Glass Steagall And The Financial Crisis - 1565 Words

Glass-Steagall and the Financial Crisis In May 2012 JP Morgan Chase and Co. stated to the public a 2 billion dollar trading loss, although evidence shows that the loss was far greater. A trader out of the London branch of JP Morgan and Chase Co., Bruno Iksil, dubbed â€Å"London Whale,† had been accruing a huge bet on U.S. corporate bonds based on a flawed derivative or algorithm. He was so confident in his bet that he sold his Credit Default Swaps (CDS), based on his hunch, which is similar to insurance on your bonds if they default. Rival traders bought them, betting against Iksil. The loss was gigantic. Similarly, prior to the great depression, banks were making large unsafe bets which caused the stock market to eventually crash causing†¦show more content†¦The Glass-Steagall Act was specifically fabricated to prevent the type of close interaction between commercial and investment banks that preceded that imminent crash during the late 1920’s. Commercial b anks are banks that accept deposits, secure loans and are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Cooperation (FDIC). Investment banks, on the other hand, make riskier speculative bets. They invest in stocks, bonds and engage in a variety of speculative deals with their money. With investment and commercial banks being in such close quarters, the deposits in the commercial banks can potentially be used for speculative activities because of the investment banks’ influence. Glass-Steagall provided separation with three main goals: (1) prohibit commercial banks from owning securities brokerage firms (2) establish a temporary insurance program under the federal reserve (3) prohibit paying interest on commercial checking accounts and put maximum interest rate values on savings accounts. In July 2010, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act came into effect by identifying large financial firms that are intertwined with the rest of the financial systems and in creasing regulations on them to try and prevent failure and possible bailouts. Roy C. Smith, author of The Dilemma of bailouts, states, â€Å"The legislative process soon became

Strategic Human Resource Management Initiative

Question: Discuss about the Strategic Human Resource Management Initiative. Answer: Introduction: The current market competition has forced the organisations to employ the skilled workforce so that the future organisational challenges can be met in a flexible way. However, the majority of the contemporary groups fails to increase the knowledge base of the skilled workers as much as required for achieving future sustainability (Paauwe, 2009). The lack of adequate training and development program has become a significant human resource management (HRM) issue for the organisations. Considering the fact, the current study aims to describe the brief of the firm Woolworths Limited and its HRM issues. Additionally, the researcher has given a detailed description of the problems, and adequate justification has been made on the need of improving the issues. Finally, the current practices of the firm with industry best practices have been conducted, based upon which, a set of recommendations has been provided to mitigate the current HRM issues of the business. Description of the firm and the HRM issues: Woolworths Limited is an Australian retail company which serves customers across the global platform (Lim et al. 2016). The companys primary retail division is the supermarket stores. Since its foundation, the company has made an employee strength of more than 2 million across the globe. However, it has been identified that the corporation is experiencing major issues in the HRM functions such as recruitment of skilled labour and the training development activity of those resources. Supporting to this fact, Lall and Zaidi (2008) stated that worldwide retail industry is experiencing severe skill shortages, especially in the customer handling and communication parameters. Furthermore, Noe et al. (2012) mentioned that the lack of training and development activity fail to reveal the diversity and complexity of the workforce and its associated benefits as well. The firm is experiencing the major HRM issues in the context of the higher employee attrition rate. This is due to matters in job description, rotation shifts, poor work life balances, lack of clarity in the training development and career opportunities. Considering the fact, Prytz and Scerbo (2015) stated that excessive workload and lack of work life balance reduces the motivation of the retail employees. Among these issues, training and development issues are mostly affecting the efficiency of the existing workforce. The workers are not experiencing adequate training as per the changing job requirements. As a consequence, the firm fails to meet the organisational goals. This is due to the lack of focus on the personal development plan of the employees. Also, it has been identified that in the year 2013, Woolworths invested $32.2 million for its learning and development parameter (www.woolworthslimited.com.au, 2016). However, the execution of the development plan has been found less er than the corporate training activity. It resulted from significant failure in satisfying the global customers based upon complexity and variety in nature. Considering the fact, the current study attempts to analyse the training and development issues of Woolworths that is affecting the overall performance of the firm in its global operation. Analysing the current HRM issue of Woolworths Limited: Although Woolworths Limited attempts to formalise the existing knowledge of the employees for meeting higher business goals, it has been given below rates based upon the employee development plan. In this context, Chan (2013) stated that the training collaboration with TAFE had enabled the firm, ensuring natural knowledge management approach relevant to the operational model of the company. On the contrary, the job roles and the confidence among the employees are given lesser priority as compared to the other organisation. The past employee review also states that the firm lacks from cross-cultural training and warehouse management training (Hutchings, and De Cieri, 2007). Due to this, the majority of the trades assistant of the Brisbane, Queensland Brand fails to manage diversified customer requirements. Thus, evaluating the current HRM practices of the Woolworths, the current HRM issues can be segregated as follows: The lack of self-learning scope for the employees Poor prioritisation of cross cultural training program for the development of communication skills Lack of nonverbal communication program creates communication issues with the cross culturally diversified workforce and the customers as well. Issues with the cash handing training program and the changing methods of stock control. The employees state that increase use of IT is not at par with the current training and development program of Woolworths. Detailed descriptions of the training and development issue: Lack of self-learning and health and safety training: The budget formulated for the HR training and development program does not include a self-learning process for the employees. Although more than 660,000 courses had been undertaken by the employees across 845 courses, there is a lack of alignment between actual need with the class module (www.woolworthslimited.com.au, 2016). On the contrary, McGrath-Champ et al. (2011) argued and stated that Woolworths encourages networking for the employees to drive the employee performance. However, Chan (2013) also criticised the view and indicated that the mentoring for employee development is based upon the future management and leadership roles. This lacks from the employee own developmental choices. Additionally, the lack of health safety training has also generated significant health and security issues among the workers operating in the retail floors. A lesser degree of cross cultural training: The sustainability report of Woolworths Limited indicates that the majority of the investment is made in the training and development for building future leaders and managers of each supermarket store. It has been evaluated that the functional training employed by Woolworths has successfully improved the employee knowledge regarding the team building approaches and meeting the organisational goals(www.woolworths.co.za, 2016). On the other hand, the lack of cross-cultural training program, creating misunderstanding with the diversified workforce as well. Eventually, the reduced trust among the workers is failing to meet the customer satisfaction ratio. Thus, the overall brand performance gets reduced. Cash handing and stock control training program issue: The need of developing training programs in the new areas such as store security, quick cash handling mechanism, and stock control program has emerged in the global retail sector. It has been identified that increased use of IT has changed the mechanism of a point of sales entry system. The employee review also indicates that more than 20% employee lack of reading spreadsheets. From the website www.woolworthslimited.com.au (2016), it has been identified that a majority of the employees is facing cash handling issues and stock control training program. Eventually, the overall job performance, reduces, which significantly impact on the overall growth of the firm. Lack of nonverbal and diversified training to cope up with the changing demands: The lack of non-verbal communication training has failed to enable employees to maintain the non-verbal communication strategy with the customers and diversified workforce. Also, the lack of IT training across all hierarchical levels fails to meet the changing demands of the firm in its international business operation (Donnelly, 2009). The finance report published by Rebecca Hyam and Thuy Ong on 26th February 2016 indicates that Woolworths says almost $1 billion loss in the half year results (www.abc.net.au, 2016). The in-depth analysis suggests that the lack of overall operational goal and training development program have generated demotivation, which again created mass employee turnovers. Eventually, the firm failed to meet the projected business value in the last financial quarter (Cadman, 2013). Need of improving the issue: Analysing the current scenario of Woolworths, it can be stated that employees are more concerned regarding the job specifications as the more than 65% training module covers the job-related learning program. The apprenticeship program and induction are also found satisfactory as well (www.hunter.tafensw.edu.au, 2015). The only thing which deviates from the benchmark industry practices is the employee self-learning, training in new technological skills, and the improvement of the communication process as well. More than 40% training module needs be conducted on handing new technologies. It could increase the operational process of the firm, thereby improving the customer satisfaction ratio. Soft and generic skills need to be conducted by more than 45% to satisfy the local and international customers as per the requirements. Thus, the firm could attain greater business profitability. Self-learning program could improve the analytical and logical thought process of the employees. Thus, cope up with the future challenges could become easier for the Woolworths Limited. Case for change: Steps Name of the field Changed justification Step 1 Context The change needs to be initiated in the context of Human Resource Management in Woolworths. According to Diamantidis and Chatzoglou (2014), Woolworths had emphasised on the professional efficacy, thus, needs to reformulate its training program. Step 2 Changes The employee proficiency and behaviour would change. The self confidence amongst the employees would enhance automatically, which would reflect a positively impact on the organisational productivity. Step 3 Process Involving the managers to attend the training session Reward performing employees Offerings of the personal development training Reconstructing the employees with tech based training Step 4 Benefits The change would facilitate the firm to increase the expertise of the employees. The implementation of the change process would be a smart initiative to motivate the employees to increase the commitment. Step 5 Consequences In case the employees fail to provide the acute contribution towards the firm (Katsimi, 2008). The probability of customers and employees switching rate would increase automatically. Step 6 Expectations The employees would be expected to get aligned with the organisational objectives (Dysvik and Kuvaas, 2008). Therefore, proficient and professional behaviour would be expected, which would make a positive contribution wards organisational productivity. Comparing the current practices with an industry best practice: In the framework of the current context, Lancaster and Di Milia (2014) determined that the training and development structure of Woolworths have been designed to equip the expertise of the internal employees. The training department makes use of the rigorous assessment process to recognise and develop the efficacy amongst the employees to adjust he frequency of the functional transformation. The statistics of the previous report forecast that the employees in the retail industry are demanding for the personal development training program to enhance the self-analytical skills. The above effort would not only increase the professional proficiency. Considering the opinion of Mandhanya (2015), the modern trade had been developing with a rapid speed. Therefore, the expectations of the customers and product selection preferences are getting differed with time. The sudden change demands the personal operating internally to enhance the skill set measures to match up with the external situati on. In the similar circumference, Menezes and Vieira (2008) asserted that Woolworths have been highly efficient in providing the profile based training to the employees of all the departments. However, the employees are of the opinion that the profile based training would be effective when the staffs would enable to improve the personal development skills (www.seek.com.au, 2016). The sales executives are the spokesperson of the enterprise. Therefore, the sales executives majorly receive the training to mitigate the target pressure. Conversely, the sales executives are highly necessitated to increase the self-expertise to understand the behavioural aspects of the customers of diversified culture. Hence, the foundations of the employees are not effectually strong to handle to changing preferences of the external scenario. Therefore, the management of Woolworths, Australia is highly necessitated to conduct the personal development program to remould the personal laggings to effectually deli ver the professional requirements. Moreover, with the continuation of the latter statement, Tarique (2014) inferred that the competitors like Tesco, ASDA and Aldi had identified the internal flaws of the organisation. Based on which, each of the existing as well as the new employees receive the training session from utilising the training technique to the optimum level. According to Mahdavi et al. (2014), the management of Tesco had constructively formulated the training and development plan, which includes both the personal and professional enhancement schedule of the employees. Alignment of both the perspectives in the training module had facilitated Tesco to address the expertise of the employees within short time tenure. Thus, it had helped the brand to amplify the functional requirement within a minimal expenditure. However, the marketing measures of Woolworths are highly lucrative, yet, the lack of efficacy amongst the internal employees had been the major constraints of the enterprise. The marketing efforts hav e been standardised with the support of the PR experts, which encourage a huge base of prospective customers towards Woolworths products. However, the lacks of confidence amongst the internal employees are creating hindrance towards the organisational depicted revenue figure. In the similar background, Mandhanya (2015) determined that the employees of Woolworths are unable to match up the time fluctuation. The management had been experimenting with a different functional process to enhance the revenue margin. Conversely, the employees have already got accustomed to the certain organisational culture, whereas, a sudden change in the overall process is enforcing the employees to handle the job responsibilities in a different process. Consequently, due to the lack of training facilities, the employees of Woolworths are failing to adapt the changing criterions, due to which the outcomes of the delivered result gets negative. The lack of efficacies is enforcing the employees to invest huge tenure of time to redo the existing work. Recommendations for improving the changes in training and development activity: The recommendations have discussed below: Involving the managers to attend the training session According to Pierce and Maurer (2009), it is highly essential to involve the departmental managers into the training session. The managers are majorly responsible for the job allocation process. Therefore, the concerned persons are necessitated to understand the potency as well as the individual laggings of the employees. The new employees of Woolworths require the personal guidance of the managers concerning the work profile (www.seek.com.au, 2016). Therefore, the training module needs to include the managerial training techniques, which would enact be a guiding initiatives for the managers to provide the corrective guidance to its subordinates. Reward performing employees The newly trained employees get back to the workstations with increased confidence, renewed enthusiasm and high levels of competency. However, Mandhanya (2015) claimed that with a passing phase of time, the employees fail to apply the similar level of dedication towards the work profile. The specific action occurs due to the lack of permanent motivation. Therefore, the trainers of Woolworths need to have the permission of discussing the reward facilities with the employees. In the training classes, the employees remain in a relaxed mood, which increases the scope of conducting an interactive session (www.woolworthslimited.com.au, 2016). Thus, the reward facility discussion in the training session would be a smart policy to imbibe the reward criteria and its benefits amongst the staffs. Offerings of the personal development training In the framework of the existing context, Diamantidis and Chatzoglou (2014) denoted that the personal growth training automatically enhances the foundation of the employees. The particular approach would facilitate the employees to rebuild the individual expertise, which would be a smart initiative to emphasise on the professional development. The majority of Woolworths employees have to undergo the cross-cultural training as well. Consequently, the employees have failed to understand the sentiment and the professional expectations of the employees of diversified cultures. Therefore, the cultural gap in the similar enterprise had been the primary constraints that prevent the firm attaining the depicted profit margin. Reconstructing the employees with tech-based training The technical process is no more limited to the IT department of a firm. Indifferent organisations are converting the manual operating modules to the ERP process to track on the vast amount of database. However, the employees I n Woolworths had experienced a huge challenge to convert the operational process into the ERP system (www.seek.com.au, 2016). Hence, the employees require the training in the technological genre to implement the technical understandings. Conclusion: The study emphasises on human resource management issues the enterprises are experiencing in the Australian market. To understand the HRM scenario of the Australian retail market, the study had evaluated in the HRM function of Woolworths. Analysing on the internal situation of the firm, a conclusion can be derived that Woolworths have been efficient in providing the profession training to its internal members. However, the brand had lacked to include the modules that improve the individual proficiencies amongst the staffs. Therefore, the management needs to reformulate the training module to include the personal development plan as well. Reference: Cadman, C. (2013) Training is now more than simply ticking the right boxes, Human Resource Management International Digest, 21(1), pp. 3437. Chan, S. (2013) Learning through apprenticeship: Belonging to a workplace, becoming and being, Vocations and Learning, 6(3), pp. 367383. Diamantidis, A.D. and Chatzoglou, P.D. (2014) Employee post-training behaviour and performance: Evaluating the results of the training process, International Journal of Training and Development, 18(3), pp. 149170. Donnelly, K. (2009) Learning on the move: How m-learning could transform training and development, Development and Learning in Organizations, 23(4), pp. 811. Dysvik, A. and Kuvaas, B. (2008) The relationship between perceived training opportunities, work motivation and employee outcomes, International Journal of Training and Development, 12(3), pp. 138157. Hutchings, K. and De Cieri, H. (eds.) (2007) International human resource management: From cross-cultural management to managing a diverse workforce. Aldershot, England: Ashgate Publishing. Hyam, finance reporters R. and Ong, T. (2016) Masters collapse drags Woolworths into billion-dollar hole. Available at: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-02-26/woolworths-reports-almost-$1-billion-loss/7202004 (Accessed: 6 July 2016). Katsimi, M. (2008) Training Job Security and Incentive Wages, Scottish Journal of Political Economy, 55(1), pp. 6778. Lall, M. and Zaidi, S.Q. (2008) Human resources management. New Delhi: Excel Books. Lancaster, S. and Di Milia, L. (2014) Organisational support for employee learning, European Journal of Training and Development, 38(7), pp. 642657. Lim, J., Schaefer, S., Agarwal, S., Gara, A. and Murphy, A. (2016) Woolworths on the Forbes global 2000 list, Forbes (May). Limited, W. (2012) Training. Available at: https://www.woolworthslimited.com.au/page/A_Great_Place_To_Work/Training/ (Accessed: 6 July 2016). Mahdavi, I., Fazlollahtabar, H., Mahdavi-Amiri, N., Arabmaghsudi, M. and Yahyanejad, M.H. (2014) A virtual intelligent creativity matrix for employees clustered Interactivity network with knowledge development program, International Journal of Knowledge-Based Organizations, 4(1), pp. 6579. Mandhanya, Y. (2015) Training and development strategies: Motivational tool for increasing employee retention, Training Development Journal, 6(1), p. 15. McGrath-Champ, S., Rosewarne, S. and Rittau, Y. (2011) From One skill shortage to the next: The Australian construction industry and Geographies of a global labour market, Journal of Industrial Relations, 53(4), pp. 467485. Menezes, A. and Vieira, J. (2008) Training, job upgrading, job creation and job destruction, Atlantic Economic Journal, 36(3), pp. 275292. Noe, R.A., Hollenbeck, J.R., Gerhart, B.A. and Wright, P. (2012) Human resource management: Gaining a competitive advantage. 8th edn. New York, NY: McGraw Hill Higher Education. Ongoing training critical to Woolworths staff (2015) Available at: https://www.hunter.tafensw.edu.au/about-us/casestudies/pages/ongoing-training-critical-to-woolworths-staff.aspx (Accessed: 6 July 2016). Paauwe, J. (2009) HRM and performance: Achievements, methodological issues and prospects, Journal of Management Studies, 46(1), pp. 129142. Pierce, H.R. and Maurer, T.J. (2009) Linking employee development activity, social exchange and organizational citizenship behavior, International Journal of Training and Development, 13(3), pp. 139147. Prytz, E.G. and Scerbo, M.W. (2015) Changes in stress and subjective workload over time following a work transition, Theoretical Issues in Ergonomics Science, 16(6), pp. 586605. Supervisor, C.S. (no date) Woolworths limited employee ratings and reviews. Available at: https://www.seek.com.au/companies/woolworths-limited-432334/reviews (Accessed: 6 July 2016). Tarique, I. (2014) Seven trends in corporate training and development: Strategies to align goals with employee needs. United States: Financial TImes Prentice Hall. Woolworths (2016) Food, home, clothing general merchandise available online! Available at: https://www.woolworths.co.za/store/fragments/corporate/corporate-index.jsp?content=../article/articlecontentId=cmp100617 (Accessed: 6 July 2016).

Wassup Essay Example For Students

Wassup Essay 23/01/2002The rabbit and the log house. By:Stepan EeroOnce upon a time, there lived a rabbit. He lived happy and healthy in a log house with a fireplace. Every once in a while he would go out and cut some firewood from the forest. It was winter time, and he had to keep his log house warm. Rabbit also had a neighbor, fox. Rabbit didnt like her for some reason, maybe because she was a greedy animal. She was not trustworthy and lied a lot. She always told lies, everything she would say was a lie. She had a house that was made out of big cold blue ice cubes. It was a beautiful house and rabbit was a little bit jealous. But he knew that his house was warm while her house was ice cold. Time had passed and its spring. Its getting warmer and warmer. Rabbit didnt need to get much firewood anymore. But fox was upset because her house was melting away. It got smaller every day. Finally it was gone and fox had no where to live. So she thought of a trick. An evil trick. The week has passed and it was time for rabbit to get firewood. Wh en he left his house and went into the woods fox sneaked into the house and locked the door. When rabbit came back, he saw foxs tracks and was sad. He asked fox to get out of his house but she would not come out. Rabbit sat down by a tree and started crying. He cried and cried. Suddenly a bull came along and he asked rabbit, Why are you crying little rabbit?Rabbit answered, The mean fox took over my house and I cant get it back. I asked and I begged but the mean fox never came out!Thats okay little rabbit Ill get your house back. So they went to the house and the bull saidHey you, the mean fox, get out of the house before I come and get you out myself!The fox saidGo ahead and try. So the bull went slamming into the door. The bull was hurt by a broom, thrown by the fox. He ran away crying. Rabbit sat down by the tree and continued crying. He cried and cried, but then a bear came by and saw poor little rabbit crying. He askedWhy are you crying little rabbit?The rabbit said(crying)Beca use the mean fox took over my house, I tried to get her out and so did a big brown bull. We will write a custom essay on Wassup specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now Thats okay rabbit, I will try to get her out.Bear said bravely. Ok, but the bull was big and mean. IF he couldnt get her out, then I dont think you have much of a chance. So the bear and the rabbit went to the house and the bear said,Hey you, the mean fox get out of the house or I am going to get you out myself. The fox repliedokay, go ahead and try!The bear yelledAll right, but you will be sorry! And he ran into the house like there wasnt a door, and then the house was moving from left to the right. The bear burst out running and saidSorry rabbit but that mean fox is just to mean! And he disappeared into the woods looking behind him, like he was being chased. The rabbit started crying again. He sat by a tree. He couldnt sleep all night. But in the morning a rooster came by and asked the sad little rabbitHey rabbit why are you crying so hard. Looks like you are in great pain?Well, fox stole my house and no one can get her out. The bull tried and the bear tried but they just couldnt make her leave the house. .u12cf460494ea069fd5453521a7dc9e74 , .u12cf460494ea069fd5453521a7dc9e74 .postImageUrl , .u12cf460494ea069fd5453521a7dc9e74 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u12cf460494ea069fd5453521a7dc9e74 , .u12cf460494ea069fd5453521a7dc9e74:hover , .u12cf460494ea069fd5453521a7dc9e74:visited , .u12cf460494ea069fd5453521a7dc9e74:active { border:0!important; } .u12cf460494ea069fd5453521a7dc9e74 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u12cf460494ea069fd5453521a7dc9e74 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u12cf460494ea069fd5453521a7dc9e74:active , .u12cf460494ea069fd5453521a7dc9e74:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u12cf460494ea069fd5453521a7dc9e74 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u12cf460494ea069fd5453521a7dc9e74 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u12cf460494ea069fd5453521a7dc9e74 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u12cf460494ea069fd5453521a7dc9e74 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u12cf460494ea069fd5453521a7dc9e74:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u12cf460494ea069fd5453521a7dc9e74 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u12cf460494ea069fd5453521a7dc9e74 .u12cf460494ea069fd5453521a7dc9e74-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u12cf460494ea069fd5453521a7dc9e74:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Role Of The Department Of Homeland SecurityThe rooster said,I will try to get her out, but if I do then you have to promise me that I can live in this house toThe rabbit answerWell you can try but the animals who tried to get her out before were large and strong. But, you got yourself a deal. The rooster saidThey might have strength, but they dont have the brains to get the dumb fox out! So the rooster flew up over the house and dove through the chimney. It was very

Safe Injecting Rooms essays

Safe Injecting Rooms essays Class, I have one question for you. If you had a family member or loved one with a long-term drug addiction, or more specifically a heroin addiction, would you rather them inject safely in a controlled room, or behind a dumpster in some ally, using a syringe that has already been used, and where there is no medical help available? In todays society drug use in is a major problem, and is an ever-increasing one. More and more people from all walks of life are resorting to abusing drugs for a number of reasons; for the experience, personal problems or even just as cry for help. Heroin usage is very dangerous as needles/syringes are needed, they can be infected with any sort of virus if the needle it isnt sterilised, or if the needle has been shared between users. Because of these, and many more reasons, Safe Injecting rooms have been put into place to help stop the spread of disease and death. Heroin usage is dangerous because you use syringes. Heroin (the drug) is dangerous because its a highly addictive drug that causes you to drool, sleep a lot, and lose all social functionality... and steal car radios. Injecting rooms, which can also be referred to as drug consumption rooms, legal shooting galleries, and health rooms are legitimate and supervised facilities designed to reduce the health and public order problems associated with illegal drug use. Increasing the availability of sterile syringes through needle exchange programs, pharmacies, and other outlets reduces unsafe injection practice of needle sharing which carries its own set of consequences ie transmission of HIV/AIDS and hepatitis. It also increases safe disposal of used syringes, and helps infected drug users obtain drug information, treatment, social services and even detoxification. While this service accepts drug users non-judgementally, there is no overt message that drug use is accepted or recommended. Moderation, supe ...

Social Policy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 3

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Class student dicussions answers week 3 - Essay Example Drive capacity and device speed are increasingly becoming more diverse and dynamic. On the same note, changes and improvements are being made on disk partition styles. This enables the user to settle on the most relevant or preferred style. Technological advancement has also redesigned disk partition management. In other words, disk partitioning can be done in more than way, thereby giving the user more choices for device management. This is also the case when it comes to the analysis of Windows 7 disk tools. Systems maintenance could leave some devices unsupported due to unavailability of device driver(s). In such an event, the device driver would have to be reinstalled. In order to make the right supply in terms of the required type and version of the device driver, the supplier has to be aware of the underlying needs. This is to ensure that the supplied device meets the current level of systems maintenance. At an organizational level, the issue of concern would be systems security subject to the installation of device driver(s). In terms of hard drive connections, both IDE and SATA are common at an individual and organizational level. I agree with Anna. Current operation systems are accompanied by many device drivers that suit personal, business, and organizational use. In the event that these drivers are not the latest versions, there are official websites that provide download links to the latest device drivers. Unlimited downloads are allowed, making it convenient for the user. Where automatic driver updates are configured, it is vital to ensure that only the important drivers are activated for automatic update. Too many automatic updates may not be necessarily, and they might consequently affect device performance. On the other hand, data and information storage is fundamental practice in the digital age. Internal and

Religion The Sacred And Rituals Theology Religion Essay

Religion The Sacred And Rituals Theology Religion Essay This paper will discuss the challenges of both the Islamic and Catholic religion in terms of defining the rituals, how members practice their religion and the overall terms of their devotion. Comparing is not an easy task as Islam and Catholicism are complete ends of the spectrum. For both religions claiming to be peace loving people, who share some of the same religious texts, and have many common beliefs they often cannot get along. Neither religion will tolerate or begin to accept the other religions if strictly and literally practiced by either Islam or Catholicism. Religion is a personal choice and as much as it is a choice, it should be respected by other religions as well. It does not matter what your beliefs are, if you are truly devoted to your faith, you will understand the need for religious tolerance. Religious tolerance is something that is borne out of a complete devotion to your faith. You will honor and accept your religion as something personal; however, in the same regard, you will accept the teachings, practices and traditions of other religions as well In some ways, Islam and Catholicism parallel each other. Although the rituals, prayers and history are different, they basically mirror each other in the basic aspects. The word Islam means submission or surrender in Arabic. To be submissive, means to be submissive to the will of Allah. Catholics hold a Trinitarianism belief that God is three persons in one, the Father, the Son and The Holy Spirit. Muslims, or followers of Islam, maintain that Allah is one God and has no equal and no partner. (Dolphin, undated). Islamic doctrine is based on four separate principles or sources: the Quran, ijtihad (individual thought), the Sunnah (traditions) and ijma or community consensus. The Quran is to the Muslims, the Word of God, as the Bible is to Catholics. Unlike the Bible, the Quran was believed to be delivered from Allah, to the Angel Gabriel. The Quran is divided in to 144 surahs or chapters. Each of the early readings revealed in Mecca, are ethical and spiritual. The early readings also include the Day of Judgment. The surahs in later chapters, teach social, political and moral teaching for the communities. (Dolphin, undated). Muslims are uncertain as to whether they will go to heaven or not. However, like the Catholic religion, there are certain steps that must be taken to ensure eternal life. The 5 Pillars of the Islam faith are: Confession of Faith (Shahada), Salat (prayer), Sawm (fasting during the month of Ramadan), Zakat (contributing tithings) and Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca. Muslims recite the Shahada or, Confession of Faith: La ilaha illaLlah; wa Muhammadun rasuluLlah. There is no God but Allah; and Muhammad is Allahs prophet. The Quran has six main teachings and like the Catholic faith, each must be adhered to in order to receive a final reward. The first teaching is that you must believe in Allah. To believe in Allah is to believe in the teachings of the Quran and no other. The word of Allah comes directly from the Quran and there is no room for interpretation by man. Muslims believe the message delivered to the Angel Gabriel is unadulterated and therefore implicit. The second teaching is belief in the Angels who are the messengers of Allah. Although Muslims do not submit to Allah, they submit to the teachings of Allah. Allah is not to be questioned. To question Allah or his existence is to deny the existence of his will. The third teaching is belief in the Books, you must believe in the Messengers, you must believe in the Day of Judgment. Although there is judgment at the time of death, the final judgment comes at the end of time. The final belief is that Muslims have to believe implicitly in fate. The Quran teaches that God has determined both good and evil. By acknowledging the teachings of the Quran, one acknowledges there is no other religion. To consider worship in another religion is to blaspheme Allah. The Quran does not recognize Jesus as the Son of God. Muslims do not acknowledge Jesus death or Resurrection. Fundamental Islam teaches that Jesus was nothing more than a mere prophet and denies the existence of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit as a Trinity. Allah and his will are the final word. In essence, Allah is the Master (abd) and Muslims are his slaves (abd). To submit totally to the Master is to have complete faith in Allah. (Robinson, 2012) The Catholic faith can be just as confusing and just as intricate as the Islamic faith. The Catholic Church is full of rituals and traditions that are questioned by many. The Catholic Church recognizes that Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary, suffered and died on the Cross for our sins. To many, the existence of a virgin birth is inconceivable. Catholics recognize God as Our Father. However, that does not mean that God and the Virgin Mary conceived Jesus. The Catholic religion teaches that Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary and became man. The conception of Jesus was Immaculate and therefore, The Virgin Mary is recognized as our Mother. (The Holy See, 2012). Mary is not worshiped on the same level as Our Father. Mary is revered as the Mother of Jesus and although Catholics do not specifically pray to Mary, they ask for her intercession through Jesus Christ, her Son. The Hail Mary is the prayer most often associated with reverence for the Virgin Mother. The word Hail is used not as a title to acknowledge Mary as being on the same level with Jesus or the Father. It is merely used as a greeting. The word, Hail was used in biblical times much as we usethe greeting, Hello today. Catholics also recite the Rosary, which is another form of ritualistic prayer. The Rosary is not mentioned in the Bible, it is not a mandatory teaching or tradition. It is a man-made prayer which when said properly, allows Catholics to reflect and meditate on the teachings and life of Jesus Christ. From the Annunciation by Marys cousin Elizabeth that she was going to be the Mother of the Most Holy One to the Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Rosary is used as a teaching tool. The Catholic Church was founded over 2000 years ago on the Pentecost. This was the day the Holy Spirit appeared to the Apostles. As Muslims recite the Shahada, Catholics recite the Apostles Creed: I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord; Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified; died and was buried. He descended into Hell; the third day He arose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, sitteth at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen. The Apostles Creed once again, is a historical account of the life of Jesus. It is the basic belief that Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary, became man and ultimately died for our sins. One interesting concept that differs between the Catholic, and Islamic faith is tolerance for killing. It specifically states in the Ten Commandments, Thou shalt not kill. The Ten Commandments were given to Moses on Mount Sinai and are the framework of a Christian life. The Ten Commandments are basic rules for every Christian and/or Catholic to pattern their lives after. There is no room for interpretation of the Ten Commandments. Although the Commandments are depicted in a particular order, there does not seem to be a Commandment which, when broken, is more severe than the others. Islam has tolerance for killing non-combatants. The Quran calls for the elimination of all and any non-Muslim invaders. If the result is death of the invader(s), the Quran considers it to be collateral damage. In order to keep the Muslim faith pure, it is considered perfectly acceptable to extinguish the lives of any person who does not accept the Quran and the Muslim way of life as their own. The teaching of some radical Imams additionally allows for the killing of Israelis who could as adults join the Israeli army, once again based on the belief that the Quran allows for the elimination of anyone who may interfere with the teachings of Islam. Teachings from the Quran that incite the radical Muslims result in the acceptance of suicide bombings, suicide missions such as the September 11th attacks on the United States and every other form of terrorism that radical Muslims have engaged in over the years. In the Catholic religion, there is zero tolerance for the murder of anyone opposed to the teachings and beliefs of the Church. At this juncture, the Catholic religion deems abortion as murder and will excommunicate any woman who, for whatever reason, opts to terminate a pregnancy. There is no exception for a pregnancy that is a result of rape, incest or any other act that results in the fertilization of the egg by the sperm. In the Catholic view, human life begins at conception. In this sense, it could be viewed as a radical opposition to the choice of a woman to choose whether or not to carry a fetus to term even in the mother is incapable of performing her duties as a nurturer. One example of this type of pregnancy would be for a severely mentally disabled woman to become impregnated. In the eyes of the Catholic Church, it does not matter that the quality of life for the child may be severely diminished. It is not a concern if the life of the mother is endangered either. Like the T en Commandments, there is no room for interpretation. Human life begins at conception. For Muslims and Catholics to coexist, there has to be some form of religious tolerance. Although the basic teachings are similar, when the beliefs and traditions are altered from their original state, that leaves room for views that become tainted by man to conform to his personal, political and self-righteous beliefs.