How does Sylvia Fair create the character of Rosie in her short story, The Road Home? Essay

The Road Home by Sylvia Fair tells the story of Rosie a woman with an unnamed mental disability. The short story is about Rosie, tired of the abuse she has suffered at the hands of some delinquents, who taunt her almost every day. She decides to go to the police. The police tell her that the only way to deal with these boys is to charge them; sadly Rosie misunderstands thinking the â€Å"kind policeman† meant for her to literally charge the delinquents and desperate to please she does exactly that. Of course when she does this the policeman is not pleased and does not praise her; he is of course angry at her. The story gives a deep insight into Rosie’s mind and through her see the world in whole new light. As in reality it is almost impossible for us to understand what it would be like to live everyday life looking through eyes that see the world in completely different way. This is what is so attractive about Sylvia Fair’s short story; it gives us an insight tha t under normal circumstances we would never be able to receive. The Road Home opens with the words â€Å"A solid bulge appeared on the skyline of Penwan†¦Ã¢â‚¬  it is very rare in literature for a human being to be described as a â€Å"bulge†, but this opening description portrays Rosie as lacking humanity and the ability to convey complex emotions. However, this is not the case; as the story progresses the reader finds out that Rosie is like a child, she cannot understand complex emotions and her own emotions are simple. The author expresses this by employing short simple sentences conveying Rosie’s feelings such as â€Å"She felt clumsy.† Rosie’s interpretation of things is childlike. She seems to have picked up the lessons from her childhood and misinterpreted them. Things such as upon breaking her glasses the reader is told â€Å"no matter how much she washed them they still remained broken†. Another example is when a car passes her response is â€Å"to watch, to listen, to smell and to think† which brings to mind â€Å"Stop, Look, Cross.† She always takes things people say literally. This is a cause of a great deal of frustration for Rosie. She desperately tries to do what is asked of her, for example her experiences in school â€Å"Little Rosie squeezed the pencil between her fingers and pressed as hard as she could, so hard that the point broke and the paper tore. And still the teacher nagged her to try harder.† I find this extract incredibly poignant. That sentence alone conveys Rosie’s sufferings, her desperation to please those around her and her frustration when she fails to do this. Rosie is very loyal to her Beret and her Wellington as a child is loyal to a treasured teddy bear. She almost relies on them â€Å"she held her beret down to keep the thoughts in† and â€Å"her wellingtons wouldn’t let her leave.† I think the best way to explain this is that Rosie can not see her brain and the beret is the only thing that seems to make sense to her. In the story, as Rosie’s confidence grows she starts to rely on the wellingtons less and less and when towards the end of the story when she loses that confidence she quickly reverts to relying on her wellingtons again. In my mind it almost as if her beret and wellingtons have some kind of parental charm to her, it as almost as if in the absence of her parents she turns to the wellingtons and the beret for protection and care. Rosie is unable to multitask. This is shown when she is conversing with the police. She gets very upset because she is unable to keep up with everyone shouting at her from so many angles that she can’t cope with it and blocks it all out. It is only when she is spoken to kindly and gently that she is able to calm herself and take in the information. Fair does not give much description of Rosie’s appearance at all. We know she’s big, as she is described as being a mountain and a great bulk among other things. Though reading the story the reader gets an impression of her taking pride in her appearance. She takes great care of her wellingtons and her beret, although she has tied the belt rather than buckling it again suggesting her inability to perform tasks most adults take for granted. even though it is suggested she lives in a fairly deserted way I think this is not because she does not like company, but maybe because she does not have the confidence and that she finds it easier to converse with only animals and her beret and wellingtons. At the end of the short story the Road having gained an impression of Rosie’s character and her day to day struggles, it hard not to feel certain empathy towards Rosie. Sylvia Fair affectively describes her desperation for companionship and how the community that she lives in rejects because of her disabilities. Rosie’s story is tragic in the fact that because of her disability she is unable to convey her feelings to those surrounding and therefore must live her life in isolation.

Gilgamesh and Odysseus Essay

Odysseus main challenge is to help defeat the Trojans in the battle of the Trojan horse. All the men who survived the war and the sea were safely back at home, other than Odysseus, he still had a long journey ahead of him. In the beginning of his journey, his challenge was brought upon him by the powerful God of the sea Poseidon. Poseidon became Odysseus enemy after a Cyclops held him and his crewmates captive. After escaping the Cyclops, Odysseus blinded it with fire and his sword. The Cyclops was the son of Poseidon, after telling his dad what happened Poseidon became full of rage and swore to Odysseus that he would pay for what he had done, and he would wander the seas for ten years as his punishment. After leaving the island of the Cyclops, Odysseus encountered Aeolus, who gave him a bag of winds that would have directed him back to Ithaca. However, one of the crewmembers was anxious to see what was in the bag, that he opened the bag while Odysseus was sleeping. Seeing that Odysseus was the only one that was directed to open the bag this caused terrible winds to come out which blew the men further off course. After many other challenges, at sea Odysseus ended up the only survivor. A few days later, he came to the island of the goddess Calypso; she fell madly in love with him, and held captive on her island for seven years. Upon that seventh year things started to change for Odysseus. Athena, daughter of Zeus and Odysseus’ protector, discussed his fate with the other gods that who assembled in Zeus’ home. All of the gods besides Poseidon sympathized with Odysseus, because of what he did to his son. Zeus however told the God Hermes to tell Calypso to let him go and give him a raft, food, and clothing for his journey to Ithaca; this did not settle will with Poseidon. Poseidon again wrecked Odysseus’ raft and which led him to have to swim to an island naked and exhausted. He woke with laughing women around him, who took Odysseus to meet there parents. They later found out who he was and his role in the Trojan war and helped him on his journey back home. A few more things that took place in his journey back home. When Odysseus finally got home back to Ithaca to be with his family he appreciated what he left behind even more. Odysseus when through many tests, all physically, mental, and emotional but he still survived and overcame his adversities. A woman- a goddess formed Enkidu from clay, by the name of  Aruru. A woman (Shamhat) seduced Enkidu. Gilgamesh sent Shamhat, the harlot to Enkidu as a gift but Enkidu was too full of himself to understand the depth and implications of it. The intercourse was for six days and seven nights. Shamhat was supposedly helped Enkidu become a man and a civilized human being. They learned that the love of a woman was valued above all others. In conclusion, the main comparisons between the journeys of Gilgamesh and The Odyssey were men facing several trials and tribulations that women had been the main cause of the problems and challenges. In Gilgamesh, Enkidu had challenges from the goddess and in Odyssey; Odysseus had challenges from the gods and goddess.

Gandhi, Martin Luther King, And Mandela: What Made Non-Violence Work Essay

The history of violence in the world is well documented. However it is also possible to use non-violence to bring about change. This DBQ will look at two countries where a non-violent movement was successful. India and South Africa were two important nations on two different continents. But although they looked strong on the outside, each one suffered from a disease that threatened the health of the whole. For India, the disease was colonization. For South Africa, it was racial segregation. In each of these nations three conditions help explain why non-violence worked. The first condition was that both of them had been colonies of England. And like England both countries thought law was very powerful, more powerful even than government officials. The second condition was the presence of violence. Without the possibility of a violent revolution, the government might not have been willing to change. The third condition was the presence of a leader, Mohandas Gandhi in India and Nelson Mandela South Africa. Each of these men was so charismatic he could lead his followers to a non-violent victory. Both of them gave their lives to the cause. Gandhi was shot by an assassin while Mandela spent almost twenty-seven years of his life in prison. Mohandas Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Nelson Mandela all achieved a revolution and independence in their countries through non-violence. The reason this worked is because the non-violent people would be beaten and killed for doing nothing wrong, this made the attackers look like idiots for killing defenseless people. This would make the attackers realize what they’re doing and they would grant the country independence. The documents provided could be situated into four categories: civil disobedience, self-control, willingness to accept punishment, and embracing the enemy. Document 1 is a letter from Gandhi to Lord Irwin, the English governor in India. The point of view is Gandhi because he is basically telling the governor what his plans of civil disobedience are: Gandhi and the community are going to ignore the Salt Laws and march to the sea to make their own salt. The tone of this letter is very calm and peaceful. Document 2 is an excerpt from Martin Luther King, Jr.’s autobiography along with a photograph of a 1963 sit-in of integration supporters at a lunch counter. The point of view is MLK and the tone of his excerpt is proud because he knows that what  he’s saying is right. This is a good example of non-violence and civil disobedience because the lunch counter was for white people only, and the integration supporters did not fight back at all to the people who may have been throwing stuff at them, pouring stuff on them, or spitting at them. Finally, Document 3 is an excerpt from Nelson Mandela’s book, Long Walk to Freedom, and he is contemplating which tactic to use in order to achieve independence. The tone of this document is just boring because Mandela is simply thinking to himself. After pondering over the situation, he obviously selects the non-violent approach and it works like a charm. An additional document that could be helpful for this category could be a picture of a group of people who are being civilly disobedient and being beaten.

Information Communication Technology in Agriculture Essay

Information Communication Technology in Agriculture - Essay Example In spite of using current existing technology production is coming out poor, which means there are some critical factors that are affecting it. In this paper various approaches will be taken to sort out the key points of this issue. Farmers will be interviewed directly or indirectly in order to get their viewpoints about whether they are receiving proper information and knowledge or not; or the information given to them is sufficient and understandable or not. After proper survey Information Communication Technology (ICT) will be used to rectify them. This paper mostly concentrates on different scopes of ICT in the field of agriculture. Urbanization which directly affects the agricultural land. Before urbanization proper knowledge of land management is necessary. Suppose one land that can accommodate 100 persons adequately but due to improper land management only 50 peoples are getting placed. It results into increase in urban area unnecessarily. This problem can be solved using information technology where, people's habits, tastes and lifestyles are studied and according to that optimum residential area can be defined. Climatic changes like flood drought, weather changes also have impacts on foods1. Today's technology that can be used for sophisticated statistical calculation in order to get idea of climatic change and based on that, steps are taken. The most important factor is lacking ... The most important factor is lacking of proper knowledge among the public regarding the better using of resources. Here Information Communication Technology (ICT) plays one vital role. ICT is the best tool for sharing knowledge among farmers. Establishing rural network will enhance farmers' idea exchanging capability. Apart from that using remote farm consulting system through camera and wireless, adequate information can be delivered. Research Questions Research proposal starts with research question or hypothesis. For this study research questions are: 1. What are the basic problems that agriculture industry is facing today 2. Will Information Communication Technology (ICT) work better for these cases 3. If yes to question 2 then till what extent it will serve our purpose Objectives The main purpose of this research is to see how information communication technology will be used for better agricultural purposes. This research will address the problems related to farmers' awareness and usage of ICT to overcome the issues. The direction of this work will have two three major phases as research questions. First one is going through existing literatures and tools to point out the core problems, the basic variables which are responsible for that degradation and also the extent they are affecting. Second phase will be checking whether ICT can make any improvement over the existing ones. Sampling and survey will be done in this stage. After researcher is confident enough with ICT approach finally, several methodologies will be proposed to implement the idea and then execution of these solutions will be done. Rationale The above figures are examples illustrating the utilization of land

How do Christians view their faith over time and a critique of James Dissertation

How do Christians view their faith over time and a critique of James Fowler's Six Stages of Faith Development - Dissertation Example In between these stages are stages where the individual adheres to religious dogma, then breaks away from the dogma to find his or her own interpretation of faith, then comes back to faith with the newfound beliefs helping one interpret religious scripture in a different light. The methodology used in this study is qualitative in nature, as the methodology involved structured interviews. The results were that the individuals in this study did not progress neatly through Fowler’s stages, as some individuals skipped some stages, others progressed then went back to an earlier stages, and some were in two different stages at once. INTRODUCTION (The word limit for the report is 10,000 words, with only a 10% allowance either way. This draft is far too long. You need to adhere to the word limit in order to pass.) 1234567 This report will attempt to elaborate on Fowler’s Faith Stages, and attempt to use a study to ascertain whether people actually go through the faith stages. T he theory is well grounded in theory, so it would be interesting the see if the theory matches up with reality. The literature review will explain the theory in detail. The next section, Methodology, will explain the methods used for the study. The section after that will explain the data and the results of the interviews. The final section will explain how the interviews lined up with the Faith Stages and give recommendations for further study. The study’s purpose is to use research to understand if Fowler’s Faith Stages accurately represent the Christian Faith and use the data to under(?) the Faith Stages. The findings of the research will help our understanding of Fowler’s Faith Stages and whether the Stages of Faith Development can be applied in the real world. The research questions will be geared towards understanding what Fowler’s stages of faith development are. Can you re-read this please as you have not answered all of what the lecturer wants me to do CHAPTER Â  I: Â  LITERATURE Â  REVIEW NATURE OF IDENTITY (Why?), FOWLERS STAGES OF FAITH & CRITIQUE OF FOWLER’S STAGES OF FAITH In the following chapter literature that is pertinent to the aim of this study will be discussed. In this chapter, I will explain Fowler’s Stages of Faith in detail. This is important, as the nature of the study is how well Fowler’s theory aligns with what individuals actually believe and how individuals actually form their faith, therefore it is necessary to gain an in-depth understanding of these concepts. Please take note of the above in red 1. Nature of Identity 89101112132. Fowler’s Stages of Faith Development 2.1 The Nature of Faith and the Contrast With Religion (?) According to James Fowler, individuals go through six distinct stages in finding faith and meaning in life. Along the way, one’s identity changes through the different ways of processing faith. In Fowler’s case, faith does not necessaril y mean religious faith?, let alone only meaning Christian faith, but, rather, faith is a way of making sense of the forces and relations that touch all of our lives.14 It is a way for an individual to understand that oneself is not alone in the world, but rather there is a meaning and a purpose to what happens in one’s life that has to do with the collective.15 Faith is,according to Fowler, essentially transcendent and universal, and it provides a means for identity integration, as well as providing unity and meaning to one’

Genderism and Architecture Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Genderism and Architecture - Research Proposal Example John could easily pass for a straight man, as he was living in the closet. Even his closest associates would never have dreamed John was gay. But John couldn't take the chance that someone might "out" him to his close friends and family, whom he loved dearly but couldn't with them share his horribly dark secret-that yes, he was gay. Much less would he tell anyone at his workplace that he was gay. For fear of seeming effeminate or less of a man, John decided to keep quiet and keep his nose to the grindstone. What Jane and John face in the world of architecture is not uncommon. Let's hope their dreams to succeed in a straight man's world come true. II. Introduction Unfortunately for many people, genderism is a major topic, especially in the arena of the workplace. For people who are architects, their profession is dominated by the general premise that only socially acceptable architects are straight men. Where, then, does this leave the woman and the gay man Where is their place in their workplace How can they relate to other architects when the cards are stacked against them before they can even prove themselves worthy of the same privileged respect that straight men automatically receive by virtue of their being straight men Undoubtedly, there are many questions which this dissertation will seek to answer. III. Research Question and Methodology How does a woman practicing architecture and a gay man practicing architecture have to fulfill certain stereotypes that do exist in a masculine profession like architecture in order to achieve My research question assumes that, obviously in a straight male-dominated profession, women and gay men are going to be at odds in their careers. They will most likely be constantly...Where, then, does this leave the woman and the gay man Where is their place in their workplace How can they relate to other architects when the cards are stacked against them before they can even prove themselves worthy of the same privileged respect that straight men automatically receive by virtue of their being straight men Undoubtedly, there are many questions which this dissertation will seek to answer. My research question assumes that, obviously in a straight male-dominated profession, women and gay men are going to be at odds in their careers. They will most likely be constantly harassed or worse if they cannot find ways of managing to adapt and/or deal with their work environment as architects. Thus, it must first be proved that architecture is a straight man's domain. Then it will be envisioned what it would be like if everyone had the same opportunities in the field. Finally, both the plights of the woman and the gay man will be examined, after which conclusions will be drawn. and Space (1996), where much of the feel of a house is designed depends on where furniture is placed; indeed, a "spatial-psychological device [can] also be read in terms of power, [and] regimes of control inside the house. Reactions like these would be typical

Cultural Diversity Among The Catholic And The Amish Essay

Cultural Diversity Among The Catholic And The Amish - Essay Example The theologian's study, interpret and explore how human beings should work in the revelation of Christianity to the world and they discuss the foundational issues of faith. Philosophy is the second component of the religion. Philosophy investigates the fundamentals of human knowledge and experience. The third component is traditional liberal arts while the fourth component is the collection of subjects apart from the three subjects of theology, philosophy and liberal arts such as the study of life and natural sciences, the disciplines like computer science etc. Catholic higher education administrators claim that students should not only learn for the purpose of gaining a formal education but also should learn for knowing how to live life on the right path in a moral sense. The Catholic educational institutions are more welcoming and open towards all religions and they treat black, white and international students equally. Their colleges and universities, therefore, â€Å"demonstrated the values of openness and respect for diversity more effectively than other religiously affiliated institutions†. Catholics have the tradition of respecting both popes as well as priests and they read scriptures and also believe in the principle of â€Å"sticking together generally and in falling in line behind their leader†. â€Å"The political and moral conduct of the United States and its citizens, the fate of our Nation, homosexuality in the military, and scandals involving the Catholic clergy—are matters of public import†.... The theologians study, interpret and explore how human beings should work in the revelation of Christianity to the world and they discuss the foundational issues of faith. Philosophy is the second component of the religion. Philosophy investigates the fundamentals of human knowledge and experience. The third component is traditional liberal arts while the fourth component is the collection of subjects apart from the three subjects of theology, philosophy and liberal arts such as study of life and natural sciences, the disciplines like computer science etc. Catholic higher education administrators claim that students should not only learn for the purpose of gaining formal education but also should learn for knowing how to live life in the right path in a moral sense. The catholic educational institutions are more welcoming and open towards all religions and they treat black, white and international students equally. Their colleges and universities, therefore, â€Å"demonstrated the v alues of openness and respect for diversity more effectively than other religiously affiliated institutions† (Morey & Piderit, n.d., part. 2). Catholics have the tradition of respecting both popes as well as priests and they read scriptures and also believe in the principle of â€Å"sticking together generally and in falling in line behind their leader† (Portmann, n.d., p. 81). â€Å"The political and moral conduct of the United States and its citizens, the fate of our Nation, homosexuality in the military, and scandals involving the Catholic clergy—are matters of public import† (Phelps et al. 2010, p. 12). Catholics believed in the sin principle. â€Å"The first sin of disobedience resulted in death to the spiritual nature of

Control Process in Management Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Control Process in Management - Research Paper Example The control process, in this case, can be described by use of the following steps; first, the management of united airlines makes establishes plans (Morden 156). In this cases, the united airline have a committee that is composed of members from the entire department in the organization. The committee is charged with the responsibility of formulating plans for the organizations. The committee formulates plans and set standards to achieve the objectives. The plan formulated by the committee must define the expected results and how results will be verified. Second, measurement of performance actual performance; in this case the management of united airlines measures the actual productivity obtain and this through the various method of performance appraisal. For example, in the year 2007, the actual sales from online booking ticket was 213,456 tickets. The organization a clear method of gathering and reporting tickets sold during the period.  The third step is comparing the actual performance achieved with the standards. This step compares the actual performance with the set standards, in this case, the managers of united airlines determine whether any deviations from the set standards are. In this steps the variation between the actual results and the set standard are determined. In the fourth step, the manager determines the action that should be taken where there are deviations from the set standards. This step is known as the† Take corrective actions† the manager determines the changes that should be taken if there is a ny, and how to implement those changes.

Using Metaphors in Organizations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Using Metaphors in Organizations - Essay Example This essay stresses that metaphorical way of looking at an organization is a very useful way of understanding the organization, developing new concepts and theories that can help in better management and growth of the organization. This can potentially have a very positive influence on the society and environment as well. The discussion above explains how two different metaphors for the same organization can create completely different perceptions and theories in terms of their operations, people, customers and stakeholders. This paper makes a conclusion that emphasis on metaphors can be considered as one of the oldest, most deeply embedded, even indispensable ways of knowing in the history of human consciousness and also form the basis of some of the most central ideas of understanding a concept. In fact, many theorists have agreed with the three reasons Ortony. These theories state that metaphors provide a compact version of an event; they enable people to predict characteristics that are unnamable, and; they are more vivid emotionally, sensorially and cognitively because they are close to perceived experience. In spite of the power embraced by metaphorical expressions, their exploitation creates lot of misunderstanding of the concept. The positive outcomes of metaphorical expression of organizations as brains can be attributed to the sophistication in information processing systems used by the organization, their capacity to handle huge data, and their ability to think and act strategically.

Project Shakti Essay Example for Free

Project Shakti Essay The project was started to explore the business opportunity of the rural market, where the competition will be less than the urban market. The first challenge faced by the Shakti was the low margin to its entrepreneurs and lack of owner ship. Its initial plan was, federations purchase products from HLL and then sell them to SHGs and then to outlets in village. In this model no one took responsibility. This challenge was overcome by changing the business model as follows: A member of the SHG appointed as entrepreneur, who borrow money from respective SHG and buy products directly from HLL. By this model responsibility is only for entrepreneur and no need to share profit as well. HLLs pilot model was with women because they are the bulk consumer for the HLL products and they have access to home of potential consumers. Easy part of the project was the selection of the entrepreneurs. Problem starts once the stock started piling up, which was almost equal to their annual income. To add on to this, loan repayment schedule was also started which was threaten the feasibility of the project. These entrepreneurs did not have any previous experience in undertaking independent economic activity added up failure of this task. HLL had overcome this with following initiatives: 1. They had introduced RSP, to control stock. To reduce the cost they hired the trainers to train entrepreneurs and outsourced the administration to third party 2. Offered incentive for visiting specific number of homes and offered additional incentive for selling specific brands 3. Negotiated with bank to get more time to start initial payment. To scale up the project, implementation team has to undergo following tasks: 1. Arrange government permissions and secure the support of the district administration 2. Identify and seal partnerships with NGOs well established in the region 3. Interact with mainstream HLL sales to identify market for PS 4. Locate SHG and convince them that the project shakti was a reliable, sustainable source of income for their members 5. Appoint a right women as entrepreneurs 6. Ensure a steady supply of products In many placed HLL was not able get support from government, presuming that these attempts are an explosive attempt of a large multinational. This was overcome by the appointing MART and helped them to expand to 50405 villages across 310 districts in 12 states. To scale up they have addressed the requirement of the small income group by introducing low price packs Introduced Vani programme to educate personals and communities on their health and hygiene. Next challenge faced was to change the focus of the buyers from local retailers to Shakti entrepreneur. It has been overcome by doing the following: 1. Personalized service 2. Door step delivery 3. Assurance of quality 4. Credit to regular patrons 5. Creating a network for sale and passing a percentage of the profit to them as well

Dementia Sufferer Mental

Dementia Sufferer Mental Introduction Dementia is a loss of mental function in two or more areas such as language, memory, visual and spatial abilities, or judgment severe enough to interfere with daily life3. Dementia is not a disease itself, sufferers show a broader set of symptoms that accompany certain diseases or physical conditions3. Well known diseases that cause dementia include Alzheimer’s disease, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and multi-infarct dementia3. Dementia is an acquired and progressive problem that affects cognitive functions, behavior, thinking processes and the ability to carry out normal activities. Vision is one of the most important primary senses, therefore serious or complete sight loss has a major impact on a individuals ability to communicate effectively and function independently. Individuals who suffer from both dementia and serious vision loss will inevitably be subject to profound emotional, practical, psychological and financial problems. These factors will also influence others around the sufferer and will extend to family and the greater society. As we get older both dementia and visual problems inevitably become much more prevalent. Current demographic trends show the increase of the number of very old in our population. Therefore it is inevitable that dementia and serious sight loss either alone or together, will have important consequences for all of us3. The vast majority of people are aware that dementia affects the memory. However it is the impact it has on the ability to carry out daily tasks and problems with behavior that cause particular problems, and in severe cases can lead to institutionalization. In the primary stages of dementia, the patient can be helped by friends and family through ‘reminders’. As progression occurs the individual will loose the skills needed for everyday tasks and may eventually fail to recognize family members, a condition known as prospagnosia. The result of such progression is that the individual becomes totally dependent on others. Dementia not only affects the lives of the individual, but also the family9. Dementia can present itself in varying forms. The most common form of dementia in the old is Alzheimers disease, affecting millions of people. It is a degenerative condition that attacks the brain. Progression is gradual and at a variable rate. Symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease are impaired memory, thinking and changes in behaviour. Dementia with Lewy bodies and dementias linked to Parkinsons disease are responsible for around 10-20% of all dementias. Dementia with Lewy bodies is of particular interest as individuals with this condition not only present confusion and varying cognition, but also present symptoms of visual hallucinations9. Another common conditions that causes dementia is multi-infarct dementia, also known as vascular dementia. It is the second most common form on dementia after alzheimers disease in the elderly. Multi infarct dementia is caused by multiple strokes in the brain. These series of strokes can affect some intellectual abilities, impair motor skills an d also cause individuals to experience visual hallucinations. Individuals with multi infarct dementia are prone to risk factors for stroke, such as high BP, heart disease and diabetes. Multi infarct dementia cannot be treated, once nerve cells die they cannot be replaced. X3 In most cases the symptoms of dementia and serious sight loss develop independently. However some conditions can cause both visual and cognitive impairments, for example Down syndrome, Multiple sclerosis and diabetes. Dementia is most prevalent in the elderly, as is sight loss. Therefore it is inevitable that a number of people will present dementia together with serious sight loss. There have been many studies into the prevalence of dementia in the UK. An estimate for the prevalence of dementia in people over 75 years of age is 15% of the population9. The Alzheimer’s society suggest that 775,200 people in the UK suffer from dementia (figures taken 2001). The Alzheimer’s society also calculates that the prevalence of dementia in the 65-75 years age group is 1 in 50, for 70-80 years 1 in 20 and for over 80 years of age 1 in 5. Estimates suggest that by 2010 approximately 840,000 people will become dementia sufferers in the UK. Estimates suggest that around 40% of dementia sufferers are in residential institutions. One study from 1996 showed that dementia sufferers are 30 times more likely to live in an institution than people without dementia. At 65 years of age men are 3 times more likely than women to live in an institution and at 86 men and women are equally likely to be institutionalized10 Visual impairments are not associated general diagnostic features of dementia. However recent research has shown the change in visual function and visual processing may be relevant. Alzheimer’s disease patients often present problems with visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, stereo-acuity and color vision. These problems are believed to be more true of cognitive dysfunction rather than any specific problems in the eye or optic nerve9. Early diagnosis is essential to both dementia and sight loss patients, as drug treatments are becoming more and more available. Therefore maximizing the treatment and care for the individual. On the other hand early diagnosis of visual conditions is also essential, so that progression is slowed and treatment is commenced, therefore further progression is prevented if plausible9. The Mini-Mental State examination MMSE, is the most commonly used cognitive test for the diagnosis of dementia. It involves the patient to undertake tests of memory and cognition. It takes the form of a series of questions/answers and uses written, verbal and visual material. Poor vision or blindness is the most common cause of poor performance on this test other than dementia itself9. Research, development and investment in the future will help to contribute to improved care for dementia and sight loss sufferers. A better understanding of the daily lives and experiences of these people will give us a greater insight into the problems faced and will help to improve the quality of care available9. Alzheimer’s disease The aim of this paper is to provide information about current knowledge on the topic on visual function dementia. With regards to Alzheimer’s disease there will be an inclination to several main foci of research, namely anatomical/structural changes, functional visual changes, cognitive brain changes and other changes such as the effects of diagnostic drugs on Alzheimer’s disease patients. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia amongst older adults. The Alzheimer’s research trust estimates that 700,000 individuals in the UK currently are afflicted. This number will inevitably increase exponentially in the near future with the trend of an increasingly aging UK population. Therefore it must be of the utmost of importance worldwide to have an understanding all behavioral, anatomical and physiological aspects of this disease. Alzheimer’s disease is a degenerative disease that attacks the brain, it begins gradually and progresses at a variable rate. Common signs are impaired thinking, memory and behavior. Health professionals and care givers agree that the memory deficit is usually the initial sign of the disease. However researchers have long known that Alzheimer’s disease is characterized by impairments of several additional domains, including visual function11. However these findings have not yet appeared in the diagnostic guides consulted by healthcare professionals, for example the most recent addition of the Diagnostic Statistical manual of mental disorders states that few sensory signs occur in early Alzheimer’s disease2. Therefore we still have a limited understanding of the true extent to which visual impairments affects Alzheimer’s disease. The current web site of the Alzheimer’s association1 and National Institute of Aging4 make no mention of the topic of sensory changes in Alzheimer’s disease. It has even been said that patients with Alzheimer’s disease report visual problems to their healthcare professionals less frequently than do healthy elderly individuals5. Nevertheless visual function is impaired in Alzheimer’s disease6. In terms of cognitive changes, the neuropathology of this disorder affects several other brain areas which are dedicated to processing low level visual functions as well as higher level visual cognition and attention11. These neuropathological cognitive changes are more dominant however in the visual variant of Alzheimer’s disease known as posterior cortical atrophy, however visual problems are also present in the more common Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s disease begins when there are deposits of abnormal proteins outside nerve cells located in the brain in the form of amyloid. These are known as diffuse plaques, and the amyloid also forms the central part of further structured plaques known as senile or neurotic plaques3. Buildup of anomalous filaments of protein inside nerve cells in the brain can also take place. This protein accumulates as masses of filaments known as neurofibril tangles. Atrophy of the affected areas of the brain can also occur as well as the enlargement of the ventricles3. There is also a loss of the neuro transmitter Serotonin, Acetylcholine, Norepinephrine and Somatostatin. Attempts have been made to try to slow the development of the disease by replacing the neurotransmitters with cholinesterase inhibitors, such as donepezil (Aricept), rivastigmine (excelon), galantamine (Reminyl) and memantine (Namenda)3. These drugs work by increasing the levels of transmitters between cells, which otherw ise become lacking in Alzheimer’s disease. The National Institute for Clinical Excellence NICE conducted a review of these drugs in March 2005 and concluded that none of these drugs provided sufficient enough advantages to the patient in order to justify their cost. They recommended against the use of such drugs in the Nhs, though the Department of Health later overturned this ruling. Visual Changes in Alzheimer’s Patients Loss of vision is a key healthcare dilemma amongst the elderly. By the age of 65 approximately one in three people have a vision reducing eye disease. Dementia, Alzheimer’s disease patients and elderly patients, consequently have many visual conditions in common. Alzheimer’s disease impairs visual; function early in the course of the disease and functional losses correlate with cognitive losses. There are several common visual functional deficits that are frequently identified in Alzheimer’s disease. There is evidence for deficits in Motion perception32,33 contrast sensitivity31 colour discrimination of blue short wavelength hues34 and performance on backward masking tests31 In Alzheimer’s disease the secondary point of damage is usually the visual association cortex and other higher cortical areas as well as the primary visual cortex 35,36. Some of the main changes that occur in the eye with aging inlclude7: The crystalline lens increases in thickness, therefore decreasing its transparency and elasticity; therefore there is a tendency for cataracts to appear. The conjunctiva can become thicker and wrinkled, therefore is subject to deposits such as pinguecela. The iris can atrophy, therefore pupils become constricted and their response to light becomes sluggish. The eyes ability to dark/light adapt is affected. Refractive index of the cornea decreases and it becomes less transparent. Arcus senilis can appear. The ocular globe and eyelids can shrink leading to conditions such as entropian, ectropian and trichiasis. Also while the lachrymal production is reduced the puncta lachrymalis can become stenosed and provide less drainage which gives rise to chronic watering of the eyes Anterior chamber usually becomes more shallow and the sclera more rigid, increasing the prospects of glaucoma. These changes summed together not only diminish the quality of vision, but many of them also make the examination of the eye much more complicated. In conjunction with the general visual symptoms of aging, Alzheimer’s patients can also experience visual disturbances caused by the brain rather than the visual system alone. This means that they can have problems and difficulties perceiving what they see rather than how clearly they see it3. Difficulties are usually experienced in the areas mentioned earlier, namely depth, motion, color, and contrast sensitivity. Visual hallucinations are also a common problem with linked to loss of vision in Alzheimer’s disease patients38. Another common disorder linked to patients with Alzheimer’s disease is a variant of motion blindness. The patient can appear to be confused and lost; the individual will see the world as a series of still frames8. Visual changes in Alzheimer’s disease may also be dependent upon which brain hemisphere is more severely damaged; this factor can often be overlooked. An individual with Alzheimer’s disease could have damage to a greater extent on their left brain hemisphere from plaques and tangles. This would therefore cause subsequent retinal changes in only the left hemi-retinas of each eye i.e. the right visual fields. The right eye visual field would be affected in the temporal side (right) and the left eye visual field would be affected nasally (right)51. When only half the retina is impacted, smaller regions of the optic nerve and nerve fiber layer show losses. The left eye with affected temporal retina would show optic nerve damage in differing regions of the nerve than the right eye with nasal retinal damage.51 Alzheimers patients commonly show selective degeneration of large ganglion cell axons located in the optic nerves. This suggests that there would be impairment of broadband channel visual function. Conversely studies have shown that broadband visual capabilities are not selectively impaired in Alzheimer’s disease. The magnocellular and parvocellular neurons are greatly affected in Alzheimer’s patients, this has been proved by studies of the dorsal Lateral geniculate nucleus(LGN)3. The geniculostirate projection system is split both functionally and anatomically into two sections. They include the parvocellular layers of the Lateral geniculate body and also incorporates the magnocellular layers. These systems are mainly divided in the primary visual cortex and go through further segregation in the visual association cortex. They conclude in the temporal and paritetal lobes3. The parvocellular layers contain smaller, centrally located receptive fields that account for high spatial frequencies (acuity), they also respond well to color. On the other hand these cells do not respond well rapid motion or high flicker rates. The magnocellular cells have larger receptive fields and respond superiorly to motion and flicker. They are however comparatively insensitive to color differences, the magnocellular neurons generally show poor spatial resolution, although the seem to respond better at low luminance contrasts. To summarize the parvocellular system is superior at detecting small, slow moving, colored targets placed in the centre of the visual field. Meanwhile the magnocellular system has the ability to process rapidly moving and optically degraded stimuli across larger areas of the visual field3. The parvocellular system projects ventrally to the inferior temporal areas, which are involved in visual research, pattern recognition and visual object memory. The magnocellular system projects dorsally to the posterior parietal and superior temporal areas. These are specialized for motion information processing. The cerebral cortical areas to which the parvocelluar system projects receives virtually no vestibular afferents. Alternatively the cerebral areas to which the magnocelullar system projects receives significant vestibular and other sensory inputs. These are believed to be involved in maintaining spatial orientation. Research shows shows that the magnocellular system is more involved in Alzheimer’s disease3. Oddly, many individuals experience difficulties at low spatial frequencies instead of high frequencies as in old age. This suggests that areas controlling the low spatial frequency processing in the primary visual cortex would be affected more than those for higher frequencies processing39 After neuropathilogical studies in 1997 by Hof et al were carried out on brains with visual impairments they concluded that cortical atrophy dominated on the posterior parietal cortex and occipital lobe40 Glaucoma is also a neurodegenerative disease that has similar effects on the visual system. Lower spatial frequencies in the contrast sensitivity, deficits in the blue short wavelength color range as well as reductions in motion perception are all linked to glaucomatous patients16. When patients diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease also have glaucoma, the deterioration of vision related to glaucoma is much more rapid and progression is more aggressive than in people with glaucoma solely and not Alzheimer’s disease as well.19 Glaucoma is different from Alzheimer’s disease in that it affects the visual function at the early sites of neural activity, namely, the retinal ganglion cells. Glaucoma destroys the afferent axons at the nerve fiber layer in the retina. This loss of axons ultimately leads to added atrophy further up the visual pathway due to decreased neuronal input. Alternatively Alzheimer’s disease impacts the cells that are located terminally or intermediary in the visual pathway of the brain. The result is again reduced neuronal input due to loss of nerve fibre connections and atrophy along the visual pathway. When the two diseases exist in the same individual together it can be seen that there is likely to be a greater disruption to the visual system20, one key difference between the two diseases is that they affect the visual pathway at different points. Glaucoma is a degenerative disease starting at the beginning of the visual pathway, whereas Alzheimer’s disease is a deg enerative process starting relatively late in the visual pathway. When the two diseases coexist then the neuronal and functional losses of vision are cumulative. Optometric examination of dementia patients Dementia patients present special problems for optometrists. A standard eye test can be an audile to even the best of us. The patient is placed in an unfamiliar environment surrounded by unusual equipment, machinery and is subjected to probing questions about he medical history which will inevitably tax their already flawed memory. Dementia patients are most likely to be from the elderly. Therefore several difficulties are presented while conducting an ocular examination. The patient is required to maintain a position and has to maintain concentration throughout the testing procedures, which can be very difficult. Subjective examination requires responses from the patient, they are expected to remember and follow complex instructions given to them by the optometrist as well as make many precise discriminatory judgments in a short space of time. The multiple tasks required to be completed during the examination are often beyond dementia patients as they are limited by the disease. The refore it is common that patients with even a minor degree of dementia fail to provide valid answers, provide unpredictable responses to the subjective examination and retreat into an apathetic state3,9. During the visual examination of Alzheimer’s disease patients, several key visual problems can be detected. Moderate dementia patients will often experience problems such as topographic agnosia, alexia without agraphia, visual agnosia and prospagnosia3. Such patients often cannot describe individual components of photos and routinely fail to recognize family members. The degree to which such problems are experienced is consistent with the level of cytochrome oxidase deficits in the associated cortical area. In conjunction with these problems dementia patients often have problems with texture discrimination and blue violet discrimination3. During examination of the elderly dementia patients there are two contradictory requirements, firstly is ‘assurance’. The patient’s responses will be delayed and the patient may feel anxious in such an unfamiliar situation, therefore constant reassurance is required and they cannot be rushed. Alternatively time constraints are important, a dementia/elderly patient is likely to have a short attention span. Therefore the two factors above much be considered and balanced. The examination must be thorough yet carried out as quick as possible. Often when examining a dementia patient a family member of the carer must be present in order to aid the communication between optometrist and patient, for example difficulties are likely to occur when recording history and symptoms without a carer present. All factors need to be considered such as family history, medication, eye treatment and knowledge of any medical conditions and if so how long they have suffered from them. In terms of an external examination firstly, gross observations should be recorded for example does the patient have an abnormal head position or is there any lid tosis. Many external observations can also be detected with the aid of pupil reflexes. Upon carrying out the external examination the optometrist must be carful to explain exactly what each procedure will involve so as not to intimidate the patient. Internal examination Internal examination of an elderly patient often presents many problems. Older patients tend to have constricted pupils and often opacities in the media such as cataract. Patients with dementia also show poor fixation as well as lack of concentration. Pupil dilation is often used to aid external examination however many older patients can have a poor response to the insertion of mydriatic eye drops. There have been many studies into the affects of diagnostic mydriatic and miotic drugs. Many studies have shown excessive mydriatic pupil response to trompicamide (a pupil dilating drug) in patients with Alzheimer’s disease when compared to control individuals.))) on the other hand studies into the use of Miotic drops, particularly Pilocarpine have shown an increased response of pupil constriction in Alzheimer’s disease patients in comparison to normal control patients. These findings suggest a defect in pupillary innervation with Alzheimer’s disease individuals. Studies of post mortem individuals with exaggerated mydriatic pupil responses to Tropicamide found a definte disruption to the Edinger-Westphal nucleus. The Edinger-Westphal nucleus is one of the key structures of the brain involved in the autonomic nervous system, it mediates the sympathetic and para-sympathetic pupil responses. Research by Scinto et al found amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles in all individuals tested with excessive mydriatic pupil responses. The conclusion was that the Edinger-Westphal nucleus is targeted early in the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. In terms of intraocular pressures use of the goldman an Perkins tonometers will be limited for the elderly dementia patients, due to health an safety reasons. Sudden movements whilst carrying out pressure tests on such equipment may be dangerous. Therefore this can be overcome to a degree by the use of handheld instruments such as the pulseair. However even with the pulseair problems can still be faces with uncooperative patients. Objective examination With uncooperative and awkward patients objective refraction through retinosopy may be difficult. Factors such as opacified media, miotic pupils, and poor fixation will influence the accuracy of the refraction. The recent introduction of hand held optometers has contributed to somewhat overcoming such problems. Instruments such as thee Nikon Retinomax are excellent for obtaining an objective refraction of the elderly patient with miotic pupils and cloudy media. When presenting the Snellen chart to a patient, the quality of their response will inevitably depend upon the degree of their dementia. Depending on which stage of dementia they are suffering from, responses could range from routine reading of the chart to no response at all. The later presents the optometrist with greater problems; however a visual acuity can still be measured via other techniques. Treatment of Alzheimer’s disease Alzheimer’s disease is often widespread and a prevalent problem, however it is often an untreated disorder. A reason for this impairment to be overlooked could be that visual function is typically only measured in terms of visual acuity in the majority of cases, which in Alzheimer’s patients is often normal. However, studies have shown that up to 60% of people with Alzheimer’s disease show deficits in on or multiple visual areas such as depth perception, motion perception, color discrimination or contrast sensitivity31, 32. Therefore detection and treatment of Alzheimer’s patients must include these other visual capacities and not only visual acuity tests. Deficits in depth perception have accurately been demonstrated in Alzheimer’s individuals33-37. Decline in this visual capacity is even seen at the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease, independently of the other visual capacities36. Impaired depth perception will inevitably cause problems in performing everyday tasks33,36 eg walking, cleaning and stair climbing. Motion perception is also a common deficit seen in Alzheimer’s disease41-45. Studies have shown that individuals with Alzheimer’s take significantly longer to identify stationary objects that can be identified by motion cues41,43. A study by Rizzo et al42 found that 33% of Alzheimer’s patients had car accidents when put through a set of driving scenarios in a virtual simulator, compared to 0 accidents with non demented age match participants. The decreased ability of Alzheimer’s patients to accurately process visual motion cues was a significant factor in avoiding accidents. Contrast sensitivity can be defined as the smallest difference in intensity that a person can resolve between an object and its immediate surround. Most elderly patients are impaired at high spatial frequencies. However Alzheimer’s sufferers are impaired at low spatial frequencies as well46,47,48,49-51. Problems with contrast sensitivity will have a subsequent impact on how a person with Alzheimer’s disease perceives their environment, and will adversely affect their ability to perform many everyday tasks such as dressing, washing and eating to name but a few. Contrast sensitivity problems cannot be cured or overcome by means such as optical correction through spectacles, medication or surgery. However individuals can be helped by environmental modifications. We will now go on to discuss a handful of simple environmental modifications that can be made for dementia patients in order to increase their quality of life. Firstly there are several key simple principles relating to colour and light that should always be considered when modifying a living area for a dementia individual. Color Light Use sharply contrasting color between back ground and foreground. Always have even distribution of light within a room. Use solid colors rather than stripes or multi color patterns. Good to have as much natural light as possible. Do not use ‘like’ colors next to each other Minimise glare Task lighting when applicable Place light behind reading or television chair to enhance vision. In the bedroom the main point of concern is not to bump into objects and not to fall out of bed. Caregivers can also find it problematic to get the patient into their bedroom at the end of the day. Enhancing the contrast of objects in the bedroom will help patients to recognize areas of their room and intern make care givers jobs much easier during care. In order to draw the patient into a room in a common technique many institutions or caregivers use is to paint the furthest most wall in the bedroom in a contrasting color to the rest of the room, for example in a light colored room (magnolia) it would be advantageous to paint the far wall in a dark contrasting color such as brown. This will provide a depth cue for the patient and will encourage them to enter the bedroom. Once in the room dementia patients can often have problems locating the bed. Again this problem can be aided by a simple modification of using a bed spread that is of high contrast when compared to the surrounding w alls and floor of the room. This simple modification will draw the patient towards the bed and help prevent them from tripping or stumbling over the bed. Other simple tips can be to modify appliances within the bedroom such as telephones, clocks and radios with different colored buttons to encourage independence. The bathroom is another frequently used area within the household and there are many simple modifications that can be made within this area to aid the user. Firstly placing a fixed bath mat of the same color as the floor is a simple useful modification. The matt with low contrast to the floor will decrease any depth perception problems and will aid the user when getting in and out of the bath tub. Also a fixed mat can be placed inside the bath tub, however in this case the matt should be of a contrasting color to the tub. The reasoning behind this is that the contrasting bath mat will provide a excellent depth cue for the user who would other wise would be unsure to about how deep the floor of the bath tub is. The bathroom can be a hazardous place for a dementia individual as there are many risks within this room especially the risk of hot water. Therefore an extremely important modification in the bathroom is to ensure all taps have different colored knobs on the hot and cold compon ents. The colored taps will provide a color cue and help the user to distinguish between the two. The kitchen can be a dangerous place, especially for the elderly and dementia su

Strategy and management control system: Tata Motors

Strategy and management control system: Tata Motors Introduction This essay addresses a very debatable yet imperative topic relating to the link between the strategy and management control system of an organization. The discussion in this essay roots from Andrew Campbells paper, Tailored, Not Benchmarked: A Fresh Look at Corporate Planning. This paper discusses the impact of benchmarking and the effect of efficient planning strategies on the value of an organisation. He suggests that in place of deploying standardized benchmarking and planning strategies based on another organisation, each organisation needs to evaluate its internal environment and devise strategies according to the needs of the individual organisation. Campbell describes the planning process very appropriately in his paper as, A good planning process is unique to its company () carefully tailored to the needs of the businesses as well as to the skills, insights, and experiences of senior corporate managers. Furthermore, Campbell lays stress on the fact that organisations need to constantly monitor and modify their planning strategies to match the needs of the organisation and the dynamic business environment. In this paper, Campbell has very modestly touched upon the fact that management control systems (MCS) and strategy essentially complement each other and should be coordinated to produce the desired firm value (Campbell, 1999). MCS are defined as any formal, information-based procedures and statements used by managers to monitor and influence the behavior and activities in a firm (Simons, 1994). While, strategy is a continuing pattern of decision making for the future of an organization (Mintzberg, 1978) deliberate (formal) or unintended (informal), that emerges due to the opportunities that arise in the organization or market (Merchant Stede, 2007; Langfield-Smith, 1997) An earlier perspective on this topic was provided by Anthony (1965, 1988) suggesting that, strategy is the constant given element in the organisation and management control systems hold the job of monitoring, modifying and tracking the progress of their implementation. Lorange et al (1986) introduced another association of management control and strategy in the concept of strategic control. Strategic control is a system constantly examining an organisations strategy with respect to its goals, and modifying them whenever the need arose. The one limitation all these perspectives suffered from was the fact that, management control systems identified with the task of monitoring and modifying strategy only (Simons, 1990). Robert Simons (1990) introduced a new perspective proposing that management control systems were responsible for not only monitoring or implementation, but also for formation of strategy; hence establishing a very important relationship between management control systems and strategic choices of an organisation. Building on these ideas, this essay aims to analyse the link between management control system and strategy of Tata Motors Limited (TTM), a multinational automobile corporation headquartered in Mumbai, India. During the course of this essay, we will first have a look at TTMs background strategy, control systems, performance measurement system, and the risks they are facing. Followed by this will be a discussion on TTMs case in the light of different perspective mentioned above to observe whether there exists a link between the strategy, management control system and performance measurement measures of TTM. Finally, we will have a look at some suggestions with regard to their control systems that could help TTM improve their position. Tata Motors Limited Background and Strategy TTM is a part of the Tata Group, the largest private corporate group in India. Tata group has business ventures in steel, communications, tea, information technology, power and hospitality aside from automobiles. TTM is Indias largest automobile company, with consolidated revenues $20 billion in 2009-10. It is the leader in commercial vehicles in each segment, and among the top three in passenger vehicles along with being the worlds fourth largest truck manufacturer, and the worlds second largest bus manufacturer. In addition to domestic growth, TTMs important strategic move over time has been international expansion. TTM has acquired Daewoo Commercial Vehicle Company Limited, Hispano Carrocera S.p.A. Spain, has a joint venture with Marco Polo of Brazil for production of buses and most recently acquired the iconic British brands Jaguar and Land Rover (Just-Auto editorial team, 2010). Tata motors follow a straightforward rule for expansion; since they have limited technological availa bility to get a presence on the global industrial scene, they look for countries with access to technology and products, find a strategic partner in that market, and then sell Tata motors products in that country whilst exporting their products and capacities regionally (Seshan Kumar, 2008). For example, In January 2006, Tata motors signed an agreement with Fiat Group to sell Fiat vehicles through the Tata Motors outlets in India. In May 2006, the joint venture of Tata Motors with Fiat grew into an industrial partnership for sharing Indian facilities to manufacture vehicles, engines and transmissions for Indian and overseas markets (Just-Auto editorial team, 2010). Along with Internationalisation of operations, TTM follows the strategy of product innovation, which provides TTM with its competitive edge reasonably priced products. It started with introducing the innovative 407 platform for trucks in the 1980s, designed especially to suit Indian road conditions, in consideration with rural areas. Moreover, even today towards the end of the third decade of its existence it dominates two-third of the market. In 1998, TTM launched the first indigenously designed passenger car in India, the Tata Indica sporting innovation by providing more space, contemporary features at a very competitive price. In 2005, TTM launched Indias first mini truck, a small sub one-tonne vehicle facilitating intra-city or shorter distances. This vehicle was designed to replace the three-wheeler carriages market in India by a more sophisticated four-wheeled mode of transport at almost the same price. It used a two-cylinder engine, provided only in Irish crà ¨me colour and had a rigid front axle and rear wheel drive for low cost. The most recent innovation TTM has come out with is the 632-cc Tata Nano, claimed to be the cheapest car in the world also called the Peoples car/ Rupees 1 lakh car ($2500). The target price itself became the source of innovation, as industry claims that it is impossible to make a car at that price. This car is developed based on a series of innovative ideas; engine was packaged on the rear side; two cylinder engine (conventionally there are three-four cylinder engines); identical handles and mechanisms for left and right side doors. Moreover, the speedometer and other instruments panel in the Nano are in the centre of the dashboard, rather than facing the driver, to make it easy and cheaper to switch the position of the steering wheel from the right to the left facilitating exports to other markets as well (Seshan Kumar, 2008). Furthermore the car has unconventional seats; maximising the interior space by pushing the wheels to the corners and power train to below the rear seat creating sufficient space to accommodate three-to-four people (BMA, 2010). Analysis Management control system and Performance Measurement System To sustain the innovation in products and expansion in markets TTM had to introduce changes in their MCS to complement their strategic moves.TTM has two main divisions based on the type of vehicles passenger cars and commercial vehicles (CVBU). With increasing operations TTM In the year 2000, TTMs CVBU suffered its first loss of $2.5 million that led the company to adopt the Tata Business Excellence Model (TBEM). TBEM, based on Malcolm Baldridge Award for business excellence and Balanced Scorecards as its performance measurement, which will be discussed in depth later (Tata Group| Corporate Governance| Busniess Excellence, 2010). TTM saw shift from a more hierarchical structure to a flatter organisational structure, facilitating easy communication between employees. The change in business model complimented the change in the information technology system too. TTM uses an integration of outsourced facilities some of which are Ariba for supplier negotiations; product lifecycle managem ent and advanced computer aided designs for the engineering and designs of their products; SAP enterprise software application and programmes for enterprise resource planning and increasing transaction effectiveness. Through this, the activities of all departments production, manufacturing, purchase, finance operations etc, were interlinked facilitating better control and coordination by means of an efficient supply-chain management system. Furthermore, TTM changed their product development process and introduced a more collaborative process utilizing the capabilities of different venture partners, suppliers, design houses, subsidiaries and associate companies specialising in different verticals. With the transition of the in-house production process TTM realised the importance of expanding into the international market and thus adopted the internationalisation philosophy mentioned above, to keep in line with their goals and objectives at the same time as gaining access to differe nt markets (BMA, 2010). TTM has a strategic preview of their plans every 5 years where plans are altered whilst introducing new goals and objectives. A well-defined process for the preparation and monitoring of the annual budgets and long-term business plans is followed. There are meetings twice a month of the management committee at operational levels to review the operations and plans of key business areas. TTM has a set of corporate policies, the Tata Code of Conduct, covering the integrity of financial reporting, ethical conducts, regulatory compliance, conflict of interests review and reporting of concerns. All employees have regular exposure to this through fast flowing information between the management and the employees by means of articles, magazines and newsletters (Jamble, Sukate, Guha, Mhasade, Sumeet, Tonk, 2010). TTM has an intact performance measurement system keeping in line with their strategy of offering innovation at a competitive price, as mentioned above the Balanced Scorecard. After suffering their first loss in more than fifty years in 2000, TTM had to resort to stringent cost cutting across all business units, which poised a challenge. TATA Motors Commercial Vehicle Business Unit then employed the balanced scorecard. With the process in progress, the genuine problem revealed itself. It turned out that the manual nature of the review procedures of such a huge structure was getting extremely difficult to implement and consuming valuable amount of time. To address this, the Balanced Scorecard Automation Tool was implemented that would centralise, assimilate and collate the data, providing rapid review and analytical functionality and a comprehensive single picture of organisational performance. Within two years of this, CVBU registered a profit of $ 2.3 Million from the loss of $ 2.5 Million, leading to 60% of TTMs inventory turnover. Initially, CVBU had started the balanced scorecard with only corporate level scorecard; but with its success, now it has expanded to six hierarchical levels with three hundred and thirty one scorecards, additionally looking forward to proliferate it to the lowest level of organisational structure (Huda, 2009). Risks Fetching the advantage of low cost of labour in India, and cheaper resources, TTM places itself as a firm providing innovation at a lower cost, but they do not necessarily produce differentiated products. Their innovation only lies in the fact that they offer a multitude of features suitable for Indian conditions at a lower price, that no other Indian company does (lower competition in domestic market). The threat that TTM faces is the managing of two different segments of vehicles at the same time, the higher priced premium segment (Jaguar and Land Rover) and the very low priced segment (Tata Nano); the low cost manufacturing would not be as advantageous its premium segments car (Seshan Kumar, 2008). Moreover, other Indian manufacturers teaming up internationally like Renault Logan (joint venture between Mahindra and Renault) will intensify the competition for TTM. Further, by entering into the premium cars and sports utility vehicles segment, TTM now faces competition from various other brands like Audi, BMW, Daimler, and Volkswagen (Wentz, 2008). Moreover, Through TTMs core strategy of internationalisation, they depend on exports for revenues. But, as the position of the Indian Rupee has now strengthened, it is posing a challenge resulting in a lesser than expected export realisation (Kurup Toms, 2008). Aside from that, TTMs low cost products rely on low quality and its international competitors like Hyundai and Maruti Suzuki have internationally approved quality. Therefore, TTM needs to address its critical quality issue to be an international player (editorial team, 2010) From the discussion about TTM, it can be observed that there is a very evident alignment of its strategy with its performance measurement system and management control systems. The corporate strategy of a company helps in the decision of the company regarding the type of businesses to operate in (Johnson Scholes, 1989), how to structure and finance the company, how to acquire and utilize the resources to convert distinct competencies into competitive advantages (Andrews, 1980 cited in; Langfield-Smith, 1997). TTMs MCS boasts a much-organised structure comprising of formal control standard operating procedures, budgetary controls; informal controls regular interaction with employees, interactive communication system (also facilitating personnel control); administrative and social controls plying ethical codes of conduct; which exemplifies that TTMs MCS has a well-defined structure complementing its precise strategic perspective (Langfield-Smith, 1997). By changing the organisation al structure and introducing a new performance measurement system (the balanced scorecard), it can be noticed that TTM reviews its MCS has a frequent strategic preview and initiate changes as and when the need arises. Furthermore, it is noticeable that TTM is a follower of the contingency school of thought, which advocates that organisational effectiveness results from deploying administrative practices (like performance measurement) in a way that fits the contingencies the organisation functions within. Rather it is noticeable that, while adapting to these contingencies, TTM is finding new practices that match their organisation than relying on the ones other organisations use (Chenhall, 2006). Scope for Improvement Robert Simons (1995) suggested that for managers of modern organisations, it is a difficult task to manage employees and organisation efficiently while giving them enough space to come up with new and innovative ideas at the same time controlling them enough so that they do not misuse this freedom. He suggested four levers of control, the belief system; boundary systems; diagnostic control systems and interactive control systems (Simons, 1995). While the belief systems inculcate core values of the organisation, the boundary systems specify what needs avoidance. On the other hand, diagnostic control systems determine critical performance variables and the interactive control systems help resolve strategic uncertainties (Triantafylli, 2010). For successful implementation of lever of controls, the organisations has to make sure that all the four levers are complementarily in place to produce the desired organisational performance keeping in line with the strategy. For TTM while the appr opriate belief and boundary systems are in place, there seems to be a lack of diagnostic and interactive control systems. A number of key issues that require attention have been pointed out in the earlier section relating to their strategy with respect to competition, quality and exports. If TTM had the diagnostic and interactive control systems in place then these critical areas would have been resolved with an appropriate solution leading to effective organisational performance. Alongside, TTMs strategy would have accounted for these shortcomings if intact levers of controls were in place. Conclusion TTM is one of the strong contenders in the Indian automobile market heading towards a more international sphere. If it continues with innovation and the cost advantage, the organisation would be able to make successful headway. To achieve that, TTM needs to look into some areas that require attention, bring the required changes to its organisational processes, strategy, and control systems. Although, there is a strong link between the MCS and strategy for TTM, but it could be put to a more valuable use by employing the appropriate changes. Reverting to Campbells statement mentioned earlier, it is clearly noticeable that TTM does not benchmark, but focus on its external and internal advantages and utilizes the resources appropriately. This is evident from the fact that they use the availability of cheaper resources and labour to obtain their cost advantage and that TTM introduced new performance measurement system with the change in their strategy to complement it. Furthermore, TTM ha s utilized the availability of technical expertise to manufacture innovative products, gain a competitive edge in the market, and carve a niche for itself. Therefore, TTM has its unique strategy and competitive edge gained by virtue of its effective management control system that has been responsible for TTMs success. Banning tobacco advertisement:the necessity of a consequent solution Banning tobacco advertisement:the necessity of a consequent solution Banning tobacco advertisement:The necessity of a consequent solution Bonded Tobacco Co.: Making smoking safe for smokers., Old Gold Cigarettes: Not a cough in a carload., Camel Cigarettes: More doctors smoke Camels than any other cigarette. (http://www.tvacres.com/tobacco_slogans.htm, 12/12/09). These are just some examples of slogans common in cigarette advertisement in the history of tobacco ads. The belittlement of the harmfulness of smoking in advertisement is one of the main reasons why Health Organizations and Governments worldwide enforce the banishment of cigarette promotion from the world of advertisement. The progress of this enforcement varies from country to country but most of the above the line promotion is already tobacco free and many sponsorship promotions follow this example. The following essay displays the necessity of regimenting advertisement in the tobacco industry and explains why a consequent realization is requisite. First, a brief look at the historic development of tobacco advertisement and the beginning of its regulation. In 1789 the first advertisement on tobacco products was placed in the New York daily paper by P. Lorrillard Company (Petrone, G. S.,1996, p.7). In the 1920s Bull Durham was the first brand name which was advertised on a large scale by picturing a golfer swinging his club while smoking and introducing the slogan: â€Å"On every green they all roll â€Å"Bull†. Its easy for YOU to roll your own Genuine Bull Durham.† (http://www.owdna.org/History/history25.htm,12/12/09). The tobacco industry took advantage of the development of color lithography in the late 1870s and new approaches to advertisement arose such as the idea of James Buchanan Duke, of W. Duke Sons, to create cigarette boxes with the imprint of the cigarettes brand name and a decorative picture which was part of a collectable series (http://library.duke.edu/digitalcollections/eaa/tobacco.html, 12/12/09). The cigarette packet is still one of the greatest marketing tools of the industry. The first restrictions on tobacco advertisement were executed in Germany during World War II and signed by Heinrich Hunke, the President of the Advertising Council on 7 December 1941 with the justification of the negative influence smoking has on ones health. Any advertisement illustrating smoking as being harmless and a symbol for masculinity was forbidden. As were print advertisement at sport events and in the country side (http://www.smokersnews.com/cigarette-advertising/301/smoking-banned-by-nazi-germany/, 12/12/09). The law on these restrictions have changed and have become more relaxed over the decades but are nowadays again at a point where a consequent prohibition of tobacco advertisement is demanded. In this context one may ask what effect advertisement really has on the behavior of the consumer and if advertisement can be made responsible for the alarmingly high number of smokers worldwide. According to Professor George Stigler (1963), author of the book The Intellectual and the Market Place, The advertising industry has no sovereign power to bend mens will [†¦] Moreover, advertising itself is a completely neutral instrument, and lends itself to the dissemination of highly contradictory desires (p.91). The tobacco industry refers to these kinds of opinions and arguments that advertisement meliorates the market share of certain brands and does not engage new smokers. There are however a great number of scientific studies providing evidence of the coherence of tobacco advertising and consumption (Redmond W.H. 1999), showing the effects on tobacco consumption before and after an advertisement ban (Rimpelà ¤ M.K., Aaro L.E., Rimpelà ¤ A.H. 1993) as well as acknowledge the success of anti-tobacco measures (Laugesen M., Meads C. 1991) which shall be further described hereafter. The majority of econometric studies came to the conclusion that increasing investments in tobacco advertising stimulate and increase the demand for cigarettes, whilst an advertisement ban diminishes tobacco consumption (http://www.globalink.org/en/advertising.shtml#_edn3;12/12/09). This has been confirmed in the latest surveys by the United States Institute of Medicine (Lynch B.S., Bonnie R.J. (ed) 1994), the United States Department of Health and Human Services (USDHHS 1994) and the World Health Organization (Roemer R. 1993). The research on the effects of an advertising ban on the number of smokers cumulate convincing data, showing that a consequent advertising ban significantly contributes to the reduction of the quantity of smokers as seen in Finland in 1977, where tobacco ads were banned, smoking in public building was prohibited and a strong public information campaign was put into action, which reduced the cigarette consumption by 6,7% ( Smee C., Parsonage M., Anderson R., Duckworth S. 1992). It is common knowledge that the goals of advertisement are to create awareness among existing and potential customers, to create customer loyalty by identifying with the product and its brand and to gain new customers. In the tobacco industry the target audience for recruitment is young people. For cigarettes being an addictive product it is more profitable to win young people for the smoking habit, since they bear the potential of becoming life-long customers. Due to this fact and the persuasive power of advertisement, especially young people need to be protected from the marketing influence of the tobacco industry. Advertisement in general and specifically tobacco advertisement wants to deliver a statement to which the existing and potential new customer identifies with and feels connected to. Brand statements and brand images influence young people in particular no matter if dealing with clothes, technological devices, alcohol or cigarettes. (http://www.globalink.org/en/advertising.shtml#_edn13;12/12/09). Some brands are perceived as especially cool, casual or hip and therefore higher frequented. In order to contain the severe influence of advertising an attitude of life, tobacco promotion of any kind needs to be banned. The tobacco industry has been very clever finding more indirect ways to promote their products than any other industry (http://www.globalink.org/en/advertising.shtml#_edn13; 12/12/09). This inventive talent has become a necessity for tobacco marketing departments due to the increasing and very strict regimentation on advertisement already existing. Sponsorship of cultural events and sports, merchandise products available for free, point of sale promotion displays and even the use of cigarette brand names for products of a different industry, e.g. Marlboro Classics clothing (http://www.marlboroclassics.com;12/12/09), and especially the design of the cigarette package are just some examples of the tobacco industrys creative output. But again, all these promotion types transport the pretended positive lifestyle the customers are supposed to identify with and after all one fact not being transported by the industries advertisement is how harmful smoking is to the health. Smoking does not only have a negative effect on the smokers health, but also effects passive smokers, especially children. Contrary to many other stimulants such as alcohol or sweets, cigarettes have a damaging effect on the body after the first consumption. No other legal product is as addictive as cigarettes. The consequences of smoking are evident in a variety of diseases, e.g. blocked arteries, which can lead to a heart attacks and strokes, lung cancer, withdrawal syndromes when the body is under supplied of nicotine and general unfitness. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention claims in its 2007 published Best Practice Report an annual death of 438.000 people worldwide by the aftermath of cigarette consumption (p.7). In March 2005 a report was published by the British Medical Journal providing authoritative data on the impact of passive smoking and stating that passive smoking is assumed to kill 11,000 people a year in the UK only (http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/ health-and-families/health-news/passive-smoking-is-there-convincing-evidence-that-its-harmful-476472.html; 12/12/09). An evidentiary amount of documents describe the severe impact tobacco advertising has to embolden non-smokers to begin smoking. Advertising is especially effective among young people. The number of smokers can be considerably decreased if a consequent ban on tobacco advertisement and its manifold promotion activities is put into action. Also prohibiting the display of brand details on the cigarette package, promotion at sponsorship events, distribution of merchandise products, as well as any public print, tv, cinema or radio advertisement. Additionally Dr. Murray Laugesen from the Department of Health in New Zealand subsumes the figure of tobacco consumption can be reduced by 6% if a coherent advertising ban is joined by a public information campaign on the health effects of smoking, this conclusion is supported by the latest report of the World Bank (http://www.globalink.org/en/advertising.shtml#_edn13; 12/12/09). To finally conclude a consequent solution of banning tobacco advertis ement is necessary, because the tobacco industry will continue to work out ways to promote their product and by this influence the consumers, convincing them only of the positive effect a certain brand has on the personal image rather than distributing the risks of the dangerous habit of smoking. Is Single Parenting a Social Problem? Is Single Parenting a Social Problem? Definition The issue of lone parenting is quite clearly one that is of significant importance and impact in the modern social context. It is also one that has different viewpoints, which are important to recognise in the context of this report. While the actual term of ‘lone parenting’ is a given, it is important to understand the various views which are taken in order to address this problem. For example, ‘New Labour’s’ social policy towards lone parents is generally governed by the attitudes epitomised in the mantras â€Å"reforming welfare around the work ethic† and funding a system that â€Å"believes in empowerment not dependency† (Millar and Rowlingson, 2001, p xv). This quite obviously conflicts with the view which was held by previous governments, which is said to maintain the view that poverty is â€Å"relieved by cash handouts† (DSS, 1998, p 19). It is also said that the differences between these two viewpoints epitomises the diffe ring views of ‘old Labour’ and ‘new Labour’ (Millar and Rowlingson, 2001, p xv), and also highlights the shift between the welfare state policy to a more capitalist approach to addressing the lone parenting issue. Main Issues Given the discussion of the United Kingdom’s approach to lone parenting, it might be relevant to compare these provisions with those of other jurisdictions. Take, for example, New Zealand which categorises ‘solo parents’ as: (a) A woman who is the mother of one or more dependent children and who is living apart from, and has lost the support of, or is being inadequately maintained by, her husband: (b) An unmarried woman who is the mother of one or more dependent children: (c) A woman whose marriage has been dissolved by divorce and who is the mother of one or more dependent children: (e) A woman who is the mother of one or more dependent children and who has lost the regular support of her husband because he is subject to a sentence of imprisonment and is- (i) serving the sentence in a penal institution; or (ii) subject to release conditions or detention conditions (as those terms are defined in section 4(1) of the Parole Act 2002) that prevent him undertaking employment: (f) A man who is the father of one or more dependent children whose mother is dead or who for any other reason are not being cared for by their mother (Social Security Act 1964 (NZ), s 27B(1)). Arguably, in consideration of the above, it is clear that the New Zealand social security system is geared more towards caring for a woman who may be a lone parent, as opposed to a father. It might also be noted, however, that social security benefits are only paid to lone parents in New Zealand if the parent is of the minimum age of sixteen (16) years, unless emergency circumstances exist (Social Security Act 1964 (NZ), s 27B(2)). Compare this situation to that across the Tasman Sea in Australia, where the Australian Bureau of Statistics has recorded a three-fold increase in lone parenting families in the last thirty (30) years, from 7.1% in 1969 to 21.4% in 1999 (ABS census). However given this increase, it might also be worthwhile to note that lone parenting in Australia remains at lower levels than other English-speaking countries, but still higher than some countries in continental Europe (Millar and Rowlingson, 2001, p 61). Further to this, it has generally been the attitude of Australian governments to extend social security benefits to all classes of lone parenting families, irrespective of the cause of the lone parenting situation (Millar and Rowlingson, 2001, p 65). Around 47% of lone mothers were employed in 1999 and around 63% of lone fathers, and approximately 9% of both lone mothers and lone fathers were unemployed (ABS, June 1999). This perhaps symbolises a non-dependency on the welfare system, a nd that lone parents in Australia generally try to work at least part-time to supplement their welfare incomes and provide for their family. Key Dilemmas The key dilemma that has been the recurring theme throughout this paper is the need to balance income support and welfare with the need for non-dependence on the welfare system. There is a conscientious push by governments in the above countries to not encourage reliance upon welfare handouts and to push these people to seek active employment, but also recognises the various situations of lone parents who may be unable to work full time for any number of reasons. The United Kingdom obviously recognises this problem in a social context, and took steps to address it though social policy reform. Some say that this was a more ‘heavy handed’ approach to the social problem, and this argument may have some merit given the approaches of other countries. New Zealand prescribes certain circumstances where welfare can be paid, and Australia has a more liberal approach to the welfare system, however all of these approaches seem to function appropriately in their individual contexts. Conclusion In consideration of the above points, it is quite clear that lone parents are a significant social problem. However, the more prominent problem is that of how to address the issue. It is quite clear that the United Kingdom has a more recent history of reforming social policy on this issue and limiting the distribution of welfare benefits. Is this the most appropriate course of action? Some would suggest no, given the experience of other countries. However, regard needs to be had for the statistics: approximately one in four of Britain’s seven million families are headed by a lone parent, and less than four in ten lone parents in Britain work full time (which is a piecemeal 16 hours a week statistically) (Millar and Rowlingson, 2001, p 11). This only serves to fuel the debate further, and one needs to consider the legislative and policy-based approach of the United Kingdom in context before judgement on this issue can be passed. Bibliography Books Millar, J., and Rowlingson, K. (eds), Lone Parents, Employment and Social Policy (2001), Bristol: The Policy Press Journal Articles Hughes, J., ‘Lone Parents and Social Security’ (2005) 36 Victoria University Wellington Law Review 1 Soley, C., ‘Lessons of the Lone Parenting Battle’ (1997) 126 New Statesman. Legislation Social Security Act 1965 (NZ) Social Security Act 1991 (AU, Cth) Other Sources Australian Bureau of Statistics, June 1999 Australian Bureau of Statistics, census 1969 and 1999 DPI, census 1999

Susan Glaspells Jury of Her Peers and James Tiptree Jr.s Mama Come Home :: Compare Contrast Essays

Susan Glaspell's Jury of Her Peers and James Tiptree Jr.'s Mama Come Home â€Å"Jury of Her Peers† and â€Å"Mama Come Home† are two very different stories but yet they still are very much alike. The authors even have their own similarities and differences. Both authors are women, James Tiptree Jr. is a pseudonym for Alice Sheldon, who are writing from the feminist perspective. â€Å"Jury of Her Peers† was written by Susan Glaspell in 1917 and â€Å"Mama Come Home† was written in 1968. The characters in each story make some kind of change in the way they act, both show the feminist views that they believe in, and also each story takes place in a different time period with different groups in dominance. In both the Glaspell and Tiptree stories one or more of the main characters make some kind of change. In â€Å"Jury of Her Peers† the two women that go to the Wright house with their husbands begin the story wondering what would ever possess Mrs. Wright to kill her husband. The women entered the house with the purpose to pick up a few things that Minnie Wright had requested from her prison cell. The longer the women are in the house, while their husbands are looking around, the more they find out about the state of mind of Minnie Wright. They find plenty of evidence of the change in Minnie’s attitude toward her husband and her life. The change in the way she was making her quilt shows that she was frustrated with her life or her husband. Later they find the dead canary and decide that Mr. Wright killed the bird and then Mrs. Wright killed her husband in his sleep with a rope. Mrs. Wright mentally changed with the death of her husband, and the bird and the two wo men changed their attitude toward Minnie after they find the evidence. In â€Å"Mama Come Home† a group of female aliens called Capellans come down to Earth. Tillie is a C.I.A. agent that had been raped recently and was having a hard time around men. Tillie looks exactly like the aliens except for the height difference. Tillie likes staying with the Capellan women because they make her feel protected due to their size. For most of the time that they are here she spends almost all of her time with them.

Treatment of Transgender Prisoners Essay examples -- Rights of Transge

Transgender people in today’s society have it hard enough; going to prison is even harder due to the risks associated to someone who is transgendered. People who are transgendered risk their health and well-being while being locked up in prison. They face a variety of issues while they are incarcerated such as housing, physical, emotional abuse and most of all denial to their basic medical needs that helps express who they are through their gender. Transgender people are discriminated against due to a variety of reasons. We will look at how being transgendered in prison affects their right to health care, how health care laws are changing for people who have transgender identity disorder (GID) and how the Eighth Amendment is changing the care they receive while they are incarcerated. Without the right to receive hormone therapy, that they would otherwise receive on the outside, they risk having both emotional and physical issues. â€Å"The federal government and almost every state recognize transgender people’s right to change their name and to have identification documents with the gender marker that matches their gender identity.† (Jami Kathleen Taylor, 2007) There are a lot of misconceptions on what the meaning of transgender is, some think that they only become the person whether it is male to female, or female to male after surgery. What people fail to realize is that every transgender person transitions in their own way. So what does transgender mean and what is transgender identity disorder? According to the American Psychological Association," transgender" is "umbrella term whose gender identity, gender expression, or behavior does not conform to that typically associated with the sex to which they wer... ...ation and the Law. Thomson West. Phillips, J. (2012, September 28). Gender Identity Disorder in Prison: Depending on a Diagnosis That is soon to Disappear? Retrieved October 4, 2013, from PSYCHIATRIC TIMES: http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/gender-disorders/content/article/10168/2105073 Silpa, M. (2011). Note, Hormone Therapy for Inmates: A Metonym for Transgender Rights,20. CORNELL J.L. & PUB. POL’Y , 807, 819–20. Standards of Care. (n.d.). Retrieved November 8, 2013, from World Professional Association of Transgender Health: http://www.wpath.org/documents/Standards%20of%20Care%20V7%20-%202011%20WPATH.pdf. WIS. STAT.  § 302.386(5m)(b). (2009-2010). WIS.STAT.  § 302.386(5m) (2009–2010). www.basicrights.org. (2012, August 22). Retrieved November 8, 2013, from hhttp://www.basicrights.org/featured/affordable-care-act-aca-implications-for-the-transgender-community/