RR #1 Essays - Animals, Dog Breeding, Animal Welfare, Dogs

Good Dog, Bad Dog " Bad Dog" by Rachel Maizes is a very interesting essay about a dog named Chance who was actually owned by the writer herself. At the time of the essay, Chance is an old worn down dog who once "stood like a champion" but now he "looks like a ghost" even though he is still alive. The reason he is so worn down?... Chance has a temper, a very big one, It started as early as 2 yrs old when he used to "growl at other dogs, chase children/cyclists and even flatten puppies under his paws". This temper would continue with him throughout his life as it led him into many fights which is why after 14 years, his body is so beaten and brittle. Most would probably label Chance as a so called "bad dog" but Rachel doesn't see it that way as she feels Chance is perfect for her as she describes herself as a "introvert who identifies with his desire to be alone". She mentions how Chance was there for her after her divorce and "took care of her", Funnily enough she even admits she is sometimes ashamed of having a "bad dog" and even fears he may attack someone. However the question I pose to you as a reader is that even though Chance is seen by most as a bad dog, is he truly a bad dog or a by product of a bad situation? My answer to that very question is that Chance while a bad dog to the rest of the world is actually a good dog to Rachel (his owner). Yes I know that him attacking other dogs and even threatening to attack humans and other animals isn't good behavior. I also know the fact that he can't even interact with pretty much anyone besides rachel also isn't a very positive trait to have. However, all of that doesn't affect my answer as I feel he is a good dog to/for Rachel because not only does she truly love him, he will always be there for her and she will do the same. Another reason I believe he is a good dog is the story she describes in the essay about when a yellow Lab lunged at Chance and digged his teeth into him. Uncharacteristically, Chance didn't fight back and just let the Lab tear at his face until the owner finally pulled the Lab off of Chance. Amazed at what she had seen, Rachel wondered to herself why a (young Chance at the time) didn't fight back, why he didn't just go after the Lab like he normally would, as he seemed to hold back. To me this is evidence that deep down Chance while rough around the edges is just like a every other dog and isn't so bad after all but in fact it is Rachel herself who is the problem as I feel she is a bad owner/parent. She even partially admits her faults when she says "I didn't know when i adopted chance, that puppies need to interact with other dogs to learn social cues" this is just an example of the faults she committed as an owner. She also admits to "failing Chance" on multiple occasions. With this being said I think it is clear that while Chance is a bad dog to the world (because of the bad parenting by Rachel) he is a good dog to Rachel and their relationship while a very peculiar one, works for them and in the end that's all that matters (Bad dog + Bad owner = Good relationship) 31

5 Situations When You DONT Need to Use the Services of Expert Writers

5 Situations When You DONT Need to Use the Services of Expert Writers 5 Situations When You DONT Need to Use the Services of Expert Writers Many students turn to the use of expert writers to seek help when they are busy or overwhelmed with writing assignments. And while expert writers are great to have on hand, especially for those more challenging situations, there are still times when hiring expert writers is not necessarily what you should do. Sometimes, you might be overwhelmed with your homework and you are just unable to complete all of your tasks. Often in these cases you might ask a custom writing service to provide you with a model paper so that you can use it as an example. But sometimes it becomes a habit, and it can become a bad one. It is for this reason that it is important to learn how to tell the difference between times when you need to order a model paper and times that you are merely falling victim to your laziness or procrastination. You do not need to services of expert writers when your paper is due within the span of several months. In cases like these you have plenty of time to conduct the necessary research, draft your outline, and write the paper. You need not bother with a model paper in such cases. You also do not need to rely upon the services of expert writers when your assignment is something designed to help you develop a new set of skills which you currently do not have. In cases like these you need to complete the task yourself as a matter of learning. You need to really push yourself in order to gain that knowledge, often because the knowledge or skillset you are gaining is something upon which you will expound for the next lesson. You really do not want to miss out on a key aspect of learning. When your professor sets extraordinary requirements it is important to avoid using a model paper. The reason for this is that a model paper might have different structure from the one required and if you do not follow the rules laid out by your professor it can end badly. Additionally, when an essay deals with the topic important for the whole subject you are writing your paper for, you should avoid working with a model paper because this means you need to plunge into it by yourself. When you know you can write it yourself but you are too lazy to do it, you should avoid hiring an expert. If you were to start writing the paper the moment you began making up excuses for why you don’t want to do it, you would be halfway done before you realized anything. Overall, there are times when the use of expert writers is ideal and a model paper can be used to help you write your paper. However, there are other times when you must avoid succumbing to the habit of using a model paper and instead overcome your laziness or procrastination so as to write a great paper.

Sustainable marketing plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Sustainable marketing plan - Essay Example The Oman Air played a significant contribution in making Muscat as a major traffic hub through initiating wide number of commercial, industrial and tourism activities. The network of airline services of Oman Air operates in Middle East, Asia, Europe, and Indian subcontinent. The growth and development history of Oman Air witnessed the commitment towards offering sustainable, reliable and quality services to the customers (Oman Air 2012). Target market Stakeholder analysis and profitability figures of Oman Air have revealed that company is primarily engaged in delivering luxurious airline services to business travelers. Oman Air seeks to target elite class customers, leisure travelers and tourists aspire to enhance their airline service experience. The services are primarily designed to attract and cater international business, pleasure travelers, and upscale customers. In other words, upper middle and high income groups’ customers serve the major target market of Oman Air. The customers seeking comfort, convenience, and value added services are targeted by the company. The middle and low income class customers are already being taken by the low cost carriers and other airline companies. The battle remain in the upper middle and affluent customers, therefore the company intends to target and formulates marketing strategy in order to gain control over this target audience. Oman Air is strived towards delivering consistent and reliable airline services to the target audience evidenced by the continuous increase in the air passenger traffic report of CAPA-Centre for Aviation & Oman Air. The constant increase in the air traffic passengers of Oman Air also indicates the ever increasing expectations of target audience. The target audience adopts for the Oman Air airline services in the expectation of getting more personalized and innovative airline services (Oman Air 2012). Goals for marketing campaign (20 points) The marketing campaign of the Oman Air strives to provide new dimension to the existing airline services of the company. The goals of the marketing campaign in terms of both the 3B’s (Brand, Buzz, and Behavior) and the 3BL (People, Planet, Profits) are: Goals in terms of Brand, Buzz, and Behavior 1) Improving appearance of Oman Air as remarkable, safety, bold and fresh airlines through adding or improving in-flight services features. 2) Fostering the brand image of Oman Air as responsive, prompt, fast, customer oriented, and having courteous attitude. 3) To keep pace with the technological advancement in order to introduce new business models. 4) Formulating promotional messages showing respect and courtesy towards other cultures and backgrounds. 5) To become a member of global premium airline service platform in the coming ten years. 6) To become airline of choice for pleasure travelers and premium customers across worldwide. 7) Offering differentiated and personalized services from all key touch points to strengthen bra nd personality. 8) Increasing presence in the global cities to emerge as a global player. 9) Positioning the airline services in more personalized manner in order to stimulate existing market share. 10) Investigate and introduce new comfort, convenience, and technology driven factors in airline services of Oman Air. 11) Providing a delightful flying experience in order to gain foothold in new geographical regions. Goals in terms of profit, people, planet 12) To increase the revenue growth from 35% to 40% by the end

Private Equity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Private Equity - Essay Example On average, private equity has produced very high returns with low correlations to public stocks and bonds and real estate. In other words, private equity offers the prospect of both high returns and increased portfolio diversification. In some cases, private equity may also provide collateral benefits, e.g., a vehicle to make economically targeted investments or to create or preserve union jobs. Finally, there is also the undeniable appeal of seeking innovative investments (Gompers, 2003). 1. Until the investments go public or are liquidated, investments are carried either at cost or at prices set by later rounds of financing. Except in this latter case, private equity is even harder to accurately value than real estate (Bray,1997). 2. Ultimate returns have varied (and are likely to continue to vary) widely by "vintage year," i.e., the year of initial investment, because of wide fluctuations in the business cycle. For example, the median 1986 private equity fund returned only 8.4% per year through 1997, whereas the median 1990 private equity fund returned more than 17% per year through 1997. 3. ... (In statistical terms, the mean return is much higher than the median.) For example, for venture funds formed in 1988, an upper quartile manager returned almost 18% more per year than a lower quartile one from 1988 through 1997 (21.6% vs. 3.9%). 4. Reputation is very important: The best deals and the largest investment flows tend to go to firms with the best track records. Consequently (and quite unlike public equity markets), success tends to persist. The result, however, is that it is often difficult, if not impossible, for new investors to get into the best partnerships or deals. Here, the services of an established fund-of-funds manager can be of real value (Gompers, 2003). AIM OF THE PAPER Private equity (PE) buy-out deals have profound influence on domestic economies. Since the beginning of this year, they have accounted for more than one third of all deals that have been done on the New York stock Exchange1, and have raised $240 billion of cash for their acquisition plans2. The purpose of this report is to discuss the consequences of this type of buy-out on public markets, jobs, and tax revenues. Nevertheless, The effects of high leverage, which is used by PE firms to finance this class of acquisition, are beyond the scope of this report. DISCUSSION Private Equity investment used to be defined as "an equity investment in a company which is not quoted on a stock exchange". However, currently this definition has many limitations because it does not include investments that are structured as convertible debt and investments in public companies that are taken private3. For the purposes of this paper, Private Equity Buy-Out deal is a subset of

Prison law and penology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Prison law and penology - Essay Example This may lead them to focus more on controlling the inmate population rather than working on their rehabilitation. As previously stated, inmates tend to gather and form groups according to their race (black, Hispanic, Caucasian, etc.) or a race-related reasons (groups such as the neo-Nazis, K.K.K, etc.) and as a result, riots often break due to racial grounds. The real motives behind gangs formation and activity are actually power and wealth, things which they can achieve in various ways, often related to violence and disorder (Summers, 2006). The gangs are becoming increasingly stronger and more dominant ("Violent Gangs", n.d) and are also wise to draft to their ranks some prison guards and others that assist them in exchange for money, favours and more. 1 Therefore, prison authorities and representatives must always be attentive and prepared to thwart gangs attempts to gain more power and hurt others along the way. This undoubtedly shifts the focus of prison authorities from the desire to rehabilitate prisoners to the need to control and monitor them so that they dont cause more trouble and eruption of violence and havoc. Also, there are inmates which obviously overwhelming and something which they cannot escape or resist. These people have no place, power or control in the outside world and are therefore making extreme efforts to make their permanent home, the prison, their own kingdom and domain. This leads them to try and take control over it by forceful means and using violence and terrorizing others. They even develop ways to carry out their deeds using technological innovations and creative ways. For instance, it is claimed that a group of prisoners used a 400-year-old binary code system in order to smuggle notes, using guards as deliverers and smugglers of them (Summers, 2006). This shows the innovation and adaptability of gangs. They are no longer plain and simple, nor do they work in primitive ways. Now, when a

The Plc Controlled Systems

The Plc Controlled Systems This document has been created to give an overview of what PLC Systems are and why we use them in modern day life. By writing this report I hope to give a good understanding of what I know about PLC Systems. I will start with a short history of PLCs showing how they first started off to what we currently use today including the different design types. History of PLCs A PLC is a Programmable Logic Controller. It is a digital device that is used to control electromechanical systems/processes. They were designed in mind of replacing systems that are controlled by relays. Up until the late 60s automation in factories would use sometimes thousands of relays and cam timers to achieve simple tasks. This was very expensive and took up a lot of space. The expense was seen when the relays had to be changed, in a situation were all the relays had to be updated and changed, an electrician would be required to individually re-wire each relay resulting in very high labour time. Digital computers started to be used in a lot of industries to control processes but were far from perfect. The computer would have to meet very strict requirements that were not yet popular. These requirements would consist of specialist programmers that at this time would be an expensive asset. The computer would have to be protected to withstand the environments in which it was being used. The computer would process bit-form input and output in order to control everything. At this stage an operator would be needed to monitor the system to keep everything in check. PLC systems were first invented on request from an automotive industry; General Motors. They required a system that could replace the existing relay driven system. A proposal was accepted from Bedford Associates who later went on to producing the first Programmable Logic Controller. The image below shows the PLC 084 (name given to it by Bedford Associates as it was their 84th project. The unit stayed in service for almost 20 years. As shown in the photo, PLCs were very large. Over the years PLCs have greatly reduced in size as well as their performance has greatly increased. There are now also a few different types of PLCs that have been designed and used over the years. The main types of PLCs are Unitary, Modular and Rack Mounted. PLC Design Types Unitary Unitary PLCs are the simplest form of a Programmable Logic Controller. These controllers are single compact units that have all the components including the processor, inputs and outputs built in to one housing. Having all components built in to one sealed unit means there is no room for expansion so you are restricted to the amount of input and outputs the unit has. On the other hand it does mean a small unit is produced allowing it to be used in many everyday applications such as washing machines. The photo below (obtained from google images) shows some examples of unitary PLCs. these small units would be mounted directly to the application it is controlling. The downfall to unitary controllers is that youre limited to the constraints of the controller for example if a controller is built with 8 inputs and 7 outputs, that is all that controller will ever do. Modular Modular PLCs are built up of a number of different modules. These modules are linked together allowing for the controller to be customised to suit the requirements. All the core functions such as the computer processor, inputs and power regulation are usually contained in the base module. Other modules are then added on as expansions of inputs and outputs and analog to digital signal converters. This type of program is perfect for a system that may need to expand in the future, unlike the Unitary type design, this type is thought of as a more future proof design. That being said a Modular design controller doesnt have and infinite amount of expansion, there will only be room for a certain amount of expansion. Rack Mounted Rack Mounting PLCs are the best design for large scale use. They work in a very similar way to the Modular type of PLC where extra modules can be added for expansion only much more expansion is available. Where as the Modular design has all its main functions under one base module and expansion modules are added directly to it; a Rack Mounting PLC keeps all of the modules in organised racks and uses a network to connect them meaning that each module is separate from one another. Using this type or system allows us to expand on a much larger scale without things getting overly complicated. This design still allows for a very neat system that allows you to remove and add modules as required without doing any harm to the system. This is a modern approach that uses networking the same as many departments in a business today e.g. Computer networking. Using this design of PLC pretty much future proofs your setup for expanding as the amount of expansion is pretty much endless by adding more and more racks of modules to the network. The image above is an example of a Rack Mounting PLC (image obtained from google images). Input and Output Devices There are many different input and output devices that can be used with a Programmable Logic Controller. The PLC is responsible for processing all of the input and output devices connected. Inputs are normally some sort of sensor or switch that feeds back to the PLC and allows the PLC to monitor and use the data to signal and operate the relevant output. An output is the process that the PLC is essentially controlling. Some examples of the different types of inputs and outputs are below. Mechanical Switches Mechanical switches are a very popular form of input used with PLCs. The PLC will monitor the switch and wait for a signal to be sent from the switch. Switches normally operate in two ways; normally open or normally closed. With a normally open switch a signal is sent to the switch but doesnt return (reach the PLC) due to an open circuit. When the switch is made (pressed) the circuit is closed and a signal returns (reaches the PLC), from this the PLC can process the data and process the relevant program. A normally closed switch operates in the opposite way where a signal is constantly being received by the PLC and when the switch is made, the circuit is made and the PLC no longer receives the signal, from this is processes the relevant program. A typical example of a mechanical switch would be the type that would be found at the start and end of a pneumatic piston that is pressed by the piston itself when the piston reaches the relevant stroke, these are called limit switches. Non-mechanical Digital Sources Non mechanical digital resources refers to sensor inputs that dont require a direct mechanical operation to operate like the mechanical switch. Non-mechanical switches are far more complicated than mechanical switches and have no moving parts. They are also much faster than mechanical switches which is why they are used for computing. An example of a non-mechanical switch is a transistor. Transistors work by adding an electrical charge to close the switch and allow the flow of current, when the electrical charge is removed, the switch is open and the current can no longer flow. The switch uses silicone mixed with other elements as a semiconductor and when an electrical charge is added, it becomes conductive allowing the flow of current. So the change in state would be the electrical charge that operates the transistor and the flow of current would be the signal to the PLC. Optical sensors are another form of non-mechanical source. They work by sending out an optical signal to a reflector. When the signal is interrupted the PLC will process and preform an action. Optical sources now use Infrared as opposed to the old systems using the normal light spectrum so that natural light sources dont interfere. Transducers Transducers are a common form of sensor typically used as a measuring device. A transducer is a device that converts one form of energy into another (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transducer). They typically convert a mechanical energy in to an electrical energy, an electrical energy that can be used to report to the PLC. Outputs There are a very wide selection of items that can be used as an output for PLC systems such as; relays, lights, sirens, motor starters, solenoids, etc. These are all classed as what the PLC is essentially controlling. The PLC would use the information fed back to it from the inputs, execute a program and activate the output accordingly an example of this could be a thermostat and air conditioning unit, the thermostat being the input to the PLC allowing the PLC to know when a preset temperature has been reached. When the temperature raises above the preset temperature required, the thermostat will send the signal to the PLC (as described in section 6), the PLC will process the signal and send a signal to the output which in this case would likely be a relay that when activated boots up the air conditioning unit. When the required temperature is reached the PLC will process and signal the relay to switch, turning the A/C unit off. Communication Links Automation using PLC systems use networking. Networking is used for devices to communicate with each other and can come in many different forms and can be broken down in to different sections such as; Remote I/O, peer to peer, host computer communications and LAN (local area network). Remote I/O is a system that has the inputs and outputs at a distance away from the PLC. This system allows a PLC to control a variety of both digital and analog points to be controlled eliminating the need for a controller at each point and resulting in a cost effective set up. The I/O configuration can connect the PLC to all sorts of plant equipment to monitor things such as cycle counts and times. Each I/O device is related to as a slave for the ones directly on the machine and the master controller that all the slave I/Os report back to. The master PLC will send a signal to the slave I/Os and which it then receives a response, the PLC then uses this response to trigger the relevant program that it then signals the remote I/O to change its outputs to suit. These signals are sent extremely fast and cycle hundreds of times per second. Peer to peer networks work slightly differently in the way that they are connected, using multiple PLCs. This type of network will connect each PLC in sequence to each other and is sometimes known as a daisy chain. This system is very clever in the way it works keeping all the PLCs in the network, up to date allowing all the PLCs to control their systems with the knowledge of what is happening in all the other systems. This allows for similar programming due to having to only program each controller to operate its designated system. This type of networking allows for a safe working system that when set up and programmed correctly means everything will flow and work in sync far quicker than that a human could process. Unlike remote I/O, this system does not require a master PLC as they all just use each others data, however sometimes they are used as a centre control point. Host computer communications connects the PLCs on a network to a computer. Most PLCs regardless of size can normally be connected to a computer. This allows for programs to be written in ladder logic form. Ladder logic form is the programming type that is quite popular in modern programming. It allows for a sort of pectoral type of programming that personally I find easier to understand. The ladder program can be written, edited and tested (virtually) via a computer and then downloaded on to the PLC. Other forms of intelligent devices can also be used with PLC systems to receive data for monitoring purposes. Internal Architecture The internal architecture is made up of the CPU, storage devices, memory, opto-isolators, input and output units, flags and shift registers. All of these work together to form a very intelligent device. The CPU (central processing unit) is where the main processing and thinking is done, this is often thought of as the brain of any intelligent device using a CPU. A PLC has to be able to store information such as programs. The programs are stored to a storage device such as a hard disk drive or solid state chip. The programs are written on an external source such as a computer and then transferred to the PLC storage device where the PLCs CPU can then run the programs. The memory in an intelligent device is often confused with the storage device but is not actually used to store information long term like the storage device is. A form of memory most commonly used is Random Access Memory (RAM), this is used in PLCs and computers as well as the vast majority of intelligent devices such as smart phones. The RAM is used as a temporary memory for programs being run, it allows the CPU to access random bits of memory as it needs it from where ever it is stored, it does this at a very fast rate. Regular storage devices such as hard disk drives cannot operate at this speed because of restrictions only allowing them to access memory in a uniform order and depending on where the information is stored will depend on how long the CPU will take to find it. An Opto-isolator is a protection device that transfers electrical signals between the input and output while protecting the internal circuity of the PLC. It protects against hight voltages and rapidly changing voltages that can occur in the system. Input and output ports are the ports that the input and output devices are connected to. Flags is a term given for a data type used in PLC systems, more specifically it is the term that relates to simple on/off or I/O fields. Shift registers are information from previous program cycles stored by the PLC and later used/reflected on for running other programs. Operational Characteristics Scanning is the process that the PLC goes through starting with the input and ending with the output. One scan cycle would go as follows: READ INPUT > EXECUTE PROGRAM > PROCESS MESSAGES > EXECUTE SELF DIAGNOSTICS > WRITE OUTPUTS Read Input = PLC keeps checking for input signal Execute Program = PLC prepares program but doesnt send it Process Program = PLC reads the program and passes it on Execute Self Diagnostics = PLC will check the program works (theory test) Write Output = PLC then signals relevant outputs This is just one full scan cycle that happens every 5 millionths of a second, this shows just how fast PLCs operate. Continuous updating is the CPU scanning the inputs in the specified order with a build in delay. The CPU scans each individual input before the program is determined. This allows the CPU to only process valid input readings but does have a negative effect on the time it takes to process when there are a lot of inputs each with the delay. Information and Communication Techniques There are three forms of signal used with PLCs; analog, Digital and Discrete. Analog signals are typically 0-10v DC or 4-20mA. These inputs are converted in to numerical values when they enter the PLC so they can be processed in the program. The PLC can also convert to an analog signal on the output if required (if needed by the output device). Digital signals are different from the analog signal as they are not dynamic, instead they are normally a simple on or off signal. This signal can be processed quicker than the analog. PLCs work with digital signals internally. This type of signal comes from more non mechanical input devices (see section 7 non mechanical digital sources). A discrete signal is sort of a mixture of the two above. It is a signal that can have a variable value or range that is normally voltage of current. It provides a on of signal like the digital signal but will work within set ranges. For example a PLC using 12 V DC I/O might be set that a value about 10 V DV means on and Values below 6 V DC means off. PLCs are capable of working on various numbering systems. These numbering systems can be; decimal, binary, octal, hexadecimal or BCD. The most common being decimal or binary. The decimal numbering system is the linear array of digits and the placing of each digit. Depending on the order or placement of the digit will depend on their actual value, this means that you could have the same number but have a different value for each. An example would be the number 3563, the first digit = 31000, the second digit = 5100, the third digit = 610 and the fourth digit = 31. This allows a wide range of numbers to be used as each digit can go to 0-9. It also allows for the next number to increase when the number before exceeds 9. The binary numbering system uses a different way of translating a value. Where as with decimal number each digit can range between 0 and 9, binary systems only have 0-1. There are set numerical values that are chosen by using the 1 or 0. 2^7=128 2^6=64 2^5=32 2^4=16 2^3=8 2^2=4 2^1=2 2^0=1 1 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 The table above is an example of an 8 bit code. 8 bits of information (1s and 0s). When a 1 is displayed, the value above is active so the number 10011100 would actually be 12^7 + 0x2^6 + 0x2^5 + 12^4 + 12^3 + 12^2 + 0x2^1 + 0x2^0 = 156. Or displayed as 128 + 0 + 0 + 16 + 8 + 4 + 0 + 0 = 156. Methods of Programming PLCs can be programmed in various different ways; Ladder/logic diagrams, statement lists, functions Ladder and logic diagrams are a very popular simple way or PLC programming. They are a sort of pictorial type of programming that allows the programmer to see exactly whats happening. From the ladder diagram you are able to use use simulation software to trail run your program to check that it is working correctly before uploading it to the PLC. Within the software preset parts such as switches and relays are easily added to the program. An example of the ladder diagram is shown on the next page followed by a screenshot of the simulation. This shows the how a ladder diagram would be made and linked to a working simulation on the computer software, it is slightly different to how the actual PLC program will be written but works as a simulation before writing the real program. The diagram is drawn up with what will be required in the circuit such as sensors, switches, air supply etc. The ladder diagram is then drawn and all the parts that have been used in the circuit are linked to the ladder. Coils are also added to achieve the required cycle. Ladder Diagram Simulation of Ladder Diagram When the designer is happy with the PLC simulation program, he/she will then use it to write the actual PLC program for transferring to the PLC. This software is slightly different but still produces a ladder style diagram where operations run left to right. The PLC programming software will have preset parts that are entered to the program. Once the program reflects the tested simulation program, it is transferred straight to the PLC itself. Word count : 2504 words

Procrastination Essay -- essays research papers

1. What am I talking about? I am the thief of productiveness and time. I sound simple, but in fact I’m quite complex. I am a strange phenomenon. My purpose seems to make my life more pleasant, but instead it almost always adds stress, disorganization, and frequent failure. I want to achieve some outcome, usually something myself and others can value and respect; â€Å"I’ve got to start.† I delay briefly thinking of real and imagined advantages of starting to change later; â€Å"I will do it tomorrow.† 2. Good evening gentlemen. My name is Bobby Hurley. I’ve been in the military now for just over nine years. All this time I’ve always said that I’m going to finish my degree but until this past year I have never been able to stay committed to doing so because I am a procrastinator. I’ve gotten some help with my procrastination from various web sites. That’s why this evening I would like to talk to you about three important aspects of procrastination. These include the reasons for procrastinating, some symptoms of procrastination, and how to cure procrastination, but first, let me explain what procrastination is. Procrastination, though not officially classified as such, is a complex psychological behavior that affects everyone to some degree or another and can have roots in several officially recognized "illnesses", such as phobia, depression, and even low self-esteem. For some people it can be a minor problem but with others it is a source of considerable stress and anxiety. 3. This brings me to my first point, reasons for procrastinating. One reason for this is poor time management. What this is, is not being able to manage your day or yourself effectively. You may be uncertain of your priorities, goals and objectives or may be overwhelmed with the task. As a result, you may put off your academic assignments for a later date. You may also spend a great deal of time with your friends and social activities. Lastly, but most importantly, you worry about your upcoming examinations, class projects or papers rather than completing or studding for them. 4. Another cause of procrastination is having difficulty concentrating. What this is, is your inability to stay focused on one subject or object for any length of time. When you sit at your desk y... ...er projects, use a timer or alarm clock to help you stick with your plan. If you know you will not be able to concentrate on a project for 3 hours, break up your work into 1-hour blocks for 3 days. It's much easier to face an unpleasant task if the time you are giving it is brief. 9. Another method to cure procrastination is to avoid perfectionism. If you accept nothing less than a perfect performance, you may never get to work on a task because you're worried that it won't be perfect. Remember that doing your best is fine, and that giving yourself enough time to do your best will reduce stress. 10. In conclusion, I have covered three important aspects of procrastination to include the reasons for procrastinating, the symptoms of procrastination, and how to cure procrastination. I’d like to thank you for your time and attention and urge you the next time you’re thinking about putting off an assignment or task to think carefully about the long-term side effects. Sure, you might get some good grades or praise from your boss or teacher but eventually it will catch up with you and by that time it will be too late. Thank you.

Managing People†Lenovo China Essay

Summary This assignment expresses and evaluates the Lenovo China’s human resource management from five parts. At stating, it introduces simply the history of Lenovo China. Then, describing and analysing approach of people management in Lenovo is the key point through five elements of overall approach, system of rewarding performance, employees’ recruitment, methods to improve development employees and the appraisal of individual performance. In particularly, the last three is talked mainly. However, the appraisal system has a little problem. Next, it mentions the leadership of Lenovo China which is mixture Chinese and western style. At end of the assignment, it gives some personal idea and recommendations on the appraisal system. 1.0Introduction The report will appraise human recourse management and give recommendations for Lenovo China. At beginning, it will introduce the background of Lenovo China. Then it will describe Lenovo China’s approach of people management from five aspects. Especially, it will focus on selecting and developing employees as well as the appraisal. Then it will talk about Lenovo China’s leadership and organizational culture. Finally, it will give personal opinions on Lenovo China and evaluation. 2.0People management in Lenovo China 2.1Introduction of Lenovo China The Lenovo China was established in 1984, turning the name of â€Å"Personnel Department† into â€Å"Human Resources Department† in 1995 when they had been an increasing awareness of the importance of persons (Ge, 2004). Nowadays, Lenovo China was a successful company because Lenovo China had ranked NO.450 in the ranking of the fortune Global 500 (CNN, 2011). 2.2Approach of People management in Lenovo China 2.2.1Overall approach The overall approach of Lenovo China is the mixture of classical approach and modern management theory with combination of X and Y theory (Mullins, 2010). In classical approach (Mullins, 2010), Lenovo China do not use absolute power and control over people. They think highly of human resource, because they know the importance of the talents (Ren, 2003). In addition, Lenovo China’s leaders also communicate with employees and listen to their opinions in order to gain their trust, which could obtain more ideas for development of the corporation. In spite of this, Lenovo China still have a complete set of the corporation system to manage people (Pi, 2011). In Lenovo China, as employees are doing any work, they must comply with these three principles: 1.insisting on working according to the rules if there are rules. 2. Working according to the rules in advance and coming up with recommendations timely, if the rules are not reasonable. 3. Applying and working according to the cultural value criteria of Lenovo China, if there are no rules (Pi, 2011). Employees of Lenovo China are in a condition of relative strict control, but they will be provided properly freedom to conduct activities and take responsibilities. For instance, technicians in Lenovo China have rights to adjusting their work hours with freedom (Deng, 2002). Thus, Lenovo China could offer opportunities to fulfil their ego needs. The overall approach is with Chinese and western characteristics of management and combine well these two management model. Lenovo China do not allow individualism like America, but they advocate collectivism. However, they are not like the old Chinese management model—centralization. Thus, the new generations can not only fulfil themselves but enjoy freedom at the same time. There are rules to control yet. 2.2.2System of rewarding performance Lenovo China apply mainly the Alderfer’s ERG theory (Mullins, 2010) to motivate employees, because they have two approaches which are physical satisfaction and psychological satisfaction (Pi, 2011). At beginning, for old generations of Lenovo employee, they have higher psychological demands. In addition to prove that their own knowledge can transform into treasures, their purposes are concerns about development of China. These people do not ask for much in physical satisfaction (Ren, 2003). On the contrary, there is a strong collective sense of honour between the old generations of Lenovo people. Hence, the motivation for them is development of collective spirit and motivation of goals (Ren, 2003). Further, at present, the new generations of Lenovo people is primarily motivated by physical satisfaction, because a plenty of foreign corporations and joints ventures were entering into China after the 1990s with offering high wage to attract diverse people, it threatened state-owned enterprises (Ren, 2003). However, nowadays, Lenovo China’s physical satisfaction includes several sides: salary, bonus, welfare and warrants. Bones have company’s, departmental and individual (Ren, 2003). For example, the half of the excess complete part shall be handed over to the corporation, and their department will dispose the rest of part to reward or give welfare (Pi, 2011). Welfare is normal welfare, such as insurance and housing public fund and so on. However, Lenovo China take the high standard. For instant, government has set a rule that each person have to save the 4 percent to8 percent of salary for the housing public fund, then Lenovo China will save the 8 percent for employe es (Ren, 2003). The advantage of method of motivation is that employee could be stimulated to devote oneself to fulfilment of overall objectives and personal expectations. In addition, the ways of stimulations of Lenovo China are very reasonable, because it is according to difference of various people to provide distinct stimulation, such as different personality, knowledge and features of jobs (Deng, 2003). Nevertheless, the more physical reward, the more expectations. Overmuch physical reward could not exactly stimulate improvement of employees, to the contrary, it perhaps leads the employee to be greedy and get private benefit without thinking of organizational goals. 2.2.3Recruiting and selecting employees The process of selecting employees in Lenovo China is very strict. There are two aspects which are inside recruitment and outside recruitment (Mullins, 2010). Inside recruitment involve choosing managers from within the organization, however, Lenovo China adhere to observe their abilities in same working conditions rather than proud achievements in the past (Deng, 2002), which is special. In addition, outside recruitment needs to hire new from outside by put up the information of campus recruitment at first (Pi, 2011). Then, beside testing of quality and evaluation of comprehensive capacityï ¼Å' Lenovo China also have a face to face conversation (Deng, 2002). There are nine questions Lenovo will ask: 1.self introduction, 2. what do you do in your company and what does your company do, 3. your superiorities and tell why Lenovo need you, 4. your weaknesses,5.do you have some suggestions for Lenovo,6.do you have wallet, 7.do watch the news, 8.what do you think of the job you apply and how to do well, 9.contrast with Lenovo and other brand, and the their advantages(Shi, 2008). Moreover, Lenovo China are willing to recruit the young who graduate from a higher institution, such as, Tsinghua University, Peking University and Beijing Science and Technology University and so on. In order to contest with competitors to seeking the persons with ability of professional technique and senior management, Lenovo China held recruiting activities in universities in advance, and conducting activities was earlier than foreign companies in each year. These activities included publicity of idea of Lenovo China and a meeting between students and outstanding employees with an on-site consultation of employment. Further, Lenovo China sponsored a competition of website designation for the national college students and set up a special award (Pi, 2011). Providing these opportunities helps Lenovo China to better promote their own and attract graduated students and graduands effectively. Moreover, nowadays, Lenovo china â€Å"focus on people who operate effectively on a global scale, regardless of their birth country†(Hegar and Hodgetts, 2011 p. 536). Lenovo China had appointed William Amelio who was an American executive from DELL in late 2005 (Schuman, 2010). However, in those years, â€Å"Lenovo was missing out on the faster-growing segments of PC markets† (Schuman, 2010 p.2). It demonstrated that foreign was not quit knowing about Chinese markets. 2.2.4Methods to improve development of employees Lenovo China emphasize training and retaining employees via four methods, because all of these trainings and results are associated with promotion (Wang, 2006). At first, each employee must be working from bottom of the corporation, then, having promotion step by step, due to organizational culture though this process being inherited and absorbed preferably(Ren, 2003). Secondly, they will choose those employees who are the most improved employees to training by experienced leaders teaching young challengers who will be the deputy jobs (Ren, 2003). Thirdly, it is essential to training coordinated operational capacity through teaching how to build teams (Ren, 2003). Finally, Lenovo China deem to be substance that is an assurance to attract talented persons, such as, giving ten present of stock of coordination, bonus and social welfare according to taking highest standards (Ren, 2003), especially, having vacation with salary and rewarding immediately (Deng, 2002). In addition, with regard to new employments, they all require to attend various oriented trainings. Then, they need to gradually accept trainings of organizational culture, generic skills and aspects of business and management (Deng, 2002). What’s more, though a series of trainings results, evaluation of specialists and 360 degree feedback analyse what aspects of the employees need to strengthen. Next, Lenovo China consider what aspects employees require to train according to their own development. Combination of two parts determines content of training of these employees and the whole year training plans. (Wang, 2006) On the other hand, the method of dismissal and post changing is an old way, but it is popular with employees. When an employee could not exactly exert his knowledge in his position, leaders will consider to giving his chance to check his ability by giving his specific objects. If he could deal with, it illustrates that the thoughts of leader has deviation. If he failed, the leader will have a personal talk when he admits his faults, the leader will continue to supply an opportunity to him. If he could not success until the third opportunity, he will meet refresh the position he stays at present. Then, even if the leader give him a demotion with the same wage as before (Deng, 2002), meanwhile, he will feel not uncomfortable. To conclude, it is a hommization management respecting for each member of the development, providing space of development and helping. 2.2.5The appraisal of individual performance Lenovo China pay attention to performance and ability with very strict appraisal of individual performance (Wang, 2006). Human resource department and every department of managers implement and control the appraisal through two ways which are performance measures and capability assessment. Performance was measured by quantitative evaluation of quality and quantity and cost of accomplished work and other contributions for company. Capability assessment involves work ability, work attitude and potential development (Wang, 2006). Moreover, there are four forms to apprise: superiors to subordinates, staff in the same level, subordinates to superiors, and the department to the department. Meanwhile, Lenovo China use questionnaires for departments evaluate each others in each year (Wang, Zhao and Li, 2009). Furthermore, each leaders and employees should set objectives they want to achieve in each quarter and year and describe what the goals are and list specifically. In the end of each year and quarter, Human resource department and every department of managers have to exam whether the work is achieved and how the quality of work results is (Wang, 2006). In a word, salary decision, promotion and content of trainings are based on these results of the appraisal (Wang, Zhao and Li, 2009). The advantage of the appraisal of individual performance is realizing the importance of taking responsibility by encouraging employees to put their own objectives into enterprise goals (Deng, 2002). In addition, it could supervise the accomplishment of the work. Further, organization could monitor and measure the performance with fairness. However, the appraisal of Lenovo China has disadvantages that employees are evaluated by managers. Due to unsteady factors like personal factors and environmental factors, the result of appraisal will be influenced. What’s more, sometimes emotional problems extremely affect results of evaluation in the process of the appraisal. Some performances are easy to measure like sales, but some are not. 2.3Lenovo China’s leadership Recently, the news said Liu ChuanZhi resigned Chairman of Lenovo China but be an honorary Chairman; what’s more, Yang YuanQing became the Chief executive officer and Chairman (Lenovo, 2011). Liu ChuanZhi, as one of pioneer of the Lenovo China, he creates lots of legends. Therefore, he has his own leadership style. He is more like a participative style of leadership. Liu ChuanZhi always let them raise their new idea, he just inspire them to bring up new thoughts without managing specific matters (Deng, 2002). Moreover, Yang YunQing’s management model is incomplete directive leadership, because he gives his advice at beginning, and then let employees give their views, and at last, he makes decision (Deng, 2002). Consequently, they have a common point which is allowing employees to participate in process of making decisions. They both wish employees’ creative power to get close to organizational goals (Deng, 2002). Hence, this way of encouragement is a great opportunity to fulfil ego needs. In addition, Liu ChuanZhi has distinctive personality and strong charisma which convinces employees, because he is a man of his words, which shows not only in high demands to him but his accomplished commitments for shareholders and employees (Deng, 2002). 2.4Lenovo China’s organizational culture Liu ChuanZhi pays more attention on organizational culture, because it is a representative of Lenovo China and has significance of goals accomplishment (Ren, 2003) like task culture (Mullins, 2010). â€Å"It is reflected in the statement: We do what we say and own what we do (Lenovo, 2011)†. There are four major organizational cultures. Firstly, Lenovo China quite advocate spirit of cooperation, because Lenovo China believe that it is a requirement of maintaining a consistent team (Deng, 2002). Secondly, they emphasize spirit of struggle, because Liu ChuanZhi said that five percent of hope turned into one hundred percent of reality. For example, in 1991, Lenovo Hong Kong had loss of more than fifty million Hong Kong dollars in three months, Lenovo overcame. As a result, Liu ChuanZhi suffered Meniere’s from syndrome (Deng, 2002). Thirdly, great reputation and credit is life of corporation. There are two types which are individuals and corporation. Individual reputation and credit means that working seriously and doing what they had said can win the trust of users, colleagues, subordinates and superior. The reputation and credit of corporation came from satisfaction of users. Lenovo China would rather lose money than lose credibility and reputation (Deng, 2002). For instance, in 2003, the rate of bad account is less than 0.005% (Ren, 2003). Fourthly, innovation and study are one of the cultural of corporation (Deng, 2002). Today’s successes are result from Lenovo China innovating and studying continually. Further, there is a special organizational culture; they have a â€Å"CTIME† for encouraging communicating like a friend. Meanwhile, CTIME means coffee time. Each afternoon at 1o’clock, employees and leaders go to the third floor and can talk easily. Especially, leaders will pay employees for coffee every Tuesday which is for encouraging friendly c ommunication from each other (Pi, 2011). Therefore, the culture of Lenovo China is successful to let employees have cohesions through communication and teamwork. In addition, the efficiency of execution is high because of nice teamwork. Overall, it is a relative perfect culture. 3.0Personal opinions on Lenovo China If there is an opportunity to work in Lenovo China, â€Å"YES† is the answer. At starting, this is a big and well-know corporation. For ego needs, it is based on satisfaction of physical needs at first, like food, clothes and so on. In addition, leadership in Lenovo China is different from other old state-enterprises, because it can produce a sense of belonging through each involvement of employees. When employees contribute to Lenovo China, it is important to embody the meaning of individual existence. They are not complete power control but participative style. Thus, there are more spaces to allow employees to develop strengths though proper freedom. Moreover, the relationship of colleagues is fair competitions instead of vicious and harmful competitions, which makes employments safety. Due to Lenovo China advocating friendly communication between leaders and employees, this policy can get rid of estrangement between people and give enough respect for employees which is attractive. Hence, ego needs could be satisfied. Then, for individual development, Lenovo China offer relevant help. They choose training employees to learn new skills for free, because they have their own training base. Apart from the theoretical knowledge, there are leaders passing on knowledge of their experiences which is treasure and cannot learn from books directly. However, the appraisal of individual performance has a little problem which is evaluation with personal emotions. Perhaps, it is unavoidable, but it can be evaluated through various channels. For example, individual evaluation could do like department appraisal which is evaluated by doing questionnaires in other departments, managers and employees. In other words, the appraisal of individual performance can be evaluated by colleagues, managers and users. 4.0Conclusion In conclusion, it can be seen then that Lenovo China’s people management is relatively successful. Success of Lenovo China is showed on three parts which are approach of people management, leadership and organizational culture. In particularly, in part of approach, it focuses on three aspects which are selecting employees and how to develop employees and the appraisal system. Especially, it indicates that the appraisal of individual performance has shortage. In addition, it mentions that organizational culture is the core of corporation. Finally, it gives opinions on human relation of Lenovo China and reasons. Reference CNN. 2011. Annual ranking of the world’s largest corporations [On-line]. CNN Money. Available from: http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/global500/2011/full_list/401_500.html [Accessed 11 December 2011]. Deng, Z.H. 2002. The human resource management of legend. Hohhotï ¼Å¡Publication of the people of Inter Mongolia Ge, X. 2004. To discuss the Manpower Recourses Management of Legend Grow up. Journal of Liaoning Business Vocational College, 63(2), 18-19. [On-line]. Wang Fang Data. Available from: http://d.g.wanfangdata.com.cn/Periodical_lnswzyxyxb200402009.aspx [Accessed 11 December 2011]. Hegar,K.W.and Hodgetts R.M. 2011. Modern human relations at Work. Google Books. Available from: http://books.google.com.au/books?id=kleg0QYjidUC&pg=PA536&dq=Lenovo+China+human+resource&hl=zh-CN&ei=BL_lTuqtHMSaiAf9v8y2BQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=book-preview-link&resnum=2&ved=0CEMQuwUwAQ#v=onepage&q=Lenovo%20China%20human%20resource&f=false [Accessed 12 December 2011] Lenovo. 2011. Our Company [On-line]. Lenovo. http://www.lenovo.com/lenovo/ca/en/our_company.html [Accessed 15 December 2011] Mullins, L.J. 2010. 9nd ed. Management & organizational behavior. London: Prentice Hall Pi. B.W. 2011. Liu ChuanZhi: Diaries of Managing Lenovo. Beijing: China Railway Publication. Shi,Y.Y. 2008. Analyses and Enlightenment of the model of human resource management. Industrial and science Tribune, 7(12), 250-251. [On-line]. Wang Fang Data. Available from: http://d.g.wanfangdata.com.cn/Periodical_cyykjlt200812123.aspx [Accessed 12 December 2011] Ren, X. 2003. Liu ChuanZhi discussing experience of Lenovo China. Beijing ï ¼Å¡Thread Binding Books publishing House Wang, J.P. 2006. Lenovo:How to turn students into elites. Computer Education, (9), 66-69. [On-line]. Wang Fang Data. Available from: http://d.g.wanfangdata.com.cn/Periodical_jsjjy200609021.aspx. [Accessed 13 December 2011] Zhang, Y.S., Zhao, M.X. and Li, J. 2009. Human Resources Management Cases Series. Beijing: China Social Sciences Press

Nursing and nutrition

IntroductionIn different healthcare institutions the question of feeding patients, particularly those who are seriously sick and expected to die soon, raises questions of moral and ethical nature thus making a decision making process very difficult for the caring staff. Such questions may include:–  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   How can decisions of giving or withholding feeding and hydration be made?–  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   What values and assumptions underlie these decisions?–  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Which courses of action are in the patient's ‘best interest', and how is this ‘interest' determined?–  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   How and when, if ever, should a decision not to feed or hydrate be made?–  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Can so basic a provision as food and water ever be considered as optional care?In most of the healthcare institutions whether they are hospitals or senior homes, the decision making lies within the practice of the nurses who are usually faced with dilemmas. While doctors are more advanced in professional knowledge they rarely find themselves in the difficult situation of making the decision of withholding nutrition or giving it. However, there is sometimes a differentiation between nutrition as part of the care given to the patient and nutrition as a biological life sustaining process:â€Å"In modern practice there is often an underlying tension between two different understandings of ‘nourishing' the patient. First, nourishing as an intrinsic part of giving care, which falls within the realm of nursing. Second, nourishing as a biological and technical process, a life-sustaining treatment under the control of the medical or nutrition team (from which the nurse may be excluded).† (Hunt, 1994)Yet the daily practice and the roles of nurses and doctors indicate that the nurses find themselves in the dilemma of making the decision more than other medical staff. In many cases where the withholding of nutrition is legally right and in the interest of the patient, the nurse still finds herself in the ethical and professional dilemma. She is not given the opportunity to discuss her opinion or given any information. As a result whatever decision she makes may be taken as wrong regardless of the fact that she was partially ignorant.The dilemma is even more difficult when considering nutrition as a basic need or a medical treatment. For a seriously sick person one may accept withholding medication or a technological device that prolongs life unnecessarily, but it is not easy to withhold nutrition which is the basic need for healthy and unhealthy persons.  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Dresser asks, ‘Ought we to regard tube and intravenous feeding as forms of medical treatment, or should we classify them with more basic sorts of care?'† (Dresser, 1985)The decision of withholding nutrition or hydration is a difficult ethical questi on that poses emotional stress on the nurses. Withholding medication or technological devices is justifiable and there is enough professional and legal guidance for healthcare staff to follow. Indeed, â€Å"Food and water are so central to an array of human emotions that it is almost impossible to consider them with the same emotional detachment that one might feel toward a respirator or a dialysis machine† (Lynn & Childress, 1983)In this research I am going to study this issue in order to confirm or rule out the possibility of establishing a professional guidance that assists the nurses in decision making. This is expected to relief them from a lot of stress and confusion that are imposed as a result of dealing with the issue on personal terms rather dealing with it objectively according to professional guidance and standards.The proposal for this research will be studied under the following headings:1.    Description of a case study2.    Literature review3.      Pro posal4.      Summary and ConclusionsDescription of a Case StudyA case study either from literature or from the records of healthcare institution is expected to illustrate the extent of the problem and its importance. In addition this will emphasise the roles of nurses, relatives and patients in the decision making process. It would also highlight the difficulties facing nurses at different stages of care giving for seriously sick persons.  At this stage of building the skeleton of this research paper very little can be said about the case study until one has been adopted.Literature ReviewThe literature generally confirms the importance of the problem and has been addressing the issues related to the problem of nutrition for sometime now. While it is suggested in the literature that in some cases of chronically ill persons the provision of nutrition is burdensome rather than beneficial, it is agreed that the interpersonal and inter-professional tensions of nurses are ignored. ( Hunt, 1994) It is also pointed out that the stressful environment in which nurses provide their professional care sometimes result in burnouts.The burnout case â€Å"evolves by a process involving three stages: (a) an imbalance between resources and demands, (b) the immediate short-term emotional response to the imbalance, and (c) changes in attitude and behavior such as negativism and emotional detachment† (Riordan & Saltzer, 1992). However, it is also indicated that there are personal differences here: while one may react to stressors by becoming a burnout another with personal hardiness may find the stressors only minor irritants. Riordan and Saltzer (1992) assert:  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Current literature points unanimously to a proactive approach in preventing burnout. This preserves organizational integrity by maintaining human resources and supplying cost-effective care while maintaining quality† (Riordan & Saltzer, 1992).There are a number of suggestions for reducing stress and assisting nurses to cope with the environmental difficulties, though no specific guidelines or procedures are given for dealing with the problem of nutrition and hydration.  It is also indicated in the literature that nutrition and hydration in some terminal cases may only prolong the biological life which is thought to be burdensome for some patients and their families. As Hunt (1994) asserts: â€Å"Feeding may in some circumstances prolong the process of dying and may cause avoidable suffering to the dying patient.†While generally the decision of using nutrition support for the terminally ill people is discussed as a problem facing nurses, some scholars relate the decision to dietitians.  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Clinical guidelines for nutrition support indicate that dietitians should be members of institutional ethics committees and should have an integral role in institutional policy development concerning nutrition support at the end of lifeâ€Å" (Langdon et al, 2002)To put it in a nutshell the literature review confirms the dilemma facing healthcare professionals, particularly nurses, and families in dealing with the decision of providing nutrition and hydration or withholding it for chronically ill people whose illness is diagnosed as terminal. It is also confirmed that the decision making involves personal feelings, ethics, and sometimes legal consideration. Yet there are no clear professional guidelines that streamline the decision making in this issue in the professional practice. Rather there are observations of some acceptable practices.Sometimes the distinction between ordinary and extraordinary is used as a means of reaching decision.  Ã¢â‚¬Å"However, there appears to be an increasing opinion that artificial feeding can be viewed as a'heroic' method of treatment and is morally optional (Meyers and Grodin 1991, Hoefler and Kamoie 1994, Singer 1995, Gillick 2000).This optional treatment is referred to as ‘extraordinary' and is more likely t o be invasive, artificial or complex. Nevertheless, the Hastings Centre guidelines, cited in Meyers and Grodin (1991), stated that decisions over whether to provide artificial nutrition and hydration cannot be made solely on the distinction between ordinary and extraordinary methods of treatment. Despite this, Solomon et al (1993) demonstrated that 74 per cent of health professionals continued to use this distinction in termination of treatment decisions. It would also seem that the decision was significantly influenced by whether it was a decision to withdraw treatment or simply not initiate it in the first place. The Hastings Centre guidelines stipulate that this distinction should not be a consideration (Meyers and Grodin 1991)† (Young et al, 2002).The problem of decision making in providing or withholding nutrition and hydration in the case terminally ill people is a dilemma for nurses until some professional steps are identified to make the decision an objective one made on the basis of professional judgement   rather than being a personal one affected by personal feelings, ethics, beliefs etc.ProposalSince the aim of the study is to justify a professional basis for decision making, in this study we will attempt to investigate the possibility of establishing professional guidelines that may relief the burden on nurses. This will involve identifying criteria that make withholding nutrition more beneficial to the patient than prolonging his biological life. It should also be essential to identify professional means that enable healthcare staff to decide that a patient is not making any sense of life and advise families accordingly to participate in decision making. This should be important especially when the patient is suffering pain or given morphine regularly.In order to be able to design a professional tool or procedure that assists nurses in decision making through this study or alternatively recommend further research on this issue, the study will be a non-experimental one designed to elicit the RN’s attitudes towards nutrition of chronically ill patients using survey instrumentation.The sample will be full time RNs employed by a healthcare region in hospitals and nursing homes of the region. It is advisable to include also a sample of dietitians working in the same healthcare institutions. The RNs involved need to be well informed about the study and its aims and should be positively motivated to participate in the study.It is also important for the study to be approved by a professional body that confirms the study question and methods are ethical.  The instruments of the study should be designed in a way that they measure the attitude of the study sample towards giving or withholding nutrition and hydration for a variety of terminally ill patients. It is also important to determine the internal consistency reliability for the questionnaires and structured interviews.Summary and ConclusionsThese will follow na turally from the analysis of data and discussions and will eventually constitute a recommendation: either a draft of a guideline for assisting nurses in decision making or alternatively suggestions for further research in order to identify a suitable professional tool for relieving the burden on nurses.ReferencesI am not going to list the references now since this is just a skeleton to discuss with your supervisor; unless you deem it necessary.  The word count may not be exactly 3500, but I think what has been written here is enough for your purposes. As soon as you give feedback on this I will start work on the proposal. Nursing and nutrition IntroductionIn different healthcare institutions the question of feeding patients, particularly those who are seriously sick and expected to die soon, raises questions of moral and ethical nature thus making a decision making process very difficult for the caring staff. Such questions may include:How can decisions of giving or withholding feeding and hydration be made?What values and assumptions underlie these decisions?Which courses of action are in the patient's ‘best interest', and how is this ‘interest' determined?How and when, if ever, should a decision not to feed or hydrate be made?Can so basic a provision as food and water ever be considered as optional care?In most of the healthcare institutions whether they are hospitals or senior homes, the decision making lies within the practice of the nurses who are usually faced with dilemmas. While doctors are more advanced in professional knowledge they rarely find themselves in the difficult situation of making the decis ion of withholding nutrition or giving it. However, there is sometimes a differentiation between nutrition as part of the care given to the patient and nutrition as a biological life sustaining process:â€Å"In modern practice there is often an underlying tension between two different understandings of ‘nourishing' the patient. First, nourishing as an intrinsic part of giving care, which falls within the realm of nursing. Second, nourishing as a biological and technical process, a life-sustaining treatment under the control of the medical or nutrition team (from which the nurse may be excluded).† (Hunt, 1994)Yet the daily practice and the roles of nurses and doctors indicate that the nurses find themselves in the dilemma of making the decision more than other medical staff. In many cases where the withholding of nutrition is legally right and in the interest of the patient, the nurse still finds herself in the ethical and professional dilemma. She is not given the oppor tunity to discuss her opinion or given any information. As a result whatever decision she makes may be taken as wrong regardless of the fact that she was partially ignorant.The dilemma is even more difficult when considering nutrition as a basic need or a medical treatment. For a seriously sick person one may accept withholding medication or a technological device that prolongs life unnecessarily, but it is not easy to withhold nutrition which is the basic need for healthy and unhealthy persons.â€Å"Dresser asks, ‘Ought we to regard tube and intravenous feeding as forms of medical treatment, or should we classify them with more basic sorts of care?'† (Dresser, 1985)The decision of withholding nutrition or hydration is a difficult ethical question that poses emotional stress on the nurses. Withholding medication or technological devices is justifiable and there is enough professional and legal guidance for healthcare staff to follow. Indeed, â€Å"Food and water are so central to an array of human emotions that it is almost impossible to consider them with the same emotional detachment that one might feel toward a respirator or a dialysis machine† (Lynn & Childress, 1983)In this research I am going to study this issue in order to confirm or rule out the possibility of establishing a professional guidance that assists the nurses in decision making. This is expected to relief them from a lot of stress and confusion that are imposed as a result of dealing with the issue on personal terms rather dealing with it objectively according to professional guidance and standards.The proposal for this research will be studied under the following headings:1. Description of a case study2.   Literature review3.   Proposal4.   Summary and ConclusionsDescription of a Case StudyA case study either from literature or from the records of healthcare institution is expected to illustrate the extent of the problem and its importance. In addition this will em phasise the roles of nurses, relatives and patients in the decision making process. It would also highlight the difficulties facing nurses at different stages of care giving for seriously sick persons.At this stage of building the skeleton of this research paper very little can be said about the case study until one has been adopted.Literature ReviewThe literature generally confirms the importance of the problem and has been addressing the issues related to the problem of nutrition for sometime now. While it is suggested in the literature that in some cases of chronically ill persons the provision of nutrition is burdensome rather than beneficial, it is agreed that the interpersonal and inter-professional tensions of nurses are ignored. (Hunt, 1994)It is also pointed out that the stressful environment in which nurses provide their professional care sometimes result in burnouts. The burnout case â€Å"evolves by a process involving three stages: (a) an imbalance between resources an d demands, (b) the immediate short-term emotional response to the imbalance, and (c) changes in attitude and behavior such as negativism and emotional detachment† (Riordan & Saltzer, 1992). However, it is also indicated that there are personal differences here: while one may react to stressors by becoming a burnout another with personal hardiness may find the stressors only minor irritants. Riordan and Saltzer (1992) assert:â€Å"Current literature points unanimously to a proactive approach in preventing burnout. This preserves organizational integrity by maintaining human resources and supplying cost-effective care while maintaining quality† (Riordan & Saltzer, 1992).There are a number of suggestions for reducing stress and assisting nurses to cope with the environmental difficulties, though no specific guidelines or procedures are given for dealing with the problem of nutrition and hydration.It is also indicated in the literature that nutrition and hydration in some t erminal cases may only prolong the biological life which is thought to be burdensome for some patients and their families. As Hunt (1994) asserts: â€Å"Feeding may in some circumstances prolong the process of dying and may cause avoidable suffering to the dying patient.†While generally the decision of using nutrition support for the terminally ill people is discussed as a problem facing nurses, some scholars relate the decision to dietitians.â€Å"Clinical guidelines for nutrition support indicate that dietitians should be members of institutional ethics committees and should have an integral role in institutional policy development concerning nutrition support at the end of lifeâ€Å" (Langdon et al, 2002)To put it in a nutshell the literature review confirms the dilemma facing healthcare professionals, particularly nurses, and families in dealing with the decision of providing nutrition and hydration or withholding it for chronically ill people whose illness is diagnosed as terminal. It is also confirmed that the decision making involves personal feelings, ethics, and sometimes legal consideration. Yet there are no clear professional guidelines that streamline the decision making in this issue in the professional practice. Rather there are observations of some acceptable practices.Sometimes the distinction between ordinary and extraordinary is used as a means of reaching decision.â€Å"However, there appears to be an increasing opinion that artificial feeding can be viewed as a'heroic' method of treatment and is morally optional (Meyers and Grodin 1991, Hoefler and Kamoie 1994, Singer 1995, Gillick 2000). This optional treatment is referred to as ‘extraordinary' and is more likely to be invasive, artificial or complex. Nevertheless, the Hastings Centre guidelines, cited in Meyers and Grodin (1991), stated that decisions over whether to provide artificial nutrition and hydration cannot be made solely on the distinction between ordinary and ex traordinary methods of treatment. Despite this, Solomon et al (1993) demonstrated that 74 per cent of health professionals continued to use this distinction in termination of treatment decisions. It would also seem that the decision was significantly influenced by whether it was a decision to withdraw treatment or simply not initiate it in the first place. The Hastings Centre guidelines stipulate that this distinction should not be a consideration (Meyers and Grodin 1991)† (Young et al, 2002).The problem of decision making in providing or withholding nutrition and hydration in the case terminally ill people is a dilemma for nurses until some professional steps are identified to make the decision an objective one made on the basis of professional judgement   rather than being a personal one affected by personal feelings, ethics, beliefs etc.ProposalSince the aim of the study is to justify a professional basis for decision making, in this study we will attempt to investigate t he possibility of establishing professional guidelines that may relief the burden on nurses. This will involve identifying criteria that make withholding nutrition more beneficial to the patient than prolonging his biological life. It should also be essential to identify professional means that enable healthcare staff to decide that a patient is not making any sense of life and advise families accordingly to participate in decision making. This should be important especially when the patient is suffering pain or given morphine regularly.In order to be able to design a professional tool or procedure that assists nurses in decision making through this study or alternatively recommend further research on this issue, the study will be a non-experimental one designed to elicit the RN’s attitudes towards nutrition of chronically ill patients using survey instrumentation.The sample will be full time RNs employed by a healthcare region in hospitals and nursing homes of the region. It is advisable to include also a sample of dietitians working in the same healthcare institutions. The RNs involved need to be well informed about the study and its aims and should be positively motivated to participate in the study.It is also important for the study to be approved by a professional body that confirms the study question and methods are ethical.The instruments of the study should be designed in a way that they measure the attitude of the study sample towards giving or withholding nutrition and hydration for a variety of terminally ill patients. It is also important to determine the internal consistency reliability for the questionnaires and structured interviews.Summary and ConclusionsThese will follow naturally from the analysis of data and discussions and will eventually constitute a recommendation: either a draft of a guideline for assisting nurses in decision making or alternatively suggestions for further research in order to identify a suitable professional tool for relieving the burden on nurses.ReferencesI am not going to list the references now since this is just a skeleton to discuss with your supervisor; unless you deem it necessary.The word count may not be exactly 3500, but I think what has been written here is enough for your purposes. As soon as you give feedback on this I will start work on the proposal.

Definition of Interpretive Sociology

Definition of Interpretive Sociology Interpretive sociology is an approach developed by Max Weber that centers on the importance of meaning and action when studying  social trends and problems. This approach diverges from positivistic sociology by recognizing that the subjective experiences, beliefs, and behavior of people are  equally important to study as are observable, objective facts. Max Webers Interpretive Sociology Interpretive sociology was developed and popularized by Prussian founding figure of the field Max Weber. This theoretical approach and the research methods that go with it is rooted in the German word  verstehen, which means to understand, in particular to have a meaningful understanding of something. To practice interpretive sociology is to attempt to understand social phenomena from the standpoint of those involved in it. It is, so to speak, to attempt to walk in someone elses shoes and see the world as they see it. Interpretive sociology is, thus, focused on understanding the meaning that those studied give to their beliefs, values, actions, behaviors, and social relationships with people and institutions. Georg Simmel, a contemporary of Weber, is also recognized as a major developer of interpretive sociology. This approach to producing theory and research encourages sociologists to view those studied as thinking and feeling subjects as opposed to objects of scientific research. Weber developed interpretive sociology because he saw a deficiency in the positivistic sociology pioneered by French founding figure Émile Durkheim. Durkheim worked to make sociology be seen as a science by centering empirical, quantitative data as its practice. However, Weber and Simmel recognized that the positivistic approach is not able to capture all social phenomena, nor is it able to fully explain why all social phenomena occur or what is important to understand about them. This approach focuses on objects (data) whereas interpretive sociologists focus on subjects (people). Meaning and the Social Construction of Reality Within interpretive sociology, rather than attempting to work as detached, seemingly objective observers and analyzers of social phenomena, researchers instead work to understand how the  groups they study actively construct the reality of their everyday lives through the meaning they give to their actions. To approach sociology this way is often necessary to conduct participatory research that embeds the researcher in the daily lives of those they study. Further, interpretive sociologists work to understand how the groups they study construct meaning and reality through attempts to empathize with them, and as much as possible, to understand their experiences and actions from their own perspectives. This means that sociologists who take an interpretive approach work to collect qualitative data rather than quantitative data because taking this approach rather than a positivistic one means that a research approaches the subject matter with different kinds of assumptions, asks different kinds of questions about it, and requires different kinds of data and methods for responding to those questions. The methods interpretive sociologists employ include in-depth interviews, focus groups, and ethnographic observation. Example: How Interpretive Sociologists Study Race One area in which positivistic and interpretive forms of sociology produce very different kinds of questions and research is the study of race and social issues connected with it. Positivistic approaches to this are of study tend to focus on counting and tracking trends over time. This kind of research can illustrate things like how education level, income, or voting patterns differ on the basis of race. Research like this can show us that there are clear correlations between race and these other variables. For example, within the U.S., Asian Americans are the most likely to earn a college degree, followed by whites, then Blacks, then Hispanics and Latinos. The gap between Asian Americans and Latinos is vast: 60 percent of those aged 25-29 versus just 15 percent. But these quantitative data simply show us that a problem of educational disparity by race exists. They dont explain it, and they dont tell us anything about the experience of it. In contrast, sociologist Gilda Ochoa took an interpretive approach to studying this gap and conducted long-term ethnographic observation at a California high school to find out why this disparity exists. Her 2013 book,  Academic Profiling:  Latinos, Asian Americans, and the Achievement Gap​, based on interviews with students, faculty, staff and parents, as well as observations within the school, shows that it is unequal access to opportunities, racist and classist assumptions about students and their families, and differential treatment of students within the schooling experience that leads to the achievement gap between the two groups. Ochoas findings run counter to common assumptions about the groups that frame Latinos as culturally and intellectually deficient and Asian Americans as model minorities and serve as a fantastic demonstration of the importance of conducting interpretive sociological research.

Terrorism's Future Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Terrorism's Future - Research Paper Example One of the major factors that identify nuclear weapon terrorism as the next biggest threat is preparedness against other forms of terrorism, by nations such as the United States, through defense forces. This followed the New York City attack that identified vulnerability to terrorism. The New York City attack also led to exploration of possibility of nuclear terrorism attack against the United States. Following the readiness and the knowledge that an ordinary offensive might not be successful, terrorist groups must be exploring more deadly approaches such as application of nuclear weapons and weapons of mass destructions. America’s high position in the international community also identifies it as a potential terrorist target and fears have been raised during the nation’s major events such as â€Å"the 2009 inauguration ceremony of President Barack Obama† (Richelson, 2012, P. 1). Such terrorist target may attract efforts for mega terrorist attacks such as applica tion of nuclear weapons (Richelson, 2012). Development of nuclear weapons by countries such as India and Pakistan together with fears that countries like North Korea and Iran could have accessed the weapons is another threat of possible nuclear terrorism against Nuclear Weapon Countries such as the United States. This is because the countries have a responsibility to ensure non-proliferation or non-development of nuclear weapons by countries other than the Nuclear Weapon Countries. An enemy to such a responsibility may therefore use the deadly weapons to intimidate against control nuclear weapons’ armament and proliferation (Nti, n.d; Montgomery, 2010). Trend in development of technology also raises fears that terrorist groups can secretly develop nuclear weapons in a nation or smuggle the weapons. These factors therefore identify possibility of access and transfer of nuclear weapons by terrorist groups to targets countries for

Toyotas Strategy and Initiative in Europe Case Study

Toyotas Strategy and Initiative in Europe - Case Study Example However, instead of being engaged in price competition, companies are scaling down their operations. The uniqueness of Toyota's strategy was that it designed and manufactured locally adapted models. This strategy helped the company to increase sales: "by almost 50 percent from 2000 to 2005. The new strategy paid off financially, too. According to Business Week, the operating profit increased ninefold to $654 million in 2003" (Thompson et al 2008, p. C245). Research and innovation are a part of Toyota's success. The company launched its new car Aygo and "challenged many of its traditional views: the car was specifically designed for the European market and exclusively" (Thompson et al 2008, p. C245). For Toyota, this business decision is multi-dimensional and extremely complex. It is impossible to assume that business decisions even approach rationality, let alone perfect rationality. Toyota has to make complex decisions and, because of the multi-dimensionality of their decision conditions, they make many decisions (Annual Report Toyota 2008). Product adaptability and outsources are also key success factors. Today's consumer has a tremendous number of choices. Most of the products are complex and many of them have additives, preservatives, and other chemicals. Some of them are dangerous. Many of them have hazardous long-term effects. It is virtually impossible for the modern consumer to be rational and maximizing. Normal average consumers are typically confused and have difficulty making satisfactory decisions. Even though they may have the capability to evaluate functional product attributes in a rational manner, they lack the time and motivation to do so (Annual Report Toyota 2008). Global expansion and penetration to the North American market improves Toyota's position on the market "For 2006 Toyota was expected to reach 9 million units in production-with luxury brand Lexus reaching the 500,000 units mark for the first time (up from 400,000 units in 2004)" (Thompson et al 2008, p. C246). Toyota follows growth strategies based on the idea that expansion and market development will help it to attract new customers. According to its Annual repot: "Toyota expects to record net sales of 2,000.0 billion ahead of schedule for the fi scal year ending March 31, 2008" (Annual Report 2008, p. 3). The global car market is not only very complex but also not quite open for entry. Investment in research and development improve its position and increase opportunities on the global scale (Financial Results. Presentations 2008). 2. SWOT analysis shows that there is a strong correlation between successful strategies and direction selected by the company and its financial performance. The main strength is stable position on the market and loyal consumers. Financial statements highlight that in 2007 Toyota has increased its sales in 4.7% in comparison with 2006. Its operation income increased in 17.3% and income before income taxes and minority interests increased in 29.2 %. The net income is $40,309 million (2007) in comparison with 30,268 million in 2006 (see Appendix 1, 2). The main opportunity for Toyota is growth. Growth up until the 1990s meant expanding productive capabilities and market opportunities and making sure that this growth would yield better