. It will then be possible to ascertain if, to what extent, and what kind of clauses dealing with the matter of changed circumstances, should be inserted into international sales contracts. Force majeure and hardship clauses will then be discussed in more detail. Finally, the use of standard forms of contract, with special regard to the UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts, will be considered, and a recommendation as to force majeure and hardship clauses will be made. FORCE MAJEURE AND HARDSHIP THE CONCEPTS IN GENERAL The two major legal concepts dealing with the problem of changed circumstances are those of force majeure and hardship. In order to understand the interpretation and discussion of Article 79 of the CISG and the deliberations on force majeure and hardship clauses in international sales contracts, the two concepts first have to be considered on a general and theoretical basis. 1. Force majeure The concept of force majeure, providing for the discharge of one or both parties when a contract has become impossible to perform, has evolved progressively in international trade practice by assuming many original and autonomous features distinct from similar legal concepts. The approach of municipal legal systems to situations of force majeure varies from country to country. Despite these circumstances, certain general characteristics of the conception of force majeure can be determined. The roots of the classic concept lie in the Code Napol ¿Ã‚ ½on, from which the words force majeure (an irresistible compulsion or coercion) are taken. An English courts interpretation of the words held that they have a more extensive meaning than act of God or vis major. Act of God is defined as an event happening independently of human volition, which human foresight and care could not reasonably anticipate or avoid. According to the judgment, the words force majeure could cover the dislocation of a business due to a universal coal strike or accidents to machinery, but would not cover bad weather, football matches, or a funeral.In Brauer Co. v. James Clark it was held that a party could not rely on force majeure simply because the price it was required to pay for the goods was considerably in excess of the price at which it had contracted to sell them. In more general terms, it can be said that force majeure occurs when the performance of a contract is impossible due to unforeseeable events beyond the control of the parties. The following is a possible definition of force majeure: Force majeure occurs when the law recognizes that without default of either party a contractual obligation has become incapable of being performed because the circumstances in which the performance is called for would render it impossible. I promised to do this but I cannot due to some irresistible unforeseeable and uncontrollable event. A similar definition is contained in Article 7.1.7 of the UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts where, under the headline of Force majeure, it is stated that a partys non-performance is excused if that party proves that the non-performance was due to an impediment beyond its control, and that it could not reasonably be expected to have taken the impediment into account at the time of the conclusion of the contract or to have avoided or overcome the impediment or its consequences. The aim of the classic concept of force majeure, as is reflected in Article 7.1.7 of the UNIDROIT Principles, is to settle the problems resulting from non-performance either by suspension or termination. 2. Hardship The concept of hardship is usually discussed in the context of hardship clauses, which are frequently introduced into contracts in international trade. The term hardship, however, has also been used in legislation, e.g., in the Australian National Security (Landlord and Tenant) Regulations and the Landlord and Tenant (Amendment) Act 1948-1964. With respect to those rules, courts had to interpret the term hardship and determine its scope. Thus, it was held that hardship, as used in the National Security Regulations, may be regarded as the subjective effect of a detrimental nature upon the person concerned. In another decision interpreting the Landlord and Tenant Act, hardship was said to include any matter of appreciable detriment whether financial, personal or otherwise. The circumstances in which hardship generally exists (as usually set out in hardship clauses) normally incorporate three elements. First, the circumstances must have arisen beyond the control of either party; self-induced hardship is irrelevant. Second, they must be of fundamental character. Third, they must be entirely uncontemplated and unforeseeable. A clear descriptive definition of hardship is contained in the UNIDROIT Principles. It reads as follows (Article 6.2.2): There is hardship where the occurrence of events fundamentally alters the equilibrium of the contract either because the cost of a partys performance has increased or because the value of the performance a party receives has diminished, and the events occur or become known to the disadvantaged party after the conclusion of the contract; the events could not reasonably have been taken into account by the disadvantaged party at the time of the conclusion of the contract; the events are beyond the control of the disadvantaged party; and the risk of the events was not assumed by the disadvantaged party. The concept of hardship intends to solve problems of such fundamentally altered circumstances by adapting the contract to the new situation. 3. Differences between the two concepts The concepts of hardship and force majeure seem to be related to each other, particularly since they share some features: they both cater to situations of changed circumstances. The difference between the two concepts is most aptly described in such a way: hardship is at stake where the performance of the disadvantaged party has become much more burdensome, but not impossible, while force majeure means that the performance . . . the party concerned has become impossible, at least temporarily. Moreover, there seems to be a functional difference between the two concepts. Hardship constitutes a reason for a change in the contractual program of the parties. The aim of the parties remains to implement the contract. Force majeure, however, is situated in the context of non-performance, and deals with the suspension or termination of the contract. DIFFERENT APPROACHES OF DOMESTIC LEGAL SYSTEMS The approach of municipal legal systems to the problem of changed circumstances varies from country to country. Although all these concepts are related to each other, since they share important features, the distinction between them is extremely important in drafting choice of law clauses in international contracts. Furthermore, it is important to have knowledge about the law that will apply when a force majeure or hardship clause is left out of a contract, and no unified international rules are applicable. Moreover, in order to have relevance and serve a purpose, force majeure and hardship clauses should differ from the doctrine that would be applicable to the problem of changing circumstances, if such clauses were left out of the contract. Thus, the scope of those doctrines has to be determined. The illustration and comparison of force majeure and hardship will also give a deeper insight into the structure and functioning of these concepts in general. For this purpose English, American, French, German and South African law and their approaches to the situation of changed circumstances will now be analyzed. 1. England Consistent with the common law approach to strict liability for breach, the traditional common law rule was that conditions rendering performance impossible, that occurred after the execution of a contract, did not excuse performance. The reason for this was stated inParadine v. Janewhere the Kings Bench held that: When the party by his own contract creates a duty or charge upon himself, he is bound to make it good, if he may, notwithstanding any accident by inevitable necessity, because he might have provided against it by the contract. Such a rigid interpretation prevailed in the United Kingdom until 1863. InTaylor v. Caldwell the court changed its traditional opinion: the strict rule should only apply when the contract is positive and absolute, and not subject to any condition either express or implied. The court held that in contracts where performance depends on the continued existence of a given person or thing, a condition is implied that the impossibility of performance arising from the perishing of the person or thing shall excuse the performance. With this theory of implied condition, the doctrine of impossibility was introduced into English law. The concept of frustration, which developed from the doctrine of impossibility, is based on the sole interpretation of the intent of the parties. If stemming from an act of God, the performance of a contract is to take place under circumstances which are totally different from what the parties envisaged, and therefore, the agreement is frustrated. The concept originates from the famousCoronation cases. For instance, in one such case, an apartment was rented for one day because it afforded a privileged view of the Coronation parade of Edward VII. When the parade was cancelled due to the Kings illness, the landlord sued for the rent. The court, however, decided the contract was frustrated because its execution was fundamentally and essentially different from what the parties had intended. According to the doctrine of frustration, the concept dealing with situations of changed circumstances in English law today, a contract can be frustrated by impossibility, physical, e.g., destruction of the subject-matter, or for legal reasons, e.g., illegality, or by the occurrence of a radical change in circumstances, so that the foundation of the contract has been vitiated. If the contract were to retain its validity under such changed circumstances, it would amount to a new and different contract. The doctrine, by covering situations which do not amount to the impossibility of the performance is thus wider than the concept of force majeure. When a contract is frustrated, a judge cannot amend or adjust it to the new situation. Frustration simply discharges the contract. Although the prerequisites of frustration are rather similar to those required by the concept of hardship, the former is final, by disallowing the adaptation of the contract, directed at another aim. 2. United States Also based on the doctrine of impossibility and its further developments, the United States doctrines regarding changed circumstances are carefully defined in both the U.S. Restatement (Second) of Contracts and the Uniform Commercial Code. Section 261 of the Restatement (Second) is entitled Discharge by Supervening Impracticability and reads as follows: Where, after a contract is made, a partys performance is made impracticable without his fault by the occurrence of an event, the non-occurrence of which was a basic assumption in which the contract was made, his duty to render that performance is discharged, unless the language or the circumstances indicate the contrary. The Uniform Commercial Code, in Section 2-615, entitled Excuse by failure of presupposed conditions also employs the term Impracticable. In both statutes this term encompasses impossible. The relevant paragraph of U.C.C. Section 2-615 reads: Except so far as a seller may have assumed a greater obligation and subject to the preceding section on substituted performance: (a) Delay in delivery or non-delivery in whole or in part by a seller who complies with paragraphs (b) and (c) is not in breach of his duty under a contract for sale if performance as agreed has been made impracticable by the occurrence of a contingency the non-occurrence of which was the basic assumption on which the contract was made or by compliance in good faith with any foreign or domestic governmental regulation or order whether or not it later proves to be invalid. U.C.C. Section 2-615 Paragraph (b) contains an allocation requirement in the event only part of a sellers capacity to perform is affected. Paragraph (c) states a notice requirement. According to its wording, U.C.C. Section 2-615 only excuses the seller from the delivery of the goods contracted for. The general belief, however, is that this provision is to be considered equally applicable to buyers. The concept of commercial impracticability, which discharges a partys duty although the event has not made performance absolutely impossible, has been adopted in order to call attention to the commercial character of the context in which the excuse defence is used. Courts, however, have been reluctant to accept anything short of impossibility as an excuse for performance. The United States approach to situations of changed circumstances is broader than that of the classical concept of force majeure. The United States approach does not allow the adaptation of the contract and because of the courts way of treating impracticability, it is not as far-reaching as the concept of hardship. 3. France Under French law, the line is drawn between the impossibility of the performance on the one hand, i.e., force majeure, and, on the other hand, circumstances which destabilize the contract where economic conditions are such that fundamental and far-reaching changes occur. The latter is called the doctrine ofimpr ¿Ã‚ ½vision. In France, the principlepacta sunt servanda(as incorporated in Article 1134 of the French Civil Code) prevails over the principlerebus sic stantibus. If the contract does not contain any provision regarding events of changing circumstances, then, the performance of the contract will be enforced without any changes to the contract. A judge is not supposed to appraise the economic situation of the parties or to rule in equity against the wording of a contract. In principle, the only excuse for non-performance of the contract is force majeure. The doctrine ofimpr ¿Ã‚ ½visionhas not been adopted by French courts. Article 1142 of the French Civil Code stipulates that any obligation to do, or not to do, is dissolved by damages whenever the debtor does not execute the obligation. Article 1148, however, specifies that damages are not due in the case of force majeure. While courts have applied those Articles strictly, some change and more flexibility is noticeable in recent case law. Although courts do not apply the doctrine ofimpr ¿Ã‚ ½vision, they have not explicitly rejected it. The application of Article 1148 requires four conditions to be fulfilled simultaneously: the event is irresistible (this clearly distinguishes the force majeure fromimpr ¿Ã‚ ½vision): the event must be unforeseeable: the event is to be an outside one: The failure of suppliers or subcontractors or associates is no excuse for the contractor: the debtor is not at fault: The event should be unavoidable and absolutely beyond the control of the debtor. Article 1148, in recognizing that a contract can be discharged due to force majeure, is not mandatory law. Parties are free to give their definition to force majeure events and the judge has to respect such definition. As the roots of the classical concept of force majeure lie in the Code Napol ¿Ã‚ ½on, this concept and the present approach to the problem of changed circumstances in France, correspond widely. A greater degree of flexibility in the latter has only been noted recently. The doctrine ofimpr ¿Ã‚ ½visionis the counterpart of the concept of hardship. The former, however, is not part of French law. 4. Germany The German approach to the problem is rather flexible. Under German law, the rulepacta sunt servandais certainly not adhered to anymore in the strictest sense. This is not surprising in a country where, after World War I, the value of the items on the menu in a restaurant could change between the placing of the order and the arrival of the bill. As a general rule, section 275 of the B ¿Ã‚ ½rgerliches Gesetzbuch discharges the debtor of his obligation if, after the conclusion of the contract, its performance was rendered impossible for reasons other than negligence, his own fault, or the negligence of his employees. The impossibility of performance (Unm ¿Ã‚ ½glichkeit) can be of a physical or legal nature. The performance may still be possible at a later time without unreasonable damage to the other party. As a consequence of World War I, some judges and legal scholars began advocating the doctrine ofUnm ¿Ã‚ ½glichkeitfor application to economic impossibility. According to such experts, the debtor cannot be forced to comply with efforts or sacrifices which are beyond what parties reasonably envisaged in good faith. This doctrine is called Opfergrenze. The doctrine ofOpfergrenzeis a suitable stepping stone to the famous German doctrine of theWegfall der Gesch ¿Ã‚ ½ftsgrundlage. According to the latter doctrine, every contract has a basic aim, emanating from a basic intention of the parties, which cannot be achieved or realised in the absence of an existing environment, e.g. the prevailing economic and social order, the value of the currency, normal political conditions, etc. This definition of theGesch ¿Ã‚ ½ftsgrundlagebears close resemblance to therebus sic stantibus doctrine in international public law treaties. A line should be drawn between the so-called erg ¿Ã‚ ½nzende Vertragsauslegung (an interpretation of the contract which fills gaps) and theGesch ¿Ã‚ ½ftsgrundlagenlehre.According to the former, which requires a gap in the contract, the function of the judge is to complete the contract, whereby he should give an interpretation of what the parties actually would have wanted if a given event had been contemplated. According to theGesch ¿Ã‚ ½ftsgrundlagenlehre, the judge is not only allowed to complete a contract, but depending on the object of the contract, the judge can also change its terms or terminate it. There is a little difference and if so, not an essential difference between the reasoning in the classical force majeure concept and the German reasoning in theUnm ¿Ã‚ ½glichkeit. Furthermore, the doctrine of theWegfall der Gesch ¿Ã‚ ½ftsgrundlage, aiming at an adaptation of the contract, is very similar to the concept of hardship. 5. South Africa Until 1919, there was a general assumption that . . . no difference between South African law and English law on the effect of supervening impossibility. The English approach was adopted in a number of cases until the case ofPeters, Flamman andCo v. Kokstad Municipality was decided. According to this case, if a person is prevented from performing his contract byvis majororcasus fortuitus. . . he is discharged from liability. In applying the principle that supervening impossibility discharges the contract, impossibility must be given the same meaning as when initial impossibility is under consideration, i.e., the impossibility must be absolute (as opposed to probable and relative) and it must not be the fault of either party. Most important is the fact that, ifvis majororcasus fortuitushas made it uneconomical for a party to carry out its obligations, it does not mean that it has become impossible. Additionally, sincePeters,Flamman and Co.there is no room in South African law for the English doctrine of frustration. The decision in the recent case ofKok v. Osborne and Another, however, could be a first step toward recognition of the concept of commercial impossibility in South African law. The plaintiff in this case (Mrs. Kok) entered into a contract of sale as the buyer . . . wrongly assumed that the seller had already been paid by a third person. The court held that the contract between the litigants hinged on the assumption that the defendant indeed had been paid, which in fact did not happen, and that the contract failed due to supervening impossibility of performance. In this case, the courts opintion was that South African law recognises commercial impracticability as a form of supervening impossibility as does the English. This decision, however, has been heavily criticised by commentators for different reasons. As a result, the doctrine of frustration under the English law is not a recognised part of South African law. Moreover, it is properly stated that supervening impossibility is not applicable in the present case. For these reasons, it is not likely that the case ofKok v. Osborne and Anotherconstitutes the starting point for a change in the South African approach to the problem of changing circumstances. Thus, one can conclude that the South African approach corresponds with the concept of force majeure. Situations of hardship do not discharge a party of its liability. ARTICLE 79 CISG Article 79 is the provision of the CISG, that deals with situations of changed circumstances. More precisely, it deals with the circumstances in which the buyer or seller may be excused from performance of his contractual obligations because of an extraneous event that is judged sufficiently important to warrant the excuse. This is a situation which is referred to as frustration, force majeure orWegfall der Gesch ¿Ã‚ ½ftsgrundlagein different legal systems. In subsequent chapters the legislative history of Article 79 and its significance for international trade will be outlined. Its contents, scope of application, and legal effect will also be analysed and evaluated. A. The significance of the CISG for international sales transactions Never before has the increase in international commerce been as significant as it has been during recent decades. Many difficulties occur in the context of an international sale of goods as a consequence of the considerable differences in the national rules governing the law of sales. Thus, the expanding volume of international sales requires a common understanding of the legal rights and duties among partners to an international transaction. The CISG is understood as a modern uniform substitute for the wide array of foreign legal systems. It is based on the Uniform Law for the International Sale of Goods (ULIS) and the Uniform Law on the Formation of Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (ULF), drafted by the Rome Institute. These two Conventions had a rather limited success; only nine countries have become members. The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), therefore, in a further attempt to unify the law governing the international sale of goods, prepared the Draft Convention on Contract for the International Sale of Goods. This was finalised at a diplomatic conference in Vienna in 1980 and entered into force in 1988. Nations are now ratifying or acceding to this Convention at a pace comparable to that of the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards when it was promulgated. The latter is said to be the most successful instance of international legislation in the history of commercial law. The CISG harmonised interests and ideas of different legal systems and of countries on different levels of economic development. Thus, a text that is suited for implementation in civil law countries and common law countries and for economies that are developed and those which are developing. According to Article 1, the Convention applies to international contracts for the sale of goods (if the parties have not rejected its application in their contract Article 6) when the States where the parties have their places of business, are in different contracting states, or the rules of private international law lead to the application of the law of a Contracting State. As more than fifty countries have already enacted the Convention, among them major trading nations like the United States, Germany, France, or China, the Convention can apply to a large number of transactions. This number will continue to increase with the accession of further countries to the CISG. Only ten years after entering into force, the Convention can already be considered a success. Its significance for international sales transactions will increase in future years. B. Legislative history of Article 79 1. The role of legislative history As previously discussed, the CISG was created to free international commerce from a babel of diverse domestic legal systems. The ultimate goal of the Convention is the uniform application of the uniform rules. The Convention will often be applied by tribunals (judges or arbitrators) who are only intimately familiar with their own domestic law. These tribunals will be subject to a natural tendency to read the international rules in the light of the legal ideas of those specific systems. In order to control the damage, there will be long-range correctives through international critique of questionable interpretations; to this end measures have been taken for the collection and publication of caselaw produced under the Convention, e.g., CLOUT (Case Law On UNCITRAL Texts). These measures, however, take time to become effective. Fortunately, there need not be a delay in using the legislative history, which sets out the evolution of the uniform law, to counteract the tendency to view the Convention through the lenses of domestic law. The Conventions legislative history provides an international reference point in applying the uniform international law, and its record clarifies the purpose and in tent of the Conventions words. 2. The evolution of Article 79 Article 79 is a revised version of the exemption clause in ULIS (Article 74). Its development, as a part of the CISG, went through three stages: (1) The UNCITRAL Working Group (1970-1977); (2) Review by the full Commission (1977-1978); (3) The Diplomatic Conference (1980). Article 74 ULIS was criticised during the discussions of the Working Group. The clause was thought to make it too easy for the promisor to excuse his non-performance of the contract. Grounds for relief were not only physical or legal impossibility, or circumstances which fundamentally altered the character of the performance owed, but the provision could also apply to situations where performance had unexpectedly been made more difficult. Several members of the Working Group were, therefore, in favour of restricting the grounds for relief and making them more objective. The Working Group set up a drafting party, but it could not agree on a revised wording. It submitted a draft which was provisionally adopted by the drafting party (Alternative A) and an alternative proposal of the Norwegian observer (Alternative B). Following a study by the British delegate, the Working Group adopted a version which largely followed Alternative A. This based the promisors liability on fault, but transferred the basic concept of the impediment taken from Alternative B into the first paragraph. The version was adopted as Article 50 in the 1976 Geneva Draft. In reformulating the grounds for exemption in Article 51 of the 1977 Vienna Draft, the former Article 50, the requirement of the promisor not being at fault was abandoned and replaced by an objective test of the impediment beyond control. The 1978 New York Draft adopted Article 51 of the Vienna Draft relatively unchanged as Article 65. At the Vienna Conference, the Norwegian delegation proposed that paragraph (3) be supplemented by stating that if a temporary impediment ceased and the circumstances had radically changed to such an extent that it would clearly be unreasonable to continue to hold the promisor to his obligation, he should be released from that obligation. It was, however, argued that such an extension would introduce theth ¿Ã‚ ½orie de limpr ¿Ã‚ ½visioninto the Convention, and the proposal was therefore rejected. There was, nevertheless, agreement that the limitation in paragraph (3) should be deleted, i.e., that an exemption was only for the period during which the impediment existed. Contents of Article 79 CISG The meaning and purpose of the different provisions of Article 79 will now be considered in more detail. 1. The general rule paragraph (1) Paragraph (1) sets out the conditions under which a party is not l