Corporate Social Responsibility - 1367 Words

Introduction and the TRIGOS Rating A recent study published by Ernst and Young (2011) stated that 80% of top companies in Austria do not report their performance in terms of Corporate Social Responsibility. Reports that are published are not well integrated in the annual financial statements and are often not verified by external auditors. However, more and more companies adopt standards of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and become more and more aware of the importance of these issues. In identifying businesses that embrace a CSR concept, the TRIGOS award for companies with good CSR offers a well known and reliable source of information. Although Porter and Kramer (2006) criticize Ratings for having widely differing rankings and†¦show more content†¦The reason for the unavailability of explicit statements might be the rather small size of the business or the fact that this is not required by law in Austria. Credibility for CSR activities is achieved by having products assessed by various agencies such as FAIRTRADE and the Swiss Institute for Market Ecology (IMO). (Whole Trading Company, 2012) In addition to these core principles, the company is also supporting local initiatives in supplying countries (detailed information can be found on the company‟s webpage, but will not be laid out in detail here). Finally, on the one hand, it seems that the company is performing well in doing business in a socially responsible way, but on the other hand, the busi ness lacks an open disclosure of documents as well as more explicit statements about their activities. Moreover, there is a high degree of subjectivity applied within the company, since decisions about CSR activities are taken by the founder only. Applying the work of Porter and Kramer (2006), it can be said that the company achieves a competitive advantage through strategic CSR despite its shortcomings and areas for improvement in terms of disclosure and external evaluation. Responsive Corporate Social Responsibility and the Case of OMV Another Austrian company follows a more responsive approach to CSR. OMV, operating inShow MoreRelatedCorporate Social Responsibility : Corporate Responsibility773 Words   |  4 PagesCorporate social responsibility may also be referred to as corporate citizenship and can involve spending finances that do not directly benefit the company but rather advocate positive social and environmental change. The soul in the next economy forum presentation made it evident that achieving corporate social responsibly in a company can reap major benefits in terms of finances, more inspiring workplace and customer satisfaction. In the past, companies mistakenly thought that corporate socialRead MoreCorporate Social Responsibility1990 Words   |  8 PagesCorporate social responsibility is becoming a key initiative and an essential tool in the growth of multinational corporations and the development of third world countries throughout the globe. The two concepts can work hand in hand to provide benefits for all; however difficulties in regulating and implementing corporate social responsibility need to be overcome before effective changes can be made. Definitions of corporate social responsibility can be somewhat varied depending on the perceptionRead MoreCorporate Social Responsibility1904 Words   |  8 PagesCorporate Social Responsibility The different aspects of corporate social responsibility (CSR) have been the topic of considerable debate since the last decades of the twentieth century. Main factor for the increased interest on the part of stakeholders in this topic are the increased public awareness and interest in the corporate social responsibility following the Information Revolution. This essay will assess the dangers and benefits of the business ethics for most of the stakeholders – employeesRead MoreCorporate Social Responsibility : Corporate Responsibility2819 Words   |  12 PagesIntroduction For the past years, corporate social responsibility also referred, as corporate conscience has been a respected subject for discussion. Corporate social responsibility, unquestionably, contains more viewpoint than simply worried about the ecological impacts of associations. It came in people groups mind at the later 1880, time of essential modern advancement that associations ought to think about the thought of social obligation. Associations that are near to social obligation issues got toRead MoreCorporate Social Responsibilities2100 Words   |  9 PagesSustainability requires monitoring and managing all the person to ensure that our economy and society can continue to exist without destroying the social and natural environment during development. The sustainability includes three pillars, which are economic, social and environment, forming a triple bottom line. The triple bottom line demands that a company s responsibility lies with stakeholder rather than shareholder. The stake holder is a party who can be affected or affect by the action of the company suchRead MoreCorporate Social Responsibility15903 Words   |  64 PagesCORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY (CSR) is a term describing a company’s obligation to be accountable to all of its stakeholder in all its operation and activities. Socially responsible companies consider the full scope of their impact on communities and the environment when making decisions, balancing the needs of stakeholder with their need to make profit. A company’s stakeholders are all those who are influenced by and can influence a company’s decisions and action, both locally and globally. BusinessRead MoreCorporate Social Responsibility3253 Words   |  14 PagesLiving Dangerously in Two Worlds In my paper I will be discussing the topics related to corporate social responsibility. Corporate social responsibility (CSR, also called corporate responsibility, corporate citizenship, and responsible business) is a concept whereby organizations consider the interests of society by taking responsibility for the impact of their activities on customers, suppliers, employees, shareholders, communities and other stakeholders, as well as the environment. This obligationRead MoreCorporate Social Responsibility : Corporate Responsibility2819 Words   |  12 PagesIntroduction For the past years, corporate social responsibility also referred, as corporate conscience has been a respected subject for discussion. Corporate social responsibility, unquestionably, contains more viewpoint than simply worried about the ecological impacts of associations. It came in people groups mind at the later 1880, time of essential modern advancement that associations ought to think about the thought of social obligation. Associations that are near to social obligation issues got toRead MoreCorporate Social Responsibility : Corporate Responsibility2818 Words   |  12 PagesFor the past years, corporate social responsibility also referred, as corporate conscience has been a respected subject for discussion. Corporate social responsibility, unquestionably, contains more viewpoint than simply worried about the ecological impacts of associations. It came in people groups mind at the later 1880, time of essential modern advancement that associations ought to think about the thou ght of social obligation. Associations that are near to social obligation issues got to be worryRead MoreCorporate Responsibility And Corporate Social Responsibility Essay1867 Words   |  8 PagesStevan Jakovljevic Professor Laud MGT 3550 Values, Ethics and Sustainability 10/18/16 Chapter 3: Define corporate responsibility (CSR). Describe the benefits. Why do some executives support CSR while others find it troublesome and argue against it? Corporate social responsibility is what a company uses to self-regulate itself and refers to business practices involving initiatives that benefit society. A business’s CSR can encompass a wide variety of tactics, from giving away a portion of a company’s

Graduation Speech My Experience - 877 Words

My experience in education from kindergarten to being a senior in high school was very challenging but rewarding. Throughout my schooling, I was blessed to have some exceptional teachers and coaches that had taught me life lessons and challenged me to be a better person outside the classroom and a better student in the classroom. From kindergarten to being a senior in high school, I attended three different types of schools in the South Carolina School system. I attended a small private Christian school named Horizons Christian Academy. Then I transferred to public schools. For fifth grade, I attended Chester Park School of the Arts. For sixth and seventh grades, I attended Chester Middle School. After my seventh grade year, I attended York Preparatory Academy, a public charter school, until my sophomore year of high school. After my sophomore year in high school, I attend Chester Senior High School. Then ventured back to York Preparatory Academy for my junior and senior years, being a part of the first graduating class. At Horizon’s Christian Academy the class sizes were small and the teachers and students were set up by grade levels. In kindergarten, I had two teachers who taught me all core subjects. For first through third grades, I only had one teacher who taught me all the subjects. For fourth grade, I had two teachers, one teacher taught math and science and the other taught English and history. Also, we attended electives. After attending Horizon’s ChristianShow MoreRelatedGraduation Speech : My Experience880 Words   |  4 Pagesinto the class and what my thoughts were. I was very excited to be taking the class and I was very curious as to what the course would be like. Prior to this class my entire coursework have been online and this is the first time in some time that I was on campus so I was really ready for that in class interaction. I can remember telling my mentors and my Godly counsel that I was taking multicultural counseling a nd they were very excited about the work of the Lord they see in my life. I was also worriedRead MoreGraduation Speech : My Experience Essay1735 Words   |  7 PagesGraduation The long buildup to one of my happiest experiences began many years ago, when I first started school. This experience isn’t just one single event that occurred in the span of a day, but a transition that took place over a few months. Even on my very first day of kindergarten, it was already clear to me that going to school wasn’t going to be something that I enjoyed. I was very shy and withdrawn, and the other kids weren’t at all interested in being friends with me. Despite my effortsRead MoreGraduation Speech : My Experience1594 Words   |  7 Pageswith writing and was unable to adjust my habits to accommodate the flow of this course. I had not written an essay, except for research papers, since my fall quarter of freshman year. It was especially hard for me to adjust my time to account for all the activities in the class. Since the course is a hybrid course, I only had one face-to-face meeting with the class. Half of the class requires self-pace and constant checking of what needed to be accomplished. With my initial abilities, I was unable toRead MoreGraduation Speech : My Experience957 Words   |  4 PagesI can remember a presentation I gave to my school when I was in grade 4. Students were nominated by their teachers from grade 4 to grade 6 and the students were asked to give a speech on a particular question. I believe it was my first big presentation, so I made sure I practiced many times at home in front of my parents and on my own in front of a mirror as well. When it came time for me to present, I forgot all the words to my presentation. I remember feeling embarrassed, but also disappointedRead MoreGraduation Speech : My Experience913 Words   |  4 Pagesof spending the summer abroad in Hong Kong through UCLA for my college classes. From the beginning, I knew that my goal of this summer abroad was to understand how to work with a culture very different than my own. I would be lying if I stated that I wasn’t a challen ge to adjust, but with my patience, understanding, and my desire to succeed, I eventually prevailed. I pushed through my fear of not doing well enough and decided to try my best. The skills I learned in communicating with people whomRead MoreGraduation Speech : My Experience Essay1654 Words   |  7 PagesThe long, gloomy buildup to my joyful experience began many years ago, when I first started school. Even on my very first day of kindergarten, it was already clear to me that going to school wasn’t going to be something that I enjoyed. I was very shy and withdrawn, and the other kids weren’t at all interested in being friends with me. Despite my efforts to try and fit in, they never seemed to like me as much as they all liked each other, The kids in my class didn’t see my quiet nature as shyness, butRead MoreGraduation Speech : My Experience Essay1873 Words   |  8 Pagesworst classes throughout my school years. In all of my English classes, I was always beh ind no matter how hard I tried to catch up and stay ahead. As I grew up I was always worried about what we would be doing in English even if it was just going over a story and digging into it; I always made myself more nervous than I needed to be. Going through many different English classes to try to get to graduation was the only way I could get through. Based on previous academic experiences, reflecting back onRead MoreGraduation Speech : My Educational Experience915 Words   |  4 Pages My educational experience is just now beginning as of now I am taking an English class also over summer I took an online academic skills class. Although online classes don’t do college justice you don’t really get the full college experience. As of now I am just focusing on my general education then eventually I hope to attend an RN program. So as of my educational experience this far would be high school and as Dweck author of Brainology would say I had a fixed mindset during hig h school even duringRead MoreGraduation Speech : My First Experience905 Words   |  4 PagesIn my twenty nine years of life I have met every type of teacher. I remember when I was in kindergarten having a strict teacher that never let anything slip by. When I was in fifth grade I learned what it was to have no extra help, I repeated fifth grade. The one type of teacher I will never forget is my Junior year social studies teacher, she encouraged me throughout that year to be the best at everything I did in school. You will have these type of teachers throughout your life, the strict teacherRead MoreGraduation Speech : My Personal Experience909 Words   |  4 Pageslearn from their mistake because my parents gave me the opportunity to fail and later on in life I achieved success from my fail and my personal experience as well as sherry connects with how failure improved education. For example in her essay, â€Å" In Praise of the F word†, she states how countless students do not have the skills they need to succeed and how diplomas for students don’t value anything. Furthermore, she in the essay it also give a personal experiences about her son and h ow she as a parent

The policy of the United States Free Essays

string(306) " States received much more attention than the Canadian border, â€Å"†¦only 334 agents were assigned to the 5,525-mile northern border compared with over 9,000 agents stationed at the 2,062-mile southern edge† \(4\), however, since September 11 there are an equal amount of agents patrolling both borders\." This essay will generate the ideas of the role between border security and counter terrorism. The subcategories that will be discussed along side this theory are the lack of border security, both south of the United States and north. The policy of the United States toward immigration will also give the paper a close-up of the harm illegal aliens who are not apprehended will do, not only to the status of the economy but to national terrorism . We will write a custom essay sample on The policy of the United States or any similar topic only for you Order Now In the emergence of a lax border security, finally, the issue of this juxtaposed with the opportunity that exists for terrorists to exploit will also be developed in the paper. In order for a more substantial argument to evolve in this paper a brief history with terrorism and border control will be argued as well as the history of the US Patriot Act and other issues in the past with the United States concerning immigration, illegal aliens, and terrorists. Since the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, there have been many changes in the ways the United States government functions. The first act of alteration to the normal code of conduct was the drafting and passage of the USA PATRIOT Act. There are many who see this act as a bold defense against the fear of terrorism for the American public, however, a growing number of people see the changes in American governmental policy and overall attitude towards enemies and allies alike as an affront against proper American values and freedom. As Andrew Kydd and Barbara Walter explain, there is a distinct politic to the notion of terrorism. However, these tactics are not always effective. There are many events of terrorism in the world each year, yet only a handful are regarded with any merit. According to Kydd and Walter, through a well argued and insightful article, it is â€Å"the trust between groups† that must be destroyed for an extremist attack to be successful. This is the motivation behind the response to the attacks of September 11, 2001. On December 6, 2001, then Attorney General John Ashcroft addressed the Senate Judiciary Committee in praise of this act, and it’s restructuring of the NSA, CIA and FBI. (Ashcroft 524) His rhetoric was patriotic and concise, and his views of the USA PATRIOT act and its changes seemed sincere. This was supported with the passage of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1373, which paved the road for the Patriot act itself. Eric Rosand wrote about the resolution in 2003. His response to its necessity was one of sympathy to the government, for having to face such a difficult challenge. However, not everyone who has commented on the alterations of the US governmental policy has done so with such reverence. David Cole compared the investigations into possible terrorist cells in the United States, to the â€Å"Palmer Raids† of 1919 – where, following a series of bombings, J. Edgar Hoover led a series of â€Å"round ups† of immigrants across the country and held them without trial or charge in â€Å"unconscionable conditions, interrogated incommunicado and in some cases tortured†. (529) This attitude has spread throughout the country, as the appearance of indecency has flooded the government’s handling of the terrorists investigations. Mary Jacoby brings up the question of the legal definition of â€Å"Detainee†. This is in response to the holding of prisoners at the Guantanamo Bay military base in Cuba. The prisoners of this facility have been acquired from around the world – from the war in Afghanistan, and from arrests done in dozens of countries around the world. However, the problem arises when the soldiers fighting for the Afghan military are brought in as detainees, rather than prisoners of war. While the Guantanamo prison has its apologists, such as Charles Krauthammer – who states that freeing of these men would be â€Å"lunacy† (537) – the fact remains, that in strict terms, the United States is in breech of the Geneva Convention by holding POWs. The United States government however sees this detention as necessary. The United States also enlists other tactics involving border control. The United States since September 11 has kept a more watchful eye on the Mexican border to ensure that large trucks are not passing the borders which could hold weapons, but this seems to be the only action officials and military are taking in regards to border control according to Zagorin (2004) in The Mexican Border Will Get a Closer Look. In this article Zagorin is hard pressed to find any true action the US is taking in regards to border control and Zagorin sites many examples of how Mexico is making its own efforts to decrease the chances al-Qaeda terrorists coming into the country or leaving the country, â€Å"The Mexicans will also focus on flight schools and aviation facilities on their side of the frontier. †¦another episode has some senior U. S. officials worried; the theft of a crop-duster aircraft south of San Diego, apparently by three men from southern Mexico who assaulted a watchman and then flew off in a southerly direction†¦ a senior U. S. law-enforcement official notes that crop dusters can be sued to disperse toxic substance†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (19). In contrast to the underlying belief of the lax nature in Zagorin’s article Andreas (2003) holds a very different opinion in his article Perspective. This article gives details about the before and after September 11 border security in the United States dealing with both the Mexican and Canadian border. Prior to September 11 the United States focused its energy on deterring the flow of drugs between the borders. Thus the model by which the United States is equipped in handling border security in regards to terrorism is very juvenile in design because their previous focus has been on migrant workers and masses of illegal immigrants rather than to search a crowd and discover a few terrorists (4). Another issue that arises in the approach of the Mexican border is that the south border of the United States received much more attention than the Canadian border, â€Å"†¦only 334 agents were assigned to the 5,525-mile northern border compared with over 9,000 agents stationed at the 2,062-mile southern edge† (4), however, since September 11 there are an equal amount of agents patrolling both borders. You read "The policy of the United States" in category "Papers" Under the Patriot Act, as stated previously, the number of agents present in the Canadian border has tripled in a response to September 11. In an effort to stop terrorism, the US coastguard now stops every boat crossing the Great Lakes as well as escorts large tankers. Thus, Andreas states that these new border securities have merely taken the old ideas of drug trafficking measures and applied them to terrorism which makes for an increase of difficulty in border control (Andreas, 5). Fernando Reinares noted in his article, The Empire Rarely Strikes Back, that after â€Å"more than 2400 acts of terrorism against American citizens and interests† there have been only â€Å"three occasions of overt military response†. (Reinares 92) However, because of the incredible size and depth of impact of the September 11th attacks, war became unavoidable. There did arise a problem with the military action, however, as a growing public opinion seemed to point the target ast Islam itself, rather than just Al-Qaeda. This prompted the United States to â€Å"enlist the help of as many Islamic nations as possible† to counter act this perception. (Aretxega 143) This coalition of Islamic nations does nothing to counteract the rise in racial profiling within the United States. Sherry Colb wrote about the foreseen changes in American law enforcement following the September 11th attacks. Her article articulated the problem of racial profiling and its consequences. Cold notes that â€Å"real numbers do not support profiling†. (539) However this does not stop the utilization of profiling in airports, or in traffic stops. However, this too has its supporters, from such sources as law professor Roger Clegg. His response to the topic of racial profiling is one of acceptance and justification. â€Å"So what? † (Clegg 542) Clegg asks of the act of profiling. However his racial make-up lends itself easily to such opinions, as an educated white male is rarely confronted for being white, educated or male. But profiling at the borders is the number one cause by which patrols see fit to apprehend an individual since they fit the profile and the Patriot Act backs up the idea of border security no matter what the cost. The changes in the United States since September 2001 have been many and wide in scope, however there is little agreement as to whether these changes are for the better – or even legal. As illustrated in these articles, the several aspects of governmental policy that have been affected by these attacks have been met with acceptance and praise, as well as contempt and ridicule – with communicative and sincere arguments on both sides. Though, despite the eloquent nature of the arguments, they do not dissuade one from his or her own opinion. It is the learned set of moral values that create one’s opinion of the new America. The issue of border control seems increasingly to be an issue of economics and as much as the United States focuses its attention on increasing patrol, it is also obstructing trade between countries and so the lax behavior or approach in certain instances of policing and allowing immigrants to cross borders presents to the theorist that increased border control does not necessarily lead to a more protected country. In Kiely’s (2006) article GOP View, she states that the United States is more focused on illegal immigration than terrorism and using terrorism as a guise by which to exert an autocratic policing style which does not give rights to immigrants, â€Å"A bill the House passed in December called for making illegal immigration a felony offense, punishable by at least a year in jail†¦Under the law, people who cross the border without permission are already guilty of a criminal misdemeanor. But people who enter the country legally and then overstay their visas—as many as 40% of the nation’s estimated 12 million illegal immigrants, according to Sensenrenner—are guilty of a civil violation† (1). Thus it becomes apparent that the United States is focusing more attention on illegal immigration than on terrorism since all of their efforts are geared toward this goal. Since the United States has merely adapted their approach to finding terrorists in the same fashion by which they find illegal immigrants there seems to exist a very unreliable system. The terrorists that entered the country each had different ways to travel, false papers of identification and would have been apprehended if the border security had not been as lax as they had been and since their approach to border control has not changed dramatically as a system, but merely as having more patrols and policing the gate is left open for terrorism, as The US 9/11 Commission on Border Control (2004), states, â€Å"We found that as many as 15 of the 19 hijackers were potentially vulnerable to interception by border authorities. Analyzing their characteristic travel documents and travel patterns could have allowed authorities to intercept 4 of the 15 hijackers and more effective use of information available in U. S. government databases could have identified up to 3 hijackers† (570). Since these hijackers could have been apprehended but were not, and the government has only increased the number of patrols on the either border and not per se the system by which illegal immigrants are apprehended it stands to reason that the government is not altogether prepared or establishing a methodology in apprehending terrorists, they are merely cracking down by using brute force without strategy, Looking back, we can also see that the routine operations of our immigration laws—that is, aspects of those laws not specifically aimed at protecting against terrorism—inevitably shaped al Qaeda’s planning and opportunities. Because they were deemed not to be bona fide tourists or students as they claimed, five conspirators that we know of tried to get visas and failed, and one was denied entry by an inspector. We also found that had the immigration system set a higher bar for determining whether individuals are who or what they claim to be—and ensuring consequences for violations—it could potentially have excluded, removed, or come into further contact with several hijackers who did not appear to meet the terms for admitting short-term visitors (570). Thus, the article emphasized the lack of a system in uncovering terrorism as part of border security. Aristotle was partial to pluralism. He did place his faith in the idea that humans ‘aped’ reality and copy what they are witnessing, and thus making reality a reserved, unattainable subject. A person’s personal truth, through the philosophy of pluralism and Aristotle, has a background involving historical context and empirical evidence wherein truth can be extrapolated. Aristotle believed that pluralism dealt more with a person’s culture than with a vast array of immitigable scenarios. For Aristotle, pluralism, and not unity allowed for change in the universe, and in this avenue of discourse Aristotle presented the concept of both motion and rest existing in the world in simultaneous reality, â€Å"†¦ it is not the case that all things are at rest or in motion sometimes and nothing for ever; for there is something which always moves the things that are in motion, and the first mover is itself unmoved [Ibid. , 29-32, p. 751]. † Therefore, life, reality, self exist on a plane where the possibility of truth is represented in many. Thus, the United States’ approach to terrorism is found to be understood as the common good for everyone as opposed to the common good based on one man. This is shown in the allowance of holding foreigners in prisons without trial in order to gain information from them, and even in some cases indulging in torture in order to protect the greater good as is stated in Aristotle’s logos. In the reality that existed for Aristotle through the philosophy concept of pluralism, empirical facts were the focus, goal and reality which human beings base their existence. In this existence, it is not necessary for a common laborer to delve into the meanderings of the Ideal Good possibly having relevance for anyone besides a philosopher. The absolute idea for Aristotle was not found in abstract concepts but rather in empirical multiplicity and continuous transformation of facts based on frame of reference, history, and culture. It is through these fundamental approaches that human beings come to know their own truth instead of delving into the misrepresentation of Forms given through Plato’s unity, â€Å"Pythagoreans say that things exist by ‘imitation’ of numbers, and Plato says they exist by participation, changing the name. But what the participation or the imitation of the Forms could be they left an open question [Ibid. , ll-14, p. 7O1]. † The interaction of Forms and human beings in the universe is the core concept on the philosophy of pluralism, as Aristotle states, â€Å"Platonists speak as if the One were homogeneous like fire or water; if this is so, the numbers will not be substances. Evidently, if there is a One-itself, and this is a first principle, ‘One’ is being used in more than one sense; for otherwise the theory is impossible [Ibid. , 992a 7-10, p. 7O9]. † Through metaphysics Aristotle suggests that existence is not reliant upon numbers, reasons, or Forms alone, but only that the realistic forms are primary, which is the approach the United States government is taking in regards to counter-terrorism. The number one priority of preventing terrorism is to prevent terrorist travel. This tactic however has not been seriously employed with regards to border security and finding and preventing terrorism since the focus, as previously stated, is more about finding terrorists, not finding the means by which they are mobile. One system that has not be utilized in border security is the means by which to detect whether documentation is authentic since terrorists have system by which they infiltrate a country. Their travel channels should be found and exploited, but no real clause in the Patriot Act has been given or stated. Terrorists establish themselves in the United States through their travel channels by which there is a paper trail of documents; therefore, the Patriot Act, and NAFTA should not only be focusing their efforts at the borders where the terrorists may or may not be traveling but the government should also be wary of terrorist activity already transpiring inside the country, as The US 9/11 Commission on Border Control, â€Å"Each of these checkpoints or portals is a screening-a chance to establish that people are who they say they are and are seeking access for their stated purpose, to intercept identifiable suspects, and to take effective action† (571). This paper has shown that although the United States is refocusing efforts on border control their methodology has not been new in design as counter terrorism efforts call for, but instead the United States seems to have merely increased the number of patrols across the border and not changed the system by which they seek out terr orists. In the information presented in this paper it gave different avenues by which the United States could be making a better effort to fight terrorism by simply having a different strategy on terrorism inclusive of finding their travel channels and relying on identification and false passports. The United States approach to border control, since they are using the same system now as prior to September 11 have not changed how they approach terrorists and their apprehension thus leaving room for terrorists to take advantage of this lax method and exploit it. Bibliography Andreas, Peter. (2003 3rd Quarter). Perspective. Regional Review. Vol. 13, Issue 2, p3-7. Aretxaga, Begona. (Winter 2001). Terror as Thrill: First Thoughts on the ‘War on Terrorism’. Anthropological Quarterly. Vol. 75, No. 1, p138-150. Kiely, Kathy. (13 April 2006). GOP View: Illegal Immigration Won’t be Felony. USA Today. Kydd, Andrew; Walter, Barbara. (Spring 2002). Sabotaging the Peace: The Politics of Extremist Violence. International Organization. Vol. 56, No. 2, p263-296. Reinares, Fernando. (Jan-Feb 2002). The Empire Rarely Strikes Back. Foreign Policy. No. 128. P. 92-94. Rosand, Eric. (April 2003). Security Council Resolution 1373, the Counter-Terrorism Committee, and the Fight against Terrorism. The American Journal of International Law. Vol. 97, No. 2, p333-341. The US 9/11 Commission on Border Control. (2004). Blackwell Publishing Ltd. p569-574. Zagorin, Adam. (22 November 2004). Bordering On Nukes? Time. Vol. 164 Issue 21, p19. How to cite The policy of the United States, Papers

Free College Admissionss The Power over On Essay Example For Students

Free College Admissionss The Power over On Essay eself College Admissions EssaysCollege Admissions Essay The Power over Oneself Its not difficult for me to say what books have actually changed my life: Peter Handkes The Left-Handed Woman Elias Canettis Kafkas Other Trial and The Voices of Marrakesh Roberto Calassos The Marriage of Cadmus and Harmony It wasnt until I put these four books together that I recognized what they have in common: reading. Each involves, in one form or another, an exquisitely scrupulous act of reading-of a fictional woman (Handke), of Kafkas tormented relationship with Felice Bauer (Canetti), of a sun-dazed North African city (Canetti), of Western mythology (Calasso). But why these four in particular? Perhaps because, in my opinion, they manifest a rare and complicated love for their subject, a love that is borne of those forms of attention which dissolve the barriers between observer and observed. Perhaps because, as Mr. Canetti himself has written, they penetrated me like an actual life. In any case, it has been my experience that this kind of reading leads to a kind of power a power not over others, but over oneself. The author of this essay was accepted by Harvard.

Systems Development Methodologies

Basic Design of Data Flow Diagrams A data flow diagram (DFD) is a process model that graphically represents data flow between entities in an information system and the relationship between the entities. A DFD, therefore, represents a logical or physical flow of data within a system. Typically, physical DFDs are developed from logical data flow diagrams.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Systems Development Methodologies specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In context, therefore, DFD serve the purpose of modeling high-level details of any information system by detailing on data inputs into a system, data transformations, and information outputs from the data transformations, and the functions each component performs. The four essential components constituting a DFD include a data store (data sources and data sinks), data flows, processes, and entities. However, different DFD constitute different symbols in their design, but the syntax and fundamental principles for designing DFDs remain the same. Basic concepts to consider when designing DFDs include external entities that send and receive data, processes that transform the data from one form to another that have inputs and outputs, the flow of data within and outside of the system, and locations for data storage. Notations are used to represent modeling process. Notations show the graphical representation of functions in the DFDs. The five notations used include: Of critical importance are the data items used in the design, their sources, and destinations. In the design process, recommendations have it that tabulations of collected information is done as a first step in designing a DFD. A typical example appears in table 1 below. Table 1 Data Item Source of data Destination of data It is critically important, as the next step, to identify system boundaries by separating identified entities into entities that belong to internal an d external system boundaries. External entities belong to the outside of the system while internal entities provide typical locations for processes.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In addition to that, prior knowledge about the tasks performed at each level of the deeper levels of the system helps in designing the next DFD level. A context diagram developed at this level provides a simple representation of the system and its functionalities. That leads to an exploded data flow diagram showing more details considered when modeling the system. Typically, a DFD uses arrows to show how data flows from and into the system being modeled. The system captures data flowing between external entities and is represented using dashed lines. Other requirements to adhere to when designing a DFD include the use of arrowheads to show the flow of data within, into, and out of a system. Higher -level diagrams allow the usage of double arrowheads, which show two-way data flow. However, lower level data flow diagrams use unidirectional arrows only. In addition to that, is important to assign a reference to a data store designating its function or the type of data in its storage. Data flow can occur between external entities of a system and represented by a dashed line, while, it is important to note that data stores do not initiate processes. A strict numbering procedure when analyzing a system undergoing decomposition into lower levels is an important requirement with processes always linked to show clearly their ancestral routes. It is necessary to name processes using verb phrases, which focus on organizational needs. It is an important practice to place processes at the center, place inputs at the left side, outputs at the right, and data stores beneath processes. However, errors are bound to arise that need to be avoided when designing a DFD. Errors to avoid These incl ude avoiding showing data flowing from one data store directly to another data store, a situation that does not make sense. In addition to that, it makes no sense to have data flowing from a data store directly to an entity without going through a process. Avoid showing data flowing into asynchronous processes, as DFD processes do not have memory and crossing lines. Exploding DFDs Exploding a DFD, often referred to as functional decomposition, implies decomposing each of the processes in a context diagram by balancing input and output processes. Thus, processes are decomposed functionally into system primary processes, and subsequent decompositions of other lower levels into functional primitives. Thus, the decomposition begins from level O, then level two, and level three. Decompositions more often end at level three without any further decompositions. Decision tables and decision trees A decision tree is a tool used to support decision-making based on two or more decision alternat ives. A typical decision tree consists of small square decision nodes with the root node as the first decision, drawn at the left side of the decision tree. Decision trees also consist of chance nodes represented by use of circles susceptible to two outcomes.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Systems Development Methodologies specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More However, an end node determines the end or outcome from a decision. On the other hand, lines link nodes together from branches emanating from the nodes in the left to the right direction. On the other hand, a decision table is a tool used to model decision logic by associating conditions with actions to perform. Thus, a decision table constitutes four quadrants with conditions, alternative conditions, entries, and action entries. Business potential tool to use A decision tree is a business potential tool to use compared with a decision table. A decision tree p resents analytical solutions to which are easy to understand with minimal explanations, are more specific and categorical in data analysis, are flexible in analyzing using statistical models, and easy to use with large amounts of data. On the other hand, decision tables are complex, require detailed explanations, and not easy to understand. Thus, a decision tree is more suited in making business decisions than a decision table. Critiquing GUI A graphical user interface (GUI) should be able to reflect the psychological metal models to facilitate user goals and tasks. In addition to that, the GUI should reflect user thought process, based on the mental and conceptual models, characterized by susceptibility to change, internally inconsistent. On the other hand, conceptual models characterized by innovation, reflect interface components, and reflect object orientation. Thus, the critique of the GUI should be based on the principles of mental models and conceptual frameworks highlighted above. On the other hand, other factors to consider in critiquing the GUI includes identifying a model that reflects user behavior, cognitive control, visibility of the objects under consideration, ability to manipulate and replace objects, and be syntactically correct, underlying files, and desktop metaphors. In addition to that, it is important for the user to be provides the flexibility to identify the occurrence of any errors and recover from them. This essay on Systems Development Methodologies was written and submitted by user Juliet E. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Reforms Of Solon essays

Reforms Of Solon essays The world's first extended experiment in democracy took place in the ancient Greek polis (city-state) of Athens. In 594 B.C.E., Solon, a great statesman and lawgiver, was entrusted with special powers to revise the political, social, and economic structure of Athens. His work began the evolution from rule by an elite aristocratic clique toward a more egalitarian constitution; in short, Solon set Athens firmly on a course toward democracy. He successfully arbitrated a settlement between Athenian aristocrats and commoners and allowed for participation of many more citizens in the political process. In the first of the passages that follow, Plutarch outlines the reforms that Solon undertook and the kinds of opposition that confronted him/ Athens was in danger of violent revolution and tyranny appeared the only course by which to end civil dissension and stabilize the government. Solon first became prominent around 600 BC, when the Athenians were discouraged by ill success in war with their neighbour Megara for possession of the island of Salamis. Athens was in crisis by the sixth century. The peasants were easily driven into debt by bad harvests, resulting to seek loans from the aristocrats. There being no laws to prevent it, many sold their own children or were forced into exile by their creditors. The eupatridae, who owned the best land, turned to produce olive oil and wine for export. The military leadership was unsuccessful causing detrimental raids by Megara. The Eupatridae and the people of Athens recognised and agreed the need for reform, They handed all political power to an aristocrat, Solon. Solon had a reputation for integrity, wisdom and fair treatment of peasants. Solons mission was to reform the government to stem the tide of privation and exploitation and set up a system to assure that Athens did not get in such a bad state again. Solon immediately released all outstanding debts, and freed as many Athenians a ...

Carlinville Area Hospital Quality Improvement Plan Research Paper

Carlinville Area Hospital Quality Improvement Plan - Research Paper Example The researcher states that Carlinville Area Hospital will ensure that its Quality improvement plan is congruent with its key objectives that include but not limited to safety, patient-centered, effectiveness, equitable, efficiency, and timely healthcare service. Carlinville Area Hospital QI plan will cover a wide range of activities that include but not limited to Risk management activities Professional staff credentialing; automated drug-ordering systems; medical record review; prescription legibility; drug labeling and packaging; and patient education on prescribed medications. Carlinville Area Hospital will use six-sigma methodology for its QI implementation plan. The six-sigma methodology will allow the hospital to gather necessary information relating to the present organization’s medication management, which will give clue to management about the processes and activities that require improvement. After implementing the improvement plan the hospital will be forced to unde rtake the  annual evaluation of processes and activities to ensure that they are in line with the planned objectives. The Carlinville Area Hospital is, â€Å"a licensed 25-bed acute care clinic that accommodates a wide range of inpatient, outpatient, as well as emergency services†. Carlinville Area Hospital operates based on the slogan of â€Å"excellent care close to home†. Carlinville Area Hospital mission â€Å"is to always remain committed to the development of a state-of-the-art rural hospital facility.†... tient, outpatient, as well as emergency services† (Carlinville Area Hospital, 2011) Carlinville Area Hospital operates based on the slogan of â€Å"excellent care close to home†. Carlinville Area Hospital mission â€Å"is to always remain committed to the development of a state-of-the-art rural hospital facility.† Enhancing quality has always been one of the key objectives of the hospital and as such the management is looking forward to a favorable relationship between the staff to provide excellent healthcare close to home. Carlinville Area Hospital various services to patients on inpatient and outpatient basis through the hospital’s cardiopulmonary, imaging, laboratory, and rehabilitative services. Additionally the hospital provides daily primary health care to immediate emergency interventions in the local area. Goals/Objectives Promoting a state of art hospital with quality and safety as its major priority requires a lot of commitment. To ensure that th e hospital is on track to fulfill its mission the management of Carlinville Area Hospital has decided to focus on the following objectives: Safe- Carlinville Area Hospital will work tirelessly to ensure that mitigate injuries that patients may suffer from services that are meant to help them (Carlinville Area Hospital, 2011). Patient centered- Carlinville Area Hospital will provide services that recognizes patient’s dignity, worth, respectful and responsive to the needs, expectations, preference and values and above all ensure that medical decisions are based on patients values. Efficient- Carlinville Area Hospital will avoid services that are wasteful in terms of ideas, equipment, energy, and supplies. Timely- Carlinville Area Hospital health care services will emphasis on minimizing potential harmful delays and

The early 20th century USA, Latin America, and Africa Essay - 1

The early 20th century USA, Latin America, and Africa - Essay Example le, there three distinctive trends that they had; there was a tendency to be less and less accessible to the average person, a tendency to glorify art itself as well as to undercut traditional standards and values. A period before the 20th century, music was pretty easy for the average person to understand because they followed common harmonic patters that one could find to frequently popular tunes. (Hoffer, Charles pg. 67) However in the 20th century, composers began to move away from these patters toward what is called atonal music, that which has a pattern not easy to recognize. The century brought with it new freedom and wide experimentation with new musical styles and forms that challenged the accepted rules of early periods. Industrialization led to the inventions of electronic instruments and synthesizer that revolutionized popular music and speeded up the development of new form of music. A good case study is a Latin American music, which has a variety of styles that arrived in America and eventually become influential from the early Spanish and European Baroque to the different beats of the African rhythms.( Gopal, Sarvepalli pg. 102) On the other hand, in visual arts too, the three tendencies could be seen; artists could combine a multiple of perspectives, looking at an object from different points of view and sometimes at different times. It was not easy for an average person to interpret a simple piece of art rather than simply appreciating the art’s use of color, line, composition, as well as the artist’s feelings. They were also influenced by the various movements that fought for the people’s rights and freedom. Africans used various songs to mobilize their members against imperialisms; they also drew diagrams that could only be interpreted by them. But in the 20th century pieces of art have been used to give us, not unfamiliar images, but images that are as familiar as they can possibly be. People have been able to express their feelings in

Video Business Case Report Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Video Business Report - Case Study Example The company should look at improving the liquidity position. It can be done thorough reducing the operating cost. It can improve the valuation of the company by increasing the revenue of the company. acQuire can improve the profitability by reducing the operating cost and overhead. This will improve the production efficient of the company. It can decrease the debt equity ratio by in increasing the profitability. It will increase the cash position ultimately and lead to increase of liquidity position of the firm. The company can increase the current ratio by reducing the operating cost. It will ensure that the production efficiency of the company improves. This will have a direct impact on the profitability also. The board now wants to develop a sustainable strategy so that it can avid the repeat of the global financial crisis in 2008. For this the company should increase the core equity capital and lower its debt ratio. With more debt ratio the company will be in obligation to pay of f their dues else it can go bankrupt. The company tries to lower its prices of the products and reinvest its profits back to the company instead of giving dividends to the shareholders. It will help the company in maintaining liquidity position so that they don’t have to face cash crunch when credit in the market dries up. Introduction acQuire Technology Solutions is an Australian-based company which develops and delivers Geoscientific Information Management System (GIMS) called â€Å"acQuire†. acQuire Technology solutions is facing many issues in its operation. The profitability of the company is decreasing from fiscal year 2012 to 2013. The forecasted profit of the company is also decreasing. The main reason for decrease in profitability is the increase in operating expenses. Hence the company is not being able to maintain its cost down. The current ratio of the company is increasing which shows that the company’s liquidity position is improving. Share price o f the company has decreased from 2012 to 2013. This is because the net profit of the company is decreasing. The share profit of the company is also decreasing. There has been huge decrease in share profit from $ 792,551 to $ 319769. It is also predicted that the share profit of the company is also decreasing. The liquidity position of the firm is improving while the debt ratio of the company is decreasing. The company is using its cash balance to pay off its current liabilities. Foreign exchange gain of the company for the financial year 2013 was $ 26, 151 as compared to $ 93,960 for the financial year 2012. It indicates sufficient drop in profit for the company. Again it has been projected that the company will not earn any foreign exchange gains or losses. Discussion Decision Criteria acQuire Technologies Solution is facing a number of problem. The share of price of the company is decreasing because of loss of profitability. The current asset ratio of the company is increasing fro m 1.12 to 1.26. The company should look at improving the current ratio. Debt ratio of the company has decreased from 1.74 to 1.09. The ideal value of this debt ratio is 0.5. This shows that the company has high debt ratio. The company should look at decreasing the debt ratio. The profitability position of the company is decreasing. The net profit margin of the company has decreased from 11.3 % in FY 2012 to 4.8% in FY 2103. Again it is estimated that the ratio will further decrease by 2.9% in FY

Knowledge From Western And Chinese Philosophy Perspective Philosophy Essay

Knowledge From Western And Chinese Philosophy Perspective Philosophy Essay In this paragraph the authors will discuss different points of views towards the definition of knowledge. In literature we can find differences but also similarities between Western and Chinese philosophy. To work with Knowledge Management Systems it is necessary to understand how to capture, store, share, learn, exploit and explore knowledge. The Western world may already have more experience in this process since knowledge management in China has just recently developed. Ancient philosophers in both worlds already had ideas how to define knowledge and how to transfer it among society and individuals. This paragraph should clarify how those ideas can be made useful for Knowledge Management. 4.2 Knowledge in the Western world First the authors will give a short overview on the Western perspective of knowledge. For this it is necessary to have a look on Western philosophers and their understanding towards knowledge. On some of those philosophers we will be able to reflect their theories on modern Knowledge Management. The goal is to find out how modern Knowledge Management gets involved with some ideas of philosophers or react in an opposite way towards their ideas by not adapting them in Knowledge Management Systems. J. Kaipayil writes in his book The Epistemology of comparative Philosophy (1995, S. 32) about Western philosophy according to the critiques of P.T. Raju. He is an Indian writer on Chinese and Western philosophy. According to Raju, the main subject of Western philosophy is its intellectualism, united with humanism. The cosmological interests of the Ionian philosophers and the humanistic interests of the Sophists are the two starting-points of Western philosophy. These two tendencies met and blended in Aristotle and Plato and for them, humans are rational beings and their essence is reason (the rational soul). The Greeks philosophy established a rational (intellectual) analysis of reality, and in the consequences the Western world became strongly outward-looking. Epistemology, logic and scientific methodology developed. In his Nicomachean Ethics Aristotle presents five virtues of thought that can mapped to levels of knowledge. Epistà ©mà ©: Factual or scientific knowledge Tà ©chnà ©: Skills-based technical and action-oriented knowledge Phrà ³nà ©sis: Experiential self-knowledge or practical wisdom based on experience Noà »s: Intuition Sophà ­a: Theoretical knowledge of universal truths or first principles Butler (2006, pp. 1-9) argues that Aristotles tà ©chnà © and phrà ³nà ©sis need to be the core of knowledge management attempts, and while they are not able to be directly applied to IT applications, they must be among the elements upon which knowledge management is based. Tà ©chnà © deals with subjects that vary rather than the constant relationship found in epistà ©mà ©. The use of tà ©chnà © is one of the most challenging but at the same time one of the most fertile of knowledge-management pursuits. The dynamic nature of knowledge is reflected in tà ©chnà ©. Artificial intelligence and decision-support systems seek to automate tà ©chnà ©. From that point of view, Aristotle has given us a clearly defined and delimited type of knowledge that can be related to information technologies (c.f. D. G. Schwartz, 2005, pp. 1-11). Phrà ³nà ©sis is practical knowledge dealing with action and handling things to an end. According to Aristotle, phrà ³nà ©sis is obtained through experiencing the actions being learned and hands-on training. From a learning-through-action point of view the difference between phrà ³nà ©sis and tà ©chnà © lies in terms of each type of knowledge can be shared. Aristotle says that tà ©chnà © can be taught from practitioner to student, phrà ³nà ©sis on the other hand can only be shared through actual mutual experience. On the perspective of the value of knowledge, Sveibys (1997, pp. 3) focus on the knowledge-action value chain can find significant roots in phrà ³nà ©sis. In terms of knowledge management, phrà ³nà ©sis escorts us on the way of simulation, rich media, e-learning, and other types of the experiental presentation of knowledge or captivation on a virtual environment in which the experience rendering phrà ³nà ©sis can be realized (c.f. D. G. Schwartz, 2005, pp. 1-11). J. Kaipayil (1995, pp. 33) says that the Melesians understood the principles of the universe in terms of something outward no matter how the origin and substance of the world was conceived, be it water, the indefinite, or air. This tendency was continued by the Atomists to find the source of the world in something outward. On the other hand, the Pythagoreans developed the idea that what is given to reason and not to the senses is the truth about the world. The important thing about Pythagoreanism was that it did not regard reason as an abstract concept rather as an existential and ethical entity. Yet, that does not mean that the world-view of Pythagoreanism had a clear idea of inward spirit; the viewpoint was still outward and cosmic. Heraclitus not only mentioned some rational order in nature, he also spoke about the Logos, which is called as the primordial fire and this is responsible for the world order. Still, his interest was in its foundation cosmological and did not perceive t he differences between the inward and the outward, spirit and matter. Von Loh ( 2009, pp. 1-2) writes about Heraclitus who says Everything is in a state of Flux, by reflecting his words on modern knowledge management and on the foundation that the words of Heraclitus are true knowledge organizations systems (KOS) like classification systems, thesauri, nomenclatures are all objects of permanent change and all bibliographical records are in the state of flux as well, which is not widely accepted in information science and practice. In modern technology information can be stored even if it is in a state of flux. According to the problem statement of that paper this proves how important it is to use technology in knowledge management applications. The Sophists shifted the philosophical attention from the cosmos to human and took a new turn in Greek philosophy. The human being was the centre of their philosophy, but Socrates had to fight against subjectivism and skepticism raised by the standpoint of individualism. The criterion of philosophic activity according to Socrates, is objectivity and universality. This not only restored confidence in reason but also clarified the philosophical basis of morality and state. Socrates was insisting on the cultivation of the inner self, he was remarkably rationalistic but also deeply inward-looking. For the stable foundation of morals and politics Plato continued the Socratic search for this subject. Aristotle toned down the inwardness explained by Plato in order to safeguard the reality of outward to introduce the idea of an intelligent first cause (Kaipayil, J., 1995, pp. 34). In his article A Knowledge Management Environment for Research Centers and Universities (2006, p 652 667) Jonice Oliveira writes that for Socrates knowing a subject or concept of consisted of gathering the components of a singular thing, or of a real substance, and joining the similar ones, and separating the unsimilar ones, to form the concept or the definition of the singular thing. In his thinking, in order to join the similar ones it is necessary for somebody to have demonstrations, definitions, axioms and principles for a concept to be proved as true. Which means that the knowledge resulting from scientific activities, is scientific knowledge. Its goal is to demonstrate a solution to a problem by argumentation. Scientific language leads to three main interpretations: knowledge how (know-how), knowledge that (objective knowledge) and knowledge by acquaintance. R. Hagengruber (2008, pp. 6) gives an example on that. Socrates once mentioned that knowledge is not createt because of a concrete situation, in fact the human mind is able to create knowledge in ones own imagination. Literately he claims that You do not need to walk the correct road to Larissa, it is enough if you imagine it in the correct way. To prove his hypothesis Socrates shows how a completely uneducated child can solve a difficult mathematical problem. Even though the child fails at the beginning and gives a wrong answer still due to the way how Socrates asks the child questions and gives him orders, the child is able to get to the answer. So, apparently even on a base of minimum knowledge, through disciplinary processes it is possible to create complex knowledge. This is very useful for information technology which collects and stores data and makes it accessible. Through algorithm this stored data can be merged and can be made useful. This shows how ancient Western philosophers already knew how important it is to get knowledge by experimenting through science. It is necessary to find a logi cal way to solve a problem. This way of capturing knowledge is important to make information technology useful for knowledge management. Later this paper will show how the eastern philosophy thinks about logic and the way/road in itself. In the post-Aristotelian Greek understanding the ethical and political interest was continued, so it lost much of the taste of universality and inwardness and people became isolated from society and moved towards individualism during that time. During the Middle Ages there was a tendency towards the destroying of confidence in human reason and powers through Christianity and mare reason subservient to faith. In fact the medieval philosophy was not able to make much contribution to the growth of Western thought. The following period of the Renaissance gave back the lost confidence in Greek rationalism and humanism. Rene Descartes started to consider the human self to be thought of reason. But he had to face empiricist critique on its mind-body dualism for forgetting the inward in the name of the outward. J. Aarons (2004, pp.6) mentions the method of doubt developed by Rene Descartes. In his Meditations on First Philosophy (1640) he writes that the real challenge lies in skepticism so if there is any sign of doubt about so-called knowledge being true then it cannot be genuine knowledge. But Knowledge Management stays in clear contrast to that, for Knowledge Management there is much more than just personal certainty about the world, it must involve conceptual understanding as well as practical ability. Furthermore justification of knowledge doesnt play the biggest role, it is more concerned with storage, production and processing of knowledge in a group or shared sense. So, here it is to see that the Western philosophy cannot always deliver useful suggestions towards Knowledge Management. In the case of justifying knowledge, it is quite different from its relevant philosophers. Other than Descartes the empiricism laid emphasis on the outward through its doctrine of knowledge as derived exclusively from sense experience. The unfortunate consequence of all these was the unsuccessful attempt to tackle the question of human inwardness as if it was a problem of the outward and the failure to see the mind as the mediating link between inwardness and outwardness. Kant kept a balance between the inward (the transcendental ego) and the outward (the phenomenal world) from the side of human experience. He had to keep God out of theoretical knowledge to keep this balance. Human inwardness was left in the background or sometimes ignored or rejected by the explaining the law of nature in the wake of modern scientific attempts. As a result many thinkers wanted philosophy to follow the methods of science, especially of physics to liberate the outward from the inward. What gave importance to the world was pragmatism, positivism, and analytic philosophy. Here Kaipayil points out, according to Raju, to take its dominant movements and latest accomplishments into consideration, and may say that the general trend of Western philosophy was to liberate the outward from the entanglement of the inward, the subjective, by disregarding or lessening the importance of human inwardness, at least for philosophical reasons. This does not mean that the Western philosophy is exclusively outward-looking and absolutely dissipated in objectivity. The West did realize human inwardness but did not explain it completely and did not give it due importance. The West was more consistently outward-looking in its scientific-objective attitude and it sometimes confused inwardness with faith and preventing inwardness from having its proper role in philosophy. The value what Western philosophers achieved on the other hand lied in its rigorous scientific analysis and conceptual reconstruction of reality. Hence, the West was able to make significant progress in logic and epistemology. This chapter shows that the main influence on Knowledge Management had the ancient philosophers like Plato, Aristotle and Socrates. They point out that it is important to see knowledge as a very complex source and needs to be looked at form different views. Aristotle for instance points out that there are different types of knowledge which can be captured, stored and shared in different ways. Socrates came to a similar conclusion by saying that knowledge creation can be achieved in a way of process. Thinking in a logical way was one of the main legacies ancient philosophers gave to the modern world. Knowledge Management learned from philosophers of the renaissance era, such as Rene Descartes that emphasizing on technology development is necessary to integrate effective Knowledge Management in an organization of the modern information era. To manage knowledge in a right way is a very complex and takes a lot effort and concrete analysis. This also proves the hypothesis mentioned at the beginning of this paper. It needs long and intensive approach to manage knowledge. Besides using mind-based managing of knowledge it is also very important to understand the necessity of technology development whci already was mentioned in the problem statement of this paper. After getting an overview of Western philosophy, in the following pages the authors will show how Chinese philosophy had its impact on Knowledge Management. Knowledge in China After we discussed the Western point of view how to define knowledge, now the authors will give the reader and impression of the Chinese philosophy and the understanding of knowledge and how their ideas might be able to reflect on modern Knowledge Management. The goal is to understand what impact Chinese philosophy has on knowledge management systems and how companies are able to deal with it or what they can do in the future. The next pages will show the development of Chinese philosophy. On certain aspects the authors will get deeper in to detail and reflect some ideas on modern Knowledge Management. W. Riegler (2007, p. 219) mentions that the ancient Chinese philosophy is part of a culture which does not know a kind of Genesis. Hence, it is not necessary to ask a cause to understand an effect. In the understanding of Daoism there is an everlasting cycle of recreation by the effect of changing Yin and Yang by the rules of the 5 phases (wood, fire, earth, metal, water). It is kind of strange for those who are not familiar with this kind of thinking. However it is very natural and also pragmatic for those who are. Riegler also asks why this kind of thinking is so important for us longnoses too? Because we are also part of nature and we act by these rules too. Most important, it is a natural way of how our brain works and we can call this thinking too. The essence is that people can synthesize single parts of information to a whole that is bigger than its parts. After this short introduction the authors will now have a closer look on the complex development of Chinese philosophy. J. Kaipayil (1995, p. 28) writes in his book The Epistemology of comparative Philosophy about Chinese philosophy according to the critiques of P.T. Raju. He is and Indian writer on Chinese philosophy. As for Rajus understanding of Chinese philosophy, humanism is its main feature. It is said that the Chinese tradition is to be primarily humanistic, because human nature, both individual and social, was the basic subject of thought in China. The Chinese extolled life and wanted to live it fully. The question of Chinese wisdom was how to be fully human. But this interest in human person and society was characterized, not by a spiritual inwardness as in India or by an intellectual analysis as in the West, but by a pragmatic immediatism. What means that the Chinese humanism was not a metaphysical humanism interested in explication of human nature but a pragmatic humanism that put emphasis on immediate and concrete human relations. The Chinese thinker was concerned with practical affairs of society and life, and, accordingly, that which has immediate application to the benefit of people and society was considered good and true. All theories were meant for immediate application to people and society for their benefit. One could therefore say an immediatistic and humanistic pragmatism characterized the entire Chinese philosophy. Confucius exemplified Chinese philosophys confirmed purpose of explaining the ideal form of society and state. As a social reformer his goal was it to put order and stability into society and state. The foundation of a good society consist in every one following ren (human-heartedness) and discharging the duties of ones state of life and vocation. The ethics in Confucianism were more or less completely devoid of metaphysics. Heaven meant for Confucius a kind of moral order only. Zhu Z. (2004 p. 67 79) says when China realized that their competitors especially from Japan, U.S.A. and Europe all engaged in knowledge management, the Chinese companies were shocked and decided to welcome knowledge management. They created a connection to wuli-shili-renli (WSR) framework, which has its origins in Confucianism. In WSR: Wuli claims the material-technical aspect of managing knowledge. Shili is to facilitate the constructive-cognitive knowing process and Renli denotes in the governing of social-political relations among knowers. The Chinese style is less focusing on debating on the nature of knowledge, nor in expressing well-ordered processual knowledge creation models. For WSR technological and institutional dimensions of knowledge are equally important. Chinese found out how to reflect Confucianism on their organization structure and how to use it to manage knowledge. They realized that it is important to put more effort into technological development. Later in this paper this technological importance will be researched in detail. The Moists (Mohists) also developed a social ethics, but there goal was it more to gain social discipline. To mention Mencius, we find in him a tendency towards human inwardness, as he saw the basis of all morality in human nature (the mind). Nevertheless, his ethical idealism was not metaphysical. Mencius wanted to build a morality on the goodness of human nature. Xunzi on the other hand maintained that human nature is basically evil and it should be controlled by education and state laws so that a good society is made possible. He was the teacher of the Legalists Han Fei Zi and Li Si. The Legalists came to the conclusion to have harder demands for enforcement of laws with rewards and punishments (J. Kaipayil ,1995, p. 29). Deli Yang (2002, p.7) explains that legalism resulted in the consequences of central planning and anti-elitism in China. The ruler (which can be any authority in a hierarchical position) establishes the law without the participation of any individuals. This affected the performances of different governments and resulted in a high level of bureaucracy. These distinctive features we can still find in many modern Chinese companies. Bureaucracy can easily hinder a fluent knowledge transfer across the organization. Not having influence on making laws and rules is a disadvantage for knowledge creation. Another fact would be that the knowledge flow goes only from the top to the bottom, so potential knowledge from the bottom cannot be reached. Further in this paper the authors will explain more about knowledge sharing and the knowledge flow. The Logicians also were not uninterested in society and state. They emphasized the absoluteness and predominance of the universals over the particulars and thereby demonstrated the harmony of things and the need for universal love. The Daoists advocated individual happiness by a life of purity, simplicity, and spontaneous union with nature. They also were interested more in human things than in material things. The Dao is not any material principle external to human being but the principle internal to humans and inherent in nature (J. Kaipayil ,1995, p. 30). Ai Yu (2008, p.4) argues that many people believe that Laozis philosophy is primarily based on Wu Wei, which is a central thought of his Daodejing and means non-action or not-acting. But Wu Wei is actually more complex and also focuses on wholeness and partiality. Laozi explains the Way (Dao) is wholeness and infinity, while everything else is partiality and finitude. Based on Daodejing as the ideal of all existence the Way is unseen, not transcendent, powerful and also humble which means it is the root of all things. In fact humans should live their life in harmony with the Way for being as true and pure as an infant. Laozis concepts considers to emotions, knowledge, rationalities and sensations and not directing ambiguity, chaos and oppressions to the outside world. People should look into their minds and should try to find explanations. Ai Yu (2008, p.5) also says that today the field of knowledge management has been changed as a model of value creation to a great deal due to the shift of demanded resources. Edvinsson (2002, p.47) argues that value is usually more than just money, knowledge management should give value a second thought because it is a cross-disciplinary area. The modern Chinese business world is changing and in 2005 Hu Jintao came up with his policy of building a harmonious society. China Mobile and domestic Chinese insurance companies had to face extra-economic challenges like income inequality, environmental degradation, rural poverty etc. and for that the Chinese companies reacted with providing support for less-privileged citizens. According to Laozi this means paying more attention to the altered value preference and therefore discovering a new way of doing business. An alternative to both Confucianism and Daoism would be Buddhism but itself was transformed under their influence none the less. Buddhism is a philosophy based on human nature alone, and therefore it was easily assimilated by the Chinese mind with its characteristics pragmatic humanism and immediatism. Cheng-Fong Wu (1989, p. 90) already said that in Buddhism giving Dharma means to deliver wisdom to living beings without pay, wisdom is designed to mentally benefit others. Which means using knowledge to inspire the poor and teaching them the knowledge of a skill can make them stand on their feet by acquiring jobs. Those thoughts of Buddhism are possible reasons that the Chinese way of thinking about intellectual property rights is far different from the Western world. They might see China as the poorer country and count on the richer countries to share their knowledge with them without getting paid in return. Further in this paper the authors will get back to the topic of intellectual property rights in China. Another philosophy called Neoconfucianism also marked a very important development in the history of Chinese thought. With its rich metaphysics Buddhism stimulated the Chinese mind to an intense interest in metaphysical problems about nature and life. Together with the revival of the Daoists way of thinking, demanded on the part of Confucian scholars to provide a more systematic cosmology that would serve as the metaphysical foundation for Confucian ethics and political thought. In Zhou Dunyi the Daoist and the Yin-Yang conceptions combined with Confucianism to make a cosmology to defend Confucian ethics. Everything is created by the Dao, called this time the Great Ultimate (Taiji), from beginning to end of yin and yang forces; and human beings are the highest creation which continues this creative process by spiritual cultivation leading to wisdom. Cheng Hao and Cheng Yi were the brothers who developed the concept of li (principle), which became a major theme in Neoconfucianism. As the source of all the laws of nature and the principle of all diversified things, li is the same as the Dao. The rationalist wing of Neoconfucianism was developed by Zhu Xing who was following Cheng Yi. Lu Xiangshan who was following Mencius and Cheng Hao was founder of the idealist wing. According to Zhu Xi the Great Umtimate, which is the highest li , is found in each individual. This is the all-inclusive and wholly good Dao. Each particular thing is a combination of qi and li, and in humans this li is ren, and this is called spiritual cultivation if followed this inner nature. Lu Xiangshan and Hao on the other hand rejected the very idea of qi and focused that everything is composed to li and li is essentially the mind. Wang Yangming goes further with this idealist doctrine and says that the substance of mind is nature of things and this is li. Li is to understand by looking within, since all things, heaven, earth and humans are one. To exercise this unity is to love people (J. Kaipayil ,1995, p.32). J. Kaipayil writes on the prospect of philosophy in the post-Qing communist China, that Raju commended that the Marxian ideology with its activism and pragmatism agreed well with the naturalistic, humanistic, and pragmatic tendencies of the general Chinese tradition and it would be no wonder if a Confucian variety of communist philosophy should emerge at some future time that will meet the philosophical needs of the Chinese people perhaps more adequately than the communism of Marx, Lenin, and Stalin in its western robes. Raju supposed that the history of Chinese philosophy shows that the Chinese mind on the whole avoided the extremes of inwardness and outwardness. It is neither wholly inward-looking nor wholly outward-looking. It tries to get a balance between the inward and outward characteristics of human existence, and this attidue is best illustrated by the Daoist ideal of sageliness within and kinglingness without. The whole of human life was made the topic of philosophical investigation. The cultivation of inner human nature was insisted upon and not only for its own sake however for the creation and sustainment of a good society. All philosophical questions were used to find answers in a practical life and so China could create some of the best ideas of social and political thoughts and ethics. According to J. Kaipayil the previous words showed the positive side of Chinese philosophy but there also is another side of this philosophy. Kaipayil says that Chinese philosophy fails when ultimate qu estions are brought up. It accepted man and their life as basic facts for philosophy, not because it came to this sort of conclusion in the light of answers to ultimate questions, but because it did not come up with them and avoided these questions when raised, so that the life of human beings does not discover any foundation for its significance. Raju believed that Chinese philosophy lacked a metaphysical foundation and Chinese social thought a certain philosophical depth. The Chinese philosophy, compared to the Western philosophy, lacks logical rigour and is less epistemological and metaphysical. For the cause of not coming up with ultimate questions about human inwardness and outwardness, it is hard to find great systems of metaphysics and epistemology in China as in the West. It does not say that China lacked completely in logic, epistemology, and metaphysics. China had thoughts about that but they were explained only to that extent that was hardly enough to understand some prac tical human affairs, the hard facts of state and society. There were no serious efforts made to unknot the philosophical foundations of human existence. After getting an insight in Chinese philosophy, the authors will now highlight the more import philosophies. Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism and Legalism are mentioned as high influential thinking schools. People learned from their philosophies what is useful or less useful to integrate Knowledge Management in an organization. One result in Confucianism suggests to realize the importance of technology which is also mentioned in the problem statement of this paper. Legalism can be a problem for Knowledge Management because it hinders knowledge flow and knowledge transfer. This is a very common problem in China, because society and organizations are often use legalism as their foundation. If Chinese companies want to achieve success by introducing Knowledge Management Systems into their organization it is necessary not to use Legalism as a companys philosophy. Buddhism also shows how Chinese express their feeling towards intellectual property and how Western companies might find some re asons for being afraid of the loss of their technology knowledge. Further research in this field would be highly recommended. On the other hand this paper shows that Daoism not necessarily means do nothing , it also animates to seek for the creation of value, which some Chinese organizations already adopted. To give a short conclusion about Western and Chinese philosophy, then next chapter will show how to compare those two different cultures and find out that they are not so different in some aspects. Comparison of Western and Chinese Philosophy The comparison of those two philosophies should show how Knowledge Management can react on the influence of philosophy on two different cultures. In modern Knowledge Management both cultures lies their focus on the development of technology to capture, store and share knowledge. The Western philosophy already realized the importance of logic and scientific approach while on the other hand the Chinese philosophy mainly concentrated on inner values which should be good for society. The West has a character of individualism while the East is trying to create a harmonies society by less focusing on individualism. Here Legalism can be seen as one of the biggest problems which results in not using all advantages of Knowledge Management. The problem that Chinese companies are focusing on technology has not necessarily to be seen as a problem. But leaving personal interaction behind can be seen as a major problem. The goal of Knowledge Management in China is to form transparent organizations to create knowledge and to share knowledge among their employees. As the hypothesis says it is important to take intensive care of Knowledge Management and this also cannot be realized in a short term period. Especially in China with their long history of philosophy and its great impact on their society it takes much longer to integrate Knowledge Management Systems in a company than it would take in Western company. Tacit and Explicit Knowledge After the discussion of certain perspectives on knowledge in Western philosophy and Chinese philosophy and their influence on Knowledge management, the authors will now explain the two important aspects of tacit and explicit knowledge. It is necessary to focus on the characteristics of tacit knowledge, since this is more difficult to access. During this work the reader should understand how important it is to get access to tacit knowledge and how to make it useful in a cross-cultural business environment. Faxiang Chen (2006, p.2) says that the term of knowledge refers two different forms: tacit and explicit knowledge. Explicit knowledge can be documented, transmitted, codified, stored, shared and learned indirectly. Tacit knowledge on the other hand originates from personal accumulated experience and learning and can be shared in direct ways vi

Natalia Ginzburgs The Son of Man Essay -- War World Philosophical pap

Natalia Ginzburg's The Son of Man In â€Å"The Son of Man,† Natalia Ginzburg asserts that while the war did irreparable psychological damage to its survivors, it also gave the young generation enough strength to confront the stark reality of the precarious nature of human existence. Passionately but concisely, through the use of repetitive imagery, fatalistic tone and lack of classic organization, Ginzburg shows how the war changed the world around Man and how Man changed his perception of the world. People cannot choose the time to live and die. Ginzburg had to live through the horrors of war: destroyed houses, air raids, arrests, and death. She shows how the war not only deprives people of their belongings, but also distorts the primary meaning of things and concepts. The world â€Å"police† no longer bears the meaning of protection and help but rather that of fear and suspicion. All pretty things that decorate a house, as well as the house itself, come to be viewed simply as raw material that will eventually turn to dust. Children of the war had seen too much terror and suffering in real life; therefore, Ginzburg asserts that this makes it impossible to raise children telling them fairy tales as the previous generations did. The only advantage the Ginzburg’s generation got from the war is the ability to see and speak the truth. As the generation of men they have no illusion they will find some peace or certainty in life, but they have found â€Å"strength† and â€Å"toughness† to â€Å"face whatever reality may confront† them and they are â€Å"glad of their destiny†. Ginzburg speaks on behalf of her generation appealing to everyone who is willing to listen. Her voice is full of passion and conviction. Appealing to a reader, she neither tells a ... ...part is reserved for Ginzburg’s generation: she calls it the â€Å"generation of men† as opposed to the previous generation of â€Å"foxes and wolves.† She uses this image comparison to show that the gap between two generations is insurmountable (lifestyle of men is very different from that of animals) and even though the war deprives her generation of any certainty, safety and rest it forces it â€Å"to seek out new strength.† Thus, her generation gets a higher status, the status of men, and a new world, the world of the unadorned truth. Ginzburg insists that time cannot heal the wounds of war and that her generation, tied to war by its suffering and by its destiny, uncompromisingly carries the truth. She effectively uses all her rhetorical tools: repetitive imagery, fatalistic tone, and purposeful lack of organization, to show how war makes people lose their world forever. Natalia Ginzburg's The Son of Man Essay -- War World Philosophical pap Natalia Ginzburg's The Son of Man In â€Å"The Son of Man,† Natalia Ginzburg asserts that while the war did irreparable psychological damage to its survivors, it also gave the young generation enough strength to confront the stark reality of the precarious nature of human existence. Passionately but concisely, through the use of repetitive imagery, fatalistic tone and lack of classic organization, Ginzburg shows how the war changed the world around Man and how Man changed his perception of the world. People cannot choose the time to live and die. Ginzburg had to live through the horrors of war: destroyed houses, air raids, arrests, and death. She shows how the war not only deprives people of their belongings, but also distorts the primary meaning of things and concepts. The world â€Å"police† no longer bears the meaning of protection and help but rather that of fear and suspicion. All pretty things that decorate a house, as well as the house itself, come to be viewed simply as raw material that will eventually turn to dust. Children of the war had seen too much terror and suffering in real life; therefore, Ginzburg asserts that this makes it impossible to raise children telling them fairy tales as the previous generations did. The only advantage the Ginzburg’s generation got from the war is the ability to see and speak the truth. As the generation of men they have no illusion they will find some peace or certainty in life, but they have found â€Å"strength† and â€Å"toughness† to â€Å"face whatever reality may confront† them and they are â€Å"glad of their destiny†. Ginzburg speaks on behalf of her generation appealing to everyone who is willing to listen. Her voice is full of passion and conviction. Appealing to a reader, she neither tells a ... ...part is reserved for Ginzburg’s generation: she calls it the â€Å"generation of men† as opposed to the previous generation of â€Å"foxes and wolves.† She uses this image comparison to show that the gap between two generations is insurmountable (lifestyle of men is very different from that of animals) and even though the war deprives her generation of any certainty, safety and rest it forces it â€Å"to seek out new strength.† Thus, her generation gets a higher status, the status of men, and a new world, the world of the unadorned truth. Ginzburg insists that time cannot heal the wounds of war and that her generation, tied to war by its suffering and by its destiny, uncompromisingly carries the truth. She effectively uses all her rhetorical tools: repetitive imagery, fatalistic tone, and purposeful lack of organization, to show how war makes people lose their world forever.

Technology Has Changed the Live of Teen Agers

DOI: 10. 1111/j. 1464-5491. 2006. 01868. x Glycaemic control Review Article 23 0742-3071Publishing, alcohol Diabetic Medicine and2006 consumption D. Ismail et al. DME UK Oxford, article Blackwell Publishing Ltd Social consumption of alcohol in adolescents with Type 1 diabetes is associated with increased glucose lability, but not hypoglycaemia D. Ismail, R. Gebert, P. J. Vuillermin, L. Fraser*, C. M. McDonnell, S. M. Donath†  and F. J. Cameron AbstractDepartment of Endocrinology and Diabetes, Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne, *Wimmera Base Hospital*, Horsham and † Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics Unit, Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne, Australia Accepted 10 June 2005 Aims To determine the effects of social consumption of alcohol by diabetic adolescents on glycaemic control. Methods Fourteen (five male) patients aged > 16 years were recruited from the diabetes clinic at the Royal Children’s Hospital. The continuous glucose monitoring syste m (CGMS) was attached at a weekend when alcohol consumption was planned for one night only.For each patient, the 12-h period from 18. 00 h to 06. 00 h for the night with alcohol consumption (study period) was compared with the same period with non-alcohol consumption (control period) either 24 h before or after the alcohol study night. Thus, each subject was his /her own control. Glycaemic outcomes calculated from continuous glucose monitoring included mean blood glucose (MBG), percentage of time spent at low glucose levels (CGMS < 4. 0 mmol/l), normal glucose levels (CGMS 4. 0–10. 0 mmol/ l) and high glucose levels (> 10. mmol/ l) and continuous overall net glycaemic action (CONGA). Results The mean number of standard alcohol drinks consumed during the study period was 9. 0 for males and 6. 3 for females. There was no difference in percentage of time at high and normal glucose levels in the study and control periods. During the control period, there was a higher percentage o f time with low glucose levels compared with the study period (P < 0. 05). There was an increased level of glycaemic variation during the study time when compared with the control period.Conclusions In an uncontrolled, social context, moderately heavy alcohol consumption by adolescents with Type 1 diabetes appears to be associated with increased glycaemic variation, but not with low glucose levels. Diabet. Med. 23, 830–833 (2006) Keywords adolescence, alcohol, glycaemic control Abbreviations CGMS, continuous glucose monitoring system; CONGA, continuous overall net glycaemic action; MBG, mean blood glucose; RCH, Royal Children’s Hospital Introduction Adolescents with Type 1 diabetes frequently engage in risk-taking activities [1].Amongst these activities is the social Correspondence to: Dr Fergus Cameron, Deputy Director, Department of Endocrinology and Diabetes, Royal Children’s Hospital, Flemington Road, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia. E-mail: fergus. [ema il  protected] org. au consumption of alcohol, frequently as underage drinkers [2]. Whilst the effects of alcohol consumption upon glycaemia have been well described in a controlled setting [3– 6], little is known about the impact on glucose levels of alcohol consumption by adolescents within an ambulant, social context.The purpose of this project was to utilize continuous glucose monitoring to study the impact of social alcohol consumption on glycaemic control in a group of alcohol-using adolescents.  © 2006 The Authors. 830 Journal compilation  © 2006 Diabetes UK. Diabetic Medicine, 23, 830–833 Review article 831 Patients and methods This study was approved by the Human Ethics Research Committee of the Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH). That approval was contingent upon the fact that the investigators should not be seen to encourage underage drinking in adolescents.Consequently, we only approached adolescents who we knew were drinking socially and, despite our previous counselling, elected to continue to drink alcohol on a semi-regular basis. We recruited 22 adolescents with Type 1 diabetes from the RCH diabetes clinic. The adolescents were considered eligible only if > 16 years old and parental/patient consent was obtained. HbA 1c (Bayer DCA 2000 immunoagglutination method, Calabria, Barcelona, Spain) was measured, and diabetes duration and insulin doses were recorded. The MiniMed continuous glucose monitoring system (CGMS) was attached to the study patients over a weekend period.Patients were required to have an alcohol-free period for at least 24 continuous hours during the weekend trace period. A diary was kept of activities during the trace period (insulin injections, meal, snacks, dancing, alcohol consumption, sport). There was no change in insulin doses between study and control periods. In the evening when alcohol was consumed, patients were asked to recall how many and what type of drinks were consumed and how inebriated the y became. Patients recall of alcohol consumption was converted to ‘standard drinks’ (one standard drink contains the equivalent of 12. ml 100% alcohol) using The Australian Alcohol Guidelines [7]. CGMS data was recorded between 18. 00 and 06. 00 h on the evening when alcohol was consumed (the study period) and between 18. 00 and 06. 00 h on the evening when no alcohol was consumed (the control period). CGMS data were only analysed if there had been regular calibrations with intermittent capillary blood glucose readings at a maximum of 8-h intervals. Each CGMS trace was qualitatively and quantitatively analysed using mean glucose values, per cent time in glycaemic ranges and ontinuous overlapping net glycaemic action (CONGA) [8]. CONGA values were calculated to assess glycaemic variation over 1-, 2- and 4-h intervals. Low glucose values were defined as CGMS values < 4 mmol/ l, normal glucose values when CGMS values were 4– 10 mmo/ l and high glucose values when CG MS values were > 10 mmol/ l. Each patient acted as their own control with study periods and control periods being compared. Inter-individual values were grouped for comparison. Differences between study and control periods were analysed using paired t-tests. Analyses were done in Stata [9]. ales and nine females. The mean age was 18. 5 years (range: 17. 4 – 19. 5). The mean duration of diabetes was 9. 4 years (range: 3 – 16. 3). Six of our subjects took four insulin injections per day and eight took two injections daily. The mean insulin dose was 1. 1 units /kg/day (range: 0. 7 –1. 8), and the mean HbA1c was 9. 6% (range: 8. 2 – 10. 8). Activities during the study period Thirteen subjects had dinner before drinking and only one subject did not consume any food before going out. Three subjects ‘danced a lot’ and six subjects went dancing but did not dance a lot.Ten subjects had something to eat after drinking. Alcohol consumption during the st udy period The mean number of alcohol drinks consumed on the study night was 9. 0 (range 3–16) for males and 6. 3 (range 3–14) for females. All the females consumed pre-mixed sweetened alcohol drinks (5% alcohol), with only one consuming beer and one consuming wine. Four of the males consumed mixed spirits, one mixed spirits and beer and one beer only. Forty per cent of the males had more than seven standard drinks during the study and 67% of the females had more than five drinks.In total, 80% of the subjects had pre-mixed sweetened alcohol drinks at some point during the study period. Forty-three per cent of the subjects reported that they became inebriated and 14. 3% consumed alcohol to the point where they became physically sick. None of the subjects lost consciousness or took recreational drugs during the study period. Comparative CGMS data between study and control periods Results Patients There was no significant difference between the overall mean glucose levels of patients when comparing study and control periods (Table 1; P = 0. 43).Similarly, there were no significant differences in the amount of time spent with either normal or high glucose values between study and control periods (Table 1). A larger proportion of time was spent with low glucose values during the control period when compared with the study period (1. 9 vs. 16. 8%, P = 0. 03). A significantly larger degree of glycaemic variation was seen in the CONGA values in the study period when compared with the control period (Table 1). The difference in CONGA values were consistent and independent of whether glycaemic variation was assessed over 1-, 2- or 4-h intervals.Of the 22 subjects recruited, eight were excluded because their CGMS traces did not have sufficiently frequent calibration points with intermittent capillary measures of blood glucose. Of the 14 subjects remaining, we were able to obtain study period data on 14 patients and matched control period data on only 12 pat ients. The study period occurred on the night prior to the control period in nine subjects. There were five Discussion It has long been recognized that a prohibitionist approach is usually ineffective when counselling adolescents who engage in risk-taking behaviours [10].Many centres today, ourselves included, have instead adopted a harm minimization approach in dealing with such behaviours. An important component  © 2006 The Authors. Journal compilation  © 2006 Diabetes UK. Diabetic Medicine, 23, 830–833 832 Glycaemic control and alcohol consumption †¢ D. Ismail et al. Outcome measure Mean difference between Study period Control period study period and mean value mean value control period (95%CI) P-value 10. 6 16. 8 58. 6 24. 6 2. 1 3. 2 3. 7 1. 2 (? 2. 1, 4. 4) ? 14. 9 (? 28. 1, ? 1. 8) ? 0. 8 (? 27. 3, 25. 8) 15. 7 (? 4. 5, 35. 8) 0. 6 (0. 2, 1. 0) 1. 1 (0. , 1. 9) 1. 8 (0. 4, 3. 1) 0. 43 0. 03 0. 95 0. 12 0. 006 0. 01 0. 01 Table 1 CGMS outcomes, study and contro l periods Blood glucose levels (mmol/l) 11. 8 Per cent time low glucose 1. 9 Per cent time high glucose 57. 8 Per cent time normal glucose 40. 3 CONGA1* 2. 7 CONGA2* 4. 3 CONGA4* 5. 5 *CONGA calculated at 1-, 2- and 4-h intervals. CONGAn is the standard deviation of different glucose measures n hours apart for the duration of the CGMS trace. of counselling using a harm minimization approach is that the information provided be credible and reflective of ‘real’ or ‘lived’ circumstances.Continuous glucose monitoring provides a technique whereby the glycaemic consequences of various behaviours can be documented in an ambulant or non-artificial setting. Adolescents with Type 1 diabetes frequently consume alcohol in a social context [11]. Alcohol is known to inhibit the gluconeogenic pathway, to inhibit lipolysis, impair glucose counter-regulation and blunt hypoglycaemia awareness [3,4]. Previous studies in young adults with Type 1 diabetes have shown that modera te consumption of alcohol in the evenings without concomitant food intake may cause hypoglycaemia the following morning [5].Consumption of alcohol after a meal, however, has shown no similar adverse effects on glucose [6]. It is reasonable to assume, therefore, that alcohol consumption may be a significant risk factor for hypoglycaemia in adolescents with Type 1 diabetes [5]. Studies of the glycaemic effects of alcohol consumption in an ambulant adolescent/young adult population can be difficult. This is because such behaviours are uncontrolled, often spontaneous and usually in the context of other social activities (parties, dancing, etc. ).In order to ensure that we only reported accurate CGMS data during these activities, capillary blood glucose calibration was considered vital and those patients who failed in this regard were excluded from analysis. Just over 60% of the patients recruited were able to successfully wear and calibrate a CGMS unit during these activities. Given tha t patients who experience hypoglycaemic symptoms are more likely to perform capillary self measures of blood glucose, we feel that it is unlikely that those patients excluded from the analysis had a greater frequency of hypoglycaemia than those patients reported.We were unable to record our subjects’ alcohol consumption in a contemporaneous fashion and hence were reliant upon their recall. It is possible that their remembered patterns of consumption were not entirely accurate. This potential inaccuracy should not be seen as a weakness of this study, as we only set out to determine patterns of glycaemia in adolescents engaging in spontaneous and uncontrolled alcohol consumption. We neither specified the type nor the amount of alcohol to be consumed (our ethical approval was contingent on this not occurring).The data as to amount of alcohol consumed have been included for descriptive purposes only. The results of this study show that alcohol consumption by adolescents in a soci al context is associated with a greater degree of glycaemic variation and less time spent with low glucose values than evenings where no alcohol is consumed. Whilst the second of these findings appears counter-intuitive, there may be several possible explanations. Firstly, the vast majority of our study group ate a meal prior to going out and ate upon their return before going to bed.These are practices that we have instilled as harm minimization strategies to avoid alcohol-induced hypoglycaemia in our clinic. Secondly, most of the alcohol consumed was as pre-mixed spirit and sweetened, carbonated beverages. Finally, alcohol consumption was only associated with vigorous exercise (dancing) in a minority of our study group. All of these factors could have combined to negate the hypoglycaemic effects of alcohol. In a previous study of glycaemia during alcohol consumption in adult men [5], hypoglycaemia occurred most often 10–12 h after wine consumption when the evening before en ded at 23. 0 h. We analysed our data to see if a similar phenomenon occurred in this study and found that the per cent of time spent with CGMS readings < 4 mmol/l between 06. 00 and 12. 00 h on the morning after the study period (i. e. the morning after the drinking night) was only 1. 1%. Notwithstanding the fact that our cohort frequently consumed alcohol later than 23. 00 h, the factors that impacted upon glycaemic control during the study night appear to have carried over to the ‘morning after’. The findings in this study highlight the importance of ambulant testing.It is important to note that the findings of the group studied here may not be seen in adolescents who drink non-sweetened alcoholic drinks or in those adolescents with better underlying metabolic control. Whilst alcohol consumption in isolation may reasonably be thought to cause hypoglycaemia, alcohol consumption by adolescents in the context of meals, sweetened mixers and little activity did not result in more hypoglycaemia than an alcohol-free evening. Whether the increase in glycaemic variation seen on an evening  © 2006 The Authors. Journal compilation  © 2006 Diabetes UK.Diabetic Medicine, 23, 830–833 Review article 833 of alcohol consumption has negative clinical outcomes remains an area for further investigation. Competing interests CMM was a Novo Nordisk research fellow. FJC received fees for speaking at conferences and funds for research from Novo Nordisk. References 1 Cameron F, Werther G. Adolescents with diabetes mellitus. In: Menon, RK, Sperling, MA, eds. Pediatric Diabetes. Boston: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2003: 319–335. 2 Frey MA, Guthrie B, Lovelandcherry C, Park PS, Foster CM. Risky behaviours and risk in adolescents with IDDM.J Adol Health 1997; 20: 38–45. 3 Avogaro A, Beltramello P, Gnudi L, Maran A, Valerio A, Miola M et al. Alcohol intake impairs glucose counterregulation during acute insulin-induced hypoglycaemia in IDDM patients. D iabetes 1993; 42: 1626–1634. 4 Kerr D, Macdonald IA, Heller SR, Tattersal RB. Alcohol causes hypoglycaemic unawareness in healthy volunteers and patients with type 1 diabetes. Diabetologia 1990; 33: 216–221. 5 Turner BC, Jenkins E, Kerr D, Sherwin RS, Cavan DA. The effect of evening alcohol consumption on next morning glucose control in type 1 diabetes.Diabetes Care 2001; 24: 1888–1893. 6 Koivisto VA, Tulokas S, Toivonen M, Haapa E, Pelkonen R. Alcohol with a meal has no adverse effects on postprandial glucose homeostasis in diabetic patients. Diabetes Care 1993; 16: 1612–1614. 7 National Health and Medical Research Council. Australian Alcohol Guidelines: Health Risks and Benefits. DS9. Available from: http://www7. health. gov. au/nhmrc/publications/synopses/ds9syn. htm. 8 McDonnell CM, Donath SM, Vidmar SI, Werther GA, Cameron FJ. A novel approach to continuous glucose analysis utilising glycaemic variation.Diab Tech Therap 2005; 7: 253–263. 9 Sta taCorp. Stata statistical software. Release 8. 0. College Station, TX: Stata Corporation, 2003. 10 Kyngas H, Hentinen M, Barlow JH. Adolescents perceptions of physicians, nurses, parents and friends: help or hindrance in compliance with diabetes self-care? J Adv Nurs 1998; 27: 760–769. 11 Patterson JM, Garwick AW. Coping with chronic illness. In: Werther, GA, Court, JM, eds. Diabetes and the Adolescent. Melbourne: Miranova Publishers 1998, 3–34.  © 2006 The Authors. Journal compilation  © 2006 Diabetes UK. Diabetic Medicine, 23, 830–833