The Making of a Minority President Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Making of a Minority President - Essay Example John Edwards is the only Democratic white male that has a realistic opportunity of getting the nomination. The coming primary is a storm of historic proportions looming on the electoral landscape that could become a world-changing event. Democrats will have to decide whether to run for high ground, seek shelter, or weather the storm and face the adverse winds of political change. In many ways the events and polls leading up to the Democratic primaries have been a study in contradiction. In a Gallup Poll in the summer of 2007, Blacks selected Clinton as more favorable than Barak Obama. Hispanics favored Clinton ahead of the Latino Richardson. However, white voters see her as a liability and give her an unfavorable rating (Jones). While she leads in the national polling among all voters, nearly one-third of those polled said they would be less likely to vote for her because of her gender (Seelye and Sussman). Clinton's race and gender have been no friend to her in the polls and much of her support comes from Black and Hispanic males. Governor Bill Richardson is probably the most qualified candidate to deal with the benchmark issues of foreign policy, energy, and immigration ("The Man from New Mexico"). Yet, he is like an undiscovered treasure at a yard sale. He is unnoticed, unappreciated, and his low price tag offers no hint to the value contained within. Des pite the high profile positions that he has held with state and federal administrations, he is one of the least recognizable candidates. All these counter-intuitive poll numbers may add up to the possibility of a much stronger coalition when the candidate is selected, and a greater chance of a minority candidate winning the White House. However, the nominee will need to be careful to keep race, ethnicity, and gender out of the spotlight. The race will need to remain focused on the issues and the candidate's qualifications. Bringing attention to the minority status may uncover the prejudice and bias that lies beneath a thin veil of justice. America has had a dismal track record of minorities in presidential elections. While diversity is like a ray of hope on the landscape of equality, the light may also awaken old fears. These fears have the potential to tear holes in the coalition and leave the Democratic Party in disarray. The biases that bubble beneath America's ideal of equality can be seen in Richardson's candidacy. He is a centrist on immigration policy and favors tough border enforcement, fines for illegal entry, mandatory English, and a strict process to citizenship (Richardson). However, the opposition may spread panic among the electorate by negative ads that promote his ties to the Hispanic community and the myth of lost jobs and depressed wages for White and Black American workers. Richardson could find himself defending a policy that is unknown to most voters. The time and money spent defending himself against these racially based charges would detract from the more important issue of Iraq where Democrats have an advantage. It is likely that any minority candidate will be able to garner a majority of the traditional Democratic base. There are indications of much greater interest in the election among all the minority camps than in years past. Though Clinton currently is more favored than Richardson in the Hispanic comm

CRIMINAL LAW COURSEWORK Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

CRIMINAL LAW - Coursework Example In the UK, Discrimination Act of 1975 was altered to launch sexual irritation as a type of discrimination in 1986. It mentioned guidelines that if a boss treats someone less favourably on the ground that the defendants have refused and put forward any kind of harassment such as hostile, rape, humiliating and violating a person’s dignity in workplace among others, it would be judged as harassment. As in this case, the Sexual Offences Act, 2003 (SOA) and Sexual offences Act of 1956 are applicable. The Sexual Offence Act of 2003 sets offences for prosecution of proving absence at consent of sec. 1-4. The aforementioned offences are related to a person involved in a sexual activity. Sexual Violence in England often goes unreported by female and male victims. Amnesty International conducted a research, which found that 1/3rd of the public believe that a woman is answerable for being raped if she has behaved in an enticing way. Chances for having parallel mind-set also exist relatin g to what a woman was wearing at the time of harassment, quantity of alcohol that had been consumed and whether or not a woman had said no to the man. Prior to enactment of SOA, there was no as such statutory meaning of consent. Sec. 74 of this act states that a person contents to sexual activity, if he/she agrees to it as an option and holds the liberty and ability to make that choiceii. As per the case, Sec 75 and Sec 76 of SOA will be applicable on the boss, as the petitioner indicted the defendant of having non-consensual sex with the woman after an evening of intense alcoholic drinks. The boss when found guilty for the crime is liable for imprisonment, unless subsection 4 applies, which states that if a person is caught blameworthy under Sec 75 and Sec 76, then he/she will be prone to imprisonment for a period of maximum 6 months or a fine that does not surpass the statutory maximum

Importance of prenatal care Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Importance of prenatal care - Essay Example So it is mandatory for every pregnant woman to receive prenatal care to have an healthy and secured pregnancy period. Prenatal care is the care provided to women during the period of pregnancy, this involves offering medication and nursing care to the women to experience a safe pregnancy period. Prenatal care is even known as antenatal care and is a regular provision of medical and nursing to pregnant women. It is a prevention care where pregnant women are protected from diseases and illnesses while being pregnant. It includes regular check- ups and midwife related services to introduce a healthy life style to pregnant women. The main objective of prenatal care is the health and wellness of mother and baby from conception to birth. The prenatal care is an important aspect of pregnancy and every women benefit from it throughout their pregnancy period (thesis). The prenatal care allows the mother and baby to be in better health. It gives psychological and physiological advantages to the mother and the baby. It have has been revealed with the help of survey that women who receive prenatal care has baby with perfect weight. According to (Schmitt,2009) â€Å"Babies of mothers who do not get prenatal care are three times more likely to have a low birth weight and five times more likely to die than those born to mothers who do get care†. When pregnant women get prenatal care, the doctor checks every problem arising with the health of mother and baby. There are cases where, mother and baby die due to the ignorance and the absence of prenatal care. Doctors can detect problems or complications in the health of baby and mother only if prenatal care occurs. Prenatal care is a kind of care which is recommended to every pregnant woman in order to have a healthy motherhood and baby. Healthy pregnancy is a want of every mother and prenatal care helps in having a healthy mother and healthy

The underrepresentation of women in science and engineering is the Essay

The underrepresentation of women in science and engineering is the result of innate differences in aptitude and interests. Agree or disagree, with reference to relevant evidence - Essay Example This researcher claims that such is a farce and is untrue. Far from the decadence of the past, women in this millennium has given much participation in labor, construction, decision-making, legislations, research, science, aviation, military service and in endeavors that require calculable minds. The oppressive condition within the society and even within the confines of homes dialectically encouraged them to reclaim those rights to attain education, to become part of the national workforces, and to become significant partners for societal development. To have a global glimpse of women’s space, Index Mundi reported that the world has global population of nearly 7 billion people, of which, about 88.3% males and 79.2% females from aged 15 above have attain a certain level of literacy (Barrientos & Soria, 2012). It’s also reported that there are about 793 million illiterate populace are in Bangladesh, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Nigeria and Pakistan (Barrientos & Soria, 2012). Data further unveiled that most those who are unable to attain degree of education are women comprising about 2/3 of such populace who are concentrating within the regions of Arab states, South and West Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. While this is a challenging fact confronting the world’s educational system, there is however some significant changes in the ratio of women enjoying degrees on science, math and engineering. The Committee on Science, Engineering and Public Policy [CSEPP] (2007) for instance, cited that in Vancouver from 1974 to 2004, women comprise one-third of doctorate in 50 leading chemistry departments; 27% form mathematics and statistics, and one-fourth in physics and astronomy (p.14). There were also one-fourth of women who garnered doctorate degrees in chemical engineering and 15% in general engineering course (CSEPP 2007, p. 14). The same institution observed the while there were many women who

Athics and governemance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Athics and governemance - Essay Example We have many examples in the business and corporate world where organizations that have not acted morally and that had lead to their downfall, the biggest and the most recent example that comes to mind is that of Enron where financial data was manipulated to the advantage of those running the business and that lead to the downfall of the multi-billion dollar company, there are many lessons to be learned from Enron, it does not matter how big or how small a company is, it should act in a morally correct manner without worrying about the consequences and it should do so because it is the right thing to do more than anything else. There is no room for companies in today’s day and age that are morally off the compass because the amount of information that can be shared today, the mediums that it can be shared by and the speed at which it can be shared at have all tremendously increased due to advances in technology. Businesses that operates in a manner that is morally correct beca use it is the right thing to do would also generate a lot of business because of this code of ethics, because customers do not like to be cheated upon, they would rather buy from a company which sells at a higher price but is doing the right thing rather than from a company which prices its goods lower but that is due to morally corrupt reasons and customer loyalty is very important to businesses these days because repeat purchases is what every business aims to do achieve. Though repeat purchases would be gained from this moral attitude this should not be aim of the businesses under the Kantian approach, businesses should be morally correct in their dealings because it is the right thing to do and not because it would enable them to achieve repeat purchases, it should be only looked upon as a by-product of this approach to ethics. This approach is very right theoretically but it is human nature to find

An organisation requires strong leadership rather than sound Essay

An organisation requires strong leadership rather than sound management if it is to become a learning organisation. Critic - Essay Example Strong leadership influences positive behaviour and strong belief among people in an organisation thus improving the overall performance of the organisation. Learning organisations are companies or organisations that develop programs to facilitate the learning of its people with the objective of continuously transforming itself to enable the company remain competitive in the harsh current business environment. Building an organisation into learning organisations begins with changing people’s rational of thinking and how they act to different business situations. Strong leadership is essential in shaping the working mentality of people in organisation, an element which is essential in shaping an institution to become a learning organisation. Sound management influences how different employees at different levels of management in the organisation relate with each other towards achieving the objectives of growing into a learning organisation (Gosling and Dennison, 2003). The succ ess of institution is however hinged on a number of factors that are under the control of the management and the people in the organization as whole. Sound management refers to the practical plan and control mechanisms put in place by an organisation to enable it implement its policies and organisational programs. Organizations struggle to adopt sound management practices hoping that such practices will improve their chances of growing into greater institutions that can be emulated by other organisations. Success in an organization however requires strong leadership capabilities as opposed to the adoption of sound management practices without improving the leadership abilities of the organization (Gosling and Dennison, 2003). The presence of good leadership in an organization can be felt throughout the entire organization through the sound policies that the organization implements and its ability to handle different challenging situations surrounding the business. Good leadership de velops a great corporate and organizational culture that guide the progress made by the organization and its success in the future decisions. The traits and features of a successful leader are quite evident in the way they handle different situations in an organization that affects the development of an organization. This paper will evaluate the traits of a great leader in organizations and how these traits shape the image of the business and its success. In providing the basis for the conclusion that strong leadership is important for an organisation that intends to grow into a learning organisation, this paper will analyse the various strong leadership theories and how they influences the development of an organisation. To demonstrate the choice of strong leadership as the best way of ensuring the growth of a company into a learning organisation, this paper will discuss three dimensions of strong leadership. In these dimensions, the different theories of leaderships will be discus sed to demonstrate my choice of strong leadership. The attributes of strong leadership is the second dimension that the paper will discuss with bias towards how these attributes can enable an organisation to grow into a learning organisation. In the final dimension, the weaknesses of sound management will be evaluated as compared to the strengths of strong leaders

Electroconvulsive Therapy Essay Example for Free

Electroconvulsive Therapy Essay Chapter 578 of the 14th Edition Texas Laws Relating to Mental Health and Mental Retardation discusses in length the circumstances in which application of the electroconvulsive therapy is allowed, or possible. In the United States, electroconvulsive therapy or ECT as it is commonly called is generally practiced only for the treatment of severe depression. And treatment may only be applied with expressed consent of the patient. Under no other circumstance can ECT be used other than what is prescribed. The Texas Law qualifies this expressed consent agreement by outlining the types of patients who may provide such consent. It also identifies which patients who are not eligible for such treatment at any given circumstance. The law further provides a thorough detailing of what this consent should include. The consent must clearly be communicated to the patient and the following agreed upon: the nature and purpose of the procedure; the degree, duration and probable side effects; opinions of efficacy of the procedure; probable improvement or remission expectations (www. heuniversityhospital. com). Only the presences of all these four (4) important points hold constitute the validity of the consent agreement to ECT. Federal Health Laws of the United States leave the legal obligation for accomplishment of this consent agreement to the doctors. It is the doctors who guarantee the awareness of patients to the requirements of the agreement. Historical Background of the Policy Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) or sometimes referred to as â€Å"electric shock treatment† (Hollander, 2000) has been in existence for over 60 years in the medical field. The use of this procedure however and the conditions surrounding the need for this treatment has improved in recent years. The procedure is used more for the treatment of severe depression (Hollander, 2000) but may also be considered as treatment for schizophrenia and other similar disorders. The first use of this procedure was in 1938 (The University Hospital, 2007) by the Italian Neurologist Ugo Cerletti, aptly aided by his assistant Lucio Bini. They used the electric shock to induce convulsion and subsequently treat mood disorders. However it was only in the 1970’s in which ECT became accepted and was finally recognized by the APA and NIMH as a viable therapeutic procedure. Even with the recognition by the APA and NIMH as having important medical value, there are a number of concerns surrounding the procedure. In fact, ECT is one of the most highly debatable medical procedures around. One of the biggest concerns is with regards to unrecoverable memory loss (Stevens, 2007) after treatment. This is the reason why the governing policy on ECT primarily focuses on the agreement of the patient to the procedure before undergoing such. Description of the Problem that Necessitated the Policy One of the biggest concerns with regards to the use of ECT as a medical treatment is its suitability for minors. For over 40 years the treatment was designed for adults who suffer mental disorders, particularly severe depression. The growing number of minors with similar disorders and because of unsubstantiated side-effects of the procedure prompted the design of the policy. Minors (Baldwin and Jones, 1998) need to be specifically identified as a no-treatment zone in this area. Description of the Policy Policies governing the use of electroconvulsive therapy as a legitimate medical procedure for mental disorders, specifically for the treatment of severe depression are designed to protect the patient. The Texas Law on this particular issue is the most popular reference to identify the implementing guidelines of ECT. The policy aims to concretize the circumstances surrounding the use of ECT. The requirements are absolute and explicit. It assures safety and protection of the patient and the doctor. As a whole the policy addresses the implementing questions that surround ECT. The pre-treatment requirements are clearly stated and easily understood. There is no way around the points of consideration, thus, proving to be well-established. However, the issue on ECT is not necessarily about the policy governing the treatment. Controversy (www. antipsychiatry. org) is focused on the viability of the treatment itself, which unfortunately, is not addressed by the policy. In fact many organization constantly fight against the use of the procedure even for severe depression, as it is commonly applied. The question on electroconvulsive therapy is more on its effectiveness as a medical procedure. Although there are a good number of documented successes of ECT, there also are a good number of disputes raised. Since the existing policy governing ECT focuses on its implementing guidelines, many disputes are not addressed. Comparative and International Analysis In March 2006, the United Kingdom made a bold move to revise (Ruthen, 2006) their existing policy on electroconvulsive therapy. The changes in the provisions include the strengthening of guideline to safeguard its practice (Ruthen, 2006). They also include the ethical considerations pertaining to safety and effectiveness. Through these provisions, the policy became more comprehensive. It increased the level of safety and security for those which the particular policy is designed. In contrast, the Texas Law as earlier discussed does not provide a clear stand on its effectiveness, efficiency, and safety. Without dealing with the ethical considerations of the procedure, the law merely provides a procedural guideline for implementation. The law neither provides basis for Government action apart from its role on instrumentation. Social Thought and Ideology There are two very contrasting social thoughts on ECT. The first is that electroconvulsive therapy is a highly effective medical procedure for mental disorders. It is safe and effective more particularly for the treatment of severe depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. This view highlights the credibility of the procedure and supports the existing policies for its implementation. In both the US Federal and Texas Laws, legal accountability is placed with the patient and the doctor. Because of substantiated success of the treatment over the course of more than 60 years, the policy is designed to provide implementing guidelines to safeguard its uses. In fact, the US Federal Law specifically states that it is the legal responsibility of the doctor to clarify all pre-treatment requirements with the patient. In no instance does Government interfere with the process. Medical decisions in this case are left between the two parties involved. The strongest evidence of Government involvement in the policy lies on the registration of equipment used in the procedure. On the other hand, the second school of thought questions the very validity of the procedure as a humane alternative to treat mental disorders. Many counterpoints are raised more precisely when it comes to its ethical considerations. This point of view questions the very role of Government in safeguarding the use of this procedure. The existing policy simply does not justify the existence of unsubstantiated side effects, most particularly that of memory loss after treatment. Those who support this view believe that in the more than 60 year history of ECT, there are still so many unanswered concerns surrounding the procedure. Considering this like any other medical solution simply reduces the opportunity to scrutinize the side effects more in-depth. However contradicting the two schools of thought in this matter, there are still points both agree upon. One of these points and probably the most important is that both sides acknowledge the unsuitability of the procedure for minors. The policy was designed to make sure that the protection of minors from this procedure is absolute, not withstanding the otherwise underlying differences in the two schools of thoughts. What Dynamics and Patterns of US Social Policy are Evident in the Policy? Historically (Amenta, Bonastia, and Caren, 2001) the US Social Policy has always been the subjected of much heated debates among policy makers. The major areas that cause quite a stir are in health care, welfare, social services, and employment. There have been many attempts to revise social policies but have failed. In other words, patterns and dynamics of social policies have remained constant for many years. The longstanding debates on social policies (Weir, Orloff, and Skocpol, 1988) affect the progression of other policies. One such policy is that which addresses the mental health care, more specifically the use of electroconvulsive therapy in treating mental disorders. In as much as the social policies go through quite a scrutiny, provisions that deal with ECT are equally scrutinized. The laws that govern the use of ECT do not even state the relevance of this procedure to social welfare or any other social policy. Even though ECT is recognized as a legitimate means to treat mental disorder, there remains indifference on how far Government would go to subsidize this procedure. Conclusion Electroconvulsive therapy is a recognized treatment procedure for mental disorders by both the American Psychological Association and the National Institute of Mental Health. Its more than 60 year track record documents numerous success. In fact, it has gained even greater momentum in recent times. While there is much acclaim for the procedure, there is also much concern. The questions on side effects have not been thoroughly addressed. Policies that govern the procedure do not provide enough assurance of its safety and efficiency. There is a constant fear of other unknown side effects materializing. And with the brain being a highly susceptible mass, there is no guarantee to its long standing recovery effects. The Texas Law does provide a sense of comfort by somehow solidifying pre-treatment requirements. However, after all these requirements have been accomplished, there are no subsequent provisions that address the other important considerations. Apart from the weaknesses in policy there is the constant nagging of unanswered ethical considerations. Even with the numerous reassurances that the procedure is with expressed consent, there is still the question of how humanely applicable is the entire procedure. The policy simply puts accountability to the patient itself. It does not actually define the surrounding qualifications of the entire process. It is therefore inferred that the Texas Laws, although having the beginnings of a solid reference to protect those who undergo ECT still need a great deal of work. It does not matter if it has been the reference of many similar policies. There are important issues about ECT that are not properly addressed, or even considered. True, that with the present policies governing ECT it is always the patient’s choice. Never the less, it is the responsibility of policy makers to provide for informed choices. The human brain is far too important for simple assumptions.