Does pressure group politics damage or enhance democracy Essay Example

Does pressure group politics damage or enhance democracy Essay Example Does pressure group politics damage or enhance democracy Paper Does pressure group politics damage or enhance democracy Paper Democracy can be defined as the political orientation of those who favour government by the people, or by their elected representatives (Whawell, 1998 p. 178). Democracy derives from the Greek word demos meaning people, in essence a democratic society is a fair society. A Pressure group or interest groups fundamental aim is to influence decision makers in the Government domain, which can be formulated by central government, local government, the European Union, and in some cases by quasi government (Grant, 1995 p. ). Pressure groups do not attempt to gain political power, which differs from a political party, in respect that pressure groups inform, influence, and exert pressure on those creating public policy. Coxall (2001 p. 3) has suggested the following definition of a pressure group: A pressure group is any organisation that aims to influence public policy, by seeking to persuade decision makers, by lobbying rather than by standing for election and holding office. In essence, pressure groups do not wish to become actively involved with the government; they tend to concentrate on one particular aspect, as apposed to the government who are involved with many strategies. The fundamental purposes of pressure groups are to influence decisions making on exigent issues. For the purpose of this assignment, the author will discuss further, whether the issues of pressure group politics damage or enhance democracy. There are different forms of pressure groups, these being sectional or interest groups, cause or promotional groups, and insider/outsider groups. A sectional or interest group by definition tends to be motivated by their particular economic interests of their members, for example, The Trade Union Congress, (TUC) professional bodies such as The British Medical Association, (BMA) and specific employers organisations such as lawyers and medics fall within this category. A cause or promotional group can be defined (Grant, 1995 p. 3) as an idea, which is not directly related to the personal interests of its members, an example of this would be, Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, (CND), Green Peace, or the Child Poverty Action Group, (CPAG). An insider/outsider topology was developed by Grant in 1995, (1995, p 15) which can be defined as categorising groups according to the tactics that they employ, and their relationship with the government. Thus, government and the civil service regard insider groups as justifiable partnerships, and when it comes to formulating and executing policy in particular areas, the insiders are deemed as the specialist in their area of interest, for example, The Charted Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH). Insider groups are perceived by the government as providing reliable and precise information, using the same verbal communication and ideologies, and perhaps more importantly, retaining the confidence of the government, being ideally placed in a position to compromise. In contrast, an outsider group tends not to be recognised and accepted by the government, arguably that they do not wish to pay homage or the political game, and bow down to the demands of the institution (Jones, 1991 p. 251). In quintessence, they are protest groups, which have specific objectives, which are external to the mainstream political opinion. For example, the government perhaps would not approach the animal activist group for advice about animal rights; however, may seek the professional knowledge and expertise from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA). Pressure groups can also be influential within government, depending on current societal issues, the government has the opportunity to be selective about which pressure groups they utilise, and not all groups have equal access. A poignant example of this would be the National Farmers Union (NFU), in the 1980s as an interest group they were an insider group. However, since the recent outbreak of foot and mouth disease, the government have changed their tactics, deeming the NFUs information as unreliable and not accredited, and now utilise the Royal Veterinary Society (RVS) for their expertise and knowledge instead. Membership of pressure group parties has increased significantly over the last twenty years in comparison to the public who attend voting at general elections. This may be due to a variety of influencing factors, such as a higher disposable income, the advent of the internet, and there are now more bureaucrats. Kavanagh et al (2006 p. 418) suggests that In Britain today, more than half the adult population are members of at least one organisation, and many belong to a number of groups. For Example, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, (RSPB) has more members in total than all of the British political parties amalgamated, (Grant, 1995 p. 7) It could be argued (Grant, 1995 p. 17) that this does not enhance democracy. Pressure groups provide government with expertise and advice to facilitate policymaking, which ultimately result in enhancing the quality of government; they explore further avenues of participation, and actively contribute to the surveillance of government on behalf of its members, and look to expose information. Many of the pressure groups, whom assist the government, are experts in their own areas of competency such as medicine or farming. With the increased prevalence of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (Aids) was promulgated in the 1980s, the Terrance Higgins Foundation (THF) was consulted for their technical expertise and practical advice. Budge et al (2006 p. 446) has suggested that consultation with relevant groups makes for rational decisions, and quotes, Governments obviously have a democratic duty to consult and may depend on organised groups for policy information and implementation. Thus promoting political stability by providing a channel of communication between the government and the people, Budge, et al (2006 p 446) also suggested that by joining a pressure group, the populace fundamentally believe that they are actively being involved with politics. Pressure groups can also provide an essential freedom for the populace, especially minority groups, they are able to organise with concurring individuals so that their views can be articulated, and taken into consider ation by the government. For example, the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee (DPTAC) provides comprehensive information on its role in advising the Government on the transport needs of a disabled person. The DPTAC are currently lobbying for changes for people who are discriminated against, with disabilities, on aeroplanes, (December, 2007) this facilitates the needs of people who autonomously would not be able to make a difference, in essence, assisted by a pressure group, they have a voice. Within the last decade, The Peoples Fuel Lobby (farmers and the road hauliers) launched a campaign against fuel tax, blocking oil refineries, which caused widespread national disruption. The government were left with no option other than to reduce the price of fuel, in order for public confidence to be resumed and services to recommence. This type of pressure group campaign displayed a positive effect, as far as the protesting party were concerned, however, it was incredibly embarrassing for the government, who ultimately succumbed to this form of blackmail. It was suggested by Grant, (1995, p. 13) that this bullying tactic can have detrimental effects and eventually recoil. For example, The Fathers for Justice Campaign (Guardian, Chezneck, 2006), allegedly plotted to kidnap Tony Blairs son, which led to an announcement in 2006 that the group was dissolving, this may indicate that the pressure group had in fact gone too far on this occasion. A negative impact of pressure groups can be of overcrowding the political arena and overloading the government with information therefore, preventing them from addressing important issues. Large scale demonstrations mounted by any group may lead to clashes with the police and the government, an example of this is the poll tax demonstrations which took place in 1990 (Jones, 1991, p. 259), where scenes of violence were frowned upon by the public. During the 1970s the Trade Unions had a substantial amount of influence and power within the government, until Margaret Thatcher came into power in 1979. It was suggested by Kavanagh et al (2006, p 418) Thatcherite conservatives were often suspicious of pressure groups, blaming them for overload and exponential state expansion, one of the stated aims of Thatcherism was to tame the enemy within. Margaret Thatcher thought that pressure groups were (Jones, 1991, p. 59), always intrusive, meddling and interfering with government practices. It was suggested by Watts, (2007, p. 154) that pressure groups only provide for people that have the time, money and educational backgrounds and therefore this automatically excludes people from lower socio economic groups, these are the cohorts in society that really do need their voices to be heard. To conclude, pressure groups are very popular in the United Kingdom, and there are in excess of five thousand diverse groups (Jones, 1991, p. 59). It ca n be suggested, by the author, that pressure groups have some control over democracy; this is done by assembling the public with similar beliefs, and individuals freedom to be heard increases power, thus creating movement of power downwards and away from central institutions, ultimately resulting in a fairer democratic society. Continuality of political action enhances democracy as it gives constant reviews to policy. If there were to be demise in pressure groups, the process would not flow, as government elections only take place every four years. Pressure groups bring to the attention of the public governments activities, ensuring that procedures are being followed. Regardless of positive or negative factors brought on by pressure groups, they play a poignant role in contemporary British politics, although it may not always benefit them or society, their role is to serve individuals politically in ways that elections, campaigns and political parties are unable to.

Execute and Run Applications and Files From Delphi Code

Execute and Run Applications and Files From Delphi Code The Delphi programming language provides a quick way to write, compile, package, and deploy applications cross-platform. Although Delphi creates a graphical user interface, there are bound to be times you want to execute a program from your Delphi code. Lets say you have a database application that uses an external backup utility. The backup utility takes parameters from the  application and archives the data, while your program waits until the backup finishes. Maybe you want to open documents presented in a file list box  just by double-clicking on them  without opening the associated program first. Imagine a link label in your program that takes the user to your home page. What do you say about sending an email directly from your Delphi application through the default Windows email client program? ShellExecute To launch an application or execute a file in a Win32 environment, use the ShellExecute Windows API function. Check out the help on ShellExecute for a  full description of parameters and error codes returned. You can open any document without knowing which program is associated with it- the link is defined in the Windows Registry. Here are some shell examples.   Run Notepad uses ShellApi;...ShellExecute(Handle, open,c:\Windows\notepad.exe, nil, nil, SW_SHOWNORMAL) ; Open SomeText.txt With Notepad ShellExecute(Handle,open,c:\windows\notepad.exe,c:\SomeText.txt, nil, SW_SHOWNORMAL) ; Display the Contents of the "DelphiDownload" Folder ShellExecute(Handle,open, c:\DelphiDownload, nil, nil, SW_SHOWNORMAL) ; Execute a File According to Its Extension ShellExecute(Handle, open, c:\MyDocuments\Letter.doc,nil,nil,SW_SHOWNORMAL) ; Heres how to find an application associated with an extension. Open a Website or a *.htm File With the Default Web Explorer ShellExecute(Handle, open,http://delphi.about.com,nil,nil, SW_SHOWNORMAL) ; Send an Email With the Subject and the Message Body var em_subject, em_body, em_mail : string;begin em_subject : This is the subject line; em_body : Message body text goes here; em_mail : mailto:delphiaboutguide.com?subject em_subject body em_body ; ShellExecute(Handle,open, PChar(em_mail), nil, nil, SW_SHOWNORMAL) ;end; Heres how to send an email with the attachment. Execute a Program and Wait Until It Finishes The following example uses the ShellExecuteEx API function. // Execute the Windows Calculator and pop up// a message when the Calc is terminated.uses ShellApi;...var SEInfo: TShellExecuteInfo; ExitCode: DWORD; ExecuteFile, ParamString, StartInString: string;begin ExecuteFile:c:\Windows\Calc.exe; FillChar(SEInfo, SizeOf(SEInfo), 0) ; SEInfo.cbSize : SizeOf(TShellExecuteInfo) ; with SEInfo do begin fMask : SEE_MASK_NOCLOSEPROCESS; Wnd : Application.Handle; lpFile : PChar(ExecuteFile) ;{ParamString can contain theapplication parameters.}// lpParameters : PChar(ParamString) ;{StartInString specifies thename of the working directory.If ommited, the current directory is used.}// lpDirectory : PChar(StartInString) ; nShow : SW_SHOWNORMAL; end; if ShellExecuteEx(SEInfo) then begin repeat Application.ProcessMessages; GetExitCodeProcess(SEInfo.hProcess, ExitCode) ; until (ExitCode STILL_ACTIVE) or Application.Terminated; ShowMessage(Calculator terminated) ; end else ShowMessage(Error starting Calc!) ;end;

Car Accidents in Saudi Arabia Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Car Accidents in Saudi Arabia - Assignment Example All of these factors directly or indirectly affect the behavior of human beings. If the behavior of a person is not effective or positive, his mental capacity is tormented. One such aspect of behavioral imbalance is the increasing rate of car accidents and how this disproportion can be managed through health promotion will be discussed in this paper. A traffic accident is defined as unacceptable and untenable damage done to life, money and the vehicle of a victim. It is also termed as car accident, car crash or Road Traffic Collision (RTC). It happens when two or more vehicles come in contact with one another or pedestrians. The rate of traffic accidents in the passing year has been recorded by the World Health Organization to be 1,322,905. Nowadays, the rate of car accidents is seen predominantly in young drivers. Older drivers are mature and careful. This difference can be due to a number of factors. For young drivers, car is not only the source of transportation. It is a means of reflecting his or her individual and socials aspects of life. For youth, over speeding and practicing dangerous stunts is self-expression. Also, they strive to stand out among their friends and seek to have an edge over others socially. As far as car accidents by adults are concerned, it is due to peer pressure of responsibilities. For instance, parents take the responsibility of driving their children to schools in the morning. All over the world, the mornings are saturated with office and school timings. This poses a risk to many lives. According to a research by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, children are eight times more vulnerable to dying in a car rather on a bus. In fact, bus is considered safer to travel on. Saudi Arabia is considered to have the highest toll of road accidents in the world. In the era from 1971 to 1994, the amount of car accidents and associated injuries and fatalities have escalated by 30, 6 and 7 times. There could be a number of reaso ns for this notorious and unpopular ranking. Research has shown that according to the Kingdom’s General Directorate of Traffic around 17 citizens in Saudi Arabia die every day on the roads. According to the report of WHO, the victims are adult males in between the age of 16 to 36. Furthermore, a news report by the Saudi daily Arab News the statistics reveal that 6,485 people had died while more than 36,000 were injured in 485,000 car accidents alone in 2008 and 2009. The cause of the tragedies varies accordingly. Some point out that it is because there are no other attractive spots for youth in the Kingdom so youth on a large scale especially teenager boys tend to take driving as their extra-curricular activity. (Walt 2010; WHO; Global Perspectives in Workplace Health Promotion 2010; Bener 2005) Yet another reason is that, there is a lack of situation awareness. The educational institutes don’t have any mechanism for imparting road safety rules. The young drivers out o f extreme behavior like over speeding and drifting on congested routes either run into a pedestrian, cross red lights or take unusual U-turns. There is no strict law and order and that is why the drivers feel free to breach the law. The local traffic police are even unable to control the situation because youth drivers are on a large scale. These

At least one character in each of Ibsen's plays prefers an imaginary Essay

At least one character in each of Ibsen's plays prefers an imaginary view of life to a realistic viewpoint. With this in mind, discuss the life-view of Torvald - Essay Example It is an unrealistic method of controlling a wife. It might seem that Torvald is unrealistic since he is prejudiced against accepting help from his wife. Nora says that Torvald has ‘manly independence’, pride and humiliation. (Ibsen 12). His personal traits are unrealistic as Nora says that if he knew that she had borrowed money for their holiday in Italy; ‘It would upset our mutual relations altogether; our beautiful happy home would no longer be what it is now.’ (Ibsen 12). However, Torvald is a sharp man who is aware of the necessity of work for survival for when Nora introduces him to her friend Mrs. Linde, he immediately assumes that she is a widow and needs to work for her living. He is realistic enough to understand that Nora recommends her friend naturally above anyone else. He is quick enough to catch Nora at her lie that none were with her in the room prior to his entry. He understands that Krogstad asks Nora to plead his case with him. How can Torvald be so perceptive if he holds an unrealistic v iew of life? It seems he has some realistic insights although he holds his own views about the gender role stereotypes of a wife and mother. Torvald’s high moral principles may make him seem unrealistic. He discusses Krogstad’s case with Nora and reveals his arguments behind Krogstad’s moral shortcomings. Presently, Torvald is unaware that he describes an allegory to Nora since she is guilty of the same crimes that Torvald has accused Krogstad of; namely forging a signature. (Ibsen 27). Krogstad is a foil for comparison with Nora. Torvald does not like Krogstad speaking to him on familiar terms since they were friends in childhood. He thinks it is unfitting for his new position as the Bank Manager and desires Krogstad dismissed from his job. Torvald even faults Nora for speaking up for Krogstad. He says; ‘â€Å"My dear Nora, I can forgive the anxiety you are in, although really it is an insult

Needs Assessment for Cervical Cancer Screening

Needs Assessment for Cervical Cancer Screening References Bailie,R.S., McDonald,E.L., Stevens,M., Guthridge,S., Brewster,D.R. (2010). Evaluation of an Australian indigenous housing programme: community level impact on crowding, infrastructure function and hygiene. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. doi:10.1136/jech.2009.091637 Bunchs theory Google Search. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.google.com.au/search?q=Bunch%27s+theoryhl=engws_rd=ssl#hl=enq=theorist+Bunchs+theory+community+self+control+modelnirf=theories+Bunchs+theory+community+self+control+model Department of Health. (2014). Cervical cancer screening (may 20). Retrieved from http://www.health.vic.gov.au Marmot,M.G., Wilkinson,R.G. (2006). Social determinants of health (2nded.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. Mikhailovich K, Morrison P, Arabena K. (2007). Evaluating Australian Indigenous community health promotion initiatives: :. a selective review. Rural and Remote Health, 746(7). Retrieved from http://www.rrh.org.au Pap tests, Pap smears, HPV, cervical cancer PapScreen Victoria. (2014, August). Retrieved from http://www.papscreen.org.au Prochaska and DiClemente. (1983). Transtheoretical Model of Change, a theoretical model of behavior change. Stages of Change Model/Transtheoretical Model (TTM). Retrieved from currentnursing.com/nursing_theory/transtheoretical_model.html Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander. (n.d.). Women?s Cervical Screening Strategy 2006 2010 by Sandy Angus. Round,R. (2005). Planning for effective health promotion evaluation. Dept of Human Services, Deakin University. The Social Identity Approach in Social Psychology. (n.d.). Bunchs theory Google Search. Retrieved from https://www.google.com.au/search?q=Bunchs+theoryhl=engws_rd=ssl#hl=enq=theorist+Bunchs+theory+community+self+control+modelnirf=theories+Bunchs+theory+community+self+control+model 1

Dysfunctional Organizations Are Like Dysfunctional Families

Quality, timing, and cost will all usually be less favorable than planned. Projects will be routinely delayed, costs will routinely be revised upward, quality will be at risk of being forgotten in the quest for profitability and timeliness, products will be at risk of many and/or severe defects, and customer satisfaction will lag behind more capable and less dysfunctional competitors. Similarly, a dysfunctional family will have parallel problems with achieving its goals.An imbalance of power is a frequent cause of dysfunction in families. Imagine: a family with several children embarks on a big project, a trip to Ocracoke Island, for xample. If one child is more demanding, needy, or otherwise exceptional, and the family has developed a dysfunctional behavior pattern centered on that child, things will be disrupted and plans will not work out. The child may have to stop at every rest stop, and take a long time getting back into the car, delaying progress on the trip.The father may kno w the ferry schedule for getting to the island, and know when the family needs to be at the dock, but he may not be able to change the child's behavior, nor the behavior of the mother who caters too much to the demanding child. Random and unanticipated delays caused by the child, who has no understanding of the constraints the father faces, make them late and they miss the ferry, incurring additional cost of a night's stay on the mainland. An imbalance of power is also a problem for large companies.I have worked for companies in which one top manager or one function, product styling, for example, can cause a nearly-perfect parallel to the dysfunctional family. The product styling group knows when they need to finish the design, but their Job is to make the product look attractive, and they have so any people involved, from multiple levels of the organization, that they can't get it done on time. Top managers come through the studio to look at the new design, but, many having been en gineers and designers in the past, they each see something they feel needs to be changed.Since they don't come through the studio until the design is supposed to be nearly complete, their suggestions set back the design process, and the design is late. The engineers who have to integrate the design with functional parts are left to play â€Å"catch-up† with their designs, involving late changes, vertime, and a huge amount of rework to recast financial fgures, get revised quotes from suppliers, re-time the plans, etc. , etc. The suppliers, too, have to change their plans and designs and renegotiate with their suppliers in turn, and are delayed as well.Packaging, marketing materials, sales and service training classes, and many other efforts are all set back. Even if top management is understanding and â€Å"lets well takes sa'. n. y management at the top, executives or parents, to limit dysfunctional behavior and keep things on track. In my five different careers I have seen this same asic pattern repeated over and over, becoming nothing more than the standard way of doing business for some organizations. The only mitigating force I know of is having really sa'. . y upper management who understand how such things happen and are willing to actively work to avoid them. A smart top manager can rein in the overzealous designers, for example, and understand the principles of diminishing returns and the need to understand when â€Å"roughly right† is good enough. Similarly, the skilled parent can understand the problems caused by favoring one child over nother, and carefully manage the behavior of the individuals in the family so that the familys overarching goals are met.Maybe it's Just my experience, but I have seen that such skill and savvy are all too rare. Ethnic or national culture can be a significant factor in instances of dysfunction. Interestingly, management sa'. n. y and parenting skill are heavily influenced by cultural factors. In Western cultures where there is a strong value placed on individuality, managers can acquire the â€Å"gunslinger† mentality, which makes them think they have to do everything themselves and be the best at everything.With such managers collaboration and communication can suffer and, while they may be stars in their own right, the organization can suffer from the conflicts and snafus that will result. Similarly, in a strongly patriarchic culture, the father, feeling like he must be the all-knowing authority, may ignore the small child who hears the tire rumbling as it starts to go flat, and as a result miss the ferry due to a shredded tire and the time required to fix it.Organizations can become dysfunctional by promoting those who do extremely well. Some businesses promote engineers and designers who create great products to high level management ositions, and then some wonder why the organization does poorly. I have often noted that many engineers take this career direction because they don't like dealing with people, and would rather â€Å"stick their head in a machine† and make it work as nearly perfectly as possible than negotiate with other people.To take someone who, by their nature, hews to Jobs that avoid interaction with people and put them in a Job that requires excellent people skills is asking for trouble. They will not only be uncomfortable and unhappy, but they may not understand interpersonal and organizational behavior well, struggle, and not do a very good Job. At the same time, to go back to engineering would be a terrible demotion and pay cut, so they are stuck, often for decades, in a position for which they are only marginally suited.Many parents, like many executives, were never suited or well prepared for their roles. Similarly, many parents become that by accident, perhaps through lack of proper attention to contraception, or through social imperatives – older family members who lobby hard for grandchildren, for example. S ome parents had tough childhoods, for example, and never had the chance to witness good parenting as children, yet they ften find themselves responsible for a family with children and (perhaps) a spouse, and even elderly parents that need their care.In a society with little focus on or cultural knowledge around good parenting, they will be severely challenged to run a family effectively or avoid the mistakes that were perpetrated on them as children. Dysfunction tends to stick around and follow organizations and families. Thus, in creep in over time, and propagate forward from one generation or regime to the next. It is for this reason that sometimes a board of directors of a corporation will dismiss ot only a CEO but many of his reports as well, and bring in fresh management talent from outside the company to try to instill a new culture.While this is drastic and difficult in a business organization, it is even more difficult and disruptive to a family, and usually involves social service organizations and courts intervening in ways that may or may not produce better long term results for the family members. In both cases the situation must be extremely bad before such changes can be Justified, and a majority of such situations probably are never very well addressed.

Macbeth Descent into Madness in Shakespeares Macbeth Essay

Macbeth’s Descent Into Madness In Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, the character Macbeth descends into madness. Macbeth’s descent into madness first started with the witch’s prediction. If he had never met the witches none of this trouble would have occurred. Macbeth is seen as a â€Å"valiant cousin, worthy gentleman† (I, ii, 24). He is a brave warrior who is well respected in his community, until the witches prophesied to him that he would one day be king (I, iii, 50). Macbeth interprets that he must act to fulfill the prophecy. He sends a letter to lady Macbeth asking what to do. She suggests that he should kill Duncan. Macbeth follows the plan and kills Duncan (II, ii, 15). Directly following the murder Macbeth can no longer say amen†¦show more content†¦Saying death is better than life reinforces his suicidal thoughts and shows how he is descending into madness. Macbeth makes an argument that nature doesn’t have an eternal copyright on Banquo and Fleance’s souls, and if they are going to die eventually they should die now (III, ii, 38). But in contrast he is saying that nature doesn’t have a copyright on his soul either and he will eventually die, why not now? Macbeths shows very clear and severe symptoms of insanity when he sees Banquo’s ghost sitting in his place at the table (III, iiii, 39-40). Lady Macbeth rushes everyone out of the room and says he has sudden bursts of insanity and you’ll get used to them (III, iiii, 53-58). Further deepening the suspicion of insanity. Just after he sees Banquo’s ghost in his place at the table, the ghost returns and Macbeth says you are dead go back into the earth (III, iv, 93-96). Then he says that if the ghost took any other from than Banquo he wouldn’t be scared (III, iv, 99-107) Macbeth has to murder more people to cover his tracks and secure his place as king (III, iiii, 135-140). 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