Laws and Legislation Essay

Main principles: The Act sets out the general guidelines that employers have towards employees, and employees have to themselves and to each other . These guidelines are set in the Act by the principle of so far as is reasonably practicable. In other words, an employer does not have to take measures to avoid or reduce the risk if they are technically impossible or if the time, trouble or cost of the measures would be grossly disproportionate to the risk. This also includes and mandatory training that must be completed before commencing in the work place i.e Moving and handling. Influence in my own job role: In my job role I refer to this act daily as I continually risk assess any type of situation and ensure I adhere to this act at all times by ensuring that I do not put myself or others at any risk. With new staff members, I ensure that they are allocated a place on the next Moving and Handling course and ensure that they are not working with any tenant that may include using hoists etc. Control of substances hazardous to health regulation 2002 COSHH is the law that requires employers to control substances that may be hazardous to health. This can be prevented by finding out what the health hazards are by contacting the company of any cleaning product etc and gaining a data sheet for this. deciding how to prevent harm to health by completing a risk assessment for each cleaning product as per the Data Sheet. providing control measures to reduce harm to health. After completing the risk assessment, decide whether to used the product. making sure they are used by including ways to prevent i.e skin contact with a hazardous substance and ways this can be resolved if this does happen. Ensuring that all risk assessments are reviewed regularly. Influence in my own job role: Again I use this in my every day working life as I ensure that all cleaning products have data sheets and no product that has not been risk assessed is used. I also ensure that no bleach products are used in the tenants own homes. I also ensure that the risk assessments are reviewed every 6 months. RIDDOR regulations 1995 Main Principles: This regulation requires employers to report job related injuries that result in 3 or more days off work. Also the employer must report and outbreak of illness or disease in the workplace. This is in accordance with the Health and Safety at work Act 1974. This helps the Health and Safety Executive to investigate and find out ways of preventing workplace injuries. Influence in my job role: I use knowledge of this regulation all the time in my day to day job. As a senior support worker I ensure that any injury sustained in correctly written up and reported to the correct people. Personal Protective Equipment at work regulation 1992 The Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992 cover equipment intended to be used by a person at work that requires protection against health and safety risks. This includes protective clothing (e.g. overalls, weatherproof clothing, gloves, safety footwear) as well as equipment such as protective eyewear and safety harnesses. Influence in my job role. I use PPE every day in my job as I am required to carry out personal care on service users. This is to protect myself from any health and safety risks e.g slipping on floors, cutting myself, cross contamination. I also ensure that all support worker use PPE where applicable. The Data Protection act 1998 The purpose of the Act is to protect the rights and privacy of individuals, and to ensure that data about them are not gathered without their knowledge and are gained with their consent wherever possible. The Act covers personal data relating to living people. There are 8 main principles to this act which are: 1. Personal data shall be processed fairly and lawfully 2. Personal data shall be obtained only for a specified and lawful purpose or purposes, and shall not be further processed in any manner incompatible with that purpose or purposes 3. Personal data shall be adequate, relevant and not excessive in relation to the purpose or purposes for which they are processed. 4. Personal data shall be accurate and, where necessary, kept up to date. 5. Personal data processed for any purpose shall not be kept for longer than is necessary for that purpose 6. Personal data shall be processed in accordance with the rights of data subjects under the Data Protection Act 7. Appropriate technical and organisational measures shall be taken to prevent the unauthorised or unlawful processing of personal data and the accidental loss, destruction of or damage to personal data. 8. Personal data shall not be transferred to a country or territory outside the European Economic Area unless that country or territory ensures an adequate level of protection for the rights and freedoms of data subjects in relation to the processing of personal data. ( Taken from www.soac.co.uk) Influence in my own job role. I use this in my day to day job as I ensure that myself and all staff uphold confidentiality at all times. I ensure that records beloning to the service user are kept in their own homes and only them and any significant others have access to them. I also ensure that all staff including myself record any data regarding the tenant clearly and factually, and again this is kept in the tenants own home. SSSC Codes of practice. The Code of Practice for Social Service Workers describe the standards of professional conduct and practice required of social service workers as they go about their daily work. They describe that responsibilities if the employer towards the employee and the responsibilities of the employee themselves. Influence in my own job role I continually revise these codes of practice and adhere to them in my day to day life. I ensure that all support workers that I supervise have a good knowledge of these and also encourage them to continually revise them to gain a knowledge of these. My employer ensures that I have all the mandatory training that I need to enable me to carry out my job to the best of my ability and with the knowledge and skills to perform in an acceptable way. National care Standards. These are standards set by the government to ensure that all individuals in care are able to lead a fulfilling life. The 6 standards are: Choice Dignity Privacy Equality and Diversity Realising Potential Influence in my own job role I use these standards to influence the way I support my tenants. As I work in a supported living service, it is very easy to become insitutionalised by ‘doing everything’ for the tenant. By following the 6 main principles I ensure that the tenant can so as much as they can themselves. I support them to set goals for themselves and support them in their day to day life. The Disability Discrimination act 1995 The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 aims to end the discrimination that faces many people with disabilities. It now gives people with disabilities rights in the areas of: employment   education   access to goods, facilities and services, including larger private clubs and transport services buying or renting land or property, including making it easier for people with disabilities to rent property and for tenants to make disability-related adaptations functions of public bodies, for example issuing of licences The legislation requires public bodies to promote equality of opportunity for people with disabilities. It also allows the government to set minimum standards so that people with disabilities can use public transport easily (taken from www.nidirect.gov.uk) Influences in my own Job role: I continually adhere to this act in day to day life. I support tenants to gain employment and explain their own rights to them so that if they encounter any problems e,g gaining access to somewhere, then I will help them to take the steps required to change something and to be able to have easy access anywhere. The Mental Health act 2003 This act covers individuals with mental health problems who may need to be admitted to hospital due to health problems that may not be deemed as important to that individual due to their mental health problems. This can be done against their will if it in the individuals best interests. Influence in my own job role. As I work with a couple of individuals with mental health problems I have knowledge of this act and if that individual is suffering in any way, shape or form, I will ensure that I contact the relevant individuals to ensure the safety of the tenant is in my best interests. Adults with incapacity act 2000 This guide outlines who the Act can help and the arrangements that can be put in place to give others authority to act or make decisions for someone who lacks capacity to do so for him/herself. It explains what is meant by ‘incapacity’ and sets out the principles to be followed by everyone who is authorised to act on behalf of someone with incapacity. Influence in my job role I do not directly use this in my job role but I am aware of this as there are a couple of individuals who are deemed to not have capacity and they have family members who are welfare guardian and also financial appointees. I am aware the person appointed as welfare guardian can make decision about that individuals life, health etc over and above that individual as long as it is in the individuals best interests. Public services reform act 2010 This act ensures that all governed care companies are inspected by the SCSWIS to ensure that all rights of individuals in our care are upheld. Influence in my job role This influences me in my job role on a daily basis as, as a company we strive to better ourselves continually and work on improving our service that we deliver in adherence to the most recent inspection by SCSWIS. When there is an inspection I have involvement with this by either filling in staff questionnaires, supporting tenants to fill in service user questionnaires and also, if on shift, talking with the inspector.

Modern medicine helps to live a longer life Essay

Modern medicine helps to live a longer life. Do you agree? The modern medicine is very important for living a long life. It is depend on new technology. People take very easy and quickly. Also modern medicine is very quick absorbing to human body. It is helps to back to normal for people health condition. Therefore I agree that the modern medicine is helps to live longer. First of all, the modern medicine can prevent incurable diseases. Doctors can find some diseases very early. Then doctors can give suitable medicines to patients. New modern equipments are helpsdoctors is going to correct way. Also intelligent people in the world live a long life on helps from modern medicine. That is very important in the human society because their creative things are coming with them and they can help others for a longer time when they are livingin long life with comfortably. Beside, old population is increasing in the country. It is badly effect incountry’s economy and especially for third world countries. But old people are very important in human society because their experience definitely helps to living safely and planning to new project. ‘Experience is better than qualifications’ However, old people are living a long life; it is helping others to live a long life because we can get advice from them and they are covering our culture and society. Moreover, modern medicine is being addictive for some people, so that they cannot live without medicine. They should take medicine all their lives. Also modern medicine is very expensive. Therefore most of poor countries couldn?t take modern medicine and it has taken a commercial shape, also it is depending on money. In the modern medicine have not facts of human kindness. People who have money can take modern medicine. But indigenous medicine has well human friendly shape. It does not depend on money. To summarize; in my personal view, modern medicine is helping to live a long life with comfortably. Modern technologies are being supported to find unburnable diseases very early. So doctors can takecorrect path immediately. Therefore, may I not hesitate to agree with the above mentioned statement.

Knowledge of Minds Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Knowledge of Minds - Essay Example This way our mind goes through several experiences which enables the mind to exercise and imagines various objects which in our real life we often found close to reality. It is our mind that asks us to believe in paranormal activities, unsolved mysteries because it creates an impression before us which one way or the other our subconscious believes. Therefore we can say that humans despite having no idea of mind possess the capability to have in depth knowledge about the objects and instances the mind creates. Our mind acts as the gateway to human wisdom and ideas that flow and allow themselves to be accepted by us. Therefore the thoughts that come to us, the ideas we generate and the emotions we are overwhelmed with are all the objects that our mind allows us to perceive and we perceive them. However it depends upon inner extent to how much we are able to drink all the knowledge that our mind creates for us. Berkeley also claims that intuitive knowledge can also be achieved from our mind. For example, he says that if a table exists, it means it has been experienced, that is it is present whether one utilizes it or not. If one person does not get the chance to see the table, does not mean that anybody has accessed it. By some how the table is seen by some one. Abstract ideas are not the ultimate creation of the minds alone, abstractness exists. Berkeley uses the 'spirit' for such abstractness which as far as I have understood is the ability of human mind to feel paranormal activities. I have named abstractness as 'paranormal' because often it appears for a millisecond that we consumed with abstract thoughts which we don't believe. These are all the mind capabilities to show us living or non living objects this way. This is similar to the above example of table, that if a table or an object exists it is not possible that it exists in void, it is real. And since the table is real, therefore our mind is able to process its image, its length, breadth, colour and shape. However the more clear the sense of touch, smell and colour is, the more we allow our minds to perceive better but in order to allow our mind, we need to be 'free' to think and consider various abstractness and imaginations that our mind creates before us. Therefore it is our mind that provides intuition to us in this manner and this is evident from the fact that we have imaginations, abstractness and impressions. In reality we do not have such capabilities to image or to make an impression of something. It is the capability of our mind to shape our intuition before us. Berkeley suggests that it is practically not possible for us to divide our visions of perception. One cannot divide the senses through which it can perceive objects. The word 'rose' make us think of a rose with colour, stem and leaves. If for some reason we divide our abilities to think only the flower, not leaves or fragrance, it would be abstract. If one trains his mind to perceive this way he can no longer continue with the same abstract perception for the impracticality of the subject. That means our

Social Performance, Part 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Social Performance, Part 2 - Essay Example In this regards, Total Company has some similar code of ethics with other companies. For instance, among the common ethics in most of the companies in similar industry is code of conduct towards the shareholders and the owners. The shareholders and owners should look for a fair way of balancing between capital and work in a manner that employees bet a fair pay in commensurate with work done. It is the duty of the shareholders to design their company as one of the greatest instruments to generate wealth, make their irrefutable objecting of earning a profit in line with sustainable, sound environmentally and social development, and also ensure that all the activities are done responsively and in an ethical manner. In addition, the company shareholders have to define and uphold the values and mission of the company in accordance to its code of ethics (Marianna Sigala, 2012). As in the case of other companies, there have been loop holes when it comes to implementation of their code of et hics. For instance, there has been a conflict of interest between the owners of the company and the company itself. The owners of the company have been using company assets for their own gain therefore leading to lack of transparency. This has led to strained relationship between the shareholders and the management. ... In relation to company clients and suppliers, there has been a continuous strained relationship between the company and its suppliers. The suppliers are not paid in time as expected and have resulted in delays in supplies. The choice of suppliers has been another big problem since some of them could not uphold best business practices and respect human dignity. Good business ethics provides for the choice of suppliers who respects and upholds good business practices (Ladd, 2011). With the issue of competition, the other companies have been using their market position to intimidate companies whose market share is still small. Code of ethics should ensure that there is no abuse of weaker competitors in the market place. There has been also discrimination of employees basing on their nationality, sex and age. After criticizing the shortcomings of other organizations, Total Company has designed the following code of ethics: Prohibition of conflict of interest and bribery- activities of th e company should be conducted with the highest level of integrity. Both the employees and the external stakeholders are expected to reject corruption and bribery in all forms Labor rights- Total Company ensures that its employee operational policies and practices prevent and prohibit forced labour, child labor and discrimination and respect international labour standards Contributions to local development- the company offers employment to local people and also participates in education, economic health development programs and infrastructures. Security and Human rights- the company is committed to respecting the protection of Human rights and implements the generally acceptable

Autogenic training and stress management strategies Essay

Autogenic training and stress management strategies - Essay Example The effectiveness of the technique and its popularity in the modern age are also the part of the paper under discussion. Before embarking upon the topic under study, it would be appropriate to define some terms used in the present paper. Psychoanalysis: Psychoanalysis is a method for the investigation of mental processes inaccessible by other means. At the same time, psychoanalysis is also a therapeutic method for neurotic disorders. (freudfile.org/psychoanalysis/definition.html). In other words, psychoanalysis simply means application of an in-depth analysis of human mind and emotions which are helpful in exploring fears, dreams, wishes and anxieties hidden in his subconscious. Stress: Stress is the bodys response to any demand or pressure. (Smith & Pergola). In other words, stress is the reaction of any unpleasant load out of fear and anxiety that tells upon mind and body resulting into imbalance and uneven mental condition of the individual. Mental unevenness paves the way towards physical sickness and ailment. Strategy: Strategy is the term that signifies policy making and planning in order to achieve some specific goals. It serves as a guideline while solving the problems and meeting with the goals. Similarly, therapeutic strategic management defines the systematic way of managing the outline leading towards ultimate relaxation free from mental and physical stress and retardations. The contemporary world is the world of explorations and scientific revolutions in all professional fields, which has introduced various methods and procedures to make life more and more comfortable and relaxed one. Professionalism in every department and inclusion of specialists in all areas has provided the individuals with opportunities of broad and comprehensive counseling related to both their private and professional life. The services of experienced professionals are sought out for

Defending beauty as in Whats wrong with beauty and being beautiful Essay

Defending beauty as in Whats wrong with beauty and being beautiful - Essay Example al – referring to the professional environment; a careful review of the conditions of a specific workplace can lead to the assumption that beauty can be a powerful tool supporting the communication but it is not a criterion for the professional development – neither of the males nor of the females. The issue of beauty and its influence on the various aspects of personal, social and professional life has been examined in the literature and the empirical research. Indicatively, we could refer to the study of Derenne et al. (2006, 257) who noticed that ‘throughout history, the ideal of beauty has been difficult to achieve and has been shaped by social context; current mass media is ubiquitous and powerful, leading to increased body dissatisfaction among both men and women; parents need to limit children’s exposure to media, promote healthy eating and moderate physical activity, and encourage participation in activities that increase mastery and self-esteemâ₠¬â„¢. In other words, personal perceptions on beauty are likely to be developed – at their primary stage – during the early years of the human life; the images of the media and the press can influence the perceptions of children on beauty and lead them to the development of specific assumptions regarding the power of beauty and its role in the various aspects of personal and social life. Current paper focuses on the examination of the various aspects of beauty as a tool for the achievement of specific personal targets; beauty is related with a series of achievements in the professional and the social life but not for the reason that could be primarily thought of. Beauty – in opposition with the views of Wolf in her book Beauty Myth – is not the final target of males and females in countries across the international community; it is rather the tool of the achievement of such targets (either in the short or the long term). The influence of beauty on a person’s psychology cannot be doubted. In a

The impact of tobacco smoking on the academic performance Essay

The impact of tobacco smoking on the academic performance - Essay Example The study’s hypothesis is that use of tobacco leads to poor academic performance. The study involves an extensive review of the literature that is associated with this area, and then a primary data collection through face-to-face interview and filling of questionnaires. A total of 40 males students are randomly selected to participate in the study, which takes place at Queens Mary University. The questionnaire and the interview questions are framed in a manner to provide both qualitative and quantitative approach of data analysis. Regression analysis by the use of SPSS is conducted analyses the quantitative data, while the qualitative data is coded and common themes identified. The findings of the study are that the students who have used tobacco for many years score poor grades in their academic work. Some of the reasons identified as the causes of poor academic performance include lack of completion of assignments, absenteeism, poor memory and lack of ability to read. The st udy recommends further research to identify the causation effect of the variables. Key words: Use of tobacco; Addiction; academic performance; cognitive. INTRODUCTION Smoking of tobacco in institutions of higher learning is a common scenario that has caused a lot of concern because of the side effects that are associative with such substances. The impact of smoking in the brain includes occurrence of numerous physical changes, which can significantly impair the process of learning and concentrations hence lower the level of academic performance by in students in the institutions of higher learning. Study conducted by a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [15] found that smoking of tobacco can have dire consequences on the academic performance of students. Some of the impacts they cited include lower level of concentration and activity, which occurs due to lack of nicotine in the body, for the time that the students stays away from smoking to attend classes; and high rate of absenteeism because the smoker’s immune system is weakened and hence susceptible to myriads of diseases such as asthma, bronchitis, and cold. In view of this, smoking of tobacco is potentially harmful to academic performance. This study will be aimed at identifying the impact of tobacco smoking on the academic performance of the students from Queen Mary University. LITERATURE REVIEW Use of tobacco among university students is a common trend and its impact is potentially hazardous in different ways, including impeding the level of academic performance. Some of the immediate risks include abuse and dependence, as well as numerous others psychological and physical impacts [13]. A study by Jones and Heaven [11] shows that not all smokers experience problems when they engage in smoking, while psychological risk model displays an intricate relationship between personality and individual factors, drug-taking behavior, and family and environmental factors. Lynskey et al. [14] and Ha n, McGue and Iacono [7] demonstrated that social and environmental factors rather than genetic factors influence use of substances. Most of the researchers in this field have cited common risk factors such as delinquent peers, depressive symptomatology, family functioning, child abuse, parenting style and expectancies, substance using, and antisocial behavior [e.g. 9]. It is also believed that use of substances can increase the risk of taking harmful drugs. The theory of gateway explains how the successive use of a particular substance to another is attained, but the issues of causal attribution and the exact sequencing are still not clear and further research is needed to shed more light [12]. Use of substances from very early ages has been associated with poor academic performa

Nurse Coping Procedures Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Nurse Coping Procedures - Research Paper Example Coping up with the stress is quite significant; however, it is often noted that the nurses find themselves in such circumstances where the key source of stress is difficult to be abolished or at least controlled considerably (Lambert & Lambert, 2008). The chief objective of this paper is to identify the ways in which nurses can effectively cope up with the various stressors persisting in their daily work-life. The study also attempts at comprehending how nurses can individually cope up with the consequences of stress, rendering due significance to the steps taken by the hospital authorities towards assisting them in dealing with the problems. Stress can be defined as the emotional and physical response which an individual tends to experience when he/she perceives an imbalance between the demands placed upon them and the resources availed. Stress becomes most apparent when there is a requirement of coping with such grave issues (Greenberg, 2008). It is to be mentioned that stress may range from major physical crisis such as a heart attack to minor symptoms such as tiredness and interrupted sleep patterns. Thus, it is quite significant for the nurses to identify and administer the early symptoms of stress so that they can deter serious effects related to stress upon their health (Kane, 2008). It is quite significant to study in details the various stressors that are learned to hamper the productivity and lives of the nurses in their daily work-life. It has been noted that most of the nurses offer direct care to the patients and, thus, they become emotionally attached to the patients. Furthermore, a few of them are even observed to be emotionally abused by their patients. In the current scenario, the workload is also regarded as another major contributor towards stress among the nurses. Lack of support and poor working relationship with the doctors also lead to stress and thus hamper the day to day activities of the nurses.     Ã‚  

Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 11

Management - Essay Example Mergers of existing power player like Vodafone and Hochstein also made the situation more vulnerable for entrants, thus making them mighty and unbeatable. For better hold on coverage, working in collaboration with government is highly beneficial for entrants (ZDNet Australia). Due to substantial growth in the industry over a decade, industry has reached a level of saturation. Therefore, there is a considerable decline in prices and rise in number of buyers. They include kids from 12 years of age to adults 0f 60 years. Buyers are driving force for providers; in order to keep them loyal Miller Ltd. needs to provide and edge in price for competitive advantage. Mobile service industry in Australia is multiple sectors. In a flourishing industry like Australian telecommunication, monopoly can’t survive is today’s market. Market is diverse which include manufacturing of hardware, carriage service providers (CSPs), content service providers and retailers. The report by Economic access and ATMA briefly describe the market. Ericsson Australia, Nokia Siemens and Alcatel-Lucent are infrastructure provider in hardware sector. Nokia, Samsung, LG, i-Mate have market in consumer goods. CSPs provide services by utilizing carrier network infrastructure and have different levels; mobile telecommunication carriers in Australia are; Telstra, Vodafone, Optus, and Hutchison’s ‘3’ and Orange. Resellers services include; Primus Mobile, AAPT, Virgin mobile, B Digital, DigiPlus, Sim Plus, People TelecomM8 Telecom and Dodo Mobile. MVNOs or Mobile Virtual Network Operators are basically wholesalers and provide value adding services.B Digital, Revolution, People telecom Primus Telecom and Boost Mobile are a few to name. Content service providers, aggregators and program developers are other dimensions of service providers; Legion Interactive, Touch and Infospace are main content aggregators. CSPs have their own retailers like Hutchison ’s ‘3’ but other

Interview Questions for Manager Profiles Essay Example for Free

Interview Questions for Manager Profiles Essay Q1.What do you think are the challenges for Hero MotoCorp at this moment? Q2.What steps would you take to meet the challenges? Â  Q3.Describe a situation in which you were required to handle an unsatisfactory customer. Q4.How has your previous company benefited from you? Â  Q5.What are the most important skills that are required for this job profile? Which of these do you have and don’t have? Q6.What life lessons does a management degree teach? Â  Q7. Tell us about a time when, as a team leader, you had to deal with a difficult situation professionally. How did you solve the issue keeping the team members in purview? Q8.What are the two significant trends in the two wheeler industry today? Q9.Describe a situation when you had to convince a non-supporting team member to consider your plan of action. Q10.What was your specialization in your management studies? Q11.What was going on in your mind when you decided on the management specialization subjects? Q12.How has your previous job experience helped you personally and professionally? Q13.Describe your usual work week. What kinds of works do you do as a manager? General Interview Questions for Hero MotoCorp Ltd Q1.Tell us something about yourself. Q2.What are your hobbies? Q3.What is your vision for Hero MotoCorp? Q4.How did you come to know about Hero MotoCorp? What made you apply here? Q5.Give us reasons why you want to work in this company and not any other. Q6.How do you think will you make a difference in the company? Q7.Which product or service of Hero MotoCorp interests you the most? Why? Q8.How do you see yourself 5 years from now? Q9.What is your expectation in terms of salary? Q10.Tell us about the competitors of Hero MotoCorp. How do these competitors rate in comparison to this company? Q11.How would you describe your role in Hero MotoCorp, if you are hired?

Tesco The Customer Relationship Champion Marketing Essay

Tesco The Customer Relationship Champion Marketing Essay The Tesco story dates back to 1919 when Jack Cohen, an ex-army man, setup a grocery business in Londons East End. In 1924 Cohen purchased a shipment of tea from a company named T E Stockwell. He used the first three letters of this companys name, added the Co from his name and branded the tea Tesco. Reportedly, he was so enamoured of that he named his entire business Tesco. The first store under the Tesco name was opened in 1929 in Burnt Oak, Edgware. The company grew rapidly in the years that followed, and evolved into a general food retailing outfit. By 1930, around 100 stores were operating under the Tesco Label  [1]  . Realising that the self-service mode of running supermarkets prevalent in the USA worked out much cheaper than the traditional mode of and enabled companies to offer their merchandise at lower prices, Cohen decided to adopt the same for Tesco stores. In 1948, the first self-service Tesco was opened in St Albans. Over the next few years, Tesco grew to 400 stores many of which were purchased by Cohen from other smaller shopping store chains in the country. In the early 1960s, the company began selling clothing, household goods and fresh food in addition to groceries. Tesco pioneered the large format stores concept in the UK with the launch of a 16,500 sq. Ft. store in Leicester in 1961  [2]  . A Master in CRM: Every three months, millions of people in the UK receive mailers from the countrys number one retailer, Tesco. Nothing exceptional about the concept all most all leading retailers across the world send out mailers/magazines to their customers. These initiatives promote the stores products, introduce promotional schemes and contain discount coupons. However what sets Tesco apart from such run-of-the-mill initiatives is the fact that Tesco mass-customises these mailers. Every mailer has a unique combination of articles, advertisements related to Tescos offerings, and third party advertisements as well. Tesco ensures that all of its customers receive mailers which contain material suited to their lifestyles. The company has worked out a mechanism for determining the advertisements and promotional coupons that would go in each of the over 150,000 variants of the mailers. This has been made possible by Tescos world-renowned CRM strategy framework. The Clubcard scheme (launched in 1995) laid the foundations of this CRM framework that made Tesco post growth figures in an industry that had been stagnating for a long time. The data collected through Clubcards formed the basis for formulating strategies that offered personalised services in a cost-effective manner  [3]  . CRM The Tesco Way: Tescos efforts towards offering better services to its customers and meeting their needs can be traced back to the days when it positioned itself as a company that offered good quality products at extremely competitive prices. Even its decision to offer premium end merchandise and services in the 1970s was prompted by growing customer demand for the same. In 1994, the company launched the One in Front scheme to reduce the time customers had to spend waiting at check-out counters. Under this scheme, Tesco store personnel ensured that if there was more than one person at any counter, another counter would be opened for the person in the line. In this way none of the customers have to wait at the check-out counters. Of course, it is not possible for Tesco to adhere this policy during peak trading hours. Nevertheless, this effort to improve customer was appreciated by customers  [4]  . The biggest customer service initiative (and the first focused CRM drive) came in the form of the Clubcard which was launched in 1995. This initiative was partly inspired by the growing popularity of such schemes in other parts of the world and partly by Tescos belief that it would be able to serve its customers in a much better (and profitable) manner by using such a scheme. Tesco knew that at any of its stores, the top 100 customers were worth as much as the bottom 4,000 (in terms of sales). While the top five percent customers accounted for twenty percent of sales, the bottom twenty five percent only accounted for only two percent. The company realised that by giving extra attention to top customers (measured by the frequency of purchases and the amount spent), it stood to gain a lot  [5]  . In May 1994, Tesco began testing the Clubcard loyalty scheme at two of its stores for a period of six months. The scheme started off like any other loyalty card scheme. Customers became members by paying a joining fee and providing personal details such as name, address, date of birth, e-mail, family composition, dietary requirements and product preferences. Impressed with the programs results over six months, the company introduced the scheme in all of its stores by February 1995. All the transactions were linked to individual customer profiles and generated over 50 Gigabytes of data every week. The analysis of the data enabled Tesco to accurately pin-point the time when purchases were made, the amount customer spent, and the kinds of products purchased. Based on the amount spent and the frequency of shopping, customers were classified into four broad categories: Premium, Standard, Potential and Uncommitted Further, profiles were created for all customers on the basis of the types o f products they purchased. Customers were categorised along dimensions such as, Value, Convenience, Frozen, Healthy Eating, Fresh and Kids  [6]  . Tesco also identified over 5,000 need segments based on the purchasing habits and behaviour patterns of its customers. Each of these segments could be targeted specifically with tailor-made campaigns and advertisements. Tesco also identified eight primary life stage need segments based on the profiles of its customers. These segments included single adults, pensioners and urban professionals among others. Another classification of customers developed from the insights generated through data mining. Using this information regarding the classification of customers, Tescos marketing department devised customised strategies for each category. Pricing information and product related decisions were taken after considering the preferences of customers. Also, customers received communications that were tailored to their buying patterns. The data collected through the Clubcard scheme allowed Tesco to modify its strategies on various fronts such as pricing, inventory management, shopping analysis, customer acquisition, new product launches, store management, online customer behaviour and media effectiveness. The data generated by Clubcard was used innovatively, e.g. special attention give to expectant mothers in the form of personal shopping assistants, priority parking and various other facilities. Tesco also tied up with airline companies and began offering Frequent Flyer Miles to customers in return for the points on their Clubcards. Reaping the benefits: The data collected through Clubcard allowed Tesco to target individual customers (the rifle shot approach), instead of targeting them as a group (the carpet bombing approach). As the customers receive the coupons which matches their buying patterns, over twenty percent of Tescos coupons were redeemed as against the industry average of 0.5 percent. Customers falling in different categories receive mailers which are specifically for them. The mass customisation of these mailers also attracted third-party advertisers, since it assured them that their products/services would be noticed by those very customers they plan to target. Naturally, Tesco recovered a large part of its investment in this exercise through revenues generated by third-party advertisements  [7]  . When Tesco discovered that around 25 percent of its customers, who belonged to the high income bracket were defecting to rival Marks Spencer, it developed a totally new product range, Tesco Finest to lure back those customers. This range was then promoted to affluent customers through personalised promotions. As planned, the deflection of customers from this segment slowed down considerably. From Customer Service To Customer Delight: To sustain the growth achieved through the launch of Clubcard, Tesco decided to adopt a four pronged approach: launch better, bigger stores on a frequent basis; offer competitive prices (e.g. offering everyday low prices in the staples business); increase the number of products offered in the Value range; and the focus on the remote shopping services (this includes the online shopping venture). To make sure that its prices were the lowest among all retailers, Tesco employed a dedicated team of employees, called price checkers. This team checked and compared Tescos prices with those of other companies on a weekly basis. The company even helped its customers to compare prices by providing the information on Tesco.com  [8]  . Recommendations: Even though Tescos CRM efforts have resulted in superior financial performance and market share, the company has to look at its customer service standards. Tesco have spent so much time improving the way their stores look, the range of products they sell and their service processes that they may have temporarily overlooked the impact that their people can make on customers through their behaviour, they need to re-address this issue. Tesco should launch initiatives like Every Customer offered Help (ECOH). As part of ECOH, all employees should be given clear instructions about the way in which they are expected to deal with customers. Employees at the check-out counters, for instance, should be asked to be very particular about greeting the customers, offering the help to the customer and finally, wishing customers a good day. Store managers should be empowered for making the ECOH initiative successful, and they should participate whole-heartedly in the scheme. Tesco should also realise that Clubcard initiatives was just one part of the overall thrust on CRM and customer enhancement is needed to survive and excel in the intensely competitive British retail industry. Tesco therefore have to take host of initiatives in its stores to further the thrust given to customer service. Tesco should also introduce new scheduling system for the store employees to increase customer satisfaction levels. Tesco should also make it mandatory for all employees (including top level executives) to spend some time every year in the stores to help them to get acquainted with the nuances of customer service. This program will help Tesco employees to ingrain customer service as a company philosophy in all employees and it will also result in the development of many innovative ideas. Unlike Asdas customer service program, Tescos program should not require employees to get too personal with customers, as Asda have posted employees at the entrance doors to greet customers. To ensure that its CRM efforts are backed by a strong operational framework, Tesco should pay special attention to controlling costs and streamlining its supply chain. In association with its suppliers, Tesco should try to remove all non-value adding costs. Tesco should also collaborate with its suppliers to develop a Lean Thinking approach, which should focus on smart and efficient working.

Baroque Style :: essays research papers

The Baroque style was a style in which the art and artists of the time focused upon details, and intricate designs. During this time the portraits began to portray modern life, and artists turned their backs on classical tradition. Buildings were more elaborate and ornately decorated. These works of art created history and altered the progress of Western Civilization. The progress has been an uneven one. Regression and progress often alternated, and shifts in direction often occurred. Art, architecture, literature, and historical events shaped the ideas of the era we know today. Architecture such as the palace of Versailles, and artists like Caravaggio, Rembrandt, and Goya symbolize these ideas. The palace of Versailles is a grand building outside of Paris, which exhibits the characteristics of the Baroque style. It was elaborately decorated and the final product took 20 years to create. The fence is covered with a sheet of gold; every room is filled with intricate carvings and elegant figurines. Each room reflects a certain time or king by the change in furniture and style. These rooms demonstrate this with items such as back-less chairs, which were created to accommodate the clothes of the period. The materials used to create each piece also distinguish the time period. First generation furniture was made of sterling silver, and the upholstery was changed with the seasons. Second generation furniture was very elaborate and made of wood. Versailles is a perfect example of progression in Western art. The entire house displays the transition from Medieval to Renaissance to the Baroque stylings. The palace is like a museum, which shows the progress of society using art and architecture. Caravaggio was an artist of this period who was also a pioneer in art. The artists of this period began to portray modern life, instead of religious figures. Caravaggio was a violent man who came to Italy to paint. Rebelling against conventional ideas- divine intervention, Virgin Mary, and death- he came to create his own style, forcing civilization ahead, and forcing others to follow his path. His paintings show pleading through man's direct knowledge of God. By revolting against the classical traditions, he created his own style, which other artists wished to portray also. Thus, he created a forward movement in the fashion of art and architecture. Rembrandt was also an artist who wished to depict art in a new manner. "Rembrandt, although in fact he was a profound student of the classical tradition, wanted to look at every episode as if it had never been depicted before, and to try to find an equivalent for it in his own experience." (Clark, 203). "...Rembrandt's paintings

Renaissance Art Essay -- Essays Papers Arts History Papers

Renaissance Art The term renaissance, describing the period of European history from the early 14th to the late 16th century, is derived from the French word 'rebirth'. This period is described as the revival of the classical forms originally developed by the ancient Greeks and Romans, and an intensified concern with the secular life--interest in humanism and assertion of the importance of the individual. The renaissance period in art history corresponds to the beginning of the great western age of discovery and exploration, when a general desire developed to examine all aspects of nature and the world. Art, during this period, became valued -- not merely as a vehicle for religious and social identity, but even more as a mode of personal, aesthetic expression. The term early renaissance characterizes virtually all the art of the 15th century. Early renaissance artist sought to create art forms consistent with the appearance of the natural world and with their experience of human personality and behavior. These artists made an effort to go beyond straightforward transcription of nature, to instill the work of art with ideal, intangible qualities, endowing it with a beauty and significance greater and more permanent than that actually found in nature. Artists such as Donatello in sculpture, Masaccio in painting and Fillipo Brunelleschi in architecture were part of this period. Masaccio for instance gave figures the ?illusion? of live beings when characters and re...

How Charlotte Bronte Uses the Different Houses in Jane Eyre Essay

How Charlotte Bronte Uses the Different Houses in Jane Eyre In the novel Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte uses different locations in particular different houses to produce a structural base for the story and to provide a basis for Jane’s progression through life and the changes she experiences. The houses are a background to the plot of Jane Eyre that is the evolution of Jane from lonely orphan at Gateshead into an established and well-developed character at Ferndean who is Mr Rochester’s equal. Throughout the story Jane lives in many houses all that are different in certain aspects but in some aspects they are similar. One such aspect is that all the houses have a dominant male in Gateshead it is John Read in Lowood it is Mr Brocklehurst and at Thornfield even though she is equal to Mr Rochester when they are alone when guests are present she must then observe the social hierarchy which means Mr Rochester is dominant over Jane. Another similarity is that in each of different and contrasting houses there is always an over all feeling of Jane being trapped and constrained inside their walls. Jane is always fighting against the dominant males in the houses as seen when she encounters John Reed and calls him a murderer. She always rebels against the dominant male in the household until she meets Rochester who is not only the dominant male but also a kind and loving person. Apart from the dominant male in each house there is also a kind guide such as Bessie in Gateshead and Miss Temple in Lowood. There is one exception and this is in Thornfield where Mr Rochester is both the dominant male and kind presence in the house. In Jane Eyre houses play an important part in shaping and forming the structure of the nov... ...gainst the mystery of Grace Poole and her connection to Mr Rochester. Unlike her stay at Gateshead she is allowed both a social position as a governess and respect member of the house her personal situation with Mr Rochester. Since Jane is a governess and is not of the higher class that Mr Rochester is from. She cannot appear to be involved with him but this only when outsiders arrive. This also represents that Jane is not rebelling against the hypocrisy with Mr Rochester because if she were then she would not observe the social hierarchy. Like all the places Jane has lived in so far Thornfield does supply the amount of freedom that Jane would like. She is still trapped in to certain degree and she longs for something more. She wants just a bit more freedom but she cannot get that at Thornfield at the time she is there. The only place in Thornfield

Analyze Hawthornes Rhetorical Strategies

The Scarlet Letter Essay In the novel, The Scarlet Letter, the author, Nathaniel Hawthorne depicts major themes of the book through usage of various symbols. By utilizing symbolism, Hawthorne portrays humanity’s disposition towards those rejected by society and the effects of being an outcast, along with other various meanings conveyed in Hawthorne’s novel. The most obvious symbol, and the most important, is the scarlet letter that Hester is burdened to wear due to her conviction of adultery. Such symbols convey an intriguing message of hypocrisy that lies beyond the naked eye. Through his use of symbolism, a hidden message portraying hypocrisy is revealed line after line. Early in the novel, as the crowd awaits Hester to emerge, Hawthorne vividly describes a prison in which the puritan disciplinary system is symbolized. Hawthorne writes that â€Å"†¦ whatever Utopia of human virtue and happiness†(Hawthorne 45) the founders hoped to achieve, but â€Å"Hawthorne deflates the tradition of American dreams of Utopia and new social orders†(Pearl) by pointing out that both a cemetery and a prison were among the first structures to be built. However, Puritan society is based on religious enlightenment, yet despite their morals, the first structure to be built in Boston was a prison, a place of punishment, darkness, and sin. Puritan morals expect tranquility within the society and to surely repress sin, but by building a prison, they almost antagonize sin to be committed as the prison proves to be â€Å"†¦ borne the black flower of civilized society†¦ † (Hawthorne 46). The prison symbolizes corrupt society plagued by hypocrisy within the religious system as it defies puritan beliefs of a sin-free environment by bringing darkness upon social life in Boston. Hawthorne brings light upon the darkness by contrasting the prison with a rose bush that â€Å"†¦. had merely survived out of the stern old wilderness, so long after the fall of the gigantic pines and oaks that originally over-shadowed it ,- or whether, as there is fair authority for believing.. † (46). The rose bush signified â€Å"Sweet moral blossom† (46) that emerged from the hypocrisy of Puritan society. Hawthorne makes several reference to the rose bush throughout the novel as in chapter 8 when pearl claims she was â€Å"plucked by her mother off the bush of wild red roses that grew by the prison door†(102). Salvation for the prisoners is depicted by the rose bush, this symbolizes that Pearl is the key to salvation for both Hester and Dimmesdale. Pearl was born through an act of sin, as she lives in a world of sin she must be sanctified along with serving as salvation to all the characters as she represents light among darkness. To truly understand the nature of Hawthorne’s symbolism used to depict hypocrisy, one must understand the meaning of the infamous Scarlet Letter â€Å"A†. Throughout the novel, the scarlet letter â€Å"takes on several different meanings† (Pearl) for each of the characters. For the public, the letter is â€Å"taking Hester out of the ordinary relations with humanity and inclosing her in a sphere by herself†(51). Due to Hawthorne’s unique usage of symbolism â€Å"†¦ we are invited to enter a separate sphere, where both imagination and moral growth can occur†(Pearl). As Hester becomes accustomed to wearing the lettter, the meaning of the â€Å"A† gradually transcends from meaning â€Å"adulterer† to symbolizing â€Å"able† or â€Å"angel†. Apart from symbolizing the obvious, the letter also depicts a major theme of the book, hypocrisy. Puritans believe that people should not be punished for sin, however the Puritan leaders made Hester face a lifetime of embarrassment by making her wear the letter. Keep in mind these leaders are also the leaders who preach the word of God while condemning Hester revealing their nature of hypocrisy. Hawthorne’s symbolism usage leads the reader to reflect on why followers of a religion that stood for forgiveness would merciless condemn its own for the most rational actions. Symbols portrayed in The Scarlet Letter range from representing the hypocrisy and corruptness of Puritan society, to showing how salvation can exist in a world full of sin.

Nursing Research Article

Lung cancer has been named the second leading killer of American women second to heart disease.   It is estimated that 20% of deaths among women occur from lung cancer (medinet.com).   According to the American cancer society, lung cancer accounts for up to 28 % of mortality rates among men.   The risk factors associated to lung cancer are smoking of cigarettes, marijuana, exposure to talcum and radioactive gases and asbestos and so on. These compounds are said to trigger growth of malignant cells thus causing cancer (medinet.com). Melissa Conrad Stoppler, MD a board certified Anatomic pathologist based in US in her article lung cancer (medicine Net.com) points out that lung cancer is a life threatening cancer that spreads very fast to other parts of the body and is a very difficult cancer to treat.   She clears up the myth that lung cancer only occurs among smokers.   Non-smokers are also prone to developing lung cancer and of the 170,000 lung cancer deaths in America, 10% of them are non-smokers. Of these deaths among non-smokers, not all the cases can be traced to any identifiable risk factors but dominantly, passive smoking can be underpinned to be the major causal factor for lung cancer among non-smokers.   Melissa also tries to shed light or the group that is most prone to suffer from lung cancer.   She purports that smokers, Asbestos workers, the elderly, passive smokers, people exposed to workplace chemicals and residents of air pollution prone zones. According to the American cancer society, 70% of people suffering from cancer are elderly say over 65 years and only 3% under 45 years. Melissa points out that in the 1930, lung cancer was a rare disease however, with the rise of tobacco smoking and pollution, the disease cases have increased unprecedented.   The number of deaths among tobacco smokers is highest among cigarette smoker as opposed to cigar and pipe smokers. The risk getting lung cancer further compounds with each increase of cigarette smoked.   Defined in medical terms as pack-years (the number to packs of cigarette smoked per day in a year), Melissa suggest that the higher the number of pack years, the higher the risk of developing lung cancer.   To be precise she elaborates that out of seven people who smoke 2 to 3 packs of cigarettes in a day, one will die of lung cancer.   (medicineNet.com). This is because cigarette contains carcinogenic compounds that trigger abnormal cell growth in the lungs and thus cancer.   It then seems that lung cancer is a disease for smokers, or at least that is according to common misconceptions.   Melissa in her article submits that research findings indicates people who share living space or work stations have a 24% higher chance of developing cancer as   evidence by 3000 lung cancer deaths pinned to passive smoking. Further, she brings to mind that other risk factors associated with lung cancer are rare but combined with smoking, (passive or active) the risk of developing cancer is further compounded.   Evidence shows that Asbestos workers who smoke had a 50 to 90 times possibility of developing lung cancer in preference to the five times possibility accrued to non-smokers. The case is the same for workers exposed to radon gas and radioactive compounds. Although there is insufficient evidence to support claims that genetic predisposition increase individuals vulnerability to developing lung cancer, the possibility cannot be totally ignored. Residents of air-polluted zones have contributed 1% of all lung cancer cases and clearly, cigarette smoking or passive smoking complicates the problem.   The US government has paid noteworthy attention to the increase of lung cancer deaths among Americans. According to the National cancer institute, 213,389 new cases of lung cancer cases have so far been reported and out of those cases, 160,390 deaths have occurred in 2007 alone.   The magnitude of cancer problem is profound leading the government to respond investing a handsome chunk of money to cancer research each year. The author of the article is a well-educated pathologist and she uses a lot of medical jargon in her article.   However, she makes efforts of clearly explaining important terms so that her audience can understand.   Her piece is well researched and developed giving it a smooth flow. She starts from the basics and develops the topics to complex aspects. For instance, definition of lung cancer, commonality of the disease, causes, types of cancer, signs and symptoms, how it is diagnosed, treatment options, prognosis and prevention. However, for a nonprofessional some of the content may be confusing or too technical to understand.   Although she does try to explain in simple language, it is possible to get lost in the maze of medical terminology and information overload.   The argument does seem logical, supported by statistics from reliable sources.   She also builds her article from previous medical researches and from her own professional experience. The author’s argument regarding smoking and its role in increasing risk of developing cancer among cancer prone population is well supported.   She mentions the various causal factors of lung cancer and relates them to smoking.   For instance, the fact that 12% of lung cancer deaths are attributable to radon gas exposure and concomitant smoking bringing the number to up to 15,000deaths per year. I believe this article is most appropriate to Melissa’s target audience because it rolls out facts supported by statistics which I think makes the article believable and reliable.   It is unlikely that an individual, who smokes or is exposed to the risk factors mentioned in the article, would take the recommendations lightly.   Moreover, after reading her article, misconceptions about passive smoking are cleared.   The word that evoked a strong response in me is prognosis of lung cancer. Prognosis of lung cancer refers to the chance of recovery from lung cancer.   Melissa sheds light on the possibility of recovery among lung cancer patients.   She submits that recovery is dependant on the localization and size of tumor type of cancer and overall health status of the patient.   This gets me thinking because; I always thought cancer was the same. She fills in the readers on the two types of lung cancers, which are the i.e. small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). SCLC is the most aggressive and survival time ranges from about 4 to 6 months after diagnosis, if untreated.   However, the SCLC is the most responsive to radiation and chemotherapy.   At this point, I feel enlightened.   Further, she points out treatments like surgical removal of tumors and local chemotherapy as the most effective treatment. Although there is, only 5%-10% chances of survival if lung cancer is untreated, good treatment can prolong cancer patient with SCLC types of lung cancer, to up to 5 times more than the untreated cases. Overall I think the article is well researched and accurate and gives a clear take home message i.e. prevention is better than cure since prognosis of lung cancer is poor compared to other cancers.   Thus, smokers and passive smokers are best advised to avoid cigarette in order to minimize susceptibility to lung cancer. References Conrad M. S ed. Marks, J.W. Lung Cancer. Available at http://www.medicinenet.com/lung_cancer/page7.htm Accessed on September 18, 2007 .

Rico Act Essay

The RICO Act has been an important component in addressing organized and white collar crime. Write a five page (double-spaced) essay that summarizes the RICO Act and its impact on organized and white collar crime. Be sure to support your thoughts with information from our readings. Rico Act Essay The term â€Å"Rico Act† stands for the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, Codified as chapter 96, Title 18, of the United States Code which was passed by Congress in 1970. The purpose of the Act was to eliminate the ill-affects of organized crime on the nation’s economy. The Rico Act provides for extended criminal penalties and a civil cause of action for acts performed as part of an ongoing criminal organization. The RICO Act focuses specifically on racketeering, and it allows for the leaders of a syndicate to be tried for the crimes which they ordered others to do or assisted them in doing. It closed a perceived loophole that allowed someone who told a man to commit a crime such as murder, to be exempt from the trial because they did not actually do it or were physically involved. Racketeering is defined as the process of forming or running an organization to operate or commit or otherwise execute ongoing criminal activities. For example the drug mafia planning and executing drug traffic in an organized manner. Such crimes are generally illegitimate business when a person commits crimes such as extortion, loan-sharking, bribery, and obstruction of justice in furtherance of illegal business activities. The definition of a â€Å"racketeering activity† means any act or threat involving murder, kidnapping, gambling, arson, robbery, bribery, extortion, dealing in obscene matter, or dealing in a controlled substance or listed chemical (as defined in section 102 of the Controlled Substances Act), which is chargeable under State law and punishable by imprisonment for more than one year. There are a number of illegal and prohibited activities listed in the act and are as follows: Prohibited activities listed in Section 1962 of the Rico Act. a) It shall be unlawful for any person who has received any income derived, directly or indirectly, from a pattern of racketeering activity or through collection of an unlawful debt in which such person has participated as a principal within the meaning of section 2, title 18, United States Code, to use or invest, directly or indirectly, any part of such income, or the proceeds of such income, in acquisition of any interest in, or the establishme nt or operation of, any enterprise which is engaged in, or the activities of which affect, interstate or foreign commerce. A purchase of securities on the open market for purposes of investment, and without the intention of controlling or participating in the control of the issuer, or of assisting another to do so, shall not be unlawful under this subsection if the securities of the issuer held by the purchaser, the members of his immediate family, and his or their accomplices in any pattern or racketeering activity or the collection of an unlawful debt after such purchase do not amount in the aggregate to one percent of the outstanding securities of any one class, and do not confer, either in law or in fact, the power to elect one or more directors of the issuer. (b) It shall be unlawful for any person through a pattern of racketeering activity or through collection of any unlawful debt to acquire or maintain, directly or indirectly, any interest in or control of any enterprise which is engaged in, or the activities of which affect, interstate or foreign commerce. c) It shall be unlawful for any person employed by or associated with any enterprise engaged in, or the activities of which affect, interstate or foreign commerce, to conduct or participate, directly or indirectly, in the conduct of such enterprise’s affairs through a pattern of racketeering activity or collection of unlawful debt. (d) It shall be unlawful for any person to conspire to violate any of the provisions of subsection (a), (b), or (c) of this section. Under RICO, a person who is a member of an illegal enterprise or organization that has committed any two of 35 crimes including 27 federal crimes and 8 state crimes, within a 10-year period, can be charged with racketeering. Those found guilty of racketeering can be fined up to $25,000 and sentenced to 20 years in prison per racketeering count. In addition, the racketeer must forfeit all ill-gotten gains and interest in any business gained through a pattern of â€Å"racketeering activity. RICO also permits a private individual harmed by the actions of suc h an enterprise to file a civil lawsuit and collect monetary damages. Despite its harsh provisions, a RICO-related charge is considered easy to prove in court, as it focuses on patterns of behavior as opposed to criminal acts. Although some of the RICO predicate acts are extortion and blackmail, one of the most successful applications of the RICO laws has been the ability to indict or sanction individuals for their behavior and actions committed against witnesses and victims in alleged retaliation or retribution for cooperating with federal law enforcement or intelligence agencies. Unfortunately, due to the complexity of bringing organized crime members to justice, ten years passed before the first RICO convictions were obtained. Throughout the 1970s crime families continually fought for power over the many racketeering enterprises that brought in huge sums of money. The National Conference on Organized Crime in 1975 estimated that mob related racketeering reached about $50 billion a year in the United States. An example of a popular case where the Rico Act was used to bring down a criminal organization was the numerous arrests of members of the Gambino Crime Family. The Carlo Gambino family was one of New York's most powerful in the American Mafia. It was successfully weakened by convictions obtained under the RICO Act of 1970. Under Gambino’s leadership, family rackets spread into new areas. Starting in the late ’50s, they engaged in large-scale drug trafficking. The Gambino and Lucchese families put a stranglehold on illegal activities at JFK International Airport, effectively boxing out all competition. Gambino bought into all kinds of legitimate businesses such as pizza parlors, meat markets, restaurants, construction companies, trucking firms, dress factories, and nightclubs, and used them as fronts to facilitate illegal operations. Battles for power and control between crime families resulted in numerous murders. Members of one family would assassinate another's boss. The family of the assassinated boss sought revenge by murdering a member of the offending family. Murders were also committed to prevent a crime member from testifying in a trial. The first convictions of American Mafia members under RICO began in 1980. Numerous gangsters were convicted for a variety of racketeering offenses. In 1985 the bosses of all five New York City Mafia families were convicted under RICO and each received at least one hundred years in prison. In 1992 Salvatore â€Å"Sammy the Bull† Gravano testified in court against his boss, John Gotti, head of the Gambino crime family at that time. In doing so he broke the sacred code of the Mafia, the code of silence barring every Mafia member from ever testifying against another Mafia member. Gotti was sentenced to life in prison. His brother Peter Gotti took over the family but was sentenced in April 2004 to nine years in prison. From our reading, we also learned that Rico can provide other benefits to local, county, state and federal law enforcement. As stated by Osterburg and Ward, page 632, â€Å"Through asset forfeiture provisions the government can confiscate money, houses, cars, boats, planes, electronics and weapons. This has not only impacted on the specific criminals targeted, but in many jurisdictions has been used as a means for law enforcement to expand their own efforts. In my own department, we use the proceeds from asset forfeitures to purchase vehicle equipment and bullet proof vests. Summary For decades, law enforcement strategies have focused on identifying and prosecuting the leaders of criminal enterpris es. Members may be charged or arrested for relatively minor infractions. Charges for even small infractions can provide prosecutors with the leverage to conduct further investigations of the group. The goal is to get â€Å"smaller fish† to â€Å"flip† and testify against the heads of the organization. The ultimate aim is to disrupt the group as a whole. Since the inception of the Rico Act, thousands of arrests and convictions have been handed down against members of organized crime. All five New York crime families have been disabled by Rico convictions and numerous other crime families have felt the sting. There has been mixed reviews on the total effectiveness of the Rico Act, but most will agree that there seems to be no end to organized crime and those willing to engage in criminal activity and enterprise. References www. ricoact. com/ricoact/nutshell. asp RICO – What Happened Next . . . – Crime, Family, Mafia, Families, Organized, and American http://law. jrank. org/pages/12394/RICO-What-happened-next. html#ixzz1XrNLl9Gg http://www. trutv. com/library/crime/gangster_outlaws/family_epics/gambino/3. html www. justice. gc. ca/eng/pi/rs/rep-rap/2005/rr05_5/p5. html. Osterburg and Ward. , Criminal Investigations, A Method for Reconstructing the

Personal experience with banking concept of education Essay

Education, the process of taking in and applying information, is an important part of life that directly impacts an individual’s judgement and reasoning of both themselves and society. A person’s educational experience has the ability to influence their life despite their intelligence level or home life situation. In Paulo Freire’s book, The Pedagogy of the Oppressed, two major learning styles, the â€Å"banking† concepts and the â€Å"problem-posing† methods of education, and their effects on students are discussed. My personal early education was within a public school system in the small town of Canton, Massachusetts. While public schools are often stereotyped as being both diverse and inferior compered to private schools, my high school was mainly white and Roman Catholic and it contained many students that were academically focused and capable of getting accepted to prestigious colleges such as the University of Miami. In my experience, certain teachers within this school system have helped me to see, through a process of trial and error, the best way I take in new information. My education has undoubtedly been molded by a combination of both the â€Å"banking† concept and the â€Å"problem-posing† method and has allowed me to develop into the person that I am today. Being from a public school of a relatively small suburb in the Northeast, I have been pressured since the start of my education to learn in order to pass a government issued exam. Even as early as third grade, the focus of my teachers was to prepare their students for the dreaded statewide MCAS exam. The majority of my school memories from elementary school are of me practicing for the essay portion of this exam and being taught to use â€Å"50 cent† vocabulary words that would catch a grader’s attention and help us students gain a higher score. Yet, at this age, I did not really give my education too much thought. I automatically assumed that this type of mechanical drilling was the only way to do well in school and ultimately to make my parents and the people I cared about proud of me. As I grew older, I have realized that I will never know the true reason that my teachers chose to teach to standardized tests. Their reasons for this may have been purely self-interested and inspired by incentives such as receiving an extra pay bonus. Still, I personally believe that the intentions of my earliest teachers were mainly benevolent and helped to prepare me for my later education. As a starting point for learning, elementary school teachers are expected to tell students what they needed to know. Even though a large portion of this process may include having the â€Å"receive, memorize, and repeat† information as if they are almost robotic, this instills them with a set of skills that will become critical in the later part of their education (Freire 260). While it may seem that an elementary school teacher who teaches with this method would have little to no impact on how a student will succeed in life, these educators taught me educational techniques that I still value to this day. Many of the experiences that I have had with these teachers have taught me the importance of personal management. If my teachers had not placed an emphasis on the importance of organization and structure, and its relationship to success, then I would not be able to handle having a large study workload. Also, by introducing me to the importance of competition at a young age, I have been motivated to accomplish more academically and outside of the classroom than I would have without their guidance. Even though the initial principles of this â€Å"banking concept of drilling information into students may appear to be oppressive and constrictive, the benefits received by both the instructor and the student typically serve their best interests and satisfy what the student is looking to gain from their education. Therefore, I believe that it is slightly inaccurate to deem this educational method purely as a means of depositing information from one person to another. I am thankful that a portion of my education has been similar to that of the â€Å"banking† concept because it has given me the framework to pursue more advanced studies. Although a portion of my academic career has been somewhat impersonal and standardized, I was fortunate enough to take a class that gave me a chance to both think critically and cognitively while learning new material. In my junior year of high school, I was able to take an Advanced Placement history class that has brought my style of learning to a more advanced level. In this history class, the teacher gave us a schedule of what we would be doing each day of the current unit we were in that was very similar to a college syllabus. Each day of class we came prepared with background information on the topic we would be learning about which was reinforced by the teacher giving us an almost daily quiz. Although at the time taking these quizzes was tedious, it allowed for the class to discuss numerous historical topics in a short period of time. Our teacher, with the use of technology, presented different copies of primary sources to the class which led to a natural and flowing discussion of different topics. That history class was unlike any other course I had taken in the past and, while it was still challenging, I was able to do well and I scored a high grade on the AP test. I believe that the reason for both my personal success and that of many others in my class was due to the fact that my teacher combined methods of both the â€Å"banking† concepts and the â€Å"problem-posing† methods that were presented in Freire’s article. Instead of pretending to know all of the answers, my teacher posed problems to us students that we were able to work together to solve (Freire 265). While I was challenged academically to think on a critical and comprehensive level, there were certain aspects of that type of learning that required me to simply fill my brain with information. Without taking the time to learn basic facts and concepts of a certain subject, I would have never been able to insightfully discuss or give a knowledgeable opinion on it. Only by putting in a substantial amount of individual effort was I able to grasp anything that my teacher or classmates would say during a lecture or discussion. Although this experience may appear to solely support the â€Å"problem-posing method†, without the initial instruction of my early teachers to be self motivated to learn and do well in my classes, I would have believed that spending time studying outside of the classroom was pointless and that without a teacher I would be incapable of learning anything. Therefore, my academic growth that occurred during my junior year would not have been possible if I did not have such influential elementary school teachers. My educational experience over the past twelve years has definitely established me as the student that I am today. While many aspects of growing up in a small town in the Massachusetts with many similar types of people surely affected my education, it is certainly my teachers who have made the largest impact on me. With both the initial guidance from my elementary school teachers and with the introduction of critical thinking that was introduced by my history teacher, I have developed a style of learning that feature aspects of both the â€Å"banking† concept of education and the â€Å"problem-posing† method and this has proven to be successful for me in the past. Still, I hope that as I begin to continue my education at the University of Miami and possibly even in graduate school, that I will continue to grow as a student. In the future, I plan to take many different courses and be exposed to new types of thinking that will help me to develop intellectually. If I follow this path one day I may possibly be able to perfect my learning style and develop an efficient method that will help to bring me both success and knowledge in the future.

Economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 2

Economics - Essay Example Thus, the latter region displays a greater degree of price elasticity of demand. It is due to the conjunction of both kinds of goods – luxury and regular, within the same consumption basket that the price elasticity of demand in this case has been evaluated as close to unity. A probable solution to the problem could be to segregate the consumption baskets for two types of commodities. However, the prime issue is that Guam does not even have a proper consumption basket on the basis if which CPI could be measured properly. This might also lead to a miscalculation of the actual price elasticity of demand. 3. The income elasticity of demand had been found to be more influential than price elasticity. The Japanese are found to be highly sensitive to fluctuations in their levels of income rather than the price level ruling over the region where they are touring. For instance, the numbers of visits by Japanese tourists were lowered during periods of recession prevailing in Japan. How ever, the demand for ultra-expensive luxury and branded items being sold in Tumon, the prime tourist centre in Guam was little affected by a slight change in the price of commodities. On the other hand, the discount kiosks in Guam’s K-Mart attracted more and more number of tourists though the nature of demand fluctuated over time. It rather seemed that a rise in the level of prices for discounted commodities led to a sharp fall in the demand for the same, while the demand for ultra-expensive luxury items were found to be quite inelastic in nature. The prime reason could be presumed to be that the demand for the former commodities comes from tourists belonging to a relatively lower income bracket while that for the... This paper approves that the Japanese are found to be highly sensitive to fluctuations in their levels of income rather than the price level ruling over the region where they are touring. For instance, the numbers of visits by Japanese tourists were lowered during periods of recession prevailing in Japan. However, the demand for ultra-expensive luxury and branded items being sold in Tumon, the prime tourist centre in Guam was little affected by a slight change in the price of commodities. China had maintained a closed door strategy since long which prohibited both foreign tourists from visiting the nation and domestic nationals to involve in outbound travels. However such a stance has taken a toll in the nation’s development strategies as the country realised its shortage of ample foreign resources to support its strategy. Hence, the national government chose to open up to foreign tourists who bring foreign exchange reserves to the national treasury. This essay makes a conclusion that tourism today is considered as a part of international trade and is often compared with exports that an economy is involved in. This is because tourism results to an accumulation of foreign exchange reserves within a nation thus propping it up to participate in other economic activities. Hence, China has been acting upon to enhance its trade ties with other nations. This is because better the participation of a nation in trade with its peers more will its popularity grow opening up its chances to attract more tourists.

Critical Incident Logistic Response Structure Essay

Critical Incident Logistic Response Structure - Essay Example Units are commonly used in incident Planning, Logistics, or Finance/Administration sections and can be used in operations for some applications. Units are also found in EOC organizations." (Incident Command System, 2004) The Chief of Operations will make sure that all tactical operations at the incident site are carried out efficiently. It will be done immediately after the crisis and will also include recovery. The recovery will include air, water and land if necessary. This unit has to be capable of improvising and functioning under adverse conditions. The tactical team has to be able to immobilize within 72 hours at the maximum and be ready to bear hazardous conditions, even biologically hazardous conditions. This entails total assessment of the situation. The officer in charge of this particular branch will have to appoint different officers responsible for units such as collection, evaluation and status of the resources. There should also be a situation assessment analyst who makes sure that the officer in charge of Planning and the chief of operations are constantly informed of any developments in the crisis. In collections the officer in charge of that particular sub-branch will have officers under him who will be collection data such as (if they play a role in the crisis) weather forecasts reports, casualty information, incident scene reports etc. In evaluations the officer in charge there will receive all this information from the collections branch and make use of it by piecing all the information together. The intelligence information it will develop will not only assist in contingency plans but may be of use for the operations unit in tactical operations. There will also be a unit accountable for resources. This particular unit will be in charge of regulating all resources including human resources. They will make sure that the resources are efficiently spent and properly regulated. The situation assessment analyst will keep regular track of all this information and will keep reporting it to the Emergency manager and the chief of operations. He will also be required to make sure that any situation does not spiral out of control. Table1. Planning Overview Logistics This section is going to be responsible for providing all kinds of facilities and services such as transportation, shelter, hygiene, food, medical facilities etc. It has to be ensured that there are enough facilities present not only for the victims but for the relief personnel too. The logistics' section will actually be divided

Leading Edge Supply Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Leading Edge Supply - Essay Example The importance of logistic edge supply is to trail down the circulation of the company stock and performance analysis. Initiating the aspect of logistic edge supply, intelligent platform comes into play since this provides key management data that in turn enables one to analyze critically the strengths and weaknesses attached across the supply chain. Other key management information includes optimization of planning route, understanding fraudulent activities that comes within the supply chain and enhance the workflow that usually is driven by data caused by intelligence platform (Ballou, 2003). Many companies ensure that implementation and utilization of leading edge supply is taken into consideration within the logistic systems of any organization. For the articulations be fully met, an organization is required to operate within the pre-requisite objectives that influence achievement of organization goals. When there is a presence of effective logistic in a management system of an organization, success comes at hand. However, this comes because of an organization chipping in to make sure that they employ qualified personnel, and tap into labor market using and adopting new technology that in turn boots operation within the management of an

Marketing Research Proposal for Bell Shakespeare

Marketing for Bell Shakespeare - Research Proposal Example The proposed research will focus on the following problem statement during different stages of the market study: to recognize and understand the stakeholders’ perspectives, essential for an increment in the donor acquisition, optimization of donor retention, and a raised income subsequently. Additionally, the proposed research anticipates comprehensive understanding of attitudes and perception of donors from varying backgrounds related to the working, activities, and objectives of Shakespeare Bell Company. Analysis of the problem indicated that there are three categories of donors: current, lapsed, and prospective. Review of the background of problem further specified that it is now very essential for the company to identify specific needs, perception, and expectations of the donors, in order to continue organizing different programmes and activities in different rural and urban parts of Australia. It is an expectation that the proposed market research will be beneficial for the company, as well as individuals that benefit from different programs of the company. Since centuries, literature, drama, and theatre remained significant contributors in the educational and social development of human society. In specific, William Shakespeare is one of the greatest English writers that endeavored to alter thinking patterns and express his feelings through plays, such as Hamlet, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, etc that are influencing contemporary writers and scholars until today (Stinson & O’Toole, pp. 44-56, 2009). However, experts have indicated a rapid reduction in the interest of such significant pieces of literature due to a number of factors that inclined people like John Bell (2004) to establish philanthropic organizations like Bell Shakespeare Company (2009). Briefly, promotion of literary works, especially Shakespeare’s is the

Martin Luther King's Letter from Birmingham jail Essay

Martin Luther King's Letter from Birmingham jail - Essay Example It was through bold and inspirational speeches that King established a reputation as a great orator. However, this also painted him a radical and subject to federal surveillance for the rest of his life. In addition, King is recognized for his phlegmatic way of approaching crisis as he advocated for the rights of all. Martin Luther King Jr represented the African-American community, but in essence, this translates to all minority communities who lived an oppressed life. This oppression came about following colonization and the slave trade where the rights of those perceived to a weak community were subjected to a wide range of discrimination. Segregation and discrimination with regard to race, gender and education were outlawed following advocacy for civil rights. This marks a critical step towards generating independence among communities. This clearly illustrates that even as King fought for the rights of African-Americans, the benefits would be felt across different communities bo th regionally and nationally. King mounted a challenge to oppression by defying the status quo, which eventually got support from other members of the community other than African-Americans. ... Martin Luther King is no exception as highlighted in most of his speeches and letters, particularly the letter from Birmingham jail, which is the subject of this paper. This paper seeks to illustrate the means of persuasion applied in King’s letter from Birmingham jail. In the wake of his struggles to advocate for equal civil rights, King was arrested for his participation in the Birmingham campaign in Alabama. The campaign was organised by King’s organisation, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, which saw a series of peaceful demonstrations against segregation. It is following the protests that he was arrested and his actions criticised by clergymen who published a letter terming his actions as unwise. In their letter, the religious leaders disapproved the position taken to hold the demonstrations, which in their view, imposed immerse tension in Birmingham. They also disapproved the timing of the demonstrations since the courts had previously issued an injunc tion to prohibit civil marches in Birmingham streets. The letter from Birmingham jail was in response to the sentiments expressed by the clergymen and aimed at justifying the need for action against prevailing civil injustices. It is in this letter that King employs Aristotle's rhetoric modes of persuasion to counter argument his audience’s recount of events, which appeal to ethos, pathos and logos. In the letter, King defends his reputation and wisdom by illustrating the need for action, which is in line with ethos before trying to arouse the emotions of his audience. He finally presents testimony and quotations from important thinkers and leaders of the time while appealing to the audiences’ logic. The effective

How did nuclear weapons affect the dynamics of the Cold War Essay - 1

How did nuclear weapons affect the dynamics of the Cold War - Essay Example During this period, Cold War revolutionized global approaches to war. Military growth and development became the subject of the day, especially in both Eastern and Western blocs. High tension also became evident as United States and the Soviet Union embarked on a bid to arm themselves with nuclear weapons. A significant rise in the production of nuclear weapons was anticipated following the end of World War II. Both Eastern and Western blocs feared the emergence of yet another world war as time went by. This fear accelerated arming in both United States and the Soviet Union. These two countries had taken their respective positions as global superpowers, an aspect that fuelled the emergence of Cold War. Over the years, the two countries would accumulate weapons of mass destruction without necessarily engaging in physical war-like attacks. Cold War was a significant factor in shaping war trends across the globe. The Soviet Union consolidated the Eastern bloc while the United States of America did the same on the Western bloc. During this time, no fighting of significant scale was reported. In other words, the war was literally cold even though it lasted for decades. Based on these observations, the Cold War exhibited critical dynamics, most of which were subject to the influence of nuclear weapons. Weapons of mass destruction undoubtedly come with consequences that do not only affect the attacked party, but also the attacker. Atomic energy that is out of control carries devastating and catastrophic implications. With two nuclear-armed nations in a standoff, it was evident that the victims would comprise of more than just the warring parties would. In fact, memories of World War II reveal just how destructive atomic bombs and nuclear weapons are. In the context of war, a repeat of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki attack was an experience that warring nations would rather avoid (Miller,

Relationships in working with young people Essay

Relationships in working with young people - Essay Example Many organisations have been on the forefront in ensuring this is a prevalent occasion as it cements the functionality of the same organisation. For instance, this project was developed to assist the youth in the working environment (The factory sequence 3: Paul’s perspective, 3’00’’). This was to improve their working environment and ensure they are comfortable with what was offered. In making this a reality, the project manager approached working youth and engaged the youth in lengthy talks. This was initiated to get information on what they needed and how they wanted it. Therefore, it openly states that communication was an ideal aspect in getting to know what the youth need in the working environment. There are many issues youth have to deal with, including employment. This is an issue that is affecting a number of families in the society. To save the situation, youths have to look for other avenues of looking for employment. This includes the informal sector, where youths have to start working to support their families. Aggressive and creative youths have to look for employment in supporting their younger siblings. This includes fending for their food, clothing, and getting enough cash to send them to school. In most cases, youths of age 16 and 17 have to look for employment to get more resources. ... In some instances, youths save enough cash and pursue their higher education later in life. This means that all is not lost, especially when youths have networks and can make strong relationships in the informal sector. Building a relationship with the youth does not cost a lot in terms of money. When building a relationship with the youth, you only need to engage in dialogue, talk about issues and make lasting friendship (The factory sequence 2: Kawsar’s perspective, 00’04’’). This is done on a frequent basis where the youth meet, exchange ideas and make decisions. This does not involve use of resources as it is a social activity. However, the issue of resources chips in when they have to make a project from their ideas. In such a case, the only resource that is spent is time. The youth have to spare enough time to relate, talk, dialogue and exchange ideas with other youth. As much as a project is in the offing, the youth will have a stronger bond and rel ationship. In making a strong relationship with the youth in the streets and factories, the project initiators engaged in frequent talks. These lively talks made a concrete bond between the youth and the project initiators. Since they communicated on a frequent basis, they gathered substantial information that could be used in developing the project. The relationship between the youth and the project initiators was enhanced by an agreement point. This is where the project initiators respected the needs of the youth and had to make better ways of giving the youths what they need. In continuous interaction with the youth, the project initiators discovered that the youth had wider perspectives

Vitamin D as Hormone Essay Example for Free

Vitamin D as Hormone Essay INTRODUCTION: Bioactive vitamin D or calcitriol is a steroid hormone that has long been known for its important role in regulating body levels of calcium and phosphorus, and in mineralization of bone. More recently, it has become clear that receptors for vitamin D are present in a wide variety of cells, and that this hormone has biologic effects which extend far beyond control of mineral metabolism. Vitamin D is thus not a true vitamin, as it can be synthesized in adequate amounts by most mammals exposed to sunlight (cats and dogs cannot synthesize vitamin D and must receive it in their diet). An organic chemical compound (or related set of compounds) is only scientifically called a vitamin when it cannot be synthesized in sufficient quantities by an organism, and must be obtained from their diet. However, as with other compounds commonly called vitamins, vitamin D was discovered in an effort to find the dietry substance that was lacking in a disease, namely, rickets, the childhood form of osteomalacia. ROLE OF VITAMIN D IN REGULATION OF SEVERAL GENES: The vitamin D hormones have essential roles in human health. Vitamin D hormones act by binding to and activating the vitamin D receptor (VDR) to regulate the expression of genes in a tissue-specific manner. Vitamin D hormones regulate blood calcium levels by controlling intestinal absorption of dietary calcium and reabsorption of calcium by the kidneys. Concomitantly, vitamin D hormones also suppress the production of the calcium regulating hormone, parathyroid hormone (PTH), which is produced by the parathyroid glands. The vitamin D hormones also participate in the regulation of cellular differentiation and growth, as well as bone formation and metabolism. Additionally, vitamin D hormones are required for the normal functioning of the musculoskeletal, immune and renin-angiotensin systems. There is a growing body of evidence linking vitamin D insufficiency with cognitive and neural dysfunction. The widespread beneficial effects of vitamin D hormones are continually being elucidated through studies directed to the intracellular VDR and the corresponding networks of VDR-responsive genes in nearly every human tissue. It is becoming evident that vitamin D insufficiency has a widespread and significant impact on a number of key physiological systems. METABOLISM OF VITAMIN D: Both forms of vitamin D undergo identical metabolism . Some evidence indicates that vitamin D2 may be metabolized more rapidly than vitamin D3, but with regular daily intake they can be considered bioequivalent. Both forms of vitamin D are converted to 25-hydroxyvitamin [25(OH)D] in the liver, and the serum level of 25(OH) D is measured to determine the adequacy of vitamin D status. In the kidney, 25(OH)D is hydroxylated to 1, 25-dihydroxyvitamin D [1, 25(OH)2 D], which is the only biologically active form of vitamin D. Acting principally on the duodenum, 1, 25(OH)2 D increases calcium absorption. It also acts on bone cells, both osteoblasts and osteoclasts, to mobilize calcium. The synthesis of 1, 25(OH)2 D is tightly regulated and stimulated primarily by serum parathyroid hormone THE VITAMIN D RECEPTER AND MECHANISM OF ACTION: The vitamin D system is unique in that distinct calcium homeostatic functions and cell growth regulatory activities are mediated through a single ligand, calcitriol, acting through a specific receptor exhibiting ubiquitous tissue expression, the vitamin D receptor (VDR). The VDR is a member of a superfamily of nuclear steroid hormone receptors which regulate gene transcription by interacting with response elements in gene promoters. Structure-function analysis of the VDR protein has defined distinct domains involved in DNA binding, ligand binding, receptor dimerisation and gene transactivation, including a C-terminal activation function domain (AF-2) that is important for cofactor interaction. A model for regulation of gene transcription by the VDR is evolving and proposes VDR interaction with various components of the basal transcriptional machinery, including newly defined coactivators and corepressors, which may act to regulate gene transcription by altering histone acetylation and chromatin structure. This review describes the vitamin D endocrine system and the role of the VDR in regulating this system, including the molecular basis for the diverse actions of synthetic calcitriol analogues in the treatment of autoimmune disease and cancer. ROLE OF VITAMIN D AS HORMONE Vitamin D and Bone Cell Activity: Approximately 60 genes are known to respond to vitamin D. Many of these vitamin D responsive genes are expressed by the bone forming cells (osteoblasts) which include: * type I collagen. * alkaline phosphatase, * osteocalcin * tumour necrosis factor ligand member (RANKL) Tumour necrosis factor ligand member (RANKL) is central to osteoclastogenesis. The bone resorbing cells (osteoclasts) also express vitamin D-responsive genes. It is evident that 1,25(OH)2D plays a major role in controlling osteoclastogenesis and bone resorption through its modulation of the RANKL gene in osteoblasts. Bone mineralization: These types of results are increasing interest in the view that the modulation of vitamin D activity within bone cells, either through the vitamin D receptor or metabolism of vitamin D, has effects on the levels of bone mineral. It is through such a mechanism that higher levels of vitamin D in the elderly may provide protection against hip fractures. Cancer prevention: Role of vitamin D in prostate cancer: Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in men in the United States. Developing new treatment strategies is critical to improving the health of men. Our research has focused on four areas in which we have pursued the possible use of 1alpha,25(OH)(2)D(3) and its analogs to treat prostate cancer.The results of a clinical trial of 1alpha,25(OH)(2)D(3) treatment of patients with early recurrent prostate cancer. We provide preliminary evidence that 1alpha,25(OH)(2)D(3) may be effective in slowing the rate of PSA rise in selected cases of prostate cancer. In conclusion, we believe that 1alpha,25(OH)(2)D(3) has a role in thetreatment and/or prevention strategies being developed for prostate cancer. However, to increase antiproliferative potency without increasing side-effects, the use of less calcemic analogs appears to be the most reasonable approach. Role of vitamin D in breast cancer: In addition to its role in calcium homeostasis and bone health, vitamin D has also been reported to have anticancer activities against many cancer types, including breast cancer. The discovery that breast epithelial cells possess the same enzymatic system as the kidney, allowing local manufacture of active vitamin D from circulating precursors, makes the effect of vitamin D in breast cancer biologically plausible. Preclinical and ecologic studies have suggested a role for vitamin D in breast cancer prevention. Inverse associations have also been shown between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D level (25(OH)D) and breast cancer development, risk for breast cancer recurrence, and mortality in women with early-stage breast cancer. Clinical trials of vitamin D supplementation, however, have yielded inconsistent results. Regardless of whether or not vitamin D helps prevent breast cancer or its recurrence, vitamin D deficiency in the U.S. population is very common, and the adverse impact on bone health, a particular concern for breast cancer survivors, makes it important to understand vitamin D physiology and to recognize and treat vitamin D deficiency. In this review, we discuss vitamin D metabolism and its mechanism of action. We summarize the current evidence of the relationship between vitamin D and breast cancer, highlight ongoing research in this area, and discuss optimal dosing of vitamin D for breast cancer prevention. Role of vitamin D in auto immune diseases: Vitamin D and its prohormones have been the focus of a growing number of studies in past years, demonstrating their function not only in calcium metabolism and bone formation, but also their interaction with the immune system, which is not surprising, since vitamin D receptors are expressed in different tissues, such as brain, heart, skin, bowel, gonads, prostate, breasts, and immune cells, as well as bones, kidneys, and parathyroid glands.Current studies have related vitamin D deficiency with several autoimmune disorders, including insulindependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM), multiple sclerosis (MS), inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and rheumatoid arthritis (RA). In view of those associations, it has been suggested that vitamin D is an extrinsic factor capable of affecting the prevalence of autoimmune diseases. Vitamin D seems to interact with the immune system through its actions on the regulation and differentiation of cells like lymphocytes, macrophages, and natural killer cells (NK), besides interfering in the in vivo and in vitro production of cytokines. Among the immunomodulatory effects demonstrated we should mention: a reduction in the production of interleukin-2 (IL-2), gamma interferon (INFÃŽ ³), and tumor necrosis factor (TNF); inhibition of the expression of IL-6; and inhibition of the secretion and production of autoantibodies by B lymphocytes. Vitamin D modulation of immune responses: Dendritic cells (DCs) are primary targets for the immunomodulatory activity of 1, 25(OH)2D3, as indicated by inhibited DC differentiation and maturation, leading to downregulated expression of MHC-II, costimulatory molecules (CD40, CD80 and CD86) and decreased production of IL-12. Moreover, 1, 25(OH)2D3 enhances IL-10 production and promotes DC apoptosis. Together, these effects of 1, 25(OH)2D3 inhibit DC-dependent T-cell activation. In particular, the active synthesis of 1, 25(OH)2D3 seems to exert an autoregulatory function by inhibiting the differentiation of monocyte precursors into immature DCs and the subsequent ability of the immature DCs to undergo terminal differentiation in response to maturation stimuli. FIG. Mechanisms involved in vitamin D modulation of the immune responses. DCs are primary targetsfor the immunomodulatory activity of 1, 25(OH)2D3, as indicated by inhibited DC differentiation and maturation, together with inhibition of differentiation of monocyte precursors into immature DCs. 1, 25(OH)2D3 suppresses Th1 (and Th17)driven cytokine responses, induces Treg cells, induces IL-4 production (Th2) and enhances NKTcell function. Differentiation and maturation of B cells is also inhibited. Th are CD4+ helper cell subsets (Th1, Th2, Th3-Treg, Th17) originating from naÄ ±ve T cell (Th0). Thin arrows (left) indicate cytokines that induce differentiation of Th0 cells and thicker arrows (right) indicate cytokines produced by activated Th cell subsets. All T cells that have been tested express the VDR. B cells and NKT cells are also reported.The yellow circles indicate the cytokines/activities inhibited by vitamin D.On the contrary, the green circles indicate the cytokines enhanced by vitaminD. Conclusions: Knowledge of the physiology and pathology of vitamin D is currently increasing at a rapid rate. The realisation that vitamin D can act in a paracrine and autocrine manner in addition to its well-described endocrine action opens up considerable opportunities for the development of new understanding of the requirement for an adequate vitamin D status for optimal health. It is encouraging that the relatively simple and cheap practice of maintaining an adequate vitamin D status has the potential to provide health benefits in a number of areas, which afflict an increasing proportion of the population, as well as consume an increasing proportion of the healthcare budget to provide treatment. The reduction of the risk of hip fracture in the elderly is one such area. A high priority of research must be to identify the critical 25OHD values required to maintain a healthy skeleton in the elderly. As well research must determine whether a low vitamin D status influences the development of cancer, whether it increases the absolute risk of cancer or whether it modulates the growth or invasiveness of cancers. Clinical laboratory professionals have a responsibility to improve the precision and accuracy of current 25OHD assays in clinical use. This work will require the collaboration between the profession and instrument and reagent manufacturers. The International Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine is in an optimal position to coordinate such a project.