Success Of National Skin Centre Health And Social Care Essay

This study provides an overview of the ways a third health care establishment works towards success to go the top tegument Centre in this part. National Skin Centre is the mark establishment. I will analyse and portion in inside informations on the ways NSC work towards success and be a prima tegument Centre in this part. This includes the assorted new and improved services and comfortss NSC had introduced over the old ages, and the different medical instructions NSC promotes to farther heighten its prima border. Besides, SWOT analysis will be included to analyse how successful NSC is, with recommendations on what NSC can better on. The information gathered and included in this study are collected from NSC web site, NSC recent corporate reappraisals and other utile web sites. Introduction 1.10 About the study 1.11 Objective The aim of this study is to supply an overview of the ways National Skin Centre win in developing itself into the top tegument Centre in this part, and how NSC maintains its fight. 1.20 About National Skin Centre 1.11 Background NSC is a authorities reorganized establishment and a subordinate of National Healthcare Group ( NHG ) . NSC was established on 1 November 1988 after taking over the intervention of tegument diseases from Middle Road Hospital and is presently located in Mandalay Road. Before the edifice of NSC, the intervention of tegument diseases was a chief undertaking of Middle Road Hospital for several decennaries. Over the old ages, it had observed increasing patient burden which caused significant emphasis on the bing infirmary installations. Therefore, in order to function the patients better, the authorities decided to halt runing the infirmary for good and switch its activities and resources devoted to dermatology to a new Centre which is the current NSC. NSC operates as an outpatient specializer dermatological Centre with a squad of advisers who are experienced in handling complex tegument conditions in their clinics. As a third health care establishment, NSC non merely provides specialised dermatological services, it is besides responsible in developing medical undergraduates and graduate students and undertakes dermatological research. General clinics in NSC are divided into private and subsidised clinics, with both of them supplying same professional services. However, the differences between both of them are that, in private clinics, patients are greeted with better atmospheres and are given the luxury of personalising their interventions. Patients in the subsidised clinics, without the privileges stated above, pay lower cost due to the interventions they receive being partly funded by authorities through one-year grants. In entire, NSC handles about 1000 patients day-to-day. Besides dermatology, NSC has an external clinic, Department of STI Control ( DSC ) which concentrates in dermato-venerology due to increasing STI incidence. The lone public specializer STI clinic in Singapore is DSC which offers assorted services at subsidised charges. DSC besides offers medical preparation to undergraduates and postgraduates physicians. 1.12 Mission and Vision Their mission is to be the national and regional Centre of excellence for the diagnosing and intervention of tegument diseases. They are committed to supply cost-efficient and specialised attention of medical tegument conditions in a scene of clinically relevant research, quality instruction and patient safety. Their vision is ‘Adding old ages of healthy life to the people of Singapore ‘ . 1.13 Goals National Skin Centre aims to concentrate people who are specialized and interested in the field of dermatology into one establishment, supplying sub-specialization and be the taking Centre for research, interventions and geting accomplishments on different facets of tegument diseases. NSC besides aims to win in supplying good services for both their patients and staffs. For their patients, NSC will make its best to react and run into the lifting outlooks and demands of persons by supplying the highest quality of medical intervention in a cheaper manner. For their staffs, NSC will make its best to let them to work in a more hearty environment with assurance and dignity, and travel on to better themselves depending on their capableness. Body 2.10 Services and Comfortss Although NSC has established itself as the top tegument Centre in this part, it invariably introduces new and improved services and comfortss to heighten its quality services in a positive manner. One of the major factors that marked the success of NSC is that it is the first health care establishment in Singapore to travel paperless in 2004, by implementing the Electronic Medical Records ( EMR ) system. This system allows patient minutess to be done electronically, get downing with on-line patient assignment, self-registration booths, electronic medical recordings, physician order entries for interventions, research lab trials and prescriptions, charge and pharmaceutics operations. Due to the increasing patient burden in recent old ages, NSC faced jobs impacting the overall service degrees. So as a consequence, NSC hopes to better the service criterions to their patients and with EMR, and therefore, jobs were minimized. Besides being environmental friendly, it ensures decrease in waiting clip, information fluxing seamlessly across the full Centre, and decrease of medicine mistakes due to intelligent cheques for prescriptions. Overall, this shows NSC attempts in minimising job s faced and increasing overall service degree. In 2006, NSC brought in a few new services and introduced a new clinic. One of the services introduced was Fractional Photothermolysis, a optical maser service that helps better certain skin conditions while another service was the Photodynamic Therapy which is an alternate intervention for patients who are non suited to travel for surgery that involves the application of a photosensitiser and an energizing visible radiation for handling certain tegument diseases. NSC was the first in the part to present the Total Body Photography service, an advanced engineering designed for observing early phases of tegument malignant neoplastic diseases. NSC besides introduced extensions of clinical and intervention Sessionss such as Saturday forenoon clinics for non-subsidized patients every two months, and Tuesday and Thursday eventide for intervention Sessionss, due to increasing petitions from working patients and NSC ‘s attempts to cut down waiting clip. There is another successful serv ice provided by NSC, which is the joint telemedicine undertaking with IMH. This undertaking works by holding unrecorded audio-visual connexion which allows physicians to follow-up with IMH patients, therefore cutting down costs and clip while retaining high clinical criterions. In add-on, a new agreeableness, Mandalay Clinic Laser Suites which is the largest aesthetic dermatology clinic in the part, was opened to supply wide-range of dermatological attention for patients with the latest and widest scope of dermatology optical masers and other equipments. In the undermentioned twelvemonth, a figure of new services were added and upgrading of a clinic was done. The waiting country of Clinic B was upgraded to better work flow, comfort and privateness for patients, with an excess audience room to get by with the increasing patient figure. Besides betterment work, Mandalay Clinic brought in a new service called MiXto SX Fractional CO2 Laser which is the latest attack to laser skin resurfacing. This new optical maser allows faster mending procedure and enables patients to recover normal activities sooner. Besides, NSC is the first in South East Asia to present Non-cultured Cellular Grafting, a transplant process for vitiligo patients and is an advantage for those who failed other interventions, and is much safer, cheaper and lesser labours as compared to other organ transplant methods. Subsequently in the twelvemonth, NSC started a Thursday Skin Cancer Clinic to concentrate, early diagnose and dainty patients with skin malignant neoplastic diseases. The attention for skin malignant neoplastic disease patients was further enhanced by presenting Mohs Micrographic Surgery which is another service that NSC came in first to supply for patients in Singapore. This surgical service ensures best remedy rates and lowest opportunity of reoccurrence. NSC strives to supply better services and concentrate on their patients ‘ safety. As in mid 2008, clinic A had redevelopments to minimise falling hazard with non-slip floor coating, acquiring rid of sharps hurt with libertine and drum sander fixtures, and bettering exigency response system in the process and intervention suites. Due to an spread outing patient figure, there were an increased in figure of installations in clinic Angstrom to let better work flow and comfort. A new Cutera Xeo Platform Laser brought in by Mandalay Clinic, is an improved version of the old CoolGlide Laser and it has more than one uses for intervention of certain tegument diseases. Besides, to supply convenience for their visitants and staffs, NSC begins shuttle coach service to and from NSC and Novena MRT station, at regular intervals of 20minutes from 0730 to 1730 every weekday. On top of new services introduced, NSC besides opened a new Eczema Clinic to offer thorough quality attention for patient s enduring from different signifiers of eczema as eczema or dermatitis is the most common tegument disease that NSC handles. An Acne Clinic was incorporated by NSC in 2009 to offer quality attention for moderate-to-severe acne vulgaris patients due to it being the 2nd top tegument disease NSC handles. New services such as VTRAC Excimer Lamp, Cutera XEO Laser, and Wireless @ NSC were introduced. The VTRAC Excimer Lamp is used for handling psoriasis and vitiligo patients, and it completes the current assortment of phototherapy devices in NSC. Cutera XEO Laser adds on to the optical masers in Mandalay Clinic and it treats different vascular conditions including leg venas. Establishing Wireless @ NSC allows visitants to surf the net when they are in NSC. Last, DSC came up with assignment booking system to get by with the increasing patient burden and to cut down waiting clip. 2.20 Medical Education and Trainings Not merely did NSC seek to supply quality services, it besides seek to advance dermatology in this part, and heighten their staffs ‘ competence and NSC ‘s prima border. In guaranting that NSC would go on to heighten quality attention to patients, some staffs had the opportunity to travel abroad well-known dermatological Centres for developing advancement under the support of NHG HMDP ( Health Manpower and Development Programme ) . Experiences and cognition were gained from this fond regard which allows betterment in staffs ‘ soft accomplishments. Besides sending staffs overseas, there will be few sing experts from abroad coming to NSC each twelvemonth to portion their expertness with NSC ‘s medical staffs through treatments and learning Sessionss. These Sessionss allow staffs to derive cognition and therefore, assistance in hiking quality patient attention and the taking border of NSC in dermatology. As an Institution of Dermatology, Singapore ( IODS ) , NSC had been actively forming educational programmes which are known as one of the taking programmes in this part in advancing promotion of dermatology. Since the constitution of NSC, it is responsible in supplying dermatological instruction for undergraduates of National University of Singapore and abroad undergraduates. An Advanced Specialist Training Programme was offered to convey out the following coevals of skin doctors, holding advisers oversing on registrars and registrars are involved in academic activities. Upon go throughing, registrars can go associate advisers. Besides, NSC organized learning programmes in dermatology to upgrade professional criterions with different clinical processs and disease direction. For those abroad skin doctors who hoped to better their accomplishments in certain subspecialties, they will go to specialised fond regards about these subspecialties. Another programme NSC had been actively formi ng is the Continual Medical Education which includes wireless negotiations, seminars and forums to maintain up the professional competence of physicians. Not merely did NSC form seminars for physicians, druggists, nurses, research lab technicians, it besides organized public instruction to let the populace to hold better apprehension of different tegument diseases and therapies through NSC web site, public forums and books. 2.30 Internal Environment of NSC 2.31 Strengths Bing the first health care establishment in Singapore to travel paperless with EMR system, it shows the success of NSC towards accomplishing excellence in services. This system benefits NSC by increasing patient safety, reduces jobs faced and better overall service degree. Over the old ages, NSC ne'er failed to implement new services and comfortss, and better bing 1s. By making so, it shows NSC ‘s attempts in continually supplying better and more comprehensive services to patients. Some services serve as an alternate method or improved version for handling certain tegument diseases which may be safer and better for patients while some services may be a method used for handling more than one type of tegument conditions which overall helps increase the opportunity of handling patients and heighten NSC ‘s quality services. Besides, some of the services NSC offers are non offered by other tegument clinics in Singapore. This ensures the success of NSC as it will pull patients with complex tegument conditions for better and broad scope of interventions. For comfortss, NSC did upgrading by adding audience suites to get by with increasing patient burden, and presenting new clinics like for case, Eczema clinic as eczema or dermatitis is the top tegu ment disease seen in NSC for the past few old ages so it shows the demand for NSC to supply thorough quality attention to those patients enduring from different signifiers of eczema. [ Figure 1: Dermatitis ranking the first tegument disease seen over the old ages ] In add-on, continually enahncing overall services to patients will assist increase satisfaction and recommendation degree of patients towards NSC. From Figure 2 and 3 below, it shows patient satisfaction degree is every bit high as 86 % and 90 % of patients would urge NSC to others. [ Figure 2: Overall patient satisfaction degree ( % ) in 2009 ] [ Figure 3: Overall patient recommendation degree ( % ) in 2009 ] With continous attempt to enahnce quality betterment, NSC was awarded with assorted accreditations in recent old ages. One of the accreditations is ISO 15189:2003 accreditation of research lab, recognized internationally, and it reflects NSC research lab competency and highest quality criterions in transporting out medical proving for all applied trials. Next is the full accreditation which reflects NSC committedness to transport out highest criterions for all research and to supply complete protections to research workers. Last, Joint Commission International accreditation in ambulatory attention was achieved by NSC, the first state in South East Asia to have such award. It proves NSC had met those criterions designed to better patient safety and clincial quality. As a healthcare establishment, it is really of import for NSC to engage medical staffs who are qualified, trained and run into the minimal instruction requriements for the occupation so as to present quality attention to patients. NSC ever sees the safety of patients as greatest importance. All new staffs will have on-the-job preparation and must run into the criterion occupation demands to be certified before NSC confirms engaging them. These guarantee merely extremely qualified, experient staffs are being hired to heighten patient safety, quality attention and NSC ‘s repute. NSC is really active in forming instruction and research events in dermatology and venerology. The puting up of IODS strengthen NSC ‘s instruction and research activities, and their instruction programme is identified as one of the taking dermatology preparation Centre. NSC has been running several programmes such as Undergraduates Medical Education, Advance Specialist Training Programme, Upgrading Professional Standards and Continual Medical Education which help to promote promotion of dermatology in this part. IODS AIDSs in accomplishing NSC ‘s mission to be national and regional instruction Centre, and besides in advancing research in Singapore. 2.32 Failings The outpatient Centre operates merely on weekdays and during office hours which may be inconvenient for some pupils and those working. Although NSC introduced Saturday private clinic, but some on the job patients may still confront long waiting period for assignment because Saturday clinical session operates merely one time every two months and many working people will be line uping to book assignment for this session. However, for case, other tegument clinics such as Raffles Skin Centre, provides clinical session every Saturday forenoon, and Changi General Hospital dermatology clinic provides every Wednesday and Friday eventide Sessionss. Besides, certain subspecialty clinics in NSC operate merely one time a hebdomad which may be deficient and may take to long waiting period for assignments. For case, both acne and eczema clinics operate one time a hebdomad but both acne and eczema ( or dermatitis ) are the top two most seen tegument diseases at NSC. These patients, normally with moderate-to-severe acne or eczema would desire to follow-up interventions every bit shortly as possible but non being able to make so. This will once more ensue in long waiting period for many patients and defeat will necessarily happen. [ Figure 4: Top two tegument diseases seen at NSC over the old ages ] A SMS service to inform patients about how many patients are line uping before them and the estimated waiting clip is non provided in NSC. This service for patients upon enrollment is to inform them about the figure of patients before them so as to let patients to cognize about how long they have to wait and they can go to to other affairs alternatively of sitting there waiting aimlessly. For case, another healthcare establishment provides such service which allow their patients to be informed. 2.40 External Environment of NSC 2.41 Opportunities In Singapore, the chief dermatology specializer Centre is NSC. Although there are other dermatology clinics or sections out at that place, but it is unjust to compare a Centre with a clinic or section straight. This is due to the fact that a Centre is a large establishment with board of managers, direction squad, squad of staffs and several sections while a clinic or section merely has a little squad of staffs. So with NSC being the chief Centre that manages all types of tegument conditions and holding good repute in Singapore, it allows NSC to stay competitory and successful. NSC had many on-going and new research undertakings each twelvemonth, and these undertakings were supported by external research support and holding industry-sponsored undertakings. To go on spread outing its research web, NSC had coactions with external local and/or international companies. With the support and coactions, NSC will be able to rise its research capablenesss. Every twelvemonth at that place will be a few medical staffs being sent to abroad well-known dermatological Centres for advanced preparation and besides few sing abroad experts coming to NSC to portion their expertness and experience with staffs. Through these, medical staffs will be better equipped with cognition, experience and hands-on work which will further increase NSC ‘s taking border in dermatology. Therefore, it allows NSC to heighten criterions of quality service and attention to their patients which contributes to high satisfaction and recommendation degrees shown in Figure 2 and 3. Besides, with increasing quality service and attention, it consequences in an increase of patient burden over the old ages. [ Figure 5: Increasing patient attending over the old ages ] 2.42 Menaces Epidemics such as H1N1 and MRSA had pose menace to NSC operations. During these epidemics, NSC had to put costs on systems to guarantee patients and staffs safety, and had to take steps to guarantee NSC is safe. NSC will confront low staffs available as staffs may fall sick and quarantine which affects NSC work flow. Other than staffs falling ill, NSC will besides confront decreased in patient burden as some patients were ill, do non desire to maintain stepping out of house, or think that health care installations are non safe which consequences in appointment cancellation. Another possible menace would be the high outlooks from public and patients. To get by with the imperfect and of all time altering populating environment, outlooks and demands towards health care will therefore increase. Servicess provided by NSC are rated by patients and there are a few patients who may be unsated and may non urge NSC to others as it is non easy to run into every person needs with raising outlooks such as some patients expect high criterion of medical service at a low cost. Besides, although NSC has established itself as the chief tegument Centre with good repute, the populace may non merely take to travel NSC as some may transport the mentality of other private tegument clinics would offer better client services or would hold more experient physicians than public clinics. Recommendations Though NSC has set up itself as the top tegument Centre in this part, it should continually better the services to keep its fight. For the past few old ages, attempts of NSC seeking to cut down waiting clip for audience was observed but another job NSC patients faced was the long waiting period for assignment. I recommend that NSC increase the frequence of Saturday forenoon clinic and introduce weekdays flushing clinics. Besides, figure of operating yearss for those subspecialty clinics that are specialized in the top few tegument diseases should increase. Following, I would urge NSC to implement SMS services to their patients upon enrollment to inform them about the figure of patients before them and/or SMS services to inform those patients who are interested to be informed when their audience bend nears. This will heighten NSC service provided and maintain NSC remain competitory. Since services were rated by patients, a manner to cut down unsated patients is to invariably take the enterprise to roll up feedbacks from patients alternatively of patients lending voluntarily. By making so, I think NSC will be able to obtain more feedbacks and work on betterment if capable. NSC can besides seek to increase public consciousness of its betterments and freshly implemented services each twelvemonth, particularly those services that NSC is the first to offer in Singapore. This will let more people to be cognizant of NSC services, betterments, and cognize more about NSC. Decision In decision, NSC has established itself as the top chief tegument Centre in this part. With no similar tegument Centre in Singapore, it makes NSC the chief dermatological Centre and together with good repute among Singaporeans, it allows them to stay successful throughout the old ages. Despite being the taking tegument Centre, NSC still continues to work towards its end to accomplish excellence in all services by implementing and upgrading services and comfortss to supply quality service to their patients, and on the other manus, to keep its fight. Furthermore, NSC besides seeks to supply better quality attention to their patients by holding their staffs to better their soft accomplishments and cognition, and by affecting in advancing dermatology and conducting researches. Therefore, attempts of NSC working towards their end and success were seen. To stay successful and competitory, NSC can take advantage of their strengths and chances, and seek ways to better on their failings and support their menaces. I believe NSC will go on endeavoring to maintain itself successful, and maintain as the taking and top tegument Centre in this part in old ages to come.

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Conducting a Literature Review Data Collection (SLP2) - Essay Example Knowledge of the possible effects of these methods could help prevent future such tragedies. Planned Parenthood is a good starting point for determining what types of birth control exist and their effectiveness, though they cannot be considered an unbiased source. While their mission is to help provide women with good information, they do tend to push the usage of hormonal methods to prevent pregnancy. The articles on their website written by physicians and other professionals can therefore be used, but carefully. A search of the PubMed Central database for "birth control" returned an extremely large number of hits, though many were unrelated to my research topic. One possible useful result is the article "New low-dose, extended-cycle pills with levonorgestrel and ethinyl estradiol: an evolutionary step in birth control" by Nelson, A. which is a longitudinal study of hormonal birth control pills in the last fifty years. Many other results are similarly helpful. A final database searc h for "birth control" of MedCentral provided 297 free journal articles and numerous other resources on birth control types and their safety.

Criminal Procedures in the News Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Criminal Procedures in the News - Essay Example Safety measures have been given the topmost priority. All the cities are under heavy security. Surveillance is the one of the safety measures employed to check criminal activities. Though sometimes these activities may breach privacy policies citizens of America should understand that it is for their own good. After 9/11 the American policies towards international community has changed considerably. As President Bush said you are with us or against us. The main victims of criminal are the innocent citizens. Mostly children are attracted towards criminal activities. In the recent past we have seen the news of gun firing in schools and other educational institutions. These incidents indicates that how the society has been disturbed. There is no safety not even in their home state and in their own house. Though the police department and other security agencies are providing foolproof security no one knows who will strike terror and from where. The students and other children involved in shootouts were sent to juvenile homes. They were treated as juveniles. Special psychological treatments were given o them. Juvenile homes make every effort to turn them into responsible citizens. The main reason for children committing crimes is the domestic violence.

MUSEUM VISIT AND ANALYSIS OF A WORK OF ART Essay

MUSEUM VISIT AND ANALYSIS OF A WORK OF ART - Essay Example The sculpted image brings the two Hindu deities; Shiva and Parvati, into a mutual harmony that pictures a microcosm of the Hindu society. Upon critical assessment of the artwork, it is clear that there was an elucidation of a vision of reunion of nature. The artwork can be said to be a microcosm of societal codependence and coexistence. Moreover, the elucidation and texture of the sculpture exudes power and authority to the viewer in the finest nuances. The Stele with Shiva and Parvati is a high relief sculpture on hard wood. In the sculpture, the deities are attended by their offspring; the human headed Skanda on the lower right and the elephant headed Ganesha on the lower left. There is also Shiva’s bull Nandi that protrudes his head besides Shiva’s right hip. Notable in this artwork is the detail with which the sculpture tried to create the whole form. In this artwork, as in the other works of Indian art, there is a voluptuous feeling because of the freedom of expres sion. This form gives the artwork a strong sense of Indian culture of the 10th and 11th century. The sculpture is a depiction of images that were central to the iconography of Paryathi in India including the theme of Shiva, the image of Shiva and the image of Liga and Yoni. The images form a combination of Shiva and Parvati, yielding a vision of reconciliation as seen in the sculpture. In the artwork, it is clear that the two deities are interdependent and their positioning breaks the rule of Indian art a little by depicting the two with no significant size difference. They are therefore, almost commanding the same power and ability. This means that may be the person who curved it attempted to deconstruct the Hindu social expectation and hierarchy of deities. Although, in reality the Shiva looks bigger in size and form in this sculpture; the earlier artworks depicts this difference as substantial. The form and texture of the sculpture is also an interesting part. For example, the co mbination of the two deities may also symbolize a union of man and woman in elation and sexual bliss; given by the shiny surface which characterizes sexual power. As alluded before, the style in this sculpture is slightly drifting from the traditional Hindu art made before and after by the fact that in the creation of the two deities, Shiva is depicted as powerful and huge in size than Parvati who is depicted as smaller in size and submissive. The Hindu mythology has it that Parvati is the source of all power, and although Parvati is junior to Shiva, Shiva gets all his power from her. Therefore, this artwork stands with its own narrative different from the pieces created of Shiva and Parvati before and after this work’s creation period. This makes it representative of style of the artworks created during its time, but different to the then popular thematic narrative. This sculpture was intended to be placed in a temple or visible public walls in India because it depicted two deities, which were highly significant in the Hindu religion. In line with the dressing code of the central India, Parvati is in a dress that flows to her feet. Their independence to each other depicts the way Indian religion viewed the deities as independent, but mutually

How has China been affected by globalization Essay Example for Free

How has China been affected by globalization Essay In the late 1970s China made perhaps its most significant strategic political manoeuvre of the 20th Century when it embarked on a series of economic reforms that embraced globalization (Bijian, 2005). Deng Xiaoping and other Chinese leaders believed that to further Chinas development, participation in an open global economy would be crucial to its survival (Chow, 2002) During the three decades since these reforms Chinas political and economic institutions have undergone a dramatic transition (Overholt, 2005 and Economy, 1998). China has shifted from the worlds greatest opponent of globalization into a committed member of a global economy and advocate of globalization (Overholt, 2005). The pinnacle of this transformation and Chinas economic growth was its admission into to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) on 11 December, 2001 (Allen et al, 2006 and Fishman, 2005). Consequently, China is now subjected to international trends and forces to a degree unprecedented since 1949 (Bijian, 2005 and Chow, 2004). In this essay I will analyse the effect that globalization has had on Chinas political, economic, legal and technological institutions. Furthermore, I will also analyse whether China has been forced to change to pander to the international economic community or whether it has voluntarily instituted change for its own benefit and development. However before analysing the effect that globalization has had on China it is important to understand what the term globalisation means. Globalisation became a buzz word in the 1990s because of its influence in creating a world in which geographic location became increasingly irrelevant (Immerfall 2006). In essence globalisation refers to the unrestricted flow of goods, capital, information, technology and people across national borders (Chow, 2005a). Globalisation is, however, by no means a new phenomenon and China has been subjected to its effects for many centuries (Alford, 1999). In fact, the effects of globalisation in China go as far back as the Han dynasty (206BC-220AD) when trade took place between the Han Chinese and neighbouring people in the North-west through the Silk Route (Chow, 2004: 3). Despite this, in the Qing Dynasty and the early stages of the Chinese Communist Partys rule, right up until Deng Xiaopings open door policy, China tried  to close its doors and restrict the influence of globalisation (Street, 2000 and Chow 2004 and 2005a). This was not the first time that China was forced to confront and implement a national strategy to either embrace or combat the effects of globalisation. In fact, as recently as the 1990s, China was confronted by this conundrum, namely: whether to continue its global economic expansion in the face of the Asian financial crisis or to once again close it doors and retreat inwards to protect itself from the economic fallout of a struggling region (Fishman, 2005 and Nolan, 2001). However, by carefully weighing the advantages and disadvantages of economic openness the Chinese government decided to open up the Chinese economy even more, and eventually joined the World Trade Organization by implementing large economic reforms (Bijian, 2005). There is no doubting that these economic reforms and Chinas embracement of globalisation has brought stunning results. Since starting to open up and reform its economy in 1978, China has averaged 9.4 percent annual GDP growth, one of the highest growth rates in the world (Bijian, 2005: 3). One of the reasons for the huge leaps in growth has come from direct foreign investment that has been facilitated by Chinas admission to the WTO. For example, in the space of a few days in 2004, a North Korean Steel Company launched a $500 million steel project in the Dalian development zone; Frances St Gobain invested $70 million in one of its existing glass production lines in China; Germanys Siemens opened its fortieth office in China for development of software; and Finlands Stora Enso invested $1.6 billion in a paper pulp project in Guandong Province (Hall et al, 2004). Such results have seen China become the third largest trading country in the world and the envy of many developing economies around the world (Chow, 2005b). While such economic statistics are regularly celebrated by the Chinese government as a success of Chinas inclusion into the WTO, many in China are in fact lamenting the negative effects of globalisation and the scrutiny that WTO membership has brought. In fact WTO membership came at a very high price for the domestic Chinese economy (Overholt, 2005). Throughout the 80s  and 90s China initiated structural changes such as the phasing out of direct subsidies for exports and began cutting tariffs in preparation for inclusion into the WTO (Pearson, 2001). Over the three years from 1994 to 1997, the countrys average tariff rate was lowered from about 43 to 17 per cent and at the time of Chinas entry into the WTO in late 2001, the overall average was just 15 per cent. Such drastic economic changes were at the behest of the WTO and the result being that a lot of factories and domestic industries have gone bankrupt because many people prefer foreign products which have become cheaper as a r esult of Chinas inclusion into WTO (Solinger, 2005). Furthermore, Moore (2002) also argues that Chinas accession into the World Trade Organization could be viewed as more beneficial to the rest of the world rather than China itself. WTO commitments made by China do not in any way protect Chinas domestic producers and therefore the argument that that the greatest benefit of Chinas WTO membership is enjoyed by foreign companies is indeed a valid one (Moore, 2002: 311). Yang (2004: 307) argues that admission into the WTO was in fact too big of a restructure step for China and continues by noting that Chinese involvement in the WTO is great for foreign companies and bad for local ones because one of the first laws enacted to ensure WTO membership was designed to attract and protect investment from overseas. It is clear that this lack of protectionism, although beneficial to the outside world, has been disrupted the income to domestic businesses. Of particular note is the fact that with Chinas WTO membership foreign investors have been allowed access to markets that were previously restricted or highly regulated (Samuelson, 2004 and Pearson, 2001). These incursions have been most evident in the insurance, telecommunications, and financial industries (Prasad, 2004). Such competition is however of great benefit to the domestic Chinese consumer. In fact, fifteen years ago China barely had any mobile telecommunication services, whereas now it claims more than 300 million mobile phone subscribers, more than any other nation (Bijian, 2005). Whether this is a result of modernisation or globalisation is highly debatable, but it is clear that Chinese consumers are embracing the increase in products and services provided by many foreign companies. Other than the local businesses being hurt by foreign investments and industries, the labour market in China is also suffering from major unemployment as a result of the forces of globalisation (Chow, 2004). While entry into the WTO has in itself not created joblessness, it has however heightened a number of trends that were already underway, including accelerating the rate of insolvency of state owned enterprises. The result being the discharge of tens of millions of workers who, when they were younger, were once assured of employment by the socialist state (Economy, 1998 and Chow 2004 and 2005b). According to Prasad (2004: 6) the unemployment problem is in fact likely to worsen over the next few years due to restructuring in the rural and state enterprise sectors, the very type of restructuring that has been mandated upon China by the World Trade Organisation. Another cause of the unemployment problem currently facing the Chinese economy is its shift away from sunset industries such as manufacturing, mining and construction to newer industries that demand workers with specialised skills (Prasad, 2004; Solinger 2005 and Yang 2004). Similar changes are evident in Chinas effort to upgrade its technology industry, which has not only involved the replacement of much unskilled labour but in many cases also reduces the need to employ as many skilled blue-collar workers (Nolan, 2001 and Economy, 1998). While this can not be directly liked to WTO membership it is clear that the forces of globalisation are having a major impact on the Chinese economy, the products it produces and its labour force. The amazing growth in Chinas economy as a result of its increased participation and integration in a global economy is also having social and political consequences. Most notable a growing divide between Chinas rich and poor. Obviously China would not have self imposed such drastic economic changes purely to encourage direct foreign investment to the detriment of domestic businesses, but it is clear the benefits of the global marketplace are not being shared around Chinas 1.3 billion people (Solinger, 2005 and Chow, 2004). It is very much the case in China that the rich are getting  richer and the poor are just getting left behind. This is also evident in the growing regional inequalities in China. Despite the governments attempts to rectify the situation, foreign investment has continued to flow to those provinces where education levels are the highest, infrastructure most well developed and political power most concentrated (Overholt, 2005 and Economy, 1998). Moreover, while the wealthier provinces in theory pay taxes to the centre to compensate the poorer provinces, in practice this system has failed allowing corruption to flourish, resulting in power becoming de-centralised from Beijing to local authorities. Not surprisingly such inequality has contributed to serious political tension between the haves and have nots (Bijian 2005 and Economy 1998). Overholt (2005: 7) however argues that despite the growing divide between the rich and poor, the Chinese overwhelmingly support further globalisation. Overholt (2005: 7) asserts that no large country in human history has ever experienced such rapid improvements in living standards and working conditions as China has in its acceptance of adjustments to accommodate the forces of globalisation. So while the economic dividends of Chinas rapid growth are not being shared equally around the country, the majority are nonetheless better off. One of the reasons for such widespread approval of the modernisation of the economy has been the upgrading of technology, especially telecommunications which has been an essential aspect of the Chinese governments plans for continued economic growth (Chow, 2004 and 2005a and Econommy, 1998). Normally if there is general contentment among the population then this would provide little in the way of difficulties for those in power. Fred Tipson (1998: 12) however, notes a difficult conundrum for the Chinese government in their embracement of economic globalisation. The Chinese leadership has repeatedly emphasized the central role of telecommunications and information technologies in building its modern economy†¦..on the one hand, actively promoting a modern communications infrastructure, while on the other hand, repeatedly trying to control the content and uses of the information that pulses through it. Tipson (1998) concludes that the  communications revolution will diminish the need or inclination of most Chinese to defer to central authority or accept routinely the governments characterization of reality.The Chinese government is more than aware of the threat to its power that the technological revolution and global scrutiny presents. Given the current uprisings and discontent in Tibet the government has blocked access to many websites to control the flow of information to not only its own people, but the international community (Maunder, 2008). So while the forces of globalisation may have brought prosperity to China, the Chinese government also has to work overtime to maintain its grip on power. When evaluating the impact that globalisation has had on China it is important not to lose sight of the big picture. Economic growth alone does not provide a full picture of a countrys development and despite Chinas population of 1.3 billion, its Chinas economy is still just one-seventh the size of the United States (Bijian, 2005). However, the open-door policy that was first advanced by Deng Xiaoping in the late 1970s has been of great success in modernising China. It is true that such rapid growth has presented China with some problems, including the demise of some domestic industries, unemployment and minor political instability, however given its current path it appears that Chinas rise to superpower status is inevitable. BIBLIOGRAPHY Alford, William (1999) Does the rule of law really rule? paper presented before the Conference on Policy Reform in China, Center for Research in Economic Development and Policy Research, Standford University, November 18-20, 1999 (Online) Available from: http://www.cdy.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/11/3/287.pdf [Accessed 10th March 2008]Allen, Franklin. Jun Qian and Meijun Qian (2006), Chinas Financial Reform: Past, Present and Future in Loren Brandt and Thomas Rawski, ed. Chinas Economic Transition: Origins, Mechanism, and Consequences. University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School: MimeoBijian, Zheng (2005) Chinas Peaceful Rise to Great-Power Status Foreign Affairs September/October 2005Chow, Gregory (2002) Chinas Economic Transformation Oxford: Blackwell Publishing CompanyChow, Gregory (2004) Knowing China Singapore: World Scientific Publishing CompanyChow, Gregory (2005a) Corruption and Economic Reform in the Early 21st Century Princeton University, California: MimeoChow, Greogry and Yan, Shen (2005b) Demand for Education in China Princeton University, California: MimeoEconomy, Elizabeth (1998) China Confronts the Challenge of Globalization New York: Rockefeller Brothers Fund, IncFishman, Ted (2005) How the rise of the next super power challenges America and the world New York, N.Y.: ScribnerHall, D., Jones, R., and Raffo, C. (2004) Business Studies 3rd Edition, Lancashire: Causeway Press LtdImerfall, Stefan (2006) Territoriality in the Globalizing Society: One Place or None? (Online) Available from: http://www.amazon.com/Territoriality-Globalizing-Society-European-Transatlantic/dp/3540643222 [Accessed 9th March 2008]Maunder, Patricia (2008) The Great Firewall of China The Age, March 20, 2008 (Online) Available from: http://www.theage.com.au/news/web/the-great-firewall-of-china/2008/03/18/1205602389513.html? [Accessed 21st March 2008]Moore, Thomas (20 02) China in the World Market New York, NY: Cambridge University PressNolan, Peter (2001) China and the Global Economy: National Champions, Industrial Policy and the Big Business Revolution New York, N.Y: PalgraveOverholt, W (2005) China and Globalization Testimony before the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, May 19, 2005. Santa Monica, California: Rand CorporationPearson, Margaret (2001) The Case of Chinas Accession to the GATT/WTO, in David M. Lampton (ed.), The Making of Chinese Foreign and Security Policy in the Era of Reform, 1978-2000 Stanford: Stanford University PressPrasad, Eswar (2004) Chinas Growth and Integration into the World Economy: Prospects and Challenges International Monetary Fund Publications, June 17, 2004. Samuelson, Paul (2004) Where Ricardo and Mill Rebut and Confirm Arguments of Mainstream Economists Supporting Globalization Economic Perspectives, 18: 3 Summer, 2004Solinger, Dorothy (2005) Chinese Urban Jobs and the WTO The China Journal, May 2005Street, N., Lynch, M and Marilyn, J (2000) American Business in China: Balancing Culture and Communication (Online) Available from: http://www.cald.org/website/polparties_asia.htm [Accessed 5th March 2008]Tipson, Fred (1998) China and the Information Revolution China Joins the World: progress and Prospects New York: Council for Foreign Relations PressYang, Dali (2003) Remaking the Chinese Leviathan Stanford,

Socio-Political Evidences Of His Controversial Death Essay Example for Free

Socio-Political Evidences Of His Controversial Death Essay United States President John F. Kennedy was assassinated on Friday November 22, 1963 in Dallas, Texas, at 12:30 PM Central time. He was on a campaign and support trip through Texas in anticipation of the upcoming 1964 presidential election. Kennedy was fatally wounded by multiple gunshots while riding in an open-top automobile. Texas Governor John B. Connally was also severely injured. The crime was officially attributed by the Warren Commission to certain Lee Harvey Oswald who was later killed in prison after two of his arrest. There was existing multi-faceted evidence that can lead to the real killer but as of this time, everything was left in mystery. This paper would like to make it a point that certain political decisions made by John F. Kennedy lead to his death. IN certain phases of the issue, some social events and realities in his life also contributed to his death such as his relationships with women and his religion-the Roman Catholic. The list of suspects goes on with the CIA, the Cubans, the KGB and the MAFIA, the people he emotionally hurt during his illicit sexual relationships, the officials he axed and the personnel he tried to humiliate during his term. The Warren report states, that Lee Harvey Oswald committed the murder alone out of his misguided communist ideals and desire to achieve fame in the only way that he could imagine. Oswald stated after his capture, that he is only a â€Å"patsy†, but since he was killed two days after the assassination by an infamous low level mafia gangster, nightclub owner, illegal drug and gun runner called Jack Ruby, no information could be gained from him. Whether Oswald really worked alone, as the report stated, remains a mystery, but he could also have been the gunmen of a large organization. BACKGROUND OF THE ASSASSINATION EVENT Here is the gist of the Warren Report on the actual assassination event. John F. Kennedy was in a trip to Dallas with his wife Jackie in an open limousine on November 22, 1963. The Presidential motorcade left Love Field at around 11:50am to drive through downtown Dallas. Warren Report stressed that from Love Field point, there were two occasions wherein the President personally requested to stop the limousine: first when he has to shake hands with the people who came to see him in the streets and the second one was when he has to speak to a Catholic nun he found on his way with a group of children (The Warren Report, p. 46). Actual footages and written reports literally would say that JFK, even in Dallas alone have been loved by the people. At 12:30 (EST) the limousine drove off to Elm Street through Triple Underpass. At that point, witnesses have heard several gunshots aimed at the President (p. 48). A certain Special Agent Rufus W. Youngblood confirmed that it was exactly 12:30 when he saw the sign clock situated at the top of the Texas Schoolbook Depository Building. A few seconds after that moment, gunshots were heard (ibid). Other witnesses in the motorcade also confirmed the time. Roy Kellerman who was then at the limousine signaled to the limousine driven, Special Agent Greer that it was 12:30 on his watch. Also, a police log on the radio report made by Chief of Police Curry, reporting the President was shot, confirmed 12:30pm (p. 49). The death of JFK was attributed to a certain Lee Harvey Oswald, who was then employed in the Texas Schoolbook Depository. There are theories that would point to Oswald as the lone shooter but there are also claims that it would be impossible to have just one shooter in that particular instance (Taylor, G. 2008). We will further look into that angle in the later part of this paper. Meanwhile, Taylor (2008) explained that there were a total of seven gunshots fired towards the limousine during the assassination but the third shot, based on Warren Report, was the fatal bullet that went through the head of the President. Other gunshots hit the President at the back while the others hit Governor Connally. Connally, then the Governor of Texas was with his wife in the limousine at the back where the President and his wife were seated. Both were rushed to the Parkland Memorial Hospital but the President did not survive. Soon after the body was removed from the hospital, Mrs. Kennedy opted to have the autopsy done at the National Naval Medical Center at Bethesda, Md. , where the President once served. The autopsy report concluded that the death was caused by a â€Å"Gunshot wound, head† (Warren Report, p. 60). However, there was another gunshot wound at the President’s head located at the right part of the forehead and the one that juts out at the back of the skull (ibid). Another serious wound was found at the back of the neck, according to official report. THE SUSPECTS FOR THE ASSASSINATION The purpose of this paper is primarily to prove that JFK’s death was due to political decisions during his presidency aside from other social factors such as his personal lifestyle. Although JFK’s death was still officially unsolved, decades of investigation and speculations brought to multi-faceted cause of his death and therefore a tree of suspects whose root was not yet particularly identified. Suspects include the Mafia, the Cubans, the KGB, the CIA, his political enemies inside the US Government and even Lyndon Johnson, his then Vice-President. We will examine JFK’s connections to each of these groups and people in order for us to determine the possible motive of each should they be the real assassins. Primarily, this paper will prove that JFK had made real erratic political decisions which made these people want his death the soonest. In the years following the Warren Commission Report, its findings have been repeatedly questioned. In 1979, the House Select Committee on Assassinations suggested that at least two gunmen were involved, and that the probable assassination conspirators were Mafia-connected. Later, two top committee staffers, G. Robert Blakey and Richard Billings, concluded that the assassination was planned and implemented by Mob bosses; that there were two shooters; and that Lee Harvey Oswald was silenced – on Mafia orders – by mobbed-up Dallas striptease club owner Jack Ruby. In 1998, a review board appointed by President Bill Clinton found nothing in secret JFK assassination records to bolster the single-bullet theory. In fact, as the Assassination Records Review Board went out of business, it complained that records of the post-mortem examination of President Kennedys body were incomplete. Such records could have cleared up mysteries about Kennedys head wound, or wounds, and helped determine whether he was shot from the front. In its final report, the review board said: There have been shortcomings that have led many to question not only the completeness of the autopsy records of President Kennedy, but the lack of a prompt and complete analysis of the records by the Warren Commission. While it collected and released thousands of previously secret government documents, the board also expressed worry that critical records may have been withheld from its scrutiny. It stressed that it was not able to secure all that was out there. In 2005, appearing at a scholarly symposium, assassination expert Dr. Jack Gordon went over doctors statements from the hospital in Dallas where Kennedy was taken after the shooting. Gordon produced quotes from nine doctors who gave the same description of a huge softball size hole in occipital-parietal region of Kennedys skull, and one nurse who said, In laymans terms, One large hole, back of his head. This contradicts the official story that the back of the head was completely intact. With all of these contradictions emerging – both during the Warren Commission hearings and in the aftermath of its final report – one has to wonder how the Warren Commission managed to arrive at the conclusions it did. A key edit in the Warren Report may have helped. The reports first draft said: A bullet had entered his back at a point slightly below the shoulder to the right of the spine. Had that stood, the trajectory would have made it impossible for the bullet that struck Kennedy to come out his neck, and then somehow critically wound Connally. Newly released documents show, however, that Warren Commission member Congressman Gerald Ford pressed the panel to change its description of the wound and place it higher in Kennedys body. Ford wanted the wording changed to: A bullet had entered the back of his neck slightly to the right of the spine. The panels final version was: A bullet had entered the base of the back of his neck slightly to the right of the spine. This crucial change only came to light in 1997, when the Assassination Record Review Board released handwritten notes made by Ford that had been kept by J. Lee Rankin, the Warren Commissions chief counsel. Fords change is even at odds with his own declaration in the Oct. 2, 1964 issue of Life: I personally believe that one of these three shots missed entirely – but which of the three may never be known. I believe that another bullet struck the president in the back and emerged from his throat (and went on to strike Connally. ) When the alteration was brought to Fords attention in 1997, he said it had nothing to do with (thwarting) a conspiracy theory and was made only in an attempt to be more precise. Assassination researcher Robert Morningstar, however, called the change the most significant lie in the whole Warren Commission report. He pointed out that if the bullet had hit Kennedy in the back, it could not have gone on to strike Connally the way the commission said it did. Morningstar contended that the effect of Fords editing suggested that a bullet hit the president in the neck – raising the wound two or three inches. Without that alteration, they could never have hoodwinked the public as to the true number of assassins. Fords alteration supports the single-bullet theory by making a specific point that the bullet entered Kennedys body at the back of his neck rather than in his uppermost back, as the commission staff originally wrote. Harold Weisberg, a longtime critic of the Warren Commissions work, said: What Ford is doing is trying to make the single bullet theory more tenable. Cyril Wecht, president of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, is among many pathology experts who find this theory unacceptable: The angles at which these two men [Kennedy and Connally] were hit do not permit a straight-line trajectory (or near straight line trajectory) of commission exhibit 339 (the so-called magic bullet) to be established. Indeed, quite the opposite is true. In order to accept the single-bullet theory, it is necessary to have the bullet move at different vertical and horizontal angles, a path of flight that has never been experienced or suggested for any bullet known to mankind. A member of the House investigating committees forensic pathology panel, Wecht remains a passionate opponent of the Ford theory. He has also been a consultant on a number of other high-profile cases, including the deaths of Elvis Presley, JonBenet Ramsey, Laci Peterson and – most recently – the 20-year-old son of model Anna Nicole Smith. Former Texas First Lady Nellie Connally – who died in 2006 at the age of 87 – rediscovered her assassination diary in 1993. When Newsweek published it in 1998, the magazine said the diary reaffirms the Connallys verdict that the Warren Commission was wrong in concluding that a single bullet passed through JFKs neck and Connallys chest. Noting the commissions finding that one bullet missed the car, the magazine added: Some conspiracy theorists argue that if three (Authors note: the commission said only two bullets hit the two men) bullets hit their targets, and an additional bullet missed, then there must have been a second gunman: nobody could have fired so many rounds so quickly. After a two year probe costing taxpayers $5. 5 million, House investigators concluded in 1978 that President Kennedys murder was probably . . . the result of a conspiracy, and that there was a strong possibility of a shot from the grassy knoll, meaning that two gunmen must have fired at the president within split seconds of each other. In 2001, a peer-reviewed article in Science and Justice determined there was a 96. 3 percent chance a shot was fired from the grassy knoll to the right of the presidents limousine. The author of the new analysis, JFK assassination researcher D. B. Thomas, believes this was the shot that killed the president.

Psychological Effects Of Alcohol On Behavior

Psychological Effects Of Alcohol On Behavior When people think of the negative effects alcohol has on the body, many times people may think of the damage it does to the internal organs. Some of the areas that are affected by alcohol are the liver, the stomach and pancreas, and the kidneys. These are all vital organs that need to remain healthy in order for our bodies to function properly. The effects of alcohol on these organs differ for each person due to the fact that we all have different bodies. Some can consume greater amounts of alcohol with little effects due to the size variation in our bodies. However, the one organ that I believe is affected the same amongst all people would be the brain. Once alcohol starts to effect regions of your brain, you will begin to experience numerous psychological and neurological issues. There are many different psychological and neurological effects that alcohol has on the brain, thus affecting the rest of your body. Anytime you voluntarily or involuntarily alter your psychological or neu rological state, you begin to change your feelings and emotions. Negative Feelings that manifest from alcohol use include nightmares, overwhelming fears, discontent, and restlessness, not to mention the internal damage that is being done during consumption. Personality changes are another component of alcohol abuse. Alcohol can make substantial personality changes that may not be recognized to the naked eye. Once a person is intoxicated, personality traits that can usually be noticed on a regular day-to-day basis have now changed and often take a turn for the worst when alcohol consumption is excessive. There have been many proven cases and studies conducted that yield the effects of alcohol and the results can be very detrimental to ones life. Amongst all of the side-effects associated with alcohol, depression is one of the most common and well known effects your mind and body may experience. Alcohol is considered to be a central nervous system depressant. As we have discussed before, the central nervous system, which consists of the brain, spinal cord and the retina, coordinates the activity of all parts of the body. When alcohol is consumed in large quantities and then circulates throughout the body, it diminishes or slows down the activity within the brain thus affecting the activity of the rest of the body. Regarding depression, alcohol has been shown to lower the level of norepinephrine and serotonin in the brain. These two chemicals give you your feeling of well being and they help you to feel normal. Without the appropriate amount of these chemicals, you will experience spells of depression. Tests have been conducted to show that after a long period of alcohol free drinking, many have shown improved depression score s. However, those that continue to drink may trigger even more feelings of depression, which in turn causes a person to drink even more, to suppress the feelings of the depression. This is a vicious cycle that could continue on until professional help is sought. Many people that drink alcohol feel that the alcohol will make all of their problems go away, but this is not true at all, if anything alcohol abuse eventually will make things worse in the long run. Not only are your problems still there, but now you also have an addiction to the alcohol and the depression you suffer from becomes more prominent and lasts longer than before. Anxiety is another disease that can sometimes be directly connected with alcohol abuse. When people consume large amounts of alcohol they have a tendency to become stressed from the impact of the alcohol, causing many situations that arise to become blown out of proportion. The long term effects that alcohol has on the nervous system and the problems that the body faces during the alcohol use can sometimes be life threatening. Many people feel that if they drink and just get a buzz off of the alcohol then its alright and no harm is done, but in actuality, the short term satisfaction that one receives from alcohol will give way to a series of stresses on your system that will manifest psychologically. People who abuse alcohol may become selfish or angry about their surroundings and just life in general. Aggression and mood swings are some of the more common traits that are also associated with alcohol abuse. These changes in behavior are brought on by the alcohols effect on serotonin levels in your body which can trigger a persons emotions to spiral out of control causing them to become irate or even combative at times. People who abuse alcohol have a disregard for others feelings and well being. As alcohol affects the body, the brains circuitry decreases as well as the thinking and reasoning process of the brain, which is a common side effect of alcohol abuse. Often times when people are intoxicated, they are willing to do or say anything without any recollection later on what was said or done. Their deductive and inductive reasoning becomes clouded by the alcohol. Those who drink large amounts of alcohol go through a number of denial issues just as you would expect in any other drug addict to go through. People who abuse alcohol will not even notice the fact that they are becoming more and more intoxicated on an everyday basis. Many people may not be able to see what their alcohol dependency is actually doing to them the way someone else can, but the reality of the matter is, it is a progressive illness that worsens over time. The longer a person drinks and the more alcohol that is consumed, the more pronounced the effects will be on their system (Wechsler et al., 1994). These psychological effects of alcohol and the effects it has on ones behavior can be felt over and over again, not just by the person consuming the alcohol but by their family and loved ones as well. There are hangovers felt the morning after and not to mention just the feeling of not knowing what you did after you became intoxicated. For this paper, I researched many experiments conducted which attempted to illustrate or prove the effects alcohol has on ones behavior. Each experiment differs in the research, but all serve the same purpose in the identification of the psychological and neurological effects alcohol has on a person thus effecting their behavior. In the research articles that were conducted, a comparison was completed between people who had been affected by alcoholism and people who had not. The reason for each experiment was to see if alcohol had any effect on an individuals behavior or not. In the first study which was conducted by Wright et. al, a test was conducted to see if adolescents of alcoholics who were college students differ from nonclinical college students on substance abuse, perceived social support, problem solving, and suicidal ideation. They concluded that there was no difference between the two groups.(Wright et. al, 1992). Another study that was conducted by Cooper et. al was give n to see if individual therapy in short-term groups would help to improve test scores (Cooper et. al, 1992). Members of the adolescents of alcoholics also known as ACAs support group and ACA college students were compared by Lashubeck et. al, to see if there was a difference in social support, psychological distress, and hardness among ACAs. From the comparison the study brought forth, it was predicted that there would be some differentiation (Lashubeck et. al, 1992). Also there was a research study conducted by Hall et. al, ACAs and traumatic experience also known as TE groups. They compared the ACA and TE groups to each other. They compared the ACA and the TE groups with a control group; the control group involved people who have sought professional help for their addiction. The study also concentrated on the differences in grade point averages (GPAs) and adults who had been exposed to traumatic events during their childhood (Wechsler et al., 1994). It was concluded that adults wi th childhood traumatic experiences were more likely to encounter difficulties during childhood as well as later in life. The study concluded that there was no difference between the GPAs and the hypothesis that was tested turned out to be true (Hall et.al, 1994). A study was done by Cornelius et.al, to show which of the two control groups had the higher drinking rate. This study was conducted in order to compare the parental drinking among adolescents and adults. The rates of binge drinking and heavy drinking were highest among the teenage group. When tested, adults had a significantly higher average on a daily basis of alcohol prior to pregnancy than adolescents, but the teenagers held the highest rate once they became pregnant (Cornelius et.al, 1994). Winokur et.al conducted a survey, of college students during their first and second year of college in order to observe the development of alcohol usage and their behavior in college. When the study was finished it suggested that eve ry college student who used alcohol during the first year continued to do so during their second year as well. The results suggested that heavy alcohol use is not a main behavior characteristic, but that it is learned in college (Winokur et.al, 1993). In each one of these articles, the researchers used a different variety of tests and surveys either to confirm or negate their hypothesis. The hypothesis that were given in the articles were all supportive to the research except the ones given by Cornelius et al., and Winokur et al. Based on the information given in these articles, alcohol will affect everyone who abuses it in some way shape or form. Another study was taken that, in my opinion, displayed two results. This study would illustrate the effects alcohol has on ones behavior regarding math and grammar, but also see if alcohol effects one type of group more then another. Rationale: Does having a bias opinion to alcohol have a greater or lesser effect on a students math and grammar skills. Hypothesis: One glass of alcohol will have a lesser effect on those students from families of alcoholic parents. (Cornelius et.al, 1994). Subjects: A total of 12 students participated in the experiment, including six students from families with parents who are alcoholics which were the dependent variable and six students not from families with parents who are considered to be alcoholics, and they are the independent variable. Method: Consent to participate was given to all students to sign. Materials that were used in the survey were administered individually to all students who participated. All students were interviewed individually in their dorm rooms. They were unaware of the groups that they were being placed in for the study. Students in this survey were given a glass of alcohol. They drank enough alcohol in order to blow a 0.01 on a reath Alizer machine for the beginning of this experiment. Students were administered a pre-test in grammar and mathematics. The mathematics test will consist of the four basic components of arithmetic which include addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, to assure that nothing else will be measured. The grammar test will consist of a sentence completion test. The verb in each sentence will be left out and the student must use the correct verb and present or past tense of the verb. Students then returned a week later to perform the same steps. (Drink enough alcohol in order to blow a 0.01 then take another math and grammar test. Result: The results of this study were analyzed by using the T-test. The scores were analyzed to see if having a predisposition to alcohol has a greater effect on ones mathematics was 95 and the mean score for non-alcoholic parents was 91.67. The data for the independent T test were T= -.21 (SD= 8783.3), with a standard error of 18.74, DF+10, and P*.o5 results were not significant. The number of students in each group was eight. For the participants who did not come from parents of alcoholic parents the means score for grammar was 80. The data from the Independent T test were T=0, with standard error 16.1 (SD= 6466.66), DF=10 and P*.05, results were not significant. Discussion: The hypothesis was not supported One glass of alcohol does not have a lesser effect on those students from families of alcoholic parents. A total of 12 students participated in the experiment, including six students from families with parents who were alcoholics and six students not from families with parents who were alcoholics. In researching this topic and reviewing the various experiments conducted, I found that it is somewhat difficult to predict the extent to which alcohol will have on a particular individual. However, one fact remains, that you can be sure that neurological and psychological effects are evident amongst people who drink alcohol. The amount of alcohol consumed and the consistency of consumption will determine the extent of the neurological and psychological effects. Sometimes the effects are not noticeable by just looking at a person outer appearance but a deeper look into a persons psychological state following a few drinks may tell a different story.

A Student According to Ted Kooser Essay -- poem analysis and review

Ted Kooser’s poem â€Å"Student† underlines how the life of a student truly is. As we were discussing our insights of the poem â€Å"Student† by Ted Kooser, Omar Mejia mentioned how he found a comparison with a turtle in the poem. I have imagined a baby turtle and their journey when is born and running trying to reach the sea. Imagine the life of a turtle that their life starts in the sand and after its journey to their future begins. Somehow I agree with this idea. As I imagined the complicate and hard life that a sea turtle must have I also recall how the life of a student could be as hard and complicate. Sometimes the life of a student can be complicated, busy, confusing, struggling, happy, sad, depressing, demanding and joyful and so on and so forth. The life of a student is a life full of responsibilities Kooser first mentions the best friend of a student â€Å"The green shell of his backpack†(Line 1). A backpack that will accompany the student during most of the studying time in which a student will carry their books, notes maybe a computer. As of me I have my backpack most of the time at s...

Communism :: essays papers

Communism This definition is right and is fully accurate, but it only demonstrates the theory of communism and doesn^t explain how it really worked. It doesn^t say that the theory never worked out, because it is impossible to make it work. I am going to tell some things about communism in USSR where my parents lived all their lives, but when I was born it was already dying out. So, mostly everything that I am going to tell is based on what my parents and grandparents told me about life in USSR. Communism suggests that everybody is equal in rights and economically. That meant that everybody would be paid the same for all kinds of jobs, so the janitor and doctor or lawyer would be paid the same amount of money for totally different jobs. That is obviously unfair and impossible. Since everybody was supposed to be equal, no one in the government could have too much power, and that is why they made took people who were elected from each area and these were supposed to be the government. They were supposed to make the decisions, elect all the other government officials and all the other very important things. That made the ordinary man think that the government is controlled by people just like him, with only high school education (some even without it), poor, being in politics for the first time in their lives. That is impossible. Such people can run no government. The most annoying thing is that almost no one noticed that, and if someone did, they were immediately terminated without any questions. There was a small group of people who controlled everything in the country. It was mostly the KGB and the General Secretary. Just look at the name they picked, it suggests that he not the most powerful man in the country; he is just a small general secretary. That^s all he is. How obviously stupid all this seems now. But at that time it was almost a religion, if one did not believe in it with all his/her heart he/she were terminated or sent to concentration camp where they either died or lived there for many years until all their doubts were beaten out of them. Jewish people were some of the people to who the government was the most unfair. They couldn^t get a good education, good job, anything good or well paid. There were only two ways: the army (or navy) or some pitiful civilian job, like a janitor, or some other dirty job with a salary, with which you can barely buy something Communism :: essays papers Communism This definition is right and is fully accurate, but it only demonstrates the theory of communism and doesn^t explain how it really worked. It doesn^t say that the theory never worked out, because it is impossible to make it work. I am going to tell some things about communism in USSR where my parents lived all their lives, but when I was born it was already dying out. So, mostly everything that I am going to tell is based on what my parents and grandparents told me about life in USSR. Communism suggests that everybody is equal in rights and economically. That meant that everybody would be paid the same for all kinds of jobs, so the janitor and doctor or lawyer would be paid the same amount of money for totally different jobs. That is obviously unfair and impossible. Since everybody was supposed to be equal, no one in the government could have too much power, and that is why they made took people who were elected from each area and these were supposed to be the government. They were supposed to make the decisions, elect all the other government officials and all the other very important things. That made the ordinary man think that the government is controlled by people just like him, with only high school education (some even without it), poor, being in politics for the first time in their lives. That is impossible. Such people can run no government. The most annoying thing is that almost no one noticed that, and if someone did, they were immediately terminated without any questions. There was a small group of people who controlled everything in the country. It was mostly the KGB and the General Secretary. Just look at the name they picked, it suggests that he not the most powerful man in the country; he is just a small general secretary. That^s all he is. How obviously stupid all this seems now. But at that time it was almost a religion, if one did not believe in it with all his/her heart he/she were terminated or sent to concentration camp where they either died or lived there for many years until all their doubts were beaten out of them. Jewish people were some of the people to who the government was the most unfair. They couldn^t get a good education, good job, anything good or well paid. There were only two ways: the army (or navy) or some pitiful civilian job, like a janitor, or some other dirty job with a salary, with which you can barely buy something

Essay --

All throughout history we’ve encountered people trying to contain and cage in people in about almost anything from a bathroom to an interment camp. Although these attempts to contain and imprison humans for no correct motive have been futile, These incidents do of course leave their marking and change society a responsibility that comes upon wrong doings. They change people in society like, Fred Korematsu ,born in the U.S. in 1919. His parents were born in Japan. Since he was born in the U.S. he was a citizen. He grew up like a normal kid in California. He had a normal childhood, until the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1942. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Japanese Americans were regarded as a threat to the U.S. Things was soon to dramatically change for all the Japanese, including our own Fred Korematsu, an American- Japanese. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Japanese Americans were regarded as a threat to the United states of America. This then led President Roosevelt issued Executive order 9066, also know as the Exclusion Order. This Order stated that any descendents or immigrants from enemy nations who might be a threat to U.S. security will report to assembly centers for Internment. There were no trials or hearings. They were forced to evacuate and many lost their homes and their businesses. Fred Korematsu refused to go. He was a U.S. citizen so he felt like he had no real duty to leave, since he was obviously from there. Roosevelt had violated Korematsu's basic constitutional rights and every other Japanese-American. The fourth amendment states itself, "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated; and no wa... ... incident they have apologized, telling us that this incident was â€Å"big† for them and they had to take up the other end and do the right thing finally. Not only did they correct themselves, but it also shows the world how human their country is, how opinions are able to change over time, and how they do change! In 1998 President Clinton presented the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Korematsu. "In the long history of our country's constant search for justice, some names of ordinary citizens stand for millions of souls," Clinton with out doubt kew the Fred Korematsu had this then president Clinton finally put the Presidential Medal of Freedom on him. Clinton said, recalling the names of civil rights pioneers, "to that distinguished list, today we add the name of Fred Korematsu." Fred Korematsu had finally got his victory, his voice was finally heard. He was correct.

Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions 3 Countries

Hofstede’s Dimensions of Culture: An overview of Venezuela, Belgium and Japan International Business ADM 3155 Table of Contents Introduction to Hofstede’s Dimensions of Culture3 Individualism3 Masculinity3 Power Distance4 Uncertainty Avoidance4 Conclusion5 VENEZUELA5 Introduction to Venezuela6 Individualism6 Masculinity7 Power Distance7 Uncertainty Avoidance8 Conclusion8 BELGIUM11 Introduction to Belgium11 Individualism12 Masculinity12 Power Distance13 Uncertainty Avoidance14 Conclusion14 JAPAN16 Introduction to Japan16 Individualism16 Masculinity17 Power Distance18Uncertainty Avoidance18 Conclusion19 Conclusion to Hofstede’s Dimensions of Culture20 References23 Hofstede’s Dimensions of Culture Introduction to Hofstede’s Dimensions of Culture In 1984, Geert Hofstede published a book called Culture’s Consequences. In this book, he divides cultures into four basic categories. These categories are individualism, masculinity, dower distance and u ncertainty avoidance. Hofstede assigns different cultures a number on a scale between 1 and 100 for each category depending on how their culture corresponds to the description.By analyzing how a country fits into each section a person can get a better understanding of how a culture operates in their daily lives and also in their business. Individualism Individualism refers to how people within a culture interact with one another. Knowing how people work with one another will help you to understand how they will work with you in a business setting. High individualism will display characteristics like importance of employees’ personal life, emotional independence from the company, calculative involvement and more importance attached to freedom and challenge in their jobs (Hofstede).People with high individualism prefer individual decisions as opposed to group decisions. Society encourages individuals to show their own initiative which relates to them finding smaller companies m ore attractive. High individualism can be seen as a more selfish and self-serving way of living (Nasierowski). This is very important when conducting business in a different culture. If you are looking for innovators, new ideas, and self-motivated people, who will contribute more than just labour to your company you should look for a country with high individualism.When conducting business in a high individualism society it is important to recognize individual achievements and reward people on an individual basis. Recognising individual differences and ideas is important as well as giving individual praise and recognition. This will keep employees satisfied and motivated. Individual workers want to chance to excel and they tend to look after themselves and their own needs and advancement and are not concerned with â€Å"stepping on others to get ahead†. Masculinity This dimension is not looking at gender roles specifically, but at the characteristics generally associated with masculinity and femininity.Masculinity is referring to aggressiveness, the desire for power, wealth and achievement. A country with a high masculinity will show traits including admiration for the strong, importance placed on earnings, recognition, advancement and challenge, employees attracted to larger organizations and higher job stress. They also find it acceptable for the company to interfere with their private life. This can be an advantage if you are looking for highly motivated individuals (Hofstede). High masculinity is good for doing business because these employees will be competitive, aggressive and driven for success.They are willing to make sacrifices in their personal lives to achieve success in their business. When working in this type of environment people are more willing to work over-time. You can easily get results from your employees by throwing money and power at them. These employees are not as concerned with ethics or the environment as they are with economi c growth (Nasierowski). Power Distance Inequality is the main issue that power distance addresses. Power distance measures how a culture, group or organization views themselves and each other in terms of authority and value.In a county with a high power distance value is placed on obedience to the person who is seen as in charge. Children obey parents, students obey teachers, employees obey employers, etc. , without question. There is a large amount of fear associated with high power distance and those seen as â€Å"lower† or â€Å"less important† show resentment towards those higher than them and also show distrust to one another. In business, employees do not have input into the company and simply follow orders. Employees are viewed as unmotivated and unhappy with their jobs (Hofstede). Uncertainty AvoidanceUncertainty avoidance is a fear of the unknown. If a culture has high uncertainty avoidance then they are looking to escape any type of difference or change that would occur in their lifestyle, job, culture, government, etc. Characteristics typical of high uncertainty avoidance include a fear of failure, higher job stress, frequent worry about the future and less achievement motivation. Loyalty to ones employer and a tendency to stay with that same employer are also characteristics. This could be viewed as a very positive or negative quality depending on your type of business (Nasierowski).In a business that requires controls and regulations, for example a factory. You would prefer a country with high uncertainty avoidance because you know that they will not try to change any of the products you are producing. They will be more likely to continue following the exact rules, regulations and policy that you have placed in front of them. In business, you will not have to worry about any radical changes or interference. If you want anything new it will have to be introduced slowly and carefully with clear direction. However, you know that once an idea is taken on it will not be tampered with.Conclusion As the world continues to â€Å"shrink†, we begin to experience more globalization and must interact more frequently with other cultures. Through Hofstede’s dimensions we can gain a greater understanding of how to integrate our business with other countries. Being able to understand a country’s culture and how it is different from your own is vital to success in international business. We can decide where would be the best place to do business and how to make it more successful. Before entering a new market the culture and values inside and outside the workplace need to be understood.Almost all businesses are to some degree impacted by globalisation and therefore having knowledge of other countries and other cultures is vital. In this paper we will address three countries from different culture groupings: Japan, from the Independent block, Belgium, from the Latin European block, and Venezuela from the Lat in American block. These blocks are clusters of countries that share common aspects of culture; including geographic location, language, and history. For example, the Latin European block includes not only Belgium but France, Italy, Portugal and Spain. Nasierowski). By explaining how these three countries fall into Hofstede’s dimensions we will be able to help you understand some of the advantages and disadvantages of doing business with these cultures (Nasierowski). Advantages include being able to understand what will motivate your employees and business partners and how to communicate properly in different business settings. For example, depending on what country you were in, Hofstede’s dimensions of culture will help you to know the best way to communicate changes to your business partners and employees.VENEZUELA Introduction to Venezuela Venezuela is a Latin country that occupies most of the northern coast of South America on the Caribbean Sea. The rest of Venezue la is surrounded by Brazil, Colombia, and Guyana. Venezuela has a population over 27 million, which could be considered relatively small compared to other countries with thinking in terms of expanding business markets. The capital city is Caracas which has a population of over 3 million. After gaining independence from Spain in 1821, Venezuela continued to go through a period of unstable dictators.In the early 1900’s it became a major exporter of oil. The oil wealth contributed to the large gap between the countries extremely wealthy and extremely poor. Venezuela’s current President is Left wing Socialist Hugo Chavez who promised to even the gap between the rich and the poor. He is dedicated to loosing Venezuela’s dependence on the U. S. for oil exportation and is therefore trying to strengthen his oil shipping business with China. This could be attributed to his close friendship with Dictator Fidel Castro of Cuba. (â€Å"http://www. state. ov†) When revi ewing the country of Venezuela within Hofstede’s dimensions of culture we find that it falls into extremes with both very high scores and one very low score. (Hofstede) Individualism In contrast to the rest of the scores Venezuela has received in Hofstede’s rankings, in this dimension they are only a 12 out of 100. This means a very low individualism in this culture. Low individualism means that they are group oriented people. They are concerned about how decisions will affect everyone in the group. They have in-groups and out-groups and think of people in terms of how they fit into such groups (Hofstede).It is important when doing business to realize that they will be concerned with the training and physical conditions the organization provides. They have a moral involvement with the company and they place a great deal of emphasis on duty, expertness and prestige as life goals. This type of mind set is called collectivism. If you are doing business with a group of peo ple with high collectivism, you must understand that they are looking at the age of a person. Age is an indicator of knowledge and experience. Collectivists want to do business with people who have been around for a while and know them as a group.They do not like outsiders; you must earn your way into their trust and fit into their group the same way they want to fit in to their own group. For doing business with this group of people you must first learn to belong. You as an outsider will not be able to tell them anything or get them to follow you unless you first belong. The same can be considered when marketing or advertising to these countries as they will only want purchase things that will fit into their already preconceived ideas of life and work. Masculinity At 73 out of 100, Venezuela once again has a high ranking.This means that it tends to be a male dominated society and power structure. This can cause the female population to become more competitive and assertive; however , they are still not on the same level as the male population. Masculinity also means that they are looking for earnings, recognition, advancement and challenge (Hofstede). This would be important to keep in mind when doing business with a Venezuelan company or employees because it can help you identify how to appeal to them to get better work or dealings from them.You can recognize that they are looking for larger corporations and organizations and they are attracted to wealth and success. For countries with high masculinity you can easily motivate your employees with money and success. They are looking to own fancy material objects and have the latest technology and accessories. If you want your employees to do something or achieve something all you have to do is entice them with prestige and power. If you are having a business meeting, take them to an expensive restaurant, ear your best designer suit and pick them up in a flashy car. Power Distance This is Venezuela's highest ran king dimension with 81 out of 100. This is an indication of a high level of inequality of power and wealth which is accepted by the culture as a whole. Hofstede states that Venezuela is in the top 5 in the â€Å"employees afraid† category. This means that Venezuelans show a clear distinction between â€Å"boss† and â€Å"employee†. The boss makes all the rules and the employees follow. A Venezuelan employee would not offer their opinion or any ideas to management.They would not ask questions or for clarification of their job either. The large power distance means that people are concerned with getting favour by saying â€Å"yes† to whatever the boss says (Hofstede). This means that when you are doing business with them you must always remember that if they are looking at you as being the one â€Å"in power† they will not contradict you or tell you if they do not understand anything that you are telling them about how your business is going to be co nducted. They will not offer any suggestions.It also means that if they consider themselves to be the ones in power they are not looking for you to disagree with them or ask them any questions. They are also not looking for any suggestions or ideas either. They are only looking for a â€Å"yes sir†. There is also a large wage difference between the top employees and the labourers. Uncertainty Avoidance Venezuela scores 76 out of 100 on the Uncertainty Avoidance Index. This indicates a high level of uncertainty avoidance. As we have discussed earlier, high uncertainty avoidance indicates a resistance to change and new ideas.There are three indicators for uncertainty avoidance, rule orientation, employment stability and stress (Hofstede). Venezuela being a country with a long history of dictatorship and having a large gap between the rich and the poor can easily fit these three indicators and therefore explain the high uncertainty avoidance. People are used to having on leader and being forced to follow their rules. They are very concerned with their employment because there are not a lot of good jobs to be found. Stress can mean many different things and have many different triggers.For a citizen it could be fear of punishment for rebellion and for an employee, a fear of losing one’s job. When thinking about doing business with Venezuela, you would have to take into account that their high uncertainty avoidance would mean that your employees or business partner are looking for rules and regulations to follow. They want stability and are looking for a routine. They do not like change or progression in their jobs. They are not risk takers in business and would need reassurance. ConclusionWhen viewing the country of Venezuela through Hofstede's dimensions of culture, you can get a better understanding of how decisions are made in this culture and how you can create more profitable business dealings within this country or with companies from this coun try. For Venezuelan’s we see that there is a high power distance which means you should appeal to those who are in power if you are looking to create a business deal or if you are looking to make a change. It will also help you to know that you would have to accommodate your employees who would not be willing to contradict you or ask questions.You must also remember that no one appreciates change or is willing to initiate it, which can be very difficult to deal with in today’s ever changing society. Large corporations are more appealing to Venezuelans, as is money, power and appreciation, but Venezuelans live within groups and therefore are concerned about what is best for all those involved in their group. With these things in mind you would be able to create a successful business relationship as long as you are willing to show understanding for the differences in our shrinking world.Other things that need to be taken into account are the political factors. For Venezu ela this is a negative factor as the government has control over everything in this country. The banking process is very complex and so is the purchasing system. You require identification and verification for all purchases. The government is very concerned about citizens investing their money in other countries and would therefore be very involved in any business associations with companies in Venezuela.Your business would have to have some sort of gain for the country as well as your own profits (â€Å"BBC News†). Another indication of the possible difficulties in doing business in Venezuela is that of the ranking given to this country from the World Bank, International Finance Corporation. Each year they show the results from a series of questions they ask of each country for things like getting a permit, property rights, etc. ; all things that would be considered when starting a business in that country. With these results they rank the countries in order.Venezuela is ver y close to the bottom of the list, which means that obtaining permits, business rights, starting a business, paying taxes, and dealing outside of the borders are all more difficult compared to other countries. The official ranking is 177 out of 183 countries (â€Å"Doing Business: Measuring Business Regulations†). This is all an example of Porter’s Diamond which is a theory that helps you look at a country and see certain factors that affect business. Porter discusses how business has several different factors and government is a specific element that can make a difference at any one of the four points in the diamond.The four areas include: firm, strategy and structure; demand conditions; related and supporting industries; factor conditions (Nasierwoski). This country shows an example of how government is heavily involved in the firm, strategy and structure as well as the related and supporting industries. In fact, you could suggest that government is a factor in the e ntire diamond. This is why it is so difficult to do business in Venezuela. Not only is government involved in everything but it is a very strict and controlling government. BELGIUM Introduction to BelgiumBelgium is a small country surrounded by France, Germany, The Netherlands and Luxembourg. Located in one of the world’s most advanced continents and industrialised regions, Belgium is an important international trading partner and a powerful force in the world of international business. Belgium relies heavily on both imports and exports to fuel its growing economy. It was one of the founding countries of the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. The country also belongs to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.Currently it has the 9th largest GDP in Europe (World Bank) and its per capita GDP ranks among the worlds highest. The country is also home to Europe’s second largest port, importing and exporting goods internationally, in 2010 exports made up 261 billion dollars. The country has a large industrial sector which includes; steel, textiles, refining, chemicals, food processing, pharmaceuticals, automobile, electronics, and machinery fabrication. (â€Å"Belgium Europe†) It is one of the most densely populated countries in the world with a population of over 10,400,000. â€Å"Belgium Facts†)Belgium has three official languages; Dutch, French and German although English is widely spoken. The country grants more new citizenships than any other country besides Canada. (â€Å"Eupedia's Belgium Guide†)Belgium is one of the most economically and technologically advanced countries in the world and has very high standards of living. They were one of the first countries to legalise gay marriage and the first county to issue electronic passports. The country is number the one chocolate exporter in the world and ninety percent of raw diamonds are negotiated and distributed in Belgium.The country also has the highest proportion of female ministers in the world and the smallest salary gap between males and females in the EU. (â€Å"Eupedia's Belgium Guide†) This small but powerful country continues to grow and expand its international reach. Individualism Belgium’s second highest dimension is individualism with a score of 80 which means that they put a strong emphasis on the individual rather than the group. There is a large focus on individual achievement, initiative and success. When doing business in Belgium it’s important to treat everyone as an individual who has their own ideas and personality.Individualism is something to be celebrated and standing out is important. Therefore, when working with this type of society, it is important to recognise individual achievements and give rewards and recognition to employees on an individual basis. Recognition and rewards are good ways to motivate employees. In this society personal time and personal freedom are highly valued and therefore it is important to give employees their space and freedom to work. It is important not to monitor employee’s work too closely as this can be interpreted negatively, and employees expect to have the freedom to work independently.Work life and personal life are two different and separate things and privacy in both are respected. High individualism is reflected on the emphasis of ‘I’ as opposed to ‘We’. Individuals look out for themselves and their immediate family and therefore look out for ways to better themselves and advance themselves and their immediate family. It is common to pursue individual goals and self advancement at the expense of others. When making decision people think about how the decision will affect them and do not always think of what is better for others.Employees will often change jobs and job loyalty is not very high. When working in this society it is important not to depend on others or on group s and to work on your own. Promotion and ranking often depend on individual performance and not on seniority. (â€Å"Individualism,†) (Hofstede) Masculinity Belgium’s lowest cultural dimension is Masculinity, at 49 putting it in twenty-second place. Belgium is almost right in the middle so therefore they don’t have any extremes towards masculinity or femininity. The country falls in the middle and value both femininity and masculinity equally.It is important to have both these traits. As a leader it is important to display the traits associate with both a masculine and a feminine work ethic in order to fit in and be accepted. A culture that is more masculine tends to focus more on advancement and earning whereas a culture that is more feminine tends to focus more on a friendly atmosphere and position security. Because Belgium is almost in the middle its important when conducting business to maintain both masculine and feminine characteristic and not bend toward extremes.Realise that although advancement, earnings and money are important it is also important in the Belgium business setting to have cooperation, security and a good work environment. High masculine societies prefer large businesses and high feminine societies prefer small busyness therefore the idea business size for Belgium’s is somewhere in the middle. Big enough to be competitive and aggressive, yet small enough to have a nurturing stable environment for the employees. In the Belgium society there is less of a distinction between genders and gender roles.Therefore when conducting business do not assume that someone has certain responsibilities or has a certain roles due to their gender. Support and friendliness are just as important as brilliance and performance in Belgium. To be successfully in business dealings with Belgium remember to display a mix both feminine and masculine qualities and to treat both genders as equally important. (Hofstede) Power Distance Belgi um’s third highest dimension is power distance. Belgium has a power distance of 60 which means that to some degree it is thought that power is not distributed evenly.Although Belgium has a higher power distance they do not have a really high power distance so people respect authority but are not always afraid to ask questions to superiors. Although there is some two way communication, it tends to be more one way communication. A high power distance means that decision making is more centralised and roles and responsibilities are more clearly defined. Organisations have more bureaucracy and larger pay difference exist between jobs and positions. In Belgian businesses there exists a more vertical organisational structure and more vertical communication.In an organisation with a vertical structure there tends to be more rules and policies and it is important to be aware of these rules and policies when conducting business in the country. Information and communication move upward and downward throughout the ranks. It is important when doing business to give clear and precis directions to insure that everyone understands because they might not be comfortable asking for clarification. The relationship between the member of the top of the hierarchy and the bottom of the hierarchy are limited and very professional.Relationships within organisations are more distant. Therefore in business it is important to know the different levels of jobs and who makes the decisions. Depending on what position you hold you will answer to others who hold higher positions of authority and make most of the rules and decisions. It is important to show respect to those in higher positions. If you are on a lower level you may be restricted to certain information. Problems are usually blamed on the people who work in lower positions. (â€Å"Power Distance Index. â€Å")(Hofstede) Uncertainty AvoidanceThe countries highest dimension is uncertainty avoidance, with a 94 which mean tha t Belgium as a society not mot like taking risks. This high level also indicates the country’s low tolerance for uncertainty. Belgium’s very high level of uncertainty avoidance affects how they do business and must be considered and understood before conducting business with a Belgium company or with someone from Belgium. If you think you can change a Belgian businesses way of thinking or doing something in a short period of time you will not be successful.One of the main aspects is that they like to avoid risk and stay away from uncertain and risky situations, including foreigners and foreign ways of doing business. Having things well planned out and prepared in advanced and having things clearly explained is important. Resistance to change is high and therefore changes must be slowly introduced. Laws of the workplace as well as all other laws tend to be carefully followed so it is very important to understand and abide by Belgium laws when doing business in Belgium. They rely heavily on rules, laws and regulation in order to avoid risky situations.When doing business in Belgium it is important to know your facts and be very organised. Belgians will move towards stable low risk investments and avoid unstable high risk investments. Unstructured and uncertain situations are avoided. Because they fear the unknown, foreigners and new ideas are regarded warily and foreigners who want to conduct business with the country must be careful. Because of the fear of the unknown employees are often stressed and anxious, if it is possible to reduce stress and anxiety you will be a lot more successful.Changing jobs is done less frequently and therefore employee turnover is much smaller and employee loyalty is much higher. (Hofstede) Conclusion When doing business in this country foreigners have to take the cultural dimensions of Belgium into careful consideration of they want to be successful. According to The International Finance Corporation 2011 economy ran kings, Belgium is in 28th place out of 183 countries. The countries are raked on various variables, such as permits and taxes, that look at the ease of doing business in the country.Belgium’s reasonably low score indicated that it is possible to enter the market without too many difficulties. Therefore it is a country that should be given much consideration when looking at foreign markets. Before conducting business with any foreign business it is important to look at the cultural differences and how these differences impact business. In order to understand the culture and values of a society it can be usefully to look at the country’s history and past. Belgium has some similar cultural dimensions to Canada and they are used to working with foreigners and different ways of doing business.Because of this Belgium tends to be fairly open and understanding of other cultural differences. However, in order to be successful and gain the trust and acceptance of local workers a nd businesses it is vital to understand the countries cultural dimensions and how to act inside and outside the boardroom. The biggest disadvantage to working with or in Belgium is their extremely high uncertainty avoidance. The Belgium’s avoid risk and unknown situations in order to protect themselves and their country. If there is anything new or risky it has to be introduced very carefully and slowly, the Belgians would never change overnight.This does not mean however that they are narrow minded or unwilling to change. If you are well prepare, respectful and follow the rules of the country and company you can be very successful in the Belgium market. JAPAN Introduction to Japan Japan is an island surrounded by Russia, China, and Korea. Japan has a population of 127. 08 million, this is a fairly large number considering Japan is only an island, as the population gets bigger the island stays the same size, creating a deficiency of land. The capital city of Japan is Tokyo. ( â€Å"U. S.Department of State†) After the second world war ended Japan started to prosper in their business doings, in 1956 they joined the United Nations, 70 percent of Japan's workforce is in services while the remainder 30 percent are in agricultural and industry. The agricultural good that they produce include rice, vegetables, fruit, milk, meat, and fish, they also export some of these items. The official language of Japan is Japanese, while their business language is English . The Japanese have a parliamentary government and a constitutional monarch. (â€Å"U. S.Department of State†) Japan has a free market economy, it is currently the third largest in the world, its economy is highly competitive and efficient in international trade. Productivity is low in agriculture, distribution, and services. Since Japan has few natural resources trading helps them to earn foreign exchange needed to purchase raw materials for its economy. (â€Å"U. S. Department of Stateâ⠂¬ ) Individualism When doing business with Japan it is important to remember that they have very low individualism and high collectivism. Japan does not believe in individual freedom or rights, it is all about the group and what is best for the group.When doing business with Japan, you must never address a single individual as the company, you must address the entire group. When working in Japan, your work becomes your life and whenever your work needs you must put everything else on hold. Japanese emphasize teamwork and loyalty, groups/colleagues learn to trust and work together at a young age. When entering the Japan market you must first be accepted by the group, once you have the groups support you will be able to trust them to your company good and they will be willing to work long hours for you if provide them with what they need.When working for a company in Japan, the likely-hood of you being promoted is based on your seniority in the company, someone who has been there lo nger than you is more likely to get the promotion, even if you are more qualified for the job. Masculinity During the IBM study for Hofstede's five dimensions Japan ranked number one out of all the countries for the highest masculinity, not only is the country masculine but the citizens are as well. It is unacceptable for a woman to wear pants in a business setting, the men find it extremely offensive. The women must either wear skirts or dresses when in a business environment.Men are the masculine ones of the society, during business discussions when things are not going as planned it is normal for individuals to become aggressive in order to get things completed. The women are the ones to calm the men down and provide comfort for them. Women who are in more qualifying jobs are very assertive, just so that they can be seen as equal to their male co-workers. The management structure of a business is built on rules and order among individuals, there is a hierarchy of power in Japan s ociety and in business'. An employee at the bottom of the ierarchy has no right to talk to someone higher up or even suggest ideas that they feel will benefit their company. It is the employees’ job to do what is told of them and to never question their employer. In Japan, one must sacrifice everything for their work, that includes family and social life, the term â€Å"karoshi† is Japanese for dying because one is overworked. Since the population in Japan is so large, the men and women learn to become competitive and have placed a high importance on achievements, if children were to do poorly in school it would be a disgrace to their family. Power DistanceJapan's power distance is a little higher than average. When doing business with them one must watch out for a few things. When working in Japan, for a Japanese company, it is unacceptable for an employee to talk to their superior with disrespect or talk to someone higher up in the working chain about their current m anager, doing such a thing is considered disgraceful and could cause you to lose your job. In Canada it is common for an employee to comment and try to make their company better, where in Japan if an employee were to make such a comment their employment with said company would be terminated.The employees are dependent on their managers, to tell them what to do and how to do it, it is not their responsibility to think for themselves, that is the job for their superiors. Finding a job in Japan could be difficult for people who are migrating to the country and do not already have a job lined up for them. Japan has a caste system in place, once you are born into a caste it is not very likely that you will move away from it, this being said, the occupation that your father has would be the occupation that you will take over.There is a large income difference in Japan, it is easy to tell what class you belong to. Business cards are very important for the Japanese, when going on business m eetings you should always have about 100 business cards on hand for a one week business trip. Having a double sided business card is very important, make sure that one side of the card is in Japanese and the other side is in English. When giving your business card to others you must hold it in both hands, with the Japanese side facing upwards, also, make sure to bow while passing on your business card.Never forget to pick up the business card and put them in your case, if you forget one of the business cards it is like a slap in the face for the other individual. You will have to bring a small notebook to write notes in and never write on the business cards, it is another sign of disrespect. (â€Å"Venture Japan†) Uncertainty Avoidance Hofstede gave Japan a score 92/100 for uncertainty avoidance, it is Japans most prominent cultural characteristic. Citizens do not like change so they tend to stay with the same company for the rest of their lives, staying loyal to their employ er.Individuals are willing to work if they are provided with job security in return. It is important to remember that Japan does not take well to foreign companies that they do not know, coming into their country and starting a business there. You must first gain the citizens trust and acceptance if you want to do well with your business venture. With uncertainty avoidance comes anxiety. Japanese individuals put up with a lot of anxiety about their work and colleagues. â€Å"In Japan there is the outlet of getting drunk along with colleagues after working hours.During these parties, men release their pent-up aggression, even towards their superiors; but the next day business continues as usual. Such drinking bouts represent one of the major institutionalized places and times for anxiety release† (Hofstede, 118) An important thing to remember is that if you want to work in Japan it is accepted to drink in the office after working hours, during the day it is unacceptable to rel ieve your aggression towards your superiors but it is accepted during â€Å"such drinking bouts†.In Japan it is common for others to ask straight forward questions like â€Å"how much do you make? † and â€Å"how big is your house? † such questions are asked so that they are able to assess what position of the hierarchy you at. Conclusion When viewing Japan through Hofstede's dimensions, you get a better understanding of how they do business based on cultural differences. Japan has a high masculinity, and low individualism, this is beneficial for companies seeking loyalty, and who wish to get tasks done on a timely basis. There are many advantages with doing business with Japan, when you gain heir trust and confidence then they will always be loyal to you and assist with what they can. They will get work done when asked and on time, as long as they are provided with instructions they will do the work to the best of their ability. Only a few disadvantages exist w ith doing business with Japan, a reason why someone would not want to do business with them would be that they consider work to be very important, you would not be able to be sarcastic with them or even try to discuss ways to better the company if you are positioned slightly lower than them on the hierarchical business poll.In the end, if you are doing business with Japan you will always be able to count on them, making Japan an excellent country to do business with. Another factor of doing business in Japan is based on the study that The World Bank does each year that addresses the ease of doing business within a country. Japan has a score of 18/183, they have a relatively low score which indicated that doing business with them would be easy and have benefits in the long run, such as obtaining permits, business rights, starting a business, paying taxes, and dealing outside of the borders is very easy for foreign companies to do in Japan.Japan ranked second as the most technological ly powerful economy in the world, after the U. S.. Technology innovation is very important for a countries development, having a company in Japan helps that company because of all the technology advancements that they make, helping them become first in a market and having an advantage above everyone else. Conclusion to Hofstede’s Dimensions of Culture As the saying goes â€Å"our world is shrinking†. This means many different opportunities for businesses to grow and expand.It offers more opportunities to people for competition, access to new goods and services, new technology and knowledge. Everyday our world continues to gain new inventions and ideas. However, with this progress also comes a great responsibility. It is the responsibility of each individual to make sure that they have a respect and understanding for this new accessible world. Another saying is â€Å"knowledge is power†, in the world of business this is very true. In the world of globalization th is is even truer.The more knowledge you have about the customs and beliefs of a certain culture, the more successful your dealings with them will be. Geert Hofstede understood this thought and through his research we are able to gain a better understanding of many different cultures and how when we apply them to the business world we can become more successful. In this paper we reviewed three different cultures from three different areas of the world. Although, we did find many differences in the history, background and specifics of the cultures, we also found some similarities in the behaviours of the people who live in these different cultures.Through these observations we are able to understand that when doing business in Venezuela, if you want to be successful you must look and act as though you already are successful because the country has a high masculinity which means they value money, power and success. We also know that to succeed you must be ready to deal with the difficu lties and interference of the government. Venezuelans are collectivists and so they look out for one another inside their perceived groups however this also means that you must appeal to the group when marketing or dealing with them.They also have a high power distance and so they will not disagree with the boss nor will they let you know if they don’t understand. All of these differences are not necessarily bad things but they can make it more difficult to do business with this country. The important thing to remember is that if you know these things about them then you can work around these obstacles to achieve success. Japan is a very masculine country, making them more aggressive which helps to increase efficiency among employees which benefits the company that they work for.Japan also has high uncertainty avoidance, with high uncertainty avoidance employees do not take change very well, Japan has been doing business the same since World War II ended, some would see this as a bad thing but in reality it is very good, this is helpful because it provides a more secure environment and no one is afraid of what they already know. When doing business in Belgium it is important to keep in mind their high cultural dimensions and how this affects doing business.Their highest dimension is uncertainty avoidance flowed by individualism, therefore, it is important to introduce new ideas slowly and celebrate individuality. Although there are differences that must be considered if you do your research Belgium can be a warm and welcoming environment to do business in and to expand your international reach. We have presented in out paper three very different countries from different sides of the world. But which one is best to do business with? Venezuela, although it is the cheapest market to enter, has a very high rating on the WBI and is extremely difficult to enter and presents many obstacles.Also, as we have discussed earlier in this paper Hofstede’s dime nsions of culture outline the differences and difficulties that one would encounter when dealing with the work force in Venezuela. Japan, although the highest ranking on the WBI, has a very different culture and very different language when comparing it to Canada and therefore would present many different challenges also outlined in the paper according to Hofstede’s dimensions. Belgium is therefore our best choice when considering internationalising into a broader market.Its ranking is close to Japan, well above Venezuela however, it is also a lot similar in culture, demographics and attitudes to Canada. One of Belgium’s official languages is French, which is also a benefit to Canadian business people. However, Belgium would be definitely a smaller market expansion according to population size. References About Belgium. â€Å"Eupedia's Belgium Guide. Eupedia, 2010. Web. 21 Oct 2011. ;lt;http://www. eupedia. com/belgium/trivia. shtml;gt;. â€Å"Ease of Doing Business in Venezeula, RB. † Doing Business: Measuring Business Regulations. The World Bank, 2011. 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