History of political parties in the United States Essay

For many years, there have been two major political parties in the United States. Today’s American political parties, Democratic Party and the Republican Party developed from the federal and anti federal parties. However, although no other major political parties have developed, the constitution of the United States does not restrict creation of more parties. The reason for dominance of the United States politics by the democrats and the republicans has been due to the belief among the Americans that their candidate will win only if they are from a major political party. The founding fathers of the United States of America had a negative view of political parties. They were influenced by classical republicans who argued that political parties would promote factional interests and misconduct of public officials. However, the Jeffersonian and Hamiltonians later emerged which was followed by the federalists and anti federalists which led to the formation of a federal government towards the end of 18th century. As the political leaders tried to address issues related to economical and social interest of different regions, they mobilized support from different regions to secure political influence during the election. The federalist focused on the interest of the elites in New England and states in Middle Atlantic. They advocated for a more vigilant government that will secure and give room for their economic development. The Republicans, who were anti federalist, on the other hand promoted social pluralism and supported commercial policies that promoted an economy dominated by agriculture (Boyer, Para 1). Although the fight between the Federalist Party and the Republican Party was severe, the activities of political parties in the early 19th century were limited and the voters’ turnout was low. Parties did not develop extensive systems to promote their interest while voters were less committed to their parties. In 1815, the Federalist Party collapsed while the Republican Party split into different factions. In 1820, political parties reappeared with more struggles and battle for authority and influence in the central government. By mid 19th century, a need for an organized electorate and election process had evolved. The Republicans and the Federalists evolved into the Democrats and the Whigs respectively. A Democratic President, Andrew Jackson, was elected in 1828 who favored a limited government. He was opposed by the Whigs who supported an economically oriented government. During the same time, the political parties were greatly influenced by religion. Political parties used campaigns extravaganza and newspaper to spread their ideologies and gather support among the voters while the voters increased their loyalty to the parties and large number were involved in elections. The authorities of the political parties increased. The presence of Electoral College in the constitution restricted the number of major political parties while parties limited the number of candidates at the local level (Aldrich, p 126). War between political parties became unusually intense after the civil war. The fight was between two parties in an election that was considered the best structured and most partisan in the history of the United States. With the increased industrialization, the federal economic policies were supported by the economic elites which called for the Republican to strengthen their pro commercial positions. On the other hand, the Democrats had support from the agricultural states in the south and among the town immigrant laborers who had run away from the Republicans’ hostility. However, the Democrats did not win all support from the agricultural states and the laborers while the Republicans were favored by partisan loyalty, war memories and hostility of ethnic groups. The less economically empowered workers and farmers in the west did not give room for the developing third parties in the populist era and the gilded age. These parties included the Greenback labor in the gilded age and the Populist Party in the populist era. In the mid 1890s election campaigns, the Democrats led by Bryan attracted these small factions in a bid to beat the Republicans in the 1896 general election. However, this strategy did not work as they were beaten by the Republicans led by McKinley. This election transformed the politics of the United States and the Republicans dominated the American politics for a long time (Payan, pg 23). The progressive era also saw some changes in the political parties. More and more economic elites started gaining interests in politics and political parties. Businessmen combined efforts with political reformers to strengthen the remaining anti-party opinions among the Americans and completely changed political culture in the United States. Using their anti partisan ideologies, they pushed for politics which are unselfish and corruption free. They pushed for legislations that limited the parties control over nominations and election processes. This was a big blow for the political parties since this was their major source of funds to fund their activities and this limited the operations of political parties. This move had far reaching consequences on political parties (Boyer, Para 8). In 1930s, major reshuffling of ideologies affected political parties. Among the Democrats, a group of urban politicians rose to seek federal welfare policies which were a major blow to their dedication to limited government. The great depression also led to alignment of the electoral systems which had a negative impact on Republican Party. Led by Roosevelt and his New Deal promise to the Americans, the Democrats took the advantage of the situation by expanding the role of the central government and promised the Americans prosperity socially and economically. However, they received some resistance from the south who opposed the liberal democrats’ idea about civil right although many republican loyal African American defected to support the New Deal. For survival, some of Republican politicians adopted democrats’ ideas as the Republican Party lost popularity among the voters. However, they were able to revive their political influence during the reign of President Eisenhower in mid 20th century. In 1960s, Democrats rose to power and with the backup from some liberal Republicans; they promoted their social policies including civil rights of minority groups (Schlesinger, p 177). Some political alignment took place in 1960s where several republicans defected and joined the democrats while many white Americans in the south defected and became republicans. The effects of progressive era event become increasingly evident and political parties were becoming less influential in the election process. The advent of television as a means of passing political ideologies also transformed political parties. The identification of voter with political parties and loyalty weakened as voters became less settled. Voter reacted to every day’s political crisis and supported a more charismatic politician as opposed to pegging on party loyalty (Boyer, Para 10). The alleged abuse of office and powers by the politicians, such as in the Vietnam War and the involvement of White House officials in the Watergate scandal which accompanied defections from political parties destabilized the electoral systems. The antigovernment disposition of the public favored the republican in the 1980s which led to election of the conservative President, Reagan. The Democrats were accused of poor policies that led to inflations and riots over civil rights. Reagan administration weakened the Democrats’ policies which increased the polarity between the two parties in terms of ideologies. In 1994, the Republican reacted against the incumbent democrats and controlled the congress for the first time in four decades. However, their gains were limited since the democrats dominated the presidency in 1990s. Towards the end of the 20th century and beginning of 21st century, the role of political parties deteriorated where voters shifted parties depending on the candidate (Boyer, Para 10). Today, the Republican Party and the Democratic Party controls the politics of the United States. However, the party loyalty has completely faded in many parts of the country where voters supporting a candidate and not the political party. People have had different views about the future of political parties. Some people suggest that the current political parties will not survive for the next generation while other opposes that view. Others have suggested some conservatives may break away from the current parties and form a third major party. Conclusion Political parties have played an eminent role in the politics of the United States for many years. They unite people with same political principles and have always been used as channels of change. However, the American politics have been dominated by two parties all way long. Many changes have however affected the political parties. The power of influence of political parties reduced significantly in the 20th century where voters became less loyal to their parties.

Hitler

Adolf Hitler and The National Socialists: A Case Study in Political Constructivism ABSTRACT Adolf Hitler and his National Socialist Party gained and maintained power by adopting the philosophy of constructivism and applying it to political leadership. The Nazi leader took advantage of every situation which made his approach to morals and politics dependent on the climate of public, national, and international opinion at the time. This situational relativist approach can be considered constructivist in nature. Therefore, by selectively exploring the coups of Hitler and his henchmen the constructivist, unstructured nature of National Socialism will become apparent. By Mark Mraz Mark Mraz is an assistant professor of education at Slippery Rock University in Pennsylvania. He holds a PhD in C& I Social Studies Education from The Pennsylvania State University. Mark teaches social studies methods and foundations courses at Slippery Rock. Prior to coming to the University, He taught history and social studies for 29 years at the St Marys Area School District in St. Marys, Pennsylvania. Assistant Professor of Education Slippery Rock University Secondary Education Department 208D McKay Hall Slippery Rock, PA 16057 Email:mark. [email  protected] edu Phone: 724-738-2288 0 Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn. com/abstract=1126363 Adolf Hitler and the National Socialists: A Case Study in Political Constructivism Introduction Adolf Hitler and his national socialist movement gained and maintained power by adopting the philosophy of constructivism and applying it to political leadership. The Nazi leader took advantage of every situation which made his approach to morals and politics dependent on the climate of public, national, and international opinion at the time. An example of this contrived policy can be seen in the Nazi’s attempt to create a religion, the Reich Church. However, the general German public adhered to their Christianity and Hitler was forced back down when faced with severe prevalent resistance, thereby allowing the people to keep their religious beliefs (Goldenhagen). Undoubtedly, this situational relativist approach can be considered Constructivist. Therefore, by exploring a selective array of the major coups of Hitler and his henchmen; the constructivist unstructured nature of National Socialism is apparent. According to Hitler, in one of his many private diatribes to his inner circle of disciples, the ultimate goal of his whole policy was quite clear. Hitler’s employment of Machiavellian tactics can be seen as implied constructivism. Hitler stated: Always I am concerned only that I do not take a step from which I will perhaps have to retreat, and not take a step that will harm us. I tell you that I always go to the outermost limits of risk, but never beyond. For this you need to have a nose more or less to smell out; â€Å"What can I still do? † †¦ In a struggle against an enemy, I do not summon an enemy with force of fight. I don’t say: â€Å"Fight! † because I want to fight. Instead I say , â€Å"I will destroy you! And now. Wisdom, help me to maneuver you into a corner that you cannot fight back, and then you get the blow to the heart. (Rosenbaum, 382). This passage suggests that Hitler had a goal in mind but the means to the end 1 Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn. com/abstract=1126363 involved a series of constructed scenarios to back his opponents into a position of weakness by giving them no room to maneuver. This is exactly what he did when he took over Austria, the Rhineland, and Czechoslovakia. Hitler harangued, browbeat, and got a vast territory without firing a shot. This weaving and bobbing like a prize fighter on the world stage of geo-politics is dangerous for both the winner and loser. Because the relativity of the circumstances can be misconstrued as vital to the national interest.. This situational contrived metaphysics of the whole history of the National Socialist Workingmans Party’s rise to power can be interpreted as Machiavellian. Machiavellianism, is by its very â€Å"Realpolitik-politics void of ethics† nature is a process that is constructivist due to the solipsistic beliefs of its adherents always laboring for the welfare of one’s state at the cost of others countries. This ultimately leads to means that are built to real goals by situational circumstance and contrived ethics. According to Claudia Koonz, Professor of History at Duke Univesity: Hitler was a keen judge of his constituency’s desires and needs, which allowed him to fashion his state around principles of secular racism which were void of religion. Basing their notions of ethical behavior on the civic virtues of the ethnic Germanic community and hatred of outsiders, the national socialists; had an amoral compass (Koonz). This moral construction, based on underlyin g prejudices was seen by the majority of Germans as being proper and ethical, are another example of the constructivist philosophy of the Third Reich. Hitler and his disciples gave the masses what they wanted security from outsiders. Many Germans were xenophobic about Bolshevism and other alien ideologies; that if adopted would destroy the socio-political cultural fiber of Germanic Teutonic society. All 2 ideas counter to the Nazi Utopia of Aryan supremacy in all socio-cultural-geo-political spheres were perceived by the masses as a threat or a wart on the body politic which had to be removed. Thus creating a surgical mind set about the elimination of undesirable Non-German elements in society. This whole outlook of the reign was conditioned by this contrived metaphysics which made murders out of learned people who under normal circumstances would be humane. Constructivism as a Philosophy in Theory and Practice Constructivism is a philosophical perspective that contends that all truths or facts are â€Å"constructed. † Therefore, truth is contingent on situational, social experience and individual perception. Constructivist philosophy in education holds that pupils are not passive vessels of knowledge, but actively involved in the creation of knowledge through their experiences. The adherents to this philosophy believe that truth is made or invented, not discovered or learned (Ozmon). So if one would take this philosophy to the extreme, it would be easy to extrapolate that truth can be contrived to fit the need of the moment. Indeed a tactic, employed by the national socialists, was to learn from their experiences and invent the truth to fit the circumstances. This certainly was the case during the unsuccessful beer hall putsch of November 8-9, 1923. During the Nazi’s failed attempt to take over the government of Bavaria by force, Hitler gave several speeches to his followers acting like they had effectively made a coup and won the day. When in reality, they had lost, some were killed and Hitler and his entourage went to prison (Hitler). Out of this experience, Hitler stipulated that his goal was the same, to gain control of the government, but the means were different. The unsuccessful attempt to take over by brute force was replaced with legal constitutional 3 means to gain control. Hitler from then on used democracy to destroy the representative government in Germany. He would work the system to his advantage (Gordon). According to the British Historian, Bevin Alexander, even though Hitler was not aware of Sun Tzu, he subscribed to his axiom: â€Å"The way to avoid what is strong is to strike what is weak (Alexander, ix). † Between 1933 and 1940, the Fuehrer avoided the strong and attacked the weak with great triumph. Hitler and the Nazi’s had the uncanny ability to become protean when the circumstances called for it. He also had a huge talent for spotting and taking advantage of the insecurities and vulnerabilities of his opponents. Using these abilities, which might be called Machiavellian logic or simply constructivism, Hitler gained the upper hand in every situation beginning with his elevation to chancellor in January of 1933, and ending with the capitulation of France in July of 1940. However, after the invasion of Russia in July of 1941, he abandoned his constructivist geo–politics in favor of all out pursuit of a policy detrimental to his own country. Because of his hatred of Bolshevism and Jews, Hitler invaded Russia. He had been allied with Stalin and had gotten enormous amounts of oil as well as other raw materials needed for war from the Russians. The invasion put an end to these supplies. The Nazi’s gravely miscalculated the extent to which the Russians were fanatical about their land and not Communism. This â€Å"love of mother Russia† led to the most tenacious fighting in human history. Hitler was on the cusp of ultimate victory when in late 1940 and 1941 he changed that policy, and began to strike at the major powers of Britain, Russia, and eventually the United States. Hitler’s constructivist theory of â€Å"kicking in the 4 oor and the whole thing will collapse,† was a grave misinterpretation from which there was no retreat and deadly consequences (Alexander). Nazi Geo-Political and Socio-Cultural Coups as case studies in Constructivist Leadership During every phase of the development of the Nazi Reich, Hitler would ally with potential enemies to get what he wa nted. When Hitler was appointed chancellor, he was the head of a coalition government that contained people he did not like from both the left and the right politically. However, in a constructivist style all his own he embraced the arrangement to get to power (Evans 2005). Once Hitler became chancellor, he derailed all efforts for any opposition to gain a majority in parliament and on that pretext argued the demise of Reichstag representation. His own party had lost the majority so he was arguing to dissolve his own government. Hitler’s persuasive opinions caused President Hindenburg to acquiesce to the chancellor’s wishes and he dissolved the legislature. New elections were scheduled for early March, but before that could take place, the Reichstag building or the German Parliament burned down (Bullock). It is believed that Hitler’s confederates started the fire and blamed it on Communists. Once there was a perceived threat, the Nazi’s evoked Article 48 of the Weimar Constitution which enabled the chancellor to do away with the civic liberties of the people to protect the nation from fanatical threats from either the left or right. By doing this, the Nazi’s gave the impression that they were the stable element in society and not reactionary radicals, which they actually were. Then as the prize fighter metaphor suggests he simply weaved, bobbed, and counterpunched his way to the Enabling Act. This act fused the office of chancellor and president together giving Hitler dictatorial control of Germany by legal means (Evans 2005). Another episode of Machiavellian constructivist philosophy would be the German-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact of 1939. Hitler hated the Soviet Union and Communism. But he hated the thoughts of a two front war more. In chameleon-like fashion Hitl er courts his most hated enemy in friendship to get what he wants, no counter-attack by the Soviet Union to save Poland. Once he consolidates his Eastern frontier by agreement with the Russians, he hits the Western Democracies (Bullock). Where constructivism really becomes apparent is when one looks at the â€Å"Final Solution. † The Nazi leader stated that if there were no Jews it would be necessary to invent them because the masses need a tangible, concrete enemy and not an abstraction (Fuchs). Since the war many historians have developed various historiographic theories for the policies that led to the Holocaust. Two historical schools of thought have developed: the functionalists and intentionalists. The intentionalists hypothesized that there was a plan for the genocide of the Jews since 1924 (Dawidowicz). Functionalists, also known as structuralists believe that the holocaust was the product of the structural rivalry within the Nazi government and it was functional circumstances that lead the Third Reich from deportation to destruction of the Jews (Browning). Hitler’s actions from 1933 to 1941 involved a policy for forced deportation and exile of Jews. This seems at odds with the planned extermination theory. If he had that plan in mind why would he allow them to leave? One would think he would keep them locked up till he could get the death camps functioning (Framer). 6 Accordingly, a clarification of lexicon may be in order. The functionalist and structuralist schools contend that: 1) Hitler was actually a weak leader who was dependent on governmental and party organizations. 2) Rivalry between four power groups: army, economy, state administration, and Nazi Party/SS lead to constructivist policy making (Browning). The opposite school of thought is the intentionalist which believes that: 1) Hitler was a strong leader and implemented his will. 2) Hitler had a long term plan primarily driven by ideology which he carried out (Marrus). Both interpretations have obvious flaws. The functionalists-structuralists paradigm overlooks the popularity of Hitler, as well as deliberate policy and put too much emphasis on the power and independence of various governmental agencies. The intentionalists ideas put too much emphasis on Hitler’ leadership and his development of a precise plan on paper which he ollowed from the 1920s onward. In recent years, there has been a synthesis of ideas on the Holocaust and a merging of the intentionalitists and functionalists interpretations which suggests that the policy that became the â€Å"Final Solution† was both a top down and bottom up structural construct that involved no master plan (Kenshaw). Clearly the functionalists and the synthesizers are in esse nce saying that the National Socialist policies can be seen as constructivist in that they developed more as a function of the state rather than from coherent plan devised in 1924. Hans Mommsen and Martin Broszat, historians, believe that the National Socialist State was not a modern government but a feudal state with under lords vying for power against others for Hitler’s approval. Accordingly, they contend that Hitler was a reactionary responding to situations rather than taking the lead in formulating policy. 7 Hitler had basic knee jerk reactions to problems that arose and this lead to the development of policy in a piecemeal approach. In addition, Hitler hated paper work so he formulated an idea and let an underling run with it to see what would happen. This constructivist, open ended approach permitted him to leave the minutiae of administrative paper work to others (Framer). His leadership style of constructivism caused a monumental degree of latitude for underlings from different institutions and different paradigms to develop policy. This leeway caused the innate conflicts to emerge within competitive governmental structures which lead to confusion and overlapping authority within the political system (Goldhagen). One can make a case that Hitler and his party developed situational ethics and along with it situational politics. These politics involved ideological ends with no means in place. So the function of the state was to develop the means to give them the end they had in mind as conceived by Hitler. Therefore by combining various historiographical schools of thought, functionalism, structuralism, intentionalism it is plausible that one gets constructivism. Lastly, there are the synthesizers who contend that both interpretations are correct but have flaws. It is my contention as an historian that Hitler was in total control but used a Machiavellian form of leadership that called for bold unches on the world stage. He had an overall goal in mind but no means to reach the goal. So using Machiavellian tactics and applying a constructivist philosophy he was able to successfully get what he wanted by a piecemeal approach, while letting underlings fight out the details at lower levels. This allowed him to take all the credit when things went right and to spread all the blame when things went wrong. 8 Works C ited Alexander, B. (2001). How Hitler could have won the world war II; The fatal errors that led to nazi defeat. New York: Three Rivers Press. Browning, C. R. (2000) Nazi policy, jewish workers, and german killers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Bullock, A. (1962) Hitler: A study in tyranny. New York: Penguin Books. Dawidowicz, L. S. (1975) The war against the jews. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston. Dobry, M. (June 2006) â€Å"Hitler, charisma and structure: Reflections on historical methodology. † Totalitarian Movements and Political Religions. 157-171. Draper, R. (February 8-22, 1999) â€Å"Decoding the holocaust. † The New Leader, 14-15. Evans, R. J. (2003) The coming of the third reich. New York: Penguin Books. Evans R. J. (2005) The third reich in power. New York: Penguin Books. Farmer, A. (September 2007) â€Å"The unpredictable past, hitler and the holocaust. † History Review, p 4-9. Flew, A. (1979) A dictionary of philosophy. New York: Gremacy Books Fest. J. C. (1973) Hitler. New York; Harcourt Brace and Jovanovich. Fuchs, T. (2000) A concise biography of adolf hitler. New York :Berkley Books. Goldhagen, D. J. (1997) Hitler’s willing exceutioners: Ordinary germans and the holocaust. New York: Vintage Books. Gordon, H. J. (1972) Hitler and the beer hall putsch. Cambridge: Princeton University Press, 1972 Hitler. A. (1975). Mein kampf. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. Kenshaw, I. (2000) The nazi dictatorship: problems and perspectives of interpretation New York:Oxford University Press Koonz, C. (2003) The nazi conscience. Cambridge: Bleknap Press of Harvard University Press. Marrus, M. R. (1987) The holocaust in history. London: University Press of England. 9 Ozmon. H. A. (2003) Philosophical foundations of education. Columbus: Prentice-Hall. Rosenbaum, R. (1998) Explaining hitler: The search for the origins of his evil. New York: Basic Books. 10

Effectiveness of National and International Efforts Essay

Discuss the effectiveness of national and international efforts to tackle the problem of global climate change. Since the late nineteenth century, the view that global climate change is directly influenced by human behaviour has become increasingly accepted as scientists have provided better evidence for the relationship between the level of global carbon dioxide concentrations and global temperatures. A large number of natural phenomenon and processes are affected by climate change, and these in turn can have a negative impact on groups of people living around the world; i.e. The melting of the ice-caps is responsible for the decrease in the number of polar bears in the arctic, rising sea levels increase the risk and regularity of floods in low-lying areas like Bangladesh, and the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone failing to reach Niger, Chad and Sudan was responsible for a large prolonged famine in the 1980s. The magnitude of the number of countries affected mean that climate change is not just applicable to one nation; it is of international importance. Therefore, as climate change has increasingly become a global issue in recent years, a number of international organisations have been formed to monitor global climate change and to reduce and possibly reverse global climate change. International efforts incorporate a greater number of people than national efforts, and therefore they can have a much larger impact on trying to tackle climate change. However, tackling climate change is expensive, and for certain less economically developed countries- (LEDC’s), it would be unreasonable to insist that they should prioritise tackling climate change over some of their national problems, such as lowering the infant mortality rate and establishing a good healthcare system. Furthermore, international efforts to tackle climate change also face problems from the disparity of natural resources, which means that different solutions have to be used in different countries. Britain has a large amount of coastline, and can therefore generate s ustainable energy by using tidal barriers; a solution not available to land-locked countries such as Switzerland. The C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group is a network of 59 cities ranging from Los Angeles in the U.S.A to Addis Ababa- the capital city of Ethiopia. Despite the aforementioned problems facing international efforts to tackle climate change, cities are ideally placed to influence climate change, as they consume over 2/3rds of the world’s energy and are responsible for around 70% of global carbon dioxide emissions. The C40 Group was formed in 2005 to give support to mayors hoping to cut greenhouse gas emissions in their own individual cities. The group is extremely effective, as increased discussions and communications between the leaders of a network of cities mean that the best and most effective ways of cutting greenhouse gas emissions can be copied from city to city. The group aims to ‘use collaboration, knowledge sharing and metrics to drive meaningful, measurable and sustainable action’. So far the group have put in place a range of policies such as using more-efficient lighting and building codes, and capturing methane from landfill sites; these should cut 248 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions by 2020. In addition, as these cities grow and develop, so too does their capacity to tackle climate change, with the New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg claiming that they have the capacity to cut their carbon output by one gigaton (a billion tons) by 2030 in relation to the current predicted levels of carbon output for 2030. The achievements of the C40 group are in stark contrast to the results of international negotiations between countries, the majority of which have failed to reach binding targets for cutting greenhouse gas emissions and thus tackling global warming. In addition to the C40 group, a number of other international organisations work with cities to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions. EMBARQ (The World Resources Institutes Centre for Sustainable Transport) has worked with Rio de Janeiro (a C40 cities member) to develop a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridor. This public transport system will not only reduce pollution, but is also expected to help hundreds of thousands of Rio’s residents, providing them with safer transport and shorter commutes. The first corridor became operational on June the 6th, 2012, servicing around 220,000 people. The buses themselves are energy efficient, and therefore reduce the amount of energy used for public transport, and their emissions are also regulated to ensure that harmful gas emissions are minimized. In addition, the time taken to complete a journey has been cut dramatically through the introduction of bus lanes; this means that traffic congestion in the city has been eased, and the improved buses with their shorter journey times will encourage more of the city’s residents to use public transport, thereby reducing the number of vehicles on the road and further cutting greenhouse gas emissions and energy use. The city has plans for another 3 corridors, to further improve the public transport system, cut greenhouse gas emissions and reduce energy consumption, thus continuing to tackle climate change. The BRT scheme in Rio de Janeiro was a local idea, completely funded by the city council, but it had international advice in how to set up and manage the system. One of the reasons why the scheme was put into place so quickly and effectively was because the international organisation it dealt with was an non-governmental organisation (N.G.O- EMBARQ) which specializes in sustainable transport, and much like the C40 cities group, EMBARQ was able to take ideas which had previously been applied in other countries and reproduce them in Rio de Janeiro. As an international co-operation between two organisations which were reasonably small, (as opposed to two countries), the target set was much more specific- reduce greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption through improving the public transport . However, when a number of countries meet, such as at the RIO+20 conference (the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development), outcomes from discussions are vague, and whilst some ideas may start to be formed, very few actual schemes emerge from such discussions. For example, the primary outcome from the Rio+20 was the document ‘the future we want’, in which the heads of governments attending the conference simply renewed their political commitment to sustainable development. The document re-affirms their commitment to Agenda 21 and other action plans for sustainable development, which were agreed 20 years ago in 1992 at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development. This lack of action and inefficiency compares poorly against the effectiveness of collaboration between EMBARQ and Rio de Janeiro’s city council. The one major exception to this trend is the Kyoto Protocol dating from 2005, when 191 member countries collectively agreed to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by 5.2% on average for the period 2008-12. Despite what may seem an initially very promising agreement, the Kyoto Protocol does fall short on some aspects; it encourages use of bio-fuels and allows member countries to use land use, land use change and forestry (LULUCF activities) in meeting their targets. Whilst bio-fuels do cut greenhouse gas emissions, huge areas of forestry (particularly in Indonesia) are being de-forested in order to make space for the production of crops to be used for bio-fuels. This practice is ultimately unsustainable, but has been encouraged by the Kyoto Protocol. Although the majority of international summits and discussions fail to result in collaboration amongst countries with regards to tackling climate change, a large number of national schemes have been formed due to Agenda 21 and other such documents. An example of this is the ‘carbon action plan’ introduced by the U.K government in December 2011. It has broken down the need to cut greenhouse gas emissions into a number of criteria, as detailed by Agenda 21, such as ‘reducing emissions from business and industry’ and ‘saving energy in homes and communities’. From these the UK government has established steps which will help it achieve the criteria set, and achieving these in turn will then cut greenhouse gas emissions. By breaking down the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions sustainably into achievable stages, the UK government can focus on specific targets which, once achieved, will result in them achieving their end objective. In addition, rather than dramatically changing current systems, or spending lots of money on one way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the Carbon Plan takes into account a large range of solutions, which will be implemented gradually. This, like the step by step approach for the Bus Rapid Transit system in Rio de Janeiro, means that progress can constantly be reviewed to make sure that the carbon plan is on track, and that they are going about cutting greenhouse gas emissions the most sustainable way. Furthermore, the research done into preparing the carbon plan has also generated a number of other initia tives, such as the Green Investment Bank (GIB). This is a funding scheme initiated by the U.K government to attract private funds ‘for the financing of the private sector’s investments related to environmental preservation and improvement’. In short, they intend to set up a fund financed by major banks which will make investments in environmental technology, such as off-shore wind farms; this will help the UK government meet its target for reducing carbon emissions, and yet will be funded not by the U.K, but by a collection of banks, who will hope to make a long-term gain in their investment in environmental technology. However, the effectiveness of this scheme has been debated, with the World Development Movement claiming the GIB would be too small to attract the kind of investment needed to generate green jobs and industry in the U.K. In conclusion, the effectiveness of national and international efforts to tackle global climate change strongly depends on whether the solution used is realistic, well planned and appropriate to the context. Where the solution is all of the above, such as the BRT system and the Carbon Plan, they can be extremely effective; tackling global climate change and making other improvements, such as that to infrastructure in Rio de Janeiro. Unfortunately, despite incorporating a larger number of people, international programs tend to be less effective than national efforts, as the latter are normally focused on specific outcomes rather than just the goal of ‘reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 5.2% a year’- as set by the Kyoto protocol. Nevertheless, some international co-operation has been shown to produce results, and the international aspect of tackling climate change shows governments and N.G.Os that they are working alongside a larger body of people to achieve the same end goal; therefore providing a framework upon which national schemes are shaped.

Auditing-Purchasing and Inventory Cycles Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Auditing-Purchasing and Inventory Cycles - Essay Example Populations of documents are used to sample whether activities are authorized, production was completed and placed in inventory or written off as scrap and that finished goods inventory was produced and properly costed. Examples include; stock records, purchases ledger, goods returned note, goods produced note and check for the signature authorization by the responsible authority. The auditor examines the travel and expense accounts to verify the supporting documents to determine whether the transactions are correctly stated. The higher authority might abuse the travel and entertainment expenses for personal benefits. The auditor determines whether the expenses were incurred for business purposes and not for personal benefits (Ricchuite, 2005). The poor controls regarding executive reimbursement hinders the purpose of evaluating and reporting on internal control. The evaluation of the internal control will lead to the disclosure of the weak areas in the reimbursement of the top managers. The auditor can use various auditing procedures for auditing various expense accounts including miscellaneous expenses. This assists the auditor in verifying whether the expenses recorded were incurred and that they were accurately recorded in the correct accounting period. The procedures include obtaining all the relevant receipts and documents and checking for authorization and accuracy in recording as explained by Bragg (2009). The purchasing manager can use their position to defraud the company in multiple ways and the company should install a strong ICS to detect such activities (Kumar and Sharma, 2009). The purchasing managers can collude with third parties (buyers and sellers) to defraud the company. The managers can include unusual purchases that are not included in the operating budget. They can vary the purchase order proficiency

Service Industry Supply Chains Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Service Industry Supply Chains - Assignment Example The researcher states that today, it is not the firms that struggle with each other, but the effective supply chain management that makes the difference. Supply chain management has been regarded as one of the main concerns for companies to achieve better  performances. The Fashion Industry has been able to make  significant  alterations within its supply chain  systems  as a result of the changing characteristics of the fashion market around the world which requires price benefits by the company and fresh products by the clients. Leading Fashion chains like Zara and Gucci have  developed  successful  supply chains, to meet consumer needs in an  effective  manner. The industry has closely maintained its  focus  through the years of uninterrupted improvement and innovation supported strongly by customer needs and  satisfaction  criterion. The Fashion companies focus on providing the market frequently with the latest trends and maintain to change over 70% of the products every month. According to  Luis  Blanc, an  Inditex  Designer Director, â€Å"Most of the Fashion Companies recommend their clients to understand  that if they like something, they must buy it now, because it will not be in the shops the following week. It is all about creating a climate of scarcity and opportunity†. Every retail business that includes supply chain systems, add value to their product in some form or other. An effective supply chain management is an act of optimizing all actions throughout the supply chain process for the retail businesses, and an efficient management of the supply chain is the key to obtaining higher competitive retail business advantages. Supply chain management is all about having the right kind of resources at the right time and supply of the products to the right customers at a limited cost.

Pros and Cons of Bitcoin Digital Currency Research Paper

Pros and Cons of Bitcoin Digital Currency - Research Paper Example The security and networking for Bitcoin users is safe and they have complete control of their transactions. There are no extra fees charged by merchants without the user finding out. The user gets in touch first with the merchant before charging them any extra fees. In addition, Bitcoin protects the user’s personal information so it cannot be viewed by other people who could in-turn try and steal their identity (Cook, 2014). However, all payments in bitcoin cannot be transacted and finalized until the owner’s information is linkedtothe transaction. Therefore, the backing up and the encryption of the Bitcoin guarantees safety for the money. The user’s information is transparent by using the block chain, where all finalized transactions can be viewed by anyone, but your personal information is blocked or hidden from everyone. You can verify transactions anytime in the Bitcoin block chain. Due to Bitcoin being cryptographically secure, it cannot be changed by any organization, government or person. There are usually no fees or very low fees when making payments to Bitcoin unless you would like it done in a quick manner (Dumitrescu&FiricÄÆ', 2014). Then you can increase the fee so that the payment is processed faster. The Digital Currency converts bitcoin into flat currency, which helps the merchant process their transactions at lower fees than when using credit cards or PayPal. The risks are few for Merchant transactions due to bitcoin’s system being cryptographically secure, where fraud is not possible.

Ethics and Policies Found At British Airways Essay

Ethics and Policies Found At British Airways - Essay Example It is not only imperative that an organisation leads by example in ensuring their moral compass is well-tuned to avoid public scrutiny. One of those very types of organisations is in the most publicly scrutinized industries, the air travel business. Many principles are inducted into the air travel industry that are not just moral obligations but are actually form part of their legal obligation. By ensuring that a business follows ethical guidelines, they often employ a ethics officer to ensure that all aspects of the business code of conduct is continually adhered to as well as dealing with any issues that are relative to possible breaches of ethical conduct. Through employing this type of officer within the company, the public perception of the company itself placates a feeling of trust and if there is a situation or a problem, it will be dealt with extreme dedication to customer satisfaction and continued loyalty to that same company. There are other far reaching benefits of incorporating a business code of ethics inside the company guidelines handbook in that once a customer or client is aware of a public declaration of adhering to the standards set out by the ethics officer, but, also the company can therefore be held accountable for their actions. This allows the customer to not only know they have a method of reprisal, but, also they know that any company simply does not make public declarations without standing behind their own policies. Other benefits outlined by McNamara include: improving society maintain a moral course in turbulent times cultivating strong teamwork and productivity supports employee growth and meaning an insurance policy to help ensure policies are legal helps manage values associated with quality management strategic planning and diversity management promotion of strong public image legitimizes managerial actions and strengthens coherence and balance of the organizations' culture, and it is the right thing to do. Corporate Social Responsibility in Tourism As competition is fierce in the tourism and hospitality operations in the UK, it is even more important to ensure that ethical standards are followed and in order for an entity to be considered a highly ethical organisation, there are four principles that Pastin (1986) outlines as: 1. They are at ease interacting with diverse internal and external stakeholder groups. The ground rules of these firms make the good of these stakeholder groups part of the organisations' own good. 2. They are obsessed with fairness. Their ground rules emphasize that the other persons' interests count as much as their own. 3. Responsibility is individual rather than collective, with individuals assuming personal responsibility for actions of the organisation. These organisations' ground rules mandate that individuals are responsible to themselves. 4. They see their activities in terms of purpose. This purpose is a way of operating that members of the organisation highly value. And purpose ties the organisation to its environment. Through instilling these principles within the organisation whose main industry is air travel is

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT - Assignment Example Tesco initially had a localized approach as they could perceive benefits in expanding in and around London. However, their policy since the beginning had been â€Å"Pile it high and sell it cheap† (ICMR, 2005) which adversely impacted their brand image. When Britain imposed the Retail Price Maintenance Act which prevented the retailers from selling goods below a minimum price, Tesco introduced trading stamps which were given to the customers which could be traded for cash or gifts. This was abolished in 1964 and then Tesco could offer competitive prices. Cost-leadership strategy In the early 1990s, the market condition being bad, Tesco faced difficulties such as low population growth, low food price inflation, matured and saturated supermarket sector in the UK, and strong competition from retailers such as Sainsbury, ASDA, and Safeway (Coriolis, 2004). The company’s profit margins were under pressure and it remained in 2nd position with Sainsbury leading in market share (ICMR, 2005). In saturated markets competitive rivalry increases and the profits diminish as the costs are high. This was when the British economy was hit by recession and Tesco was in trouble although competitors such as Sainsbury and Marks & Spencer’s announced record earnings. This was the period when Tesco changed its strategy and focused on increasing its market share by selling goods at prices much lower than its competitors. Their strategy was to grow bigger by increasing sales volume through lower prices: Source: Coriolis (2004). Tesco went in for a major image overhaul and closed down many of its stores and replaced many with bright and attractive stores (ICMR, 2005). They were focusing on the cost-leadership strategy. In fact, Tesco was the first to introduce the cut-price strategy which led to price war (Yoruk & Radosevic, 2000). According to Porter (1996) strategy rests on unique activities and to be sustainable the strategic position requires trade-off. They did acquire cost-leadership and became the leading retailer in the UK but cost-leadership comes with disadvantages (Porter, 1979). Very low cost can take loyal customers away and lead to a decrease in revenue which is exactly what Tesco suffered with. They also earned a bad reputation in the process, which is when they decided to diversify. Strategy can be formulated at three different levels – corporate level, business unit level and the

Read the sources and summarize them Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Read the sources and summarize them - Essay Example They contributed much towards ending hereditary monarchy and presented the separation of the state and church to end theocracy which were both outstanding achievements during their time (Korten, 2014). The author explains how the original constitution protected the elite bodies of a plutocracy, which is a structure of affluence that precisely endorsed captivity and gave no rights to women, people of color, or Native Americans. He expounds on his theory on plutocracy by showing how the United States is as an empire ruled as a plutocracy not willing to recognize demands by average people of their rights to life freedom and they search for their happiness in a violent manner (Korten, 2014). The article the US constitution authors had acted without considering the right of every individual to life, freedom, and justice for all by giving us governing institutions that represent uppermost face of these democratic principles. The author explains the relationship of the current economy in plutocracy and how the current day economy has influenced the rule experienced by the United States. Plutocracy has been able to combine with the word economy to result to "plutonomy" that shows that income progression is confined to those at the peak of the affluence pyramid. It shows how marketing consultants and investment advisors describe our current economy. The article is by the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs. The article is used to show how the US military used some bullets made with depleted uranium (DU) when attacking their enemies who used armored vehicles and its amplified usage in the 1990-1991 Gulf war. It further expresses the health dangers it posed on those who were exposed to its chemical toxicity, which equal the chemical toxicity of natural uranium but with a radioactivity of 40 percent or less. It explains ways in which DU can be hazardous to those who had been in a war zone during the period which include penetration of DU

Martin Johnson Heade Essay Example for Free

Martin Johnson Heade Essay Martin Johnson Heade (originally Heed), the eldest son in a large family of Joseph Howell Heed was born on 11th August, 1819 in Lumberville, a small rural location near Doylestown in Bucks country of Pennsylvania (Hollis Taggart Galleries, Para. 1). His father owned a farm and a lumber mill. His life is said to have been influenced by the two cousins, Thomas Hicks and Edward Hicks who probably taught him his first art lessons locally. His passion for art grew considerably in the 1840s, and it is around this time that he took a study tour to England and stayed in Rome Italy for two years. By the year 1843, he was residing in New York and later moved to Brooklyn, where he changed his name to Heade, and later on moved to Philadelphia (Hollis Taggart Galleries, Para. 2). In 1848, he took his second academic European tour to return later in 1850. The second trip did not leave him settled either, as he continued to travel while settling down briefly in the towns of St. Louis, New Haven and Providence. It was in this decade that he deeply studied and explored the effects of light on the environment, a subject that was equally dear to American Luminists Sanford Gifford, John Kensett C as well as Fitz Lane Hugh. Consequently he fully got into landscape painting (Hollis Taggart Galleries, Para. 2). In 1859, he rented a studio in the famous tenth street studio building in New York and became a full time painter (Lurie and Mappen, Pp. 355. ) It is in relation to this that he is remembered for his flora, fauna and landscape paintings that do not only have a rich effect of color and light but could also portray some poetic sentiments. Its while operating from the same studio that he met Fredric Edwin Church from the Hudson River school who was later to become his close friend and associate. This period is seen as the turning point in his life as it signaled the onset of his unique lifestyle and a lasting interest in landscape and paintings. In 1863, he interpreted the chaste Latin American coastal landscape in a unique manner and later toured Rio de Janeiro in Brazil in the same year (Hollis Taggart Galleries Para 3). The goal of the tour was to illustrate a complete different version of South American Hummingbirds. He was so enthusiastic about the Hummingbirds that he hoped to prepare an outstanding and an elegant album about these creatures in Britain. Though he hoped to have this album published in Britain, it was never to happen. Hummingbirds however continued to be a dear subject to him as evidenced by the paintings that he did in the rest of life. He continued making trips to the Latin America notably in Nicaragua, Colombia, Jamaica and Panama. In the course of those visits, he studied the local flora and fauna, painting both large and small landscapes of hummingbirds and orchids, works that saw him get recognition at the gallery exhibition in New York and Boston. At the age of sixty four in 1883, Heade got married and moved to St Augustine in Florida. This is where he was to spend the rest of his life while he continued to exhibit his paintings in northern towns such as Boston and Springfield Massachusetts. He was almost forgotten in the New York City but was later rediscovered during the revival of the Hudson River painting school and has from then on been accorded the respect and major status that he commanded out of his outstanding work. In Florida, an oil tycoon and hotel magnate Henry Morris Flagger invited Heade to set up another studio, which was to be last studio, in a building behind Ponce De Leon, a hotel that was owed by Flagger in St Augustine. In his two decades stay at St Augustine prior to his death on September 4 1904, he continued to paint while fascinated by the flora and fauna located in Florida. His works were mainly Cherokee roses, orchids and magnolias (Hollis Taggart Galleries, Para. 4). The works could often depicted the same flower over and over again but in different blooming states thus bringing out the hidden beauty of the environment that is not obvious to many. During his stay in St Augustine Florida and prior to his death, Heade made more than one hundred and fifty pieces of work . Most of this work focused on the exuberant nature and landscape, flowers, sceneries and fruits of the American south , topics that were dear to him also. It is against this background that he is remembered, having not only taken a lot if interest in a rare subject but also having pursued it with vigor, passion and up to the old age. He did what he liked most and did it best. The outstanding feature of any artistic work done by Heade is their capture of their botanic and scientific accuracy. They note every line on the leaf, every mark on the facet, fruit or blossom. The figures below are example of the artistic work done by the 19th century artist and depict the mystery surrounding him and his interest in the natural world. Though the work was done more than a century ago, the beauty and elegance has surpassed the passage time. Fig. 1 Source: http://www. martin-johnson-heade. org/ Although little is documented in writing about Martin Johnson Heade as he left no identifiable body of writing, his contribution to the field of art and painting is immense. Such is evidenced by the Martin Johnson Heade, a function organized and premiering at the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) in Boson from the 29th day of September 1999 through the 17th of January 2000 which shed light on Martin Johnson Heade as one of the most original and all time artists in the history of mankind (Traditional Fine Art Online Inc, Para. 1). MFA owns an outstanding collection of work done by Heade including about 30 paintings, numerous drawings and other materials such as sketches and sketch books that he used. Although he was practically unknown during his own days, Heade is today also recognized in America as a great romantic painter and uniquely as a master landscape painter as far as floral still life is concerned. With a career that spanned over seventy years, a lot went to his name’s credit as noted during the function organized by MFA, having produced a varied body of work more than any other American artist of the 19th century. Martin Johnson Heade is sure to give new insights into the work of one of the most intriguing of American artists, whose paintings have a strange and almost surreal intensity. Heade was one of Americas most productive and inventive artists, and his work reflects a wide range of talent and creativity. The exemplary work captures such a variety of moods, from his atmospheric effects, the glory of light, the sumptuous warmth of his orchids and tropical scenes, and the inexplicable sensuality of so many of his works in every genre. I hope recognition of his genius grows as more and more people are introduced to these superb paintings (Traditional Fine Art Online Inc, Para. 6). During the popular Mesueum of Fine Arts event, Heade’s favourite hummingbirds painting was revisited. It was recounted that even if he never managed to secure the two hundred subscriptions needed to print his expensive book, which was never printed anyway, he produced four hummingbird chromolithographs for the book and could at the time be viewed in Boston as well as the sixteen paintings that were intended for the gems of Brazil from the Manoogian collection (Traditional Fine Art Online Inc, Para. 7). Earlier on in 1955, a historian and the then director of Macbeth gallery Robert Mclntyre had donated some work done by Heade to the Archives of American Art. Such included his sketch book, notebooks as well as letters and correspondeces between him and his close friend and associate Fredric Edwin Church between the year 1866 and 1899. In addition, they included a detailed notebook about hummingbirds that is handwritten as well as a circa dated in the range between 1853 to 1877. The scattred papers measure 0. 3 linear feet and date between 1853 and 1904. In the year 2007, the above were completely digitized to enhance archiving and are now avilable online as the Martin Johnson Heade Papers Online. They had first received a preliminary level of processing immediately after donation before being microfilmed in the same order that they were donated. The notebook and the sketchbook being the first ones to have been donated were therefore proffesionally conserved in the year 2004. Another area that is seen to have captured Heade’s passion is still lifes of southern flowers especially the magnolia blossoms laid on velevet. This was an advancement of an interest that he had since the 1860’s. In his earlier work in this genre, he had done flowers keenly arranged in an ormate flower vase and placed either on small or a large table, but covered with a mere cloth as opposed to velvet. At the time, he was the first and the only american artist who could create such an extensive body of work either in still lifes or in landscape and environment. In 2004, Heade was again recognized and honored with an outstanding stamp from the United States Postal Servive featuring a piece of his 1890 oil-on-canvas painting otherwise called Giant magnolias on a blue Velvet cloth. There were few artists who emulated head in the 20th century owing to the fact that he was unpopular at the time. However his work and art has been duplicated and forged by many especially in the 20th and 21st century. Such is attributed to the way his work has continued to turn up in garage sales as well as other unlikely places as opposed to works by other artists such as his friend Fredric Edward Church or ohn Kensett.. The popularity of his work can be attributed to the way he related with middle class buyers, his outstanding passion and effort put in as depicted in his various trips and his willigness to distribute his work all the country. Though unknown to him even at the end of his life, Martin johnson Heade was one of the most outstanding artist that ever existed on the face of earth. His passion in what was then an unpopular venture tells it all. His keen interpretation and approach towards the light and the environmet at large, his representation of the same on his paintings as well as his vigor and dedication to distribute his work, all leave no doubt that he did what he loved and in return loved what he did. His work does not only reveal what is unobvious to many but also unearths what is sincerely unknown and his spirit therefore continues to live moreso through his elegant work. Martin Johnson Heade is no doubt a legend whose life deserves recognition by and over generations while his work continues to demand respect over centuries. Works Cited: Hollis Taggart Galleries. Hollis Taggart Gallaries. 2007. 26 May 2010 http://www. hollistaggart. com/artists/biography/martin_johnson_heade/. Mappen, Marc and Maxine N Lurie. Encyclopedia of New Jersey. New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 2004. Traditional Fine Art Online Inc. Meseum of Fine Arts Boston. 29 September 1999. www. mfa. org. 26 May 2010 http://www. tfaoi. com/newsm1/n1m630. htm.

Treatments for Patients with Prostate Cancer

Treatments for Patients with Prostate Cancer EFFECTIVE TREATMENT FOR PATIENTS WITH PROSTATE CANCER TO ACHIEVE A BIOCHEMICAL RECURRENCE FREE SURVIVAL Mariam O. Akinwale MEDICAL UNIVERSITY OF THE AMERICAS Mentor: Dr. Akintola Odutola Manuscript word count: 4205 HYPOTHESIS: In the treatment of aggressive and metastatic prostate cancer, patients who undergo radical prostatectomy with additional radiation therapy and/or hormonal therapy have less recurrence rate in comparison to those who receive radical prostatectomy alone due to its additive curative effect. ABSTRACT (word count: 275) Hypothesis: In the treatment of aggressive and metastatic prostate cancer, patients who undergo radical prostatectomy with additional radiation therapy and/or hormonal therapy have less recurrence rate in comparison to those who receive radical prostatectomy alone due to its additive curative effect. Method: The articles reviewed in this studies were obtained from PubMed. The database search combined terms from three themes: men above the age of 50, radical prostatectomy, radiation therapy or hormonal therapy and prostate cancer remission. This search yielded 72 articles after inclusion criteria were considered. A total of 32 articles were used for final review after excluding 40 articles that did not compare management options for treatment of prostate cancer. Result: Better life-expectancy have been indicated in patient treated with radiotherapy with hormonal therapy compared to patient treated with radical prostatectomy only. However, radical prostatectomy and radiotherapy with hormonal therapy are far more efficient compared to radiotherapy with hormonal therapy. The use of hormonal therapy for treatment of prostate cancer has always been frowned at because of its life-threating side effects but its patient-survival rate supersedes that of radical prostatectomy as a monotherapy. Conclusion: Combination therapy of radical prostatectomy with radiotherapy and hormonal therapy for treatment of patients with either benign or metastatic prostate cancer have a longer life-expectancy than radiotherapy with hormonal therapy, while patients treated with radiotherapy and hormonal therapy have a longer life-expectancy than those with radical prostatectomy with radiotherapy even after considering the side effects of hormonal therapy. Screening tests may help with early detection of biochemical recurrence and also prevent overtreatment with radiotherapy and/or hormonal therapy after radical prostatectomy. Keywords: radical prostatectomy, adjuvant radiation therapy, hormonal therapy, biochemical recurrence, prostates cancer INTRODUCTION Prostate cancer (PCa) is the second commonest cancer in males above age 60. African- Americans have the highest prevalence in the US. Risk factors include diets high in beef and milk. Two hundred and thirty-three thousand new cases are diagnosed yearly with 29,480 mortality reported in 2014. (American Cancer Society, 2014) Given these statistics, it is very important to diagnose and treat PC early in order to reduce the risk of high mortality. Several treatments options are available in the management of PCa. Low- risk prostate cancer is managed by active surveillance in order to prevent unnecessary exposure to radiation or surgery. Intermediate or high- risk non-metastatic prostate cancer is treated with prostatectomy or radiation therapy (Zietman et al., 2010). Aggressive and metastatic prostate cancers are treated with variable combinations of radical prostatectomy (RP), radiation therapy (RT), chemotherapy, cryosurgery, hormonal therapy (HT) and bisphosphates. These combination therapeutic options address the tendency of aggressive PCa to metastasize to neighbouring structures/organs. This study is designed to evaluate a specific combination of treatment option in the management of aggressive and metastatic PCa. It is hypothesized that patients with aggressive PCa who undergo radical prostatectomy and adjuvant radiotherapy have less recurrence rate compared to those who receive radical prostatectomy alone due to its additive curative effect (Thompson et al., 2013). This study is significant because evidence suggests that different combination treatments of aggressive PCa are associated with different recurrence rate. The identification of the combination therapy with the lowest recurrence rate and longer life-expectancy is essential in this study. I chose this topic because it is important for family practice physicians to have accurate information to give to their patients regarding best treatment options for aggressive metastatic PCa. METHOD The articles reviewed in this studies were obtained from PubMed. The database search combined terms from four themes: specific population (older men OR men above 50 OR prostate cancer patient OR post prostatectomy patient OR recurrent prostate cancer patient), intervention (prostate cancer adjuvant therapy OR prostate cancer adjuvant radiotherapy OR prostate cancer adjuvant chemotherapy), comparison (radical prostatectomy) and possible outcomes (prostate cancer recurrence OR prostate cancer remission OR prostate cancer curative OR prostate cancer life span OR prostate cancer prognosis OR prostate cancer quality of life). Boolean operators used were OR and AND. OR was used to capture each term within a theme and AND was used to link each theme within parentheses. Filters used were: article types (randomized controlled trial), text availability (free full text), publication dates (5 years), and limited to human. Inclusion criteria Articles that were included in the systematic review of this study had to meet the following criteria: used randomised clinical trials, cohort studies and meta-analysis; prostate cancer population; radical prostatectomy with adjuvant radiotherapy and hormonal therapy as intervention; radical prostatectomy only as comparison; and prostate cancer recurrence, prostate cancer remission, prostate cancer curative, prostate cancer life span, prostate cancer prognosis, prostate cancer quality of life as outcome. Localized and high risk prostate cancer management were included in the study. Exclusion criteria Population of women and men below the age of 50 were excluded. Articles published prior to 2011 and were not written in English language were excluded. Articles that were not free full text were excluded. Articles that did not compare RP+RT+HT with radical prostatectomy only were excluded. RESULTS This search yielded 72 articles after inclusion criteria were considered. A total of 27 articles were used for final review after excluding articles that did not compare management options for treatment of prostate cancer. Treatment of Prostate Cancer with Radical Retropubic Prostatectomy (RRP) And Pelvic Lymph Node Dissection (PLND) Before we can lay emphasises on other possible treatments to prevent biochemical recurrence (BCR) after RP, we have to talk about RRP and PLND. According to one of the studies cited in this systematic review, ten of 11 patients with histologically confirmed lymph node metastasis (LNM) showed a PSA response (Winter et al., 2015). Three of 10 patients with single LNM had a complete biochemical remission (median follow-up 72months, range 31.0-83) (Winter et al., 2015). In five cases with single LNM PSA decreased et al., 2015). All of the additionally removed 30 LNs were completely negative (Winter et al., 2015). Treatment of Prostate Cancer with Radical Prostatectomy (RP), PLND and Hormonal Therapy (HT) The above combination therapies have been reported to be commonly used for the treatment of metastatic PCa to lymph nodes and other neighboring tissues than localized PCa due to its higher efficacy and potency for the treatment of metastatic PCa. The first article I will be talking about under this subtopic had a mean follow-up of 5.3 years and LNM occurred in 140 patients. An average of 10.9 lymph nodes was dissected from patient with pN1 through a method known as extended sentinel lymph node dissection (eSLND) (Muck et al., 2015). After the surgery, 121 patients with pN1 patients received adjuvant ADT for a sort period of time (Muck et al., 2015). Average survival year for; recurrence-free survival (RFS), RFS after secondary treatment, case-specific survival (CSS), and overall survival (OS) were 4.7, 7.0, 8.8, and 8.1 years, respectively (Muck et al., 2015). RFS, CSS, and OS were significantly correlated with tumor staging (Muck et al., 2015). The second article focuses on the 67 Chinese patients with lymph node metastasis (LNM) after RP and extended PLND, and these patients received continuous adjuvant ADT. The median follow-up of this study was 46.7 months and two patients were lost to follow-up. BCR-free survival was recorded annually indicating 52%, 40%, 22% for the first 3 years respectively and a more significant survival was observed in patients with 5-year BCR free-survival which shows a 93% free-local recurrence, 83% free-systemic metastasis and 96% cancer death-free (Qin et al,2015). Postoperative BCR-free survival was 27.5 months (Qin et al.,2015). Even though a lot of articles support the positive effect of HT as a treatment for PCa, we also have to consider the adverse effect of HT including depression. According to Lee et al, 2015, patients who are treated with ADT have shown to a significant prolonged depressive state (pet al.,2016). The depressive state in correlation to ADT is confirmed when compared to a control by indicating a p value less than 0.001 (Lee et al.,2016) Apart from the adverse effect associated with HT, metastasis have been reported after adjuvant ADT has been used for treatment of both localized and high-risk PCAa (Taguchi et al., 2014). Taguchi et al. reported 9 (4.6%) patients developed metastasis and 6 (3.0%) died from PCa. Eight of nine metastatic patients had a GS greater than 9 and developed a metastasis to the bone, while the remaining one had a GS greater than 7 and developed lymphatic spread (Taguchi et al.,2014). Based on the findings above, optimal timing of salvage ADT for BCR after RP is crucial. According to a study by Taguchi et al., biochemical recurrence was seen in one patients (2.0%) in the ultra-early group and seen in 12 patients (17.1%) in the early salvage ADT group (Taguchi et al.,2014). Only one patient in the early salvage ADT group developed metastasis to a left supraclavicular lymph node, and no patient died from PCa during follow-up (Taguchi et al.,2014). Treatment of prostate cancer with Radical Prostatectomy (RP) and Radiation Therapy (RT) In order to examine the effect of RT after RP, an article which compared outcome of patients treated with radiotherapy after radical prostatectomy and patients who were under active surveillance after radical prostatectomy (Petruzzeillo et al., 2014). Patients who were under surveillance had a longer follow-up but higher recurrence rate and short life-expectancy (Petruzzeillo et al.,2014). Another article was able to back-up this finding, indicating significant longer life-expectancy and lower risk of recurrence (Gandaglia et al.,2014). However, the earlier administration of radiotherapy after RP is very essential. Studies had if indicated that patients who had ultra-early radiotherapy after RP had lower recurrence and longer life-expectancy (Azelie et al.,2012). A number of reports have associated early RT after RP to decrease risk of BCR and longer overall survival (OS). According to Gandaglia et al, patients with high risk score benefitted more from early radiotherapy compared to patients with lower risk scores (Gandaglia et al.,2014). The risk scores were determined based on its association to increasing 5- to 10- year prostates cancer mortality rates with a p value less than 0.001 (Gandaglia et al.,2014). the risk score was associated with increasing 5- and 10-year cancer-specià ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ c mortality rates (P et al., 2014). However, adjuvant RT after RP have shown to present with gastrointestinal and genitourinary toxicities. A study indicating the use of real-time tumor-tracking intensity-modulate radiation therapy (RT-IMRT) as a much preferable RT for treatment of PCa with less adverse effects (Shinohara et al.,2013). In patient treated with RT-IMRT have shown to have better quality of life with little or no risk of urinary and sexual dysfunction (Shinohara et al., 2013). No patients treated with RT-IMRT after RP have gastrointestinal discomfort (Azelie et al.,2012). An article has indicated that earlier RT can lower the risk of adverse effect such as gastrointestinal and urinary dysfunction (Hegarty et al.,2015). Another concern is excessive treatment of PCa with RP+RT using standardized guideline. Patients who underwent RT after RP using this standard guideline 27 patients out of 163 patients had recurrence and 3 out 87 with PSAet al.,2014). Hence the other patients were over treated and therefore exposing them to preventable adverse effects. Treatment of Prostate Cancer with Radical Prostatectomy(RP), Radiation Therapy(RT) and Hormonal Therapy (HT) For the treatment of high-risk prostate cancer (PCa) different evidence-based therapies exist such as (RT+HT), (RP+RT), and (RP+RT+HT). RT + HT resulted in a longer life-expectancy which is always greater than 1 compared to RP+RT (Parikh et al.,2012). However, RP+RT+HT combination have a greater than 0.5 longer life-expectancy compared to RT+HT after considering their side effects (Parikh et al.,2012). Treatment of Prostate Cancer with Radical Prostatectomy (RP), Radiation Therapy (RT), Hormonal Therapy (HT) and Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy (NCHT). Patients with local and metastatic PCa are prone to recurrence after RP. Hence adjuvant therapies are required to reduce biochemical failure and also prolong life-expectancy. Therefore, it is important to study the adverse effect of these combination therapies (RP+RT+HT+NCHT). The major adverse effect associated with these combinations are gastrointestinal and urinary dysfunction while leucopenia and neutropenia mainly for NCHT (Guttilla et al.,2014) and (Thalgotti et al.,2014). Gastrointestinal and urinary dysfunction are seen in low grade pathologically (Guttilla et al.,2014). Thalgotti et al.,2014 reviewed the percentile of blood toxicity after patients have been administered the combination therapies; 90% had neutropenia and 53.8% leucopenia in the studied patients (Thalgotti et al.,2014). Effective Screening Test to Aid Prevention of Biochemical Recurrence (BCR) Eighty-eight miRNAs were identified to be significantly (p36months) (Bell et al.,2015). Nine miRNAs were identified to be significantly (pet al.,2015). Based on the efficacy of the above result a new prognostic stick has been created, composed of miRNA-4516 and miRNA-601, Gleason score and lymph node status (Bell et al.,2015). A study was done to assess which patients would benefit the most from RT after RP using 11C-choline PET/CT. In order to identify which patients would benefit the most from restaging 11C-choline PET/CT before RT, 11C-choline PET/CT was positive in 28.4% of patients (172/605) (Castellucci et al, 2016). Castellucci et al.,2016 categorized these patients based on staging: Eighty-three of 605 patients were positive locally, 72 of 605 patients had systemic metastasis, and 17 of 605 patients had both local recurrence and systemic metastasis (Catellucci et al., 2016). At multi-analysis; PSA, PSA doubling time (PSAdt), and ADT were signià ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ cant predictors for positive scan results, whereas PSA and PSAdt were signià ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ cantly related to distant recurrence detection (Pet al.,2016). Genomic classifier (GC) used to predict biochemical recurrence and distant metastasis in men receiving radiotherapy (RT) after radical prostatectomy (RP). Illustrating Den et al.,2015, the measurement of GC was used to predict recurrence of PCA at 5 years after receiving RT (Den et al.,2015). A multi-analysis was done which no correlation between GC and PSA before RP. However, patients with low GC had no significance recurrence at 5 years after RT while patients with high GC had recurrence at 5 years after RT (Den et al.,2015). DISCUSSION This reviews attempted to answer the question: Can adjuvant therapy be used in patients that have undergone radical prostatectomy to prevent local recurrences? The general collective consensus of articles included in this review supported the hypothesis that in the treatment of aggressive and metastatic prostate cancer, patients who undergo radical prostatectomy and adjuvant radiotherapy with hormonal therapy have less recurrence rate in comparison to those who receive radical prostatectomy alone due to its additive curative effect (Parikh et al.,2012; Kyrdalen et al.,2012; Hayachi et al., 2012; Shinohara et al.,2013; Kaplan et al.,2013; Linder et al.,2013; Azelie et al.,2012; Miyake et al.,2014; Taguchi et al.,2014; Muck et al.,2014; Gandaglia et al,2015; Den et al.,2014; Castellucci et al.,2014; Lee M. et al., 2015; Kang et al.,2014; Thalgotti et al.,2014; Sato et al.,2014; Gutilla et al.,2014; Kim et al.,2016; Rosenkrantz et al.,2015; Petruzzeillo et al.,2014;Den et al.,2014; Lee J. et al.,2015; Qin et al.,2015; Mizowaki et al,2015; Winter et al.,2015; Bell et al,2015; Hegarty et al.,2015; Den et al., 2015; Taguchi et al.,2014). Only one article concluded that patient with High Gleason score (GS) carry a risk of bone metastasis and cancer specific-death after RP with ADT (Taguchi et al.,2014). Seven articles laid more emphasise on the combination therapys adverse effects such as gastrointestinal, genitourinary toxicities and sexual dysfunction (Shinohara et al.,2013) and specifically; diabetes mellitus, heart disease, osteoporosis (Parikh et al.,2012) and depression for HT (Lee M. et al.,2015). However, few articles addressed these adverse effects by recommending ultra-early RT after RP (Azelia et al.,2012 and Hegarty et al.,2015) and early HT after RP (Taguchi et al.,2014 and Sato et al., 2014). However, early RT after RP does not only reduce gastrointestinal and gastrourinary toxicities but it also prolongs quality-adjusted life expectancy (QALE) and lowers biochemical recurrence (BCR) (Azelie et al.,2012, Sato et al.,2014 and Gandgalia et al.,2014). Radiotherapy such as Real-time tumor-tracking intensity-modulated RT (RT-IMRT) may be a better treatment for localized PCa even though it has a similar effect as RP because of the adverse effects associated with RP such as urinary incontinence and erectile dysfunction (Azelie et al.,2012). Hence, better quality of life with RT compared to RP (Shinohara et al.,2013). An article compared RT after RP with observation alone (OA) after RP which reviewed 87.1% to 30% biochemical progression-free survival, respectively (Petruzzeillo et al.,2014). This result lays further emphasises on the efficacy of RT after RP. Despite all the articles emphasizing the efficacy of adjuvant RT and androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) after RP, there is concern for excessive treatment of PCa using AUA/ASTRO guideline on adjuvant RT. A particular article stretched on the concern by concluding that patients treated with RT who met the AUA/ASTRO guideline should be carefully considered to prevent excessive treatment (Kang et al., 2014). This is because in the article, among 163 patients with high risk BCR according to AUA/ASTRO guideline, only 27 patients developed BCR and treated with RT (Kang et al., 2014). In addition, in 87 patients with pre-operative PSAet al., 2014). Some articles (Gutilla et al,2014; Gutilla et al,2014 and Thalgott et al.,2014) considered the effectiveness of screening test on predicting biochemical failure in order to prevent BCR after RP. Several screening test were considered and tested. Specific miRNA (miR-4516 and miR-601), 11C-Choline PET/CT, Genomic Classifier (GC) and whole-lesion histogram apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) metric have sensitivity and specificity for BCR after RP (Bell et al.,2015; Castellucci et al.,2015; Den et al.,2015; Den et al.,2014 and Rosenkrantz et al.,2015). These screenings can help to identify specific treatment for BCR, for example, patients with low GC scores are best treated with RT only, whereas those with high GC scores beneà ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ t from additional therapies (Den et al., 2014). Some studies verified that the trimodality therapy (RP+RT+HT) has shown an increase in quality of life expectancy (QALE) (Parikh et al.,2012; Guttilla et al.,2014; Kyradalen et al.,2012 and Den et al.,2014). Limitations of the search strategy include searching only one database (PubMed), only one source of information is used (database), only published data is included, only data from the last 5 years is included, only articles published in the English language are included, and only one reviewer is reviewing the abstracts. The major limitation of this systematic review is use of more retrospective cohort than clinical trials and use of only free-full articles and also broad question covering several treatment options such as different types of adjuvant radiation therapies, hormonal therapies and inclusion of some chemotherapies. Future research may consider comparing multiple interventions in a single randomized clinical trial with several approaches to allow for better comparison across clinical outcome measures. Further research may consider more screening test to prevent overtreatment. APPENDICES First Author Date of Publication Study Design Level of Evidence Study Population Therapy Outcome Azelie C. 2012 Randomized Clinical trial 1b 178 patients were referred for daily exclusive image guided IMRT (IG-IMRT) and 69 patients were the control group IG-IMRT vs RP+IMRT Patients with low risk PCa treated with IG-IMRT had a more significant outcome compared to the control group (patient treated with RP + IMRT) Bell E. March, 2015 Prospective Cohort Study without controls 4 43 patients who undergone RT after RP miRNAs miRNA signatures (Notably, two novel miRNAs: miR-4516 and miR-601) can be used as a diagnostic tool to determine patients who will benefit from additional therapy after RP. Castellucci P. Nov., 2015 Case series 4 605 patients treated with RT after RP. RT+RP vs ADT at the time of 11C-choline PET/CT At the early stage of BCr after RP 11C-choline PET/CT should be suggested before ADT is administered. Den R. March, 2015 Randomized Clinical Trials 1b 188 patients with positive margin of PCa at Thomas Jefferson University and Mayo Clinic between 1990 and 2009 were considered. Neoadjuvant HT, IMRT, salvage RT, ART In patients treated with RT after RP,genomic classifier (GC) was a good prognostic tool for determining metastasis. Den R. August, 2014 Randomized Clinical trial 1b 139 patients who underwent RT after RP that were identified with pT3 or positive prostate margin. Using genetic classifier to predict biochemical failure after RP+RT The genetic classifier (GC) predicted biochemical failure and metastasis after RP +RT. Patients with lower GC may benefit from delayed RT, as opposed to those with higher GC. Gandaglia G. August, 2014 Randomized Clinical trial 1b 7616 prostate cancer patients treated with RP. Early treatment with RT after RP vs not receiving early RT after RP Patients with two or more adverse pathological characteristics at RP might beneà ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ t the most from adjuvant RT in terms of reduced cancer specific mortality. Guttilla A. 2014 Randomized Clinical Trial 1b 35 patients with newly diagnosed high-risk localized prostate cancer IMRT, RP, ADT, docetaxel-based chemotherapy This treatment phase for high-risk PCa indicated an acceptable oncological outcome. Hayashi S. July, 2012 Retrospective Cohort Study without controls 4 41 patients were treated with external beam RT as salvage RT because of increasing PSA levels following RP. RT after radical prostatectomy Lymphatic invasion is reported after RT+RP Vascular invasion is not associated with biochemical failure in PCa treatment. Hegarty S. February, 2015 Prospective Cohort Study without controls 4 Using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results-Medicare linked database, we identified 6,137 prostate cancer patients diagnosed during 1995-2007 who had one or more adverse pathological features after prostatectomy. RT after RP RT after RP is associated with adverse effects such as gastrointestinal and genitourinary toxicities while early treatment with RT is not associated with these adverse effects. Kaplan J. 2013 Retrospective Cohort Study without controls 4 577 men with LN metastases discovered during RP and 177 men underwent ART with no distant metastases Adjuvant RT, RP ART after RP in men with LN-positive prostate cancer was associated recurrence free-survival. Kang J. 2014 Retrospective Cohort Study without controls 3b 163 men who had pT2-3 with undetectable PSA level after RP who had metastasis. Adjuvant RT (ART) after RP ART in patient who met the ASTRO/AUA criteria should be applied more selectively to avoid overtreatment. Kyrdalen A. 2012 Randomized Clinical Trial 1b 771 compliers were divided into four groups (i) no treatment, (ii) RP, (iii)RT without HT and (iv) RT+HT No treatment vs RP vs RT vs RT+HT No treatment group: had the highest level of moderate/severe bladder outlet-obstruction. RP group: reported more urinary incontinent compared to other treatment groups and also the highest prevalence of poor erectile functions. RT group: reported highest gastrointestinal dysfunction and fecal leakage compared to RP and no treatment group. Bladder outlet obstruction and poor sexual drive were significantly associated with low quality of life. Lee J. July, 2015 Prospective Cohort Study without controls 4 307 patients who underwent RP at Seoul National University Hospital between January,2006 and July,2007. RP According to this finding, SHBG may be useful in selection of candidate for adjuvant treatment following RP. Lee. M 2015 Observational studies with controls 3b 61 men with prostate cancer and their match control group (n=61) without cancer ADT This article indicates an association with PCa patient developing depression after receiving ADT. Linder B. 2013 Retrospective Cohort Study without controls 4 419 patients who received additional HT Adjuvant HT after RP Adjuvant HT after RP with high-risk PCa does not increase non-prostate cancer (such as cardiovascular disease) mortality, even in patient with multiple comorbidities. Mizowaki T. April, 2015 Observational Study with controls 3b Patients with localized PCa from the Japanese Radiation Oncology Study (JROSG) who were treated with RP before 2005 and those who received RT in 2007.. HT, RT Hormonal therapy was combined with radiotherapy which resulted in a longer life- expectancy. Muck A. March, 2014 Retrospective Cohort Study without controls 4 819 patients with localized prostate cancer (PCa) Extended sentinel lymph node dissection (eSLND) and RP. The use of ESLND and RP in patients with low risk can serve serve as complete cure for BCR. Parikh R. Jan., 2012