Analysing equality and diversity in social care

Analysing equality and diversity in social care Equality is about creating a fairer society, where everyone can participate and has the opportunity to fulfil their potential (DH, 2004). It is about identifying patterns of experience based on group identity, and the challenging processes that limit individuals potential health and life chances. For example, occupational segregation. Women make up almost 75% of the NHS workforce but are concentrated in the lower-paid occupational areas: nursing, allied health professionals (AHPs), administrative workers and ancillary workers (DH, 2005). People from black and minority ethnic groups comprise 39.1% of hospital medical staff yet they comprise only 22.1% of all hospital medical consultants (DH, 2005). An equalities approach understands that our social identity in terms of gender, race, disability, age, social class, sexuality and religion will impact on our life experiences. Diversity literally means difference. When it is used as a contrast or addition to equality, it is about recognising individual as well as group differences, treating people as individuals, and placing positive value on diversity in the community and in the workforce. Historically, employers and services have ignored certain differences. However, individual and group diversity needs to be considered in order to ensure that everybodys needs and requirements are understood and responded to within employment practice and service design and delivery. One way in which organisations have responded to the issue of diversity in recent years has been the development of flexibility in working practices and services. For example, an employer may allow an employee to work a flexible working pattern to accommodate child care arrangements, or a GP surgery may offer surgeries at the weekends in accommodate those who work full time during the week. These approaches recognise that in order to be inclusive and equal to all, organisations may need to respond differently to individuals/groups. Therefore, a commitment to equality in addition to recognition of diversity means that different can be equal. Learning outcomes Understand concepts of equality, diversity rights in relation to Health and Social Care. Equality and diversity is becoming more important in all aspects of our lives and work for a number of reasons. We live in an increasingly diverse society and need to be able to respond appropriately and sensitively to this diversity. Learners in the healthcare setting will reflect this diversity around gender, race and ethnicity, disability, religion, sexuality, class and age. Your organisation believes that successful implementation of equality and diversity in all aspects of work ensures that colleagues, staff and students are valued, motivated and treated fairly. Every member of society is likely, at some point, to be a recipient of health and social care. The Department of Health can only achieve its aim of better health, care and well-being for all, by building an explicit commitment to equality, diversity and human rights throughout the health and social care system. All public organisations including the Department of Health and public providers and commissioners of health and social care services have a duty to promote equality. Successfully delivering these duties is a core part of the health and social care systems objective to offer services that deliver high quality care for all. To do this, the diversity of the population has to be recognised, in policy development through to service delivery and patient care, acknowledging the diverse experiences, aspirations and needs of staff, patients and service. The Department of Health and local health and social care organisations continue to take proactive steps to address unequal access and outcomes experienced by some sections of the community. DH is working to ensure the principles and practicalities of fairness, equality, diversity and human rights are a central to the work of the Department. In 2007 the UK established a new single equalities body, to bring together the existing equality Commissions dealing with gender, disability, and race and ethnicity into a Commission for Equality and Human Rights. The promotion and enforcement of equality and diversity is one of the three duties of the new body. This paper briefly explores diversity in relation to the theory of gender equality and also examines developments in policy at the EU level, which has provided much of the impetus for change. Our focus is on the policy approach and the tensions that the policy documents reveal about the emphasis on equality and diversity approach, in particular the extent to which attention to gender issues may get lost in the diversity bundle, and the extent to which a focus on the individual may be strengthened over the group. This page lists some of the guidance materials produced by the former equality commissions and guidance produced by external organisations, who have given us permissi on to reproduce their materials on our site. Understanding how discrimination can impact on individuals lives is essential to prevent potential discrimination within in teaching and learning situations and ensure that you are confident in dealing with discrimination issues if and when they arise. While we can face discrimination because of any of these aspects, it is important that we also identify the links between social identities and individuality and/or a state and situation. Bad treatment can be multi-layered and occur because of: Since 1998 the UK has also included human rights within its legal framework. The Human Rights Act applies to all public authorities and bodies performing a public function. The Human Rights Acts places the following responsibility on your organisation. Organisations must promote and protect individuals human rights. This means treating people fairly, with dignity and respect while safeguarding the rights of the wider community. Organisations should apply core human rights values, such as equality, dignity, privacy, respect and involvement, to all organisational service planning and decision making. The Human Rights Act provides a complementary legal framework to the anti-discriminatory framework and the public duties. The legal context As a clinical teacher you will want to ensure that you understand the legal framework regarding equality, and that you can relate this framework to your everyday role. The UK framework has two elements to it: the anti- discriminatory framework (which gives individuals a route to raise complaints of discrimination around employment and service delivery) and the public duties (which place a proactive duty on organisations to address institutional discrimination). The SEN and Disability Act 2001 extended the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 to education with effect from September 2002. This act requires teachers to explore the provision of reasonable adjustments for students who may have disabilities, including learning disabilities, to enable them to participate effectively. Beliefs are the assumptions we make about ourselves, about others in the world and about how we expect things to be. Beliefs are about how we think things really are, what we think is really true and what therefore expect as likely consequences that will follow from our behavior. Since the last comprehensive review in 1974, the Health Belief Model (HBM) has continued to be the focus of considerable theoretical and research attention. This article presents a critical review of 29 HBM-related investigations published during the period 1974-1984, tabulates the findings from 17 studies conducted prior to 1974, and provides a summary of the total 46 HBM studies (18 prospective, 28 retrospective). Twenty-four studies examined preventive-health be haviors (PHB), 19 explored sick-role behaviors (SRB), and three addressed clinic utilization. A significance ratio was constructed which divides the number of positive, statistically- significant findings for an HBM dimension by the total number of studies reporting significance levels for that dimension. Summary results provide substantial empirical support for the HBM, with findings from prospective studies at least as favorable as those obtained from retrospective research. Perceived barriers proved to be the most powerful of the HBM dimensions across the various study designs and behaviors. While both were important overall, perceived sus ceptibility was a stronger contributor to understanding PHB than SRB, while the reverse was true for perceived benefits. Perceived severity produced the lowest overall significance ratios; however, while only weakly associated with PHB, this dimension was strongly related to SRB. On the basis of the evidence compiled, it is recommended that consideration of HBM dimensions be a part of health education programming. Suggestions are offered for further research. It is important for care workers to promote equality, value diversity and respect the rights of service users. There are various ways of how they can challenge discriminatory issues and practices in health and social care. One of the ways in which care worker can promote equality, value diversity and respect the rights of service users is to always put the patient/service user at the heart of the service provision. This means that the patients individual needs will be met and achieved Human rights are the basic rights and freedoms that belong to every person in the world. Ideas about human rights have evolved over many centuries. But they achieved strong international support following the Holocaust and World War II. To protect future generations from a repeat of these horrors, the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. For the first time, the Universal Declaration set out the fundamental rights and freedoms shared by all human beings. These rights and freedoms based on core principles like dignity, equality and respect inspired a range of international and regional human rights treaties. For example, they formed the basis for the European Convention on Human Rights in 1950. The European Convention protects the human rights of people in countries that belong to the Council of Europe. This includes the United Kingdom. Until recently, people in the United Kingdom had to complain to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg if they felt their rights under the European Convention had been breached. for example; a personal eating plan to a specific individual. Putting the service user at the centre of the provision generally makes a happier and healthier patient in all areas. Care workers can help achieve this by: * Understanding what it is like to use those services * Involving those who use the services Another example can be quoted as, Rights of one patient will clash with the rights of another A patient has the right to watch TV or listen to the radio, while the patient in the next bed has the right the right to an undisturbed sleep the rights of these two patients clash. By providing earphones could help resolve this. If patients share a room one wants the door propped open and the other one doesnt although this is a clash of rights the rights of the patient who wanted the door closed would outweigh the other as propping open doors is a fire risk Care settings must provide services in such a way that all service users get equal benefit for them. For example a person who does not have English as their first language may require a translator in order to understand the services available and to express a choice about them. One of the most beneficial ways in which a social care setting can challenge anti discriminatory is through staff development and training this may be done formally through supervision sessions or more informally in the course of day to day working. The manager should supervise the work of their staff, offer advice and guidance in difficult situations and help the workers identify training opportunities to improve their practise.  

Creon in In Sophocles Tragedies Oedipus the King and Antigone :: essays research papers

In Sophocles’ tragedies Oedipus the King and Antigone Creon’s character experiences great change throughout his life. Creon goes from being a respectable, honorable man with good judgment, to a disrespectable, dishonorable, king. The first impression of the younger Creon is he very religious. He is also obedient to his friend & king Oedipus. Also when Creon is younger he takes advice from people. Creon in Antigone will not listen to anyone’s advice or leadership. He becomes so conceited he makes a law against the gods. Perhaps Creon becoming king was the reason he turned out to be such a tyrant. Theses major flaw in his character is the cause of his tragedy. Oedipus sent Creon to consult the gods of what to do to abolish the plague that was destroying Thebes. Oedipus’ actions illustrate that Creon is a man of immense honor and respect. Oedipus assures to a Priest that everything is going to be fine because he has sent Creon to seek wisdom from Apollo, he says, â€Å"I acted at once. I sent Creon, my wife’s brother, to Delphi Apollo the Prophet’s oracle to learn what I might do or say to save out city† (1369). However, later in life Creon went against the gods. His law fobbing the burial of Polynices shows disrespect and dishonor to the gods. Creon declared, â€Å"But as for his blood brother, Polynices, who returned from exile, home to his father city and the gods of his race, consumed with one desire to burn them roof to roots who thirsted to drink his kinsmen’s blood and sell the rest to slavery: that man a proclamation has forbidden the city to dignify him with burial, mourn him at all. No, he must be left unburied, his corpse carrion for the birds and dogs to teat, an obscenity for the citizens to behold!† (1443) In Oedipus the King Creon demonstrates his compassion and forgiveness, by helping Oedipus even after Oedipus called him a traitor and conspirator. When Creon is called back to the palace Creon says to Oedipus, â€Å"I haven’t come to mock you, Oedipus, or to criticize your former failings† (1428). His sympathy for Oedipus depicts that Creon is not heartless, at this point in his life. Indeed, this changed in the tragedy of Antigone, he did not use any empathy with Antigone, his own niece. Creon developed into a fulsome king, he had no difficulty in convicting Antigone to death.

Chinese and Greek Mythology Essay

Long ago, people wanted to acquire a better understanding of the beginning of the universe which ultimately resulted in the establishment of religions, beliefs and most pertinent, creation myths. Mythology provides explanations for the worlds mysteries especially in regards to the creation of Earth, Humans and the environment. This comparative paragraph analyzes the similarities and differences between a Greek myth entitled, The Beginning of Things, and a Chinese myth named, Heaven and Earth and Man, contrasted in the aspects of conflict, solutions, heroic action, and the education of the first humans. Conflicts arise for different concerns but after the battles cease, peace is restored because of supernatural intervention, the world advances and progresses to prevent future misfortune. Firstly, if peace is kept in the heavens of Greece then there will be less despair on Earth. The battle of authority results in a punishment system being enforced to confine cruel people and prevent rebellions. In ancient Greece there was a constant power struggle for the gods because of the underlying fear that their children would replace them in the chain of command. The text supports the argument of development and enhancement after unreasonable decisions are made by the deities; If any of them breaks the oath, for one year he lies breathless, and cannot partake of sweet nectar and ambrosia; after that year he is cut off from the meeting of the gods for nine years more, and then only may he come back and join their company. (Rouse, 3) During the destruction of the battles, evil is unleashed and causes chaos in the land. The justice system, which is created in response to Cronuses’ rebellion, is essential for any society to continue successfully. There is heroic involvement in both myths, with Zeus in particular in Ancient Greece. Zeus defeated his father and saved his brothers and sisters after being swallowed and trapped in his stomach. Cronuses’ awful deed deserves punishment which results in Zeus creating the Underworld and a standard of the amount of time spent punished. In fact, the Chinese story also includes a quarrel, different in rationale but improvement after the disagreement is a prevalent theme in both. Subsequently, in respect to the Chinese myth, after the war between fire and water, the pillar was destroyed; Nu-Kua repaired the gaps in the sky by supporting the sky with additional blocks. The literature provides evidence to confirm this line of reasoning; Block by block, she patched the holes in the sky. Lastly, she killed a giant turtle, and cut off its powerful legs to make pillars between which the sky is firmly held over the Earth, never again to fall. (Birch, 7) After chaos returns for the second time, when the elements fight against each other, involvement from spirits resolves the crisis and mitigates harm from humans. The irrational and aggressive clash between fire and water causes destruction but also provides reasoning for the position of the oceans and world geography. Apart from the similarities, there are many discrepancies circulating around the topic of conflict. In the Greek myth, conflicts originate from the desire to establish power and authority by rebelling. First, Cronus rebelled against his father Uranus and Zeus against Cronus followed. The competition is caused because children inherit their parents’ position and both gods prevent this from happening by swallowing or imprisoning them. On the contrary, the Chinese dispute is against the elements fire and water. In Chinese mythology, fire is masculine and symbolizes strength, aggression, impulsiveness. Water is considered feminine and symbolizes fluidity, downward energy but has the potential to be noisy. The conflict is probably caused because the elements are opposites and naturally enemies. This clash of the elements is a result of senseless hostility and not a fight for control. The difference in culture is what causes the significant differences in myths. Evidently, in Greek mythology acquiring status and supremacy is valued whereas there isn’t a sense of hierarchy but instead teamwork in China. According to the Asian myth, the spirits all work together towards a common goal which is to enhance and protect the Earth. Another obvious commonality in relation to either conflict is the presence of a supreme being which triggers and assists the chain of events which form the World. The Greek mythology had many different supreme beings which were responsible for various forces on Earth. The Chinese version, only included two main beings, one which was the result of the environment and the other was the creator of the human race. Comparative mythology also requires examining the distinction between the ideas of how both cultures though the Earth was created. An indication of how diverse the culture and beliefs of people is demonstrated in the topic of the formation of Human beings and the surrounding eco-system. The creation of humans, wildlife and geographic landscapes varies with the idea of the Greek Gods sculpting most organisms themselves whereas the Chinese believe Pan’Ku’s body transforms into the environment. The aspect of creation and the environment is portrayed very differently in both legends. The number of dissimilarities outweighs the number corresponding ideas surrounding the mystery of the beginning of the Universe and our existence. In ancient Greece, after a period of chaos and disagreement between the deities a clever titian named Prometheus establishes the first human and provides luminosity and warmth in a world, swallowed by darkness after the sun sets. Prometheus sculpts animals and accidentally, the first human out of clay and began to teach them how to survive including hunting and making fire; Prometheus was very much pleased with his new pet. He used to watch men hunting for food and living in caves and holes, like ants or badgers. He determined to educate men as well as he could. (Rouse, 2) After rebelling by taking responsibility for the Earth underneath the heavens, Prometheus entertains himself by making models out of clay. Accidently, he creates humans and spent most of his time teaching humans how to continue to exist. Prometheus sculpts humans by accident whereas Nu’Kua from the Chinese myth wants to produce beings that will aid to cure her solitary state. To contrast, in the Chinese myth, the weather conditions, mountains, rivers and vegetation are all created by Pan’Ku’s body. Additionally, after humans are created by Nu’Kua, they are taught many vital skills in addition to simply the ability to survive; â€Å"Who in his life [Pan’Ku] had brought shape to the universe, by his death gave his body to make it rich and beautiful†¦ to the Earth he gave his body† (Birch, 6). In the Chinese story, the environment is not created by a specific spirit but instead transforms from a god into the surrounding nature and landscape. A further comparison against the Greek tale is the little explanation about how the land and plants are created except for the separation of sky and ground which reveals an already existing ecosystem. Moreover, the humans in the Chinese myth are taught how to communicate, reproduce and to live in peace. The humans in ancient Greece are never taught skills beyond survival. Finally, there is an evident variation for the reasons to assemble humans. Nu’Kua intends to create a creature that will provide her relief from isolation meanwhile Prometheus is only amusing himself and the first human emerges entirely unintentionally. Nevertheless, both fairy-tales have a couple of resembling principles. To begin with, humans are formed and educated by the deities. The first humans were taught to hunt, gather food, and construct shelter to avoid perishing as a species. The principal objective is to aid humans to continue to populate and the justification in both fables was that supernatural intervention maintained the evolution of such a powerful species. Magical clay was used in both myths as the main material in the production of creatures and human beings. The motive for why these two parables are so similar is to emphasize how there is an external influence which assisted the formation of humans because it is difficult to believe that simple resources could have conceived such complex living, breathing creatures. Additionally, as a society in the present day, education is a requirement and essential for the genetic continuity of the human race, peace and maintenance of the Earth’s resources. By the means of education can one’s potential be used to maximum extent. It is natural for the authors of these short fictitious stories to assume the hero’s and goddesses teach humans because then there will be no foundation to carry on the sharing of lessons and information. In conclusion, it is in the nature of humans to wonder about the unknown and search for answers. At the foundation of nearly every culture is a creation myth which explains how the wonderful mysteries of the Earth came to be. Despite geographical barriers, many cultures have developed creation myths with the same basic elements and structure. However, there are many cultural and societal influences which cause variations in the beliefs and alter the overall creation myth from region to region. Apart from the fundamental similarities, the Greek and Chinese ideologies deviated in certain aspects of the myth because their values and morals as separate countries have impacted, adapted and evolved differently in response to world events.

Money Laundering †Effects on the United States

Money Laundering – Effects on the United States Free Online Research Papers Many people who are either born in or migrate to the United States have hopes to achieve the â€Å"American Dream.† That dream is, through hard work and determination, one can have a prosperous life. However, there are some people who want to achieve the American Dream sans the hard work. These people violate the laws and regulations established by the government, be it federal, state or local. One scheme used is money laundering which has a massive effect on the United States. Not only does money laundering support the continuance of criminal activities including terrorism, it dilutes the financial stability of the United States by reducing tax revenues, restricting fair competition with legitimate businesses and, disrupting economic development. The United States Government has implemented many laws to combat and counter the effects of money laundering. Introduction Money laundering is â€Å"the practice of engaging in specific financial transactions in order to conceal the identity source and/or destination of money.† (Wikipedia Encyclopedia) In a normal money laundering scheme, there are three steps that occur: (1) placing of illegal money into a legitimate financial market, (2) moving the money between different financial institutions and (3) finally, integrating the money back into the economy. The World Book Encyclopedia states â€Å"money laundering involves eliminating evidence and making it difficult for authorities to trace the money back to the illegal source.† (p.718) â€Å"The term ‘money laundering’ was first coined in the 1930s by the US Treasury agents who were trying to lock Al Capone.† (Mathers, p 21) Capone used the laundromats he owned to conceal money he had made from his illegal liquor operation. He made it seem as though the revenue from the liquor came from his operation of the laundro mats. Since then the term has become widely used officially and unofficially alike. Money laundering is no longer a practice limited to your everyday criminal but it includes your normal citizen who just doesn’t want to pay their taxes or who doesn’t want his or her spouse to know how much asset is being held during the time of divorce. As time goes by, there is becoming increasingly more reasons as to why someone wants to launder money. Common reasons why people launder money is that they want to avoid prosecution, increase profits, avoid seizure of accumulated wealth, appear legitimate and evade tax. Just like the reasons are endless so are the methods of money laundering which are very simple in nature. A money launderer can choose to launder through currency exchanges, asset purchases with bulk cash, telegraphic transfer of funds, credit cards, gambling in casinos , and commingling of funds. However, the common choice of money launderers is to structure transactions through different financial institutions. Although, no one knows the exact amount of money involved in the money laundering schemes, it is believed to be in the high billions, and maybe trillions, of dollars each year. Some of the common money laundering schemes include drug trafficking, organized crime, corruption, illicit dealing in weapons, human trafficking, fraud and theft. The United States Government has made it a criminal offense to launder money. The Financial Recordkeeping and Reporting of Currency and Foreign Transactions Act of 1970, also known as the Bank Secrecy Act of 1970 , was one of the first laws implemented as a tool the United States government used to fight money laundering. In order to convict a person of money laundering, the prosecutor must prove that the individual knowingly engaged in financial transactions or international transportation that involved the concealment of proceeds of an illegal activity.Effects Criminal Activities Historically, the most strenuous effect money laundering has on the United States is that it often supports criminal activities, such as organized crime and drug trafficking. This is because the money laundered is often used to continue the operation of the crime. Often, these crimes are associated with the killing of others to maintain control of the underworld market. In todays world, organized crime groups generate enormous amounts of money. This money is often referred to as â€Å"dirty money.† This dirty money will often bring suspicion to the organized crime group and leave a trail of evidence which can lead to conviction and jail time. Therefore, the criminals conceal the origin of the profits from the authorities so that they can benefit from the illegal activity. One of the ways these criminals are concealing the illegal money is by moving the money quickly across the country’s borders. â€Å"The rapid expansion and ease of access to foreign markets has catapulted American organized crime onto the front of the international money laundering stage.†(Sheetz, p. 106) Today’s technology, like Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) and on-line banking, allows criminals to move the money through the different institutions around the world in a matter of seconds. The more international transactions made with this dirty money , the more difficult it is to identify its origin. One of the largest operations in which money laundering plays an integral part is drug trafficking. From 1992 to 1998 Raymond Kelly reports â€Å"US Customs has seized more than 756 million dollars of laundered money. It has made approximately 2100 arrests and seized more than 40,000 kilograms of cocaine.† (p. 39) The high ranking drug dealers exchange the drugs for money in which they use the proceeds to buy more drugs. With any other business, this would be acceptable. However, the effects of the drugs leave the United States in a predicament in which there is an increasing rate of mental and physical illness, incurable diseases, robberies, shooting and killing. Most recently, terrorist attacks have been a high priority for the United States due to the events of September 11, 2001 when so many Americans lost their lives. Although terrorists obtain their money through legal sources like charitable donations, they also obtain some financing through illegal sources such as people-smuggling, drug trafficking, kidnaping and extortion. â€Å"By using convoluted transactions in the layering stage, terrorist financing conceals the source of the funds, which ensures that such sources remain fertile.† (Waszak, p.673) With the money they obtain, terrorists can continue to threaten the United States and the livelihood of the American citizens. Reduces tax revenues Another way money laundering effects the United States is through tax evasions. In the eyes of the United States Government and the Internal Revenue Service, income from any source, be it legal or illegal, is taxable income. Money laundering is one of the mechanisms in which individuals use to circumvent paying taxes on income. It is ideal for criminals who want to hide the proceeds and evidence of an illegal operation or for individuals who want to keep one hundred percent of their income to themselves. In some instances, the individuals will launder the money through offshore accounts to foreign countries. These countries operate as an Offshore Financial Center, also known as Tax Havens. The Tax Havens allow individuals a way out of paying their share of taxes by shielding the money under their guardianship. The 2001 U.S. Senate subcommittee report titled Correspondent Banking: A Gateway for Money Laundering, stated One U.S. correspondent banker told the Minority Staff that he is learning that a large percentage of clients of offshore banks are Americans and, if so, there is a â€Å"good chance tax evasion is going on.† He said there is â€Å"no reason† for offshore banking to exist if not for â€Å"evasion, crime, or whatever.† There is no reason for Americans to bank offshore, he said, noting that if an offshore bank has primarily U.S. clients, it must â€Å"be up to no good† which raises a question why a U.S. bank would take on the offshore bank as a client. A former offshore bank owner told the investigation that he thought 100% of his clients had been engaged in tax evasion. (p.16) Furthermore, the New York Times reported â€Å"Tax evasion by Americans using offshore accounts is rising and will increase† (Johnston, ). Therefore, the United States has to endure an increasing gap in the budget. For every dollar laundered overseas is a dollar that is not taxed and is not portioned to the United States government which goes to support itself and continue federally funded programs such as Financial Aid and Social Security. â€Å"United States loses $70 billion in taxes annually from such evasion a figure so huge that if even half that amount were collected it would pay for a Medicare prescription drug program without raising anyones taxes or cutting anyones budget.† (Johnston) Ultimately, it will not be the United States Government who will be the victim of the tax evasion through money laundering but the American citizens who will be the true victims. For the last four years, there have been major budgetary cuts government-wide in order to carry out the function of the government. If the United States continues to experience hefty losses due to money laundering, the government will eventually begin to raise the tax rates. It will even eliminate non-critical programs like The American Dream Home Ownership Program which has been an instrumental factor for so many Americans buying homes. Disrupts economic development Money laundering creates an underground economy that cripples the United States’ overall economic strength. When money is transferred overseas it leaves less money in the United States to circulate. This reduces the purchasing power of the United States and its citizens. It also lessens the amount of resources the United States has available to operate its businesses to produce revenue. Thus, this creates a cycle. Additionally, money laundering can increase the desire for cash and create an exchange rate that is unpredictable. Furthermore, money launderers are typically greedy in the sense that they are only interested in protecting their financial interests. Money launderers will often use their funds for efforts that may not necessarily benefit the United States’ economic position. This is clearly illustrated in the Enron scandal. At its peak, Enron was one of the top corporations in the United Stated and, in a matter of months, they were bankrupted. A company that once was perceived as an institution that was good for the United States had really been a company that was good for the executives. â€Å"The motives and attitudes behind decisions and events leading to Enrons eventual downfall appear simple enough: individual and collective greed born in an atmosphere of market euphoria and corporate arrogance.†(Thomas, p. 42) The top executives were looking for ways to increase their own equity instead of Enron’s. Therefore, the â€Å"methods the company used to disclose (or creatively obscure) its complicated financial dealings were erroneous and, in the view of some, downright deceptive.† (Thomas, p. 42) As the story slowly unfolded, it was revealed that the executives had laundered some money overseas to hide how much they actually had. And when it is all over, the company we knew as Enron no longer existed. â€Å"November 30 the stock closed at an astonishing 26 cents a share. The company filed for bankruptcy protection on December 2.(Thomas, p45) The greed of the money laundering executives was a hard blow to the United States, as a people and as a government. â€Å"Four-thousand five hundred individuals have seen their careers ended abruptly by the reckless acts of a few† (Thomas, p. 48) and the money they were hoping to retire with is now gone. Additionally, the investors who purchased stocks suffered drastic losses. As a result, the country was left to play clean up. They will have to provide financial assistance to the workers who lost their jobs by paying unemployment, providing additional employment training and outreach, and supplying health benefits until the former employees are able to be self-sufficient. The United States has to suffer a lost in tax revenue; where individuals would have realized a profit they are now showing a loss and will not pay the same amount in taxes. Regulations Authorities will never totally eliminate money laundering, however; the United States enacted cash deposit reporting requirements and anti money-laundering legislation some 25 years ago. In addition, the United States is still developing and amending laws to combat the money launderers and prosecute any future offenders and also deter individuals from committing or conspiring to commit money launder crimes. Because money laundering has significant impact on the United States, it is not surprising how many laws are related to money laundering. The first law that was created to deal with any aspect of money laundering was the Bank Secrecy Act of 1970. This law does not make money laundering a criminal act but simply requires financial institutions to prepare and preserve documentation for specific types of transactions. One type of documentation requires is a Currency Transaction Report. This report is created for every transaction that is made over $10,000. In certain instances, a combination of transactions may be recorded. Another type of documentation is Report Of Transportation Of Currency Or Monetary Instruments. This report is created whenever United States currency or other monetary instruments, totaling over $10,000, are shipped, mailed, or transported into or out of the United States at one time. A third type of documentation is a Suspicious Activity Report. This report is created when a financial institution knows or suspects criminal offenses, at specified thresholds, or transactions over $5,000 that relate to money laundering or violate the Bank Secrecy Act. This is generally in response to the structuring method of money laundering. With structuring, a person causes or attempts to cause a bank to fail to file the requires reports by making several transactions with one or more domestic financial institutions to prevent from going over the $10,000 markat any one institution. Once drug trading became more popular, the United States Congress increased its focus on money laundering and decided to expand the current laws. In 1984, financial institutions were then required to report business cash transactions exceeding $10,000. Finally, the United States Congress begin to specifically concentrate on money laundering when they created the Money Laundering Act in 1986. This act did three things. First, it made money laundering a criminal act. Secondly, it prohibited structuring transactions to evade Currency Transaction Report filings. Lastly, it introduced civil and criminal forfeiture for BSA violations. Therefore, anyone suspected of these acts could now be indicted and prosecuted in a court of law. Then in 1988, Congress passed the Money Laundering Prosecution Improvement Act. This act elaborated on the definition of financial institution. The act included businesses like car dealerships and real estate mortgage companies and subsequently required them to file reports on large currency transactions In 1992 the Annunzio-Wylie Anti-Money Laundering Act was passed and it extended the Bank Secrecy Act in several respects. Most importantly, it required any financial institution, and its officers, directors, employees and agents, to report any suspicious transaction that may be in violation of federal laws and regulations. Other Annunzio-Wylie amendments to the Bank Secrecy Act required financial institutions to establish and implement anti-money laundering programs, initiated special record-keeping rules relating to funds transfer transactions, and created the Bank Secrecy Act Advisory Committee. Lastly, the Annunzio-Wylie Money Laundering Act made it a criminal act to operate illegal money transmitting business , and required mandatory re-examination of the charters of financial institutions that were convicted of money laundering. In 1994, the United States created the Money Laundering Suppression Act. .This act required the banks to develop their own procedures for examining anti-money laundering activities. The act also reconstructed the Currency Transaction Report exemption. Four years later, Congress passed the 1998 Money Laundering and Financial Crimes Strategy Act which required the banks to create and perform anti-money laundering training for their examiners. It also compelled the United State Treasury and other governmental agencies to create and implement a National Money Laundering Strategy; and Created the High Intensity Money Laundering and Related Financial Crime Area (HIFCA) Task Force. The criminal punishments for violation of these laws include prison sentences for a long as 20 years and fines that go up to $500,000 or twice the value of the money involved, whichever is greater. In additional to the criminal punishments, the offenders may face civil charges and have to pay amounts up to the value of the assets involved in a transaction. The United States Congress believe that these punishments to be too severe. Before the 1986 Money Laundering Act, defendants had to be prosecuted under other statutes related to the underlying unlawful activities that had induced the money laundering, such as tax evasion and the Bank Secrecy Act, and, these statutes generally had more lenient penalties. . Following September 11, the United States Congress search for answers as to how such tragedy could happen here on the United States soil. One answer they came up with was through money laundering. The United States Congress found that money laundering was a contributing factor for the financial fuel which allowed a transnational criminal organization to conduct and increase their operations terrorist activities towards Americans. .Money laundering was used to conceal the actual source and use of the money to conduct the terrorist threats. Congress in particular noted that correspondent accounts are subjected to use by money launderers as it is easier to conceal the identities of the owners of such accounts and that private banking services can be susceptible to deception by money launderer. (Wikipedia Encyclopedia) As a result, the most recent legislation associated money laundering came about in 2001 after the event of September 11, 2001. This act is called the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools to Restrict, Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act, commonly reffered to ad USA PATRIOT Act. The USA PATRIOT act requires the sharing of government-institution information and voluntary information among financial institutions. It also required financial institutions to develop and implement programs designed to verify the customers. This will ensure the banks are aware of who they are dealing with and if they are associated with any terrorist. Additionally, the USA PATRIOT Act required financial institutions to take extra precautions with the daily operations of business. Lastly, the act required the establishment anti-money laundering programs across the financial services industry. The Patriot Act as it relates to money laundering is designed to reconstruct and improv e the United States procedures which were created to deter, detect, and prosecute international money laundering and terrorist financing. Research Papers on Money Laundering - Effects on the United StatesThe Effects of Illegal ImmigrationNever Been Kicked Out of a Place This NiceTwilight of the UAW19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraPETSTEL analysis of IndiaIncorporating Risk and Uncertainty Factor in CapitalUnreasonable Searches and SeizuresGenetic EngineeringThe Relationship Between Delinquency and Drug UseAnalysis of Ebay Expanding into Asia

Study of Ph essays

Study of Ph essays pH is the measure of H+ (a proton) a concentration of a solution. In order to understand pH, a scale has been designed, this scale ranges from 0 to 14. Anything from 0 to 6.99 is acidic, a substance that increases hydrogen ions concentration in a solution, such as lemon juice. If the scale ranges from 8 to 14 would be determined as a basic solution, a substance that reduces the hydrogen ions concentration in a solution, an example of this would be ammonia. If the solution concentrate has a pH of 7 this would be neutral, such as pure water. Although pH can be determined in various ways, the most common ways to indicate pH are by using indicator papers. One type of paper is called litmus paper, this paper merely tells you whether it is acidic or basic, it does not establish what the pH may be. pH paper, which is another type you may use, can actually approximate the actual pH of a solution. pH measure is important to many biologists in order to study the effects an acidic solution may do to the environment. For example, as stated in, Biology the 4th edition book (p. 50), Some scientists have observed and experimented and confirmed that acid precipitation is harming both terrestrial and fresh water Eco systems. I attempted to experiment with some solutions, I used lemon juice, antacid, coke , aspirin, and ammonia. I believe that lemon juice and ammonia are strong solutions so they will be acidic. The remaining solutions I believe will be basic. The prepared solutions were filled in a beaker and placed on a counter top for the purpose of experimentation. I used red and blue litmus paper to determine whether the solution was a base or an acid. Before starting my experiment I recorded my test substances I would be using, I tore of a small piece of blue litmus paper and dipped into my solution number one a recorded the color. I repeated this step and recorded the colors as I ...

Social Studies Curriculum Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Social Studies Curriculum - Research Paper Example A student at a lower level of school might not be able to understand these concepts, and on this basis, these children might be taught on the existence of various cultural groups, and where they are found. To effectively understand culture, a social science curriculum must also have the elements of continuity, change and time (Au, 2012). Culture changes over time, and it is not mandatory for a group to practice one tradition for eternity. This is because globalization and modernity plays a role in eroding some cultures, in exchange of a superior culture. For example, some people cannot speak their ethnic languages, but they can speak English in a very fluent manner. This is because English is a dominant language in the current century, thanks to globalization (Basit, 2012). Another important element in a social science curriculum is the existence of the thematic connotation of people, place and environment. It is impossible to learn about the culture of an individual, without knowing the place where these people come from, and their environments/surroundings. For instance, if we want to know about the cultural practices of the Latino Americans, we have to first identify where these people come from. The Latinos came from North America. After identifying this fact, that is when an individual can effectively learn on their cultural practices, and what shapes them. A social science curriculum must also explain the thematic connotations of governance, authority and power (Basit, 2012). In order to understand this element of governance, authority and power, students have to understand the different cultural values and its elements. This is because it is these cultural values that shape the system of governance within a state/ community. Take for example a society that believes in democracy, their system of governance will reflect democratic tendencies. It is also impossible to understand these thematic connotations of governance, authority and power, without underst anding how the various groups, individuals and institutions interact with each other within a community. On this basis therefore, a good social science curriculum must have an element of groups, individuals and institutions (Au, 2012). It is the various institutions within a country that shapes the governance structure of the same country. For example, a country with a strong judiciary will ensure that the leaders of the nation follow the law, without which there will be consequences. This concept therefore promotes the rule of the law. Implications of constructivist theory: Constructivism is a theory is a theory that denotes knowledge is a creation of people, and it is influenced by their cultural believes, and values. According to this theory, knowledge is constructed individually and bases itself on the student’s intellectual development as they experience reality that occurs during the process of social and physical activity. On this basis, constructivism theory can be us ed in the design and planning of a curriculum for the study of social sciences (DeVries and Zan, 2012). The use of constructivism theory, in the development of a social studies curriculum will center on the following four tenets. The first tenet is that the mind of an individual has the capability of representing issues through symbols. Language is an important symbol recognized by the mind, and it is an important element that contributes to the student’

Training need analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Training need analysis - Essay Example The individual performance is then ranked against those of other employees and then linked to some form of reward. This has now been found to be ineffective and redundant primarily because the validity of such evaluation rests on the appraiser. There are various flaws in this system of determining the training needs. While it could reflect the personal bias of the appraiser, the employee too may over-emphasize where goals are known to be monitored, or de-emphasize where goals have not been set. The philosophy of the founder of Marriott was "Take care of Marriott people and they will take care of Marriott guests" (Cannon, 2002). They believe that "Hands-on managers" are absolutely vital to continuing the Marriott culture. The managers need to possess the people skills in being able to support, inspire, encourage, lead and listen to associates. Employees leave the organization or form unions when they are dissatisfied with the management. With the changed business environment, emphasis is now on soft skills like conflict resolution and stress management instead of technicalities. It is essential that managers should be well trained so that retaining employees is easier as retention is a critical issue in most organizations today. Human capital is the key to gaining competitive advantage in the ever-changing international environment. According to Das (2001) there has been a shift in the management styles and administrative practices to survive and prosper against competition. A cohesive framework is essential to maximize organizational effectiveness. Vermeulen and Crous (2000) believe that the best way to institute quality into an organization, is to train the people to do their jobs better. Training and development includes skills which are job-related and also that are not related. This helps in motivating and enhancing self-esteem as the employees feel the organization cares for them. Motivation is essential for retention and succession planning in today's scenario. Before undertaking the training of any department or a group of people, it is essential to undertake a training need analysis, which is helpful in developing the training program. Training need analysis Training need analysis at the organization, person and task level should be integrated to provide an effective strategy according to McGehee and Thayer (cited by Leat & Lovell, 1997). At the organization level the training needs should be best directed to match the organizational objectives. Organizational effectiveness would be evident from increased resourcefulness, customer satisfaction and internal process improvement. The changes required in performance standards would reveal the changes necessary in training. Therefore the need analysis has to explore the organizational climate in addition to the skill resources. At the task level need analysis is essential to assess the demands of the respective job roles and the manner in which they may be enhanced. Job specification would help identify the skills and attributes essential to accomplish these tasks. Discussions with the job holder may also reveal certain inherent difficulties which may not be readily apparent. At the person le vel, need analysis reveals how well an individual fulfills the activities comprising his or her task role and identifying training interventions essential to improve performance and enhance employee development. A definitive behaviorally anchored instrument can be