Ann Romney: Why Women Should be paid equal to men? Essay

Ann Romney was asked during her speech at a Moms for Mitt meeting, â€Å"Why should women get equal pay?† The ladies of the meeting wanted her opinion on equal pay for employees based on gender. She took no time to answer the question with a response that would shock the audience into silence to hear the following: â€Å"Why should women be paid equal to men? Men have been in the working world a lot longer and deserve to be paid at a higher rate. Heck, I’m a working mom and I’m not paid a dime. I depend on my husband to provide for me and my family, as should most women†¦ and if a woman does work, she should be happy just to be out there in the working world and quit complaining that she’s not making as much as her male counterparts. I mean really, all this wanting to be equal nonsense is going to be detrimental to the future of women everywhere. Who’s going to want to hire a woman, or for that matter, even marry a woman who thinks she is the same, if not better than a man at any job. It’s almost laughable. C’mon now ladies, are you with me on this?† When Mrs. Romney finished speaking, there was an awkward silence in the room with scattered applause that seemed a bit forced because of the audience’s support for her husband. Seemingly, Ann Romney was embarrassed and was escorted to a vehicle that took her to her husband. I view Ann’s perspective as a pre- meditated woman who believes women aren’t the backbone of this country just as much as men. But all women have the right to the same and equal opportunities as men. I wonder if her speech affected her husband’s presidential campaign.

Diversity Worksheet Essay

1. What is diversity? Why is diversity valued? Diversity is the human attributes that are different from your own and different from groups to which you belong. Diversity is broken into two categories: visible and invisible. Visible diversity includes attributes like age, race, ethinicity, gender, etc. and Invisible diversity are attributes like work experience, marital status, parental status, income, religious beliefs, etc. Diversity is valued because once you can recognize some or all of the diverseness in a person, you can then recognize how unique they are. (â€Å"What Is Diversity? It’S More Than Race Or Gender – University Of †¦Ã¢â‚¬ , 2002) 2. What is ethnocentrism? In what ways can ethnocentrism be detrimental to a society? Enthnocentrism is the belief in the inherent superiority of one’s own ethnic group or culture. (dictionary.com, 2013) Ethnocentrism can be detrimental because judegment is being passed on another culture based on that on individual’s values or beliefs, thinking they are more superior or better without possibly having any knowledge of that culture and no desire to learn about it. 3. Define emigration and immigration. Emigration is to leave a country to settle in another. Immigration is oming into a new country as a permanent resident. These choices are not always vonluntary but can come from conflict or war. Involuntary migration is not as common anymore but much of the past migrations were involuntary. Emigration and immigration both contribute to minorities. (Schaefer, Chapter 1, 2012) 4. What are some of the ways groups of people are identified? Racial groups: a group that is socially set apart because of obvious physical differences. Ethnic groups: a group set apart from others because of its national origin or distinctive cultural patterns. Religious groups: a group that is associated with a religion other than the dominant faith. Gender groups: a group where males are the social majority (dominant) and females, although larger in population, are the social minority. Other groups: age, disability status, physical appearance, and sexual orientation. (Schaefer, Chapter 1, 2012) 5. Why do people label and group other people? People label and group others because they are either dominant or want to be the dominant. Being the dominant means having the power over others or things and since the United States is a democracy, majorit rules, so the majority has the power. The minority group then has lesser chances of ruling and life’s opportunites are limited. (Schaefer, Chapter 1, 2012) 6. Define culture. Is culture limited to racial and ethnic backgrounds? Explain. Culture is the behaviors and belief characterstics of a particular social, ethnic, or age group. (dictionary.com, 2013) This definition I found is vague in my opinion because culture can be included in genders, sexual orientations, nationalities, and more. Even with that the definition of culture is not limited to racial and ethnic backgrounds. Since culture is a behavior and/or belief I really think just about anyone in any kind of minority has these that are separate from others. References What is Diversity? It’s More than Race or Gender – University of †¦. (2002). Retrieved from http://www.med.umich.edu/diversity/pdffiles/file28.pdf‎ Ethnocentrism. (2013). In Dictionary.com. Retrieved from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/ethnocentrism?s=t Schaefer, R. T. (2012). Racial and Ethnic Groups (13th ed.). Retrieved from The University of Phoenix eBook Collection database. Culture. (2013). In Dictionary.com. Retrieved from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/culture?s=t&ld=1136

QUALITY IMPROVEMENT REPORT Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

QUALITY IMPROVEMENT REPORT - Research Paper Example ological processes and effective mechanisms that support high quality performance by all institutional staff during delivery of overall health services (Mclaughlin & Kaluzny, 2004). The encompassing definition shows the import of attaining provisions in quality health and services through competent CQI, although several aspects may account for its difficulty to thrive in hospital organizations. Quality improvement in clinical setting possesses complex nature. A valid study indicates its success lies on the elements surrounding such concept (see Figure 1 in Appendix A). In the illustration, a variety of influences affect the execution of quality improvement in clinical settings: â€Å"culture, implementation approach, perceived impact...clinical conditions, and bed size† (Shortell et al., 1995, p. 380). Each factor can alter the degree of health service delivery, giving them the critical role, and the necessary dynamics that can be assessed for significant evaluation of existing resistance. Despite the basic proponents in quality improvement, different perspectives emerge, depending on how improvement tool should be carried out for relevant participants. Kovner, Knickman, and Jonas (2008) identified four primary stakeholders directly involved in CQI: â€Å"providers, patients, payers, and policymakers† (p. 415). The health care team plays provider role, where they focus technical aspect of care, including application of medical knowledge and skills, and ethical standards in clinical service. They cater to patients, another stakeholder, who view quality care on the psychological side. For patients, quality improvement depends on expressed level of sincere attention and respectful care from health providers. Actual payers of treatments aspire to have technical and touch aspect of health services. Practical efficiency and emotional efficacy of clinical interventions must collaborate to bring excellent services that health team are supposed to provide. Lastly, polic y

Does Use an Electronic Health Record Increase the Risk of Breach of Assignment

Does Use an Electronic Health Record Increase the Risk of Breach of Privacy to Clients - Assignment Example Firstly it will be tried to find out why the concept of Electronic Health Record evolved in Ontario and whether this will have any risk of breach of privacy. It will also try to find out whether the risk (if found) is relevant only in the case of Ontario or it may have an impact on the whole of Canada. Next section will try to find what literature say about the benefits and challenges of these private data going electronic. Finally, it will be tried to find out what are the steps that should be taken in future. E-health record helps the doctors to know whether the continuation of the medicines is helping the patient during the course. Electronic medical records keep the data on patients demographics, their medical history lab test results etc accessible by the electronic network system. An effective health care function requires accuracy as well as completeness of the health data. There remains a reduced risk in form of any loss of data that occurs in form of loss of papers via locks and pass-keys. The paper record represents â€Å"massive fragmentation of clinical health information.† (Schloeffel et al., 2003, p.1, as cited by Gurley, n.d.).This not only leads to the cost of information management to increase but also â€Å"fragmentation leads to even greater costs due to its adverse effects on current and future patient care† (Schloeffel et al., 2003, p.1, as cited by Gurley, n.d.). It is very much time-saving also as it brings down unnecessary lab tests. The staffs could readily figure out the problems. Otherwise, the patients have to wait in the emergency ward while the staffs are sorting out the causes. It enables the practitioners to access the medical literature and recent best practices available that help them to carry forward the treatment.  

Freedom of Assembly in Hong Kong Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Freedom of Assembly in Hong Kong - Essay Example This research study examines the restrictions on the right to freedom of assembly in Hong Kong with particular emphasis on the ruling in Leung Kwok Hung and its importance to the rationale for restricting freedom of assembly. A comparative analysis is conducted with reference to Hong Kong’s case law and international jurisprudence relative to freedom of assembly. This study is therefore divided into two main parts. The first part of the paper will examine Hong Kong’s freedom of assembly regime and the second part of the paper will examine the international jurisprudence on freedom of assembly. Hong Kong’s Freedom of Assembly Law Overview The Sino-UK Joint Declaration of 1984 which provided for the transfer of Hong Kong to the People’s Republic of China (PRC or China) contained an undertaking to maintain the pre-existing fundamental human rights including freedom of assembly. China implemented the Basic Law 1997 which reflected its undertaking under the Joint Declaration of 1984 to maintain a one country, two system framework with respect to its sovereignty over Hong Kong. This meant that Hong Kong could continue to adhere to the laws in place at the time of the handover. Shortly after the handover of Hong Kong however, China reneged on some of its key guarantees under the Joint Declaration and among its broken promises, announced that there would be restrictions on a number of freedoms including freedom of assembly.... uding freedom of assembly.5 With the handover of Hong Kong in 1997, Hong Kong became a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China.6 The SAR government amended and repealed parts of the Hong Kong Bill of Rights Ordinance (BORO) 1997, the Public Order Ordinance and the Societies Ordinance, laws that were previously introduced by the British government prior to the handover to China, in 1992 and 1995. The amended law provides that demonstrations comprised of at least 30 persons must first obtain police approval. Secondly the Public Order Ordinance and the Societies Ordinance stipulate that associations are required to register under the approval of the SAR government in order to obtain legal status. Moreover, national security is the broad basis upon which the police may refuse to permit an association or a demonstration.7 B. Current Law on Freedom of Assembly Essentially, the Basic Law 1997 as promulgated on behalf of the SAR retains for Hong Kong, the fundamental freedoms and rights existing in Hong Kong at the time of the handover to China. As a result the Basic Law and BORO provide the primary methods by which the executive and the legislature exercise their respective authorities. Likewise the two instruments also guarantee Hong Kong residents civil rights protection such as the freedom of association, of assemble, of procession, free speech, free press and freedom of demonstration.8 Freedom of Assembly is provided for in Article 17 of BORO and is characterized as Freedom of Peaceful Assembly. Article 17 provides that: The right of peaceful assembly shall be recognized. No restrictions may be placed on the exercise of this right other than those imposed in conformity with the law and which are necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security

Direct & eMarketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Direct & eMarketing - Essay Example To assert that the internet is just another channel to market is an understatement. It has revolutionized the way in which marketing is done. The advent of the New Media and Internet has increased possibilities of online marketing and internet retailing with new features of interactive shopping, pod casting and e-marketing. Consumers are connected to online shopping sites with WiFi, Internet or 3G mobile phones. E commerce has taken a new dimension in retailing with increasing number of people shopping online and even making flight bookings online (Papers4you.com, 2006). There is a range of access platforms such as web, e-mail, mobile phones and interactive digital TV that comprise the online channels which e-marketers use to build and develop relationships with customers. E-marketing, as specialists of CISCO puts it, "is a generic term utilized for a wide range of activities - advertising, customer communications, branding, fidelity programs - using the internet. More than the simple development of a website, e-marketing focuses on online communications, direct dialog with consumers who thus participate to the creation of new products, finding efficient methods to win customer's fidelity and ease their business-making process. eMarketing is the sum of activities a company makes with the purpose of finding, attracting, winning and retaining customers" (Otlacan, 2005). Accordingly, e-marketing allows relational exchanges in digital, networked and interactive environments. As a way of online shopping, e-marketing include service providers selling services and retail businesses selling items to customers and auctioneers as well who create marketplaces where citizens can buy and sell goods through the internet (Summers, Smith, et al, 2003). The tools used are a wide array of electronic possibilities that very much involve electronic mails. Practical illustrations of how internet marketing works are observed in the processes on which eBay, Yahoo! and Amazon.com undertake to facilitate its business. People who've got used to eBay don't often stop to think how amazing it is - an online marketplace where you can buy things from all over the world, without leaving your home. You can get things that you would never think anyone would bother to sell, and you can get them cheaply. The powerful search engine means that you can find things you'll like without even knowing exactly what you're looking for. Customers can buy goods from these online shopping sites by logging on to their websites (www.ebay.com). As online retailers, these businesses provide customers with pictures and descriptions of the products posted for sales transactions. In the case of Amazon.com, customer reviews of their books in addition to the book descriptions are provided. The sales process is conducted with the use of credit cards. Customers are required to enter the information from the credit card into the computer. With the information coming from the credit card, the modem sends out the details to the financial institution. Credit card is undoubtedly the dominant method of payment used to shop online. As the popularity of online shopping grows, many online retailers have increased their credit card security on their websites. Online retailers use encryption technology to make credit card information more secure and provide the padlock or unbroken key symbols in the

Nicene Creed Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Nicene Creed - Essay Example This shows that despite Christianity being viewed as a religion of many denominations, the concept behind Christology is one and the same. This is a very important aspect of Christianity as it ensures that Christology is defined in a similar manner by the various denominations that are under Christianity. The creed achieves this because it contains significant and fundamental statements that form the very basis of the existence of Christianity. The Nicene Creed is divided into 12 sections. Though there is a controversy in regards to the filioque clause, the creed is generally accepted by the major branches of Christendom. The implication of this is that how the major branches of Christendom define Christianity will be similar and as result the definition of Christianity cannot differ. The Nicene Creed therefore forms a basis for a uniform definition of Christology by various branches of the church. I believe in the Nicene Creed as it restates the very fundamental beliefs which are the pillars of Christianity in general. It is worth noting that the Eastern Church only disagrees with part of this creed and generally it is in agreement with most of the statements in the creed. Though the Creed caused a rift between the Eastern and Western church, it has since then held the Western church in unity. I am in agreement that the Nicene Creed may have changed the importance of the Christology of the Eastern Church. The Western Church is more prominent and maybe the Eastern would have equally enjoyed the same status had it not disagreed with part of the Nicene Creed. Nevertheless, it is worth noting that the Nicene Creed still plays a crucial role in pointing out the pillars of Christianity and that is very important for both the Eastern and Western

The Function of Management Planning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Function of Management Planning - Essay Example Within this organization, the planning involved selecting enterprise goals and department objectives than finding ways of achieving them. Plans depended upon the existence of alternatives, and then decisions had to be made regarding what to do, how to do it, when to do it and by whom it is to be done. Author Anderson has a responsibility to meet society's expectations in three concentric circles of responsibility (Arthur Andersen, 2007). The inner circle includes the business's clear economic responsibilities such as quality and safety and the provision of jobs and services. The intermediate circle expands the responsibility of businesses to make their policies and practices consistent with societal values in such matters as fair employment practices and a benign environmental impact (Accounting Industry, n.d.). The nature of ethical standards is one of the key issues to be addressed by personnel managers operating in a large corporation. There will gradually be a growing together of national practice on working hours, but it will take a lot longer for rates of pay to harmonies. Arthur Anderson adopts CSR because some moral justification comes from a value system that is independent of the business itself and where individual opinion can be sharply divided. SCR implies that employees at work should be honest and that claims about a product or service should be accurate. Ethical issues are corporate behavior and fair competition. In order to meet these objectives, Arthur Anderson uses systematic planning. Fair competition is achieved by adoption of specific ethical rules which guides management and marketing policies. Risk and uncertainty are minimized by planning and this is needed more today than before as social and economic conditions alter very quickly and careful planning enables an organization to prepare for change. Planning helps Arthur Anderson to define its purposes and activities according to fair competition rules. It enables performance standards t o be set and results can, therefore, be compared with the standard to enable managers to see how the organization is proceeding towards its goals. Planning is flexible to deal with a changing environment. Corporate behavior means that employees follow established norms combining their own judgment with the benefits of the corporation. In this case, the ethical responsibility of Arthur Anderson is to analyze social conditions and possible threats of their services for potential consumers. They should be well aware of the educational background of their customers and their expectations (Corporate Social Responsibility, 2007). Social responsibility translates into expectations that businesses comply with the spirit of society's laws and with the normative base that undergirds them. The social responsibility issues followed by Author Anderson are the attitude of management to labor and fair reward and use of shareholders capital. The attitude of management to labor is achieved through f air payment schemes and healthy corporate climate, training programs and promotion activities. Arthur Anderson provides additional training focusing on employee's motivation and work design programs to help worker identify their goal and professional development strategies.  

Comparative analysis of the Marketing Communications Mix for three Essay

Comparative analysis of the Marketing Communications Mix for three companies in the supermarket sector Tesco, Sainsburys and Costcutter - Essay Example Tesco being the leading superstore in the country enjoy little bit of more success in terms of its marketing communication mix activities however Sainsbury's is also somewhat successful in its efforts too however costcutter seems to be lacking in many areas as it has still a long way to travel in order to ensure that it has proper strategies in place which can properly put in against the competition like Tesco and Sainsbury's. "The Marketing Communications Mix is the specific mix of advertising, personal selling, sales promotion, public relations a company uses to pursue its advertising and marketing objectives."(Dolak, 2008). Thus Marketing communication mix is a group of tactical elements which give rise to the overall marketing communication mix of an enterprise. These tactical elements include advertising, personal selling, sales promotion as well as public relations. In its essence, a marketing communication mix is the second name of one of the P's of marketing i.e. Promotion and it is a group of activities which give rise to the overall promotional mix of the organization. In order to effectively set the marketing communication mix, it is very important for the organizations to take into account various factors since each of the elements of the mix has its relevant strengths and weaknesses therefore their use and design should be effective in order to achieve the maximum results. It is also important to note that each element of marketing communication mix may be used according to the product life cycle if we consider a marketing communication mix of a product only however when we take into the account the whole organization and view the marketing communication mix of that organization, we must consider the fact that marketing communication mix strategies may significantly vary with each organization according to the life cycle stage of the organization. However for the organizations such as super market stores, it becomes more complicated because these stores do not necessarily sell one product or service therefore it becomes more complicated when dealing with the marketing communication mix issues of chain stores. This report will study and analyze the marketing communication mix of three of the most important players in the super market i.e. Tesco, Sainsbury's and costcutter. The chief aim of this report is to present a comparative analysis of the marketing communication mix strategies of these three companies. Marketing Communication Mix This section of the report will present the present marketing communication mix strategies being adopted by three important organizations working in the super market. The following section will present a comparative analysis of the marketing communication mix of the three given companies. Advertising Tesco has been considered the largest superstore in UK having comprehensively taken over the Sainsbury's. The core belief of the company that is "to create value for customers to earn their lifetime loyalty" suggest that the company value most its interaction with its customers and advertising strategies, being one of the most penetrating means of reaching to

Concept of Loyalty Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Concept of Loyalty - Essay Example Loyalty is the exhibition of characteristics of commitment and devotion in order to strengthen a business or personal relationship. The concept of loyalty has its roots in all fields of life. A loyal person values the importance of faithfulness and dedication in carrying out daily activities of life. Loyalty always has a high appraisal value whether a person proves it to a person or to the organization for which he or she works. If we talk about loyalty in personal relationships, it is a fact that loyalty helps the people involved in a relationship build trust, faith, and confidence in each other. Whereas, in case of business relationships, loyalty plays its considerable role in strengthening the business terms between the involved parties. Loyalty not only shows its value in personal or business relationships but also it plays a critical role in the success of an organization or a business firm. The concept of loyalty is applicable to the employees as well (Green). Loyal employees a nd loyal customers make a firm grow and achieve reasonable market share. Employee loyalty is integral for the success of a business. Employees’ efforts, devotion, and dedication to their job responsibilities make a company reach a good position in the market and if the employees of a company will not be loyal to their company, the company will not be able to prove its worth in the market. It is true that a loyal employee is a key towards a company’s success.

Modern Family Essay Example for Free

Modern Family Essay Modern Family is a documentary-style comedy about three branches of the extended Pritchett family: Dad Jay has married a younger woman and is now raising a teenage stepson; his daughter Claire has a husband and three kids of her own; and his gay son Mitchell has just adopted a Vietnamese baby with his partner. Modern Family premiered on ABC in September 2009 as part of the networks new Wednesday comedy lineup, and was immediately met with positive reviews and strong ratings, becoming the breakout show of the night. Modern Family was created and is executive-produced by Steven Levitan and Christopher Lloyd, who worked together as writers and producers on Frasier, and co-created the short-lived sitcom Back to You; Levitan was also the creator of Just Shoot Me. This investigation will highlight the key aspects which has made Modern Family a very likable program over the last few years. the way in how the show appeals to viewers will be discussed as well as the values and attitudes of society are re? ected through the main characters. I Will also indicate some of the controls and constraints that Modern Family has to deal with in order to make their show successful and appropriate. Also featured will be the discussion of some of the obvious stereotypes which the show portrays and the impact of Modern Family on Todays society. But to be able to understand all these aspects, you will need to familiarise yourself with the main characters ? rst. Characters Jay Pritchett: The father of Claire and Mitchell, husband of Gloria, grandfather of Lily, Luke, Alex, and Haley, and the stepfather of Manny. He is the owner of a construction ? rm and is presumably the wealthiest family member. Jay has a dry and sarcastic sense of humor. Like both his son and daughter, Jay is generally more realistic, mild mannered, and sensible than his partner, Gloria, who is unashamed of the fact Jay is many years her senior. A recurring plot involves Jays relationship with his son Mitchell, which became more complicated due to Jays reaction to Mitchells sexual orientation. Gloria Pritchett: Jays wife and Mannys mother. She is from a small village in Columbia. She is a very loving wife and mother despite the age difference between her and her husband. Her voluptuous ? gure and overall beauty is often remarked or noticed by other characters on the show. One of her most distinctive traits is her very thick Colombian accent, which sometimes leads her to mispronounce English words, such as ultimatum as old-tomato and earrings as hair-rings. She often supports Manny when Jay tries to tell him to be less sensitive or hide his cultural background. Manny Delgado: Glorias 14-year-old son from her ? rst marriage. He is very outgoing and not the least bit self-conscious. He is very intelligent, mature and intuitive for his age and is often shown doing adult-like things, such as having conversations with Claire about her marriage and kids, and drinking coffee. He has inherited his mothers passion for life, though Gloria has also said, Manny is passionate, just like his father. This causes Manny to be very romantic. Manny is not afraid to take chances, leading him to ask out older girls, and develop a crush on Haley. Phil Dunphy: Claires husband of 20 years who sees himself as the cool dad. He dotes on his wife Claire and constantly tries to ? nd ways to bond with his three kids. He is seen as very competitive, one example being his nature of always beating his son at basketball. He has a very juvenile attitude, and is referred to by Claire as the kid [shes] married to. He uses a parenting method that he calls peerenting, which is a combination of talking like a peer but acting like a parent. He is a real estate agent who is very con? dent in his work, once saying I could sell a fur coat to an Eskimo. Claire Dunphy: the daughter of Jay, Mitchells older sister, and the helicopter soccer mom of the Dunphy family and its three very different kids. She was once a wild-child who made a lot of mistakes over the years, and she is fearful that her children could make the same mistakes, especially her oldest daughter, Haley. She is often exhausted from stress created by her family but is still a loving mother. When it comes to her kids she has dif? culty controlling Haleys independence and irresponsibility, Alexs manipulative nature, and Lukes lack of common sense. She also gets annoyed with her husband, Phil, constantly. Claire is a very competitive person, much like her husband, and is portrayed with a personality that causes her to freak out easily, and get angry. She is very strict about a clean house. She is seen as an experienced parent by Cameron and Mitchell, so she is called upon for her parenting advice Haley Dunphy: the daughter of Claire and Phil, who is portrayed as the stereotypical teenager who is often embarrassed by the presence of her parents. Haley is 15 at the beginning of the series, and is a freshman in college as of Season 4. Haley is depicted as being a bit of a bimbo, who focuses more on social status than studies. She is a little naive, especially when it comes to arguing with her parents. She is concerned about her popularity at school, as well as her social and sexual life, which contributes to her being embarrassed by her parents. Alex Dunphy: the 15-year-old daughter of Claire and Phil, and also the most erudite and intelligent of the three siblings. She is very bright and cares much more about her studies than friends/social life and boys. As the middle child to a shallow big sister and a goofy younger brother, she enjoys messing with them when they are rude to her, which is fairly often. Often taking advantage of their naivete by fooling them into believing unrealistic things, she at one time convinced Haley and Luke that they could charge electronics by rubbing the battery on their heads (Haley) and putting it in their mouths (Luke). She, as a stereotypical precocious kid, displays a sense of superiority because of her erudition, constantly putting her accomplishments on display and demanding recognition for them. Luke Dunphy: Phil and Claire? s 14-year-old son, who is often doing his own thing. At times, he can be a troublemaker, once shooting his sister with a toy gun and getting into a ? ht with Manny at school. Luke is playful, very innocent and does not always understand the repercussions of his actions, like most children; he once announced at a family gathering that his mom thought her dads new wife was a gold digger, although he misheard it as coal digger. Mitchell Pritchett: Also referred to as Mitch, is Jays son, Claires younger brother, Luke, Alex and Haleys uncle, one of Lilys fathers, and partner of eight years to Cameron. He is a low-key, mild-mannered person. At most times he is the exact opposite of Cameron which usually causes disagreements. Cameron acts as a counterbalance to Mitchells uptight, worrying ways. He usually responds to homophobia (whether real or perceived) by giving speeches. Because of his mild-mannered, uptight nature, he is sometimes embarrassed by Camerons ? amboyance. Cameron Tucker: Also referred to as Cam, is Mitchells partner of eight years, and one of Lilys fathers, who has a very big dramatic personality. His bubbly outgoing personality contrasts to Mitchells uptight manner, which causes them to have opposing character traits. Cameron was born on February 29, 1972 and grew up on a farm in Missouri. Lilly Tucker-Pritchett: the adopted Vietnamese daughter of Cameron and Mitchell. When she was introduced to the family, they accepted her with open arms, although Mitchell originally wanted to wait to tell them about her. She is at times doing activities with both of her fathers but remains with Cam at home while Mitchell works. How Does It Appeal? A key aspect of the show? s appeal is the similarities people ? nd between the extended family and their own family. Some characters from the show are Phil Dunphy, Claire Dunphy, Jay Pritchett, Gloria Pritchett, Mitchell Pritchett, and Cam Tucker. There are many other characters that make up this family, which make for much more diversity. The dynamic between these different immediate families and their values (including traditional, gay, straight, and multicultural) are what gives Modern Family its large demographic. The diversity of the Pritchetts helps reach a large audience. The ? rst part of this family is the Pritchett-Delgado family. This consists of Jay, the family patriarch, Gloria, the younger second wife, and Manny, her son. The fun part in watching this family is the culture clash between Jay and Gloria. Gloria and Manny are Hispanic, while Jay is white. It is interesting as they try to make sure that Manny gets a combination of both cultures in his life. Next in this family is the Dunphy family. This has Claire, Jay? s daughter and mother of three, and Phil, Claire? s fun husband. Their children are also in the show. First is Haley, the epitome of some teenage girls who seem to only care about their social lives as opposed to spending time with their family. Second is Alex, the smart child and Haley? s opposite. Last is Luke, the youngest and most rambunctious of the three. He is very close to Manny. The Dunphy? s are a very traditional family, but has had some of the more memorable moments in the show. Some of them come from Phil, who is known for having a very fun sense of humor. Finally there is the Pritchett-Ticker family. This is made up of Mitchell, Jay? s gay son and Claire? s younger brother, Cam, his partner, and Lily, their adoptive daughter from Vietnam. It is fun to watch their family and see how different they are from the other two parts of the family. It? s also important because it helps to put the similarities into perspective for many viewers, and that is very valuable these days. Stereotypes Stereotypes are an inevitable part of modern culture. They are standardized and simpli? ed views of groups and minorities based on prior assumptions. â€Å"Modern Family† constantly utilises and plays with the notions of Stereotypes. â€Å"Modern Family† attempts to create a new stereotype by conforming and altering old stereotypes. There is Jay, the Grandfather who remarried to a beautiful, busty Colombian woman Gloria and her son, Manny. Jay? s daughter, Claire, married to Phil, who have 3 children, Haley, Alex and Luke. Finally, Jay? s on Mitchell has an adopted Vietnamese daughter with boyfriend Cameron. The entire program works by challenging and changing stereotypes, in particular that of Gay parents, Cam and Mitch. Cameron and Mitchell are, in a way, a stereotypical gay couple. However, the humour and the message is portrayed through their confrontation of that stereotype. In one episode, they are confronted with the notion that one of them in the couple is â€Å"the woman. † This stereotypical view, that society is asking them to conform to, forces not only a humorous situation, but also challenges the characters? Gender and Identity. The show cleverly alters the ideas of stereotypes, and plays to into them, but also puts â€Å"name to a face† as it were. Stereotypes are not necessarily formed solely on against minorities, and this show challenges every one. Each character is a â€Å"stereotype† in their own right – be that â€Å"the dumb socialite,† or â€Å"the only child† or â€Å"the loud Colombian woman†. In season 4 there is an episode titled â€Å"Fulgencio† Which con? rms the perception that Latinos working in America are poor and struggle for money but still work very hard. Gloria? family comes to visit the new born baby in the family and the Columbian family endeavors the entire episode to clearing the house, especially Gloria? s sister. it is a positive representation of Latinos because they want to work even if they are on a holiday. But the beauty and hilarity of Modern Family is that each character confronts each of their stereotypes and we, as an audience, see that there is a lot more than meets the eye. Instead of simply accepting some of these stereotypes, Modern Family challenges some of these and in doing so creates a new opinion on the viewers Controls and Constraints There are many controls and constraints that will affect any media production, and Modern Family is no exception. Time: Time is one of the main factors that affects the production. Each episode is meant to run for approximately 20-23 minutes excluding ad-breaks. This means that the group of people who are putting together an episode, must avoid making a very long plot and address the main issue of the episode almost immediately. Another constraint of the show is its budget. Budget: The budget of any program is an outline of how much that production will cost, or how much the director is willing to spend. In its ? st three seasons. There has been episodes ? lmed in Hawaii, and a ranch. These episodes were have been ? lmed in these locations and not a studio with a backdrop of that location. This would have possibly meant that the budget for those 2 episodes would have been greater than some of their other episodes. It is also rumored that the ABC is planning to ? lm a future episode in Columbia in which the viewers will be introduced to Gloria Pritchett? s family. Taking into account the budget of a normal episode, and adding to that international ? ights for the cast and crew, this could very well be the most expensive episode yet. Rating/Audience: One of the most important controls and constraints which affect a media production, is the audience and their expectations. The producers of the show will give a classi? cation or rating so that viewers have some idea of what to expect. Modern Family has a rating of PG13. A PG-rated motion picture should be investigated by parents before they let their younger children attend. The PG rating indicates, in the view of the Rating Board, that parents may consider some material unsuitable for their children, and parents should make that decision. The more mature themes in some PG-rated motion pictures may call for parental guidance. There may be some profanity and some depictions of violence or brief nudity. However, these elements are not deemed so intense as to require that parents be strongly cautioned beyond the suggestion of parental guidance. There is no drug use content in a PG-rated motion picture. Since people under the age of 13 are still likely to watch the show, The writers of an episode must be very careful about any potential jokes that might affect a child. E. g. Modern Family is not allowed to make a joke about Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, or the tooth fairy not existing because a young person watching the show who believed they existed could end up being very upset. An example of this is from an episode from season 1 when Cameron and Mitchell take their adopted daughter Lilly to go an see Santa Claus at the local mall. The reason all types of ? lm media have these ratings, is to protect the viewer from seeing something they might not want to see. Values and Attitudes Re? ected Through Characters In mainstream media, there seems to be different views on gay marriage, but it seems to be slightly more in favour of accepting the life choices made by these people. In Modern Family, there is a gay couple called Cameron and Mitchell. The way that they positively re? ect the values and attitudes of society is the fact that they are very open about being gay. Another way it is positively re? ected is through the other main characters. They all seem to be very accepting even the Patriarch of the family Jay Pritchett, he accepts his sons choice even though he is uncomfortable with it. In one of the early episodes of season 2, the couple shared a kiss which pleased the audience. Ultimately, then, the show re? ects the experiences and insecurities of its creators and assumed audience, middleclass, middle-aged straight white men. Also in its Pilot episode, Cam and Mitch announce to the family that they have adopted a baby from Vietnam and the whole family (Including Mictchell? s homophobic father Jay) are very accepting of their choice. It reassures them that being tolerant is as good as being inclusive and that heterosexual white families with shrill stay-at-home wives are the norm. Its exploration of the pressures of feminine ideals is considerably less sympathetic meaning that Phil? s wife Claire Dunphy is arguably the least likable character, and story lines have included three women getting their period at the same time and going crazy, and ? ery Latina Gloria needing to be chaperoned because her pregnancy brain makes her too forgetful to function. Modern Family is one of very few to feature main characters who are gay (one of whom is played by a character who is actually gay outside of the production) and people of color, and it shows Cam and Mitch to be caring, capable parents. t challenges some of the values and attitudes which are evident, and the fact that Modern Family presents this unit in such a non-threatening way may be the key to its acceptance. Impact On Society Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Casted as Mitchell Pritchett) said that Modern Family might be doing a lot to change the views on gay marriage. The actor said he has had several people approach him and remark how the show has had an impact their lives and their views. Its impossible to measure how wide the impact is, but the fact that even one person changed their mind says a lot about the depth of the show. Modern Family is hardly the ? rst show to feature gay characters. However, it is one of the ? rst that doesnt really make an issue out of it. In fact, it is easy to forget that Cameron and Mitchell are a gay couple. There are no political statements or agendas. They are just two people living their lives. The fact that it has affected the views of other people indicates that it is a very important show. It takes something special to alter the mindset of an individual. This show ? ts the bill. They keep doing what they do. Modern Family shouldnt try to change the world. However, if they change a few minds while carrying on as normal then there is nothing wrong with that. Modern Family has also made people who watch the show feel better about themselves because viewers now know that there own family isn? t the only family who has troubles. It is happening all around them. This helps us to understand that Modern family is one of the most realistic television sitcoms going around at the moment. Conclusion It is quite evident that Modern family has had an impact on todays society in a positive way along with providing the viewers with plenty of laughs along the way. For people to want watch a program and understand some of the meaning it constructs, then the show must appeal to the viewer in the ? rst place, and Modern Family does this by creating a storyline that most people can generally relate to. Once people become immersed in the show they start to pick up some of the stereotypes that are evident, e. g. Gay couple, loud South Americans etc. Because we relate with the characters, we feel inclined to display the same values and attitudes that the characters do which is respecting people even if they? re gay or of a different nationality. This leads to its impact on society which is without a doubt a positive one. Perhaps Modern Family is changing the views towards gay marriage and it is better that they? re doing it in a way where people can watch a television program that people can enjoy, but also learn from it. It is amazing to consider how successful a TV show can be due to the controls and constraints it faces, and Modern Family perfects it.

Outline the clinical characteristics of depression

Outline the clinical characteristics of depression The clinical symptoms of depression are characterised by an all-encompassing sadness, composed of a remarkably broad range of feelings, thoughts, and physical manifestations. These include low self-esteem, suicidal thoughts, pessimism, and feelings of dejection and hopelessness. Most sufferers will experience sleep disturbance and a loss of appetite and libido. All of these symptoms are usually accompanied by overwhelming tiredness, a lack of interest or enjoyment, guilt feelings, crying spells and social withdrawal. Other common features are psychomotor retardation (general slowing down physically), loss or motivation, and feelings of inadequacy and helplessness. There is often a diurnal mood variation (sufferers may feel worse either in the mornings or in the evenings). See table below for a more detailed explanation of the behaviours associated with depression. Affective Physiological Cognitive Behavioural Anger Abdominal pain Ambivalence Aggressiveness Anxiety Anorexia Confusion Agitation Apathy Backache Inability to concentrate Alcoholism Bitterness Chest pain Indecisiveness Altered activity level Denial of feelings Constipation Loss of interest and motivation Drug addiction Dejection Dizziness Self blame Intolerance Guilt Fatigue Self- depreciation Irritability Helplessness Headache Self- destructive thoughts Lack of spontaneity Hopelessness Impotence Pessimism Overdependence Loneliness Indigestion uncertainty Poor personal hygiene Low self-esteem Lassitude Psychomotor retardation Sadness Menstrual changes Tearfulness Sense of personal worthlessness Nausea Underachievement Sexual non responsiveness Withdrawal Sleep disturbances Vomiting Weight changes Give two or more physiological causes of depression The cognitive model Of the causes of depression proposes that people experience symptoms of depression because their thinking is disturbed. Depression is a cognitive problem that is dominated by the persons negative evaluation of themselves, their world and their future. In the course of their development certain experiences sensitize the individual and make them vulnerable to depression. They also acquire a tendency to make extreme, absolute judgments; loss is viewed as irrevocable and indifference as total rejection. The depression prone person is likely to explain an adverse event as a personal shortcoming. `The deserted husband believes she left me because Im unlovable. Instead of considering the other possible alternatives, such as personality incompatibility, the wifes own problems, or her feelings towards him. As he focuses on his personal deficiencies, they expand to the point where they completely dominate his self concept. He can think of himself only in a negative way and is unable to acknowledge his other abilities, achievements, and attributes. This negative set is reinforced when he interprets ambiguous or neutral experiences as additional proof of his deficiencies. Comparisons with other people further lower his self-esteem. And thus every encounter with others becomes a negative experience. His self-criticisms increase as he views himself as deserving of blame. (Beck) In the cognitive model of depression, it is thought that many cases develop through early life experiences, where parents have been excessively critical, the child may internalise the impact rule that being valued only comes from perfect performance. This assumption may become latent or silent during parts of adult life, where any endeavours are met with a reasonable degree of success. Thus, prior to becoming depressed, the person had by unrelenting hard word, managed to live up to the excesses of their conditional belief however, any notable failures activate the latent assumption and the person becomes sensitised to any signs of falling short of their perfectionist standard. A common factor that interferes with the application of the cognitive model apparently disparate presentations of persistent depression is avoidance. In persistent depression avoidance can serve to mask negative thinking patterns or inhibit the effect of negative thoughts on mood. On occasions, negative thinking may be overt or apparent due to such avoidance. Pinpointing such avoidance in persistent depression is often prerequisite to identifying negative thoughts. The behavioural model The behavioural explanation of the causes of depression is based on the view that abnormality is seen as the result of learning from the environment. In other words depression is a response to life experiences and stressors. Disturbances of mood are a specific response to stress. There are two major types of stress that a person may experience. The first is the stress of major life events that are evident to others. The second type of stress may not be obvious at all to others, but it is the minor stress or irritations of daily life. These are the small disappointments, frustrations, criticisms, and arguments that when accumulated over time and in the absence of compensating positive events produce a major and chronic negative impact. It is appropriate, therefore, to examine in more detail some of the sources of life stressors that may produce disturbances of mood. Four such, sources include major life events, roles, coping resources, and physiological changes. Major life events (Hol mes and Rahe) did the pioneering work in this area with the development of social readjustment rating scale. Rank Life event Mean value 1 Death of spouse 100 2 Divorce 73 3 Marital separation 65 4 Jail term 63 5 Death of close family member 63 6 Personal injury or illness 53 7 Marriage 50 8 Fired at work 47 9 Marital reconciliation 45 10 Retirement 45 11 Change in health of family member 44 12 Pregnancy 40 13 Sex difficulties 39 14 Gain of new family member 39 15 Business readjustment 39 16 Change in financial state 38 17 Death of close friend 37 18 Change to different line of work 36 19 Change in number of arguments with spouse 35 20 Mortgage over 10,000 31 21 Foreclosure of mortgage or loan 30 22 Changes in responsibilities at work 29 23 Son or daughter leaving home 29 24 Trouble with in-laws 29 25 Outstanding personal achievement 28 26 Wife begin or stop work 26 27 Begin or end school 26 28 Change in living conditions 25 29 Revision of personal habits 24 30 Trouble with boss 23 31 Change in work hours or conditions 20 32 Change in residence 20 33 Change in school 20 34 Change in recreation 19 35 Change in church activities 19 36 Change in social activities 18 37 Mortgage or loan less than 10,000 17 38 Change in sleeping habits 16 39 Change in number of family get- togethers 15 40 Change in eating habits 15 41 Vacation 12 42 Christmas 12 42 Minor violations of the law 11 The scale ranks important life events and assigns a specific value to each one on the basis of the amount of coping behaviour needed by the individual to deal with the event. As the score of the mean value increases, the likelihood of an illness increases. The behavioural model overcomes the ethical issues raised by the medical model of labelling someone as `ill or abnormal, instead the model concentrates on behaviour and whether it is adaptive of maladaptive. Those who support the psychodynamic model, however, claim the behavioural model focuses only on symptoms and ignores the cause of abnormal behaviour they claim that the symptoms are merely the tip of the iceberg, the outward expression of deeper underlying emotional problems. Coping resources Life stress may also take the form of inadequate coping resources. Personal resources available to individuals include their socioeconomic status (income, occupation, social position, and education), families (nuclear and extended), interpersonal networks, and the secondary organizations provided by the broader social environment. The far-ranging effects of poverty, discrimination, inadequate housing, and social isolation cannot be ignored or taken lightly. Physiological changes Disturbances in mood may also occur as a response to physiological changes produced by drugs or a wide variety of physical illnesses. Drug- induced depressions have been noted to occur following treatments with various antihypertensive drugs and the abuse of addictive substances, such as amphetamines, and barbiturates. Depression may also occur, secondary to a wide variety of medical illnesses, for example viral infections, nutritional deficiencies, endocrine disorders, anaemias, and central nervous system disorders, such as multiple sclerosis, tumours, and cerebral vascular disease. Evaluate psychodynamic therapy in treatment of depression in terms of its strengths and weakness Psychodynamic therapy is a generic term that embraces all those therapies of an analytic nature. Probably the majority of psychodynamicists adhere to work and teaching of Freud. But also in this group you will find therapy based on ideas of various other psychologists including Jung and Adler. In this type of therapy, the therapist keeps his own personality out of the picture. This vital aspect of psychodynamic psychotherapy and it enables the therapist to be like a blank canvas onto which patients can transfer and project deep feelings about themselves, their parents and other significant people in their life. It is then up to the therapist to handle all the feelings and information that emerge, to gradually help patients to deal with all this `baggage. In this way the therapists helps patients gain a better understanding of what their disturbances are and how their mind works. The term psychodynamic refers to a group of explanations that try to account for the dynamics of behaviour i.e. the forces that motivate behaviour. Freuds revolutionary theory was that depression does not have a physical cause, but instead arises from unresolved, unconscious conflicts which form in early childhood. This model is based on Freuds theory of psychosexual development. A child passes through a series of stages (oral, anal, phallic, latency, and genital) if there is a major conflict at any of these stages, the child can spend an unusually long time at that developmental stage (called fixation) if and adult experiences great personal problems, he or she will tend to show regression (going backwards through the stages of psychosexual development) to the stage at which he or she had previously been fixated. The prime goal of therapy is to enable patients to gain access to their repressed ideas and conflicts, and to encourage them to face up to whatever pops out from the unconscious mind. Freud initially used hypnosis as a means of accessing repressed memories but later turned to the analysis of dreams and technique of free association, where a client is encouraged to say the first thing that comes in to his or her mind. The strengths of psychodynamic therapy is that it identifies traumatic childhood experiences as a factor in the development of depression in later life. A weakness of this type of therapy is that the therapist may appear disinterested in the clients current problems. A depressed patient wants to talk about themselves now as opposed to then. Another weakness to the Freudian approach is that it tends to focus too much on sex, and does not emphasise the importance of interpersonal and social factors in causing and maintaining depression. A patient must have the right to approve or disapprove of any treatment programme and a depressed patient may well have fears and doubts about laying their soul to bear to a stranger. Another ethical implication of this type of therapy is that patients may not take any responsibility for their illness depends on unconscious processes over which they have no control. In addition, the idea that adult mental illness is based in childhood experiences implies that parents are at least partially to blame. Is it ethical to cause distress to parents by suggesting that they are responsible for their childs menta l illness? Serious ethical issues are raised by numerous recent cases of false memory syndrome, where patients in therapy have made allegations about childhood physical or sexual abuse which may or may not be true. Freud believed that men and women have their own biologically determined sexual natures, and depression can develop when the natural course of their sexual development is thwarted. This notion is ethically dubious, as it ignores cultural differences in sexual attitudes and behaviour. Outline the clinical characteristics of Schizophrenia Although the popular concept of split personality is still common the reality of Schizophrenia is far more complex. The two most frequently found elements of the illness are delusions and hallucinations. Bizarre delusions are common. The content of these delusions is patently absurd and has no possible basis in fact, such as delusions of being controlled, thought broadcasting or thought insertion. Suffers often report grandiose or religious delusions or beliefs about themselves having physical symptoms which do not in fact exist. They may feel persecuted or irrationally jealous. A particularly distressing symptom consists of auditory hallucinations in which either a voice keeps up a running commentary on the individuals behaviour of thoughts, or two or more voices converse with each other. To the outsider the sufferer may appear incoherent, blinded or even catatonic. There is a marked deterioration from their previous level of functioning in such areas as work, social relations and self care. Below is a list of symptoms from American Psychiatric Association: Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, third edition, Washington, D.C, APA, 1980. Social isolation or withdrawal Marked impairment in role functioning as wage earner, student, or homemaker Marked peculiar behaviour (e.g., collecting garbage, talking to self in public, or hoarding food) Marked impairment in personal hygiene and grooming Blunted, flat, or inappropriate affect Digressive, vague, over elaborate, circumstantial, or metaphorical speech Odd or bizarre ideation, or magical thinking, e.g., superstitousness, clairvoyance, telepathy, sixth sense, others can feel my feelings, overvalued ideas, ideas of reference Unusual perceptual experiences, e.g., recurrent illusions, sensing the presence of a force or person not actually present. Give two or more psychological (psychodynamic/behavioural/cognitive) expiations of Schizophrenia Psychodynamic Psychoanalytical theory states that Schizophrenic behaviour results when the ego can no longer withstand the pressures emanating from the id and from external reality. The ego of the psychotic person struggles to cope with stress because of serious deficiencies in the relationship between the person as a child and his mother. When the person is anxious and stressed he employs ego defence mechanisms in an unhealthy way in an effort to control unacceptable impulses and thoughts. Take for example a man or woman with paranoid delusions. So much psychic energy is invested in holding down these terrible thoughts and impulses that there is little energy left to deal with normal daily living. The person withdraws from usual activities and has difficulty maintaining basic physiological needs such as nutrition and hygiene. If stress and anxiety gets even worse, ego functioning may deteriorate further, and the person will be flooded with frightening thoughts and impulses. As ego identity disint egrates communication is confused and garbled, and the person is alone in their own world. According to Freud, schizophrenia is a form of regression, back to the oral stage of development; the oral stage is the first stage of psychosexual development. A baby is born a bundle of id, is self indulgent and concerned only with a satisfaction of their needs. There is a need gratify these impulses but their experiences in the real world result in conflict, people with schizophrenia are overwhelmed by anxiety because their egos are not strong enough to cope with id impulses in schizophrenia, this can lead to self indulgent symptoms such as delusions, such as hearing voices which may have an ultimate authority. It has been suggested that schizophrenia has a psychosomatic cause the origin is solely in the mind. At best it could only be a partial explanation of some symptoms, e.g. delusions. In reality Freud is denying the experience of patients with schizophrenia, it is unscientific and extremely difficult to test. Concepts such as repression are difficult to observe and measure, although this difficulty does not invalidate the theory. The theory is based on unrepresentative samples, case studies, from which it is difficult to generalise. The theory fails to account for gender differences the onset for males is around 20 years, and for females 30 years. Nor does the theory explain why, prior to diagnosis, their behaviour has appeared normal. Furthermore, it also excludes considerations of the environment. A concise explanation of Schizophrenia was given by O.A. Will in his 1961 study of Human relatedness and the schizophrenic reaction. The expression of complicated patterns of behaviour adopted by the organism in an effort to deal with a gross inadequacy in relating to other humans. The Behavioural explanation Schizophrenia can evolve as the results of various experiences that influence the growth of the individual. In most instances a series of life events predisposes the individual to difficulty with interpersonal relationships. The family is the unit within which the first experiences with closeness to others take place. Lack of maternal stimulation or attention deprives the infant of a sense of security and there is failure to establish basic trust. This can lead to a suspicious attitude toward others that may continue throughout life. The quality of mothering attention is also important. A child may be adequately fed and receive impeccable physical care but without any communication of maternal caring. A child who is treated like an object may well become an adult who treats others like objects. Family communication patterns may also be stressors leading to disruptions in relationships. Patients with a medical diagnosis of schizophrenia are frequently members of families with identifiably disturbed communication patterns. Relationship problems frequently become manifest in the symptomatic behaviour of one family member. This deviant behaviour develops when the family is subjected to intolerable levels of stress. A family member who actscrazy may serve the function of keeping the family system intact. For example, if there is a family rule that hostility is never expressed directly between family members, and the parents are involved in a conflict which they may not confront, tension will build up within the family system. One of the children may respond to this tension by acting crazy and performing destructive acts in the home. Evaluate cognitive behavioural therapies in the treatment od schizophrenia in terms of its strengths and weakness Cognitive behavioural therapy is a kind of psychotherapy which aims to change the way that people think about their problem and thus alters the effects of the problem itself. One specific example is stress inoculation training, which is a technique to reduce stress through the use of stress management techniques, and self statements that aim to restructure the way the person thinks. A second example is increasing hardiness, which is building up in the patient a cluster of traits possessed by those people best able to cope with stress. The main strength of C.B.T in the treatment of schizophrenia is that it gives more power, choice, and responsibility for their treatment to a group of patients who have traditionally had things done to them, for example in the form of medication, social skills training and even ECT. There is no doubt that distorted and irrational beliefs and this treatment targets abnormal thinking. The purely cognitive approach grew out of dissatisfaction with the behavioural model and its emphasis on purely external factors. It emphasised internal mental influences and the power of the individual to shape their own thinking. Recently the two approaches have been integrated, so CBT treatment deals with maladaptive behaviours as well as distorted thoughts and beliefs. The weakness of this therapy is that it can be seen as rather limited genetic factors are ignored, and not much attention is paid to the role of social and interpersonal factors or of individuals life experiences in producing schizophrenia. Discuss the ethics of cognitive behavioural therapy Because the cognitive approach to therapy concentrates on the concept that mentally ill people have distorted thoughts and beliefs, it follows that sufferers of schizophrenia may feel that their illness is their own fault. This raises some ethical issues. Patients will be even more stressed if they have to take responsibility for their illness. It is unfair to blame patients for being ill, because their families may be mainly responsible, since it may be that maladaptive experiences in adulthood are based in childhood experiences, over which the sufferer has no control. It is even more striking to understand that the negative thoughts and beliefs of patients could be rational, and reflect the awful circumstances of the way they live in other words, if the patient feels blame they are unlikely to contemplate change. Outline the characteristics of one eating disorder (Bruch .H. The golden cage: the enigma of anorexia nervosa 1978) Perception is also an important aspect of the behaviour of young people with anorexia nervosa. These people perceive that they are fat and literally starve themselves to achieve their goal of being thin. However, because of the distortion in body image that they experience, the goal is unattainable. Even when emaciated to the point that their appearance is skeletal, they will maintain that they are fat and persist in their attempt to lose weight. Bruch describes the typical anorexic process as `beginning with a diet. Initially, the dieter experiences a sense of deprivation and difficulty in maintain the restrictions. However, she then enters a stage of pride in her accomplishment and this perpetuates the behaviour. At the same time, biological effects of starvation cause distortions in perception of body sensations. There is a heightening of sensory experience and a feeling that has been compared to intoxication. As the condition progresses, the patient begins to feel special and different because of her superhuman effort and extraordinary accomplishment. These results in her alienation and isolation from others who fail to understand her behaviour and its meaning to her. She is then becomes increasingly absorbed in her own world and her behaviour assumes even greater importance to her. Anorexia nervosa is really a misnomer. Anorexia means lack of appetite. People with anorexia nervosa do experience hunger, and it is the victory over hunger that provides their reward. Anorexics are often fascinated with food and cooking, becoming students of nutrition. They may compulsively loiter in places where food is sold or served and watch other people eat. Their life becomes centred on food and the avoidance of eating. Anorexics go to extremes to avoid weight gain. They will induce vomiting, take diuretics and laxatives, and exercise strenuously. Many other physical changes are common in anorexic women, including amenorrhea (periods stopping), lanugo (extra body hair especially facial), and bradycardia (heart problems). Another eating disorder that is similar in some respects to anorexia nervosa is bulimia. The bulimic person experiences episodes of binge eating, frequently followed by vomiting. Binge eating is compulsive intake of food that is stopped only when the person vomits, experiences pain runs out of food, or is interrupted. It is differentiated from anorexia nervosa by the fact that severe weight loss is not generally seen and the individual is well aware that their behaviour is abnormal. Bulimics are usually able to maintain a more normal weight by alternating binging and vomiting or by eating very little between binges. Give two or more psychological explanations of eating disorders Psychodynamic Eating disorders usually begin in adolescent girls (90% of sufferers are female). This may suggest that this coincides with the onset of sexual development and sexual fears. Psychodynamic theorists have suggested that an adolescent girl may be terrified by their own feelings of sexual desire, or a fear of becoming pregnant, or even (and this may seem farfetched but is based on ignorance of the facts of life) of a fear of becoming pregnant by oral sex. If eating is mentally links in adolescent to getting pregnant, then starving herself will prevent pregnancy. It also stops menstruation so ovulation stops so no pregnancy. Another psychodynamic explanation of eating disorders is that some adolescent girls are afraid of growing up and have an unconscious desire to remain pre-pubescent. If they lose a lot of weight their bodies will not develop normally and they can hang on to the belief that they are still children. Finally, some patients who present with eating disorders were victims of sexual abuse as children. Consequently they hate their bodies and may even self-harm. There is a theory, supported by Minuchin, Roseman, and Baker (1978) that eating disorders may be firmly rooted in family dynamics. The term enmeshment is used to describe a family where there is no space for the personal independence of the child family members all seem to do everything together. Adolescence should be a time when the child develops their independence. If they cannot do this the anorexic adolescent may rebel by refusing to eat. Families which are enmeshed like this find it difficult to sort out conflicts (Minuchin et al.1978). In the theory of psychodynamics such families create anxiety. This is where ego-defences come in; parents unable to cope with their anxiety put the blame (unconsciously) on the anorexic child herself. Parental conflicts are common in families of both anorexics and bulimics (Kalusy, Crisp, and Harding 1977). This research came to the conclusion that families with an anorexic child tend to be ambitious, to deny or ignore conflicts, and blames othe r people for their problems. Behavioural The psychological theory of classical conditioning teaches us a great deal about the development of anorexia. These sufferers associate eating with anxiety they associate losing weight with avoiding bad thoughts and feelings (Leitenberg, Agras, and Thompson (1968)). The other relevant psychological theory is operant conditioning. The anorexic gets pleasure from gaining attention. It is also rewarding or re-enforcing because slim people are considered more attractive than fat ones. Similarly, there is a behavioural explanation of bulimia. When a bulimic binges it causes them anxiety, so when they vomit they revise the situation and their anxiety is reduced. This reduction in anxiety makes the person feel better, so the cycle of bingeing followed by vomiting is maintained. (Rosen and Leitenberg 1985). Discuss the ethics of behavioural therapies The term is used when considering moral behaviour among professionals, such as behavioural therapists. Certain things may be less acceptable than others, but if the ultimate end is for the good of the patient, then we may feel than an undesirable behaviour is acceptable. A psychiatric ward full of patients with eating orders can be one of the most depressing places on earth. Behavioural therapy usually involves giving patients targets and rewards regarding their consumption of food and drink. Patients with eating disorders can be distressed, stubborn, and frightened; the behavioural programmes developed for their recovery are often unwelcome and in themselves cause anxiety. There are major ethical issues occurring on a daily basis can staff force people to eat against their will? What of the rights of these individuals to be treated in a caring and respectful way? I doubt that loss of privileges constitute a caring and respectful way of helping a disturbed patient who refuses to eat. The issues of informed consent and the protection of patients from harm are huge points of conflict in the therapeutic treatment of people with eating disorders.

Importance of Mobile Government Systems

Importance of Mobile Government Systems Introduction Civilization can only be consisted of civilized people, with an organization governing it with all the public services. This organization is known as government. Government in modern days has to face more challenge than any other organization to perform its tasks and meet the goals. The more technologies are being discovered, the more citizen needs are created. ICT provides the governments with the ways of meeting the ever growing needs of the citizens. In developed countries, Internet Technologies have already become an easily available service to the citizens while the rest of the world still keeps on hoping for it. The developing and under-developed countries, as an example Bangladesh is legging well behind to catch the pace of the ever developing technologies and the benefits which the citizens of developed countries are enjoying. Basically when government activities take place by digital processes over a computer network, usually the internet between government and the members of public and regulated entities of private sector, then it is called e-government. And m-government would be an extension of e-government to mobile platforms, as well as the strategic use of government services and applications which are possible using the mobile phones, laptops, PDAs and other wireless technologies. M-government concept normally helps make public information and government services available anytime, anywhere (Emmanuel Lallana, 2008) and that the ubiquity of these devices mandates their employment in government functions, simply as an example of the usage of mobile wireless technologies could be the sending of mass alerts to registered citizens via short messaging services (SMS) in case of a national emergency. Though m-government is at its early age, it seems to have a substantial influence on the generation of a set of complex strategies and tools for e-government efforts and on their roles and functions. It is quite clear after the studies that the number of people having access to mobile phones, PDA and wireless internet connections is increasing rapidly. M-government is already a manifold concept as being mobile or simply being capable of having the mobility options is generally associated with a positive, dynamic and seemingly indispensable form of lifestyle and a productive behaviour. The main advantage of m-government as an extension of the platform of e-government, would be this drastic change in our dynamic societies as well as peoples mind which is always influenced by new technologies and their affect, which also in a sense announced being mobile all the time as a great feature. In this context, the study of the various categories of contribution of m-government in developing co untries provides a great deal of insight into how the ICT can improve their governments yield a good service to the public. Statement of the problem Developing countries, such as Bangladesh, are always struggling towards developing the infrastructure of its communication and technology sector. E-government has been implemented in developed countries and is in all sense easily available to their citizens. It needs a lot of power consumption and proper fibre optic connection to ensure full deployment of the system. On the contrary, in Bangladesh the need of electricity of 40% more than the total national production, with nearly 70% of the rural population have not yet have an electricity connection at their homes. Compared to that, nearly one third of the population occupies a mobile phone and this number is increasing every month by an average of 1.5 million mobile phone users. Hence the current study intends to analyze the pros and cons in implementing m-government options in Bangladesh with a feasibility study done after a complete research. Purpose of the Study Information and Communication Technology (ICT) can be considered as the backbone of modern day civilization. And m-government is one of the brightest assets of wireless ICT, feasible contributions of which could be inevitably numerous. Bangladesh is one of the poorest countries in the world. People of that country suffer from a good number of troubles all year round. And the private sector of Bangladesh is not as strong as that of the western world. So in case of any national or social trouble, the public have to rely almost solely to government arrangements. The dependency on the government is too high among the people of Bangladesh. As the author is from Bangladesh himself, there has been an honest purpose of finding a possibility of deploying an m-government system which might come out as truly beneficial for the common public of the country. Importance of the Study The study analyzes the importance of m-government in todays world and also scrutinizes through the technical implementation of the various aspects f establishing a beneficial m-government system in Bangladesh. It has also worked on three case studies and made an attempt to find out about the results. The whole overview of the m-government framework has come out of this study which might benefit any one who wants to know about the implementation of m-government and its various aspects and impacts. Rationale of the Study There is a vast amount of literature available on the fields of m-government and e-government though there are only a few noticeable studies on the feasibility of deploying ICT in all sectors of Bangladesh government. The study proves its rationale by making it an honest and logical approach to find out the positive impacts and benefits of deploying m-government in Bangladesh. Also by analyzing the case studies taken from the practical fields of Bangladesh, the research identifies that m-government would be a lot more efficient than e-government and has a strong likelihood of becoming a success on taking the country a huge step further ahead from the other developing countries. In this study, it has also been tried to hold a simple overview of various m-government applications which might easily be possible to implement in developing countries. Definition of Terms M-government stands for Mobile E-government, which are an extension of e-government and a matter of getting public sector IT systems geared to interoperability with the citizens mobile devices. Mobile devices are the devices using wireless ICT such as mobile phones, laptops, personal digital assistants (PDA) and wireless internet infrastructures. ICT stands for information and communication technologies, which can be considered as the backbone of modern world information flow. Decentralization is allocating the tasks of a central government to local authorities to govern a particular area in all aspects. Overview of the Study The current research paper intends to observe the emerging trends and the technologies establishing the trends in the field of m-government. The study also collects data on the benefits and challenges involved in the implementation of a full-functioning m-government in Bangladesh. The paper examines various scopes of m-government to become economically and democratically beneficial for Bangladesh as well as the developing countries basing on the data collected for this purpose. In this way, the paper finally analyzes the real impact of m-government on the public sector processes in Bangladesh and an attempt of proving this system being a better option rather than e-government has also been made. Literature Review Introduction In this study, there would be attempt to see through the potential of various fields of the implementations of m-government. And this research is going to ride a number of steps of deeper insight of the most promising sector of public administration for a smart 21st century country. M-government is a very much practiced and discussed issue in running local administration and the focus of connecting regular public with the administration has never seen such an easier option in order to establish proper democracy as well. The review in this section would first try to understand the different functions of government and the long hand of administration to run a country. Thus, the possible integration of ICT in the facilitation of these functions would also be studied thoroughly with a view of finding the dignified contribution of the system where e-government and m-government are playing a vital role. The comparisons and reasoning would always be focused on our main topic, which is the implementation potential of m-government in Bangladesh. Bangladesh is a country representing the third world, with poor infrastructure and low communication facilities. The study intends to face the challenges in such present condition of the country and studies the possible issues of meeting them. Government Functions Mobile-government is basically the system of running government actions by using the utmost facility of mobile technologies. For this purpose it is not unreasonable to find out what actually are the basic functions of a government. Mobile technology might be sought into the stream of the various actions of a government. Let us see how below. In a democratic country, the government is the core wheel-power of the system on which the country runs. The main functions of a democratic government could be listed as: Providing protection of the citizens and their property Ensure the enforcement of law at all parts around the country Keeping in order with the rights and contributions of each and every citizen Connecting with people, as the people is the maker and decider of the government Create and maintain good foreign relationship focusing the welfare of the country, etc. At the end of the first decade of the 21st century, we are now looking forward to the acceptance of democracy in almost every country in this world. Though the list of the duties of a democratic country in not exhaustive, the above are quite the same for all the independent territories and countries. The facts that we are in the 21st century now; upon the boom in the technological sector at the end of the last century the contribution of new and innovative technologies in modern government system is inevitable. In this study, it tries to see how various government functions can get facilitated by fitting in the new technologies that can be offered. As it has been experienced in Bangladesh that mobile technology and at a wider prospect, we can e-technology has spread to be in use at a broader scale in the commercial sector already; yet the government of Bangladesh has not adopted the technology that way. Especially when speaking for Bangladesh, connection with the public as being a Peoples Republic has not yet considered as the most important factor so far or the steps to be taken to strengthen this connection. But it is not expected for establishing proper democracy at all. ICT Support Associating Government Functions First to say, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is without a doubt the driving factor of the wheel of modern economy, financial, commercial and even administration systems. A system which has not yet adopted this technology lagged a lot behind than its competitors. It is not untrue to say that the invention and innovation of electronic technology has made the world faster and easier as well. There was an age say about a hundred years ago, when the only medium of communication was by sending letters or telegrams. For this one had to go to the telegram office or a post office for trying to contact others. Although the postal systems or telegram were quite fast at those days, but after the invention of wired land-phone or wireless mobile phone or even the Internet, who would have thought that the communication system would grow this faster. The flow of information got so much easier and faster that it has become a matter of seconds now, not days compared to those posting-le tter-days. A government is the centre organization of a country. It has the empowerment to rule the country and the power is been given by the citizens of a country. So needless to say that, the government functions are always about the welfare of the public. In order to strengthen this relation between the public and the government, we could not think anything else other than ICT for its contribution. Towards a process of evolving e-government system for the lift-up in the performance of government systems, ICT plays the core role in its own innovative quality. One of major positive impacts that ICT brings into a government system is transparency in government actions. ICT can reduce corruption of government officials as well, which is a necessary issue in improving the government system in Bangladesh, as it has become the top most corrupted country quite a number of times. Technology can automate some processes which could have bared possibility of officials to involve in corruptions. Even the information access becomes possible easily to public. Government projects can also be planned properly and realistically by the use of ICT. The expenses for a development projects can be monitored continuously so that there might not be any gaps or illicit misuse which is a major problem currently residing in Bangladesh government projects. Roads, bridges or any other infrastructure projects are often stopped halfway through because of the shortage of fund which was initially passed to be underway with full funding. These sorts of corruptions are a r egular incident in Bangladesh, which could see a light on resolving these problems by the innovative use of ICT. And mobile-government system here re-enforces e-government benefits of making the public administration system more transparent, open, accessible and better connected to the public, being supported by ICT. Being Mobile, Being Smarter The most notable advantage of being â€Å"Mobile is that it is being mobile. Mobile technologies enable the improvement of communication without a lot of infrastructural development, which might become a pretty much expensive project for most of the countries. This study will discuss the various projects of m-government taken throughout the world and tries to pay a deep thought about the prospect of those projects if being taken in Bangladesh. So what is m-government and how can it become the new revolution towards a 21st century smart government? This study found after a lot of research that it is not a very difficult question to answer, as the contributions of m-government are pretty much crystal clear all around the world. M-government has often considered for developing e-democracy. E-democracy can be defined by keeping the connection of the government with the public at the first line of consideration. Especially in developing countries where internet facilities are not available enough to really plan for public connection though web technology on its own. Without using mobile technology, the expectation for this would clearly see a failure. It has been a glowing fact that mobile phone users are running a pretty high number in developing countries. So the government could always think about mobile technology as a channel towards the citizens. With enhanced security and transparency, mobile systems may see a huge success in this context. M-services under screening Let us start with various pilot projects and existing systems using the service of mobile technology in different countries. The study would go on with the feasibility of the systems if to be implemented in Bangladesh. This part of the study starts by stepping into China which is one of the most prominent countries in the world. China has seen some projects in order to improve the interaction between the government and the public. Such as, in China people can send text messages to the local member of their respective legislature. The local representatives can then be aware of their actions and continuously getting the feedback. This is a great opportunity for the citizens to keep in touch with the person they have elected themselves to play on behalf of their local area. Mobile technology here holds a vital role by providing the SMS technology available. If we go for a cross-section of this service, say for example upon being elected as a representative of an area, the elected person has been given one or more mobile phone number which might be available for keeping communication from the citizens. Whenever there are problems arising or people are suffering in the remote rural areas, they can send their plea in a short informative form to the representative via SMS to take urgent steps about the matter. The representative could then be aware fully of this matter and take relevant actions as necessary. There might be a lot of communicational and/or technical gaps or complications needed to be solved, but we could just take this as simple awareness information. At least the representative would know what is g oing on with the people within the constituency. In Bangladesh, issues related to the matter of clear and firm communication between the local parliament or union members and the public is not always dealt with adequate importance. The lack of this attitude is not acceptable in a country which has been struggling for over 30 years to establish democracy. It is not going to be babbling about if we say we could establish strong relationship between the public and their representative and reduce the distance between them. Grameen phone is the leading mobile phone company in Bangladesh. Whenever the talk about the mobile phone technology in Bangladesh arises, Grameen phone would definitely appear with its solid base built upon its contribution towards setting up such a wonderful mobile network base in Bangladesh. Right now, about 98% of the population of Bangladesh are under the coverage area of Grameen phone. There has been already over $1.6 billion investment just to build and improve the network infrastructure with 10000 base-stations over 5600 locations in the country. And there is still, according to the last estimate in 2001, 79% of the population live in rural areas. Also as of September 2006, from an estimate only 38% of the population in Bangladesh have access to electricity. This means that even if the people from a remote rural part of Bangladesh do not have electricity, without which running a computer or a laptop is quite impossible; people would still be under the coverage of Grameen mobi le network. The introduction of Grameen phone here at this part of the study has a significant meaning. Considering the amount this company has invested developing the mobile telephony network infrastructure and the huge popularity it gained with over 20 million subscribers, this study keeps a preferable position for this company in mind while discussing about the feasibility of implementing m-government systems and its various applications. Going back to the topic of building and strengthening the communication between the public and their political or social representative, having a strong mobile telephony network like Grameen phone has established in Bangladesh would come really handy for the case of remote rural areas. Even the people from far deep inside the hills and jungles could also be able to not be â€Å"lost at least by their local representative to the government. Now lets spot a light on what the experts in m-government systems are saying about the various features of this system. There were several seminars during the years of 2002 and 2003 on m-government and expert talks about this system came widely out at light. The experts defined m-government as a combination of two sets of features. There was the creation of the famous 24/24, 7/7 concept by Zalesack (2002) which gives importance on building the freedom of mobile access and services that can be delivered from anywhere at any time. It holds the core meaning of being actually â€Å"mobile. Roggenkamp (2004) also emphasized mobility; device mobility, service mobility and user mobility. All these opinions of the experts support the idea here which is the distinguished advantage of the technology on the move. It is not irrational to mention that with a mobile phone in a persons pocket means a communication with that person is almost always possible as long as the mobile phone is in the persons pocket. No other device has made it possible and it holds a lot of significance while considering m-governance system. Any citizen could be connected to government services 24/7 if appropriate systems are there. The government outreach can be expanded unimaginably based upon this fact of mobile telephony system. In between 2002 and 2003, as a part of a Swiss national research project within the framework of COST A14, MIR-CdM-EPFL carried out an evaluation and comparison of e-government projects in six European contexts (Rossel, P Finger, M and Misuraca, G, 2006). Some of them were regional or national, others municipal, especially the cases of Bologna (Italy), Issy-les-Moulineaux (France), Tampere (Finland), Estonia, Ireland and France (Buser, Cotti, Rossel and Finger, 2003). The services which have been implemented were: In lssy-les-Moulineaux (France), the possibility to pay parking or reserving a parking slot using a mobile phone, to make a reservation for a local hotel room, to make a reservation for a local hotel room, to make a reservation for books, records, DVD at the media library or a game in the game library. In Tampere (Finland), the possibility to check availability and make reservations at the local library, to have access to bus schedules and to map service for addresses, road work or any zoning issue, as well to social service information, medical services. In Estonia, the facilitation of payment by internet and SMS. In Estonia and In Ireland, administrative data access, for the citizen, on a 24/24 and 7/7 basis and national database access, for businesses. These above implementations were not as fruitful as expected after a revisit of the programs. According to the situation in Bangladesh, the possible impact that may be brought by these services being implemented would also come with a few question marks. Especially speaking of the information being sought after by mobile phones would require a strong and secure database at the service end which is not on its best condition in Bangladesh at the moment. But about the context of paying by SMS from a mobile phone is already been implemented in a number of notable projects: Grameen phone has started a service of â€Å"bill-payment which enables subscribers to pay the utility bills via SMS. The bill amount will be simply deducted from the users mobile phone account and going to post-offices or bill payment centres are not necessary now-a-days as it can be done from home simply by a text message. Cell-bazar is another innovative shopping idea that been introduced also by Grameen Phone. A customer can ask for a list of products in the area of interest by sending a text message. Upon receiving the list, the subscribers can then bid for the product by sending SMS and the bidding system is not a lot different than that of eBay instead the bidding is coming via a text message from a mobile phone. A subscriber can also sell by sending short description within the limited space of an SMS by sending a text message. When someone wins the bid, gets a text message containing the winning notification and even the customer then pay for the item via SMS as well. The product is then shipped by traditional portage though. But a lot of work here has been done simply by using a mobile phone from the rest of the customers phone. Most recently there has been an inauguration by the Prime Minister of Bangladesh of a new university admission project where m-technology has also been implemented. Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST) have announced that student can now book for admission tests simply via sending SMS. Students will have to send their Higher Secondary Certificate exam results via SMS to the university. The university database will justify the students ability to sit for the exam and will send them their roll-number and the date f the exam, even with a short form of seat-plan. All the students have to do is paying the fees for the exam via SMS which will be deducted from the students mobile phone account and then appear at the exam bringing an attested copy of their photograph along with them. The complicated admission process is been simplified this way only by using m-technology even by sending the student results for their exams via SMS. The hassle of travelling to university to co llect the admission forms and then going to the bank to pay the fees and come again to sit for the exams used to take half of the students stamina even before the exams. Now hopefully a student from a rural area wishing to attend the admission test at SUST will not have to sweat to even get a final registration number for the test by coming to the city. Thus we could see that mobile-payment systems can be utilized at more widespread areas upon seeing these projects which are coming out to be pretty handy. So on considering the six European contexts, mobile payment method could be a feed for the thought of implementing m-government system in Bangladesh. Another feature of m-governance that can be put into consideration is getting the public opinion in an easy way. It has been quite a regular practice at the newspapers in Europe. In the UK, popular newspapers regularly put up a poll about several government decisions and actions. People can easily express their clear opinions by sending SMS to the newspapers and they are getting published like broad daylight. Opinions of the citizens are not suppressed yet the government could easily get into peoples minds and be cautious on taking any steps against the will of majority. Sometimes it has not been proved handy though. Just to mention the huge protest in British newspapers along with a huge number of citizens opinion against the singing of British Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary for the re-introduction of European Union Constitution which could not be stopped eventually. But the opinions of general British public were being brought out into lights by the newspapers which gave the readers an option to send opinions via SMS. Surprisingly true that the newspapers in Bangladesh has not yet adopted this method of receiving public opinions on various issues and matters related to the country or even their society. They still rely on letters being sent by the readers. Some of the newspapers do accept emails but they are very few in number. Keeping the huge number of mobile phone subscribers in consideration, it could become a widely accepted form of expressing citizens thoughts via national newspapers and could have a positive impact on even changing the society a lot more constructively. Mobile technology can also be used innovatively in voting campaigns (Emmanuel C. Lallana, 2008). Mobile-voting has been a regular practice in television programs and new product feedbacks to the releasing companies for quite a long time. By connecting a database, SMS votes sent by mobile phones could possibly turn around the current scene voting reality. In a national election, it can encourage better voter registration and voter turn-out at the poll at the election days. There is a case of this in Spain 2004 election where voter turnout was at the highest rate.1 Even in Macedonia, mobile phones been used as election campaign tools when an organization sent two SMS to encourage women to vote for women in the 2006 national elections. And the result came out as an increased 29% of representatives at the parliament of Macedonia are women.2 1. http://www.iht.com/articles/2004/03/23/a11_16.php 2. http://www.newtactics.org/en/node/1685 These above facts are a clear indication of the ability of mobile technology of increasing public involvement in government elections. Bangladesh can obviously see the benefits from these projects and the outcomes of them as it is a democratic country that sees a national election in every five years. A country consisting of population over 100 million and having a voter number of almost 60 million voters, it experiences one of the biggest democratic elections in the world. Following the success of the use of mobile phones in the two countries mentioned above, Bangladesh can also use the same technology for the purposes. Although by taking a huge and almost incredible project for voter registration by providing the voters a National Identity Document (NID) in the year of 2008, Bangladesh showed its positive struggle towards becoming a successful democratic country. The project has gone for almost 18 months with tens of thousands of computer trained personals working hard to complete working for it, which is the first biometric voter registration process in South Asia. The voters data have been stored in a national database and each voter has been given a national ID number. This successful project can help in a lot of ways in the implementation of m-governance and e-governance. Since there is a secure national database now setup already, it should not be a problem to have a citizens mobile phone number added into the database along with the ID number as well. It is a matter of governments duty to aware the citizens about the importance of it. Even the Non-government Organizations can also play a big part in helping the government in this matter. The outreach of the government would then be increased at a level when any useful information could easily be sent to the citizens via SMS technology. Moreover, women in Bangladesh have also been experiencing a second class citizens respect still. Because of the conservative nature in the society, most women would not s tep out of their homes to the polls for casting their votes. They are not even familiar with a widely accepted nature of women in power though Bangladesh herself has had two female Prime Ministers in the past and the current Prime Minister is also a female. Steps can be taken following those in Macedonia by sending awareness text messages to women to involve in the democratic process of electing a government with the same rights as men and even empower women of their choice with dignity as a democratic citizen. Potential Problems on the way Problems that may rise during the implementation of m-government system in Bangladesh are identified below: Infrastructure: The government of Bangladesh have to be aware of proper infrastructural development of ICT all around the country. Though mobile phone networks has 98% coverage of the country population, still the service-end infrastructure such as the PC which would send out information to mobile phones and to which the mobile phones will get connected to, should be set up with a secure database protected by a secure server. Right software should be installed and a trained manpower is needed. Secure Payment System: When considering m-payment as a future most widely accepted version of payment, the government should come up with a series of serious security regulations for online and mobile payment transactions and should put all attempts to enforce these regulations strictly to gain public confidence in freely use this convenient system without any mental stress or hassle. No Spam: There could be a new law about mobile phone numbers as there is now about email addresses. That is, the government should ensure that citizens mobile phone number or any information will be kept safe and secure and will not even face risks to go in the hands of third parties. User-friendliness: As long as the government keeps the services provided through m-government easily acces