Role and Functions of Law Paper Essay Example for Free

Role and Functions of Law Paper Essay Law works in many ways for business and for our society to coexist. This is done by setting rules and expectations that provide ways to solve disputes and assign government agency to enforce them. Law is defined as â€Å"a body of rules of action or conduct prescribed by controlling authority, and having legal binding force.† (Melvin, 2011). It is very important for business owners to understand law in the type of services that they provide, from either hiring employees or safety in the work place. A business owner has to provide an equal opportunity to all those how seek jobs in their company without discriminating from gender, age or race. Safety in the work place is important to avoid law suits to be filed against the company. These law suits can go from not providing proper work equipments to failure to fix broken ladder way or not having safety procedure in place. The role that law provides in society is to provide a general guide lines to live day to day. The law also provides safety for its citizens though Administrative Law â€Å"source of law that authorities the exercise of authority by executive branch agencies and independent government agencies† (Melvin, 2011). This law gives law enforcement the authority to enforce the laws set by congress, which enforces punishments to violators if guilty. The law also protects its citizens from settling disputes with violence or aggression. Being in the military and work as a legal clerk I found law to be very important to keeping its military structure. For instance a law that I at first didn’t understand was that if a member of the military could get discharged if they won the lottery, it was explained to me that it can have a huge problem in the rank structure. If a private was to be a millionaire and a Sergeant was to give him orders and decides to disobey him he would care about his punishments which could result in reduction of pay or liberty. The private in this instance has the money so it wouldn’t bother him to lose pay and he  can just buy video games, play online, have cable and it wouldn’t affect him. Law in the military extends throughout the world to make sure that every member of the military should always act in professional and keep a good image on the United States. Working as a process server I started to understand how important law are in my job I am protected by the law to accomplish my duty, by law I am able to go up to a house and knock on the addresses home without being consider trespassing. This is a very important law that I must follow for if I do something like jump a locked fence I would be breaking the very same law that protects. As a process server my duty is to serve court documents to defendants to appear at a specific superior court, if I were to lie or falsify information during the process of serving a defendant the case can be lost even if the attorney did nothing wrong. Having law in our business protects the owners and employees they reduce law suits and prevent abuse. Law also protects the citizens of the United States and common standard laws they apply to everyone in that jurisdiction and punish those who choose to ignore them. Without laws our business and society would fail to live in peace. References Melvin, S.P. (2011). The Legal Environment of Business: A Managerial Approach: Theory to Practice. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.

Technology In Cinema And Film Making Media Essay

Technology In Cinema And Film Making Media Essay I think that modern technology has changed modern film making for the better. In the last few years, using the latest technologies has been paramount in the film making process. This has caused films to evolve over the years with each progressing idea, technology, and technique, allowing filmmakers to bring their vision to life more accurately and more convincingly to the big screen. Without these advances in video capture and computing many films such as Star Trek'(JJ Abrams, 2009) would not have been as successful. Film production has also become very fast to meet the growing demand for movies as the channel for distribution increase and audiences broaden. The development of technology has affected an extremely wide array of areas concerning film, including the production process, the way films are viewed, how the films are distributed, and even how they are promoted. These new innovations are advancing so quickly now that the traditional cinema-going experience may find itself hav ing to compete with online streaming of filmed entertainment. 2. The facts and opinions Digital media is in-expensive and can be edited quickly and easily. Large Volumes of raw video are handled in a few days with sometimes only one person working on it, this is comparable to the older methods with film that took several weeks to process with teams going through each reel of film. The first practical cinema device was made by two French brothers Louis and Auguste Lumiere, they called it the cinematograph. In 1894 the device and others like it began to be used in public buildings or halls (dubbed ‘nickelodeans because it cost a nickel to watch the short animation). Through various advancements throughout the following years the recording and replaying methods became more powerful and much simpler. One of these advancements led to colour pictures and was used to obliterate mono-chrome movies for a short while. Films like ‘Schindlers List Steven Spielberg 1993 and ‘Clerks Kevin Smith 1994 show that monochrome can help make an atmosphere that colour cant. An example of a movie with very little technology would be â€Å"No Country for Old Men† which relied on the atmosphere made by good acting and filming. It is argued that the lack of technology used in the making of the film and even in the setting, which was the early eighties, made for a more dramatic effect. But to contest that is the fact that the film was following the original novel by Cormic McCarthy, and that dramatic effect was made by very good acting, directing, back music and producing. Computer Generated imagery has changed the way movie makers imagine and visualise the movie because they are not as restricted as they were 20 years ago. Some ‘get arounds had to be made then due to lack of funds or until a technological solution was developed. The more simple ‘tricks included stopping the camera but keeping it in position as an actor moved off set before continuing to give the effect that a character had suddenly vanished. Another trick would involve an artist painting some matching scenery around a sheet of glass and letting the camera film through that so it made the surrounding area look larger than it actually was. Original animations were very tedious and labour intensive. To make the drawings ‘move the cartoonist normally had to produce twenty-five to twenty-six drawings for every second of screen time. This resulted in ten-minute cartoon needing fourteen thousand, four hundred different drawings. ‘Gertie the Dinosaur by Winsor McCay in 1909 was the first one of its kind. It was seven minutes long and needed ten thousand drawings. Titan AE, this is an animated movie enhanced by computer to give a hybrid. This was a great success and is known for stunning visuals and brilliant voice acting. Normally an animated movie is screened at around twenty five frames per second which means that even the smallest movement on screen would require about sixty drawings. With the computer this be dramatically reduced and enhanced graphically. Another movie â€Å"Monsters Inc. â€Å" is completely computer generated. This gives the movie a cartoonish look and the class of a live film were the actions and motions are more fluid. CGI allows directors to create an atmosphere that they would not be able to achieve with models or visual â€Å"trickery†. George Lucas explains in â€Å"Star Wars A New Hope Remastered DVD† In the scene where Luke Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi are speeding across the Desert in the â€Å"Speeder†(Hover Car), The production team originally put Vaseline on the camera lens in the area that the cars wheels would be. This of course left two black smudges under the car. Due to other problems and limitations Lucas had problem realising his vision for the movie. He created his own digital effects house (Industrial Light and Magic and sound companies ‘THX and ‘Skywalker sound because the things he wanted simply didnt exist. New techniques were thought up and tested. Although the film was highly successful, Lucas still was not happy and later remastered the film with more advanced graphics and sounds. With the improvements they added larger backgrounds to once disappointing sets and add extra characters. A cut scene was added because they could now add in a CG (computer generated) alien character that at the time didnt even have a puppet stand-in. Without the help of these special effects the film would not have done justice to Lucas original vision for the movie. For ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (Peter Jackson, 2001) and ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (Peter Jackson, 2002) programmer Stephen Regelous created ‘Massive a special-effects program that allowed thousands of unique CG characters to have a mind of their own when thrown into combat for the battle scenes. â€Å"Gathering seventy-thousand or so tall, broad-shouldered extras, dressing them in elaborate armor and having them slaughtering each other was out of the question. â€Å"Digital technology is a thing, a medium that makes film flourish as it never has before.† George Lucas Because of CGI, realistic Dinosaurs were seen in ‘Jurassic Park (Steven Spielberg, 1993) and animals have charged down through a city street in ‘Jumanji (Joe Johnston, 1995). â€Å"The future of cinema lies in the power of the pixel. The injection of fresh ideas and methodologies will only serve to mix up the metaphorical gene pool and empower a new generation of filmmakers.† Roger Corman Both these movies have done very well in cinema through VHS and DVD sales. Examples of films that have been let down by special effects would be ‘Killer Flood'(Doug Campbell, 2003) and Deep Blue Sea(Renny Harlin, 1999) which did alright in viewings and even had very good acting and scripting but was let down by a few moments were the audience should have been amazed by the imagery but instead was disappointed by the poorly made imagery of the sharks. Movies have also been influenced by Computer Games and some of the rendering techniques from games have been applied to the movie making process. One such method has a group of people wearing Skin tight clothing fitted with sensors on all the locations were movement is most noticeable and at joints. A computer then gathers the information to make a model on screen with the same movements of the person wearing the sensors. Computer generated imagery has also helped reduce the cost of movie making. Large effects that normally cost thousands to make can be done with a decent computer and some editing software. Because of the need of pre-processing is no longer required with digital video, clips can now be viewed on site instantly and mistakes can be found and changed or fixed unlike traditional 35mm film where errors would not be found for weeks until all the film had been processed. With cost effective production, more and more movies can be made and newer previously unknown directors appear with Box Office hit Films. A recent box office hit â€Å"Zombieland† directed by Ruben Fleischer was the first feature film by him, without the low cost production methods available the movie may not have been made. ‘District 9 ‘Zombieland done well in cinema and have been made by first time directors. ‘District 9 Gross Profit $210,146,235 ‘Zombieland Gross Profit $90,081,556 The large profits of these films show that they have been a success and the filming budgets (average 30,000,000) show that studios are not afraid to stop a production half way. Before digital film these mock ups had to be made to view/preview the movie hence a higher cost. Digital Video has been both the answer to cheap filming and the enemy of those in the film industry. With digital video large amounts of video can be moved and transferred easily rather than the trucks needed to move the reels of film. Increased memory capacity has aided this as well allowing very high quality images to be recorded. High definition video is an example of this as there are so many pixels per frame and so many frames the file sizes are enormous. Just 30 minutes of video can be two Gigabytes in size. One of the first films to use digital video was ‘Westworld in 1973. Shortly before digital video came digital audio. With digital audio the same advantages apply, it is cheaper to store and easier to edit. One of the main advantages of digital audio is that tape is not needed to store it. Audio stored on tape was prone to distortion or deterioration from magnetic waves and moisture; it is also much harder to sync than with a piece of video like an animated character or sound effect. Recorders and Microphones have become very small and fitted inside the ear or in the collar of a jumper. They can record in very high quality which helps in the editing phase, if a character gets drowned out by another noise or their voice becomes muffled by another person in front of the microphone on the main floor . The better quality also creates a much better atmosphere for the audience. This may not make or break the film but bad audio can be worse than bad visuals in my own opinion. With HD (High Definition) audio emerging, recording techniques and styles will evolve again. This will follow the adoption of Surround sound which is now common among home entertainment systems and some Cinemas or Movie Theatres. Surround Sound uses multiple speakers placed around the audience and a special controller sends the right volume and sounds to each speaker to make it sound as though the audience is immersed in the movie. Sound technicians now place the mics around the set / scene to record the different sound levels at those spots in the room. Not every new idea in cinema was successful enough to consider continuing at first, such as three-dimensional movies (3D), which required viewers to wear special glasses, and the â€Å"smells†, in which different scents were blown into theatres to accompany the images and sound. The system just didnt work well or subtly enough. Now though 3D movies are at an all-time with 9 3D movies released in 2009 alone. With the new 3D technology using digital glasses and high frequency screens the poor effect on a viewers eye-sight or balance has been removed. 3D Filming has for a long time been an attraction for creating stunning experiences. â€Å"Journey to the Centre of the Earth† was the first film to successfully deploy a live 3D experience. It grossed $241,995,151 in worldwide. These changes seem to have been for the better, good profits for 3D films shows a fan base and market audience. The newest technologies used are proving their worth and may end up leading production to entirely 3d movies. With advancements comes cheaper high end equipment this has led to a lot of fans and wanna be producers making films or videos on the cheap. YouTube the greatest example of public film/video is well known and is full of fan made or home made movies. Some of these can be on par with full length feature films. Technology has advanced to let what used to be studio equipment be compacted and simplified for everyone. A good example of the Fan- made movie is â€Å"The Hunt for Gollum† a prequel to â€Å"The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring† It has amassed over 1.5 Million views and maintains a 5 star rating( The highest available on YouTube). On another Note the Movie has been made in HD which shows the makers had access to good equipment. Another intriguing thing to note is that technology on the whole can and has influenced films. Two older movies that are well known are ‘Wargames'(John Badham 1983) and ‘Hackers'(Iain Softley, 1995). One of the most notable is The ‘James Bond 007 series of films which has used technological possibilities to its fullest, were Bond is supplied with a massive range of gadgets some futuristic and some of the present times. 3. Conclusion Movies at home are now a big part of the cinema experience. Large television sets and home cinema systems are very common. Small versions of the projectors used in the cinema are also common and provide a cinema like atmosphere to your home movies. Homes can even have computers that server video and audio content to the television. With movies cheaply available to buy, sets of several DVDs available on a single Blu-ray disc and Online services such as the iTunes Store making digital downloads available, there is always a larger demand for movies and so the film industry will continue to make good films. â€Å"With more channels of distribution there will be a greater demand for content but less money will be required to make it. The people who can create content the most cost effectively will have a clear cut advantage† Roger Corman The future of Cinema is greatly entwined with technological advancements. The effects of technology on cinema are quite clear, as long as the technologies are used in the right ways and are not abused for the sake of time or money then the quality of cinema will not die. Though there are movies were technology plays a minute roll it still seeps through from the camera used the sound recording equipment and the sets built. The cinema was built of technology and should continue to thrive and mature and technology does so.

Return on Investment for Emergency Obstetric Care Training

Return on Investment for Emergency Obstetric Care Training Social Return on Investment for Emergency Obstetric Care Training in Kenya Dedication â€Å"To philanthropy and all those contributing to making the world a better place† List of tables Table 1‑1: Summary table of social impact assessment methods Table 2‑1: WHO emergency obstetric care signal functions.. Table 3‑1: Krlev et al. 12-point quality assessment framework Table 3‑2: Sources of retrieved SROI studies. Table 3‑3: Criterion quality scores of health SROI studies across the 5 dimensions Table 3‑4: Health interventions that have been measured with SROI Table 3‑5: Summary table describing application of the SROI methodology in Health Table 3‑6: Summary of duration of health SROI analysis. Table 4‑1: Outputs of the current phase of the Making it Happen programme Table 4‑2: Content of the LSS-EOC NC. Table 4‑3: Distribution of Kenyan population across age groups. Table 4‑4: Kenyan Key development indicators.. Table 4‑5: EmONC indicators in Kenya compared to UN standards. Table 5‑1: Description of SROI principles. Table 5‑2: MiH outcome and output data indicators relevant for SROI analysis Table 6‑1: Stakeholder analysis of the EmONC training component of the Making it Happen programme Table 6‑2: Primary and secondary data required from the included stakeholders List of figures Figure 1‑1: Types of Social Return on Investment Studies Figure 2‑1: Annotation of the logic model (version 1). Figure 2‑2: Annotation of the logic model (version 2). Figure 2‑3: DFID 3Es + CE framework for Value for Money.. Figure 3‑1: Schematic representation of the conceptual framework underpinning the review Figure 3‑2: PRISMA flow diagram summarising the search process. Figure 3‑3: Mean quality scores of health SROI studies since 2005. Figure 3‑4: Number of public health SROI articles published since 2005. Figure 3‑5: Number of health SROI studies published by year, showing countries where the methodology was applied Figure 3‑6: Distribution of countries conducting SROI studies Figure 4‑1: Map of Kenya showing the eight provinces and the surrounding countries Figure 5‑1: SROI process map Figure 5‑2: Methods to be used within the SROI data collection stages.. Figure 6‑1: Analysis of stakeholders related to EmONC training in Kenya List of appendices Appendix 1: Search strategy Appendix 2: Systematic review results Appendix 3: Ethics Appendix 4: Materials relating to Making it Happen Appendix 5: Questionnaires Abbreviations ACAFIAtkisson Compass Assessment for Investors AIDSAcquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome BACOBest Available Charitable Option BEmOCBasic Emergency Obstetric Care BEmONCBasic Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care BoP Base of Pyramid BScBalanced Scorecard BVABlended Value Accounting CAQDAS CEmOCComprehensive Emergency Obstetric Care CEmONCComprehensive Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care CBACost Benefit Analysis CEACost-Effectiveness Analysis CMA Cost-Minimization Analysis CMNHCentre for Maternal Newborn Health CRTCluster Randomised Trials CSOCivil Society Organisation CUACost-Utility Analysis DALYs Disability-Adjusted Life Years DFIDDepartment for International Development DHDepartment of Health DHS Demographic and Health Survey EEEconomic Evaluation EmOC Emergency Obstetric Care EmONCEmergency Obstetric and Newborn Care EOC NCEssential Obstetric Care and Newborn Care FGFocus Group FGDFocus Group Discussion GRIGlobal Reporting Initiative HCPHealth Care Providers HEFCEHigher Education Funding Council for England ICPIntegrated Care and Prevention IDIIn-Depth Interview KHSSIP Kenya Health Sector Strategic and Investment Plan KIIKey Informant Interview KPIKey Person Interview LADSILabour and Delivery Satisfaction Index LATHLiverpool Associates in Tropical Health LEMLocal Economic Multiplier LMICsLow and Middle Income Countries LSS-EOCNCLife Saving Skills – Essential Obstetric Care and Newborn Care LSTMLiverpool School of Tropical Medicine MARPMost At Risk Population MDG-ScanMillennium Development Goal Scan MICSMultiple Indicator Cluster Survey MIFMeasuring Impact Framework MiHMaking It Happen MMRMaternal Mortality Ratio MNHMaternal and Newborn Health MOHMinistry of Health MOMSMinistry of Medical Services MOPHSMinistry of Public Health and Sanitation MSCMost Significant Change nefNew Economics Foundation NGOsNon-Governmental Organisations OASISOn-going assessment of Social Impacts OVCOrphan and Vulnerable Children PLHIVPeople Living with Human Immuno-deficiency Virus PLHWAPeople Living With AIDS PSIAPoverty and Social Impact Analysis PTOPerson Trade-Off QALYsQuality-Adjusted Life Years QIQuality Improvement RCOGRoyal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists RCTRandomised Controlled Trials REDFRoberts Enterprise Development Fund RFRoberts Foundation ROIReturn on Investment SAASocial Accounting and Auditing SBASkilled Birth Attendant SCStakeholder Consultation SCBASocial Costs-Benefits Analysis SDRSocial Discount Rate SIASocial Impact Assessment SIAASocial Impact Analysts Association SRASocial Return Assessment SRHSexual and Reproductive Health SROISocial Return on Investment SSQSix Simple Questions STDsSexually Transmitted Infections SVAStakeholder Value Added TBLTriple Bottom Line ToCTheory of Change TSOThird Sector Organisation UKUnited Kingdom UNUnited Nations UNICEFUnited Nations Children’ Fund VfMValue for Money WBWorld Bank WHOWorld Health Organization 1 Introduction 1.1 Purpose of the chapter This chapter introduces the social return on investment methodology – its definition, history as well as strengths and weaknesses of its application. It then proceeds to identify examples of previous applications of the method, explores any previous intersection of the methodology with the maternal and newborn health field and provides the rationale for the study. Finally, the objectives of this research and an overview of the thesis are provided. 1.2 What is Social Return on Investment? The first definition of Social Return on Investment (SROI) is â€Å"a simple financial assessment of socio-economic value. SROI compares a project’s net benefits to the investment required to generate those benefits over a certain period of time† (Emerson and Cabaj, 2000). Over time, this definition has been modified. In the most recent SROI methodology guidance, SROI is defined as â€Å"a framework for measuring and accounting for the much broader concept of value. It seeks to reduce inequality and environmental degradation and improve wellbeing by incorporating social, environmental and economic costs and benefits† (Nicholls et al., 2012). This definition is most commonly referred to in the literature, when authors define SROI, probably because it is stated within the SROI guidance. New Economics Foundation (nef) also defines SROI as â€Å"an analytic tool for measuring and accounting for a much broader concept of value, taking into account social, economic and environmental factors† (nef, 2014). SROI measures change from the perspective of stakeholders that experience or contribute to a particular activity, intervention, project, programme or policy. â€Å"It tells the story of how change is being created by measuring social, environmental and economic outcomes and uses monetary values to represent them† (Nicholls et al., 2012). Data collection and subsequent analyses allow calculation of a benefits-to-costs ratio. For example, a ratio of 4:1 indicates that an investment of  £1 delivers  £4 of social value. There are two types of SROI (Nicholls et al., 2012) [Figure 1-1]: Evaluative SROI: This retrospectively measures outcomes that have already happened. Forecast SROI: This estimates how much social impact will be generated if the activities to be conducted meet their intended outcomes. Figure 1.1: Types of Social Return on Investment Studies 1.3 History of SROI A review of the development of the SROI methodology would aid understanding of the initial considerations of those who developed the tool and the capabilities and potentials of the tool. This understanding is critical for this research as it provides a foundation upon which the application of the SROI framework in the maternal and newborn health (MNH) area can be better understood. Roberts Foundation (RF) developed the initial SROI framework in 1996, presented in a report titled New Social Entrepreneurs: The Success, Challenge and Lessons of Non-profit Enterprise Creation (REDF, 1996). The purpose of the first SROI report by REDF was to demonstrate the blend of financial, social and environmental value that all the social enterprises within REDF’s funding portfolio were producing compared to the total investment the organisation was making. This first SROI did not attempt to account for all benefits accrued from a programme, but estimated the cost savings or revenue contributions that are attributed to the programme. The framework utilised a modified discounted cash flow analysis for this calculation to demonstrate impact (Emerson and Cabaj, 2000; Emerson et al., 2000). In 1997, the RF, under its new initiative Roberts Foundation Enterprise Development Fund (REDF) updated the framework so to have the capacity to account for total organisational social return on investment and adjusted to be able to account for actual performance that could be continuously updated. REDF recognised more limitations in the methodology (Emerson et al., 2000), but has since not produced any further SROI reports or guidelines. However, the concepts that underpinned the development of this initial framework have been built upon in the subsequent development of the methodology over the past two decades (Tuan, 2008). Guidelines for SROI application have been produced in year 2000 (Emerson and Cabaj, 2000), 2004 (Lingane and Olsen, 2004) and 2006 (Scholten et al., 2006). In 2008, the United Kingdom (UK) Office of the Third Sector (Now referred to as Office for Civil Society (Civil Society Media, 2010)), which is responsible for charities, social enterprises and voluntary org anisations in the Cabinet Office (UK Government, 2014) launched the Measuring Social Value project (Arvidson et al., 2010) and this led to the development of an updated guideline in 2009 (Nicholls et al., 2009) and the production of another revision three years later (Nicholls et al., 2012). These revisions have over the years integrated the initial REDF SROI methodology, which was essentially a social impact measurement tool with principles and processes normally used in economic evaluations and financial return on investment to build a framework that captures social, economic and environmental impacts of interventions (Rotheroe and Richards, 2007). This concept of capturing the broader impacts is widely referred to as the â€Å"triple bottom line† (Norman and MacDonald, 2004), which is in itself encapsulated within the â€Å"blended value accounting† theory (Emerson, 2003). Furthermore, through this evolution, a more detailed stakeholder analysis is now included, shorter time frames are used for estimations and a process to adjusts the results for outcomes that may be attributable to different organisations has been incorporated into the calculation of the SROI ratio (Tuan, 2008). Discussions on how best to structure the methodology are on-going and networks such as the European SROI Network (ESROIN), formed in 2004, the SROI Network (international), formed in 2008 and subsequently affiliated networks formed in Sweden, Canada and Australia, are constantly leading and shaping this process (SROIN, 2014a). The methodology is gradually gaining interest in Africa and Asia too. The drive to develop the methodology has come from within and without the third sector, as third sector organisations (TSOs), such as not for profit organisations, charities and voluntary organisations, are increasingly getting involved in delivering public services and are viewed as development partners who need to show ‘value for money’ (Netten et al., 2010). On one hand, TSOs are pushing to become better in being accountable and demonstrating the value of their activities to donors. On the other hand, the focus of funding organisations has shifted from â€Å"output† to â€Å"outcome† and â€Å"impact† and from â€Å"generous giving† to â€Å"accountable giving†, through which they can demonstrate that evidence-based decisions have informed their choice of funded interventions, projects or programmes (Leat, 2006). 1.4 Application of the SROI methodology The application of the SROI framework can vary from measurement of the impact and social value generated by a project to a programme or indeed to an entire organisation (Millar and Hall, 2013). A rapid search of academic databases does not retrieve substantial amounts of research work that have used the SROI methodology, however the methodology is very popular within the third sector and has been widely embraced by the Office of the Civil Society, donors, commissioners and the public sector (Ainsworth, 2010; Heady, 2010). Its wider practice-based use but limited application within academia restricts its development and could potentially be the reason for its minimal uptake (Arvidson et al., 2010; Ebrahim and Rangan, 2010). Since its first use by REDF in 1996 (Emerson and Cabaj, 2000), the SROI methodology has been broadly applied to many organisations and within many industries. Examples of its use across different sectors include agriculture, where it was used to account for impact of care farming (Leck, 2013); environmental, where it was used to account for impact of a natural regeneration project (Weston and Hong, 2012); energy, where it was used to account for impact of energy efficiency of homes in Germany (Kuckshinrichs et al., 2010); social, where it was used to account for impact of providing training and employment for blind people (Sital-Singh, 2011), transport, where it was used to account for impact of a co-ordinated shared transport service which provides access to workplace, training and childcare in rural Scotland, where no alternative transport is available. (Wright et al., 2009) and indeed health, where amongst other examples, has been used to account for impact of a community-based pa ediatric asthma programme and provision of highly nutritious breakfast for school children in Sydney, Australia (Bhaumik et al., 2013; Varua and Stenberg, 2009). As regards its application in health [described in detail in Chapter 2: systematic review of SROI application in health], It is worth noting that in 2009, the UK Department of Health (DoH), with the support of the Cabinet Office, commissioned an action research project on which five health focused social enterprises were supported to conduct SROI analysis (Department of Health, 2010). This research demonstrated the relevance of the SROI methodology to the health sector and proved that there were additional benefits of using the methodology (Millar and Hall, 2013). However, to the best of our knowledge, though relevant and appropriate, there is no reported evidence of the application of the SROI methodology in the field of maternal and newborn health. 1.5 Difference between SROI and other related methodologies As mentioned above, the SROI methodology has evolved from a combination of social impact assessment tools and economic evaluation tools. It is therefore important to understand how SROI differs from these existing tools and identify what innovative approach it actually offers. When compared to other social impact measurement tools, there are subtle differences. There are several tools that have been previously or are currently being used in measuring and accounting for social impact (Acumen Fund, 2007; Brest and Harvey, 2008; Brest et al., 2009; Centre for High Impact Philanthropy, 2008; Clark et al., 2004; Emerson et al., 2000; Maas and Liket, 2011; Maas, 2008; Maughan, 2012; Nicholls et al., 2012; Owen and Swift, 2001; Schaltegger et al., 2004). Table 1‑1: Summary table of social impact assessment methods Method Primary application to Date Process Outcome Impact Monetisation Non Profit For Profit Government Acumen Scorecard à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã… ¸ à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã… ¸ à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã… ¸ à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã… ¸ Atkinsson Compass Assessment for Investors (ACAFI) à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã… ¸ à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã… ¸ à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã… ¸ à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã… ¸ Balanced Scorecard (BSc) à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã… ¸ à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã… ¸ à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã… ¸ Benefit-Cost Analysis à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã… ¸ à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã… ¸ à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã… ¸ à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã… ¸ à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã… ¸ Best Available Charitable Option (BACO) à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã… ¸ à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã… ¸ à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã… ¸ à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã… ¸ Base of Pyramid (BoP) Impact Assessment Framework à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã… ¸ à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã… ¸ à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã… ¸ à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã… ¸ à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã… ¸ Cost per Impact à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã… ¸ à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã… ¸ à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã… ¸ à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã… ¸ Expected Return à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã… ¸ Global Reporting Initiative à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã… ¸ à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã… ¸ à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã… ¸ Local Economic Multiplier (LEM) à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã… ¸ à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã… ¸ à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã… ¸ Measuring Impact Framework (MIF) à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã… ¸ à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã… ¸ Millennium Development Goal Scan (MDG-Scan) à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã… ¸ à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã… ¸ Most Significant Change à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã… ¸ à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã… ¸ Ongoing Assessment of Social Impact (OASIS) à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã… ¸ à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã… ¸ à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã… ¸ à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã… ¸ Poverty and Social Impact Analysis à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã… ¸ à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã… ¸ à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã… ¸ à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã… ¸ à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã… ¸ Social Accounting and Auditing (SAA) à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã… ¸ à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã… ¸ à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã… ¸ Social Costs-Benefits Analysis (SCBA) à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã… ¸ à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã… ¸ à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã… ¸ à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã… ¸ Social Return Assessment (SRA) à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã… ¸ à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã… ¸ à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã… ¸ Social Return on Investment (SROI) à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã… ¸ à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã… ¸ à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã… ¸ à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã… ¸ à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã… ¸ Stakeholder Value Added (SVA) à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã… ¸ à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã… ¸ Theories of Change à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã… ¸ à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã… ¸ à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã… ¸ [Table 1-1] shows the key characteristics of these different social impact measurement tools described in the literature, identifying the tools that monitor efficiency and effectiveness of outputs, indicators or variables (process); tools that relate outputs and outcomes and to substantiate incremental outcomes above what would have occurred if the intervention was not implemented (impact) and tools that monetize outcomes and/or impact by transforming them to monetary value (monetization). Finally the table details the sector(s) in which the method has thus far been applied – non-profit (third sector), for profit (commercial) or public sector (government). Of these tools, SROI appears to have gained wide acclaim because of its involvement of all stakeholders, who independently define the value they have experienced because of the intervention. In addition, SROI monetises costs and benefits and also ticks all the boxes of the logical framework, as it accounts for processes, outcomes and impact (Arvidson et al., 2010; Nicholls et al., 2012). The other similar methodologies to SROI are Economic Evaluation (EE) tools. These compare two or more alternative interventions in terms of their costs and benefits (Drummond et al., 1997). Economists have distinguished four types of economic evaluation: Cost-minimization analysis (CMA), Cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA), Cost benefit analysis (CBA) and Cost-utility analysis (CUA). While the definition of cost remains the same, the manner of accounting for the benefits differs across the types (Drummond et al., 2005). These different types of EE are described below: Cost-minimization analysis (CMA): In which, there is proven evidence that equivalent effectiveness of the comparators in question. Thus the more cost-effective option would be the cheaper one (since both options have similar outcome). Cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA): Effectiveness is measured in ‘natural units’ such as life years gained. Cost benefit analysis (CBA): Costs and benefits are monetised, with the cost-effective option being the one that results in a lower monetised ratio. Cost-utility analysis (CUA): Outcome is measured in Quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) or Disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), which is a composite metric of both length and quality of life. When compared to the SROI methodology, whereas a large focus of economic evaluation tools is on the microeconomic evaluation of the impact of any intervention, SROI accounts for not just economic value, but social and environmental impacts. It has been described as an extension of the cost-benefit analysis that incorporates broader socio-economic outcomes (Westall, 2011). In addition, SROI focuses on stakeholders, uses financial proxies, is more of a management tool, is more likely conducted by organisations themselves, while CBAs are usually conducted by external agents and the most up to date guidance does not recommend comparing estimated SROI ratios, unlike CBAs that are designed to be comparable. However, these differences appear to be largely based on â€Å"the style of each approach, rather than the true substance† (Arvidson et al., 2010). 1.6 Strengths and limitations of the SROI methodology 1.6.1 Strengths of the SROI methodology Practitioners and previous authors have identified some of the key strengths of the SROI methodology. Firstly, the fact that the SROI process generates a singular ratio that captures the broader impact (positive and negative) of an intervention is perceived as a key strength (Millar and Hall, 2013). One other strength is its meaningful engagement of stakeholders and its representation of their benefits in ways that are unique to the stakeholders themselves (Millar and Hall, 2013). More so, the fact that this benefits experience or impact experience is being explained from the perspective of the stakeholder is a unique characteristic of SROI, and this important stakeholder view is often neglected in conventional impact evaluation tools (Rauscher et al., 2012). In addition, the method provides a platform for social enterprises to leverage and/or effectively communicate their impact. This ultimately promotes better communication amongst all partners, whether they are beneficiaries, funders or implementers (Mdee et al., 2008). The SROI process also strengthens accountability and transparency systems of social enterprises (Arvidson et al., 2010). Finally, the SROI process is a very useful auditing tool to aid management decisions and service improvement (Social Ventures Australia (SVA) Consulting, 2012). 1.6.2 Limitations of the SROI methodology However, there are limitations of the methodology, just as there are of other impact evaluation methodologies (Arvidson et al., 2010). Some methodological limitations that have been raised include the difficulty of attaching financial values to â€Å"soft outcomes† that require subjective evaluation to generate â€Å"financial proxies† (Lingane and Olsen, 2004) such as self-esteem or confidence (Bertotti et al., 2011). Albeit still in developmental stage, is the Wiki Values, Outcomes and Indicators for Stakeholders (VOIS) database of the SROI Network is an attempt are to standardise such outcomes by recommending indicators and values of such outcomes that can be used to account for them (Rauscher et al., 2012). An example of a health related outcome on WikiVOIS is â€Å"change in incidence of abortion†. Contributors to the database have suggested that â€Å"cost of medical termination of pregnancy† can be used to value this outcome in Canada (The Global Value Exchange, 2013). In addition, the methodology needs an estimation of â€Å"what would have happened anyway† to calculate the value that can be attributed to the specific organisation, programme or intervention, however, this counterfactual data is seldom available (Cordery, 2013; Heady, 2010). Furthermore, the lack of comparability of SROI ratios across different organisations and/or interventions is perceived as a limitation (Ryan and Lyne, 2008). On practical grounds, SROI methodology is adjudged to be cost-intensive and requires the expertise and know-how of professionals and in some cases training, some of which small organisations cannot afford (Wood and Leighton, 2010). 1.7 Rationale for the study Though applicable and relevant, to the best of our knowledge, there is no documented application of the SROI methodology in the area of maternal and newborn health. For most MNH interventions, the key beneficiaries are the women and their families. There is currently no tool that captures the perspectives of all these stakeholders on impact of any intervention in one summary figure. This underscores the need to explore the use of primary data that will include inputs of those benefiting from MNH interventions, as this may potentially be useful in identifying the most complete estimate of the impact of these interventions. To buttress this, some authors have pointed out that this complete evaluation of MNH interventions needs to include identification of the most culturally appropriate intervention for each local setting and peculiar issues unique to the setting. Those who are the major beneficiaries of the intervention are better positioned to identify these culturally appropriate in terventions. Thus the call for culturally sensitive impact evaluations, which attempt to identify specific causes of problems, rather than basing decisions on â€Å"superficial† indicators such as maternal mortality rate, which is only quantitative and does not capture softer outcomes that also demonstrate impact of an intervention (McPake and Koblinsky, 2009; Pradhan, 2008). Secondly, data used as maternal health indicators are usually generated from relatively credible sources such as the Demographics and Health Survey (DHS), Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) and World Development Indicators, but the problem of lack of uniformity in the process by which the indicators were generated remains (Pradhan, 2008). This is complicated by the fact that a large number of developing countries, that receive aid, do not have accurate or complete secondary data to base impact evaluation on (WHO,

Canals :: essays research papers

Explain changes that took place in Canals during 1750 – 1900 Water transport was a lot quicker than road transport, the only problem was that rivers meandered and flooded, some places were too shallow for boats to go through. A lot of trade was done by sea, coal mainly came to London by sea. Before 1750 improvement schemes were planned but the rivers still flooded travelling by land with goods ment they would get damaged and broken. IN the 18th century the main rivers were; The River Themes, Dee, Trent, Severn, and Humber. Here is a table of when the canals opened: <table border="1"> NAME AND LOCATIONLENGTH (KM/MI)YEAR OPENEDBaltic-White Sea, Russia226.91 / 141.001933Suez, Egypt162.13 / 100.761869Albert, Belgium130.36 / 81.001939Moscow, Russia128.75 / 80.001937Nord-Ostsee, Germany96.56 / 60.001895Gà ¶ta, Sweden86.91 / 54.001832Panama, Panama81.63 / 50.721914Houston Ship Channel, United States80.47 / 50.001914Amsterdam-Rhine, Netherlands62.76 / 39.001952Manchester Ship Canal, England57.13 / 35.501894Chicago Sanitary and Ship, United States48.28 / 30.001900Welland Ship, Canada*44.42 / 27.601932Juliana, Netherlands33.80 / 21.001934Chesapeake-Delaware, United States30.58 / 19.001829North Sea-Amsterdam, Netherlands28.97 / 18.001876Cape Cod, United States28.16 / 17.501914Kronshtadt-Leningrad, Russia27.36 / 17.001885Lake Washington Ship, United States12.88 / 8.001916New Orleans Industrial, United States9.66 / 6.001923Sault Sainte Marie (N.), United States2.57 / 1.601919Sault Sainte Marie, Canada2.09 / 1.301895 * Reconstructed from the old Welland Canal, which was originally completed in 1833. In 1757 the first canal was built, it was called Sankey Cut, it went from St. Hellans to the river Mersy to let barges carry coal from Lancastershire mines to Liverpool. The Duke of Bridgewater built a canal to get coal from his colliery in Worsley to Manchester, a few km away. He employed an engineer (James Brindley) to do so. The Duke made a profit of  £100,000 a year. James Brindleys most famouse canal was the Grand Trunk canal, it links the river Trent to the river mersy and runs through potteries, it was finished in 1777. By 1790, a canal network linked four major ports; Bristol, Liverpool, Hull and London. Enthusiasm continued in the 1790’s so canals were built in rural areas and never made very much profit from them, even if they did benefit people who live near them. Between 1760 and 1840 almost 6,500 km of canal had been built.Some people converted their barges to carry animals to market. From 1774 and comfortable passenger service ran from Altrichham to Manchester. Businessmen hired people like James Brindly, Thomas Telford and William Jessop to build canals to raise the money they set up campaigns.

The Beer Game :: GCSE Business Marketing Coursework

The Beer Game To see how decisions at one part of a supply chain effect the overall performance of a system, we ran a simulation called the beer game. The supply chain consists of a retailer who orders from a distributor who orders from a wholesaler who orders from a factory. At the beginning of each period, each stage of the chain orders upstream and receives the order shipped out to them two periods ago (the order they placed 4 periods ago) unless the next stage upstream is backlogged. All orders are eventually filled when inventory becomes available. The holding cost specified for each location are (in $/keg.period): factory: 0.25, distribution center: 0.50, warehouse: 0.75, and factory: 1.00. Additionally, the penalty cost for a shortage is zero for all stages except the retail stores where the penalty cost is estimated to be $10.00 per keg/period. After trying many different strategies, the best policy I was able to come up with had a total cost of $122.00. This was achieved using choice 4, the base-stock policy. This policy re-orders a specified amount, less inventory on hand and pipeline inventory. The player specifies the base stock quantity for the retailer, warehouse, distributor, and factory. When this policy was used at each point in the supply chain, the lowest cost strategy was achieved. Location Base Stock Amount Cost Retail 300 101.55 Warehouse 210 10.21 Distributor 210 7.70 Factory 150 3.41 Total 122.87 Because the retail store encounters such a high penalty for shortages, it is best to keep them well stocked. They also have the highest holding â€Å"overage†cost, but at $1.00 it is only 1/10 of the shortage â€Å"underage†cost. If the â€Å"overage† and â€Å"underage† costs were equal it would make sense to always order enough to anticipate having the mean (50) on hand. This policy is not optimal however, when it costs the retailer more for a shortage than for excess.

Arthur Miller biography Essay

Arthur Miller was born on 17 October 1915, in New York City. He lived in Harlem until he was fourteen. His Dad was a clothes manufacturer but lost all his money in 1929 when the stock market crashed. Due to the economic depression, which followed, when Miller graduated from high school in 1932 there was no money to send him to university. He worked for two years as shipping clerk, earning money to get him to college. He applied to the University of Michigan in 1934 and graduated from there in 1938. He worked in a Navy Yard while writing for the radio. His first successful stage play was All My Sons which opened in 1947 and later a film was made of it. Following this was the even more successful Death of a Salesman, which opened in 1949. These plays were seen as an attack on capitalism and during the McCarthy era of the 1940’s and 1950’s there was a lot of hysteria surrounding the spread of communism. Senator Joe McCarthy was very anti-communist and was adamant that any communist activities in America should be stomped out and the perpetrators jailed. Although this seemed a good idea to some, McCarthy’s policy was you either confess to be a communist, or give names of communists, or you would go to jail. Due to All My Sons and Death of a Salesman being seen as an attack on capitalism, Miller was summoned before the House Un-American Activities Committee that had been in operation since 1938. He was told to confess to signing his name on various petitions that the court had received or he would be jailed. Arthur Miller linked the activities of the Committee to the Salem witchcraft trials in which a few adolescent girls accused people of Salem of witchcraft. If these people did not confess to witchcraft then they would be hanged. From this he was able to write the play, The Crucible. The Crucible is about a young girl named Abigail who is in love with a married man named John Proctor. Abby and some other girls confess to compacting with the devil and are seen as saints as they start naming people who they claim to be witches. Proctor is determined to stop them and he with some others try to oppose authority to uncover the truth. Miller has used John Proctor as metaphor for himself.

MySpace and Facebook Essay

I think that stalking is possibly one of the scariest forms of abuse there is. Both men and women are capable of stalking but I think that in most cases it is a male stalking a female. There are many reasons why one person stalks another. I believe the most common reason is because of anger and humiliation. When one person breaks off a relationship with another it often causes conflicting feelings which may turn a person into a desperate stalker. I believe that the longer and more intimate a relationship was the higher chance for stalking and dangerous behavior. I think another big reason why a person will turn into a stalker is because they simply cannot accept that their former partner has moved on and is dating other people. I agree that cyber stalking has become a problem and I think cyber stalking will continue to increase since so many people use computers. The case of the 13 year old girl who committed suicide because of cyber stalking is sad and shocking. I know from experience that teenagers can be quite cruel to one another but this young girl experienced extreme bullying by an adult who should have known better. I strongly believe that the ultimate responsibility for the safety of children on the computer falls to the parents. Parents are responsible for ensuring the safety of their children at all times – including who they talk to and what sites they visit on the internet. In this case it was the parent doing the harassing and terrorizing which is what makes this case so nauseating. Social sites such as MySpace and Facebook make it very easy for teenagers to form cyber relationships with one another. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing as long as parents supervise and children behave appropriately. However, I think cyber stalking is going to continue to increase since so many teenagers use these types of sites and their parents have no idea who they talk to or what they talk about. I think the case of the 13 year old girl who killed herself should open the eyes of parents so that they can prevent something tragic like this from happening again.