The Privatization or Commodification of Water

Introduction For a long time, ethics has been seen as the study of what comprises good and bad conduct which includes the values that influence the conduct. Generally, contemporary culture has given humans unprecedented liberty and prosperity which has necessitated the growth of the concept of ethics.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on The Privatization or Commodification of Water specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Business ethics on the other hand has existed in the form of reflection on the ethical dimensions of business exchanges and institutions whereby the concept has been understood in two distinctive ways, where one group views it from the background of philosophy while the other group views it from the background of business community (Brenkert and Beauchamp 3). These two approaches are not exclusive, but the philosophical approach appears to be the broader of the two. In all cases, it becomes importa nt to appreciate the fact that moral problems and the process of analyzing them invites different forms of useful analysis. Water forms an essential commodity that ensures continuity of life, though for a long time no systematic way has been elaborated in appreciating its value (Brown and Schmidt 3). For long, people have regarded water as a renewable commodity that has potential to develop without limit. With the larger society utilizing water in different ways such as irrigation, energy and burgeoning urban centers, the reality is now clearer that like just other renewable commodities, water is a finite resource. However, providing answers to modern water problems requires giving answers to questions of value: how should society capture, store or distribute water; at what cost; for whom; and for how long (Brown and Schmidt 4). All these questions are regarded as ethical because just like any other essential resource, determining a fair and just distribution of water has direct eff ects on human and nonhuman lives and also the systems that sustain them. Commodification of water Borgmann argues that the driving force of the contemporary society is the aspect of commodification which is described as, that vital structure of modern society of the market which conveys a sense of moral censure (Borgmann 143). The author, in reference to Viviana Zelizer, states that, â€Å"economic prophets have frequently warned us against global commodification and the loss of the moral-emotional fiber it brings† (Borgmann 144). Using the Marx’s concept of commodification, Borgmann first sees the concept to possess the verb to commodify, which to him is â€Å"to draw something from outside the market into the market so that it becomes available for sale and purchase† (Borgmann 144).Advertising Looking for research paper on public administration? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Marx looked at the various ways in which capitalism perceived the production of things such as wheat, shoes and clothing out of the hands and circumstances of the farmers, artisan and householders, stripped them of their context of skills and persons, of exchanges and uses and made them into commodities (goods) whose importance was reduced to their price. Moreover, Marx became critical of how labor was being converted into something that could be purchased and sold under conditions that only favored the capitalists and made the workers beggars (Borgmann 144); thus, commodification became purely and totally exploitation. The contemporary discussions continue to see the concept of commodification as contested. In such discussions, the broader agreement has remained that, certain goods such as justice should never be for sale (Borgmann 145). But other goods have continued to draw divided opinions. For a long time, goods at issue in this discussion have generally constituted those in Michael Walzer’s list of items which are subject to ‘blocked exchanges’: 1) Human beings; 2) political power and influence; 3) criminal justice; 4) freedom of speech, press, religion, assembly; 5) marriage and procreation; 6) the right to leave the political community; 7) exemptions from military service, from jury duty, and from any other form of communally imposed work; 8) political offices; 9) basic welfare services like police protection or primary and secondary schooling; 10) desperate exchanges; 11) prizes and honors of many sorts; 12) divine grace; 13) love and friendship; and 14) a long series of criminal sales (Borgmann p.145). The above list can be complete if addition of certain public goods is made. These public goods are; clean air and clean water, safety from crime, basic health care and public lands. The main argument in disfavor of commodification of public goods is that commodification may leads to social injustice, for instance, if education is totally commodified, the chil dren of the poor will get no education or for them, inferior education will be enough (Borgmann p.145). Commodification of water: Public vs. Private debate There exist two debates that continue to dominate the lives of many people concerning the issue of water. For instance, there are arguments whether water services should remain public or go private. One of the arguments â€Å"is concerned with practical issues of efficiency and economics, and the other is about principle† (Snitow, Kaufman and Fox p.10). Privatizing water in a country like USA has been a hard venture to undertake. Those opposed to such move include personalities such as Barlow of the Council of Canadians and Tony Clarke of Canada’s Polaris Institute (Snitow, Kaufman and Fox 10). The two have opposed the move to privatize water in principle and they are convinced that private companies should only get involved in narrow areas of infrastructure development but not allowed to have ownership, control or delivery of the basic service.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on The Privatization or Commodification of Water specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More To them, the process or actions of commodifying water is generally wrong in terms of ethics, environmental and social (Snitow, Kaufman and Fox p.10). They are on the view that the process will, â€Å"insure that decisions regarding the allocation of water would center on commercial, not environmental or social justice considerations; privatization means that management of water resources is based on principles of scarcity and profit maximization rather than long-term sustainability† (Snitow, Kaufman and Fox 10). Contrary to this position, there is a divergent view which has been adopted by Peter Cook of the National Association of Water Companies who is convinced that if market principles are applicable to other products in the market, then water as a commo dity cannot be exceptional. Cook sees nothing wrong or unethical in making profits from water since the money which has been pumped into the business by the investors is used to benefit customers and provide them with services. Cook sums up his position by quoting the bible by stating that, the bible and especially the Ten Commandments have no provision that prohibits people from making profits, and utilities need to be operated as enterprises (Snitow, Kaufman and Fox pp.10-11). To this extent, â€Å"the practical debate over who can provide water better focuses on the issues of transparency, efficiency, rates, and sustainability† (Snitow, Kaufman and Fox pp.11).. Indeed, most of these values are possible in public controlled enterprises but far more difficult in private owned enterprises or corporations. Ethical dilemma The essence of water being a commodity that sustains life has drawn conflicting debates and reactions on whether it is ethical to commodify and therefore sub ject it to market competition principles. This particular confusion has been precipitated by the actions of United Nations to declare that water is a human right that should be accessible to everyone. The question that arises is; are their moral consequences that arise as a result of commodifying water and hence its availability and accessibility largely become determined by market mechanisms? Ethical lapse In most cases, ethical lapse can be categorized into three groups: deception, stealing and harming (Howard and Korver 13). There exists many variants to these but the mentioned three have come out as the most wrongdoings which people commit.Advertising Looking for research paper on public administration? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Lying has been described in many ways that include: doctor, cover up, overstate, understate, misinform, misguide or stretch the truth (Howard and Korver p.14). additionally, the act of lying has psychological costs, for example, when individuals lie there is always a clash between their values and who they are; lying also creates barriers in relationships and soils self-image of an individual (Howard and Korver p.15). Moral reasoning The contemporary society is faced with a situation where people are facing dilemma on various ethical decisions and as a result there have been numerous methods of moral reasoning. Moral reasoning has taken center stage in various social issues as people continue to debate on what is right and what is wrong or what ought to be or not be done. In most cases many people are convinced that it is not necessary the principles which determine what is right or wrong, but the consequences produced by the actions in question (Rae p.81). When a particular course of action or decision produces the best set of consequences, then to majority such actions need to be allowed and accepted. In other words the action(s) that produces the greatest balance of benefits over harms is the one that is considered as the most moral. Generally actions considered right or wrong (morality) should depend on the situation and also on what the cultural consensus of right and wrong is at that time. In the case of commodifying water, if the society and hence culture reaches consensus that water commodification is wrong then it would be morally wrong to commodify or privatize water. Ethical approaches Utilitarianism ethics Utilitarianism ethics postulate that morality of an act is determined by the end result. From this observation, utilitarianism conviction is that the moral choice is the one that produces the greatest good for the greatest number of people or at the same time the moral choice is the course of action that produces more good consequences than harmf ul ones. Utilitarianism sometimes is regarded as consequentialism ethics due to its emphasis on the consequences of an action. Jeremy Bentham, one of the philosophers credited to utilitarianism believed in hedonistic utilitarianism which postulates that â€Å"the most moral acts are those that maximize pleasure and minimize pain† (Rae p.85). On the other hand John Mill, another believer of utilitarianism ethics established his approach which differed from that of Bentham which was general concept of maximizing the general happiness, or what he termed as the greatest good for the greatest number. Hence ethics can be seen as the art of directing the actions of people so as to bring about the greatest possible happiness to all those who are concerned with these actions. As a result, Bentham observed that the interests of the community are simply the sum of the interests of its members. In sum the utilitarianism principle hold that, â€Å"an action is right from an ethical point of view if and only if the sum total of utilities produced by that act is greater than the sum total of utilities produced by any other act the agent could have performed in its place† (Fernando p.34). Water commodification can be analyzed within the precepts of utilitarianism ethics where business principles can take a backseat to consequences, if on balance, commodification of water provides more beneficial consequences for more people then utilitarianism ethics consider it to be the most moral choice. Evaluation of actions needs to be made on the basis of benefits or harms the action(s) will bring upon human beings. The morality of the theory is that, individual or an organization performing particular actions need to impartially take into account interests of everyone on equal basis. Kantian ethics Kant was convinced that morality should be derived from recognition that people share a common human condition and what makes humans valuable and special is their ability to re ason and that moral rules based on reason should govern human behavior. To Kant moral rules need to be based on tradition, intuition, desire, conscience, emotion and sympathy and that free will among humans comes from their ability to reason and prompts them to develop rules for moral behavior which in turn can be applicable universally disregarding utilitarianism consequences. The moral rules established needs to recognize the fact that all people have a certain human dignity and therefore they should be accorded respect as autonomous beings (Fernando p.35). According to Kant moral ethics, an action is only moral for an individual in a certain situation if, and only if, the individual’s reason for carrying out the action is one that he or she would be willing to have every person act on in any similar situation. At the same time moral worth would not be attached to an action motivated singularly to promote individual interests or for pleasure and that if an action is wrong f or other people, it is wrong for any one person. For Kant an action is regarded morally worth if it reflects a good will and it is only when individuals act from duty that their actions are regarded to be moral worth. As a result Kant believes that ethics should be grounded in reason alone and not on human nature (Fernando p.35). Ethicality in commodifying water On November 27 2002, United Nation declared water to be a human right for the first time and went a head to require states to adopt key legal mechanisms that would ensure this fundamental right is achieved (Sierra Club par. 1). From UN observation, the conviction was that privatizing water could not be achieved since it is impossible to marry the profit motive of a private enterprise and the necessity and importance of a commodity like water which many people require in order to survive (utilitarianism). The conclusion is that the issue of rendering water as a private thing should be done away from the market place since wat er belongs to earth, to all species, to the future generation and in this regard no one has the right to commodify water for personal (deontological) or corporate gain (Sierra Club par. 1). On advancing this claim, the Cochabamba Declaration of December 8, 2000, which brought together interested parties aimed at ensuring the privatization of water, was not achieved (welfare concern). To cement and solidify their claim the group came up with key points to be observed which turned out to constitute the Cochabamba Declaration (Sierra Club par. 4). To the group access to water is the fundamental right of every human and all humans are required to respect nature as they use water given by the earth. The three main points formulated were: Water was described to belong to the earth and also to all species of the world and that water need to be regarded as sacred to life, and from this view the water of the world needs to be conserved, reclaimed and put under adequate protection in order t o ensure the future generation is safe; Water was described as fundamental human right and also as a public trust that needs to be guarded by all structures of the government and as a result it should not be commodified, privatized or commercially traded; lastly Water can be best protected by local communities and people and who must be given equal respect as partners of various governments in the process of protecting and regulating water (Sierra Club par. 5). Conclusion Water ethic has developed in many societies as a result of continued efforts by enterprises and corporation to commodifying water. As a result, in most societies specifically the developed ones, water ethics commodification and privatization with marginalized access to water continue to raise key questions such as: Can water be sustainably managed while the global financial institutions and transnational corporations possess the means to do so? How can the empowerment of public and rights of people over water be r estored? How can global skills, capital and user practices are reconciled with the need and desire for control over water of local people? Such questions give an impression of how fundamental ethics has become essential in addressing the issue of water commodification. Ethical reasoning in regards to water will ensure proper, efficient and sustainable use of water despite its scarcity in nature. Works Cited Borgmann, Albert. Real American ethics: taking responsibility for our country. IL, University of Chicago Press. 2006. 16 August 2010. https://books.google.com/books?id=fJJccik-SRECpg=PA145dq=Ethics+of+commodification+of+waterhl=enei=zQZpTPagL5H34gb75pyZBAsa=Xoi=book_resultct=resultresnum=3ved=0CDIQ6AEwAg#v=onepageq=Ethics%20of%20commodification%20of%20waterf=false. Brenkert, George G. and Beauchamp, Tom L. The Oxford Handbook of Business Ethics. NY, Oxford University Press US. 2009. 16 August 2010. https://books.google.com/books?id=Qn1BDj7SRUsCpg=PA78dq=Ethics+of+commodification+ of+waterhl=enei=GvJoTPmcB4aS4gb6npCZBAsa=Xoi=book_resultct=resultresnum=9ved=0CFkQ6AEwCA#v=onepageqf=false. Brown, Peter G. and Schmidt, Jeremy J. Water Ethics: Foundational Readings for Students and Professionals. NW, Island Press. 2010. 16 August 2010. https://books.google.com/books?id=fwFXY-vAwNsCpg=PA161dq=Ethics+of+commodification+of+waterhl=enei=GvJoTPmcB4aS4gb6npCZBAsa=Xoi=book_resultct=resultresnum=4ved=0CDgQ6AEwAw#v=onepageqf=false. Fernando, A. C. Business Ethics: An Indian Perspective. New Delhi, Pearson Education India, 2009. 16 August 2010. https://books.google.com/books?id=A-k_uWkGCEUCpg=PA35dq=business+ethics+theorieshl=enei=Od1rTLK0EcHT4wa4ncDkAgsa=Xoi=book_resultct=resultresnum=3ved=0CDYQ6AEwAg#v=onepageq=business%20ethics%20theoriesf=false. Howard, Ronald A. and Korver, Clinton D. Ethics for the real world: creating a personal code to guide decisions in work and life. MA, Harvard Business Press. 2008. 16 August 2010. https://books.google.com/books?id=OqnrtQFfXb0Cpr intsec=frontcoverdq=Ethics+for+the+Real+World.hl=enei=RBtqTKP8LZCl4Qan5OCaAQsa=Xoi=book_resultct=resultresnum=1ved=0CCUQ6AEwAA#v=onepageqf=false. Rae, Scott B. Moral Choices: An Introduction to Ethics. MI, Zondervan, 2000. 16 August 2010. https://books.google.com/books?id=n55iiynlwmMCpg=PA77dq=moral+reasoninghl=enei=1sVrTN_nHMKk4Qb9kJz3Agsa=Xoi=book_resultct=resultresnum=8ved=0CFMQ6AEwBw#v=onepageq=moral%20reasoningf=false. Sierra Club. Corporate Water Privatization: Water is a Human Right not a Commodity. 2008. 16 August 2010. http://www.sierraclub.org/committees/cac/water/human_right/. Snitow, Allan, Kaufman, Deborah and Fox, Michael. Thirst: fighting the corporate theft of our water. CA, John Wiley and Sons. 2007. 16 August 2010.https://books.google.com/books?id=wyW30HVewtACpg=PA10dq=Ethics+of+commodification+of+waterhl=enei=tiNpTMXOIuTT4waqqZiZBAsa=Xoi=book_resultct=resultresnum=2ved=0CC0Q6AEwATgK#v=onepageq=Ethics%20of%20commodification%20of%20waterf=false. This research paper on The Privatization or Commodification of Water was written and submitted by user Londyn F. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Homosexuality Same

Homosexuality Same Homosexuality: Same-sex Marriage and Homosexuality Essay Why so Differently? Being different colour, shape, gender, a different culture is like being gay; being different, but if we are allowed to be different colours, be any shape, be any gender, or even come from any different culture, then why are people not allowed being homosexual? James M. Barrie once said â€Å"As soon as you can say what you think and not what some other person has thought for you, you are on the way to being remarkable†. Being different is not very hard but accepting that you are, is challenging. Throughout the class we watched many different documentaries on marginalized voices and one of them was about marginalizing homosexuality because of religion. In my opinion homosexuality should not be marginalized because: Everyone has equal rights; they do not harm other people; and a lot of religions allow it. In 2004, Canada legalized same sex marriage. Where homosexuals were given rights to get married. We live in a world where an individual is allowed to free and do anything it wants, and by anything meaning anything that is legally allowed. If we, straight people are given rights to take part in marriage and be looked as a normal couple then why can’t a homosexual who loves another gay person be able to be together? Or even be respected as a normal couple? It is only because they are the same gender. When there is a black and white couple, society does not say anything or even when a mixed marriage is happening where the two cultures are different, still not a sound, but when it comes to a gay couple everyone starts talking. An individual is given the right to be gay, straight or whatever therefore people should not have anything to say or do towards that specific individual. When watching the documentary â€Å"Cure for Love† there was this one scene where Jon mentioned h ow he started cutting himself after coming back from the ex-gays and he came out as being gay. He said that he was doing that because of the pressure from his family and friends, how they would never speak to him if he was to continue being gay. Society says that homosexuals are not the right kind of people but it is not like we play our part and help them out, but yet get these kind of people into situations where they start committing suicide or just hurt themselves just like how Jon started doing only because â€Å"we† do not like the fact that the same sex couple want to be together. Instead we are the one harming them. Personal meaning you own. If a person wants to be gay that is not your problem. You have nothing to do with it. We as individuals are allowed to have the right to have an opinion but that should not have an effect on anyone but your own self. If a person wants to be gay let him/her be, there is no power that could stop them other than themselves. Going way back when there was no such thing as homosexuality to now where a lot are gay, the majority of the society seems to be accepting homosexuality more so the lesbian part of it. In one of our class discussions we talked about how nowadays people have nothing to say when it comes to lesbians but still do not like gays. In cure for love Jon, Brian, and Anna, the three struggled throughout the movie because they had to choose either they want religion or to be gay and be able to practise their religion. Brian and Anna chose to follow their religion and not be homosexuals but Jon found another way where he could follow his religion and be gay. Brian who is married to Anna, he seems really positive and happy as a straight married couple, but Anna, throughout the movie she looked depressing and disappointed almost as though she was forced to marry Brian and now she cannot do anything. Anna seemed like she wanted to be single, straight and practice her religion but for her to do that she had to marry Brian. Many religions around the world allow homosexuality and many do not. This is where it gets hard, let alone friends, family and everything else; I feel that when it comes to

Cell Phones Should Be Allowed in Class Assignment

Cell Phones Should Be Allowed in Class - Assignment Example Cell phones have enormous benefits to offer to the society and its members and thus individuals expect to be able to use them every one. One setting where cell phones have been enormously criticized is in classrooms. Although cell phones have been criticized, this technology should be allowed in classrooms because this technology enhances learning, security, and connectivity.  Mobile phones should be allowed in classrooms because these devices enhance learner’s learning. Those who oppose this technology in classrooms believe that this technology is an obstacle in learning because this technology diverts the attention of the student from what is being taught in the class. These devices do not become an obstacle to learning what is being taught, they rather support and enhance the understanding of the course material. There are many instances when even the instructors fail to provide information relevant to the course material. In such instances, cell phones allow individuals to search for information in connection with course material and this information does not only benefits the user, this information even benefits other class members and the instructor. According to Ferriter, mobile phones can be used in classrooms to replace essential classroom supplies (Ferriter 1). Ferriter states that while conducting a lab experiment students required timers to time their experiments. There were insufficient timers to help the students, so mobile phones were used as timers and this activity allowed cell phones to perform various functions such as helping students in locating definitions and sharing of knowledge with other students through texting.  Security is one of the major issues that have been addressed by the use of cell phones. When students are restricted in a classroom they are unaware of the happening in the world outside the classroom. Due to this students face security issues as information regarding negative events taking place outside the classr oom is essential for students to take preventive measures while returning to their homes.

The Critiquing Process in Developing Reliable and Valid Body of Essay

The Critiquing Process in Developing Reliable and Valid Body of Knowledge - Essay Example According to their first hypothesis, the coaches of different genders (male or female) would react upon the RLSS differently in leadership behaviors. On the other hand, the second hypothesis refers to the occurrence of differences on the RLSS among different coaching levels that include college, high-school and junior-high. Summary The data forming the sample was non-random, which comprise of 162 coaches being selected on the volunteer basis. There were 118 (73%) male coaches and 44 (27%) female coaches with in the sample. In relation to the level of coaching, the sample included 25 (15%) junior-high coaches, 99 (61%) high-school coaches and 38 (24%) college-level coaches. Although this makes a good sample however the issue is in the distribution of the sample, particularly, the sample number for the junior-high-level coaches is relatively low. Instead, a larger sample constituting all categories of coaches would have been helpful in the analysis of the data, especially in the case o f the potential interaction of gender with the level of coaching. The tool employed was the Revised Leadership for Sport Scale that was created by Zhang, Jensen and Mann (1997). The RLSS can be used to evaluate the 6 leadership behaviors that include training and instructional behavior, autocratic behavior, democratic behavior, social support behavior, situational consideration behavior and positive feedback behavior. Sixty statements were used in the scale, being preceded by the phrase, ‘In coaching, I’. Each one of these 60 statements were accompanied by a Likert scale that is: 1 for ‘never’, 2 for ‘seldom’, 3 for ‘occasionally’, 4 for ‘often’, and 5 for ‘always’. This constructed a data set of ordinal level of measurement. Scales were monitored according to various environmental settings such as the gymnasiums, the fields of practice, the classrooms and the offices. The internal consistency was estimate d for each type of leadership behavior, which corresponds to 84 % for training and instructional behavior, 70 % for autocratic behavior, 66 % for democratic behavior, 52 % for social support behavior, 69 % for situational consideration behavior and 78 % for positive feedback behavior. Nevertheless, there was no information provided in relation to the validity of RLSS. Evaluation & Review In order to analyze the data, a MANOVA was employed for the

Flumequine and Balofloxacin

Flumequine and Balofloxacin Made by LAB GROUP: F2 Lab Instructors: T.A/ Spring 2015 Table of Contents: Introduction on (Flumequine) pg. 3 and (Balofloxacin) pg. 4 Discussion on (Flumequine) pg. 5, 6, 7 and (Balofloxacin) pg. 8, 9, 10 Conclusion pg. 11 Reference pg. 12 Flumequine: The first of the quinolone family is the nalidixic acid. The drug was followed by the floroquinolones including flumequine which is a 1st generation agent in the floroquinolones. The first generation including flumequine had a variety of problems such as: Limited activity poor distribution tendon ruptures Hepatotoxicity and additive effect on neurological disorders ex: myasthenia gravis All of the first generation drugs were used for the treatment of infections in the urinary tract. The benzo quinolzine (flumequine) was invented in 1973 by (rikker labs) a german inventors. Flumequine is known to be the first of the quinolone family to include a fluoride at carbon number six on the skeleton of the quinolone compound. Although flumequine is basically the first of all floroquinolones it is frequently overlooked upon classification of this class of drugs through generations; it was omitted from the list. It is more often used for the treatment of farm animals and on certain cases pets. And as follows the use in humans is for infections in the urinary tract. It was originally used only for urinary tract infections until reports of toxicity were filed reporting anaphylactic shock and degrees of damage in the liver. The (FDA) food and drug administration made a request on all the quinolone and floroquinolone boxes to be delivered to contain a black boxed warning thus, noti fying the risks of sudden ruptures in the tendon which basically includes the flumequine. As well letters were sent to physicians based on the FDA's request to notify the doctors. The tendon complications were also exhibited in flumequine. The majority of floroquinolone generic versions did not include the black boxed warning in 2009 September as well some reports were filed to claim that this information was never distributed or shared among pharmacists and some products to this day still are shipped without the warning or medication guide that the physicians and pharmacists can distribute. Uses (licensed): Infections in the urinary tract Balofloxacin: Balofloxacin is often potent as an antibacterial agent. It has a broad spectrum bactericidal activity. It is less toxic than other fluoroquinolones. The distinction between a quinolone drug and a fluoroquinolone drug is the addition of fluorine to the basic pharmacophore, which causes a fluorinated drug. Quinolones and fluoroquinolones terms are often used interchangeably regardless of this distinction. Balofloxacin is a third generation fluoroquinolone. A meta-analysis of skin infections and fluoroquinolones showed that the fluoroquinolones are more associated with unfavorable reactions than beta lactam. However, the increase was due to a slight to moderate rate of nausea and diarrhea higher. Enough to cause serious side effects withdrawal of the trial occurred at similar rates. Rarely, fluoroquinolones have been associated with serious and adverse effects on the musculoskeletal system, cardiovascular system, central nervous system and peripheral nervous system, circulatory system, the maxillofacial system, endocrine system, gastrointestinal system the urological system, liver, brain, skin, and sensory systems such as sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste. After a single dose toxic reactions had been reported to occur. Uses: Uncomplicated infections of the urinary tract Chemical structure: Flumequine: Chemical structure and formula: C (14) H (12) F (1) N (1) O (3) IUPAC name: 9-fluoro -6, 7 dihydro -5 methyl -1 oxo -1H, 5H -benzo quinolizine -2- carboxylic acid Mode of action: Flumequine is mainly an antibiotic that is broad spectrum and mostly active against gram positive bacteria and gram negative. Mechanism works through the inhibition of gyrase DNA, topoisomerase specifically type 2 and type 4; they are enzymes that are responsible for bacterial DNA segregation therefore by inhibiting them the bacteria cannot replicate hence, inhibition of cell division. This mechanism might also alter mammalian cell division. Basically the drugs of high activity could lead to toxic effects in mammals. The report of DNA damage was first filed in 1986, its mechanism of cytotoxicity is still unknown. Dosage forms: For veterinary forms: Oral solutions (10-20%) prescription required For human forms: Oral tablets (400mg) notice: it is discontinued 20% solution Tablet formulation stopped Synthesis of flumequine: Structure activity relationship (SAR): The fluorine that is present at carbon number six which enhances the inhibition of gyrase and cellular penetration. The carbon number seven constituent was found to control cell permeability according to the properties of the constituent. Substitution of N number 1 is essential in obtaining the anti-bacterial properties. The introduction of a butyl group at N number 1 enhances the activity against the gram positive bacteria and little or minimal reduction of activity against gram negative bacteria. At position two the addition of nitrogen did show an improvement of the pharmacokinetic properties. At positions 4 and 3 they do have a link with the keto and carboxylic group which is an essential thing for binding to the gyrase DNA. At position number 5 the substitution by small groups like amino, nitro, halogens and alkyl groups could improve the tissue distribution and absorption. Though suggestions were raised that the substitution at position 5 could decrease the anti-bacterial properties. At position 6 the substitution by F, H, Br, Cl, nitro, methyl and Cyanide would actually increase the potency of anti-bacterial activity by means of improving the binding and penetration abilities. Metabolism: Flumequine is known to have good absorption thus, well absorbed and is mainly excreted in feces and urine as a glucuronide conjugates according to the parent drug and active ingredient of metabolism which is flumequine 7-hydroxy. The drug is eliminated within 168 hours after dosing. Major residue was found in chickens, pigs and sheep to be in the form of flumequine 7-hydroxy it was found in minimal amounts. The detection of the parent drug was only found in trout. Metabolism can be summarized as well absorbed and metabolized in the liver. Balofloxacin: IUPAC: 1-Cyclopropyl-6-fluoro-8-methoxy-7-(3-methylaminopiperidin-1-yl)-4-oxoquinoline-3-carboxylic acid Synthesis: Mode of action First and second generation fluoroquinolone selectively inhibit the field of ligase topoisomerase II, leaving two areas nuclease intact. This modification, combined with the constant action in the bacterial cell by topoisomerase II, results in fragmentation of DNA through nuclease activity domains of intact enzymes. fluoroquinolones that are third and fourth generation are more selective for the ligase domain topoisomerase IV and therefore improved the gram positive coverage. Fluoroquinolones can enter cells through porins easily thus, could be used for the treatment of pathogens that are intracellular such as Mycoplasma pneumoniae and Legionella pneumophila. Too many bacteria that are gram-negative, the target is the DNA gyrase, in turn the topoisomerase IV is the target of many Gram-positive bacteria. Some compounds of this class were found to inhibit the synthesis of mitochondrial DNA. Dosage forms: Tablets 100-400 mg oral Metabolism: Pharmacokinetics of balofloxacin, the new fluoroquinolone, was a study conducted on mice, dogs and rats through liquid chromatography (high-performance). The bioavailabilities oral means of balofloxacin it was obtained through calculation of the AUC (area under the curve) after intravenous and oral in mice, rats and dogs 87.50 and 87.73%, respectively, suggesting that was absorbed almost entirely balofloxacin in rats and dogs, but not in mice after single oral administration. The average elimination half-life in plasma after intravenous injection in mice, rats and dogs are 0.92, 1.33 and 6.38 hours, respectively. I mean cumulative urinary excretion rate unchanged balofloxacin within 24 hours of oral administration of balofloxacin in dogs, mice and rats respectively. May secrete a small part of the metabolism in the urine as glucuronide balofloxacin and N-desmethyl balofloxacin in these species. After oral administration of balofloxacin in a dose of 100 mg / kg in rats, and was for a long period of absorption compared with those after administration in doses of 5 and 20 mg / kg. The plasma concentration-time profiles and pharmacological parameters of balofloxacin in male mice similar to those found in female mice, suggesting a lack of sex-related differences. Once a day for 21 days, multiple departments were not affected by this drug in mice of balofloxacin formations. Structure activity relationship (SAR): The fluorine that is present at carbon number six which enhances the inhibition of gyrase and cellular penetration. The carbon number seven constituent was found to control cell permeability according to the properties of the constituent. Substitution of N number 1 is essential in obtaining the anti-bacterial properties. The introduction of a butyl group at N number 1 enhances the activity against the gram positive bacteria and little or minimal reduction of activity against gram negative bacteria. The addition at position two of nitrogen did show an improvement of the pharmacokinetic properties. They do have a link at positions 4 and 3 with the keto and carboxylic group which is an essential thing for binding to the gyrase DNA. The substitution at position number 5 by small groups like amino, nitro, halogens and alkyl groups could improve the tissue distribution and absorption. Though suggestions were raised that the substitution at position 5 could decrease the anti-bacterial properties. The substitution at position 6 by F, H, Br, Cl, nitro, methyl and Cyanide would actually increase the potency of anti-bacterial activity by means of improving the binding and penetration abilities. Conclusion: Flumequine: It is a first generation fluoroquinolone Well absorbed orally and metabolized hepatically (glucuronide conjugates) Discontinued due to dangerous adverse effects such as hepatotoxicity Veterinary use only Black box warning Is used for UTI but discontinued in humans Mechanism of action is inhibition of DNA gyrase, less selective than third generation drugs and lower gram positive activity Was administered orally as tablets for human use but discontinued and mainly now as solutions for veterinary use Excreted in feces and urine . Balofloxacin: It is a third generation fluoroquinolone Well absorbed orally and minimal hepatic metabolism It is very useful because it has less adverse effects than other fluoroquinolones Human use No black box warning due to minimal side effects Mainly used for uncomplicated UTI Same mechanism of action of fluoroquinolones (Inhibition of DNA gyrase) more selective and improved gram positive activity due to 3rd generation properties Orally administered in the form of tablets Excreted in feces and urine Reference: Chemspider, Flumequine Available at: http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.3257.html (Accessed: 12 April, 2015) FAO, Food and Agriculture Organization of The United States, Flumequine, Available at: http://www.fao.org/docrep/w8338e/w8338e0a.htm (Accessed: 12 April, 2015) NCBI, Structure Activity relationships of The Fluoroquinolones, Anti microb Agents Chemother (1989) pages: 131-135 Available at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC171443/ (Accessed: 12 April, 2015) World Public Library, Flumequine Available at: http://www.netlibrary.net/articles/flumequine#Mode_of_action (Accessed: 12 April, 2015) Medicine India. Balofloxacin Pharmacology. Available at: https://www.medicineindia.org/pharmacology-for-generic/2923/balofloxacin (Accessed: 13 April, 2015) NCBI. Pharmacokinetics of the new fluoroquinolone balofloxacin in mice, rats, and dogs. (1995). Available at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7646579 (Accessed: 13 April, 2015) WHO. Medical reference publication. (2005). PDF, Available at: http://www.netlibrary.net/eBooks/WPLBN0000173166.aspx (Accessed: 13 April, 2015) Drugs and Pharmacology. Balofloxacin. (2013). Available at: http://drugsandpharmacology.blogspot.com/2013/03/balofloxacin.html (Accessed: 13 April, 2015) 1

The Work of Cindy Sherman :: Photography Photographer

No other artist has ever made as extended or complex career of presenting herself to the camera as has Cindy Sherman. Yet, while all of her photographs are taken of Cindy Sherman, it is impossible to class call her works self-portraits. She has transformed and staged herself into as unnamed actresses in undefined B movies, make-believe television characters, pretend porn stars, undifferentiated young women in ambivalent emotional states, fashion mannequins, monsters form fairly tales and those which she has created, bodies with deformities, and numbers of grotesqueries. Her work as been praised and embraced by both feminist political groups and apolitical mainstream art. Essentially, Sherman’s photography is part of the culture and investigation of sexual and racial identity within the visual arts since the 1970’s. It has been said that, â€Å"The bulk of her work†¦has been constructed as a theater of femininity as it is formed and informed by mass culture†¦ (her) pictures insist on the aporia of feminine identity tout court, represented in her pictures as a potentially limitless range of masquerades, roles, projections† (Sobieszek 229). Born in Glen Ridge, New Jersey, Cindy Sherman grew up in suburban Huntington Beach on Long Island, the youngest of five children and had a regular American childhood. She was very self-involved, found of costumes, and given to spending hours at the mirror, playing with makeup (Schjeldahl 7). Cindy Sherman attended the state University College at Buffalo, New York, where she first started to create art in the medium of painting. During her college years, she painted self-portraits and realistic copies of images that she saw in photographs and magazines. Yet, she became less, and less interested in painting and became increasingly interested in conceptual, minimal, performance, body art, and film alternatives (Sherman 5). Sherman’s very first introductory photography class in college was a complete failure for she had difficulties with the technological aspects of making a print. After her disastrous first attempt in photography, Sherman discovered Contemporary Art, which h ad a profound and lasting effect on the rest of her artistic career (Thames and Hudson 1). Sherman’s first assignment in her photography class was to photograph something which gave her a problem, thus, Sherman chose to photograph her self naked. While this was difficult, she learned that having an idea was the most important factor in creating her art, not so much the technique that she used.

Challenges Facing Managers in Change Process

There are change management models and research still relevant for the 21st Century. The problem however is not with their relevance or their worth, the problem and challenge facing organizational leaders, organizational development experts and researchers relate to the speed and complexity of change required today. (Mildred Golden Pryor, Sonia Taneja, John Humphreys, Donna Anderson, Liza Singleton – Challenges facing change management 2008). Today, change is constant and organization leaders who anticipate change rapidly and responsibly are successful. However, organizational leaders who anticipate change and invent the future are even more successful because those who invent the game are the leaders in their industry, however there are other organizations that are just followers and adapt to change while there are those that do not even survive. According to MTD Training of 2010, in business, change means moving from one way of doing things to another way of doing them. Not every change has to be managed; every organization will need to make a decision about whether or not to employ change management strategies based, in part on how much risk would be associated with not doing so. Change management is an approach to transitioning individuals, teams, and organizations to a desired future state. It is to make something different. You can cause something to change, or you can bring change upon yourself. (Mildred et al, 2008) The process of change impacts on the whole organization and on all individuals working there. Change processes majorly influence: what the organization does, the way the organization does things, the way all business units of the organization communicate and share information, (Problems in Managing Change, Oliver Recklies). This is the manager’s challenge to make things work. Human resource management has an important role in any change process. Change always needs people: for developing objectives, for identifying the need for change, for developing solutions and for implementing these solutions. Technology can support and influence change, but it can never replace people. Still people are to operate the machines, make and implement decisions, not technology or machines. Another challenge of managing change is that there is no chance to ‘undo’ mistakes once they were made. If you allocate resources in an inefficient way, you still have the option to provide additional resources in order to achieve your objective, but there might be wasted resources due to misallocation. If you once failed to make your employees participate in the change process, motivate them into accepting the changes, you will hardly be able to motivate them again. The figure below shows clearly the complexity and scope of change management: Managing change is a challenge that involves coordinating different areas in the organization and the Human Resource has to help employees own the changes alongside quality management, project management, corporate development and usually with a lot to do in Information Technology to have a new, changed organization. Planning and managing change, both cultural and technological, is one of the most challenging elements of a manager's job (Prosci, Neutralizing change threats in the New Year, 2008). Despite these challenges, managers need to be aware that organizations change in a number of dimensions that often relate to one another and can take any direction in the organization. These dimensions include †¢Extent of planning: Although experts differ about how much change can be planned, managers still need to take steps to set up conditions that permit and even encourage change to occur. Degree of change: Changes may be incremental (relatively small, involving fine?tuning processes and behaviors within just one system or level of the organization) or quantum (significant change altering how a company operates). †¢Degree of learning: This dimension relates to the degree to which organizational members are actively involved in learning how to plan and implement change while helping solve an existing problem. †¢Target of change: Organizational change programs can vary with respect to the hierarchical level or functional area of which the change is targeted. Some changes are designed to influence top management and assist them in becoming stronger leaders. Other change programs may involve basic learning, such as customer services techniques for lower level employees. †¢Organization's structure: If it is very stiff and bureaucratic, there may be a need for emphasis on policies, procedures, and rules. Some organizations are very stiff and bureaucratic and may need to â€Å"loosen up. † Other organizations may suffer from lack of organization structure. They may need to emphasize policies, procedures, and rules. Regardless of which forces that cause organizations to see the need for change, organizational leaders, including managers, continue to struggle to maintain or increase their company’ competitive advantage as rapid changes occur from both the external and internal environments. One of the challenges managers face is successfully implementing initiatives that will lead to change and reactions to the fairness of the change implementation, specifically whether the implementation process was handled fairly or not. Cobb et al – 1995) A 2007 benchmarking study â€Å"Best Practices in Change Management† identified poor support and alignment with middle management as one of the big challenges in managing change. This followed other factors considered as obstacles to change including; ineffective sponsorship and resistance from employees. Managers may resist change and this implies not effectively supporting their employees through change. One of the main culprits for thi s obstacle is the manager dilemma. The manager dilemma is a result of two forces at work on managers and supervisors during times of organizational change. First, managers and supervisors are themselves being impacted by the change and they must embrace, internalize and adopt the change to their own work. Second, they must support their employees during the change as well, helping them to embrace and adopt the new solution. During changes in the organization, the managers are often wearing both the â€Å"agent of change† hat and the â€Å"recipient of change† hat. Add to these challenges the fact that middle and front-line managers are critical to sustaining the day-to-day operations of the business and often feel overloaded with that task alone. This could lead to unprofessional management of stakeholders affected by change. Project teams, support functions (like communication, Human Resource, training and development groups) and senior leaders often only wear the â€Å"agent of change† hat, while front-line employees and those who ultimately adopt the change wear only the â€Å"recipient of change† hat. Managers and supervisors wear both hats and the result being that they have the most difficult role in times of change. Unfortunately, their duel role is often overlooked and neglected to the detriment of project and employee well-being. Workload and speed of change process becomes too big for the manager. Resistance to change is a very big challenge to managers, this is due to reasons like the proposed change ppearing to violate values/ethics or culture generally, the inertia may already exist in the system and change is not easily blended in, the proposed changes may represent uncertainty in different dimensions, there may also be a misunderstanding of proposed changes, fear of loss usually on the side of stake holders, threat of security of organizational members or employees in terms of their jobs, also when personal antagonism exists among group members, when there is lack of confidence in the change sponsor(s) or the change agent(s), lack of participation among team members, fa ilure to see the need for change, when timing is very poor, when there is a disruption of social relationships, at times the proposed change could also upset power balances, resistance may also be due to informal organizational pressure against the change, sometimes a belief that the change is a form of criticism about the way things have been done could cause resistance and sometimes there is a perception that benefits may result if there is a strong resistance to change. Resistance may be a very big challenge that the manager alone may not be able to handle alone. Sometimes managers delegate the whole responsibility to manage the change to employees and only expect to get progress reports from them; this usually may become a very big challenge if things do not go as planned or if the employee does not understand the whole change. The employee does not actually have a responsibility to manage change, the employee's responsibility is to do their best, which is different for every person and depends on a wide variety of factors like health, maturity, stability, experience, personality, motivation, etc. Responsibility for managing change is with management and executives of the organization and they must manage the change in a way that employees can cope with it. The manager has a responsibility to facilitate and enable change, and all that is implied within that statement, especially to understand the situation from an objective standpoint which may mean to ‘step back', and be non-judgemental, and then to help people understand reasons, aims, and ways of responding positively according to employees' own situations and capabilities. Increasingly the manager's role is to interpret, communicate and enable and not to instruct and impose, which nobody really responds to well. Some managers are misunderstood when they introduce change; this is also a challenge that might lead to conflict with employees. Using expressions like mindset change', and ‘changing people's mindsets' or ‘changing attitudes', often indicates a tendency towards imposed or enforced change and it implies strongly that the organization believes that its people currently have the ‘wrong' mindset, which is never the case. If people are not approaching thei r tasks or the organization effectively, then the organization has the wrong mindset, not the people. Change such as new structures, policies, targets, acquisitions, disposals, re-locations, etc. , all create new systems and environments, which need to be explained to people as early as possible, so that people's involvement in validating and refining the changes themselves can be obtained. Management may lack the necessary training, empathy and facilitative capability which are priority areas since managers are crucial to the change process, it becomes a bigger challenge if managers merely convey and implement policies from above without knowing much about them and because people and teams need to be empowered to find their own solutions and responses, with facilitation and support from managers, and tolerance and compassion from the leaders and executives, management and leadership style and behaviour are more important than clever process and policy. Employees need to be able to trust the organization and it becomes the manager’s challenge to ensure there is trust between. Managers must agree and work with these ideas, or change is likely to be very painful, and the best people might be lost in the process. In some situations, when people are confronted with the need or opportunity to change, especially when it's ‘enforced', as they may see it, by the or ganization, they can become emotional and so can the managers who try to manage the change. This challenge may require diffusing the emotional feelings, taking a step back and encouraging objectivity, to enable sensible and constructive dialogue. This is the managers’ and trainers’ challenge to find a solution with help of analogies to assist themselves and other staff to look at change in a more detached way. Just as the state of ‘unconscious incompetence', needs to be developed into ‘conscious competence' to provide a basis for training, so is a person's subjective emotion need to be developed into objectivity before beginning to help them handle change. Some managers are not patience and tolerant enough when managing change and yet it is a challenge where the manager is required to help people in these situations to see things differently, bit by bit. This sort of gradual staged change can be found everywhere in the living world. Strong resistance to change is often rooted in deeply conditioned or historically reinforced feelings that require a lot of patience and tolerance towards the people to whom change is being introduced to, the managers ought to have these qualities if they are to manage the change process effectively. It was discovered that people who easily welcome change are not generally the best at being able to work reliably, dependably and follow processes. The reliability/dependability capabilities are directly opposite character traits to mobility or adaptability capabilities. Managers may face the challenge of such people to ensure they can be reliable. Certain industries and disciplines have a high concentration of staff who need a strong reliability/dependability personality profile, for example, health services and nursing, administration, public sector and government departments, utilities and services; these sectors will tend to have many staff with character profiles who find change difficult and as a manager, to help them into change is your challenge. Age is another factor. Erik Erikson's Psychosocial Theory helps to understanding that people's priorities and motivations are different depending on their stage of life. The manager needs to understand people's needs, at different age levels to better be able to manage change, however, this can be a very big challenge for managers especially dealing with older people who are usually rigid and do not believe anything other than what they already know. People's strengths and weaknesses differ and not everyone welcomes change. It requires time to understand the people you are dealing with, and how and why they feel like they do, before you take action, but the manager may not have that time especially if they are faced with such a rapidly changing world, where a delay might give competitors a chance to override and gain a very big competitive edge. This may be a challenge that requires high skill level and competence for the manager. Managers today have a challenge of fast changing environments where by planning, implementing and managing change in a fast-changing environment is increasingly the situation in which most organizations now work. Dynamic environments such as these require dynamic processes, people, systems and culture, especially for managing change successfully, effectively optimizing organizational response to market opportunities and threats. Some organizations may not have capacity to be dynamic due to different reasons and therefore managers face the bigger challenge. In his book, Change management, 2010, Prof. Dr. Olaf Passeheim identified a challenge due to technological changes today. The International and dynamic situation of the global market has created a big need for change, and this has created a challenge of deregulations which have increased the competitive pressure and minimized monopoly power. Managers today work in such very rapid environment where the organization itself might not be in a position to go with the pace, for example, telecommunication companies like MTN, if it does not have financial capacity to afford the required equipments and software that go with the trend or the required skills to operate them. In any case, the manager has to find a way, or lose the game, an impact that may last and could permanently damage the company. Economic ups and downs are a big challenge, they have such a huge impact on organizations and markets for example, the most recent financial crisis that led to cutbacks and reduced employment, managers face the challenge of neutralizing the situation and making necessary change decisions to cope with the situation. (Passeheim – Change Management 2010) Changes in an organization where workforce is never static for example due to changes in gender, age, education, in and out employees create challenges for managers to go with changes because there will always be a need to redesign work, jobs and working groups, to ensure matching job requirements and skills. High financial costs of replacing, upgrading or buying new equipments which the organization may not be in position to procure, this will delay change process for a cost restrictive business. New systems may also fail and the organization is forced to sell the new equipments at reduced prices, pay employees for redundancy or dismiss them with a package because computers replaced them, training that comes with a cost, managers may have to resist implementation of any changes to cut on the costs involved, a decision that might challenge his capacity as a manager. Lack of analysis of strategic and operative challenge in changing the organization, some managers might blindly decide to make changes without analyzing the weight it holds. Some managers consider strategic plans unimportant and in a way ignore what the operative system is like, changes that are not strategically planned may become disastrous as things are only done as they come, operations may be guess work and yet change is something to be handled with care. There may be some unprofessional use of methods in change process as a result. Insufficient problem awareness, if the manager is trying to go through a change process, but does not exactly know the current problems that may have led to the need for change, it will be a very big challenge for him to make the right and appropriate decisions to implement the changes. Insufficient communication in the organization, if departments and employees do not freely and regularly communicate and even the manager is not interactive enough with employees, yet they ought to know what goes on around, change might come as a surprise for many who may not know why it came, many might resist it or just follow blindly and this could greatly compromising quality. Lack of control by managers, it is a challenge if the manager does not have control over employees, operations, systems due to several factors like limitation from superiors or lack of control skills. In such situation, the manager will find it difficult to even bring about change in the organization. Managing through Change – MTD Training and ventus publishing 2010, suggests other challenges that managers are likely to face in the change process, these include thus: ?Key staff may leave Market place changes may make your new initiative more urgent or less important ?Budget cuts may put a freeze on resources that u are dependant upon for implementation of change ?Legal regulations or requirements might change requiring an adoption to your plan ?Consumer response may fail to meet expectations requiring to reconsider your choice ?Competitors may act in ways that require you to revisit your objectives or vision ?Unexpected technology barrier may arise ?Costs, time, requirements or staff hour requirements may begin to exceed estimates. As manager, facing the above discussed challenges, one may have to scale back, expand or abort the change and any expected outcomes. Flexible is an essential requirement if the company is to survive in a competitive world today.