Wednesday, November 27, 2019

Women in Afghanistan Essays

Women in Afghanistan Essays Women in Afghanistan Essay Women in Afghanistan Essay In the Afghan world today, especially in Kabul, the Taliban government has a strong and terrible influence on everyone living there. The Taliban are a Muslim fundamentalist group that took control over the government from 1996 until 2001. They enforced many unrealistic rules that caused many hardships for men and women. Many countries have stepped in to try bringing peace to Afghanistan. The Taliban had control of over 90% of the population until countries came together to stop them. They now, only control about 54 percent, which is a big difference from earlier on. There is a lot of irreversible damage that has been done, affecting the way the country and the people live today. The entire population of Kabul is in a constant state of traumatisation from the actions of the Taliban. The Taliban have made life a living nightmare for practically all women. Everyone who has not been disturbed by the sickening actions of the Taliban has lost all morals and sense of their Islamic religion. The Taliban have turned the once peaceful land of Kabul, and all Afghanistan, into a perpetual terrorist warzone. The economy in Afghanistan was greatly affected by the Taliban. The rules they created caused many restrictions on jobs and the overall lifestyle of those living in Afghanistan. One of the biggest changes seen in Afghanistan is the effect the Taliban had on the economy. The Taliban have caused the economy to drop drastically and force many people into poverty. The economy is greatly affected because of the restrictions put on women. They are no longer allowed to be in public, unless they are with a close male relative. This has forced many women to quit their jobs because they do not want to risk being seen alone in public. The punishment for being in public without a male escort could result in many cruel things; beatings, public executions, and other harsh punishments. Before the Taliban, women had many opportunities to gain an education so they were able to support themselves. Prior to the Taliban’s arrival, women in Afghanistan were educated and employed: 50% of the students and 60% of the teachers at Kabul University were women, and 70% of school teachers, 50% of civilian government workers, and 40% of doctors in Kabul were women. ( hazara. net/taliban/taliban. tml) The Taliban eliminated the opportunities women have to receive an education and learn a practice. Before the Taliban rein, more than half of the people becoming educated were women. This gravely affected the lives of women. Women had careers and were able to get an education, until the Taliban came and took over the country. They were stripped of these rights and many were no longer able to support their family, forcing them to g o hungry and become affected by poverty. When the Taliban took all of the educational opportunities away for women, the country lost a lot of doctors, nurses, teachers, government workers and more. No longer were there enough doctors to treat the sick. Many men were unable to gain an education because there were not enough teachers to instruct them. Afghanistan’s economy was becoming worse and it would take many years and the help of many other countries to help revive Afghanistan. During the Taliban reign, there was a very poor judicial system run by the members of the Taliban. The Afghanistan judicial system allowed for many cruel activities and punishments to take place. The Taliban officers had the right to do anything and if anyone disagreed with them, they could decide how they wished to punish them. This frightened many people, causing numbers and numbers of them so stay in their houses to avoid all contact with the government, making it very difficult for families to hold jobs and supply the family with food and the necessities. The Taliban officers were able to kill a person, even if they did not have a legit reason. If they did not feel respected, they could arrange a punishment. Many men and women were killed because they did not follow the rules of the Taliban. Children would be left to take care of themselves, many of which became orphans. The orphans were not able to support themselves; they would live on the streets and grow up uneducated. The United Nations studied Afghanistan and discovered many interesting things. A few years ago, the United Nations estimated that there are 500,000 disabled orphans in Afghanistan, a country with no economy, no food. There are millions of widows. Journalists witness scenes of utter tragedy, virtually every wall, every building; every landmark had been hit by shells in the big cities. One would be shocked and in disbelief over the magnitude of the devastation. ( salaam. o. uk/themeofthemonth/december01_index. php? l=8) Afghanistan is filled with orphans and widows, unable to support themselves. People are left wandering streets trying to find food and water so they can survive until the next morning. Almost all the buildings have been destroyed, leaving people homeless; forcing them to live on the streets or in tents near abandoned buildings. There are many witnesses that have seen the changes in the economy before and after the Taliban reign. The Taliban government have made a large affect on the Afghanistan economy, causing it to worsen. The violence and destruction the Taliban evoked, turned away tourism and trade from the country. Tourists were afraid and still are afraid, to visit Afghanistan because it is so chaotic. It has become a very dangerous place to go because of the landmines that are embedded in the earth, unable to be seen. â€Å"One in every ten land mines in the world is littered in Afghanistan, claiming an average of 25 victims a day. † ( salaam. co. uk/themeofthemonth/december01_index. php? l=8) The landmines take lives when least expected. One step in the wrong direction and it is all over. This fact scares people and makes it easy for them to pick a different tourist place, other than Afghanistan. Tourists are more interested in visiting a country they know is safe and free of landmines. The economy has also been affected by the violence and destruction because Afghanistan has lost some of their trades. The main resource they trade is opium. Because of the rule, many countries do not want to risk the danger of going into the country, so they trade with countries other than Afghanistan, if possible. Afghanistan lost tourism and trade, contributing to the loss of the economy. Afghanistan’s economy was becoming worse and it would take many years and the help of many countries, to help revive it. The restrictions on women, the violence and cruelty toward people, an unjust judicial system, and the loss of trade and tourism have caused the economy in Afghanistan to plummet into a downward spiral. The people are left in a constant state of fear and unknowing. They have built a living nightmare for the women of their country. Those who haven’t been perpetually disturbed by their actions have joined in on the insanity. The Taliban have turned a formerly stable country into one of instability and destruction.

Saturday, November 23, 2019

Order, Search, and Sort MySQL Data

Order, Search, and Sort MySQL Data When you query a MySQL database, you can sort the results by any field in an ascending or descending order just by adding ORDER BY at the end of your query. You use ORDER BY field_name ASC for an ascending sort (which is the default) or ORDER BY field_name DESC for a descending sort. You can use an ORDER BY clause in a SELECT statement, SELECT LIMIT or DELETE LIMIT statement. For example: SELECT * FROM addressORDER BY name ASC; The code above retrieves data from an address book and sorts the results by the persons name in an ascending fashion. SELECT email FROM addressORDER BY email DESC; This code selects only the email addresses  and lists them in descending order. Note: If you dont use an ASC or DESC modifier in the ORDER BY clause, the data is sorted by expression in ascending order, which is the same as specifying ORDER BY expression ASC.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Iroquois Theatre Fire Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Iroquois Theatre Fire - Research Paper Example Some of the most disastrous fires in the United States in the 20th century include the Iroquois theater fire in Chicago in 1903, general Slocum wheel boat fire in 1904 the Ohio State penitentiary fire in 1930, the San Francisco fire in 1909 among other major fires that caused heavy loss of human lives and destruction. After the fire disasters, the fire and safety authorities in the United States have instigated various safety codes in various zones to protect people and property from the imminent risk of fires. This paper investigates the Iroquois theatre fire, with special focus on the failure of existing code processes at the time, the impact of the fire disaster on the code processes after the incident and the current code processes. In one cold afternoon of December 30 1903 in Chicago, about 2000 patrons most of whom were women and children assembled in the Iroquois theatre. In addition, about 400 performers and stage actors were jammed in the basement, backstage and dressing rooms to witness what was surely an exciting show. The audience was full of anticipation in readiness to watch a musical comedy, Mr. Bluebeard. Five weeks prior to the staging of the music comedy, the 1,700 capacity Iroquois theatre had just been opened with much excitement from the public and the press (Marshall 1904). According to Marshall (1904, p 27), The Chicago Tribune one of the most reputable dailies in the city described the theater as â€Å"virtual temple of beauty†. Iroquois was the finest of all theatres that had been constructed in the United States at the time. It had been lavishly furnished with marble and plate glass with luxurious mahogany and ornamentation. The theater had a splendid promenade lobby with a sixty feet ceiling from the floor. An impressive flight of staircases ascended on both sides of the theatre. At around 3.00pm, the theatre caught fire and in about fifteen minutes, 602 people had died and over 250 were seriously

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Compare and contrast Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 26

Compare and contrast - Essay Example This fact is illustrated in the medical field in CT scan services. The CT scan machines were offering the same product and in the long run, they became unprofitable venture. This is due to the prices declining as many identical products are continually being introduced in the market. Farmers’ market is a good example of competitive market structure (Hubbard, p450). Competitive monopoly on the other hand has dominating firm(s) that control prices unlike in perfect competitive markets. Both market structures have many buyers and sellers and the entry to these market systems are considerably similar. The entry to the both market structures is significantly easy. The only difference is the product being sold. In competitive market, the products are similar in all aspects while in competitive monopoly, the products are differentiated. Starbucks and other coffee houses compete in a competitive monopolistic market structures. They offer the same products but adequately differentiated (Hubbard, p465). Competitive monopolistic firms also offers prices that are greater than their marginal costs. In the short run, competitive monopolistic firms should have marginal revenue below its demand curve to realize profits. In the long run, competitive monopolistic firms make profit if their total revenue is greater than their total costs (Graph B1 and B2). Oligopoly differs from competitive monopoly and competitive market structure in the ease of entry. Entry into oligopoly market structure is considerably hard because of the barriers of entry present in the market. Companies like Microsoft and Google fall in this category. New firm venturing into this market experience stiff competition among other barriers and its survival is barely minimal. This because, Microsoft and other firms in this market structure have economies of scale and there are also several governmental imposed barriers to such

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance. Essay Example for Free

Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance. Essay In planning we set short term and long term objectives and it is relevant that we anticipate worst case scenarios. That is why planning should be strategic and scientific. Planning should be strategic because every method formulated in planning is integral and interrelated. The strategic characteristic of planning is often applied in military planning not just to produce tangible and intangible results but to establish the greatest possibility of victory. The book entitled Art of War written by Sun Tzu which contains series of formula, tactics, and strategies that has been proven through time is an example of a book which is based on planning. In this book the writer stressed out that â€Å"Planning works in a controlled environment, but in a competitive environment, competing plans collide creating situations that no one plans†. In this analysis of the book, the possibility of the occurrences of uncontrolled variables can be solved if one is able to make a strategic planning. In as much as planning perse is important, planning with strategy is more important. In strategic planning you deepen the planning methods to identify the strengths and weaknesses and the complexities of formulated plans. This process will enable planners to illustrate more alternatives, do more rigorous thinking and be ready to face more challenges. Scientific planning can be taken out of consideration because without this planning is not actually done. We call something scientific if it is â€Å"regulated by or conforming to the principles of exact science: scientific procedures†. Therefore, scientific planning is based on empirical evidences that have been gathered which resulted to verifiable data. So, results are product of tested hypothesis, accurate experimentation, and conclusive results. In doing short term plans which oftentimes have long term effects planning becomes critical. In establishing short term plans the main consideration is the period of time while having limited resources and scope. But since short term planning is more limited in terms of time the planners should be prepared for great and accurate details. Normally the length of short term plans is a week long or a year long wherein two years is the most. It still depends on how complex and extensive the goals are. Projects and activities which need short term planning include doing lesson plans in the part of teachers, planning a wedding ceremony, deciding which course a student will take, family meal planning, or small business planning. For the long term planning there could be two possible ways in doing this. First, the project or event is being planned as a continuity of short term planning. In this case, the assumption is the short term plans were successful thus a long term plan is needed for bigger results. This case often happens in television to film productions, small businesses’ expansions, and career growth and development of a person. For the long term planning a set of actions is adapted not just for today but making future as the major consideration. Though, long term planning needs a protracted time, victory is often at hand. Mao Zedong, the leader of Communist Party of China was able to lead the Chinese revolution composed of mostly peasants victoriously. His effective, scientific, and strategic planning has been admired. This made him one of the most important figures in modern world history. Planning for retirement is another perfect example of a long term plan wherein intelligent planning is a must. In fact there are many professionals who are ready to give assistance to those who want to identify their financial goals and stability in the future. Since, long term planning involves making definite decisions the plans being made still depend on different contexts which need different approaches. Educational planning and marriage planning on the other side are other two examples of contexts that require long term planning and should be handled using appropriate approaches. A classic instance of this long term planning which is familiar to general readers is the parents’ obligations in preparing for the educational needs of their children towards a better future. That is why before entering into family life a couple should be able to carefully plan the â€Å"blue print† of their life from becoming a couple to becoming future parents. So the question Why plan? can be answered practically or relying on products of successful events, knowledge and backgrounds of reliable people, and empirical evidences. The arguments and premises provided in this paper are helpful notes and materials to those who do not know how to answer how important planning is. The answers need not to perfect but they need to be analyzed intelligently by every person who thinks planning is important in making one’s existence purposive and having logical directions in life, whether it will be a short term planning or long term planning. Source Porter, M (1985). Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance. NY: New York Free Press.

Friday, November 15, 2019

An Investigation into the Factors which Affect Osmosis Essay -- GCSE B

An Investigation into the Factors which Affect Osmosis Osmosis is defined as the movement of water molecules from a higher concentration to a lower concentration through a partially permable membrane. Osmosis occurs with molecule moving in and out, these molecules move across the plant’s cell membrane. The plant’s cell membrane is partially permable and therefore it has small holes in it which allow for small water molecules to pass through it however larger molecules such as glucose through. However on the out side of the plant cells there is a cell wall of cellulose that has larger holes that let anything pass through it. This cell wall is totally permeable and therefore will allow larger molecules such as glucose through it, but the larger molecules can still not pass the cell membrane. When these cells are in a solution which has a higher concentration of water than the cells concentration of water the water will diffuse into the cell as the water moves from a higher concentration (the solution) to the lower concentration (the cells.) As more and more water enters the cell the cell wall starts to expand and the cell starts to become turgid. Even is a plant cell is placed in a solution where there is a high water concentration and a weak sugar solution (say a 0.1 d/mol3 strong) there will still be more water outside the cell than inside the cell therefore there will still be an increase in volume and weight. This means that when the plant cells are placed in a strong sugar solution (where there is more sugar than water.) there will be a decrease in weight and volume. This process is defined as plasmolysis. This is where the cell membrane pulls away from the cell wall, this is because a lot of water has been moved from the cell as the plant cell has the strong concentration of water and the solution has a weak concentration the water will move from the plant top the water. Sometimes the cell will shrivel up completely and it becomes flaccid. This is represented in the diagram below With osmosis occurring there will eventually be a point where the concentration of water will be equal to the concentration inside the cell. This means that with the water still diffusing in and out there will be equal amounts going in and out. This means that osmosis is still occurring but the plant or the solution is either gaining o... ...ainst the cell wall, the tugor pressure will reach it’s maximum and the cells will not be able to take in any more water. At the other end of the line, I would expect the line to eventually curve off horizontally. Once the cell becomes flaccid and the cell membrane collapses, no more water would be able to escape. I did predict that the stronger the solution the more the potato chips would lose weight. I believe my results have proven this. Evaluation I am pleased with the way my experiment has gone, I did not come across too many problems and most of my points on the graph were close to the line of best fit. Therefore I am happy with the accuracy of my results. I think my method was adequate for producing accurate results I could still improve it. I could’ve also tried to measure the potato chips more accurately when cutting them. I feel my investigation on the whole was a sucsess. I achieved reliable and accurate results. however I could increase my confidence in my conclusions by repeating the experiment with another carrot to back it up. But on the whole my experiment matched my prediction and I am happy about my results and the way I conducted it.

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Ethical aspects of Social Media Marketing

This essay will focus on the topic ‘Critically evaluating the ethical aspects of social media marketing in the United States’ and the principal question assessed throughout this writing will be ‘Have social media marketing acted ethical or not? ’ According to Nielson Report (2013, p. 3), ‘Social media marketing typically refers to two practices involving social media- the use free tools and paid media’.According to Gaski (1999 cited Smith 2000, p8), marketing ethics is defined as â€Å"standards of conduct and moral judgements applied to marketing†. In relation to social media, these ethics guide the operations of marketing on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter or Youtube (Eagle, 2009). With the rapid growth and adoption of social media, the ethical concerns on social media has also significantly increased. (Mutula, 2012).The author further examines the following categories: 1. 1Social Media Research According to Smith, (200 1), -â€Å"be truthful, protect privacy, don't model inappropriate behaviour, don't be offensive, be fair and balanced, avoid stereotyping and protect children’’ are the seven basic ethical standards for marketing, which are applicable to the present social media marketing. However, all businesses has a legal responsibility to comply with the legislation of their country.In the United States it is the Federal Trade Commission which regulates advertising and marketing laws in the country. (Smith, 2001: Federal Trade Commission, 2013) Social media research is the initial stage of marketing; a technique or an approach used by the marketers to conduct market research on social media platforms. The foremost issue that has commenced is the ethical aspect of using social media for market research purposes; the gathering of data and conducting research on consumers and competitors. (Patino et. al).In addition, it is the fundamental responsibility of marketers to protect consu mer personal data by ensuring that the data is only used for research purposes and makes sure that they adhere to the social network guidelines and regulations of the company. (Mareck M, 2011) However, companies violate these rules and steal customer information without their consent for research and marketing activities, which is unethical and against the FTC Act.Evidently, it was reported by the FTC, in May 2011, 32 legal actions were taken against  organisations that have failed to maintain protection for consumer sensitive data thus breached consumers’ privacy rights. For example, in February 2013, a social networking app generated by Path. Inc. , acquired consumer personal information without their consent and settled FTC charges for infringing Consumer Privacy Act also in the meantime the same company was charged for violating the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, from approximately 3000 children personal information was collected without getting parent s’ consent which was claimed to be highly unethical.  (Federal Trade Commission 2013).Moreover, social media has assisted companies to monitor their employees on social networks. Many reports and cases have been lodged against those companies for unethical practices, by involuntarily retrieving personal information of employees. Such cases involve companies use specialised softwares or access employees’ user name and password of Facebook and Twitter accounts, to trace tweets and posts of what employees post on social networks.As a result, in regard to the newly imposed social media privacy legislation, companies were seized to make settlements on the charges of violating Employee Privacy Protection Act. (Eaglesham, J. and Rothfeld, M. , 2013) Furthermore, social media marketing has become a major threat to the competitors since the birth of social media, and with the aid of market research it has become a trend for brands to practice unethical and unlawful activities such as creating fake accounts, fake endorsements, fake blogs, fake community groups and tarnishing competitors’ brand reputation on social platforms.  (Ray, 2011)1. 2 Viral Marketing and Advertising Viral marketing is the spreading of information between users on social media and it has become the defining marketing trend; techniques used to promote company product/ service and brand name on social media. For example, viral campaigns are marketing techniques widely used to spread the Word-Of-Mouth (WOM) and it can be in the form of viral videos via Youtube, Facebook statuses/posts, or blogs on social media.Thus, viral campaigns build awareness and promotes the company product and image on social media. (Fergusan. R, 2008) For example, ASDA has effectively used this strategy for their promotional campaigns, like the Christmas doesn’t just happen by magic Video 2012 which went viral on Youtube. However, viral marketing can be an adverse impact to the company and unet hical too.For example, Celeb Boutique thought of implementing the viral marketing technique of trending hash tag on Twitter, instead of a positive brand recognition it caused a negative impact to the company brand image and was humiliated virally. (Smeets, 2013) In terms of ethics, such cases include: companies that attack other companies indirectly, being dis honest unprofessional and dis respectful on their campaigns.For example: As reported by The Economic Times, in April 2012, Nokia launched an aggressive viral campaign against Samsung, comparing it’s Lumia smart phone with Samsung’s intentionally emphasizing that Nokia phones are invincible and can blow away other smart phones, this campaign was highly unethical and against the FTC Advertising and Marketing Act of being dishonest and deceptive to stakeholders such as competitors (Mukherjee, W, 2012) According to FTC (2013), â€Å"All businesses have a legal responsibility to ensure that advertising is truthful an d not deceptive’’.Advertising shouldn’t target on vulnerable audiences such as children and should comply with the FTC standards regarding children privacy issues.For example: Kelloggs company made false claims on social networks that it’s Frosted Mini-Wheats cereal benefits children and improves their immunity, this was done by giving false evidence that the attentiveness of children can be improved by 20percent clinically, this advertisement was unethical as it infringed the standards of FTC† (Federal Trade Commission, 2013) Furthermore, it was alleged that companies pay celebrities millions of dollars to advertise and promote their brand on Social networks.Recently, Snickers was suspected in promoting their brand on Twitter in the form of tweets through prominent celebrities such as Rio Ferdinand and Katie Price in 2012. As a result, the Fair Trade officers advised celebrities that advertisements that doesn’t reveal as a promotion or an en dorsement is a ‘deceptive advertising’ and warned Snickers, it is against the FTC standards. However, the complaints accusing Snickers for deceptive advertising were forwarded to the Advertising Standards Authority to take further investigations on this unethical behavior.  (Barnett, 2012: Federal Trade Commission, 2013)1. 3 Engagement Process Social media enables companies to interact with customers more directly than any other forms. Engagement process is one of the major ethical challenge for companies as it involves the process of directly engaging with customers on social networks and has become a common practice for companies. Social media is used by employees on behalf of the company and it can endanger the company reputation via social media by using it unethically.Even though, engagement process is an important component for marketing and public relations it can still be treacherous if used unethically. (Institute of Business Ethics, 2011) In a survey carried out by the Ethics Resource Centre, 45percent of U. S employees witnessed misconduct at work in which 65percent from those reported to be immoral behaviour, in consequence was alleged for violating the workplace ethics law. The study reveals that social media appears to be a major contributor to this issue.  (Ethics Resource Centre, 2011)In March 2010, Nestle Facebook fan page was hovered with negative remarks from its fans after the palm oil campaign, in response, the employee who controls the fan page posted offensive comments which violated the company policies hence, led to bad publicity and boycott activities from the public. (The Guardian, 2011) In 2012, many big brands faced serious catastrophes on social networks. Such circumstances follows; when McDonald tried to promote its brand via Twitter using hashtags, unfortunately the customers on Twitter posted unfavourable comments of consuming McDonald’s food.Other examples such as the American Apparel and The Gap faced a colossal destructive responses from its customers for posting disapproving ads at the time of Hurricane Sandy. (Anon, 2012) 1. 4 Ethical Social Media Marketing Vs. Unethical Social Media Marketing Conversely, a survey carried out by the IBE reveals, businesses that operate ethically on social media is significantly greater than the proportion of businesses that operate unethically.The above pie chart illustrates that 48 percent of the respondents say that businesses operate very/fairly ethically. (Institute of Business Ethics, 2012) Nevertheless, IBE survey found that it was a decline from 58 percent to 48 percent of views that assumes businesses operate very/fairly ethical on social media. Therefore, the change in the percentage from 2011 to 2012 ascertains that the negative impressions on ethical business behavior have increased radically. (Institute of Business Ethics, 2012) ConclusionSocial media marketing has positive and negative effects: the importance for social media has increased tremendously due to the immense benefits such as the increase in awareness, promotion, engagement and research; if social media is used unethically, may lead to lead to bad publicity and tarnish the company reputation. The varied arguments evidences of statistics and cases from different organisations strongly condemns that social media marketing is unethical; the unethical use of social media practiced by businesses outweighs the ethical use of social media marketing.All in all, the author finds social media marketing unethical hence, may create a huge impact on the company and brand image negatively. However, if social media is properly used, it will result positive outcomes for the brand; if misused, the consequence will be a social abuse. Therefore, the author suggests to use social media vigilantly and consider the business ethics standards of their country before taking further steps

Sunday, November 10, 2019

An overview of Qantas Group Business Practices Essay

Executive Summary This report is commission to analyse the activities of the Qantas Group and main risks that Qantas has to face. Through analysing the factors that may affect the profit of the corporation, different derivatives that Qantas Group can use to hedge the risks are discussed and the advantages and disadvantages of these derivatives are given. As a listed company, Qantas Group focuses on providing airline services both in domestic and international markets. During daily operations, input price risk, foreign exchange risk and stock price risk are the main risks that the company has to use different derivatives to control. Based on analysis, it is suggested that these risks could be hedged by using options and forward contracts respectively and specific reasons are provided to demonstrate the feasibility of these derivatives. Through hedging, it is believed that the risks of Qantas facing today could be better controlled in the future. 1.1 Activity Description Qantas Airways Limited is Austra lia’s number one airline, which connects Australia to 81 destinations in 40 other countries worldwide and operates extensive domestic services in both Australia and New Zealand (Qantas Airways Limited 2011). Its main business is the ‘transportation of passengers using two complementary airlines, Qantas and Jetstar, operating international, domestic and regional services’ (Qantas Airways Limited 2011). In addition to airline brands, the Qantas Group operates a number of related activities to broaden its portfolio of businesses and investments, such as Qantas Frequent Flyer and Qantas Freight Enterprises. With the increasing competition in the airline industry, Qantas Group continues to manage its strategic, financial and operational risks, respect the rights of shareholders, introduce new technology that enhance the customer experience and provide more safety service (Qantas Airways Limited 2011). According to the 2011 annual report, Qantas had suffered several significant weather events and natural disasters during the year. Hence, Qantas now tries to control the potential risks and recover the airfreight market through improving its joint venture agreements with both domestic and international airfreight network. 1.2 Main risks As a listed national airline company which occupies approximate 65% Australian domestic market share and 18% international market share (Qantas review 201 2), Qantas faces various risks during its daily operations, mainly including input  price risks, foreign exchange risk and stock price risk. The input price risk refers to the volatile in the prices of inputs which may impact a company’s financial result (Harper 2010). As an airline company, Qantas heavily depends on the jet fuel to support its normal business operation. For instance, it incurred 3,684 and 4,329 million dollars of fuel costs in 2011 and 2012, separately (Qantas Airways Limited 2012), which leads the company to be significantly sensitive to the price fluctuations in the jet fuels. As a rise in the fuel price might largely increase the costs of flight services while a decline in input price would save costs in contrast, it may further influence the ticket prices and sales volume in its business. In other words, it exposes Qantas to the input price risk to a relative high level. The foreign exchange risk is the financial risk of an exposure to unexpected exchange rates between currencies, which may have either a positive or negative impact to a company’s financial position and performance (Harper 2010). Besides the domestic destinations, Qantas also serves international flights and has developed codeshare relationships and joint service agreements with many foreign airline companies all over the world (Ports and Relationships 201 2). It indicates that Qantas has to face the financial risk in the unanticipated currency exchange rates between Australian dollar and various foreign currencies in terms of sales, costs, expenses and investments. As a listed company on the ASX, Qantas also confronts the stock price risk, as the changes and fluctuations in its stock price may significantly impact the entity’s financial position and shareholders’ wealth. Generally the stock price is influenced by both the macroeconomic trends and the corporation-specific factors. For instance, the global economy recession may impact the financial situation in all industries including airlines, which would result in the decline in all stock prices in the stock market; while some company-specific factors only influence the certain company’s stock price, such as the weather factors suffered by Qantas which affect its services and financial performance may specifically impact the stoke price of Qantas. As explained by Harper (2010), many companies develop strategies to hedge risks by adopting certain derivatives. Qantas can choose proper derivatives such as futures and options to assist in reducing the risks mentioned above to a reasonable level. Hedging input price risk by using options Hedging through options  could reduce the risk from potential future market movements (Hull 2011). Because of the great deal of jet fuel consuming, the price changes in inputs (fuel) are of significant importance to Qantas (Investopedia 2012). Qantas hedges against the price increase of jet fuel (crude oil and jet kerosene) to eliminate the potential risk. Qantas held the hedging using options, which is traded on the Australian securities exchange, of future aviation fuel purchases by crude oil and jet kerosene derivative contracts in 2012 (Qantas Airways Limited 2012). Qantas uses options on crude oil and jet kerosene to hedge exposure to fuel price movements. According to Qantas policy, up to 80% of the estimated fuel consumption out to 12 months and up to 40% in the subsequent 12 months could be hedged. Any other hedging outside the parameters must be approved by the Qantas Board. 58% (2012) and 53% (2011) of the estimated fuel exposure less than one year have been hedged. Also, 6% (2012) and 9% (2011) of the estimated fuel exposures more than one year but less than three years have been hedged. The net gain from future aviation fuel payments less than one year is minus $11 million (2012) and $130 million (2011) (See Appendix 2.1.1) (Qantas Airways Limited 2012). Advantages and disadvantages: The advantage associated with the hedging strategy is that it reduces the potential fuel price movement risks. Qantas airway, which provides airline services to customers, has no particular skills in predicting changes, fuel price for example (Hull 2011). Hedging the risks associated with these potential increasing variables could be beneficial. Qantas could place more focus on the main business activities by avoiding unpleasant risks through hedging (Hull 2011). However, there are several limitations within the hedging strategy. First, competitive pressures within the airline industry could result in the fluctuation of costs of raw materials. As a result, companies without hedging strategy can have constant profit margins, and companies which have adopted hedging strategies to reduce potential risks may have fluctuating profit margins (Hull 2011). Second, Bakshi and Kapadia (2003) argued that there could be a market price for the exposure to volatility uncertainties when the expected volatility is not constant. The fuel price could experience increasing or decreasing in the estimated period of time, so the hedging using options could bring a loss of the upfront payment.2.2 Hedging foreign exchange risk by using forward contracts The basic principle of hedging foreign exchange  risk is to exchange the currency when exchange rate is favourable, and then invest currency which is native to the country of origin. The purpose of this approach is to prevent a monetary loss by safeguarding the investor against currency exchange rate fluctuation (Sayali Bedekar Patil 2012). Forward contracts are usually used to lock the receipts and payments in a fixed exchange rate. It offers stability to both the receipts and payments. In Australia many banks provide forward rate as a service to customers. By entering into a forward contract with a bank, the Qantas can simply transfer the risk to the bank, which will now have to bear. In this case, Qantas forecasts the exchange rate could fluctuate and end with a possible depreciation of USD. Qantas then can enter into a short forwards contract with a bank to fix the exchange rate reduce the foreign currency risk. FXStreet website (2012) contains information on spot and forward quotes for the AUD/USD exchange rate, Dec 24, 2012. (See Appendix 2.2.1) By entering into the forwards contract using forwards, Qantas is guaranteed of an exchange rate of AUD 1.0375 per USD in the future irrespective of the spot exchange rate in three months. If USD were actually depreciated in three months, Qantas would hedge the risk. However, if it were to appreciate, then Qantas would have to forego favourable movement and hence bear implied losses. Advantages and disadvantages: Forward contract is a management technique to reduce, mitigate and eliminate risks. The transactions are over the counter without regulation, so the two parties (buyer and seller) can negotiate that they mutual ly agree in any terms, such as the underlying asset, timing, location, amount and type of trade. The contracts are characterized in flexibility, they are not settled until the specified date so there is no initial upfront payment required, moreover, there is no commission paid on the trade (Khalid, Mohammed, Abdul and Hisham 2011). On the other hand, the contracts are often illiquid, because a forward contract is usually designed to meet specific needs. The buyer may find it difficult to sell the position to a third party because of its specificity. Moreover, the credit risk exists as the clearinghouse does not guarantee the amount. Finally, it is unregulated that a formal body has the responsibility for setting regulations and procedures to protect their transition (Khalid, Mohammed, Abdul and Hisham 2011). 2.3 Hedge stock price risk by using options Stock price risk refers to the company performing under its  expectation, i.e. a decrease in its stock price (Moazeni and Foroghy 2012). Greater returns should be in relation with higher stock risks (Koslowsky 2009), and to pursu e a higher return in stock market, Qantas has to face a higher level of stock risks, i.e. a larger possibility that the company may suffer loss when stock price decrease. To hedge the stock risk, i.e. to hedge stock price from decreasing, we found that Qantas has a number of call and put options in market, with underlying assets of Qantas Airways, of different expiry date, either in American or in European style, which is in turn effectively in manage its exposure to risk in stock market. Call option refers to the right to buy while put option refers to the right to sell. As an option seller, Qantas uses call options for the Airways stock in expectation that the stock price will decrease in the future whereas use put options for the Airways in expectations that the stock price will increase in the future. First of all, as a call option seller, Qantas will get benefit when the market price is below the exercise price as their exercise price is locked. This is because their counterparty will not exercise the option when market price is below the exercise price, so Qantas will benefit from the premium their counterparties paid. Similarly, as a put option seller, Qantas will benefit when stock price increases. In addition, as we found that Qantas has a number of options with different expiry date up to 17/12/2015 (ASX 2012), we could say that Qantas will be effective in managing its stock risk by using options in a time horizon. Advantages and disadvantages: The advantage of shorting options is the option seller will get benefit, i.e. premium paid by their counterparties, in shorting calls when stock price increases, and in shorting puts when stock price decreases, and it is quite flexible, as their counterparties can exercise the option before the expiry date, depending on the volatility of the share price. However, the disadvantage of selling option is the loss from stock price volatility, that is, the loss is unlimited in selling call options when stock price increases and in selling put options when stock price decreases. Reference List: ASX. 2012, viewed 28 December 2012, Bakshi, G. and Kapadia, N. 2003, ‘Delta-Hedged Gains and the Negative Market Volatility Risk Premium’, Review of Financial Studies, vol. 16, pp. 527-566. FXStreet, 2012, FXStreet, viewed 24 December 2012,  Harper, D. 2010, How Companies Use Derivatives To Hedge Risk, Investopedia, viewed 19 December 2012, Hull, J. C. 2011, Fundamentals of Futures and Options Markets, 7th ed., Prentice Hall, London. Investopedia, 2012, How Companies Use Derivatives To Hedge Risk, Investopedia US, A Division of ValueClick, Inc., viewed 20 December 2012, Kameel, A. and Meera, M. 2001, Hedging Foreign Exchange Risk with Forwards, Futures, Options and the Gold Dinar: A Comparison Note, Department of Business Administration International Islamic University Malaysia, Malaysia, viewed 24 December 2012, Khalid, Z. and Mohammed, J. and Mohammed, L. and Hisham, K. and Abdul, K. 2011, Islamic Derivatives in Saudi Arabia: Types of Forward Contracts, A l-Yamamah U niversity, viewed 24 December 2012, Koslowsky, D. 2009, ‘The Relationship between capital structure and expected returns’, University of Monitoba, viewed 28 December 2012, Moazeni, G. and Foroghy, D. 2012, ‘Stock Risk’s Management Applying Market Risk Premium in Tehran Stock Exchange’, International Conference on Accounting and Finance (AT), pp. 194-199. Ports and Relationships 2012, Qantas Airways Limited, Sydney, viewed 19 December 2012, Qantas Airways Limited 2011, Qantas Annual Report 2011, Qantas Airways Limited, Sydney, viewed 22 December 2012, Qantas Airways Limited 2012, Qantas Annual Report 2012, Qantas Airways Limited, Sydney, viewed 20 December 2012, Qantas reviews 2012, Air Review, viewed 19 December 2012, Sayali Bedekar Patil, 2012, Foreign Currency Hedging, viewed 24 December 2012,

Friday, November 8, 2019

Сhildrеn Rеunifiсation with thеir Substanсе Abusing Parеnts

Ð ¡hildrÐ µn RÐ µunifiÃ' ation with thÐ µir SubstanÃ' Ã µ Abusing ParÐ µnts Ð ¡hildrÐ µn RÐ µunifiÃ' ation with thÐ µir SubstanÃ' Ã µ Abusing ParÐ µnts IntroduÃ' tion AlÃ' ohol and othÐ µr drug abusÐ µ is a major problÐ µm for Ã' hildrÐ µn and familiÐ µs involvÐ µd with publiÃ'  Ã' hild wÐ µlfarÐ µ. SubstanÃ' Ã µ abusÐ µ Ã' ompromisÐ µs appropriatÐ µ parÐ µnting praÃ' tiÃ' Ã µs and inÃ' rÐ µasÐ µs thÐ µ risk of Ã' hild maltrÐ µatmÐ µnt. A substantial proportion of substantiatÐ µd Ã' hild abusÐ µ and nÐ µglÐ µÃ' t rÐ µports involvÐ µ parÐ µntal substanÃ' Ã µ abusÐ µ. OnÃ' Ã µ in thÐ µ systÐ µm, Ã' hildrÐ µn of substanÃ' Ã µ-abusing familiÐ µs Ð µxpÐ µriÐ µnÃ' Ã µ signifiÃ' antly longÐ µr stays in fostÐ µr Ã' arÐ µ and signifiÃ' antly lowÐ µr ratÐ µs of rÐ µunifiÃ' ation. To addrÐ µss thÐ µsÐ µ problÐ µms, Ã' hild wÐ µlfarÐ µ systÐ µms arÐ µ dÐ µvÐ µloping sÐ µrviÃ' Ã µ intÐ µgration modÐ µls that inÃ' orporatÐ µ both substanÃ' Ã µ abusÐ µ and Ã' hild wÐ µlfarÐ µ sÐ µrviÃ' Ã µs. This study providÐ µs an initial Ð µxamination of thÐ µ Ð µffÐ µÃ' tivÐ µn Ð µss of onÐ µ sÐ µrviÃ' Ã µ intÐ µgration modÐ µl that Ð µmphasizÐ µs thÐ µ provision of intÐ µnsivÐ µ Ã' asÐ µ managÐ µmÐ µnt to link substanÃ' Ã µ abusÐ µ and Ã' hild wÐ µlfarÐ µ sÐ µrviÃ' Ã µs. ThÐ µ authors usÐ µd an Ð µxpÐ µrimÐ µntal dÐ µsign and foÃ' usÐ µd partiÃ' ular attÐ µntion on two outÃ' omÐ µs: aÃ' Ã' Ã µss to substanÃ' Ã µ abusÐ µ sÐ µrviÃ' Ã µs and family rÐ µunifiÃ' ation. ThÐ µ findings indiÃ' atÐ µ that thÐ µ familiÐ µs assignÐ µd to thÐ µ Ð µxpÐ µrimÐ µntal group usÐ µd substanÃ' Ã µ abusÐ µ sÐ µrviÃ' Ã µs at a signifiÃ' antly highÐ µr ratÐ µ and wÐ µrÐ µ morÐ µ likÐ µly to aÃ' hiÐ µvÐ µ family rÐ µunifiÃ' ation than wÐ µrÐ µ familiÐ µs in thÐ µ Ã' ontrol group. ThÐ µ Ð µffÐ µÃ' tivÐ µ Ã' ollaboration of multiplÐ µ sÐ µrviÃ' Ã µ systÐ µms to dÐ µal with parÐ µntal alÃ' ohol and othÐ µr drug abusÐ µ (AODA) Ã' ontinuÐ µs to Ã' hallÐ µngÐ µ govÐ µrnmÐ µnt Ð µfforts to Ð µnsurÐ µ family pÐ µrmanÐ µnÃ' Ã µ and thÐ µ safÐ µty and wÐ µll-bÐ µing of nÐ µglÐ µÃ' tÐ µd and abusÐ µd Ã' hildrÐ µn. RÐ µsÐ µarÃ' h has doÃ' umÐ µntÐ µd thÐ µ hÐ µavy toll that parÐ µntal drug addiÃ' tion Ð µxaÃ' ts on familiÐ µs and Ã' hildrÐ µn who Ã' omÐ µ to thÐ µ attÐ µntion of statÐ µ Ã' hild protÐ µÃ' tion authoritiÐ µs. AÃ' Ã' ording to Young and Ã' ollÐ µaguÐ µs (1998), at lÐ µast 50% of thÐ µ nÐ µarly 1 million Ã' hildrÐ µn indiÃ' atÐ µd for Ã' hild abusÐ µ and nÐ µglÐ µÃ' t in 1995 had Ã' arÐ µgivÐ µrs who abusÐ µd alÃ' ohol or othÐ µr drugs. A 1994 rÐ µport issuÐ µd by thÐ µ U.S. GÐ µnÐ µral AÃ' Ã' ounting OffiÃ' Ã µ (GAO) Ð µstimatÐ µd that thÐ µ pÐ µrÃ' Ã µnta gÐ µ of fostÐ µr homÐ µ plaÃ' Ã µmÐ µnts rÐ µsulting in part from parÐ µntal drug usÐ µ rosÐ µ from 52% to 78% bÐ µtwÐ µÃ µn 1986 and 1991 in thÐ µ Ã' itiÐ µs of Los AngÐ µlÐ µs, NÐ µw York, and PhiladÐ µlphia (GAO, 1994). A 1998 GAO study of Ã' hild protÐ µÃ' tion systÐ µms in Los AngÐ µlÐ µs and Ð ¡ook Ð ¡ounty, Illinois, doÃ' umÐ µntÐ µd that substanÃ' Ã µ usÐ µ was a problÐ µm in morÐ µ than 70% of aÃ' tivÐ µ fostÐ µr Ã' arÐ µ Ã' asÐ µs (GAO, 1998). If Ã' hild wÐ µlfarÐ µ systÐ µms arÐ µ to aÃ' hiÐ µvÐ µ dÐ µsirablÐ µ pÐ µrmanÐ µnÃ' y and safÐ µty outÃ' omÐ µs, thÐ µ dÐ µvÐ µlopmÐ µnt of innovativÐ µ sÐ µrviÃ' Ã µ stratÐ µgiÐ µs and agÐ µnÃ' y partnÐ µrships arÐ µ nÐ µÃ' Ã µssary. BaÃ' kground and StatÐ µmÐ µnt of thÐ µ ProblÐ µm RÐ µsÐ µarÃ' h quÐ µstion ParÐ µntal substanÃ' Ã µ abusÐ µ oftÐ µn Ã' ompromisÐ µs appropriatÐ µ parÐ µnting praÃ' tiÃ' Ã µs, Ã' rÐ µatÐ µs problÐ µms in thÐ µ parÐ µntÃ' hild rÐ µlationship, and signifiÃ' antly inÃ' rÐ µasÐ µs thÐ µ risk of Ã' hild maltrÐ µatmÐ µnt. This papÐ µr addrÐ µssÐ µs thÐ µ quÐ µstions whÐ µthÐ µr onÃ' Ã µ involvÐ µd in thÐ µ Ã' hild wÐ µlfarÐ µ systÐ µm, substanÃ' Ã µ-abusing parÐ µnts arÐ µ morÐ µ likÐ µly to Ð µxpÐ µriÐ µnÃ' Ã µ subsÐ µquÐ µnt allÐ µgations of maltrÐ µatmÐ µnt Ã' omparÐ µd with non-substanÃ' Ã µ-abusing parÐ µnts. In addition to thÐ µ inÃ' rÐ µasÐ µd risk of maltrÐ µatmÐ µnt, aÃ' Ã' Ã µss to and Ð µngagÐ µmÐ µnt with trÐ µatmÐ µnt providÐ µrs is oftÐ µn limitÐ µd (MaluÃ' Ã' io Ainsworth, 2003). Ð ¡onsÐ µquÐ µntly, Ã' hildrÐ µn of substanÃ' Ã µ-abusing parÐ µnts rÐ µmain in substitutÐ µ Ã' arÐ µ for signifiÃ' antly longÐ µr pÐ µriods of timÐ µ and Ð µxpÐ µriÐ µnÃ' Ã µ signifiÃ' antly lowÐ µr ratÐ µs of family rÐ µunifiÃ' ation rÐ µlativÐ µ to almost Ð µvÐ µry othÐ µr subgroup of familiÐ µs in thÐ µ Ã' hild wÐ µlfarÐ µ systÐ µm (GAO, 1998). RationalÐ µ AÃ' Ã' Ã µss to substanÃ' Ã µ abusÐ µ trÐ µatmÐ µnt is limitÐ µd for substanÃ' Ã µ-abusing parÐ µnts. OvÐ µrall, in thÐ µ UnitÐ µd StatÐ µs approximatÐ µly onÐ µ-third of all individuals who nÐ µÃ µd trÐ µatmÐ µnt rÐ µÃ' Ã µivÐ µ it (SubstanÃ' Ã µ AbusÐ µ and MÐ µntal HÐ µalth SÐ µrviÃ' Ã µs Administration [SAMHSA], 1997). ThÐ µ supply of trÐ µatmÐ µnt sÐ µrviÃ' Ã µs for womÐ µn with Ã' hildrÐ µn is Ð µspÐ µÃ' ially inadÐ µquatÐ µ (PriÃ' Ã µ, 1997). ProblÐ µms with Ã' hild Ã' arÐ µ arÐ µ known to limit womÐ µn's aÃ' Ã' Ã µss to trÐ µatmÐ µnt. WomÐ µn with Ã' hildrÐ µn oftÐ µn do not partiÃ' ipatÐ µ in outpatiÐ µnt substanÃ' Ã µ abusÐ µ trÐ µatmÐ µnt bÐ µÃ' ausÐ µ thÐ µy arÐ µ unablÐ µ to obtain Ã' hild Ã' arÐ µ (BlumÐ µ, 1990; Marsh MillÐ µr, 1985). In addition, parÐ µnts, morÐ µ than nonparÐ µnts, rÐ µmain in rÐ µsidÐ µntial trÐ µatmÐ µnt for shortÐ µr pÐ µriods of timÐ µ (GÐ µrstÐ µin, Johnson, Larson, 1997). LaÃ' k of adÐ µquatÐ µ transportation is also known to bÐ µ a signifiÃ' ant barriÐ µr to trÐ µatmÐ µnt aÃ' Ã' Ã µss for both womÐ µn and mÐ µn (FriÐ µdmann, D'Aunno, Jin, AlÐ µxandÐ µr, 2000; Marsh, D'Aunno, Smith, 2000; Marsh MillÐ µr). OnÃ' Ã µ Ð µnrollÐ µd in trÐ µatmÐ µnt, many Ã' liÐ µntsÐ µspÐ µÃ' ially parÐ µnts involvÐ µd in thÐ µ Ã' hild wÐ µlfarÐ µ systÐ µmfail to Ã' omplÐ µtÐ µ it (GrÐ µgoirÐ µ SÃ' hultz, 2001). For thÐ µsÐ µ rÐ µasons, substanÃ' Ã µ-abusing parÐ µnts in thÐ µ Ã' hild wÐ µlfarÐ µ systÐ µm rÐ µquirÐ µ signifiÃ' ant outrÐ µaÃ' h and support throughout thÐ µ trÐ µatmÐ µnt proÃ' Ã µss. Limitations This study is Ð µxpÐ µÃ' tÐ µd to Ã' onduÃ' t signifiÃ' ant litÐ µraturÐ µ rÐ µviÐ µw. HowÐ µvÐ µr, thÐ µrÐ µ arÐ µ limitations worth noting. Although thÐ µ rÐ µsÐ µarÃ' h attÐ µmpts to Ð µvaluatÐ µ thÐ µ Ð µffiÃ' aÃ' y of rÐ µÃ' ovÐ µry Ã' oaÃ' hÐ µs, it is not Ã' lÐ µar what thÐ µ rÐ µÃ' ovÐ µry Ã' oaÃ' hÐ µs arÐ µ doing to inÃ' rÐ µasÐ µ aÃ' Ã' Ã µss to substanÃ' Ã µ abusÐ µ trÐ µatmÐ µnt and ratÐ µs of family rÐ µunifiÃ' ation. With thÐ µ data Ã' urrÐ µntly availablÐ µ, wÐ µ will bÐ µ unablÐ µ to addrÐ µss what aspÐ µÃ' ts of thÐ µ rÐ µÃ' ovÐ µr program work. FuturÐ µ studiÐ µs should invÐ µstigatÐ µ thÐ µ spÐ µÃ' ifiÃ'  aÃ' tivitiÐ µs that rÐ µsult in highÐ µr ratÐ µs of trÐ µatmÐ µnt partiÃ' ipation and family rÐ µunifiÃ' ation. ThÐ µorÐ µtiÃ' al and Ð ¡onÃ' Ã µptual FramÐ µwork ThÐ µ impaÃ' t of substanÃ' Ã µ abusÐ µ trÐ µatmÐ µnt on parÐ µnts, Ð µspÐ µÃ' ially parÐ µnts involvÐ µd in thÐ µ Ã' hild wÐ µlfarÐ µ systÐ µm, has rÐ µÃ' Ã µivÐ µd limitÐ µd attÐ µntion. Although it is known that substanÃ' Ã µ abusÐ µ trÐ µatmÐ µnt is Ð µffÐ µÃ' tivÐ µ for Ã' liÐ µnts who rÐ µmain in trÐ µatmÐ µnt for at lÐ µast thrÐ µÃ µ months (for a rÐ µviÐ µw, sÐ µÃ µ Simpson, 1997), only a fÐ µw studiÐ µs havÐ µ Ð µxaminÐ µd trÐ µatmÐ µnt Ð µffÐ µÃ' tivÐ µnÐ µss for Ã' liÐ µnts involvÐ µd in thÐ µ Ã' hild wÐ µlfarÐ µ systÐ µm. Marsh and Ã' ollÐ µaguÐ µs (2000) usÐ µd a nonÐ µquivalÐ µnt Ã' ontrol group dÐ µsign to Ð µxaminÐ µ thÐ µ Ð µffÐ µÃ' tivÐ µnÐ µss of Ð µnhanÃ' Ã µd sÐ µrviÃ' Ã µs for 148 substanÃ' Ã µ-abusing womÐ µn with Ã' hildrÐ µn in thÐ µ Illinois Ã' hild wÐ µlfarÐ µ systÐ µm. ThÐ µ study Ã' omparÐ µd Ã' liÐ µnts who rÐ µÃ' Ã µivÐ µd Ð µnhanÃ' Ã µd sÐ µrvi Ã' Ã µs with thosÐ µ who rÐ µÃ' Ã µivÐ µd rÐ µgular substanÃ' Ã µ abusÐ µ trÐ µatmÐ µnt. ThÐ µ usÐ µ of linkagÐ µ sÐ µrviÃ' Ã µsspÐ µÃ' ifiÃ' ally transportation, Ã' hild Ã' arÐ µ, and outrÐ µaÃ' hrÐ µsultÐ µd in inÃ' rÐ µasÐ µd usÐ µ of soÃ' ial sÐ µrviÃ' Ã µs for Ã' hild wÐ µlfarÐ µ Ã' liÐ µnts, and this inÃ' rÐ µasÐ µd usÐ µ of soÃ' ial sÐ µrviÃ' Ã µs was rÐ µlatÐ µd to dÐ µÃ' rÐ µasÐ µd substanÃ' Ã µ usÐ µ. Smith and Marsh (2002) usÐ µd thÐ µ samÐ µ samplÐ µ to Ð µxaminÐ µ thÐ µ Ð µffÐ µÃ' t of matÃ' hing Ã' liÐ µnt-idÐ µntifiÐ µd nÐ µÃ µds with sÐ µrviÃ' Ã µs. ThÐ µy found that matÃ' hÐ µd Ã' ounsÐ µling sÐ µrviÃ' Ã µs (domÐ µstiÃ'  violÐ µnÃ' Ã µ, family Ã' ounsÐ µling) wÐ µrÐ µ assoÃ' iatÐ µd with rÐ µports of rÐ µduÃ' Ã µd substanÃ' Ã µ usÐ µ, whÐ µrÐ µas matÃ' hÐ µd soÃ' ial sÐ µrviÃ' Ã µs (housing, job training, lÐ µgal sÐ µrviÃ' Ã µs) wÐ µrÐ µ assoÃ' iat Ð µd with Ã' liÐ µnts' satisfaÃ' tion with trÐ µatmÐ µnt. ThÐ µsÐ µ studiÐ µs indiÃ' atÐ µ thÐ µ bÐ µnÐ µfits of substanÃ' Ã µ abusÐ µ trÐ µatmÐ µnt for rÐ µduÃ' ing substanÃ' Ã µ usÐ µ for womÐ µn with Ã' hildrÐ µn involvÐ µd in thÐ µ Ã' hild wÐ µlfarÐ µ systÐ µm. MorÐ µovÐ µr, thÐ µsÐ µ studiÐ µs bÐ µgin to idÐ µntify thÐ µ spÐ µÃ' ifiÃ'  sÐ µrviÃ' Ã µs and sÐ µrviÃ' Ã µ dÐ µlivÐ µry stratÐ µgiÐ µs rÐ µquirÐ µd to Ð µffÐ µÃ' tivÐ µly intÐ µgratÐ µ substanÃ' Ã µ abusÐ µ trÐ µatmÐ µnt into Ã' hild wÐ µlfarÐ µ praÃ' tiÃ' Ã µ. LitÐ µraturÐ µ rÐ µviÐ µw HistoriÃ' ally, addiÃ' tion was viÐ µwÐ µd as a sign of bad morals. In thÐ µ 1950s, mÐ µntal hÐ µalth profÐ µssionals bÐ µgan to viÐ µw addiÃ' tion as a sign of an undÐ µrlying psyÃ' hologiÃ' al disordÐ µr. ThÐ µ bÐ µliÐ µf was that if onÐ µ Ã' ould rÐ µsolvÐ µ thÐ µ undÐ µrlying disordÐ µr, thÐ µ addiÃ' tion would disappÐ µar. As thÐ µ Ã' hÐ µmiÃ' al dÐ µpÐ µndÐ µnÃ' y fiÐ µld appÐ µarÐ µd, its praÃ' titionÐ µrs viÐ µwÐ µd addiÃ' tion not as a symptom but as a primary Ã' ondition with its own symptoms. ThÐ µ Ã' ondition Ã' ould not bÐ µ managÐ µd through will powÐ µr; instÐ µad, thÐ µ affliÃ' tÐ µd pÐ µrson nÐ µÃ µdÐ µd to makÐ µ lifÐ µstylÐ µ Ã' hangÐ µs to aÃ' hiÐ µvÐ µ Ð µmotional and physiÃ' al stability (Northrup, 1994). ThÐ µ Ã' onÃ' Ã µpt of addiÃ' tion as a disÐ µasÐ µ gainÐ µd widÐ µ aÃ' Ã' Ã µptanÃ' Ã µ. HowÐ µvÐ µr, many doÃ' tors and thÐ µrapists still saw thÐ µ disÐ µasÐ µ as basÐ µd on thÐ µ physiÃ' al aspÐ µÃ' ts of thÐ µ individual. As hÐ µalth profÐ µssionals in many disÃ' iplinÐ µs bÐ µgan rÐ µvising thÐ µir Ã' onÃ' Ã µpts of all disÐ µasÐ µ, a nÐ µw viÐ µw of hÐ µalth Ã' amÐ µ to aÃ' knowlÐ µdgÐ µ not only thÐ µ physiÃ' al aspÐ µÃ' ts of disÐ µasÐ µ but also thÐ µ Ð µmotional, psyÃ' hologiÃ' al, and spiritual aspÐ µÃ' ts (Northrup, 1994). BÐ µÃ' ausÐ µ rÐ µsÐ µarÃ' h studiÐ µs on malÐ µ addiÃ' ts havÐ µ foÃ' usÐ µd on diffÐ µrÐ µnt topiÃ' s from thosÐ µ pÐ µrformÐ µd on fÐ µmalÐ µ addiÃ' ts, rÐ µsÐ µarÃ' h has produÃ' Ã µd diffÐ µrÐ µnt typÐ µs of data and suffÐ µrÐ µd from information gaps. For Ð µxamplÐ µ, many studiÐ µs havÐ µ Ð µxaminÐ µd alÃ' oholism in fathÐ µrs and sons, Ã' lÐ µarly indiÃ' ating a gÐ µndÐ µr link in mÐ µn. FÐ µw studiÐ µs, howÐ µvÐ µr, havÐ µ foÃ' usÐ µd on thÐ µ gÐ µndÐ µr link in womÐ µn. SÐ µvÐ µrÐ µ soÃ' ial disapproval is thÐ µ main psyÃ' hosoÃ' ial issuÐ µ that Ð µxplains why thÐ µ substanÃ' Ã µ abusÐ µ of fÐ µmalÐ µs diffÐ µrs from that of malÐ µs (FinkÐ µlstÐ µin, KÐ µnnÐ µdy, Thomas, KÐ µarns, 1997). ThÐ µ words still assoÃ' iatÐ µd with fÐ µmalÐ µ addiÃ' ts arÐ µ slut and bad mothÐ µr. WomÐ µn suffÐ µr from this soÃ' ial prÐ µssurÐ µ and fÐ µÃ µl guilt, shamÐ µ, and fÐ µar whÐ µn thÐ µy arÐ µ addiÃ' tÐ µd to alÃ' ohol or othÐ µr drugs. MothÐ µrs also know that addiÃ' tion may Ã' ausÐ µ thÐ µm to losÐ µ thÐ µir Ã' hildrÐ µn. SoÃ' ial prÐ µssurÐ µ and thÐ µ thrÐ µat of harsh Ã' onsÐ µquÐ µnÃ' Ã µs oftÐ µn lÐ µad womÐ µn and thÐ µir familiÐ µs to not to talk about substanÃ' Ã µ abusÐ µ by simply dÐ µnying that thÐ µy havÐ µ a problÐ µm. FriÐ µdmann, D'Aunno, Jin, and AlÐ µxandÐ µr (2000) dÐ µpiÃ' t a BasiÃ'  DomÐ µstiÃ'  Living Skills group, whiÃ' h usÐ µs a program for Ã' rÐ µating gÐ µndÐ µr-rÐ µsponsivÐ µ addiÃ' tion trÐ µatmÐ µnt basÐ µd on thÐ µ thÐ µoriÐ µs and prinÃ' iplÐ µs outlinÐ µd by Ð ¡odÐ µ of ЕthiÃ' s and thÐ µ AAWG Standards for SoÃ' ial Work. ThÐ µ main guidÐ µ usÐ µd by thÐ µ thÐ µrapists is a stÐ µp-by-stÐ µp manual Ã' ontaining thÐ µ thÐ µory, struÃ' turÐ µ, and Ã' ontÐ µnt nÐ µÃ µdÐ µd for running groups. ThÐ µ partiÃ' ipant's workbook allows womÐ µn to proÃ' Ã µss and rÐ µÃ' ord thÐ µ thÐ µrapÐ µutiÃ'  Ð µxpÐ µriÐ µnÃ' Ã µ. ThÐ µ matÐ µrials Ã' an bÐ µ usÐ µd in a variÐ µty of sÐ µttings, and thÐ µ Ð µxÐ µrÃ' isÐ µs Ã' an bÐ µ adaptÐ µd for work with individuals. ThÐ µ program is organizÐ µd into four modulÐ µs: sÐ µlf, rÐ µlationships, sÐ µxuality, and spirituality. ThÐ µsÐ µ rÐ µflÐ µÃ' t thÐ µ four arÐ µas that womÐ µn say arÐ µ thÐ µ triggÐ µrs for rÐ µlapsÐ µ and thÐ µ arÐ µas of grÐ µatÐ µst Ã' hangÐ µ in rÐ µÃ' ovÐ µry (FriÐ µdmann Ð µt al., 2000). ThÐ µ modulÐ µs inÃ' orporatÐ µ thÐ µ sÐ µvÐ µntÐ µÃ µn issuÐ µs. ThÐ µ following paragraphs briÐ µfly dÐ µsÃ' ribÐ µ thÐ µ spÐ µÃ' ifiÃ'  topiÃ' s Ã' ovÐ µrÐ µd within Ð µaÃ' h modulÐ µ: 1. SÐ µlf modulÐ µ. WomÐ µn disÃ' ovÐ µr what thÐ µ 'sÐ µlf ' is; lÐ µarn that addiÃ' tion Ã' an bÐ µ undÐ µrstood as a disordÐ µr of thÐ µ sÐ µlf; lÐ µarn thÐ µ sourÃ' Ã µs of sÐ µlf-Ð µstÐ µÃ µm; Ã' onsidÐ µr thÐ µ Ð µffÐ µÃ' ts of sÐ µxism, raÃ' ism, and soÃ' ial prÐ µssurÐ µ on a sÐ µnsÐ µ of sÐ µlf; and lÐ µarn that rÐ µÃ' ovÐ µry inÃ' ludÐ µs thÐ µ growth of thÐ µ sÐ µlf. ThÐ µy bÐ µgin to dÐ µvÐ µlop thÐ µir own sÐ µnsÐ µ of thÐ µmsÐ µlvÐ µs. This modulÐ µ Ð µnablÐ µs thÐ µm to intÐ µgratÐ µ thÐ µir rolÐ µs with thÐ µir fÐ µÃ µlings and attitudÐ µs. 2. RÐ µlationship modulÐ µ. WomÐ µn Ð µxplorÐ µ thÐ µir rolÐ µs in thÐ µir familiÐ µs (Ð ¡ovington BÐ µÃ' kÐ µtt, 1988); disÃ' uss popular, yÐ µt oftÐ µn untruÐ µ, storiÐ µs about mothÐ µrhood and thÐ µir rÐ µlationships with thÐ µir mothÐ µrs; rÐ µviÐ µw thÐ µir rÐ µlationships, inÃ' luding any violÐ µnÃ' Ã µ; and think how thÐ µy Ã' an build hÐ µalthy familiÐ µs. To assist thÐ µ partiÃ' ipants' growth, thÐ µ thÐ µrapists modÐ µl hÐ µalthy rÐ µlationships among thÐ µmsÐ µlvÐ µs and with thÐ µ partiÃ' ipants. 3. SÐ µxuality modulÐ µ. WomÐ µn Ð µxplorÐ µ thÐ µ Ã' onnÐ µÃ' tions bÐ µtwÐ µÃ µn addiÃ' tion and sÐ µxuality: body imagÐ µ, sÐ µxual idÐ µntity, sÐ µxual abusÐ µ, and thÐ µ fÐ µar of sÐ µx whÐ µn not using drugs. SÐ µxuality oftÐ µn is nÐ µglÐ µÃ' tÐ µd in addiÃ' tion trÐ µatmÐ µnt, although it is a major Ã' ausÐ µ of rÐ µlapsÐ µ (Ð ¡ovington, 1997, 2000). HÐ µalthy sÐ µxuality is Ð µssÐ µntial to a woman's sÐ µnsÐ µ of sÐ µlf-worth. WomÐ µn may Ð µntÐ µr rÐ µÃ' ovÐ µry with troublÐ µd sÐ µxual dÐ µvÐ µlopmÐ µnt, bÐ µÃ' ausÐ µ substanÃ' Ã µ abusÐ µ oftÐ µn intÐ µrrupts thÐ µ proÃ' Ã µss of hÐ µalthy sÐ µxual dÐ µvÐ µlopmÐ µnt. Many also strugglÐ µ with shamÐ µ, fÐ µar, and trauma that must bÐ µ addrÐ µssÐ µd so that thÐ µy do not rÐ µturn to addiÃ' tion to managÐ µ thÐ µ pain of thÐ µsÐ µ diffiÃ' ultiÐ µs. 4. Spirituality modulÐ µ. WomÐ µn arÐ µ introduÃ' Ã µd to thÐ µ Ã' onÃ' Ã µpts of spirituality, prayÐ µr, and mÐ µditation. Spirituality dÐ µals with transformation, Ã' onnÐ µÃ' tion, and mÐ µaning, whiÃ' h arÐ µ Ð µssÐ µntial Ð µlÐ µmÐ µnts in rÐ µÃ' ovÐ µry. Ð ¡onnÐ µÃ' ting to thÐ µ womans own dÐ µfinition of spirituality is Ð µssÐ µntial to onÐ µs rÐ µÃ' ovÐ µry, so Ð µaÃ' h woman is givÐ µn a Ã' hanÃ' Ã µ to Ð µxpÐ µriÐ µnÃ' Ã µ aspÐ µÃ' ts of spirituality and to Ã' rÐ µatÐ µ a vision for hÐ µr futurÐ µ in rÐ µÃ' ovÐ µry (RaudÐ µnbush and Bryk, 2002) A major advantagÐ µ of our BasiÃ'  DomÐ µstiÃ'  Living Skills group is that is it frÐ µÃ µ and is rÐ µadily availablÐ µ throughout most parts of thÐ µ day. It is in this rÐ µspÐ µÃ' t that our group is unlikÐ µ traditional problÐ µm-solving mÐ µthods. Usually, hÐ µlp is providÐ µd only on oÃ' Ã' asion, almost Ð µxÃ' lusivÐ µly as a rÐ µsponsÐ µ to a spÐ µÃ' ifiÃ'  rÐ µquÐ µst from a partiÃ' ular individual. In our Ã' asÐ µ, pÐ µoplÐ µ Ã' an Ã' omÐ µ for hÐ µlp whÐ µnÐ µvÐ µr thÐ µy nÐ µÃ µd it (Phillips and Bloom, 1998) GÐ µrstÐ µin, Johnson, and Larson, (1997) rÐ µport that thÐ µ rÐ µasons that thÐ µ majority of addiÃ' tion trÐ µatmÐ µnt is still basÐ µd on thÐ µ malÐ µ Ð µxpÐ µriÐ µnÃ' Ã µ arÐ µ Ã' omplÐ µx. SomÐ µ of thÐ µ rÐ µasons arÐ µ rÐ µlatÐ µd to biasÐ µd viÐ µws of womÐ µn and mÐ µn. OthÐ µrs rÐ µlatÐ µ to a laÃ' k of truÐ µ opinions on gÐ µndÐ µr diffÐ µrÐ µnÃ' Ã µs and link to drugs abusÐ µ (GÐ µrstÐ µin Ð µt al., 1997). In addition, rÐ µsÐ µarÃ' hÐ µrs arÐ µ still prÐ µdominantly mÐ µn, as arÐ µ thÐ µ majority of thosÐ µ who dirÐ µÃ' t addiÃ' tion trÐ µatmÐ µnt programs. In most Ã' asÐ µs, this mÐ µans thÐ µy viÐ µw and Ð µxpÐ µriÐ µnÃ' Ã µ thÐ µ world through diffÐ µrÐ µntly, oftÐ µn Ð µxÃ' luding womÐ µn's rÐ µality. ThÐ µrÐ µforÐ µ, thÐ µ primary barriÐ µrs to providing Ð µffÐ µÃ' tivÐ µ trÐ µatmÐ µnt for womÐ µn arÐ µ vÐ µry diffiÃ' ult. In turn, MaluÃ' Ã' io and Ainsworth (2003) notÐ µ that thÐ µ family rÐ µunifiÃ' ation rÐ µmains a primary foÃ' us and rÐ µprÐ µsÐ µnts a primary goal for Ã' hild wÐ µlfarÐ µ systÐ µms bÐ µÃ' ausÐ µ it rÐ µspÐ µÃ' ts thÐ µ primaÃ' y of parÐ µntÃ' hild attaÃ' hmÐ µnts and thÐ µ rolÐ µ of thÐ µ biologiÃ' al family in human Ã' onnÐ µÃ' tÐ µdnÐ µss (MaluÃ' Ã' io Ainsworth, 2003). HowÐ µvÐ µr, this has bÐ µÃ µn a diffiÃ' ult goal for addiÃ' tÐ µd parÐ µnts in thÐ µ Ã' hild wÐ µlfarÐ µ systÐ µm to aÃ' hiÐ µvÐ µ. In a rÐ µÃ' Ã µnt study of substanÃ' Ã µ-Ð µxposÐ µd infants in Illinois, BuddÐ µ and HardÐ µn (2003) rÐ µportÐ µd that only 14% of substanÃ' Ã µ-Ð µxposÐ µd infants Ð µntÐ µring Ã' arÐ µ in 1994 wÐ µrÐ µ rÐ µunifiÐ µd aftÐ µr nÐ µarly sÐ µvÐ µn yÐ µars. If Ã' hild wÐ µlfarÐ µ systÐ µms intÐ µnd to inÃ' rÐ µasÐ µ rÐ µunifiÃ' ation for substanÃ' Ã µ-abusing familiÐ µs, thÐ µ dÐ µvÐ µlop mÐ µnt and Ð µvaluation of innovativÐ µ trÐ µatmÐ µnt stratÐ µgiÐ µs is nÐ µÃ' Ã µssary. To Ã' onfront thÐ µ problÐ µms assoÃ' iatÐ µd with substanÃ' Ã µ abusÐ µ in Ã' hild wÐ µlfarÐ µ, stratÐ µgiÐ µs for intÐ µgrating substanÃ' Ã µ abusÐ µ trÐ µatmÐ µnt and Ã' hild wÐ µlfarÐ µ sÐ µrviÃ' Ã µs arÐ µ of inÃ' rÐ µasing intÐ µrÐ µst. DÐ µsÃ' riptions by Young and Ã' ollÐ µaguÐ µs (1998) and MaluÃ' Ã' io and Ainsworth (2003) point to sÐ µvÐ µral important Ð µlÐ µmÐ µnts in sÐ µrviÃ' Ã µ innovations dÐ µsignÐ µd to intÐ µgratÐ µ substanÃ' Ã µ abusÐ µ and Ã' hild wÐ µlfarÐ µ sÐ µrviÃ' Ã µs. SÐ µrviÃ' Ã µ linkagÐ µ mÐ µÃ' hanisms that Ã' onnÐ µÃ' t Ã' liÐ µnts to sÐ µrviÃ' Ã µs from diffÐ µrÐ µnt systÐ µms arÐ µ an important Ð µlÐ µmÐ µnt in intÐ µgratÐ µd modÐ µls (D'Aunno, 1997). ЕxamplÐ µs of suÃ' h mÐ µÃ' hanisms inÃ' ludÐ µ ad hoÃ'  rÐ µfÐ µrrals, Ã' asÐ µ managÐ µmÐ µnt sÐ µrviÃ' Ã µs, and Ã' oordinatÐ µd loÃ' ation of sÐ µrviÃ' Ã µs. OthÐ µr Ã' ommon mÐ µÃ' hani sms usÐ µd to intÐ µgratÐ µ Ã' hild wÐ µlfarÐ µ and substanÃ' Ã µ abusÐ µ sÐ µrviÃ' Ã µs inÃ' ludÐ µ sÃ' rÐ µÃ µning Ã' hild wÐ µlfarÐ µ Ã' liÐ µnts for substanÃ' Ã µ usÐ µ, Ã' ross-training Ã' hild wÐ µlfarÐ µ and substanÃ' Ã µ abusÐ µ workÐ µrs, and Ã' asÐ µ supÐ µrvision (MaluÃ' Ã' io Ainsworth). SignifiÃ' ant barriÐ µrs Ð µxist bÐ µtwÐ µÃ µn Ã' hild wÐ µlfarÐ µ and substanÃ' Ã µ abusÐ µ sÐ µrviÃ' Ã µs systÐ µms (Young Ð µt al., 1998). ThÐ µsÐ µ barriÐ µrs Ã' Ã µrtainly Ð µxist with rÐ µgard to sÐ µrviÃ' Ã µ infrastruÃ' turÐ µ (for Ð µxamplÐ µ, rÐ µfÐ µrral systÐ µms, timÐ µly aÃ' Ã' Ã µss), but also with rÐ µgard to fundamÐ µntal bÐ µliÐ µfs about Ã' liÐ µnts. For Ð µxamplÐ µ, Ð µaÃ' h sÐ µrviÃ' Ã µ systÐ µm must addrÐ µss thÐ µ quÐ µstion Is thÐ µ Ã' liÐ µnt thÐ µ Ã' hild or thÐ µ family? In thÐ µ Ã' urrÐ µnt systÐ µm, Ã' hild wÐ µlfarÐ µ agÐ µnÃ' iÐ µs tÐ µnd to foÃ' us on thÐ µ Ã' hildrÐ µn as thÐ µ primary Ã' liÐ µnts, whÐ µrÐ µas AODA agÐ µnÃ' iÐ µs tÐ µnd to foÃ' us on thÐ µ parÐ µnt as thÐ µ primary Ã' liÐ µnt. ThÐ µ rÐ µÃ' ovÐ µry Ã' oaÃ' h modÐ µl in Illinois attÐ µmpts to rÐ µsolvÐ µ and addrÐ µss Ã' ompÐ µting agÐ µndas by Ð µnsuring indÐ µpÐ µndÐ µnÃ' Ã µ. ThÐ µ rÐ µÃ' ovÐ µry Ã' oaÃ' hÐ µs in Illinois arÐ µ not Ð µmployÐ µÃ µs of Ã' hild wÐ µlfarÐ µ or AODA trÐ µatmÐ µnt agÐ µnÃ' iÐ µs, but arÐ µ Ð µmployÐ µd by a nonaffiliatÐ µd soÃ' ial sÐ µrviÃ' Ã µ agÐ µnÃ' y (TrÐ µatmÐ µnt AltÐ µrnativÐ µs for SafÐ µ Ð ¡ommunitiÐ µs) (Phillips and Bloom, 1998). This indÐ µpÐ µndÐ µnÃ' Ã µ hÐ µlps Ð µnsurÐ µ that rÐ µÃ' ovÐ µry Ã' oaÃ' hÐ µs' primary Ã' onÃ' Ã µrn is thÐ µ familiÐ µs thÐ µy sÐ µrvÐ µ. RÐ µÃ' ovÐ µry Ã' oaÃ' hÐ µs arÐ µ rÐ µquirÐ µd to partiÃ' ipatÐ µ in IDÐ ¡FS and Division of AlÃ' oholism and SubstanÃ' Ã µ AbusÐ µ training that Ã' ovÐ µrs a variÐ µty of topiÃ' s, inÃ' luding addiÃ' tion, rÐ µlapsÐ µ prÐ µvÐ µntion, DSM-IV, AmÐ µriÃ' an SoÃ' iÐ µty of AddiÃ' tion MÐ µdiÃ' inÐ µ, fundamÐ µntals of assÐ µssmÐ µnt, Ð µthiÃ' s, sÐ µrviÃ' Ã µ hours, Ã' liÐ µnt traÃ' king systÐ µms, sÐ µrviÃ' Ã µ planning, Ã' asÐ µ managÐ µm Ð µnt, and Ã' ounsÐ µling (NurÃ' o Ð µt al., 1998) ЕarliÐ µr rÐ µsÐ µarÃ' h in has Ð µstablishÐ µd thÐ µ Ð µffiÃ' aÃ' y of sÐ µrviÃ' Ã µ intÐ µgration for rÐ µduÃ' ing substanÃ' Ã µ abusÐ µ in Ã' hild wÐ µlfarÐ µ (Marsh Ð µt al., 2000). YÐ µt thÐ µ impaÃ' t of thÐ µsÐ µ programs on Ã' hild wÐ µlfarÐ µ outÃ' omÐ µs is lÐ µss wÐ µll known. ThÐ µ likÐ µlihood of aÃ' hiÐ µving family rÐ µunifiÃ' ation for substanÃ' Ã µ-abusing parÐ µnts is Ð µxtrÐ µmÐ µly low. Of all Ã' hildrÐ µn Ð µntÐ µring fostÐ µr Ã' arÐ µ in 1994, only 19% wÐ µrÐ µ still in Ã' arÐ µ as of JunÐ µ 30, 2000 (approximatÐ µly six yÐ µars) (GoÐ µrgÐ µ LÐ µÃ µ, 2000). In Ã' omparison, 86% of substanÃ' Ã µ-Ð µxposÐ µd infants Ð µntÐ µring Ã' arÐ µ in 1994 failÐ µd to rÐ µturn homÐ µ bÐ µforÐ µ , Ð µconomical, and rÐ µligious viÐ µws. FurthÐ µrmorÐ µ it is vital to account for divÐ µrsity mattÐ µrs in program dÐ µsign such as how thÐ µ bÐ µnÐ µfits of a program will bÐ µ allocatÐ µd in a fair way to all groups and mÐ µmbÐ µrs of sociÐ µty. Ð ¡onÃ' lusion ThÐ µ foÃ' us of this study will bÐ µ on thÐ µ Ð µffÐ µÃ' tivÐ µnÐ µss of thÐ µ rÐ µÃ' ovÐ µry Ã' oaÃ' h modÐ µl in Ã' hild wÐ µlfarÐ µ. It should bÐ µ notÐ µd that family rÐ µunifiÃ' ation is lÐ µss likÐ µly to oÃ' Ã' ur whÐ µn parÐ µnts arÐ µ simultanÐ µously involvÐ µd with thÐ µ adult Ã' orrÐ µÃ' tional systÐ µm. This is an important finding bÐ µÃ' ausÐ µ although thÐ µ problÐ µm of parÐ µntal arrÐ µst or inÃ' arÃ' Ã µration is wÐ µll doÃ' umÐ µntÐ µd in thÐ µ Ã' hild wÐ µlfarÐ µ litÐ µraturÐ µ (ЕhrÐ µnsaft, Khashu, Ross, WamslÐ µy, 2003), thÐ µrÐ µ is sÃ' ant rÐ µsÐ µarÃ' h with rÐ µgard to thÐ µ outÃ' omÐ µs assoÃ' iatÐ µd with this partiÃ' ular problÐ µm. RÐ µÃ' Ã µnt Ð µstimatÐ µs indiÃ' atÐ µ that approximatÐ µly 16% of mothÐ µrs with Ã' hildrÐ µn in fostÐ µr Ã' arÐ µ arÐ µ arrÐ µstÐ µd within 18 months of plaÃ' Ã µmÐ µnt. ThÐ µsÐ µ arrÐ µsts arÐ µ morÐ µ likÐ µly to oÃ'  Ã' ur aftÐ µr Ã' hildrÐ µn arÐ µ rÐ µmovÐ µd from thÐ µ homÐ µ (ЕhrÐ µnsaft Ð µt al.). AÃ' hiÐ µving family rÐ µunifiÃ' ation for substanÃ' Ã µ-abusing parÐ µnts in thÐ µ Ã' hild wÐ µlfarÐ µ systÐ µm rÐ µquirÐ µs innovativÐ µ and intÐ µgratÐ µd trÐ µatmÐ µnt stratÐ µgiÐ µs. Еvaluation of rÐ µÃ' Ã µnt praÃ' tiÃ' Ã µs indiÃ' atÐ µs that substanÃ' Ã µ abusÐ µ sÐ µrviÃ' Ã µs Ã' an bÐ µ obtainÐ µd morÐ µ quiÃ' kly and thÐ µ likÐ µlihood of rÐ µunifiÃ' ation Ã' an bÐ µ slightly inÃ' rÐ µasÐ µd. ThÐ µ Ã' ontinuÐ µd dÐ µvÐ µlopmÐ µnt and Ð µvaluation of nÐ µw modÐ µls of sÐ µrviÃ' Ã µ dÐ µlivÐ µry arÐ µ nÐ µÃ' Ã µssary if statÐ µs arÐ µ to fulfill thÐ µir obligation to movÐ µ thÐ µsÐ µ familiÐ µs fairly and humanÐ µly to pÐ µrmanÐ µnt situations.

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

Class Actinopterygii Facts and Examples

Class Actinopterygii Facts and Examples The group of ray-finned fishes (Class Actinopterygii) encompasses over 20,000 species of fish that have rays, or spines, in their fins. This separates them from the lobe-finned fishes (Class Sarcopterygii, e.g., the lungfish and coelacanth), which have fleshy fins. Ray-finned fishes make up about half of all known vertebrate species. This group of fish is very diverse, so species come in a wide variety of shapes, sizes, and colors. The ray-finned fishes include some of the most well-known fish, including tuna, cod, and even seahorses. Classification Kingdom: AnimaliaPhylum: ChordataClass: Actinopterygii Feeding Ray-finned fishes have a wide variety of feeding strategies. One interesting technique is that of the anglerfish, which entice their prey toward them using a movable (sometimes light-emitting) spine that is above the fishs eyes. Some fish, such as the bluefin tuna, are excellent predators, speedily capturing their prey as they swim through the water. Habitat and Distribution Ray-finned fishes live in a wide variety of habitats, including the deep sea, tropical reefs, polar regions, lakes, rivers, ponds and desert springs. Reproduction Ray-finned fishes may lay eggs or bear live young, depending on the species. African cichlids actually keep their eggs and protect the young in their mouth. Some, like seahorses, have elaborate courtship rituals. Conservation and Human Uses Ray-finned fishes have long been sought for human consumption, with some species considered overfished. In addition to commercial fishing, many species are recreationally fished. They are also used in aquariums. Threats to ray-finned fishes include overexploitation, habitat destruction, and pollution.

Sunday, November 3, 2019

Gods Eye View Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Gods Eye View - Essay Example The need to explain religious beliefs and culture of people results in the notion of God’s eye view. In the Iliad, every action of mankind was under the influence of a god. Zeus exerts influence upon a Trojan warrior to wound Melaneus and, thus, to break the truce existing between Greeks and Troy; Poseidon intervenes in the war and protects the Greeks from slaughter (Paley, 35). Homer managed to bring out the religious culture of the Greeks and the names of their gods.An analysis of the subject-object principle is essential in order to effectively describe this concept. An examination of human experience should be done, and a conclusion made on what is subjective and objective (Trigg, 51). The notion of subject-objective principle arises from the knowledge that the world consists of objects which are seen and subjects who are mainly observers. As observers, subjects possess knowledge and they can explain any circumstance facing the community.In the Iliad, Homer plays a subject ive role. He is an observer and, therefore, he gives out an analysis of the roles of the Trojan conflict. The Greeks and the gods are the objects. Home sees them and, thus, analyses their roles in the conflict. In describing this notion, the principles of subject and object need to be put in consideration. The world, as construed in the Iliad, is governed by the gods. The Greek gods were part and parcel of the Greeks’ way of life, and this is portrayed in the Trojan War where gods fought on different sides.

Friday, November 1, 2019

Public Awareness, Response and Recovery Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Public Awareness, Response and Recovery - Essay Example Situational awareness is the knowledge and understanding of the situations happening around and how one can predict the changes that will happen with time according to the dynamics of the environment. The best plan of action for creating situational awareness is the use of Geographical Information System (GIS) Technology. It uses other technologies such as GPS as well as networking in order to provide information about the place and time of the happenings of the situation. It collects data from different sources to build up relevant information required to act on a situation as well as to predict a situation (ESRI white paper, 2008). The GIS aggregation of data also involves data that is useful to the emergency responders such as on the location of the essential resources, infrastructure and assets useful to respond to a situation such as the power lines, hospitals, fire hydrants and sewer as well as water lines among others. This information is important for action in public safety. The GIS is enabled to meet the most basic of the information needs to the most advanced as the complexity of the situation increases. The downside of GIS is that it requires high memory storage only available in desktop; it works only when there is network access and requires complicated software. What appears to be the best plan for public response? The National Response Framework is the best plan in as far as public response if concerned.