Harry Potter Book Review Essay

Harry Potter Book Review Essay The Harry Potter books are very successful upon their being published. The Harry Potter books describe us as muggles, non magical people who live our lives not knowing the existence of wizards. The books allow us to envision a magical world that we are unable to see. Wizards are usually tolerant and good toward muggles. The book thins the line between real life and fantasy. People love an unlikely hero who isnt supposed to succeed and one who is an underdog in life. Harry Potter with a scar on his forehead, usually broken glasses, his small skinny frame and lateness about learning the wizard world, is that underdog hero that everyone covets to see. He succeeds in his endeavors because he is enthusiastic, he has a significant amount of courage, and the best friends anyone person could hope to have. He is one of the most courageous characters you will ever read about in a fantasy novel. Its stunning how much more he cares about other people than he does himself. He and his friends would die for each other which is the trademark of a friendship that can go no higher. The book contains all the elements of adventure stories, coming of age, monsters, magic, sports, and miracles. Its like a snickers bar. Everyone loves chocolate, caramel, peanuts and nougat. Put them all together and you have one tasty concoction. There is also, for the first time, a magical town introduced called Hogsmade. According to the book, its the only all-magical town in Britain. Starting in the third year, the students are allowed to travel there, which is only a few miles away, on scheduled visits. CHARACTERS: Ron Weasley is the best friend of Harry Potter. His self esteem is as erratic as the stock market. Unlike Harry, he has no financial means. His father is a member of the Ministry of Magic and his family is backed by generations of pure blooded wizards, but Ron is often picked on by Malfoy for wearing tattered robes, for living in an old house, and for not having a rich father. Ron is deeply loyal to the people he loves as is evident in this book when he simply refuses to speak to Hermione for turning Harrys new broomstick into Professor McGonagall. He and Harry are inseparable. Ron tends to be perceived as a sidekick to Harry, which is not true at all. Ron feels valued by Harry and doesnt seem to mind this that much, but sometimes he seems to feel pushed to the side. He is adventurous and sometimes mischievous but usually with good intentions. In at nutshell, Hermione Granger is a know-it-all who is never shy to voice her opinion. In the same way that Harry represents courage and Ron represents loyalty, Hermione represents the only brain the trio seems to have. I honestly wonder what they would do without her. They always rely on her expert spell knowledge and quick thinking. Hermione was born to a muggle family, but she is the top student in her class. Her muggle blood makes hear a favorite target for the antagonist of the trio, Draco Malfoy. Although she disapproves of Ron and Harrys behavior (sometimes), she stands by them. When in doubt, she turns to books. She is a type of person that believes a book has the answer to almost any problem. In the book, shes stressed by work constant conflicting with Ron, so several times she snaps and lets loose of the rule breaking demon inside of her, once hitting Malfoy, and another time walking out on Divination class when the professor insulted her. It is her magic hourglass, called the time turner that allows her to go back in time to take extra classes, and helps her and Harry save Sirius and Buckbeak. Harry Potter is the thirteen-year-old protagonist of the story and the entire series. He is famous in the wizard community for being the boy who lived. When he was one year old, the most powerful dark wizard Lord Voldermort tried to kill him but the curse rebounded upon him and he nearly died. As a result of the curse rebounding back at Voldermort, Harry was left with a small lightening shaped scar on his forehead. Harry doesnt remember these events, and because was orphaned by Voldemorts attack, he lives with his aunt, uncle, and cousin. His relatives do not tolerate any mention of magic in the house. They call it the M word. He was raised just short of constant abuse. He is humble and doesnt like to take credit for accomplishments so he stays away from special treatment and praise. He wants to live a normal life in the wizarding world. He always succeeds in his quests through a mix of skill and help from his friends and then some more help from his friends. Harry runs into Sirius Black because he entered the Whomping Willow in attempt to rescue his best friend Ron. Harry would do anything for his friends Ron and Hermione. Even though he is not the most powerful wizard, or the most skilled wizard, Harry bests more experienced and more talented wizards because he is brave, quick, and resourceful. THEMES: There are many themes in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. The author J.K. Rowling is very good with putting meaning behind her words. Some of it is subtle and some of it is easily noticeable. One of the themes that I noticed is that nothing may seem what it is, that everything has another side or is two-faced. This is evident in multiple instances. We first see it when the Defense against the Dark Arts Teacher, Professor Lupin, who spends much of his time being good professor that all the Gryffindors like, and then another part as a being werewolf. We now can concur that everything is capable of having another side. We see it once again when Sirius Black turns out to be innocent. Everyone thought he was a mass murder who killed 13 people, but he wasnt. Hermione, who normally abides by rules and follows them like the bible begins to break the rules. This one may be a stretch but Buckbeak the Hippogriffs execution was reversed through an intrusion in time with Hermiones time turner. Nothing in this story is ever what it seems like. Its such a page turner that keeps you guessing and guessing again. Everything stands in a pole position to surprise you. In  Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban,  every story has two sides. Its like the Schrà ¶dingers cat thought experiment for Quantam Physics. We have to believe that the cat is both alive and dead at the same time. Its the same way with this book. We have to believe that both possibilities can happen. POINT OF VIEW: The point of view for the entire book is third person limited. Third person limited point of view is essentially living through only one character, usually the main character. In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, the character you live through is, you guessed it, Harry Potter. We get a sense of Harrys thoughts and senses constantly. We always not what he is thinking and feeling. In this book, we never stray from Harrys mind. Every single part of the book we read through Harrys, eyes, ears, smell, touch, tastes, and thoughts.

Burundi’s Millenium Development Goals Essay

This paper aims to examine the millennium development goals for Burundi, a landlocked country in the Great Lakes region of Eastern Africa. Burundi has 8 different millennium development goals that it is attempting to achieve and this paper will examine five of those goals. The millennium development goals of Burundi that will be addressed are to: (1) eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, (2) achieve universal primary education, (3) promote gender equality and empower women, (4) reduce child mortality, and (5) improve maternal health. Burundi, as well as all other less developed countries, is aiming to meet its development goals by the year 2015. And in order for Burundi to achieve each of its millennium development goals on time, the country has created targets that directly affect each of the goals and give insight into whether or not Burundi is on track to accomplish its goals. The first millennium development goal of Burundi is to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger. In order to accomplish this, the first target that Burundi wants to meet is to cut in half, between 1990 and 2015, the number of people whose income is less than one dollar a day. The second target is to halve the proportion of people who suffer from hunger between 1990 and 2015. There are many factors that must be examined to determine if progress is being made to accomplish both of these targets and essentially the overall development goal. When looking at the first target, it is important to examine the percentage of population below $1 (PPP) of consumption per day, percentage of total population below national poverty line, and the percent of the poorest quintile’s share in national income or consumption. In doing so, we see that in 1990, 84.2% of Burundi’s population that was under $1 (PPP) of consumption per day and there has been little progress since then, as it reached 86.4% in 2000 and then decreased to 81.3% in 2010. We also see that there was a very significant decrease in the percentage of total population below national poverty, going from 91.3% in 1990 to 52.4% in 2010 – which represents significant progress toward eradicating extreme poverty. It is evident that the percent of the poorest quintile’s share in national income or consumption has made little progress over the years, as it went from 8.3% in 1990, down to 5.0% in 2000 and then back up to 9.0% in 2010. For the second target, we must look at the percentage of children under 5 that are moderately or severely underweight and the percentage of population that is undernourished. When doing so, it is evident that the percentages of children under 5 that are moderately or severely underweight have greatly decreased from 1990 to 2010, as it went from 51.6% to 30.4%. Although this represents some progress, the percentage of Burundi’s population that is undernourished has not improved. In fact, Burundi’s undernourished population rose dramatically over time as it went from 49.0% in 1990 to 73.1% in 2010. The second development goal of Burundi is to achieve universal primary education. In order to achieve this goal, the country is aiming for all children, boys and girls alike, to complete a full course of primary schooling by 2015. In order to determine if Burundi is on track to meet this goal, it is essential to look at the percentage of literacy rates of 15-24 year olds, net enrollment in primary education (both sexes), and the percentage of pupils starting grade 1 and reaching grade 5 (both sexes). When examining these three measures, the numbers show that there was only slight advancement over the years in the percentage of literacy rates of 15-24 year olds and the percentage of pupils who started 1st grade and reached 5th grade. Although that was the case, there was major advancement for net enrolment in primary education. The percent of literacy rates of 15-24 year olds was 65.3% in 1990, had a slight increase to 73.3% in 2000, and then slightly increased again to 77.6% in 2010. This was similar to trends for the children who started 1st grade and made it to 5th grade, which was 44.3% in 1990, rose to 53.8% in 2000 and then hit 56.10% in 2010. On the other hand, net enrollment in primary education has seen major progress as it jumped from 19.8% in 1990 to 44.9% in 2000 to 94.5% in 2010. The third development goal of Burundi is to promote gender equality and empower women. The target to reach this goal was to eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education, preferably by 2005, and to all levels of education no later than 2015. The percentage of seats held by women in national parliament and the Gender Parity Index for primary and secondary education enrollment levels can both be used to see if Burundi is on track to meet this goal by 2015. When observing the percentage of seats held by women in national parliament over the years, it is evident that major progress has been made. This is evidenced by the fact that it went from 2.2% in 1990 and reached 94.5% in 2010. In addition, the Gender Parity Index in primary level enrollment has made pretty consistent progress over the years, but the major advancement has occurred in secondary level enrollment, as it went from .56 in 1990 to .72 in 2010. The fourth millennium development goal of Burundi is to reduce child mortality where the country set a target to reduce the under-five mortality rate by two thirds from 1990 to 2015. We can study the percentage of 1-year-old children that are immunized against measles and the mortality rate per 1,000 births for children under five years old to determine the progress that has been made to accomplish this goal. When viewing the percentage of 1-year-old children that are immunized against measles, it is apparent that this has been a key focus in Burundi over the years, as it has gone from 74% in 1990 to an astounding 94% in 2010. The mortality rate per 1,000 births for children under five years old has also shown advancement in Burundi. This can be seen by the fact that it fell from 182.6 in 1990, to 164.6 in 2000, and to 141.7 in 2010. A fifth development goal that Burundi hopes to accomplish by 2015 is to improve maternal health. They aim to reach this goal by reducing the maternal mortality rate by three quarters between 1990 and 2015. The percentage of births attended by skilled health personnel and the maternal mortality ratio per 100,000 live births are key indicators to show if Burundi is on the right path to achieve this goal. After examining the percentage of births that were attended by skilled health personnel in Burundi in 2000 compared to that of 2010, it is clear that a great amount of progress had been made. Skilled health personnel participated in only 25.2% of births in 2000 but significantly increased to 60.3% of births in 2010. And lastly, the maternal mortality ratio per 100,000 live births has slowly decreased over the last 20 years, as it went from 1100 to 1000 from 1990 to 2000 and from 1000 down to 800 from 2000 to 2010. After examining the millennium development goals for Burundi, it is evident that there has been a significant amount of progress made in many different areas. This can be seen when examining the percent of total population below national poverty line, percent of children under 5 moderately or severely underweight, percent of population that is undernourished, net enrollment in primary education (both sexes), percent of seats held by women in national parliament, Gender Parity Index in both primary and secondary level enrollment, percent of 1-year-old children that are immunized against measles, and the percent of births attended by skilled health personnel. This progress is essential because it is the only way a less developed country like Burundi has a chance to become a developed country in the future. Despite this progress, it is clear that there are also some targets that have shown minimal or no advancement and this will hinder Burundi from reaching its millennium development goals. These targets include the percent of population below $1 (PPP) consumption per day, percentage of the poorest quintile’s share in national income or consumption, percent of literacy rates of 15-24 year olds, and the percent of pupils (both sexes) starting grade 1 and reaching grade 5. If these specific targets are not achieved, it will be difficult for Burundi to reach all of its millennium development goals by 2015 despite its progress in the other targeted areas.

Impact Of Photography On The Art World - 996 Words

Changes in the art world is often looked at in a cautious light, from newer methods of digital media competing with traditional methods of painting and sculpting to the impact of photography entering the art world in a time when painting was a supremacy. To compare and contrast the challenges this introduces, the ideas presented in Aaron Scharf’s Art and Photography, Kirk Varneode’s The Artifice of Canor: Impression and Photography Reconsidered and Ian Dunlop’s Degas best references the aspects, the ideas and the approaches that artists and the art movements have made. Many artists, particularly painters in the time of the introduction of photography were reluctant and despised the idea of using the then modern form while some, such as Degas embraced and found the strangeness of fixed motion to compliment his sensitivity as a painter in the late 1800’s. Scharf’s Art and Photography commented on how Degas described his use of photographic material, writing that Degas ‘loved and appreciated photography at a time when artist despised it or did not dare admit that they made use of it’. This leads to the idea that Degas was seen as an odd figure for his era by being one of the few artist to embrace what photography brought to his practice. Degas used his interest in photography to bring back realism while many painters were dismissing the style and moving forward with the impressionist movement, they liberated themselves from the constraints that realism held to express newShow MoreRelatedPhotography Is The Human Experience1212 Words   |  5 PagesIt is truly amazing to see how far photography has come. With practical cameras only being 1800s when they were extremely large to now where everyone has one in their pocket as part of their phone. 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Born in San Francisco, California, Adams‘s first real experience with photography took place in 1916 in Yosemite National Park, where his parents took him on vacation (â€Å"Ansel Adams†). He hiked all over the park and fell completely in love with it, as

Modern Society As A Reflection Of The Picture Of Dorian...

Traditional gothic fiction was at the height of its popularity during the Victorian era, it exploded in the 1790’s and continued its reign well into the 1800’s. This confrontational style of fiction often blurs the lines of realistic and artificial, forcing readers to challenge their beliefs and surpass the norm. However, the aspect of gothic fiction that was most attractive to the Victorian audience was the way human fears and societal tensions were reflected in the deliberately fictionalised literary works. Themes such as the human greed for immortality and eternal beauty that underlie key gothic texts such as Oscar Wilde’s only novel The Picture of Dorian Gray have incited modern adaptations and the appropriation of these texts into†¦show more content†¦These fears have now been appropriated into popular culture via novels such as A Picture of Dorian Gray where â€Å"it is implied in Dorian’s wish and in his perpetual alliance with [a] deperso nalised devil† (5) that he desires not only prolonged, but eternal youth. This key gothic text was fundamental in influencing the strong value and yearning for immortality in contemporary culture. One of the most renown and distinguished novels of the twentieth century has its basis as a later manifestation of Wilde’s 1890 text. Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone, the first in J.K. Rowling’s seven part series has taken many of its core themes from previously articulated texts. The human desire for immortality and the evil that associates with this unnatural aspiration is embedded in today’s popular culture, where science and cosmetics are pushing us closer to the verge of eternal life; as we continue to extend our lives unnaturally. Both Wilde and Rowling depict mans craving for immortality as â€Å"a mad wish,† using similar themes to express this predisposition. Dorian Gray in all his immortal glory is displayed as a sinister being that is no t wholly human and therefore â€Å"walks apart in the haunts of men,†(4) Unable to truly relate to anyone he dedicates himself to the life of the Aesthete putting his own pleasure before everything else moral or otherwise. Similarly, Lord Voldemort is isolated from birth and engages in the Dark Arts as a form of companionship.Show MoreRelatedModern Society as a Reflection of the Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde1460 Words   |  6 Pagessuch as Oscar Wilde’s only novel The Picture of Dorian Gray have incited modern adaptations and the appropriation of these texts into modern culture. This text display cultural and literary disciplines entrenched in superficial concepts that have since become common in today’s shallow society. Contemporary texts such as the 2004 film The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen (based on the comic book of the same name) directed by Stephen Norrington, not only visualise the character of Dorian Gray but alsoRead MoreOscar Wilde s Th e Picture Of Dorian Gray1544 Words   |  7 Pagescelebrity I find that it is inevitable to avoid being a part of some sort of controversy. At the height of Oscar Wilde’s career is where he found himself in just that. Although Wilde’s novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray is praised today, in the late 1800s it was seen by others as a negative shift in society and literature. In the film â€Å"Wilde†, after the release of The Picture of Dorian Gray, Wilde’s wife Constance and his mother Jane have a conversation in regards to the novel that gives insight toRead MoreOscar Wilde s The Picture Of Dorian Gray1656 Words   |  7 PagesVictorian Era, although being known as the beginning of modern times, still embraced some radical views that today we would associate as prudishness and repression. In 1890, author Oscar Wilde wrote The Picture of Dorian Gray and submitted it to Lippincott’s Monthly Magazine. The magazine’s editor, J.M. Stoddert, immedi ately declined the novel and determined that it would offend the sensibilities of his readership (Wilde x). It was believed that Oscar Wilde’s book contained explicit sexual, especiallyRead More Comparing the Myth in Ovid’s Echo and Narcissus and Wilde’s Dorian Gray3137 Words   |  13 PagesEcho and Narcissus and Wilde’s Dorian Gray  Ã‚  Ã‚        Ã‚  Ã‚   Each time a story is told, elements of the original are often changed to suit new situations and current societies, or to offer a new perspective. Over the centuries, Ovid’s tale of Echo and Narcissus has been told many times to new audiences, and in the late nineteenth-century, it took the form of The Picture of Dorian Gray. Echo and Narcissus is the tale of a beautiful boy who fell in love with his reflection in a pond, and spurned othersRead MoreThe Picture of Dorian Gray 1823 Words   |  8 Pagespleasure is the most important aspect of life. In the picture of Dorian Gray, Aestheticism and Hedonism are very active philosophies used by the novel’s characters. Lord Henry influences Dorian to follow these teachings, and as a result Dorian becomes intensely vain and selfish. The portrait is in direct correlation with the immoral influence and the intense vanity. In The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde effectively uses the portrait of Dorian Gray as a sy mbol to satirize the adverse effects thatRead More Homosexuality in the Works of Oscar Wilde Essay3123 Words   |  13 PagesHomosexuality in Oscar Wildes Work      Ã‚  Ã‚   I turned half way around and saw Dorian Gray for the first time. I knew that I had come face to face with someone whose mere personality was so fascinating that, if I allowed it to do so, it would absorb my whole nature, my whole soul, my very art itself (7). During the Victorian era, this was a dangerous quote. The Victorian era was about progress. It was an attempt aimed at cleaning up the society and setting a moral standard. The Victorian eraRead MoreThe Monster Dorian Gray Essay2259 Words   |  10 PagesIn the Victorian era where vanity was the main attraction, Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray gave insight into the true horrors that came of this sinful nature. Wilde was a very controversial figure and he meant to stir the pot when he wrote this disputed story. He believed that literature was not only meant for the imagination, but for the moral mind as well. In The Picture of Dorian Gray he depicts the importance of becoming a well rounded individual and also explains himself. In oneRead MoreSocial Struggle : Mrs. Dalloway And The Picture Of Dorian Gray1439 Words   |  6 PagesSocial Struggle in Turn of the Century and Modern Narratives Throughout history there have been struggles in social relationships relating to class, race and sex. These struggles have been recorded in narratives such as Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway, Gene Luen Lang’s The Shadow Hero and Tate Taylor’s The Help throug ¬h the characters lifestyles, wealth/ lack thereof and behavior. Each of these authors, playwrights and artists give insightful portrayals ofRead MoreGothic Literature and Romantic Literature2607 Words   |  11 Pagesparallels that exist between Great Expectations and Wuthering Heights compared to Frankenstein and The Picture of Dorian Gray. In Picture of Dorian Gray, Gray deteriorates mentally. Dorian Gray is a man who is content with his appearance and stability in life. He is fascinated by his collection of foreign items. This collection of foreign items paints a picture of Gray’s fall into ruin. Gray starts his collection with exotic items that are ornate and interesting to look at. They are beautifulRead MoreGap Between Literary Gothic and Pornography1719 Words   |  7 Pages As a society, we are confronted daily with pornographic images, they feature in our newspapers, on our film screens, and even in our novels. This voyeuristic obsession the media holds has for a long time been desensitizing us to depictions of violence and sex, but has it also disabled us in being able to see the difference between what is carefully constructed satire and what is merely pornography? There is probably no text this discussion embraces more in modern gothic literature than that

The Social Workers Role in Preventing Child Abuse and...

Family violence is an issue that we as social workers will probably encounter during the course of our careers. While there are many forms of family violence, I view child abuse and neglect as the worst forms. Nothing bothers me more than knowing that somewhere, someone is abusing a completely helpless individual. I view it as our duty not only as social workers but also as humans to ensure that no child has to experience the pain and suffering involved with child abuse and neglect. This may seem like an impossible task, people have been trying for years to end child abuse with no success. I believe, however, that we have the ability to end the threat of child abuse. I hope to accomplish several things with this paper. First of all,†¦show more content†¦NCANDS defines neglect as, a type of maltreatment that refers to the failure to provide needed, age-appropriate care. Medical neglect is the failure to provide needed medical attention to a child when financially able to do so, or offered other means by which you can obtain the needed care. Emotional abuse is commonly defined as a pattern of behavior that can seriously interfere with a childs positive emotional development (American Humane Association, 1999). These definitions for the most part are meant to be guidelines not absolute definitions. A mother, who playfully threatens her child that she will be angry if she doesnt get a kiss on the cheek, will not be charged with sexual abuse even though it fits the legal definition. As social workers we must be prepared to allow for cultural differences in child rearing practices and not be quick to judge. What may seem like child abuse to one culture may not be considered abuse by another. The vast majority of cases fall in a grey area between the extremes. Within this grey area, the decision to report an incident is a function of societal standards of acceptable childrearing practices, legal definitions of abuse and neglect, and an individu als own value system (Rubin, 1992). It is also this lack of a clear, exact, and widely accepted definition of child abuse that hampers us in our fight to end it. According to NCANDS in 1996, an estimated 3,000,000 children wereShow MoreRelatedThe Welfare Policy Regulates All Stages Of A Child s Contact With State Agencies1813 Words   |  8 PagesMeaning we have to be smarter about our social welfare policies. It needs to be ensure that they really work so that they are not wasting money. Moreover, in 2004 in the United States about 3 million children were investigated because of alleged abuse or neglect. From that investigation 872, 000 children were confirmed victims of maltreatment; and an estimate 1,490 children died from abuse or neglect (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2006). Child welfare policy regulates all stages ofRead MoreThe Main Current Legislation, Guidelines, Policies and Procedures Within Own Uk Home Nation for Safeguarding Children and Young People .5596 Words   |  23 Pagessent off. Once the check is returned the successful applicant may start work. This is called a safer recruitment process. Once the new worker has started working in its new role they will receive support from senior and management staff and receive regular supervisions where they can discuss their progress in their work role. Criminal Records Bureau check. 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Case Study Managing for Organizational Integrity Free Essays

string(57) " trained and should be experience with very good skills\." [pic] [pic] [pic] SUBMITTED BY: PARSHU RAM ACHARYA MOUNT DRUITT TAFE INTRODUCTION The aim/purpose of this report is to discuss how the information systems are managed systematically in an organizational operation. How those frontline managers should be competent in managing the systems, developing business plans and budgets as well as managing the resource proposal are made are researched in sources listed in the Bibliography and the practicable application of it in business as demonstrated by the case study of Blacktown city council which is followed by the theory of manage workplace information systems with the help of class notes and further researched on the Blacktown city council and is presented as two facts information as theory and practical. To manage information systems systematically and scientifically frontline managers must be capable of identifying, acquiring, analyzing, reviewing, and using appropriate information so that the organization would run effectively and efficiently. We will write a custom essay sample on Case Study: Managing for Organizational Integrity or any similar topic only for you Order Now This report is written in such way that it satisfy all the 9 points needed for frontline managers to make right decisions at the right time for the successful operation of business, considering the proper management of a team to achieve team goals and objectives. This report has been written to satisfy the requirements of course in the ‘Electrical Engineering Unit,’ Ensure Team Effectiveness at WSI TAFE NSW Mount Druitt College. OVERVIEW: Management of information system (MIS) is a planned system of the collecting, processing, storing and disseminating data in the form of information needed to carry out the functions of management. In a way it is a documented report of the activities those were planned and executed. It can also be defined as the subset of the overall internal control of a business covering the application of people, documents, technologies, and procedures by management accountants to solving business problems such as costing a product, service or a business-wide strategy. Most importantly MIS are those systems that allow managers to make decisions for the successful operation of businesses. MIS is the process of allocating information an organization’s inputs, including human and economic resources, by planning, organizing, directing, and controlling for the purpose of producing goods or services desired by customers so that organizational objectives are accomplished. If management has knowledge of the planning, organizing, directing, and controlling of the business, its decisions can be made on the basis of facts, and decisions are more accurate and timely. As a result, the manager could easily distinguish the weaknesses and the strength of the company so that they could work them out properly by removing the drawbacks and overcoming the weaknesses and overpowering the strength so that the company could properly achieve the set goals in efficient and effective manner. In addition to this, managers should be considerably aware of the aim/ goal of the company and the overall team participation taking care of the entire team member’s Occupational Health and Safety. In the age of information technology, the need for relevant and timely information to support management in decision making is increasing due to market competition. The quickly changing environment brought about by the rapidly expanding capabilities of computer equipment has substantially shortened system’s life cycles. Consequently, management must continuously develop its organization’s information system or, soon face the competitive disadvantage resulting from obsolete information systems. 1. Blacktown city council is a governmental organisation which governed and funded by the government of Australia and it is actively participating in the development projects in cooperation with Federal Government of Australia. It is a public sector as well as community sector organisation. Its nature includes developing and initiating plans and projects, developing the strategies for the welfare and facilitating the people of entire Blacktown including the dense multicultural and diverse community. It also includes the facilities like the basics of life including the leisure and lifestyle, arts and entertainment like libraries, parks, reserves, child care centres, clubs etc. The nature of work involves governing all the people living in Blacktown as a local government and providing each and every facilities that a local government should provide and is capable of. It includes the managing waste ,cleaning the public places, constructing the parks, reserves, clubs , child care centres and repairing of all those and lots of other projects. The aim and objectives of Blacktown city council can be briefly explained as below: 1. To serve a whole Blacktown community as a parent organisation. 2. To provide each and every facilities for the diverse and dense multicultural community. 3. Carry out different planned project and implementing it for the development of Blacktown city and its welfare. 4. To workout for the different ways that can satisfies the local people and maintains the social harmony, peace, etc. 5. To provide safe environment for people in working and enjoying freely. . Safeguarding the people needs and necessities and maintain secure place to live in. The project is on the Blacktown City council, Department of planning Engineering Team’s proposal of the ‘promotion of solar city products’ initiatives. 2. Effective use of the information system is the key for the success of the company so that it is extremely necessary to ensure the effective use of organisational information systems. In cas e if the information is not immediately available strategies should be developed and the decision should be made. There are different barriers for the effective information gathering and unavailability of the immediate information. Poor documentation, poorly designed information systems, poor searching skills, inexperienced, untrained, unskilled managers, imperfect computer systems, lack of human resources and the politics are the great hidden costs in organisation which will led us to the information shortage of immediate information. Hence, the strategies involved in sorting those problems out can be described as followed: a. All the information systems should be properly designed with all the new and advance technologies. b. Outdated computer systems should be renewed and supervised with the effective and useful information. c. Information managing staffs should be trained and should be experience with very good skills. You read "Case Study: Managing for Organizational Integrity" in category "Free Case study samples" d. Human resources should be properly managed and workload to the workers reduced. Also information should be gathered with best methods with raw data continually scanned and selected most useful pieces in timely manner. Examples of some common processes would include: 1. Interviews with focussed questions towards organisational goal. 2. Reports should be with good secondary source of information. 3. Focusing group also including a way of getting brainstorming ideas on a particular topic from people who represent a range of employee, client or supplier positions. 4. Questionnaires wit questions of carefully worded to lead to people to respond in a certain way. 3. To ensure the proper management of information systems it is necessary that collection of information should be timely, adequate and relevant to the needs of various teams. For the information to be on the effective use it should be available on when it is needed so that information should gathered and organised on the time. Adequate data is the complete data which is sufficient information when it is needed to be applied. Relevant information is also called as- to the point, means which is accurate information. Untimely and inadequate data or information could even mislead the information systems from achieving it goals. So it becomes necessary to monitor that information be relevant, sufficient and on at right time. Before the implementation of the strategies it is necessary to review the organisational goal or purpose as well as occupational health and safety as these are the things which matters the most. The range of strategies that ensures the collection of information is timely, relevant and adequate to the needs of the teams can be explained in details as below: a. Transactions processing systems: All the transactions should be constantly monitored by the information system . All the processes of the transactions should be recorded in the database as sale items, amount, time, date, employee etc. o that each and every data goes to the system. b. management information system: Data base plays the most important role in information management system covering in about each and every sections of the organisation. If database is managed timely and properly, it will be relevant, adequate and timely information. c. Decision support system: As decision making is the most important and crucial part of management of any organisation, decision support system plays a vital role in it. So it provides interactive information support to managers during the decision making process. This would help in timely and relevant decision making. . Manual systems: Although electronics and digital systems become the basics of information management, manual systems are equally important yet. Filing cabinets, message books, phone directories and card systems are all legitimate information systems which are still used and plays one of important role in timely and adequate information management. The success of these strategies could be measured by comparing that information with the new information and the weakness and drawbacks can be correctly categorized and figured out so that managers have the right vision of their outcomes and goal. Implementation of all those systems correctly would also ensure the managerial success as well as the strategic success in organisation. 4. Planning is the basics of organisational success, as every outcome depends upon its performance plan and its implementation. The organisational strategic planning processes produce a direct impact on the organisational aim or goal. So it becomes extremely necessary that it should be on the right tract on the organisational benefit. Hence the strategic processes that would identify and report relevant information to support the organisation’s strategic planning processes. At team level, resource planning involves planning for the resources ( staffs, equipment, budget, technology, Company databases, Integrated management software, Client relationship management tool, Supply chain management tool, Application jobs, Network infrastructure, Data servers and storage systems, Security devices) that is needed for next cycle. Not everyone will be involved in the macro- level resource planning that involves the acquisition of capital and other big ticket items. However it is important that everyone in an organization undertakes this at the macro level. Many organizations have specialists or staff whose roles are dedicated to resource planning. Computer plays main role as the prerequisites for all the information systems. While computers cannot create business strategies by themselves they can assist management in understanding the effects of their strategies, and help enable effective decision-making. MIS systems can be used to transform data into information useful for decision making. Computers can provide financial statements and performance reports to assist in the planning, monitoring and implementation of strategy. MIS systems provide a valuable function in that they can collate into coherent reports unmanageable volumes of data that would otherwise be broadly useless to decision makers. By studying these reports decision-makers can identify patterns and trends that would have remained unseen if the raw data were consulted manually. Those principles are relevant for the proposals that manager might take at a macro level. Most importantly the strategic planning processes can be identified and report relevant information can be supported by the following types of Systems: a. Management information systems can be used as a support to managers to provide a competitive advantage. The system must support the goals of the organization. Most organizations are structured along functional lines, and the typical systems are identified as follows: b. Accounting management information systems: All accounting reports are shared by all levels of accounting managers. c. Financial management information systems: The financial management information system provides financial information to all financial managers within an organization including the chief financial officer. The chief financial officer analyses historical and current financial activity, projects future financial needs, and monitors and controls the use of funds over time using the information developed by the MIS department. d. Manufacturing management information systems: More than any functional area, operations have been impacted by great advances in technology. As a result, manufacturing operations have changed. For instance, inventories are provided just in time so that great amounts of money are not spent for warehousing huge inventories. In some instances, raw materials are even processed on railroad cars waiting to be sent directly to the factory. Thus there is no need for warehousing. e. Marketing management information systems: A marketing management information system supports managerial activity in the area of product development, distribution, pricing decisions, promotional effectiveness, and sales forecasting. More than any other functional areas, marketing systems rely on external sources of data. These sources include competition and customers, for example. f. Human resources management information systems: Human resources management information systems are concerned with activities related to workers, managers, and other individuals employed by the organization. Because the personnel function relates to all other areas in business, the human resources management information system plays a valuable role in ensuring organizational success. Activities performed by the human resources management information systems include, work-force analysis and planning, hiring, training, and job assignments. The above are examples of the major management information systems which would support the decision making and the report relevant information at the strategic level. There may be other management information systems if the company is identified by different functional areas. 5. Technology plays the role of backbone in the context of information management. All the technology should be used in such a manner that it ensures the complete utilization as well as it ensures that it can satisfy the level of information that an organisation need to fulfil its goal. So this technological information should satisfy the demand of the organisation. It is obvious that any organisation is not same every time and change according to the time. So the information system or technology cannot be able to satisfy the nature of change in the information system in an organisation. So it becomes an essential that technology should be constantly monitored and constantly improved. The manager should be able of getting most out of the available technology to the organisation so that at the minimum cost and expenses company could get the maximum benefits. It is necessary to understand that the amount of information is not the problem but rather the lack of effective tools and skills to manage, use and store the information. The information is in the system or technology is available is not a guarantee you are deriving maximum benefit from it. So the using of technology effectively can be briefly explained in the following ways: a. The resources of the organisation such as intranet and email or the existing developed system are reliable so that it does not affect the availability of information at any point of time. . People have been adequately briefed or trained on the use and features of the technology available so that they can properly handle the information systems and make the maximum use of available resources. c. Policies, training materials, the staff phone directory and other vital information stored on the company intranet. This saves paper and ensures all staff has up to date information. d. A filing system should be organ ised in such a manner that it can be clearly and easily available to the people who are in need of it and it saves the vital time. e. A regular maintenance process to remove documents, customers and other information that is no longer relevant or current. f. People should be trained on the regular manner so that they could properly deal with the demand of the new and developing information systems. 6. The proper management of information also includes the team involvement and it is extremely necessary that whole team is working as a unit so that maximum utilization of resources can be done with minimum input if the team work as one unit. So it becomes necessary to ensure team effectiveness. Ensuring Team Effectiveness in a team plays the most important role in achieving goals and objectives of the overall organization and the team itself. The team’s purpose, roles, responsibilities, goals, plans, and objectives should be identified and these are related to the organizational goals, plans and objectives. Each and every team members should be supported in meeting the expected outcomes. Plans are developed to ensure that work required by the organization to carry out its goals. Opportunities should be created and should be properly managed for the team to provide input into ny of the team’s operations including decision making. To get maximum out of team or utilising the involvement of team in the workplace is the responsibility of manager. So managers should come out with the strategies which would maximise team contribution, involvement and support for the business plan and budgets. The strategies would involve following: 1. Each and ever team membersâ€⠄¢ occupational health and safety should be ensured so that all the staff can concentrate on their work and give maximum of them. 2. eam members should be motivated towards their job and they should be constantly be considering the aim or goal of the organisation is and how they can contribute as an individual and as a team member for the company goal. 3. Team should be involved in business plan so that that the planning and its implement would be better. The common elements of business plan including Executive summary, vision, company description, action plan, market position, product or services, operation, marketing/ sales, financial information. So if all these information are available for entire team for the business plan, team contribution would be increased. . Budgeting process should involve feedback from all key stakeholders. Apart from the intimate knowledge, team members have of operation, involving them will make them know and understand what you are trying to achieve. If they are involved in target setting, they are more likely to accept the targets and be motivated to perform. The budgets including Revenue budget, expense budget, profit budget, cash budget, capital expenditure budget, variable budgets should be properly fixed out and the forecasting and its utilization should be properly managed. 7. Success of organisation depends upon its planning and implementation. Planning plays vital role as what ever is planned the ultimate destination of the company as well as workplace information systems. Planning is directly associated with the organisational aim or goal, it becomes necessary that planning would be effective and its implementation can be carried out efficiently. With only one development phase remaining before the new system is to put into use, managers and information specialists have a good understanding of the work necessary to implementation plan. This planning process should be a function of line management, at least as far as key decisions or alternative plans are concerned. The systems analyst may prepare plans to assist managers, but managers must have the last say. At the same time, managers require the services of the systems analyst to detail plans. The major strategies involved in implementation of plans, tasks, or milestones, can be discussed as following: a. planning implementation activities should be carried out in taking consideration of the aim or purpose of company, information systems and the occupational health and safety; b. nnouncing the implementation is to be done so as to inform the employees of the decision to implement the new system and to ask for the employees’ cooperation ; c. organising for implementation can be described as assigning the project and information managers as well as all the new facilities including offices and information resources and equipments; d. acquiring resources, facil ities and offices including the installation of a new system to replacea currentone and major revision of the facilities; e. btaining the hardware resources; it plays major role in information systems as it would be the equipment for the management of workplace information including computers; f. Obtaining the software resources; Information managers are assign with the responsibility of the management of software required for all the information systems. The software like intranet, company websites, database should be obtained and managed by the managers; g. preparing the database; data base should be designed according to the need of the information system of the organisation; h. ducating and training the participants and users; and i. the cutover to new system. The plans should list all subtasks for each of these major tasks so that individuals in the organisation may be assigned specific responsibilities. Developing good user documentation is an important part of the implementat ion process. Documentation is extremely important in diagnosing errors and marking changes, especially if end users or systems analyst that developed the system are no longer with the organisation. The documentation of manual IS may consist of: . Announce the implementation 3. Organise for implementation 4. Acquire resources, facilities and offices 5. Obtain resources-hardware 6. Obtain resources-softwares 7. Prepare the database 8. Educate and train the participants and users Managing the contingency plans should be prepared to address an unexpected change to the plan of the organisation and information systems. So managers should prepare the plans required in case of change like industrial disputes, supply problems, loss of a key customer, and fire damage to key equipment. The effective management of contingency plans would be : a. to identify the internal and external factor in the organisation that can cause a significant change to happen to the organisation b. ask a series of ‘what if †¦. ’ question around those factors that affect your organisation c. brainstorm some suggestions on how you could best meet those situations with no, or minimum, disruption to your business d. briefly record these plans and file in case of need. It will benefit you update these plans each year as part of your normal planning or budgeting process. 8. Resources plays important role in the organisational information systems as they are the basics of the information. So managing the equipments, like hardware software, databases etc. should be done. To do these resource proposals and estimates of the resources should be developed. For this, consultation should be carried out with the stakeholders and proposals should match the organisational business plans and organisational goal. The installation of a new system too replace a current on may require a major revision of facilities as well as completely new offices, computer rooms, and production layouts. The project manager must prepare rough layouts and estimates and submit a proposal for approval. Facilities and space planning should begin as soon as approval of gross space allocations has been obtained. the urgency for such planning is two-fold. First here may be a long lead-time if new partitions, electrical work, air conditioning and even new building are required. Second, the detailed workflow depends upon the physical arrangements of building. The training personnel will be more successful if their operations are base on exact physical relationships mong the people and the equipment in the work processes. Hardware resources: The system design is made available to the suppliers of the type of computing equipment contained in the approved configuration. Each supplier is provided with the request for proposal. The description of the system design enables the suppliers to select those computing units that will d the best job. The installation schedule tells the suppliers when the equipment must be delivered and made ready for use. When suppliers choose to complete for the order, they each prepare a written proposal. When all the proposal have been received and analysed, the steering committee selects the suppliers. The information specialists provide support for this decision by studying the proposals and making recommendations. With the acquisitions approved, the firm places the order. Software Resources: When a firm decides to create its own application software, the programmer uses the documentqation prepared by the systems analysts as the starting point. The programmer may prepare more detailed documentation, such as structured English or program flowcharts. The coding is performed and the programs are tested. The end products is a software library of the application programs. 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: The project for the Blacktown solar cities is running from 2006 to 2013 and this business plan has been developed in the context of the solar city vision for the promotion of solar cities products. As planning and development section of Blacktown city council are committed to the conservation, restoration and enhancement of an environment which plays an important role in balancing the social, economic and environmental imperatives in Blacktown city. This initiative has the aim to promote solar products that reflect the Council’s positive vision towards environment. The initiative is to train and equip a team of consultants who will promote solar products offered by Blacktown council as a solar city initiative. This team will conduct home interest in the range of solar products and encourage people for using these solar products so that they could get reasonable benefits as well as contribute towards the environment. The members of this team will inform and register the potential consumers of the council’s range of products. The timing period of this initiative is one year after which it will be reviewed for its inclusion onto 2010-2011 Blacktown council’s management budget. The estimated cost of this initiative is $53,705. Details of expenditure are listed as facts in the action plan summary. As the total budget allocation for health and environment services for 2009-2010 is $1,676,128. With its help Blacktown residents, business and community organisations save money by using energy more wisely, contribute towards environment, saving energy and generating their own energy then it should be considered worthwhile. This initiative is taken in response to a lack of formally recruited consultants who will be promoting the Solar City products in the Blacktown area. The types of products being promoted includes different packages that will be provided featuring solar PV, solar hot water, energy efficiency, free energy audits, smart meters, demand management, cost reflective pricing and innovative financing which would be easy, economic, effective and efficient. 2. Vision: The ‘promotion of Solar City Products’ initiative is consistent with the Solar City Vision of the Blacktown Council. This is outlined below: Blacktown Solar City Facts Blacktown City is the first Solar City in New South Wales. With funding under the Australian Government’s $75 million Solar Cities initiative, the Blacktown Solar City consortium is working with industry, businesses and the local community to rethink the way they produce and use energy. PRACTICAL BENEFITS OF SOLAR CITY VISION FOR THE LOCAL COMMUNITY †¢ Over one megawatt of solar electricity technology will be installed on private and public housing and on commercial and iconic buildings, which saves a lot of electricity which could be sold to the foreign country to have a good national income as well would be supplied to the remote part of the country. †¢ Financial solutions will be available to help consumers finance their solar systems so that there will be no financial problems for it. †¢ About 5000 job vacancy will be created so as to fight with the current job losses and economic downturn in the country. More than 2,100 solar water heaters will be installed in private and public housing, which will help to reduce the bill as well as use right source of energy. †¢ 3,500 energy efficiency consultations for households and businesses which would serve people. †¢ 30,000 energy efficinency packs will be available for households and commercial customers, to support their energy efficient choices. †¢ Offering 1,000 customers the opportunity to adopt pricing structures that allow them to save money by changing the times they use energy. 200 households will receive discounted ceiling insulation packages to participate in a trial to measure energy savings from properly installed insulation. †¢ A trial giving energy providers direct access to air conditioner and pool pump switches will be conducted during periods of peak electricity demand. †¢ 4,000 smart meters will give residential customers timely information on energy use. 3. PROFILE OF BLACKTOWN CITY COUNCIL: Blacktown city council is just 35 km from the Sydney CBD. It is a home to over 295,000 people making it as the largest local government area in New South Wales. Blacktown city population is spread across 46 suburbs. The 12 industrial estates, 2 major retail centres and 30 local retail and commercial centres are providing employment for more than 100,000 multicultural and varied diverse individuals. Five leisure centres, four libraries , over 20 child care facilities, as well as high profile clubs, tourism , sporting, entertainment, accommodation, conference and other recreational facilities and some 850 parks and reserves are fulfilling the demands of leisure and lifestyle, and arts and entertainment of local people. The council has a debt free budget of over $275 million. 15 councillors including Mayer of Blacktown city are running the council. This council is highly efficient in waste management and strongly protective of our environment. This council was awarded the state’s most prestigious local government award for performing to the highest standards of excellence in public services. 4. ACTION PLAN |Long Term Goal |To promote the range of Solar Products provided by Blacktown Council in the city of Blacktown by | | |2010. |Short to Medium Term Objectives |To train and equip 15 consultants to represent the range of Solar Products offered by Blacktown | | |Council. | | |To Support a team of consultants to inform and register potential consumers of the Blacktown | | |council’s range of Solar Products. | Strategies over next 1 |Actions to achieve Key Results |Expenditure |Timing |Responsibility | | |year | | | | | | |Recruit and determine |Planning for all activities: Advertisement , | |June 01-june09 |Human resources, | | |Training needs of |training, managing people, interviewing, | | |15 engineers. | | |Consultants Team. |workshops etc. | | |External | | | |Salary for working 2 days Per week or 15 |$30*15*16 hrs |June09-june10 |organisation for | | | |consultants |$70*6hrs*4days |June*4 days |all those | | | |Training with the operation of solar panels |$35*4hrs*2days |July*2days |activities | | | |and solar technology |$30*15stud |July*6hrs |including, | | | |Training in council code of conduct. $80*15stud |July*6hrs |trainer, | | | |TAFE course: 24962A customer service |$775*15stud |June*16hrs |advertisement | | | |Laptop computer course | | |agents, | | | |Consulting workshop(consultant training | | |interviewer, | | | |Australia) | | |trainer | | |Determine and implement |Council uniforms:$10/shirt*5shirts(each |$50 |July |Team leader, | | |facilities and equipment |working day). 50 /pair of pants *5(each |$250 |July |purchase | | |ofr Consultants Teamà ¢â‚¬â„¢s |working day) | |July |department | | |home visits |Paper copy contract |$15000 |July | | | | |Toshiba laptops at $1000ea*15 |$720 |July | | | | |Sample kits containing pamphlet and DVD |$1500 | | | | | |showcase at $5ea* 10kits *15 consultants. $33750 |July | | | | |Nokia Mobile pone $100 ea |$3750 |july | | | | |Council fleet car/ Petrol card 45*15*50 weeks | | | | | |3. Determine and | |$3582 | | | |implement support systes |Wireless internet for support(unwired | |July09-June10. |Engineers, external | |to enable the consultants|internet)$19. 0/month x15x 12 months | | |sources | |team’s home visit | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 5. Key Aims, objectives and benefits to be gained: a. Savings of over 22 gigawatt-hours of electricity annually. b. Contribution to the national economic growth and fight against job losses. c. Reduced greenhouse emissions by more than 24000 tonnes each year which would contribute on the environment. d. Annual savings of $3 million in electricity bills for the Blacktown City community. e. Valuable information and lessons learned will inform energy and greenhouse policies. f. Use of perpetual source of energy and contribution towards safe and healthy environment. g. Increasing the economy of Blacktown as well as Australia. 6. Capital and other requirements: The total expenditure for the action plan would be utilised to implement the plan. So the capital amount would be required to be $100,000 as $81,037 would be the total expenditure in performing the above mentioned activities in the case of implementing the action plan. Within the capital amount, the expenditure should be satisfied fulfilling all necessary equipments including laptops, personal office setups, salaries, training etc. 7. TIMELINE: As the whole project of Blacktown solar city has got a big timeline of 7 years from 2006 to 2013. But it is for the completion of the project. This action plan for project of solar city should be completed within 2010. When starting from June 1, the starting or the implementing the action plan would take up to July 30. But this is just the starting of the implementation of the action plan. The entire year left from July till 2010 would include the implementation, which would include the working days for team of 15 members of engineers. 8. RESEARCH UNDERTAKEN AND DATA COLLECTION: A research undertaken includes the survey conducted in the Blacktown city. The survey through telephone, direct conversation, Feedback from the website, consultation with the analysts of the Blacktown city council also with all the staffs, public areas, e-mail, mailbox etc. can be done to collect the data and know the weakness area and the strong ponit. The data collection in the database would also includes the feedbacks with recommendations, which can be reviewed for the change in strategies and plan for the Blacktown solar city. 9. VERIFICATION OF DATA: The forth coming data collected from the overall survey is needed to be verified. All of those data should be checked and confirmed that those data would give the idea that what brings the clear concepts of the public vision and city council can know what they want and how they want. So this data must be review by the approved person in the organisation who can sort out the issues relating the data collection through the researched. This data is send to the team manager or the chief engineer for review. 10. FINANCIAL CALCULATION AND CAPITAL SOURCES: Blacktown City Council is dedicated to providing residents with the best possible living and working environments, as well as making plans for the future that promote the interests of those who live, work and play in the City. The 2009-2012 Management Plan (including 09/10 Budget) was adopted by Council on the 17 of June 2009. It outlines how Council will allocate it’s resources to service the City in a financially responsible and equitable manner, to ensure quality services and resources are delivered to our community. Based on the expenditure, the capital amount which is the direct source from the budget is to be outlined. Blacktown city council expanses in the field of solar city project are about $100,000 and which includes $53,705 for the initiatives and remaining of the budget is to be modified or reviewed by the chief engineer or the team leader, So that the proper utilization of budget is carried out. 11. RECOMMENDATIONS: This proposal recommends that the idea behind implementing the project, Blacktown solar city is the best thing to do by a local government like Blacktown city council. The benefits of solar products such as solar water heater, solar PV, etc to the people would certainly encourage the Blacktown city resident for contributing in environment conservation and global warming reduction. This projects should run not only on the Blacktown premises but should be carried out in whole world so that every one in the world would get benefit of it and we could see better future. Conclusion: The above mentioned facts of theoretical way of managing workplace information systems and their practicable application in the Blacktown city councils’ solar city project would satisfies all the basics required for the management of workplace information systems. Bibliography: 1. www. blacktown. nsw. com. au 2. www. integral. com. au 3. Handouts given in the class about the case study of blacktown city council. THE END How to cite Case Study: Managing for Organizational Integrity, Free Case study samples

Psychiatric Diagnosis and Scientific Evidence

Question: Discuss about the Psychiatric Diagnosis and Scientific Evidence. Answer: Introduction Most consumers or people with mental illness often consult Psychiatric to get diagnosed with their ailment. This is irrespective of the fact that, in modern times, Psychiatric is seen as a disease that does not exist but a mere perception of illness (Kent, Manca, 2014). Opinions are divided as to whether the treatment has any significant effect on consumers and whether it is indeed helpful. Thus, in this essay, I intend to analyze, by giving evidence from scientific materials and videos, the notion that there exists no scientific proof to suggest that psychiatric treatment can help consumers recover. Additionally, there is no such thing as mental illness but a perception created by psychiatrists or society. In addition to that, specifically, the essay will take the position of agreeing with the statement, that psychiatric medications do not help consumer recover. The Movie How Mad Are You The movie has several characters, however, it is important that I consider Kees Boot as one of the characters in the movie that a person can consider. Kees Boot has a mental illness according to the movie. The panel, one of whom is a psychiatrist fail to recognize the illness that Kees is suffering from, making it hard to tell whether the Kees is mentally ill or just societal perception. Even though he has a record of mental illness, health professionals in the movie give a different opinion. To start with, the movie analyzes ten volunteers; among them are five people who have been diagnosed having psychiatrist disorders. In the movie, the experts clearly make three opinions that differ from previous analysis of those under test. Precisely, they incorrectly state that one person among the volunteers has a bipolar disorder and while the other has a mood disorder. In reality, one of the two persons is said to have experienced depression. Moreover, the experts erroneously stated that on e person had a history of schizophrenia while in fact; it is never the case (De Leon, 2013). In the end, it is clear that mental illness is based on perceptions but in reality, no evidence is there to prove its existence. As evident, the experts give opinions that are different from what the two patients are ascribed with by the society. On the other hand, another person believed to have a certain disorder is diagnosed with a different one, according to the psychiatrists (Kirsch, 2015). Therefore, it is to conclude that, scientifically, one cannot validate treatment by psychiatrists. Additionally, rely on them to give a sure way of recovering as it is highly likely, as depicted in the movie, to give variation in treatment as a result of different opinion concerning mental state of a person. The film that was originally aired by the BBC, and produced and also directed by Rob Liddell was a movie or program that tried to identify the character traits of people who have mental illness and those that are fit. Additionally, the film explores the validity and reliability of psychiatry in finding out whether a person is mentally ill or healthy. In addition to that, it covers incorrect diagnosis of mental illness and the implications it has on the social spectrum as far as mental illness is concerned (Tavakoli, 2009). The program which takes several weeks clearly reveals the inability of psychiatrists to detect depression at the fourth week. Part two of the movie reveals that the experts can only identify the state of mental illness by observation and by conducting a short interview but not carry out the usual clinical procedure. Selling Sickness Movie It is a movie that was acted based on a book with the same name. The movie entails massive marketing of SSRI drugs which are portrayed as harmful rather than helpful to consumers. The movie contains a fellow, who is a psychiatrist by the name David Healy. He relentlessly condemns pharmaceutical industries. On the other hand, Vince Parry and Murray Stein, head of advertising agency and a researcher of drugs that treats social anxiety, respectively, embrace the use of drugs to as antidepressant (Aboraya, 2010). The documentary elaborates why people ought to be cautious on pharmaceutical industries as a way to seek solutions for their mental illnesses. In the documentary, a drug is known as Paxil receive mixed feelings from consumers. For instance, a character known as Amy in the documentary praises the drug as it helped her recover from panic disorder. On the other hand, towards the end of the documentary, it is clear that Harry and Deborah charge the company that introduced the drug f or it being habit forming, thus introducing a problem instead of solving it. Thus, the documentary presents evidence that people; or rather consumers ought not to trust pharmaceutical companies to offer antidepressants. Antidepressants are drugs mostly prescribed by psychiatrists to consumers (Kent, Manca, 2014). Scientific Evidence In addition to the video and the documentary above, scientific materials oppose the use of psychiatry as a way to diagnose consumers because they do not help consumers. Firstly, is that mental illness interpretation appears to be presented as an objective reality (Wand, 2013). This is a clear flaw in diagnosis the judgment will rely on what can be observed or how the psychiatrist interprets the behavior and self-report, this makes it liable to variation or bias, making it to fail to fall under categories of illnesses. Additionally, the perceived ailment can be as a result of peoples experiences. In addition to that, it can be as a result of familial and personal historical contexts. Moreover, it is believed that the perception of existence of such illnesses has close links or is embedded in a western perspective. Thus, it becomes so difficult to argue that it does not have elements of discrimination in its practice, in regards to ethnicity, sexuality, gender and class (AmericanPsycho logical Association, 2013). In addition to that, diagnosis of mental illness has been heavily criticized by scientists because of their poor clinical utility. In that, if a person has been diagnosed with a certain disorder, psychiatrists do not give clear guidelines for clinicians to use to provide treatments (Wyatt, 2009). Moreover, consumers have complained about comorbidity problem. It refers to a condition where a consumer is given more than one diagnosis, a condition where psychiatrists fail to agree on which mental illness a person suffers from or is affecting a person. In modern times, people have been accustomed to drug treatments and biological explanations based treatments (Deacon, 2013). Scientific research states that this is the way to go as one can easily observe their effectiveness as well as how the brain functions. Effectiveness of Psychotic Medications Scientists for providing drugs have criticized behavioral analysts medications or drugs. According to research, such drugs are effective for a short term but still, some remain of less importance. Reviews indicate that placebo, a psychotic medication accounted 75% improvement in patients (Kent, Manca, 2014). However, the 25 per cent that remained was traced to represent the side effects that the drug generates. On the other hand, another review showed Paxil to be a more advanced drug than placebo at improving signs that come as a result of signs of acute, but posed a serious threat as far as its side effects are concerned, thus making it even worse than placebo. Furthermore, statistics show a high rate of consumers stops taking psychotic medications due to their side effects. In not more than 18 months, 64% to almost 82% of individuals prescribed to take Trilafon, Zyprexa, and Geodon, which are psychotic drugs, discontinued medications. Scientists have never come forward to embrace the figures but rather, the idea sounds disturbing (Gambrill, 2014). Therefore, in as much as psychiatrists continue to practice, there is no evidence, scientifically, to embrace their drugs or even prove that they have been able to come up with successful ways to treat consumers. Why Scientists Reject But not Approve Psychiatrists. One of the things that make scientist reject or fail to recognize mental illness worth administering treatment and medication to a patient is the flaw of generalization and lack of concrete proof that the disease actually exists. This entails putting a subject group to represent a general population. Additionally, mental illness can be as a result of pregnant or lactating women who tend to have behaviors likely to suggest that they are mentally ill (Surs, Holliday, North, 2016). Another group is those with previous record of mental illness apart from the one under treatment and those with suicidal ideas. It is information in regards to antidepressants, anti-mania, anti-anxiety medications among others. Scientists believe that clients need to know the use of such drugs, their effectiveness and side effects (Kent, Manca, 2014). Lastly, the idea that most psychiatrists subscribe to, in that there exists a unitary way of putting mental illness. General medicine rejects this notion beca use conditions ordinarily conceptualize from normal to pathological, but do not depend on one way to determine whether the presence or absence of a disease (De Leon, 2013) Conclusion It is evident, from the discussion above; mental illness is a condition that largely relies on perception as psychiatrist gives inconsistent opinion on the perceived illness. Additionally, their medications do not help consumers recover from the perceived illness. In fact, what exists is evidence that proves why psychiatric should not be practicing as an expert because they are inconsistent and their medications have side effects that make consumers discontinue using them. It is also clear that a person mental state is ascribed to different illness depending on who analyze the person, which is not in tandem with general medicine. These are serious issues that scientists have put forward, to conclude that mental illness is based on perception. Lastly, there is no evidence of patients who have successfully recovered through the practice, which further explains why the practice is questionable. References American Psychological Association. (2013). Recognition of psychotherapy effectiveness.Psychotherapy(Chicago, Ill.),50(1), 102. Aboraya, A. (2010). Scientific Forum on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, (DSM-V)--An Invitation.Psychiatry (1550-5952),7(11). Kirsch, I. (2015). Antidepressants and the placebo effect.Zeitschrift fr Psychologie. Deacon, B. (2013). The biomedical model of mental disorder: A critical analysis of its validity, utility, and effects on psychotherapy research. Clinical Psychology Review, 33, 846-861. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2012.09.007 De Leon, J. (2013). Is psychiatry scientific? A letter to a 21st century psychiatry resident.Psychiatryinvestigation,10(3), 205-217. Gambrill, E. (2014). The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders as a major form of dehumanisation in the modern world. Research on Social Work Practice, 24, 13-36. https://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1049731513499411 Johnstone, L. (2008). Psychiatric diagnosis. In R. Tummey T. Turner (Eds.), Critical issues in mental health (pp. 5-22). New York, NJ: Palgrave Macmillan. Wand, T. (2013). Positioning mental health nursing practice within a positive health paradigm. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 2, 116-124. https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1447-0349.2012.00848.x (Wand's article is primarily for nursing students but midwifery students may find some of the information in the article relevant to their practice and the assessments) Wyatt, W. J. (2009). Behavior analysis in the era of medicalization: The state of the science and recommendations for practitioners. Behavior Analysis in Practice, 2(2), 49-57. Surs, A., Holliday, R., North, C. S. (2016). The evolution of the classification of psychiatric disorders.Behavioral Sciences,6(1), 5. Tavakoli, H. R. (2009). A closer evaluation of current methods in psychiatric assessments: a challenge for the biopsychosocial model.Psychiatry (Edgmont),6(2), 25. Kent, S. A., Manca, T. A. (2014). A war over mental health professionalism: Scientology versus psychiatry.Mental health, religion culture,17(1), 1-23.