UK education investment is going to be cut while the tuition fees will Dissertation

UK education investment is going to be cut while the tuition fees will be triple , discuss the impacts on domestic students - Dissertation Example Using a questionnaire, the present study assessed how the cutting down of the investment in the educational sector by the UK government has tripled the tuition fee and influenced domestic students in the UK. The results suggested that there will be neither a positive influence nor a negative influence on the student participation rate in the higher education, while there will be a significant impact on the overall academic performance due to term time employment and pressures of the debt and enrollment decisions of students to pursue higher education. The results further indicated that there was a positive relationship between higher levels of education and annual wages and the fact that students acquiring higher education tend to find employment far more easily as compared to those without higher education. The findings also suggested that higher education offered better opportunities for promotion and superior living standards in the future. In conclusion, the research offered an i nsight into the policies and programmes that could be initiated by policy makers and higher education institute to accommodate the students and provide them with the best possible education. TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 8 1.1 Outline 8 1.2 Context 10 1.3 Research Aims 12 1.4 Research Questions 13 CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 14 2.1 Tuition Fee and Student Participation Rate 14 2.2 Tuition Fee and Students’ Enrollment Decision 15 2.3 Tuition Fess and Persistence of Degree 17 2.4 Tuition Fee and Academic Performance 18 2.5 Higher Education and Future Benefits 22 CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY 25 3.1 Sample 25 3.2 Sampling Strategy 25 3.3 Data Collection Methods 26 3.3.1Triangulation 26 3.3.2 Quantitative Research 26 3.3.2.1 Questionnaire 27 3.3.3 Qualitative Research 28 3.3.3.1 Qualitative Interview 28 3.3.4 Secondary Data 29 3.4 Data Analysis 29 3.4.1 Percentages 30 3.5 Methodological Limitations 30 3.6 Ethics 31 CHAPTER 4 RESULTS AND FINDINGS 32 DISCUSSION 35 CHPATER 5 RECO MMENDATIONS AND CONLUSION 40 5.1 Recommendations 40 5.2 Conclusion 41 CHAPTER 6 RETROSPECTIVE 42 6.1 What went well? 42 6.2 Limitations 42 REFERENCES 44 APPENDIX 52 LIST OF TABLES Table 1 Sample of Students 59 Table 2 Age Group (in years) 60 Table 3 Household Income 61 Table 4 Level of Programme 62 Table 5 Host Univeristy 63 Table 6 Tuition Fee 64 Table 7 How are you funding your studies? 65 Table 8: Do you think the investment cutting will have an influence on the particpation rate (number of partcipants) of domestic students in educational programs. There will be a descrease in the participation rate (number of particpants) of domestic students in educational programs? 66 Table 9 Do you think high tuition fees will lead to students load increase significantly? 67 Table 10 Do you think the high tuition fee will have an impact on the number of hours students work per week? 68 Table 11 Do you think student performance in their respective educational programs will be influenced signif icantly by cut in investment? 69 Table 12 Do you think the number of current students will drop off after the tuition fees rise? 70 Table 13

Presidency of James Madison

Presidency of James Madison Liliana Martinez The presidency of James Madison was one which many people have disagreeing points of view on. Some think he was not one of our greater presidents because he let the United States fall into the conflict known as the war of 1812. Others think that Madisons presidency was a good one because he led America out of the war of 1812 and united the country. The presidency of James Madison while not being one of the greatest of all the presidents was still above average as a president because of Madisons involvement as the Father of the Constitution, Federalist Papers and presidency overall. Born in 1751, Madison grew up in Orange County, Virginia. He was the oldest of 12 children, seven of whom lived to adulthood. In 1769, he attended the College of New Jersey. In 1776, he is a member and attend the Virginia Convention. From 1780-1783 he is a member of Continental Congress. Then from 1884-1886, he becomes a member of the Virginia Legislature. In 1787, he is a member of the Constitutional Convention. Then from 1789-1797 he is a member of the House of Representatives. Later in1801-1809, he is Secretary of State under Jefferson. His first term of office was in 1809. The War of 1812 was the second war for independence, the U.S vs. o Great Britain. There was later the Embargo Act of 1807, and the Bank of the United States in 1816. He became known as the Father of the Bill of Rights and he also published the Federalist Papers. He was a big help in writing the constitution, he made big contributions to help create and shape America. When the U.s faced the war of 18182, he secured U.S sovereignty for generations to come. He also became. co-Founder of the Democratic-Republican party. And in spite of obstacles, however, America had an impressive strength, particularly in its naval fleets. Little by little, they claimed victories over their opponents. Finally, in 1815, the war ended with the Treaty of Ghent. Neither parties of the war gained new territories, but many historians agree that Americans view the War of 1812 to be the second greatest war that ensured their independence. Madisons presidency ended with his retirement in 1817, when he was 65 years old. Having been such a significant persona in America, James Madison left a legacy that the country will not forget. Dozens of landmarks, towns, cities, institutions, and natural resources have been named after him. His portrait was also featured in the US $5,000 bill. But the true legacy of James Madison was the change of the course of history that millions are now benefiting from. As one of the Founding Fathers, he was part of the birth of America as a nation. As the Father of Constitution, he ensured that this nation would become whole, united, and most of all, in the hands of the people. And as a huge force behind the Bill of Rights, he empowered and inspired the people. James Madisons legacy isnt contained in the United States , they rippled throughout the world. With that, he was indeed a great President. Yes, he had both domestic and foreign policy accomplishments. His domestic accomplishments were he Co-authored the Federalist Papers and was instrumental in the drafting of the Constitution and Bill of Rights, he helped establish the Democratic-Republican Party with Jefferson, and renewed the charter for the Bank of the United States to raise funds for the War of 1812. He then had his foreign policy which was signed Macons Bill No.2, which repealed the Non-Intercourse Act and allowed French and English goods on American ships as long as trade rights were respected, led the nation into the War of 1812 after the failure of diplomatic protests and a trade embargo against Britain. Overall, the policies helped America succeed sand improve its conditions for a stronger and more reliable nation. Sources http://www.history.com/topics/us-presidents/james-madison https://millercenter.org/president/madison/life-before-the-presidency http://www.american-presidents-history.com/james-madison-timeline.html http://www.presidential-power.org/presidencies-timelines/james-madison-presidency-timeline.htm https://millercenter.org/president/madison/impact-and-legacy http://totallyhistory.com/james-madison/

Essay on A Society of Oppression in A Handmaids Tale -- Handmaids Ta

A Society of Oppression in A Handmaid's Tale      Ã‚   As the saying goes, 'history repeats itself.' If one of the goals of Margaret Atwood was to prove this particular point, she certainly succeeded in her novel A Handmaid's Tale. In her Note to the Reader, she writes, " The thing to remember is that there is nothing new about the society depicted in The Handmaiden's Tale except the time and place. All of the things I have written about ...have been done before, more than once..." (316). Atwood seems to choose only the most threatening, frightening, and atrocious events in history to parallel her book by--specifically the enslavement of African Americans in the United States. She traces the development of this institution, but from the perspective of a different group of oppressed people: women.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Like the institution of slavery, women in Gilead were enslaved through biblical justifications. According to the Commanders, God intended the ultimate power to be in the hands of man, not only because man was created first, but also because it was woman's temptation that expelled them both from the Garden of Eden. Women, therefor, must be controlled by man. Slave traders and owners also justified the enslavement of Africans, arguing that slave labor existed extensively in the Bible (Jews were enslaved by the Egyptians, for example), and therefor God did not condemn the institution. Once a master acquires slaves, or a Handmaid, he must rule over them effectively, to assure that they will meet his needs. To so, the term "human" must be taken out of consideration (for that may evoke some sort of pity or compassion) and replaced with the term "it"--detonating property. This is clearly demonstrated when Offred reflects on the ... ...at the top of the underground railroad...Canada's position would be to do what she always does: try to remain neutral without antagonizing the superpower to the south," (320).      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   After reading The Handmaid's Tale, one may conclude that Margaret Atwood is not simply feeding her readers history, but rather warning them of our future. We may, for example, see modern day oppression in homosexuals. Various religious groups doom them to Hell, rights are taken away from them (the right to marry, for example)...the list goes on. As Atwood says of The Handmaid's Tale, "The novel exists for social examination..." (316). One can only hope that our history of social oppression will cease to repeat itself if only we can learn from the past.    Works Cited Atwood, Margaret. The Handmaid's Tale. New York: Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc., 1986.

People and culture Essay

In this essay I am going to compare to poems present people and culture. Whether it be using words, imagery or the tone of the poem. The two poems I will be comparing are ‘What were they like’ by Denise Levertov and ‘presents from my aunts in Pakistan’ by Moniza Alvi. Both people consider the prospect of loosing a culture but the will loose them in different ways to each other, through war and the pressures of society also peer pressure. In ‘what were they like’ by Denise Levertov we are first confused about what the poem subject matter may be until we delve into the meaning of the poem and explore the history of the Vietnamese war and the people and culture caught up in the conflict. After reading into the poem we can see that it is about how people after the Vietnamese war believed their culture would be lost forever and that they would need story tellers and educators to continue their cultures story. The poem considers issues that are still relevant today such as the possibility of the loss of the culture and tradition in Afghanistan and Iraq due to the ongoing hostilities. The poem heavily romanticises the war and the Vietnamese people when saying things like ‘life was in rice and bamboo.’ This implies that the Vietnamese are simple folk, their lives are painted in a sympathetic portrait of a gentle, kind and humble race living and working in the paddy fields, which may be perceived as a patronising view of the Vietnamese people. This would not necessarily be how the poem was intended to be presented. ‘Presents from†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ has similarities and differences to ‘What were they like’ is about. In ‘presents from my aunts in Pakistan’ Moniza Alvi is curious of her culture that she was torn away from at an early age. She receives presents from her aunts in Pakistan but is embarrassed of them. This poem is written through the eyes of a 16 year old girl who is curious, confused and embarrassed about a culture that she knows so little about but is such a big part of her as a person. When friends come round she hides her presents to avoid further embarrassment and ridicule. She is considering what culture to embrace and what culture to reject, peer pressure from both her friends and relatives are forcing her into a corner from which she is made to choose from and has nowhere to turn. The way this poem is both different and similar to ‘what were they like’ is that in both cases they are being forced to loose their culture, in ‘Presents from†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ by peer pressure and in ‘What were they like’ by military force, in this way they are also similar because it is not their choice to loose their culture, this is how both poems present people and culture, how people can make their own choices and that people need to stand up for themselves. In this section of my essay on people and culture I will be comparing the structure of both ‘Presents†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ and ‘What were†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ how they are similar and different in shape, rhyme, punctuation, repetition, refrain and stanzas/sections. The structure of both poems are similar as they are original in the way they are presented. The structure has been greatly considered to show the poem is a certain way. In ‘Presents†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ there appears to be no structure or reason to the bizarre way the poem is written at first reading. When we consider that the poet is confused and curious about her other culture she has moved away from, it becomes clear that that are the scattered ideas running through the mind of a troubled young girl. There need be no beginning or end to this poem; it is possible for the poem to start in many places, as this is set out to be as though someone has jotted down ideas and thoughts that have possibly no link between lines. There is no rhythm or flow through the poem, broken up by the lack of sense and constant change of path the poem takes. There is still some structure to the poem, there is punctuation where is should be, maybe even mare so as she pauses to throw more ideas and thoughts onto the page. There are full stops and capital letters where expected at the start and end of ideas. Ideas are split into stanzas which shows the poem is not completely free from structure. There is no repetition or refrain which is only to be expected in a poem such as this, where there is no regular shape or structure. I believe the poet has intended for their to be no structure, as it shows turmoil in the writer’s mind as she throws up the pro’s and con’s of embracing or rejecting her culture of which she knows so little about. It could also be written in this way to celebrate culture and diversity, by displaying her work in a unique and diverse way, I think this is the way Moniza Alvi wanted to display people and culture through the structure of her poem. In ‘What were†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ the structure is also unorthodox in the way it is presented. We may be puzzled the first time we read it and question why the poem is written in such a way. As I have said before, it is not until you read deeper and research into the meaning of the poem that you can fully understand why it is written the way it is. You can then understand that it is written about the Vietnamese people and their battle to keep their culture. It appears to be children asking their teacher, Vietnamese people or American war veterans that fought in the war about the past and the culture or way of life the Vietnamese had. The way the poem is set out even as a question and answer poem is not as you would expect it to be, all the questions and all the answers are grouped together in two block paragraphs divided by a small gap. I thin Denise Levertov wrote the poem in this way because it shows that there are two different speakers to the poem and it draws a clear line between then to avoid confusion. I also think it is written in this way to show that there is a bombardment of questions from the children, as when the war was over people would have wanted to ask a lot of questions about the war, what the felt and how their culture has been affected. This is how I think Denise Levertov intended and used the structure of the poem to present how the people both Vietnamese and the group questioning them felt about the war. In the next section of my essay I will be exploring how the poets used language and poetic devices to display people and culture. Poets use different poetic devices to display their work in different ways depending on which way they would like their work to be perceived. ‘What were†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ is a good example of where metaphors are used affectively to creat a clear image in your mind of what the poet is tring to get accros. A good example of this is ‘Sir, laughter is bitter to the burned mouth’, this could mean a few things, it could mean that they can no longer laugh as nothing is funny after the horrors they have seen, nothing would seem funny after the amount of death and destruction they have seen. Another meaning that is linked to laughter being hard to come by, could be that after seeing charred bodies and charred mouths that can no longer physically laugh. The poem is very ambiguous and could have many meanings that are not clear at first. The poet, Denise Levertov could have intended for this to happen and used it as a devise to make you continue reading to see if it became clear over time the exact meaning of this poem. It may also be ambiguous because the poem was written before the end of the Vietnamese war and ideas they may have been proved wrong or be different to the knowledge we have now, I think it was accidental that the people and culture are displayed in such an ambiguous way, but the way imagery, metaphors and similes have been used is very effective and presents well people and culture in the Vietnamese war. In ‘Presents†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ imagery is also used all of the time to help you imagine the presents that are sent from her aunts in Pakistan. At the same time similes and metaphors are used to describe the items of clothing by comparing the exotic items of clothing to other more familiar objects, such as when it says ‘They sent me a salwar kameez peacock blue, and another glistening like an orange split open.’ This is very useful when trying to imaging other items of clothing that are sent. It is much better way of describing what the thing looks like and a much clearer way of presenting the people and culture in the poem when we can relate to everyday items and not just a name that we cannot pronounce properly. One of the dresses is personified when it says ‘ I tried each satin-silken top was alien in the sitting-room’. This puts a clear image in your mind of how Moniza feels towards her new clothes, it shows that she is confused about her Pakistani culture as if it were alien to her. Personification is not used in ‘What were†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ but is used very effectively in ‘Presents†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢

Prioritizing Projects at Dd Williamson

Introduction Case Analysis D. D. Williamson created a list of 78 projects which needed to be prioritized, organized, and selected. The company used a four step method to rate each project: 1) Establish criteria for prioritizing projects. 2) Weigh each criterion. 3) Refine the list of projects. 4) Rate each project on each criterion and total ratings. To give team members control over the ranking of projects, each member was asked to write three different criteria on three Post-it Notes. These Post-it Notes were divided into similar item groups and each group was named. This process established the important criteria for selection. The criteria were used to determine how well each project would fit into the strategy of the company (Kloppenborg, 2009, p. 35). To weigh each criteria group, the team members assigned each group a score. More important groups were given a score of 10, less important groups a score of 6 to 9, the least important groups a score of 5 or less. Criteria that were scored at 6 or higher were used to assess each project and criteria of 5 or lower were reserved for further ranking later in the process. Criteria are weighted in order to help place the projects in order of importance as they are aligned with the goals of the company (Kloppenborg, 2009, p. 36). After the criteria were established and weighted, the list of projects was refined. Projects that were listed out as individual projects but were really one project happening concurrently in different locations were discovered and the list was changed to reflect this, reducing the number of projects on the list. There were also projects added to the list that had not been formally identified as projects earlier. The criteria helped to determine which projects could initially be considered projects and which projects could be removed from the list. The projects on the list were reviewed to discover which were considered most important and rank the rest. The projects considered most important were immediately placed on the top of the importance list, and the rest went through the scoring process to be ranked in order from most to least important. The projects were than rated according to the criteria that had been established earlier. Each project was rated to see how well it fit into each individual criterion, one at a time. All team members participated in the scoring, and agreement needed to be reached on how to score each project before scores were recorded. If project scoring required a lengthy decision, that was set aside for a different time so that team members could get through this process fairly quickly (Kloppenborg, 2009, p. 36-37). This entire process was recorded into a spreadsheet. How the projects were ranked, how each project was scored on each criterion and the calculation of the weighted scores were all recorded on the spreadsheet. The team had prioritized 62 projects total throughout this process. Since the projects had already been ranked in order of importance, it would be easy for the team to hold a future meeting to assign resources and timelines to the projects at the top of the list (Kloppenborg, 2009. P. 44-45). The prioritization of the projects was a very important task for D. D. Williamson’s global operating team to complete. Although the task seems time consuming, it will save the team time in the long run because projects are rated in importance long before they are scheduled to begin. The weighting process allowed the team to discover where each project would fit into the SWOT analysis, and how each project would further the strategic objectives or otherwise benefit the company. The company uses a database to identify their potential projects. The database is used to keep track of daily work and project work. This tracking helps to highlight things that need to be improved during daily processes. The very large list of 62 potential projects gives the company a wide range of choices in selecting which projects to complete. This helps to ensure that the most important issues that need to be worked on will be addressed in the timeliest fashion (Kloppenborg, 2009, p. 32-33). D. D. Williamson chooses to use a scoring model in project selection. This seems to be the most efficient way for the company to prioritize and select projects. Major problems arising with this process would be the potential for lengthy discussions revolving around project selection and prioritization. The rating process helps to eliminate much of the discussion, but there may be some sticking points where additional criteria will have to be used to decide on issues. Recommended Actions In addition to the continuing use of the database and prioritization and selection process, it is recommended that D. D. Williamson use the lower weighted criteria to help make decisions when a stalemate has been reached when discussing potential projects. The additional criteria can help team members to quickly address concerns about potential projects. If the potential projects are ranked well in the highly weighted criteria, the lower weighted criteria can be used to further break down the project and determine if it is a good fit. The last recommendation is creating mandatory criteria. In addition to moving the most highly scored projects to the top of the list, mandatory criteria can ensure that necessary projects are not overlooked. These mandatory criteria can include issues like government regulation, safety issues, and security issues (Kloppenborg, 2009, p. 36). The mandatory criteria will fast-track projects that must be completed. Conclusion D. D. Williamson has a great project selection process in place. While many other companies use personal preference or whims to make project decisions, D. D. Williamson carefully considers which projects fit best into the company’s strategies and which will best help further the interests of the company. With a few minor additions to the process, D. D. Williamson can continue to make great project selections and maintain a competitive advantage in their market. References Kloppenborg, T. J. (2009). Contemporary project management (pp. 27-45). Mason: South- Western Cengage Learning.

The eNotes Blog Win a Signed Copy of The Hour of Land by Terry TempestWilliams

Win a Signed Copy of The Hour of Land by Terry TempestWilliams â€Å"There is a cost in disrupting the status quo, but what is the cost if we do nothing?† This question was asked by Terry Tempest Williams, author of Refuge and When Women Were Birds, during a recent reading and book-signing in Seattle. Staffer Samantha B. and Author Terry Tempest Williams Williams is a fierce- albeit soft-spoken- activist, conservationist, and wordsmith, and several of our staffers were lucky enough to see Williams talk about her latest book, The Hour of Land: A Personal Topography of America’s National Parks. The Hour of Land is about various journeys taken to 14 parks across the country, from the Alaskan Gates of the Arctic to Florida’s Gulf Islands National Seashore, through Williams’ lens of personal experiences, familial connections, and quippy anecdotes. These stories, each given a stand-alone chapter per park, are at times moving (like her inaugural, intense connection with the natural world while stranded alone, in complete darkness, at the heart of a mountain) and historical (putting the parks in a contextual light through important figures and events like Theodore Roosevelt, the Rockefellers, and the Civil War). However, her experiences are also concerning- she talks about the current and very real threats of these wild spaces due to human inhabitants and unchecked expansion. â€Å"I think our national parks are breathing spaces for a country continually holding its breath.† This book provides a respite for anyone seeking such a breathing space. It’s an absolute must-read for those stricken with wanderlust or those joining, or already apart of, the battalion of ecological conservation. Through her experiences with the parks, readers come to understand, if they didn’t already, the fundamental importance of preserving these magical lands- the lands that give America the much-needed breathing spaces in our changing world. And, while the looming concern of ecological threats abound,The Hour of Land also provides hope for our public lands, which she argues are ours  and thus ours to protect. Win a signed copy of The Hour of Land! To do our little part, we’re giving away The Hour of Land  to one of our lucky readers. To enter, tell us what the national parks mean to you in a couple sentences either: In a comment below on this blog post On this Instagram post On this Facebook post Entries must be submitted by Tuesday,  July 12,  2016, at 11:59 p.m. PST, and we will select a winner on Wednesday, July 13. Good luck (and stay wild).

The Scientific Revolution

The Scientific Revolution The Scientific Revolution reveals a history of development of science that has gradually transformed the views of people on nature and society. Traditionally, the scientific revolution dates back to the eighteenth century, the advent of the Renaissance epoch.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Scientific Revolution specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More However, ancient Greece was the pioneer in developing science. In particular, the emergence of philosophy as a progenitor of other sciences emerged in Green has given rise to many other disciplines. In general, scientific revolution can be presented through three historic views on science, including classical, medieval, and modern. All these periods involve significant contradictions, frictions and challenges that contributed to the modern image of science. The supporters of humanistic theory agree with the ideas of great influence of people on the development of science. Therefore, all the identified periods represent important historical figures that invested into the scientific progress. Specific attention should be given to considering such great minds as Plato, the brightest representative of the Hellenic world, Augustine and Aquinas, Copernicus, Kepler, and Cicero. The representatives of this period is distinguished by logic character of thought that is engaged intensely in deliberations such important questions as life and death, as well as by negligence of conventional virtues.Advertising Looking for essay on social sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The medieval period was the hardest for the development of science because of the strict restriction imposed on developing humanitarian disciplines. The Church marked the decline of secular thought that was confined to recognizing Jesus and divine rule. Therefore, science was highly neglected in society because of increased dominance of religious scriptures. Moreover, religion denied scientific advances because of the threat of increased attention to scientific documents and discoveries that withdraw divine doctrine. According to Tarnas, â€Å"the resurrection Christ brought to mankind was present in the Church† and, therefore, each human being should be attached to the divine doctrines (148). Dependence on the church had created a serious obstacle science because of recognition of biblical history and knowledge only. Spiritual authority of the church dominated significantly and required full obedience from Church members. The necessity to follow religious tradition was explained by the formalization of rules and established of strict norms in educational and social spheres. In other words, those people who indulge into studies science were regarded as the one withdrawing divine laws. The emergence of the Western culture has given rise to the development of new directions of scientific developm ent that differ substantially from the doctrines and rituals previously established in the Church. Medieval thinkers became obsessed with new options for the evolution of human civilizations. At the end of eighteen century, the era of Renaissance marked the continuation of the philosophical thought of Greek period.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Scientific Revolution specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In particular, the Aristotelian natural philosophy received further progress in the advances introduced by Copernicus, the scientific thought related to heliocentric theory of astronomical model of the Solar system, as well as the position of Earth in it. Heliocentrism opposed significantly to medieval thought about the geocentric theory of Earth system. Limited vision on science, therefore, prevented the medieval thinker to introduce new concepts and frameworks. The period of revival of Greek philosophy dates back to the sixteenth century, which is also marked by Copernican Revolution. Further scientific progress was introduced through the work of Johannes Kepler who presented the model of elliptical orbits. The given period is represented as the second revival of the Scientific revolution after the period of educational â€Å"darkness†. In general, the Copernicus Revolution was both the contributor to the development of the era of Enlightenment, as well as the mark of the scientific evolution in various academic fields. The era of Renaissance had a potent impact on the shifts in religious views on the world. At the same time, religion itself made significant contributions to the development of science and education. In particular, classical knowledge transmission was due to the contributions made by Byzantine science that transferred their experience to the Renaissance Italy and Islamic countries. Arabic knowledge also spread over the European countries.Advertising Looking for essay on social sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In fact, the Christian world has left rich heritage to the Islamic world and provided a foundation for the development of new sciences. Tarnas writes, â€Å"†¦classical civilization had been snuffed out in the West, its great works and ideas left to the Byzantines and later the Moslems to be preserved as in museum† (90). In this respect, the religion served as a driving force to spread of scientific knowledge and experience all over the world. Interaction between Islamic and Byzantine culture also gave rise to the emergence of various discipline and formation of secular thought. In conclusion, the Scientific Revolution is a sophisticated ongoing process that underwent several complex stages. Its beginning takes root in the Greek philosophy, faces challenges in the medieval period, and experiences rise in the era of Enlightenment. All of these periods contributed greatly to the development of new scientific theories and concepts. Although religion reflects antagonistic vi sion on science, it still provided scientific world with a solid foundation for further evolution, as well as introduced basic for revival of classical thought. Tarnas, Richard, The Passion of the Western Mind: Understanding the Ideas that Have Shaped Our World View. New York: Ballantine Books, 1993 Print.

Differences Between Compilers and Interpreters

Differences Between Compilers and Interpreters Before the Java and C# programming languages appeared, computer programs were only compiled or interpreted. Languages like Assembly Language, C, C, Fortran, Pascal were almost always compiled into machine code. Languages like Basic, VbScript and JavaScript were usually interpreted. So what is the difference between a compiled program and an Interpreted one? Compiling To write a program takes these steps: Edit the ProgramCompile the program into Machine code files.Link the Machine code files into a runnable program (also known as an exe).Debug or Run the Program With some languages like Turbo Pascal and Delphi steps 2 and 3 are combined. Machine code files are self-contained modules of machine code that require linking together to build the final program. The reason for having separate machine code files is efficiency; compilers only have to recompile source code that have changed. The machine code files from the unchanged modules are reused. This is known as making the application. If you wish to recompile and rebuild all source code then that is known as a Build. Linking is a technically complicated process where all the function calls between different modules are hooked together, memory locations are allocated for variables and all the code is laid out in memory, then written to disk as a complete program. This is often a slower step than compiling as all the machine code files must be read into memory and linked together. Interpreting The steps to run a program via an interpreter are Edit the ProgramDebug or Run the Program This is a far faster process and it helps novice programmers edit and test their code quicker than using a compiler. The disadvantage is that interpreted programs run much slower than compiled programs. As much as 5-10 times slower as every line of code has to be re-read, then re-processed. Enter Java and C# Both of these languages are semi-compiled. They generate an intermediate code that is optimized for interpretation. This intermediate language is independent of the underlying hardware and this makes it easier to port programs written in either to other processors, so long as an interpreter has been written for that hardware. Java, when compiled, produces bytecode that is interpreted at runtime by a Java Virtual Machine (JVM). Many JVMs use a Just-In-Time compiler that converts bytecode to native machine code and then runs that code to increases the interpretation speed. In effect, the Java source code is compiled in a two-stage process. C# is compiled into Common Intermediate Language (CIL, which was previously known as Microsoft Intermediate Language MSIL. This is run by the Common Language Runtime (CLR), part of the .NET framework an environment that provides support services such as garbage collection and Just-In-Time compilation. Both Java and C# employ speedup techniques so the effective speed is almost as fast as a pure compiled language. If the application spends a lot of time doing input and output like reading disk files or running database queries then the speed difference is barely noticeable. What Does this Mean to me? Unless you have a very specific need for speed and must increase the frame rate by a couple of frames per second, you can forget about speed. Any of C, C or C# will provide sufficient speed for games, compilers, and operating systems.

Hemingway and McLain, A Critical Study Research Paper

Hemingway and McLain, A Critical Study - Research Paper Example The story unfolds as the flamboyant Brett and unfortunate Jakes journey from the wild nights in Paris to bullfighting rings of Spain with a miscellaneous group of expatriates. It defines the postwar age of moral bankruptcy, unrealized love, spiritual dissolution and vanishing illusions (Timeless Hemingway 1) ‘The Paris Wife’ by Paul McLain was published in 2011. The novel is a biographical fiction about Hemmingway’s first marriage to his wife Hadley. The author explores the time periods, cultures and the prominent artistic neighborhood that the couple lived in and how Hemmingway became a good writer (McLain 3). A Critical Study The two novels are connected in many ways. First Hemmingway in his novel revolves around characters Jake Barnes and his expatriate friends in Paris. They occasionally work but spend a lot of time partying, drinking and arguing. The author uses Jakes Perspective to bring out the cast of other characters in the story. Lady Brett Ashley is bro ught out as exciting, beautiful and unpredictable British divorcee. Another important character is Robert Cohn who weak, unlucky and even is unsuccessful as a writer (Boon, 18). McLean on the other hand views Hemmingway through Hadley’s eyes. The story opens in Paris before an extended flashback where Hadley recalls her early days in St. Louis, how she met Hemingway and their short courtship. The author shows their life in Paris from the humble beginning in the garret apartment to the notorious trip to Lausanne during which Hadley lost all of Hemmingway’s drafts of three years. Other trips that inspired Hemingway’s ‘The Sun also Rises’ include the Paris races, Skiing in Austria and bullfighting in Pamplona (Boon 19). The time frame in the two stories is similar where both are set in the post world war 1 period. The two novels depict an era of open relationships or marriages. In ‘The sun also rises’, McLain shows male artists Fond, Pound and eventually Hemmingway taking their mistresses to the same home as their wife. In Hemingway’s novel, Brett is separated from her husband and waiting divorce. She has affairs with a number of men but she does not want to commit to a relationship with any of them. Even though she loves Jake she is unwilling to give up sex in order to commit to him (Wagner 31). The two novels depict the aimlessness of the lost generation. The men and women who faced the war became psychologically and morally lost. In Hemmingway’s novel, Jake, Brett and their friends no longer believe in anything. Their lives are empty and the consequences are drinking, escapist activities such as dancing and debauchery. McLain brings out Hemingway and his friends lives to be similar. She refers to them as the fabled ‘lost generation’ that includes Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound and F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald. Despite the love that he shared with his wife, Hemingway grows costly and this be comes more challenging to Hadley (Burke 26). The characters are connected in a way. Hemingway uses Jake to show the effects of a young man’s life after war trying to put back the pieces together. Jake is wounded after war. Although he does not say so straightforwardly, there are several suggestions in the novel that show results of his injury; he lost the ability to have sex. In many ways he appears to fit in the â€Å"lost generation† group whose experiences in the world-war 1 undermines

Summary paper over Careers in Psychology Article

Summary paper over Careers in Psychology - Article Example Moreover, psychologists can also render valuable services in administrative and managerial departments. Like departments and professions, the work places of the psychologists also vary according to their proficiency. The most common places for the psychologists include schools, colleges, universities, hospitals, health centres, clinics and police stations. The degree of psychology offers the graduates and most graduates very lucrative, handsome and attractive remunerations and salaries, which is more than sufficient to lead a very respectable life in society. Psychologists are properly educated and trained in their respective fields in order to obtain the proper benefit of their skill and knowledge. The writer cites the Labour Department of the USA, according to which the psychologists climb the career growth ladder much faster than other professionals, because they are given significant motivation and salary revision so that they can work more diligently while paying their services to the individuals and institutions. Though, the status of the psychology undergraduates is far lower than that of postgraduates and doctorates, yet the undergraduates can also find their career in some comparatively trivial departments. On the contrary, the individuals having psychology degree at graduate level or above can seek wide variety and divergent range of career opportunities. There are numerous specialty areas in psychology, offering a wide range of career options. Some fields concentrate on research, while others focus on practical applications of psychological principles. Specific specialty areas in psychology include clinical psychology, educational psychology, industrial-organizational psychology, and social psychology. You can learn more in this article: Specialty Areas in Psychology What do Psychologists Do?: Psychologists work in a wide range of professional areas. Mental health, academics,

Field Work Experience Within HR Department Essay

Field Work Experience Within HR Department - Essay Example This essay intends to provide a vivid description of the field work experience obtained in a LNG company (Liquefied Natural Gas) named Liquefied Natural Gas Limited. The researcher of the essay illuminates the different managerial practices in the organization detailing out the individual as well as corporate strategies undertaken by the organization to earn its competitive domain globally. Moreover, the field work also helps in identifying the major areas of discrepancies, which if rectified can help the company gain corporate excellence. The LNG is an Australian company having its headquarters in Perth in Western Australia. The company operates in three sectors namely oil and gas project development, investing in existing oil and gas discoveries and technology development and licensing. Liquefied Natural Gas Limited has a corporate strategy to become the leader in the mid-scale LNG sector. The company also plans to supply fast-track energy related solutions to the gas suppliers and energy users who do not have proper gas supply. The company has been managing its resources quiet well through proper decision making. The managerial approaches have largely been observed to be positive. However, the researcher concluds that human resource management related activities in the company should be monitored much more efficiently. Through the regular training and monitoring of the employees, the company will be able to upgrade the employee knowledge base as well as develop its competitive advantage.

European Union Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

European Union - Essay Example integrate EU law.6 Vertical direct effect occurs when EU law has direct effect between private parties and a member state of the EU.7 The direct effect of Directives is a necessary part of the EU legal regime as EU law is administered through the Commission, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) and national Courts. For the most part, â€Å"indirect administration† of European law is the primary mode of enforcement via national courts and â€Å"national authorities†.8 The Applicable Law Direct Effect The doctrine of direct effect was established by the ECJ in Van Gend en Loos v Nederlandse Administratie der Belastingen, in which it was held that the Treaty Establishing the European Community created legal rights that individuals could enforce through national courts within the European Community.9 Directives would have direct effect if they were clear and precise, unconditional and conferred a right upon the individual seeking to enforce it.10 The doctrine has since been developed by the ECJ as a means of enforcing EU law consistently through the EU.11 For example in Van Duyn, the ECJ held that once the Van Gend requirements are met and even if a Directive was conditional, it could still have direct effect against member states, regardless of whether or not the Directive was implemented.12 The main objective was to ensure that the intended outcome of the Directive was accomplished. In Van Duyn, the Directive’s outcome was the elimination of discrimination and in cases of this nature, the intended outcome would be important. This was because, the intended outcome would be compromised if individuals could not enforce it in the national courts.13 With regard to the fictional Directive, although not implemented by the UK, has direct vertical effect against the government based on the rulings in Van Gend and Van Duyn. The UK may only escape liability for the unimplemented Directive if the Directive itself is unclear and conditional. However, the D irective appears to be quite clear on its intention, the member state’s obligations and it is not conditional on the occurrence of an event. The only condition, is that the obligations arise when temperatures fall below 1 degree Celsius. Assuming that the temperatures were below 1 degrees Celsius at the time of the accidents in December 2012, the UK’s obligations to ensure road safety on primary roads and motorways arise. The accidents occurred on the A5 and the M6 and as such fall within the Directive obligations as primary roads and motorways. The Directive clearly sought to prevent the kinds of accidents that occurred. The Directive instructed member states to ensure that primary motorways and roads are kept clear of snow and ice once temperatures drop below 1 degree Celsius. Both accidents occurred on major motorways when temperatures presumably dropped below 1

The Homestead Strike 1892 compared to The Great Sit Down Strike 1937 Research Paper

The Homestead Strike 1892 compared to The Great Sit Down Strike 1937 - Research Paper Example The strike was able to attain goals meant for the benefit of the workers. They averted the reopening of the plants thus resulting in the recognition of their right to organize, a right which has been repeatedly denied by this corporation (Weinstone, 1). The union was formally recognized as the collective bargaining agency for its members in all the plants (Weinstone, 1). The union was able to put a stop to the open-shop system practiced by this American industry (Weinstone, 1). It was also able to successfully bargain wage increases for the GM workers and for the auto workers in other plants. Finally, it also successfully bargained â€Å"an agreement to open negotiations between the union and the corporation for the demands on wages, hours and working conditions† (Weinstone, 1). Aside from the above successes, the union was also able to resist and hold off forceful efforts to remove the sit-down strikers, who only left the plants when their conditions were met (Weinstone). Fin ally, this strike successfully endorsed â€Å"the policy of industrial unionism, of militant unionism and progressive leadership based upon rank-and-file democracy,† which confirmed that such system is â€Å"the only correct form of organization† that â€Å"can effectively meet and defeat the corporations of big capital† (Weinstone, 1). The tactics used by the union includes first by strategically locking themselves in, â€Å"making it difficult to dislodge them without the use of considerable force and numbers, while at the same time, by taking over the gates, they obtained the possibility of freely coming and going and thereby relieved the strain which they would otherwise have found a serious factor in their ‘voluntary imprisonment’† (Weinstone, 1). The workers went on shifts hence, were able to withstand continued stay inside the plants for a long time. They were also able to create a â€Å"complete and efficient organization† by s etting up an elected strike committee, various sub-committees, captains, including health and sanitation, patrol and policing, trial committee† (Weinstone, 1). The elected strike committee was the one assigning particular duties to every worker which includes the â€Å"reception of visitors, guarding, and cleaning up† (Bliven, 377). Through this, they were able to utilize an effective strategy that heightened their awareness and control against any possible attacks against them (Weinstone, 1). The workers â€Å"barricaded themselves within the plants† and readied themselves to employ devices available to secure their positions within the plant† (Weinstone, 1). Their preparedness can be best illustrated in the following: covering â€Å"the windows with bullet-proof metal sheets† and at the same time a way wherein fire hoses could be placed to prevent â€Å"any gas or firearm attack†; systematizing and drilling squads in using water hoses; organ izing â€Å"a police patrol† making rounds at given hours, to monitor â€Å"the movement of people in adjoining wings of the building† to prevent any â€Å"surprise attacks† (Weinstone, 1). The strikers also were said to hold â€Å"court every morning†, and those found guilty of inappropriate behavior such as â€Å"bringing liquor into the plant or circulating rumors† was removed from the plant (Lovett, 123). The workers could even â€Å"take classes in parliamentary procedure, collective

Ancient Rome Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Ancient Rome - Essay Example Since then, Rome somewhat created a new sect of Christianity in which became so influential in the world making Rome as the seat and capital of the Roman Catholic religion in the form of Papacy or the Pope who is considered as the leader of this religion. Most of the Popes who were ordained came from Rome and a huge number of them provided influential beliefs and doctrines to modern-day churches in the world today as they were considered as infallible of the believers of this religion. Up to present, doctrines from the papal seat are considered as holy and a decree that must be observed and respected among the members of the Roman Catholic Church worldwide. In fact, Carr (2005) stated, "the infallibility of Pope is not a doctrine that suddenly appeared in Church teaching; rather it is a doctrine which was implicit in the early church." Upon analyzing these, we can comprehend on how powerful the influence of Rome is. In relation to the religion, Rome also influenced the belief of numerous numbers of people by means of Roman Mythology. Although, many accounts claims that the latter is only inspired by Greek mythology, this belief by the Romans has its uniqueness and is somewhat a guiding light of some in their lives up to date.

The Homestead Strike 1892 compared to The Great Sit Down Strike 1937 Research Paper

The Homestead Strike 1892 compared to The Great Sit Down Strike 1937 - Research Paper Example The strike was able to attain goals meant for the benefit of the workers. They averted the reopening of the plants thus resulting in the recognition of their right to organize, a right which has been repeatedly denied by this corporation (Weinstone, 1). The union was formally recognized as the collective bargaining agency for its members in all the plants (Weinstone, 1). The union was able to put a stop to the open-shop system practiced by this American industry (Weinstone, 1). It was also able to successfully bargain wage increases for the GM workers and for the auto workers in other plants. Finally, it also successfully bargained â€Å"an agreement to open negotiations between the union and the corporation for the demands on wages, hours and working conditions† (Weinstone, 1). Aside from the above successes, the union was also able to resist and hold off forceful efforts to remove the sit-down strikers, who only left the plants when their conditions were met (Weinstone). Fin ally, this strike successfully endorsed â€Å"the policy of industrial unionism, of militant unionism and progressive leadership based upon rank-and-file democracy,† which confirmed that such system is â€Å"the only correct form of organization† that â€Å"can effectively meet and defeat the corporations of big capital† (Weinstone, 1). The tactics used by the union includes first by strategically locking themselves in, â€Å"making it difficult to dislodge them without the use of considerable force and numbers, while at the same time, by taking over the gates, they obtained the possibility of freely coming and going and thereby relieved the strain which they would otherwise have found a serious factor in their ‘voluntary imprisonment’† (Weinstone, 1). The workers went on shifts hence, were able to withstand continued stay inside the plants for a long time. They were also able to create a â€Å"complete and efficient organization† by s etting up an elected strike committee, various sub-committees, captains, including health and sanitation, patrol and policing, trial committee† (Weinstone, 1). The elected strike committee was the one assigning particular duties to every worker which includes the â€Å"reception of visitors, guarding, and cleaning up† (Bliven, 377). Through this, they were able to utilize an effective strategy that heightened their awareness and control against any possible attacks against them (Weinstone, 1). The workers â€Å"barricaded themselves within the plants† and readied themselves to employ devices available to secure their positions within the plant† (Weinstone, 1). Their preparedness can be best illustrated in the following: covering â€Å"the windows with bullet-proof metal sheets† and at the same time a way wherein fire hoses could be placed to prevent â€Å"any gas or firearm attack†; systematizing and drilling squads in using water hoses; organ izing â€Å"a police patrol† making rounds at given hours, to monitor â€Å"the movement of people in adjoining wings of the building† to prevent any â€Å"surprise attacks† (Weinstone, 1). The strikers also were said to hold â€Å"court every morning†, and those found guilty of inappropriate behavior such as â€Å"bringing liquor into the plant or circulating rumors† was removed from the plant (Lovett, 123). The workers could even â€Å"take classes in parliamentary procedure, collective

Constipation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Constipation - Essay Example According to Mitchelle, constipation is an embarrassing topic to talk about though is a common problem that affects people. Constipation makes one feel uncomfortable, sluggish, bloated and heavy. Removal of waste from the body regularly makes one healthy and is vital to living. Constipation diagnosis is based upon the symptom displayed, medical history and physical examination. Mostly, constipation is diagnosed by a doctor or self-diagnosis. However there are situation where the doctor feels that there is a need to carry out some test and special diagnosis for more complicated cases of constipation that is chronic (2). In India, most patients who have constipation are the middle-aged men and have a sense of incomplete bowel movement. Abdominal discomfort is not universal but can be frequent. When a research was carried in India stool frequency was similar irrespective of whether the patient constipated or had a diarrhea. Ninety percent had one or two stools per day and these symptoms were complex and suggested presence of IBS. Study from India have used western criteria have defined constipation, indeterminate was found to be the most common symptoms’ among patients who presented themselves with chronic functional lower GI symptoms, but majority of them had predominant constipation. Studies have shown that women are more prone to constipation as compared to men in most parts of the world but in India, more men are reported to be having constipation than female. These tests were hospital based (Goshal, 1). The nurses should create a healthy care plan so that they can keep the patient with good health. They should mobilize the patient and encourage them to have regular exercise or attend exercise classes. This will help stimulate the patient to have a bowel movement. The information that they got during the NP practice, should be used to educate the patient and help them review the kind of diet component a

Improving Quality of Care Through Pain Management

Improving Quality of Care Through Pain Management Patrick Bobst A Qualitative Study Quantitative research involves testing hypotheses, making predictions, studying specific variables, collecting numbers and statistics, identifying statistical relationships, and making observations under controlled conditions (Johnson Christensen, 2008). None of the aforementioned attributes appear in chapter 17 â€Å"Improving the quality of care through pain assessment and management†. Hence. this chapter written byWells, Pasero, McCaffery, (2008) is a detailed deductive qualitative analysis which aims to increase opportunities to develop empirically supported ideas and theories with applicable relevance in the field of pain management for healthcare practitioners. Unlike inductive analysis, applied when not enough former knowledge about a phenomenon is known, deductive content analysis is used when the structure of analysis is initiated based on previous knowledge and with the intent to test a theory(Elos Helvi, 2008). The authors of chapter 17 provided qualitative resea rch by studying the issue of pain control as a whole without immersion into variables. They defined the purpose of the study by subjectively understanding and interpreting interactions with words, identifying patterns and themes, and making observations of occurrences in a natural environment(Johnson Christensen, 2008). Qualitative research is more concerned with describing social meaning and therefore provides the flexibility to follow ideas and explore processes(McGonigle Mastrian, 2012). Research Problem The level of pain a patient experiences is emerging as the fifth vital sign in health assessments statuses (Ju-Ling Wen-Chu, 2013). Pain is a common occurrence and an expectation in hospitalized patients especially during the postoperative period; yet despite the availability of analgesics along with national guidelines to manage pain a disconnect remains in in proper pain management resulting in undertreatment for about 50% of patients with moderate to severe pain(Wells et al., 2008). Inadequately managed pain can lead to an arsenal of negative adverse physical and psychological outcomes including immune system suppression resulting in infections and poor healing, sympathetic activation causing cardiac ischemia and ileus, reducing mobility resulting in deep vein thrombosis, as well as pulmonary embolus, or pneumonia(Nwachukwu, 2012). All mentioned adverse conditions carry along the potential consequence of extending a patient’s length of stay in the hospital decreasing patie nt satisfaction and increasing organizational costs(Nwachukwu, 2012). The Affordable Care Act of 2010 has established changes in the way hospitals are reimbursed for services. Value-based purchasing has come to the forefront in the healthcare industry with the centers for Medicare and Medicaid services (CMS) withholding full reimbursements for poor quality care or even nonpayment for patients readmitted within 30 days. Low patient satisfaction score indicators being tracked by CMS will not only affect an organization’s bottom line but also stand to lose its reputation(Wells et al., 2008). When pain is not managed properly through an organization’s pain management policy and procedure guideline the entire collaborative team responsible for managing a patient’s pain may be liable for legal action(Wells et al., 2008). Research Translated Into Practice The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) focuses on current issues, patient safety and quality of healthcare providing practitioners the best research for optimal patient outcomes. AHRQ is an active participant in pushing evidence forward into practice with its Translating Research Into Practice (TRIP) initiative to generate knowledge about evidence-based care and with the TRIP-II initiative the focus is on utilizing information technology to affect translational research and health policy (McGonigle Mastrian, 2012). The TRIP database is a clinical search engine designed to identify high-quality clinical evidence for clinical practice that utilizes contextual issues such as the magnitude of the health issue, economic costs of the problem, the reliability, relevance, and validity of the data along with the quality and consistency of the evidence (Glasgow Emmons, 2007). The authors in the pain assessment and pain management research study utilized the TRIP database probi ng for the terms â€Å"pain assessment† and â€Å"pain management† in the literature search, filtered only the English language and publications dated within the last 10 years, meta-analysis, practice guidelines, literature reviews, clinical trials, and random clinical trials (RCT). To use evidence in practice, the validity of research is evaluated on an evidential hierarchy that is defined and the value is assigned to the information source on a scale from 1 to 6, one being the highest evidence from a systemic review and six being the evidence from the opinion of experts(McGonigle Mastrian, 2012). The evidence table provided by the authors in the pain assessment and pain management study exhibits excellent research validity with multiple design types rating high on the evidential hierarchy scale listing. The authors utilized evidence from a meta-analysis study (Level 1), twelve RCT studies (Level 2), seven systematic literature reviews (Level 5), three literature rev iews (Level 6), and one qualitative massage study (Level 7)(Melnyk Fineout-Overholt, 2011). The RCT is considered the most reliable source of evidence in the hierarchy and the meta-analysis is the best quality evidence because it uses a multiple individual research studies to come to a consensus (McGonigle Mastrian, 2012). Practice Implications The implications of this TRIP intervention designed to increase the use of evidence-based practice (EBP) in pain assessment and management highlights scientific evidence for practitioners to augment their clinical decision-making. Recommendations for successful implementation of pain assessment and management include education, the utilization of appropriate tools in pain assessment, a multimodal analgesic approach, continuous evaluation, and an established organizational pain management guideline. Patient and family education has been a central recommendation regarding pain management prior to any surgical procedure in that comprehensive pain evaluations can uncover patient’s attitudes, beliefs, level of knowledge, and unrealistic expectations that can be addressed(Wells et al., 2008). Wells et al. (2008) found that frequent communication, shared goals, and shared knowledge in education contributed to better pain outcomes. The most critical aspect of proper pain management is assessing pain levels on a regular basis using a standard format, and in order to meet the patient’s needs pain should be reassessed after each intervention evaluating the effects and determining whether modification is needed(Wells et al., 2008). Based upon systematic reviews of pain quality improvement studies the emphasis has shifted from processes to outcomes where clinicians recognize and treat pain promptly, involve patients and families in pain management plans, adjust pain management plans as needed, and monitor processes and outcomes(Wells et al., 2008). Utilizing a multimodal approach for pain management is recommended which includes opioids, and non-opioids such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and adjunct medications such as anticonvulsants can improve the safety of the therapy (Wells et al., 2008). With safety issues regarding the use of morphine, hydromorphone, and fentyal clinicians need to be educated about safe pain management to help prevent undertr eatment of pain and the resulting harmful effects. A series of systematic reviews indicate poor results and outcomes using the intramuscular route (IM) administering of an opioid analgesic (Wells et al., 2008). The IM route is painful, has an unreliable absorption time and can be dangerous since patients are often alone at the time of peak affect and can become excessively sedated, vomit, and aspiratenevertheless produces the poorest outcomes (Wells et al., 2008). Unfortunately,Wells et al. (2008) describe the evidence for nondrug techniques of pain management including relaxation, music, massage, heat and cold therapies are neither supportive nor consistent, are considered weak in reducing acute pain, and may not improve outcomes. Ample evidence revealed the appropriate use of analgesics with the proper drug at the correct interval can provide good pain relief for the majority of patients, and organizations should place their emphasis on improving assessments and administration tec hniques (Wells et al., 2008). The psychological, emotional, and financial toll of uncontrolled pain is monumental and everyone experiencing discomfort because of pain justly expects and needs to receive appropriate pain management. Research Implications The research provided supports the evidence-based treatments with analgesics in the management of pain, and appears to be effective in controlling acute pain. However, the undertreatment of acute pain remains prevalent due to the clinician’ behaviors, which includes inadequate pain knowledge, assessment skills and administration of analgesics (Wells et al., 2008). Krenzischek, Wilson, Newhouse, Mamaril, Kane (2004) also assert a lack of pain management knowledge and the reduced usage of clinical practice guidelines is a high contributor in poor pain management. Research is needed for effective strategies in changing clinician attitudes and behaviors that will result in better pain management for patients as well as non-drug therapies (Wells et al., 2008). Wells et al. (2008) asserts, â€Å"Lack of standardization of nondrug therapies is one of the drawbacks of the current literature† (p. 11). Integration of Informatics The authors of this study integrated informatics through data, information and knowledge to support clinicians and patients in their decision-making regarding the best practices in accomplishing favorable outcomes and to improve the quality of care through pain assessment and management. Wells et al. (2008) utilized the informatics infrastructure to seek and manage validated studies from various sources, capture proper demographic, treatment and outcome information, and the AHRQ to share project information, results, and insights. The informatics infrastructure is critical to EBP and promotes the use of clinical judgment and knowledge with procedures and protocols to what is scientifically proven rather than what is customary(McGonigle Mastrian, 2012). The paradigm of â€Å"this is the way I’ve done it for years â€Å"is no longer acceptable and it is upon clinicians to apply the aforementioned viable knowledge, experience, understanding, and insight derived from EBP throug h informatics to gain and synthesize the effervescent wisdom needed for high quality patient care and optimal outcomes. References Elos, S., Helvi, K. (2008). The qualitative content analysis process. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 62(1), 107-115. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2648.2007.04569.x Glasgow, R., Emmons, K. (2007). How can we increase translation of research and to practice? Types of evidence needed. Annual Review of Public Health, 28, 413-433. http://dx.doi.org/10.1146/annurev.publhealth.28.021406.144145 Johnson, B., Christensen, L. (2008). Educational research: quantitative, qualitative, and mixed approaches. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Ju-Ling, H., Wen-Chu, W. (2013). Factors of accepting pain management decision support systems by nurse anesthetists. BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making, 13(16), 1-13. http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1472-6947-13-16 Krenzischek, D. A., Wilson, L., Newhouse, R., Mamaril, M., Kane, H. L. (2004). Clinical evaluation of the ASPAN pain and comfort clinical guideline. Journal of PeriAnesthesia Nursing, 19(3), 150-159. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jopan.2004.03.003 McGonigle, D., Mastrian, K. G. (2012). Nursing informatics and the foundation of knowledge (2nd ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones and Bartlett. Melnyk, B. M., Fineout-Overholt, E. (2011). Evidence-based practice in nursing and healthcare: A guide to best practice (2nd ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott, Williams and Wilkins. Nwachukwu, C. N. (2012). Decreasing pain and length of stay in the post anesthesia care unit (PACU) by implementing the ASPAN pain and comfort guidelines (Doctoral dissertation, The Catholic University of America). Retrieved from http://aladinrc.wrlc.org/bitstream/handle/1961/10269/Nwachukwu_cua_0043A_10311display.pdf?sequence=1 Wells, N., Pasero, C., McCaffery, M. (2008). Improving the quality of care through pain assessment and management. Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

Education And Psych :: essays research papers

Psychology in My Profession Psychology is involved in almost every job field in the modern era. Marketers use psychology to figure out how to convey their product to consumers. Car designers use psychology to give their cars features that would persuade potential buyers to choose their car. Doctors use psychology to understand their patients better. My chosen profession is education, and there are an unlimited number of applications for psychology. In teaching, psychology is the basis in which teachers understand their students. The specific area that would be most pertinent to teaching would probably be social psychology. College students basically take the same courses over their 4-year tenure in the university. But only certain students want to regurgitate the knowledge that they have acquired over the years. These are the students that have chosen teaching as their profession. The ones that want to pass on what they have learned to students need to not only be knowledgeable in their subjects, but need to know how to understand the students. If a teacher can not understand their students, then there is very little hope for the professor teaching the student anything. Understanding a student is a complex process that takes a lot of training. A teacher needs to know what the child is thinking in order to fully understand them. Teachers need to be able to communicate with the students so the student can tell the teacher what he is thinking. Another way to understand a student is to study social psychology. Social psychology is the study of the effects of people on people. More specifically, social psych observes how interactions between people affect an individual. Social psychologists study how people react in groups, emotional behavior, and attitudes and opinions of people. Since there is never a time in school when a child is alone, it is imperative that a teacher understands how children act and react when they are placed in a group or classroom. A teacher needs to understand why some kids are more outgoing, while others seem to fade away in classes. It is the teacher’s job to know the reason a child is not learning to the best of his capa bilities. Social psychology looks at these problems and researches solutions that will remedy a child’s abnormal behavior in the classroom. A teacher that is fluent in social psychology and understands the way a child thinks is much more equipped to take on the everyday problems of teaching. Education And Psych :: essays research papers Psychology in My Profession Psychology is involved in almost every job field in the modern era. Marketers use psychology to figure out how to convey their product to consumers. Car designers use psychology to give their cars features that would persuade potential buyers to choose their car. Doctors use psychology to understand their patients better. My chosen profession is education, and there are an unlimited number of applications for psychology. In teaching, psychology is the basis in which teachers understand their students. The specific area that would be most pertinent to teaching would probably be social psychology. College students basically take the same courses over their 4-year tenure in the university. But only certain students want to regurgitate the knowledge that they have acquired over the years. These are the students that have chosen teaching as their profession. The ones that want to pass on what they have learned to students need to not only be knowledgeable in their subjects, but need to know how to understand the students. If a teacher can not understand their students, then there is very little hope for the professor teaching the student anything. Understanding a student is a complex process that takes a lot of training. A teacher needs to know what the child is thinking in order to fully understand them. Teachers need to be able to communicate with the students so the student can tell the teacher what he is thinking. Another way to understand a student is to study social psychology. Social psychology is the study of the effects of people on people. More specifically, social psych observes how interactions between people affect an individual. Social psychologists study how people react in groups, emotional behavior, and attitudes and opinions of people. Since there is never a time in school when a child is alone, it is imperative that a teacher understands how children act and react when they are placed in a group or classroom. A teacher needs to understand why some kids are more outgoing, while others seem to fade away in classes. It is the teacher’s job to know the reason a child is not learning to the best of his capa bilities. Social psychology looks at these problems and researches solutions that will remedy a child’s abnormal behavior in the classroom. A teacher that is fluent in social psychology and understands the way a child thinks is much more equipped to take on the everyday problems of teaching.

Communism :: Communism Essays

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Communism is a very abortive political theory. It has never been in practice in the United States of America. It has usually been placed in practice among very unstable political environments such as Cuba and China. The general consensus on communism is that it’s a very good idea but falls short in practice because people have and always like to make decisions for themselves.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Karl Marx is known as the â€Å"Father† of communism. He is recognized for this because in 1848 he wrote the Communist Manifesto. It is the basis for communism that has and is currently in practice, even though there are many different forms of communism.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Many communists believe that capitalism encourages the exploitation of the poor by the rich for cheap labor. Another communistic belief is that communism itself encourages workers to organize and to take over the political and economical world. Communists also believe that class privilege and every other vestige of this present system of economic exploitation and military organization and preparation must be eliminated. In order to explain this, you must understand that by class privilege they mean that their should be no poor, and no rich, that everyone gets the same opportunities as the next individual, and that by vestige of economic exploitation of this system of economic exploitation and military organization, they mean that their should be no trace or hint of the working class being exploited by the richer or more powerful.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There were some very intriguing and thought provoking quotes in the book. One is â€Å"Capitalism did not arise because capitalists stole the land or the workmen’s tools, but because it was more efficient than feudalism. It will perish because it is not merely less efficient than socialism, but because it is self destructive†-J.B.

Currant Legislation for Home Based Childcare Essay

LawI would like to provide you with the following up to date legislation impacting on home-based childcare to ensure that your children are provided with the best possible care whilst with me. Sex Discrimination Act (1975) This Act states that all children are not discriminated against on the grounds of their sex and such discrimination is eliminated. It promotes equal opportunities between children no matter of their sex. Race Relation Act (1975) Amended 2000 This Act states that all children are not discriminated against their race and ensure early years providers work towards the elimination of unlawful discrimination and promote equal opportunities between children of different racial groups. Education Act (1981) This Act became law in 1983 and tried to provide adequate safeguards, rights and duties for all those concerned with the education of children with special educational needs and to ensure these children’s rights to be integrated into the life and work of the community. It also recognised parents’ rights regarding their children’s education. Public Health (Control of Disease) Act (1984) and Health Protection Agency Act (2004) All these legislations are focused on protecting people’s health, covering notification and exclusion periods for certain infectious diseases. Exclusions for children include exclusion from schools, places of entertainment or assembly. Education Reform Act (1988) The National Curriculum was introduced into England, Wales and Northern Ireland as a nationwide curriculum for primary and secondary state schools following the Education Reform Act 1988. Children Act (1989) This is the basis of the current child protection system in England and Wales and was introduced to consolidate and clarify previous legislation. It established the principle that a child’s welfare is paramount in any decisions made about their upbringing. It states that every effort should be made to preserve a child’s home and family links and also introduced the notion of parental responsibility. It details how local authorities and courts should act in order to protect the welfare of children. Education Act (1993) This Act is an education measure with the aim of making important changes to the education system in England and Wales. It has various chapters which give details on the responsibility for education, addressing children with special educational needs, setting out the requirements of school attendance and providing details in regard to admissions and exclusions. It also gives parents the right to ask for their child, which is under 2 years of age, to be formally assessed. Code of Practice for the identification and assessment of Children with Special Educational Needs (1994 revised 2001) This Code of Practice provides practical advice to educational settings, including Early Years settings, on carrying out their statutory duties to identify, assess and make provision for children’s special educational needs. Reporting of injuries, diseases and dangerous occurrences regulation (RIDDOR) (1995). Major injuries, which include fractures other than to fingers, thumbs or toes, amputation, dislocation, loss of sight (temporary or permanent) * Accidents resulting in over 3 day injure * Notifiable diseases * Dangerous occurrences * Gas incidents Food Safety & General Food Hygiene Regulation (1995) This Act is not currently applicable to registered childminders but acquiring a basic Food Hygiene Certificate is considered good practice. Food should be prepared and provided in a hygienic way. Safety controls are in place, maintained and reviewed. Food safety hazards are identifies by doing risk assessments and implementing appropriate solutions. Family Law Act (1996) This Act sets out guidance on safeguarding and promoting the child’s welfare. Disability Discrimination Act (1995) This Act states that it is illegal to treat disabled person less favourably than a non-disabled person. Settings are required to make reasonable adjustments to prevent disabled people being discriminated. Education Act (1997) This Act incorporates all previous Acts since 1944. It recognise the rights of parents regarding their children’s education and set a time frame on the legal process for identifying and assessing a child’s needs as set out in the Code of Practice. Code of Practice for First Aid (1997) The Code of Practice sets out standard practice and guidance for trained first aiders and gives tailored advice to show different people in industry what they need to do to meet their legal responsibilities for health and safety. Human Rights Act (1998) The Act incorporates the European Convention on Human Rights into UK law. Children are covered by this legislation although not specifically mentioned. Protection of Children Act (1998) The Act states that the Secretary of State shall keep a list of individuals who are considered unsuitable to work with children. Data Protection Act (1998) It relates to information held about an individual. This includes medical records, social services files, facts and opinions about an individual. Anyone processing personal data must comply with the eight principles of good practice. T This Act introduced the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), a statutory framework that sets the standards for learning, development and care of children in the period between child’s birth and their fifth birthday. It is designed to ensure that children receive a good start in life and build a solid foundation to prepare them for school and life. The revised EYFS is effective from September 2013. Safeguarding in Child’s Welfare (15th April 2013) This guidance sets out how organizations and individuals should work together to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and how practitioners should conduct the assessment of children.

Polytechnic Education

In recent times, the discrimination of polytechnic education in Nigeria in the area of employment and even in admission has always created panic among polytechnic graduates and the youths in general. Various questions have been raised by students in the polytechnics and other similar institutions about the situation but there seems to be no answer. This paper therefore seeks to establish the relevance of polytechnic education in youth empowerment, economic self-reliance and national development. A sample of 200 respondents from different places was selected and a structured questionnaire was administered on them. It was established that, in spite of the discrimination on the National Diploma (ND) and the Higher National Diploma (HND), the demand for polytechnic education is on the increase. It was also noted that the polytechnics were established to train graduates for skill acquisition and practical knowledge necessary for industrial development. The paper concludes that though the Universities are the citadel of highest education, the polytechnic education was the first higher institution in Nigeria and West Africa in general and it has trained personnel for public and private organisations. Some of the recommendations made were: (a)The government should harmonize the admission criteria of the polytechnic in line with the universities (b) All Nigerians should change their orientations about paper qualification and learn to accept knowledge and experience in some areas during employment especially where practical knowledge is required.

Current Cultural Trends And Their Impact On Organizational Communications Essay

Communication in organizations depends on the type of organization and the setting of the workplace. The question is which management style should be used although it is safe to say that the best style of management is participatory. Current cultural trends have come into the picture and effectiveness is seen as the result when these trends are considered important in an organization. This is so because ensures that the output generated by the work of an employee is of high quality. When these cultural trends are noted well, employees are given tasks and the manager makes sure that the employees understand their duties and responsibilities. The employees are also given the chance to make their own decisions and impart their ideas and opinions in the process (All Business, Undated). Cultural trends affects management since it is the circle in which the management goes around. It is critical as the type of management, especially in a teamwork setting, would largely depend on the existing social culture between the employees. The manager will have a hard time adjusting if the social culture among his employees is not good, meaning the relationships are damaged or broken (Veser, 2004). Being efficient in the light of these cultural factors means producing outputs with little wasted effort because the communication is free-flowing. It is important, therefore, that employees are given good communication venues in order to come up with quality on the output they produce. Sometimes, an employee may be efficient but not effective. In being effective, one should could focus and concentrate on the particular work they have to do and dispose the clutter. It is better to be effective and produce good results than be efficient with poor outputs (Lifetools, Undated). Yes, quantitative techniques can be used to motivate employees in such a way that these tools will help them imagine or picture in their minds what the goal or strategy is all about. An organization is highly affected by cultural trends. It is particularly significant when there is an attempt to propose a change in the whole organizational system. Culture directly affects innovation and development in an organization. Culture serves as the foundation where the organization is laid upon, it is a conglomerate of ideas and beliefs of employees which nurtures the existence of the organization (Forte, 1998). Stakeholders can both help or pull down an organization. It could do either way, enhance the company or organization’s reputation or damage it. It should be ensured that there is a good existing relationship between the stakeholders or shareholders, otherwise the company will be in trouble. The advantage of managing this kind of relationships is that there will be various ideas when it comes to setting the direction of the company. A multi-stakeholder organization has a democratic and participatory environment. The setback is when these shareholders do not agree with each other and may result to split up. A borderless organization widens the scope of the management system, therefore there is the possibility that the management might be spread too thin in the organization. It will be harder to direct and lead a group that has wider, or worse no defined boundaries. It is necessary that management can focus and not flow to too many directions. It will be hard to gather the members as the organization grows, along with the different viewpoints and opinions (Jarillo, 1995). Going global has both positive and negative effects in an organization. It will be an advantage since the organization or company will be known in a wider arena and could even establish a network of stakeholders. Kentucky Fried Chicken, the fast food that sells chicken and is known all over the world, is a classic example of a success story of going global. But this may not always be the case as going global has its setbacks and weaknesses. For one, there is the possibility that the organization or business may not be accepted in another place other than its place of origin. Another would be that if the new branch or franchise does not perform well, it would carry the original name of the organization and would destroy the reputation of the original organization as well (Starks 2001). When members of a dominant culture become suspicious of subcultures and seek to isolate or assimilate them, it is often because the members of the dominant culture are making value judgments about the beliefs and practices of the subordinate groups. For instance, most Anglo-Americans see the extensive family obligations of Hispanics as a burdensome arrangement that inhibits the individual freedom. Hispanics, in contrast, view the isolated nuclear family of Anglo-Americans as a lonely institution that cuts people off from the love and assistance of their kin. This tendency to view one’s own cultural patterns as good and right and those of others as strange or even immoral is ethnocentrism. An individual becomes aware of his worldview as an individual comes as one applies his values in different situations. An example to illustrate this is when we see that most Americans today accept and approve racial equality in the workplace. Yet relatively few extend the value of racial equality to their family lives. They would not approve of a member of their own family marrying a person of another race or adopting a child of another race. Authors Sue & Sue (2002) have unique answers to communications across different cultures. Its focus on counseling racial populations as well as other diverse organizations makes us understand norms and cultures and its interrelationships. Their views have made clinicians take a second look at individual roles in understanding varied populations. People become aware of their worldview as an individual when they examine their values in relation to their environment. Values provide the framework within which people in a society develop norms of behavior. A norm is a specific guideline for action; it is a rule that says how people should behave in particular situations. Like values, norms can vary greatly from society to society. Polite and appropriate behavior in one society may be disgraceful in another. Norms also vary from group to group within a single society. From a societal perspective, choices and actions of an individual in U. S. society are highly influenced by norms. According to Turner and Killian’s emergent-norm theory, people develop new social norms as they interact in situations that lack firm guidelines for coping. These norms then exert a powerful influence on their behavior. The new norms evolve through a gradual practice of social exploration and testing. The crowd begins to define the situation, develop a justification for acts that would in other circumstances seem questionable. In this way, new norms may emerge that condone violence and destruction, but still impose some limits on crowd behavior (Turner and Killian, 1972, p. 21). Norms and values are resources for communication. They help us evaluate our past, interpret the present, and plan for the future. Can you think of two examples each of evaluating the past, interpreting the worth of the present, or planning for the future that do not involve implicit values and norms you use in everyday life? How so and why to each? New norms evolve through a gradual process of social exploration and testing. One or more people may suggest a course of action (shooting obscenities or hurling bottles, for example). Other suggestions follow. The crowd begins to define the situation, to develop a justification for acts that would in other circumstances seem questionable. In this way, new norms may emerge that condone violence and destruction, but still impose some limits on crowd behavior. The emergence of new norms, Turner and Killian argue does not mean that members of a crowd come to think and feel as one. Although it may appear to outsiders that a crowd is a unanimous whole, some participants may just be going along to avoid disapproval and ridicule. All these kinds of crowd action depended not just on the other people around but on the patterns of social organization by which people were both motivated to join the crowd and organized within it. One of the common sources of loss of motivation in the workplace is the presence of difficult employees (Darby 15). Employees are usually very sensitive with poor performers that are not given attention or sanctioned in the workplace (Blades, 1967). The presence of poor performers and the presence of problem employees usually affect the working environment and thus bosses should be able to improve the situation of the work environment in order to make working a positive experience for all. At the core, one of the important steps that should be employed is the ability of the manager or leader to identify the problem immediately. One of the key methods of problem identification is constant communication with the subordinates. It is very important to recognize that the differences in personalities in the workplace are really a major cause of conflict (Stanley 6). This means that the manager should always assume that there is always a tendency for conflict to arise. Even employees themselves are aware that conflicts are already occurring. In this particular scenario, the structure is that each technical team that handles technical support concerns of customers is headed by a team leader or manager. The role of the manager is to handle escalated concerns and the performance of the agents or staff. There is a problem of communication between the agents and the supervisor. The supervisor is having some problems with the performance of the agent and he handled this through massive sanctions against absenteeism and heavy corrective actions against minor offenses. The manager used a rather punitive system of motivating the employees, which the employees disliked because this adds to the already stressful job of handling technical problems of customers. The agents are also not very open to the manager regarding their problems because of his tyrannical method of leadership. The agents also viewed their manager as lacking technical skills and therefore do not really understand their line of work and the stress that is attached to it. Thirdly, there is an internal conflict between employees because they believed that some non-performers appeared to be more favored by the manager. The employees accomplishments are not recognized while their little mistakes are always emphasized. The manager should inculcate the recognition of higher level of needs of the employees. Glen (41) believes that motivating employees is really a difficult task because people have different sources of motivation. It is however very important for managers to never behave in a ‘demotivating’ way. According to Glen (41), the manager may not be able to motivate their people always, but the manager will always have a way of killing the source of motivation. To illustrate his point, he pointed out that in a technical company, it is very important that managers always consult their team. In computer companies, managers are always viewed to be less knowledgeable regarding technical areas. Inability to incorporate ideas from the team would generally make them feel that their talents are neglected. The technical expertise of the team should always be consulted because of the need to recognize their technical talents. The manager therefore should be responsive to the specific needs of the technical staff and understand the difficulties of their job and open the communication lines for solution. It is essential that in technical teams, where basis of membership is through technical skills, that the talents be recognized. The employees’ ability to make full use of their talents and skills would help them to maintain high level of performance. In this case, it is a recognition that motivation, does not merely come from rewards, but may also come from higher level of needs such as the need to have capabilities recognized and be utilized towards their full potential. On the issue of conflict, tt the core, one of the important steps that should be employed is the ability of the manager or leader to identify the problem immediately. One of the key methods of problem identification is constant communication with the subordinates. It is very important to recognize that the differences in personalities in the workplace are really a major cause of conflict (Stanley 6). This means that the manager should always assume that there is always a tendency for conflict to arise. Even employees themselves are aware that conflicts are already occurring. Secondly, there is a need for the manager to have an effective conflict resolution method. In most cases, it would be important that the manager provides individual conflict resolution (Stanley 6). This mean providing employees themselves is given the opportunity to resolve their own issues in order to empower them. The ability to resolve issues and conflicts help the employees in improving their level of confidence. Ability to resolve problems through their initiatives is one point of motivation for employees in the workplace. One way of illustrating an effective consolidation of cultural trends is illustrating the IBM example. IBM Institute for Business Value asserts that increased competition, changing workforce demographics and a shift toward knowledge-based work are requiring companies to place an increasingly higher priority on improving workforce productivity (Lesser and De Marco, Abstract). Companies rely on their Human Resources (HR) function to go beyond the delivery of cost-effective administrative services. They require the HR to provide expertise on â€Å"how to leverage human capital to create true marketplace differentiation. † Facing these challenges, many HR organizations have been actively revamping to more effectively deliver the strategic insights their businesses require. IBM’s study entitled â€Å"A New Approach, A New Capability: The Strategic Side of Human Resources† shows that competing in today’s environment requires companies to focus on building a more responsive, flexible and resilient workforce (p. 2). To do so, organizations must do a more effective job of sourcing talent, allocating resources across competing initiatives, measuring performance and building key capabilities and skills. HR organizations that provide strategic guidance on these issues can become proactive drivers of organizational effectiveness, rather than simply a supporter of these efforts. The HR organizations’ attempt to resolve the growing needs of quality recruitment by a new process of human resource hiring. This process is described as â€Å"positive discrimination in order to select the best† (Beardwell, 84). Others call it â€Å"affirmative action. † This refers to the concrete steps that are taken not only to eliminate employment discrimination but also to attempt to redress the effects of past discrimination (87). The underlying motive for affirmative action is the principle of equal opportunity, which holds that all persons with equal abilities should have equal opportunities. Those who obtain employment can be sure that the company values them. Unfortunately, this also means rejecting people who smoke, are clinically obese, have high debts, participate in high-risk sports, and the like. In addition, the company also seeks permission from employee to access various databases, which include: criminal records; credit bankruptcy and mortgage defaults; vehicle license checks; educational records; curriculum vitae and applications search. The company believes this is a modern, sophisticated human resource approach because it is able to compare employee’s profiles against the national average for physiological, psychological, social and demographic factors. Affirmative action affects small businesses in two main ways. First, it prevents businesses with 15 or more employees from discriminating on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, and physical capability in practices relating to hiring, compensating, promoting, training, and firing employees. Second, it allows the state and federal governments to favor women-owned and minority-owned businesses when awarding contracts, and to reject bids from businesses that do not make good faith efforts to include minority-owned businesses among their subcontractors (Encyclopedia para 2). The interpretation and implementation of affirmative action has been contested since its origins in the 1960s. A central issue of contention was the definition of discriminatory employment practices. The discriminatory employment practices as listed by the Department of Administration and Equal Opportunity (p. 1) include: gender identity, sexual orientation, race discrimination, sex discrimination, sexual harassment, religious discrimination, national origin discrimination, disability discrimination, and retaliation. Contrary, the prevailing employment practices include three things. First is the counseling and litigation with respect to employment discrimination (race/sex/disability/sexual harassment), wrongful termination, wage and hour issues, trade secrets/unfair competition, privacy in the workplace, workplace violence, executive contracts, affirmative action, use of independent contractors, OSHA, union organizing and other issues pertaining to hiring, promotion, compensation and discipline (Fenwick and West LLP, p. 1). Second is the representation of large and small employers in class actions and individual cases in state and federal courts and in arbitrations and mediations throughout the country. Last is the regularly advise employers concerning personnel systems, policies and practices that includes, among others: handbooks, policy manuals and drug testing programs, employment and independent contractor agreements, terminations, severance plans and releases, management training (sex harassment avoidance, EEO, rightful discipline: managing for high performance), protecting trade secrets and confidential business information, wage/hour and leave of absence compliance, disciplinary investigations, legal compliance audits, and whistleblower and retaliation claims (para 2 and 3). As the interpretation of positive discrimination evolved, employment practices that were not intentionally discriminatory but that nevertheless had a â€Å"disparate impact† on affected groups were considered a violation of affirmative action regulations (Encyclopedia of Small Business, section 2). Another central issue was whether members of affected groups could receive preferential treatment and, if so, the means by which they could be preferred. This issue is sometimes referred to as the debate over quotas. In the next level of new HR approaches is the care it provides for the employees’ well being. Companies are now committed to the health and wellness of its employees and this extends to the employees’ families. Companies do recognize that all employees from time to time have personal problems. If unresolved, these issues may affect emotional and physical health which ultimately could affect job performance. It is now within the HR’s goal to provide a confidential resource to all employees and their families to help address these issues before they interfere with well being. According to a review of the Gallup Studies by Harter, Schmidt, and Keyes (2002, p. 4), the well-being of the employees is to the best interest of the communities and organizations. They believe that the workplace is the significant part of an individual’s life that affects his/her life and that of the community. The average adult spends much of his/her life working. He/she spends much of his waking hours in work or about one third. Thus, the well-being of the employees is the best interest of the employers who spend substantial resources hiring employees and trying to generate products, profits and maintain loyal customers. Studies show that happy and productive employees clearly link emotional well-being with work performance (p. 2). In sum, work is a pervasive and influential part of the individual and the community’s well-being. It affects the quality of the individual’s life and his/her mental health and thereby can affect the productivity of the entire community. The ability to promote well-being rather than endanger strains and mental illness is of considerable benefit not only to the employees in the community but also to the employers’ bottom line. This aspect should be greatly taken care of by the companies’ HR organizations (Cornelius, p. 142). Concern for the well-being of employees extends to the environment. The company provides background music to help eliminate stress, it plays messages to staff throughout the day for the same reason: to relax people. Messages such as â€Å"stay calm†, â€Å"help colleagues†, â€Å"remember, the company is our community† are all designed for positive reasons. Employees also receive electronic messages by email. The company argues that this â€Å"thoughtfulness† ensures high morale. Video and audio surveillance ensures that staff feels secure. Other companies believe that the physical environment is also important to wellness and productivity. Fragrant aromas such as evergreen may reduce stress; the smell of lemon and jasmine can have a rejuvenating effect. These scents are introduced to all work spaces through the air- conditioning and heating systems. Scents are changed seasonally (Marx, Section 6). Some companies also believe that music is not only enjoyable to listen to but can also affect productivity. Thus, some companies continually experiment with the impact of different styles of music on an office’s or plant’s aggregate output. Personal computers deliver visual subliminals such as â€Å"my world is calm† or â€Å"we’re all on the same team. † Other companies have dietitians who guide the companies’ cafeteria and dining room. They make sure that the companies serve only fresh, wholesome food prepared without salt, sugar, or cholesterol-producing substances. Sugar- and caffeine-based, high-energy snacks and beverages are available during breaks, at no cost to employees. In a practical example of work productivity and employee performance, let us cite Dominion-Swann’s new workplace. Dominion-Swann (DS) is a technology-based company that respects its employees and whose knowledge is the core of its technological enterprise. It cares about its work community and value honesty informed consent, and unfettered scientific inquiry. Its employees understand company strategy. They are free to suggest ways to improve the company’s performance. It also offers handsome rewards for high productivity and vigorous participation in the life of its company. Committed to science, this company believes in careful experimentation and in learning from experience. Since 1990, DS has instituted changes in our work environment because it faced an uncertain future. Our productivity and quality were not keeping pace with overseas competition. Employee turnover was up, especially in the most critical part of our business- automotive chips, switches, and modules. Health costs and work accidents were on the rise. Its employees were demoralized. There were unprecedented numbers of thefts from plants and offices and leaks to competitors about current research. There was also a sharp rise in drug use. Security personnel reported unseemly behavior by company employees not only in our parking lots and athletic fields but also in restaurants and bars near our major plants. In the fall of 1990, it turned to SciexPlan Inc. , a specialist in employee-relations management in worldwide companies, to help develop a program for the radical restructuring of the work environment. There was instability while the program was being developed and implemented. Some valued employees quit and others took early retirement. But widespread publicity about the company’s efforts drew to the program people who sincerely sought a well-ordered, positive environment. DS now boasts a clerical, professional, and factory staff which understands how the interests of a successful company correspond with the interests of individual employees. To paraphrase psychologist William lames, â€Å"When the community dies, the individual withers. † Such sentiments, we believe, are as embedded in Western traditions as in Eastern; they are the foundation of world community. They are also a fact of the new global marketplace. DS’ four principles that underlie work-support restructuring are worth studying for every HR organizations who want to implement structural changes and get valued results. It consists of the following: 1. Make the company a home to employees. Break down artificial and alienating barriers between work and home. Dissolve, through company initiative, feelings of isolation. Great companies are made by great people; all employee behavior and self-development counts. 2. Hire people who will make a continuing contribution. Bring in people who are likely to stay healthy and successful, people who will be on the job without frequent absences. Candor about prospective employees’ pasts may be the key to the company’s future. 3. Technical, hardware-based solutions are preferable to supervision and persuasion. Machines are cheaper, more reliable, and fairer than managers. Employees want to do the right thing; the company wants nothing but this and will give employees all the needed technical assistance. Employees accept performance evaluation from an impartial system more readily than from a superior and appreciate technical solutions that channel behavior in a constructive direction. 4. Create accountability through visibility. Loyal employees enjoy the loyalty of others. They welcome audits, reasonable monitoring, and documentary proof of their activities, whether of location, business conversations, or weekly output. Once identified, good behavior can be rewarded, inappropriate behavior can be improved. These principles have yielded an evolving program that continues to benefit from the participation and suggestions of the company’s employees. This is a good support system to the promotion of the employees’ well-being. Providing support for employees with caring responsibilities in the workplace makes good business sense. Creating a positive work atmosphere that encourages employees to speak out is also another important factor. Benefits can be gained for both the employer and their employees. Companies nowadays attract qualified employees by providing a progressive and motivating work atmosphere. This is because such environment is an excellent opportunity for employees to grow professionally in a professional yet fun and casual environment. According to Susan Heathfield, HR Consultant, about 16 percent of the people responding in a recent Human Resources Forum poll have no performance appraisal system at all (p. 1). Supervisory opinions, provided once a year, are the only appraisal process for 56 percent of respondents. Another 16 percent described their appraisals as based solely on supervisor opinions, but administered more than once a year. The main reason is that performance appraisal is universally disliked and avoided. She concludes that, after all, how many people in an organization want to hear that they were less than perfect last year? How many managers want to face the arguments and diminished morale that can result from the performance appraisal process? This might be certainly true. Performance Management, however is geared towards employee development and organizational improvement (para 3). HR organizations should really implement the most effective and succinct measure of employee performance. Performance management begins when a job is defined. Performance management ends when an employee leaves the company. Between these points, the following must occur for a working performance management system. Heathfield suggests the following Performance Management and Development as the best initiatives to have a systematic appraisal in the general work system. It includes defining the purpose of the job, job duties, and responsibilities; defining performance goals with measurable outcomes; defining the priority of each job responsibility and goal; defining performance standards for key components of the job; holding interim discussions and provide feedback about employee performance, preferably daily, summarized and discussed, at least, quarterly; maintaining a record of performance through critical incident reports; providing the opportunity for broader feedback; using a 360 degree performance feedback system that incorporates feedback from the employee’s peers, customers, and people who may report to him; developing and administering a coaching and improvement plan if the employee is not meeting expectations (para 5). Based on the new tasks of the HR organizations as the company’s business partner, there are five key capabilities that are needed to make a strategic contribution to the organization (Lesser and De Macro, p. 6 ). These include: analytical skills; business acumen; consulting skills; change leadership skills; and the ability to share knowledge across the HR organization. HR organizations need analytical skills to develop evidence-based recommendations and effective business cases. They must understand how data flows through various HR and financial systems, and how to obtain and analyze human capital data that supports their recommendations. HR organizations also need to be proficient in developing models and scenarios that determine the cost and impact of changes in HR policies and procedures. Participants in our study found that they were unlikely to have sufficient depth in these ills within their own HR organizations and considered them among the most difficult to develop. HR organizations also need business acumen in the form of understanding their business unit’s strategies and operations. To serve as true advisors to the business, they must understand the dynamics of their industry, as well as the day-to-day activities performed by different functional units and how individuals within the units are evaluated. They also have to understand the needs of customers and partners to better see how their human capital decisions impact stakeholders beyond the organizational boundaries. Many organizations reported that this in-depth knowledge of the business was often in short supply within their HR groups. HR organizations will have to serve as lead advisors to their business units on human capital issues. To do so, a number of consulting skills are essential, including the abilities to build trusting relationships with senior executives, diagnose organizational problems and determine root causes, develop recommendations and business cases, and create action plans. Further, they must have the strength and conviction to deliver difficult messages to senior leaders, even if those messages may prove to be unpopular. HR organizations also need to be effective at driving change through the organization. This includes soliciting and initiating participation from individuals within the business unit to support change efforts, aligning recognition and performance measurement systems to support desired activities, and effectively communicating with multiple stakeholders. HR organization not only needs to provide expertise to the business units they support, they also should share knowledge across the HR organization (Mello, p. 138).