Countering Counterfeit Trade Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Countering Counterfeit Trade - Assignment Example Counterfeiting is a big business in the world today. It is so big that the total volume of counterfeit (and pirated) goods in the world exceeds the GDP of certain countries. The International Anti-counterfeiting Coalition (IACC) estimates this figure at around 600billion dollars per year. The sad fact is that the menace is growing and many countries and organizations negatively affected by it are quite helpless to find a solution to the menace. The IACC says that the growth of counterfeiting over the last twenty years has been about ten thousand percent. Astonishingly, one of the reasons behind this growth is the consumer demand for counterfeit goods. This paper is an assessment of the counterfeit auto parts industry in the United Arab Emirates in particular and the other countries in the GCC in general. In the process, the nature of the industry, costs to consumers and affected organizations, the reason why people buy counterfeit products (auto parts), some statistics, anti-counterf eiting groups, etc will also be reviewed. This will be followed by some recommendations on how this can be brought down (if not eliminated altogether) and a conclusion summing up the paper. It should be noted that most of what has been written here has been sourced from articles that appeared in the Gulf News and Khaleej Times. There are three types of auto parts available in the UAE namely original equipment, legitimate parts, and counterfeit parts. Original equipment is those made by auto manufactures or by approved original equipment suppliers. Legitimate equipment is those made by other companies sold in their own brand names and will usually be of good quality. They are not intended to cheat the customer. Counterfeit products are usually meant to cheat the customer into thinking that they are genuine.  

Cause marketing costs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Cause marketing costs - Essay Example However, there are emerging issues even as multinational companies seek to maximize profits. Corporate social responsibility, international labor law, ethical issues and level competitive ground are the realities that companies have to address. Owing to the relatively tight competition in different industries, for-profit companies have to embrace non-price competitive strategies. Reconciling the increasing cost of production and profit margin explains the redefinition of value chain process. The source of the product does not matter in the current society as long as the brand is known. The companies are majoring on marketing and brand quality. Exploiting technology differences, labor and input factor cost variations across countries has become useful in surviving by the companies(Cullen & Parboteeah, 2014). Public image of the company is closely related to its product brand and this can be evidenced in the market size scramble by firms of the same products like Nike, Puma and Adidas among others in the sports and apparel industry. It can therefore be noted that globalization has restructured the socio-economic and political behavior of people which is reflected in the companies’ competitive trend and consumer

Treason, Terrorism and Wartime Criminal Justice Essay Example for Free

Treason, Terrorism and Wartime Criminal Justice Essay In the history of the United States the acts of treason, terrorism and criminal justice during times of war have taken on various forms. From the Sedition Act of 1798 to the current war on terror, the Constitution and its amendments have been challenged to ensure national security. To understand this we must first look at what treason and terrorism are and the effects they have had in the reduction of civil liberties during times of war. Treason   Treason is defined as: â€Å"The betrayal of ones own country by waging war against it or by consciously or purposely acting to aid its enemies. †Ã‚   (Wehl, 1950) Under Article III, Section 3, of the Constitution, any person who levies war against the United States or adheres to its enemies by giving them â€Å"aid and comfort† has committed treason within the meaning of the Constitution. The term aid and comfort refers to any act that manifests a betrayal of allegiance to the United States, such as furnishing enemies with arms, troops, transportation, shelter, or classified information. If a subversive act has any tendency to weaken the power of the United States to attack or resist its enemies, aid and comfort has been given. The Treason Clause applies only to disloyal acts committed during times of war. Acts of disloyalty during peacetime are not considered treasonous under the Constitution. Nor do acts of Espionage committed on behalf of an ally constitute treason. For example, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were convicted of espionage, in 1951, for helping the Soviet Union steal atomic secrets from the United States during World War II. The Rosenbergs were not tried for treason because the United States and the Soviet Union were allies during World War II. â€Å"Under Article III a person can levy war against the United States without the use of arms, weapons, or military equipment. Persons who play only a peripheral role in a conspiracy to levy war are still considered traitors under the Constitution if an armed rebellion against the United States results. After the U.S. Civil War, for example, all Confederate soldiers were vulnerable to charges of treason, regardless of their role in the secession or insurrection of the Southern states. No treason charges were filed against these soldiers, however, because President Andrew Johnson issued a universal amnesty.† (Smith, 1956) The crime of treason requires a traitorous intent. If a person unwittingly or unintentionally gives aid and comfort to an enemy of the United States during wartime, treason has not occurred. Similarly, a person who pursues a course of action that is intended to benefit the United States but mistakenly helps an enemy is not guilty of treason. Inadvertent disloyalty is never punishable as treason, no matter how much damage the United States suffers. As in any other criminal trial in the United States, a defendant charged with treason is presumed innocent until proved guilty â€Å"beyond a reasonable doubt†. Treason may be proved by a voluntary confession in open court or by evidence that the defendant committed an â€Å"overt act† of treason. Each overt act must be witnessed by at least two people, or a conviction for treason will not stand. By requiring this type of direct evidence, the Constitution minimizes the danger of convicting an innocent person and forestalls the possibility of partisan witch-hunts waged by a single adversary. Unexpressed seditious thoughts do not constitute treason, even if those thoughts contemplate a bloody revolution or coup. Nor does the public expression of subversive opinions, including vehement criticism of the government and its policies, constitute treason. The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees the right of all Americans to advocate the violent overthrow of their government unless such advocacy is directed toward inciting imminent lawless action and is likely to produce it (Brandenburg v. Ohio, 395 U.S. 444, 89 S. Ct. 1827, 23 L. Ed. 2d 430 [1969]). On the other hand, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the distribution of leaflets protesting the draft during World War I was not constitutionally protected speech (schenck v. united states, 249 U.S. 47, 39 S. Ct. 247, 63 L. Ed. 470 [1919]). Because treason involves the betrayal of allegiance to the United States, a person need not be a U.S. citizen to commit treason under the Constitution. Persons who owe temporary allegiance to the United States can commit treason. Aliens who reside in the United States, for example, can commit traitorous acts during the period of their domicile. A subversive act does not need to occur on U.S. soil to be punishable as treason. For example, Mildred Gillars, a U.S. citizen who became known as Axis Sally, was convicted of treason for broadcasting demoralizing propaganda to Allied forces in Europe from a Nazi radio station in Germany during World War II. â€Å"Treason is punishable by death. If a death sentence is not imposed, defendants face a minimum penalty of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine (18 U.S.C.A.  § 2381). A person who is convicted of treason may not hold federal office at any time thereafter.† (Chapin, 1964) Terrorism Terrorism is defined as: â€Å"The unlawful use or threat of violence, especially against the state or the public as a politically motivated means of attack or coercion.† (Davenport, 2009) When we speak about terrorism, we initially mean transnational terrorism, which takes the form of the violent conflict between two or more different states. If we take terrorism as violation of certain social norms, the norms of what state should we take into account? On the one hand, terrorism directly violates the social norms of the society against which it is directed. On the other hand, terrorism becomes an acute response to the threats, under which the social norms of the terrorist state may appear. With the growing threats of terrorist attacks, numerous attempts have been made to explain the causation and roots of terrorism. There are several political, economic, and psychosocial theories which explain what terrorism is. The notion of terrorism has been discussed from the viewpoint of different disciplines and from various theoretical perspectives. Terrorism has been depicted more in political and social, rather than criminological terms. There have not been too many attempts to link terrorism to crime. This is why we still lack profound understanding of terrorism’s causation. Research has not produced any new theories which would explain terrorism. As a result, we can only utilize the existing well known crime theories to explain the notions and the roots of terrorism. The traditional picture of modern terrorism implies that terrorism has mainly Islamic roots. The extreme conservatism of the Islamic world and its reluctance to become a part of the worlds technological revolution may also serve the cause of terrorism. Rapid technological change changes the way institutions relate to one another. Change produces new norms, and new values. Those socialized to the old norms take time to adapt, and this ‘time lag’ results in the normative confusion between the old and the new societal values. (Laufer Adler, 1998) When such changes expand beyond the borders of one state and involve whole nations and continents, there will always be those who would refuse to conform to the new norms. The transition from the older to the newer norms actually causes significant stress onto the societal conscience. Terrorism is the ultimate act of opposition against the imposed implementation of the new norms. As states use terrorism to prove their social or political position, they defend their social norms and violate the norms of other states. Trying to determine the roots of terrorism, we must look at the so-called irrationality of terrorism†. This hypothesis stems from the theory of rational choice. Although it is difficult to deny that terrorism is a rational choice activity, in many instances rational choice remains irrelevant to explaining terrorism as a crime. This is further proof of the fact that we need one unified objective theory which would draw the terrorism cause in logical terms. On the one hand, terrorism as a crime is irrational in responsiveness to incentives. (Caplan, 2005) This factor determines the willingness of a person to commit a crime: the better the incentives are, the more inclined towards a crime a person will be. Moreover, rational choice suggests weighing all possible alternatives in choosing the tactics of specific crime. â€Å"The same holds for suicidal terrorism. Groups do not adopt suicide tactics for their own sake. They adopt them because they work†. On the other hand, we cannot explain terrorism within the theoretical framework of narrow self-interests which is integrally linked to traditional rational choice theory of crime. (Wilson, 2005) â€Å"Suicidal terrorism is far stronger counter-example to narrow self-interest. From a non-evolutionary viewpoint, it is impossible to reconcile the two. No matter how much you receive for your services, it does you no good if you are not alive to consume anything. Furthermore, if you get paid first and die later, there is an end-game problem. A selfish agent would take the money, then do everything in his power to back out† (Caplan, 2005). â€Å"Terrorism is first and foremost a criminal matter†. However, criminologists still fail to produce a relevant and explicit theory about terrorism as a crime. We possess sufficient knowledge about terrorism as a political, economic, or social phenomenon, but for some reason we keep forgetting that terrorism is a crime, and we primarily perceive as a crime with its peculiar characteristics. We will never be able to develop sound anti-terrorism preventive measures, if we lack understanding of terrorism from the criminological perspective. (Hamm, 2007) We must be aware of what causes terrorist crimes, what justifies them, and how we can deal with terrorist violence. Our primary task is to shift the emphasis from political to criminological perspective of terrorism. We must ultimately recognize that prevalence and incidence of terrorism requires criminological re-consideration. The new crime theory of terrorism must be multifaceted, and should link criminology of terrorism to its political dynamics and environmental contingencies. (Laufer Adler, 1998) Wartime Criminal Justice Historically, Americans risk losing civil liberties in wartime. Two risks to civil liberties arise out of war situations, first that under the guise of emergency, powers concentrated into the hands of government agents are misused, and second, that when the emergency ends, liberties formerly enjoyed are permanently eroded. The Constitution divides war powers between the Congress and the President.   This division was intended by the framers to ensure that wars would not be entered into easily: it takes two keys, not one, to start the engine of war. The Constitutions division of powers leaves the President with some exclusive powers as Commander-in-Chief (such as decisions on the field of battle), Congress with certain other exclusive powers (such as the ability to declare war and appropriate dollars to support the war effort), and a sort of twilight zone of concurrent powers.   In the zone of concurrent powers, the Congress might effectively limit presidential power, but in the absence of express congressional limitations the President is free to act.   Although on paper it might appear that the powers of Congress with respect to war are more dominant, the reality is that Presidential power has been more importantin part due to the modern need for quick responses to foreign threats and in part due to the many-headed nature of Congress. A brief survey of American history indicates that virtually every war has been accompanied not only by necessary restrictions on individual freedoms, but on overreactions, often hysterical, that has unnecessarily curtailed the liberty of Americans. The undeclared naval war by Britain and France on the fledgling United States in the 1790s led President Adams’ Federalist controlled Congress to pass the â€Å"Alien and Sedition Laws†Ã¢â‚¬â€clear violations of the First Amendment. Prosecutions under the law, soon after repealed, were politically motivated. President Lincoln suspended the writ of habeas corpus in thousands of cases during the Civil War. Although historians have granted the necessity and even the restraint of these acts, the Supreme Court repudiated this unilateral presidential power after the War ended. A World War I sedition law made criticism of the military draft a crime. Sedition prosecutions stifled free speech. In reaction, the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) was formed and in a series of landmark cases, the Supreme Court strengthened First Amendment freedoms, limiting the ability of government to stifle unpopular political expression. Fear of Bolsheviks in post-World War I turmoil, a deadly Wall Street bombing, and assassination threats in 1919 led to the â€Å"Palmer Raids†Ã¢â‚¬â€round-ups of thousands of people around the country, mostly leftist or pro-labor, organized by J. Edgar Hoover under the authority of Attorney General A Mitchell Palmer. More than a hundred-thousand Japanese-Americans were interned for the duration of World War II in a tragic overreaction to the Pearl Harbor attack, a move upheld by the Supreme Court. President Roosevelt authorized national security wiretapping and eavesdropping on his authority, a necessary action that led to later abuses that were curbed by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). During the Korean War, President Truman nationalized the steel industry in order to break a strike that threatened war production. The Supreme Court swiftly ruled that this was an unconstitutional extension of the president’s war powers. The longest and most severe threat to civil liberty was the rise of the â€Å"national security state† for at least half of the twentieth century in an effort to thwart the real threats of fascism, Nazism, and expansionist Soviet communism under Stalin. Fascism and the Axis Powers were defeated both by military victories in World War II and by post-war assistance that painstakingly built constructed democratic regimes in Japan, Germany and Italy. â€Å"The long struggle to contain communist global expansion, warped American politics and justice in the 1950s, with political trials, loyalty oaths, Sen. Joseph McCarthy witch hunts (which missed real Soviet spies), artists’ blacklisting, local police department ‘red squad’ snooping, CIA spying on Americans within the country, FBI wiretapping Martin Luther King, Jr. And civil rights leaders, and a climate of political fear that equated a belief in racial equality or other liberal opinions with communism by the FBI.† (Stone, 2005) The anti-Vietnam War protests of the 1960s produced repressive political crimes and political trials, which carried over into the wiretapping abuses of the Nixon Administration resulting in the president’s resignation under threat of impeachment. After these emergency periods passed, repressive laws were typically repealed or declared unconstitutional, and excessive law enforcement behavior was curbed. The nations commitment to free speech rebounded, usually rather quickly, and sometimes more robustly than before. A Congressional report declared that the Sedition Act of 1798 had been passed under a mistaken exercise of power and was null and void. The Sedition Act of 1918, which was repealed two years later, helped give birth to the modern civil liberties movement. And in 1976, President Ford formally prohibited the C.I.A. from using electronic or physical surveillance to collect information on domestic activities of Americans, and the new F.B.I. director, Clarence Kelly, publicly apologized for F.B.I. abuses under J. Edgar Hoover. (Sofaer Williams, 2002) In summary, we see how acts of treason against the United States have taken on different forms. If an act can weaken the power of the United States to attack or resist its enemies, aid and comfort has been given, and thus treason has been committed. Terrorism has evolved both in complexity and with technology. It can take on domestic and international forms and is the ultimate act of defiance against a society. Politics and religion feed the terrorists’ fervor and with the advancements in explosives, even suicide bombers pose a significant threat. As terrorism and treason have evolved, so too have the responses to those acts. From the Sedition Act to the Patriot Act, these responses have been controversial but necessary to ensure the safety of our nation. Many think it not only inevitable but entirely proper that liberty give way to security in times of national crisis. The Founders warned us about the risk, and equipped us with a Constitution designed to deal with it. References Caplan, B. (2005). Terrorism: the relevance of the rational choice model. Criminology 43 (4), pp. 1039-1060. Chapin, B. (1964).   The American Law of Treason: Revolutionary and Early National  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Origins. Seattle: University of Washington Press. Davenport, A. (2009). Basic Criminal Law: The Constitution, Procedure, and Crimes. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Press. Hamm, M. (2007). Terrorism as a crime: from Oklahoma City to Al-Qaeda and beyond. New York: NYU Press. Laufer, W. Adler, F. (1998). Advances in criminological theory. Piscataway: Transaction Publishers. Smith, J. (1956). Freedoms Fetters: The Alien and Sedition Laws and American Civil Liberties. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. Sofaer, A. Williams, P. (2002). Doing Justice During Wartime. Retrieved May 10, 2009, from Stanford University, Hoover Institution Web site: http://www.hoover.org/publications/policyreview/3461221.html Stone, G. (2005). Perilous Times: Free Speech in Wartime From the Sedition Act of 1798 to the War on Terrorism. New York: Norton, W. W. Company, Inc. Weyl, N. (1950). Treason: The Story of Disloyalty and Betrayal in American History. Washington D.C.: Public Affairs Press. Wilson, R. (2005). Human rights in the ‘War on Terror’. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

In Depth View The Valley Of Unrest English Literature Essay

In Depth View The Valley Of Unrest English Literature Essay The poem gives a sense of the few emotions that one feels first and foremost at delving into the world of Gothic. Fear. Horror. Tragedy. Solitary. Turmoil. But are they really enough to understand it? Gothic as a genre is far from simple interpretation. To that fact none are. The explanation for the word Gothic is simpler though. UC Davis  University Writing Program teaches about Gothic novels by first and foremost establishing the origin of the word Gothic. Although now gothic is popularly associated with literature and architecture, this misconception has to be set right. Its origins lie with the tribals. The Goths were one of the many Germanic tribes who fought numerous battles with the Roman Empire for centuries. According to their own myths, as recounted by Jordanes, a Gothic historian from the mid 6th century, the Goths originated in what is now southern Sweden. They reached the height of their power around 5th century A.D., when they sacked Rome and captured Spain, but their history finally subsumed under that of the countries they conquered. The association with architecture can be owed to the period of Renaissance. During this time Europeans rediscovered Greco-Roman culture and began to regard a particular type of architecture, mainly those built during the Middle Ages, as gothic not because of any connection to the Goths, but because the Uomo Universale (translates to universal man) considered these buildings barbaric and definitely not in that Classical style they so admired. The term Gothic, when applied to architecture, has nothing to do with the historical  Goths. In a British context it was even considered to extend to the Reformation in the sixteenth century and the definitive break with the Catholic past. Gothic broke the norms and thus acquired the name. Another strand of thought says that Gothic literature earned the name because all the novels seemed to take place in Gothic-styled architecture mainly castles, mansions, and, abbeys. The w ord is now used to describe an architectural style and, as a derivation of that, a genre of literature based on dark deeds in crumbling gothic mansions and castles is an intriguing mix of the two theories proposed by UC Davis. Defining the genre does not end there. Jerrold E.Hogle calls it an unstable genre. Gothic seduces, overpowers, confuses and blends not just the readers as well as other genres. Gothic as a genre comprises elements of mystery, horror, dark, tragedy things that disturb the normal and its perceptions. Romance is not what the mind grasps for while thinking of gothic. But that is what one needs to be aiming at even after preliminary studying. Be it your simple Wikipedia search that tells you Gothic fiction  is a genre of literature that combines elements of both  horror  and romance or a scholarly article which states Gothic fictions oscillate between the earthly laws of conventional reality and the possibilities of the supernatural emphasizing the difference between horror and romance as genres while reflecting on the common ground that has been christened Gothic. Horror predominantly is associated with Gothic genre eclipsing romance but that is not really the whole picture. Websters Collegiate Dictionary gives the primary definition of horror as a painful and intense fear, dread, or dismay. A genre of literature intended to thrill readers by provoking fear or revulsion through the portrayal of grotesque, violent, or supernatural events is Horror. Blood curling yes but it becomes heart wrenching as romance is dashed into the story line. Romance writers of America state that the two basic elements that comprise every romance novel are a central love story and an emotionally-satisfying and optimistic ending.  On the other hand, Janice Radway who popularized Romance beyond the usual feels the genre is assisted by the use of clichà ©s, uncomplicated syntax, and signifiers which utilize familiar cultural elements. This further strengthens the different poles of studying horror and romance but gothic brings with itself amalgamation of the peaks a nd lows of the other styles. Gothic can be termed a mixed or hybrid genre. In the contemporary world no genre can be strictly defined. Each genre transcends its boundary to join hands with another to prove more entertaining. Action meets tragedy, comedy with romance and so on and so forth. This is the case with gothic. Kelly Hurley in The Cambridge Companion to Gothic Fiction resists calling the genre gothic horror and defines it as a genre comprised of texts that have been deemed popular; that deploy sensationalist and suspenseful plotting; that practice narrative innovation despite the frequent use of certain repetitive plot elements; that depict supernatural or seemingly supernatural phenomena or otherwise demonstrate a more or less antagonistic relation to realist literary practice; that actively seek to arouse a strong affective response (nervousness, fear, revulsion, shock) in their readers; that are concerned with insanity, hysteria, delusion, and alternate mental states in general; and that offer highly charged and often graphically extreme representations of human identities, sexual, bodily and psychic. This definition itself displays the heavy dose of horror in gothic but romance is not far behind. Fred Botting said that gothic is an exploration of mysterious supernatural energies, immense natural forces, and deep, dark human fears and desires that gothic texts apparently found their appeal. The appeal and identity of gothic relies on the dark according to him. This can be construed to be true to some extent. Gothic can be considered investigative literature as well of some puzzling entities. It can be as simple as a haunted house at the end of the road or a monster formed on legend that inhabits the marsh in the town forests. Gothic is often explained as a representation of the unsaid or hidden. Fears and anxieties that one may wonder about can be found in various gothic texts. This is the uniqueness of gothic. In general, the deep fears and longings in western readers that the gothic both symbolizes and disguises in romantic and exaggerated forms have been ones that contradict each other, and in such intermingled ways, that only extreme fictions of this kind can seem to resol ve them or even confront them. This explanation strives to keep a bridge between horror and romance. It forms its basis on the bizarreness of some of the thoughts can simply not be explained by one genre and requires two. The polarity of thought can be made sense by reading the diametrically opposed genres as one i.e. Horror + Romance= Gothic. Professor John Lye proposes that as the immediacy of the Holy threatened to disappear from the culture in the later 18th century the period was marked by literary expressions of the sublime, of the mysterious, and of the strange; by a return to the imagination of the mediaeval that marked pre-romantic period, so that the mediaeval was the place of historical reference and allusion. She says romance took two main forms in the English novel in the early part of the 19th century: Gothic Romance and Historical Romance. Gothic romance specialized in symbolic exploration of the unconscious through the strange, the haunting, and irrational. Like many romances the Gothic tended to be set in distant lands or on barren, threatening countrysides. Gothic romance exposed and dealt with deep anxieties in persons and the culture. Gothic set out to expose and deal with the consciously ignored. Heathcliff in  Wuthering Heights, for instance, is a dark foreigner and hence culturally the Other, that against which we define and defend our humanity and civilized state, he a man with no parentage, a waif from the slums of Europe; and he is a figuring-forth of the force and terror of evil and of the irrational, a force of energy without civility. He is inexplicable but compelling because he sums the fears of his time and, to an extent, ours. Frankensteins monster showed us the terrors that scientific interference in the holiness of the human held for us. Science has and always will be viewed as a necessary evil. Fr ankenstein in its very element embodies this statement with strokes of darkness. Hawthorne of The Scarlet letter fame defined this breed of romance as a place of more mystery, less specific description of concrete reality, a place where, if you will, both elemental and spiritual forces could be put in play in a landscape that was full of symbolic, almost allegorical, potential. Today romance is generally associated with the strange and mysterious, the adventurous, with the lure of foreign lands, with something slightly magical, with a story which refuses to be tied to the realist tradition and explores phenomena which are unusual, allegorical, and symbolic. Increasingly being stated is that Romance and horror form Gothic. They together have changed the perception of gothic from a horrifying sight of that which was most unbearable in a culture to recognition and embrace of the monster as the image, the inner, often denied aspects of us. Gothic follows the first law of genre according to Robert Miles which is to deviate and make it new. Horace Walpole followed the golden rule and identified gothic as a genre through his work. Hogle remarks on the pliability and malleability of this type of fiction making has proven to be stemming as it does from an uneasy conflation of genres, styles, and conflicted cultural concerns from its outset. The Castle of Otranto is looked at as the first gothic novel and its entry initiated a new literary genre namely gothic. It was first published in 1764 and simply changed the meaning of gothic. Before Walpole it was almost always a synonym for rudeness, barbarous, crudity, coarseness and lack of taste but due to Walpole the word assumed two new key meanings: first, vigorous, bold, heroic and ancient, and second, quaint, charming, romantic, sentimental and interesting. First the book was advocated as a blend of the two kinds of romance, the ancient and the modern, the former all imagination and improbability and the latter governed by the rules of probability connected with common life. He wished to bridge the gap between the romances of old which were according to him all marvel and wonder, and the realist romance of his own day. In this comparison he refers to his own cross between medieval chivalric romances and neoclassic tragedies oriented towards the old aristocracy, on the one hand, and the newly ascendant bourgeois novel directed in its comic elements and probabilities of common existence on the other hand. The second editions preface constitutes a manifesto for a new species of romance. With this edition he came forward as the author of Otranto. The year was 1765. The manifesto was a set of rules which if not for him would have in all probability been dismissed as a piece of eccentric whimsy. Castle of Otranto spearheaded a revolution in the world of medieval literature. It served as the direct model for an enormous quantity of novels written up through the first quarter of the nineteenth century. Once a successful formula was established it was done to death. Robert Miles talks about the terrorist system of novel writing. This system was supposed to bombard the senses of the readers. It was deemed to be different form horror. Ann Radcliffe even said terror expands the soul and awakens the faculties to a high degree of life. She states further that terror is pleasurable because it is cloaked in obscurity and mystery while horror is graphic and unequivocal. Due to the success of Gothic fiction the literary world witnessed a shocking increase in the imitative works although this only indicated the high level of consumption it also ended up giving birth to the terrorist novel writing. The time was after 1790 and this form of writing was a satirized form of the perceived system for writing Gothic Romances. Terror writing survived but sooner than later became eclipsed and Gothic emerged again. Gothic never limited itself. The eighteenth century gave way to Victorian gothic which in turn opened doors to Modern gothic. Post modern gothic, female gothic, gothic science fiction, postcolonial gothic, urban gothic and queer gothic are just a few examples. The basic elements of gothic were incorporated in various plots and added to the multiplying strands of gothic. Many scholars have identified a few elements that are mandatory in any gothic text claiming or aiming to be gothic. Elements of Gothic Novel by Robert Harris state the obvious rudiments of Gothic: 1. Setting in a castle.  The action takes place in and around an old castle, sometimes seemingly abandoned, sometimes occupied. The castle often contains secret passages, trap doors, secret rooms, dark or hidden staircases, and possibly ruined sections. The castle may be near or connected to caves, which lend their own haunting flavor with their branchings, claustrophobia, and mystery. 2. An atmosphere of mystery and suspense.  The work is pervaded by a threatening feeling, a fear enhanced by the unknown. Often the plot itself is built around a mystery, such as unknown parentage, a disappearance, or some other inexplicable event. 3. An ancient prophecy  is connected with the castle or its inhabitants (either former or present). The prophecy is usually obscure, partial, or confusing. What could it mean? In more watered down modern examples, this may amount to merely a legend: Its said that the ghost of old man Krebs still wanders these halls. 4. Omens, portents, visions.  A character may have a disturbing dream vision, or some phenomenon may be seen as a portent of coming events. For example, if the statue of the lord of the manor falls over, it may portend his death. In modern fiction, a character might see something (a shadowy figure stabbing another shadowy figure) and think that it was a dream. This might be thought of as an imitation vision. 5. Supernatural or otherwise inexplicable events.  Dramatic, amazing events occur, such as ghosts or giants walking, or inanimate objects (such as a suit of armor or painting) coming to life. In some works, the events are ultimately given a natural explanation, while in others the events are truly supernatural. 6. High, even overwrought emotion.  The narration may be highly sentimental, and the characters are often overcome by anger, sorrow, surprise, and especially, terror. Characters suffer from raw nerves and a feeling of impending doom. Crying and emotional speeches are frequent. Breathlessness and panic are common. 7. Women in distress.  As an appeal to the pathos and sympathy of the reader, the female characters often face events that leave them fainting, terrified, screaming, and/or sobbing. A lonely, pensive, and oppressed heroine is often the central figure of the novel, so her sufferings are even more pronounced and the focus of attention. The women suffer all the more because they are often abandoned, left alone (either on purpose or by accident), and have no protector at times. Hogle elaborates by pointing out that women are the figures most fearfully trapped between contradictory pressures and impulses. It is Otrantos Isabella who first finds herself in what has become the most classic Gothic circumstance: caught in a labyrinth of darkness full of cloisters underground and anxiously hesitant about what course to take there. 8. Women threatened by a powerful, impulsive, tyrannical male.  One or more male characters has the power, as king, lord of the manor, father, or guardian, to demand that one or more of the female characters do something intolerable. The woman may be commanded to marry someone she does not love (it may even be the powerful male himself), or commit a crime. Isabella in Otranto fears the pursuit of a domineering and lascivious patriarch who wants to use her womb as a repository for seed that may help him preserve his property and wealth, on the one hand, yet worried that, fleeing in an opposite direction, she is still within reach of somebody [male], she knew not whom, on the other. Women were constantly reduced to objects of exchange or as tools of child bearing. 9. The metonymy of gloom and horror.  Metonymy is a subtype of metaphor, in which something (like rain) is used to stand for something else (like sorrow). Note that the following metonymies for doom and gloom all suggest some element of mystery, danger, or the supernatural such as wind howling, rain blowing, eerie sounds, sighs, clanking chains, barking of distant dogs, ruins of buildings and several others. One of the classics is footsteps approaching and characters trapped in a room. These elements are highly common and dramatic. They are played up more in the world of cinema with various effects. 10. The vocabulary of the gothic.  The constant use of the appropriate vocabulary set creates the atmosphere of the gothic. Here as an example are some of the words (in several categories) that help make up the vocabulary of the gothic in  The Castle of Otranto. What is interesting about this table is the guidance it provides to its readers about identifying gothic in a simpler way. It also denotes the words that are frequently used to create the ambiance of a particular word to make it fitting in the plot and effortlessly gothic. Mystery diabolical, enchantment, ghost, goblins, haunted, infernal, magic, magician, miracle, necromancer, omens, ominous, portent, preternatural, prodigy, prophecy, secret, sorcerer, spectre, spirits, strangeness, talisman, vision Fear, Terror, or Sorrow afflicted, affliction, agony, anguish, apprehensions, apprehensive, commiseration, concern, despair, dismal, dismay, dread, dreaded, dreading, fearing, frantic, fright, frightened, grief, hopeless, horrid, horror, lamentable, melancholy, miserable, mournfully, panic, sadly, scared, shrieks, sorrow, sympathy, tears, terrible, terrified, terror, unhappy, wretched Surprise alarm, amazement, astonished, astonishment, shocking, staring, surprise, surprised, thunderstruck, wonder Haste anxious, breathless, flight, frantic, hastened, hastily, impatience, impatient, impatiently, impetuosity, precipitately, running, sudden, suddenly Anger anger, angrily, choler, enraged, furious, fury, incense, incensed, provoked, rage, raving, resentment, temper, wrath, wrathful, wrathfully Harris has also listed the Elements of Romance. In addition to the standard gothic machinery above, many gothic novels contain elements of romance as well. As observations denote romance and gothic have become synonymous to a great extent. A study of these elements shows similarities with elements of gothic and uniqueness of romance. Elements of romance include these: 1. Powerful love.  Heart stirring, often sudden, emotions create a life or death commitment. Many times this love is the first the character has felt with this overwhelming power. 2. Uncertainty of reciprocation.  What is the beloved thinking? Is the lovers love returned or not? 3. Unreturned love.  Someone loves in vain (at least temporarily). Later, the love may be returned. 4. Tension between true love and fathers control, disapproval, or choice. Most often, the father of the woman disapproves of the man she loves. 5. Lovers parted.  Some obstacle arises and separates the lovers, geographically or in some other way. One of the lovers is banished, arrested, forced to flee, locked in a dungeon, or sometimes, disappears without explanation. Or, an explanation may be given (by the person opposing the lovers being together)   that later turns out to be false. 6. Illicit love or lust threatens the virtuous one.  The young woman becomes a target of some evil mans desires and schemes. 7. Rival lovers or multiple suitors.  One of the lovers (or even both) can have more than one person vying for affection. The elements of romance create the required drama that increases the entertainment quotient and connects with a wider span of readers. This results in a wider appeal for gothic. Kelly Hurley states that the period of 1760- 1820 showed some identifiable characteristics. Gothic has been defined in terms of plot which features: Stock characters like the virtuous, imperiled young heroine. Stock events like her imprisonment by and flight from the demonic yet compelling villain. Setting: the gloomy castle and complicated underground spaces are a must. Hogle says that the tale usually takes place in an antiquated or seemingly antiquated space such as a vast prison, a graveyard, an aging city or a large old house. Theme: the genres preoccupation with taboo topics such as incest, sexual perversion, insanity and violence; its depictions of extreme emotional states, like rage, terror and vengefulness. Style is defined by its hyperbolic language. The need to exaggerate. Hogle states all gothic novels were satirized for their excesses. He believes that the Gothic exaggerates its own fictionality and does so through long lasting and creatively changing techniques. The language is one of the most important ones. The pattern of hyperbolically verbalizing contradictory fears and desires over a possible base of chaos and death, and in a blatantly fictional style, remains a consistent element in gothic. Atmosphere: Its elaborate attempts to create a brooding, suspenseful atmosphere. The vocabulary table is testament to this point. Those words are employed generously to create a certain aura. Narrative strategies are confusion of the story by means of narrative frames and narrative disjunction. The author aims to make the story jump in time and from character to character. A reading of Dracula will show the jump in narratives from Jonathan Harker, Mina Harker and Van Helsing. Since the narratives are in diary entry or letter formats it ends up keeping the reader engaged as well. Plotting: The use of densely packed and sensationalist, rather than realist plotting. Hogle states that within the antiquated spaces where the tales take place are hidden some secrets from the past (sometimes recent past) that haunt the characters, psychologically, physically or otherwise at the main time of the story. Impact on readers: Its affective relations to its readership whom it attempts to render anxious, fearful or paranoid. Fred Botting in his summation of Candyman explains standard horror and gothic themes: ghost stories, urban gothic gloom, romance plots and visual and verbal references to staple fictions alongside a persecuted (or insane heroine), the villain is a slasher figure ever ready to disembowel his victims with a hook, a Faustian temper, a vampiric blood letter feeding off social fears. Although the film was made in 1992, the story line was inspired by Clive Barkers book The Forbidden which came approximately two decades before the movie. The similarities can still be spotted though. Botting in his observations mentions the few elements that have proven to be elementary in this genre. Leslie Fielder in Invention of the American Gothic discusses the deep lingering fear for readers of the gothic that Fielder recognizes: the terror or possible horror that the ruination of older powers will haunt us all, not just with our desires for them, but with the fact that what grounds them, and now their usurpers, is really a deathly chaos. As mentioned earlier gothic does disturb the normal. Plaguing its readers with nightmares and deep rooted worries about possible tragedies is actually one of its aims. Gothic became the forum to say the unsaid and to represent the unspoken. A premise which led to wide spread popularity. Gothic has been under scrutiny by various fronts. It has been used as a point of reference in economic statements by the founder of Marxism. Karl Marx used one of the most common Gothic monsters, the vampire to simply drive his statement home. Capital is dead labor, which, vampire-like, lives only by sucking living labor, and lives the more, the more labor it sucks. This quote is from Capital, Volume I, and Chapter 10. He has deftly pointed towards capitalism as a blood sucking monster i.e. a vampire. Antonis Balaspoulos an eminent personality used similar references.   Ã‚  -labor value extracted from living bodies and congealed in the parasitically animated body of capital   Ã‚  -the abstraction of value which, in a bloodless movement, vampirizes all of the workers labor and, transforming itself into surplus-value, becomes capital The idea behind mentioning these statements is to catch a glimpse of gothic outside the literary world. An observation also has to be made of the replacement of gothic with vampires and of the stereotypical delegation of roles i.e. capital as the monster and the Labor as the victim. Psychoanalytic Gothic is an intriguing concept devised due to Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalysis. In the psychoanalytic gothic, we intensely desire the object that has been lost, or another object, person, or practice that might take its place, but we are aware at some level that this object carries with it the threat of punishment: the anger of the father, the breaking of the law, castration. This strand of gothic has been articulated by Steven Bruhm in the Cambridge Companion to Gothic Fiction. The want of something that does not belong to oneself. In both theory and clinical practice, psychoanalysis is primarily attributed to the work of Sigmund Freud, for whom the gothic was a rich source of imagery and through whom the Gothic continues to be analyzed today. Psychoanalysis provides us with a language for understanding conflicted psyche of the patient whose life story or history is characterized by neurotic disturbances and epistemological blank spots. More often than not , such psychoanalytical accounts are intensely gothic: The Uncanny (1919) and A Seventeenth Century Demonological Neurosis (1922) along with a number of Freuds case studies, make the figure of the tyrannical father central to the protagonists Gothic experiences as Stokers Dracula (1897). The Gothic provides the best known examples of those strange and ghostly figures that Freud saw as examples of The Uncanny. For him what is quintessentially uncanny is the deeply and internally familiar as it appears to us in seemingly external, repellant, and unfamiliar forms. Most familiar to Freud are strictly psychological or visceral drives from our earliest existence, such as sheer repetition- compulsions. But perhaps what is most central to the Gothic be it classical or contemporary is the very process of psychic life that for Freud defines the human condition. Now, what makes the contemporary Gothic contemporary is that the Freudian machinery is more than a tool for discussing narrative; it is in large part the subject matter of the narrative itself. To the degree that the contemporary Gothic subject is the psychoanalytic subject (and vice versa), she/ he becomes a/the field on which national, racial, and gender anxieties configured like Freudian drives get played out and symbolized over and over again. Gothic becomes particularly contemporary in both its themes and reception; however, is that these unconscious desires center on the problem of a lost subject, the most overriding basis of our need for the gothic and almost everything else. Botting does point out that psychoanalytic criticism one of the most common lenses through which the gothic is viewed, often misperceives its own scientific knowledge of sexual instinct and Oedipal wished exemplified in the tales of terror and horror, all too visible in their characters and on the surface of their narratives. So much for the buried machinations of desire. Botting advocates that gothic has some stock elements but so does its criticism. He thinks the all too deep reading misconstrues certain elements and they get falsely portrayed. Michel Foucaults transgression is applied on gothic as well. Transgression enables limits and values to be reaffirmed, terror and horror eliciting rejection and disgust; on the other hand, it draws eyes and imaginations, in fascination, to peep behind the curtain of limitation in the hope of glimpsing illicit excitements made all the more alluring for bearing the stamp of mystery and prohibition. Transgression means violating boundaries or committing offences. Gothic signifies a writing of excess with its hyperbolic language and drama. Gothic signified an over abundance of imaginative frenzy. Passion, excitement and sensation, transgress social properties and moral laws. Gothic excesses, nonetheless, the fascination with transgression and the anxiety over cultural limits and boundaries continues to produce hesitant emotions and meanings in their tales of darkness, desire and power. Gothic excesses are blamed of transgressing the proper limits of aesthetics as well as social order in the overflow of emotions. Gothic plots are criticized at times of celebrating criminal behaviour and carnal desires. As gothic came to represent the unsaid and the dark, it did transgress the beliefs and norms of the old world but due to the favourable rates of consumption, it remains an associated theory and nothing else. Gothic as a genre has been avidly debated, reformed, criticized and adaptive to the changes around it.

Oil Industry and Nigerian Development Essay -- A Level Essays

Oil Industry and Nigerian Development Oil is one of the most valuable natural resources in the world today. The oil industry carries with it a great deal of economic and political power across the globe. Having oil, or any natural resource, as a prime source of revenue has long been debated as being an advantage or a drawback. In any case it should at least lead to increased revenue and financing of industrial growth which, arguably, is related to an increase in the quality of life of the population. In the case of Nigeria, the oil industry is a double-edged sword. Since the discovery of oil in 1956, the oil industry in Nigeria has greatly increased the financial resources of Nigeria, and yet has proven a constant stumbling block in the creation of effective internal capability. The development of cutting edge technology and infrastructure, considering the resources available, has been marginal and the oil industry itself has not been extremely competitive (at least in expectations) on the global market. As the largest n ation in Africa, a safe assumption should be that Nigeria is among the leaders in development as a whole, or at least be progressing toward that. The oil industry has, however, interfered somewhat in the development of alternative industries. In addition, even though it is directly associated with problems in leadership, corruption has been established as a normal order of business in Nigeria’s government and dealings with oil and has grown along with the industry. While the oil industry has introduced many significant problems in Nigeria, both socially and economically, there is still promise in what it can provide for the nation while oil remains in abundance. There are some positive examples across the glob... ...formation Administration, Dept. of Energy. 31 Oct. 2004 . Nigeria: Oil and Gas Industry. 12 July 2000. Mbendi: Information for Africa. 31 Oct. 2004 . Nigeria: Oil, Poverty, and Rights 2. 4 July 2002. Africa Action. 1 Nov. 2004 . OIL AND NATURAL GAS IN NIGERIA. Human Rights Watch. 11 Feb. 2005 . Olukoya, Sam. Oil Industry Crisis Worsening. 29 July 2004. Inter Press Service. 1 Nov. 2004 . Rodriguez, Fransisco. Why Do Resource Abundant Economies Grow More Slowly? 10 Mar. 2005 . Stevens, Christopher. Nigeria: Economic Prospects to 1985. London: EIU, 1982. Oil Industry and Nigerian Development Essay -- A Level Essays Oil Industry and Nigerian Development Oil is one of the most valuable natural resources in the world today. The oil industry carries with it a great deal of economic and political power across the globe. Having oil, or any natural resource, as a prime source of revenue has long been debated as being an advantage or a drawback. In any case it should at least lead to increased revenue and financing of industrial growth which, arguably, is related to an increase in the quality of life of the population. In the case of Nigeria, the oil industry is a double-edged sword. Since the discovery of oil in 1956, the oil industry in Nigeria has greatly increased the financial resources of Nigeria, and yet has proven a constant stumbling block in the creation of effective internal capability. The development of cutting edge technology and infrastructure, considering the resources available, has been marginal and the oil industry itself has not been extremely competitive (at least in expectations) on the global market. As the largest n ation in Africa, a safe assumption should be that Nigeria is among the leaders in development as a whole, or at least be progressing toward that. The oil industry has, however, interfered somewhat in the development of alternative industries. In addition, even though it is directly associated with problems in leadership, corruption has been established as a normal order of business in Nigeria’s government and dealings with oil and has grown along with the industry. While the oil industry has introduced many significant problems in Nigeria, both socially and economically, there is still promise in what it can provide for the nation while oil remains in abundance. There are some positive examples across the glob... ...formation Administration, Dept. of Energy. 31 Oct. 2004 . Nigeria: Oil and Gas Industry. 12 July 2000. Mbendi: Information for Africa. 31 Oct. 2004 . Nigeria: Oil, Poverty, and Rights 2. 4 July 2002. Africa Action. 1 Nov. 2004 . OIL AND NATURAL GAS IN NIGERIA. Human Rights Watch. 11 Feb. 2005 . Olukoya, Sam. Oil Industry Crisis Worsening. 29 July 2004. Inter Press Service. 1 Nov. 2004 . Rodriguez, Fransisco. Why Do Resource Abundant Economies Grow More Slowly? 10 Mar. 2005 . Stevens, Christopher. Nigeria: Economic Prospects to 1985. London: EIU, 1982.

Essay --

CFO Scott Sullivan was in charge of corporate accounting at WorldCom. Reporting to Sullivan was Cynthia Cooper, Vice President of Internal Audit, and David Myers, Controller. Buford Yates, Jr., Director of General Accounting, reported to Myers. Reporting to Yates was Troy Normand, Betty Vinson and Mark Abide. The accounting fraud perpetuated at WorldCom by multiple executives centers around fraudulently reporting line cost expenses. The 2002 indictment, United States of America v. Scott D. Sullivan and Buford Yates Jr., appropriately summarizes the fraudulently reported line costs expenses: From in or about October 2000 through or about June 2002, Scott D. Sullivan and Buford Yates, Jr., the defendants, and their co-conspirators, engaged in an illegal scheme to inflate artificially WorldCom’s publicly reported earnings by falsely and fraudulently reducing reported line cost expenses. To effect this illegal scheme . . . made entries in WorldCom’s general ledger, crediting line costs and debiting, among other accounts, various reserve and capital accounts. AS Sullivan, Yates, and their co-conspirators knew, there was no justification in fact, or under Generally Accepted Accounting Principle (â€Å"GAAP†), for theses entries. (United States of America V. Scott D. Sullivan and Buford Yates, Jr. 2002, 7) As a result, WorldCom was able to raise cash flows and profits over this time period. These accounting practices enabled WorldCom to â€Å"disguise the firm’s actual nets losses because capital expenditures can be deducted over a longer period of time, whereas expenses must be subtracted from revenue immediately† (Ferrell 1) Unethical Decision Makers Scott Sullivan and Buford Yates were not the only executives or employe... ...uired if Emigh knew who had informed Sue Dean of the new policy. Again, being true to his character, Emigh was upfront and told Smith that he, in fact was the one who had gone to Sue Dean. The following day, Emigh was informed by his immediate supervisor that he had committed an infraction by not following orders and carrying out the new policy. A senior vice president had ordered that Emigh be formally reprimanded and punished (Reaves 6). Emigh knew it was going to be bad but explained to his wife that he had a responsibility to the share holders as well to himself. Ten weeks later, Kim Emigh was fired. In March 2002, Cynthia Cooper was informed of the fact that $400 million had been moved from WorldCom’s reserve account resulting in a falsely stated income statement. Cooper went to the external auditor, Arthur Anderson, who told her that it was not a problem.

Role of Social Worker in Non-Profit Long Term Care

Several studies have highlighted the efficiency of profit-oriented organizations compared to non-profit organizations. In the nursing homes or long term care facility too, this is no exception, where the profit driven homes are seen to be technically and economically efficient than the non- profit facilities. The operation of the non-profit homes is directed to ensuring that revenues and costs are relatively equal. The non-profit nursing homes, run by government, religious bodies and even by private philanthropic affiliations are not seriously classified for their performance and quality, and are largely categorized together (Knox, Blankmeyer and Stutzman).Research done into staffing levels of profit and non-profit nursing homes however, show that nursing homes in the non-profit sector have higher staffing levels, compared to profit oriented nursing organizations. Literature on nursing homes in the US show that non-profit care facilities have higher number of direct care staff and lo wer staff turnover rates. It should be noted here that the majority of nursing homes in the US are profit oriented while in Canada, the majority are non-profit care homes (Margaret J et al., 2005).Social workers in health care have addressed the problems and situations associated with illnesses, seeing things in the bigger perspective, while also addressing the immediate concerns. The largest area of focus in social work is perhaps in the health field. Social workers have performed their expected or required roles, and have also raised awareness among other health care professionals to look beyond disease or ailment of the patient; into the psychological and social aspects of the ailment and its treatment (Dhooper, 1997).The responsibilities associated with social work in long-term nursing homes  include tasks with patients and their families, both within and outside the hospital. Most social workers in hospitals are responsible for functions like high risk screening, social and p sychological assessments, coordinated patient care, discharge planning and follow up.In long term care facilities, the social worker is required to be aware of the traditional and non traditional social work involvement and their roles, and appropriately examine the most suitable application. The social workers review the evidence base systematically and accordingly develop protocols and recommendations for practice. They encourage academic and practice partnerships and try to identify similar areas of concern, with their medical colleagues.The social workers perform several roles, even beyond that expected of a social service worker. However there is no formal profile of the tasks associated with social worker in nursing home care. The law and regulatory governing are restricted to finding out the presence and absence of the social worker. There is no certification or recognition process to evaluate the contributions of the social worker particularly in the non-profit nursing homes .An important aspect of social work in health setting is assessment, including psychosocial assessment. Client problems need to be assessed to begin treatment intervention, irrespective of the ailment or the people. Assessment helps in gathering, analyzing and evaluating relevant information based on which appropriate treatment strategies are implemented. Sometimes the social worker may be required to service at  homes of clients. Interviewing clients at home, particularly the elderly ones, offers an informal atmosphere and reinforces to the client that he or she is supported and is not left alone (Mellor and Solomon, 1996).Use of client’s first name, hugging, accepting a cup of tea are all part of a professional conduct of a social worker. The social worker is also sought to address psychosocial needs in nursing homes, to treat mental health problems. The social work provider’s perspective in diagnosing and treating anxiety, dementia and depression is considered nec essary. Through appropriate in-home interventions, social work providers even ascertain ineffective diagnosis and delivery of inappropriate care.   They address several issues with social relevance like relationship loss, adjustment to environment, terminal care etc.In the non-emergency nursing home admissions, social work personnel carry out the psychosocial assessment of the client during the initial contact. Based on this assessment, the level of required social work involvement, preparation of social work activity and discharge plans are finalized. This assessment also marks the beginning of the patient-social worker relationship. The social worker may at times be required to alert other physicians on existing psychosocial problems, which they should consider before medical interventions.Here the social worker must ensure that patient details or medical history are not breached or misused by anyone having access to it. Preadmission screenings by social workers can reduce unwan ted readmissions while also reducing the stay in nursing homes. Discharge planning may be involved with many ethical issues or even legal issues for the social worker. The social worker has a crucial role in sorting conflict between  patient expectations and nursing home obligations. When patients with very little hope of recovery or irreversible conditions are discharged, they and their families consider the nursing home to have abandoned them and experience a loss of hope. Here the social worker, attempts to change this perception by planning for the future through problem solving.The role of social worker in non-profit long term care is highly diverse from being a psychotherapist, social work consultant and a consultant on psychosocial issues. They assist client immensely in their transition to and from long-term care. They associate elders and families to community facilities and services through appropriate brokering, cause and needs advocacy.They help in planning long-term c are with the client and their family and resolve issues in finance, legal and social requirements. In care planning, the social service provider needs to develop plans taking into consideration the arrangements and psychosocial support for older persons. The plans, particularly long term care plans must be accommodative of any physical or cognitive changes, as and when it arises.Social workers need to be wise to accept and respect the fact that clients, particularly older clients in long-term care have the right to choose or decide on matters pertaining to their treatment (Vourlekis, et. al, 2005). Social workers also need to be conscious of the ethical issues arising in their work with older clients.Long term care is not just restricted to the caring of elderly people. Long term care can be associated with any age, like even with children having long term health implications.The services provided by social workers are very diverse and is associated with both, a health perspective a nd a social perspective. The quality of delivery for the health factor is judged based on technical aspects of care like treatment outcomes and evaluation of care process. The quality of social services provided is judged based on the opinion and perception of the users. In contrast to acute care which is associated to restoration of normal health, long term care is more associated in suppressing or preventing further decline in health condition or progress of disability (Gooloo, Wunderlich, Kohler, 2001). Sometime people would adapt to heir disabilities and adverse health conditions and may even begin to depend less on social or medical assistance for a considerably long period of time.The role of social worker in the non-profit long term care is immense and cannot be overlooked. They are involved in all aspects of patient care from assessment to discharge, apart from ensuring their social well being. Given the trend in modern medicine, where newer and sophisticated treatments incr ease life span, the population of elderly people has been increasing significantly, and more elderly people are likely to seek nursing care for various reasons. Also with newer diseases, associated with developing life styles, food habits, and environment; people are likely to seek more medical intervention for unconventional diseases. Therefore people across all ages and backgrounds seeking medical intervention would have more social implications and social relevance, relying more on the social worker to deliver.REFERENCESKnox K.J., Blankmeyer E.C and Stutzman J.R., (2006) Comparative Performance and Quality among Nonprofit Nursing Facilities in Texas, Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly. Sage Publications [Electronic Version] downloaded on 10th May 2008 from http://nvs.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/35/4/631Margaret J et al., (2005) Staffing levels in not-for-profit and for-profit long-term care facilities: Does type of ownership matter? Canadian Medical Association Journal, March 1 , 2005 [Electronic Version] downloaded on 10th May 2008 from http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/content/full/172/5/645 Vourlekis B, Zlotnik J.L, Simons K., (2005) Institute for the advancement of Social Work Research, Evaluating Social Work Services in Nursing Homes: Toward Quality Psychosocial Care [Electronic Version] downloaded on 11th May 2008 from http://www.charityadvantage.com/iaswr/IASWRNursingHome.pdf Dhooper S.S., (1997) Social Work in Health Care in the 21st Century. Sage Publications, London Mellor J and Solomon R., (1996) Geriatric Social Work Education Haworth Press. Gooloo S, Wunderlich, Kohler P.O., (Eds) (2001) Improving the Quality of Long-term Care, National Academies Press Role of Social Worker in Non-Profit Long Term Care Several studies have highlighted the efficiency of profit-oriented organizations compared to non-profit organizations. In the nursing homes or long term care facility too, this is no exception, where the profit driven homes are seen to be technically and economically efficient than the non- profit facilities. The operation of the non-profit homes is directed to ensuring that revenues and costs are relatively equal. The non-profit nursing homes, run by government, religious bodies and even by private philanthropic affiliations are not seriously classified for their performance and quality, and are largely categorized together (Knox, Blankmeyer and Stutzman).Research done into staffing levels of profit and non-profit nursing homes however, show that nursing homes in the non-profit sector have higher staffing levels, compared to profit oriented nursing organizations. Literature on nursing homes in the US show that non-profit care facilities have higher number of direct care staff and lo wer staff turnover rates. It should be noted here that the majority of nursing homes in the US are profit oriented while in Canada, the majority are non-profit care homes (Margaret J et al., 2005).Social workers in health care have addressed the problems and situations associated with illnesses, seeing things in the bigger perspective, while also addressing the immediate concerns. The largest area of focus in social work is perhaps in the health field. Social workers have performed their expected or required roles, and have also raised awareness among other health care professionals to look beyond disease or ailment of the patient; into the psychological and social aspects of the ailment and its treatment (Dhooper, 1997). The responsibilities associated with social work in long-term nursing homes  include tasks with patients and their families, both within and outside the hospital. Most social workers in hospitals are responsible for functions like high risk screening, social and psychological assessments, coordinated patient care, discharge planning and follow up.In long term care facilities, the social worker is required to be aware of the traditional and non traditional social work involvement and their roles, and appropriately examine the most suitable application. The social workers review the evidence base systematically and accordingly develop protocols and recommendations for practice. They encourage academic and practice partnerships and try to identify similar areas of concern, with their medical colleagues. The social workers perform several roles, even beyond that expected of a social service worker. However there is no formal profile of the tasks associated with social worker in nursing home care. The law and regulatory governing are restricted to finding out the presence and absence of the social worker. There is no certification or recognition process to evaluate the contributions of the social worker particularly in the non-profit nursing hom es.An important aspect of social work in health setting is assessment, including psychosocial assessment. Client problems need to be assessed to begin treatment intervention, irrespective of the ailment or the people. Assessment helps in gathering, analyzing and evaluating relevant information based on which appropriate treatment strategies are implemented. Sometimes the social worker may be required to service at  homes of clients. Interviewing clients at home, particularly the elderly ones, offers an informal atmosphere and reinforces to the client that he or she is supported and is not left alone (Mellor and Solomon, 1996).Use of client’s first name, hugging, accepting a cup of tea are all part of a professional conduct of a social worker. The social worker is also sought to address psychosocial needs in nursing homes, to treat mental health problems. The social work provider’s perspective in diagnosing and treating anxiety, dementia and depression is considered n ecessary. Through appropriate in-home interventions, social work providers even ascertain ineffective diagnosis and delivery of inappropriate care.   They address several issues with social relevance like relationship loss, adjustment to environment, terminal care etc.In the non-emergency nursing home admissions, social work personnel carry out the psychosocial assessment of the client during the initial contact. Based on this assessment, the level of required social work involvement, preparation of social work activity and discharge plans are finalized. This assessment also marks the beginning of the patient-social worker relationship.The social worker may at times be required to alert other physicians on existing psychosocial problems, which they should consider before medical interventions. Here the social worker must ensure that patient details or medical history are not breached or misused by anyone having access to it. Preadmission screenings by social workers can reduce unw anted readmissions while also reducing the stay in nursing homes. Discharge planning may be involved with many ethical issues or even legal issues for the social worker. The social worker has a crucial role in sorting conflict between  patient expectations and nursing home obligations. When patients with very little hope of recovery or irreversible conditions are discharged, they and their families consider the nursing home to have abandoned them and experience a loss of hope. Here the social worker, attempts to change this perception by planning for the future through problem solving.The role of social worker in non-profit long term care is highly diverse from being a psychotherapist, social work consultant and a consultant on psychosocial issues. They assist client immensely in their transition to and from long-term care. They associate elders and families to community facilities and services through appropriate brokering, cause and needs advocacy. They help in planning long-ter m care with the client and their family and resolve issues in finance, legal and social requirements.In care planning, the social service provider needs to develop plans taking into consideration the arrangements and psychosocial support for older persons. The plans, particularly long term care plans must be accommodative of any physical or cognitive changes, as and when it arises. Social workers need to be wise to accept and respect the fact that clients, particularly older clients in long-term care have the right to choose or decide on matters pertaining to their treatment (Vourlekis, et. al, 2005). Social workers also need to be conscious of the ethical issues arising in their work with older clients.Long term care is not just restricted to the caring of elderly people. Long term care can be associated with any age, like even with children having long term health implications.The services provided by social workers are very diverse and is associated with both, a health perspectiv e and a social perspective. The quality of delivery for the health factor is judged based on technical aspects of care like treatment outcomes and evaluation of care process. The quality of social services provided is judged based on the opinion and perception of the users. In contrast to acute care which is associated to restoration of normal health, long term care is more associated in suppressing or preventing further decline in health condition or progress of disability (Gooloo, Wunderlich, Kohler, 2001). Sometime people would adapt to heir disabilities and adverse health conditions and may even begin to depend less on social or medical assistance for a considerably long period of time.The role of social worker in the non-profit long term care is immense and cannot be overlooked. They are involved in all aspects of patient care from assessment to discharge, apart from ensuring their social well being. Given the trend in modern medicine, where newer and sophisticated treatments i ncrease life span, the population of elderly people has been increasing significantly, and more elderly people are likely to seek nursing care for various reasons. Also with newer diseases, associated with developing life styles, food habits, and environment; people are likely to seek more medical intervention for unconventional diseases. Therefore people across all ages and backgrounds seeking medical intervention would have more social implications and social relevance, relying more on the social worker to deliver.REFERENCESKnox K.J., Blankmeyer E.C and Stutzman J.R., (2006) Comparative Performance and Quality among Nonprofit Nursing Facilities in Texas, Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly. Sage Publications [Electronic Version] downloaded on 10th May 2008 from http://nvs.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/35/4/631Margaret J et al., (2005) Staffing levels in not-for-profit and for-profit long-term care facilities: Does type of ownership matter? Canadian Medical Association Journal, Marc h 1, 2005 [Electronic Version] downloaded on 10th May 2008 from http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/content/full/172/5/645 Vourlekis B, Zlotnik J.L, Simons K., (2005) Institute for the advancement of Social Work Research, Evaluating Social Work Services in Nursing Homes: Toward Quality Psychosocial Care [Electronic Version] downloaded on 11th May 2008 from http://www.charityadvantage.com/iaswr/IASWRNursingHome.pdf Dhooper S.S., (1997) Social Work in Health Care in the 21st Century. Sage Publications, London Mellor J and Solomon R., (1996) Geriatric Social Work Education Haworth Press. Gooloo S, Wunderlich, Kohler P.O., (Eds) (2001) Improving the Quality of Long-term Care, National Academies Press