Eight Step to Integrity

3/26/2013 Eight Steps toward Integrity The eight steps toward integrity are very important when working in a business in this situation they can be used very wisely. The eight steps are doing what we say we will do: It includes keeping promises and meeting deadlines. Doing the right thing: With the awareness of what’s right comes the obligation of right action. Taking responsibility: Acknowledge our complete, sole responsibility for every one of our actions. Supporting our own weight: This means functioning as a whole, being able to support all the elements of our own lives.Defining the rules and values: Explicit agreement about these basics enables groups of people, from couples to business organizations to nations, to benefit from the integrity of members. Checking the mirror: Is when we err—as we will, again and again—the best response is to pause for reflection obscure the big picture. Respecting others: Invoke integrity in other people by treating them with respect—even when they do not live up to our expectations. Holistic thinking: Since integrity is a quality of wholeness, an appreciation of wholeness in the world supports its practice.Delman and the location managers have many of the eight steps that apply to them in this situation Frist, Doing what they say they will do. Delman and the Manages need to be true to their word. If they are going to tell the government inspector that they provide the food for his department holiday party that exactly what they need to do. There is no need for the team to go back on their word. Second, doing the right thing if the law tells the team that things in the business need to be changed because of the new local health codes that are what Delman and the mangers should do.Doing the right thing is not hard to do it is a person just having the willing heart and mind to do so that’s all it takes. Third, Taking Reasonability that what Delman need to do he has to realize he has to make t he changes in the business and he as the final say so that needs to be done. Delman needs to know that other people and outside events are not the cause of problems. When we see something in the world that we don’t like, we recognize our personal responsibility. Knowing your responsibility in life is good but we still need to know how to respect other and their ideas.Make sure we are doing thing the right way. Delman has to make sure he gets the best from others in an atmosphere that supports doing right. Fifth, Defining the rules and values what are the thing to be done follow them. Delman and the managers have to follow rules to get the government to do what they have to do Delman need to make sure they hold up the end of the stick. Because it is said absent consensus, personal integrity can lead dissenting individuals to subvert the group.Delman needs people sharing the same intentions, by contrast, disagreements can help to refine and improve ideas for the benefit of all. I have chosen five out of the eight steps that I feel that Delman and the Sale Managers need to follow in this situation. Delman and Lei are running a great business some of the things need to be changed just to improve it and make thing correct according to the legal health codes. I feel if they follow the step I have recommended will help them out a lot and make things go smoother and I can say I think well. Eight Step to Integrity 3/26/2013 Eight Steps toward Integrity The eight steps toward integrity are very important when working in a business in this situation they can be used very wisely. The eight steps are doing what we say we will do: It includes keeping promises and meeting deadlines. Doing the right thing: With the awareness of what’s right comes the obligation of right action. Taking responsibility: Acknowledge our complete, sole responsibility for every one of our actions. Supporting our own weight: This means functioning as a whole, being able to support all the elements of our own lives.Defining the rules and values: Explicit agreement about these basics enables groups of people, from couples to business organizations to nations, to benefit from the integrity of members. Checking the mirror: Is when we err—as we will, again and again—the best response is to pause for reflection obscure the big picture. Respecting others: Invoke integrity in other people by treating them with respect—even when they do not live up to our expectations. Holistic thinking: Since integrity is a quality of wholeness, an appreciation of wholeness in the world supports its practice.Delman and the location managers have many of the eight steps that apply to them in this situation Frist, Doing what they say they will do. Delman and the Manages need to be true to their word. If they are going to tell the government inspector that they provide the food for his department holiday party that exactly what they need to do. There is no need for the team to go back on their word. Second, doing the right thing if the law tells the team that things in the business need to be changed because of the new local health codes that are what Delman and the mangers should do.Doing the right thing is not hard to do it is a person just having the willing heart and mind to do so that’s all it takes. Third, Taking Reasonability that what Delman need to do he has to realize he has to make t he changes in the business and he as the final say so that needs to be done. Delman needs to know that other people and outside events are not the cause of problems. When we see something in the world that we don’t like, we recognize our personal responsibility. Knowing your responsibility in life is good but we still need to know how to respect other and their ideas.Make sure we are doing thing the right way. Delman has to make sure he gets the best from others in an atmosphere that supports doing right. Fifth, Defining the rules and values what are the thing to be done follow them. Delman and the managers have to follow rules to get the government to do what they have to do Delman need to make sure they hold up the end of the stick. Because it is said absent consensus, personal integrity can lead dissenting individuals to subvert the group.Delman needs people sharing the same intentions, by contrast, disagreements can help to refine and improve ideas for the benefit of all. I have chosen five out of the eight steps that I feel that Delman and the Sale Managers need to follow in this situation. Delman and Lei are running a great business some of the things need to be changed just to improve it and make thing correct according to the legal health codes. I feel if they follow the step I have recommended will help them out a lot and make things go smoother and I can say I think well.

“Everyday Use ” Summary by Alice Walker

â€Å"Everyday Use† In â€Å"Everyday Use†, author, Alice Walker uses the backdrop of a small town family using characters Maggie and Dee and Mama to symbolize the dynamics of the greater African American color, educational and class struggle in America. She uses the family because it is an institution that every reader can identify with. This is a story of what it really means to â€Å"make it† in the Black family and Black community. Mama typifies the single parent who is functioning in the dual role of mother and father. Walker makes no mention of Dee and Maggie’s father in the story but rather characterizes Mama as a â€Å"big-boned woman with man-working hands†(1) and gives Mama all the physical qualities and skills of a man but embodied in a woman. Mama can slaughter and prepare hogs and bull calves; she can bust up blocks of ice to get the water needed in the house for washing. And she can do all of these things as â€Å"mercilessly as a man†(1). From the beginning of the story, Mama’s character takes on the strength and hardness of presencenormally represented in a man. With Mama, the author shows the daily struggles and assimilation of the dual role that single mothers must embody on a daily basis inthe absence of a father figure. The outward display of Mama’s strength is a foreshadowing of the strength that she will have to summon at the end of the story when she must ultimately decide which daughter will receive the quilts. Mama’s children, Dee and Maggie have their own set of paradoxical differences which are juxtaposed against each other not unlike their mother. There is the conflict of light skinned versus darker skinned; well spoken and educated versus reticent and ignorant. A shapely body with perfect feet versus a skinny and badly burned girl with no style. Brazen and head strong versus cowering and confused. Dee and Maggie are polar opposites of each other, with all of the positive attributes in the favor of the older sister, Dee. The author is illustrating how society has createsa disparity in the Black community with Dee and Maggie. Dee represents the portion of Black America that has tried to â€Å"make it† but has not leant a helping hand down to the people who have paid the way to make it possible for them to succeed in society and to get an education. Dee has forgotten about all of the sacrifices Mama and Maggie have made which have allowed her to enjoy the benefits of her Neo-African-Islamic renaissance. It was Mama and Maggie who took part in raising money for Dee to live out her dream. Dee is symbolic of that portion small portion of society that refuses to both acknowledge and to give back to their families and communities. The only message that they can ever seem to offer is one of criticism and blame. The most vivid imagery of this is when the first house burns down; Dee is the only one who has made it outside safely. She does not yell for help or try to ensure the safety of her mother and sister. She is transfixed on the flames and is seemingly hoping for the house and all of its inhabitants to be consumed as well. Dee stands out in the safety of the sweet gum tree while her mother and sister literally have to run for their lives. Walker shows us the paradox of a person who, having obtained safety, will not extend concern for similar struggles that will be shared by the family. The fire in the previous house beat Maggie’s spirit down. The fire represents the world having beat Maggie because she was not Dee. Neither Maggie nor Mama had the good fortune to be of a fairer complexion like Dee. Maggie already had one strike against her by being dark, which would be made worse by being scarred by her environment (the house fire). Maggie has accepted that she is not bright like Dee and has resigned herself to her mundane life of poverty. She is ashamed of her scars and life experience so she cowers in the presence of strength and in the cruelty of society. Maggie’s natural inclination is to acquiesce. She realizes that she is no match for the likes of Dee and so she concedes the quilts that Mama has promised her to Dee. Neither Dee nor Mama has realized that Maggie does have something to offer to the world. She has a capability and intelligence that are all her own. It is Maggie who knows the family history: she knew the name of Big Dee’s first husband, Stash and that he had whittled the butter dash(3); she made the observation that Dee has never had any friends; she has learned the art of family preservation through quilting with Grandma Dee and Big Dee. â€Å"Maggie knows how to quilt†(4). Maggie’s resourcefulness and knowledge are never acknowledged in the presence of Dee. She can never shine quite as bright as Dee can. Society will never fully lay credit to all that Maggie can offer to the world because Maggie does not look like a person of value should look to us. Alice Walker has raised some challenging issues for us to ponder. How is value both assessed and ascribed? Does skin complexion still both afford some and exclude others from certain opportunities? Walker uses the most protected place on earth, the family structure, to show what some may be afraid to see within ourselves and in our society.

The analysis of polish economy based on IS-LM model through last 60 Term Paper

The analysis of polish economy based on IS-LM model through last 60 years (from 1950-2010) - Term Paper Example To understand the economic trend of Poland as a nation, it is vital to revisit the country’s history on a brief note of hoe it came into existence. Poland’s history can be traced back to 840 AD, where Slavic tribes inhabited Polish land. During this period upto around 1080, they experienced a number of challenges and misfortunes, ranging from corruption in their noble ancestral land, to the fear of facing invasion by foreign and neighboring nations. The partition of Poland first began in the 18th century when the Russian State organized invasion of the country in 1764, after they realized the feeble state in which Poland languished. Immediately after taking over Poland, Russia subdivided the country between themselves and their closest ally states. The country’s division took place into three partitions namely, Austria, Prussia and Russia. In the years to come especially between 1946 and 1947 communism took toll in Poland, integrating the country into the Soviet Union as a proxy state (Keynes 30) This meant that Poland joined the league of all countries under the Communist banner and rule. After the World War I and World War II in which Poland was involved in, parliamentary elections took place in 1947 and the Communist Social Party garnered over 85% of the votes hence, taking rule over Poland making it a Communist State. In regards to business and economy, IS-LM Structures, is a model, which helps in assessing sales revenue, with the help of a microeconomic data. This is possible through the testing of statistical data against the revenue, through the IS-LM model projected data that shows the sequence and time of the microeconomic data. The IS symbolizes the Income Spending whereas, LM symbolizes the Lending and Money supply. The IS-LM structure was introduced by Sir John Hicks, and has been vital in the wake of elaborating major economic terms in the Keynesian Microeconomics dating back in 1937 (Hicks 155) The IS-LM structure involves two economic graphs converging, one denotes income and savings and the other graph denotes the supply and demand of money. The vital variables in this model are the interest and income. According to Scholars like Mark Hayes in his book, The Economics of Keynes, income is a dependant variable, which is influenced by Intrest, which is the independent variable. In the LM curve, interest rate is the one influenced by income, which is now the independent variable. Despite this explanation, Hayes argues that, according to proposed variables by Keynes, most economist experts lose bearing in the IS-LM model. He states that, liquidity, consumption and income are the independent variables (Keynes 32) In the wake of 1970s, Poland underwent a serious negative change economically, when their highly priced economy base fell on the decline to its worst. Part of the problems included, unfavorable weather and economic targets, which had not been met. The prices of commodities rose up and out of control for people of the middle class level and lower class to afford. With the harsh economic times, many people turned to rioting as their cause of action, a move that did not go down well with the government, forcing them to result in drastic measures by taking matters in their own capacity (Hicks 149) The government declared a one-week state of emergency following the distorted economic state in the country. These helped in curbing the ongoing riots, but it was of no use since, many

The role of risk in human's life Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The role of risk in human's life - Essay Example I must admit that sometimes life is win or lose. Transferring to Webster was the toughest decision and risk that I have ever taken. But the winning reward is irreplaceable. I totally enjoy my school time. I have no regrets, besides a tiny inner conviction that maybe I should have done this earlier. I left Vianney, losing many precious things that I worked very hard to win. I lost my National Honors Society membership, my German Honors Society, and Science Honors Society memberships as well. I lost all this, but I win something in return – I won a new â€Å"Webster experience†. I started a new life. I met new students and made real, true friends. At Vianney, I was not accepted for who I was. The very first time I entered the admission office at I met with the counselor and school staff you were welcoming the helpful. My classes are extraordinary and I found classmates who take me for whom I am – with my strong morals. I am not ridiculed and no one pressures me to drink or do drugs. Since then I am going to social events and had a blast. Every day I am meeting new, amazing people and I am making friends for life. I understood what it means to feel at home – because Webster is this home. ... In fact, no one would follow me. Then, I took one of those risks that were not for the better. I consider this a mistake which taught me a lesson - I stayed at Vianney for my Junio year. I was nave and stubborn that my "Vianney experience" would improve. Surely, it did not. This was one of my worst moments in life. And when the disaster ended with my Junior year I was utterly happy to spend the entire summer miles away from the people I liked the least and concentrate on rebuilding my self-confidence and restoring my inner strength. Most of the summer I was trying to convince my parents that I could not go back again to Vianney. I am glad that they supported me that helped me out to transfer to Webster Groves high school. I left Vianney, losing many precious things that I worked very hard to win. I lost my National Honors Society membership, my German Honors Society and Science Honors Society memberships as well. I lost all this, but I win something in return - I won a new "Webster experience". I started a new life. I met new students and made real, true friends. At Vianney, I was not accepted for who I was. The very first time I entered the admission office at I met with counselor and school staff you were welcoming the helpful. My classes are extraordinary and I found classmates who take me for whom I am - with my strong morals. I am not ridiculed and no one pressures me to drink or do drugs. Since then I am going to social events and had a blast. Every day I am meeting new, amazing people and I am making friends for life. I understood what it means to feel at home - because Webster is this home. I must admit that sometimes life is win or lose. Transferring to Webster was the toughest decision and risk that I have ever taken. But the

Academic montioring Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Academic montioring - Essay Example It is worthwhile to consider some of the possible monitoring systems and strategies that a teacher can employ in K-5 grade class room. One strategy a teacher can use in a class to monitor the understanding level of lesson materials of students in K5 is to ask the students to draw pictures on the taught items. Sometimes the children may not be willing to draw the picture. But if they are motivated they do the work. The teachers can understand the child’s level of understanding even if the pictures are not worth watching. The drawn up piece can be considered to be a mirror kept against the child’s progress. In certain cases the teacher can ask the students to take the role of a teacher in group works. A talented or pre instructed student can easily find out the problems of his or her friends. Students will easily be able to gather information from their friends. Children open up their difficulties in studies to their friends. Then the teacher can cleverly identify the pro blems and help the children in tackling their problems. Effective monitoring in the classroom can be done in a different way. If the child is totally indifferent to the works given in the class, the teacher can promote him to do works of his or her own. Sometimes the child may select works outside the syllabus and it may not come up to the expected standard. Through this the teacher can understand the student’s ability in different areas. Once he or she gets the appreciation from the teacher there starts the change .Gradually the teacher can bring the child to class related assignments and activities. Similarly, the teacher can also do the strategy of assigning the works and telling the students to do it for their loving ones. Sometimes they will do it for their parents, siblings or friends. At the end of each week the teacher can ask them how much they could score for their loved ones. This has shown great results in the progress of most students in

Hunting and Fishing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Hunting and Fishing - Essay Example Although fundamental for man’s survival, Culture is equally fragile as it keeps changing hence across generations, certain cultural aspects have been lost in all societies. Perhaps there are no other groups of people that have rich and much told culture like the Native Indian-Americans. They possess a great history of struggle and success and many of today’s life practices of the Americans like; teepee, peace pipe and moccasins, are borrowed from the Indian-Americans2. As noted above, Food is a fundamental aspect of every culture, hence a comprehensive study into the Indian American food related practices gives sufficient information of their cultural background. The research paper will therefore focus on one aspect of culture, hunting and fishing as a source of food and the role the two practices played within the indigenous culture of the Indian-Americans. ... Boys had to learn the hunting and fishing skills early in life. A story is told of a boy 8 years of age who in his first hunt he killed a goose, took it to his father who showed it to the whole community and at 10 years of age he killed his first Buffalo and the whole community rejoiced with the family, to Indians, successes in hunting were happiness to the whole family and community at large4. The hunting tribes’ important wild animal for hunt was the Buffalo which they hunted in twice yearly; during winter and summer. During the hunting periods, particular communities the whole village could go for hunting for fear of attack from hostile tribes, carrying all they needed for the journey in ponies putting women in charge while the rest of the luggage was buried and dug up upon return. They made camps at night and in the morning again break the camp and continue with the journey. They moved in single way and young boys kept watching for the Buffalo herds which they approached w ith great care done under the leader when spotted at a distance.5 The disparities and unity brought by hunting and fishing There were a number of ways that Native Americans obtained food key among them of which included, farming and domesticating animals, hunting, fishing in lakes and rivers and gathering wild fruits6. Majority of Native American tribes took part in fishing and hunting, the Eskimos who live far North depended on fish and hunted animals to survive, the Blackfoot & Sioux were the big game hunters who were on frequent migration to follow bison and the Chippewa who also took part in hunting to obtain food. Tlingit and Salish obtained their food from fishing in rivers and lakes.7In these earlier times there were no conventional equipments or tools,

Analysis of Current Issues in Finance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Analysis of Current Issues in Finance - Essay Example On one side, the change process must be rapid and fast while on the other hand the process of supporting the information technology systems consists of improving on the multifaceted interrelation. Their repercussions on the expected change can normally be dependably managed by letting various people involved. Therefore, the procedures involved in the organizational change call for both managerial competencies and analytical skills in coping with high level of convolution to concentrate on the process (Van, 2001; p. 112). All the tasks call for the incorporation of individuals who have unique views such as business experts, senior management or IT-professionals. Hence it is critical for the efficiency of management of change to enhance the process of communication over such professional cultures. There are various ways to research and boast the organizational change process. Majority of the methods are found on social and psychological dimensions. Other areas comprise of change in man agement, organizational learning, enhancement of communication, images within the organization and organizational culture. These strategies amount to a good comprehension of the process of change, focus on the fundamental aspects of success and thus enhance the management and design of the process of change. ... The terms given by the respective language of modeling encourage the analysis, transformation and evaluation of the models (Van, 2001; p. 115). The procedures for modeling support various views on an organization like tactical view, as a business procedure or an IT perspective. It tends to be considerable to execute conceptual models for evaluation, designing, introduction of information systems and for the procedure of organizational change in common. Nonetheless, the application of the conceptual models for the purpose of organizational change has to overrule two stumbling blocks. Most managers are hesitant to deal with the conceptual models on top of the availability of economic assessment of models even if they are taken to establish they lead to more expenses (Audretsch & TTS, 2013; p. 293) Found on the presumption that there is no valid process to evaluate the general cost and benefit, there is need to assess the models in different views. Control of the organizational change i s found on an efficient evaluation of the corporate strategy, challenges in the future period, major resources and organizational environment. This comprise of for example, the evaluation of evolving and changing markets, the evaluation of core rivals, the analysis of the IT and human resources on top of evaluation of the main business processes. An enterprise’s conceptual models pledge to encourage processes of change in the organization in different dimension. By concentrating on the major abstractions, they enable the reduction of the entire intricacy. The particular intention of language modeling must give terms that encourage evaluation and analysis. For example, a language for designing business process might comprise of terms like use of resources and media conflicts

The Regal Marine Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Regal Marine - Case Study Example According to the research findings, it can, therefore, be said that the strengths of the firm are that it concentrates on innovation which can attract high-class customers. The concentration on quality service can keep customer loyalty and brand identity. The connection with a large number of a supplier is an advantage which can avail them of products at a cheaper price. This can also increase their profitability. All these factors make the strategy perfect for brand positioning. They can target a middle-class customer by making the cheaper boat and look out for the wide range of customers. They can also opt for materials which are cheaper and take less production and design time. The firm has chosen the differentiation strategy which provides unique service different from their competitors. They want to provide value for what the customer is paying for and the quality expected is the best. The firm is placed in Orlando, Florida which is the United States. The country has the high ma rket for the service provided by the company. The United States is the richest country has the high concentration of wealthy people. Also, the country is a tourist destination which gives many opportunities for the luxury boat service. The firm provides luxury boats to its customers. People always look for quality service and products when it comes to leisure and tourism. So it is a high priority among customer who looks for a luxurious experience.

The role of the local police in preventing and responding to the Term Paper

The role of the local police in preventing and responding to the threat of terrorism - Term Paper Example This situation has naturally resulted in the need for the local police to play an important role in the prevention of terrorist acts as well as the apprehension of perpetrators who may belong to any terror group, whether domestic or international in origin. At the moment, there may still be a need for the local police to fully appreciate this role in homeland counter-terrorism and develop strategies and tactics that would give a concrete expression of it. It is clear that the usually more equipped and trained defense machineries of the government are already occupied with the offensive side of the war on terrorism. In line with the theory of pre-emptive warfare, a great part of the U.S. military’s might have been stationed outside of the homeland, particularly in regions of the world where the concentration of foreign terrorist organizations is heavy. The orientation of the different branches of the armed forces is towards forward deployment. Under this circumstance, the quest ion about who is going to watch the rear demands an urgent answer. It is clear that the federal law enforcement agencies, such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation and even the respective state’s national guards may not be enough because of their inadequate number and concentration. The local police forces, on the other hand, have two advantages in this regard. Although they are not concentrated, they have a bigger number of personnel that could be mobilized for counter-terrorism. Secondly, they are more dispersed with distinct smaller areas of jurisdiction, making it possible for them to monitor dubious and illegal movements more convenient and effective. It is in these contexts that the potential of the local police forces in anti-terrorism are appreciated. I. The Limitations of the Local Police Force With the lethal attacks launched in 9/11 and the possibility of more similar strikes in American soil, convincing key leaders of the local police regarding the need to take a proactive stance against terrorism is not difficult. It is a fact that after 9/11, the top officers of the New York Police Department, as well as that of the other major urban centers in the country, have acknowledged to reorient their personnel and to include counter-terrorism as part of their roles and responsibilities. However, there is also the reality that the local police simply does not have the training and the equipment which could be utilized for the purpose of determining potential threats, investigating possible suspects, and apprehending them before the terrorist action is committed and, thereby prevent the loss of lives and the damage to properties. More importantly, the intelligence capabilities of the local police are not as sophisticated as that of the FBI and the Central Intelligence Agency. The intelligence data, as well as the dossiers built through the years on key leaders and operatives of different terrorist groups, have not been made accessible to the local police forces, as these remained under the exclusive control of the FBI, the CIA, and other defense and intelligence machinery of the federal government. In this respect, â€Å"the tremendous demand now being placed on police agencies to collect information and provide it a central clearing house in order to develop and coordinate intelligence on terrorist risks throughout the country† (Hasisi et al 2009, p. 193). It is clear that when it

Finance in Hospitality Industry Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Finance in Hospitality Industry - Assignment Example The businessperson can apart with money to put into the business. This could include savings or start up capital. This method of approach ensures that the person has complete ownership of the business. External sources are another option to funding. There is several of this kind of funding. Bank loan is one example. Banks can offer one capital to fund a business. The loan repayment is spread over a long period of time and one has to pay interest. One can have additional partners when starting a business. An individual may decide to team up with another person in the business venture. The new partner usually pays more capital than the individual. I would go for owner’s capital Friends and family may also be a source of external funding. Family can invest in a business with little or no interest. They can support an individual in the business venture without making demand for shareholding .Small Business Administration (SBA) can generate funds for business setup. In this method the individual access loans that are provided for by the federal government The amount of interest is minimal in SBA’s. The best sourcing for me could be family and friends. Interests, security and shareholding are not demanded for with the approach. To add on, the family can offer counsel and support during the business initiation. Generating income in hotel Business. Venturing in business is usually for the purposes of income generation. Various businesses employ a variety of methods to realize the optimal profits. The enterprises engage in various forms of generation .Fee for service, selling of products, membership dues, tangible and untangible assets are ways that money is earned in an institution. The hospitality industry also can employ these strategies to make economic gain. Services can be sold as a way of making money. Catering services can be provided for by hotels in different contexts .Eatery services can be offered within the organization. Customers visit the ho tel and get food and drinks for which they are charged .Hotels can cater for wedding sand parties in the neighborhood and make profits. Catering services can be taken to institutions of learning by the hotels and the administration reciprocates the service by paying up. Tangible assets can also be used to gain profits. Leasing and renting out of assets such as space, equipment and land. The hotel can hire out rooms for conferences and workshops to other organizations. This ensures that they make for the leasing and the assets remain their own. Space for hosting events such as parties and weddings can also make up for income generation. The grounds can be well lawn and presentable. Consumers can therefore rent the place and pay up for the amount of time they use the place. Furthermore, boarding services can be provided for. The consumers are offered spaces to sleep for a levy .Investment and dividends can offer funds for an organization. The hotel can enroll in the stock exchange and gain accrued interests with time. This is the passive way of income generation as the stakeholders are not directly involved in money making. TASK 2 Costs, gross profit percentages and selling prices fort products and services are important in mapping out a company’s progress. Cost can have various elements to it that need to be considered. These elements include; revenue, Cost of goods sold, formula as well as management. Revenue refers to as ‘sales ‘in companies. This is the receipts and debits over a certain

Alcohol Beverage Essay Example for Free

Alcohol Beverage Essay Throughout the history of television, viewers have raised many questions about alcohol advertising. How is advertising affecting us? Does it have an impact on alcohol abuse or alcohol related disease and death? Does advertising influence alcohol consumption? In this essay, I will mainly concentrate on why such alcoholic advertisements should be restricted; and to what extent should any governments be able to control advertising. My personal opinion that I maintain is that I agree with having restrictions on alcoholic beverages’ advertisements on TV, by focusing more on responsible drinking and on problems that drinking causes every year because of irresponsibility of its consumer. I also stand by my opinion because young people are negatively affected by those ads, since there are no messages for responsible action while drinking. Moreover, statistics show that alcohol-related admissions to hospital in United States have reached 20% in 1995. With other words, most of cases sent to our hospitals were alcohol related, which potentially leads to violence, accidents and health issues. Alcohol is thought to cause thirty thousand premature deaths a year. Therefore, it may cause physical and mental harm to its consumers. The two main media tools that help advertising for alcohol are Televised programs and radio channels. These giant corporations make millions of dollars advertising for alcoholic beverages with having minimal advices on responsible drinking and reckless behaviors that can be caused primarily because of it. My personal believe is that too excessive exposure to alcoholic advertisement can increase consumption and influence peoples attitudes towards alcohol especially for youngster as they have not formed the correct understanding of it. In order to prevent the large amount of alcoholic advertising that appears on media, over the last few decades, government have set far stricter guidelines and regulations concerning alcohol. Some of these limitations and restrictions are particularly made for advertising for alcoholic drinks. Some of these restrictions include limiting the timing of advertisements on television and allow alcohol related ads to be displayed only after 10:00pm, which will avoid youth exposure to it. Nowadays, Alcohol advertisement is at its peak on sport events. This is why prohibiting the liquor company from being the official sponsor in sport must be considered. As Professor Gilmore said, limitations should include alcohol sponsorship in sport, as the alcohol was being advertised 24 hours a day. Besides, the contents of advertisement should be restricted, images like violence and potential crime should be forbidden, as it is easy for young people doing the same things that show on television. On the other hand, both in public and private sectors are responsible in joining their efforts to help to set out limitations and restrict alcohol promotion and sales through ads. For instance, clubs should abolish the unlimited drinks to a certain time only with fixed amount of money, and restrict underage people from being exposed to a place where alcohol is heavily consumed. Besides, the price should be increased to reduce the alcohol consumption and alcohol producers should develop a new production line, as an alternative to replace alcohol. Now, alcohol has spread in our culture and society and became the symbol of fun and pleasure. Its consumption has increased more than ever did in mankind history and their effects are increasing with it as well. Advertising for alcohol is not only encouraging our youth to drink more which will affect their health but also promotes reckless and irresponsible behaviors associated with its consumption. Our government is more aware of the seriousness of this issue than ever, however further laws and restrictions must take place in the future in order to decrease its negative effects.

Mental Imagery Vividness Essay Example for Free

Mental Imagery Vividness Essay Abstract This review examined the hypothesis that mental imagery vividness can be used as a predictor of hallucinatory experience. Earlier studies provided supporting evidences to this hypothesis, showing hallucinating population has higher mental imagery vividness comparing to nonhallucianting population. However, as a result of varied operationalization and measurements of mental imagery, contradicting results abound, showing no significant difference of mental imagery vividness between halluciantors and nonhallucinators. No clear evidences can be used to determine whether the hypothesis is valid or not so far. On the other hand, development of neurological studies provided a new perspective for looking into the relationship between mental imagery and the experience of hallucination. Keywords: mental imagery vividness, hallucination, schizophrenia Mental Imagery Vividness as a Predictor of Hallucination: A Literature Review Mental imagery, as defined by Finke (1989), is an experience significantly resembling that of perceiving, but it occurs in the absence of an adequate physical stimulus. It exists in all of the seven sensory modalities, such as visual, auditory, and olfactory (Thomas, 1999). Mental imagery is believed to be in close relationship with some core psychological mechanisms such as perception and memory, and holding its unique role in contributing to cognitive performance (Kosslyn, 1994). For example, evidences suggested that visual imagery ability predicts visuospatial memory performance (Kail, 1997). Hallucination is an experience that largely resembles mental imagery, because of its perceptual nature as well as absence of appropriate stimuli (Sack, Van de Ven, Etschenberg, Schatz, Linden, 2005). Nevertheless, the two distinguish from each other by the individual’s ability of voluntary control, as well a s his/her ability to determine the source of the experience. Specifically, mental imagery is generally regarded as being actively generated and can be intentionally controlled, while hallucination is most times beyond intention and control. The operator of mental imagery is usually aware of its internal source, while not necessarily so hallucinator. (Bentall, 1990). Hallucination, especially the form of auditory verbal hallucinations (AVH), is an important hallmark of schizophrenia (Wible, 2009). AVH is the perception of voices in the absence of sensory input. AVH has distinct clinical significance, as it affects about 70% of patients with schizophrenia (Sartorius et al., 1978; Silbersweig Stern, 1996). Furthermore, there have been increasing evidences supporting that hallucination is not a rare case in non-clinical population, either. It is now believed to exist on a spectrum from comparably innocuous forms in non-clinical population to a more pathological manifestation in schizophrenics (see review by Bentall, 1990). Because of its significant implication in psychopathology, continuous work has been going on to find out the risk factors and predictors for hallucination. The relationship between mental imagery and hallucination has interested researchers for long because of their shared features. Among all the characteristics of mental imagery that are potentially related with hallucination, vividness has been most substantively examined. This review summarized theories and empirical evidences for the relationship between mental imagery vividness and hallucination. Although still in its budding stage, relevant neurological evidences were also examined. Theoretical Models Vividness of mental imagery can be defined as the degree of perceptual detail experienced when having a mental image (Oertel et al., 2009). It has been associated with hallucination and schizophrenia for decades. In 1883, Galton suggested that increased vividness of mental imagery might be associated with hallucinatory experiences (as cited in Aleman, Bocker, de Haan, 1999). Later in the 20th century, West (1962) and Horowitz (1975) proposed separate models suggesting that hallucinations were mental images derived from internal source, but mistakenly attributed to external source. More specifically, the model suggested that vividness of perception was typically higher than that of mental imagery. As vividness of mental imagery increased, it became more difficult for the individual to decide its source as internal or external, and eventually these images could grow into hallucinatory. This model suggested that mental imagery and hallucination shared fundamental features and were possibly on the same continuum. Johnson and Raye (1981) supported the importance of imagery vividness, stating that memories from internal and external sources could usually be differentiated by comparing the amount of sensory, contextual and semantic attributes of events. Mintz and Alpert (1972) developed their model relevant to mental imagery vividness as well. They proposed that vividness of imagery was not the only factor contributing to hallucination. According to their argument, increased vividness of imagery, and impaired reality testing, referring to the ability to recognize the distortions in one’s own perception, are necessary but not sufficient prerequisites to generation of hallucination. Bentall (1990) summarized predecessors’ work and introduced the concept of â€Å"reality discrimination† – the idea that â€Å"hallucinators mistake their own inte rnal, mental, or private events for external, publicly observable events†. They stated that one type of information used in the reality discrimination process was the amount of sensory information present in conscious: rich sensory information implied a perception being experiences, while poor sensory information implied a mental imagery. Following this argument, individuals who have the propensity to construct images rich in sensory details are more likely to experience their internal imagery as a perception experience, and thus resulting in hallucination. Barrett (1993) provided empirical evidences in support of the above hypothesis, yet he also pointed out some questions of the model. He argued that it was unclear where the locus of the imagery effects was. The imagery vividness discrepancy between individuals with and without hallucinations could be the result of either storage or retrieval difference of sensory information. Specifically, it could be that hallucinators were able to store more abundant sensory information than nonhallucinators; and it could also be that hallucinators were better at retrieving sensory information than nonhallucinators, with same storage capacity. Despite of some questioning opinions, there are very limited direct theoretical dissents or alternative models. Holt (1972) is one of the very few that he argued that hallucination and mental imagery involved independent systems and should not correlate with each other. However, this is not saying that the hypotheses of mental imagery vividness and hallucination have not been subject to scrutinize. A large amount of researchers have attempted to verify or disprove these hypotheses through empirical evidences. Below is an incomplete summary of the empirical studies that are relevant. Empirical Evidences Evidences in Support Mintz and Alpert (1972) provided empirical evidences in support of their own hypothesis. Their study found that auditory hallucinating schizophrenics had a significantly higher vividness of auditory mental imagery comparing to non-hallucinating controls. They also identified an impaired ability to assess the accuracy of auditory perceptions in hallucinating schizophrenics. Similar results were presented by other studies. Barrett (1993) found that nonclinical subjects with hallucinations had higher vividness of mental imagery, and at the same time, had lower control of these images comparing to nonclinical subjects without hallucinations. Barrett’s (1993) study differed from that of Mintz and Alpert (1972) in the sense that he assessed mental imagery vividness on all seven sensory modalities, with one single factor emerged after factor analysis – general imagery vividness factor. In another study by Bocker (2000), no group difference in perceptual acuity was identified between the schizophrenia group and the normal controls, suggesting perceptual degradation is not a reason for hallucination. For the hallucinating schizophrenia patients, the vividness for visual imagery was significantly lower than control, while that for auditory imagery was not. Although the decreased visual mental imagery contradicted with earlier studies, the relatively high auditory mental imagery ability suggested the possibility that auditory imagery for hallucinating patients was more percept-like and thus harder to differentiate, which is in line with the fact that most of the patients experienced hallucinations in auditory modality. Evidences in Contradiction Brett and Starker (1977) found no significant difference of auditory mental imagery vividness between hallucinating schizophrenics, nonhallucinating schizophrenics medical patients with no history of psychiatric problems. Starker and Jolin (1982) also found no significantly different vividness strength of auditory mental imagery between schizophrenics, possible schizophrenics, or nonschizophrenic psychiatrics, nor between schizophrenic subgroups of currently hallucinatory, previously hallucinatory, or nonhallucinatory. In fact, Starker and Jolin (1982) suggested that hallucinating schizophrenics might actually have less vivid auditory imagery than schizophrenics who had never hallucinated. Aleman et al.’s (1999) study revealed interesting results. In their study, hallucinating subjects reported higher imagery vividness than nonhallucinating controls when subjective (self-report) scales were used to measure vividness. However, the pattern was reversed (i.e. hallucinating subjects demonstrated lower mental imagery vividness) when objective measure was used. Van de Ven and Merckelbach (2003) examined the mental imagery vividness and fantasy proneness in non-clinical population with and without hallucination experiences. They found that although subjects with hallucination scored higher on mental imagery vividness than subjects without such experiences, their imagery vividness was highly correlated with their fantasy proneness. Further analysis indicated that hallucination experience was better predicted by fantasy proneness, comparing to mental imagery vividness. Sack and his colleagues (2005) incorporated in their study measures sensitive to cognitive capacity, in order to rule it out as a confounding variable. Their results showed that paranoid schizophrenics reported higher vividness of mental imagery in comparison to age- and sex-matched healthy controls, controlling for general intelligence and psychomotor speed of the subjects. More importantly, the higher imagery vividness of paranoid schizophrenics was not statistically dependent of the patients’ individual psychopathology, including the presence of hallucinations. The authors thus argued that mental imagery could be an independent trait marker of schizophrenia, and it operated on a separate system with hallucination for schizophrenics. Sack and colleagues (2005) also found that patient group performed worse on tasks that require involvement of mental imagery processes, which could indicate an impaired overall mental imagery ability. However, this performance deficit could be attributed to general cognitive capacity deficit. In comparison, Doninger, Silipo, Rabinowics, Snodgrass and Javitt (2001) conducted a study with a task that was more purely targeted at mental imagery ability without time constraint. Their results also revealed worse performance from schizophrenia patients comparing to healthy controls. Results of these studied implied the possibility that group difference in vividness of mental imagery is not due to an enhancement of mental imagery abilities, but to altered information processing. Oertel and colleagues (2009) conducted a further study to address the question that whether vividness of mental imagery is a trait marker of the schizophrenia spectrum (i.e. including non-clinical population with schizophrenia-like traits – schizotypy) that is independent of presence of hallucination. Subjects include schizphrenia patients, first-degree relatives of schizophrenics, as well as high- and low-schizotypy healthy controls. Results showed significantly higher mental imagery vividness across all modalities in schizophrenics, first-degree relatives, as well as high-schizotypy controls comparing to low-schizotypy controls, with cognitive abilities controlled. In replication of Sack et al.’s work, this study also revealed that the vividness of mental imagery and hallucinations were independent of each other. Results also indicated that first-degree relatives obtained highest score in vividness, and high-schizotypy controls’ score did not differ significantly from that of schizophrenia patients. The results strengthened Sack et al.’s (2005) argument that vivid imagery is a trait marker of schizotypyrather, and could be related to the genetic liability to develop schizophrenia. However, longitudinal studies including premorbid data are required for further investigation. Bell and Halligan (2010) repeated Oertel et al.’s study on high- and low-schizotypy population with a larger sample size, yet with a different measure of schizotypy and a specific assessment of visual mental imagery. Their results revealed no significant difference on visual mental imagery vividness between the two groups. Explanation for Results Variation Although large variations exist across different studies, it is not justified to say whether the hypothesis of high mental imagery vividness predicts hallucination has been rejected or not. The main reason for failing to do so is that procedures, especially the measures of mental imagery, of these studies varies a lot, thus leaving considerable space for alternative explanations. Specifically, some of the measures were subjective scale (i.e. self-report), while some of the measures were objective (i.e. behavioral tasks). On the other hand, some of the measures assess mental imagery vividness of a single sensory modality, while some of them assess mental imagery vividness as a whole across all seven sensory modalities. S ubjective Measure vs. Objective Measure of Mental Imagery Kosslyn, Brunn, Cave and Wallach (1984) had presented an insignificant relation between performance on an objective task of visual imagery acuity and a self-report imagery vividness measure, indicating that subjective and objective measures of imagery vividness may not be necessarily measuring the same constructs and/or processes. Aleman et al. (1999) pointed out that objective and subjective mental imagery measures could yield contradictory results within the normal population. This distinction could be true for clinical population as well. For example, Mintz and Alpert (1972) utilized subjective measures (suggestion paradigms or self-report measures) and obtained the finding of an association between increased mental imagery and hallucinations, while Bocker et al. (2000) used a more objective mental imagery task, resulting in insignificant difference of mental imagery performance between patients and controls. Aleman et al. (1999), who generated contradicting results of subjective and objective measures in one study, summarized the disadvantages of subjective and objective measures. For subjective measures, the process of introspection is involved, which is an ability varied across individuals, and can be especially impaired in hallucinating and/or schizophrenia populations. Also, the effect of social demand could influence a subject’s self-report, depending on how the concept of mental imagery vividness is interpreted. Subject’s idiosyncratic definition of imagery vividness also heavily impact his/her self-report. For objective measures, tasks are not real-life resembling, which can fail to evaluate one’s true capacity in daily life. In addition, commonly used objective measures fail to purely target at the vividness of mental imagery alone, other processes such as conceptualization and reasoning are in effect as well. In addition, the contents of cued mental images could largely vary across individuals. Standardized scoring procedure fail to take into account these confounding processes and experiences, indicating that high imagery vividness does not guarantee a high score as it is designed to, and vice versa. General Mental Imagery vs. Single Sensory Modality Mental Imagery Barrett (1993) introduced the idea of general imagery vividness factor. If that is a valid factor, then measurement of general mental imagery vividness and measurement of single sensory modality imagery vividness could be more different than the mere part-whole relationship. Mintz and Alpert (1972) measured auditory imagery vividness only, and Barrett (1993) measured general mental imagery vividness. These two studies both resulted in significant difference of imagery vividness between halluciantors and controls. However, Brett and Starker (1977) and Starker and Jolin (1982) both measured auditory only imagery vividness and resulted in no significant difference between hallucinators and controls. In addition, in replication of Oertel’s (2009) study, Bell and Halligan (2010) changed the general imagery vividness measure to a visual-specific mental imagery measure, and their results differed from that of Oertel et al.. Bell and Halligan (2010) proposed that vividness per se might not be modality specific, and this argument is in line with the modality-independent salience dysregulation theories of psychosis and the psychosis continuum (Murray, Lappin, Di Forti., 2008). Neurological Evidence Despite of the fact that neurological evidences for mental imagery and hallucination experiences did not start to bloom until late 20th century (Linden et al., 2010) and that there is no specific neurological evidence for mental imagery vividness’s relationship with hallucination, this session is included as it provides new perspectives on how experiences of mental imagery and hallucination overlap. Evidences from earlier studies suggested that imagery and hallucinations were associated with overlapping neural networks (Allen, Laroi, McGuire, Aleman, 2008). McGuire et al. (1995) and Shergill et al. (2001) found that auditory mental imagery and auditory hallucination were involved with overlaps in fronto temporal language circuits. In terms of the main difference between hallucination and mental imagery – voluntary controllability, Linden et al. (2011) speculated that it was generated from the altered forward model of sensory productions. Forward model (Wolpert, Ghahramani, Jordan, 1995) stated that perceptual consequences were predicted upon known actions, and the prediction in turn influenced the actual experience of the self-generated action. The forward model could be in effect in speech production. According to it, self-generated speech is subject to prediction of resulted sensory experience. This hypothesis was partially supported by Linden et al.’s (2011) study. They found that the voice-selective area on the banks of superior temporal sulcus (STS) was consistently activated during auditory hallucination and voluntary auditory mental imagery. This area had been regarded as reacting to external sensory stimulation only, but it was later speculated of having been monitoring the self-generated speech in mental imagery and hallucination. Linden et al. (2011) identified in their study that the monitoring and modulating functioning of relevant auditory regions were disturbed in nonclinical hallucinators, resulting in the likelihood of attributing internally generated speech to external sources. These budding evidences suggested that hallucination and mental imagery indeed share fundamental neural networks and do not operate on completely distinctive systems. However, detailed examinations of the activity of these neural networks in terms of different features of mental imagery and hallucination, as well as differed neural system contributing to their differences are still in need. Conclusion Mental imagery vividness has interested researchers for long because of their potential relationship with the experience of hallucination. However, empirical studies have resulted in contradicting results. Earlier studies proposed that increased vividness of mental imagery is a predictor of hallucination, and they have found that higher mental imagery vividness was related with hallucination experiences. Nevertheless, many of the later replications with various methodological modifications failed to reproduce any significant relationship. Because of the variations of measurement of mental imagery vividness, it is hard to decide whether the hypothesis of the relationship between mental imagery vividness and hallucination can be rejected or not. The development of neuroscience based study methods provided a new perspective of testing the hypothesis. Current neurological studies have focused on neural activity comparison between general mental imagery process and hallucination experience. More specific studies targeting at features of mental imagery and hallucination are needed to provide a higher-level understanding of the relationship between the two experiences. Reference Aleman, A., Bocker, K.B.E., de Haan, E.H.F. (1999). Disposition towards hallucinations and subjective versus objective vividness of imagery in normal subjects. Personality and Individual Differences, 27, 707-714. Allen, P., Laroi, F., McGuire, P., Aleman, A. (2008). The hallucinating brain: a review of structural and functional neuroimaging studies of hallucinations. Neuroscience Biobehavioral Reviews, 32, 175-191. Barrett, T.R. (1993). Verbal hallucinations in normals, II: Self-reported imagery vividness. Personality and Individual Differences, 15, 61-67. Barrett, T. R., Etheridge, J. B. (1992). Verbal hallucinations in normals, I: People who hear ‘voices’. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 6, 379-387. Bell, V., Halligan, P. W. (2009, April). Additional data on whether vividness of visual mental imagery is linked to schizotypal traits in a non-clinical population [Letter to the editor]. Psychiatry Research, 178, 568-569. Bentall, R.P. (1990). The illusion of reality: A review and integration of psychological research on hallucinations. Psychological Bulletin, 107, 82-95. Bocker, K. B. E., Hijman, R., Kahn, R.S., de Haan, E. H. F. (2000). Perception, mental imagery and reality discrimination in hallucinating and non-hallucinating schizo phrenic patients. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 39, 397-406. Brett, E. A., Starker, S. (1977). Auditory imagery and hallucinations. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 164, 394–400. Doninger, G.M., Silipo, G., Rabinowics, E.F., Snodgrass, J.G., Javitt, D.C. (2001). Impaired sensory processing as a basis for object-recognition deficits in schizophrenia. American Journal of Psychiatry, 158, 1818-1826. Finke, R.A. (1989). Principles of mental imagery. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Holt, R. R. (1972). On the nature and generality of mental imagery. In P. W. Sheehan (Ed.), The function and nature of imagery. New York, NY: Academic Press. Horowitz, M. (1975). Hallucinations: An information processing approach. In R. K. Siegel, L. J. West (Eds.), Hallucinations: Behavior, Experience and Theory (pp.163-196.95). New York, NY: Wiley. Johnson, M. K., Raye, C. L. (1981). Reality monitoring. Psychological Review, 88, 67-85. Kail, R. (1997). Processing time, imagery, and spati al memory. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 64, 67-78. Kosslyn, S.M. (1994). Image and brain: the resolution of the imagery debate. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Kosslyn, S. M., Brunn, J., Cave, K. R., Wallach, R. W. (1984). Individual differences in mental imagery ability: A computational analysis. Cognition, 18, 195-243. Linden, D. E. J., Thornton, K., Kuswanto, C. N., Johnston, S. J., Jackson, M. C. (2011). The brain’s voices: Comparing nonclinical auditory hallucinations and imagery. Cerebral Cortex, 21, 330–337. McGuire, P., Silbersweig, D., Murray, R., David, A., Frackowiak, R. Frith C. (1996). Functional anatomy of inner speech and auditory verbal imagery. 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Literature Review Strategy for Evidence Based Practice (EBP)

Literature Review Strategy for Evidence Based Practice (EBP) Introduction Evidence based practice (EBP) is an approach to health care in which health professionals use the most appropriate information available to make clinical decision for providing high quality patient care (McKibbon, 1998). EBP has shifted the focus of health care professionals from a traditional approach on authoritative opinions to a stress on facts extracted from previous research and studies (Sackett et al, 1997). It has been suggested by that nursing practice based on evidence enhances patient care, as compared to traditional practices (Majid et al, 2011). In addition, as nurses are increasingly more involved in clinical decision making, it is becoming essential for them to make use of the best evidence in order to make effective and justifiable decisions (Majid et al, 2011). To discuss the evidence for a clinical skill, this essay will investigate the antiseptic preparations for surgical site antisepsis. The rationale for selection of this topic is its significance for the clinical nursing practice as nurses are frequently involved in the surgical site preparation (Dizer et al, 2009). Surgical site infection (SSI) is a type of healthcare-associated infection in which a wound infection occurs following an invasive (surgical) procedure. It has been suggested by National Institute of Health and Care (NICE, 2004) that surgical site infections account for almost 20% of all of healthcare-associated infections. It has been further highlighted that nearly 5% of patients undergoing a surgical procedure develop a surgical site infection antiseptic preparations. NICE (2008) has recommended that aqueous or alcohol based solution with chlorhexidine or iodine can be used for prevention of SSI. However, it does not favour or recommend one solution over the other. This essay will explore the literature for evidence about efficacy of these preparation in comparison to one another. It is important for the nurses to be aware of the best available evidence regarding antiseptic preparations to minimise the risk of surgical site infection. Research Question and Literature Search The research question for the current essay will be formulated on the PICO framework as suggested by Sackett et al (1997): P Population or problem Clean-contaminated surgical procedures I Intervention Chlorhexidine gluconate C Comparison or comparator Povidone-iodine O Outcome Surgical site infection The question formulated for the current essay using PICO framework would therefore be: In surgical procedures, is chlorhexidine gluconate more effective in comparison to povidone-iodine in reducing surgical infections? To answer the question, literature search for the available evidence for was done. The author identified a list of key search terms and synonyms that can result in a large number of hits and combined these with Boolean terms AND/OR. Terms made up of of two words were looked for by making use of speech marks so that they were are not searched for separately, and truncation was used for terms identified to have multiple endings. The key words used were surgical site infection anti-septic preparations iodine and chlorhexidine. In order to make sure that an in-depth search was done, which would elicit the largest number of studies more than one academic search engines were searched by the researcher. Cinahal: Contains an index of nursing and allied health literature and is helpful for use in a thorough search (Glazsiou, 2001). Medline: Suggested to be used in healthcare systematic reviews (Glazsiou, 2001). NHS Information Resources and NHS Evidence: Is a widely used database resource containing evidence-based reviews and specialist research from reliable sources. NHS evidence was searched separately. Cochrane Library: Provides a list of systematic reviews and RCTS that have been published or are in a process of publishing (Glazsiou, 2010). Pubmed: It is a commonly used internet resource for healthcare professionals with a large international coverage. The results of the search generated a large number of article however these had to be reduced in order to generate an appropriate research article which can answer the question formulated. Therefore, an inclusion and exclusion criteria was set to narrow down the large number of articles generated. The guidelines from NICE (2008) in which both preparation have been recommended in 2008 hence the research was done for studies published after that. Only randomised controlled trials (RCTs) have been included as they provide the best evidence. The articles which were not in English and published before 2009 were therefore excluded. Also, the studies in which preparations for a particular type of surgical procedure were studied were also excluded as the evidence for general surgical procedures was being looked for. Abstracts of the studies generated from the search of different data bases engines were thus read so that the articles which do not satisfy the inclusion criteria of this essay can be excluded. This resulted in selection of one article which satisfied the inclusion and exclusion criteria of the current work. The study by Darouiche et al (2010) is a RCT which compared the efficacy of two surgical preparations i.e. chlorhexidine–alcohol with that of povidone–iodine for preventing surgical site infections. In order to achieve this, preoperative skin preparation was done for adults undergoing clean-contaminated surgery in six hospitals with either chlorhexidine–alcohol scrub or povidone–iodine scrub and paint in a random way. The primary outcome was any surgical-site infection within 30 days after surgery. This study will be critically analysed to identify its strengths and weaknesses. It has been suggested by Burls (2009) that critical appraisal is the process of carefully and systematically examining research to judge its trustworthiness, and its value and relevance in a particular context. The critical skills appraisal programme (CASP) tool (Appendix 1) for randomised controlled trials (RCTs) will be used as the selected study is a randomised controlled trial. Screening questions 1. Did the trial address a clearly focused issue? Yes, the study addressed a clearly focused issue with clear problem to be explored, comparison groups and outcomes being investigated using a PICO framework to formulate the research question thereby increasing the rigour of the study (Huang et al, 2006). 2. Was the assignment of patients to treatments randomised? Yes, the assignment to treatment and placebo group was carried out randomly in a ratio of 2:1. This will increase the validity of the study. Literature suggests that random allocation of patients to study groups help to minimize both the selection bias as well as the impact of any confounder present (Cormack, 2000). It has also been observed in the study that in order to match the two groups and deal with possible inter-hospital differences, randomization was stratified by hospital by using computer-generated randomization numbers without blocking. This is a strength of the study as stratified randomisation can help to attain maximum balance of significant characteristics without compromising the benefits of randomisation (Altman and Bland, 1999). 3. Were all of the patients who entered the trial properly accounted for at its conclusion? Yes, the trial was not stopped early and the patients were analysed in the groups to which they were randomised. The study has done both intention-to-treat analysis for both groups as well as per protocol analysis. This accounts for the drop outs in the study an also been reported thus accounting for these drop-outs which may decrease the internal validity of the study. According to the Cochrane Collaboration (2014) intention-to-treat analysis minimised the presence of bias which may exist due to loss of participants, thus upsetting the baseline similarity attained by randomisation. Detailed Questions The study by Darouiche et al (2010) does not explicitly mention whether the personnel involved in the study were blind to the treatment groups. However, it has been mentioned in the study that the operating surgeon became aware of which intervention had been assigned only after the patient was brought to the operating room. In addition, both the patients and the site investigators who diagnosed surgical-site infection on the basis of standard criteria stayed unaware of the group assignments. This minimises the bias in the study and increases its validity as differential treatment or evaluation of participants can possibly introduce bias in the study at any phase of a trial (Karanicolas et al, 2010). Hence, it is a strength of the study. According to Berger (2006), in addition to randomisation, it is important to keep the baseline variables of the study groups similar at the commencement of the trial as it is essential for a RCT to compare groups that differ only with reference to the treatment they receive. The baseline characteristics of both groups have been reported in the study and did not show any significant difference between the two intervention groups reflected by their insignificant p values. It appears from the study that both chlorhexidine and iodine groups were treated the same way other then intervention. In order to determine the treatment effect, clear pre-defined primary end point has been given by Darouiche et al (2010). The primary outcome was defined on the basis of a standard criteria given by the CDC hence it increases the reliability of study. The results of the study found that the overall rate of surgical-site infection was significantly lower in the chlorhexidine–alcohol group than in the povidone–iodine group (9.5% vs. 16.1%; P = 0.004). In order to find the results, the study undertook multiple statistical considerations and tests. The study increased its statistical power by increasing the sample size in each group which gives the study 90% power to identify a significant difference in the frequency of surgical-site infection between the two groups, at a significance level of 0.05 or less. In addition, as mentioned above intention-to-treat and per protocol analyses were performed which further increases study validity. The study also carried out a pre-specified Breslow–Day test for homogeneity to find whether the results were consistent across the six participating hospitals. This was also a strength of the study as literature suggests that involvement of multi-centre patients can compromise the external validity of the RCTs (Rothwell, 2010). This is due to potential effect of differences between health-care systemswhich result in different treatment affects, values and confidence intervals have also been reported where required. Regarding the application of the results in the settings in UK, it has been highlighted by that the study by Darouiche et al (2010) was done in the US and used an aqueous solution of iodine. However, in the UK, the most widely used skin preparations are alcohol-based solutions of 0.5% chlorhexidine or 10% iodine (Tanner, 2012). This is because aqueous-based solutions are thought to be less effective than alcohol-based solutions. Hence, to make the study applicable to the UK settings, 2% chlorhexidine in alcohol should have been compared with 0.5% chlorhexidine in alcohol or 10% povidone iodine in alcohol. The benefits of the study are definitely superior to the harms as SSI not only causes significant unwanted outcomes and distress for the patient but also results in increased costs for the patient, the healthcare and the wider economy (Tanner, 2012). Thus, a number of factors increase the external validity and internal validity of the study including stratified randomisation, blinding of study personnel, intention-to-treat analysis, keep the baseline variables of the study group’s similar, sample size and a number of statistical tests. In addition, clear pre-defined primary end point increased the reliability of the study. The study thus has very low risk of bias and can be therefore rated as 1++ according to NICE hierarchy of evience (NICE, 2004). Hence, alcoholic chlorhexidine solution is significantly more effective in reducing SSIs than povidone iodine. However, the results should be applied to UK settings with caution. References: Altman, D.G. and Bland, J.M. (1999) How to randomise BMJ. 11;319(7211), pp. 703-4. Berger VW. (2006) A review of methods for ensuring the comparability of comparison groups in randomized clinical trials. Rev Recent Clin Trials. 1(1), pp. 81-6. Burls, A. (2009) What is critical appraisal? London, Hayward Group. Cochrane Collaboration (2014) Glossary, [Online] Available from: http://www.cochrane.org/glossary [Accessed 29 January 2014] Cormack, D. (2000) The research process in nursing, 4th ed., Wiley-Blackwell: Oxford. Crookes, P.A. Davies, S. (1998) Research into Practice. London: Balliere Tindall. Darouiche, R.O., Wall, M.J. Jr, Itani, K.M., Otterson, M.F., Webb, A.L., Carrick, M.M., Miller, H.J., Awad, S.S., Crosby, C.T., Mosier MC, Alsharif A, Berger DH. (2010) Chlorhexidine-Alcohol versus Povidone-Iodine for Surgical-Site Antisepsis. . N Engl J Med. 362(1), pp. 18-26. Dizer B, Hatipoglu S, Kaymakcioglu N, Tufan T, Yava A, Iyigun E, Senses Z. (2009) The effect of nurse-performed preoperative skin preparation on postoperative surgical site infections in abdominal surgery. J Clin Nurs. 18(23), pp. 3325-32. Glasziou, P. (2001) Systematic reviews in health care: a practical guide, Cambridge; Cambridge University Press. Huang, X., Lin, J. and Demmer-Fishman, D. (2006) Evaluation of PICO as a knowledge representation for clinical questions. AMIA Annu Symp Proc, pp. 359-63 Karanicolas, P.J., Farrokhyar, F., Bhandari, M. (2010) Practical tips for surgical research: blinding: who, what, when, why, how? Can J Surg. 53(5), pp. 345-8. Majid, S., Foo, S., Luyt, B., Zhang, X., Theng, Y.L., Chang, Y.K., Mokhtar, I.A. (2011) Adopting evidence-based practice in clinical decision making: nurses perceptions, knowledge, and barriers. J Med Libr Assoc. 99(3), pp. 229-36. McKibbon, K.A. (1998) Evidence-based practice, Bull Med Libr Assoc. 86(3), pp. 396–401. NICE (2004) Reviewing and grading the evidence [Online] Available from: http://www.nice.org.uk/niceMedia/pdf/GDM_Chapter7_0305.pdf [Accessed 9 February 2014] NICE (2008) Surgical site infection Prevention and treatment of surgical site infection, London: NICE. Rothwell, P.M. (2006) Factors That Can Affect the External Validity of Randomised Controlled Trials, PLoS Clin Trials. 1(1): e9. Sackett D.L, Richardson W.S, Rosenberg W.M.C, Haynes R.B.(1997) Evidence-based medicine: how to practice and teach EBM.Edinburgh, UK: Churchill Livingstone. Tanner J (2012) Methods of skin antisepsis for preventing SSIs. Nursing Times; 108: 37, 20-22.

BioServer Systems Selection Process Essay -- Information Technology

BioServer Systems Selection Process BioServer Systems (BSS) provides secure web server space to its clients. The company is young but has grown exponentially thanks to its groundbreaking encryption technology that is sought after by many businesses including luring some government clients. Stanley Jausneister owns the company and was able to capitalize on his network of pharmaceutical contacts he amassed from his former career in that industry. A longtime client has recently had to fire one of its employees for attempting to sell pharmaceutical cultures to someone overseas. The client realized that they not only had problems with their background checks but contacted Stanley to see if BSS was indeed conducting background checks that were valid. An analysis of BSS interview process and subsequent background testing will be reviewed. Recommended Background Testing for BSS BSS has many clients that have access to data that could affect the national security of the United States. Their clients have access to cultures of potential bioterrorist weapons including the plague and anthrax. When hiring for a new position, all candidates should complete a blank application that is submitted along with their resume. The blank application and resume will reveal any discrepancies in the application. Since the data stored on their servers needs to be secured at all times, a consumer credit check should be conducted as well as a review of criminal history. A consumer credit report according to Heneman & Judge (2012), â€Å"are prepared from accessible databases by a consumer reporting agency and bear on the person’s creditworthiness and standing, character, general reputation, personal information and mode of living† (p. 406). To comply with feder... ...ait Taxonomy: History, Measurement, and Conceptual Issues. In O. P. John, R. W. Robins, & L. A. Pervin (Eds.), Handbook of personality: Theory and research (pp. 114- 158). New York, NY: Guilford Press. Peck, B. (2012). Employment Credit Checks: The Case for Requiring Employers to Use More Accurate and Fair Assessments. Retrieved from http://www.demos.org/publication/employment-credit-checks-case-requiring-employers- use-more-accurate-and-fair-assessments Robbins, S.P. & Coulter, M. (2007). Management. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. Rosen, C.B. (2008). Conducting Employee Background Checks: Navigating Current Rules. Retrieved from http://www.law.com/jsp/cc/PubArticleCC.jsp?id=1199354727551 Tomassi, K.D. (2006). Most Common Resume Lies. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/2006/05/20/resume-lies-work_cx_kdt_06work_0523lies.html

Analysis of McDonald’s Corporation Advertising :: Advertising

Advertising generally tries to sell the things that consumers want even if they should not wish for them. Adverting things that consumers do not yearn for is not effective use of the advertiser’s money. A majority of what advertisers sell consists of customer items like food, clothing, cars and services-- things that people desire to have. On the other hand it is believed by some advertising experts that the greatest influence in advertising happens in choosing a brand at the point of sale. Advertising appeals to consumers through common images; the logo used is well-designed and there is a clear separation of art from commerce. Advertisers use these iconic images to appeal to consumers since they symbolize or stand directly for something. The image for MacDonald’s symbolizes its non-conventionality. Hence advertisers use these images to communicate much more than words, since they seem to convey the message without too much effort. According to McDonald’s website, their mission statement is â€Å"to be our customers' favorite place and way to eat. Our worldwide operations have been aligned around a global strategy called the Plan to win centering on the five basics of an exceptional customer experience – People, Products, Place, Price and Promotion. We are committed to improving our operations and enhancing our customers' experience. (http://www.aboutmcdonalds.com/mcd) For decades, Macdonald’s has maintained a broad advertising campaign. In addition to the media, the company makes considerable use of signage and billboards, sporting events and coolers of drinks with their logo for all kinds of events. The company has used twenty-three diverse slogans in United States for advertising. At the same time the company has few other slogans for the selected countries and regions. In the case of McDonald’s advertising the texts used are effective. They have contributed in attracting targeted clients to the company. The wordings are aesthetically pleasing and successful at getting the consumers to buy the product. The phrase ‘I’m Lovin’ it’ which is used in one the advertisements, indicates a piece of advertising that is particularly striking. According to Cross â€Å"propagandas is simply a means of persuasion†, which they have applied that to their place because it is evidently an artistic expression, yet is trying to sell something to the consumers.(Cross,149) The company has had to face are numerous. The company has been involved in quite a number of lawsuits, most of which entail trademark disputes. MacDonald’s has threatened many food production industries with legal action unless the companies drop their trading name.

Unity of a Family Explored in The Grapes of Wrath Essay -- The Grapes o

Unity of a Family Explored in The Grapes of Wrath One would say that on a literal level The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck is about the Joad family's journey to California during The Dust Bowl. However, it is also about the unity of a family and the concept of birth and death, both literal and abstract. Along with this, the idea of a family unit is explored through these births and deaths. As can be seen in The Grapes of Wrath, the Joads are a very tight-knit family. Yet on their trip to California, they experience many losses and additions to their family. In general, Steinbeck's novel abides by the circle of life. When a birth occurs, a death follows, and when a death occurs, a birth follows. However, in The Grapes of Wrath, the number of deaths outweighs the number of births as a way to show the negative impacts of The Dust Bowl. The first birth in the novel occurs in Chapter Eight when Tom Joad returns from jail to his family. Prior to Tom's homecoming, Ma Joad had been deeply concerned about making the journey to California without him, because she did not want the family to break up before the start of their journey even occurred. The idea of Tom Joad returning at this point is considered a birth because the Joad family is now complete. This starts the novel giving the reader a better sense of the closeness of the Joad family. In addition, the first reference to death occurs in Chapter Ten. Grampa decides that he does not want to leave his land and go out west. "'This here's my country. I b'long here...I ain't a-goin'. This country ain't no good, but it's my country'" (152). Once again, as to not split up the family, Ma Joad drugs Grampa in order for the family to place him on the tru... ...by that Rose of Sharon delivers in Chapter Thirty. One would believe that when Rose of Sharon delivers her dead baby, it is a sign that all hope is lost because it breaks the circle of life. However, Steinbeck ends The Grapes of Wrath on a somewhat uplifting note by incorporating one last birth. At the end of the novel, Rose of Sharon gives life to a dying old man by letting him drink the breast milk that she would have used in order to feed her own baby. "She looked up and across the barn, and her lips came together and smiled mysteriously" (619). In conclusion, The Grapes of Wrath may appear, on surface level, to be a novel about an Oklahoma family's trip to California during the Dust Bowl. Instead, when looked at more deeply, The Grapes of Wrath is found to be a story about the circle of life and the way that a family stays together through this cycle.

Africa: Europe Colonization Through Imperialist Aggression Essay

Africa confronted colonization from Europe through imperialist aggression, diplomatic pressure and military invasion during the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. During this time period, African civilizations put up numerous methods of resistance in an effort to stop the European colonization. These resistances failed and by the 20th century most of Africa was colonized. The Europeans desire to colonize Africa was motivated by economic, political and social elements following the breakdown of slave trading. This led to a frantic struggle to establish different parts of the African continent for trade while the Africans fought free trade. African military fought European colonization through guerrilla warfare because the stateless societies did not have an established military. The use of African military was utilized in more centralized states such as Ethiopia and Zulu. One example of African resistance was brought about by Samory Toure of West Africa who fought the French by the use of military and diplomatic resistance between 1882 and 1898. Most African societies fought aggressively and courageously in an effort to keep control over their country. In the 19th century it was evident that they had lost and their fight and found themselves facing revolutionary changes. The lack of technology was one of the main reasons for their loss. African’s mainly used bows, arrows, spears and some cavalry rifles. It was at this point in time most of Africa was colonized by seven European powers, which had established colonial state systems. These colonial state systems were authoritarian and bureaucratic mainly imposed by force. (Iweriebor, Ehiedu , n.d) Because of the European colonization upon Africa came a syncretism of culture, society and production. Islam and Christianity were introduced to West Africa between the ninth and the tenth century by way of missionaries and trading. Islam was accepted in the 11th century by numerous rulers and has since grown to be a prominent religion in West Africa by becoming incorporated into the laws, cultures and political economy of different regions. Today over 50% and many cities in West Africa are of Muslim including Nigeria and Sierra Leone. Cities such as Mali, Senegal, Mauritania and Gambia are over 90 % Muslim. Christianity in Africa has a shorter history because it was not introduced until Europeans began exploring and colonizing Africa. Christianity was introduced to Africa in the 15th century through the European missionary work and is still being cultivated today by Christians all over the world. The city of Cape Verde is mostly Christian based while the city of Chana is over 60% Christian. While Christianity and Islam beliefs are present within Africa the most common religious practice in Africa falls within the indigenous category. Africans have however combined their pre-colonial beliefs with those of Christianity and Islam thus creating a syncretism of religion. (Exploring Africa, n.d.) The economy in Africa greatly changed from the European colonization. During the colonial period, most European colonizers grew crops strictly to sell them. The economy was based upon exporting raw materials and importing manufactured items. Some examples of the exports would be cotton, oil and minerals while the importing was generally machines, equipment and textiles. In almost every instance of instance of trading, one of the primary trade allies for each African country is a corresponding past colonizer. In addition, there are only a few primary trade partners are with other African countries. Therefore, international trade relations of Africa are focused toward industrialized nations. (Exploring Africa, n.d.) Reference: Iweriebor, Ehiedu (n.d) The Colonization of Africa, retrieved from: http://exhibitions.nypl.org/africanaage/essay-colonization-of-africa.html Exploring Africa (n.d.) Unit Four: Regional Perspective, Retrieved from: http://exploringafrica.matrix.msu.edu/students/curriculum/m17/activity3.php

Band of Brothers, Easy Company

The young work force of Easy Company were ordinary citizens dark soldiers. Some of them worked in agricultural farms or coalmines. Others lived in the mountain and few were sons of the heavyset South. Some came from very poor families duration others were raised from the middle class (Gerjevic 2006). These were secure few of the brave men who self-possessed the Easy Company, 506th Regiment of the 101st airborne Division, U. S. Army. In 1942, the Easy Company was created and underwent staple fibre dressing in Camp Toccoa, Georgia.The training included climbing the Currahee Mountain. They were the young volunteers desire for thrill, honor, source of income and dreamed of attaining higher take than a draftee. The training was rigid and postulate great forcible effort. After gild months of hard training, they prepared the invasion of Hitlers fortress (Ambrose, Simon and Schuster 2006). At about 1 a. m. June 6, 1944, came D-Day, they silently smoked, talked in whispers and utt ered light prayers as they board the C-47s. Each slice was in full battle gear.They were bushel to fulfill their delicate mission (Gerjevic 2006). The slew of Brothers successfully did their assigned role in the D-Day invasion where they parachuted into Normandy, overpowered a German demurral line on Utah Beach, oral sex the force that entered into Carentan, direct the fighting in Holland, captured an area in Bastogne, bravely led the counteroffensive in the Battle of the Bulge and at long last overran Hitlers Eagles nuzzle at Berchtesgaden (Webster 2006). The Easy Company suffered physical as well as affable casualties.Overall, the roundabout of Brothers successfully made it and they were proclaim the Statesn heroes. The war was a spirit level on how draftee citizen soldiers conquered well-trained German enemy such as the Wehrmach and S. S (Ambrose, Simon and Schuster 2006). The Band of Brothers, Easy Company was born in 1942. Their contribution in the success of the States in their three years in the war cannot be underestimated. Their courage, endurance and trueness towards the interest of the nation have acquire them a place in the Statess great history.The Band of Brothers is notable to be considered as one of the superlative military unit that the United States of America ever had. Work Cited Gerjevic, Sandi, Band of Brothers, accessed celestial latitude 5, 2006, http//www. sandigerjevic. com/brothers. html Ambrose, Stephen, Simon & Schuster, Band of Brothers, accessed on celestial latitude 5, 2006, http//www. bookreporter. com/reviews/0671867369. asp Webster, David Kenyon, accessed December 5, 2006, http//www. davidkenyonwebster. com/