Presidential form of Government Essay

Presidential form of government , is a government in which the chief executive is not responsible to the legislature. Bagehot, † the independence of the legislative and the executive powers is the specific quality of presidential government just as fusion and combination is the principle of cabinet government†. If we compare cabinet and presidential systems , we can find that they are both representative in character, but in cabinet system the executive is a part of legislature and responsibility of executive to legislature is sine quo non . In presidential form of government the executive, i.e., PRESIDENT is constitutionally independent of legislature. They are two distinct organs more or less separated from each other. The executive is not the creature of legislature, nor is it responsible for its public acts or dependent for its seat. The head of the state exercise real power, as it derives from the constitution and as such there is no distinction between a executive and the executive. Dr.Garner,†What has been called ‘Presidential’ government as contra-distinguished from cabinet or parliamentary government, is that system in which the executive (including both the Head of the state and his ministers) is constitutionally independent of the legislature in respect to the duration of his or their tenure and irresponsible to it for his or their political policies. In such a system the chief of the state is not merely the titular executive but he is real executive and actually exercises the powers which the constitution and laws confer upon him†. HIGHLIGHTS OF SYSTEM:(ALSO COMPARING WITH PARLIAMENTARY SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT). 1) SEPARATION OF POWERS Unlike the parliamentary system of government where executive is a part of legislature, in presidential form of government there is separation of  powers. In this system the executive and legislature are separate from each other and they have equal status. But in a parliamentary government, there is no separation of powers. In this system the executive is under the legislature. 2) I n a presidential form of government , the president is the Head of the state as well as of the government.. While in a parliamentary government, the Head of the state is President, or king or, Governor-General and the Prime minister is the Head of the government. It must be noted that the position of the Head of the state in a parliamentary government is nominal . He/ she holds the power in theory. They are either wielding this position by hereditarily or through in direct election or by nomination. 3) In a presidential government, the President is elected for a fixed tenure and except impeachment for the violation of the constitution; he cannot be removed from his office before the expiry of his term. In a parliamentary government, though similar is the position of the President, yet the Prime minister can be removed only through a vote of no- confidence by the Parliament. 4) In a presidential government, the president enjoys real powers of the administration and he exercises all the powers, which are given to him under the constitution and the law. In a presidential government there is no prime minister. The secretaries help the president in the administration and they are appointed by the him on the basis of ability. It depends upon the will of the president to accept or reject their service. In a parliamentary government, though constitutionally the Head of the state has many powers, yet in practice these powers are enjoyed by his ministers. Thus in practice the president has only nominal powers and real powers lie with the prime minister or his ministers. 5) In a presidential government the president and his secretaries are not responsible to the legislature. The legislature cannot remove them through a vote of no- confidence. More over, an adjournment motion or a censure motion cannot be brought against him .The president and his secretaries are not the  members of the legislature and they do not attend its sessions. In a parliamentary government the prime minister and other ministers are the members of either house of the parliament and any one who is not the member of the parliament has to seek the membership within a specified period of time. They attend the session of the parliament and answer the questions and supplementary questions. They place bills before the parliament and make statements relating to policies. A vote of no – confidence, adjournment motion and censure motion can be brought against them. In a parliamentary government only the president, king or governor – general make a speech at the time of the inauguration of the parliament. They are neither members of the house nor they take part in its deliberation. The Head of the state is not responsible to the parliament. PRESIDENTIAL GOVERNMENT: retrospection In the United States Of America, in the 17th century there existed 13 small colonies populated by English men and were independent and self- governing, acknowledging the nominal supremacy of the British crown. They set up their own assemblies, councils, and boards to govern themselves. In July 4th 1776, the leaders of these colonies met at Philadelphia and adopted ‘ DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE â€Å". In 1777, the colonies gave themselves a legal charter by framing â€Å"ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION AND PERPETUAL UNION†. But the British parliament was on collision course with these colonies and American War Of Independence broke out which ended on 1783 with the acceptance of Britain the independence, sovereignty , and freedom of the colonies .But other problems like defending against external aggression , regulation of trade and commerce, relation between outside world , finding satisfactory solution to problems made the colonies to decide to have , â€Å"a more perfect u nion to protect themselves from foreign aggression and to secure blessings of liberty to themselves and their posterity†. It was at this time that Monstesquiau , a French jurist published a book known as â€Å"ESPRIT DES LOIS† , in which he put forward the Theory Of Separation Of Powers . This had a profound impact on the colonies. In that he says,† whenever the executive and the legislative powers are united in  the same person , or in the same body of magistrates , there can be no liberty. Again, there can be no liberty if the judicial power be not separated fro the legislative and executive; were it joined with the legislative , the life and liberty of the subject would be exposed to arbitrary control , for the judge would then be a legislator ; were it joined to the executive , the judge might behave with violence and oppression . There would be an end of everything were the same men or the same body whether of nobles or the people were to exercise these three powers that of enacting laws, that of executing the public resolutions and trying the causes of individuals†. This along with the views of John Locke which was put forward by him prior to Montesquieu in Second Treatise on Civil Government in the year 1690 in which he said : † it might be too great a temptation to human frailty , apt to grasp at power , for the same person who have power of making laws , who have also in their hands the power to execute them whereby they may exempt themselves from the burdens of the laws they make , and suit the law both in its making and execution , to their own private advantage â€Å". These all made Madison , a great lover of democracy and one of the founding fathers of American Constitution to observe: â€Å"accumulation of powers in a single hand is a very definition of tyranny†. As a result of this several colonies adopted Theory Of Separation Of Power in their own constitutions. Having found that it could work well they thought whether they could transplant these theory from colonial to the national field . They hit upon an idea of creating three coordinate independent authorities namely, the legislature, the executive , the judiciary, and endowing them with full powers in their own spheres , with in limits of constitution . In fact in the US constitution several provisions have been provided to ensure this . * Section (1) : Article(1): of the constitution vests all legislative powers in the Congress of United States consisting of a Senate and House of Representatives.  · Section (1) : Article(2) : of the constitution vest all executive powers with the President of United States of America.  · Section(1) : Article (3) : of the constitution vests all judicial powers in the Supreme court. The framers of the constitution were careful not to allow any branch to gain control or usurp the power of others. Further to strengthen the Theory Of Separation Of Powers and to prevent any arbitrary or despotic exercise of powers by these branches , the founding fathers provided certain inbuilt checks over each other. They are :  · If congress wanted to make any law , it needed President’s approval to be effective . If he refuses to approve the congress could re-pass the bill with 2/3 majority of the two houses under section(7) :article(1) – paragraph -3 of the US constitution. This means that even though the constitution had provided for Presidential veto, it’s misuse is being checked with this safeguard. Under section(3): article(1): paragraph-6 , of the constitution , empowers the congress the power to impeach high officials including the President .  · Section (2): article(2) : paragraph – 2 , empowers President to make treaties , under concurrence or ratification of the senate with a 2/3 majority of majority of senators present . President is also empowered to appoint any high ranking officials like judges of federal court , secretaries with the advice and consent of senate.  · The judiciary has also been vested with powers like any laws passed by either congress or by the president can be declared invalid by the court .This is known as â€Å"judicial review† , and because of these powers the US judiciary is being regarded as one of the powerful judiciaries in the world . Thus one department has been juxtaposed with each other so as to act as a check on the exercise of powers of each so as to maintain the balance of  power. This system is called ‘ the system of CHECKS AND BALENCES†. This is an integral part of the US constitution. The whole structure is built on ‘ SEPARATION OF POWERS†, and CHECKS AND BALENCES, which is a part and parcel of it .This is to ensure that no part would arbitrarily or in a capricious manner danger the liberties of the people. The US , constitution vests executive powers in the hands of one individual ,- the President of United States Of America. His powers are so enormous , wide and overwhelming that he has been described as the , â€Å"foremost ruler of the world†. The American President is not bound down by any cabinet . He chooses his own cabinet , which is at best his personal team of advisers . It has been characterized as the ‘president’ s family, and the head of the family , the president , inevitably dominates them. Ogg rightly describes him as the , â€Å"greatest ruler of the world†. According to Henry he exercises , † the largest amount of authority ever and as wielded by any man in democracy†. This system is called PRESIDENTIAL SYSYEM OF GOVERNMENT. The American President in respect of his powers is best compared to the Prime minister of the parliamentary democracies enjoying the support of a stable majority in the legislature, he is rather head of the state and the responsible head of the government. In many other nations , there is a chief of state whose duties are largely protocol in nature while the Prime Minister is the center of power . But the American President is the nation’s principal spokesman of both domestic and foreign policy . Laski has rightly remarked , There is no foreign institution with which in any strict sense, it can be compared because basically there is no comparable foreign institution . The President of United States is both more and less than a king , he is also both more and less than a Prime Minister†.

Forensic science

I went to JoAnn Fabrics to get a Slinky Science fingerprint science kit so I could use the powder and the feather from the box. The powder came in a bottle so it made it really hard to get prints and I actually had my boyfriend put prints on the things I listed so I could use the powder and the powder was also white and made it hard to see. When I used the feather it would smudge the print and I would have to try and use It a different direction.If I were to side to side with the feather It would smudge the print but if I would go up and down It would SSH the powder away so I was able to see the print better but not clearly. I did not find any prints In my apartment due to my boyfriend cleaning everything. This Is why I only find the prints I did because I asked him to put the prints there. Yes I could tell the difference between the prints If I were to put my print right next to It.My finger print has loops and my boyfriend's prints have tent arches on them. Some of the surfaces tha t I would think I would find prints on are door knobs, TV, the handle on a microwave, the keys to the car, the thermostat and light switches, books, cell phones ND you could also get prints off of duct tape and the door handles of a car that has metal handles and you can get prints off of garbage bags also and DVD cases.When I was doing this assignment I found that trying to get a print from surfaces that were clean was hard but you could see where It was wiped down and the smoother surfaces were harder because the powder would Just move around and would not suck to the surface all that well. I also noticed that using white powder was not all that great because you could hardly see the print and that would be why we use the lack powder to get fingerprints off of different surfaces. Juju By boosters print and I would have to try and use it a different direction. If I were to side to side with the feather it would smudge the print but if I would go up and down it would find any prints in my apartment due to my boyfriend cleaning everything. This is why the difference between the prints if I were to put my print right next to it. My finger clean was hard but you could see where it was wiped down and the smoother stick to the surface all that well. I also noticed that using white powder was not all

Climate control system project Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Climate control system project - Term Paper Example This climate is therefore regulated by the environment switch systems, which manages how best to keep the existing environment favorable. Climate control systems are not restricted to houses; they can as well be installed in automobiles. Even if the execution is exclusive for each type, the global concept is essentially the same. Rheostat of air-conditioning is of utmost importance. You can now control and modify the air-conditioning when you leave your place of work to find a comfy climate when you return home. The incorporation of air-conditioning and heating control with the home-based automation and safety system will assist you to save energy by switching off or on automatically the air conditioning system and heating system in housings without use or when you leave your home. You will as well be able to regulate your air heating and conditioning, from wherever using your advantageous tablet or smartphone and catch a comfortable climate back at home. Platforms that deliver usage response and neighbor contrasts and that use investigational design to determine effects have been effective through numerous impact assessments and educational studies. The construction of a climate control system is majorly for easier remote controlled energy saving solutions for householders. An individual or a user of this program is capable to monitor and control the house temperature remotely using a mobile application. This project is also essential in monitoring peoples’ movements in a room. While one is away from home he or she can not only express what the temperature at home is, but also the number of persons in each given room. Built on the gathered information a person can modify the temperature and regulate accordingly. Also, the house owner could set the A.C to adjust hourly and monitor the number of occupiers of the house. It can as well be utilized to keep a vigilant eye on

The Other Side of Homeschooling Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Other Side of Homeschooling - Research Paper Example This essay declares that homeschooling has been tagged as an offspring of older pedagogical movements which value individualism, non-conformity and empowerment, which most schools do not encourage. Proponents of homeschooling were former supporters of ‘free schools’ which were considered left-wing and detest conformity and ‘rat-race’ status-seeking that is usually associated with schools. Since homeschooled children are isolated from school and are expected to be educated from home, they are likewise not conforming to any norm dictated by the school environment. Being so, they are thought of as being deprived of social contact with their peers and other adults. Tis discussion declares that home-schooled children may excel academically, and even outstrip their peers in academic tests. Socially, they are deprived of experiencing normal peer interactions that bring about challenging situations that make them stronger as individuals. The social adjustment that goes with being with other young people or situations that make them struggle to survive on their own build character and develop coping skills they would need as grown-ups in the real world. Being shielded from differing personalities of people leaves them unable to interact appropriately especially with those with difficult temperaments. Teachers who encourage an â€Å"open classroom climate†, push their students to air divergent viewpoints to stimulate their thinking and test their faithfulness to their long-held beliefs. When students hear different perspectives, it helps them understand an issue better and become less likely to feel

Michelangelo's Statue of David Personal Statement

Michelangelo's Statue of David - Personal Statement Example There was not enough physical power in the city and the citizens were hoping for a power of their minds only. Cunningness and cleverness were two basic means for Firenze citizens to gain power over their enemies. Michelangelo dared to depict a mental power of citizens and to show that a beautiful body can have a cunning mind, which can gain victory over more powerful enemies. The superior enemies could have been fought only through some unusual strategies. Michelangelo’s David was identified with strength and anger. It was unusual for time of the artist to show the dominance of the nation through numerous political connotations, which were evident in the statue. Actually, the main intention of the artist was to create a symbol of power and strength of the citizens. The project of this statue was initiated long ago and Michelangelo implemented his ideas in already existent statue. Numerous artists worked at it. Donatello and Agostino di Duccio were the first ones to work at the statue. di Duccio was responsible for creation of the legs of the statue. Antonio Rossellino continued his ideas, but a final masterpiece was finished and polished by Michelangelo (Lieberman 2001, p. 67). A body of a young man is preparing for the battle with Goliath and it can be seen in his brave appearance. A spirit of intensity can be seen in bulging veins on a hand and his leaning body. It looks like David gets prepared for a serious and a decisive action. There are certain features, which were appropriate for the epoch of Michelangelo. Thus, a position of the contrapposto was relevant to the High Renaissance. He leans on his right leg and hi left leg is relaxed. We can see that a left arm is in motion and his right hand hangs along his body. It is very natural of a person, who is ready for action and is thinking about his further actions. For the contemporaries it is unusual to find that David was on alert and made attempt to attack his enemies. They are more focused on his s erenity and beauty of body lines. What is weird about this statue is that David has unrealistic proportions. The lower parts of the body are smaller than a head and the upper part of the body. Hands of David seem to be very large too. Initially, there was an intention to place this statue high on a church and then parts of the body would have looked accurate. The real king David was circumcised, but the statue is not. This triggers other controversies. Unfortunately, in the modern times a statue was attacked by the vandals and in 1991 some toes of the left foot were damaged. A power of beauty is combined in the works by Michelangelo with a power of expressivity, feelings and a proper balancing (Condivi 1999, p. 57). These features are beyond traditions of Greek classicism. The facial expression was unusual for Greek sculpture and a power of David is found in his restrain and inner ability of self- and energy control. His power is in his serenity. He looks calm and his eyes are fixed on his enemy, but he is not scared at all. The muscles of the forehead reflect his inner emotional tension (Olson 1992, p. 65). We can suppose that he feels anger and frustration. Michelangelo invented a central axis positioning of the statue. For example, the right side reflects serenity, while the left side reflects dynamism and activity. The viewers cannot see both David’s eyes. His right eye is focused on Goliath and the left eye stays fixed. Michelangelo played with different artistic

Language & Levels Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Language & Levels - Assignment Example Additionally, without proper communication, the department will not be motivated to associate themselves in planning the objectives and goals of the organization. The management of communication and human resources are the questioned area when the firm is deficient despite having necessary tools. The second measurement is equipment. If the objectives and goals are well, designed and comprehended by the working team and are well motivated, but the firm is deficient, management need to revise the equipment and tools to see if they are corresponding to the productivity level. Another measurement is teamwork and the values of the organization. If the members of the department do not show a collaborative attitude towards one another, a crucial problem may arise in terms of assessing the interaction between the team members. The measurement used in out department to measure the effectiveness of the company is descriptive data. The goal of descriptive data is to describe. The numerical measures are used in telling the features about a collection of data. Some of the items that belong to descriptive data include average, kurtosis, and skewness. Conversely, in inferential data, there is use of representative subset of the population called the sample. Inferential data researched on the statistical sample (Menzefricke, 2 005). The recommendation for the organization inefficiency posted by one of my classmates is by balancing the internal process value, human relation value, rational goals value, and the open system value. The contextual and structural variables are associated with the above values. Additionally, the concern posted by another classmate on communication measurement, the organization needs to explain the goals of the company to the employs and set the kind of values that are well followed and understood by the employees. I would also suggest the company to

Market Research and Business Plan of Apple Essay

Market Research and Business Plan of Apple - Essay Example The essay "Market Research and Business Plan of Apple" presents a plan for an innovative edition of laptops from Apple Inc. The underlying report accounts the performance of tablets of Apple Inc. and its immediate rivals going head to head in competition as current market revolves around it. Assessing market trend and performance with the latest tablet invasion is also very difficult as a large number of companies have landed in with their versions. Tablets are differentiable on the basis of brand, size, features, storage size, etc. There are almost more than 35 brands of tablets present in the market; within three sizes; five types of operating systems; six features variation parameters and four storage sizes. Apple has been in competition with Samsung’s Galaxy, Google’s Nexus and Amazon’s Kindle Fire. The market has been gradually sharing the Apple’s market share pie to Samsung’s broader variation offering as and to Amazon’s reasonable offe ring. Apple has been dominating the market with its high price; Apple Mini iPad launched at a price of $499.00 in the US whereas the analysts presented an estimate of the material bill for Apple Mini iPad to be $188.00; gross profit of $ 311.00 or 62% per unit. Whereas Amazon is offering its latest Fire Kindle for $ 199.00 while latest Samsung Galaxy Tablet is offered with a price of $ 358.00 and Asus Google Nexus tablet is being offered for $267.36. Further, Asus Transformer tablet version is also charging the price of $.499.99; 0.99 cents higher than iPad mini.... e has been dominating market with its high price; for instance, Apple Mini iPad launched at price of $499.00 in US whereas the analysts presented an estimate of material bill for Apple Mini iPad to be $188.00; gross profit of $ 311.00 or 62% per unit. Whereas Amazon is offering its latest Fire Kindle for $ 199.00 while latest Samsung Galaxy Tablet is offered with price of $ 358.00 and Asus Google Nexus tablet is being offered for $267.36 (Bradshaw, 2012; Osawa, 2012 ;PC World, 2013). Further, Asus Transformer tablet version is also charging price of $.499.99; 0.99 cents higher than iPad mini. Prices range for tablet has been from $.79.72 offered by Pan digital  R70D256 1 GB Wi-Fi White E-Reader to $.3199.99 offered by Motion Computing  (HP3C4A3C3C3B2A).   Despite huge variation, various website rate iPad as the first choice and while on second place suggestions are made on the basis of various aspects as shown in the Figure 3. Comprehensive comparison of the iPad’s two c loses competitors is as shown in Figure 4 in the appendix. Analysts have been largely favoring Apple iPad over rivals and associate the presence of competition to Apple’s high price weakness (Dolcourt, 2012). While Apple Inc considers price of Apple iPad mini justified in light of the popularity of the earlier original version of iPad despite its huge price (Westaway, 2012). Moreover, nurturing the debate over price factor, critics also hold opinion that Apple’s price is dominant factor of its strategy to keep product as luxury while superior product and mass market are mutually exclusive factors. Further, despite its most debated high price, it is within capacity of sizeable population (Cox, 2013). Another factor that supports the high priced iPad over other competitors is the fact that over 91%

Media Relations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Media Relations - Essay Example Banks have to target the young generation via such social sites. The success of any business lies under one core fundamental factor: being available where the target clients are. It has not been different for Barclays, which boasts of its great success and a huge number of clients in United Kingdom. The bank has been at the forefront in close relation with media, ensuring that it utilizes social media to reach out to its loyal customer base and tap its potential. Depending on its diverse departments, Barclays has a number of Twitter accounts all branded differently. They are quite active, with the most active being @ BarclaysFooty, an account linked to the sponsored Barclays Premier League. The site has over 159, 000 followers, which is a huge number for a bank twitter account. Most of the times, the posts are often related to football updates and other competitions with the intentions of targeting the football fans. Barclay’s wealth and investment team also have a twitter account labelled @Barclayswealth, which has over 73,000 followers. It does posts financial investment updates and other banking services offered. The customers’ service twitter account is nabbed @BarclaysOnline, having over 48,000 users. It does receive the highest number of interaction with its clients. Its website does grant its clients the link to accessing twitter. During its working hours, the twitter services and responses are quite fast and timely. All potential queries responses are dealt with from Monday to Friday, between 8am to 8pm. The clients have reported satisfaction with the social systems, with the support team responding to a good number of queries, an element that does improve their customer care and public relations with the clients (barclays.co.uk). With over half a million likes, Barclays Facebook wall has maintained a constant service to its clients, similarly to its Twitter account. It does engage its clients all through the whole day, answering all

Use of Idioms in ELL classes Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Use of Idioms in ELL classes - Assignment Example Stories are useful for teaching and entertaining students and they draw students’ attention and are readily absorbed. Contextual information is significantly effective and necessary for aiding students’ understanding of idioms. Another effective means of communicating meaning is through the use of illustrations. Although there is lingering debate regarding the affect of visuals on reading comprehension, many researchers claim that reading materials accompanied by visuals are more comprehensible to students as they more diversely target intelligences and offer a more abstract unit of meaning. Key vocabulary is illustrated by showing pictures and diagrams, which improves the ESL students’ reading comprehension. The use of illustrations shows that when words and pictures are presented together, students recall them better than when they are presented alone. Providing interesting pictures fosters and reinforces vocabulary development. The use of visuals with bright colors, rather than black and white copies, aids the student in recalling the picture. Create a game out of the idioms. This helps the students by giving them experience with the idiomatic expressions in a practical situation and motivates them to learn because the exercise is a game. One example involves placing the idioms on cards that the students can choose. The students then work collaboratively to act out the literal translation. Other groups of students then try and match the idiom that is being acted out to a list of idioms they have been

Steps in a case study method Essay Example for Free

Steps in a case study method Essay All studies require that a research problem be identified and stated, and must be simple, concise, and in clear terms. Such problem will be the focus of a case study. IDENTIFY THE PROBLEM OF THE STUDY The General and specific objectives of the study must be categorically expressed. Such objectives will be the bases in conducting research activities. State the Objectives of the Study The research must identify his sources of data or information, how he is going to select his sources, what variables are to be included and excluded, and how these variables are to be selected  or determined. Determine the Sources of Data The researcher should identify the procedures of data gathering, the tools used in data gathering so that the researcher will be able to proceed smoothly with the research activities according to the time frame of the study. Determine the Procedures of Investigation After gathering the data, they are collated, arranged, and presented for easy analysis and interpretation. Collate, Analyze, and Interpret the Data 1. The researcher may select convenient cases, which are not typical for a case study. 2. The researcher may find difficulty  selecting the factors to be studied due to different environmental settings and sampling sizes. Limitations or Weaknesses of Case Study Method 3. Hypotheses cannot be tested due to small sampling size and limited number of variables. 4. Reliable and genuine data may not be obtained in some case studies due to limited primary sources. Experimental Methods of Research 1. To test the external validity of a laboratory ndings. 2. To improve conditions under which people live and work. Several Reasons For Conducting Experiments in a Natural Setting: Experiment also Involves†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Manipulation of One or More Variables which includes the: -Independent Variable -Dependent Variable Internal Validity -Reliabililty -Sensitivity -External Validity Characteristics of a Good Experiment -if the cause and e+ect is interpretable, that is by manipulating the independent variable, it can cause a change in dependent variable. Internal Validity An experiment is reliable if the obtained di+erence is likely to be found again and if the experiment is to be repeated. Reliability -an experiment is sensitive if such experiment is likely to detect the e+ect  of an independent variable even when that e+ect is a small one. Sensitivity -if the ndings can be generalized to individuals, settings,and conditions beyond the scope of the particular experiment. External Validity To provide empirical tests of hypotheses derived from theories. -experiments can be used to test the e+ectiveness of treatments and program. Purpose of Conducting Internship -Experimental Control -Random Assignment Two Conditions for an E$ective Experiment -Covariation -Time Order -Plausible Alternative Courses Three Conditions of Control:

Child Observation Case Study

Child Observation Case Study Care has been taken to ensure the provisioning of adequate information to the mother of the child to be placed under observation. I have informed the mother of my reasons for conducting the exercise. I have reassured her on the protection of confidentiality of all my observations and have informed her that I will use a pseudonym for referring to her daughter in all my written work. I have accordingly asked her to chose a pseudonym for her daughter and have accepted her suggestion for calling the child Kirsty. Kirstys mother, Jane, has been informed that the child will not be influenced or pressurised in any way. She will be free to answer or not to answer questions and even to withdraw from the exercise at any time she so desires. I have obtained her consent to the conducting of the observation exercise in writing. The signed consent statement is available in Appendix 1. Whilst Kirstys father was not at home at the time of the study, Jane informed me that he was aware of the exercise and had agreed to the same. 1.3. Observation Process The exercise was conducted at the garden of Kirstys house. Kirsty lives with her parents in a small cottage near the beach. The house has a small fenced garden. It was quiet and sunny when the observation was conducted in the presence of Jane, and her neighbour, Priya, a young woman in her mid-twenties. Whilst it is recommended that the observation was conducted in the presence of the childs mother, care should be taken to ensure that she does not actively participate in the observation process. I carried the Sheridan Scale for 5 year olds for the exercise and noted my observations in the appropriate boxes during the observation process. The observation began at 11 am and continued for a couple of hours, wherein I observed Kirstys behaviour in the course of some small games that she played, first with her dolls and then with her set of building blocks. 1.4 Views of Family Jane informed me about Kirstys mild asthma, which had first surfaced when she was three and continued to trouble her even today. She was under medical treatment and her GP had advised her that most children outgrew childhood asthma by the time they were 15 or 16 years old. Jane informed me happily about the childs excessive attachment to her father, who had a travelling job and was out of the home for more than two weeks each month. Whilst both parents loved their daughter, the father absolutely doted on her and showered her with gifts when he was home. The child had of late begun to act wilfully and was apt to become very upset and show signs of aggressive behaviour if her wishes were not met immediately. Her school teacher had also spoken to Jane about Kirstys wilful behaviour athatupset once in a while. 1.5. Summarisation of use of Sheridan Scale and Assessment Framework Triangle Asthma, even if it is mild, is known to adversely affect the development of children. Janes information on the whole reinforced my findings from the application of the Sheridan scale for 5 year olds. I had carefully applied the Sheridan test for various parameters, including posture and large movements, vision and fine movements, hearing and speech, and, to some extent, social behaviour and play. Whilst the child responded positively to the various facets of the test, and was particularly proficient in dancing with me to tapping of feet, skipping, sketching and painting, she appeared to have trouble in skipping and in participating in more strenuous forms of physical activity. Her mother also became apprehensive if the child engaged in dancing and running. I also found her to be more wilful and apt to become upset if she did not find what she was looking for, or if her smaller wishes, like asking for a glass of water were not immediately fulfilled. She appeared to miss her father, who had to constantly go on business trips. The Common Assessment Framework triangle helped me in understanding the developmental needs of the child from three perspectives a) the developmental needs of the child b) family and environment factors and c) parenting capacity. Use of the CAF triangle helped me in realising that whilst the parents were taking good care of her various physical, health and educational needs, their overprotective nature was resulting in slowing down of her self care skills as well as her emotional and behavioural development. 2. Psychological Theories and Life Span Development Cognitive development is a process whereby a childs conception of the world alters with respect to age and experience. Cognitive psychology, primarily known as the developmental stage theory, seeks to explain the quantitative and qualitative intellectual abilities that occur during a childs developmental years. The work of Piaget is important in understanding human development. Piaget suggests that the idea of cognitive development is intrinsic to the human organism and language is contingent on cognitive development. Piaget proposed that reality is essentially a dynamic structure of continuous change, one that involves transformations and states. Whilst transformations refer to the various changes that a person/thing undergoes, states refer to periods in between transformations. A childs cognitive development is primarily dependent on his/her ability to adapt to various situations. Therefore, if human intelligence is to be adaptive, it must be able to represent both the transformational and static aspects of reality. He suggested that whilst operative intelligence directs dynamic or transformational aspects of reality, figurative intelligence represents static periods in between. In understanding cognitive development, Piaget essentially focuses on accommodation and assimilation. Whilst the former focuses on absorbing ones environment by altering pre existing schemas in order to fit the new information, the latter concentrates on assimilating new information by fitting it into pre existing cognitive schemas. Whilst placing Kirstys development within the context of Piagets stages of development in it recognises that children adopt particular types of behaviour and actions during each stage I feel that she was adequately well developed, both operatively and figuratively. Moreover, she was able to assimilate and accommodate to the environment with equal ease. Her enthusiasm to play Introduction Community care essentially aims to provide individuals in need with social, medical and health support in their own homes, as far as possible, rather than in residential establishments or in long-stay institutions. The enactment of the NHS and Community Care Act in 1990 marked a watershed in the evolution of community care practice in the UK (Means, et al, 2002, p 71). Implemented after years of discussion on the social and financial viability of maintaining people in institutions and homes, the NHS and Community Care Act, initiated by Margaret Thatcher, showcased her desire to radically change the practice and delivery of social and health care in the UK (Means, et al, 2002, p 71). The years following the passing of the Act have witnessed significant developments in the practice and delivery of social work in the country. This short essay attempts to investigate the basic reasons for the enactment of the NHS and the Community Care Act, its basic ideology and thrust, and its impact on the social work sector of the country. The essay also studies the developments in social care that have occurred in the years following the act, with particular focus on direct payments for people with learning disabilities, social care provisions for carers and the contemporary emphasis on personalisation. NHS and Community Care Act 1990 Whilst the initiation of the policy of community care in the UK is by and large attributed to Margaret Thatchers conservative government, the concept of community care, even at that time, was not exactly new (Borzaga Defourny, 2001, p 43). The need for community care existed from the beginning of the 1950s. It aimed to provide a better and more cost effective way to help individuals with mental health concerns and physical disabilities by removing them from impersonal, old, and often harsh institutional environments, and taking care of them in their home environments (Borzaga Defourny, 2001, p 43). Although various governments, since the 1950s, supported the need to introduce community care and tried to bring in appropriate changes, lack of concrete action on the issue resulted in constant increase of the number of people in residential establishments and large institutions during the 1960s, 70s and 80s (Borzaga Defourny, 2001, p 43). With numerous negative stories coming out in the media on the difficult conditions in such establishments, Sir Roy Griffiths was invited by Margaret Thatcher to investigate the issue of community care for the residents of such establishments and make appropriate recommendations (Harris, 2002, p 11). The Griffiths, (1988), Report named Community Care: Agenda for Action, followed by the publication of a White Paper Caring for People: Community Care in the Next Decade and Beyond in 1989 led to the enactment of the NHS and Community Care Act 1990 (Cass, 2007, p 241). Apart from being a strong attempt to improve the lives of people in long term institutions and residential establishments, the law was also an outcome of the conservative governments desire to bring market reforms into the public sector and stimulate the private sector to enter the social services, as well as its conviction that competitive markets would be better able to provide more economic services than a bureaucratised public sector (Harris, 2009, p 3). With social services being among the highest revenue spending departments at the local authority level and domiciliary and residential services for older people consuming the bulk of social service funds, community care for older people presented an obvious area for introduction and implementation of market principles (Harris, 2009, p 3). The act split the role of local and health authorities by altering their internal structures, so that local authority departments were required to ascertain the needs of individuals and thereafter purchase required services from providers (Lewis, et al, 1994, p 28). Health organisations, in order to become providers of such services, became NHS trusts that competed with each other. The act also required local social service and health authorities to jointly agree to community care plans for the local implementation of individual care plans for long term and vulnerable psychiatric patients (Lewis, et al, 1994, p 28). The act has however come in for varying degrees of criticism from service users, observers and experts, with some observers claiming the altered care conditions to be unresponsive, inefficient and offering little choice or equity (Malin, et al, 2002, p 17). Other experts, who were not so pessimistic, stated that whilst the system was based upon an excellent idea, it was little better in practice than the previous systems of bureaucratic resource allocation and received little commitment from social services; the lead community care agency (Malin, et al, 2002, p 17). The commitment of local authorities was diluted by the service legacies of the past and vested professional interest, even as social services and health services workers were unable to work well together (Malin, et al, 2002, p 17). Little collaboration took place between social and health services and the impact of the reforms was undermined by chronic government underfunding. The voluntary sector became the main benefici ary of this thrust for the development of a mixed economy of care (Malin, et al, 2002, p 17). Developments after the Enactment of the NHS and Community Care Act The assumption of government by the labour party in 1997 resulted in the progressive adoption of numerous forward looking policies in various areas of social care. The publication of a white paper in 1998 reinforced the governments commitment to promotion of community based care and peoples independence (Means, et al, 2002, p 79). The paper focused on assisting people to achieve and maintain independence through prevention and rehabilitation strategies, with specific grants being introduced to facilitate their implementation. The Health Act of 1999 removed obstacles to the joint working of health and social services departments through provisions for pooling of budgets and merging of services (Means, et al, 2002, p 79). The formulation of the NHS plan aimed to improve partnership between health and social care, the development of intermediate care and the construction of capacity for care through cash for change grants for development of capacity across social and health care systems (Means, et al, 2002, p 79). Direct Payments for Individuals with Learning Disabilities The Community Care (Direct Payments) Act 1996, which came into operation in April 1997, marked a radical change in the provision of community care for people with disabilities, including those with learning difficulties (Tucker, et al, 2008, p 210). It was illegal, prior to the implementation of the act, for local authorities to support people with disabilities by making cash payments in lieu of providing community care services. Policymakers however realised that many local authorities were successfully supporting independent living schemes, centres for independent living and personal assistance schemes (Tucker, et al, 2008, p 210). Such schemes handled community care payments for disabled people and provided them with help to organise assistance or support. The Community Care (Direct Payments) Act built on this situation, allowing direct payments to be made to replace care services, which otherwise would be given by social service departments (Tucker, et al, 2008, p 210). Direct payments provide flexibility in the way services are provided to eligible people. The giving of money, in lieu of social care services, helps people to achieve greater control and choice over their lives and enables them to decide on the time and mode of delivery of services (Tucker, et al, 2008, p 210). Direct payments can not only be used for services to satisfy the needs of children or their families but also enables carers to purchase the services they need to sustain them in their roles. Research conducted in 1997 in the utilisation of direct payments by people with learning difficulties revealed that whilst utilisation of direct payments by people with learning disabilities was increasing, such utilisation was low among women and individuals from minority or black ethnic groups (Tucker, et al, 2008, p 210). Research also revealed the presence of wide differences in the interpretation of the capacity of persons for consenting to direct payments by local authorities. Whils t some local authorities felt that direct payments could be sanctioned to all persons with learning difficulties who were able, with assistance, to successfully control and use direct payments, other authorities did not heed the fact that such people could indeed be assisted to communicate decisions and consequently assumed their inability to consent to direct payments. Such interpretations, it was felt, could debar many people in need from obtaining the facility for direct payments (Tucker, et al, 2008, p 211). Assistance for Carers Recent years have seen a number of social care initiatives for easing the condition of carers. Carers are people who provide assistance and support, without payment, to family members or friends, who are unable to manage without such assistance, on account of illness, frailty or disability (Government Equalities Office, 2010, p 1). Carers can include adults who care for other adults, parents who care for disabled or ill children, or young people who care for other family members. The governments social care policies for carers include supporting people with caring responsibilities for (a) identifying themselves at early stages, (b) recognising the worth of their contribution, and (c) involving them from the beginning in designing and planning individual care (Government Equalities Office, 2010, p 1). Such policies aim to enable carers to (a) satisfy their educational needs and employment potential, and (b) provide personalised support, both for carers and the people they support, to enjoy family and community life and remain physically and mentally well. Whilst the NHS and community care Act 1990 looked at carers as valued resources because of their ability to provide support, it did not refer to their rights; relying instead on rhetoric to deliver the message of their value to society (Government Equalities Office, 2010, p 2). Succeeding years have however witnessed greater focus on the needs of carers and to progressive introduction of suitable laws and appropriate policies. The passing of the Carers (Recognition and Services) Act 1995 drew attention to the needs of carers. This was followed by the passing of the Carers and Disabled Children Act 2000 and the Carers (Equal Opportunities) Act 2004 (Government Equalities Office, 2010, p 2). These acts entitle carers for (a) assess ment of their needs, (b) services in their own right and support in accessing education training, employment and leisure opportunities. The proposed equality bill introduces four new opportunities for carers. It (a) requires public authorities to give due consideration to socio-economic disadvantages, whilst exercising strategic planning functions, (b) takes account of associative discrimination with regard to disabled people, (c) provides for prevention of indirect discrimination, and (d) calls upon public bodies to ensure that their policies are designed to eliminate harassment and discrimination and further equality of opportunity (Government Equalities Office, 2010, p 2). Personalisation The concept of personalisation in social care, whilst discussed for some years, was formally inducted into social care practice in the UK with the publication of Putting People First in 2007. The concordat outlined the concept of a personalised adult social care system, where individuals will have extensive control and choice over the services received by them. The government committed that social services would progressively be tailored to meet the preferences of citizens, with person centred planning along with self directed support becoming mainstream activities, assisted by personal budgets for maximising control and choice (Aldred, 2008, p 31). Whilst personal budgets and direct payments form an important aspect of personalisation, the idea concerns fitting services to the needs of people, focusing on outcomes, and recognising the worth of the opinions of service users assessing their own needs, planning their service, and producing their outcomes (Aldred, 2008, p 31). Conclusions and the Way Forward This essay investigates the reasons behind the enactment of the NHS and the Community Care Act and studies the developments in social care that have occurred in the years following the act, especially in areas of direct payments for people with learning disabilities, social care for carers and personalisation. It is obvious from the results of the study that social care in the UK has experienced significant change and metamorphosis since the enactment of the 1990 act. Whilst significant progress has been made a consensus s growing that the British social care system is facing a crisis because of drivers like increasing demographic pressures, alterations in family and social structures, rising public expectations, increasing desire for greater choice and control, and eligibility for services (Glasby, et al, 2010, p 11). The need to move people out of local accommodation because of rising rents exemplifies the challenges faced by the social care system. With the financial system becoming more challenging, the social care system will have to find ways of improving efficiencies without diluting the quality of care (Glasby, et al, 2010, p 11). The next round of social reforms, whilst attempting to achieve better delivery efficiencies will have to renew its commitment to satisfying social expectations and basic human rights, reducing costs, preventing future needs, helping people to regain independence, freeing individuals to contribute, and supporting carers to care and contribute to society (Glasby, et al, 2010, p 11).