Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Macbeth the Weird Sisters Drive Macbeth to His Destruction

In shakespears Macbeth, the weird sisters are only one of the contributions to Macbeth's destruction. Though they do play a role, the other characters such as Lady Macbeth and even Macbeth himself contributes towards his destruction, with immense ambition and greed to become king. The prophecies which the witches make are only temptations for Macbeth. The weird sisters never tell Macbeth what to do with these suggestions, he just becomes curious and disbelieving about what the witches say, though takes their forecasts literally. The witches only make predictions about the future kingship of Macbeth: â€Å"All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor. † Macbeth, along with Lady Macbeth take the prophecies to in-depth and try to implement them as soon as they desire. The prophecies predicted by the weird sisters do occur in the end, but somewhat not how they wanted. After Lady Macbeth is told about the prophecies foretold by the witches, want for power seems to over ride her and take control. Lady Macbeth devises a plan for Macbeth, so that he must kill Duncan who is king at the time, she expects Macbeth to accept, as their ambition for power is greater than each others. She treats Macbeth as he isnt man enough to take this plan to action and confronts him and tells him he isnt born of man. Though Macbeth accepts the plan to Kill king Duncan, but Lady Macbeth starts to feel guilty for the actions that had been taken and her guilt leads to death of her as she falls out her bedroom window. As Macbeth takes Lady Macbeths plan, his want for power is high at this point, not taking into reality what he really is doing. After Duncan is dead, Macbeths ambition has come alive and now really all is done in his eyes. Though with Malcom in anger, he grasps some help from Macduff, whom meets with Macbeth in town to have a fight. Which Macbeth looses causing all destruction upon himself and dies, which leaves the throne to Macduff. Though in the start the witches provide Macbeth with prophecies of him becoming king, Macbeth takes his future into his own hands, telling Lady Macbeth of what had been predicted, so she herself helps drive him towards destruction and Macbeth, being a fool for power brings all destruction down in the end.

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Hydraulic Fracturing

Is hydrologic fracturing a suitable form of energy production? Over the past 85 years, the American Petroleum Institute, API, has been developing and refining engineering standards and practices for the industry. The past decade has brought about a new practice which involves hydraulic fracturing in order to produce oil and natural gas in places where conventional technologies are ineffective. This is a rather in depth process. Firstly, a production drill is drilled through the rock layers to intersect the coal seem that contains coal bed methane, CBM. Next, fractures are created or existing fractures are enlarged in the coal seem so that the CBM can be drawn from the well and pumped to the surface. These fractures are created or enlarged by using a thick water-based fluid which is gradually increased by rate and pressure. Then, over time the coal seam is unable to keep up with the fracturing fluid which results in high pressure causing the coal to fracture along the weaknesses within. Sand is pumped into these fractures to keep them ‘propped’ open after the pressures are released. The first diagram in the appendix shows what occurs in the subsurface during a typical hydraulic fracturing event. After a period of fluid recovery or groundwater extraction is when the extraction of CBM occurs. As pumping continues, the pressure eventually decreases so that the methane desorbs from the coal, flows and is extracted through the production well. The fracture created acts as a conduit in the rock or coal formation, allowing the CBM to flow more freely from the coal seems through the fracture system and to the production where gas is pumped to the surface. Unlike conventional gas production, the amount of water extracted declines proportionally with increasing CBM production (US EPA, 2004). The demand of natural gas is expected to increase drastically over the next 20 years, causing the need for innovative production to fill the growing demand. Many may believe that there are other ways to fulfill the need of natural gas, due to production concerns, but this is a suitable form of energy production. Hydraulic fracturing should be used because it will provide a significant increase in jobs, economic growth, and clean burning energy. The Keystone XL pipeline has had much controversy in the news recently. This pipeline is an extension onto the existing pipeline running from Canada to the United States. The pipeline would increase crude oil capacity between the two countries allowing for a more diverse supply among the United States’ worldwide crude oil sources, shorten the transportation pathway for crude oil supplies, and increase the crude oil supplies from a major non-organization of petroleum exporting countries producer. â€Å"The use of hydraulic fracturing will help make our country more energy self-reliant and more secure† (Green, 2012). This statement was made by the API President and CEO, Jack Gerard during the second State of American Energy event January 4. He also proceeded to state that the United State’s resources on and offshore are among the largest in the world. This means that with the right policies in place, there could be 100 percent of our liquid fuel needs supplied domestically and from Canada by 2026. Also, with a pro-energy development approach 1 million new US jobs by 2018 could be produced along with billions of dollars in additional revenue to government (Green, 2012). The increase in jobs from this production is approximately 334,000 in the past two years after the 3 million manufacturing jobs lost from 2001-2007. Hydraulic fracturing has rapidly increased the domestic production of natural gas and has seen low domestic prices for households. Figure five below shows the increase in production rates over the last several years (Green, 2012). The oppositions to this vision are primarily political on an ecological level. In order for the process to run smoothly water use is needed. Many think that the water used for hydraulic fracturing could deplete fresh water supplies and impact aquatic habitat. Some also say that the groundwater could be contaminated. Some hydraulic fracturing fluids can also contain chemicals. Typically a mixture of water, proppants and chemicals are what is pumped into the rock or coal to fracture the wells. Eco-friendly leaders and environmentalists are taking a stand to state that these chemicals, use of water and damage to groundwater are not acceptable and this energy method should not be used. Firstly, chemicals typically make up just 0. and 2% of the total volume of the fracturing fluid with the majority being water. Secondly, natural gas emits fewer greenhouse gases than other fossil fuels, about half as much of carbon dioxide as coal which contributes to less global warming. Thirdly, with the halting of fracturing in some states due to pressures from environmental and public health groups asking the EPA for tests and proof that it is safe to continue with this type of energy production, supporters are concerned that it could hinder U. S. job growth and energy output in a time of need (McLendon, 2010). The tests from the EPA will take roughly two years, so until then it is a waiting process. As you can see, this is a roughly new energy production that does need to be researched more. From my point of view the pros seem to outweigh the cons. I think more tests and actual data about contamination and whether it is really safe will be the true test. The increase in jobs, economic growth, and clean burning energy is most definitely what this country needs right now. The true outlook on this issue will come towards the later part of this year when the test results conclude. References Green, M. (2012, January 05). Starting the energy debate. Retrieved from http://energytomorrow. org/blog/starting-the-energy-debate/ McLendon, R. (2010, December 10). Big frack attack: Is hydraulic fracturing safe?. Retrieved from http://www. mnn. com/earth-matters/translating-uncle-sam/stories/big-frack-attack-is-hydraulic-fracturing-safe US EPA. (2004, June). Evaluation of impacts to underground sources of drinking water by hydraulic fracturing of coalbed methane reservoirs. Retrieved from http://www. epa. gov/safewater/uic/pdfs/cbmstudy_attach_uic_exec_summ. pdf Appendix Hydraulic Fracturing Is hydrologic fracturing a suitable form of energy production? Over the past 85 years, the American Petroleum Institute, API, has been developing and refining engineering standards and practices for the industry. The past decade has brought about a new practice which involves hydraulic fracturing in order to produce oil and natural gas in places where conventional technologies are ineffective. This is a rather in depth process. Firstly, a production drill is drilled through the rock layers to intersect the coal seem that contains coal bed methane, CBM. Next, fractures are created or existing fractures are enlarged in the coal seem so that the CBM can be drawn from the well and pumped to the surface. These fractures are created or enlarged by using a thick water-based fluid which is gradually increased by rate and pressure. Then, over time the coal seam is unable to keep up with the fracturing fluid which results in high pressure causing the coal to fracture along the weaknesses within. Sand is pumped into these fractures to keep them ‘propped’ open after the pressures are released. The first diagram in the appendix shows what occurs in the subsurface during a typical hydraulic fracturing event. After a period of fluid recovery or groundwater extraction is when the extraction of CBM occurs. As pumping continues, the pressure eventually decreases so that the methane desorbs from the coal, flows and is extracted through the production well. The fracture created acts as a conduit in the rock or coal formation, allowing the CBM to flow more freely from the coal seems through the fracture system and to the production where gas is pumped to the surface. Unlike conventional gas production, the amount of water extracted declines proportionally with increasing CBM production (US EPA, 2004). The demand of natural gas is expected to increase drastically over the next 20 years, causing the need for innovative production to fill the growing demand. Many may believe that there are other ways to fulfill the need of natural gas, due to production concerns, but this is a suitable form of energy production. Hydraulic fracturing should be used because it will provide a significant increase in jobs, economic growth, and clean burning energy. The Keystone XL pipeline has had much controversy in the news recently. This pipeline is an extension onto the existing pipeline running from Canada to the United States. The pipeline would increase crude oil capacity between the two countries allowing for a more diverse supply among the United States’ worldwide crude oil sources, shorten the transportation pathway for crude oil supplies, and increase the crude oil supplies from a major non-organization of petroleum exporting countries producer. â€Å"The use of hydraulic fracturing will help make our country more energy self-reliant and more secure† (Green, 2012). This statement was made by the API President and CEO, Jack Gerard during the second State of American Energy event January 4. He also proceeded to state that the United State’s resources on and offshore are among the largest in the world. This means that with the right policies in place, there could be 100 percent of our liquid fuel needs supplied domestically and from Canada by 2026. Also, with a pro-energy development approach 1 million new US jobs by 2018 could be produced along with billions of dollars in additional revenue to government (Green, 2012). The increase in jobs from this production is approximately 334,000 in the past two years after the 3 million manufacturing jobs lost from 2001-2007. Hydraulic fracturing has rapidly increased the domestic production of natural gas and has seen low domestic prices for households. Figure five below shows the increase in production rates over the last several years (Green, 2012). The oppositions to this vision are primarily political on an ecological level. In order for the process to run smoothly water use is needed. Many think that the water used for hydraulic fracturing could deplete fresh water supplies and impact aquatic habitat. Some also say that the groundwater could be contaminated. Some hydraulic fracturing fluids can also contain chemicals. Typically a mixture of water, proppants and chemicals are what is pumped into the rock or coal to fracture the wells. Eco-friendly leaders and environmentalists are taking a stand to state that these chemicals, use of water and damage to groundwater are not acceptable and this energy method should not be used. Firstly, chemicals typically make up just 0. and 2% of the total volume of the fracturing fluid with the majority being water. Secondly, natural gas emits fewer greenhouse gases than other fossil fuels, about half as much of carbon dioxide as coal which contributes to less global warming. Thirdly, with the halting of fracturing in some states due to pressures from environmental and public health groups asking the EPA for tests and proof that it is safe to continue with this type of energy production, supporters are concerned that it could hinder U. S. job growth and energy output in a time of need (McLendon, 2010). The tests from the EPA will take roughly two years, so until then it is a waiting process. As you can see, this is a roughly new energy production that does need to be researched more. From my point of view the pros seem to outweigh the cons. I think more tests and actual data about contamination and whether it is really safe will be the true test. The increase in jobs, economic growth, and clean burning energy is most definitely what this country needs right now. The true outlook on this issue will come towards the later part of this year when the test results conclude. References Green, M. (2012, January 05). Starting the energy debate. Retrieved from http://energytomorrow. org/blog/starting-the-energy-debate/ McLendon, R. (2010, December 10). Big frack attack: Is hydraulic fracturing safe?. Retrieved from http://www. mnn. com/earth-matters/translating-uncle-sam/stories/big-frack-attack-is-hydraulic-fracturing-safe US EPA. (2004, June). Evaluation of impacts to underground sources of drinking water by hydraulic fracturing of coalbed methane reservoirs. Retrieved from http://www. epa. gov/safewater/uic/pdfs/cbmstudy_attach_uic_exec_summ. pdf Appendix

Monday, July 29, 2019

Ethical and Professional HRM Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Ethical and Professional HRM - Assignment Example Since that time, the organization has faced a number of lawsuits relating to provision of suitable seats which has proven costly due to budgets allocated for litigation matters. This situation means there is need for the organization to develop a framework that would help end complaints by employees based on the issue of suitable seats. I will assume that the employees have made a genuine claim about the working condition being detrimental to their health although there have not been medical any medical case concerning employees of Wal-Mart whose condition has been attributed to the working conditions provided by the organization. Consequently, I will argue that the Wal-Mart should introduce suitable seats to the employees to prevent further complaint that might arise in future. To achieve this, the report is organized into three sections where the first section makes an analysis of the conflict of interest between Wal-Mart and the employees. Second part will analyse available option s to determine what would be the best option to satisfy both the employees and the company. The third part is about which one among the presented options is the best ethical and professional option before making a brief conclusion. A number of organizations have in the past years faced legal suits because of the manner in which they have treated their employees. Class action on seating during working hours is among the areas of conflict between employers and their employees. There has been considerable law suits where employees have complained that they were not provided with seats in their workstations a situation which compromised their health due to being on their feet for long periods of time. A case in example concerns the employees at the giant retailer, Wal-Mart who have gone to court to protest the retailer’s requirements that workers should perform their duties

Sunday, July 28, 2019

The intersection of private and public - analysis synthesis, and Essay

The intersection of private and public - analysis synthesis, and personal meaning - Essay Example She always faces many obstacles along her journey, including fear of losing her job, the physical pain of her scalded and bleeding feet, and the possibility of being beaten or worse for speaking up because of color of her face. Odessa makes a very courageous decision to go public with her desire and hope for a more just society and equality for her people. On the other hand, in the beginning of the movie, Miriam is not really even aware of racism. Miriam has lived her private white life not really understanding or even caring about what is happening around her in the public area. She is so blind to the fact that racism could invade her private life that she sends her daughter with the black maid to the â€Å"white† park, resulting in Odessa’s expulsion from that park. Before the bus boycott starts, Miriam is worry about whether Odessa will come to her house to clean the house. When Odessa is unable to be on time for work or not to come to her house, Miriam starts to feel some personal consequences of racism because her house cleaning expectations were not being met. After she starts driving into Odessa’s world, and sees how different life is beyond her community, she starts to change from a very private person who just wants her house cleaned to a person with moral spirit. As a result, Miriam makes the brave decision to break out of her very private â€Å"white† community and become a public figure in order to stand up against racism. She against her husband and drives into Odessa’s neighborhood to pick her up and eventually begins a carpool to drive Odessa’s neighbors as well. By her actions, she displays her hope in a racially equal world with more justice for the black people. This story stands as an example how small gestures can have a great impact on society. Much can be accomplished when the people, white and black both, work together to effect change. This was the basis of the Civil

Saturday, July 27, 2019

Civil Rights in Politics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Civil Rights in Politics - Essay Example The media is a powerful tool when it comes to shaping public opinion. One news story that negatively affected American public perception towards the U.S government in particular the NSA is the Snowden spying claims. Mainstream media spotlighted the story creating mistrust for the government by the citizenry. The media provided details of how the government was intruding into personal privacy by reading people’s mails and text messages. One can argue that were it not for the widespread media coverage the Snowden story received, there would have been little impact on the U.S citizen perception of the U.S government. Today, the average U.S citizen does not trust the government, all due to the media coverage of the Snowden and by extension the wiki leaks story. The second event where a media story has negatively affected public perception of the government and in particular the institution of the presidency is the Iraqi weapons of mass destruction story. After the 9/11 attack, the U.S government convinced the public by capitalizing on the raging emotions at the time that Saddam Hussein was the problem and that Iraq was harboring weapons of mass destruction. However, all this euphoria around Iraq was crashed when the mainstream media revealed conspiracies around the Iraq war including CIA reports showing that they had prior knowledge that Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction, and that Saddam was never a threat to the United States. The media also increased negative public perception.

E-commerce Security Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

E-commerce Security - Assignment Example The product of GAP is majorly the GAP image. Apart from just selling accessories and clothes, GAP makes huge sales of their own image as well as a trendy upper class environment of shopping. The company has branched out to many other markets like GAP outlet and Baby GAP. The company deals in various clothes of which some are in the stage of maturity with other brand new lines in the stage of introduction. GAP can keep up with the stiff competition online as it continually rolls out varying products to its clients. GAP is influenced by many factors just like other online retail centers. These can be both external and internal factors. They are hence considered when marketing strategy is being created. Today, GAP is trading towards being a driven by brand marketing rather than by creative marketing. GAP as a company experiences various strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. The strengths of the company include: effective customer service; quality products; reliable services ; and branching out to the internet. On the other hand, its weaknesses include: the price point; competition from other available stores; and the stuffiness image of the company. GAP Company enjoys varying opportunities from the internet ranging from the stock market prices, and development of the new plan of marketing. However, the threats that are in store for GAP include: the industrial expansion; increasing competition; and high competition in internet shopping. The primary target of GAP is a Caucasian female ranging between 21 and 35 years of age. The male Caucasians of between 24 and 35 years and females lying between 15 to 20 years makes the secondary target market of the company. There are other targets in the online market but those two forms its major targets. The product of the GAP Company include: Baby GAP, GAP outlet, and SKU’s such as Old Navy and banana republic. The company is influenced by internal and external factors such as; competitive forces, economic fo rces, political forces, legal forces, regulatory forces, technological forces, and socio cultural forces (Holmes, 2011). Company history and background The first GAP store was opened by Doris and Donald Fisher on August 21, 1969 in San Francisco, Ocean Avenue. The merchandise of the store was composed of LPs and Levi’s. The Fishers raised about 63,000 US dollars in order to open the store. In about a year, the sales of GAP had grown to 2 million US dollars. A second GAP store was opened in 1970 in California, San Jose, with its headquarters established in Burlingame, California with mere four employees. The company grew rapidly. It had more than 25 stores by 1973 covering up to outskirts of California and entered the market of East Coast with a new online store in New Jersey, Voorhees. GAP began selling private label merchandise in 1974. Drexler Millard led GAP to its phenomenal growth in 1990s due to the transformation of the humble jeans discount emporium. In 2002, Drexler was ousted after an over expansion and slump sales. There was a strong rebound in GAP’

Friday, July 26, 2019

The Founding of the Caliphate Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Founding of the Caliphate - Essay Example People’s right like social security, family structure, rights of women and children were tremendously improved in his time but his sudden death in 632 created disarray in the society (Ahmad 246–248). He never specified anyone as his successor who will rule the Muslim ummah after his death. Soon after his death, a debate started over the selection of the next leader among two groups of the regions, Al-Tabari and Ibn Hisham, however, these debates were not reaching to any implications. Background One of the Helper groups of Muhammad was Banu Sa’ida. It was a Jewish tribes from Medina who helped the Muslims when the emigrated from Makah to Medina. They were also included as the allies of Muslims in the constitution of Medina. But soon after Muhammad’s death the group gathered and decided to take the authority of Medina. They said that their tribe has precedence in religion and merit in Islam that no Arab tribe had and now is the time to take the authority bac k. They said that Allah has conferred merit on them and they were the ones who fought more heavily than any other for the glorification of Islam and Muhammad against his enemies in the Holy wars (Edmund). They were acclaiming that it was through their swords that people came near to Muhammad and Islam and now after His (PBUH) death, it is only their right to keep the authority for them and not for anyone else. On the other side, many of them were also thinking that emigrants of Quraish, the first companions of Muhammad who came with him to Medina, would refuse their authority. This news reached to Umar, the companion of Prophet who approached to Abu bakr with this news. Abu-Bakr was preparing for the burial of Muhammad’s body (PBUH) at that time and was in a state of shock. But Umer insisted his presence outside. He informed him that Helpers have gathered in the porch of Banu Sa’ida and willing to confer the authority to Sa’d Ibn Ubada. Abu-bakr joined Umer with his companions and sat in a meeting with Banu Sa’ida to resolve the issue of authority. Umar ibn al- Khattab wished to make a speech there but Abu Bakr asked him to let him speak first and afterwards he speaks whatever he wants to. Speech of Abu Bakr To settle the situation at that time and to avoid any kind of chaos in the state, Abu-bakr made a historical speech. He started his speech by praising Allah and said that Allah sent Prophet Muhammad to His creatures to lighten up their hearts and to show them the right path of worshiping Allah and Allah alone. He said that they were living in darkness and worshipping various gods and considering them as intercessors for them with God, though they were only made of stones and carved wood. In such situation it was a tremendous thing for the Arabs to abandon the religion of their forefathers and accept Islam as the true religion. He said that it was the Allah’s blessing that Emigrants (people of Makah) were the first HE sele cted for His religion. Allah showed them the right path with the guidance of Prophet Muhammad and they soon recognized the truth that Allah is the only one worth worshiping. Emigrants were few in numbers in the beginning, their tribes were against them but they never got afraid and stand stiff against all the enemies of Islam. Abu Bakr said that Emigrants are Prophet’s friends and among his clan and he believes that they are the best entitled of all the men to

Thursday, July 25, 2019

Mobile Payment Processing Systems and Analytics Research Paper

Mobile Payment Processing Systems and Analytics - Research Paper Example These standards provide the retailers and other merchants with a clear guidance on the payment process. Kaletunc (45) asserts that this kind of payment is very complex; hence, it is plausible for an entity to indulge in it when this technology is inevitably required. In addition, there are risks associated with the interlinking of card payments through mobile devices. The Mobile payment processing entails the use of credit cards on the mobile devices to effect payments with regard to various business transactions. Poor and Lang (37) posit that in this form of payment processing, any consumer handheld devices like the tablets and iPads can be used to effect payments. These devices can only serve as mobile payment processing devices when they get text data clearly. In fact, the consumers have the choice of providing their own mobile devices to effect payment. This has created efficiency and effectiveness in the payment processing due to the fact that the consumer traffic is eliminated and there is personal responsibility in case of any hitch in the payment processing. However, the scenario of the consumer bringing his own device for payment processing at the merchant business location has got its challenges. For instance, the merchant cannot manage to take control of the configuration of the client device. This compromises the retailer’s service delivery and it can culminate in craftiness and fraud among clients. The ‘payment card industry data security standards’ help in guiding the payment processes when the merchant has his own mobile device to serve customers. The standards ought to be complied with in order to avoid any inconvenience and probable fraud in the course of effecting of payment processing. This implies that the standards do not cover any eventuality pertaining to the mobile device ownership by the customers. In this regard, merchants must be very cautious and diligent while affecting the payment processing .This entails analyz ing the payment processes and verifying identity of various cards presented by the clients. The point of sale payment processing is the only scenario which applies with regard to the ‘payment card industry data security standards’. Sparck and Galliers (28) claim that square's mobile card reader technology is covered by the data security standards. The application of the mobile payment processing technology can only be successful when there is transaction security, application security and the mobile device security. There must be prevention of the customer account data from interception during the processing of payment. There must be prevention of data from interception while it is being transmitted from the mobile payment device. This is usually ensured through the use of strong encryption codes for the effecting of payment transactions. The merchants usually protect the customer’s account data through limitation of physical access to the device during transacti ng time. In fact, this is affected through the use of one-on-one service delivery at the point-of-sale (MobileReference, 37). This technological application should be protected from viruses, which destroy the customer payment data. For instance, the creation of malware, spams, Trojan and recycler computer viruses have led to massive destruction of vital documents online. This has also resulted in a total breakdown of some systems where no backup of documents

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

The New Advancement in Treatment of Prostate Cancer - PROVENGE Term Paper

The New Advancement in Treatment of Prostate Cancer - PROVENGE (sipuleucel-T) - Term Paper Example Sadly, according to Vogelzang (1996), metastatic HRPC is responsible for almost all prostate cancer deaths. Medical options currently available for the treatment and management of prostate cancer include radical prostatectomy, radiation therapy, mitoxantrone, estramustine, vinca alkaloids, doxurobicin, and taxanes, among others (Middletone, 1996; Goodin et al., 2002). The choice of therapeutic management, however, is greatly determined by how advanced the disease has become. For instance, studies have shown that radiotherapy and radical prostatectomy could increase survival rate of patients with stage 1 and stage 2 prostate cancers by as much as 95% in the next 5 years but were no longer effective in treating the disease in its metastatic stage (Middleton, 1996). On the other hand, for patients with HRPC, taxane-based chemotherapy has demonstrated a modest survival advantage, but median survival after treatment is only 19 months (Small et al., 2006). Moreover, not all cancer patients are candidates for chemotherapy. Hence, more effective treatment regimens for advanced and metastatic prostate cancer are needed. A more recent advancement in the field of prostate cancer management is the use of the patient’s immune system to combat the disease through the administration of a non-prophylactic cancer vaccine (McNeel, 2007; Sonpavde et al., 2007). Sipuleucel-T, the first ever vaccine that works against late-stage, metastatic, and hormone-refractory prostate cancers, is an autologous cellular immunotherapy specifically designed to stimulate the body’s immune responses (FDA, 2010). This paper highlights sipuleucel-T (tradename: PROVENGEÂ ®) as a novel, nontoxic modality for the treatment of advanced prostate cancer. Specifically, this paper aims to review what sipuleucel-T (PROVENGEÂ ®) is, its components, its side effects, evidences of its effectiveness based on clinical trial studies, and its advantages over some of the existing prostate cancer treat ments. Discussion Among the different immunotherapy approaches investigated in the past, the use of dendritic cells (DCs), which are the main antigen-presenting cells (APCs) of the body, was found to be the most efficient way of presenting cancer antigen to the immune system (Bono et al., 2010). Sipuleucel-T, produced by Dendreon Corporation under the tradename of PROVENGEÂ ®, is a cancer vaccine that makes use of the patient’s own dendritic cells, hence the term autologous immunotherapy, to improve T-cell response (Harzstark and Small, 2009; FDA, 2010). Specifically, each dose of PROVENGEÂ ® contains at least 50 million autologous CD54+ cells activated with a recombinant human protein called PAP-GM-CSF, composed of prostatic acid phosphatase (PAP) and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) (FDA, 2010). CD54+, a cell surface glycoprotein that functions as a stimulator on APCs, bind to its receptor on the surface of T-cells during the process of antigen pr esentation (CST, 2010). Meanwhile, PAP is a surface antigen expressed in prostate tumor cells. Studies have shown that PAP antigen is relatively specific to prostate epithelium, making it a good target for vaccines (Oh, 2010; Nabhan et al., 2011). On the other hand, GM-CSF is an immune cell activator (FDA, 2010). The CD54+ cells collected from the patient through a process known as leukapheresis, are treated with

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

Ratio Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Ratio Analysis - Essay Example Financial statement analysis consists of the application of analytical tools and techniques to the data in financial statements in order to derive from them measurements and relationships that are significant and useful for decision making (ICFAI Center for Management Research ICMR). The process of financial analysis can be described in various ways, depending on the objectives to be obtained. Financial analysis can be used as a preliminary screening tool of future financial conditions and results. It may be used as a forecasting tool of future financial conditions and results. It may be used as a process of evaluation and diagnosis of managerial, operating, or other problem areas. Above all, financial analysis reduces reliance on intuition, guesses and thus narrows the areas of uncertainty that is present in all decision making processes. Financial analysis does not lessen the need for judgment but rather establishes a sound and systematic basis for its rational application. In the analysis of financial statements, the analyst has a variety of tools available from which he can choose those best suited to his specific purpose. The following are the important tools of analysis. Ratios are well known and the most widely used tools of financial analysis. ... The analysis of ratios can disclose relationships as well as bases of comparison that reveal conditions and trends that cannot be detected by going through the individual components of the ratio. The usefulness of ratios is ultimately dependant on their intelligent and skillful interpretation. Ratios are used by different people for various purposes. As ratio analysis mainly helps in valuing the firm in quantitative terms, two groups of people are interested in the valuation of the firm and they are creditors and shareholders (Blackwell publishing). Creditors are again divided into short-term creditors and long-term creditors. Short-term creditors hold obligations that will soon mature and they are concerned with the firm's ability to pay its bills promptly. In the short run, the amount of liquid assets determines the ability clear off current liabilities. These persons are interested in liquidity. Long-term creditors hold bonds or mortgages against the firm and are interested in current payments of interest and eventual repayment of principal. The firm must be sufficiently liquid in the short-term and have adequate profits for the long-term. These persons examine both the liquidity and profitability of the firm (ICFAI Center for Management Research ICMR). Ratio Analysis - A strategic tool Insight into the financial situation of a company will quickly place its condition in perspective. The critical areas in any profit or non-profit organization can be summed up as follows: Scanning and using funds Planning for securing and using funds Controlling expenditure Reporting all transactions and results to appropriate parties Facts can be gathered and tentative conclusions can be

Monday, July 22, 2019

Define and Discuss ‘Retail Experience’ Essay Example for Free

Define and Discuss ‘Retail Experience’ Essay Define and discuss ‘retail experience’. Use a case study example to demonstrate its application. How does the retailer create and enhance value? Define and discuss ‘retail experience’. Use a case study example to demonstrate its application. How does the retailer create and enhance value? David Olu RETAIL MANAGEMENT Define and discuss ‘retail experience’. Use a case study example to demonstrate its application. How does the retailer create and enhance value? When people go shopping they want to encounter an enjoyable experience which will satisfy their needs so in recent years retailers have tried to take the shopping experience to another level in order to encourage consumers to build a relationship with the brand. The purpose of this essay will be to outline what is meant by the term â€Å"retail experience†. The main focus will be on a particular case study involving Apple in order to explain how the retailer goes on to enhance value. Retail experience can be seen as a process in which a retailer packages an experience together with products. (Berman B Evans J 2010) highlight that â€Å"A Retailers image depends heavily on its â€Å"atmosphere†. When looking at atmosphere it is the psychological feeling a customer gets when visiting the retailer.’’ It is noted that atmosphere can influence hedonic value this is an important aspect of the experience, because this is what plays a vital role in gaining a customer’s interest and it can help in leading the customer into the buying process. All of the major retailers will aim to provide a relaxing environment for their consumers because shopping is considered as fun and pleasurable (Jones, 1999). There are some key factors that contribute to this, first we look at music because it provides entertainment for shoppers Turley and Chebat (2002). Followed by lighting the appropriate use of it,  such as product spotlighting and dim ambient lighting, and thirdly the use of bright and vibrant colours. Swinyard (1993) reiterated this by pointing out that â€Å"Mood states are present in virtually every shopping encounter, and could have a significant effect on shopping behaviour†. And In Relation to this (Kemp and Kopp 2011) also put forward that Emotions shape our everyday existence, including our consumption and purchase behaviour. So this could mean that a consumer in a bad mood may tend to view shopping activities differently from one in a good mood. When a customer enters the store atmosphere they are not able to experience the music in seclusion or smell the scent without seeing the colours as well they do not walk on the floor-covering without feeling the ambient temperature. The typical customer experiences amounts of all these and other incentives as an on-going, collective experience. So it can be argued that most buying environments are purposefully designed to produce specific emotional effects in shoppers. Berman Evans J (2010) argued that â€Å"The presentation merchandise and the displays that bring shoppers into the store are very important in creating a retail image. So other factors which have to be considered when looking at retail experience is the layout of the shop itself because if the shop is nicely laid out it will encourage customers to spend more time in the shop than originally planned. So retailers have to consider the layout of the products and how they can appeal to customers and also clearly labelled displays if they have any in order to make the customers indentify what is on sell clearly. So it is always essential for a business to ensure that the shop is properly organised. A store exterior provides a powerful impact on a business’s image this should be planned effectively a store exterior consists of the total physical exterior of the store itself, with a storefront most retailers can present a traditional, trendy, upscale environment, in relation to retail experience customers who happen to pass a shop they usually judge a store by its exterior so this can be used to draw in customers with things like display windows showing products will be able to catch a customer’s attention  straight away most retailers make use of mannequins in order to grab people’s attention. Customers always want to feel valued and welcomed when they visit a shop so when they enter the shop they expect a good customer service from the members of staff this is crucially essential for an organisation to manage. Because not only will shoppers appreciate the store due to the products offered, or atmospherics’ but they will have more of a strong interest due to the kindness of the salesperson (Lombart and Jeandrain, 2003). If the members of staff are always available and helpful it will create a customer satisfaction and this can be considered as a key determining factor with benefits of repeat shopping and buying behaviour if managed effectively so with this it means that customers will always have a good experience, when they encounter polite and helpful members of staff and this will also create a positive image for the business. Promotion is another tool in which retailers will aim to provide satisfaction to their customers so in order for them to do this they implement special offers as a strategy to achieve this, if an organisation regularly provides promotion as part of its experience it will find that they will attract more customers. So for example retailers like Tesco or Asda regularly offer promotion and they go head to head on offers in order to gain draw in more people. Not only will offering promotions attract repeat custom it will also allow the organisation to generate profit. All different kind of Retailers will try to use different ways in order to bring that retail experience that their consumers desire so retailers who connect with customers through experiences which are personally relevant , memorable, interactive and also emotional are more likely to increase sales and brand loyalty and this is why experience stores such as Apple have emerged, reason being that they want customers to bond with the brand, at first hand , a â€Å"try before you buy† approach . Apple is one of the biggest leading technology companies in the world apple provides customers with an attractive and relaxed environment where they can  handle. â€Å"Apple has been developing its experience stores since 2001 and by the end of 2008 the company had opened some 250 increasingly sophisticated stores† (Jones, Comfort, 2010). Benghazi (2012) States that entertaining browsing experiences might help a browser to learn more about the offers and characteristics. Customers will be able to use knowledge in order to make a decision on whether they should purchase the product or not so in regards to this Apple provide their consumers with a live interaction of their products for example the Apple store in London’s regent street lets customers get involved in â€Å"Getting started workshops† this includes showing customers how to set up a new Mac, connecting to the internet and sending emails. This goes to show that Apple are trying to involve their customers with a firsthand experience of the brand and the products they offer, the experience goes beyond the store itself the company provides summer camps for children and youth workshops. Children aged 8-12 years get what is known as a â€Å"hands-on Mac experience, during a 3 hour workshop 8-13years olds can compose a song â€Å"in a garage band†, construct a photo album and create key note presentations. This illustrates on how Apple are trying to expand retail experience to their customers by going beyond the in store experience this will in return generate a positive outcome for Apple. Within regards to the designs of the stores, the interior represents three values, which are transparency, community and service. There is the open spacious interior containing the computers, IPods and IPhones which are neatly placed on tables this portrays transparency. Community is encouraged by the store through its theatre and its lounging areas and then the commitment into services is branded into customers minds as they are able to visit the genius bar, each store is looked at as a place where people can feel comfortable and are not intimidated by technology. Apple stores may be designed to sell but also at the same time they are designed to teach, customers who walk into an apple store just for a casual play of the products can find that the experience can quickly turn into some serious learning. When we look at a typical apple store it has three  spaces the first one is usually for play and for purchasing, and the other one is for learning a customer would typically come across these areas in that order. The shop is laid out in a simple manner enabling the customers to move around freely to admire the products within the store. Like any other store, apple stores consist of members of staff who wear a blue t-shirt with the apple logo in the middle making them easily recognisable to the public as the staff with a casual look. There always there to help customers with their knowledge on how to use the products. The members of staff always ensure to ask customers if they need help if the customer looks lost, this type of retail setting allows customers and members of staff to interact as the members of staff are always asked questions in regards to the products, and the questions that the customers ask the staff guide the learning and they reveal what has been learned and what else is there left to be learned. So in a sense Apple have able to take the relationship between the customers, staff members and the store to a different level of retailing and learning. The Apple store has built relevance into every section of the shop, the members of staff are aware that they have to start with the customer and with whatever knowledge the customer knows and then progress on from there. Despite the technology the apple store experience is more focused on forming a relationship with the products rather than just focusing on products. An Apples store experience generally provides a powerful image about the brand Apple is able to combine products together with service effectively in order to reward their customers with a unique experience in which customers are able to feel like learners who are able to develop valuable skills. The Apple store learning experience is greatly adapted and focused on the interests and the needs of the individual customer. Conclusion Retail experience is vital for all of the retailers to establish in order to looking at Apple they have successfully established an environment where customers would want to come back again and again so in conclusion Apple has shown that they value their customers by ensuring that their customers experience the products at first hand and by also taking that experience out  of the store by providing their customers with things like summer camps. It is vital that Apple continue to bring this experience to their customers because it will mean that they will generate repeat custom and also they will be able to attract new customers. Bibliography Books Berman, B. and Evans, J. (2010) Retail management a strategic approach. 11th Ed. New Jersey: Pearson education Inc, p.508, 509,510,512. Internet Sonera, T. (2006). Apple case study. Available: www.buyukdemirci.com/Apple/Apple_case_.pdf. Last accessed 18th November 2012. Journals Ballantine, P. et al. (2010) Atmospheric cues and their effect on the hedonic retail. International Journal of Retail Distribution Management, 38 (8), p.1, 2. Burns, D. and Neisner, L. (2006) Customer satisfaction in a retail setting: The contribution of emotion. International Journal of Retail Distribution Management, 34 (1), p.50, 51. Jones, P. et al. (2010) Retail experience stores: experiencing the brand at first. Marketing Intelligence Planning, 28 (3), p.243. KEMP, E. and KOPP, S. (2011) Emotion in consumption. Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 10: p.1. Kronrod, A. et al. (2012) Hedonic Consumption and compliance with assertive messages. Journal of Consumer Research, Inc., 39 (1), p.52. Nsairi, Z. (2012) Managing browsing experience in retail stores through. International Journal of Retail Distribution Management, Vol. 40 (9), p.678. Swinyard, W. (199300) The Effects of Mood, Involvement, and Quality of Store Experience on Shopping Intentions. Journal of consumer research, 20p .271. Washor, E. et al. (2009) At the Core of the Apple Store: Images of Next Generation Learning. The Phi Delta Kappan, 91 (2), p.61, 62, 63

Policy of Medicare System Essay Example for Free

Policy of Medicare System Essay With the evolution of new drug-resistant strains of maladies in the contemporary period, scientists are now going back to nature in pursuit of pristine defenses. Says Dr. Robert Nash, research director of Molecular Nature in the United Kingdom, â€Å"Dandelions, sea pinks, nettles, even bluebells were used to treat diseases. There is a good reason for going back to see if there was anything behind these traditional uses† (Amundsen 132).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In our backyard, there is a bed of bluebells and never had it dawned on me that bluebells prove to have anti-virus and anti-cancer properties. That they were used in the 13th century against leprosy (Amundsen 155). Not that I would really want to prepare for any possible leprosy case that may stem at home; but the thought of having nifty bluebells in the garden can give comfort on good health and brainy ancestors.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the library, the books speak of one thing about healthcare; that it is the management of the resources of healing. Darrel Amundsen, in his book Medicine, Society, and Faith in the Ancient and Medieval Worlds, pointed up the wonder of natural medicines and traditional medicine. Stanley Reiser tells us of how medical care evolved from technological point of view. Dorothy Porter’s Social Medicine and Medical Sociology in the Twentieth Century talks about where the health care industry has drifted through different eras. It has had a major impact on how people perceive health on the whole. From the unborn and mothers to all the phases of childhood to the youth and the adults to the older people, health care has been in packages essential at various stages of the human being. Additionally, the practitioners have done a lot of education, investing awe-inspiring sum of finances and effort in educating the public. Professional patronizing and obscure terminology will give way to cooperative educational approaches, and client-oriented rehabilitation. This approach is estimated to provide the most appropriate package of health services suited to ensure a healthy well-being of all age groups. In every industrialized country, excluding the United States (U.S.), the provision of health care has become the financial responsibility of the state over the past 100 years. Taxes on both employers and workers and general tax revenues financed the health care insurance system. This was the procedure in Western Europe and Great Britain (Warner 360-368).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The exception of the U.S. can be credited to the native value the Americans placed on self-help and repulsion against dependency. After 80 years of anxiety, the federal government of the U.S. has accepted the system but with some degree of responsibility. When the medical care program was introduced to them, it has become a complex mix of public and private payments. The extent covered the maldistribution of resources and disproportions of access (Porter 9). Nevertheless, across the surveys, the U.S. health care system becomes the country’s largest employer. Approximately, 597,000 are physicians, 137,000 are dentists, 1.8 million are nurses, and nine million are field workers (Warner 356).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Administering the federal health care activities was charged to the Department of Health and Human Services. Health insurance comprises all forms of insurance against financial loss resulting from injury or illness. The most common health insurance coverage is for hospital care, including the physician services in the hospital. Major medical policies protect the insured against calamitous charges, paying a sum of that ranges from $10,000 to $1,000,000, after the policyholder has paid a preliminary deductible amount (Warner 371). Patients usually have out-of-pocket expenses since doctors’ charges are not entirely covered by the insurance.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Overheads for healthcare services in the U.S. alone have been mounting sharply for about over a decade. Insurance coverage is potholed. Coverage for home care of the chronically ill is nigh on absent. A fixed sum is paid for a service except for hospital insurance. More often than not, this payment must be supplemented by the patient (Warner 358).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Problems also arose in the aspect of recruitment and distribution of physicians. About one-fourth of U.S. physicians were engaged in primary patient care. That included obstetrics, internal medicine, pediatrics, and family medicine. In the slums of big cities, physicians are sparse but profuse in the more affluent sub-urban areas (Porter 12). One of the more daunting areas of health care is the prohibitive cost of medicines. At present, there is no governing body that regulates the price of medicine. This means that the manufacturers dictate the prices. With this discretion, expectedly the prices could be set as high as excusably possible. To ornament with justice, their marketing strategy has spawned the mentality that â€Å"branded is better.† Came the managed healthcare system. The genesis of contemporaneous managed care can be trailed to the prepaid plans providing healthcare to rural, shipbuilding and construction workers in the U.S. in the 1920s and 1930s. Managed healthcare have likewise existed in ancient China when doctors were supposedly paid only while they kept their patients healthy. Although many of the procedures used by managed healthcare to regulate expenditures have existed in African countries for a time, it was only since the latter part of the 20th century that the concept of managed care has been both in full swing in an effort to provide Africa with low-priced quality healthcare and denigrated by others (Porter 10-11). But in the U.S., managed healthcare was only firmly established when briskly swelling healthcare costs in the 1970’s and 80’s led to the passing of legislation providing for the establishment of Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) (Warner 370).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   HMOs and the government has since then been on the lookout for effective alternatives. The government and the private sector all face the problem of financing the uncontrolled inflation of cost in the medical care program. Others blame it on the growing numbers of people who seek care. Some on the greater use of laboratory costs and of specialists in diagnosis and treatment (Reiser 16). Needless to say, the synergistic force of the sectors wanted programs that were cheap but were at least, effective.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Hospitals were responding to increasing cost demands. They attempted to introduce more competent management schemes. Proprietary hospitals have found greater earnings in chain operations. Other efforts to slash costs included hiring less-expensive professional workers, like nurses and paramedics, in the hope of getting basic care to patients at a lower fee (Porter 10). The health care system has indeed been an entrepreneurial idea. However, paradox has it that in due time, antibiotics, vaccines, and other vital medicines will be short of availability at least, among the 5.6 billion people, according to the World Health Organization (Porter 18). Scarcity of producers of medicines has nothing to do with it. Maldistribution and capitalistic exploitation will make the medicines inaccessible to the poor. Over 40 million Americans have some form of heart or blood vessel disease, and the combined costs of treatment and lost income exceed 50 billion dollars annually. About 4 million people, 10 percent of those with cardiovascular diseases, have coronary artery disease. Because of these findings, the Framingham Study considers cardiovascular disease as one of the leading epidemiological diseases in the country. A more distressing fact rings throughout the Third World countries whose healthcare programs are financed by their governments on less than 1 percent cut from the gross domestic product (Porter 15-16). At this reality, whose son or daughter will not be underfed? Every major city had slum areas that housed the poor and unemployed, and declining farm incomes created rural poverty. Amid the growth and confidence of the postwar years, United States leaders initiated programs of aid to help people at home and abroad improve their way of life. Programs of domestic aid included funds for education, medical care for the poor, and urban renewal programs. International air programs begun soon after the war sought to help United States maintain economic and political stability (Fusfeld and Bates, 1984). Poverty-stricken people suffer from the lack of many things they need. For example, they are less likely to receive adequate medical care or to eat the foods they need to stay healthy. The poor have more diseases, become more seriously ill, and die at a younger age than other people do. Poor people often live in substandard housing in socially isolated areas where most of their neighbors are poor. Many low-income families live in crowded, run-down buildings with inadequate heat and plumbing. The jobs most readily available to the poor provide low wages and little opportunity for advancement. Many of these jobs also involve dangerous or unhealthful working conditions. Financial, medical, and emotional problems often strain family ties among the poverty-stricken. Furthermore, the healthcare system of countryside Americans is dense. For instance, Indians are lacking relative to their urban equivalents in many important ways that shape their health: they are unduly economically inferior, proportionately lesser are of working age, and they have not fulfilled as much of education. Topographical access is of principal interest in several rural states. Indians who reside in remote areas, comparatively far from urban areas or centers, sometimes find it hard to get in touch with healthcare personnel or services. In respect of urban inhabitants, rural dwellers have to trek farther to care and tackle other problems such as mediocre road and rail network, and short of public transportation. These problems are distinguished yet their resolution escapes the labors of the U.S. Legislature, and local governments. Culture is another driving factor, including influential customs (Nabokov). The Indians’ unfavorable health behaviors, employment of folk medication, the impact of traditional religion on healthcare, and estrangement from countrywide society all play a part to the way they care for their health. To make the decisions centralized, World Medical Association was founded as an organization of several of the world’s national medical associations. Instituted in 1947, this medical society has embraced an international code of medical ethics and many other ethical pronouncements. The center of operations is in Ferney-Voltaire, France (Porter, 2000). One of the pivotal epidemiological methodologies for an improved healthcare provision is an informed public. If the individual does not understand what he or she must do to preserve health and reduce his or her risk of a probable epidemiological disease, if he or she does not recognize when he or she needs outside help, and if he or she or members of his family are not prepared to take the appropriate steps to obtain this help, then all of the world’s medical knowledge will be of little value. The educational process that would prepare an individual to help preserve his or her own health and reduce his or her epidemiological risk should ideally begin in his or her youth when lifelong patterns are being formed, and continue throughout his or her adult life. A hospital management’s role is twofold: helping to build good health habits in the young, and serving as agents in adult health habits through public information and education programs designed to teach preservation of health and raise the general health consciousness of the people. The practicing physician, emergency medical services, the clinic or neighborhood health center, the hospital as a whole stand to be prepared in implementing medical line of defense. Even at times the nonmedical person who is on the scene when an acute emergency occurs are relied on. In order to be effective, the hospital carrying out the epidemiological measures, together with these individuals and services, are obliged and expected not only to be capable of providing healthcare, but must be prepared to do so in a manner that is acceptable and accessible to, and understood by, the public. The epidemiological measures of a hospital in this area shall also address such things as professional education, healthcare standards, and public information regarding access to care and services. Another approach is that which serves as the underpinning of the rest of the strategies and plans; it is the biomedical research to identify such epidemiological factors as dietary fats, smoking, hypertension, etc., that adversely affect human health and to devise methods for preventing, diagnosing, and treating these conditions and the diseases to which they contribute. In this regard, the hospital has a unique role to play, in that while they cannot the huge sums needed for large-scale clinical trials or epidemiological studies, they claim to have an excellent mechanism for supporting young investigators who are juts beginning their research careers, helping them gain the experience and results necessary to compete for larger grants in the national and international arenas. The emphasis is practically placed on the support of quality research projects having high merit ratings. To adequately develop such improved measures by Medicare, it should have the hospital require a programmed effort that first takes into consideration the fact that the hospital cannot be all things to all people. It may have quite limited resources in terms of money, volunteers, and staff in other departments, and the need for each of these resources may always seem to exceed the supply. Since there are numerous programs and activities that are capable of improving health of the patients to some degree, hard choices must be made regarding the disposition of these resources. This implies priority setting, which is made more efficient by the establishment and implementation of a hospital-wide, goal-oriented, long-range planning process. Such a process helps the hospital focus its epidemiological measures on high yield, cost-effective projects that either help prevent the healthcare provision, or provide ongoing relief and control, yielding the highest return on time and money invested. All in all, medical institution evolved across time to deal with problems of health and disease using epidemiological measures that are based on mortality, morbidity, disability, and quality. More specifically, medical institution was perceived performing a number of key functions in modern societies. First, it treats and seeks to cure disease. Second, the medical institution attempts to prevent disease through maintenance programs, including vaccination, health education, periodic checkups, and public health and safety standards (administrative medicine). Third, it undertakes research in the prevention, treatment, and cure of health problems (preventive medicine). And fourth, it serves as an agency of social control by defining some behaviors as normal and healthy and others as deviant and unhealthy. Although health care can take its roots back when one of the greatest achievements of civilization was the naissance of medicine, real health comes from within. The quality of life of an individual is governed by the swelling bearing of his positive personal health-seeking activities and behaviors. And with the help of heath care, tomorrow’s health centers will fill out today’s precision diagnostic services with equally scientific self-care and wellness programs. Future healthcare will increasingly concede to the empowerment of the individual. Perhaps the way healthcare began more than two thousand years back differs from the way it will continue in the next two thousand years or so. The gods may still have a role but not for the folks to plead to for kinder nature. A common Supreme Being might then take the place of them and be prayed to in exchange for a kinder world. If in the past, the causes of illnesses may have been shared between man and nature, from this time forth, diseases would be brought about by the caustic arms of industrialization.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Whose healthcare would not be needed most in the midst of volatile worldwide climate and industrial population? Typhoons come and leave natural borne diseases. McDonald’s open their stores and send resentful stomachs to the healthcare clinics. Who would not consequently draw a smart plot from the commercial appeal of healthcare? For healthcare, this means an upsurge in affliction as well as a digression of resources away from healthcare toward reform. The pandemonium disrupts food supplies, infectious diseases multiply, and alarm triggers stress-induced illnesses. The beginnings of medical care may have been deemed mad and laughable. Then again, its inheritance, with the help of worsened worldwide scenarios, is rendering the underprivileged mad and the moneyed having the last laugh. References Amundsen, Darrel W. (1996). Medicine and faith in early Christianity. Medicine, Society, and Faith in the Ancient and Medieval Worlds. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press. Chambers, Donald and Kenneth Wedel. Social Policy and Social Programs: A Method for the Practical Public Policy Analyst, 4th edition. Pearson Publishing. Fusfeld, Daniel R., and Timothy Bates. (1984). The Political Economy of the Urban Ghetto. Southern Illinois University Press. McDaniel, W. B. (1959). â€Å"A view of 19th century medical historiography in the United States of America.† The History of Medicine. Nabokov, Peter. Native American Testimony: A Chronicle Of Indian-White Relations From Prophesy To The Present (1492-1992). Penguin Publishing. Porter, Dorothy E. (1975). Social Medicine and Medical Sociology in the Twentieth Century. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press. Reiser, Stanley J. (1984). â€Å"The machine at the bedside: Technological transformations of practices and values.† The Machine at the Bedside: Strategies for Using Technology in Patient Care. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Warner, Martin S. (1985). Medical Practice and Health Care During the Revolutionary War and Early National Periods. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press.

Sunday, July 21, 2019

Active or Passive Third Stage of Labour: Pros and Cons

Active or Passive Third Stage of Labour: Pros and Cons Introduction This dissertation is primarily concerned with the arguments that are currently active in relation to the benefits and disadvantages of having either an active or passive third stage of labour. We shall examine this issue from several angles including the currently accepted medical opinions as expressed in the peer reviewed press, the perspective of various opinions expressed by women in labour and theevidence base to support these opinions. It is a generally accepted truism that if there is controversy surrounding a subject, then this implies that there is not a sufficiently strong evidence base to settle the argument one way or the other. (De Martino B et al. 2006). In the case of this particular subject, this is possibly not true, as the evidence base is quite robust (and we shall examine this in due course). Midwifery deals with situations that are steeped in layers of strongly felt emotion, and this has a great tendency to colour rational argument. Blind belief in one area often appears to stem from total disbelief in another (Baines D. 2001) and in consideration of some of the literature in this area this would certainly appear to be true. Let us try to examine the basic facts of the arguments together with the evidence base that supports them. In the civilised world it is estimated that approximately 515,000 currently die annually from problems directly related to pregnancy. (extrapolated from Hill K et al. 2001). The largest single category of such deaths occur within 4 hrs. of delivery, most commonly from post partum haemorrhage and its complications (AbouZahr C 1998), the most common factor in such cases being uterine atony. (Ripley D L 1999). Depending on the area of the world (as this tends to determine the standard of care and resources available), post partum haemorrhage deaths constitutes between 10-60% of all maternal deaths (AbouZahr C 1998). Statistically, the majority of such maternal deaths occur in the developing countries where women may receive inappropriate, unskilled or inadequate care during labour or the post partum period. (PATH 2001). In developed countries the vast majority of these deaths could be (and largely are) avoided with effective obstetric intervention. (WHO 1994). One of the central argumen ts that we shall deploy in favour of the active management of the third stage of labour is the fact that relying on the identification of risk factors for women at risk of haemorrhage does not appear to decrease the overall figures for post partum haemorrhage morbidity or mortality as more than 70% of such cases of post partum haemorrhage occur in women with no identifiable risk factors. (Atkins S 1994). Prendiville, in his recently published Cochrane review (Prendiville W J et al. 2000) states that: where maternal mortality from haemorrhage is high, evidence-based practices that reduce haemorrhage incidence, such as active management of the third stage of labour, should always be followed It is hard to rationally counter such an argument, particularly in view of the strength of the evidence base presented in the review, although we shall finish this dissertation with a discussion of a paper by Stevenson which attempts to provide a rational counter argument in this area. It could be argued that the management of the third stage of labour, as far as formal teaching and published literature is concerned, is eclipsed by the other two stages (Baskett T F 1999). Cunningham agrees with this viewpoint with the observation that a current standard textbook of obstetrics (unnamed) devotes only 4 of its 1,500 pages to the third stage of labour but a huge amount more to the complications that can arise directly after the delivery of the baby (Cunningham, 2001). Donald makes the comment This indeed is the unforgiving stage of labour, and in it there lurks more unheralded treachery than in both the other stages combined. The normal case can, within a minute, become abnormal and successful delivery can turn swiftly to disaster. (Donald, 1979). chapter 1:define third stage of labour, The definition of the third stage of labour varies between authorities in terms of wording, but in functional terms there is general agreement that it is the part of labour that starts directly after the birth of the baby and concludes with the successful delivery of the placenta and the foetal membranes. Functionally, it is during the third stage of labour that the myometrium contracts dramatically and causes the placenta to separate from the uterine wall and then subsequently expelled from the uterine cavity. This stage can be managed actively or observed passively. Practically, it is the speed with which this stage is accomplished which effectively dictates the volume of blood that is eventually lost. It follows that if anything interferes with this process then the risk of increased blood loss gets greater. If the uterus becomes atonic, the placenta does not separate efficiently and the blood vessels that had formally supplied it are not actively constricted. (Chamberlain G et al. 1999). We shall discuss this process in greater detail shortly. Proponents of passive management of the third stage of labour rely on the normal physiological processes to shut down the bleeding from the placental site and to expel the placenta. Those who favour active management use three elements of management. One is the use of an ecbolic drug given in the minute after delivery of the baby and before the placenta is delivered. The second element is early clamping and cutting of the cord and the third is the use of controlled cord traction to facilitate the delivery of the placenta. We shall discuss each of these elements in greater detail in due course. The rationale behind active management of the third stage of labour is basically that by speeding up the natural delivery of the placenta, one can allow the uterus to contract more efficiently thereby reducing the total blood loss and minimising the risk of post partum haemorrhage. (ODriscoll K 1994) discuss optimal practice, Let us start our consideration of optimal practice with a critical analysis of the paper by Cherine (Cherine M et al. 2004) which takes a collective overview of the literature on the subject. The authors point to the fact that there have been a number of large scale randomised controlled studies which have compared the outcomes of labours which have been either actively or passively managed. One of the biggest difficulties that they experienced was the inconsistency of terminology on the subject, as a number of healthcare professionals had reported management as passive when there had been elements of active management such as controlled cord traction and early cord clamping. As an overview, they were able to conclude that actively managed women had a lower prevalence of post partum haemorrhage, a shorter third stage of labour, reduced post partum anaemia, less need for blood transfusion or therapeutic oxytocics (Prendiville W J et al. 2001). Other factors derived from the paper include the observation that the administration of oxytocin before delivery of the placenta (rather than afterwards), was shown to decrease the overall incidence of post partum haemorrhage, the overall amount of blood loss, the need for additional uterotonic drugs, the need for blood transfusions when compared to deliveries with similar duration of the third stage of labour as a control. In addition to all of this they noted that there was no increased incidence of the condition of retained placenta. (Elbourne D R et al. 2001). The evidence base for these comments is both robust and strong. On the face of it, there seems therefore little to recommend the adoption of passive manage ment of the third stage of labour. Earlier we noted the difficulties in definition of active management of the third stage of labour. In consideration of any individual paper where interpretation of the figures are required, great care must therefore be taken in assessing exactly what is being measured and compared. Cherine points to the fact that some respondents categorised their management as passive management of the third stage of labour when, in reality they had used some aspect of active management. They may not have used ecbolic drugs (this was found to be the case in 19% of the deliveries considered). This point is worth considering further as oxytocin was given to 98% of the 148 women in the trial who received ecbolic. In terms of optimum management 34% received the ecbolic at the appropriate time (as specified in the management protocols as being before the delivery of the placenta and within one minute of the delivery of the baby). For the remaining 66%, it was given incorrectly, either after the delivery of the placenta or, in one case, later than one minute after the delivery of the baby. Further analysis of the practices reported that where uterotonic drugs were given, cord traction was not done in 49%, and early cord clamping not done in 7% of the deliveries observed where the optimum active management of the third stage of labour protocols were not followed. >From an analytical point of view, we should cite the evidence base to suggest the degree to which these two practices are associated with morbidity. Walter P et al. 1999 state that their analysis of their data shows that early cord clamping and controlled cord traction are shown to be associated with a shorter third stage and lower mean blood loss, whereas Mitchelle (G G et al. 2005) found them to be associated with a lower incidence of retained placenta. Other considerations relating to the practice of early cord clamping are that it reduces the degree of mother to baby blood transfusion. It is clear that giving uterotonic drugs without early clamping will cause the myometrium to contract and physically squeeze the placenta, thereby accelerating the both the speed and the total quantity of the transfusion. This has the effect of upsetting the physiological balance of the blood volume between baby and placenta, and can cause a number of undesirable effects in the baby including an increased tendency to jaundice. (Rogers J et al. 1998) The major features that are commonly accepted as being characteristic of active management and passive management of the third stage of labour are set out below. Physiological Versus Active Management . . Physiological Management Active Management Uterotonic None or after placenta delivered With delivery of anterior shoulder or baby Uterus Assessment of size and tone Assessment of size and tone Cord traction None Application of controlled cord traction* when uterus contracted Cord clamping Variable Early (After Smith J R et al. 1999) physiology of third stage The physiology of the third stage can only be realistically considered in relation to some of the elements which occur in the preceding months of pregnancy. The first significant consideration are the changes in haemodynamics as the pregnancy progresses. The maternal blood volume increases by a factor of about 50% (from about 4 litres to about 6litres). (Abouzahr C 1998) This is due to a disproportionate increase in the plasma volume over the RBC volume which is seen clinically with a physiological fall in both Hb and Heamatocrit values. Supplemental iron can reduce this fall particularly if the woman concerned has poor iron reserves or was anaemic before the pregnancy began. The evolutionary physiology behind this change revolves around the fact that the placenta (or more accurately the utero-placental unit) has low resistance perfusion demands which are better served by a high circulating blood volume and it also provides a buffer for the inevitable blood loss that occurs at the time of delivery. (Dansereau J et al. 1999). The high progesterone levels encountered in pregnancy are also relevant insofar as they tend to reduce the general vascular tone thereby increase venous pooling. This, in turn, reduces the venous return to the heart and this would (if not compensated for by the increased blood volume) lead to hypotension which would contribute to reductions in levels of foetal oxygenation. (Baskett T F 1999). Coincident and concurrent with these heamodynamic changes are a number of physiological changes in the coagulation system. There is seen to be a sharp increase in the quantity of most of the clotting factors in the blood and a functional decrease in the fibrinolytic activity. (Carroli G et al. 2002). Platelet levels are observed to fall. This is thought to be due to a combination of factors. Haemodilution is one and a low level increase in platelet utilisation is also thought to be relevant. The overall functioning of the platelet system is rarely affected. All of these changes are mediated by the dramatic increase in the levels of circulating oestrogen. The relevance of these considerations is clear when we consider that one of the main hazards facing the mother during the third stage of labour is that of haemorrhage. (Soltani H et al. 2005) and the changes in the haemodynamics are largely germinal to this fact. The other major factor in our considerations is the efficiency of the haemostasis produced by the uterine contraction in the third stage of labour. The prime agent in the immediate control of blood loss after separation of the placenta, is uterine contraction which can exert a physical pressure on the arterioles to reduce immediate blood loss. Clot formation and the resultant fibrin deposition, although they occur rapidly, only become functional after the coagulation cascade has triggered off and progressed. Once operative however, this secondary mechanism becomes dominant in securing haemostasis in the days following delivery. (Sleep, 1993). The uterus both grows and enlarges as pregnancy progresses under the primary influence of oestrogen. The organ itself changes from a non-gravid weight of about 70g and cavity volume of about 10 ml. to a fully gravid weight of about 1.1 kg. and a cavity capacity of about 5 litres. This growth, together with the subsequent growth of the feto-placental unit is fed by the increased blood volume and blood flow through the uterus which, at term, is estimated to be about 5-800 ml/min or approximately 10-15% of the total cardiac output (Thilaganathan B et al. 1993). It can therefore be appreciated why haemorrhage is a significant potential danger in the third stage of labour with potentially 15% of the cardiac output being directed towards a raw placental bed. The physiology of the third stage of labour also involves the mechanism of placental expulsion. After the baby has been delivered, the uterus continues to contract rhythmically and this reduction in size causes a shear line to form at the utero-placental junction. This is thought to be mainly a physical phenomenon as the uterus is capable of contraction, whereas the placenta (being devoid of muscular tissue) is not. We should note the characteristic of the myometrium which is unique in the animal kingdom, and this is the ability of the myometrial fibres to maintain its shortened length after each contraction and then to be able to contract further with subsequent contractions. This characteristic results in a progressive and (normally) fairy rapid reduction in the overall surface area of the placental site. (Sanborn B M et al. 1998) In the words of Rogers (J et al. 1998), by this mechanism the placenta is undermined, detached, and propelled into the lower uterine segment. Other physiological mechanisms also come into play in this stage of labour. Placental separation also occurs by virtue of the physical separation engendered by the formation of a sub-placental haematoma. This is brought about by the dual mechanisms of venous occlusion and vascular rupture of the arterioles and capillaries in the placental bed and is secondary to the uterine contractions (Sharma J B et al. 2005). The physiology of the normal control of this phenomenon is both unique and complex. The structure of the uterine side of the placental bed is a latticework of arterioles that spiral around and inbetween the meshwork of interlacing and interlocking myometrial fibrils. As the myometrial fibres progressively shorten, they effectively actively constrict the arterioles by kinking them . Baskett (T F 1999) refers to this action and structure as the living ligatures and physiologic sutures of the uterus. These dramatic effects are triggered and mediated by a number of mechanisms. The actual definitive trigger for labour is still a matter of active debate, but we can observe that the myometrium becomes significantly more sensitive to oxytocin towards the end of the pregnancy and the amounts of oxytocin produced by the posterior pituitary glad increase dramatically just before the onset of labour. (GÃ ¼lmezoglu A M et al. 2001) It is known that the F-series, and some other) prostaglandins are equally active and may have a role to play in the genesis of labour. (Gulmezoglu A M et al. 2004) >From an interventional point of view, we note that a number of synthetic ergot alkaloids are also capable of causing sustained uterine contractions. (Elbourne D R et al. 2002) chapter 2 discuss active management, criteria, implications for mother and fetus. This dissertation is asking us to consider the essential differences between active management and passive management of the third stage of labour. In this segment we shall discuss the principles of active management and contrast them with the principles of passive management. Those clinicians who practice the passive management of the third stage of labour put forward arguments that mothers have been giving birth without the assistance of the trained healthcare professionals for millennia and, to a degree, the human body is the product of evolutionary forces which have focussed upon the perpetuation of the species as their prime driving force. Whilst accepting that both of these concepts are manifestly true, such arguments do not take account of the natural wastage that drives such evolutionary adaptations. In human terms such natural wastage is simply not ethically or morally acceptable in modern society. (Sugarman J et al. 2001) There may be some validity in the arguments that natural processes will achieve normal separation and delivery of the placenta and may lead to fewer complications and if the patient should suffer from post partum haemorrhage then there are techniques, medications and equipment that can be utilised to contain and control the clinical situation. Additional arguments are invoked that controlled cord traction can increase the risk of uterine inversion and ecbolic drugs can increase the risks of other complications such as retained placenta and difficulties in delivering an undiagnosed twin. (El-Refaey H et al. 2003) The proponents of active management counter these arguments by suggesting that the use of ecbolic agents reduces the risks of post partum haemorrhage, faster separation of the placenta, reduction of maternal blood loss. Inversion of the uterus can be avoided by using only gentle controlled cord traction when the uterus is well contracted together with the controlling of the uterus by the Brandt-Andrews manoeuvre. The arguments relating to the undiagnosed second twin are loosing ground as this eventuality is becoming progressively more rare. The advent of ultrasound together with the advent of protocols which call for the mandatory examination of the uterus after the birth and before the administration of the ecbolic agent effectively minimise this possibility. (Prendiville, 2002). If we consider the works of Prendiville (referred to above) we note the meta-analyses done of the various trials on the comparison of active management against the passive management of the third stage of labour and find that active management consistently leads to several benefits when compared to passive management. The most significant of which are set out below. Benefits of Active Management Versus Physiological Management Outcome Control Rate, % Relative Risk 95% CI* NNT 95% CI PPH >500 mL 14 0.38 0.32-0.46 12 10-14 PPH >1000 mL 2.6 0.33 0.21-0.51 55 42-91 Hemoglobin 6.1 0.4 0.29-0.55 27 20-40 Blood transfusion 2.3 0.44 0.22-0.53 67 48-111 Therapeutic uterotonics 17 0.2 0.17-0.25 7 6-8 *95% confidence interval Number needed to treat (After Prendiville, 2002). The statistics obtained make interesting consideration. In these figures we can deduce that for every 12 patients receiving active management (rather than passive management) one post partum haemorrhage is avoided and further extrapolation suggests that for every 67 patients managed actively one blood transfusion is avoided. With regard to the assertions relating to problems with a retained placenta, there was no evidence to support it, indeed the figures showed that there was no increase in the incidence of retained placenta. Equally it was noted that the third stage of labour was significantly shorter in the actively managed group. In terms of significance for the mother there were negative findings in relation to active management and these included a higher incidence of raised blood pressure post delivery (the criteria used being > 100 mm Hg). Higher incidences of reported nausea and vomiting were also found although these were apparently related to the use of ergot ecbolic

Saturday, July 20, 2019

Integrating Democracy with Tibetan Buddhism :: Politics Political

Integrating Democracy with Tibetan Buddhism The combination of a religion and a political philosophy do not automatically allow for the most congruous applications. Tibetan Buddhism has been the main stay of a country that has been ruled by a monarchy, through a religious figurehead, and by a socialist republic, all of which seem to have their political frustrations in preserving the Tibetan society. The political spectrum now questions how well the Buddhist tradition integrates the values of democratic theory. The previous applications of Buddhism in a role of government are necessary to analyze in order to properly investigate the application of the Buddhist tradition into a political framework. The structure of the Tibetan government before the invasion of the Chinese in 1950 was a mixture of the monastic influence and the nobles. The authority of the Dalai Lama reigned over the monasteries and religious order as well as over the administrative obligations of the Country. The search for the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama ensures not only leadership of the country from the Buddha of Compassion but also implies that the reign of government is not hereditary, but based on wisdom and guidance for the people and much less on political situations, although these would still much be a factor in ruling. The hierarchical establishment of this division remained partially mixed so that the monks in office balanced the nobles and the monks were checked by the nobles, however the mona stic influence remained the dominant of the two. The legacy of the aristocracy was more an element of the older reign of Tibet from a monarchy and class distinction and the religious influence was more dominant with the newer establishment and really established until the fourteenth century with the teacher Tsong Khapa. This checks and balances involved in the government may only be the confluence of an older tradition mixing in with the new in order to maintain a smooth transition, but it may also exhibit the balance necessary to a government lead by Buddhist thought. Buddhism is not merely a doctrine that is automatically to be accepted and instilled as the truth, rather it has to be taught and allow the people to come to it.

Friday, July 19, 2019

Choir Changed My Life :: Narrative Essay

Choir Changed My Life Freshmen year of High School changed my life for the better, although at first I was very reluctant to think so. My mom and her boyfriend had been commuting for two years after he was offered a much better job in Las Vegas. We decided it would be best for me to finish up middle school and freshman year of high school, head out for the gambler’s city. This change was extreme for me and had I not gone, I would have never joined the choir, which is where this story begins. I walked into McKinney North High School (where all freshmen had to attend that year) and signed up for my first year of high school classes. My mom thought it’d be a good idea to join a club or an interactive, fun, and exciting class. I had my doubts at first, but I decided to join the school Choir. I wouldn’t have had much of a problem walking in on my first day, but Las Vegas school’s start a few weeks later than McKinney†¦so they were on their second nine weeks and had all gotten a chance to get to know each other. I on the other hand, walked in and silenced the room. Mr. Nelms, the Choir teacher, introduced me to the Choir and had me sing†¦in front of everyone. I was beyond nervous. Turns out I did OK and I was from then on, an alto. I realized I would be moving to McKinney High School from North after the re-zoning of school’s which I was actually very excited about. I had to face another new choir, and a new teacher Mr. Garms. Mr. Nelm’s referred a handful of us to be in Concert Choir. It turns out I was one of the few. I was too nervous to accept, for I didn’t think I was Concert Choir material quite yet. Turns out I made a lot of friends in Chamber Singers (the choir I ended up in) and couldn’t of been happier with my decision to stay. I was put in Concert Choir again my Junior year but still didn’t think I was quite ready, so again I got out of it and stayed in Chamber. I became the leader of my Choir and was the best sight reader.

Exploring Gardners Theory on Multiple Intelligences Essay -- Educatio

Howard Gardner used to define intelligence as â€Å"the ability to solve problems or to create products that are valued within one or more cultural settings† (Gardner 33). The modern day human being would most likely include the words â€Å"smart† and â€Å"dumb† in their definition of intelligence. Gardner questioned the belief of only one intelligence so he created his own theory that involved seven different discoveries. He didn’t want to call these discoveries â€Å"skills† or â€Å"talents† or gifts† because those all suggested a drawback so he decided on the word â€Å"intelligence,† creating his theory of multiple intelligences (Gardner 33). Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences including, linguistic, logical/mathematical, musical, bodily-kinesthetic, spatial, intrapersonal and interpersonal, has many implications for modern education and culture. Howard Gardner grew up in Pennsylvania in the late 1940’s, although his parents were originally from Germany. He attended Harvard as an undergraduate with the hopes of becoming a lawyer and with a major in history. However, as soon as he became the mentee of Erik Erikson, a well-known psychoanalyst, his interests started to change. Gardner entered the doctoral program at Harvard and received his PhD in 1971 with a dissertation on style sensitivity in children. During his years of doctoral study he became a part of the Project Zero, which does research on arts education, and he now co-directs the project. Gardner’s work with Project Zero led to the Project on Human Potential, which resulted in his first well-known book, Frames of Mind. He has written many books since then including, The Shattered Mind and Multiple Intelligences, and he is â€Å"currently Hobbs Professor of Cognition and Education at the Har... ...ly. It’s not Gardner’s goal to take over the education system and have it all reformed, but he does want educators to rethink their everyday lessons and see if they can improve them using his theory in order to broaden the comprehension of ideas to all students. Now all our society has to do is learn how to use this theory as an advantage and put all the intelligences to work. Gardner has started this concept of multiple intelligences but no one knows where it will end and what other implications it will have along the way. Works Cited Gardner, Howard. Intelligence Reframed: Multiple Intelligences for the 21st Century. New York, NY: Basic, 1999. Print. Smith, Mark K. "Howard Gardner, Multiple Intelligences and Education." The Encyclopedia of Informal Education. 2008. Web. 23 Feb. 2011.

Thursday, July 18, 2019

History of Hrm Essay

HISTORY OF HRM HRM is traced back to the 19th century with the beginning of the Welfare System. The Welfare System was an important development in terms of voluntary initiatives undertaken to improve conditions of factory workers, in relation to pay, working hours and health and safety. The voluntary initiative originated from Quakers. Welfare officers were appointed and became the forerunner to HR practitioners. The early 1900’s saw the appointment of welfare officers in Irish companies such as Jacobs and Maguire & Patterson in Dublin. The impact of the Welfare approach is still apparent in HR practice in terms of dealing with issues such as health, working conditions and personal problems. Another early influence on the emergence of HRM was Taylorism (Frederick Taylor). Early 20th century improvements in technology and the increase in company sizes made way for new advancements in creating a system which focused purely on efficiency and profitability whereby workers were treated as economic machines. Scientific Management led to a shift in the emphasis of HR away from the employee caring approach towards the more managerial, efficiency and profitability benefits to be gained through greater standardisation of work systems and methods. The emergence of the Behavioural Science Movement gave a great impetus to HRM by establishing a body of knowledge to underpin many aspects of HR work such as selection, motivation, training, industrial relations and payments.

Wednesday, July 17, 2019

Culture and Cuisine Essay

Food is one of legion(predicate) factors that distinguishes one horticulture from a nonher. It has been used for ceremonial purposes, sacrificial rites, and some nutriment correcttide so holds symbolic meaning based on worship. Why do sight of the Jewish and Islamic faith choose not to ingest pork? Why is make whoopie and alcohol oft associated with parties and celebrations? The origin of galore(postnominal) of straightaways cuisine and dine traditions bath be traced back thousands of years, and often have a apparitional consequence. trust has influenced peoples fare choices and traditions since antediluvian patriarch times, and much of its impact is button up bragging(a) in todays world. In everyday life, it is easy for anyone to take remark of religious beliefs charge in nutrient and different types of cuisine. In securities industry stores and supermarkets, nutritions ar often labeled as Kosher or Halal and with holidays such as Lent and Ramadan, it is illumine that umteen traditions that began thousands of years ago are save important to people in todays society. The ban of pork products within the Jewish and Islamic faith, for example, dates back to antediluvian patriarch Egypt.The ancient Egyptians were known for having a operose dislike perhaps even misgiving of the blur. For this reason, go throughs were never depicted in hieroglyphics, even though they were present. Believing that the animals carried parasites and leprosy, it was only Egyptians of the last(a) social class who were s fuddle herders, and they were banned from unveiling any temples or places of worship. Maguelonne Toussaint-Samat suggests that is why the pig has become a forbidden food source That attitude could be at the root of the Jewish and Muslim rampart of pig meat.Moses declared the animal draggled this taboo slowed down Islamic working out into China, for the Chinese love pork as much as carp and ducks straightaway a certain amount of pig meant eaten in Europe, particularly ham, comes from China. (370) This shows how religion has influenced not only what a certain culture chooses to eat, but in any case how it has affected share and migration patterns throughout the worlds development. It is clear that food can hold so much religious significance, that it can even prevent two cultures from integrating with to each one other, as shown by the lack of Islamic presence in China.With various religious beliefs, comes various opinions about certain foods. Patterns of style vary among followers of different religions, resulting from different norms (Heiman, Just, McWilliams, and Zilberman). An example of clashing viewpoints is the difference betwixt Greek, Muslim, and Chinese opinions about wine. The ancient Greeks are some of historys greatest lovers of wine. They used wine for celebrations and studyd it to be a drink of the gods as it was made by Dionysus, the god of wine. Alternatively, some Muslims forbade wine. This is nigh in all probability because of their fear of its effects, and drunkenness was looked down upon. at that place was, however, a Muslim mystic by the name of Nabulsi who declared that wine was the drink of prognosticate love. Like Nabulsi, some chose to believe the Chinese proverb that states it is not wine that intoxicates man is the one who becomes intoxicated, because he is rickety (Toussaint-Samat 234). These different views of wine, or alcohol in general, is still evident today as some Muslims choose to drink it mend some choose not to. In Christianity, wine is symbolic of the blood of Jesus, and holds significance particularly in the Catholic church service for occasions such as communion.Symbolism, perhaps, is the most obvious connection between food and religion it is not the food itself that is sacred or significant, but what it stands for. Michel Desjardins explores how food can be a symbol in different religions and cultures At times, food as well f unction symbolically for example, when prayer onward eating express thanks for divine concern, when the Passover meal commemorates mythic stories, or when the Arabic Muslim and Christian coffee ritual calls on the divine. Other times food is offered directly to deities(153)Not only does religion affect what some people eat and do not eat, but also the types of meals that are made, the preparation, and the rituals that are paired with the food. Christian traditions involve praying before partaking in a meal, and Jewish customs call for compute feasts that are prepared by traditional methods. Another common use for food is sacrificing or offering certain foods to deities. Buddhists often present rice and or fruits to statues of Buddha a long-standing religious tradition.Religion has greatly impact the culinary world in the past, as well as today. The combination of religion and cuisine has proven to be deep rooted in the history of domain and the development of different cultures , as people all over the globe still maintain these traditions. Whether one is partaking in wine during communion, preparing Shabbat dinner, setting food before Buddha, or makes a lifelong decision not to eat pork, religion has an obvious presence in todays society. full treatment Cited Desjardins, Michel. instruct about Religion with Food. Teaching Theology and Religion. 3rd ed. Vol. 7. Oxford Blackwell Ltd. , 2004. 153-58. Heiman, Amir, David Just, Bruce McWilliams, and David Zilberman. Religion, Religiosity, Lifestyles and Food Consumption. Ebscohost. Web. . Toussaint-Samat, Maguelonne. A History of Food. Paris Wiley-Blackwell, 1992.