Monday, September 30, 2019

The Genus Homo

The increase in brain size and decrease in jaw and tooth size are associated with the first appearance of the genus Homo; the archeological evidence of a shift in subsistence patterns is often assumed to be associated with behaviors unique to Homo, although this point remains to be definitely demonstrated. The taxonomic interpretation of early Homo fossils were considered contentious when they were first found, and in many ways it remains so today.The first discoveries of early Homo fossils were made at Olduvai Gorge, not long after Mary Leakey had found Zinj (now Australopithecus boisei) and Louis Leakey pronounced it to be the maker of gorge’s stone tools. Between 1960 and 1963, a series of fossils was uncovered close to the Zinj site, including hand and foot bones, a lower jaw, and parts of the top of the cranium (Wilford, 2007).There are very strict rules of convention that must be followed when a scientist names a new species of an existing genus. These involve a careful description of the new specimen to show how the animal fits in with the definition of the genus (in this case Homo) and how it differs from other closely related species. The naming of a new species of hominid has always been likely to touch off a good deal of lively discussion within the profession, so Leakey was certainly guaranteed that much. But the fact that at the same time he had to adjust the definition of the genus Homo in order to accommodate his new species transformed what might have been properly scholarly jousting into near outrage.Previous diagnoses of Homo had focused on the so-called cerebral rubicon: a hominid had to exceed brain size in order to be judged worthy of full manhood. The trouble was that different authorities put the threshold at different levels.The diagnosis offered by Leakey and his colleagues was more comprehensive, and included habitual bipedal posture and gait, a precision grip, and a brain capacity much smaller than previously proposed (Line, 20 05; Wilford, 2007).References:Line, P. (2005). Fossil Evidence for Alleged Apemen – Part 1: The Genus Homo [Electronic Version]. Creation Ministries International. Retrieved October 1, 2007 from http://www.creationontheweb.com/content/view/4450/.Wilford, J. N. (2007). Lost in a Million – Year Gap, Solid Clues to Human Origins [Electronic Version]. The New York Times. Retrieved October 1, 2007 from http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/18/science/18evol.html?_r=1&ref=science&oref=slogin.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Explaining legal and ethical tensions between maintaining confidentiality and sharing information

Explain how to support effective communication within your own job role. Communication is constantly happening within the day care center and in my job role I have a responsibility to communicate with staff, service users and other professionals. I use various forms of communication but I also seek to make sure that it is understood. Communication has got to be understood before it can be effective and so I try to ensure comprehension when I am verbally speaking by getting staff to repeat what I have asked them to do. I also write simply worded memos and emails to ensure ease of comprehension.When communicating with other professionals I speak clearly and seek affirmation when organizing meetings or planning events. I also seek to write in a legible manner if writing to professionals. Each service user has a communication book for reporting and informing families and carers of activities on a daily basis, these are written in a legible way also. Primarily when communicating with each individual service user I seek to communicate in an understandable way and at a level each individual will understand. The methods I employ are verbal, pictorial, object-based, physical prompts and signing.Analyse the barriers and challenges to communication within own job role. Propose improvements to communication systems and practices to address any shortcomings. Lead the implementation of revised communication systems and practices. Barrier/Challenge. Explaination. How could it be improved? How have I improved it Deafness? Some of our service users have hearing loss and on occasions forget to bring their hearing aids to day care. This presents a severe communication challenge and barrier on these occasions.Bring hearing aid in daily. I have written a request in service user’s communication book requesting that hearing aids are sent in daily and suggesting that a spare is obtained in the event that his current hearing aid is broken. Visual impairments mean that visual cue s and prompts are meaningless and this includes signing. Glasses could be worn. I have requested that service users wear their glasses to aid with communication. I have adapted general approach to service users to compensate for blindness. No Speech/Speech Impediments. Some of our service users have poor speech or no speech at all. With these service users an alternative form of communication is required or an ability to listen  intently and comprehend what they are saying. Picture/objects of reference.A jotter and pen to spell difficult words.For some of our service users I have drawn together objects and photographs of reference and each one acts as a word of vocabulary and provides an ability to communicate effectively. For one of my service users I have encouraged him to spell out difficult words to understand. Comprehension. Some of our service users have profound learning disabilities and their level of comprehension and understanding is very limited, however they communicat e constantly.Alternative methods could be sought.One individual has been taught to â€Å"eye-point† at what she wants. Another gets quite restless and verbal when he is upset and smiles and giggles when happy. Staff have been informed of how this service user communicates. Time Another challenge to effective communication in the day care center is time. We are all busy and we don’t always have the time to listen and to communicate the way we should.Better time management.Managing our workload allows us to take time with our service users. However on many occasions there is no solution as we are all busy and things need to be completed. Noise. One of the biggest preventatives and barriers to effective communication is noise. Is the music too loud? Is the television on? Is there too many people in the room talking? Turn music/TV volume down, close doors, ensure staff have a relevant reason for being in the day care room.I have ensured volume of music etc. is at an accept able level.I have told staff to leave the day care room or to stop talking so loudly to enable the preservation of an environment conducive to effective communication. Distance. When communicating with service users or staff members at the other side of the room or down the corridor distance and space apart can become a barrier and a challenge to effective communication. Go to the individual you are communicating with. Although it is not always possible it is advisable to go to the individual and I seek to do this as much as possible. Computer System/E-mail. When sending or receiving e-mails it is necessary to have access to a working computer which is ‘online’.Have various ‘backups’ when communicating via email. I have sent emails and to ensure that the information has been forwarded I have  sent hard copies too.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

E. M. Forster’s “A Passage to India” Essay

The chief argument against imperialism in E. M. Forster’s A Passage to India is that it prevents personal relationships. The central question of the novel is posed at the very beginning when Mahmoud Ali and Hamidullah ask each other â€Å"whether or no it is possible to be friends with an Englishman.† The answer, given by Forster himself on the last page, is â€Å"No, not yet†¦ No, not there.† Such friendship is made impossible, on a political level, by the existence of the British Raj. While having several important drawbacks, Forster’s anti-imperial argument has the advantage of being concrete, clear, moving, and presumably persuasive. It is also particularly well-suited to pursuit in the novel form, which traditionally has focused on interactions among individuals. Forster does much more in his book†¦than simply deride the intolerance of a few accidental individuals. He carefully shows how this intolerance results from the unequal power relationship between English and Indians, from the imperialistic relationship itself†¦ The process is best shown in the book in the case of Ronny, who has only recently come out from England to be City Magistrate of Chandrapore. Ronny was at first friendly towards the Indians, but he soon found that his position prevented such friendship. Shortly after his arrival he invited the lawyer Mahmoud All to have a smoke with him, only to learn later that clients began flocking to Ali in the belief that he had an in with the Magistrate. Ronny subsequently â€Å"dropped on him in Court as hard as I could. It’s taught me a lesson, and I hope him.† In this instance, it is clearly Ronny’s official position rather than any prior defect of the heart which disrupts the potential friendship. And it is his position in the imperial structure which causes his later defect, his lack of true regret when he tells his mother that now â€Å"I prefer my smoke at the club amongst my own sort, I’m afraid.† Forster tells us that â€Å"every human act in the East is tainted with officialism† and that â€Å"where there is officialism every human relationship suffers.† People cannot establish a friendship of equals when the Raj is based on an inequality of power†¦ The one possible exception to this process of corruption among Englishmen is Fielding. He is partially immune to the influence of the imperialistic power relationship because he works in education rather than government, and because, as he puts it, he â€Å"travels light†Ã¢â‚¬â€he has no hostages to fortune. Fielding establishes a friendship with Aziz and maintains it in defiance of all the other Anglo-Indians. There is some doubt, however, whether he can maintain this course and still remain in imperial India. He is obliged to quit the Club and says he will leave India altogether should Aziz be convicted. After Fielding marries Stella, thereby ceasing to travel light, and after he becomes associated with the government as a school inspector, he undergoes a marked change of attitude toward the Raj. It would surely be a mistake to continue, as several critics do, to identify Forster with Fielding past this point. The omniscient narrator pulls back and summarizes Fielding’s situation: â€Å"He had thrown in his lot with Anglo-India by marrying a countrywoman, and he was acquiring some of its limitations.† Like Ronny and the other English officials, Fielding begins to be corrupted by his position. Thinking of how Godbole’s school has degenerated into a granary, the new school inspector asserts that â€Å"Indians go to seed at once† away from the British. Fielding almost exactly echoes Ronny’s defense of the Raj to his mother when he excuses unpleasantness in the supposedly necessary imperial presence: he had â€Å"‘no further use for politeness,’ he said, meaning that the British Empire really can’t be abolished because it’s rude.† Fielding certainly did not start with a defect of the heart, but, as a result of his new position in the imperial structure, he is acquiring one. The English, of course, aren’t the only ones corrupted by imperialism. Although most of the Indians in the book have a nearly unbelievable desire to befriend Englishmen, they are ultimately turned from it by the political reality. Some succumb to self-interest. Mahmoud Ali, for example, seems to have been the first to subvert his budding friendship with Ronny by advertising their smoke to potential litigants. More often the Indians succumb to the fear, largely justified but occasionally erroneous, that they will be scorned and betrayed. The prime example is Aziz. He makes the horrible mistake of assuming that Fielding back in England has married his  enemy Adela and further that Fielding had urged him not to press damages against his false accuser so Fielding himself could enjoy Adela’s money. Aziz, of course, has been conditioned to expect betrayal from his experience with other Anglo-Indians, and this expectation provides an undercurrent to the friendship from the very beginning. After Fielding returns to India, and Aziz learns he really married Stella Moore, their relationship is partially retrieved, but the damage has been done. The new school inspector has shifted toward the Raj, and Aziz, now leery of all Englishmen, has become a nationalist, saying of India, â€Å"Not until she is a nation will her sons be treated with respect.†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦

Friday, September 27, 2019

How does the oil play a big role in Kuwait economy Essay

How does the oil play a big role in Kuwait economy - Essay Example Kuwait has beautiful sandy beaches along the turquoise blue Gulf. In the southwest of the country, the landscape rises to a maximum elevation of 306 meters (1,004 feet). Islam is the predominant religion of Kuwait. Most of the Kuwaitis are Muslims are generally very conservative and governed by traditions and practices from very long ago. The Kuwaiti society is very family oriented. Kuwaiti families are usually quite large, and many different families are interconnected and related to one another through ancestry and marriage. For a country of such small size, Kuwait boasts a very broad and rich culture, containing a particular heritage and encompassing certain trends whose roots are embedded in the cultural traditions of antiquity. Kuwait holds a strong tie to its past, and the government takes pride in its assistance in the retaining of historical artifacts and antiques, as well as in the preservation of the arts and modern cultural endeavors. The official language of Kuwait is Arabic. All members of the government are required to have a working knowledge of Arabic in order to be eligible for the post. English is also widely spoken and is the country's official second language. Kuwait's government plays a dominant role in the country's economy. The government employs 92 percent of the population. Kuwait was the first Arab country in the Gulf to have an elected parliament. Moves to change the male-dominated political structure culminated in the granting of full political rights to women in 2005. Kuwait's most pressing environmental challenge is its limited water resources. In this regard, Kuwait has developed some of world's largest and most sophisticated desalination facilities, which now provide much of Kuwait's water. History of oil in Kuwait. Until the discovery of oil in the region in 1911 by a British concern, the Arab states in the gulf were weak and the faltering economies. The numerous rulers in small pockets kept up their autonomy with the help of the British. The Sultan of Omar was the largest of them all and but he couldn't further his rule because of the resistance. The Anglo Persian Oil Company or APOC was the first to start producing oil in Iran. In 1932 Standard Oil Company of California (Socal) discovered oil in commercial quantities in Bahrain. Socal then obtained a concession in Saudi Arabia in 1933 and discovered oil in commercial quantities in 1938. This triggered a flurry of oil exploration in the Gulf States in the 1930's. United States and Britain were the two main nations competing for the oil concessions. The new Iranian Government of Reza Shah Pahlavi revoked APOC's concession. Although the Shah and the British later agreed on new terms, the threat of losing Iranian oil convinced the British in particular that they must find other sources. The small states of the Persian Gulf were a natural place to look due to similar geological conditions to those in Iran. This did not mean immediate wealth for the Arab countries. Large deposits of oils were found in Bahrain. Oman was unable to export until 1967 and it was 1950 by the time oil rich states found it to be commercially beneficial. The oil fields in Kuwait were developed the fastest, and by 1953 that nation had

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Week 1 dissc 1 hist Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Week 1 dissc 1 hist - Essay Example Some slaves did have contacts on the ‘outside’ and they had a bit of an education, so they were more able to fit into mainstream society, find work or a farm to tend, and begin to rebuild their lives. In this context, many would argue that a freed slave was better off remaining in their original slave state than moving to a former non-slave state in the North. It is a false assumption to think that the North was truly anti-Slave. While it is true that they did not allow slavery within their borders, many were still highly discriminatory against the African American. On the contrary, while many slave owners were guilty of crimes against their slaves, many did provide for them, gave them training and skills, and took care of their basic needs. While they were not free, they were taken care of. So, upon the abolition of slavery, many slaves found themselves confused as to where they wished to uproot and move their family. Naturally, these desired to be free and to live out their remaining days, not as a slave, but as a provider to their own family (Berwanger, 1979, p. 103). On the other hand, however, they had to face reality and felt the need to reside in a place that they felt comfortable and could put food on their table. Many slaves opted to remain in the South. They understand the plantations and felt at home working the fields. Now, many of them found employment on their original homesteads. Rather than being a slave, they were able to earn an honest days wage and provide for their family. While they were still discriminated against, they felt more at home than they would have in the North, where employment would have been difficult at best and the cities would have been foreign to

Strategic Management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 1

Strategic Management - Assignment Example 4.3 billion (Argos website, n.d.). In order to achieve this result the company has employed about 33,000 people across the business (Argos website, n.d.). While the company has not presented its mission as a separately identified statement, its strategic vision and mission could be derived from the information given on the website; it follows that: â€Å"we are extending our product range to help you make more responsible choices, conserve resources and save money† (Argos website, n.d.). Additionally, the company is concerned about the environmental issues and is striving to run the business in a sustainable way. Therefore, it is possible to say the main organization’s purpose is based on three key organizational values, which include not only supply of the customer with an extensive assortment but also conserving of the buyer’s resources and saving their money in sustainable way (Argos website, n.d.). While reviewing the official information presented at the Arg os’ and Home Retail Group’s website, it is possible to summarize the key strategic issues and objectives which the company faces. These include (Home Retail Group, n.d.). Leadership in multi-channel retailing The company’s strategy is based on the idea of becoming the market leader in multi-channel retailing and maintaining of this status (Home Retail Group, n.d.). In order to achieve these heights, Argos, being a part of the Home Retail Group is working under the development of highly successful mobile and internet channels to reach its customers and meet their demand (Home Retail Group, n.d.). In future, the company’s management is planning to introduce such developments as: mobile apps for the iPad and Android, and TV shopping channel apps (Home Retail Group, n.d.). However, an integral part of the Argos strategic model is continuous investment in its stores (Home Retail Group, n.d.). Differentiated and market leading formats The company strives to dif ferentiate its form from other retailers. In order to achieve this goal, Argo refreshes its brand and refurbishes its stores (Home Retail Group, n.d.). Product ranges and related services Expansion of the product range enables the company to grow its market share and to drive the leadership in its core markets (Home Retail Group, n.d.). Therefore, Argos is keen on the development of the ways of choice expansion. Delivering value to the customer As a part of its strategy, Argos is aimed at maintenance of highly competitive price position by comparing the price levels, organizing regular promotions to attract more consumers, and designed (and continues to work on) sourcing opportunities through direct sourcing and importing (Home Retail Group, n.d.). By introducing special lines, as â€Å"WOW† and â€Å"Argos Value†, Argos continues to deliver the best value to the customer. Leveraging scale and infrastructure Efficient cost base The Company seeks the opportunities of bo th cost reduction and business flexibility (Home Retail Group, n.d.). Financial strength Financial strength of the company is the vital characteristics which is necessary for the further growth and development of business. Thus, for example, the company plans to open about 20 stores during this financial year (Argos

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Monetary Economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Monetary Economics - Essay Example When the Fed lowers rates then we expect an increase in borrowing, when rates are reduced there is an expectation that inflation will rise, therefore inflation will increase when the rates are reduced. When the Fed lowers rates then we expect an increase in borrowing, an increase in borrowing means that there will be an increase in spending which will lead to an increase in output. An increase in output means that the economy will grow. When the Fed lowers interest rates this may result into an increase in money supply, n increase in money supply in the economy means that there will be a rise in expected inflation rate and therefore inflation rates are expected to increase. Calculation of future spot rate is complicated in that we assume that the 3rd year rate is equal to the five year rate, in the last calculation we consider two years which is the second and third year rate and also assume that the third year rate is equal to 2.04, the values provided are an estimate of what is expected by investors and this is because of uncertainties in future. The yield curve is a curve that depicts the yield or the cost of borrowing over time, the yield curve is an upward sloping curve and this means that if an investor invests his funds for a duration of t years then the yield will be a function of time, this means that the more the investor invests in terms of years then the higher is the yield. Prevailing interest rates which is the cost of borrowing will determine the position of the yield curve, in our case the chart shows that the yield curve has shifted downwards compared to the

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Community needs analysis Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Community needs analysis - Coursework Example The needs analysis links the terminal and instrumental values with the community needs, through effective project work and collaboration with the local charity. Family security, health and exciting life are instrumental for individuals with learning disabilities. The project team and charity will collaborate to identify the number of individuals with disabilities who have poor health, exciting life and family support. These individuals will then be supported to enhance comfort, and effective information sharing. Individuals with learning disabilities must also possess significant values such as ambition, responsibility and intelligence. The number of individuals who desire to be part of the project will be identified. The identification will be done through baseline surveys that involve local authorities, religious leaders, and opinion leaders (Bekas 196). Individuals experiencing learning disabilities must be stimulated intellectually. This is through enhancing the information sharing processes within the community (Wright, Foran & Wood 139). They should also demonstrate responsibility through being punctual for learning program, and also illustrates ambition by a great desire overcoming disability challenges (Sanchez 343). The main purpose of the needs assessment is to determine the number of disabled individuals willing to participate in the project, their disability level and category, and also the resource level required for successful operation of the project. The research team will partner with the local charity to collect and analyze data on the learners with disabilities, and in the implementation of the project. 100 participants will be identified for the study, through sampling approach. The study will be conducted through the qualitative research approach. The methods of data collection to be applied are interview, questionnaire and data mining. The data collected will be used to determine the community needs. Data mining

Monday, September 23, 2019

U03a1 Project Topic Choice and Rationale Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

U03a1 Project Topic Choice and Rationale - Essay Example that traditional Fee-for-Service payment rewards piecemeal work and â€Å"volume† of services rather than prevention of illness and coordination of care. The more procedures a physician performs, and the higher the value of the procedure, the more the physician is paid† (Patient Centered Primary Care Collaborative, 2007). The option chosen for this paper is Option B. The next section will provide an overview of the organisation and the strategic planning issue. The organization chosen for this study is Tufts Medical Center. The organization deal with providing healthcare for children and is a well recognized organization with a ranking within the top five percent of the institutions nationwide (Tufts Medical Center). The organization has been able to provide the customers with excellent care over the years. The strategic issue that is present in the organization is the lack of a good record keeping process for the employee injuries on the job. The organization’s strategy in a number of ways lacks a strong plan for the employees and care of the employees. This is clear from the recent news which reads, â€Å"The Nurses Association distributed a press release several weeks ago saying the hospital showed a lack of concern for the health and safety of its workers. The union also picketed the hospital earlier this year to protest changes in nurses staffing patterns† ( Altman & Altman ). Several theories that have been explained in the past which deal with both human resources as well as the strategic management in the health care industry specifically highlight the need for a safe working environment for the employees and it is by law needed for the organizations to keep complete records of the various employee injuries and on the job issues that might arise. In the case of Tufts Medical Center this has clearly been missed out and the organization has not been able to keep up the records in time and effectively. As explained by Beta – Research School for

Sunday, September 22, 2019

The Making of Modern Russia Essay Example for Free

The Making of Modern Russia Essay b) How far do you agree that the economic position of the peasantry in Russia was stronger in the period between the Emancipation and the Revolution than it was under Lenin and Stalin? Agricultural policy in Russia throughout Russia between 1856 and 1964 has always been characterised by a hidden agenda. The Tsars used agricultural policy to obstruct a revolution, while Stalin used agricultural policy to facilitate industrialisation. The peasantry were limited in reaping the benefits from agricultural policies introduced by either regime. However, while both governments used agricultural policies to sustain their power, the Communist regime under Lenin and Stalin was significantly more ruthless than the former. The Tsarist regime needed the peasants on side in order to block latent revolutionary threat. Therefore, it can be said the peasants were in a better economic position under the Tsars than the Communist regime. Additionally after the emancipation, the peasantry no longer existed because of egalitarianism. In 1861 Tsar Alexander II introduced the first economic policy intended to benefit the peasantry. The Emancipation Edict was a mechanism implemented to free all serfs, who made up more than one third of the total population. The Emancipation edict abolished all personal serfdom, and the peasants were to receive land from the landlords and pay them for it. This gave the peasantry the opportunity to achieve limited economic success. However in reality, the peasants were effectively transferred from one owner to another. The state advanced the money to the landlords and recovered it from the peasants in 49 annual sums known as redemption payments. That initial stage dragged on for nearly 20 years in some regions. In many areas the peasants had to pay more than the land was worth. While in other areas they were given small plots, and many chose to accept beggarly allotments. The peasants landholdings were controlled by the mir, or village commune. The mir was responsible for redemption payments and periodically redistributed the land to meet the changing needs of the various households. This system meant that peasants could not leave their villages, and actually lost rights to the use of some land. (WHICH?) This policy aimed to circumvent revolution and hence actually worsened the economic plight of the peasantry. The emancipation was a failure in terms of the economic success. What is more, the provisions concerning land redistribution produced the peasant discontent that eventually helped the Russian Revolution to succeed, despite the later land reforms of Stolypin after the 1905 revolution. These plans involved allowing peasants to own their own land, removing the system in which peasants only farmed strips of land and allowing peasants to trade land freely. These proposals would have warranted more economic security for the peasantry if there wasnt a lack of enthusiasm to adopt them. Having enjoyed a sense of collective security at the time, the Bedniaks were unwilling to run the risk of setting up farms individually. For this reason, Stolypins reforms were fruitless. By and large, the same problems created after emancipation was still present in 1914. However, many historians have argued that if given more time Stolypin may have been able to implement them successfully. Overall, the main agricultural policies implemented to improve the economic success of the peasants at the time were aimed at trying to keep the Tsarist regime in power. This is why both the emancipation edict and Stolypins reforms failed. M. Lynch states that in a country as relatively backward as Russia, reforms would take even longer to be effective this refers to Stolypins gamble on the strong. This suggests that Stolypins reforms may have worked if given time, but the peasants were still in a backward agricultural economy and were averse to risk. This is the reason for the failure of both the emancipation and Stolypins reforms. Both policies failed to provide an incentive to the peasantry, to leave what they had and create a richer peasantry would reject any socialist ideals. Instead these policies were aimed at stabilising Tsardom. When the Communist regime seized power in 1917, the peasants encountered the same problems faced in the Tsarist regime. Peasants had not benefited during the Tsarist regime due to the fact that all policies were aimed at maintaining its hold on power. In doing so, some consideration had to be given to the peasants when these policies were implemented. In addition, the Communist regime was different to that of the Tsars; in that it did not depend on the support of the peasants and therefore any policies introduced for agriculture simply relied on the repression of peasants. All policies were aimed at industrialising Russia, and it did not matter if peasants suffered because of this. Any agricultural policy was simply to help feed the towns or to provide grain to export to pay for industrialization. The Communist regime implemented a policy of war communism during the civil war. The sole aim of this policy was to keep the Bolsheviks in power and to win the civil war. As a result, peasants were viewed as disposable. Even during the vast famine of 1922, the Government took all surplus agricultural produce given to the towns to help supply the army with food. The peasants stopped producing more than they needed for themselves. The result was famine aggravated by drought; no measures were taken to help them. In addition, Russia continued to export large amounts of grain to fund the war in spite of the substantial famine in Russia itself. This left many peasants in extremely poor economic positions, definitely in a worse position than during the Tsarist regime. In 1921, the New Economic Policy (NEP) was introduced. It was intended to rectify this position and stabilise the economy. As a result of the NEP, production revived quickly, industrial production reaching the pre-war level by 1926, and although more slowly, agricultural production grew. Moreover, peasants were even allowed to sell some surplus and pay tax; some peasants became rich such as the Kulaks as a result of the removal of state requisitioning. As a result, this policy restored some prosperity and improved the economic position of the peasants by encouraging new small businesses. Experts were brought in to increase production in nationalised industries (coal, iron, steel railways). However, although this policy was aimed at providing more grain to feed the towns, it did improve the economic position of the peasants by giving the people the chance to make money. However it is debateable as to whether it was only intended as a temporary measure to repair a severely damaged economy. There were problems that prevented the peasantry to benefit economically from the policy. The first problem was that the surplus grain produced by peasants couldnt be traded for industrial goods easily as industry did not grow as rapidly as agriculture had. This meant the peasants did not benefit as much as they could have with their increased supply of grain. Furthermore, the high turnover meant the value of grain plummeted between 1922 and 1923. To make matters worse, the lack of industrial goods available at the time meant industrial prices kept rising. The peasantry were forced to grow more grain than before in order to buy the goods they needed. The newly denationalized industry was producing again, but its costs were much higher than pre-war levels and thus the prices of manufactured goods were high. As the marketing of agricultural produce was resumed, the greater supply drove grain prices down. The terms of trade this moved against the countryside. Whereas the average peasant had formerly been able to get a shirt for thirty-odd pounds of rye or the equivalent, by 1923 he needed two hundred and fifty pounds. The result was the scissors crisis so called from a diagram Trotsky used in a speech, which showed the intersection of a falling rural price curve and a rising urban price curve. The curves intersected, said Trotsky in September 1922. The Lag factor undermined the new economic position of the peasants. Moreover, the introduction of higher taxation also further reduced the economic position of the peasants, meaning more of their grain was used to pay taxes rather than for trading. Overall, the economic potential of the NEP was cancelled out by several factors: high taxes, lack of trading opportunities. The economic position of the peasantry had seen some improvement with the abandonment of state requisitioning, but even this development was minor. The peasants were almost in the same economic position as they had been during war communism. The NEP was at least a feasible attempt to improve the state of agriculture, and did give peasants some economic freedom. But, this economic freedom was taken away from the peasantry under Stalin with his policy of collectivisation. This policy forced peasants to live on collective farms, with most the grain being produced being given to towns, over the peasants. This had a severely effect on the peasantry, who started hoarding grain as a reaction against the preferential treatment towards the towns. They refused to produce grain that would not be theirs and successful held the state for ransom. This only dragged the country into a deeper famine. NEP could have helped the peasants economically if it was run properly. This was not the case. Problems such as the machines not being available to cultivate the crops when needed meant more peasants had less grain for themselves. The grain that was produced was not split fairly and left many peasants with insufficient grain to feed their families. NEP also meant the recreation of class distinction, however the policy continued despite its shortcomings until . All the economic freedom achieved since the emancipation were stripped from the peasants, leaving them in a worse position than they were eighty years before. The final problem with collectivisation was Dekulakisation; the class of wealthier independent peasants. In smashing the Kulak class, the peasants were losing the most efficient farmers, thus reducing the amount of grain being produced by the peasants still further. The liquidation of the Kulak class left collectivised farms with the task of improving the peasants economic position. Something it was unable to achieve. Collectivisation undermined any economic freedoms that the peasants had gained. They now had no land, no freedom to trade, and in many cases, not even enough grain to feed their families. Entirely, due to the badly run collectivised farms and the destruction of the class enemy: the kulaks. Overall, agriculture was completely neglected throughout the Tsarist and Communist regimes. Agricultural policies were simply used to either keep the current government in power or to help achieve ideals the regime had, such as industrialisation. In many ways, both regimes were equally incompetent and negligent. Both were authoritarian and dictatorial and all policies passed on agriculture had a vested interest. However, during the Tsarist regime, at least some (albeit not all) peasants had their own land that they could live on. During the communist regime, many peasants were forced into poverty by the policies of war communism and collectivisation. At the end of 1950 peasants did not have their own land, and were working for little reward, as the productivity was worse than in 1917. If the evidence is weighed up on the scales: the peasants economic position stayed much on the same level as before emancipation. However paradoxically, they received more benefits economically by the Tsarist regime than the Communist regime. The Tsarist regime needed the peasants subside revolutionary sentiment and sustain power. Collectivisation under the communist regime destroyed all economic gains the peasants had achieved throughout both regimes. Why was NEP abandoned? http://www.marx2mao.org//Stalin/Index.html For similarities you could consider some of the following points: 1. the central control by the Tsars and by Stalin 2. the secret police under both regimes 3. terror 4. total control of the government over the economy 5. total control of the government over education 6. the adoration of the leaders by the people, giving them a godlike status 7. Both regimes relied on a large number of supporters in order to carry out the work of the leader. For differences, you might consider some of the following points: 1. different political doctrines 2. the way in which they achieved power 3. attempts by the two last Tsars to give the people some democracy was not matched by Stalin 4. the Tsarist regimes knew that they would have to move on if they were to keep people happy. Stalin was not interested in the peoples happiness. He just wanted the power. 5. Industrialisation 6. Class structure 7. Different types of people in power. Not just the Tsars and Stalin but all the other people that helped maintain the regimes. For each of the points you wish to write about you need to make your comparison and then support it with some factual evidence. . Some historians argue that Stolypin and his wager on the strong was the last chance the Tsar had to help Russia develop into a democratic society, and to keep his throne.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Problems and Challenges Facing the Construction Industry

Problems and Challenges Facing the Construction Industry There are numerous important challenges facing todays construction industry that are motivating the adoption of new technologies such as RFID and sensors technology. Some are new to the industry, and some are centuries old. Many of these challenges are a direct result of construction operations, while others a result of indirect, peripheral activities. Some of the construction issues include workforce considerations, safety, time constraints, and the changing nature of the work. Non-construction challenges that construction industry faces that are part of the business landscape include legal issues, government regulations, environmental concerns, and socio-political pressures. Also in addition to these challenges, the construction industry is highly competitive, and firms must continually improve their productivity to remain competitive. At present, a chronic problem in the construction industry that requires urgent attention is construction supply chain. The construction supply chai n network can be classified as a big and complex organisation that is difficult to manage. This is because the operations or activities involved in the construction network consist of multidiscipline groups and tasks. The concept of supply chain management is about managing information and material flows, plant operations, and logistics through a common set of principles, strategies, policies and performance metrics throughout its developmental life cycle. As part of the back bone for the supply chain processes, the logistics play a critical role in optimizing the flow of materials, equipment and people. The construction logistics is one of the significant management factors in order to precede construction project. If materials which are needed in construction project do not supply in right place on time, it can make problems such as delaying schedule, increasing the cost of construction and reducing productivity. The identification of material, identifying materials moving flow in logistics and tracking materials location are needed for successful project management in construction. A report Improving Construction Logistics published by the Strategic Forum for Construction in August 2005 revealed that quite a considerable amount of waste produced in the construction is caused by poor management of materials delivery services (e.g. from supply logistics to site logistics), inventory, communications and human resources. The consequences of poor construction-logistics are the following setback; about 30% of losses in overall construction cost, contributing to the bad image of the industry, poor quality of product, increased project duration and added risks to workers health and safety. The use of Information Technology (IT) and learning from other industries were part of the recommendation and action plans suggested by the Strategic Forum committee for better logistics processes. Jang et al (2003) and Rebolj et al (2008) also suggested that a great deal of improving the construction-logistics must be focused on the materials and information delivery in order to ach ieve better productivity, avoiding delays and reducing waste. In contrast to manufacturing industries, which profit from long-lasting partnership with suppliers and customers, construction-logistics supply chains are considerably more difficult to manage and optimize due to various factors such as diversification of projects (i.e. various materials, methods, project location) and technical complexity of a project. References Ahuja V. and Yang J. (2005): Towards IT Enabled Supply Chain Communications in Construction Project Management, International Conference on Information and Knowledge Management in a Global Economy, May 2005, pp. 289-302 Ribeiro F. L. And Lopes J. (2001): Construction Supply Chain Integration over the Internet and Web Technology, 17th ARCOM Annual Conference, Association of Researchers in Construction Management, Salford, Reading, Vol.1, pp. 241-252, September 2001. Jang H., Russell J.S. and Yi J. S. (2003): A Project Managers Level of Satisfaction in Construction Logistics, Can. J. Civ. Eng. 30, pp. 1133-1142 (2003) Rebolj D., Babic N. C., Magdic A. Podbreznik P. and Psunder M. (2008): Automated Construction Activity Monitoring System, Advanced Engineering Informatics. Balqis Omar, Tabarak Ballal, INTELLIGENT WIRELESS WEB SERVICES: CONTEXT-AWARE COMPUTING IN CONSTRUCTION-LOGISTICS SUPPLY CHAIN. Journal of Information Technology in Construction, ITcon Vol. 14 (2009), pg. 289-pg. 308 - Fast development in information and communication technology (ICT) has emerged as a key driver and thus provided the opportunity for construction companies to be more sensitive towards their business strategy and productivity (Ahuja and Yang, 2005, Ribeiro and Lopes, 2001). The amount of project data and information generated during construction periods are enormous and uncontrolled due to the nature of fragility in the construction processes. The traditional paper-intensive method of processing and transferring data and information is still being practised due to high investment capital cost on ICT facilities, lack of supporting interoperability between hardware-software within organisations and culture of most construction organisations. Communication technology, materials handling, transportation and warehousing are known as the critical services that serve the logistics operation processes. These include services in facilitating Just-In- Time (JIT) operation, optimising the movement of raw materials, work in-process and finished goods, optimising the transportation mode and locating and designing facilities to meet customer service levels respectively. - One of the recent paramount issues that have been a growing concern in the construction industry is the role of logistics in managing the supply chain (ERABUILD, 2006). Logistics, appropriate or inappropriate, to a great extent influences the efficiency of construction activities with materials and equipment being essential building blocks of construction projects. Among the elements that comprise the construction process, construction materials may account for 50-60 per cent of the total cost of a project and most directly represent project progress (Song 2005, Song et al. 2006). Successful delivery and subsequent distribution of these materials to various interconnected points where they are required is an important aspect of the overall project duration. Intensecomp (2005) reported that a wrong delivery arrangement of materials causes general disorder on construction sites. This disorder is often accompanied by a need for unplanned facilities and/or activities such as additional site storage, work interruption, extra handling, breakage, and loss. Similar challenges were also reported by the Strategic Forum for Construction in 2005. The report suggests that 50% of skilled craftsmen time is spent on unskilled tasks, time that they could have otherwise devoted to supervising workers. A research by BSRIA noted in this report shows that 10% of working hours on site is wasted due to inefficient logistics management. The effects of the logistic related waste thus result in 30% of extra construction cost and exceeded project duration. Other industries depend on and are progressively improving efficiency in logistics to achieve smooth processes, programme certainty and cost predictability. Honda-UK Manufacturing Ltd (HUM) for instance has initiated what could be one of the largest Ultra-High-Frequency (UHF) Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) installations in the automotive industry (Bacheldor 2006). The company used the technology to track components as they traverse HUMs supply chain, moving from suppliers through out Europe to HUMs manufacturing plant in England. In the similar way an RFID smart box developed by DHL in conjunction with the Fraunhofer Institute for Factory Operation and Automation can tell users what it contents are, and with Global Positioning System (GPS) and later, Galileo where it is located. The system can identify the boxs cargo and location, as well as internal environmental conditions (Wessel 2007). References Song, J. (2005). Tracking the Location of Materials on Construction Projects, Ph.D. Diss.,  Graduate School, the University of Texas at Austin. Intensecomp Pte Ltd. (2004). Construction Material Tracking System: Bringing Complex  Tasks to Simple Routine, 5pp. Smith, H. and Konsynsky, B. (2003). Developments in Practice X: Radio Frequency  Identification (RFID)-An Internet for Physical Objects. Communication Association for  Information System, 12, 301-311. Wessel, R. (2007). DHL to Market RFID Enabling Smart Box. RFID Journal (available at:  htt://www.rfidjournal/article/articlereview/2945/) Bacheldor, B. (2006). Honda UK To Track Component Through The Supply Chain. RFID  Journal (available at: htt://www.rfidjournal/article/articlereview/2703/. Milan Radosavljevic , Dauda Dan-Asabe, HOW COULD CONSTRUCTION SUPPLY CHAIN BENEFIT FROM RFID/GPS INTEGRATION: A KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT PERSPECTIVE, CIB W102 3rd International Conference 2007. Information technology (IT) is important in successfully controlling and managing construction projects, particularly in enhancing communication and coordination among participants. Communication and coordination must be maintained to support resource and competency sharing within the network of a construction chain or the construction chain network. Furthermore, integrating promising information technologies such as personal digital assistants (PDA), radio frequency identification (RFID) scanning and data entry mechanisms can help improve the effectiveness and convenience of information flow in construction supply chain systems. Problem statements Project management and control performance can be enhanced by enabling participants to share information with each other. However, two major key aspects of information sharing are information acquisition and information communication. Information acquisition problems in a construction project follow from most of the data and information being gathered from the construction site, which is an extension of the construction chain. The effectiveness of information and data acquisition influences the information flow between the office and the construction site. However, on-site engineers generally use written documents, drawings, contracts, specifications and shop drawings for job sites. Consequently, a time and space gap between the job site and the office causes duplication of data and information, lack of data and information, and associated confusion. Restated, existing means of processing information and accumulating data are not only time-consuming and expensive, but also compromise project management performance in information acquisition. Furthermore, construction contractors normally depend on interactions via telephone or fax to communicate with suppliers, subcontractors and designers. Consequently, transactions are frequently lost or misunderstood. Such means of communicating information between sites and offices, and among all participants, are ineffective and inconvenient. System implementation This section illustrates the implementation and module of the RFID-enabled PDAs system. Inventory management module The Inventory management module is an easy-access and portable environment in which on-site engineers can trace and record all information on the status of materials in the warehouse or on the scheduled delivery list. This module enables on-site engineers to improve inventory management on construction sites. Quality and inspection module On-site engineers can download the most up-to-date quality tests from the Internet, and can enter test results directly via PDA. Additionally, PDAs display the code and/or checklist for each important component and work. On-site engineers also can plot unacceptable positions on a drawing and choose relevant items from the lists in the PDA. The module has the advantage that on-site engineers can enter/edit quality and inspection test result on the construction site and all test records can be communicated between the PDA and the portal via real-time synchronization, eliminating the need to repeatedly enter the same data. Progress monitor module This module is designed to help managers and on-site engineers monitor the progress of the key components. Furthermore, managers, on-site engineers and project related participants can share the current progress or delivery condition of these critical works and components. The schedule management module provides an easy-access and portable environment in which on-site engineers can trace and record all information on the status of components delivered to the warehouse or on scheduled for delivery. References Lung-Chuang Wang a, Yu-Cheng Lin a,*, Pao H. Lin Dynamic mobile RFID-based supply chain control and management system in construction. Advanced Engineering Informatics 21 (2007) 377-390

Friday, September 20, 2019

Level of Stress in Final Year Students | Research

Level of Stress in Final Year Students | Research Level of stress in Final year MBBS students at Rural Medical College: A Cross-sectional Study. Shelke Umesh S1, Kunkulol Rahul R2, Narwane Sandeep P3 Abstract: Introduction: Stress, defined as an imbalance between environmental conditions necessary for survival and the ability of individuals to adapt to those conditions, has a high prevalence in MBBS students. A variety of stressors play a significant role in developing stress. Objective:  To study the level of stress and stressors responsible in Final MBBS students of Rural Medical College, Loni. Methods: A descriptive cross sectional study was carried out in 100 students (50 of either sex) willing to participate in the study. They were subjected to fill the Medical Student Stressor Questionnaire, which consists of 40 questions for evaluating the stressors and severity of stress perceived by the subjects.  Results: 71% subjects’ perceived moderate stress, while 13% and 16% perceived high and mild stress respectively. Academic stressor counted for moderate stress in 63% and high stress in 24 % of subjects, which was higher than other stressors. Conclusion: Academic stressors bein g the major stressor perceived,Strategies are required to decrease the burden of academic stress in the students. Introduction Stress is defined as an imbalance between environmental conditions necessary for survival and the ability of individuals to adapt to those conditions1.Studies have revealed a high prevalence of stress in medical students, ranging from 30% to 50%2-7. Learning a lot of new information in relatively short time, with pressure of exams,cause development of stress in medical students 8. A stressor is defined as a personal or environmental event that causes stress9, 10. Stressors of medical students can be grouped into academic related, intrapersonal and interpersonal related, teaching and learning-related, social related, drive and desire related and group activities related stressors3. One or more of such stressors might act at the same time and contribute in development of stress among students. Excessive amount of stress in medical training predisposes students to have difficulties in solving interpersonal conflicts,sleeping disorder, decreased attention, reduced concentration, temptation to cheat on exams, depression, loss of objectivity, increased incidence of errors, and improper behavior, such as negligence. Stress may also manifest in the form of headaches, gastrointestinal disorders, coronary heart disease, impaired judgments, absenteeism, self-medication, suicidal ideation, depression and the consumption of drugs and alcohol11,12. A few studies in India have studied the prevalence of stress and stressors responsible in medical students. The present study (references from folder Indian references) was planned to study of stress in last year medical students at Rural Medical College. Methods A descriptive cross sectional study was conducted with a study population of 100 medical students (50 of either sex) in III MBBS from Rural Medical College, Loni, Ahmednagar. Duration of the study conducted form 1stFebruary 2014 to 1st March 2014. IEC approval was taken before the commencement of study. Students who were ready to give consent were enrolled in the study and inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied. III MBBS students of either sex consenting to participate were included in the study. Students not ready to participate or of other year were excluded from the study. The participants were subjected toMedical Student Stressor Questionnaire (MSSQ)3 The MSSQ consists of 40 items representing the six stressor domains.Each item were answered in the form of score as The 40 items were divide into sections A(20 items) and B(20 items) respectively. Total score of A and B of each domain were divided by following value and results were interpreted. 1. Academic related stressors (ARS) =13 2. Intrapersonal and interpersonal related stressors (IRS) =7 3. Teaching and learning-related stressors (TLRS) =7 4. Social related stressors (SRS) =6 5. Drive and desire related stressors (DRS) =3 6. Group activities related stressors (GARS) =4 Interpretation: 0.00-1.00 causes mild stress 1.01-2-00 causes moderate stress 2.01-3.00 causes high stress. 3.01-4.00 causes Severe stress. The mild type of stress means it does not cause any or mild stress. The moderate type indicated that it caused reasonable but manageable stress. The high type of stress indicated lot of stress and causes emotional disturbances and mildly compromises daily activities. The severe stress indicates severe emotional disturbances and compromise of daily activities. Statistical Analysis: Data were analyzed by Chi- square test. Results: Moderate type of stress due to academic related stressors was commonly seen in final year MBBS students in both genders. 33% females and 30% malesshowed Moderate type of stress. 15% femalesshowed high type of stress as compared to 9% in males.Severe type of stress was seen in one male. 80% of males and 96% of females suffered from moderate, high or severe type of stress due to academic related stressors. (Table 1) Table: 1Distribution between Academic related stressors (ARS) and Gender Value of χ ² =7.976, d.f. = 3, significant, p By applying g Chi-square test there is a significant association between ARS and gender (p Table: 2 Distribution between Intrapersonal and interpersonal related stressors (IRS) Table 2 showsfrequency of stress due to IRS. Moderate type of stress due to intrapersonal and interpersonal related stressors in final year MBBS students was high in both gender. 29% females and 25% males showed moderate type of stress. 10% malesand 8% femalesshowedhigh type of stress due to intrapersonal and interpersonal related stressors. 70% of males and 74% of females suffered from moderate to high type of stress in this category. Table: 3 Distribution between Teaching and learning-related stressors (TLRS) and Gender. Value of χ ² =3.226, d.f.=2, significant, p By applying g Chi-square test there is a significant association between Teaching and learning-related stressors (TLRS) and sex (p Table 3 showed more number of moderate type of stress due to teaching and learning-related stressors (TLRS) in final year MBBS students in both gender. 30% females and 29% malesshowed moderate type of stress. 17% males showed mild type of stress and 9% femalesshowed high type of stress due to teaching and learning-related stressors (TLRS). 66% of males and 78% of females suffered from moderate to high type of stress. Table: 4 Distribution between Social related stressors (SRS) and Gender Table 4 displays more moderate type of stress due to social related stressors (SRS) in final year MBBS students in both genders. 28% females and 26% males showed moderate type of stress. 20% malesshowed mild type of stress and 8% femalesshowed high type of stress due to social related stressors (SRS). 60% of males and 80% of females showed moderate to high type of stress. Table: 5Association between Drive and desire related stressors (DRS) and Gender Value of χ ² =3.648, d.f.=3, significant, p By applying g Chi-square test there is a significant association between Drive and desire related stressors (DRS) and sex (p Table 5 shows more subjects showing mild type of stress due to drive and desire related stressors (DRS) in final year MBBS students in both genders. 31 % males and 24% femalesshowed moderate type of stress. 19% femalesshowed mild type of stress, 5% femalesshowed high type of stress and 2% femalesshowedsevere type of stress due to drive and desire related stressors (DRS). 38% of males and 52% of females showed moderate to severe type of stress. Table: 6Association between Group activities related stressors (GARS) and Gender Table 6 showed more moderate type of stress due to group activities related stressors (GARS) in final year MBBS students in both gender. 22 % males and 23% femalesshowed moderate type of stress. 21% malesshowed mild type of stress, 8% femalesshowed high type of stress and 1% malesfemalesshowedSevere type of stress due to group activities related stressors (GARS). Table 7 Stressors according to rank of mean degree of stress perceived by medical students. Test and examinations was the only item that caused moderate to high stress among students. All other items fell under the category of mild to moderate stress except working with computers and talking to patients about personal problems. Table 7. Stressors according to rank of mean degree of stress perceived by medical students (by MSSQ) Degree of stress classification: 0 1.00 is ‘causing nil to mild stress’, 1.01 – 2.00 is ‘causing mild to moderate stress’, 2.01 – 3.00 is ‘causing moderate to high stress’ and 3.01 – 4.00 is ‘causing high to severe stress’ Discussion MSSQ having a high score in a particular stressor group generally indicates that the subjects perceive events, conditions or situations from that particular group as causing the subjects stress. The scores, however, do require frank and honest response in order for it to be of any use. The scores are also affected by factors which can falsely increase or lower the scores, but generally the validity and reliability studies have indicated that the scores from the questionnaire are highly trustworthy.8 Personal and environmental events that cause stress are known as stressors9,10. Stressors of medical students are grouped into six categories. Academic related stressors refer to any event related to the academics of the students.Interpersonal and intrapersonal related stressors refer to any form of relationships between and within individuals that cause stress. Teaching and learning related stressors refer to any events related to teaching or learning that causes stress. Social related stressors refer to any form of community and societal relationships that cause stress. Drive and desire related stressors refer to any form of internal or external forces that influence one’s attitude, emotion, thought and behavior which subsequently cause stress.Group activities related stressors refer to any group events and interactions that cause stress13. In present study moderate type of stress caused due all the 6 stressors was commonly seen in both genders of final year MBBS students. Statistically significant difference was seen in males and females with respect to academic related, teaching related and drive and desire related stressors. This difference was also noted in a study by Waghachavare et.al.14 Our study showed 58% of males and 64% of females perceiving moderate to high type of stress. This was high as compared to studies conducted in Malaysia which were 29.1 % to 41.9% in government institutes2,5,6 and 46.2% in a private school6, as measured by GHQ-12.In a study on medical student conducted in GS medical college, it was observed that 73% of students perceived stress15. Zung’sself rating scale for depression was used for the study. In the study by Waghachavareet.al.14,which used DASS-21 and GAD scales, stress was perceived by 34 % of medical students. There was a significant difference between males and females perceiving stress. The academic related stressor had 63% of population in the moderate type of stress, while it became 88% when moderate to severe type of stress added together. Academic related stressor was followed by intra and interpersonal related, teaching and learning related, social related, group related and drive and desire related stressors. The academic factor was higher stressor as compared to physical, emotional and social factors in the study conducted in GS medical college. Studies have revealed that the stressors affecting medical students’ well-being seem to be related to the medical training, especially academic matters3, 6, 14-19. On ranking the items depending upon the mean level of stress that the students perceived, it was found that the stress related to the academics was highest (Table 7). This finding supports the findings of the study done by Yusoff et al.2 To conclude, the study showed high prevalence of stress among students with respect to different stressors. Academic stressors have significant association with stress among students. Females show more stress as compared to males. Strategies are required to decrease the burden of academic stress in the students. Acknowledgement: Final MBBS students (Batch 2011 and 2012) and Mr. Hemant Pawar (Statistician), Department of Pharmacology Research cell, Rural Medical College (PIMS- DU), Loni. References Rosenham D L, Seligman M E. Abnormal psychology. 2nd ed. New York: Norton; 1989. Muhamad SBY, Ahmad FAR, Yaacob MJ. Prevalence and sources of stress among medical students in UniversitiSains Malaysia [Thesis]. Medical Education: UniversitiSains Malaysia (USM), Mei; 2009. Muhamad SBY, Ahmad FAR, Yaacob MJ. The development and validity of the Medical Student Stressor Questionnaire (MSSQ). ASEAN Journal of Psychiatry. 2010; 11 (1). Zaid ZA, Chan SC, Ho, JJ.). Emotional disorders among medical students in a Malaysian private medical school. Singapore Med J. 2007;48(10), 895-899. Sherina MS, Lekhraj R, Nadarajan K. Prevalence of emotional disorder among medical students in a Malaysian university. Asia Pacific Family Medicine. 2003; 2, 213-217. Saipanish, R. Stress among medical students in a Thai medical school. Med Teach. 2003; 25(5); 502-506. Miller, PM, Surtees, PG. (1991). Psychological symptoms and their course in first-year medical students as assessed by the Interval General Health Questionnaire (I-GHQ). Br J Psychiatry.1991; 159, 199-207. Yussof M, Baba A. Prevalence and associated factors of stress, anxiety and depression among prospective medical students. Asian Journal of Psychiatry.2013;59 (2),128–133. Lazarus RS. Theory-Based Stress Measurement. Psychology Inquiry. 1990; 1 (1), 3-13. Lazarus RS, Folkman S. Stress, appraisal, and coping. New York: Springer; 1984. O’Rourke M, Hammond S. The Medical Student Stress Proà ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ le: a tool for stress audit in medical training. Medical Education. 2010; 27 (44): 1027–1037. Dahlin M, Nilsson C, Stotzer E, Runeson B. Mental distress, alcohol use and help-seeking among medical and business students: A cross-sectional comparative study. BMC Med Educ. 2011;11:92. Muhamad SBY, Ahmad FAR. The Medical Student Stressor Questionnaire (MSSQ) Manual . 1st edi. Malaysia: KKMED Publications; 2010. Waghachavare VB, Dhumale GB, Kadam YR, Gore AD. A Study of Stress among Students of Professional Colleges from an Urban area in India. Sultan Qaboos University Med J.2013;13(3):429-436. Supe A N. A study of stress in medical students at Seth G.S. Medical College. J Postgrad Med.1998; 44:1-6 Aktekin M, Karaman T, Senol YY, Erdem S, Erengin H, Akaydin M. Anxiety, depression and stressful life events among medical students: a prospective study in Antalya,Turkey. Medical Education. 2001; 35(1): 12-17. Guthrie EA., Black D, Shaw CM, Hamilton J, Creed FH, Tomenson B. Embarking upon a medical career: psychological morbidity in first year medical students. Med Educ. 1995; 29(5): 337-341. Kaufman DM, Day V, Mensink D. Stressors in 1st-year medical school: comparison of a conventional and problem-based curriculum. Teaching and Learning in Medicine. 1996; 8(4), 188-194. Kaufman DM, Day V, Mensink D. Stressors in Medical School: Relation to curriculum format and year of study. Teaching and Learning in Medicine. 1998; 10(3), 188-194.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Global Village Essay -- Sociology, Global Culture

A decade into the 21st century and the world is increasingly being recognized and branded as a â€Å"global village.† Questioning whether conventionality across America’s once diverse and sundry cities, and the globalization of American ideals, habits, and products throughout global society is favorable in today’s rapidly changing world, Virginia Postrel and Philippe Legrain present their arguments, respectively. In Virginia Postrel’s â€Å"In Praise of Chain Stores† she argues that even though American cities are becoming more and more identical, that there are immediate advantages to this current transformation. Philippe Legrain’s â€Å"Cultural Globalization is Not Americanization† questions the idea that America’s culture is having such a profound impact on the rest of the world that other countries are losing their own unique identities. Virginia Postrel’s â€Å"In Praise of Chain Stores† and Philippe Legrain ’s â€Å"Cultural Globalization is Not Americanization† successfully defy generalities and assumptions of the effects of the American economic machine and the United States’ prominent social grasp on the world through their use of similar rhetorical appeals in support of their arguments. In this paper, Postrel’s and Legrain’s challenges of orthodox views of American culture through their strong logical reasoning and impressive examples and supporting evidence will be thoroughly compared. First a detailed summary of each of the author’s work will be given so that the major points of both essays can be specified. Next a comprehensive point-by-point comparison of each article will be given on how both works challenge common beliefs, if they revise any stereotypes, and the rhetorical strengths and weaknesses presented by the authors. â€Å"In Prais... ...ness to the rhetoric of Postrel’s article. Philippe Legrain also uses many Logos appeals to support his claim. He provides a plethora of citations, and second opinions to support his position on Americanization. Instead of ignoring the elements of the argument in contrast to his own, he shares every premise of what globalization and the spread of American culture may be. As a characteristic of Americanization Legrain explains that â€Å"Another American export is also conquering the globe: English†¦Language is often at the heart of a global culture† (Legrain 519). As for Ethos, Legrain’s authority on globalization is valid as he was once an advisor to the World Trade Organization and has written extensively on the subject. Legrain’s way of argumentation contrasts with Postrel’s and her Ethos deficiency, but the two articles do both have a privation of Pathos appeals.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Anti-Crime Programs Essay -- essays research papers

The basis of our justice system has learned to treat criminals with punishing sentences to jail. The problem is, our jails are beyond their intended capacity. This has forced our way of justice to shift from jail sentencing to more ‘help’ type programs. This has paved the road for Anti-crime legislation and other ‘help’ programs. These programs were created for people with a wide variety of problems. However, I am going to concentrate on sex crimes and violent crimes programs and laws.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A sex crime program that attacks the core of child pornography is the programs ACPO (Anti-Child Pornography Organization). This program was set up to rid the Internet of loose links. By loose links, meaning the links that transfer an online user to a site that they are not looking for. For example, if you typed in ‘car’, and were sent to a pornographic site, that would classify as a loose link. The people who shut these sites down are called net nannies. They surf the web looking for sites where average words will send the link to a pornographic site. This is especially aimed at the types of words persons younger than 18 would look for. This program has been extremely effective because it attacks the source of the problem. Once the net nannies find a site that violates this conduct they contact the site provider, and shut it down. This penalty may be harsh, but the web providers know the rules, and if they violate those rules they should be shut down.   Ã‚  ...

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Irp Lost and Found

In the story Lost and Found by Anne Scarf, There were many minor conflicts, but two major conflicts. The decisions the girls made to resolve the major conflicts lead to retaliation. One major conflict in the story was that Jamie, a 14 year old middle- school student, was dating a boy named Bobby Wallace, a high-school student, who wasn't a boy anyone would recommend talking to. Game's older sister, Dairy (who was also a high school student) tried to convince her younger sister that she wouldn't be socializing with him.The second major problem was the girl's father left them for 5 years, and now decides he wants to be a part of their lives. In the story, the youngest sister ran away because she was overwhelmed. They had no clue where she was, that's pretty much why I chose to make a missing persons t-shirt. When someone is missing, wearing t-shirts is a way good way to inform others that someone is missing. I added the books descriptions to describe Jamie and tried to raw a picture of how Jamie might look.In the story her father thought to look under a tree, which was where they found her. It was the last place she was happy. In all actuality, people don't think to look under a tree to find you, so I think the t-shirt idea would be useful. People evaluate your clothes every day and in real life, people wear t-shirt when someone is missing, or when someone dies. It catches other people attention and encourages them to help look.

Monday, September 16, 2019

Famous Thinkers: Steven Spielberg & Grace Hopper Essay

Famous thinkers can come from all walks of life and can be from our generation and others. Reaching goals can be done in many ways. The similarity famous thinkers is that they are all share creative minds and are all creative thinkers. Creative ideas are the foundation of creative process (Goodman & Fritchie, 2011). Famous thinkers base their ideas on searching for solutions to problem, need, or the way others think or view specific issues. When I think of famous thinkers a vast number of people come to mind. Two thinkers that genuinely stand out to me are Steven Spielberg & Grace Hopper. My article will provide more details on the influence and accomplishments of these great thinkers. Steven Spielberg Steven Spielberg had an early start on his career, even as a child he was an amateur filmmaker. Spielberg became an Academy Award-winning director and one of the youngest television directors. His opportunities became endless after the television film, Duel in 1972, which landed him a chance to direct for the cinema. Steven Spielberg has brought unique contributions to society. Ten ways he has done this is 1.Helping to create the idea of the movie â€Å"blockbuster.† 2.Bringing back our sense of wonder 3.Helping to make robot uprising the new zombie apocalypse 4.Bringing back the Saturday morning serial 5.Co-founding a successful new studio, and helping bring back animated films 6.Preserving and shaping the memory of World War II 7.Showing that video games could be a viable storytelling tool. 8.Taking on tough adaptations/re-imaginings, and making them happen 9.Keeping science fiction alive on TV 10.Being an early adopter and innovator of CGI His work has shaped viewers love for cheesy, all out, ridiculously expensive summer-fun-rides through his creative mind and continues to today. Using his creative mind he explored primeval fears, tackled literary adaptations, historical, daredevil heroes, and imaginative fantasy through his movies giving the audience something to fall in love with. Even with all of Spielberg’s success came struggles. His favorite kind of film was the  melodrama (action film). Spielberg’s passion for this melodrama films has often attracted criticism. When compared to realism or tragedy, melodrama in a sense seems childish. Some say the melodrama seems juvenile and artificial when compared to realism or tragedy. Even with their criticism Spielberg is still today is found to be America’s most well-known successful maker of cinematic melodramas. Spielberg’s films also have innocence and often portray broken families. His films show his fondness for broken families and seem connected to his own personal experiences. His parents were divorced when he was sixteen. He did not have a close connection with his father which led to some of his films about missing or neglectful fathers and lonely children. With all he had experienced, his films were filled with emotions that fell close to the heart. Without the personal emotional subconscious themes, Spielberg’s films wouldn’t have been such a success. As we all know films can be expensive. One reason a lot of his films focus on broken families and children is because the audience is easy to appeal. His idea to concentrate on melodramas was a strategy that focuses on young people and can be appreciated by both adults and children. All these factors, personal, social, and political environments have affected his creativity in his films. Today he still amazes his audience with his creativity in his films. He has three Academy Award wins, many other honors, and he also received the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. He also received the Directors Guild of America Lifetime Achievement Award and the French Legion of Honor. In 2005 he was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame. Grace Hopper Grace Hopper, a computer programmer, is known for helping develop and lead the team that created the first computer language compiler, which was a precursor to the widely used COBOL language. She also became an admiral in the U.S. Navy. Grace Hopper also known as Grace Brewster Murray went to college at Vassar and Yale University to study math and received a master’s degree in mathematics. While studying at Yale Grace taught at Vassar. She was the first women to receive a Ph.D. in mathematics at Yale. Her education brought her too many opportunities including an associate professor at Vassar. She joined the U.S. Naval Reserve around World War II  and was commissioned as a lieutenant. Grace Hopper went to Harvard University and was assigned to the Bureau of Ordnance Computation Project. This is where she learned to program a Mark I computer and later worked with the Mark II and Mark III computers. The term â€Å"computer bug† had come from an experience Grace had at Ha rvard after finding a moth that shorted out the Mark II. She was not the author of â€Å"computer bug† but played her part. She also led the team that created the first compilers for computer languages. Her journey continues as she returns to the navy for active duty at the age of 60 and retires at the age of 79. Grace was one of the oldest serving officers in the service. She was not ready to retire in the sense that she would be bored if she stopped working completely. She stayed in the computer industry for a few more years and was rewarded the National Medal of Technology. She was the first female to receive this honor. Grace Hopper died at the age of 85. She had so many accomplishments and was the first for many of them. Her strong personality and creative mind kept her going and she even encouraged many young people to learn how to program. Her motivation help her creativity continues throughout her career. Conclusion Steven Spielberg and Grace Hopper are both great famous thinkers that have brought unique contributions to society. Although they are very different in the career paths and how they contribute to our society, each have their own unique way of implementing their ideas and solutions. I found both to be very interesting and their accomplishments to be amazing. Their lives as children have affected the life they live today and the career they lead. I don’t think they needed to do anything differently. They had amazing lives and accomplished so much that they set out for. They take in consideration their surroundings, environment, and audience when making decisions and developing ideas. Although Grace is no longer with us, she still has a strong presence on society. Spielberg continues to amaze his audience with his films.

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Belize Commercial Free Zone

The Commercial Free Zone [pic] Sign to entrance to CFZ [pic] Map layout of CFZ [pic] Plazas, Company Stores & Shoppers inside ‘The Zone. ‘ CRS104-2 Group # 7/ D Research Question: Identify an industry or economic area with in your country where taxation and protection as been removed and look at the condition of it with in your country in terms of: 1. has it worsen or improve 2. variety of choice ( no specification of products made) 3. price of goods ( no indication of the prices of goods) 4. overall employment 5. quality (no indication of the quality of goods) 6. government revenue 7. ocal industry A Brief over View of the Commercial Free Zone or CFZ The Commercial Free Zone is one of Belize’s many Offshore Companies or industries used to attract foreign investors from all over the world to increase Belize’s economy and northern economy. Belize's legislation defines CFZ as â€Å"a geographic area in Belize designated outside national customs territory and duly restricted by controlled access, wherein the benefits created shall apply to a complex of industries. † The CFZ boarders Mexico’s South Eastern border and allows investors to directly access Mexico’s high end consumer market.Corozal’s Commercial Free Zone is under the management of the Commercial Free Zone Management Agency (CFZMA) and is headed by the Chief Executive Officer under a Board of Directors within the Zone. The Commercial Free Zone (CFZ) was established under the Corozal Commercial Free Zone Act of 1994 and was in place by 1997. The FZA is the most modern laws governing Free Zones in Belize. Business entrepreneurs are offered insane tax free business opportunities. Businesses there are free of foreign exchange restrictions and benefits such as duty exemptions and tax holidays.Goods imported or exported are exempt from any duties, quotas, stamp duties and revenue replacement duties. Income tax on Commercial Free Zone businesses is usually c harged between 2% and 8%. Businessmen’s rates can be reduced up to 2% through tax credits by employing Belizean workers. The Zone provides a variety of facilities for activities such as manufacturing, processing, warehousing, packaging and distribution of goods and services. This allows the businessmen today to manufacture, import, export, distribute fuel, and to offer retail or wholesales to Mexico and many other international clients.By doing so, they are also offered access to dock ships at ports in Belize and direct export by sea, air, land and entry into national customs territory. Today the Zone under gone vast improvement since then and continues to do. What started out first as a private sector with a great struggle to attract investors began to pay off due to the involvement of the few businessmen’s determination and dedication. First there were a few companies that only imported and exported their merchandise, then one or two retail stores, and then there was the addition of a SHELL gasoline station.This then offered the Mexicans an economical and better quality fuel than Mexico’s state-run fuel company PEMEX offered. Mexicans then began to invest in the Zone and brought with them numerous stores which offered investors and consumers everything from a more active store location to batteries. Benefits that Foreign Investors Receive from CFZ The following is an extended list of benefits that Investors receive: 1. no restrictions on foreign exchange out of or within a CFZ, including the sale of foreign currency or the transfer of foreign exchange; 2. noGovernment charges and taxes on foreign currency use within a CFZ; 3. all merchandise, articles and goods that enter a CFZ for commercial purposes are exempt from import duties, revenue replacement and stamp duties; 4. all fuel and goods, including buildings materials, equipment, furniture, supplies, etc. , needed for the functioning of a CFZ business are exempt from all duties and ta xes; 5. A Social fee of 1. 5% is charged on all goods and services imported into the CFZ, except for fuel (on fuel it makes 10%); 6. no quotas for imports and exports; 7. t is possible to open an account in any currency with a duly registered bank of CFZ business choice located in the CFZ; 8. no import or export license is required for imports or exports; 9. imports and exports are exempt from all custom duties, consumption and excise taxes, and export duties; 10. During the first 5-year period of business functioning in a CFZ, it is exempt from income tax, or capital gains tax, or any new corporate tax levied by the Government of Belize; any dividends paid by this business are exempt from tax for the first 20-year period of its operation; 11.The loss incurred over the 5years' tax holiday by a CFZ business may be carried forward and deducted against profits in the 3 years after the tax holiday period; 12. Any proceeds from the sale of stock or other ownership interest in a CFZ busin ess are exempt from the above-mentioned tax. Employment, Government Revenue, CFZ Current State of Being and Effects on the Belizean Economy Employment The main industry in Northern Belize that provides over six thousand families with income is the sugar industry.The other main industry which does so is CFZ. By 2003 there were over 400 businesses. Now there are about 700 which are offering employment to over 3000 Belizeans. Government Revenue 1. In 2004, CFZ brought in $274 million in economic activity annually of which the Government charged income tax as the five year mark had passed in 2002. 2. CFZ Christmas sales were approximately 50 percent lower than 2004 in 2008 CFZ Current State of Being Investors are losing confidence in the Belizean economy as: 1. There is less economic activity in the zone.This has left investors who have built million dollar shopping plazas unable to meet financial commitment. As a result, half of the facilities have now become vacant. 2. The Chetumal Ch amber of Commerce consistently pressures the Mexican Federal government to hinder Mexicans from purchasing at CFZ. 3. Before the Belize Bank and Atlantic Bank have been depositing pesos from the Free Zone in banks in Chetumal. Now Mexican banks are refusing to accept pesos deposited at CFZ due to money laundering concerns. Investors are then forced to keep large sums of pesos which posses the risk of theft.As a result the risk of excess pesos forcing the Market is eminent causing investors to sell excess pesos to local currency dealers at a loss due to Mexico’s unstable exchange rate. 4. The Central Bank has lost its account with HSBC (an international bank which used to process the millions of US dollars in cash) this is due to US anti-money-laundering banking regulations. There are periods when commercial banks in CFZ have not been freely taking the US dollars for the past three weeks. As a result, there have been several U. S. dollar freezes at CFZ in 2002, 2009, 2010.This is a very serious matter as it posses a possible treat to place CFZ activities on halt permanently if no resolution is provided. Hence anywhere up to over 17 million US dollars would be left to sits in a vault in Belize unprocessed. Effects on the Belizean Economy Consequences: 1. In 2008, Imports also fell by 38. 9 percent to a new low of $114. 5 million due to losses in the global economy . When economic activity fell to 50% in the Christmas of 2008; it caused the Belizean economy to decline. This is due to the fact that the industry is earning less; less income is being gained by the government through income tax.As a result Commercial activity continues to decline. 2. CFZ income is dependent on foreign currency, especially so US currency. Any change in the U. S economy directly affects us. Also since investors are all foreign, and not local, they can leave at any point in time, and will provided that there is persistent decline in economic activity or U. S Dollar Freezes or whe never financial responsibilities cannot be meet. 3. As a result of businesses closing their shutters permanently thousands of Belizeans are left unemployed. 4. Belizean economy then continues to decline.

Saturday, September 14, 2019

Personal Recount Essay

Megan did not have a bright attitude towards school. She was always not looking forward to studying because she has problem coping in school. Whenever they bring in a new topic, she sighs heavily knowing she would take a long time to understand it even though it is considered an easy topic to the rest of the class. She was always positioned last in class and having a mere fifty-five percent and below for her percentage in exams and tests. Her position in level is one of the bottom few. She did not like being in a school filled with intellegent students. Her teacher, Mrs Tay, had asked the class to prepare a short speech to say in front of the class on what they want to be when they grow up and what are they are going to do to achieve their goal. Most of the students had said that they want to be a doctor, a lawyer, a banker or even an Army Sergent. Many of them had bright futures waiting for them. They all wanted to complete their Masters and futher their education abroad. When it came to Megan’s turn, she look down into her script nervously and read out her speech. She was hesitant to speak the truth but she decided that she should not be embarrased as she too has embitions. She wanted to be a veternarian to help cure sick and needy animals as she had once lost her dog in a car accident. Many of her classmates were shocked. They did not expect a weak student to have high embitions. After speaking out, her classmates shouted from their seats, saying she can do it. Mrs Tay gave words of encourangement which made her delighted. After class, Megan went up to Mrs Tay. She asked her if she could have one-to-one sessions with her to help her. Mrs Tay gladly took her under her wings. As months pass and her PSLE finishing, Megan made an increasing improvement. She was now confident in her work, partake in class work and volunteer to help others. Teachers were saying among themselves that she has changed into a positive and outspoken person unlike before. She was the role model of many students in her school. When the day of the results of the PSLE came, Megan was confident. She knew she had done her best regardless of her aggregate. Mrs Tay passed to her her certificate and it shows A for most of her subjects. Megan jumped for joy and many of her friends went up to her to congratulate her. Her effort paid off. If she had not shared her embitions, she wouldn’t be excelling in her subjects.

Friday, September 13, 2019

Balancing Act Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Balancing Act - Essay Example The writer also tried to find out how much knowledge should be circulated and also weather all the generated knowledge should be circulated among the employees as the norm or the required assistance. The writer tried to find out the usage of the normal processes which are generally used to generate and circulate the knowledge required by the employees. He tried to establish the importance of the knowledge and the process. The main reason for writing the article was to analyze and assess the importance of knowledge management and the implementation of the same in the organization. For any organization restructuring of business process is very important but how this restructuring would be done, what should be the exact process of doing the restructuring and to what extent the restructuring (which is initiated by the top management) should be done with the knowledge management( which is mainly initiated from the employees) and how both the things can be balanced so that the organization is benefited from both the concepts optimally is the most important objective of the article.Analysis The main objective of the authors was to identify the importance of knowledge which is many times generated at the grass root level and managing the same by analyzing the knowledge which has been generated at the grass root level and choosing the most efficient one and circulating it through the process of the organization and the norm or guidelines which could be used by the other employees of the organization.... cient one and circulating it through the process of the organization and the norm or guidelines which could be used by the other employees of the organization. To an extent the authors met their purpose as they have identified and analyzed the reasons behind the importance of the knowledge management. The authors at first analyzed the processes which are generally used to bring any change within the organization. The authors started their analysis by the concept of reengineering. Reengineering is used to reorganize the business process as per the changes the market situations. Then the authors argued that sticking only to the reengineering process to gain competitive advantage cannot lead the company in the long run as this concept has became very common. The authors argued that to gain competitive advantage the company should concentrate on those activities which can add value to the organization and its products and services. They also cited that if the value is created by converti ng the limitation and the problems into advantages then it would be most beneficial way of bringing change and also gaining competitive advantage. The authors analyzed the various ways in which knowledge can be created and the various situations which could stimulate the process of knowledge creation. The authors also analyzed the different ways and the process by which the knowledge can be filtered and can be used as effective information and the employees can access the same. The authors also used various real life examples to analyze how the knowledge can be managed and can be used by the organization with the help of the formal processes which are laid down by the senior management. Thus to the extent of identifying the importance and the usage of knowledge management and the use of the

Thursday, September 12, 2019

Principles and practices of management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Principles and practices of management - Essay Example In this company oeople are brought together on the basis of defined roles within the structure of the organisation. The nature of the tasks to be undertaken is a predominant feature of Byfords of Holt. Goals are identified by management, and certain rules, relationships and norms of behaviour established. Byfords of Holt tends to be relatively permanent, although there may be changes in actual membership. Byfords of Holt uses line communication which means authority flows vertically down through the structure, for example from the managing director to managers, section leaders, supervisors and other staff. There is a direct relationship between superior and subordinate, with each subordinate responsible to only one person. Line relationships are associated with functional or departmental division of work and organisational control. Line managers have authority and responsibility for all matters and activities within their own department. Manor Hotel uses informal communication method which helps it to achieve the goals. It helps to provide satisfaction of members' social needs, and a sense of personal identity and belonging. This type of communication provides additional channels of communication and provides a means of motivation, for example, through status, social interaction, variety in routine jobs, and informal methods of work. Informal type of communication provides a feeling of stability and security, and through informal 'norms' of behaviour can exercise a form of control over members (Cole, 1990). With the help of this method of communication Manor Hotel has an important influence on the morale, motivation, job satisfaction and performance of staff. It can provide members with greater opportunity to use their initiative and creativity in both personal and organisational development Staff relationships has a great influence on the decision making process. Persons in a staff position have no direct authority in their own right but act as an extension of their superior and exercise only 'representative' authority. In Manor Hotel there is no direct relationship between the personal assistant and other staff except where delegated authority and responsibility has been given for some specific activity. This may be partially because of the close relationship between the personal assistant and the superior, and partially dependent upon the knowledge and experience of the assistant, and the strength of the assistant's own personality (Senior, 2001). Successful management of Manor Hotel lies in responding to internal and external change. This involves the clarification of objectives, the specification of problems, and the search for and implementation of solutions. Manor Hotel is seen as an information-processing network with numerous decision points. An understanding of how decisions are made helps in understanding behaviour in the organisation. The decision making in Byfords of Holt involves the isolation of those functions most directly concerned with the achievement of objectives and the identification of main decision areas or sub-systems. Viewing Byfords of Holt as a system emphasises the need for good information and channels of communication in order to assist effective decision making in it. Applying Handy's theory to both companies it is possible to say that companies apply different types of culture. Byfords of Holt has 'A Web'

Wednesday, September 11, 2019

The Use of Social Media Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Use of Social Media - Essay Example Needless to say, people use and depend on technology for their needs and the demand for technology has been on the rise (Lietsala & Esa 34). The impacts of technology on the society are far reaching. It has had both positive and negative effects on the society. However, it has had more positive effects than negative effects on the society. Technology has made the world we live in a small place to live. Technology, through social media has revolutionized how information is relayed and accessed. In reference to Collin et al (13), information spreads faster in social media than any other form of media. Most of the people first learn of any breaking news through social media. People have also switched from watching televisions for any updates to seeking such updates in the social media. This makes social networks the number one source of information for Americans. For instance, the news on the capture and killing of Osama bin Laden had spread faster even before President Obama made the announcement. People had already learnt about the incident through social networks and spread like wildfire. However, most of the people who saw the posts first did not believe them. This is because they thought it was just another internet hoax. Arguably, social media has been known to promote the spread of unreliable and false information . Almost 49% of people in United States have learnt of false reports in social media (Picazo-Vela et al. 506). Recently, social media were filled with false information that the missing Malaysian airlines had made a safe landing. After the plane was reported missing, numerous people spread news on Twitter and Facebook that the plane had made a safe landing in China. This news of safe landing was also picked up by international news media such as CNN and Malaysian media outlets. However, the rate of false information is lower than correct and reliable information. In most cases, media