a lesson before dying Essay -- essays research papers

Lesson Before Dying The Right to Be Free In the novel A Lesson Before Dying, although Grant is an educated black man in the era of a racist society he has struggles greater than most men of his decent. I feel sorry for him because of his limitations, even though I view him as a coward. He cannot break free of his background and family. The three main female characters in the novel, Tante Lou, Miss Emma, and Vivian, restrict and limit Grant's choices. Grant realizes that freedom means leaving his small town and creating a new life, yet each woman holds a chain that keeps him from his destiny and the right to be free. First, Tante Lou, his aunt holds Grant from his dreams by refusing to let him go his own way. Tante Lou wants Grant to stay at home with her and take care of her. But, in the time the novel takes place, it wasn't common for young men stay with their elders and help out, especially when Grant has a college degree and can accomplish so much. Tante Lou took advantage of this in any means necess ary, using the fact that Grant is family and in essence owes it to her to stay and help out. We can see this on page 14 when Tante Lou forces Grant to talk to Mr. Henri about seeing Jefferson. You are going up there with us Grant, or you will not sleep in this house tonight. Tante Lou denies Knodt 2 Grant choices that men his age have. Next, Miss Emma, who doesn't have a family relation to Grant, also restricts his choices in life. Miss Emma plays an important role in the nov...

Brown vs. Board of Education Art Exhibit :: Art Museum Exhibit Race Segregation

One of Art’s Messages When I first walked into the Krannert Art Museum, I had no idea where to begin seeing that this was my first visit to the museum. So I asked a man who worked there to point me in the general direction of the exhibit known as â€Å"Eight Artists Address Brown v. Board of Education.† The man gave me directions, and showed me into the section for the exhibit. I walked into two small rooms, which I thought was a little small for the work of eight artists. Despite the size, I had no idea where to start. So I took a quick look around the exhibit, which was empty except for the security guard who, upon my arrival, jumped up from his seat. Throughout my time at the museum, this guard was constantly checking me, like a hawk waiting for its prey to make a move before coming in for the kill, as if I were going to do anything other than look at the exhibits. His evil gaze was a little unnerving, however, I persisted in my work. In order to decide where to start, I spun around in a circle, coming to a stop at Pamel Vander Zwan’s and Carrie Mae Weems’ work on Plessy v. Ferguson. This was a series of five photographs in black and white featuring Zwan and Weems, one black and the other white, fighting over a chair in the middle of a checkered black and white room. It did not matter which picture started the series, because the two on the ends were the same picture. If going in a linear order, depending on where you started, the second and fourth pictures showed the two women struggling for the chair with the white women having the upper-hand, and the black women trying to take the chair away. Which ever direction you took, the pictures always ended the same way, with each women back where they started. It was at this point that I found a little book that describes each exhibit, which helped me to understand the pictures. Not knowing the background behind Plessy v. Ferguson, the struggle for the seat didn’t make much sense. The history is written saying that Homer Plessy was a black man who sat in the â€Å"white man only† car of a train, quite a rebellious feat for his time.

John Proctor change during the course of the play Essay

How does John Proctor change during the course of the play? How might this change be communicated on stage? In Act one we first see John Proctor. He appears to be a very sharp and nasty man. We can see this in the way he talks to his servant, Mary Warren: â€Å"Be you foolish Mary Warren? Be you deaf? I am looking for you more than I am looking for my cows!! † If I were producing this play on the stage I would have Mary warren cowering away from John Proctor. This would give the audience an impression that he is quite a nasty man. But this all changes when he meets Abigail as she realises that he is still a powerful man even though he committed adultery with her: â€Å"Gah, I’d almost forgot how powerful you were John Proctor! † In the same conversation he shows he has feelings for Abigail and that he is a deceitful person: â€Å"Oh, how you sweated like a stallion whenever I come near. † This language creates a sense of a passionate relationship. If I were producing this on stage I would have Abigail trying to hold John while he is looking away and checking no one is around. Even though he has committed lechery he is still protective over is wife as he tells Abigail that she ‘will not speak anything of Elizabeth’ to him. He also shows that he is in denial and a liar as he denies anything ever happening between him and Abigail: â€Å"Aye but we did not† The language from the conversation with Abigail creates a sense of confusion with John’s personality as he does one thing and says another. Although he is a well-respected member of the community, as the audience we don’t really know whether to trust him or not. He has a high expectation of Hale before he meets him and when he first meets him he is shocked by him: † Why, Mr. Hale! Good evening to you, sir. Come in Come in. † If I were producing this play then I would have John looking quite flabbergasted. This would show that Mr. Hale impresses him and that he respects him. He is also respectful to him: â€Å"I’ve heard you be a sensible man, Mr. Hale† This concludes how John is respectful to his fellow villagers. He is well respected in the community and this may be why. In Act 2 we see the relationship between him and his wife, Elizabeth. The relationship in their marriage seems to be quite distant as john arrives late home. This could suggest that he stayed away longer because he wanted to avoid Elizabeth due to the fact that he has a guilty conscience: â€Å"What keeps you so late its almost dark† In a production of this play I would have the room very dark with just a few candles on the table. There would be food on the table but it would not look appetising, as it would have gone cold. There would be family pictures on a dresser at the side. This indicates that john is a family man, or so Elizabeth thinks. Even though there are pictures of their family presented in the kitchen, this is due to their appearance in Salem. They are well respected so if they tell people that John has been unfaithful then the village will look down on them. As readers it seems that Elizabeth knows about John’s affair as they had an argument about ‘forgiving and forgetting’ but John is nasty to Elizabeth and shouts at her: â€Å"Oh, Elizabeth, your justice would freeze beer! † Although he is irate with her he still wants ‘to please her’ as he was unfaithful to her. He does this by complimenting her cooking even though he changed it so it would taste better. John’s temper also increases when he has arguments with Elizabeth. He constantly takes his anger out on Mary Warren even though she hasn’t actually done anything wrong: I’ll whip you if you dare leave this house again! † This language creates a sense of him being a bully. Mary Warren always seems to be the victim. Proctor shows he is bossy also when he orders Mary Warren to ‘go to bed’. This is what adults say to young children not to 18 year olds. This gives us a sense that he is treating her like a child and is disrespectful to her. Mary Warren is also more than John’s servant in the house as he tries to get her, along with himself, to overthrow the court to free Elizabeth. This also enables him to get revenge on Abigail for accusing his wife. If I were producing this play then I would have Mary trying to run away shouting that she ‘won’t do it’. This would indicate that she is scared of John and doesn’t feel safe near him. His anger also is shown in this Act as he ‘rips the deputy governors warrant’ up. This is very disrespectful and rude to Mr. Hale, Mr. Danforth and Cheever as they are the people giving out warrants, leaving Mr. Danforth to sign them. John has destroyed legal documents that have been given out by these 3 men. John also shows that he is religious and is part of the belief of Christianity as he shouts at Mr. Hale: â€Å"Pontius Pilate! God will not let you wash your hands of this! † If I were producing this play on stage I would have John with lots of anger shown on his face looking like he was going to hit Mr. Hale. Mr. Hale would turn around and start to run towards Cheever. This would indicate that John is a scary man and that getting away from him is probably the best thing to do. His emotions suddenly change when Elizabeth appears. He turns into a caring man when they are taking her away: â€Å"I will bring you home, I will bring you home soon† This language shows that John can be caring, as he has forgotten about Mr. Hale and Cheever and is now concentrating on his wife. Proctor has faith that his wife ‘never lies’. She confessed that she doesn’t believe in witches even though her religion says she should believe in them. At the end of act 2 John feels quite scared as he is trying to make Mary overthrow the court and she doesn’t want to do it: † My wife will never die for me! I will bring your guts into your mouth but that goodness will not die for me! † John character has gone from being angry to being scared in Act 2. In Act 3 John’s attitude changes, as he becomes quite a false man. This is shown when he is in the court introducing his case to Danforth: â€Å"She has signed a deposition† The language indicates that he is playing a court game as he has written a legal statement. When he is presenting himself he is very polite to Mr. Danforth, this is probably in his attempt to overthrow the court. He responds to questions very politely and doesn’t appear violent: â€Å"John Proctor, sir, Elizabeth Proctor is my wife† Even though John stays calm, Danforth constantly tries to interrogate him. This slowly increases his temper; he keeps to his words without erupting with anger, as he knows this will do him more harm than good. When John speaks Danforth is constantly interrupting him, this is frustrating for him, as he cannot finish what he is saying: â€Å"I come not to hurt the court, I only-†¦ † The technique that Danforth uses to interrogate John suggests by John’s reaction that it is annoying and could start an argument. If I were producing this play then I would have John dressed smartly so he looks professional and Danforth sat higher up than John so he looks more important. John would try to avoid looking Danforth in the eyes. This would indicate to the audience that John is a little fearful of Danforth, as he knows that he could sentence himself and his wife to death at any time. When Elizabeth Proctor was accused of witchcraft due to the poppet that was found and Abigail’s accusation this made John angry. In court John is sarcastic about this and tries to change the subject and make it funny: â€Å"There might also be a dragon with five legs in my house but no one has ever seen it! † This language also shows that John is biding time with the court. If I where producing this play then I would have John laughing, looking around the court but no one else would be laughing. This could indicate that he is scared and is trying to laugh it of or this could be so he can think of more negatives about Abigail and prove that she is lying. John is also indiscreet as he tells Danforth about how Abigail laughed during Prayer: â€Å"†¦ she were twice this year put out of this meetin’ house for laughter during prayer! † John also shows that he is nasty as he calls Abigail a ‘whore’. Consequently this proves that John Proctor wants to seek revenge on Abigail. Even though this makes Abigail sound like the victim she is not as she is the one who is making false allegations against honest, well respected members of the community. When John is presenting his own case to save his life he is like a hero and he is very brave. He tells Danforth what he actually thinks of him: â€Å"I see the boot of Lucifer, I see his dirty face, and it is my face and yours Danforth! â€Å"

Muslim Societies Essay

The misrepresentation of Islamic societies is nothing new, especially when they are being covered by the Western media. Islamic communities, in reality, span a wider range of traditions and cultures especially when compared to Christian communities. Then again, as they are represented by Western media, Islamic communities are considered as monolithic. This is just one of the many cases that prove how distorted the depiction of Islamic communities are. Western media also tends to consider Muslim states as Islamic without even fully comprehending the differences of the ways in which Islam coexists with the state in various nations. It is also important to consider the complexness of these interactions which most Western media fail to realize. To provide a wider perspective on this issue, a book entitled â€Å"Comparing Muslim Societies: Knowledge and the State in a World Civilization,† edited by Juan R. I. Cole, is penned. This book contains eight essays from different writers across the globe. It also provides the reader several suggestions for further reading. Below is a list of some of the essays included in the book and reviews of each essay are as follows: First Reviewed Essay: Nikki Keddie’s â€Å"Material Culture, Technology and Geography: Toward a Holistic Comparative Study of the Middle East. † This essay is about the influence of changing technologies in the development of Middle East history. The author argues that it is important for historians to interact with engineers and archaeologists, because this is a more effective way to better understand the culture taking place in the Middle East. The author suggests that a historian, when not intimidated by Altusser, Foucault and Freud, will most likely just forget about the main thesis of the subject when simple topics on textile looms are included. Yet, these simple discussions on tools used in history are highly significant parts of the rich history of Islamic communities (Yee, 1992). Second Reviewed Essay: Charles Lindholm’s â€Å"Quandries of Command in Egalitarian Societies: Examples from Swat and Morocco†. What Charles Lindholm did to this essay is to find the challenges of reconciling obvious inequities of power and resources with egalitarian ethos and an egalitarian religion. He made special mention of the Berbers of Morocco and the Swat Pukhtun of Pakistan. What made this essay interesting is his excellent comparisons between the mentioned societies and the United States because the discrepancies between these groups are highly manifested and obviously existing (Yee, 1992). Third Reviewed Essay: Dale Fickelman’s â€Å"The Art of Memory: Islamic Education and Its Social Reproduction†. It is this essay that made readers learn more about the transmission of learning taking place in Morocco during the first years of the century. In traditional system of education in Islamic communities, rote-learning is highly observed. This aspect of their tradition is never magnified and often ignored. However, with Dale Eickelman’s essay, he showed his readers the more complicated picture of this type of education. He emphasized the idea of rote-learning and related it to the role of this type of practice to a social context. Comparisons were made possible with the use of Western educational traditions and Muslim social systems (Yee, 1992). Comparing Muslim Societies is a book that is nothing short of a genius. What this book caters to are students taking up sociology and anthropology, especially if they are starting to be introduced to the Islamic world. Then again, since this book has to have a wide readership since it deserves that anyway, this book then also appeals to general readers who want to learn more about Islam and Islamic communities. Readers will be given a more thoughtful look on a subject such as the representation of Islam which is the same subject that is given very scant attention by mainstream media today. Readers of Comparing Muslim Societies will undoubtedly learn to be more considerate when approaching studies and discussions about Islamic communities. References Cole, J. R. (ed). (1992). Comparing Muslim Societies: Knowledge and the State in a World Civilization. University of Michigan Press. Yee, D. (1992). Comparing Muslim Societies: Knowledge and the State in a World Civilization – A Book Review. Danny Yee’s Book Reviews Website. February 26, 2009, from http://dannyreviews. com/h/Comparing_Muslim_Societies. html.

Japan Net Bank Case Analysis Essay

The banking market, especially Internet-only bank sector, in Japan was going through a period of rapid growth after the Japanese government initiated the famous â€Å"Big Bang† deregulation of the financial market. JNB, which began operation in October 2000, aimed at winning one million accounts and one trillion yen deposits and becoming profitable by the financial year 2002. However, in order to achieve that long-term success, it needed to resolved a number of issues and strengthen its competitive position in face of stiff competition from brick-and-mortar banks and new Internet-only banks. Therefore, this report focuses on the following three issues: †¢ An assessment of the present situation in Japan   regarding the Internet-only model of retail banking, †¢ An analysis of JNB’s competitive advantages, †¢ Recommendations of what alliance strategies to develop to overcome competition from traditional and other online banks. The data in this report was collected by assessing the information of the case â€Å"Japan Net Bank: Japan’ First Internet-only Bank† by Vincent Mark and Pauline Ng under the supervision of Dr. AH F. Farhoomand and surveying relevant materials from the Internet. I have divided my report into three main sections. Firstly, we would assess the potential for Internet-only model of retail banking in Japan. Secondly, we present and analyze JNB’s competitive advantages meticulously in this particular Japanese market. Finally, we would suggest some viable propositions of what alliance strategies that JNB should develop to surpass and obtain the market leader. Internet banking in Japan. 4 Conservative consumer banking behavior 5 Low level of credit card usage Japan did not use credit cards a great deal. By 2001, credit card purchases accounted for just eight per cent of consumer spending in Japan, compared with 14 percent in Europe and 21 percent in the US (The Economist, 2001). Borrowing was considered shameful in a culture much bound by traditional concept, so paying by credit card in public could be an embarrassment. In many cases, credit card users could only repay in one-go or in fixed installments. Therefore, such the culture preferred repaying card debt s in one-go quickly if they could afford it. Card companies’ lack of good marketing accentuated the problem: although there were schemes involving credit cards points, customers could only use their points to redeem low-quality gifts. In contrast, the consumer loan market in Japan was doing much better since it was worth 7 trillion yen by early 2001, double the market size of credit card. 6 The availability of ATMs for cash withdrawals Japanese consumers generally preferred to pay by cash or money transfers. A survey conducted in summer 2000 asked respondents which Internet bank they would deposit their money in. The 3,825 respondents were mostly in their 20s and 30s. Figure 1 illustrates the results: the attractiveness of the online banks in Japan in 2000. [pic] The pie chart illustrates that the success of a Japanese bank relied heavily on its ATM services. Determinant included whether the ATMs were conveniently located, whether they charged a small or no handling fee, whether they were open for long hours, etc. That leads to the wide distributions of ATMs services in Japan. We could recognize that the brand equity also played an important role to attract the customers. 7 Internet usage in Japan On-line banking with limited services-as an extension of traditional banking-was already available in Japan in 1997 with Sumitomo Bank. The total number of Internet accounts at major commercial banks reached 1. 4 million at that time. According to a Nielsen/NetRatings report, the Internet population in Japan was some 38 million in January 2001, and 41% of them were active users. However, a study by Yankee Group in early 2001 found out that some 20% of all Japanese households had a fixed line Internet connection at the end of 2000, less than the 50% Internet penetration in the US. Low penetration of fixed line Internet connections had driven a lot of people to use i-mode, which could cost only about several hundred yens a month. I-mode was a cellular Internet service offered by NTT DoCoMo, allowing emails and other Internet functions to be carried out via handsets. It had more than 22 million subscribers by April 2001. In fact, i-mode becomes so popular that Miyai, director of JNB, once said â€Å"Internet banking is really â€Å"cellular banking† in Japan†. 8 The competitive situation Competition from traditional banks JNB nevertheless had to face stiff competition with well-known bricks-and-mortar banks in a crowed banking market even though it was considered as the Japan’s first Internet bank without physical branches. Banking habits and conservative consumer culture in Japan facilitate traditional banks to gain competitive advantage in the market. Furthermore, traditional banks were making their services more convenient by installing m ore and more ATMs and providing a variety of value-added financial services. The most primary factors which make JNB’s competitors pay attention to JNB seemed to be lower overheads, competitive rates, lower fees and strong alliance backing. 10 Competition from domestic Internet banks Sony Bank JNB also had to compete with new entrants that provided similar services, One of those competitors was Sony Bank, an Internet-only bank with 37. 5 billion capital investment expected to start operation in mid-June 2001. Sony Bank’s strategy was similar to that of JNB in terms of higher interest rates, lower fees, a small workforce and no physical branches. In particular, the new bank’s management stressed customized, one-to-one services. Sony bank took advantage of its strategic stakeholders to deliver high-quality services to consumer. For example, customers of Sony Banks could use SMBC’s ATMs at â€Å"am/pm† convenience store chain as contact point, or J. P. Morgan Chase, one of its important stakeholders, would provide personal financial advice through the Web or Sony Bank obviously benefited from the Sony Empire by utilizing Sony Bank’s settlement service to purchase Sony products online. IY Bank Another Internet-only bank to enter the fray was IY bank, whose â€Å"internet† was predominantly a sprawling ATM network although Internet-based transactions would also be possible. It was expected to install round-the-clock ATMs in 3659s Ito-Yokado supermarkets and Seven-Eleven convenient stores within two years of operation. It had already joined up with a combined network of nine city banks, including one of the Japan’s largest commercial banks Sanwa, and charged commission whenever a customer of another bank in the network withdrew money from an IY Bank ATM. IY Bank intended to be settlement-focused and would develop loan and card business and Internet-based services later. IY Bank planned to install 24-hour ATMs at 3650 stores under the group by spring 2002 and at 7150 stores within five years of operation. Its target seemed to be practical since it could take advantage of the Ito-Yokado group’s existing customer base, which is 10 million customers per day, and its low-cost operation. 1 Competition from international Internet banks Another Internet-only bank, called eBank, was expected to start operation in June 2001. It would specialize in the settlement of payments for small-value online purchases worth up to 100,000 yens and would charge a lower commission than ordinary bank. eBANK was operate by Japan Electronics Settlement Planning Inc and invested by Japan Telecom, Yamato Transport and Ericsson Holding International. Its capital was about US$37 million. Japan Net Bank’s competitive advantages JBN, one of the core Internet businesses of parent company SMBC, aimed to build up its independent, own brand name and aspired to become the de facto standard of the Japanese-style â€Å"Internet Specialized Bank† for 21st Century’s Internet community. Therefore, the bank adopted the customer-centric principle seriously in order to survive and develop. JNB differentiated its financial products and services from those of its competitors by its distinguished characteristics: 3 24/7 availability JNB customers enjoyed seamless financial functions and 24/7 accessibility to their accounts through the Internet. They could carry out transactions or check their accounts through multiple access channels, including physical channels (ATMs or the Head Office) and mobile internet service (i-mode). The interfaces were designed to be very user-friendly. Moreover, JNB began to diversify into services other than basic bank transactions such as ordinary and term deposits. For example, it allowed on-line payment for bills and services of Tokyo Electric Power, Nomura Securities and Nifty Corp. ’s on-line shopping mall. 4 Competitive interest rate JNB offered attractive interest rates and fees compared with conventional Japanese banks [see Exhibit 3]. Its deposit interest rates were more than twice that of the average rates offered by major Japanese banks, and its charges for fund transfer were less than half those of conventional banks. Customized services Every customer had his/her own specific information page on the Web. Customers would receive e-mail notifications of transaction details such as receipt of fund transfers, expiration of term deposits, errors in automatic account debits, etc. 6 Confidentiality of usage The confidentiality of JNB customers’ private information was strictly secured; private information could not be used without customers’ agreement. Information transferred through the network was encrypted by 128-bit SSL (Secure Sockets Layer). The database and servers storing JNB customers’ information were protected by a firewall and an access-surveillance system. All Internet banking transactions could not be processed without a password. Moreover, the last login date and time was always indicated at every login to a JNB account, so customers would know whether their accounts had been accessed illegally. 7 Flexible organization and IT system JNB maintained a flexible, flat, and team-like structure which had a very low cost base. Its management style was different from the top-down approach of traditional Japanese corporations. Its structure allowed for the contingency between different departments in the organization to coordinate and solve problems. JNB also adopted a flexible, open information technology system which is divided systematically and functionally. The building of JNB’s IT application was quite innovative since it is mostly outsourced under the supervision of IT Department staff. Strategic alliances to develop In the face of fierce competition, JNB had the advantage of strong, broad, strategically important and multi-industry alliances. An appropriate strategic alliance would increase its revenues and market share. The advantages of strategic alliance include: †¢ Allowing each partner to concentrate on activities that best match their capabilities. †¢ Learning from partners and developing competences that may be more widely exploited elsewhere †¢ Adequacy a suitability of the resources and competencies of an organization for it to survive. 9 Shareholder alliance JNB has been forming alliances and partnerships with many blue-chip corporations possessing huge customer bases. Since JNB could acquire customers through its shareholder alliances, it had relatively low reliance on mass-media marketing and therefore had low marketing budget. In next five years, it should continue diversifying its alliances from different sectors of economy to broaden its business and utilize its alliance’s customer base. For instance, JNB might negotiate with ORIX Corporation RIX, one of the Japan’s largest leasing and diversified financial services conglomerate, to obtain equity strategic alliance. This alliance will enable the company to capture a larger share of the Japanese consumer finance market, and make consumer finance operations more efficient and responsive to the financing needs of creditworthy consumers. 10 Global strategic alliances SMBC, as a major stakeholder of JNB, signed a memorandum of mutual understanding (MOMU) on a strategic partnership with The Bank of East Asia (BEA) to co-develop their business potentials in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Japan and other countries. In China, SMBC established a wholly owned subsidiary, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (China) Limited, in April 2009. SMBC has formed alliances with Kookmin Bank in Korea, First Commercial Bank in Taiwan, The Bank of East Asia in Hong Kong, PT Bank Central Asia Tbk (BCA) in Indonesia and other Asian banks. With Barclays, a major British financial institution, the company is exploring venues of cooperation in wealth management, operations in South Africa and other business fields. JNB should take of advantage of this opportunity to establish its relationship with these foreign banks to market and expand its business to international. These strategic alliances would enable the company to expand its market hare and generate incremental revenues. 11 Non-shareholding alliances Ageing population in Japan likely to increase demand for insurance and pension products The Japanese population is ageing fast. The 65 and over age group as a percentage of total population is expected to increase from an estimated 21% in 2005 to 35. 7% in 2050. Moreover pension assets under management in the Asia Pacific region ar e expected to grow from current E1, 100 billion to E2, 900 billion in 2015. Ageing population in Japan would boost demand for the pension products of the company. The bank should cooperate and offer pension plans services, through Japan Pension Navigator Company to gain a certain advantage. Discerning that changing demographic profile of Japan profoundly therefore would increase demand for JNB’s business. Conclusion Japan Net Bank (JNB), Japan’s first Internet bank without physical branches, began operation in October 2000. It attracted mainly young customers looking for convenient, round-the-clock bank services with much more competitive interest rates and transaction charges than traditional Japanese banks. Its access channels included the mobile Internet service i-mode and fixed-line Internet. JNB relied on flexible, open computer systems and a young workforce of only 100 people to minimize operational costs. Its stakeholders, including parent company Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) and NTT DoCoMo (provider of i-mode), were all large companies from different industry sectors. This stakeholder base gave JNB market exposure and access to their established customer bases. By April 2001 JNB had 130,000 customers. It aimed at winning one million accounts and ? 1 trillion deposits and becoming profitable by the financial year 2002. But it needed to resolve a number of issues before it were able to achieve long-term success in the face of strong competition from bricks-and-mortar banks and new Internet-only banks. One of crucial issues was about how to meet with wide fluctuations in usage without over-investing; the other was alliance management, how to co-operate with alliance partners to achieve competitive advantage.

Case study of fostering team in nuneaton

Case study of fostering team in nuneaton The background to your involvement I am currently on placement with the fostering team in Nuneaton which has in excess of seventy five carers in and around the Nuneaton/Bedworth area. The fostering team consists of 4 full time social workers, whose role encompasses assessment work along with supervisory responsibility of foster carers in line with the Department for Children, Schools and Families ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children’ March 2010 which â€Å"sets out how organisations and individuals should work together to save and promote the welfare of children and young people in accordance with the Children Act 1989 and the Children Act 2004† ( (DCSF, March 2010) and to identify placements for children being accommodated under various sections of the Children Act 1989. While on placement I shadowed a social worker involved in supporting 14 yr old Philip’s foster carers to deal with particular behavioural issues that had led to his placement breaking down. The foster carers have 3 foster children currently in their care, Phillip 14, James 15 and David 16. The 2 foster carers Mike 49 and Jane 46 live in a 4 bedroom house in Hinckley. Philip had left the house and was refusing to return, stating that his foster carers did not like him and that he wanted to live on his own. Bed and breakfast accommodation was arranged for him for a few days while the situation was re-assessed and a meeting with the foster carers arranged. Fundamental to all relationships and particularly the interaction between Philip and his mother, Philip and his foster carers and social worker and foster carers, communication is a central component. Analysing how effective communication plays a vital part in this client’s circumstances will form the basis of this discussion. Good communication skills are a principle component of effective social work practice. They include active, attentive and empathetic listening, recognition of verbal and non verbal co mmunication and general formal and informal interview techniques, as Payne has suggested, the application of communication theory gives â€Å"practical help in controlling and understanding relationships and interactions with clients and a technology of interviewing and interpersonal skills† (Payne, 2005, pg 178). Over recent year the children looked after by foster carers have included an increasing proportion of distressed adolescences along with the disruption rate for these placements as being high (Farmer et al 2003). One of the aims of the fostering social worker is to conduct detailed assessments of parenting approaches and strategies used by the foster carers looking after a teenager in a long term placement and how these strategies can change and develop during the course of the placement. Research has been conducted into fostering task with adolescents by Farmer et al (2004), found that they were concerns about the behaviour and well being of children when they move into a new placements. The findings in this case study highlighted a number of factors that contributed to the breakdown in the relationship with the foster carers and Philip and finally the placement. In this situation I had found out the Philip’s social worker had not communicated the nature and context of behavioural issues associated with him to the foster carer’s social worker so that foster carers could have been better informed.

Hello Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Hello - Essay Example This necessitated that I study the management information systems (MIS). I realized this early enough and had the opportunity to change over from finance. MIS is concerned with processing data into information. I have seen how MIS enables quick and reliable referencing apart from efficient and effective coordination. I have been witnessing this while at the college administration and the library services. As far as our family business of real estate is concerned, technology such as customer relationship management (CRM) can help to enhance relations with customers and increase customer value over time. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is one used by many service organizations as it helps to develop and maintain relations with the customers. Browsing through the dailies I also understand that economic downturn and market globalization have posed a challenge to the real estate market. These challenges range from revenue-generation to cost-cutting measures. I know SAP (Systems, Applications and Products) is one such technology which integrates application for managing all types of real estate. SAP is particularly interesting to me because in Saudi Arabia real estate market and constructional development is undergoing phenomenal growth. Incorporating modern technology in the family business would add value as communication and modern technology have become fundamental for any business. I would like to employ technology to integrate green solutions in real estate projects. Green buildings have profound impact on productivity. The consequences of such projects can bring about reduction in costs while enhancing employee efficiency. It keeps the employees motivated which in turn positively impacts productivity. I am aware of the challenges that lie ahead of me in accomplishing my task. The use of technology such as SAP and CRM are fairly new to my home country. I would first need to educate the people in my