Hunger, How is Our Perception of Hunger Different From That of Essay

Hunger, How is Our Perception of Hunger Different From That of Starving Children and How We Have Become Immune to the Plight of Others - Essay Example Most poor people who battle hunger deal with chronic undernourishment and vitamin or mineral deficiencies, which result in stunted growth, weakness and heightened susceptibility to illness. Countries in which a large portion of the population battles hunger daily are usually poor and often lack the social safety nets we enjoy, such as soup kitchens, food stamps, and job training programs. When a family that lives in a poor country cannot grow enough food or earn enough money to buy food, there is nowhere to turn for help. (http://www.bread.org/learn/hunger-basics/hunger-facts-international.html) Although the problem of hunger has been addressed by the Governments and numerous non-governmental organizations including the UN, the problem still looms large and requires adequate measures and serious tackling. However, do we really realize what is it like to be hungry How do people who are actually affected by it feel and how do they respond to this malady Could we, the so-called problem-solvers and solution-givers find a way out for these craving for a loaf of bread and do we really realize the extent of suffering How do we perceive hunger and how do those affected by it see it This paper tends to critically appraise these questions and tries to find answers to them. It is indeed very easy and simple to make assumptions regarding hungry people when one himself/herself is well-fed and is sitting in cozy rooms trying to find perfect solutions for the hungry and ill-fed masses. In such a scenario, the whole problem of hunger and poverty is seen through rose-tinted glasses and it becomes very convenient for the people on this side of the bridge to indulge themselves in a myriad of facts and figures and toy around with them. Our perception of hunger is vastly... This essay approves that the present age of industrialization and Mcdonaldization has also brought with it some negative symptoms as well. Due to the values of materialism, commercialism and consumerism becoming a part of the psyche of modern man, we no longer care and show respect to the needs of other men and women that are our fellow beings. We, in negation of all humanitarian values and morals, no longer seek to help out those who are less fortunate or are caught in unfavorable situations and circumstances. Thus, we just because are not affected by such maladies forget about those who are caught up in such problems. This paper stresses that there are people and organizations that still care about people that are hungry and do not enjoy all privileges as the minority of world does. There are various organizations, both governmental and non-governmental, that are trying their level best to alleviate the sufferings of the hungry millions and who think of this problem as their own. This report makes a conclusion that people need to contribute more and more to anti-hunger causes and governments should take steps to end the unequal distribution of wealth and ensure a mechanism for quick and efficient supply of food products to all. Organizations should, in their individual capacity as well as with collaboration with various Governments should think of ways to do the same. Only then we would be able to achieve the dream of a hunger-free world where no child goes to bed without food.

Operation Strategy w3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Operation Strategy w3 - Essay Example The difficulty is the services marketing arises because there is an absence of any physical product in the business. The customer’s needs vary from one individual to another and because of this reason; services have to be modified in order to serve each client. There are four basic process strategies that are described as follows: - The strategy focuses on the product as the name suggests and it works towards the betterment of product and service quality (van de ven, 1992). The low level of standardization is used while; the product designed is generic in nature. This strategy requires the division of a process into various steps and these steps are taken separately in order to minimize the possibility of an error (van de ven, 1992). The assembly line manufacturing is a common instance. The strategy focuses on designing a specific product for a client so that his or her needs can be fulfilled optimally (van de ven, 1992). The customer satisfaction is the ultimate concern of this approach. The example includes the garment shop that is vending professional suiting for both males and females. The concept is to take a specific order in the light of purchaser’s buying power and other aspects. The idea is to maximize customer satisfaction. Reimann, M., Schilke, O., & Thomas, J. (2010). Customer relationship management and firm performance: the mediating role of business strategy. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science 38 (3) ,

Relationship Between Stress and Parenting Quality

Relationship Between Stress and Parenting Quality Coping as a Moderator Between Parents’ Stress and Parenting Quality Elizabeth K. Wilson Previous literature has shown that the quality of parenting is vulnerable to stressors such as daily hassles, financial hardship, and work-related stress, to name a few (Leinonen et al., 2002). Longer workdays for parents have been shown to create stress and decrease family interaction time (Lerner Galambos, 1991). Fathers’ work stress translates into negative feelings and more disciplinary parenting (Galambos et al., 1995) while mothers’ work stress causes them to withdraw from their children (Repetti Wood, 1997). Both parents have less closeness and are accepting of children when affected by stress (Galambos et al., 1995). Parents who are forced to work longer hours or multiple jobs because of financial situations face even more added stress. When experiencing financial hardship, parents make adjustments to living such as canceling family trips or postponing important family purchases, which makes them feel like a failure at providing for their family and creates wo rry (Conger Elder, 1994). This reflects on their parenting skills in the form of more hostile, punitive parenting behavior (Conger et al., 1992). There has been evidence of more disruptive family functioning when parents report having more daily difficulties (Repetti Wood, 1997). According to the Family Systems Perspective, matters at the individual level, such as parenting behavior or the impact of stress, fully understood only by considering the larger network of interdependent relationships within the family (Minuchin, 1985). The spillover hypothesis posits that behavior and affect of the same valence transfer directly from one situation or relationship within the family to another, such that negative interactions in one situation spillover as negative interactions in another (Nelson et al., 2009). Marital distress is related to disruptions in parenting and quality of parent-child relationship – both mothers and fathers were more likely to engage in hostile rather than authoritative parenting when under stress in the marriage (Conger Elder, 1994; Conger et al., 1992). Stress on parents in the workplace, in their relationships, and even inconveniences throughout the day will undoubtedly spillover into other aspects of their lives, especially parenting, but how do coping strategies modify this effect differentially for mothers and fathers? Coping is an attempt to alter our circumstances, or the way we perceive them, to make them seem more favorable so that we are able to make it through the situation with a more positive outlook (Lazarus, 1993). Coping is a resource that has been shown to buffer the negative effects of a stressful event (Gayman et al., 2014). Using active coping strategies, which involve facing the problem head-on, is thought to be a more adaptive way of dealing with stress, while avoidance coping is less adaptive. Emotion-focused coping is a type of coping that could be classified as active coping if one is changing his or her appraisal of a situation to a positive appraisal. This type of coping is seen more commonly in women than in men (Holohan Moos, 1987). Social withdrawal has been regarded as a type of coping mechanism in response to short-term stress. Social withdrawal could be something as simple as watching television and avoiding interactions with family members. Fathers have been shown to physically position themselves away from family members after a hard day at work. This type of coping mechanism is not recognizable as a type of coping strategy by the person using it, so it may not show up in self-report measures, but has been shown in previous studies that observed family interactions (Campos et al., 2009). Two main types of coping are approach and avoidant coping, also known as active and passive coping. Approach coping strategies are an attempt to alter or decrease the stressor and engage and control the stressful situation, whereas avoidant coping strategies are an attempt to avoid the stressor by emotionally and sometimes physically disengaging from the problem. Avoidant coping strategies can be manifested in the form of actually leaving the stressful situation or emotionally denying the situation and sometimes â€Å"emotionally escaping† the situation by distracting the mind with a television show or abusing substances (Shin et al., 2014). We posit that parents who utilize active, approach coping strategies will have less negative interactions with their children after a stressful event because of the buffer that this positive coping strategy provides. These parents will face their problems head-on and will be better able to separate these stressful events from a stressful event involving their children. On the other hand, parents who utilize passive, avoidant coping strategies will not have this buffer between stressful events and the interactions with their children. The negative coping strategy will actually perpetuate the spillover of stress onto parent-child interactions. Parents who use avoidant strategies, such as social withdrawal, do not deal with their stressors appropriately and instead avoid them. This negatively affects later interactions with their children because they still have stress built up that they have not dealt with. This stress â€Å"spills over† into their ability to parent effectively and positively. The ability to cope with stress and subsequently provide good quality parenting leads to positive outcomes for children. Parenting quality has important implications for children’s school involvement and language development. Parents who utilize avoidant coping strategies or social withdrawal coping strategies do not use the time they have to give quality parenting to their children, such as reading with them or getting involved in school activities. Instead, they psychically isolate themselves from the family, using what little time they have to be alone (Katz, 2002). As mentioned previously, when faced with stressors, parents tend to use more hostile than authoritative parenting, and more coercive than constructive parenting (Conger Elder, 1994; Conger et al., 1992), which could have serious implications for the child’s wellbeing. Hostile and aggressive parenting practices have been associated with attention and hyperactivity problems, conduct and aggression problems, and less prosocial behavior in children. On the other hand, constructive parenting has been associated with improved adjustment and lower level of antisocial behavior in children (Hadzic et al., 2013). The current study will examine the relationship between parents’ stress and parenting quality and the possible role of coping strategies as a moderator of this relationship. We hypothesize that coping will significantly moderate this link, with positive coping strategies buffering the negative effects of stress on parenting and negative coping strategies perpetuating these negative effects. The role of parent gender in coping strategies will also be examined. We expect that there will be significant gender differences, such that males will utilize more negative and avoidant strategies thus having a greater negative effect on their quality of parenting than females, whom we expect to utilize more positive and active coping strategies. If coping is shown to be a significant moderator of the relationship between stress and parenting quality, this finding could have serious clinical implications. Clinicians would benefit from focusing on improving coping strategies to help parents deal with stressors that spillover into parenting practices. Parents would benefit from utilizing positive rather than coping strategies.

Steven Spielberg Biography Essay -- Biography Biographies Bio

Steven Spielberg Biography Steven Spielberg: Revolutionary and Visionary Who would have thought that a brilliant career in filmmaking could have originated with a modest jar of Skippy Peanut Butter smeared on a neighbor’s window in a tiny Cincinnati suburb? One might not think that such an average boyhood prank could evolve a boy into a man who would become the most financially successful film director in history. Well, that is exactly where Leah Spielberg, Steven Spielberg’s mother, would trace her son’s initial entry into becoming one of our nation’s most creative storytellers. â€Å"His badness was so original,† she recalls (Stein 3). Steven Spielberg, the only child of Leah and Arnold Spielberg, was born on December 18, 1946 at the beginning of the Baby Boom years in Cincinnati, Ohio. It does not take a great stretch of the imagination to see that Steven’s film influences were derived from his father’s experience as a World War II veteran and computer technician and his mother’s past profession as a concert pianist. The love and amount of technology, history, and music within Steven’s films can all be traced back to his early life with his family. While many men returning from war never want to reiterate their experiences, Steven’s father seemed to be an exception. Steven said of his father, â€Å" he intoxicated me with bedtime stories about the war. His stories were like the war movies I was watching on television, all worthy of cameo appearances by John Wayne† (Stein 1). It is no wonder that at the age of twelve Steven’s first film, Fighter Squad, was filmed on a WWII fighter plane (Corliss 79). However, when Steven was unable to find certain props or realistic backdrops, he simulated dogfights and plane crashes by editing in footage from a WWII documentary. Only a year later, in 1960, he featured the war family Jeep in his second film, Escape to Nowhere, which was an action picture in which GIs invaded a Nazi hideout in the Libyan Desert. Since his family had moved to Arizona in 1960, the Arizona desert near his house would easily replicate the simulation of the Libyan Desert. It is clear that Steven’s love and knowledge of visual effects began many years before his creation of a mechanical great white shark in 1975. There have been many incidents throughout Steven's childhood that have made it into his films. At the age ... ...ed against the moon, his films have sketched images in our minds we are unable to forget. His influence upon mainstream Hollywood directing is more than evident. Whether it be making us reflect on past tragedies or teaching us that differences should be celebrated aside from being just recognized, his methods of storytelling have established him as more than just a wonderful film director, but as a great humanitarian. Works Cited Corliss, Richard. â€Å"Peter Pan Grows Up, but Can He Still Fly?† Time Magazine. 19 May, 1997. 75-82. Dyer, Richard. â€Å"At Work Again, he and John Williams Exalt in their Admiring of 24 Years.† Boston Globe 24 Feb. 1998: 4/13/99 http://www.multimania.com/spielbrg Stein, Ruthe. â€Å"Biography : Steven Spielberg.† Empire Mar. 1998: 4/13/99 http://www.multimania.com/spielbrg Graham, Judith. Current Biography Yearbook 1996. New York: H.W. Wilson Company, 1996. Gritten, David. â€Å"When the Going Got Tough: Steven Spielberg’s D-Day Drama ‘Saving Private Ryan’ salutes the ‘citizen soldier of WWII’.† L.A. Times 10, May 1998: 4/13/99 http://www.multimania.com/spielbrg Martinelle, Betty. Personal Interview. 11 Apr. 1999.

Challenges we face today Essay

Challenges we face today in the 21st century are youths not preparing for a productive adult hood. Many youth don’t make it in life because they don’t have a post – secondary education. Obama had a speech saying â€Å"tonight I ask every American to commit to at least one year or more of higher education or career training† because nowadays most job required a post – secondary education. Jobs are getting advance and the need for skilled professional are in demand but young adults don’t fulfilled the expectation. United State education system is falling behind, youth aren’t finding employment. No one wants to hire someone who isn’t ready for the task. Post – secondary education is you’re ID to get hired in any field you choose to be. All the reports, all the reasons we still have failed to take action. Getting a post – secondary education should be a primary task. In the workforce today it’s important to have a higher education because if you don’t you won’t have a chance against the person next to you. By having a little more higher education then the next person can earn you more money and live a better lifestyle. If money concerns you, then you need a post-secondary education because future jobs required post- secondary education. The demand for higher education is continuing to increase. Even if jobs are available they are filled by people with post- secondary education. Even blue collar field type of jobs required some post-secondary education. Employers complain that youth are not prepared because they don’t have communication skills, critical thinking, and not being professional. It is important to have both hard and soft skills. Since the labor market is so tough it’s hard to complete without a post – secondary education. Since teens are unable to find jobs they are getting into trouble with the law and most of them are low incomes or minority. Right now the percent of working young adults are at its lowest point. Where ever you go education will always play an important role in your life. Post high school training is necessary to help increase the employment rate. Post- secondary education will help United State move forward.

Spleen In North India Health And Social Care Essay

Spleen is a reticulo-endothelial and lymphoid organ and sometimes works as hematopoietic organ. Otherwise this organ is cemetery of RBCs. Spleen is enlarged in assorted clinical upsets e.g. infection, metamorphosis or storage upset and haematological abnormalities1,2. Spleen is ne'er tangible boulder clay it is enlarged two-three times of its ain size3. There are many manners of probe to place the hypertrophied spleen e.g.-plane radiogram, echography, computed imaging, MRI and radionuclide scan. Out of these modes echography and computed imaging are most dependable for intra-abdominal organs4. Assorted surveies were done by echography to analyze the additive dimension of spleen-length, breadth, and thickness. But CT-based additive dimension are still unavailable. Unfortunately, dimensions determined by 2-D USG are limited preponderantly by the variable, irragular contour of lien but besides by the trouble in wholly scanning the full organ or visualising complete contours as a consequ ence of the presence of overlying constructions such as bone, intestine gas or kidney5. CT imagination is more accurate than echography because this drawback doesnot occur with computed tomography6, 7, 8. CT scans of 126 patients ( 72 male and 54 female ) were used to mensurate the volume of lien. The age of patients ranged from 20 to 70 years ( 50.33Â ±18.9yrs ) ( Table-I ) . The information was collected from December 2006 to April 2007 with permission of Department of Radio-diagnosis, KGMU Lucknow and informed consent taken from each patient. CT scans were obtained for assorted clinical indicants and followup of abdominal injury, abdominal hurting and to except an abdominal mass or adenopathy. The patient ‘s organic structure weight and tallness at or near the clip of the CT scrutiny were recorded. Spleen axial and transverse sectional image were obtained a CT Helical instrument. The proficient parametric quantities were 120 kv potency, 120 ma current, 10mm piece breadth with indistinguishable Reconstruction index and a rotary motion clip of 1.5 secs. The medical records of all patients were reviewed. Patients whose liens appeared unnatural on CT scans were excluded. Additio nally, any patients who had clinical, biochemical or imaging grounds of conditions that could impact the size of the lien, haematological upsets, abdominal malignances, infection and portal high blood pressure, splenetic injury, cyst, and auto-immune diseases were excluded from the survey. CT-scan dicom images of each patient were opened in Able-3D-doctor package. Spleen is identified in each cross subdivision and longitudinal subdivision of CT-scan images. The length of lien recorded in longitudinal subdivision along 10th rib in cephalo-caudal way ( figure-1 ) . Width of lien besides recorded in longitudinal way ( figure-2 ) but thickness measured in cross-section image ( figure 3 ) . All dimensions were recorded maximal appreciated in subdivisions for better truth. All statistics were generated by SPSS version 10.The pupil T-test was used for comparing of agencies. P & A ; lt ; 0.05 was considered important for comparing of agencies and for arrested development analysis. Association between splenetic dimensions and physical criterions of patients was assessed with the Pearson correlativity coefficient ; to place the exact form of relationship, non-linear arrested development every bit good as additive arrested development was applied. Multiple arrested development analysis was applied in backward stepwise manner to prove the independent consequence of all physical criterions on splenetic parametric quantities. Frank et Al used conventional echography to measure 793 healthy patients ( 17-82yrs. ) and found that 95 % of patients had splenetic length & A ; lt ; 11cm, breadth & A ; lt ; 7cm and thickness & A ; lt ; 5cm9. Niederau et al studied 915 healthy topics utilizing echography and found that average longitudinal and cross diameter of lien to be 5.8Â ±1.8 centimeter and 5.5Â ±1.4 centimeter severally. These dimensions were much smaller than other surveies because writer did non mensurate maximal dimension10. Picardi et Al. found average longitudinal dimension of spleen ranged from 8 to 11 centimeter ( average: 9.5 centimeter ) 11. Mittal et Al. performed pilot survey of normal measuring of spleen by echography on Rajasthani population and found mean length of spleen 9.40Â ±0.91 centimeter in males and 9.34Â ±0.95 centimeter in females12. In older topics they found average length of spleen 9.64Â ±0.64 centimeter. Spielmann et Al, mean length of lien was found to be 11.4Â ±1.7 centime ter in males and 10.3Â ±1.3 centimeter in females13. Konus et Al. found average longitudinal dimension: 10.1Â ±1.03 cm13. In our survey intend splenetic length in North Indian population was 10.67Â ±1.62 centimeter ( female: 10.34Â ±1.58 and male 10.91Â ±1.67 centimeter, P & A ; gt ; 0.05 ) 14. Mittal et Al. measured mean breadth of lien in male every bit good as female 3.45Â ±0.59 centimeter and 3.59Â ±0.55 centimeter. Average breadth of lien measured by Spielmann was 5.0Â ±0.8 in males and 4.2Â ±0.7 centimeter in females. In our survey average breadth of spleen 8.61Â ±1.58 centimeter ( male: 9.74Â ±1.62 centimeter and female 9.26Â ±1.66 centimeter, P & A ; gt ; 0.05 ) and average thickness of spleen 4.86Â ±1.22cm ( female: 4.70Â ±1.19 centimeter and male: 4.97Â ±1.29 centimeter, P & A ; gt ; 0.05 ) .These all dimension of spleen best correlated with tallness of the patients ( scatter plot-1.1, 1.2, 1.3 ) . Age of individual had important negative correlativity with cephalo-caudal length of spleen but rest of splenetic dimension did non hold important correlativity with age ( scatter plot-1.4, 1.5, 1.6 ) .

buy custom Search Engine Technology essay

buy custom Search Engine Technology essay Search engines are tools that are widely used to search information on the World Wide Web. The World Wide Web is the most single important source of information in the 21st century, and users search for such information through the use of search engines. Search engines are regarded as the best search tools that can query the World Wide Web for pertinent information, which are then presented to users as search results (Babin Weiss, 2009). Search engine technology is at the kernel of web search as it allows search engines to locate information in the internet, index them and serve them to users who query them. This paper will address the origin of the search engine technology; evaluate its benefits and disadvantages, not to mention highlighting on various competitors using this technology. Origins of search engine technology Today, search engine technology, has gained significant milestones in the technology arena because of some historical development in technology. The search engine technology has evolved to a position where it has transformed how information in retrieved in the internet. The first search engine is believed to be the information retrieval systems that were used by the International Business Machines back in the 1950s. Luhn was in charge of developing this technology while he was working with IBM. Search techniques were later improved in the 1970s by refining them further. The concepts and technological processes used by the IBM have since been used as the background for search engine technology. The advances that had been made in the search systems were the background for the search engine technology. With the birth of the World Wide Web, the stage was set for the search engine technology that would later be used to power search engines such as Google (Gay, Charlesworth Esen, 2007). In 1990, the HTTP programming language was developed and it led to the development of a small program called Archie. This program was written for the purpose of retrieving information from the internet. Whereas Archie was limited in its functions, it was able to provide basic search for the internet users at that time. The success of archie sparked immense interest in the search technology with new search programs being developed. Wandex a Web search software called was built to capture uniform resource locators in the World Wide Web and index them in a database. This program was followed by a robot called WebCrawler, which then became a search engine that would be the first to enter the search market. This background thus provided a launching pad for the success of various search engine products that improved on the initial search engine technology that were already in place. How search engine technology works Before looking at how search engines work, it is essentil to mention what search engine technologies do. Search engine technology allows users to search information over the World Wide Web. The search engine technology searches the information on the internet and archives them in order to serve them when users request for them (Levene, 2010). Because of what they do, search engines have built indexes of information that are found on the World Wide Web. The role of the search engine is accomplished as a result of how search engine technology works. According to Babin and Weiss (2009), search engine technology relies on robots that crawl on the World Wide Web in search of information. With the World Wide Web made of websites that are on the increase, robots continue to collect and index information into databases. These indexes are often updated and used to provide users with information according to the keywords that are used during the search. The search engines use the search engine technology to collect the address of information in the internet by analyzing their title and their uniform resource locator. Other information such as Meta data are also analyzed to determine what is contained in the web pages, which are then indexed in a database. When a user makes a search using a preferred search engine, the keywords used in the search are compared to what has been indexed in the database. Relevant information is then served to the users. All search engines do no use robots or crawlers. Some search engines use indexes that are entered by human, but it still works like the rest of the search engines. By serving a web page to a user, search engines have changed made location of information be easy on the World Wide Web. Benefits and disadvantages of search engine technology The search engine technology has made use of search engines possible. Nonetheless, the use of search engines, which are powered by search engine technology, has a mix of advantage and disadvantages. There are several advantages of search engine technology that have popularized their use as tools for locating information on the World Wide Web. These advantages are: a) Search engine technology provides an efficient way of indexing information on the World Wide Web. With the World Wide Web having a vast amount of information, the use of search engine technology provides an effective way of organizing information. Because of this advantage, it is possible to represent the vast information available on the World Wide Web. b) Search engine technology allows information to be described with precision. When locating the information on the World Wide Web, search engine technology provides users with means to describe information in keywords that helps in locating information that are rrelevant to the users. c) Search engine technology allows the World Wide Web to be organized more effectively that it appears. With search engines that use the search engine technologies, it has been possible to organize the World Wide Web into a structure that can allow information to be located when need arise. Despite the advantages of search engine technology, there as several disadvantages that are associated with this technology. These disadvantages are: a) The search engine technology can produce endless list of information that have little relevance to the users. For instance, searching for some keywords can yield thousands of web results that are not relevant all. b) The use of search engines can be discouraging for first-time users. This is because users have to learn how to generate effective search results when using these tools. Being that some users find this process tedious, some people may feel that this technology is cumbersome. Major competitors in the marketplace Despite the challenges of developing search engine technologies, there are many technology firms that have entered the market with novel search engines. These firms are increasingly developing cutting edge solution that provides many corporate firms, organization and individuals with search solutions. In the search engine arena, there are many competitors such as Google, Yahoo, Bing, All the Web, and AltaVista just to name a few. Google is considered the most used search engine given its focus on relevant results. Bing is owned by Microsoft and is touted to have a large search share after Google and Bing (McCormick, 2010). These competitors have strived to create novel solutions that are aimed at edging out their competitors. For instance, Google has been praised for using the least approach to searching of data and presenting the search results in a relevant way. AltaVista has also adopted this approach. Apart from Google, Yahoo is one of the popular search engine technologies available today. Since its establishment, Yahoo has grown into a search engine that boast of one of the largest search index in place. A few years ago, Microsoft Corporation expressed interest in buying Yahoo, but it offered a lower bid (McCormick, 2010). Nonetheless, Yahoo has continued to be a preference for many people because of its variety. When Microsoft failed to acquire Yahoo, the firm decided to engineer a new search engineBing. The unveiling of Bing took the search technology to a new level as Google and Yahoo vowed to enhance their service better. The presence of these competitors has made the search technology continue to growing into new heights. Buy custom Search Engine Technology essay

Chemical Composition of Petroleum

Chemical Composition of Petroleum Petroleum or crude oil is a complex mixture of hydrocarbons and other chemicals. The composition varies widely depending on where and how the petroleum was formed. In fact, chemical analysis can be used to fingerprint the source of petroleum. However, raw petroleum or crude oil has characteristic properties and composition. Hydrocarbons in Crude Oil There are four main types of hydrocarbons found in crude oil. paraffins (15-60%)naphthenes (30-60%)aromatics (3-30%)asphaltics (remainder) The hydrocarbons primarily are alkanes, cycloalkanes, and aromatic hydrocarbons. Elemental Composition of Petroleum Although there is considerable variation between the ratios of organic molecules, the elemental composition of petroleum is well-defined: Carbon - 83 to 87%Hydrogen - 10 to 14%Nitrogen - 0.1 to 2%Oxygen - 0.05 to 1.5%Sulfur - 0.05 to 6.0%Metals - 0.1% The most common metals are iron, nickel, copper, and vanadium. Petroleum Color and Viscosity The color and viscosity of petroleum vary markedly from one place to another. Most petroleum is dark brown or blackish in color, but it also occurs in green, red, or yellow.

Business Plan And Executive Summary For A Gym Business Essay

Business Plan And Executive Summary For A Gym Business Essay Executive Summary The location of the gym will be on a main road with good parking facilities. This will help the gym grow with members as it attracts people because of the location and give people advantages to join the gym with ample parking. There isn’t much history about the gym because it is a band new business but the idea came to me about 5 months ago when i wasn’t satisfied with what other gyms offered to customers. The business is situated in the retail sector because it provides gym equipment to people who don’t have room at their houses or they cannot afford all the equipment themselves. The Prime function of the business is to provide gym equipment to people as well as help them achieve their fitness goals. The gym offers a wide range of products and equipment starting from bags, drinks and clothing to dumbells, treadmills and benches. (Cambridge Preliminary Business Studies – page 269) Purpose of the Plan There can be many purposes for a busi ness plan. The plan should provide a firm with a clear direction for the future and identifies the main goals of the business. / The goals of the gym would be social, financial and environmental goals. The social goals that the gym would like to achieve would be good service to patrons that use the facilities, helping the community through sponsorships of local sporting clubs and helping out schools through conducting sport lessons in the gym. Financial goals that the gym would like achieve would be to increase the owner’s wealth through increased market share, increased level of cash flow and increased level of liquidity. But increasing wealth is one of the objectives. The other financial objective would be to minimise the wastage of money on items or products that will not help the gym grow and not falling into heavy debt. Environmental goals that the gym would like to achieve would be to use electricity efficiently, install energy efficient appliances, minimise waste and d isposing of the waste properly. (Cambridge Preliminary Business Studies – page 269) v Situational Analysis Internal External ac4 Strengths (lob ortunities †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Good assistance provided by employees Great membership deals Cheap prices Good location r †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Weaknesses Threats †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Not enough employees when business is busy Toilet facilities too small Security Poor Receptionist †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ (Cambridge Preliminary Business Studies – page 248) Business Objectives and Strategies The business objectives and strategies section of the business plan outlines what the business aims to achieve, including overall strategic goals. These goals will be based on research from the situational analysis. The Objectives of the Gym are to try and eliminate the weaknesses in the business and make them one of the strengths by working on them with one another and also to improve on streng ths and try to make them stronger. Another Objective would be to take every opportunity possible to help the business grow and try to work around keeping threats away from the business. The final Objective would be to improve financial wealth for the owner and to build a good reputation within the community so people feel invited and welcomed when they visit the gym.

New Communication Structure for Motorola. Organizational Culture Assignment

New Communication Structure for Motorola. Organizational Culture - Assignment Example On the other hand communication internal to the communicators termed as intrapersonal communication. Accordingly, this paper emphasize on effectiveness and efficiency of interpersonal communication within the organization i.e. Motorola Telecommunication Company. This communication method will be very influential for the organization on several edges such as changing customer opinions, business dealings, maintaining long-term relationship with the clients as well as retaining harmony with the community through mass communication among others. (Hage, Aiken & Marrett, 1971). Correspondingly, this paper will entail a proposal for new communication structure for Motorola Telecommunication Company. Furthermore, effectiveness and implementation of five major concepts including active listening, organizational culture, conflict resolution, key principles of human communication, leadership strategies and formal and informal communication will be represented. New Communication Structure for Mo torola Motorola is a well-known global telecommunication organization which deals with innovative product and services. The organization is always on the cutting age of technology and relentlessly concentrating on the requirements of the customers. It is equally important to identify that the business world is rapidly changing. Therefore to maintain the sustainable growth in the market, the leaders of the Motorola need determine and develop the effective communication strategies. The development of the effective communication structure largely depends on analyzing and identifying the factors that helps to accomplish the effectiveness of the organization. Accordingly, effective communication structure will facilitate Motorola to enhance the service procedures of the organization. As a result, it will assist to achieve and maintain customer loyalties and increase the dedication of the employees (Motorola Mobility LLC., 2013). Therefore, to develop a new and effective communication str ucture, Motorola need to consider several concept of communication. Few relevant concept of communication are being represented below. Organizational Culture The culture of the organization and its impact on the performance are coherently related to each other. The organizational culture is the arrangement of different attributes that helps to create unique identity of the firm in the market. The attributes of the organizational culture are interpersonal trust, effective communication among staffs and higher authorities, information system, knowledge sharing, acquiring and providing feedback, rewarding as well as taking care of the employees through removing obstacles among others. Accordingly, setting clear organization culture facilitate in communicating the goals and objectives of the organization in most effective manner (Shahzad, Luqman, Khan, & Shabbir, 2012). Source: (Shahzad, Luqman, Khan, & Shabbir, 2012) In relation to enhance interpersonal trust, the senior managers and l eaders of the organization are widely associated with the organizational culture and norms, and therefore they will be taking responsibility to spread the suitable organizational cultures among the junior employees. The clarification of organizational rules and regulations among the juniors will promote employees committeemen towards the organization. Accordingly, the managers of the Motorola will be communicating with the employees as much as possible to increase the interpersonal trust. Besides, acquiring and providing feedback is another most important factor of developing the organizational culture. Therefore, in relation to any product and service issues the higher authority of the Motorola w

Developing self-awareness Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Developing self-awareness - Essay Example At the same time, continuous self-examination of feelings and emotions within a person opens a way to self-mastery. This paper is an examination of the â€Å"self† and â€Å"others† processes. It directly discusses my self-awareness skills and how I can understand and improve it in my daily interactions. I understand that both positive and negative feedback are important to me and in order to improve, I should share with others what I feel. I am not aware of my cognitive style and how I process information and this needs improvement. My emotional maturity is not much improved and I only show the capacity to develop it. I struggle a lot to hide my emotions and try to rationalize them. However, sometimes I become emotional before thinking which lands me in saying unintended things to others. This has made me try my best to withhold my emotions as much as I can and dealing with them later by confronting myself. I do not like being uncertain about everything and I try my best to master situations otherwise I quit. I realize that I am quite principled in my behaviour because I have tried my best to nourish it since my early age. I also like being aware of what happens around me and rarely feel angry, depressed or anxious without knowing the reason. Sometimes I annoy others unknowingly an d I like apologizing where possible. I like having someone close to me to share my personal feelings When upset, I look into the problems without sometimes facing the real persons. I am concerned with others and like remaining in touch, though am less group-oriented. I like consulting others just as I tell others what I do not like. I like helping people opposed to each other to find something they can agree upon. In situations needing my attention such that I have to leave work early, I tend to exaggerate a bit to my colleagues of a duty I cannot fail to attend. I do not like people who yell at me when they are angry and

World Trade Organization - The Problem of Dumping in World Trade Essay

World Trade Organization - The Problem of Dumping in World Trade - Essay Example This essay states that classic economic literature defines dumping from various perspectives. One such aspect relates to the distinction of dumping according to its various types. This follows that dumping can be distinguished by the nature and intent behind it. As a consequence, predatory and non-predatory dumping done by companies comes into perspective. There can be various motivations behind dumping of goods and services. From a business point of view, dumping is a type of predatory pricing or price discrimination. Price discrimination refers to the act of selling the same good or service at different prices. In conclusion, the researcher suggests that anti-dumping is the most used â€Å"contingency protection† of the WTO agreements today, and is used not only in transatlantic trade, but also by the United States and the EU. Dumping is defined as lowering of the prices of the imports in the foreign market. There are various classifications of dumping, i.e. predatory and no n-predatory as well as reverse dumping, sporadic dumping and persistent dumping. There is a lot of debate regarding dumping and attitudes towards it differ greatly. Dumping offers short-term benefits to the customers but on the global scale, it can be deleterious to the country where the prices of the imports have been lowered. However, the researcher states that despite the weaknesses of the current anti-dumping system, the WTO is the most effective institutional instrument for regulating international trade.

The Role of the Internal Change Agent Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

The Role of the Internal Change Agent - Essay Example From this paper it is clear that  Internal Change Agents are of three different types. The People-Change-Technology type focus on the individual employee, their morale and motivation. They deal with absenteeism, turnover, and the quality of work performed. These change agents use the techniques of job enrichment, goal setting, and behaviour modification. They work on the assumption that â€Å"if individuals change their behaviour, the organisation will also change†.This study outlines that  the Organisation-Development type are change agents who are involved in internal processes such as intergroup relations, communication, and decision making. Their intervention technique is referred to as the cultural change approach, because they analyse the culture of the targeted organisation. This approach was developed from the domains of sensitivity training, team building, and survey feedback. While implementing organisational change processes, managers often assume the roles of t he different types of internal change agents outlined above. The internal change agent as Researcher is closely related to the previous role of trainer. The role includes the training of organisation members in the skills required for valid evaluation of the efficacy of action plans that have been carried out. Lunenburg states that as part of the overall intervention strategy, the change agent designs an evaluation component, useful for solving both the current as well as future problems.

Involvement of the Intracellular Signal Integrating Proteins Calcyon Essay

Involvement of the Intracellular Signal Integrating Proteins Calcyon and Spinophilin - Essay Example Results showed that calcyon and spinophilin transcripts were significantly higher in the thalamus of patients with schizophrenia. They concluded that, as discovered in other research, the dopamine system shows as abnormal in schizophrenia cases, but these abnormalities were due to intracellular integration where dopamine signaling with other neurotransmitter systems was dysfunctional, So it is not only the action of dopamine agonists or antagonists which impact, but the cellular activity which contributes to the illness. This scientific piece of writing encompasses so many areas of medical knowledge that it demands several readings to make sense of each point. However, it is fully detailed and demonstrates how the researchers used a stringent methodology, adhered to ethical and confidential practice and met their objective, as evidenced by the findings. It just seemed to take a long time and a great deal of narrative to produce the relevant information. They were honest as to limitations identified, such as age and antipsychotic drug use, the latter of which might have affected results, though this was considered unlikely.

The World of Geomatics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

The World of Geomatics - Essay Example 5000 years ago) and it is a requirement in the planning and execution of nearly every form of construction. Its most familiar modern uses are in the fields of transport, building and construction, communications, mapping, and the definition of legal boundaries for land ownership. The basic principles of surveying have changed little over the ages, but the tools used by surveyors have evolved tremendously. Engineering, especially civil engineering, depends heavily on surveyors. Whenever there are roads, dams, retaining walls, bridges or residential areas to be built, surveyors are involved. They determine the boundaries of private property and the boundaries of various lines of political divisions. They also provide advice and data for geographical information systems (GIS), computer databases that contain data on land features and boundaries. Surveyors must have a thorough knowledge of algebra, basic calculus, geometry, and trigonometry. They must also know the laws that deal with surveys, property, and contracts. In addition, they must be able to use delicate instruments with accuracy and precision. On the subject of accuracy, a surveyor is typically held to an accuracy standard of twelve-one thousandths (.012) (12/1000) of an inch over a length of one hundred (100) feet. This means, for perspective purposes, that a professional land surveyor can be expected to complete a survey of a one hundered (100) foot circle and upon returning to the point of beginning not deviate from his or her course no more than the width of a human finger-nail. In most states of the U.S., surveying is recognized as a distinct profession apart from engineering. Licensing requirements vary by state, however these requirements generally all have a component of education, experience and examinations. In the past, experience gained through an apprenticeship, together with passing a series of state-administered examinations, was required to attain licensure. Nowadays, many states require a Bachelor of Science in Surveying, or a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering with additional coursework in surveying, in addition to experience and examination requirements. Typically the process for registration follows two phases. First, upon graduation, the candidate may be eligible to sit for the Fundamentals of Land Surveying exam, to be certified upon passing and meeting all other requirements as a Surveyor In Training (SIT).. The Role of Survey Engineering in the Future Since the nation's well being in coming years will be more tied to global markets and developments than in the past, it is appropriate for the survey engineers to become more active at international and global levels as well. By playing a strong role in promoting, facilitating, and conducting international and global studies to develop critical science information, survey engineers lends support to national security as well as foreign policy and private sector interests as the following examples illustrate: The larger world population of the future will be concentrated in developing countries. Many of these people will be living in low-latitude coastal regions where urban and economic growth is most intense and where the incidence of severe natural disasters- earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, and hurricanes-is more common. Moreover, the interconnectedness that is

Involvement of the Intracellular Signal Integrating Proteins Calcyon Essay

Involvement of the Intracellular Signal Integrating Proteins Calcyon and Spinophilin - Essay Example Results showed that calcyon and spinophilin transcripts were significantly higher in the thalamus of patients with schizophrenia. They concluded that, as discovered in other research, the dopamine system shows as abnormal in schizophrenia cases, but these abnormalities were due to intracellular integration where dopamine signaling with other neurotransmitter systems was dysfunctional, So it is not only the action of dopamine agonists or antagonists which impact, but the cellular activity which contributes to the illness. This scientific piece of writing encompasses so many areas of medical knowledge that it demands several readings to make sense of each point. However, it is fully detailed and demonstrates how the researchers used a stringent methodology, adhered to ethical and confidential practice and met their objective, as evidenced by the findings. It just seemed to take a long time and a great deal of narrative to produce the relevant information. They were honest as to limitations identified, such as age and antipsychotic drug use, the latter of which might have affected results, though this was considered unlikely.

Shiseido Presentation Essay Example for Free

Shiseido Presentation Essay Add more doors Enhance promotional packages with full product line Train beauticians to create a relationship Beauticians educate customers into the correct use of the products advertising Enable shop online Get global marketing benefits Japanese zen design influence Social Media Presence Men’s corner Men’s place Focusing on FB, twitter and beauty blogs Creating newsworthy, interesting, share-able brand content Using on line FB contests to enhance users participation (i. e. post your secret beauty tip, share it with friends, gather the most likes win the Shiseido products) Offering product related gifts/vouchers/samples Mapping of influential beauty/lifestyle blogs and using them as indirect WOM devices Sharing Shiseido news, photo shootings, campaigns from abroad Being the ultimate spot for â€Å"girl-talk†, regarding beauty, cosmetics, skin care issues †¢At current and new doors †¢Easy accessible †¢Familiarization †¢Awareness †¢Explore while girlfriend discussing with consultant †¢Feel more innocent Closer to Purity†¦ †¦Closer to Life †¢ †¢ †¢ Luxurious solutions to differentiate from from conservative, classic brands. Member’s club with exclusive activities such as Yoga, spa. Targeted use of media depending on segment

Music Therapy for Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) | Research

Music Therapy for Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) | Research CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION â€Å" Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind,  flight to the imagination and life to everything† Plato Head injury (Traumatic Brain Injury) is defined as an insult to the brain, not a degenerative or cognitive nature, but caused by an external physical force, that produces a diminished or altered level of consciousness which results in impairment in cognitive abilities or physical functioning. (American Head Injury Foundation, 2012) Traumatic Brain Injury can result when the head suddenly and violently hits an object, or when an object pierces the skull and enters brain tissue. Approximately half of severely head injured patients will need surgery to remove or repair hematomas or contusions. Some common disabilities include problems with cognition, sensory processing, communication and problems with behaviour or mental health. (Newman, 2003) Road Traffic Accidents (RTA) are the sixth leading cause of death in India with a greater share of hospitalizations, deaths, disabilities and socioeconomic losses in young and middle-age populations. It also place a huge burden on the health sector in terms of pre hospital, acute care and rehabilitation. (WHO, 2012) Almost 10 million head injuries occur annually, about 20 % of which are serious enough to cause brain damage. Among men under 35 years, accidents, usually motor vehicle collisions are the chief cause of death and > 70 % of these involve head injury. Furthermore, minor head injuries are so common that almost all physicians will be called upon to provide immediate care or to see patients who are suffering from various sequels. (Allan H Ropper, 2011) The advancement in medicine and technology has increased the survival rate of patients with head injury and many of them do have various disabilities. When injury is severe or even minor it lead to large number of behavioural and cognitive problems with the physical disability. Each patient represents a unique disabilities which include physical, visual, cognitive and behavioural abnormalities. Sensory Stimulation Programmes are usually started in the Neuro Intensive Care Unit and should be continued in rehabilitation. This may include tactile, olfactory, visual, gustatory and auditory. (Ellen Barkers, 2002) Music is a magical medium and a very powerful tool. Music can delight all the senses and inspire every fiber of being. Its multidimensional nature touches the individual’s physical and psychological levels of consciousness suggested that music exerts its effect through the entertainment of body rhythms. (Wilson Parsons, 2002) Music has been used as a healing force for centuries. Appolo is god of music and of medicine. Aesculapius was said to cure diseases of the mind by using song and music. Aristotle taught that music affects the soul and described music as a force that purified the emotions. Aulus cornelius advocated the sound of cymbals and running water for the treatment of mental disorders. Music therapy goes back to biblical times, when David played the harp to rid King Saul of a bad spirit. In the thirteenth century, Arab hospitals contained music-rooms for the benefit of the patients. Music therapy began in the aftermath of World Wars I and II. Musicians would travel to hospitals, particularly in the United Kingdom and play music for soldiers suffering from war-related emotional and physical trauma. (Lee Mathew, 2000) Neurologic Music Therapy (NMT) is the therapeutic application of music to treat cognitive, sensory and motor dysfunctions that come from neurologic impairment. The treatment is based on stimulating music perception and production parts in the human brain. The targeted neurologic disorders like Stroke, Autism, Huntington’s disease, Cerebral palsy, Alzheimer’s disease and other neurological disease affecting cognition, movement and communication (mild , moderate or severe traumatic brain injury). (Blosser DePompei, 1994) Need for the Study: Everyday men, women and children suffer head injuries. A fall, a car accident, a sports injury – these everyday injuries can range in severity from concussion to coma. Traumatic Brain Injury can be fatal or, in survivors, can produce persistent problems that significantly affect the livelihood and well-being of millions around the globe. Ninety-five percent of trauma victims in India do not receive optimal care during the â€Å"golden hour† period after an injury is sustained, in which health care administration is critical. (Indian Head Injury Foundation, 2010) The annual global incidence rates of traumatic brain injury ranges from 91 per 100,000 populations to 546 per 100,000. The traumatic brain injury constitutes 70–90% of all head injuries, with rates of hospital treatment ranging from 100 to 300 per 100,000 populations per annum. This high variability in incidence is due to sampling of population ranging from only hospitalized patients to all the patients who visit emergency department. A large number of cases are not treated at hospitals; the actual rate is possibly in excess of 600 per 100,000 cases. There is bimodal distribution of brain injury with peaks at age group 15–24 years and after 65 years. (Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, 2010) The annual national incidence rates among 28 states of India, the mortality rate per million population due to road traffic accident. A varied from as low as 20 in Nagaland to as high as 216 in Tamil Nadu. States with rapid and high growth in motorization had a higher number of deaths. Nearly half of the total road fatalities were in the 4 states of India, Tamil Nadu (14.5%), Andhra Pradesh (11.4%), Maharashtra (11.1%) and Uttar Pradesh (10.2%). (National Crime Records Bueareau, 2005) A combination of neurological and neuropsychological deficits seems to contribute to residual handicap in patients with head injury. Neurological deficits include motor deficit (55%), ataxia (49%) and anosmia (46 %) along with memory impairment, poor initiativeness and increasing irritability. Among them very least could return to their occupation and occupational and psychological rehabilitation may found to be more effective. (Zebenlozer and Oder, 1998) Over the past few decades major advancements have been made in the management of patients with traumatic brain injury and significant improvements have been made in their care in the pre hospital and emergency department settings. Patients with complex, multisystem trauma are admitted to critical care unit and these patients require complex care. (Lind D Urden, 2010) Rehabilitation is an important part of the recovery process for a traumatic brain injury patient. The patients with brain injury are completely dependent on health care providers to meet all their needs. Rehabilitation should begin as soon as possible after brain injury patient is stable, often with 24-48 hrs after resuscitation. The overall goal of rehabilitation after a traumatic brain injury is to improve the patients ability to function at home and in society. (Davis White, 1995) Music therapy benefits patients across the spectrum, from premature infants in neonatal intensive care units responding to lullabies to swing band numbers in elderly Alzheimer’s patients’ moods and appetites. Involving the primary care givers take care in auditory stimulation program will helps in continuity of care and also helps to reduce cost of care. (German, 2003) Broca’s area is important in processing the sequencing of physical movement and in tracking musical rhythms. It is critical for converting thought into spoken words. Scientists speculate, therefore, that Broca’s area supports the appropriate timing, sequencing, and knowledge of rules that are common and essential to music, speech, and movement. The brain areas involved in music are also active in processing language, auditory perception, attention, memory, executive control, and motor control. Music efficiently accesses and activates these systems and can drive complex patterns of interaction among them. (Michael Thaut Gerald Mclntosh, 2010) Complementary and alternative therapies are now the fastest growing areas of health care. Music therapy is one of the best and cheapest alternative methods. Teaching the care giver about the auditory stimulation helps to promote care and satisfaction to the patient. For many individuals, music is a source of pleasure and therefore more preferable. Hence the researcher believes that the use of auditory stimulation for patients with brain injury provides the rehabilitative as well as physical assistance with most cost effective manner. Statement of the Problem: A Study to Evaluate the Effectiveness of Auditory Stimulation on Motor and Verbal Responses among Patients admitted in Intensive Care Unit with Traumatic Brain Injury at Selected Hospitals, Salem. Objectives: To assess the motor and verbal responses among patients with traumatic brain injury in experimental group and control group. To evaluate the effectiveness of auditory stimulation on motor and verbal responses among patients with traumatic brain injury in experimental group and control group. To associate motor and verbal responses among patients with traumatic brain injury with their selected demographic variables in experimental and control group. Operational Definitions: Effectiveness: Improvement of motor and verbal responses among patients with traumatic brain injury after implementing auditory stimulation along with routine nursing care as observed by Glasgow Coma Scale Score. Auditory Stimulation: In this study it refers to auditory stimulation in which classical instrumental music therapy is given to patients with traumatic brain injury using I pod for twenty minutes for three times a day. Motor function: In this study it refers to patient actively moving upper extremities or lower extremities as response towards the auditory stimulation with best motor response 6 in G C S score. Verbal response: In this study it refers to ability of the patient to respond orally towards the auditory stimulation with maximum GCS Score of 5. Traumatic brain injury: It refers to injury to the brain resulting from external mechanical force such as violent blow or jolt to the head. In this study it refers to patients diagnosed to have traumatic brain injury with GCS between 8 -12. Assumptions: Sensory stimulation may increase the motor and verbal responses among patients with traumatic brain injury. Nurses can enroll music therapy as a simple nursing intervention to promote the well being among patients with traumatic brain injury. Hypotheses: H1:There will be a significant difference in the pre test and post test motor and verbal responses among patients with traumatic brain injury after administering auditory stimulation in experimental group at P ≠¤ 0.05 level. H2:There will be a significant association between pretest scores on motor and verbal responses among patients with traumatic brain injury with their selected demographic variables in experimental group and control group at P ≠¤ 0.05 level. Delimitation: Study period is limited to 4 weeks. Projected Outcome: This study would help the nurses to enlighten their knowledge regarding auditory stimulation. Nurses can utilize music therapy as an integral part of their routine care to the brain injury patients. Conceptual Framework: Conceptual models are made up of concepts which are words describing the mental images of phenomena and proportions which are statements about concepts. It provides a schematic representation of some relationship among phenomenon. Ernestine Wiedenbach, (1964) proposed a prescriptive theory for nursing which is described as conceiving of a desired situation and the ways to attain it. Prescriptive theory directs action towards an explicit goal. The present study is based on the concept of providing auditory stimulation to patients with traumatic brain injury patients. The investigator adopted Wiedenbach’s Helping Nursing Art Theory (1964). This theory, describes the desired situation and way to be attained. It directs action towards the explicit goals. This theory has three factors Central purpose Prescription Reality Central Purpose: It refers to what a nurse wants to accomplish. It is an overall goal towards which a nurse strives. The central purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of auditory stimulation on motor and verbal responses among patients with traumatic brain injury Prescription: It refers to the plan of action for the patient. It will specify the nature of the action that will fulfil the nurse’s central purpose. The prescription of this study is providing auditory stimulation to patients with traumatic brain injury . Reality: It refers to the physical, psychological, emotional and spiritual factors that come into play in situation involving the nurses. The five realities identified by Widenbach’s are agent, recipient, goal, mean activities frame work. According to this theory, nursing practice consist of 3-steps, which are all guiding the researcher to attain the desired objectives. Step – I Identifying the need for help. Step – II Ministering the needed help. Step – III Validating that the need for help was met. Step-I: This involves determining the need for help. The investigator assesses motor and verbal response among patients with traumatic brain injury by Glasgow Coma Scale score and demographic variables through the structured interview schedule. Step-II: After identification of the patient’s needs ,the researcher facilitate the plan for care and implement it. In this study , the researcher provided auditory stimulation to the experimental group. Wiedenbach theory defines the five realities: Agent: Nurse Investigator. Recipient: Patients with traumatic brain injury. Goal: To determine the effectiveness of auditory stimulation on motor and verbal responses among patients with traumatic brain injury. Means and activities: Implementation of music therapy. Frame work and facilities : Sri Gokulam Specialty Hospital and Sri Gokulam Hospital Step-III: This is accomplished by means of validation of the prescription. It is done through the pretest and posttest assessment of the motor function and verbal response among patients with traumatic brain injury. If there are no significant changes in the perceived behaviour we need to reconstruct the experience to ascertain step – I II. Not included in study Figure-1.1: Conceptual Frame Work Based on Modified Wiedenbach’s Helping Art of Clinical Nursing Theory (1964) on Effectiveness of Auditory Stimulation on Motor and Verbal Responses among Patients with Traumatic Brain Injury. Summary: This chapter dealt with introduction, need for the study, statement of the problem, objectives, operational definitions, assumptions, delimitations, projected outcome and conceptual framework

Multi-Disciplinary Working Essay -- Management Work

This essay will aim to relate to an observation of professional social work practice in a Crisis Centre, for people with mental health issues who require support, and short-term accommodation, with the goal of returning home or to a new environment. This essay will focus upon the role of multi disciplinary collaboration regarding the Crisis Centre staff, and Crisis Resolution Home Treatment Team (CRHTT), and to discuss why collaboration appears to play an important and fundamental role within social work practice. The essay will also aim to demonstrate good practice and possible strengths and weaknesses of multidisciplinary working. Within the field of social work practice it does seem evident that ‘multidisciplinary working is work undertaken jointly by workers and professionals from different disciplines or occupations’ (Pearson & Thomas, 2010:342) and has evolved at varying speeds over the past 30 years, in response to imperatives of central government. Evidence suggests that the area mental health was among the first professions to adopt teams of workers from different professions, and the Community Mental Health Team is widely regarded as the model for multidisciplinary working (Community Care, 2010). It seems that , in relation to social work, the distinctive quality that has to be demonstrated is anti discriminatory practice and a holistic approach, by working with a range of situations and people having an attribute for developing multidisciplinary and partnerships (Higham,2006:). The Crisis Centre that has been observed is run by a Local Council, and is a National Health Service Trust based in a local community. The centre also corresponds with the 1975 White Paper entitled ‘Better Services for Mentally Ill’... ...mparison to the Ward: A Service Evaluation of Amethyst House and Crisis Resolution Home Treatment Team: Liverpool City Council and Mersey Care NHS Trust: Liverpool. Thompson, N. (2005) Understanding Social Work, 2nd Ed. Hampshire: Palgrave. Thompson, N. & Thompson, S. (2008) The Social Work Companion. Hampshire: Palgrave. Thompson, N. (2009) Practicing Social Work. Hampshire: Palgrave. SCIE Guide 23: The learning, teaching and assessment of partnership work in social work education www.scie.org.uk/ [accessed 6th November 2010]. Wilson, K. Ruch, G. Lymbery, M. & Cooper, A (2008) Social Work an Introduction to Contemporary Practice; Essex: Pearson. Whittington, C. (2003) ‘Collaboration and Partnership in Context’. In Weinstein, J., Whittington, C. and Leiba, T. (eds.) Collaboration in Social Work Practice. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers. Ch.1.

The Earth is surrounded by a covering of air which we call the atmosphe

The Atmosphere The Earth is surrounded by a covering of air which we call the atmosphere. It reaches over 384 miles from the surface of the earth, so we can only see what occurs in the troposphere and the tropopause. Nitrogen – 78% Oxygen – 21% Argon – 1% Carbon Dioxide – 0.035% Other – 0.00253% The above information highlights what the atmosphere is composed of. It is clearly visible that Nitrogen is the dominant gas as over three quarters of the atmosphere is made up of this. It is very fortunate that Nitrogen is not a very reactive gas because if it were not, that atmosphere would be far less stable and extremely dangerous. The pie chart refers to the atmosphere today but it was not always made up of these percentages. It seems that carbon dioxide levels have raised a lot and these rises may be down to many causes such as the industrial revolution and constant deforestation. Natural functions of the atmosphere The atmosphere is vital for life and acts as a life support system to al...

Carpe Diem

Alex Rohret Mrs. Oxley English 1302 22 February 2013 The Light and Dark Sides of the Force The first time I heard the phrase Carpe Diem, I wasn’t sure what to think. First of all, I had never heard either of the words used in the phrase. Secondly, after repeating the words in my head a few times to see if I was getting them mixed up with some other words that are actually in the English Language. I later came to figure out that these words weren’t in the English Language at all; they’re in the dead language of Latin. This phrase’s literal translation in English is â€Å"Seize the Day. There are a number of similar phrases that are popular today that might be easier to understand. The most recent, and possibly more popular, is Yolo, meaning You Only Live Once. These two phrase’s purpose is to tell people to live each day like it’s their last. Robert Herrick’s Poem; To the Virgins to Make Much of Time, is a perfect way to tell others ho w to live each day to the fullest when he says â€Å"Gather  ye rosebuds while ye may, Old time is still a-flying : And this same flower that smiles to-day To-morrow will be dying. This is the first stanza to his poem, and in my opinion is the best stanza of the poem. Herrick’s meaning behind this stanza is basically to Seize the Day. This stanza’s translation, to me, is to do what you want while you can because you will not live forever, and if you don’t do what you want today, then tomorrow you might not get the chance to do anything at all. The reason that we’re studying Carpe Diem is because of the movie Dead Poets Society. The setting of Dead Poets Society takes place in the 50’s at an all boy’s prep school, where it always seems to be cold. A new English teacher, Mr.Keating, at the school inspires a group of kids to start an underground poetry reading group, where the students read poems written by dead poets, or written by themselv es. All of the poems read at these meetings follow the same meaning: carpe diem. The name of this group is the Dead Poets Society. Out of Herrick’s same poem â€Å"That age is best which is the first, When youth and blood are warmer; But being spent, the worse, and worst Times still succeed the former. † This excerpt explains that it is better to live life to the fullest while you’re young, because as you age, you lose chances to seize the day.The Dead Poets Society is adolescent boys, which is exactly the time to seize the say according to To the Virgins to Make Much of Time. The adolescents in this society interpret Carpe Diem differently, because there is more than one way that it can be interpreted. Since there are different ways to interpret Carpe Diem, each character does something different. For example, a boy named Knox meets a girl from the local public High School, and falls for her. He works up the courage to call her one night, and she invited him to a party at her boyfriend’s house, where he kissed her, and proceeded to get beaten by her boyfriend.Another boy, Charlie, changes his name to Nuwanda, and insists all of the dead poets to call him as such. During a school wide meeting, Nuwanda brings in a phone and pretends to get a call from god, he then tells the headmaster that the call is for him. All of these boys do exactly what Herrick says in his poem. They are gathering ye rosebuds, while they can. I like to think of Carpe Diem as similar to The Force in Star Wars: there is a dark side, and a light side. The side that most of us would like to know is the side where one does whatever they want and only has fun doing it, which is known as the light side.The dark side is where one does what they want, but what they want to do may be way overboard, and the repercussions of their actions may lead to serious consequences, or even death. One of the boys, Neil, has an overbearing father that is making him go to school to be a doctor. But what he really wants is to be an actor. Mr. Perry would say things like, â€Å"You have opportunities that I never even dreamt of, and I am not going to let you waste them! †(Dead Poets Society). This, to me, is what set Neil over the edge. I believe that at this moment he realized that his father was trying to live through him.This was the moment that Neil finally has had enough, this was Neil’s climax. What happens to Neil brings out the dark side of the force that is known as Carpe Diem. Instead of talking to his father about what he wants, he does something as drastic as taking his own life. Neil went entirely too far with living each day like it is you last, because he would have lived the next day, if it were not for his poor choices. The resolution of this film doubles as another boy’s climax. Todd is a very bashful boy that only tries to do what is expected of him. Todd was even bashful through Mr.Keating’s teachings of Carpe Diem a nd all of the Dead Poets Meetings that took place. But at the end of the film, Todd finally broke his silence, and stood up on the desk saying O captain my captain, defying his temporary replacement teacher’s orders. He does this in honor of Mr. Keating, and everything that he taught them. Soon enough all of the members of the Dead Poets Society, as well as a few other students that have no relevance, are standing on their desks saying the same phrase, O captain my captain. To the Virgins to Make Much of Time played a big role in the Dead Poets Society, by capturing the lighter side of carpe diem.This poem also captures what I believe carpe diem means to me: Live life to the fullest, and to live life while the blood is still warm. This poem embodies carpe diem, and everything that the Dead Poets Society stood for. Understanding how the film and the poem connect so deeply helps the viewer, or the reader, appreciate them both just that much more. Works Cited Herrick, Robert. â €Å"To the Virgins to Make Much of Time. † Trans. Array  The Poerty in Dead Poets Society. OxleyPrint. Weir, Peter, dir. Dead Poets Society. Writ. Tom Schulman. 1989. DVD. 10 Feb 2013.

Examine the techniques Iago employs to achieve his aims in the play Othello

In traditional Shakespearean tragedies the protagonist is destroyed through their own fatal flaw. The play Othello is different because there is a villain which is unusual for a Shakespearean tragedy. In the play Macbeth, the tragic events occur because of Macbeths own fatal flaw of ambition. However in the play Othello; Iago, one of the main characters manipulates Othello's fatal flaw of jealously which leads to the tragic ending of the play. He says how he is using Othello by â€Å"following him I follow but myself†; he is pretending to be loyal to Othello but is really doing it for his own benefit. Iago plans revenge on Othello when he gives Cassio the job of lieutenant instead of to him; he describes himself as â€Å"worth no worse a place† and is showing that he thinks highly of himself. Even after he manages to get Cassio dismissed and replaces him as lieutenant, he still continues to carry out his plan of destruction. This reveals that the reason of Iagos plans are merely just for fun. Iago deceives everyone even Roderigo who supports him, not knowing everything about Iago's plans, he even questions why he â€Å"ever made a fool my purse† which shows he is only using Roderigo for his own benefit. No-one in the play seems to know what Iago is really like. He manipulates everyone in the play to gain their trust although he only uses them. Cassio praises Iago by saying that he had sung â€Å"an excellent song†, this is because he doesn't know that it was actually because of Iago that he was dismissed from the job of lieutenant. Iago is seen as a manipulative and evil character, he betrays Othello by telling Brabantio that Desdemona is married to Othello; â€Å"you're robbed†¦ an old black ram is tupping your white ewe†, he uses crude, sexual imagery to make their marriage seem worse than it is to make Brabantio angry because his daughter got married without his consent. He constantly makes racist comments about Othello; by referring to him as â€Å"thick-lips† and tries to make him seem like a bad character, because in Shakespearean times it was seen as wrong for a white woman to marry a black man. Iago tries to convince himself that Othello has had an affair with is wife; â€Å"I hate the Moor, And it is thought abroad that ‘twixt my sheets He's done my office. † Iago is jealous even though he is not completely sure that Othello has had an affair with his wife. He treats Emilia badly he tells her to â€Å"be not acknown on't† he makes her do what he wants and tell her to pretend she does not know anything about Desdemona's handkerchief. He also makes general bad comments about women; â€Å"she give you so much of her lips as of her tongue† he is saying that Emilia talks too much, something which she shouldn't do. Iago has a general dislike for women and stabs Emilia when she realises what he has done he also causes Othello to hit Desdemona in public and makes him call her a â€Å"whore† to her face. To make Othello jealous he makes out that Desdemona is having an affair but he only hints, â€Å"Lie – † this makes Othello jump to conclusions and finish off the sentences himself; â€Å"Lie with her? Lie on her? † Iago does not try to correct him â€Å"With her, on her, what you will† he just agrees with what Othello is saying. Sometimes when talking to Othello he says something and immediately takes it back to get Othello curious. Othello gave Desdemona a handkerchief which had been passed through his family, Iago tells Emilia to steal it for him and plants it in Cassio's bedchamber. He tries to wind up Othello by discretely reminding Othello that Desdemona did not have the handkerchief anymore: â€Å"But if I give my wife a handkerchief†, he is tormenting him with the thought that Desdemona is not acting truly loyal to Othello, like Emilia would to Iago. Shakespeare uses asides and soliloquies throughout the play as a dramatic technique. While talking to Othello, Iago says â€Å"O, you are well turned now! But I'll set down the pegs that make this music, As honest as I am† it reminds us of Iago's evil nature, and shows how he is planning Othello's destruction. Soliloquies are similar to asides in what they do in the play. They remind us of what Iago is planning and also show us what he thinks about what he has achieved so far.

Ways to Discipline

There are many simple ways that parents can help encourage their child’s development from an early age. Learning how to effectively discipline your child is an important skill that all parents need to learn. â€Å"To get what we want in life, we have to do what we have never done.† (Derrick 25). Whether the parent is traditional, a stay home parent, or a fulltime worker, the most precious thing a parent can give his or her kids is their time. Here are some ways to discipline, educate, and spend quality time with your children. It is very important to educate your child to succeed. First of all, build up their confidence and ensure that they are happy children. Fuel their imagination by reading bedtime stories. Roy Derrick’s research found that children who are regularly told stories have a better vocabulary, have more idea of sentence structure, and sense of stories (126). Also, nurture their creative skills through play. Some activities can help; like building with plastic bricks, painting, or simply creating items can help a child to build up their confidence. Here are some ways to discipline your children. Avoid physical punishment; it can make your child more aggressive and angry. Also, remember to always give rewards and praise them for good behavior, that way they will know you are happy when they behave well. â€Å"Because of their size, children may be difficult to discipline properly† (Rourke 38). Most importantly, provide your child with a safe environment in which they feel secure and loved. Discipline means to teach and train children family values, right from wrong, to respect the rights of others, and how they are to behave or not behave. Discipline is a positive parenting skill that emphasizes nurturing, guidance, teaching and training that builds a child’s self-confidence and teaches self-control and behavior management. The better you are with discipline, the less you will have to punish (Lin 45) Try to spend some quality time with your kids. Most parents work all day and do not give their child the time they deserve. There are many easy ways to be there with them, like helping them with homework. Make it fun and interesting for them. Plan a picnic, kids love to be outdoor where there is food, games, and they enjoy spending time with family and friends. â€Å"Your children need your presence more than anything else†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Jackson 42). Growing a garden with your child is also interesting and different from other activities, but they will enjoy getting their hands dirty and being accompanied by you. In conclusion, spending quality time with your kids helps both the parent and child to be more open with one another. Also, educating your child to succeed from the early age, will be an advantage for them in the future. Last of all, to discipline your children with the correct manners, it is important for them and yourself as a parent. Remember to always be there for them when they need you, and you will be a great parent.

Censorship Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Censorship - Research Paper Example If these are made public, for example issues concerning crimes against humanity, corruption etc the affected leaders may face criticism or even sanctions which may be humiliating to the affected leadership. This essay is a critical evaluation of censorship from the perspective that it is not a fair practice with examples of leaderships that has practiced it such as Soviet Union and other societies. Freedom of expression is a human right that should be protected in all societies. This is due to the fact that it enhances democracy since everyone would be accorded equal chances to air their views regarding administration and governance as well as accessing the right information from sources which are not influenced by politics or any superior sources. It is therefore against the spirit of democracy for any institution to exercise control on the sources of this information especially the media, which has a wide influence through expansive coverage and viewership it receives across international boundaries. Due to this influence, the media has been targeted by administrations whereby materials being disseminated to the public are monitored first to ensure that the content regardless of whether it is correct or not, does not create fears among the public (Patterson 2000 p 92). In the Soviet Union, censorship was practiced on the media such that there was no independent journalism. A ll the reporting was influenced by the communist party so as to ensure that all the information contained in the reports favored the party as well as the rule of the land. It went further to prohibit foreign newspapers from entering the country unless the agents, who had to be communists, sympathized with the policies of the government of the time. In addition, the government had illegalized the ownership of printing and copying machines so as to prevent publication of books and articles which the government classified as illegal, failure to

New Balance Developing an Integrated CSR Strategy Essay

New Balance Developing an Integrated CSR Strategy - Essay Example The assessment was done based on the Corporate Citizenship Management Framework (CCMF). Four dimensions of CCMF Figure 1: Four Dimensions of CCMF (Source: Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship. â€Å"Corporate Citizenship Management Framework†) Overall Governance Strength Weakness History, Values and Integrity Vision and mission: CSR was the central theme of the company’s mission and vision. Impressive CSR initiatives. Transparency, accountability, domestic manufacturing and employee support. Lack of guidance to the managers Lack of linkage between the CSR goals and core business strategy. Improper communication with the society. The initiatives were not aligned and connected properly and lack evaluation by the management. Product and services Strength Weakness Product New Balance eliminated use of polyvinyl chloride from the footwear. Implementation of Green shoe store. Apparel division faced higher business growth pressures, environmental and social challeng es. Lack of system for assessing the life-cycle impact of products. Lack of education in the design team related to the environmentally preferred product. Unsuccessful in developing partnership. Operations Strengths Weakness Integration of CSR with operation. Initiatives in term of clear business value, increased productivity and reduced cost. Achievement of compliance with European Union REACH regulation. Partnering with British Leather Group. Reduction in volatile organic compound. Waste reduction, implementation of coaching program, green cleaners in US, enhancement in energy efficiency. Apparel, accessories and promotional items poses rick. Gap between CSR management in domestic operations and overseas supplier facilities. Lack of standards on short term contracts for hiring temporary workers. Community Support Strength Weakness Company’s intense belief in philanthropy. Volunteering by the employees Strong community support strategy. Awareness about programs and initiativ es. Strong system to measure returns on investment. Strategies involved with community are not aligned with the business strategy. Poor focus of community support strategy. Area of focus The areas of focus for the organization are as follows: The operational area especially the apparel and accessories section need to be more inclined to CSR. The education of the product developed team is necessary in order to design more environment friendly products. The overall governance should stress more on communication. Development of CSR strategy New Balance is strongly committed towards the corporate responsibility, which is recognized to be the main pillar of the value and mission on which the organization stands. This is also supported by the CEO, owner and other leaders of the organization. Moreover the company has a good deal of knowledge and experience. The company took several initiatives towards the CSR activities. The owners of the company were humble and were hesitant to talk about the social responsibility. This was the major reason that general public had very little information regarding the work of the company in this area. Moreover the executives of the company also need to evaluate the strategy from time to time. For this the company should implement proper communication of their CSR initiatives amongst the external and

Taking Risks Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Taking Risks - Essay Example bullies, praying hard and asking for divine intervention so that I could pass the tests and achieve passing marks in classes that I knew I was going to fail due its difficulty, wishing that things would get better for my personal life and asking for the guidance of the spirit in order to see where my path truly lay... these were things that I was told should be left up to my faith to solve. Yet no solutions came my way. Life did not get better. It seemed to just continue to get worse. Until one day, I decided to take charge of my life and throw out my religious beliefs. I said â€Å"I am in charge of my destiny, I will create my own path†. Guess what? Life got better. I took charge of my future and chartered the path I wished to take. The improvements were remarkable. All leading me to question what exactly religious belief is for. All religion does is sell a person of bag of goods, then leaves you holding an empty bag. Life has nothing to do with religion. Religion has no influence over a persons life. That is how what I used to believe was finally changed into something that I continue to question to this very

Case Study - The Integumentary System Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Case Study - The Integumentary System - Essay Example Next comes the dermis, which is considered the â€Å"true skin† (Willis, 2010). Unlike the epidermis, the dermis is made up of numerous blood vessels and nerves. The nerve endings found in this layer particularly the Meissner corpuscles sense touch, the Ruffini corpuscles sense pressure and the Pasinian corpuscles senses both pressure and vibration (Prater, 2009). Last but not the least comes the subcutaneous layer or subdermis which attaches the skin to the muscles. These particular skin layers are composed of loose connective tissues and adipose fat. The loose connective tissue links the dermis and the subcutaneous layers, while the adipose fat act as a reservoir for energy supply (Willis, 2010). The glands – Sebaceous (oil glands) and Subdoriferous (sweat glands) are located in the dermis and subcutaneous layers of the skin. The sebaceous glands secrete sebum to keep skin and hair lubricated while the sweat glands or the subdoriferous glands keeps the body from getti ng too hot and brings out small portions of waste by sweating (Willis, 2010). As people grow old, the entire integumentary system normally changes and losses efficiency making the elderly more prone to acquiring skin problems that they did not experienced before. Skin deterioration is determined by the following factors: 1) heredity (genes), 2) diets, and 3) personal habits (like smoking/drinking). The drying of the skin is a normal occurrence in the elderly because the oil glands do not produce sebum as well as when the individual was younger. Dry skin usually lead to itching, flaking and sagging (Maji, 2010) making older people’s skin break easily. Regular and prolonged exposure to the sun dries up the skin, and together with the ultraviolet rays that penetrate deep into the skin layers, irreversibly damages the collagen and elastin fibers; thus creating loose sagging skin and wrinkles (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2010). In relation to the case study, since Florence Lee engaged in p rior activities like surfing and lawn bowls, the suns heat and UV rays accelerated the breakdown of the collage and elastin fibers which keeps her skin intact. Additionally, the oil glands ceased to produce sufficient lubrication to keep her skin elastic making her skin excessively dry and sensitive; so when she scratches an itch the skin easily cracks and bleeds (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2010). Florence also has the habit of smoking. Smoking irreversibly hastens the body to age prematurely and permanently damages the collagen and elastin fibers resulting to formation of early wrinkles (Barrymore, 2011). This in addition to her previous activities contributed greatly to her current dry skin condition. Florence cannot tolerate hot weather or warm temperatures primarily because her skin became much thinner as she aged (LSUAgCenter.com, 2010). She cannot endure hot climates or temperatures because it either causes heat rashes that are itchy and painful; or because she may be suffering from à ¢â‚¬Å"hyperthermia†. Hyperthermia is a term that comprises a mixture of heat associated illnesses like: heat fatigue, heat stress, heat exhaustion, heat cramps and dizziness (heat syncope) (LSUAgCenter.com, 2010). Hand washing is the most basic way of eliminating germs and bacteria that can cause infection. Florence must wash her hands after toileting to remove the germs she acquired

Analysis of the market for Beats Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Analysis of the market for Beats - Essay Example The product has been featured in numerous music videos and ad campaigns that have created a very high profile image for the brand and its products (Libby, and Tregarthen 34). The numerous endorsements by celebrities have made it very glamorous to be associated with the brand. That explains the large number of young people wearing the headphones and earphones around their necks. School going children and young working adults all possess or wish to own a pair of Beats headphones or earphones. Other than the popularity that the product has gained from celebrity endorsements, the brand produces high-quality products. The sound quality of the audio devices is much higher when compared to the competitor products. The bass produced by the earphones is appreciated by music lovers of specific genres such as hip-hop, dance and electronic music. The market in the United Kingdom is promising for products produced by Beats. In fact, the BPI released statistics that suggest that companies dealing with technology would enjoy transacting business in the United Kingdom. The UK has 64.1 million resident citizens. Of this population, 12% are young adults who are between the age of 16 and 24. This accounts for 7.1 million young adults which are the target market for beats. In the past five years, according to BPI, there was an increase in sales made by the technology sector accruing to $11 billion. The sales in smart-phones and tablets accounted for the majority of growth in the technology sector. Music was among the key driving factors for this massive growth in sales. This is because the United Kingdom was found to purchase more music related products than other first world countries by approximately 25%. All these facts indicate that Beats doing business in the United Kingdom would be a profitable endeavor. Beats  is  a household name in every country on the globe. However, this does not mean that it is the only producer of quality audio devices; especially in the United

Rational Choice Theory Essay Example for Free

Rational Choice Theory Essay â€Å"Man is a rational animal who always loses his temper when he is called upon to act in accordance with the dictates of reason. † As seen from Oscar Wilde’s famous quote, rationality is one of the most crucial and controversial subjects in studying human behavior. To study and examine this rationality, numerous scholars have tried to establish their own theories and generalize their explanation with empirical evidences from real world, which ultimately produces so called, the theory of rational choice. Rational Choice Theory is an approach to understand human behavior. The approach has long been the dominant paradigm in economics, but in recent several decades it has become more widely used in other fileds such as Sociology, Political Science, and Anthropology. The main purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of rational choice theory and briefly discuss its basic assumptions, critiques, political implication, and alternative explanations of individual choice mechanism. First of all, historical backgrounds of rational choice theory and its transition from the field of Economics to that of Political Science will be elaborated. Next, various definitions and meanings of the rational choice will be discussed. The basic assumptions of the rational choice approach with political implication will be followed. Several issues raised by rational choice theory will be followed after this discussion. This paper will suggest some of the main criticisms that have been levied against the rational choice approach. Limited empirical validity of rational choice theory and methodological individualism, which reveals innate problematic nature of the theory, will be discussed. Finally, alternative explanations of individual choice mechanism will sum up this discussion. Before elaborating its theoretical discussion, it is necessary to discuss historical backgrounds of rational choice theory. In the article, â€Å"A Genealogy of Rational Choice: Rationalism, Elitism, and Democracy†, Maloy introduces Skinner’s analysis of behaviorism as fundamental background for the discussion of rational choice theory. He argues that, â€Å"Skinner’s analysis deserves the attention of the recent debates around rational choice ecause it calls attention to the ineluctable ideological features of methodological debate† (Maloy 751). According to Maloy, Skinner could â€Å"clarify the sorts of normative force which attach to empirical theories in social sciences by a close textual analysis of some leading contributions to the behaviorist debate†, which ultimately enables the discussion of rational choice to be furthered applied into different fields of study (Maloy 751). Milton Freidman is another crucial figure that provides profound theoretical base for discussing rational choice theory. In â€Å"The Methodology of Positive Economics†, Friedman argues that people and firms make decisions that can maximize their profit under perfect information. He defended rational choice model by arguing that, â€Å"a theory should be judged by its predictive accuracy, not the realism of its assumptions† (Friedman 10). His argument provides theoretical foundations of rational choice theory in Economics, even though it is often criticized by later scholars because of its weak empirical validity and ceteris paribus nature. While rational choice theory has been dominant paradigm in Economics, it has become â€Å"adapted and adjusted in a number of ways to fit† different fields of study such as Political Science; Maloy explains that â€Å"the distinctiveness of the rational choice approach among political scientists consists, in general terms, in the use of economic models to explain and predict political behavior (Maloy 753). Maloy points out three prominent figures, Arrow, Downs, and Olson as rational choice founders especially in the field of political science. According to Maloy, Arrow’s work focuses on so called, â€Å"collective rationality whose underlying purpose is to measure collective choices using standards normally applied to individual choices (Maloy 753). Down uses Arrow’s collective rationality as the starting point of his study and â€Å"aims to articulate a behavior rule for democratic governments so that they could be included in economic theories of general equilibrium, alongside non-state agents like private firms and consumers (Maloy 754). Finally, Olson’s analysis has taken â€Å"the key elements of Arrow’s and Down’s constructs and applied them to a narrower field†; He argues that â€Å"as long as the service provided by a voluntary association is a public good on which an individual can ride-free, there is no incentive actually to take on the costs associated with joining, membership and participation, unless the marginal contribution of that individual appreciably advances the organizational cause† (Maloy 754). All three choice founders’ works have enabled rational choice theory to be in the central place of political discussion in â€Å"the creative and cross-disciplinary ways† (Maloy 755). By arguing that voting results have no specific social meaning, voting has no individual efficacy, and participation in interest group activity has no special individual efficacy, these rational choice founders could criticize unrealistic and irrational assumptions and norms of traditional democratic system and bring rational choice model to the place of political discussion from the field of Economics (Maloy 755). Rational Choice Theory generally starts with consideration of the choice behavior of individual decision-making units, which in economics are often consumers and firms. The theory suggests that the individual decision-making unit is certain larger group such as buyers or sellers in a particular market. Once individual behavior is set up, the analysis generally moves on to examine how individual choices interact to produce outcomes. Then, what does it mean by arguing that a choice is rational? In rational choice theory it means that an agent’s choices reflect the most preferred possible alternative among given opportunities. In other words, choices must reflect utility maximization. Elinor Ostrom defines rational choice theory as a guide to â€Å"understand humans as self-interested, short-term maximizers† in his work, â€Å"A Behavioral Approach to the Rational Choice Theory of Collective Action† (Ostrom 2). In the article, â€Å"The Political Psychology of Rational Choice Theory†, William H.  Riker also suggests that â€Å"the rational choice model begins with the assumption that actors know what they want and can order their wants transitively† (Riker 25). â€Å"Transitively† here means that an agent of rational choice model can do so called, â€Å"a transitive ordering†; â€Å"To know what one wants requires one to choose the best from among several goals and, failing to attain it, to choose the second best, etc† (Riker 24). This formulation of ordering enables an agent to pursue the best option with given constraints that limit choices he or she can have. In their work, â€Å"Rational Choice Theory†, Coleman and Fararo define rational choice sociologically as they use the term, â€Å"models of purposive action†, rather than rational choice; â€Å"These models rest on the assumption that actors are purposive which means they act in ways that tend to produce beneficial results† (Coleman and Fararo 21). These several definitions point out that choices pursuing utility maximization and outcomes made by these choices are key elements in rational choice theory. Then how is different when rational choice theory is applied into the field of Political Science instead of other fields of study such as Economics and Sociology? According to Riker, Economists’ main concern for rational choice is â€Å"the process and outcomes produced by voluntary exchange, where of course, all participants benefit. On the other hand, â€Å"Politics mainly concerns processes and outcomes produced by group decisions which are practically binding on those who cannot resign from the group. Thus, there can be losers and winners in politics according to Riker’s argument (Riker 24). Although Rational choice theory has long been the dominant paradigm in Economics and other fields of study, it has been subject to vigorous criticism. In â€Å"Pathologies of Rational Choice Theory†, Don Green and Ian Shapiro raises several empirical problems that rational choice theory possess; they â€Å"conclude that a number of methodological deficiencies plague empirical applications of rational choice models. They argue that, â€Å"fundamental and recurrent methodological failings rooted in the universalist aspirations that motivate so much rational choice theorizing† (Freidman 59). According to Green and Shapiro, â€Å"these mistakes stem from a method-driven rather than a problem-driven approach to research, in which practitioners are more eager to vindicate one or another universalist model than to understand and explain actual political outcomes† (Friedman 59). Green and Shapiro’s argument can be summarized into three propositions; â€Å"there is a list of methodological characteristics that are undesirable in an empirical science and are thus to be avoided. † â€Å"Empirical applications of rational choice theory are more likely to commit these mistakes than other types of empirical analysis in political science. â€Å"These pathologies are not due to and historical coincidence, but are rooted in fundamental characteristics of rational choice theory, especially its universalist aspirations and the lack of specificity in the rational actor assumption† (Freidman 60). These propositions suggest that rational choice theory has its empirical limit for testing and predicting actual political outcomes. In detail, Green and Shapiro point out several problems of rational choice theory that possibly undermines the empirical validity of the theory itself. Post hoc theory development† known to statisticians as â€Å"curve fitting† is one of these problems that rational choice theory contains. Green and Shapiro â€Å"contend that rather than formulating bold predictions that are falsifiable by empirical evidence, rational choice theorist tend first to look at the empirical evidence, then design a rational choice model that fits it† (Friedman 5). Another problem raised by Green and Shapiro is rational choice theorists’ engagement in â€Å"arbitrary domain restriction† (Friedman 5). As discussed earlier, certain restrictions or constraints enable â€Å"a transitive ordering† in rational choice theory. Green and Shapiro argue that these constraints and restrictions are defined in ambiguous ways in rational choice model, which ultimately makes the empirical validity of the theory weakened. Green and Shapiro’s examination of the phenomenon of voting behavior is another major example that shows these problems rational choice theory innately possesses. â€Å"In a real-world election with a large electorate, it is instrumentally irrational for anyone to case a ballot, since no single vote has more than an infinitesimal chance of deciding the outcome. Whether one favors selfish or selfless ends, virtually any activity in pursuit of those ends would be more effective than the time spent on voting and on educating oneself about candidates and issues. Yet hundreds of millions of people do vote. For rational choice theory, this would appear to be a gigantic anomaly† (Friedman 6); As noted earlier, rational choice theory presumes that an agent of the model seeks best possible outcomes to maximize his or her utility in given constraints. However, according to Green and Shapiro, in a real-world voting behavior does not confirm this assumption of rational choice theory where voters cast a ballot without having enough time to assess or predict its possible outcome and realizing whether his or her action of voting maximize benefit or not. Another issue raised by Green and Shapiro is free riding problem; While voters can easily pursue a free riding action on the efforts of others to help the cause succeed, there is no need for people to devote resources of time and money to cause desired results. In other words, â€Å"rational choice theory would seem to be refuted not only by people who vote, but by those who contribute small amounts of money to political campaigns, attend rallies, and engage in other forms of collective action designed to secure goals whose achievement is independent of the efforts of any single participant† (Friedman 7). As seen from Green and Shapiro’s founding, most criticisms of rational choice theory seem to be that the assumptions of the theory are not literally and completely true. No model can pass such a test, as all theories abstract from reality in certain way. Determining the empirical validity of a model would therefore seem to involve an examination of both feasibility of assumptions and conformity with real-world data. The most basic assumption of rational choice theory is that the primary unit of analysis is the individual decision-maker. Those who believe that groups are fundamental have criticized this assumption. This issue of so called, â€Å"methodological individualism† are dealt in many contexts in the social sciences. In the book, â€Å"Rational Choice Theory: Advocacy and Critique†, Coleman and Fararo argues that models of purposive action or rational choice model can be useful in explaining and predicting human behavior. They further their argument by saying that â€Å"because the values and beliefs of individuals are shaped primarily by the socializing influences of society, especially as mediated through social relationships with significant other, an understanding of the culture and structure of societies and of the positions of individuals within them is necessary† (Coleman and Fararo 22). According to Coleman and Fararo, major problem for applying rational choice model particularly into Economics and Political Science, in which the primary interest has been in aggregate level outcomes, â€Å"is that the postulate of purposive action has been linked to arbitrary and narrow assumptions about what individuals value and believe† (Coleman Fararo 33). Also the assumption that human behavior is narrowly self-interested and the use of the term rationality to refer to the efficient pursuit of economic benefits has often produced incorrect assumption that rational choice model are innately egoistic; â€Å"that they regard individuals as calculating the expected benefit to themselves of alternative lines of action and acting accordingly (Coleman and Fararo 34). Recent empirical evidences suggest that human beings are capable of acting in ways for the interests of others or the social group above their self-interest, which implies that the assumption of individual’s pursuit of self-interest does not match with reality. Coleman and Fararo further their discussion of this â€Å"methodological individualism† by arguing that a social norm can be one primary example, which refutes the basic assumption of rational choice model. According to Coleman and Fararo, â€Å"When a social norm is know to have been violated, some type of formal or informal sanction will result† (Coleman Fararo 35). Formal sanction like a legal code or a set of rules and informal sanction like a disapproval or social ostracism would affect individual’s choice making process. Therefore, unlike the basic assumption of rational choice model suggests that human behavior is oriented from self-interest, by the effect of social norms and values, individuals can consequently act in altruistic or selfless way for pursuing the interests of groups they are involved in. Because of its limit and problematic nature of rational choice theory, the need for alternative explanation has become necessary for many scholars who criticize the theory. Dennis Chong provides some insights for the possible alternative of rational choice theory in his article, â€Å"Rational Choice Theory’s Mysterious Rivals†. According to Chong, even though Green and Shapiro’s critique against rational choice theory has failed to provide complete form of alternative explanation, there are some theoretical debates and discussions that suggest possible theoretical replacement or revision. Chong argues that, â€Å"Green and Shapiro occasionally allude to the influence of social-psychological and moral factors† such as group loyalties, emotions, political identities, ideology, obligation, and altruism (Friedman 47). As found in Coleman and Fararo’s arguments that institutional or social factors can affect individual’s choice making process, many scholars further their discussion of this social motivation as the alternative of rational choice theory. In his article, â€Å"When Rationality Fails†, Michael Taylor argues that social identification and intrinsic motivation can explain some of significant social phenomenon and collective action that has been ignored by rational choice theory; â€Å"If a person defines herself as a member of a group, or if her membership in a group is made cognitively salient, then she is more likely to observe the group’s norms and cooperate with group members in social dilemmas† (Friedman 230). For intrinsic motivation, Taylor explains that there are some activities that are intrinsically motivating people to be participated such as interesting work, volunteering, and political activities. In this case the activity itself or enjoyment of that activity is the reward for people. When extrinsic rewards like money are introduced, intrinsic motivation would diminish (Friedman 231). By suggesting the concept of social identification and intrinsic motivation, problems of rational choice model for explaining some collective action can be resolved. In this paper, a sense of how rational choice theory works and of its methodological foundations has been introduced. It has also been noticed that rational choice theory is not an ultimate answer. The theory is subject to a number of criticisms, but there is no doubt that its influence in various fields of study have brought tremendous amounts of theoretical debates, and increased the depth of economic, sociological, and political discussions. It is impossible to attain complete knowledge about anything, especially social phenomena. However, it is certain that rational choice approach is one of most crucial theoretical resources for human beings to explore and examine to gain this ultimate answer. It can be useful or misleading, depending on how it is treated. It is responsibility of remaining and future scholars and people to correctly apply and use this theory with open-minded attitude.