DEPRESSION Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

DEPRESSION - Research Paper Example Sleeplessness, feelings of helplessness and hopelessness, Loss of interest in daily activities, Appetite or weight changes etc are some of the major symptoms of depression. Depression can be treated effectively with the help of a psychologist and a psychiatrist. This paper analyses various dimensions of depression. Depression Depression is one of the major psychological diseases which prevent people from leading a normal life. Most of the psychological disorders originated from depression. It is difficult to assess how severely a person is affected by depression. Unlike physical diseases, psychological diseases cannot be assessed with the help of any laboratory testing. The major symptoms of depression can be witnessed in the behaviors of the patient and the severity of the disease can be assessed only through the evaluation of the behavioral pattern of the patient. Chronic depressive patients may cause physical injuries to themselves and others. â€Å"It has been estimated that per haps somewhere between 10 and 30 percent depressives and manic depressives kill themselves† (Klein, & Wender, 2005, p.1). Even though the actual causes of depression is still unknown, psychologists believe that heredity and environment plays an important role in making a person depressive. ... Many of them may not sleep well and mood changes occur to them constantly and continuously. It is difficult for depressive patients to concentrate longer on a particular topic. They often complain about unrealistic problems they are facing. For example, it is quite possible that a depressive patient may complain about body pain, head ache etc even though they have no such real problems. Fatigue or tiredness can be witnessed in every activities of a depressive patient. Depressive patients often avoid the company of others and they will try to lead a lonely life. Anxiety is another major symptom of depression. Causes of depression Heredity and environment are the major reasons which contribute heavily to the psychological disorders like depression. A person with family history of psychological disorders is more vulnerable to depression. Same way, a person living in a tough environment can also develop depression. According to Chan et al (2010), â€Å"as many as 38% of cancer patients suffer from major depression, with a mean of 24% and median of 22%† (Chan et al, 2010, p.46). In other words, many of the chronic physical diseases can contribute to the development of depression among people. Man is a social animal who likes to interact with others. These interactions often create stresses in the minds of a person. Personal, family, social and professional commitments of the current generation are more than that of the older generation. The failure in fulfilling these commitments may often make the person depressive. Klein &Wender (2005) have mentioned that depressive illness is often triggered by a real event like the death of a loved one (Klein, & Wender, 2005, p.13). It is possible that people develop close relationships with some others.

How Germany Went from a Collection of Smaller Nations to a Strong, Essay

How Germany Went from a Collection of Smaller Nations to a Strong, Unified Nation in the Second Half of the Nineteenth Century - Essay Example The Prussian emperor further frustrated these unification attempts by refusing to accept the title of Emperor of Germany. In the Seven Week War between Austria and Prussia, Austria was defeated and therefore technically excluded from German affairs. The French, who had assisted the Prussians to subdue Austria, later had a diplomatic disagreement with Prussia and they went into war over the ‘Ems Telegram’ which insinuated that the French ambassador had been insulted by the Prussian King. The Prussian troops led by General Von Moltke led them into victory against the French troops led by Napoleon III and later Marshal Bazaine. When the French finally lost, the German unification was completed with the Prussian King being crowned emperor of Germany. Prussia added the French provinces of Alsace and Lorraine to Germany. German ethnolinguistic nationality finally saw people with the same language, identity and history belong to the same nation.

Political Science questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Political Science questions - Essay Example These reflected into two that is extreme realism and moderate realism that all provide a different opinion on realism. Extreme realists William of Champeaux related realism as a position in which the universals exist through an independence of the humans and other particular things related in the field. On the contrary, other philosophers viewed this realism as so extreme and considered realism in the eyes of God as the relation through which particular things are created. This moderate theory as proposed by St. Thomas Aquinas and John of Salisbury. In relation to political realism, international relations come to consideration. These relate to general theories of political realities of the world. The aspect of political realism on this international perspective reflects aspects of competiveness within international communities and conflicting aspects that relate to the ultimate security aspects. Idealism and liberalism are part of this realism parameters. Idealism and liberalism deal more with the emphasizing of cooperation’s on an international level. It is therefore fair to conclude the position of the world based on realist as a connection of different states with regard to competition that has raised conflicts through which security has soured.

What is Art The Art of Jackson Pollock Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

What is Art The Art of Jackson Pollock - Essay Example This statement can be limited to just the expression of an emotion about something of interest to the author, or it can be the expression of a specific social topic that someone feels is important. A good example of art is the cave paintings that primitive man made (Getlein 5). The reason this is art to me is because someone is capturing the event of hunting as they saw it. They are recording something about their everyday life and it is on the cave for anyone to see. These paintings have been seen by many different people over many years. In one sense, this art has lasted through time. Stonehenge (Getlein 6) is also a fascinating aspect of art because it is similar to architecture . It is much like the Pyramids because people are wondering how these were built and why. Stonehenge makes people think and wonder about who put these stones together and why. This is another essential part of art in my opinion: It must make people think and wonder why the artist created this piece. I thin k that art must make people feel something, even if it is something small. In the example of the cave paintings, I wonder why these hunters thought it was important to make the drawings. Were they bragging about the hunt that day? Were they counting their hunts? Only they would know. Stonehenge makes me wonder about why these stones were dragged to this particular spot and arranged in the way they are arranged. It is interesting to me that the book said that this was a graveyard and that it marked about 240 graves (Getlein 6); this is much like our cemeteries today. Many people go to our graveyards and do etchings of the older gravestones because they consider it art. When I pick art myself, I look for symmetry and the way it feels to me. Some pieces of art speak to me differently than others. As an example, I may pick a piece of art for my wall that has vibrant colors that are symmetrically placed in a abstract form. I also have picked pieces because they look interesting or becaus e the scene describes something that is interesting to me. I cannot say that I like the kind of art that the Masters created. I am not sure why, but I think it is because it is usually of some scene, people or subjects that I find uninteresting. I can say that I like some of Picasso’s work because it was very strange and it does make a person wonder why he did what he did. Was the fractured way that he looked at this the way that he saw the world? I do believe that anything can be art. The unfortunate issue is that there are art critics who decide what art is and what art is not. I think that everyone becomes an art critic when they look at a piece of art and they do not need others to define what art is for them. In other words, there are so many different ways that art can be interpreted, that it seems a shame that art critics are allowed to define art. I enjoy looking at art and I hope that this class will bring me more knowledge about what I am looking at on a deeper leve l than I have seen in the past. Essay 2: Discuss Two-Dimensional Media. Give example of artist, media and a piece that appeals to you. The book describes two-dimensional art as something very simple and easy to read. The media can be anything from drawing with pencil and ink on paper to creating images on clay or the cave wall. The book mentions many media that include graphite, metalpoint, charcoal, pastels and more. I have seen many artists pencil drawing (graphite) which creates an interesting effect when the artist uses shading and contrast in their drawing. I think metalpoint provides a beautiful array of interesting and eye-catching symmetrical shapes. I can understand why most people do not use this method

Malaria Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 3

Malaria - Essay Example According to statistics given by the Centers for Illness and Prevention, 1925 cases of malaria were detected. This constituted approximately 70% of the population that was affected. The 70% cases were from people who had tours to outside U.S predominantly West Africa and others from India. In U.S, only five cases were reported, and this was approximately 0.25% of the population. Of the five cases reported, one was as a result of blood transfusion, another one from a lab accident, one from a traveler and the remaining two cases from born children whose mother had traveled. Yes, there has been historical case of malaria in the U.S. Back in the year 1930’s, malaria was endemic and concentrated in the 13 states of America. For instance, in the year 1933, malaria had prevailed approximately 30% of the population in the Tennessee River Valley. Another instance of malaria outbreak was recorded in the year 1942, this was during the World War II. Malaria cases were heavily recorded in military base camps. The disease was handled and controlled. Programs like the National Malaria Eradication Program (NMEP) and centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), were initiated in the year 1947 and 1946 respectively, to suppress and help in the eradication of malaria. Preventive measures like spraying of insecticides, DDT, and application of the same to the interior walls of the houses, were used to thwart spreading of malaria. The goals and objectives of the public education plane to control malaria were as follows. One, educate the community about transmission and the causative agent of malaria. Two, provide methods and ways of reducing the spread of disease, in case there is an outbreak (Speybroeck, 2011). Three, give ways in which people can prevent malaria and eradicate it from their vicinities. Four, educate the public on the various organizations that have been established

English Banking Law Essay Example for Free

English Banking Law Essay INTRODUCTION: There are three types of cheque frauds exists in UK viz. forged, counterfeit and fraudulently altered cheque fraud. In 2005, the cheque fraud in U.K was estimated about  £ 40.3 million – a 13% decrease from the 2004 total of  £ 46.2 million. The earlier year figures also revealed a steady increase totaling  £ 36million in 2002 and  £ 45million in 2003.In U.K during 2005, counterfeit cheque fraud was estimated at  £ 3.23m, forged cheques fraud was estimated at  £ 30.9 m in 2005 and fraudulently altered cheque fraud was estimated at  £ 6.2 millions. SOURCE: FRAUD FACTS -2006 APACS- UK This paper studies the various protections available to banks and customers when using cheques as opposed to cards, as method of payment. PROTECTION AVAILABLE TO CHEQUE PAYMENTS UNDER BILL OF EXCHANGE ACT, 1882, UK (BEA) AND CHEQUES ACT 1957 Under Bill of Exchange Act, 1882, under section 81 A, a non-transferable cheques has been defined as follows†   Ã¢â‚¬Å"81 A (1). Where as cheques is crossed and bears across its face the words ‘account payee’ or a/c either with or without the word ‘only’, the cheques shall not be transferable but shall only be valid as between the parties thereto. (2) A banker is not to be treated for the purpose of section 80 above as having been negligent by reasons only of his failure to concern himself with any purported endorsement of a cheque which under subsection (1) above or otherwise is not transferable. (Cheques Act, 1992). One risk associated with the cheques bearing forged or unauthorized endorsements’. However protection is available under the English Bills of exchange Act, (BEA, or the Act). Under BEA, a legitimate holder of a cheques payable to bearer attain a good title to the instrument overcoming thereby any adverse claim of ownership that might have been hold good against his predecessor. Accordingly, the payment by the drawee bank to those acquirers discharges the cheques as well as the drawer’s engagement thereon so as to permit the drawee bank to debit the drawee’s account. But this is not applicable to cheques payable to order. In the case of payable to order cheques, effect of an unauthorised or an absence of endorsement or forged endorsement shall have to be looked into under the circumstances of forged endorsements. One of the ways to prevent forged endorsement or loss due to stolen cheques is to use crossed cheques or cheques payable in account. Cheques crossing are available under the BEA, UK. The crossed cheques requires to deposit the cheques into account rather than payable to bearer does not reallocate the cheques theft losses but it minimizes the loss and thus benefits the party on whom the loss falls. Further the losses arose due to stolen cheques or loss cheques payable to bearer fall on the dispossessed owner under BEA. Thus under BEA , reallocation of loss away from dispossessed owner may not be successful in case of crossed cheques payable to bearer as the onerous shifted to bank for its negligence. If a bank has acted in good faith and it is protected under BEA for the payment made to open cheques to bearer.    In the case of crossed cheques, if the bank seeks protection, it should have acted without negligence and in good faith. Under BEA, if forged endorsement losses fall on the taker from the forger who is naturally a bank. Further, the cheques payable to the order under the BEA, loss reduction thus seems to be mainly advantageous to the collecting bank. Further the collecting bankers of the crossed cheques are protected under the BEA over forged endorsements as long as they acted in good faith and without negligence. Further under BEA, the drawee bank is protected and this shifts the reallocation of forged endorsement losses to the first innocent party prior to the collecting bank.   Where the one who grabbed the payment through a bank account was the conman, such innocent party is construed to be dispossessed owner. Thus the crossing has reassigned the loss to the dispossessed owner, thus excluding the collecting bank that took the cheque from the conman. Thus under BEA, protection is available to banking channel had they acted in good faith and without negligence even in case of crossed cheques .If an open or crossed stolen cheque has been collected by or paid to the conman , the loss is assigned to the dispossessed owner .Under UK laws , where a cheque is payable to order is collected or paid over a forged endorsement for or to a non-bank situated in the chain of title subsequent to the conman, loss is assigned to the non-bank from that of the conman. This is apart from of whether the cheque was collected for or paid to the innocent taker from the conman or someone obtaining title from the conman despite of crossing.   Where the cheque is crossed and it has to be paid into a bank account and then only it can be encashed as it will be convenient for the dispossessed owner to trace that person and assign the loss to him. Thus the crossing of cheque becomes more helpful to the true owner. However thus the innocent endorser has to bear the loss as the benefit is not in the reallocation of losses. The best example of the above is the Nigerian gangsters operating in UK and taking the gullible students who are in the poverty to carry out cheque fraud worth  £ 50 million a year. These Nigerians conman recruit poor students with promises of good cash reward for just providing the conman with their bank account particulars. By using stolen corporate cheque books, they then deposit huge amount of British pounds through the accounts. No sooner the account is credited with the collection amount from the fraudulent cheques, the account will be emptied before the firm or bank realizes what has happened. The major lion’s share goes to the conman and only a very meager amount goes to the innocent, poor student who has provided the bank account number to the conman. When the fraud comes to light due to alerting by the bank to the police, it is the poor, innocent student who will become the scapegoat. The conman mainly selects the students from Camden in North London where thousands of students from the capital’s universities congregate. Conman liberally offer them up to  £ 5000 for doing nothing. Then the conman approaches an insider who is working in the royal mail and induces them to steal a company’s cheque book. Then the conman visits the company office to collect the director’s signature from the dustbin and thus they scrupulously copy the same in writing the bogus cheques.   Thus the conman had a fortune by sharing a lion’s share in the booty leaving the innocent, poor account holder to face police and possible fraud investigation.[i] Banks and building society’s in UK from September 2006 onwards is not to accept the cheques that are issued in favour of the banks itself in a move to avoid frauds. Bank is to insist to issue the cheques payable to an individual or to include the individual’s name on the payee line after the name of the institution. This strategy is mainly designed to ensure that the money lands in the right account and to bring to an end to cheque fraud which reached to a height of  £46.2 million in 2004 which includes counterfeit and stolen cheques. This modification is being launched following a case in which an independent financial advisor informed his clients to draw cheques out to the financial institutions where the money was going to be invested. He then paid them in to his own account, rather than the customers account.[ii] Under the BEA , there is a provision with a bill containing words prohibiting transfer or indicating an intension that it should not be transferable and these instruments is termed as ‘ not negotiable’. As such these instruments can not be negotiated by the payee to another holder. In UK, an account payee or a/c payee and with or without the words only can be encashed only by the account holder and thus it can not be encashed other wise than by an endorsement. Further, under the BEA, the consequence of an unauthorised or forged assignment is similar to that of forged endorsement as both do not convey title. Under BEA, in there is no acceptance, the drawee can not be held liable on the instrument and it does not exclude in tort or in receipt of money provided elements of such liability are present. If the drawer has given sufficient notice well in advance informing the drawee about the forged endorsement and the remedy available to the drawer against drawee for the forged endorsement is under contract and this arises regardless of any particular provision of the BEA. Further under BEA , no remedies is specified for the misappropriation under forged endorsement but the injured can avail the common law remedies for the embezzlement of property in chattels generally rather than stipulating specific recourse to the true owner of misappropriated cheques. Further the loss of cheque does not forfeit the action on it under the BEA. Under BEA, no title is passed on under the forged endorsements and one who derives the title under forged endorsement can not enforce payments against a prior party to the forgery. Further no payment is made under due course so as to discharge the cheque and to preclude drawee’s liability against the drawer. Thus the original owner from whom the cheque was stolen and forged inherits the right to and on the cheque and he has a right to sue for the wrongful interference with his rights. Further under BEA, an endorser is barred from refuting the authenticity and promptness of all previous endorsements and at the time of endorsement, he had a good title and this denial will be advantageous for the holder in due course later. Further under BEA, the drawee bank can base its reliance on laws governing mistake and restitution for the payment made over a forged endorsement. Further, under BEA provisions, true owner may recover on the lost cheque from any party prior to the falsification till up to the drawer. Under BEA, cheques payable to fictitious or non existing persons is deemed to payable to the bearer. A collecting bank can not be held responsible for payment made to a thief if it is drawn on fictitious name and if they have acted in good faith which absolves the collecting from its liability. In Fok Cheong Shing Investments v. Bank of Nova Scotia, the president of the drawer who turned to be the authorised signatory of the company issued a cheque to a real person with an intention for misappropriation. The loss was allocated to the drawer under the fictious payee provision. Thus the drawee bank is being protected under the BEA if it has paid a cheque over forged endorsement in the ordinary course of business under good faith. Thus the statutory protection is extended to the collecting bank which collects in good faith and without negligence a cheque bearing a forged endorsement. S 60 of the BEA does not warrant that drawee bank should act with out negligence. However one may assume that a bank has to act without negligence in the ordinary course of business. The UK Review Committee on Banking Services Law and Practice considered provisions ss.60, 80 and s.1 of the Cheques Act 1957. The committed recommended to combine these provisions under single enactment so that statutory protection may be extended to a paying bank acting in ’good faith’ and without negligence. Both the s 82 and s.1 of the Bills of exchange (crossed cheques) Act were repealed by the Cheques Act 1957 in UK which mainly extended the protection to open cheques and other payments documents. In UK, the drawee is primarily liable to payment, the endorser is liable secondly and the drawer is the ultimately liable to payment upon dishonor. Not withstanding this, the drawer and the endorser may sign without recourse. The United Nations Convention on international Bills of exchange and International Bills of Exchange and International promissory notes , 1988( UNCITRAL Convention) specifies that the drawer may exclude his own liability for acceptance or deferment by an express stipulation in the Bill. Such stipulation will hold of use only where another party is or becomes liable on the bill. PROTECTION AVAILABLE TO PAYING BANK: Section 24 of the BEA states that a forged signature is no signature. In Brown v Westminster Bank (1964), the estoppel caused from the misleading facts from the client. In this case , the bank has reminded a old lady , the customer against the veracity of the signature as her signature was forged more than in 300 cheques and in turn she certified that the signature was her own.   When the bank was sued by her son later, it was held that bank was not liable and they were estopped from denying the genuineness of the cheques. In Tai Cotton Mills Ltd v Liu Chong Hing bank (1985), it was held in this case that a customer of a bank needs to check his bank statement to keep on watch that the forged cheques were processed. The bank’s express condition to the contrary in the contract with customer can absolve the banks from the wrongful debit. Like wise if a bank pays a cheque in breach of a mandate by oversight, it has the right of subrogation and the bank has the right to take the possession of a title or good that it effectively paid for. PROTECTION IN THE CASE OF CONVERSION: It is not necessary for the bank to check every endorsement on the cheque and it would be time consuming and onerous to do so. So as to assuage the liability of banks, BEA (1882) and the Cheques Act (1959) offer defense for the paying bank. Bank of Ireland v Hollicourt (Contracts) limited (2000) EWCA Cir 263. A suit was filed against a bank which continued to pay on cheques against the company’s bank account even after filing of a petition for bankruptcy. It was held that the bank had acted as an agent and didn’t have any beneficial interest and the legislation made the disposition void but that did not operate the way claimed. Roger Smith and Christopher Trimothy Esmond Hayward and Lloyds Bank TSB; Harvey Jones Ltd and Woolwich Plc (2000). Where a cheque has been misused falsely to change the name of the payee, then the piece of paper can not be termed as a cheque and an action for alteration against the collecting or paying bank will stand only as the nominal value of the paper and not as to the face value. As the material alteration was carried out with out assent of any one but the fraudster and under the bill is avoided save against a party consenting or making to the alteration. PRECAUTIONS TO BE OBSERVED WHILE WRITING A CHEQUE: Write clearly the name of person in whose favour your are writing a cheque with additional information like Dr, Er, his shop name or company name etc. From September 2006 on wards whenever you issue a cheque to UK building society or to a bank, add additional information other than the name of the bank or society like account no, bank branch name etc. To prevent fraudsters to add words in the empty blank space available in the written cheque, it is always better to draw a line through unused spaces. Don’t pre sign blank cheques and also try to fill all the details like full name, amount in figures and words and don’t issue undated cheques. Always issue ‘account payee only ‘crossed cheques’ to avoid any frauds. CREDIT CARD CHEQUES: These cheques have been issued as an additional facility on credit card accounts for the last 10 years in UK. These are similar to the normal bank account cheques and can be deployed for the same purpose. During 2004 , about 3.4m credit cheques have been issued which constitute a very little percentage (2%) as opposed to overall number of credit card in operation which totaled to 1.727 billion in the UK according to APACS , the UK payment association. The credit card cheques are likely to bounce in most of the cases if credit limit has been crossed. These credit card cheques are utilised for high value transactions ranging from  £ 850 as against  £ 58 for a UK credit card purchases and  £ 120 for payment of a personal cheque. In credit card cheques, the customer need not ask for the cheques from the credit card issuer but they are issued at the discretion of the card provider and there are different terms and conditions applicable to transaction done through credit cards cheques as compared with a credit card and this is being unaware by the most of the customers. One of the disadvantages is the fraud that is prevalent in the credit card cheques as the most of the issuer are forwarding it to their customers on discretionary basis. These credit card cheques are vulnerable to fraudulent activities as most of the customers do not aware that credit card cheques have been dispatched to them. In the case of these credit card frauds, lender has to bear the losses rather than customer. CREDIT CARD FRAUDS: Credit and debit card frauds cost  £ 400 m during 2004 and devise deployed by the fraudsters have become sophisticated.One of the remedy is to insure against the ID theft. Some insurance company offer it as free adds on with home insurance policy. One of the protection for the prevention of credit card frauds   is the introduction of new industry standard namely ‘Chip and Pin† which required implanting a microchip inside the credit and debit card and mandates that consumers key in a secrete four-digit personal identification number to complete a transaction using the card. As the result the consumers deceived by the fraudsters are on the decrease in UK. [i] Dan Evans, â€Å"Gang’s Pounds 50m stolen cheque racket ‘, Sunday Mirror, Jan, 12, 2003. [ii] â€Å"Banks put checks on Cheques in new bid to beat pounds 46 million fraud, The Birmingham post, December 8, 2005, page 24. Check Your Balance before the Match. The News Letter (Belfast, Northern Ireland) : 11 Cheques in the Post-Mortem. The Birmingham Post (England) 21 Jan. 2006: 27. Cheques to Be Stubbed Out. After 350 YEARS; Signed and Sealed. The Mirror (London, England) 10 Nov. 2004: 1. Fraud Bill Shock. Evening Gazette (Middlesbrough, England) 31 Jan. 2006: 2. Ghost Workers Help Fraud to Soar. Western Mail (Cardiff, Wales) 2 Feb. 2005: 6. King of the Cons. The Mirror (London, England) 11 Jan. 2005: 10. Postman Given Asylum Plundered [Pounds Sterling] 20million. The Daily Mail (London, England) 21 Dec. 2005: 17. Store Bans Slowcoach Cheques to Speed Checkouts. Western Mail (Cardiff, Wales) 3 Apr. 2006: 4. Sally Ramage Dabydeen, â€Å"Legal and Regulatory Frame work â€Å"iUniverse, 2004.

File management

File management Developing a File Management System A filing system is developed by a good plan. Planning establishes direction and control it also ensures that everyone involved has a common understanding of purpose, goals and provides guidelines. Plan files in logical order- Assign responsibility Obtain support Collect information Analyze records Develop a filing system Implement system Train users Monitor implementation, follow up and revise system Assign Responsibility One person should be assigned the task for developing and coordinating a new filing system. This task usually falls to the person that is responsible for the documents. This may include Administration, Payroll/Financial Managers or Human Resource Manager. However there must be a Gatekeeper to control access to the information contained in the files. The Gatekeeper may implement the system or may supervise others in its implementation. The first step in developing or improving a filing system is to gain the support of the staff that will use the system. The support will legitimize the system and ensure the cooperation of all the office staff. Every member of the office must understand the purpose and scope of the project. Everyone should be involved in the process. The creator of a file may provide important insight useful during the analysis of the records. Office members can help determine which features or aspects of the present system work well and should be retained. Office members can also help identify specific problems within the present system that must be changed. Most importantly, involving others in the process makes them more amenable to using the system once it is implemented. Analyze Files Once files have been inventoried, they can be analyzed. Before a filing system can be designed, a thorough understanding of WHAT files are created, WHY they are created and HOW they are used is a necessity. An analysis begins with a careful consideration of the following questions: who creates the records who uses the records how often are various types of files used how long do files remain current how many people need access to the files which files are confidential are there legal requirements for retaining the files There are no set answers to these questions. Effective analysis requires that a common-sense approach be taken. The goal is to make a new system work, not just look good on paper. Analysis is the process of reviewing all information which has been collected, manipulating that information within the functional and operational requirements of the office, and then drawing conclusions. The most efficient and economical filing system is one that works well for the office and is easily understood by its users. Very often the simplest method is best. Final factors to bear in mind when establishing a filing system: ready identification and retrieval of individual files. Tools of File Analysis Classification is a tool of analysis. It is a method of sorting information into like groups. Identifying classification within the office and sorting files identified is the first step in the development of a filing system. The file classifications that are found in most offices are: Administrative files-document the internal administration and operation of an office Organizational files -document the relationship of an office with other offices and departments within Hogg Fuels Retention of Files A major consideration in the development of a filing system is the retention of the files. Retention schedules clearly state how long a file must legally be kept and whether the file is archival. Retention schedules also provide guidelines for moving files to inactive storage and for purging obsolete files. Managing correspondence and email Although correspondence may comprise only a small percentage of the total volume of files, it poses the most problems for many offices. Correspondence consists of unique documents which are often difficult to classify. Correspondence may consist of incoming and/or outgoing letters and memoranda. Classically, correspondence has been filed in chronological order. Retrieval depended on remembering the date of receipt or of transmittal. For many people this is very difficult. Information is rarely retrieved on the basis of occurrence. Email is similar to correspondence in many ways. Emails are sent or received based on date and time, not on content. This is one of the characteristics that make email so difficult to manage. Each email is different than the one sent before and will be different than the email sent after. Managing emails by date is rarely effective. Like correspondence, it is much easier to manage emails based on content or creator. Information is most commonly retrieved on the basis of content or creator. It is, therefore, most logical to file correspondence or email either by subject (with related information); by creator; by department from which it is received; or by department to which it is directed. It must be kept in mind that each office function is different, and it is necessary to tailor the management of correspondence files and email to respond to individual requirements. Completing the analysis Once the analysis is complete, a filing system can be developed. A filing system should be developed on paper before it is physically implemented. Folders should be sorted, on paper, into the appropriate classification. Within each classification files are sorted. Information without a specific retention period can be destroyed or should be managed separately. Unsolicited material can be destroyed. Arrangement Within each individual file they are arranged in an order best suited for rapid retrieval and disposition. The most common arrangements are: Alphabetic arranging records in alphabetical order is most helpful when records are retrieved by name or topic. However, it must be remembered that even the simplest alphabetic system requires establishing consistent and uniform filing standards. Chronological a chronological system is most useful for records that are created and monitored on a daily basis. Folders are arranged by sequential date order. It is, however, recommended that chronological filing be avoided. Retrieval can be slow and difficult as few people tend to remember dates accurately. The date of occurrence is rarely the basis for retrieval of information. Implement System There is no easy way to implement a new filing system. It is a very labor intensive task. If at all possible, it is recommended that the filing system be implemented in stages, by classificationone file at a time. Steps in the implementation process include: sorting paper files into classification assigning a physical location within the filing system to each classification re-labeling folders or creating folders to reflect the new file system if necessary, the purchase of new filing supplies/equipment Monitor implementation, follow-up and revise system After a test period meet with users to identify problems. Work with users to resolve inconsistencies and formulate implementable solutions. Written filing policies and procedures are useful tools which help ensure the success of the new system. Written policies should include: a brief statement describing the chosen system and its arrangement detailed procedures for the creation, maintenance, and purging of files procedures for the retrieval and re-filing of paper folders staff duties and responsibilities Written policies help ensure that the new system will be understood by all and will succeed. Filing Policy and Procedures Although many of the files we currently create may be electronic, we will always have to cope with paper files. This section includes basic information regarding the maintenance of active files. Processing information for filing check to see that the material is complete file the item in the front of folder if a folder does not exist, create a label for a new folder integrate the file into the system Sign-out Rules users check out folders, never individual documents Sign-out sheets are used to monitor the removal of the file Information on the sign-out sheet should include: file folder name borrower name date signed out date returned For convenience keep several sign out sheets in the front of each file drawer or on top of each file cabinet. For greater convenience, sign out sheets can be personalized for individual users. Sign out sheets personalized for an individual need only contain file folder title, date charged out, and date returned. (Appendix~1.0 Sample Sign-Out Sheet) Filing Supplies After determining a filing system for managing your paper records, it is important to choose appropriate supplies. Hanging folders Hanging folders are used to bring order to a drawer. They are effective only when used in the right circumstance. As hanging folders take up 1/3 of the available drawer space, they should be used only for files with high retrieval activity. Labels are used to facilitate identification of a folder and its contents. Visibility on the folder and use as a visual retrieval aid should be major considerations when choosing labels. Color coding is a method of identifying file folders within a filing system. Color, when used appropriately, can make misfiles visible at a glance, facilitate retrieval, and facilitate weeding and purging. Color is used as a visual aid to highlight a record series or the date. It can also be used to highlight a specific folder. Naming and Labeling Files For files, identification and labeling allows an office to maintain physical control over current files as well as manage growth of new files. When working with files two levels of file identification and labeling help simplify and facilitate filing and retrieval: drawer or shelf labels file folder labels