Importance of Financial Accounting of Government Affairs in World and Research Paper

Importance of Financial Accounting of Government Affairs in World and More Specifically in Africa - Research Paper Example Government accounting is the process that encompasses recording, analysis, classification, summary, communication, and interpretation of financial information about government conduct in financial domain in aggregate. It is detailed reflection of transactions and other economic events involving the receipt, payments, spending, transfer, usability and disposition of assets and liabilities (International Federation of Accountants, 2000). 1.2 Purpose of Government Accounting: Government disclosure in accounting provides citizen evidence and reasoning for the raising of funds from public and donors and domains where the said amount is made useful with its cost and benefits information also exportable from such statements. Government accounting is also an important source of information for national and international investors about how the economy is being run based on internal revenues, local or international debts. Information disclosed in government accounting statements are fulfillme nt of â€Å"their right to know† about the government strategy regarding the accounting and finance of the country (GASB 2006, p. 5). Government accounting, concisely, is required to serve the following three purposes based on their priority (Chan, 2003): BASIC PURPOSE: Basic purpose of government accounting is to prevent and detect public treasury from corruption and graft. Citing report by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the International Development Association, Thomas (2001, p. 38) mentioned that countries with heavy debt and poor state of economic stability 'lack the practices and procedures necessary for budgeting, monitoring, and reporting on the use of public resources'. INTERMEDIATE PURPOSE: Intermediate purpose of government accounting is to ensure the robust and thorough financial management of public resources through budget planning and presenting actual activities. ADVANCE PURPOSE: The advance purpose of government accounting is to help government ensu re its accountability to public. To achieve this purpose it is required to have efficiency on three levels; accountability of the bureaucracy to the chief executive, of the executive to the legislature, and of the government to the people. Transparency in government accounts serves to ensure efficiency in economy and a weapon against government theft and frauds. Accounting information can be used to monitor and enforce the terms of economic, social and political contracts; when government conduct any market transaction its information from financial statements can be used for economic accounting of government. Similarly, when government levies any tax to finance its budgetary needs, details regarding its need and benefit can be assessed for political accounting of government (Chan, 2003).Hence, accounting for government is more for accountability as it involves public resources. Acknowledgment of the importance of government

Discrimination education Essay Example for Free

Discrimination education Essay ?Early years providers regardless of type, size or funding must comply with the legal requirements set out within the Early Years Foundation Stage ( EYFS) so as to meet the needs of all children within the setting (DCSF 2008a, p11). The objective of this report is to critically evaluate the Special Educational Needs Policy used in a setting which support anti discriminatory practice and promote inclusion (appendix 2). Within the context of a faith based early years setting in Dewsbury. The Warnock Report (Special Educational Needs1978) introduced the concept of ‘inclusion’ in the form of ‘integration’ with regard to children with special educational needs, suggesting that mainstream settings would be preferable to ‘Special Schools’. Gates and Edwards (2007) outline, prior to this report, the terms â€Å"Handicapped† or â€Å"Educationally subnormal† were acceptable terms, based on an apparent culture of a medical model, where the disabled person is the problem, governed by their disability. An example might be a child labelled with Down ’s syndrome as their identifying features, instead of their name (Courtman 2010). As legislation has continued to develop, so have attitudes towards disability. The Disability Discrimination Act 2005, set out duties for employers and many public services. Further changes arose from the Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001. It became unlawful to discriminate against disabled children, and by 2004, â€Å" reasonable adjustments † were expected to improve access within the physical environment, for disabled people. The introduction of the Children Act 2004 saw the introduction of the Every Child Matters (ECM) (DCFS 2008d). In addition the publication Removing Barriers to Achievement (DCSF 2004) reinforced the ECM commitment relating to early intervention and support. The setting The Pre-School was registered in 2002 and is managed by a voluntary management committee, incorporating an Islamic Ethos. The setting provides sessional care for the local community and surrounding areas. The children who attend the setting are predominantly Muslim; and there are no children with special educational needs (SEN). Promoting equality of opportunity for all is limited within the setting; this is due to the management and practitioners’ negative attitudes towards children with additional needs. Causey et al (2000 p. 33-45) believes influencing factors that can affect the way practitioners’ view diversity and difference is prior knowledge and beliefs about others. Shah (1995) identifies stereotypical views practitioners may have is that children with SEN should be cared for by the family and outside support would mean that they are failing in their duty. These beliefs and views can create barriers to inclusion, a recent research conducted by Contact a Family identified: â€Å"70% of families with disabled children said that understanding and acceptance of disability from their community or society is poor or unsatisfactory†. (Disability Action 2010, online) The social stigma of having a child with a disability still exists. It has been argued that some Asian and black communities perceive disability as a â€Å"curse† and therefore will not allow the child to be assessed (Ali et al 2006). In addition communication and collaboration may be affected by cultural issues. Salim (2005) explains it is unacceptable for strict Muslim women to be in the presence of a male without her husband. This could present difficulties in setting up home- school communication and a flexible approach would need to be taken (Roffey, 2001). Furthermore the EYSTEN study (Sammons et al, 2003) identified ethnic minority groups and boys showed a greater ‘risk’ of developing SEN. Moreover (Warnock 2005, p. 11) Identified a clear link between social class, deprivation and SEN, in his study Emerson (2010, online) concluded a lower socioeconomic position was linked to an increased rate of intellectual difficulties. Language, social stigma and the lack of education can create barriers for parents to access the support required, this intern leads to adverse affects for the child and family, leading to a cycle of disadvantage and disparity. Policy Evaluation In order for settings to comply with legislation and meet specific requirements in accordance with the EYFS, settings are required to produce and implement effectual policies which encompass â€Å"equality of opportunity† and for supporting children with â€Å"learning difficulties and disabilities† (DCSF 2008a) in addition if settings are in receipt of Nursery Education Funding they must have regard to the Special Educational Needs (SEN) Code of Practice 2001 (DCSF 2008a, p. 25). The setting in this report does not have a specific inclusion policy however; the setting does encompass a Special Needs Policy. On examination of the policy major discrepancies were identified. It was recognised the policy (appendices 1-3) appeared to be less then successful, owing to the lack of information, compliance with legislation, and being ineffectually written, leading to misunderstanding of statements (Hughes and Ferrret 2009, p. 32). Capmbell (1997) supports this view reiterating poorly written policies are often broad general and ambiguous. Furthermore the policy was written in 2002, hence established before the EYFS, this has had a negative influence on the content of the policy. The EYFS used as a resource sets out the required legislation, regulation and guidelines which should be incorporated within the settings policies (DCSF 2008b). It is the duty of all practitioners to promote equality and remove discrimination (Daley et al 2009) explains unfair treatment and not allowing equal chances and access to services could amount to unlawful discrimination. The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and 2005 (DDA) (online) sets out two main duties: †¢ Not to treat disabled children less favourably †¢ To make reasonable adjustments for disabled children Additionally Section 2 of the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001 (SENDA) (online) prohibits educational settings from discriminating against children with additional needs from their admissions arrangements. The setting’s SEN policy (appendix 1: statement 4. 7) makes a direct contradiction to the DDA and SENDA by only allowing children with a disability admission if the setting can accommodate the child, rather than the setting making reasonable adjustment in order to include the child, furthermore the child who has a disability is being treated unfairly, as the child would only be admitted after extensive consultations (appendix 1: 4. 1). This is a very dated attitude in terms of legislation and shows a direct influence towards the medical model of disability. The medical model focuses on the disability, expecting the child to make adjustments or adapt to circumstances; it presents the disabled person as a problem (Carson 2009, online). Additionally this stance is a direct negation to the proposals made by the Warnock Report (1978), later embodied in the 1981 Education Act (online), which recognised that educating children with additional needs separate from their peers was denying them their rights to equal access. Dryden et al (2007, p.186) elucidates, by focussing on the child’s abilities, and the provision of modifications and support will enable inclusion and participation. This view is known as the social model whereby the emphasis is on how society can change to allow equal opportunities for children with disabilities opposed to the person trying to fit in to society. Shakespeare and Watson (2002, p. 3) concur the social model has now become the ideological test of disability to differentiate between organisations, policies, laws and ideas which are progressive, and those which are inadequate. Drifte (2008, p. 4) emphasises the importance of practitioners to review policies to ensure that they are based on the social model of inclusion. However more recently Hodkinson and Vickerman (2009) explicate the social model has become subject to critique from parents and practitioners. The view that all children with additional needs should be integrated into mainstream settings, by way of adjustments made to the setting, may hinder the children’s development. Griffin (2008) explains integration for some children with additional needs is unrealistic as they may not be able to cope with the demands of mainstream settings. Additionally Warnock (2005) changed her opinion criticising the governments policy on inclusion warning, the closure of special schools has â€Å"forced† children into mainstream school when it is not in their best interest, causing distress for pupils and parents. The Nursery Education and Grant Maintained Schools Act 1996 (cited in Roffey 2001,p.14) and the EYFS statutory guidance (DCSF 2008a) specifies all early years providers must have â€Å"due regard† to the code of practice for SEN. The SEN Code of Practice (DfES 2001) brings together elements from the Children Act 1989, Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001 by providing guidance and placing responsibilities on settings. The SEN Code of Practice provides a consistent approach to meeting children’s special educational needs and gives practical guidance to early education settings on identifying and assessing children with SEN (DCSF 2009). The SEN policy does not cite the SEN Code of Practice, a direct breach of the aforementioned act; it however identifies the need to comply with the LEA code of practice but overlooks the explanation of what this code is, and how it would be implemented. Furthermore the policy has no explanation on the assessment process, such as the Graduated response, Early Years Action, Early Years Action Plus, Statutory Assessment and the Statementing Process (DfES 2001). Although reference is made to observing and keeping records for children with additional needs, there is no clarification of their purpose. In addition the policy fails to explain what is meant by SEN this can cause confusion as some parent’s or practitioners may believe children with English as a second language may be classed as a child with SEN, however children should not be regarded as having additional needs solely because their heritage language is different from what they are taught in (DfES 2001, p. 6). what is sen Although the policy states a SEN coordinator will be appointed it does not identify who this is and what the SEN coordinator’s role is. The policy recognises the need for additional funds to accommodate children with SEN through external funding although there is no clarification of procedures if these funds were not acquired. Even though guidelines are not in the policy, it is likely that practitioners are aware of the SEN Code of Practice 2001 and implement this within the setting. Training is suggested within the policy but does not work effectively in practice, due to staff ratios, time constraints and financial implications. In addition no staff members have attended training specific to SEN. Conclusion Policies are working documents, which develop and move alongside the childcare settings own professional development and are a reflection of that childcare provision. The policies used within the setting not only disregard legislation but are also contradictory and confusing for practitioners to use as a working document. The policy has been written and produced by the management committee with no input from practitioners or parents. In addition some of the statements conflict with practitioners’ own views on anti discriminatory and inclusive practice; this has developed a divergence between the committee’s attitude and the practitioner’s values and beliefs. Therefore the practitioners’ have not used the policies set out to define their practice with children but challenged the anti discriminatory practice by applying the guidelines set out within the EYFS. Woods and Thomas (2003) recognise their is a greater ability for practitioners to re-evaluate and challenge anti discriminatory practice at a cultural level however the changing of others attitudes can be difficult but not impossible. Article 23 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) (UNICEF 2007, online) recognise the disability of a child should not reduce the child’s right to education and children with any kind of disability has the right to special care and support. â€Å"Equality of opportunity means that each individual in society experiences opportunities to achieve and flourish which are as good as the opportunities experienced by others† (Griffin 2008, p. 12).

Role of the Change Agent in Organisational Development

Role of the Change Agent in Organisational Development This paper had been concluded in order to interpret the importance of the organization development and how achieving the organizational development process is going to affect the welfare of the organization. The paper identifies the main methodologies and theories that are concerning with the way the changing process are going to be achieved. Through the paper, there would be a identifying to the role of the change agent and the main characteristics that should be available at this person. The paper will also highlight the main dilemmas and the opportunities that are going to face the organizational development agent through the changing process, and how the agent should get rid of the barriers and how the agent are going to seize those opportunities. Introduction The changing nature of the market had influenced the ways that many managers used to think. Many organizations now seek to cop with the change that occurs in the market place and in the management methodologies. This changing nature had derived the companies to lean to changing their old theories and to maintain new ways to run their businesses, and their institutions in many ways. However, the changes in the market nature are considered to be challenges for the companies and the managements, it also can provide them with new opportunities. Thatà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s why it is important for the managers and the businesses owners to be continuously aware with the newest methodologies and theories that help them manage their institutions more efficiently and effectively. Literature review What is the organizational development? Before interpreting the organizational development recently issues, there would be a discussion about the nature of the organizational development process and how this process started. The organizational development is a process that includes developing both of the organizational internal capacity in order to achieve effectiveness, to ensure its sustainability. Sometimes companies seek achieving the organizational development processes for maintaining certain missions, goals, or to cop with the development of the companys competitors. (Thomas G. Cummings, Christopher G. Worley) The organizational development is based on the idea of changing the current state of the company. This change could be through restructuring, or re-engineering the internal structure of the company. Also, sometimes the company seeks changing the operations processes at the company. Those characteristics of organizational development process led Adam smith to come with a broader definition, stating that the organizational development is considered to be the processes that the organization are achieving, through the usage of the behavioral science approach, system improvement, planning, and self-analysis, in order to reach the highest rate of effectiveness. (Smith 1998) How to discover the need for change? The organizational management should develop an understanding of the need for change and create awareness and legitimacy, by seeking out and understanding both of the external data and the internal data, making sense of the perspectives of other stakeholders, and evaluating the organizational management concerns and perspectives. After maintaining those activities, the organizations should identify whether the organization is ready for change or not. This issue will be answered through reviewing the previous change experiences, identifying the organizational degree of openness to change, measure the executives support, and whether there are fair and satisfying rewards for change or not. When the organizational management successfully realizes that the organization is requiring change and is ready for maintain an organizational change process, the organizational management should assign the agent, who is going to develop the organizational developm ent process. (Thomas G. Cummings, Christopher G. Worley) Who is the organizational development agent? The organizational change agent, who also called the organizational development practitioner, is the one, who performs the process of change in the organization. The agent should have some characteristics that would enhance his ability to achieve the process effectively. One of the main characteristics are his wide knowledge about the behavior of the people within the organization, this knowledge can be gained through his interaction with the employees personally, or by his observation to their behaviors. It is prefer that the agent has an academic study in sciences that study the human behavior like; psychology, sociology, and human resources management. The organizations have the freedom to hire the change agent from outside the company in order to change the companys system, or to develop the performance of the companys operations. In this case the change agent is called to be an OD consultant. (Thomas G. Cummings, Christopher G. Worley ) Some organizations prefer to choose one of the inside employees to be responsible for the change process, as he will always has wider knowledge about the companys employees and also because the inside agent will be more caring for the interest of the company. The inside agent usually are chosen from the top management, as to be aware of all of the companys operations, values, and objectives. On the other hand the external agent will has some advantages over the insider, as the external consultant will hold different perspectives, views, and different experiences that the external agent had gained from dealing with other companies. Those advantages will give the company the opportunity to be able to get rid of the restrictions and constrains of the old regime. (Thomas G. Cummings, Christopher G. Worley) What are the OD agents activities? The change agent or the OD agent, with the help of the top management of the company, should perform certain activities that lead an effective change management. One of the main activities of the change agent is motivating for the change, which can be concluded through creating readiness for change and by overcoming resistance to change. Also the change agent has the responsibility to create the organizational vision, through describing the core ideologies and creating the envisioned future. However the change agent plays an important role in the change process, the top management should also develop a political support for the change process, through assessing the change agent power, identifying the key stakeholders, and influencing the stakeholders. It is also essential that the top management manage the transition process, by planning for activities and commitment, and by structuring the change management. One last role that should be played by t he management is to sustain the momentum, by providing resources for change, build support system for change agents, and develop new competences and skills. Finally, Change requires time and many of the expected financial and organizational benefits from change lag behind its implementation. If the organization changed again too quickly or abandons the change before it is fully implemented, the desired results may never materialize. By concluding those activities, the company will ensure that the change agent is going to perform the organizational development process effectively and efficiently. (Dennis Stevenson) What are the organizational development theories? This is considered to be the most fundamental question in the study of the organizational development. The methods that the organizational development agent is going to use are considering whether the agent will succeed in what achieving the change process effectively or not. There had been many methods that had been used by many agents and many organizations, but there are three main theories or methods that are considered to be the most successful ones for planned change. Those theories are the Lewins change model, the action research model, and the positive model. (Alicia Kritsonis) First, according to Lewins change model, there are two particular groups, who hold two different attitudes about the change process. The first group is accepting the status quo and wish that nothing would change. This group of stakeholders restricts change and push employees away form change. On the other hand, the other group is actually pushing for achieving the change process. This group is facilitating change and pushes the employees toward the change process. (Alicia Kritsonis) The German Kurt Lewin, who was considered to be the founder of social psychology, stated that the change process could be illustrated by a model, which is consisting of three main steps. The first step is to unfreeze the existing situation to overcome the strains of individual resistance and group conformity. This unfreezing action takes place through increasing the driving forces that direct behavior away from the existing status quo, decreasing the restraining forces that negatively the movements from the existing equilibrium, or find a combination of the both. The second step of Lewins model is the movement process of the target system to a new level of equilibrium. This step can be achieved through persuading employees to agree that the status quo is not beneficial to them and encouraging them to view the problem from a fresh perspective, working together on a quest for new and relevant information, and connecting the news of the group to well. Finally, the last step of the model indicates the refreezing process, at which the change had been implemented by the change agent in to sustain overtime the change over time, not to allow the employees to return to their old state. The unfreezing step can be achieved through reinforcing new patterns and institutionalize them through formal and informal mechanisms including policies and procedures. (Alicia Kritsonis) Second, according to the action research model, which had been introduced by Lippitt, Watson, and Westley in 1958, there are eight main steps to conclude change in the organization. Those steps are sequenced as followed. The organizational management should identify the main problem of the old regime, and then the management should ask for the help of a consultant with a behavioral science expert. The change agent should gather data and maintain diagnosis for the data that had been gathered from internal and external resources. After maintaining the diagnosis the agent should conclude processes of feedback to the organization, jointing diagnosing of the problem, jointing the action planning, and then the actions should be concluded. However the action of change had been concluded the data should be gathered after maintaining the action in order to evaluate the progress of change and to ensure that the change had been achieved successfully. (Kritsonis, A) Third, the positive model of change, which is also called the appreciative inquiry, had been established by David Cooperrider, who used the model to enhance a positively-focused perspective and an opportunity-oriented intervention. The proponents of the positive change model assumed that the organizational development models are considered to be too negative, as they focus only on the problems, neglecting the opportunities and its importance appreciative inquiry is considered to be focusing more in the humanistic matters, rather than being pragmatic and realistic. It is also considered to be more participatory; rather than being often top down driven. Appreciative inquiry had emerged over the past several decades as alternatives to the other models of the change to the shortly examined reasons. (Boyd Bright, 2007) (Cooperrider, Whitney, Stavros, 2008) (Egan Lancaster, 2005) The positive model of change involves five main phases. The first phase is to initiate the inquiry, through emphasizing the involvement of the members of the organization in order to identify the organizational issue. The second phase is to gathering the information that determines the best of what is in the organization. Then the third phase encourage the change agent should discover the themes; and examines the stories for identifying the set of themes that represent the common dimensions of peopleà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s experiences. The forth phase will include the creation of the preferred future; by identifying the best theme, challenging the status quo, and describe a required future. The last phase will enhance designing and delivering several ways to create the future, through activities and plans that are necessary to achieve the vision. (Herb Stevenson) There some differences between the three models. For instance, Lewins model differs from the other models as it focuses on the general process of planned change rather than the organizational development activities. Also, the Lewins model agrees with the action research model, in terms of level of the participants involvement and the high degree of focusing on change. They also are more concerned with what the organization does wrong, rather than what are the main opportunities that the company has. (Herb Stevenson) What is the general model of planned change? There is a general model of planned change. The model had been introduced by Cummings and Worley at 1993. This model consists of four main steps, which are taking place in a forward sequence. Those steps are entering and contacting, diagnosing, planning implementing process and the evaluating institutionalizing process. First, the entering and contracting stage, it involve making the top management of the organziation decide whether the organization need a planned change program or not. The management should define some resources to this change process. The managemnt should determine the consultant, who is going to runn the change process, and to clearly illustrate the organizational issue into presenting the problem and symptoms. (Miriam Y. Lacey) Second, the process of diagnosing that includes focusing on the understanding of the organizational problem, and the identification of the organizational positive and negative attitudes. Through the diagnosing stage, the management should choose a suitable model to understand the organization as a whole. The best model that many of the organization seek to use is the open system model, which is suggesting that the organization is operating within both internal and external enviroment. This open system gathers specific inputs from the enviroment and transforms those inputs into outputs through social and technological procedures. Then the output of the transformation process is considered to be returning to the enviroment and can be used as feedback to the organizational evaluation. (Miriam Y. Lacey) The third stage of the general planned change model is the planning and the implementing process. This stage enhances the organizations members and the chanage agent to align together to plan and implement the orgaznaitional interventions that is required to achieve the change. The interventions design can be implemented through creating the organizational visions and goals, and through making action plans to implement them depending on the organization readiness for change, current change capablilites, culture power distributions, change agents skills and abilities. There are four types of interventions that could be emplemented. The interventions could be human process interventions (process consultation and team building), techno-structural interventions (downsizing), human resources management interventions (performance appraisal), or strategic interventions (transformational change, transorganizational change, continuous change). The forth stage would be the evaluating and the institutionalizing process. This stage involoves evaluating the effects of the interventions and managing the institutionlization of successful changes programs. (Miriam Y. Lacey) How to evaluate the effectiveness of the change? This could be the most critical question that the top management should ask. The origination should maintain a full evaluation to the results of the change. The main goal of the change management is to close the gap between the planned outcomes and the actual outcomes of change. There are differences in the evaluation process, this differences occur according to whether the change occurred by an internal or external agent. The external consultant rely on repeat business and customer, while the internal agent would prefer relying on repeat business, pay rise and promotion, considering them the main key measures of success. Also, the external consultant focuses on the long-term results, while the internal agent has a little recognition for a job well. (Miriam Y. Lacey) Summary The organization should focus on many issues to be able to survive in todays changing environments. The main issues are the continuously checking for the problems and the new changes inside their company and outside, in the other companies and the markets. This continuous monitoring leads to successfully recognition for the need for change. The organization management should also carefully choose the most successful and knowledgeable agent who is enriched with the highest experience and skills. The successful choice of the internal or external agent will ensure the success of the change process. Also change agent, should manage the change process through the main issues and problems of the organization through a way that will be compatible with the organizational goals. However, the organization could manage the change process successfully; the results may not be as same as planned, because of the continuously changing nature of the environment. Thatà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢ s why the company should develop an open system model that facilitates the continuous change process.

Essay --

CAPITALISM Capitalism is the result of a process in which economic activities and relationships that carry these mechanisms have been generating increasingly complex operation. PHASES OF CAPITALISM The origins of capitalism Since the sixteenth century, some European countries such as England and the Netherlands favored the development of commercial activities in order to obtain larger quantities of precious metals (gold, silver), it was believed that the wealth of nations depended on Accumulation of these metals. That was called mercantilism. This commercial activity, driven by states, benefited some specific factors of society, bourgeois merchants and bankers, and produced a significant accumulation of equity . In the eighteenth century that capital was invested in the creation of the first industries. This pre-capitalist economic system called mercantile capitalism. Liberal capitalism. In the late eighteenth century, some European countries initiated a technological transformation of the means of production and the organization of production is what is known by the name of industrial revolution. The factory and steam were the symbols of the revolution it established the foundations of capitalism this revolution affected the economy and affected the social or political organization. the two most characteristic features of this capitalism are: 1 -. Factories were small and occupied a small number of workers. The property and capital were, in most cases, family origin. . 2 - this time more vigorously defended the idea of economic freedom at all costs, hence the name of liberal capitalism. Financial Capitalism Took place from 1870 to 1914. Economic growth in this period was linked to the emergence of finance capital , t... ...men, an educational system interfered by vested interests, the division of society into numerous caste groups and social classes (rich and poor political parties football fans etc.), delivery of mass media capitalists in order to install in the population through radio television and other media individualism and Cultural corruption. Capitalism through these known methods to adapt and change over time to perpetuate its domination (colonialism laissez faire, military and economic imperialism, neocolonialism, mixed economy. Multinational corporations, monopolies and oligopolies. merger of companies etc. ..) To counter these methods must be created massive campaigns of alternative cultural diffusion through media such as radio, tele vision, magazines etc.. Should be initiated campaigns and mass movements educating and alerting the public about this type of exploitation

Mayhew

Mayhew Analysis Paper In the book, Congress: The Electoral Connection, David Mayhew addresses his opinion about the political system, and centralizes his argument on the assumption that the only intent a member of Congress has is reelection. The bulk of his argument is the behavior by the members of Congress involving advertising, credit claiming, and position taking, which we discussed in class. Mayhew believes that these actions by the incumbent congressmen illustrate that they are more worried about keeping their seat, than anything else.The first election activity mentioned in the book is advertising, which is defined by Mayhew as: â€Å"any effort to disseminate one’s name among constituents in such a fashion as to create a favorable image but having little or no issue content,† (49). By spending money on advertisement, the house incumbent has a sizeable advantage over their opponent. Mayhew’s distaste for this tactic comes from the sole purpose that most of it is done while the congressmen are in office.In my opinion, I feel that Mayhew thinks of congressional elections as more of a popularity contest based on this statement, â€Å"There are standard routines—frequent visits to the constituency, nonpolitical speeches to home audiences, the sending out of care booklets and letters of condolence and congratulation,† (50). Mayhew realizes this is an unprincipled manner to get reelected, but it will not stop and congressmen will continue to take advantage of advertising anyway possible.The second behavioral motive Mayhew discusses in the book is credit claiming. This allows the incumbent to take credit for government accomplishments and look good to the constituents. The credit claiming tactic allows for a member of Congress to stick out as an individual rather than affiliated with a particular party. In order to do so, like we discussed in class, the congressmen must provide assets to the constituents that they can take abs olute credit for.Mayhew argues that a congressman may take advantage of this due to little knowledge, â€Å"For typical voters Capitol Hill is a distant and mysterious place; few having anything like a working knowledge of its maneuverings,† (69). Therefore, constituents have no way of knowing if the credit claimed by their congressman is valid or not. This is why Mayhew argues that this tactic is flawed because it may look to the constituents that the congressmen is putting in hard work, when really it is redundant actions to that district to help them get reelected.However, like advertising, this is a very important reelection tool and the incumbent wants to appear loyal to the constituency. Mayhew discusses position taking, which is the third activity congressmen use in their pursuit for reelection. It is defined in the book as â€Å"the public enunciation of a judgmental statement on anything likely to be of interest to political actors,† (61). Mayhew argues here t hat most incumbent’s judgment involves speaking on the issue rather than acting on it. In class, we discussed what happens in a role call and the member must pick a side.Mayhew states that most congressmen will take the conservative route and take the position that got them their seat to begin with. This validates Mayhew’s argument that most congressmen are content with their position due to the prestige that comes with it and it pays well. So why would they want to leave? A congressman who has been reelected before knows what the constituents want, causing them to take familiar stance on issues like they have in the past. These three tactics by incumbents seeking reelection draw enough conclusive evidence to contradict the following statement: â€Å"The U.S. Congress is a representative institution that effectively responds to the preferences of a majority of Americans. † The words representative, institution, and effectively caught my eye. Yes, there is repres entation, but it deems insignificant in the fact that it is more on the congressmen’s mind to stay in seat for their sake, rather than really helping the constituents according to Mayhew. There is no institution, it is a group of individuals each trying to create a positive image to the constituency through advertising.In the United States Congress, congressmen do not need their party to win the nomination, â€Å"In America the underpinnings of ‘teamsmanship’ are weak or absent, making it possible for possible for politicians to triumph over parties,† (22-23). Mayhew uses the British Parliament as an example of strong party influence. The analysis and assessment of Mayhew’s argument on the reelection process allowed me to conclude that the accuracy of the statement above sounds true, but when broken down, it is not.Mayhew made very strong and valid points about the incumbent’s process in order to remain in Congress. Also, relating back to cla ss discussion, most members will vote in the direction that best suites them, which Mayhew talked about in part two of the book. It is apparent that with Mayhew’s argument that many congressmen put themselves ahead of their constituents, which is not appropriate representation. In conclusion, it is visible that the intent a member of congress has is reelection.Mayhew clearly shows with his argument that the election activities of advertising, credit claiming, and position taking are done merely for reelection purposes and not for the betterment of the constituency. These three tactics have very little to do with legislation and more so with publicity and appeasing the district by miniscule deeds and conservative voting that the incumbent has done in the past. However, these three strategies are assets to current congressmen and they will continue to take advantage of them.

O Captian! My Captian essays

O Captian! My Captian essays The ability to move a great people is a virtue lacked by many leaders. Mourning the death of such a leader is an even great task. Abraham Lincoln was an exception. In O Captain! My Captain, Walt Whitman metaphorically uses the image of a Captain to depict the respect, loyalty and love he and his countrymen felt for Abraham Lincoln. For a Captain to lead his crew, he must have the respect of his crew. Abraham Lincoln had people behind him, people who would follow him boldly into any situation. The Captain in the poem had that respect. O Captain! My captain, our fearful trip is done. Whitman tells of a fearful trip, a trip only taken with someone respected and trusted. That trip was the Civil War. Lincoln was victorious in his struggle or as Whitman puts it, the price we sought was won. Rather than mourn for a death, people were prepared for celebrating Lincolns victory. Whitman uses metaphors of bells and ribbond wreaths to show his loyalty towards Lincoln. Lincolns death was so sudden that it left the country in misbelief. There was an eagerness, a longing for his return, for you the shores a-crowding. A man calling another man father is a sign of great love. A father is loved, respected, and should be shown loyalty from his children. When a parent dies, or anyone that is loved for that matter, it is not odd to really look at them after they die. A dead loved one will be buried and gone forever. Years of looking at smiles and expressions from that person will be all but a memory. Whitman looks at his Captain, his father. He examines his pale lips and his stillness in a kind of awkward silence. In the last verse, Whitman begins to feel some true joy, joy in the remembrance of ...