List of European Languages Spoken in the EU

List of European Languages Spoken in the EU The continent of Europe is made up of 45 different countries and covers an area of 3,930,000 square miles (10,180,000 sq km). As such, it is a highly diverse place with many different cuisines, cultures, and languages. The European Union (EU) alone has 27 different member states and there are 23 official languages spoken in it. Official Languages of the European Union To be an official language of the European Union, the language must be both an official and a working language within a member state. For example, French is the official language in France, which is a member state of the European Union, and thus it is also an official language of the EU. By contrast, there are many minority languages spoken by groups in countries throughout the EU. While these minority languages are important to those groups, they are not official and working languages of the governments of those countries; thus, they are not official languages of the EU. A List of the EUs Official Languages The following is a list of the 23 official languages of the EU arranged in alphabetical order: 1) Bulgarian2) Czech3) Danish4) Dutch5) English6) Estonian7) Finnish8) French9) German10) Greek11) Hungarian12) Irish13) Italian14) Latvian15) Lithuanian16) Maltese17) Polish18) Portuguese19) Romanian20) Slovak21) Slovene22) Spanish23) Swedish ReferencesEuropean Commission Multilingualism. (24 November 2010). European Commission - EU Languages and Language Policy.Wikipedia.org. (29 December 2010). Europe - Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EuropeWikipedia.org. (8 December 2010). Languages of Europe - Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Europe

How to Report Voting Rights Problems

How to Report Voting Rights Problems Due to the protections of four federal voting rights laws, cases of qualified voters being improperly denied their right to vote or register to vote are now rare. However, in every major election, some voters are still improperly turned away from the polling place, or encounter conditions that voting difficult or confusing. Some of these incidents are accidental, others are intentional, but all should be reported. What Should be Reported? Any action or condition you feel prevented or was intended to prevent you from voting. Just few examples include; polls opening late or closing early, running out of ballots or having your identity or voter registration status improperly challenged. Any action or condition you feel made it difficult for you to vote, including but not limited to; lack of handicapped accessibility and accommodation, lack of assistance for people with limited English ability, confusing ballots, lack of privacy while voting, generally unhelpful or unknowledgeable poll workers or officials. How to Report Voting Problems If you experience any problem or confusion while voting report the situation to one of the poll workers or election officials immediately. Do not wait until you have finished voting. If the election officials at the polling place are unable or unwilling to help you, the problem should be reported directly to the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. There are no special forms to use or procedures to followjust call the Civil Rights Division toll-free at (800) 253-3931, or contact them by mail at: Chief, Voting SectionCivil Rights Division Room 7254 - NWBDepartment of Justice950 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.Washington, DC 20530 The Department of Justice also has the authority to station federal election observers and monitors in polling places considered to present a potential for discrimination or other voting rights violations. The jurisdiction of DOJ election observers is not limited to federal-level elections. They may be dispatched to monitor elections for any position, anywhere in the nation, from President of the United states to city dogcatcher. Any observed potential violations of the Voting Rights Act, or any other action determined by the observers to be an attempt to influence certain voters or to prevent them from voting will be reported to the DOJs Civil Rights Division for further corrective action. In the Nov. 2006 elections, the Department of Justice sent 850 Civil Rights Division election monitors to 69 jurisdictions in 22 states.

The Leadership Challenges Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Leadership Challenges - Essay Example The purpose of this paper is to discuss the managerial challenges that organizations face today and to discuss different leadership theories that can be used by leaders. One of the toughest challenges for leaders is managing a diverse workforce. Diversity can be defined as the inclusion of different types of people in a workforce which includes differences due to race, age, sex, gender, sexual orientation, physical abilities, religious beliefs, political beliefs, and other ideologies (Uoregon). To properly lead a diverse workforce a manager must apply good communication skills and the person must be conscious of the differences that make each employee unique. â€Å"Learning to respect and appreciate each other’s cultural and stylistic differences and becoming aware of unconscious assumptions and behaviors that may influence our interactions will enable us to minimize the challenges and derive maximum benefits from diversity† (Wisc). A good leader is a person that is able to motivate his staff to ensure the employees provide maximum effort and performance. A leader must have excellent verbal and written communication skills as well as being an active listener. The leader must have good interpersonal skills and be able to deal with any conflict that occurs in the workplace. Personal conflicts between employees are a tough leadership challenge that must be dealt with. An understanding of the different conflict resolution techniques such as smoothing, collaboration, compromise, avoidance, and authoritative command is needed to solve problems quickly before they become a constraint that hurts the performance and profitability of the enterprise. The use of leadership models and theories can help leaders understand better how to properly implement leadership in the workplace. The behavioral leadership perspective assumes that leadership is central to performance and other outcomes. Based on this theory the leader must

TECHNOLOGICAL CONTROVERSY Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

TECHNOLOGICAL CONTROVERSY - Essay Example As people use cell phone regularly and as it causes radiation it can cause cancer. The cell phone causing cancer is a controversial issue because some do not accept that this statement true. The scientific world has not gathered enough evidence to prove that cell phone can cause cancer. The assumption is based on the fact that the cell phone causes radiation. And radiation is a main reason for cancer. A continuous exposure to radiation is a fact that can convince the connection of cancer with cell phone use (NCI) .In theory, children have the potential to be at greater risk than adults for developing brain cancer from cell phones. Their nervous systems are still developing and therefore more vulnerable to factors that may cause cancer. So an examination of cell phone use and its effect on human body need to be studied. Scientists have been alerting people about the adverse effect of cell phone on humans. The fact is that the cell phone emits 1000 times higher than the base stations, and it has greater likelihood of causing problems to brain and upper part of human body. The epidemiological evidence suggests that there is an association between radio frequency emitted by wireless phones and head cancer. The radio frequency is classified by International Agency for Research on cancer as possibly carcinogens to humans. According to (Burrell 23-34 ) â€Å"A Swedish study on the use of wireless phones, including cell phones and cordless phones, has uncovered a link between electromagnetic radiation exposures and the risk of malignant and non-malignant brain tumors†. The studies reveal that the people who used cell phones for more than a year is at 70% risk of cancer and those who used cell phone for more than 1640 or more has 180% risk. The risk of cancer is greater in the part of the brain where cell phone was exposed. Many scientists have claimed that

Housing Dhaka Essay Example for Free

Housing Dhaka Essay One of the major consequences of rapid urbanization in Bangladesh has been the persistent deterioration of housing situation in metropolitan areas. The concentration of the poor in such areas and the ever-widening gap between the demand for and supply Iand for housing have led to the deyelopment of of low_income settlements on environmentally sensitive and hazard-prone lands. The problem is particularly acute in Dhaka where the poor residents have been increasingly constrained to such marginal land, in preferred sites. The inabirity of the poor residents is largely attributed to the prevailing prolitical situation of the country, ineptitude public as they arc unable to buy or rent land of organizations, nonchalant altitude of the government and predatory nature of the formal land market in Dhaka. The urban poor ofDhaka have come to realise that they do not folm part of the privileged group(s) to which the city authoriries cater their service and that they have been left out to fend for themselves. With this realisation the poor have sought to  provide housing for themselves. In such attempts, unauthorised settlements have developed in various marginal places, especially along and over water regimes in Dhaka. Over the years development of settlements and deliberate encroachment by private and public sector development have led to the disappearance of lakes, canals, flood plains, etc. rhat existed within the city. In thls process numerous ponds and tanks have also disappeared, creating an ecological imbalance with Dhaka experiencing the worst flood in history in r9gg. Dhaka has arso rost much of its beauty and its natural heritage. On the other hand, atlempts to creare spaces or pseudo-land over and along water bodies and swamps without proper planning and design techniques have produced undesirable outcomes and red to serious decline in envrronmental conditions in the immediate and sunounding area where such spaces have been created. Life and health of local residents as well as the city residents have put been to risk. Considering the gravity of the problem the aim of this paper is to investrgate how the urban poor of Dhaka are constrained to marginal places and shed light on aspects which bring about this situation. This paper also aims to highlight the problems produced as a result of creation of spaces over water and suggests measure to reverse such hazardous living conditions of the urban poor in Dhaka. It is assumed that unprecedented urbanization and ineptitude ofconcerned authorities have produced conditions forcing the 55 56 U rbanization in Bangladesh urban poor to live in marginal places. The paper, thus, begins with appraisals of issues related to the urbanization of Dhaka such as its land value and the Prospect of housing provision for the poor in this city before investigating the actual problem of creating unplanned spaces for living. Information for this paper has been collected from both primary and secondary sources. The Exodus Towards Dhaka The rate ofpopulation growth for Dhaka has been. 3 percent, 9. 4 Percent and 7. 8 percent dudng the 196l-1974, 1974-1981 and l98l-1991 pe ods respectively (RAJUK, 1995). This has produced a number of unexpected outcomes in recent decades, such as rapidity of urban growth and mega-population of the city. The reason for such rapid growth is the status of Dhaka as a capital city and the centripetal nature of concentration of major activities and facilities within the city-as a result people from all over Bangladesh are atbacted towards this city. Added to it are the prevailing political situation of the country, stagnant rural economy and nonchalant attitude of the government towards decentralization. The result is that Dhaka is suffering from over-population while other towns and rural areas are suffering for want of industries, factories, etc. Informal job opponunities have declined in areas outside Dhaka The sheer number of people living in this city makes any son of business prosper and thrive. Thus, businesses or jobs mean chances for people to survive.

Free Essay: Symbols and Symbolism in White Fang :: White Fang Essays

Symbolism in White Fang "Classic" - a word misunderstood by many people around the world, mostly those of a younger generation. It is surprising how many people believe that the word "classic" means "old" or "boring". This is just not the case. In actual fact, the label "classic" given to books means "of the highest quality," or "of enduring interest and value." Books with this label are the best there is. Every word is carefully thought out and made interesting for the reader. Symbolism, meaning and detail are all applied effectively to keep the book an on-going page-turner. Such a fine example of this is Jack London’s White Fang. A very wonderful tool to an author is the use of symbols within a story. One of the more common symbols throughout short stories and novels ultimately refers to the bible and religious history. In most, if not all stories have the relationship between good and evil – heaven and hell. Whether implied or not by Jack London, White Fang is full of many interesting biblical symbols. The character Beauty Smith, for instance very simply put symbolizes Satan. This man, this creature so vile as to subdue yet another victim (White Fang) into his ever-growing underground slavery prison camps. The greed for money and profit is the only need for this "prison camp"; the dog-fighting gambling is their prison cell. A comparison between the bulldog Cherokee and death itself can be made. Once death has you, there is no way of escaping. When Cherokee had White Fang gripped between his jaws, "There was no escaping that grip. It was like Fate itself, and was inexorable," (London 139). Surely enoug h, God (Weedon Scott) came along and saved White Fang from the grips of evil. The cold-heartedness of evil can be overcome with the heat and light of good. The care and kindness of such like Weedon Scott for all existing creatures alike. Many other symbols deep within this novel lay rest assured, but it is hard to catch them all in such a detailed book as this. With a closer inspection and a deep analysis of a novel, many small but nonetheless important meaningful things can be revealed. London has managed to intricately design a perfect novel full of deep meaning and symbols that can only be done in a short story. But a novel, with so many pages and pages of detailed work, it is so hard to keep up with all the things that lay undiscovered within.

Freakonomics

An Incentive is something that Is used to motivate or use as an encouragement to Improve whatever the person Is doing. In studying economics, Incentives are used as form of payments, to encourage businesses to succeed In whatever they are doing. 2. The united States government puts a tax on foreign car companies to help united State citizens encourage to buy the American made cars. This acts as an Incentive for the citizens to buy American made cars to support the united States economy. The government's plan to raise test scores actually worked because In public schools, teachers are awarded or punished based on their kids' performance on standardized tests. 4. When a Japanese sumo wrestler is on the bubble, it means that if one sumo wrestler which is almost out of the competition faces a sumo wrestler that has a lot of wins, the wrestler with a lot of wins will let the one that is almost out of the competition win. 5. The authors from Freakishness are concluding that people are lust dishonest. When Paul Feldman left the basket and bagels, he noticed that all of he money was vanishing.This plays into economics because it shows us that small offices run more honestly and more efficiently. Chapter 3: Why do drug dealers still live with their moms? 1 . Conventional wisdom is something that is generally believed in. It is ideas that are generally accepted by the public. Conventional wisdom is used to encourage people to get more support and pay a closer attention to detail. 2. Although the police departments got rid of at least two thousand police reports in efforts to lower the crime rate, the crime rate still managed to rise because of the media's coverage on rack cocaine. 3.The Black Disciples street gain was set up Just like a common business is set up. The top people in charge of both were called the board of directors. Under them, there will bosses in different cities which controlled another three individuals. There was a treasurer Just like in a business wh o manages the money and the â€Å"foot soldier† who sold the gangs' drugs acted as sales people In large businesses. 4. A street-level drug dealer Is willing to accept low pay and poor working conditions so that he has a drive and something to work up to In order to come a bigger boss to eventually make more money.Like In small business, sales people act as lower earning Individuals who eventually want to work their way up to becoming something bigger and making more In a company. 5. A street level drug salesman Is different from a franchise owner because the drug dealer Is mostly looking out for himself and trying to make enough money to get by from month to month. However, they are both attempting to maximize their profits because they both want to see the company or their personal lives grow better. Chapter 4: Where have all the crimes gone?

Inductively Coupled Plasma †Atomic Emission Spectroscopy Essay

The aim of this practical was to use an ICP-OES to perform a multi-elemental analysis of different types of tea. The elements that were analysed in the tea were copper, iron, manganese and magnesium. The sample is introduced into the plasma as an aerosol. Argon gas flows through three concentric quartz tubes in the plasma torch. This argon gas transports the sample from the nebulizer, acts as a cooling gas and is also a source of electrons and ions for the plasma [1]. A magnetic field is created around the plasma torch. The ionisation process is started by the ignition of the argon gas from a spark produced by a tesla coil [1]. During this process the plasma reaches a very high temperature and the sample is atomised. The atoms are then excited to a higher state. Since this is an emission analysis, the analysis is performed as the atoms emit energy and return to a lower energy state or their ground state. A spectrometer or monochromator is used to select the wavelength that is being analysed. The multi-element detector then gives us a readout that can be understand for each element that is analysed Explain the benefits and limitations of plasma over a conventional flame used for FES with photometry and AAS. The benefits of using plasma are that the chemical interferences are decreased due to the high temperatures that the plasma reaches and refractory elements can also undergo excitation. There are also many wavelength for different that can be chosen for analysis so you don’t have two elements that have wavelengths that are close to each other as this would interfere with the analysis. A limitation is that spectral overlap can occur and the preparation of the samples is a very long process compared to that of the flame spectrometry Data Show the calculations for you multi-element standard. Instrument: Perkin Elmer OES (optima 5300 DV) The preparation of multi-element standard 1000ppm solutions of (Cu), (Fe),(Mg) and (Mn ) were given. A working standard solution containing the entire four elements was prepared in the following way; 1 ml, 10 ml and 5 ml of Fe, Mg, and Mn were respectively added in one 100 ml volumetric flask. A solution of Cu was prepared separately (intermediate solution) by placing 1 ml of the 1000ppm Cu solution in a 100 ml volumetric flask and made up to the mark with distilled water, the resulting concentration was 10ppm. The formula that was used to calculate the volume of the 1000ppm Cu solution needed to prepare 10ppm solution in a 100 ml volumetric flask is; C1V1 = C2V2 †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ equation 1 Where C1 is the initial concentration C2 is the final concentration V1 is the volume of the initial concentration V2 is the total volume of the initial concentration and the solvent The volume of the barium required was calculated as follows C1V1 = C2V2 1000ppm x V1 = 1ppm x 100ml V1 = 10 ppm x 100 ml 1000 ppm = 1 ml Then 1 ml of the 10 ppm Cu solution was placed in the 100 ml volumetric flask that contained the other three elements, and made up to the mark with distilled water, this was the working standard solution. Using equation 1 it is found that the concentrations of the elements in the working standard solution are as follows. Explain why the type of sample preparation carried out was necessary. The Acid digestion was suitable because a complete transfer of analyte into the solution in order for the determination step to be introduced in liquid form is highly desirable and this method completely transfers the analyte into solution. This thus means that the digested sample is a complete solution of the analyte and has a complete decomposition of the matrix however with minimal loss or contaminated of the analyte Explain what matrix matching is and what problems may arise if this is not carried out. Matrix matching involves preparing solutions in which the major chemical compositions of the standards, blanks and samples are made identical thereby cancelling out the effect of the sample matrix on the analysis results. While matrix matching involves matching the solvents, it also involves matching the concentrations of acids and other major solutes. In case where the standard and sample matrices are quite different or cannot be matched and interference occurs as a result, internal standards can be used. Comment on the correlation coefficient of your calibration graphs. The correlation coefficient measures the strength in the linear relationship between two variables. A correlation coefficient of 1 would mean a very strong linear relationship between two variables, which means the points form a perfect straight line. The correlation coefficients for the calibration graphs were very good. The calibration graphs for copper, iron, magnesium, and manganese gave correlation coefficients of 0.991539, 0.991005, 0.999874, and 0.999952 respectively. This shows that the samples were prepared very well and that there is a strong linear relationship between the emission and the concentrations of the elements. Compare the different elements in the different types of tea. Which tea would you recommend and why? The tea that seems to be most essential for human consumption is the green tea owing to the high content of each and every element present in it. It has high concentration of manganese which is a vital substance in the body as it is an enzyme activator; it keeps bones strong and healthy, and also maintains the health of our nerves. References 1. Dr L Pillay, Chem 340, Instrumental Analysis, ICP-OES notes 2. http:// www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=nutrint& dbod=77(accessed 16/04/2013) 3. http://www.chemplex.com/petrochemical/multielementMetal.aspx(accessed 16/04/2013)

Housing Association and the different types of accommodation The WritePass Journal

Housing Association and the different types of accommodation Introduction Housing Association and the different types of accommodation Introduction  Section 1 Utopia Housing and the services we offerWhat exactly is a Housing Association?  What is Social Housing and how do you apply?What services do we offer?Other providers of social housingThe Whitmore EstateTypes of Housing on Whitmore EstateSection 2 Service users, their needs and how they participate in UHT’s activitiesClinics: Stevie’s clinicAids and AdaptationsCommunicationsSection 3Legislation and regulationEquality and DiversityReferencingRelated Introduction Welcome to your new job in Utopia Housing Trust (UHT).   This booklet is designed to give you a brief overview of our Housing Association and the different types of accommodation we offer, the services we provide to our community, our values, particularly Equality and Diversity in housing and housing legislation.   It will also give you an outline of other types of affordable Social Housing available and information on legislation and regulations that you as a new employee will need to know about. This booklet is a brief overview and is not a replacement for the formal Induction training you will receive where these subjects (and others relating to your specific role) will be considered in greater depth.   An electronic copy of this leaflet is available on our Intranet site (on the training pages) where you will be able to â€Å"click the links† listed under Further Reading† at the end of the booklet.   Section 1 Utopia Housing and the services we offer UHT is a Housing Association which offers several types of housing to enable our residents to maintain affordable housing through different stages in their lives.   We aim to support residents in maintaining their independence, to enable people to lead fulfilled lives in a range of accommodation which will also provide vulnerable people with homes where they are able to live safely and securely.   Our top priority is to ensure that our residents can enjoy their homes and communities safely, in an atmosphere of tolerance.   We also aim to use eco-friendly technology wherever possible making our homes cheaper to heat and to maintain.   That’s good for our residents and good for our planet! What exactly is a Housing Association? We are an independent society whose aim is to provide low cost social housing for people on a ‘not for profit basis’.   Any money left over after collecting the rent and  Ã‚   service charges is used to maintain and improve our portfolio of accommodation as well as building new homes such as the Whitmore Estate (we also get Government funding to assist us to build new properties).   We are governed by a voluntary board which includes resident representatives as well as a local community group, local business people and 3 representatives from our local authority.   We are members of the National Housing Federation. Other types of Housing providers include: Abbeyfields Almshouses Co-operatives and co-ownerships Sale/leasehold associations   What is Social Housing and how do you apply? Social housing is provided by various organisations (like UHT) to provide affordable accommodation to people on low incomes.   The rents in these properties are in general lower than private rented properties and are allocated on the basis of need.   We work closely with our local authority to offer properties to local people.   We have a joint waiting list with the authority and 2 other Housing Associations.   Applications for homes are made by completing an application form available from the estate office or local authority offices.   Properties are awarded on a point system (see Page 5 footnote about Choice Based Lettings). What services do we offer? We offer a wide range of services to support our residents: Residential estate staff to oversee the daily management and general maintenance of the estate (including managing the cleaners and gardeners) Residential Scheme Manager in our sheltered housing unit to support our older and disabled residents.   Carers are recruited as required by individual residents Residential staff in our Foyer and hostel buildings (Ben’s Foyer and Hostel) Rainbow Nursery run by a local charity for children 2 – 5 years (held in the Communal hall) After School club Health Centre (2 doctors, 2 part time nurses and other health care professionals Home Safety checks for residents over age 60. [3] Social activities – Movie club, Knit Stitch and Natter club, Bingo, Quiz nights. All residents can attend open board meetings held quarterly.   This meeting allows residents the opportunity to put forward suggestions for improvements, question the board on their activities, raise issues affecting the community etc. Other providers of social housing Local Authority (LA) housing – our local authority has transferred the management of all their housing stock to an Arms Length Management Organization (ALMO). An ALMO is a nonprofit company set up by and works for, the Local Authority.   This allows the LA to maintain the ownership of their properties while not having the responsibility of the management, maintenance and improvement of the housing stock, ie the daily responsibility for the properties belongs to the ALMO. The ALMO is paid a fee from the LA which they use to manage the housing stock.   (This includes improving properties to the Decent Homes Standard.  Ã‚   The LA still has the responsibility to deliver quality services to the tenants but they do this through the contract they have with the ALMO. The disadvantage that ALMOs have is that they are restricted by government policy on the range of services they can manage for the local authority.   For instance they cannot raise funds to undertake regeneration or new building as Housing Associations can.   This means that as residents exercise their right to buy their homes the ALMO cannot replace those homes by building new ones, as they are unable to raise the income to do so.   This has wide reaching implications for the availability of affordable housing in the future. The LA retains the allocation policy of the properties and tenants remain secure tenants of the local authority.   Not all local authorities have chosen to use ALMOs to administer their housing stock and they manage it themselves. There are wide ranging changes in recent government policy on social housing and housing benefits and this subject will be looked at in more detail on your induction course. The Whitmore Estate The estate is part of a regeneration area and was purpose built 4 years ago after the land was left to us in his will   by Mr George Whitmore a local business man who was committed to improving housing for the City.   Mr Whitmore was a prominent local builder who served on the Board of Utopia Housing Trust for 14 years.   There are excellent facilities nearby, schools, shopping centre, sports and leisure complex, and good transport links into the city. Types of Housing on Whitmore Estate There are maps of the estate on notice boards throughout the complex which are interactive – should you need to find an address, simply type it into the key pad and the map will highlight the directions to that property. Our complex is composed of: General needs housing (David Tower and Mark Terrace) – there are 82 flats and 12 terraced houses for couples and families.   These are 1, 2, 3, and 4 bedroom properties which are allocated on a points basis through Choice Base Lettings[7]. Sheltered Housing (Paul House) there are 22 studio flats and 10 one bedroom flats which are self contained homes designed with additional social and domestic facilities providing independent and secure accommodation for single people and couples over the age of 60.   As part of the sheltered housing complex we also have an additional 7 properties that have been especially adapted for people with disabilities.   Each of these properties has been designed to enable the resident to live as independently as possible whilst supporting their disability. Ben’s Foyer – this unit is designed specifically to support young people at risk.   It has both self-contained and shared flats, accommodating 24 young people with support to help develop their independent living skills, while also focusing on learning and work opportunities.   It is similar to a hostel and is for those aged 16 – 25 years.   Residents can stay at Ben’s foyer from 1 month up to 2 years.  Ã‚   In order to stay at Ben’s Foyer, residents must engage with staff and undertake some form of learning or work, be able to pay rent and service charges either through employment income, grants or any relevant benefits.   They have to sign an agreement to participate in either work or education whilst maintaining their accommodation.   Most of the residents living here have been referred via the local authority or the Homeless Centre.   UHT expects residents in Ben’s foyer to become involved in the community by giving time eac h month to help with social events on the complex. Ben’s Hostel attached to Ben’s Foyer this is a small building of 6 rooms with shared bathing and kitchen facilities used as a direct access hostel for people under the age of 25.   These rooms are specifically held as emergency accommodation for single homeless people who are rough sleepers or in urgent need of accommodation.   Unlike Ben’s Foyer the residents here are self referring and can only remain here for 21 nights.   The aim of the hostel is to support users in their first steps into obtaining a settled home. Section 2 Service users, their needs and how they participate in UHT’s activities We live in a rapidly growing and diverse community which means there are more demands on the services we offer.   For instance there are more single people; older people are living longer with increasing need of support in their homes; we have more black and ethnic minority residents with varying needs because of their culture. We strive to meet the needs of our residents in various ways – a few are listed below as an example but you should look at our Internet site for up to date information.   www.Utopiahousing.co.uk/activitiesinvolvement   We also provide newsletters to our residents at the end of each month outlining the activities available in the following month.   The notice boards are updated regularly. Clinics: Stevie’s clinic One of the support services offered to our Sheltered Housing residents is Stevie’s Memory Clinic which is held in the communal hall.[8]   This clinic hosts a variety of events aimed at supporting residents who have been diagnosed with Dementia.   As our aging population increases we have found many of our residents are being diagnosed with the most common types of dementia (Alzheimer’s disease and Vascular Dementia).   The aim of Stevie’s clinic is to support these residents in the early stages of memory loss to maintain their everyday skills.   By offering this help we enable residents to keep their independence for longer, whilst supporting them, their families, friends and carers in understanding how to live with their illness. Aids and Adaptations Specialist equipment and adaptations to a property are used to support residents of any age.   They are invaluable to help residents to continue living independently in their own homes.   Aid equipment available ranges from large items like stair lifts, to smaller gadgets designed for people with specific needs like a kettle support.   Adaptations can be a ramp for access to a home or even a bathroom conversion to a wet room for those unable to get into and out of the bath.   This service is offered through the Charlotte’s Health Centre by the Occupational Therapist.   She will recommend aids and adaptations required by the resident to remain safe and independent in their home after an assessment of their needs. Communications There are many residents whose first language is not English and all our leaflets are available in the following languages: Spanish, Portuguese, Polish, Ukrainian, Romanian, Arabic, Punjabi, Somali and Turkish.   All our newsletters have pictorial items which supports non English speakers as well as some of our residents with learning disabilities.   We produce a quarterly newsletter with resident involvement.[12]  Ã‚   All our leaflets can be translated into other languages as required.   Our website is a vital source of information: www.Utopiahousing.co.uk We also have leaflets in Braille, on audio cds and video.   We review our leaflets on a regular basis and use simple language without jargon.   Communication and involvement of our residents is vital in developing our values as a housing trust.   We are members of the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) and ‘tap into’ their expertise on many subjects.   See further reading section for information on CIH. When we have a matter to discuss with our residents we either Encourage them to participate in the decision making giving them the facts and they decide what they prefer. Or we consult resident’s views in the matter. The difference is that in the first point residents decide; in the second we listen to residents preferences/opinions but may not be able to do as they wish and we decide the course of action required. Section 3 Legislation and regulation Under the coalition government and as a result of Spending Reviews there is a raft of new legislation in relation to the provision of social housing and housing benefit.   You will be given full training on how these reforms will affect us and our residents if it is part of you new job. Regulation of our services The Tenant Services Authority is the regulator for all social housing in England.   From April 2010 there is a common set of standards that applies to all providers.   The basis of how we will comply with these is set out in Appendix 2: We inform everyone on our performance each year by producing an annual report.   In this report we identify what has gone well and what hasn’t gone well and how we intend to improve.   After the report is published we hold a tenant conference to hear our tenant’s opinions and involve them in decisions on our performance and any improvement plans should we fail in one of our standards.   This is another of our values – resident participation is key to developing a community as it makes it their community. We have a resident involvement team who encourage our residents to take more responsibility for their community.   They have their own web pages and also can be contacted at: [emailprotected] Equality and Diversity Many people think that Equality is about treating everyone the same – not true!   Equality is about making sure that everyone has the same ability to access to goods, services and employment by breaking down barriers and for some that means they need extra support to be at the same ‘level’ as everyone else. Discrimination is to treat a person or a group of people less favourably than others because of they are different to you.[13] Eliminating discrimination and ensuring access for all is protected by legislation, the Equality Act 2010.   Key areas of the Act came into force in October 2010 and the new Act pulls together previous equality legislation into one law ie separate legislation on disability, race, religion, sexual orientation are all covered and strengthened in the new equality act. At UHT we recognise that many of our households contain higher than average proportions of people who experience discrimination because of their ethnicity, disability, social financial status, education, and religion.   It is a recognised statistic in social housing.   Our aim is to ensure we support our residents to be equal to everyone else in our community and employment. Equality and Diversity is one of UHT’s key values – if we perform poorly it has a negative effect on tenant’s lives, which will have a knock on effect on our business ie when people feel undervalued they are less likely to treat their homes and communities with respect and tolerance . Equality and diversity are not interchangeable but interdependent.   There can be no equality without recognising the value in the differences we all bring into our community in our workplace, home life or wider community. Further reading – where employees can go for additional information: Click the link: Internet links for Page 2 abbeyfield.com www.almshouses.org http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/finding_a_place_to_live/housing_co-operatives shelteredhousing.org/ housing.org.uk Page4: Secure tenancy details: direct.gov.uk/en/HomeAndCommunity/Councilandhousingassociationhomes/Councilhousing/Counciltenants/DG_188538 Page 7 alzheimers.org.uk dlf.org.uk/content/factsheets-groups Other sites of interest: direct.gov.uk jrf.org.uk Referencing The following sites were used for reference purposes in compiling t his leaflet: Abbeyfields: abbeyfield.com Almshouses: www.almshouses.org Shelter: shelteredhousing.org :http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/finding_a_place_to_live/housing_co-operatives Direxct.gov (government website) direct.gov.uk Alzheimer’s society: alzheimers.org.uk Disabled Living Foundation: dlf.org.uk/content/factsheets-groups Equality and Diversity interpretation: ashfieldhomes.co.uk/files/Equality/Translation+and+Interpretation+Good+Practice+Guidelines.pdf Joseph Rowntree Foundation: http://jrf.org.uk jrf.org.uk/publications/british-social-rented-housing-european-context Local Government and Improvement development: idea.gov.uk/idk/core/page.do?pageId=1089895 Information on ALMOs cih.org/policy/ALMOreportNov05.pdf Decent home standard http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/communities.gov.uk/housing/decenthomes/whatis/ Diversity cih.org/about/diversity/diversity08.pdf housingdiversitynetwork.co.uk/?page=EqualityAndDiversity-General equalities.gov.uk/equality_act_2010.aspx nationalequalitypartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/definitions_of_equality_and_diversity.pdf idea.gov.uk/idk/core/page.do?pageId=5145172 idea.gov.uk/idk/core/page.do?pageId=5145524 General reading material: cih.org/policy/fpp-LArolehousingmarkets-Apr11.pdf olmec-ec.org.uk idea.gov.uk/idk/core/page.do?pageId=16639499 CIH Moodle: http://learning.chs.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=242 http://learning.chs.ac.uk/file.php/242/equality_act_presentation_show_for_web.pps#256,1 http://learning.chs.ac.uk/file.php/242/EqualityDiversityPracticeBrief-1.pdf

Common Writing Errors Parallel Construction, Sentence Fragments

Common Writing Errors Parallel Construction, Sentence Fragments In November 2010, InternsOver40, a popular job-search site for older job seekers, published an article entitled Bobby’s Rant, Rave Whatever: Less is More? The second paragraph begins as follows: â€Å"Over the years I have ranted   to many of my close friends  that in my worst day I have more than 98% of the world. Those people who live on less than $68 dollars a month(yes month).† [sic] While I like the sentiment of this article, I am compelled to rant about its writing style.   First, there are small formatting issues like the extra space between â€Å"ranted† and â€Å"to,† and the lack of a space prior to â€Å"(yes month).†Ã‚   That’s just a tiny little rant. Did you Understand That Sentence?   Parallel Construction More notably there’s the sentence, â€Å"In my worst day I have more than 98% of the world.†Ã‚   Do you see the ambiguity here?   Honestly when I first read the sentence I did not understand it.   I thought the author was saying he had in his possession some percentage of the world.   Upon second or third reading, I realized he meant that he had more than does 98% of the world – or that he has more than 98% of the world has. On a basic level, the problem here is parallel construction.   Lack of parallel construction is an issue that plagues many writers, and that takes the sense out of sentences.   In my article about correlative conjunctions, I addressed the issue of parallel construction when using conjunctions such as both and and in a sentence.   If you read that article, you learned that the phrases after the correlative conjunctions â€Å"both† and â€Å"and† must be the same part of speech, e.g. He likes both running and swimming.   The same idea applies here. Take the following sentence.   How would you interpret its meaning? I like coffee more than my husband. Read grammatically, this sentence would imply that given a choice between coffee and her husband, the writer would choose coffee.   And although we might be able to cut corners in our spoken communications, it doesn’t work in writing. Now read: I like coffee more than does my husband. OR I like coffee more than my husband likes it. OR I like coffee more than my husband does. These versions are looking much better for the husband. To write an unambiguous sentence, we need to look at the two things being compared to ensure they are really the things we want to compare! â€Å"I like coffee more than my husband† has nouns (coffee, husband) as the compared objects, so â€Å"coffee† is compared against â€Å"my husband.†Ã‚   â€Å"I like coffee more than does my husband† has verbs as the compared objects (like, does) so we are comparing degrees of the verb â€Å"like.†Ã‚   And â€Å"I like coffee more than my husband likes it† again compares verbs (like, likes). Sentence Fragments You may also have noticed that the last sentence in the InternsOver40 paragraph is not a sentence.   It reads, â€Å"Those people who live on less than $68 dollars a month(yes month).† You can probably spot a sentence fragment when you see one.   Sometimes sentence fragments can be used to stylistic advantage, but I don’t think this particular fragment was effective, especially considering the multitude of other errors in the paragraph. If you are concerned, as I am, about what a major job seeking resource like InternsOver40 is teaching job seekers about how to write, please share your concern with them.   I personally would like to see InternsOver40 post well-written, well-edited articles that will give candidates tools to shine in their written presentation. Do you have a question about how to keep your sentence structure parallel?   Or about whether a sentence is a sentence fragment?   Id love to listen to and answer your questions.   Please share your comments below. Image courtesy Damian Cugley CC BY-SA 2.0 Category:Grammar Writing TipsBy Brenda BernsteinFebruary 21, 2011

Enterprise Applications and Technology Coursework

Enterprise Applications and Technology - Coursework Example The end-user involvement reduces resistance to the implementation of the program. The users of such systems, for instance, nurses and pharmacists will tend to resist the implementation of the information system in case it serves other purposes different from quality enhancement. With their due involvement, there is ease of implementation of such programs. Moreover, when going through the transition method, the user learn how to use the information system and its real essence of application. Through such experiences, the end user can adapt well and quickly to the newly implemented information system in the healthcare set up (Rahimi, Vimarlund & Timpka, 2009). The end-users can be involved in the implantation of the healthcare management information system through the gradual introduction of the end-user to the information system during the transition. The end users are taught on the how to utilize fully the new system and are allowed to raise any concern related to the system (Rahimi, Vimarlund & Timpka,