Personal Vision of Ministry

Personal Vision of Ministry Statement â€Å"Creative,  loving,  and  inspired  ministry  that  loosens  the burdens of religion, and  leads  people to a  lifetime,  obedient relationship with our  Lord  Jesus Christ. † Each word in that  vision  statement is very significant to me and describes my spiritual being to this point. Creativity  is important to me, not just because advertising or me being a bit imaginative, but because from the beginning, our God was a creative God; I don’t believe there is any room  for  becoming stagnant in Christianity.Love  is the central theme of the Bible, and it is the most important of the Great Commandment’s. It is only through daily submission that  inspiration  will come, and it is only through inspiration and testimony that I find the strength to carry out God’s work. There are  two â€Å"R† words  that are distinctive when sharing ministry:  Religion and Relatio nship. They are not the same. Religion: being the belief in and worship of a personal God or Gods Details of belief as taught or discussed.Relationship: the way in which two or more concepts, objects, or people are connected, or the state of being connected. Example being Jesus Christ connected as our personal Lord and Savior. So this would be my personal ministry of how I am to share Christ Jesus Love. To be able to teach, and lead others to Christ through scripture. As a church youth minister, I should be one that is connected with today’s youth. A youth minister should lead children, not only in their spiritual growth but their personal development as well.A youth minister needs to possess great leadership qualities and have plenty of experience and testimony in order to share with the children. I must be able to train and encourage others within the church. I will be discipline, self-motivated, organized, and spiritually mature. This is why I believe AME will help me furt her Gods ministry, and gain more knowledge of who God is. Scripture says Lots about knowledge throughout the bible. One of my favorite verses explaining Gods sovereign knowledge is in Proverbs.Proverbs 3:1-35:  My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments, for length of days and years of life and peace they will add to you. Let not steadfast love and faithfulness for sake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart. So you will find favor and good success in the sight of God and man. Trust in the Lord  with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. | | | May God use me to accomplish His purposes.

History Essay

To what extent was England dominated by Spain and the serving of Spanish interests during the reign of Mary When Mary decided upon making Spain a close ally in 1554 through the marriage of herself and Philip II of Spain, she took special precaution to not give the superpower too much authority over England. Despite that Lord Chancellor Gardiner and the House of Commons petitioned Mary to consider marrying an Englishman, after they feared that England would be relegated to a dependency of Spain, this fear in many cases came true. Philip viewed the marriage as entirely political and his second visit to England was clearly only due to wanting involvement in England, Spanish interests in England were helpfully reinforced through the marriage and Mary’s foreign policy, subsequently making England a Spanish pawn. However arguments to indicate that England was not dominated by Spain are also clearly noticeable, as Mary received her own advantages out of the marriage with Philip and assured Spain of the little authority Philip would receive through the terms of agreement. The marriage between Mary and Philip which he viewed to be entirely political and leaving Mary to defer heavily on Philip allowed him to also enjoy titles and honours for as long as their marriage should last. All official documents, including acts of parliament were to be dated with both their names, parliament was to be called under the joint authority of the couple and coins were to show the heads of both Mary and Philip. As well as Philip as a figure receiving authority in England, other advantages also lead to Spain being able to use England for Spanish interests. Involving England in the Hapsburg-Valois conflict, they made England into a ‘submissive satellite around the Hapsburg power’; this finally led to the loss of precious Calais for England after there was limited assistance in defence of Calais. Philips coincidental investment in the English navy led to huge advantages as he could consequently use this for his own benefit, and his communication with the Netherlands. This could perhaps be seen as pre-planned by Philip and therefore strongly suggesting Spain was using England for its benefit wherever its interests lay. Other examples are obvious of Philip taking advantage of English involvement, and this can be seen at the Siege of St Quentin, where 5,000 Englishmen joined 70,000 Spanish. Philips forces broke through French defence and the English support was made to seem more important than it was, in fact English troops were not actually needed at all. Overall England can be seen as doing exactly as Spain wished and Spain doing as they thought themselves necessary, the English cleared the channel for Phillip as he wished and Philip only visited England when he required England’s involvement, the marriage appeared completely one sided as Mary showed reliance on Phillip and heavily on Spanish advisors. Alternative views can also be noticed, as England received huge advantages through the alliance with Spain and perhaps gained just as much if not more than Spain had. The marriage with Phillip increased Mary’s Spanish inheritance, Philip was heir to vast territories in continental Europe and the New World and upon marriage Mary became Queen of Naples and titular Queen of Jerusalem. It was obviously clear to Mary that she was in need of a husband and an heir, in this case Philip was providing both, he had already one son from his first marriage and this proved him a good breeder so subsequently benefited Mary hugely and her security in England. Alternative support and security was also established upon the alliance as Henry II had strong Scottish support he was always a threat to England as he wanted Calais, however Mary alone would seem an easy target, but aligned with Spain she appeared stronger. We must also notice that Mary’s tactical approach to the terms of the marriage agreement left her in a very safe position. If no heir was secured or Mary died, neither he or his heirs would have any claim to the throne of England, Philip was to receive the title of King and rule as joint sovereign but he had no sovereign authority. He could not promote foreigners to hold office in England but he must uphold the laws of England. Those in Spain felt that Philips honour had been disparaged and it’s probable that Philip felt the same, however Mary was left safe and secure with the ability to use Spain as she wished. Mary was able to secure England’s main commercial outlet with the Netherlands and could use Spanish help if necessary against political instability, overall English security increased hugely and the benefits were clearly noticeable, proving in fact England was not dominated by Spain and Spanish interests and Mary’s own interests were not left abandoned. In conclusion, both arguments provide fair points and an equal understanding of advantages and disadvantages for each monarch due to the Spanish alliance; however the view that England was a Spanish pawn is a weak one. It is obvious England played along with the serving of Spanish interests but Mary still upheld authority and power, she only behaved to Spanish wishes to keep the alliance strong and secure. This did not necessarily mean that England was dominated and under Spanish dependency. Mary had a necessity to marry and produce an heir, this was an expectation she was forced to follow, and subsequently Phillip filled this position and secured many other insecurities which needed to be attended. Consequently England possessed access to numerous things; Spanish inheritance, Charles V as an ally, England’s main commercial outlet with the Netherlands, access to Spanish Atlantic treasure and political stability. Overall England received increasing security and benefits from the alliance with Spain, proving England not to be dominated by Spain but using Spain to it’s advantage equally as much.

European Settlers Essay

European settlers went through many changes after the discovery of New America because of Christopher Columbus voyage. The Europeans accidentally found the American land which was originally owned by Native American tribes. The Native American culture was very liberal and had very different lifestyles when it came to beliefs in religion, owning land, medicines, hunting farming and family. The Native Americans did not see people as enemies and believed that many people could be invited to join their tribes. The Natives taught the Europeans of their survival skills which included farming, hunting and tools. The Europeans later took advantage of the Native Americans benefits and weaknesses. The Europeans discovered that the Indians had lots of unclaimed land and saw their governing rules as weak. Europeans settlers disagreed with Native American religion, celebration, music, medicines and saw the male as weak. The reason the male Indians were looked at as weak was because they would constantly hunt and the woman would stay and handle all the labor at the tribes. In result, the European people began learning more of the culture and disagreeing with the lifestyles leaning more toward a governed political aspect. Europeans did benefit in many ways of the discovery of the â€Å"New America† since they came up with the idea of taking over the so called unclaimed lands, controlling the Indians and turning this into their very own. Soon the European settlers were all migrating to America in seek of farming and land ownership. Since the Europeans learned of all the work that needed to be done they then turned to slavery of people from Africa. The Europeans did not want to have to work constantly and put in infinite hours to the hard labor so this is why slavery became a great way for them to complete their projects. The European settler’s mindset was focused on riches and power. They did not care of the African slaves and their emotions. The Africans were looked at as showing less value than an animal and were a huge impact during the American migration era. The Europeans invested a lot in farming, human sale, and human trade. Their African slaves were to maintain rice, tobacco, sugar cane and cotton. The Africans did not have any rights and were contracted to work with belief in owning possible land and freedom. Unfortunately, this was a way to keep their slaves working with hopes of something in return which was a false hope. The slaves were treated very bad and had no rights. The men were not allowed to get married and were worked constantly. Not only were the men and woman slaves treated badly they had no authority to be educated. It was seen in Europeans eyes that slaves were not allowed to read and write.

The Narrative about My Exchange Program in Dubai Essay

The Narrative about My Exchange Program in Dubai - Essay Example The first day entails the trip to Dubai. The reason for my participation in the exchange program was the provisions that my university had to offer. However, the sight of Dubai made a change to all the casual involvement in the program. The city was beautiful, and the sound of traffic made me see how busy the population was at that very moment. The skyscrapers of Dubai were just incredible. The highest building Burj Khalifa was now a gesture that I had previously seen on pictures (Dubai). The building was tall and the tip that was the crest of the building made me wonder the height of the building. Our guide a native who had bright colored attire. The guide put forward that the Dubai was one a composition of the UAE. The most probable factor was that the beautiful city was the most popular of the eight nations that form the United Arab Emirates. The guide told me that Dubai was a center of business. The guide also wore an attractive perfume that was indigenous. The Burj Khalifa had a height of 828 meters. After a while, the guide took me to one of the best hotels in the city. The Burj Al Arab Jumeirah was our stop. The hotel is the face of Dubai in tourism as well as the hospitality advertisements. The hotel has a sail-like appearance. The structure is a mixture of blue and white. The building according to the guide is an actual symbol of the modernity that attributes to the city. There was a private point for the reception for each floor. The smell of the food was very charming, and the sight of the interior was comforting.  The guide also took me to the top of the building. The city was epic from the viewpoint. The city was subtle, and people were as small as ants.

Organisational behaviour Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 1

Organisational behaviour - Essay Example For instance, a leader is a person with charismatic qualities, vision, critical thinking skills, encourager, team member, and ability to look into future. Indeed, the aforementioned attributes enable a person to lead his / her organisation and ensure a harmonised and shared value-based internal culture. Leadership refers to the capability of strategic planners, policy- and decision – makers to direct employees / organisation to accomplish business plans and mission. In addition, leadership is all about identifying potential in employees, to polish individual abilities and to train them in a way they could portray optimal performance and achieve defined targets. Idris & Ali (2008) had thrown light over the fact that leadership helps a business organisation in gaining competitive advantage by ‘out – performing’ rivals in the same business sector. For this purpose, the leaders keep themselves updated about general and task environment, which is then analysed a nd evaluated for new policy formulation, modifications and amendments in existing policies. The internal managerial structure could be adjusted to ensure greater flexibility, mutual accountability and adaptability, which later enhances internal efficiency and performance. Chan (2010) has argued that business success and sustainability of an enterprise is dependent on the strengths and leadership qualities of strategic planners and top management. He highlighted that there are various leadership styles such as â€Å"autocratic (which focuses on internal control and stability), bureaucratic (it is more democratic in nature but also pays special attention to task accomplishment and overall performances), laissez-faire (which focuses on extreme level of flexibility, tolerance and adaptability to changes), democratic (which focuses on employee empowerment, continuous learning and experimentation), participative (focuses on enhancing employee contribution and participation in business af fairs through mutual collaboration, interaction and communication), situational, transactional, and more recently transformational† styles. This paper will throw light in detail over Transformational Leadership and Path – Goal Leadership approaches. The researcher will critically evaluate and compare the strengths and limitations of two different approaches to theorising leadership as sources of prescription for good managerial practice in organisations. In other words, the researcher will assess how the concepts and understandings of two aforementioned leadership theoretical approaches will help strategic planners to formulate and implement good managerial practices that would benefit in conflict resolution, internal peace, socio – emotional and instrumental cohesion and harmony, low absenteeism and employee turnover rates, high motivational level, job commitment and timely achievement of goals. The researcher has chosen the Path – Goal Leadership approac h because it focuses on task / performance and relationship – orientation as both are quite necessary for overall organisational success. For instance, the approach was developed after contributions of many renowned theorists during 1970s and 1980s such as Robert House, Ralph Kartz, Yukl, Shamir, R. Mitchell and other authors (House, 1996). In addition, the researcher has also chosen Transformational Leadership theory, a relatively new approach, which focuses on to

The Miscarriage of Justice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

The Miscarriage of Justice - Essay Example A miscarriage of justice may condemn an innocent person to punishment for a crime he/she may not have committed. While there may be a miscarriage of justice in other areas as well, it always has the most serious consequences of criminal convictions since the punishment may involve long terms or imprisonment or even execution. Wrongful convictions are difficult to overturn and although there are provisions for appeal under the law, an innocent person may suffer needless imprisonment, incarceration or even death, when a miscarriage of justice occurs. In many instances, such wrongful convictions may also be the result of unfair trials, the manipulation or fabrication of evidence or the framing of an innocent party through false testimonies and misdirection of judicial authorities. An innocent person wrongly convicted of a crime he/she did not commit, may face the consequences even after a wrongful conviction has been overturned because it is impossible to reverse the effects of punishme nt already suffered or the torment and hardship that may have been endured by the innocent person and his/her family. The most heart-rending aspect of a miscarriage of justice occurs when an innocent person is wrongfully convicted and put to death. The case of Judith Theresa3 is one of the best examples of the miscarriage of justice in terms of legal impropriety in the disclosure of material evidence and the role of experts and forensic scientists in providing evidence. In this case, a woman was convicted of being a terrorist on the grounds that nitroglycerine was discovered on her property. Defendant was convicted and sentenced to 30 years imprisonment, of which 17 had already been served when the Appeal was filed on the grounds of failure of timely disclosure. The problem, in this case, was the withholding of information by the forensic scientists who were working for the Government and believing that it was their duty to aid the police, they withheld information which they believed might prove damaging to the Prosecution’s case.

Bio Poem and Character development Dona Sabine Assignment

Bio Poem and Character development Dona Sabine - Assignment Example Her position in society dictated that she hold herself in a certain high manner and treat her workers in a certain way. That was easy for her to do because as a dancer, she had traveled the world and was used to living the high life. However, the fact that she could mask who she truly was by birth could not erase who she truly was. That is what I believe to be the main reason that she tried to protect the Haitians in her care as best as she could. She could never turn her back on her roots and her heritage. To not help the Haitians would have been to do exactly that. Since she only became a member of the Dominican Republic due to the land exchange between the two nations that share the same border, she became a hybrid of the two cultures. Which made her a unique person with a wider sense of understanding about what was happening around her. It is these intricacies in her character and its development that helped me to understand that the massacre was not just about the crimes the Haitians supposedly committed upon the Dominicans. It was all about social cleansing. Which led me to understand the story even more because there is not a person alive who does not know that World War II was all about Hitler committing legalized genocide in Germany. Which is what happened in the Dominican Republic at the time that was set in the book as

How cloud computing will affect businesses Research Paper

How cloud computing will affect businesses - Research Paper Example Cloud Computing is a term that has gained popularity within last couple of years. Figure 1 shows the trends in the usage various computing terms, the figure is indicative of the fact that the terms like grid computing and distributed computing are dropping in usage where as from 2008 onwards the term cloud computing has picked up at an exponential rate. Cloud computing has been defined as â€Å"†¦.a general term for anything that involves delivering hosted services over the Internet. These services are broadly divided into three categories: Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)†¦.† (Search Cloud Computing). The term Cloud is a metaphor of Internet as Internet it is represented as a cloud in schematics and diagrams Figure 1. Trends of usage of term Cloud Computing. Cloud computing has numerous benefits and these beneficiaries not only include the users but also the companies. Cloud computing is beginning to change the way businesses are done. The following are the key benefits of cloud computing: Cloud Computing enables the users to access information (files and data) remotely, that is from their home or office, during working hours or even beyond working hours. Cloud computing is relatively cheaper with respect to the resources, for smaller companies and companies in resource limited settings cloud computing provides low cost solutions because these users need not procure expensive software and hardware. The companies just need to pay for the services and infrastructure when it is required, thereby reducing the costs. Since cloud computing is all about online or virtual resources, resources like storage space etc. for the companies into cloud-based services is limitless. Monthly subscription fee takes care of the growing needs of the companies . In other words, cloud computing offers such advantages capable of posting the companies, those adopt cloud computing, in all together a different league because the scales and economics are a class apart. Figure 2. Pros and Cons of Cloud Computing (Source: http://blogs.zdnet.com/Hinchcliffe) Although cloud computing presents numerous benefits, quite like any other entity or technology, cloud computing has its share of shortcomings. These include concerns like the additional costs for transfer of data; lack of control over security, reliability of the hardware where the data and applications reside, because the hardware and software etc. are owned by third party; since cloud computing is a service oriented technology, quality of service of each vendor can vary, hence this technology can not be considered to be free from qualitative aspects like, security issues, etc. Figure 2 gives an idea of the pros and cons of

Computer Systems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 2

Computer Systems - Essay Example working on conventional models like grid, support autonomic features and used on the basis of billing utilities, but the idea of a cloud is comparatively different and opposite to the features of grid, for example SaaS, Utility Computing etc. Cloud promises the availability of all the required architecture including application, hardware, platform, software and required amount of storages through an ownership of a suitable internet connection. Enables people to access the required information through any device that has an internet connection-instead of being attached to the desktop. It is also cost effective as it doesn’t require installing hardware or software. Powerful idea behind cloud computing is computing by service-oriented architectures (SOA) – transferring of an incorporated and organized collection of functions to users by mean of both freely and firmly coupled purposes, or services – most of which are network based. Virtualized infrastructure enables the development and deployment of applications dramatically easier, thus increasing the reliable scope of these applications achievable within allocated budget and organizational controls.. Virtual infrastructure also expands reliability, efficiency and quality by including similarities within application requirements and aids the organized sharing of services. Now a day, almost every business activity requires Information Technology and its services in any form available. Technology wants to develop end-user efficiency and decrease Technology-driven overhead Service Oriented Architectures is not a new concept, but in the recent years it has gained a considerable attention. Examples of some such early that were based on SOA are Object Request Brokers (ORBs), DCOM and Remote Procedure Calls (RPC). Most recent model of SOA is known as Grid Computing solution and infrastructures. In a Service Oriented Architecture environment organizations or customer request an Information Technology

Dueling and Honor in the Old South Essay Example for Free

Dueling and Honor in the Old South Essay The practice of dueling in the Old South was inseparably bound to the notion of honor, in all its manifestations, that in large part defined the Southern self-image. Though dueling was a very male activity, its influence as far as defining a man’s character, courage and viability as a gentlemen was also a powerful one with women. The practice was anathema to Northern notions of honor and accomplishment but for the Southern men who dueled the practice was inseparable from their identity as gentlemen, members of an elite and noble caste. A CULTURE OF HONOR It is impossible to understand the importance of the ritual of dueling in the Old South without understanding the traditions of honor as they were celebrated by the men and women of the elite classes of the antebellum period. Honor, or the offence of one’s honor, was the motivation behind the carnage that the practice of dueling left in its wake. Honor, and the importance placed upon it by the Southern aristocracy, flowed from the ideals of hierarchy and entitlement. It was inseparable from the need to defend one’s family, reputation and one’s community (Wyatt-Brown, p. 4). The sanctions for violating honor were not trivial, given that one’s personal honor could be connected to the honor of one’s family and one’s community as a whole. To be truly honorable in the South required adherence to a particular paradigm: Honor was obviously a very personal matter but it was also a very real public matter that merited enforcement by elite the community. In the South, the community, and one’s reputation within it, were as important as and a vital part of one’s self-image. Everyone had to subordinate personal autonomy to the collective will. It was the test of leaders to carry out the comminity’s desires, to uphold its sacredness; otherwise they would find that they themselves were the sacrifices offered up to the sanctified ideals. (Wyatt-Brown, p. 12) Elitism was intrinsic to the idea of Southern honor. The North had largely abandoned the idea that honor, distinction and priveledge where things that were earned through family lines or wealth. The South, however, maintained the ideals of aristocracy long into the 19th Century (Wyatt-Brown, p. 19). Where the North idealized that all were equal before the law, the South still held on to notions of there being different standards for different classes of people. For the Southerner of the elite classes, the Nothern view would represent an affront to their notions of entitlement. The Southern aristocrat was assumed to be a man, or woman, of honor simply because of their station in life. In the North, the situation was quite different. Northern ideals of equality of all men before the law, though imperfect in practice as always, undermnined the privileges of the wealthy and wellborn. To get ahead required skill at intellectual tasks, not just expertise at manipulating others—or at least so the ideal became (Wyatt-Brown, p. 20). While honor in the North was quite often defined by temperance, intellectual achievement and rising above vice (Wyatt-Brown, p. 21), Sothern honor was inseperably attached to notions of masculinity and an important part of being masculine was the willingness to use violence and face death to settle disputes. The Sothern idea of honor is incoherent without understanding its opposite, shame. In the South, public chastizement was still embraced as a good and right way to deal with those who had violated community standards, the culture of honor or had shown themselves to be, perhaps, unworthy of the station to which they had been born (Wyatt-Brown, p. 19). In the North, the pentitentiary system, an essentially private affair, and the idea that a deviant was accoutnable before the law instead of being accoutnable to the wrath of the community in such a public sense, represented a remarkable difference. A crime in the North was a crime against the written letter of the law. A crime in the South, however, could be cast as a violation of an archaic, elitst set of values and accountability was not tied to the private punishment of prison, but to public shame. In fact, Southern honor was such a powderkeg that one who was not familiar with local customs regarding what constituted an insult literally took their life in their hands when travelling to one part of the South from another or to the South from another region (Williams, p. 23). If one were planning to exhibit a bit of wit at the expense of another, the only way to safely do so was to be certain that one knew the recipient of the jest well enough that the subject mater would not be one that addressed too sensitive an issue or challenged too harshly the gentleman’s honor (Williams, p. 24). Another form of public shame was public goading. Challenges to duels were frequently printing in newspapers or hung up in public places—called â€Å"posting† someone— and, of course, many were given verbally in public settings. Both often consisted of rather eloquent insults directed toward the desired opponent. (Williams, p. 23). Given the contraints of such an exacting culture of honor, it’s easy enough to understand how this would leave a man unable to let go such a public humiliation without seeiming to confirm the allegations of the challenger. Another way to issue a challenge to duel with almost certain success was to call another man a liar (Greenberg, p. 32). For the Southern man, being â€Å"given the lie†, which meant to be called out for lying or to simply be accused of being a liar, was one of the highest forms of insult. Greenburg notes that determining whether or not Southern men were on the whole more or less honest than their contemporaries is essentially impossible but that is not the issue. What was important was that one’s honesty was called into question and that, as much or more than anything else, was cause for deadly retribution. Cherchez la femme Southern women were as bound to the culture of honor as were men. In fact, a great deal of a man’s personal and family honor was vested in the women of his family. An insult toward a wife, daughter, cousin or mother represented a slight against all that the man held dear, especially his notion of personal and public honor. Possibly the worst insult that could be leveld against a woman was one implying promiscuity. To say as much of anyone’s wife or daughter almost guaranteed that violence would follow quickly. This flowed from the notions of nobility carried on through a family line. A woman’s promiscuity implied the dishonor of the man, unable to protect his home of which his woman was part. Women also presented a threat in that they could present the man with an illigitimate child. This would cast doubt upon the legitimacy of the entire line. (Wyatt-Brown, p. 54) Of course, in a region where the legitimacy of one’s family claim to aristocracy was essentially one of birthright, and insult such as this implied that the gentleman himself may be unworthy of the privelidges afforded the upper classes. Quite a strong implication: not only was the man, in this case, having his honor challenged but he was also was having his right to even call himself worthy of the title of an honorable man challenged. An insult such as this could not go unanswered. Wyatt-Brown traces this tradition all the way back to the ancestral lands of many white Sotherners. â€Å"Fierce retaliation was therefore mandatory when a daughter, wife, or mother had been dishonored. So it had been in ancient German and Celtic tribes, and so it continued to be in antibelum society (Wyatt-Brown, p. 53). † To modern minds, this brings up an obvious conflict between the typical freedom to be promiscuous granted to males and its not being granted to females. One must keep in mind that the world of the Old South was, in reality, a collection of many worlds. The worlds of the elite and the common, the free and slave and the man and woman. †¦ to the traditional mind there was no â€Å"double standard† of morality. The sexes differed. They lived separate lives—one in the world, the other in the home, one in exterior cicumstances, the other in the inner sactuary that required vigilant safeguarding. (Wyatt-Brown, p. 54) This does not mean that women were simply the targets of insults over which duels ensued where men defended their honor or that they were not a part of the honor culture that lead to the ritualized violence. Quite to the contrary, women were often the causes, and sometimes the instigators, of duels. The view that a woman might not care for a man unwilling to duel when challenged had implied support, at least, from the wife of a Clinton, Mississippi man who told him on the eve of a duel that she would ‘rather be the widow of a brave man than the wife of a coward† (Williams, p. 19). This culture of manliness being validated by way of violence was characteristic of Southern honor and seems to have crossed gender-lines without difficulty. In order for the sort of ritualized killing embodied by dueling to continue, there needed to be a sort of conformity that existed above and beyond independent thought. â€Å"Dueling depended strongly on those who gave faithful and somteis mindless adherence to the trappings of social elitism, who paid open homage to controlleed violence as being synonymous wwith both maleness and personal honor (Williams, p. 39)†. As we can see from the examples above, it was not only men who adhered to these notions of what defined them as masculine. Race and Class White Southerners saw themselves as aristocrats and, like all good aristocrats, one’s position could partially be measured by the amount of land over which one held power. Landownership was important for a great deal more than economic advance. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries landownership provided the necessary key to respected social position and to participation in political life (Cooper Cooper, p. 6) This, of course, is anathema to the Northern ideal—if not always the practice—that all members of a society are entitled to an equal voice in politics. It is also indicative of the way in which Southern society was divided along class lines. However deep these divisions between rich and poor may have been, however, there were nowhere near as deep as the divisions between black and white which, in the old South, amounted to a division between human beings and those treated as if they were something less. Southern blacks were excluded from most of the benefits of personhood which, obviously, excluded them from the culture of honor which dominated the South. In fact, blacks weren’t even able to make a legally-binding statement. Those outside the commuiyt ranks, most especially blacks in the American South, were inelegible for oath-taking. For that reason, among others, slaves and free blacks could not serve as witnesses in trials of whites (Wyatt-Brown, p. 57). Oath-taking, denoting an unwritten, unbreakable code of ethics among men of honor, was an obsession in the South. Taking on debts, particuarly, was an instance where an oath substituted for the stronger bonds of family among Southern whites (Wyatt-Brown, p. 55). This exclusionary idea of whom could give an oath, only a man whose honor was beyond reproach, and who could not, those classes and peoples who honor was suspect because of social rank or racial background, kept the white aristocracy on a pedestal forever above those they considered their lessers. It also presented an obvious route to a duel, should conflicts over loyalty to an oath ever present. To defy an oath was, essentially, to lie and to accuse one of breaking an oath was to call them a liar. In its exclusionary nature, the cutulre of honor had obvious connections to the perpetuation of the institution of slavery. Slaves were deprived by masters of all the elements necessary for the formal duels of gentlemen of honor. They could not exchange notes because law and custom forbid their literacy. After all, a slave who could write a challenge could also write a pass allowing him his freedom—or could read the abolitionist press. (Greenberg, p. 34) Likewise, a slave would certainly not be give the knife, sword or pistol of the duelist! A weapon of avenging one’s honor could easily be turned upon one’s master. While a gentleman was encouraged to risk his life in the defense of his honor, the institution of slavery was largely dependent upon the fear of life and limb on the part of the slaves. The last thing a slave owner wanted to encourage in his slaves was a willingness to risk their lives, lest they decide to risk those lives in an attempt to escape (Greenberg, p. 34). Of course, if a slave were encouraged to have a personal sense of honor, it is only obvious where he might find the first offender of that honor and against whom he may well have chose to avenge himself. Likewise, because a slave was absolutely subject to the will of his master and unable to form any legal contracts on his own (Oakes, p. 4), he was, by default unable to enter into the legal and honorbound world. How could someone less than a man deliver an insult to a man? How could one impugn the honesty of another man if his honesty, by virute of his race, was always assumed to be non-existent? OPPOSITION TO DUELING The impact of dueling was so great on Southern life that officials in some states still have to swear an oath regarding their opposition to and non-involvement in the old practice. Dueling in Kentucky dueling remains a serious matter. In Section 228 of the state’s constitution there remains a link with Kentucky’s violent past. That link is the famous â€Å"dueling clause. † Since 1891, the commonwealth’s officials have had to swear or affirm that â€Å"since the adoption of the present Constitution, I being a citizen of the state, have not fought a duel with deadly weapons within the State or nor out of it, nor have I sent or accepted a challenge to fight a duel with deadly weapons, nor have I acted as a Second in carrying a challenge nor aided or assisted any person thus offending, so help me God. (Kentucky, 2005) Given the strict culture of honor in the South and the very real damage that could be done to a man’s economic and social status by turning down a challenge, legislators found themselves with a complex legal problem: How does one pass a law that protects a man’s honor and allows him to turn down a challenge to duel? For those men who already were serving as government officials, it was easy enough to make laws such as the Kentucky law quoted above to deal with the problem. The problem was that the people who engaged in duels thought of themselves as members of an elite; and if a gentleman said, I cant duel because Ill go to jail, his challenger would accuse him of being a coward. So the states in the early 19th century tried an indirect approach: They passed a series of laws that attempted to break the connection between dueling and honor by prohibiting people who dueled from holding public office (Rosen, 2002). A curious example of dueling, once a symbol of the status of those who had access to power now becoming a barrier to the legal, governmental power structure that would come to replace the old aristocracy of the South. Ostracism and criminalization were frequently used as means to discourage dueling. Another solution, though it seems to brush up hard against the first amendment, was to pass laws prohibiting â€Å"fighting words†. Fighting words being those said with the intention of inciting violence, whether they be true or not. By 1942, the Supreme Court had â€Å"marginally enshrined† the concept of â€Å"fighting words† as constitutional (Rosen, 2002). Even though the concept had been accepted, by the time 1942 came along the culture of honor that would have led to personal insults resulting in duels to the death had long since passed away. The Old South was forever gone and, with it, the need for gentlemen to settle their disputes, however petty they may seem by modern standards, with a flintlock pistol or shotgun. Another antidote to the culture of honor was ridicule. A New York Times Article from May 19. 1886 betrays a bit of Northern condescension toward the honorable society of the sophisticated Southern gentry: What would a few years ago have been a difficulty between two eminent Colonels in North Carolina has now shrunk to the proportions of an affair, and now seems likely to dwindled still further to a mere incident. It is well worth noting as an illustration of how far modern ideas have penetrated the fastness to which chivalry has betaken itself (New York Times, 1886). With the end of the Confederacy came the end of the antebellum notions of honor and, with it, the feeling, at least in the Northern states, that its demise was no cause for nostalgia but a sign of progress. RULES OF THE GAME Like the vast majority of the men who engaged in then, duels had their roots in Europe. Like many early American customs, dueling was imported. Starting in the Middle Ages, European nobles had defended their honor in man-to-man battles. An early version of dueling was known as judicial combat, so called because God allegedly judged the man in the right and let him win (Public Broadcasting Service, 2000). Above all other things, duels are a highly regulated, ritualized form of violence. They are not a spontaneous brawl nor are they an organized military battle where commanders endeavor to keep their tactics and intentions secret from their opponents. In a duel, both parties know the rules from the start and make their intentions clear. If there is a source document for the accepted rules of dueling, it would have to be the 1777 Code Duello, written by a group of Irishmen (Public Broadcasting Service, 2000). The code was finalized at Clonmel Summer Assizes and intended to be adopted throughout Ireland. It was followed in adoption in England and in America with some variations in the latter (Public Broadcasting Service, 2000). The rules are quite exacting. The first rule, in fact, specifies that in a case where a man was insulted, it is the obligation of he who insulted him to apologize first, even if the insulted offered a much harsher retort than the original insult. Much of the document has to do less with the rules of the actual duel and more to do with mending the wounds to the insulted party’s honor, or ego. The Code Duello applies to combat undertaken with sword and gun but does mention the most condescending form of punishment, being beaten or caned, usually reserved for lower classes, in the context of offering oneself to be caned as a way of apologizing and taking responsibility for the instigating insult. Rule 5. As a blow is strictly prohibited under any circumstances among gentlemen, no verbal apology can be received for such an insult. The alternatives, therefore the offender handing a cane to the injured party, to be used on his own back, at the same time begging pardon; firing on until one or both are disabled; or exchanging three shots, and then asking pardon without proffer of the cane (Public Broadcasting Service, 2000). The rules are predictably chauvinistic, as well, insults to a lady being regarded as particularly heinous and requiring their own extreme form of apology. Two of the rules are particularly interesting in the way they act to control the violence. Rule 13 states that there shall be no â€Å"dumb shooting† or firing into the air as a means of preventing frivolous disputes from escalating to the level of a duel. Though the rule stipulates that â€Å"The challenger ought not to have challenged without receiving offence† and that the challenged should have apologized before he reached the place of the duel. Jackson and Avery, in a duel where they both forewent taking a fatal shot at their opponent, clearly both violated this rule. Depending on one’s perspective, this could be taken to both of their credits or detriments where honor is concerned. Seconds, through whom the duelists communicated and who were responsible for arranging the terms and rules of the duel, are regulated heavily in behavior and station in the Code Duello. Seconds were to be the duelist’s equal in social rank. The Second’s job, aside from facilitating and arranging the duel, was to try to reach reconciliation between the parties. According to Rule 21 of the Code, â€Å"Seconds are bound to attempt a reconciliation before the meeting takes place, or after sufficient firing or hits, as specified. † What is particularly telling about The Code Duello is the specificity of the rules. Dueling was clearly a sport, though a deadly one, by which men could redeem whatever honor had been taken from them by an insult, deed or implication. As gentlemen, the strictly-regulated nature of their conflicts separated them from the brawlers of the lower classes. In America, there were conventions not specified in the Code Duello. Duelists, though their Seconds could draw up contracts detailing the specifics of the duel and weapons other than pistols or swords could be used at the duelist’s preference (Williams, p. 50). Particularly deadly as a dueling weapon was the shotgun. Where the high degree of inaccuracy associated with smooth-bore, flintlock weapons may well have saved the lives of more than one duelist (see the Clingman vs. Yancey duel described below) a shotgun requires little skill to ensure a hit. However, even among the elite classes, dueling was not automatically thought of as manly or honorable and was even viewed with scorn by some of America’s most famous men. George Washington congratulated one of his officers on refusing a challenge to duel (Public Broadcasting Service, 2000), quite different from what would have been expected by a Southern military man who had declined such a challenge. Benjamin Franklin, for his part, failed to see the point of dueling at all. â€Å"For him , the duels seemed a pointless activity because it could not determine whether a man had really lied†¦ (Greenberg, p. 14). † From Franklin’s perspective, all the emphasis on honor was rather silly. For the Northerner, a duel over a debt failed to get the money back and was, therefore, essentially useless. For the Southern gentleman, the debt itself was pointless, the duel was about honor and tradition (Greenberg, p. 15). It would be difficult to find a modern American equivalent to the honor dueling that took place in the antebellum South. One could argue that sports such as boxing, wrestling and the â€Å"cage fighting† events such as the Ultimate Fighting Challenge are similar, but they are typically arranged fights based on factors such as weight class and fighting record, not on personal slights. While a fist-fight may erupt over an insult to a woman’s honor or a man’s, these are not the regulated, proscribed duels of the past. In short, a duel existed as a means of controlling and regulating violence as much as it was a means of fostering it. Where the modern world is concerned, the heavily-regulated and ritualized world of the Southern gentleman duelist is conspicuously absent. NOTABLE AMERICAN DUELS Burr vs. Hamilton On July 11, 1804, long-standing political and personal tension between Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton, two of America’s â€Å"founding fathers† came to a head. Their rivalry was longstanding and Burr believed he may have been the President, instead of the Vice President, if it had not been for Hamilton’s interference (Americas Library, 2008). The Hamilton-Burr duel is an instance where a personal insult was the impetus for the duel. Hamilton voiced his disdain for Burr at a political dinner held for the Federalist party. The exact slur was not printed but Burr twice demanded and failed to receive what he would have considered an adequate apology from Hamilton. After failing the Second time, Burr demanded a duel (Jefferson National Expansion, 2008). Burr, ultimately, did receive â€Å"satisfaction†. He shot and mortally wounded Hamilton, who shot his pistol into the air, and Hamilton died the next day (Jefferson National Expansion, 2008). Burr was indicted for murder, dueling was not legal in New York, but was never prosecuted for the crime (Americas Library, 2008). He went on to serve out his term as Vice President. A question that had plagued historians is why, exactly, these men undertook such a drastic means of settling what amount to a fairly petty matter. For Burr, obviously, the idea of avenging an insult is explanation enough. But Hamilton was opposed to dueling on moral and religious grounds. He did not even expect to be challenged to a duel but was known for being very protective of his notions of personal honor, possibly because of his insecurities concerning his own illegitimacy (Freeman, 1996). However, Hamilton’s failure to respond was not meant as an insult. Rather, a friend, Rufus king, advised Hamilton that the letter sent to Hamilton by Burr did not merit a response. Hamilton intended to accept a challenge should it have been offered but he hadn’t any intention of shooting Burr (Freeman, 1996). According to Joanne B. Freeman, Hamilton’s moral reasoning for accepting the duel was thus: He had satisfied the code of honor by accepting Burr’s challenge, violating the civil law only under duress. He had maintained his political integrity by refusing to apologize for heartfelt political convictions. Now he would uphold his moral and religious principles by withholding his fire (Freeman, 1996). It is interesting that Hamilton wanted none of the â€Å"satisfaction† of killing or wounding his opponent. As we shall see, this pageant aspect of dueling was not entirely unique, as represented in the Jackson vs. Avery duel described below. For Hamilton, his honor would be sustained by not killing his opponent. Convoluted reasoning, to be certain, but quite in line with the more Northern ideal that honor could be measured by a man’s ability to withhold from vices, in this case bloodlust. Hamilton saw the honor in dueling not in the death of his opponent, but in having the courage to participate in such an affair, which he felt would benefit him politically as well as personally (Freeman, 1996). Jackson vs. Dickinson A very characteristically Southern duel between Andrew Jackson and Charles Dickinson. Charles Dickinson, 27 years old and having had a few drinks in him, made some â€Å"uncomplimentary remarks about Rachel Jackson, Andrew’s Wife, who was the subject of much gossip (Williams, p. 18). † The reaction was predictable, the next day Andrew Jackson confronted Dickinson, who attempted to no avail to apologize and found himself facing off against Jackson on â€Å"the field of honor† in May of 1806. According to William’s account, Dickinson aimed and did successfully wound Jackson in the chest. Old Hickory, however, lived up to his name and did not fall when struck. He clutched the wound, took one shot that failed to discharge his weapon and then a Second that killed Dickinson. Clay vs. Randolph On Saturday, April 8, 1825, Henry Clay and John Randolph squared off in Virginia over the latter’s support for John Quincy Adams and Clay’s having insulted Randolph for it. Randolph had a reputation for being a deadly-accurate marksman and it was assumed among most Washington officials that Clay would not survive the encounter. What followed was as farcical as any duel could have been. Randolph’s pistol discharged before the duel was underway. Clay, not satisfied, insisted that they carry though. The duel was held at thirty-steps distance, apparently beyond the marksmanship skills of either duelist. Clay shot and hit the ground, Randolph managed to hit a tree stump. Still, despite the urging of a Second, they insisted on carrying through. The third attempt was slightly more impressive, Clay managed to penetrate Randolph’s coat. Randolph, according to the Code Duello, now had the right to fire upon Clay. After stretching out the moment, apparently for maximum dramatic impact, he opted to fire into the air, against the rules of the Code Duello. Clay inquired whether he had injured Mr. Randolph’s to which Randolph replied â€Å"No, Mr. Clay. But you owe me a new coat. † (Kentucky, 2005) NOTABLE NORTH CAROLINA DUELS Carson vs. Vance The Carson vs. Vance duel is representative of most Southern duels in both its impetus and the means in which it was conducted. Samuel P. Carson and Robert Brank Vance would seem, at first blush, to be men who had much in common. Both were known for their intelligence, their political skill and their charisma. In fact, the pair of them were friends before a political debate and a series of bitter slurs against Carson and his family on the part of Vance would tear the two apart and lead to their meeting on â€Å"the field of honor†. Vance and Carson both came from families with prestigious backgrounds, Carson’s noted for his father’s service under Washington. Vance was a physician who, upon winning a lottery, retired early and entered politics. Both served as members of Congress where their skill came to be well-respected among their peers. Carson, for his part, was popular not only among people of his own class but even among the slaves at his father’s plantation. Vance was noticeably short, having a left leg six inches shorter than his right but his remarkable intelligence came to overshadow his physical form to most who made his acquaintance. Though the two were friends, during the course of a political debate in 1827, Vance would set into motion a series of events that would lead to their eventual duel. During the debate, after both men insinuated that the other wasn’t so honest or trustworthy as they represented, Vance called Carson, in so many words, a coward. Vance did not believe that Carson would ever resort to a duel as Carson had refused to enter one years before. Things got even worse when Vance began attacking Carson’s father’s military record. Implying that Col. Carson had sought the protection of the British, Vance essentially accused the Colonel, and, thereby his family, of being cowards and unworthy of their social status. Vance, despite his rather vicious efforts to disparage his opponent, lost the election. Colonel Carson wrote Vance an angry letter in regards to the accusations. Vance replied that he could not have an altercation with so aged a man as Colonel Carson and said that one of the Colonel’s son’s should step up to defend the old man’s honor. Colonel Carson sent a proxy to inquire as to which son Vance meant and Vance replied that Sam knew that Vance was speaking of him. Sam accepted the challenge. The duel took place on Saluda Gap on the North/South Carolina line. The weapons were pistols at ten yards. Vance missed his mark but Carson did not, sending a ball through Vance’s hip where it lodged. Vance died of his wound about 30 hours later at a hotel. Carson had expressed a desire to speak with Vance following the duel and Vance said that he held no ill-will toward Carson. The two never did speak, however, and the incident is said to have had negative repercussions on Carson for the rest of his life (Arthur, 1914). Clingman vs. Yancey Depending upon one’s view of the custom of dueling, the â€Å"duel† between Thomas Clingman and William Yancey was either a noble instance of two men desperately trying to uphold the rigid customs of honor or a revealing example of the ridiculous nature of wanting to avenge insult with murder. Yancey, an Alabama congressman, had viciously attacked Clingman in a political speech, impugning Clingman’s loyalty to the South. This was in retaliation to Clingman’s attacks upon the Democrats which was a notably fiery piece of rhetoric (Jeffrey, p. 49). Both speeches were characteristic of the fierce partisanship of the time. Clingman was a Whig and Yancey a Democrat. However, a distinction between the remarks given by Clingman and those given by Yancey were that Yancey’s attacked Clingman personally . Clingman’s remarks were certainly over-the-top but they were not, at least in a personal sense, over-the-line (Jeffrey, p. 49). Yancey had turned the art of parliamentary rhetoric into a personal assault. The North Carolina Standard said that â€Å"Never was any man so severely castigated as Mr. Clingman was. (Jeffrey, p. 49). On January 6 or 1845 Clingman told Yancey that he intended to press the matter. He challenged Yancey to meet him in Baltimore where he intended to deliver a formal challenge. Unfortunately, despite Clingman’s enthusiasm for the duel, he was not familiar with the art of shooting

Concepts of Professional Ethics and Moral Responsibility

Concepts of Professional Ethics and Moral Responsibility Group Members: Cheong Loong TAN Yehya ELLEISSY Xavier VUONG Chenkai JIN Ethical Dilemma The development of the product/service is to meet end user’s satisfaction and keeping them in line with the growth of technology. Such entertainment would be to provide the user with the ability to create 3D objects by using software and a 3D printer, allow users to share their thoughts on facts or ideas without restriction and even provide users with a device that acts as a life companion. The underlying ethical dilemma in the scenario is the abuse of the products and services, which most of the time results in unethical behaviour. For the purpose of this analysis, unethical behaviour will be defined as any behaviour that violates or disturbs the moral code of the society. For example, it is unethical to speak of an individual in the absence of their presence, because it causes harm to the victim’s reputation. Taking this into consideration, Facebook would be the largest host of unethical behaviour, as this occurs on a daily basis. Another product that is often remarked as being questionable is the Google Glass, a product that combines video/voice recording with the ability to connect to the internet in device that users wear around their eyes as glasses. This raises questions surrounding privacy of the people around the user, as they will not be aware if the user has activated the record function. Lastly, the 3D printer, ever since its creation has caused ethic al issues with the user able to create firearms that cannot be detected by metal detectors. These products will be further discussed in the first question, with relation to the duty of the companies and organisation that develop them. The scenario presented outlines some of the ethical issues that could arise if using those products or services. These ethical dilemmas are issues such as privacy invasion, security related problems and the user’s ability to cause harm to another. Through this analysis, we will discuss the products and services in question by researching their features, and what harm they are capable of causing when abused. Then we will move on to answer the question of whether or not the companies or organisations should be held responsible for the features of their products and services that allow users to make moral decisions. Followed by this question will be a list of possible solutions to the problems presented in the previous question. The ethical dilemma certainly exists within the scenario, but whether or not it is the duty of the organisations and companies to take responsibility for the actions of their users is question that will be analysed. Should Companies/Organizations be held responsible Companies would create these products and services with the intention of satisfying the users while abiding by the laws. The problem with the entertainment provided occurs when the end users abuse the system, and in that they could make morally incorrect decisions which affect other people. The offenders are only able to commit the abuse because there is no restriction; therefore the question raised to attention is that ‘Should the companies/organizations that develop these products/services be held responsible for â€Å"moral decision making software code and features† that they built into them?’ For the purpose of this analysis, â€Å"Moral-decision-making software code and features† is defined as the certain aspects of products and services that contribute to morality. User Many product and service offered allows user to express their creativity, thoughts and ideas. A 3D printer allows user to print to life anything they are able to model using software, and a Google Glass allows user to integrate all common technologies into one small device to be used anywhere. Social media such as Facebook allows user to share, comment, vote, and even act as an advertising platform for organisation. Nevertheless, there exist a certain group of user that exploit the product either for fame, or money purposes. A good example would be a 3D printer. The printer relies on the creativity of the user itself. When the printer was released, the major problem faced was firearm printing. A single click on the internet enables user to download a weapon blueprint and next loading it into the software and instantly an extremely dangerous goods was produced. In country where firearms are difficult to obtain, these firearms can be easily developed using a 3D printer and costing only approximately $25 of plastic with reasonably high durability (OCallaghan, 2014), and this problem is currently on the rise (Wilson, 2014). Based on our survey report, 50% of the individuals agree that 3D printer should be freely available. Another example would be using Facebook as a tool for committing crime. Cyber bullying, stalking, and uploading photos and videos of people without their consent are very common in Facebook. Professional hackers exploit the vulnerabilities in Facebook and gather target’s personal information such as name, address, phone number and bank information. Some of them even impersonate as family members, relatives or friends to gather sensitive information. Bribery often happens with threat of uploading sensitive information/pictures on Facebook. Often this leads to suicidal when victims are too depressed and cannot cope with the stress (Arkell, 2013). Facebook does not have the option of deleting account – a complete swipe out of user’s information. The only option was deactivating the account. This may seem to be useful when a user changes his/her mind, as they can reactivate back their account any time. However this posts a huge security problem. What if a hacker exploits Facebook Database and share out all the sensitive information? From our survey report, majority of the user wants the option of deleting account to be implemented. Looking at the examples above, the problem exists because companies are not being held responsible for the actions of the user. Companies/organizations are aware of these problems however it is beyond their capability to prevent this from happening as some of the user continuously exploits and misuse the product. Every user should be educated on the responsibility in their doings while maintaining a professional ethics. Professionals The counter argument presented by professional states that user should be responsible for their own welfare and behaviour while using these product. This is a valid statement, as it is the user’s actions that result in unethical behaviour, not the product. The product was designed with the intention of performing within the laws of the country, and not to create any unethical problems. The 3D printer’s ability to create firearms was not the initial intention by the manufacturer but rather the user itself. Besides, firearms made are not durable enough, and not practical in long term. Google Glass’s privacy issue is questioned because user is using it in the public area. If it’s for personal use then there would be no privacy concern. Wallach and Allen (2009) describe an actual case where semiautonomous robotic cannon malfunctioned killing 9 soldiers and wounding 14 others on October 2007. The argument here matches the original argument, that companies should be responsible for the â€Å"moral-decision-making software code† in the system. In this case, the company would be held responsible because they did not ensure that system worked correctly. In conclusion, the company or organisation responsible for the product/service should not be held responsible for the morally incorrect actions of their consumers. While it may seem, from the arguments above that they are most definitely responsible, it was consumer’s option to buy the product. Therefore, this analysis supports the professional statement that consumers should be responsible for their own welfare when using these products. What else needs to be done to solve the underlying issue? Companies that develop these products with shouldn’t be held full responsibility for the misuse of it. Mainly it is the user that decides how it is used and if it is used in an unethical manner or not. Instead, what we should be focusing and investing our time in is what can be done to solve those underlying issues. Take one of the most exciting advancements in technology today, Google Glass, for an example. Google Glass is a modern technology in the shape of an eyewear device that can take photos, videos, and even acting as a GPS device, but this feature concerns the violation of privacy. For example, user may take photos or even record a video of another individual without their consent as the device itself mimicked a pair of glasses with no indication that a recording is being done. Another major issue concerns public safety. When using Google Glass GPS feature, the overlay and prompts appear may distract the driver from noticing incoming traffic, obstacles and pedestrians. Fatal accident may arise due to this. Solutions Here are some suggestions/ways to deal with the issue Ethics and Privacy Beeping tone being emitted when a user capture a picture or make a recording. This is to indicate to the user and surrounding public that pictures are being captured or a recording is being made. Public should be educated and informed about Google Glass functionality and features. This can be achieved through commercials TV ads, social media and internet. Safety Laws and legislations should be implemented and enforced on the usage of Google Glass when driving. Driving while using Google Glass should not be permitted, as it poses a threat to both the driver and surrounding public. Educate user User should be well educated on the do’s and don’ts when using the device. Workshop, training, and seminars should be conducted from time to time to raise awareness in professional ethics concerning technology. User should also be exposed to laws and policies that govern privacy. Google Glass was just one example of how solutions can be provided to it problems without having to place responsibility on the companies/organisations moral-decision-making software code and features. When these three solutions are applied to other products, unethical behaviour should drop. Taking Facebook as an example, the best solution here would be to educate the users on the privacy policy and setting in order to stop people communicating to other who they do not know, or may be under a false identity. Also, users will be aware that information that they post onto Facebook is available for Facebook to use. As for 3D printers, having users educated about safety is important because the knowledge can stop users from printing firearms. Since the firearms are not very durable, and are not being developed professionally, an individual may cause severe harm to himself if the firearm explodes. Also if the individual is educated about the laws the consequences of developing illegal firearms, it can serve as a deterrent. References Arkell, H. (November 26, 2013). DailyMail. In Coroner warns of dangers of Facebook after student, 19, targeted by young women bullies online hanged himself. Retrieved Aug 10, 2014, from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2513782/Facebook-bullies-led-suicide- OCallaghan, J. (May 16, 2014). DailyMail. In The terrifying reality of 3D-printed guns: Devices that ANYONE can make are quickly evolving into deadly weapons. Retrieved Aug 10, 2014, from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2630473/The-terrifying-reality-3D-printed-guns-Devices-ANYONE-make-quickly-evolving-deadly-weapons.html. Wilson, L. (June 18, 2014). News. In Rise of 3D-printed handguns and illegally assembled firearms sparks call for Senate inquiry . Retrieved Aug 10, 2014, from http://www.news.com.au/technology/rise-of-3dprinted-handguns-and-illegally-assembled-firearms-sparks-call-for-senate-inquiry/story-e6frfrnr-1226957787578. Professional Ethics And Moral Responsibility Survey 1. Is it rude to Google someones profile while looking at them using a Google Glass? 2. Do you agree with Google using personalized ads for marketing purposes? 3. Should Facebook allow users to delete their accounts (All information/pictures will be completely removed)? 4. Do you think 3D printer should be legalized in Australia? 5. Is it necessary for companies/universities to have access in monitoring network activities by individuals? 6. Should companies/organizations be held responsible for moral decision making software code and features that they built into them? 7. Do you think companies/organizations should implement whistle blowing policy? 8. What penalty should be imposed on companies/organizations that violates or disclose users information? 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Challenges And Opportunities During Handover Nursing Essay

Challenges And Opportunities During Handover Nursing Essay Variations in communication during staff handover cause a significant number of errors and near misses to occur, leading to adverse outcome In medical care, a hand over (also known as hand off, sign-out or end of shift report in the USA) refers to information about a patient that is transferred by one professional or a team to another. The primary objective of a hand over is to provide accurate information about a patients care, treatment and services, current condition and any recent or anticipated changes. The number and types of handovers for any given hospital patient can vary and may involve physicians, nurses, pharmacists, transport and other services Handovers are not simply a mechanical means for transmitting and receiving information. In medical care, a hand over requires that the sender consider a patients present condition and his/her likely future over the next 8-12 hours. Likewise the receiver must comprehend what is being transmitted and feel confident about the clarity and reliability of the message. In addition handover also involves the transfer of rights, duties and obligations as they relate to the meaning and interpretation of communication between one professional and another. Interest in handovers has grown steadily over the past decade and researchers, hospital administrators, educators and policy makers have learned that variations in communication during handovers cause a significant number of errors and near misses to occur leading to adverse outcome According to the Institute of Medicine (IOM) USA, up to 98000 patients die and another 15 million are harmed in US hospitals annually due to medical errors, and two-thirds of these errors are due to communication failure. Question 1 Read the case study 1, and based on the information given; write an essay to include the answers to the following questions Analyse the methods of internal communication you would recommend to ensure that hand over process in hospital wards is made efficiently A patient can be cared for by five different units during one hospital stay the operating room, postanesthesia care unit, critical care unit, step-down unit and medical/surgical unit which makes effective communication between the units all the more important. Hand offs help staff members process information, plan care and build the health care team. The five strategies for effective hand-off communication include (a) the usage of clear language healthcare professionals should avoid and refrain from using unclear or potentially confusing terms ( such as she is a little unstable, he is doing fine, she is lethargic). Define the terms being used and never use abbreviations or jargons that could be misinterpreted. (b) Healthcare professionals should incorporate effective communication techniques such as limit interruptions, focus on the information being exchanged, and allocate sufficient time to this important task. There is a need to implement read-back or check back techniques to make sure there is a common understanding about expectations. There is a need to encourage interactive questioning to allow for better information absorption. Keep the report patient centered and avoid irrelevant details, (c) there is a need for standardized shift-to-shift and unit-to-unit reporting. Using a consistent format increases the amount of info rmation staff members accurately record and recall and improves their ability to plan patient care. Organize the data with a sign-out checklist, a script or an at a glance status display. Make sure you can provide cues of important information to pass on that is otherwise likely to be forgotten in the chaos of shift or unit changes. Keep the report concise and accurate. What is included in hand-off communication varies by setting and discipline but can also include a summary of the patients current medical status, resuscitation status, recent lab values, allergies, a problem list and a to-do list for the covering physician or nurse. Get input from frontline staff to identify what should be included in the report. Smooth hand offs between settings is possible through the transition between the settings of care such as from the hospital to home, community or long term care can be undependable. To prevent problems, communicate with the physician when a patient is admitted and update him or her whenever the patients status changes significant. On discharge, provide the patient with information about discharge medications, discharge diagnoses and results of procedures and labs. A simple follow up call to the patient by a physician, nurse or pharmacist can prevent many postdischarge errors. Assess the impacts of barriers of internal communication within the hospital to achieve effective handover Hand off communication provides a forum for the exchange of ideas, opportunities to express concerns and a pace for offering peer support. Hand off can be a time when health care workers may find it permissible to express and communicate emotions such as grief, anxiety, loathing or amusement that must be suppressed outside the health care arena and can be particularly important for hospital staff members who are caring for terminal patients in hospital acute medical wards. Communications among care providers, responsibility for the patient, shift-change handovers, coordination among providers and different areas of the hospital and physician- nurse interaction are just some of the problems evident in the case. According to Anderson and Helms (1995), continuity of care is a series of interconnected patient care events within a health care institution and among multiple settings that requires coordination across time, settings and providers of health care. In the health care setting, hand offs include nursing shift changes, temporary relief or coverage, nursing and physician hand offs from an emergency department, various transfers of information in inpatient settings and transfers to different hospitals, nursing homes and home care or community health care. In addition to causing emotional harm such as anxiety and confusion to patients and their family members during already stressful situations, poor transition can cause physical harm to patients in which poor hand off communication lead to patient harm. Proper communication between nurses at all points during a patients hospital stay can be difficult because of high patient turnover, lack of overlap between shifts and time constrains. Adding to the problem is the increasing use of agency nurses and the large number of nurses involved in each patient care4. For a number of other reason, there may be gaps in information that is handed from one nurse to the other like new admissions just prior to shift change, fragmentation of communication between physicians and nurses, time available to conduct hand offs and the lack of knowledge about an individual patients condition as well. Due to these barriers to effective hands off there are certain things to improve communication, (a) increase consistency in assigning nurses to the same patients over a number of shifts, (b) structure hand offs to focus on patient progress rather than on tasks (c) include physicians in the hand-off process when feasible and (d) combine the strengths from the di fferent styles of hand-off communications strategy that meets the needs of the individual patient and the organization or unit. Identify how to create an effective communication structure which is standardised within the hospital to improve compliance with effective handover As part of the transition in care, hand offs transfer knowledge as well as responsibility and authority. Failures in adequate hand-off communication may result from the inability of staff members to construct a shared picture of what is going on with the patient at the time of transition, as well as expectations and plans. Standardizing hands off communication can help health care workers avoid common causes for communication failures during hand offs such as the following : (a) physicians and nurses consistently perform their rounds separately, (b) no formal tools are used to support the transition, (c) hand off communications vary greatly, with some occurring one-on-one and some in groups, (d) some sites have standard orders for handling off patients, (e) exchanges are more transactional than interactional, (f) interruptions are frequent during hand offs. There are multiple venues on how to create an effective communication structure which is standardised can be done through the following steps: (a) physician hand offs including resident-to-resident hand off should include information about code status for all patients, ( b) effective implementation of information technology can improve the availability of advance directive information, (c) health care organizations should have a procedure for reporting critical tests and critical results in a timely manner to the responsible licensed caregiver who ordered the test or an authorized agent of the responsible licensed caregiver, (d) physicians are responsible for tracking the results on laboratory tests they order. Checklists and other interventions aimed at decreasing lapses in concentration can prevent forgetting about ordered tests, (e) hospitals should strive for a communication environment where care team members are free to question each others knowledge. Actively engage patients and their families about their care. Use effective and active communication with members of a surgical team when planning procedures based on contingencies. Healthcare worker should engage in formal mechanisms for communicating changes in patient plans such as orders, checklists and briefings including notification of relevant providers. Using checklists, hand off cards and computerized hand offs can increase the quality, reliability and accuracy of information obtained. Verbal techniques such as read-backs where listeners repeats back salient issues, should be instituted as a standard part of the hand off process. Standard information transfer protocols, such as reminder systems to cue providers to check tests, mandates that laboratories or radiology departments contact providers about critical lab values and read -backs of key verbal information, should be adopted by health care organization to prevent transitional errors. ( Word count :1200 ) Case study 2 Redevelopment of the Kings College Hospital Emergency Department Kings College Hospital Foundation Trust was investing significant resources to completely redesign its Emergency Department. The aim was to improve facilities for all its patients, in particular mental health service users, following the closure of the local mental health emergency mental health facility A formal consultation process was necessary to gather the view of local people on its proposals. Despite this being a redevelopment which affected the whole local community, there was a risk that not all voices would be heard and that only those who had been campaigning against the closure of the dedicated mental health facility would engage. There was a need to give all sections of the community the opportunity to contribute Question 2 Read the case study 2, and based on the information given write an essay to include the answers to the following questions Analyze the methods of external communication you would use for the most effective dissemination of the information about the redevelopment at the Kings College Hospital, to all section of the community The improvements needed for the Emergency Department by the Kings College Hospital Foundation Trust relies so much on the contribution and support of the community. Since the entire hospital would require a full gear shift in order to accommodate the influx of mental patients since a mental health facility has been brought to a closure. There is a need to gather the consensus and consult the community since it will affect the entire population with the changes in the hospital itself. There will be changes in the allocation of budget, staffing and availability of healthcare professionals. Thus, there is a need to solicit the opinion and support of the local community. Sources of information outside the organization can provide an understanding of opportunities and challenges that the organization needs to anticipate or that it has encountered in the past. Important types of external information includes publics who come in contact with the organization, information networks linking individuals inside and outside of the healthcare organization, portrayals of the organization by key individuals and the media and information about social, economic and environmental issues related to the redevelopment of the entire Emergency Room of the hospital. It should be the goal of the entire hospital administration to ensure the effective and full redevelopment of the Emergency department to be responsive to the dynamic local needs. There is a need to conduct a thorough consultation process in order to facilitate the proper solicitation of the opinion from the entire community. This will allow consultation initiatives which will allow the local community to air out their sentiments and opinions with regards to site analysis, opportunities and constraints related to the building form, landscape and heritage. The attitude of the community towards the redevelopment of the health facility can be examined through consultation initiatives. The hospital should ensure that the community feedback was solicited at key project milestones and can be done through the utilization of newsletters, websites, site open day, community walks or even open forums. Further consultation will facilitate the understanding of the community regarding the final plans with the redesigning of the Emergency department. There should be a report related to the environmental assessment for public scrutiny and exhibition. This will allow the local community to have informed decisions about the proposal for the redesigning of the Emergency department. In this way, it will ensure the support from the various sectors of the community. It will facilitate the smooth operations of the hospital in its aim to cater the needs of mentally inflicted patients within the community. Assess the impact of external communication barriers on relationships with various community groups Since there is a need for the redevelopment of the Emergency Department of the Kings College Hospital, a thorough community consultation should be done. Effective engagement and relationship with the local community can lead to better assessment and effective planning. It will ensure better and sensible decisions and more excellent outcomes which can help in the avoidance of delay in the planning and implementation of the redevelopment of the emergency room. Through the consultation with the community, it will lead to an improvement of the confidence in the fairness and credibility of the plan to redesign and develop the Emergency room into a facility which can cater the needs of the clients suffering from mental affliction. The hospital administration expects the consultation and external communication with various community groups to be effective in order to find meaning from the planning process to enable the various groups to be reflected in the development of the proposal to redevelop the facility. There should be a consensus from various community groups to eliminate resistance and foster acceptance of the project. Early engagement with the community groups will ensure that the views and interests of the entire group into the proposed redevelopment. Barriers to effective external communication would be the failure of involvement in the identification and involvement of the people and the organization who are interested to focus on the engagement to further consult each other. Failure of the healthcare facility to fulfil the requirements of the statutory community consultation. The submission of a proposal to various community groups and stakeholders will provide an avenue for the community to contribute regarding the development of the project and its planning phase. The stakeholders are those with some stake or opinion in the decisions to be made in the entire community. These community groups provide the voice in behalf of the people who are affected by the decisions made. Various community groups which can be affected by the change in health care facility are the local government, families and support groups of mentally challenged individuals, healthcare professional alliances, environmental groups and even the neighbourhood where the facility is supposed to be built. The involvement of these stakeholders should include direct access to facilitate consultative process. The involvement of many stakeholders as possible is very important to make sure that there is effective communication to prevent resistance among the locals. Through the face-to-face dialogue there will be an increase in the likelihood that all opinions and views are taken into consideration. This is very important since the silent majority is fully involved in the process of consulting with the entire community. Identify how to create an effective external communication structure in the hospital based on the experience of the above case study The redevelopment of the Emergency room of the Kings College Hospital will definitely involved the entire community. Since this reorganization of the physical arrangement of the hospital is caused by the closure of a mental health institution located within the vicinity of the community. Consulting with the community will truly evoke the sentiments and opinions of the entire population. In order to thoroughly and completely gather the insights of various community groups, information dissemination regarding the proposed organizational redevelopment. This is to make sure that the public has been informed of the plans to reorganize the hospital to further accommodate the mental health needs of the entire community. These can be done through publication of newsletters in local community papers in circulation. Local television programs and radio stations can help in informing the public for such plans related to an existing health facility. This will allow the entire community to get a birds eye view of what to expect and how the redevelopment of the Emergency Room should affect them. A community dialogue can be organized by the external affairs department of the hospital in order to provide a venue for the community and the hospital administration to discuss the significance, the importance and the plans on how to make such changes in the healthcare institution. Walk in and open house events can be done to allow community members to personally witness and assess the necessity of a redevelopment. It should include the necessary information and facts for the need to accommodate mental health patients. In this way, it will magnify the positive responses from the community itself. There is a need for the hospital administration to ensure that they make the most comprehensive information regarding the need for such redevelopment. It will ensure a favourable response and an informed decision from the entire community. After the first touch base with the community, the hospital administration can start planning out a proposal on how to carry out the plans for the redevelopment of the emergency room. The hospital administration should provide a proposal involving the finances to support, the needed manpower, funds and machineries for the plans to be executed. There should be proper coordination with the various departments of the hospitals to thoroughly cover staffing needs of various areas of the hospital that would be affected by the changes, budget allocations and the resettlement area for the emergency department while the redevelopment is ongoing. ( Word count :1200 ) Case study 3 Reputation audit and communication support for NHS Milton Keynes Issue NHS Milton Keynes wanted to improve its communication with all stake holders (GPs, patients, voluntary groups, partner organisations and politicians), and raise its profile in the local media to enable it to deliver on challenging issues such as the national 18 weeks wait and public health objectives and priorities. A strategic plan need to be implemented to achieve this objective Read the case study 3, and based on the information given write an essay to include the answers to the following questions Question 3 Plan an effective communications strategy to communicate with the stakeholders of the NHS Milton Keynes to raise its profile and communicate its strategic objectives Although the benefits of having a good reputation are many and varied, they come down to one thing: a strong reputation creates a strategic advantage. Since companies are constantly competing for the support of the stakeholders, clients, local communities and employees. A good reputation creates an intangible obstacle that lesser rivals will have a tough time overcoming. A good reputation enhances profitability because it attracts customers to the companys product, clients and employees to its jobs. In turn, esteem inflates the price at which a public companys securities trade. The economic value of corporate reputation can therefore be gauged by the excess market value of its securities. To successfully manage reputation, a company must establish the programs necessary for actively relating and communicating to the stakeholders of a hospital or healthcare institution. The company must regularly audit or check into its reputational profile. There is a need to fully execute reputational auditing which would allow thorough diagnostic review of the hospitals current identity. Images and reputation. A reputation audit can help manage and analyse the gaps between the desired reputation, aims, roles and values of the healthcare institute. A research or survey can be conducted to effectively communicate what the stakeholders, community members regarding their priorities and perceptions in the impact and significance of the institution itself. At the end of the reputation audit, the hospital will know which are working and what organizational changes should be done to further reach out to its target population. There should be a leadership consensus about the significant issues as well as collective dialogue. There should be thorough evaluation of the internal capabilities and available resources to support the necessary changes to improve image and reputation. Media monitoring can be one of the ways to effectively identify the essential understanding of the concurrent reputation of the hospital. It will give a warning on the development of issues and will give you the ability to determine if news coverage is negative or positive. There should be a positive relationship with media through media training for the key players of the organization who have credibility on the issues on hand. Measuring the reputation of a company is a dynamic and complex process. A range of issues can be assessed and evaluated. Good reputation management is about developing high sensitivity to the concerns and expectations of all stakeholders and establishing a mature dialogue with them so that actions taken that principally affect one stakeholder group recognize the concerns and expectations of all the others. Reputation management is synonymous to risk management which involves anticipating the downside risks to the companys reputation from losing support from any stakeholder whose personal interest might diverge from those of the institution. Communications among organizations should be monitored in order to ensure marketing and branding activities will align with other efforts to build a better reputation for the hospital. The key point to maintain the alignment of a reputation audit. In this way, it can help the organization to determine the effectiveness in a driving engagement and achieving favourable results with external stakeholders such as the media, clients, customers and various community groups. Discuss how you would implement your communication strategy. Corporate communication has in recent times evolved into a full field of study, both in practice and in scientific theory. Grant (1996) has in my opinion tackled the most important issues in the area of coordination of all forms of communication. He argues that there are four mechanisms within an organization that integrate specialist knowledge (such as communication knowledge). These are: (a) rules and instructions, procedures, rules, standardized information and communication systems, (b) sequencing the organization of the primary process in a sequential can be improved is the extent to which the story can be characterized as sustainable. Consistency in communication is one of the crucial factors in increasing success with corporate communication. This implies the necessity of ensuring the clarity about who is responsible for what and especially about what. Reputation acts like a resource to the company- one that is difficult to gain and difficult to imitate, and that enables the company to achieve superior levels of performance. Companies with better corporate reputations are better able to improve their operating performance over time. The higher levels of operating performance that result from a good reputation virtually guarantee that a company will receive favourable endorsements from stakeholders and the media. Charles Fombrun and Mark Shanley showed that reputations measured by Fortunes most admired company ratings were heavily influenced by a health institutions performance, media visibility and significance to the community, strategic behaviour heavily intertwined.(C. J. Fombrun V. Rindova 2001). Organizations are increasingly aware of the fact that the joint communication efforts by all specialists in this field in an organization are not always effective. Communication is sometimes fragmented or even contradictory. The magic phrase by which solutions to this problem are often looked for seems to be integration of communication. The hospital should be able to identify which organizational activities related to external stakeholders should be analyzed. The perspectives of higher-level functional categories within the organizations communication strategy. There should be an analysis on the branding, advertising, public relations and even maintaining online presence through a website or webpage, community management or social media strategy through facebook or twitter. Afterwards, you can start rating your current level of effectiveness for the various categories of communicating with external stakeholders. A target audience should be consulted for each of the areas of external communication strategy, determine what you want to accomplish and if you have achieved the goals you have to improve the reputation of the health institution. The ratings will help you identify the areas by which you are supposed to concentrate and improve and develop strategies to realign them with the goals of the healthcare institution. Corporate reputation is the entire expectations and perceptions of the stakeholders about the hospital in reference to the personal ideals of the stakeholders. Reputation of the hospital is not necessarily informed by any form of actual knowledge, form of communication or mere interaction within the company which can be communicated by various stakeholders outside the institution. Management of reputation must include managing and monitoring perceptions in order to achieve favourable response from the community, patients and other members of the community. How would you evaluate the effectiveness of your communications strategy? A communication strategy is a model or guide of which you can follow to help create effective messages for specific purposes. Health care communication strategies offer advice or suggestions about gaining insights into a patients background and health care beliefs. Strategies are also valuable in helping overcome barriers to effective communication between hospital, stakeholders, caregivers and patients. Communicating effectively and often during a reputation improvement process is essential. Crises create unsettling ambiguities. Companies facing crisis are usually under siege from the media, the financial community, disgruntled employee, online and offline critics and in some cases the hospital administrators. Rescuing reputation and taking the first steps on the path to long term recovery require a greater level of communications than is typical in less stressful times. Communications from the top are needed in heave doses to steady the employees who may e reeling from bad news or uncertainty. It is the leaders job to choose the most effective channels and the right words, and then give communications their most meaning during challenging times. In professional organizations, developing external communication strategies that emphasize consistency and stability is very important. Internally, induction and training procedures can be usefully employed to encourage professionals to behave in standardized ways when dealing with clients. However, the need to be carefully monitored to ensure that a balance between individual creativity and firm goals is struck. The study by Covaleski et al. (1998) highlighted the problems with two such induction strategies: MBO (management by objectives) and mentoring. Opinions research rely on polls to gauge public opinion. We may well want to construct reputational profiles and rankings of companies in quite similar ways. To determine the effectiveness of the communication strategy by the healthcare institution, there should be careful identification of each members of the constituent groups. The effectiveness of the communication strategy can be measured with the proper solicitation of feedbacks and ratings from relevant areas of the institution to specific target audience. The better represented are all of the companys constituents in the reputational audit, the more valid is the reputational profiles that it can generate. The main concern is with the constructing samples of constituents that will not have bias results. To achieve a representation of the population at large, political pollsters advocate random sampling- respondents are not selected because of their typicality or of their representatives. Insofar as corporate ratings accurately reflect the multiple images of a company that are being disseminated, they provide a useful tool for assessing the companys overall performance. For some companies, the fragmented images will converge, producing strong reputations. Communication is used to determine who needs to know something, what they need to know and how best to interact with them. A strategic public relations program will address the audience that is relevant to the public relations and reputation improvement campaign. Research initiatives should link this understanding to the reputation improvement endeavours of the hospital. In the process, it must provide a benchmark from which to judge the impact and effectiveness of the public relations strategy utilized by the healthcare institution. Word count :1500 )