Dundee Ready Educational Environment Measure Research

Dundee Ready Educational Environment Measure Research Abstract: Background: DREEM (Dundee Ready Educational Environment Measure) is a validated and global tool for assessing educational environment. It can be used to make comparative analysis of educational environment. Our aim is to study medical school students perception of their environment and correlate this with cGPA, gender and year of study. Materials and Method: This cross-sectional study involved students of semesters 5, 7 and 9 of Dow Medical College from August 2013 to August 2014. DREEM questionnaires were provided to participants in written form. Descriptive statistics were used to evaluate mean and SD score for total DREEM and DREEM domains. ANOVA was used to categorize any variation related to three semesters and unpaired t- test was used to classify gender related variances. Results: Total number of respondents was 246 (response rate=82.0%), of which 69(28.04%) were males and 177(71.95%) were females. Total DREEM score was calculated as 110.4/200(55.2%). Maximum score was established in the domain of students’ self-social perception (56.8%) and lowest in domain of students’ perceptions of learning (53.3%). Conclusion: The research shows that students’ perception of their educational environment is slightly more positive than average. It is clear that cGPA does not have an enormous impact on the mind-set of students as commonly perceived. Key Words: Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure, educational environment, cGPA, undergraduate, medical education. Background: The ‘educational environment’ defined as everything that happens within the classroom, campus or university as whole is crucial in determining the success of undergraduate medical education [1]. In 1998, the World Federation for Medical Education highlighted the learning environment as one of the determining factors in the evaluation of medical education programs 2. Medical educators widely agree upon the fact that the effects of the educational environment, both academic and clinical, are important determinants of medical students’ attitude, knowledge and skill 2. The key to the provision of highly motivated, student centered education is precise evaluation of the academic and clinical aspects of a medical institution. For such highly quality and accurate assessment, there is a need of comprehensive and valid tool [3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8]. For decades, researchers have assessed and developed various tools to measure learning environment in primary and secondary education as well as for tertiary education [9, 10, 11]. In health profession, nursing educational system and their perceived environment has been studied comprehensively as well [12, 13, 14, 15]. Educators and researchers have attempted to define and measure the medical education environment as basis for implementing modifications and thus optimizing the educational environment [16, 17, 18, 19]. The most widely used contemporary tool is almost certainly the Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure (DREEM) [20]. The DREEM is a 50-item measure of students perceptions of their learning environment which projects scores on five domains. These five domains are labeled as, students’ perception of learning, perception of course organizers, academic self-perception, perception of atmosphere and social self-perception [21]. DREEM questionnaire, developed by an international Delphi panel, has been applied to several undergraduate courses for health professionals worldwide. It produces global readings and diagnostic analyses which allows quality comparisons to be made in the performance and effectiveness of different medical schools. This instrument has been translated into Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, Chinese, Dutch Swedish, Norwegian, Malay and Thai and used in several settings including the Middle East, Thailand, Nepal and Nigeria [22, 23,24]. It is currently being utilized in the medical schools of the UK, Canada, Ireland, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Norway, Sweden, Venezuela, the West Indies, Sri Lanka, Oman and the Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia to evaluate the students’ perception and help medical and health schools to recognize their educational priorities and as a result, introduce more effective measures [25, 26, 27, 28, 29 30] Dow Medical College, located in Karachi, is one of the oldest medical schools in Pakistan. In 2003, it became a constituent college of the newly formed Dow University of Health Sciences. Gradual but definitive changes in the teaching strategies are being implemented at Dow Medical College. With the batch of 2009, Dow University of Health Sciences has introduced an integrated modular curriculum. Dow University is the first public sector medical university of Pakistan to have introduced this modern method of education. The curriculum has been developed by a strong team of faculty members of the University and this has greatly enhanced the teaching standards. Moreover, it has proved to greatly impact students’ perception of their learning environment. The course work of five years has been divided into 10 semesters and a semester examination is conducted at the end of the course of 6 months. Modular and midterm examinations are held for regular appraisal of students. The rationale of this study is to evaluate the effect of cGPA on the students’ perception of educational environment at Dow Medical College, and to assess any differences in perception related to gender and year of study using Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure (DREEM). Materials and Methods: This is a cross-sectional study, conducted on the target population of the students of semester 5, 7 9 of Dow Medical College, Karachi from 30th August 2013 to 30th August 2014. The study was approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of Dow University of Health Sciences. DREEM questionnaires were distributed to 246 students of semesters 5, 7 9. DREEM consists of 50 statements, grouped in five domains, relevant to the educational environment. The respondents were asked to read each statement carefully and to respond using a five-point Likert scales ranging from strongly agree to strongly disagree. Each item was scored as follows: 4 for strongly agree, 3 for agree, 2 for uncertain, 1 for disagree and 0 for strongly disagree. The DREEM inventory has a maximum score of 200. It consists of the following domains: Students Perceptions of Learning (12 questions, maximum score: 48) Students Perceptions of Teachers (11 questions, maximum score: 44) Students Academic Self-Perceptions (8 questions, maximum score: 32) Students Perceptions of Atmosphere (12 questions, maximum score: 48) Students Social Self-Perceptions (7 questions, maximum score: 28) It was made sure that the personal identity of the students remained anonymous. It was also explained that the data would not be forwarded to third party. Before distributing the research questionnaire to the students, a thorough explanation was given to them in order to describe the objectives dimensions of the study. Data was analyzed using SPSS version-16.0. Descriptive statistics tool was used to evaluate arithmetic means and standard deviation for total DREEM all five sub-scales. ANOVA was used to categorize any variation related to three semesters and level of significance was taken at â€Å"p Results: Response rate: Response rate was 82% (246/300), distribution of response rate of students in selected semesters in chosen medical school was semester 5: 101 (41.05%); semester 7: 75 (30.48%); semester 9: 70 (28.45%). Male and female students accounted for 69 (28.04%) and 177 (71.95%) for responding samples, respectively. Total DREEM mean score was calculated to be 110.4/200 (55.2%) among all three semesters. Components of Table 1, are: Maximum and minimum scores of DREEM inventory and its five domains, arithmetic mean with standard deviation and percentage of mean score with interpretations. In Table 1, the highest score was recorded in the domain of students’ social self-perceptions (56.8%) and lowest in the of students’ perception of learning domain (53.3%). Table 2 shows the mean scores of DREEM inventory in selected semesters. There has been a significant difference in the perceptions of students of 5th, 7th and 9th semesters regarding environment. Students of 9th semester hold a considerable positive attitude which is exhibited not only by their mean DREEM score but also when viewing all the domains of DREEM individually, with a maximum of 61.4% positivity in the domain of â€Å"Students’ self-social perception† and a minimum of 58.8% in the sub-scale of â€Å"Students’ perception of atmosphere†. Response of 7th semester students’ is somewhat positive as shown by their mean DREEM score of 112/200 (56%), score being highest of 57.8% in the subscale of â€Å"Students’ social self-perceptions† and lowest of 54.3% in â€Å"Students’ perception of teachers† domain. Response of 5th semester students’ in all domains, though not in negative integers, is certainly poor being just 51.35% on the mean DREEM score of 102.7/200. Response rate is maximum in the sub-scale of â€Å"Students’ social self-perceptions† and minimum in â€Å"Students’ perception of learning† These results show that students of all three semesters had maximum positive response as represented by their respective scores in the sub-scale of â€Å"Students’ social self-perception†. This is further explained under the section of discussions. Table 3 describes another objective of this study which is, the effect of cGPA on students’ mind-set regarding academic studies, social life and professors. Using DREEM inventory, it is remarkable to know that cGPA is an insignificant factor from analyzed data. This is suggestive that cGPA is not an accurate representative of academic status of student at the medical college. Table 4 delineates difference in the observation of educational environment among male and female gender. Males were found to be more positive about educational environment with response rate of 58.1% on total DREEM score of 116.2/200 while females had the total DREEM score of 108.1/200 with response rate of 54.1%. Males’ response was substantially more positive in every subscale except â€Å"Students’ academic self-perceptions† domain which was determined as a non-significant factor in this comparison between males and females. Discussion: According to the practical guide of McAleer, a mean score between 50 and 100 indicates probable problems in the learning environment [31]. In medical schools with a traditional curriculum, domain scores are found to be below 120; however, in modern, student-centered curriculums, the mean score is generally improved [32]. The results presented herein revealed a mean score of 110.4/200 (55.2%) for the DREEM five domains. Subscale analysis exhibited maximum in the section of students’ social self-perceptions and lowest in domain of students’ perception of learning. The DREEM score of students of 9th semester was slightly positive than students of 5th and 7th semesters presumably because they did not follow the modular system. Their studies were not fast paced and so they were not over burdened by the course. Since the modular system has specified a limited time span for the completion of each course comprehensively, the high burn out rate was apparent in students of this new, fast paced system. Hence the students of 5th and 7th semesters perceived the milieu more negatively than semester 9 students. Effect of cGPA on students’ academic lives was an important aspect of this study. From the results obtained, it is clear that cGPA did not have an enormous impact on the mind-set of students as commonly anticipated. This could be attributable to a fact that majority of the students at DMC, instead of competing for marks, aimed to compete for practical expertise. From the response given by the students, it also appeared that respondents of this research preferred their semester papers to be more clinically oriented in lieu of constructed on outmoded system which is based rote-learning. Students’ perception of the educational environment has a considerable influence on their performance, motivation and academic accomplishments. The analysis also showed the lowest score in the domain of students’ perception of self-learning. It could be attributable to compact learning time and challenging course. This is a point of concern because students are important stake holders of any educational institution and if they are not satisfied with the perception of self-learning then this matter should be taken into consideration by the concerned authorities with sincerity and wherever necessary, credence should be given to students opinion as well. The analysis explains the DREEM score of male students to be more positive than the female students. One reason of this might be the ratio of female students is much higher than the ratio of male students in medical colleges which may be the cause of a competitive approach to learning amongst girls hence more chances of disappointments and negative opinions about the environment. Conclusion: It is concluded that cGPA does not have an enormous impact on the mind-set of students. In all sub-scales, the DREEM score is slightly more positive than average. Mean DREEM score in all three semesters in Dow Medical College is 110.4/200 (55.2%). Sub-scale analysis revealed maximum score in the domain of students’ social self-perceptions and lowest in domain of students’ perception of learning. Hence, results obtained in study can be astutely used to make reforms in academic curriculum, examination patterns, and to direct tactical improvement in order to make educational environment more interesting and better for students. Competing interests: Authors contributions: Authors information: Acknowledgements: References: [1]. Lokuhetty M, Warnakulasuriya S, Perera R, De Silva H, Wijesinghe H. Students’ perception of the educational environment in a Medical Faculty with an innovative curriculum in Sri Lanka. South-East Asian Journal of Medical Education. 2011;4(1):916. [2]. Hammond S, ORourke M, Kelly M, Bennett D, OFlynn S. A psychometric appraisal of the DREEM. BMC medical education. 2012;12(1):2. [3]. Maida A, Vasquez A, Herskovic V, Calderon J, Jacard M, Pereira A et al. A report on student abuse during medical training. 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Good Girls Gone Bad :: essays research papers

Good Girls Gone Bad   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Bars slammed against the cold metal; the sound of screaming and chaos filled the cell. I could hear a young girl crying in the cell next to mine and it made me sigh with sadness. As a former inmate of the State of Texas women’s prison facility, the echoes of the sounds I heard daily, still remain fresh in the back of my mind. Coming to terms with my sentence and trying to figure out what had landed me there sparked a curios interest. The increasing rate of women in prison and the factors leading them behind bars was clearly becoming more obvious as I spoke and lived with the ladies in white jumpsuits. To prevent and help these women and to also help those who have yet to make their same mistakes we need to better understand and evaluate some causes for their imprisonment. There are three main factors that I believe to be a major contributor to our daughters, mothers and children living behind bars: family status or situation, drug abuse and criminal activit ies.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Family status and situations are important to our daily balance in life. We often depend on and care for those who we are closest to. A woman who had had an unstable or hostile living environment, whether it be rape, incest or molestation, will be more likely to end up living in prison for part or all of her life. Our family or caregiver(s) plays a vital role in determining our future success. If we are brought up with morals and Leslie McEntire Page 2 Respect towards others, we are less likely to want to be involved in criminal activity or drug use. As humans we also like to be hugged and kissed by those who call us their Own. If that affection and love is violated or destroyed all together, there is little chance for a normal recovery without expensive counseling.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Drug abuse was evident in almost every face I saw while at Plane State Jail. Although I was only 25 years old, I was aware of what drug use was doing to our beautiful women. It was written on their faces, scarred on their body and forever etched into their minds and souls. Although deadly and unrewarding consequences emerge from drug use, women continue to use and abuse hundreds of illegal substances. In many cases, women were using drugs because of pressures from their boyfriend. Good Girls Gone Bad :: essays research papers Good Girls Gone Bad   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Bars slammed against the cold metal; the sound of screaming and chaos filled the cell. I could hear a young girl crying in the cell next to mine and it made me sigh with sadness. As a former inmate of the State of Texas women’s prison facility, the echoes of the sounds I heard daily, still remain fresh in the back of my mind. Coming to terms with my sentence and trying to figure out what had landed me there sparked a curios interest. The increasing rate of women in prison and the factors leading them behind bars was clearly becoming more obvious as I spoke and lived with the ladies in white jumpsuits. To prevent and help these women and to also help those who have yet to make their same mistakes we need to better understand and evaluate some causes for their imprisonment. There are three main factors that I believe to be a major contributor to our daughters, mothers and children living behind bars: family status or situation, drug abuse and criminal activit ies.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Family status and situations are important to our daily balance in life. We often depend on and care for those who we are closest to. A woman who had had an unstable or hostile living environment, whether it be rape, incest or molestation, will be more likely to end up living in prison for part or all of her life. Our family or caregiver(s) plays a vital role in determining our future success. If we are brought up with morals and Leslie McEntire Page 2 Respect towards others, we are less likely to want to be involved in criminal activity or drug use. As humans we also like to be hugged and kissed by those who call us their Own. If that affection and love is violated or destroyed all together, there is little chance for a normal recovery without expensive counseling.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Drug abuse was evident in almost every face I saw while at Plane State Jail. Although I was only 25 years old, I was aware of what drug use was doing to our beautiful women. It was written on their faces, scarred on their body and forever etched into their minds and souls. Although deadly and unrewarding consequences emerge from drug use, women continue to use and abuse hundreds of illegal substances. In many cases, women were using drugs because of pressures from their boyfriend.

Decision Making Process WRT Consumer Behavior

Question 1. Explain Decision making process and various types of decision with examples? Ans: Decision making can be regarded as the mental processes (Cognitive process) resulting in the selection of a course of action among several alternative scenarios. Every decision making process produces a final choice. The output can be an action or an opinion of choice. Developed by B. Aubrey Fisher, there are four stages that should be involved in all group decision making.These stages, or sometimes called phases, are important for the decision-making process to begin Orientation stage- This phase is where members meet for the first time and start to get to know each other. Conflict stage- Once group members become familiar with each other, disputes, little fights and arguments occur. Group members eventually work it out. Emergence stage- The group begins to clear up vague opinions by talking about them. Reinforcement stage- Members finally make a decision, while justifying themselves that i t was the right decision.When in an organization and faced with a difficult decision, there are several steps one can take to ensure the best possible solutions will be decided. These steps are put into seven effective ways to go about this decision making process. An Example illustrating Decision Making Process in an Organization * The first step – Outline your goal and outcome. This will enable decision makers to see exactly what they are trying to accomplish and keep them on a specific path. * The second step – Gather data. This will help decision makers have actual evidence to help them come up with a solution. The third step – Brainstorm to develop alternatives. Coming up with more than one solution ables you to see which one can actually work. * The fourth step – List pros and cons of each alternative. With the list of pros and cons, you can eliminate the solutions that have more cons than pros, making your decision easier. * The fifth step – Make the decision. Once you analyze each solution, you should pick the one that has many pros (or the pros that are most significant), and is a solution that everyone can agree with. * The sixth step – Immediately take action.Once the decision is picked, you should implement it right away. * The seventh step – Learn from, and reflect on the decision making. This step allows you to see what you did right and wrong when coming up, and putting the decision to use. Another example showing Decision Making Process with respect to consumer behavior. This model is important for anyone making marketing decisions. It forces the marketer to consider the whole buying process rather than just the purchase decision (when it may be too late for a business to influence the choice! The model implies that customers pass through all stages in every purchase. However, in more routine purchases, customers often skip or reverse some of the stages. For example, a student buying a favourite hamburger would recognise the need (hunger) and go right to the purchase decision, skipping information search and evaluation. However, the model is very useful when it comes to understanding any purchase that requires some thought and deliberation.The buying process starts with need recognition. At this stage, the buyer recognises a problem or need (e. g. I am hungry, we need a new sofa, I have a headache) or responds to a marketing stimulus (e. g. you pass Starbucks and are attracted by the aroma of coffee and chocolate muffins). An â€Å"aroused† customer then needs to decide how much information (if any) is required. If the need is strong and there is a product or service that meets the need close to hand, then a purchase decision is likely to be made there and then. If not, then the process of information search begins. A customer can obtain information from several sources: †¢ Personal sources: family, friends, neighbours etc Commercial sources: advertising; salesp eople; retailers; dealers; packaging; point-of-sale displays †¢ Public sources: newspapers, radio, television, consumer organisations; specialist magazines †¢ Experiential sources: handling, examining, using the product The usefulness and influence of these sources of information will vary by product and by customer. Research suggests that customer’s value and respect personal sources more than commercial sources (the influence of â€Å"word of mouth†). The challenge for the marketing team is to identify which information sources are most influential in their target markets.In the evaluation stage, the customer must choose between the alternative brands, products and services. An important determinant of the extent of evaluation is whether the customer feels â€Å"involved† in the product. By involvement, we mean the degree of perceived relevance and personal importance that accompanies the choice. Where a purchase is â€Å"highly involving†, th e customer is likely to carry out extensive evaluation. High-involvement purchases include those involving high expenditure or personal risk – for example buying a house, a car or making investments. Low involvement purchases (e. . buying a soft drink, choosing some breakfast cereals in the supermarket) have very simple evaluation processes. Post-purchase evaluation – Cognitive Dissonance The final stage is the post-purchase evaluation of the decision. It is common for customers to experience concerns after making a purchase decision. This arises from a concept that is known as â€Å"cognitive dissonance†. The customer, having bought a product, may feel that an alternative would have been preferable. In these circumstances that customer will not repurchase immediately, but is likely to switch brands next time.To manage the post-purchase stage, it is the job of the marketing team to persuade the potential customer that the product will satisfy his or her needs. T hen after having made a purchase, the customer should be encouraged that he or she has made the right decision. Question 2. Take any international country of your choice and list down their social, cultural, lifestyle, business etiquettes and trade practices in detail? Ans: Country in Discussion: Nigeria Social / Cultural and Life Style Background The culture of Nigeria is shaped by Nigeria's multiple ethnic groups. The country has over 50 languages and over 250 dialects and ethnic groups.The three largest ethnic groups are the Hausa-Fulani who are predominant in the north, the Igbo who are predominant in the south-east, and the Yoruba who are predominant in the southwest. The Edo people are predominant in the region between Yorubaland and Igboland. Much of the Edo tends to be Christian while the remaining 20 percent worship deities called Ogu. This group is followed by the Ibibio/Annang/Efik people of the coastal southeastern Nigeria and the Ijaw of the Niger Delta. The rest of Nig eria's ethnic groups (sometimes called ‘minorities') are found all over the country but especially in the middle belt and north.The Hausa tend to be Muslim and the Igbo are predominantly Christian. The Efik, Ibibio, Annang people are mainly Christian. The Yoruba have a balance of members that are adherent to both Islam and Christianity. Indigenous religious practices remain important in all of Nigeria's ethnic groups, these beliefs are often blended with Christian beliefs. Nigeria is famous for its English language literature and its popular music. Since the 1990s the Nigerian movie industry, sometimes called " Nollywood" has emerged as a fast-growing cultural force all over the continent.All over the country, and even increasingly in the conservative north, western music, dresses and movies are ever popular. The music of Nigeria includes many kinds of folk and popular music, some of which are known worldwide. Traditional musicians use a number of diverse instruments , such as the Gongon drums Football (soccer) is extremely popular throughout the country and especially among the youth, both field soccer and professional international soccer, has developed into a cult of unity and division.Supporters of English football clubs Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea often segregate beyond the traditional tribal and even religious divide to share their common cause in Premier League teams. The Nigeria national football team, nicknamed the Super Eagles, is the national team of Nigeria and is controlled by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF). Nigerian food embellishes a rich blend of traditionally African carbohydrates such as Yam and Cassava as well as vegetable soups made from native green leaves.Praised by Nigerians for the strength it gives, Garri is a powdered Cassava Grain that can be readily eaten as a meal and is quite cheap. Yam is either fried in oil or pounded to make a Mashed Potato like Yam pottage. Nigerian beans, quite diff erent from green peas, is widely popular. Meat is also popular and Nigerian Suya, a barbecue like method of roasting meat, is a well known delicacy. Bush meat, meat from wild game like deer and giraffes is also popular. Fermented palm products is used to make a traditional liquor, Palm Wine, as is fermented Cassava.Business Background in Nigeria The fact that Nigeria is not a magnet for international investment could be seen as a tragedy of immense proportions. Years of political instability, regional strife and the weakening influence of massive corruption have resulted in the country failing to capitalize on its many advantages; leaving the mass of the population in relative poverty and the country enormously infra-structure poor. A large number of international organizations and business people have been wary of doing business in Nigeria for many years.This may seem strange given that Nigeria is one of the most populous countries in Africa as well as being one of the most oil-ric h places in the world. Couple this with the fact that the country is abundant in many other natural resources and has good port facilities and you might think that international business would be fighting for a piece of the action in Nigeria. Huge strides have been made in the last few years to try to tackle the many endemic problems which assail the country — with political and economic stability being seen as the key weapons in attacking the corrosive influence of corruption.Whether the actions being taken on the ground now lead to dramatic improvements in levels of transparency and levels of corporate governance remain to be seen — in the meantime, the country struggles along and those doing business in Nigeria need to be aware of the issues that await them. Business Etiquettes Nigerians like to use language in a fairly flowery fashion and will often address you with great courtesy and overt signs of respect. This desire to show respect to people is shown in the Nig erian use of titles and honorifics.People will often be addressed as Uncle, Auntie, Chief, Mazi, Doctor etc. rather than by the use of first names. Business conversations will often veer towards the personal and you may be asked questions about family, hobbies and other interests within business meetings. This is an important section of the meeting and should be treated as such. It is not seen as overly personal but rather as a signal of warmth and friendship. Handshaking is very important and it is usual to exchange long, lingering handshakes with everybody you meet. Nigerian Management StyleAs you would expect in a strictly hierarchical culture, managers are expected to lead quite strongly. The boss is expected to make decisions (with or without wider consultation) and the decisions of the boss are expected to be carried out to the letter. Directions should be given in a polite and friendly but definitive fashion. Spell out in detail what needs to be done — anything which i s not explicitly requested, is likely to remain undone. This does not mean that subordinates are inefficient or lazy, merely that they expect the boss to know exactly what he wants to happen and to explain things to them fully.It is important to dress well in Nigeria as the way you are dressed will signal your relative level of importance. Men should wear dark suits and ties and women should wear dark, demure business-style suits. In return for loyalty, the manager will often take on a paternalistic role with regard to colleagues. The manager is expected to take an interest in subordinates beyond their directly work-related duties. People are as likely to ask the boss advice on personal matters as they are on business issues. Indigenous Nigerian companies will, however, have an approach and flavor all of their own.All native Nigerian companies will display massively hierarchical tendencies as befits a country rich in tribal tradition and culture. Thus the boss expects and receives r espect from those below them in the structure. As age is highly valued in Nigerian culture, managers are often of the older generation — age brings wisdom. Although people at a middle-management level will like to give the impression that they have great power in the organization, they rarely do. Decisions are invariably made right at the top, so try not to waste too much time trying to force decisions out of more junior employees.If possible, go right to the top. This does not, however, mean that people lower down the corporate structure can be ignored as they may very well be pivotal in influencing the eventual decision-maker. As a relationship-oriented culture, it is important to be seen to be trying hard to develop good relationships at all levels within the organization. Economic Facts previously hindered by years of mismanagement, economic reforms of the past decade have put Nigeria back on track towards achieving its full economic potential. Nigerian GDP at purchasing power parity more than doubled from $170. 7 billion in 2005 to $374. billion in 2010, although estimates of the size of the informal sector (which is not included in official figures) put the actual numbers closer to $520 billion. Correspondingly, the GDP per capita doubled from $1200 per person in 2005 to an estimated $2,500 per person in 2009 (again, with the inclusion of the informal sector, it is estimated that GDP per capita hovers around $3,500 per person). It is the largest economy in the West Africa Region, 3rd largest economy in Africa (behind South Africa and Egypt), and on track to becoming one of the top 30 economies in the world in the early part of 2011.Although much has been made of its status as a major exporter of oil, Nigeria produces only about 3. 3% of the world's supply, and though it is ranked as 15th in production at 2. 2 million barrels per day (mbpd), the top 3 producers Saudi Arabia, Russia, and the United States produce 10. 7mbpd (16. 8%), 9. 8mbpd (15. 4% ), and 8. 5mbpd (13. 4%) respectively, collectively accounting for 63. 6mpd (45. 4%) of the world's total production. [2] To put oil revenues in perspective: at an estimated export rate of 1. 9mbd, with a projected sales price of $65 per barrel in 2011, Nigeria's anticipated revenue from petroleum is about $52. billion. This accounts for less than 14% of official GDP figures (and drops to 10% when the informal economy is included in these calculations). Therefore, though the petroleum sector is important, it remains in fact a small part of the country's overall vibrant and diversified economy. The largely subsistence agricultural sector has not kept up with rapid population growth, and Nigeria, once a large net exporter of food, now imports some of its food products. In 2006, Nigeria successfully convinced the Paris Club to let it buy back the bulk of its debts owed to the Paris Club for a cash payment of roughly $12 billion (USD).Trade Practices: The Federal Government plays the ro le of protecting local industries and the labor market from unfair competitions and trade practices of developed countries. While Nigerian government appreciates that the world is a global village, in terms of exchange of goods, services and persons, it will not open the nation‘s borders to the influx of foreigners in whatever guise without considering the security and economic implication inherent in the administration of Expatriate Quota and other immigration formality. While it is true that Nigeria as a developing country needs to benefit from the xperiences and technology of the advanced nations, it is important that we protect our local manpower by ensuring that jobs that are meant for Nigerians are not occupied by foreigners in order to stem the unemployment rate in the country. Although the world is a global village and the WTO preaches free trade or liberalization of trade, it is the government’s duty both individually and as government to protect our local indu stries and markets in order to avoid being reduced to mere consumers of labor and technology of the advanced nations.Their focus at all times should be to develop indigenous technology, local capacity building for both our industries and markets". Also, the administration of Expatriate Quota helps attract foreign direct investment; fast track economic development; transfer technology through importation of modern machinery and equipment; build and enhance local capacity and skills; institutionalize Nigerian understudies attached to Expatriates and for appropriate documentation.ALTERNATIVE TRADE NETWORK OF NIGERIA (ATNN) The Alternative Trade Network of Nigeria (ATNN) was established in 1994 with 25 artisans drawn from different parts of Nigeria as a Non Governmental Trade and Development Network. It was formerly registered with Corporate Affairs Commissions Abuja on the 7th January 1999 as an Incorporated Trustee with a five member Governing Board. The daily operations of the n etwork are coordinated by program staff and team of volunteers under the leadership of the Director.ATNN is a registered pioneer member of the International Fair Trade Association (IFAT) formed in 1994 now the World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO) and also a founding member of the Cooperation for Fair Trade in Africa (COFTA) with its Africa Regional Office based in Nairobi, Kenya. With a founding membership of 25 artisans and groups, ATNN membership has grown to 120 cooperatives, groups and individuals (over 3616 individuals) engage in both food and Non food products from different parts of Nigeria who are grass root based and committed to the principles and standards of fair trade. 3% of the current membership is women, employing over 3616 people. 1774 apprentices have also been trained and are now self employed and running their business in different areas of micro enterprises. ATNN has the following thematic areas of intervention 1. Fair Trade Market Access, Retailing and Export T rading†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ This program provides unique solutions to specific members based on identified needs, level of business development, size, structure, markets, retailing and other trading opportunities. 2. Producer Development, Community Mobilization and Empowerment.This program engages participatory method of development of both formal and informal groups of producers and communities in identifying and establishing core strength and weaknesses and collective designing of sustainable and achievable business solutions. 3. Fair Trade Advocacy and Economic Rights†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ The objective of this program is to develop and disseminate appropriate fair trade information to raise beneficiary's awareness and stake holder's interest and support for effective and proactive fair trade participations.It also highlights and lobby against unethical business, production and trade practices and policies that are detrimental to community growth, environmental protection and other impacts that are related to sustainable production and development. The Alternative Trade Network of Nigeria believes in fostering an accelerated producers businesses development and sustainable income through developing, consolidating and advancing the core mission and objectives of the global fair Trade Movement within Nigeria, Africa and the world over.This is achieved through the offering and provision of technical guidance, market support, networking and awareness rising for favorable trade policies and micro business development measures. ATNN, in its business development services also ensures that producers do not just access profitable markets, but produce quality products and get appropriate value for their labor. ATNN generally desires to achieve the following: 1. Increased and improved business skills

Is Machiavelli an Immoral Teacher of Evil - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 7 Words: 2132 Downloads: 8 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Philosophy Essay Type Analytical essay Did you like this example? This essay will consider whether or not Machiavelli was a teacher of evil, with specific reference to his text The Prince. It shall first be shown what it was that Machiavelli taught and how this can only be justified by consequentialism. It shall then be discussed whether consequentialism is a viable ethical theory, in order that it can justify Machiavellis teaching. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Is Machiavelli an Immoral Teacher of Evil?" essay for you Create order Arguing that this is not the case, it will be concluded that Machiavelli is a teacher of evil. To begin, it shall be shown what Machiavelli taught or suggested be adopted in order for a ruler to maintain power. To understand this, it is necessary to understand the political landscape of the period. The Prince was published posthumously in 1532, and was intended as a guidebook to rulers of principalities. Machiavelli was born in Italy and, during that period, there were many wars between the various states which constituted Italy. These states were either republics (governed by an elected body) or principalities (governed by a monarch or single ruler). The Prince was written and dedicated to Lorenzo de Medici who was in charge of Florence which, though a republic, was autocratic, like a principality. Machiavellis work aimed to give Lorenzo de Medici advice to rule as an autocratic prince. (Nederman, 2014) The ultimate objective to which Machiavelli aims in The Prince is for a prince to remain in power over his subjects. Critics who claim that Machiavelli is evil do not hold this view, necessarily, because of this ultimate aim, but by the way in which Machiavelli advises achieving it. This is because, to this ultimate end, Machiavelli holds that no moral or ethical expense need be spared. This is the theme which runs constant through the work. For example, in securing rule over the subjects of a newly acquired principality, which was previously ruled by another prince, Machiavelli writes: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ to hold them securely enough is to have destroyed the family of the prince who was ruling them. (Machiavelli, 1532: 7). That is, in order to govern a new principality, it is necessary that the family of the previous prince be destroyed. Further, the expense of morality is not limited to physical acts, such as the murder advised, but deception and manipulation. An example of this is seen in that Machiavelli claims: Therefore it is unnecessary for a prince to have all the good qualities I have enumerated, but it is very necessary to appear to have them. And I shall dare to say this also, that to have them and always to observe them is injurious, and that to appear to have them is useful. (Machiavelli, 1532: 81). Here, Machiavelli is claiming that virtues are necessary to a ruler only insomuch as the ruler appears to have them. However, to act only by the virtues will be, ultimately, detrimental to the maintenance of the ruler, as they may often have to act against the virtues to quell a rebellion, for example. A prince must be able to appear just, so that he is trusted, but actually not be so, in order that he may maintain his dominance. In all pieces of advice, Machiavelli claims that it is better to act in the way he advises, for to do otherwise would lead to worse consequences: the end of the rule. The defence which is to be made for Machiavelli, then, must come from a consequentialist viewpoint. Consequentialist theory argues that the morality of an action is dependent upon its consequences. If the act or actions create consequences that, ultimately, are better (however that may be measured) than otherwise, the action is good. However, if a different act could, in that situation, have produced better consequences, then the action taken would be immoral. The classic position of consequentialism is utilitarianism. First argued for by Bentham, he claimed that two principles govern mankind à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" pleasure and pain à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" and it is to achieve the former and avoid the latter that determines how we act (Bentham, 1789: 14). This is done either on an individual basis, or a collective basis, depending on the situation. In the first of these cases, the good action is the one which gives the individual the most pleasure or the least pain. In the second of these cases, the good action is the one which gives the collective group the most pleasure or the least pain. The collect ive group consists of individuals, and therefore the good action will produce most pleasure if it does so for the most amount of people (Bentham, 1789: 15). Therefore, utilitarianism claims that an act is good iff its consequences produce the greatest amount of happiness (or pleasure) for the greatest amount of people, or avoid the greatest amount of unhappiness (or pain) for the greatest amount of people. This, now outlined, can be used to defend Machiavellis advice. If the ultimate goal is achieved, the consequence of the prince remaining in power must cause more happiness for more of his subjects than would otherwise be the case if he lost power. Secondly, the pain and suffering caused by the prince on the subjects whom he must murder/deceive/steal from must be less than the suffering which would be caused should he lose power. If these two criteria can be satisfied, then consequentialism may justify Machiavelli. Further, it is practically possible that such a set of circum stances could arise; it is conceivable that it could be the case that the suffering would be less should the prince remain in power. Italy, as stated, at that time, was in turmoil and many wars were being fought. A prince remaining in power would also secure internal peace for a principality and the subjects. A prince who lost power would leave the land open to attacks and there would be a greater suffering for the majority of the populous. On the subject, Machiavelli writes: As there cannot be good laws where the state is not well armed, it follows that where they are well armed they have good laws. (Machiavelli, 1532: 55) This highlights the turmoil of the world at that time, and the importance of power, both military and lawful, for peace. Machiavelli, in searching for the ultimate end for the prince retaining his power, would also secure internal peace and defence of the principality. This would therefore mean that there would be less destruction and suffering for the peop le. Defended by consequentialism, the claim that Machiavelli is evil becomes an argument against this moral theory. The criticisms against consequentialism are manifold. A first major concern against consequentialism is that it justifies actions which seem to be intuitively wrong, such as murder or torture, on not just an individual basis, but on a mass scale. Take the following example: in a war situation, the only way to save a million and a half soldiers is to kill a million civilians. Consequentialism justifies killing the million civilians as the suffering will be less than if a million and a half soldiers were to die. If consequentialism must be used in order to justify Machiavellis teachings, it must therefore be admitted that this act of mass murder, in the hypothetical situation, would also be justified. A second major concern is that it uses people as means, rather than ends, and this seems to be something which is intuitively incorrect, as evidenced in the trolley p roblem. The trolley problem is thus: a train, out of control, is heading towards five workers on the track. The driver has the opportunity to change to another track, on which there is a single worker. Thomson argues it would be morally permissible to change track and kill the one (Thomson, 1985: 1395). However, the consequentialist would here state that morality requires you to change track (Thomson, 1985: 1395), as there is less suffering in one dying than in five dying. The difference in these two stances is to be noted. Thomson then provides another situation: the transplant problem. A surgeon is able to transplant any body part to another without failure. In the hospital the surgeon works at, five people are in need of a single organ, without which they will die. Another person, visiting for a check-up, is found to be a complete match for all the transplants needed. Thomson asks whether it would be permissible for the surgeon to kill the one and distribute their organs for t hose who would die (Thomson, 1985: 1395-1396). Though she claims that it would not be morally permissible to do so, those who claimed that changing tracks in the trolley problem would be a moral requirement à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" the consequentialists à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" would also have to claim that murdering the one to save five would also be a moral requirement, as the most positive outcome would be given to the most people. Herein lies the major concern for a consequentialist, and therefore Machiavellis defence: that consequentialism justifies using people as means to an end, and not an end within themselves. A criticism of this is famously argued for by Kant, who claims that humans are rational beings, and we do not state that they are things, but instead call them persons (Kant, 1785: 46). Only things can permissibly be used only as a means, and not persons, who are in themselves an end (Kant, 1785: 46). To use a person merely as a means rather than an end is to treat them as so mething other than a rational agent which, Kant claims, is immoral. This now must be applied to Machiavelli. In advising the murder and deception of others, he is advocating treating people as merely a means, by using them in order to obtain the ultimate end of retaining power. Though this ultimate end may bring about greater peace, and therefore pleasure for a greater amount of people, it could be argued that the peace obtained does not outweigh the immoral actions required in creating this peace. Further, it must also be discussed whether Machiavellis teaching is in pursuit of a prince retaining power in order to bring about peace, or whether it is in pursuit of retaining power simply that the prince may retain power. The former option may be justifiable, if consequentialism is accepted. However, this may not the case for the latter, even if peace is obtained. Machiavellis motives will never be truly known. Such a problem as this demonstrates further criticisms of consequ entialism, and therefore Machiavelli himself. If he was advising to achieve power for the sake of achieving power, he would not be able to justify the means to this end without the end providing a consequentialist justification if, ultimately, the prince retains power but there is not a larger of amount of pleasure than would otherwise be the case. To pursue power in order to promote peace is perhaps justifiable. However, as is a major concern with the normative approach of consequentialism, the unpredictability of consequences can lead to unforeseen ends. The hypothetical prince may take Machiavellis advice, follow it to the letter, and produce one of three outcomes: Power is obtained and peace is obtained. Power is obtained but peace is not obtained. Neither power nor peace is obtained. Only in the first of these outcomes can there be any consequentialist justification. However, this then means that there are two possible outcomes in which there cannot be a consequentialist justification, and it is impossible to know, truly, which outcome will be obtained. This is the criticism of both Machiavelli and consequentialism: that the risk involved in acting is too great, with such a chance of failure and therefore unjustifiable actions, when it is impossible to truly know the outcomes of actions. The nature of the risk is what makes this unjustifiable, in that the risk is against human life, wellbeing, and safety. Machiavelli condones using people as merely a means to an end without the guarantee of a positive end by a consequentialist justification. In conclusion, it has been briefly demonstrated what Machiavelli put forward as his teachings. It was further shown how the only justification for Machiavellis teachings is a consequentialist approach. However, criticism s put against Machiavelli and consequentialism, such as the justification of mass atrocities, using people as means to ends, and the unpredictability of the pragmatic implementation, show it to fail as an acceptable justification of his teachings. Therefore, it is concluded that Machiavelli is a teacher of evil. Reference List Bentham, J. (1798). An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation. Accessed online at: https://socserv.mcmaster.ca/econ/ugcm/3ll3/bentham/morals.pdf. Last accessed on 26/09/2015. Kant, I. (1785). Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals. Edited and Translated by Wood, A. (2002). New York: Vail-Ballou Press. Machiavelli, N. (1532). The Prince. Translated by Marriott, W. K. (1908). London: David Campbell Publishers. Nederman, C. (2012). Nicollo Machiavelli. Accessed online at: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/machiavelli/. Last accessed on 02/10/2015. Thomson, J. J. (1985). The Trolley Problem. The Yale Law Journal. Vol. 94, No. 6, pp. 1395-1415.