Occupational Therapy Practice Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Occupational Therapy Practice - Assignment Example Another example is a kindergarten child shows evidence of bibliophobia. An occupational therapist help rehabilitate the condition by presenting books that appeal to his/her personal senses, for instance, tapping the emotional likings. If the child loves cars or flowers, the occupational therapist can give the child books with attractive picture illustrations and short descriptions. The goal is to enable the child to appreciate writings and develop a liking for reading. There are different ways therapists can encourage the use of the just right challenge for example in helping clients who have the behaviour of smoking. They can be introduced into other leisure activities that they enjoy most as a means of rehabilitation hence occupational therapists are to encourage them to adapt to the new environment as they swithch from their smoking behaviour. Therapist can use just right challenge in children to help them learn through play activities these help children develop their physical co ordination, social skills enabling them socialize with other children. It also helps them develop emotionally and improve their self-confidence. For this reason therapists recommend leisure and play activities that give the just right challenge for children when learning and having fun. They also provide activities that help children learn how to solve problems. Besides behaviour change and improvement of children skills, therapist also helps clients with mental problems by recommending leisure activities.

Support the view that Shakespeare Essay Example for Free

Support the view that Shakespeare Essay Support the view that Shakespeare is examining different kinds of love and marriage in this play?  In the play As You Like It there are quite a few different types of love. There are four sexual relationships in the play, all of which have different varieties, or examples of love  The main couple in the play are Rosalind and Orlando. They first meet in a wrestling match that Orlando has been entered in against Charles. Rosalind notices him for his good looks and youth, and because of this is concerned he will be hurt. Orlando wins the match though and as a token Rosalind gives Orlando her necklace. Orlando instantly falls in love with Rosalind when he first sees her and is stuck for what to say to her, Can I not say, I thank you? My better parts are all  Thrown down, and that which here stands up is but a  Quintain, mere lifeless block.  Rosalind then runs off into the forest of Arden dressed as a man called Ganymede. Orlando also flees to the forest where he writes ridiculous love poems and posts them on trees for Rosalind to find. Rosalind, dressed as Ganymede, then becomes friends with Orlando and gives him advice on ways to go about asking her to marry him. She does this by pretending to be Rosalind while dressed as Ganymede. This is so Orlando does not recognise it is her. This can get quite confusing at times. She finally reveals to him that it has been her all along though and they get married straight away. This is the first kind of love where both people love each other and no one else. This is the most simple love situation in the poem because it has no complications of people loving other people, or them not being allowed to love each other.  The couple that show the least romance throughout the play is Silvius and Phebe. Silvius is a kind-hearted shepherd who lives in the Forest of Arden. Phebe though is a rough shepherdess who finds Silvius annoying. The reason for this is because Silvius is deeply in love with Phebe, and she has rejected him many times. Phebe just ignores him though and because of this Silvius keeps on asking her to love him,   Sweet Phebe, do not scorn me, do not, Phebe.  Say that you love me not, but say not so in  Bitterness. The only person Phebe finds attractive in the play is Ganymede, who is actually Rosalind. She writes a letter to Ganymede asking him to marry her, and is rejected quite obviously. As a result of this Phebe is forced to marry Silvius in the end because she has no one else who likes her. I think the aspect of love that is showed her is a cruel side of love. The reason I think this is because Phebe is virtually forced to marry Silvius when she does not want to. Silvius though is overjoyed because she is the love of his life and marrying her is his dream. This is unfair on Phebe though because she does not love him, but she has no one else so has to go along with it. Celia and Oliver are the most surprising couple in the play I think. This is because they meet very close to the end of the play, and instantly fall in love with each other. Another reason for this is that Celia is a very kind, likeable woman throughout the play. Oliver on the other hand changes his personality. At the beginning of the play he is a very nasty man who says he hates his brother because of his good looks and his ability to be liked by everyone he meets. His personality changes though when he is sent into the forest to find his brother, Orlando, by Duke Frederick. He finds Orlando and then he meets Celia, who he instantly falls in love with. He then makes the story up of saving his brother from a lion and his personality completely changes. Twas I, but tis not I. I do not shame to tell you  What I was, since my conversion so sweetly tastes,  Being the thing I am.  He turns into the complete opposite of his old personality, and becomes very nice. This also attracts Celia to him, as well as her thinking he is good looking. This attraction between the two of them means they become a couple and get married too.  This is the same kind of love as Orlando and Rosalind experienced. This is where they have no complications and both of them love each other. They also fall in love with the first sight of each other, as did Rosalind and Orlando. The next couple I am going to examine from the play is the pairing of Touchstone and Audrey. This is possibly the strangest couple in the play. My reason for thinking this is that they are completely different people, and have very different backgrounds. Touchstone is a court jester, and has lived a sophisticated courtly life. Audrey on the other hand is a country girl who has been brought up on a farm. Even though there are these differences, the two still get married. They were meant to be wed quite early into the play, but this did not go as planned and they did not. They did how ever talk more about it and finally got married at the end of the play.

Evaluating An Enthalpy Change That Cannot Be Measured Directly. Essay

Evaluating An Enthalpy Change That Cannot Be Measured Directly. Dr. Watson. Introduction. We were told that sodium hydrogencarbonate decomposes on heating to give sodium carbonate, water and carbon dioxide as shown in the equation below:-   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  2NaHCO3(s)--------> Na2CO3 (s) + H2O (l) + CO2 (g) = DeltaH1 This was given as deltaH1 and we had to calculate as part of the experiment. This however cannot be measured directly, but can be found using the enthalpy changes from two other reactions. These being that of sodium hydrogencarbonate and hydrochloric acid and also sodium carbonate and hydrochloric acid. We were given a list of instructions in how to carry out the experiment, which are given later. List of Apparatus Used. 1 x 500ml Beaker. 1 x Thermometer(-10 to 50oC). 1 x Polystyrene Cup. 1 x Weighing Balance. 1 x Weighing Bottle. 10 grams of Sodium Hydrogencarbonate. 10 grams of Sodium Carbonate. A bottle of 2 molar HCL. Diagram. Method. Three grams of sodium hydrogen carbonate was weighted out accurately using a weighting bottle and a balance. Then thirty centimetres cubed of 2 molar HCL was measured using a measuring cylinder. The acid was then placed into the polystyrene cup and its temperature was taken and recorded using the thermometer. The pre-weighted sodium hydrogencarbonate was then added to the solution, and the final temperature was recorded. The contents of the cup were then emptied out and the cup was washed out with wate...

Evidence Collection Policy Essay

1.What are the main concerns when collecting evidence? That you are thorough, collect everything, do it in the proper and official manner, and that you do not tamper with or alter anything. 2.What precautions are necessary to preserve evidence state? Usually what is done is all of the evidence is duplicated several times and any processes involved with the investigation are done with the duplicates to ensure that the actual evidence isn’t altered in any way. 3.How do you ensure evidence remains in its initial state? It is duplicated and then stored in climate controlled conditions. 4.What information and procedures are necessary to ensure evidence is admissible in court? Whoever conducts the investigation does so in a previously mandated, official, and legally recognized manner. Information Systems Security Incident Response Policy I. Title A. Name: Information Systems Security Incident Response Policy B. Number: : 20070103-secincidentresp C. Author(s): David Millar (ISC Information Security) and Lauren Steinfeld (Chief Privacy Officer) D. Status: Approved E. Date Proposed: 2005-10-24 F. Date Revised: G. Date Approved: 2007-01-03 H. Effective Date: 2007-01-16 II. Authority and Responsibility Information Systems and Computing is responsible for the operation of Penn’s data networks (PennNet) as well as the establishment of information security policies, guidelines, and standards. The Office of Audit, Compliance and  Privacy has authority to develop and oversee policies and procedures regarding the privacy of personal information. These offices therefore have the authority and responsibility to specify security incident response requirements to protect those networks as well as University data contained on those networks. III. Executive Summary This policy defines the response to computer security incidents. IV. Purpose This policy defines the steps that personnel must use to ensure that security incidents are identified, contained, investigated, and remedied. It also provides a process for documentation, appropriate reporting internally and externally, and communication so that organizational learning occurs. Finally, it establishes responsibility and accountability for all steps in the process of addressing computer security incidents. V. Risk of Non-compliance Without an effective incident response process, corrective action may be delayed and harmful effects unnecessarily exacerbated. Further, proper communication allows the University key learning opportunities to improve the security of data and networks. Individuals who fail to comply are subject to sanctions as appropriate under Penn policies. VI. Definitions Confidential University Data includes: * Sensitive Personally Identifiable Information–Information relating to an individual that reasonably identifies the individual and, if compromised, could cause significant harm to that individual or to Penn. Examples may include, but are not limited to: Social Security numbers, credit card numbers, bank account information, student grades or disciplinary information, salary or employee performance information, donations, patient health information, information Penn has promised to keep confidential, and account passwords or encryption keys used to protect access to Confidential University Data. * Proprietary Information–Data, information, or intellectual property in which the University has an exclusive legal interest or ownership right, which, if compromised could cause significant harm to Penn. Examples may include, but are not limited to, business planning, financial information, trade secret, copyrighted material, and  software or comparable material from a third party when the University has agreed to keep such information confidential. * Any other data the disclosure of which could cause significant harm to Penn or its constituents. Security Incident. There are two types of Security Incidents: Computer Security Incidents and Confidential Data Security Incidents. * A Computer Security Incident is any event that threatens the confidentiality, integrity, or availability of University systems, applications, data, or networks. University systems include, but are not limited to: servers, desktops, laptops, workstations, PDAs, network servers/processors, or any other electronic data storage or transmission device. * A Confidential Data Security Incident is a subset of Computer Security Incidents that specifically threatens the security or privacy of Confidential University Data. User. A Penn user is any faculty, staff, consultant, contractor, student, or agent of any of the above. VII. Scope This policy applies to all Users. It applies to any computing devices owned or leased by the University of Pennsylvania that experience a Computer Security Incident. It also applies to any computing device regardless of ownership, which either is used to store Confidential University Data, or which, if lost, stolen, or compromised, and based on its privileged access, could lead to the unauthorized disclosure of Confidential University Data. Examples of systems in scope include, but are not limited to, a User’s personally owned home computer that is used to store Confidential University Data, or that contains passwords that would give access to Confidential University Data. This policy does not cover incidents involving the University of Pennsylvania Health System (UPHS) information systems, which has a separate incident response policy. ISC Information Security will coordinate with UPHS as appropriate when UPHS computing devices, data, or personnel are involved. VIII. Statement of Policy A. Overview of Penn’s Incident Response Program All Computer Security Incidents must be reported to ISC Information Security promptly. See Section B below. All Confidential Data Security Incidents must: a. Generate the creation of an Immediate Response Team, as designated by the  Information Security Officer (ISO), on a per incident basis. See Section C below. b. Follow appropriate Incident Handling procedures. See Sections C and D below. iii. ISC Information Security, under the direction of the Vice President for Information Systems and Computing (VP-ISC) is responsible for logging, investigating, and reporting on security incidents. See Sections D and E below. B. Identifying and Reporting Computer Security Incidents i. Users and Local Support Providers (LSPs). In the event that a User or an LSP detects a suspected or confirmed Computer Security Incident, the User must report it to his or her Local Security Officer or IT Director for issues including but not limited to viruses, worms, local attacks, denial of service attacks, or possible disclosure of Confidential University Data. ii. Local IT Management. Local IT Management must notify ISC Information Security of all Computer Security Incidents, except for categories of incidents that ISC Information Security may designate in Appendix I of this policy. iii. ISC Information Security. ISC Information Security shall notify appropriate systems administrators and other personnel of all emergency and attack incidents, as well as all suspicious activity incidents when it believes that an administrator’s system is at risk. The system’s administrators will then work with ISC Information Security to properly address the incident and minimize the risk of future occurrences. C. Immediate Response Team i. Purpose. The purpose of each Immediate Response Team is to supplement Penn’s information security infrastructure and minimize the threat of damage resulting from Computer Security Incidents. ii. Per Incident Basis. An Immediate Response Team shall be created for Confidential Data Security Incidents. iii. Membership. Membership on the Immediate Response Team shall be as designated by the ISO. In most cases, members shall include a representative from ISC Information Security and from the affected School or Center’s technical and management staff. iv. Responsibilities. Responsibilities of the Immediate Response Team are to assess the incident and follow incident handling procedures, appropriate to the incident as determined by the ISO. v. Confidentiality. Immediate Response Team members will share information about security incidents beyond the Immediate  Response Team only on a need-to-know basis, and only after consultation with all other team members. D. Incident Handling. For incidents requiring the formation of an Immediate Response Team, the following is a list of response priorities that should be reviewed and followed as recommended by the ISO. The most important items are listed first: i. Safety and Human Issues. If an information system involved in an incident affects human life and safety, responding to any incident involving any life-critical or safety-related system is the most important priority. ii. Address Urgent Concerns. Schools and Centers may have urgent concerns about the availability or integrity of critical systems or data that must be addressed promptly. ISC Information Security shall be available for consultation in such cases. iii. Establish Scope of Incident. The Immediate Response Team shall promptly work to establish the scope of the incident and to identify the extent of systems and data affected. If it appears that personally identifiable information may have been compromised, the Immediate Response Team shall immediately inform the VP-ISC and the Chief Privacy Officer (CPO). iv. Containment. Once life-critical and safety issues have been resolved, the Immediate Response Team shall identify and implement actions to be taken to reduce the potential for the spread of an incident or its consequences across additional systems and networks. Such steps may include requiring that the system be disconnected from the network. v. Develop Plan for Preservation of Evidence. The Immediate Response Team shall develop a plan promptly upon learning about an incident for identifying and implementing appropriate steps to preserve evidence, consistent with needs to restore availability. Preservation plans may include preserving relevant logs and screen captures. The affected system may not be rebuilt until the Immediate Response Team determines that appropriate evidence has been preserved. Preservation will be addressed as quickly as possible to restore availability that is critical to maintain business operations. vi. Investigate the Incident. The Immediate Response Team shall investigate the causes of the incident and future preventative actions. During the investigation phase, members of the incident response team will attempt to determine exactly what happened during the incident, especially the vulnerability that made the incident possible. In short, investigators will attempt to answer the following questions: Who? What? Where? When? How? vii. Incident-Specific Risk  Mitigation. The Immediate Response Team shall identify and recommend strategies to mitigate risk of harm arising from the incident, including but not limited to reducing, segregating, or better protecting personal, proprietary, or mission critical data. viii. Restore Availability. Once the above steps have been taken, and upon authorization by the Immediate Response Team, the availability of affected devices or networks may be restored. ix. Penn-Wide Learning. The Immediate Response Team shall develop and arrange for implementation of a communications plan to spread learning from the security incident throughout Penn to individuals best able to reduce risk of recurrence of such incident. E. Senior Response Team (SRT). If the ISO or CPO in their judgment believe that the incident reasonably may cause significant harm to the subjects of the data or to Penn, each may recommend to the VP-ISC or Associate Vice President for Audit, Compliance and Privacy (AVP-OACP) that a Senior Response Team be established. The Senior Response Team shall be comprised of senior-level officials as designated by the VP-ISC or AVP-OACP. The Senior Response Team shall: i. Establish whether additional executive management should be briefed and the plan for such briefing. ii. Determine, with final approval by the General Counsel, whether Penn shall make best efforts to notify individuals whose personal identifiable information may have been at risk. In making this determination, the following factors shall be considered: a. legal duty to notify b. length of compromise c. human involvement d. sensitivity of data e. existence of evidence that data was accessed and acquired f. concerns about personnel with access to the data g. existence of evidence that machine was compromised for reasons other than accessing and acquiring data h. additional factors recommended for consideration by members of the Immediate Response Team or the Senior Response Team. iii. Review and approve any external communication regarding the incident. F. Documentation i. Log of security incidents. ISC Information Security shall maintain a log  of all reportable security incidents recording the date, School or Center affected, whether or not the affected machine was registered as a critical host, the type of Confidential University Data affected (if any), number of subjects (if applicable), and a summary of the reason for the intrusion, and the corrective measure taken. ii. Critical Incident Report. ISC Information Security shall issue a Critical Incident Report for every reportable security incident affecting machines qualifying as Critical Hosts, or other priority incidents in the judgment of ISC Information Security describing in detail the circumstances that led to the incident, and a plan to eliminate the risk. iii. Annual Summary Report. ISC Information Security shall provide annually for the VP-ISC and AVP-OACP a report providing statistics and summary-level information about all significant incidents reported, and providing recommendation s and plans to mitigate known risks. IX. Best Practices A. Preserving Evidence: It is essential to consult Penn Information Security when handling Computer Security Incidents. However, if Information Security is not available for emergency consultation, the following practices are recommended: i. Generally, if it is necessary to copy computer data to preserve evidence for an incident, it is a good idea to use bit-wise file-system copy utilities that will produce an exact image, (e.g.UNIX dd) rather than to use file level utilities which can alter some file meta-data. ii. When making forensic backups, always take a cryptographic hash (such as an SHA-1 hash) of both the original object and of the copied object to verify the authenticity of the copy. Consult your System Administrator if you have questions. iii. Assigning members to an Immediate Response Team: In cases where an incident involves an investigation into misconduct, the School or Center should consider carefully whom to assign to the Immediate Response Team. For example, one may not wish to assign an IT professional who works closely with the individual(s) being investigated. X. Compliance A. Verification: ISC Information Security and the Office of Audit, Compliance and Privacy will verify any known computing security incidents as having been reported and documented as defined by this policy. B. Notification: Violations of this policy will be reported by ISC Security  and the Office of Audit, Compliance and Privacy to the Senior Management of the Business Unit affected. C. Remedy: The incident will be recorded by ISC Information Security and any required action to mitigate the harmful affects of the attack will be initiated in cooperation with the Business Unit Security Officer/Liaison. D. Financial Implications: The owner of the system shall bear the costs associated with ensuring compliance with this policy. E. Responsibility: Responsibility for compliance with this policy lies with the system administrator, system owner, and Business Unit’s Senior Manager. F. Time Frame: All incidents involving critical hosts systems and networks must be reported immediately. All other incidents should be reported within one business day of determining something has occurred. G. Enforcement: Compliance with this policy will be enforced by disconnecting any machines that may compromise the University network, or other machines with Confidential University Data. Workforce members not adhering to the policy may be subject to sanctions as defined by University policies. H. Appeals: Appeals are decided by the Vice President for Information Systems and Computing. XI. References 1. PennNet Computer Security Policy at www.net.isc.upenn.edu/policy/approved/20040524-hostsecurity.html 2. Critical PennNet Host Security Policy at www.net.isc.upenn.edu/policy/approved/20000530-hostsecurity.html 3. Policy on Computer Disconnection from PennNet at www.upenn.edu/computing/policy/disconnect.html 4. Adherence to University Policy at www.hr.upenn.edu/policy/policies/001.asp 5. Policy on Security of Electronic Protected Health Information (ePHI) at www.upenn.edu/computing/security/policy/ePHI_Policy.html Appendix I The following category of incidents need not be reported to Penn Information Security: * Unsuccessful network scans

Harvard Referencing

The Harvard referencing system It is important that you identify in your assessment when you are using the words or ideas of another author. The most accepted way of acknowledging the work of another author is to use a referencing system. It is important that you write down the details of your sources as you study. When taking notes, use a separate page for each new book, journal article, or electronic source. At the top of each page, clearly record the following information for future reference. For books, record: * The author’s or editor’s name (or names) * The year the book was published * The title of the book If it is an edition other than the first * The city the book was published in * The name of the publisher For journal articles record: * The author’s name or names * The year in which the journal was published * The title of the article * The title of the journal * The page number/s of the article in the journal * As much other information as you can fi nd about the journal, for example the volume and issue numbers For electronic resources, try to collect the information on the left if it is available, but also record: * The date you accessed the source * The electronic address or email The type of electronic resource (email, discussion forum, WWW page, etc) Whenever you use someone else’s ideas or words, you must put in a reference. Direct quotations – this is when you copy another author’s material word-for-word. You should show the reader that it is a direct quote by placing the material in inverted commas. Traditionally, double inverted commas have been used (â€Å") but it is now acceptable, and preferable to use single inverted commas (‘). Sometimes it is difficult to avoid the direct quotation as the author’s words may precisely describe the point you are trying to make.An example for direct quote from a book or journal article with one author: When organising our time, Adair (1988: 51) sta tes that ‘the centerpiece will tend to be goals and objectives’. OR When organising our time ‘the centrepiece will tend to be goals and objectives’ (Adair, 1988: 51). When you take another author’s ideas and put them into your own words. You are still copying someone else’s work, so you must reference it. You do not need to use inverted commas when you paraphrase, but you must clearly show the reader the original source of your information.All of the sources you refer to in the main body of your assignment need to be listed at the end of the assignment in a reference list. When creating a reference list, the sources should be listed alphabetically by author’s surname, but when the author is anonymous or unknown for any one source, insert that source in the alphabetical list using the title of the source instead of the author’s name. All sources should be listed together; there should not be separate lists for books versus journal articles versus electronic sources.The reference list should be on a separate page from the rest of the assignment and should be simply titled ‘References’ and the title should be in the same font and size as the other headings in your assignment. When you use the Harvard System, you are only usually required to produce a reference list. It is generally important in the text of an assignment to show the reader the author’s name, date of publication and page numbers of the original source. In the reference list, it is important that the author’s name, the year of publication, relevant titles, and other access information is faithfully reproduced.Department of Lifelong Learning: Study Skills Series http://education. exeter. ac. uk/dll/studyskills/harvard_referencing. htm Central Queensland University ESLS Unit (2001) Referencing: The Harvard referencing system, [Online], Available: http://www. cqu. edu. au/edserv/undegrad/clc/content/resources. htm [14 Aug 2001] Lewis, D. (ed. ) (1999) The written assignment, Brisbane: QUT Publications. Wells, D. (2001) Harvard referencing, [Online], Available: http://lisweb. curtin. edu. au/guides/handouts/harvard. html [14 Aug 2001].

Policy Framework Development The WritePass Journal

Policy Framework Development Introduction Policy Framework Development ). These core principles have remained the same since the creation of the NHS (Bochel, 2009,p. 332). However, free health care as provided by the NHS proved to be very expensive, with the drug bill increasing from  £13 million to  £41 million within the first two years of its creation. Additionally, as medicine progressed as a science, new technologies and methods increased the cost of the NHS from  £200 million to  £300 million. The provision of free health care for all led to excess demand, adding pressure to the already limited medical resources. The Government was reluctant to cover the excess cost, as it needed to invest in other sectors, such as education. As a result, charges for certain services, such as spectacles and dentures, as well as for prescriptions were implemented (Alcock2008). Neo-liberal ideology and the NHS In 1979, when the NHS had been in place for several decades, a Neo Liberal Government was elected, with little sympathy for the state provision of welfare and the high level of expenditure associated with it (Bochel, 2009, p. 332). Neo-liberal ideology supports the reorganization of the financial and organizational aspects of healthcare services worldwide, based on the argument that the then-existing health systems had failed. According to the recommendation report in 1983, four major problems of health systems globally were: i) misallocation of resources; ii) inequity of accessing care; iii) inefficiency; and iv) exploding costs. It was claimed that government hospitals and clinics were often inefficient, suffering from highly centralised decision-making, wide fluctuations in allocations, and poor motivation of workers (Alcock, 2008). Quality of care was also low, patient waiting times were long and medical consultations were short, misdiagnosis and inappropriate treatment were comm on. Also, the public sector had suffered from serious shortages of medical drugs and equipment, and the purchasing of brand-name pharmaceuticals instead of generic drugs was one of the main reasons for wasting the money spent on health (Navarro, 2007). Private providers were more technically efficient and offer a service that was perceived to be of higher quality. Neo-liberal policies Examples of policies implemented by the Neo-Liberal Government were those based on cost-effectiveness. Cost-effectiveness was presented as the main tool for choosing among possible health interventions for specific health problems. Disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) were used to measure the burden of disease and thus allowing comparisons between specific health problems. Greater reliance on the private sector to deliver clinical services was encouraged, with the expectation that it would raise efficiency. It was suggested that Governments should privatise the healthcare services, by selling the public goods and services, buying the services from the private sector, and supporting the private sector with subsidies. In order to increase efficiency, unnecessary legal and administrative barriers faced by private doctors and pharmacies would need to be removed. Neoliberal policies in healthcare were heavily criticised as they reportedly misdiagnosed the problems and its treatment, leading to a situation worse than it was before the policies were implemented. Shrinking from welfare state to minimum liberal state, retreating from most of the public services and letting the area to irrationality of market dynamics is making pharmaceutical, medical technology, insurance, and law companies the lead actors. It has been claimed that a system providing services according ability-to-pay rather than healthcare need, ensures decreased availability and accessibility to services† (Danis et al., 2008; Janes et al., 2006; Unger et al, 2008). New Labour and the NHS In 1997, the New Labour Government was elected, with a main focus to make a significant improvement on peoples’ health. This was expected to be done by rebuilding the health services within the NHS through â€Å"decentralizing of power and decision-making to local health trusts†. Decentralising was important in order to achieve increased responsiveness to local health needs by widening patient choice, and promoting organizational efficiency. The underlying premise was that decentralization would shorten the bureaucratic hierarchical structure and allow flexibility for local trust managers and health professionals- thus improving organizational performance from the ‘bottom-up’ (Crinson, 2009 :p 139). In 1997 the Government put forward its plans in the White Paper: â€Å"The New NHS: Modern, Dependable† (Blakemore 2003:p 172). The objective was to reduce bureaucratic control from the centre and restore autonomy to health professionals within the NHS. A t the same time, the Government was determined to limit public expenditure by looking at what was already put in place by the previous government. One of the new Labour objectives was to reduce the number of people on the treatment waiting list by offering patients greater choice of provider at the point of inpatient referral. This was put in place from January 2006 onwards, where patients have been offered a choice of at least four hospitals when referred for treatment by their general practitioner. In addition, a new inpatient booking system was put in place, where patients themselves could book their place and time of treatment (Adam, 2006). In 1998, health inequality targets were included in the public service agreements with local government and cross-department machinery was created to follow up a ‘Programme of Actions’, which had the general aim to reduce inequality in terms of life expectancy at birth, and to reduce the infant mortality rate by 10 per cent by 20 10 (Glennerster, 2007 : p 253). Examples of health care policies implemented by New Labour are: Maximum waiting times for in-patient treatment: six months by 2005 and three months by 2008; Patients able to see a primary care practitioner within twenty-four hours and a GP within forty- eight hours; Maximum waiting time of four-hours in emergency rooms; Plans to improve cancer treatment and health inequalities. In addition, in order to improve efficiency, two bodies were set up to give advice and push for more consistent and effective clinical standards in determining the cost of new drugs and procedures. This was the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) (Glennerster,2007 : p 250). However, as argued by Peckham and colleagues (year?), the decentralization of the NHS had mixed results. They note that the process of decentralization was not clear and that there were contradictions, reflecting a simultaneous process of centralization and decentralization, in which local performance indicators were centrally-set. If achieved, this resulted in increased financial and managerial autonomy. However, there was some supportive evidence that decentralization had improved patients’ health outcome, as well as improved efficiency in coordination and communication processes (Crinson, 2009 : p 140). The Government at the time met its target for treatment waiting lists by 2000- the number of people on the waiting list had fallen by 150,000. However, one main criticism came from the doctors, nurses and other health professionals where they were the ones dealing with prioritizing patients based on medical need, whilst having to explain to other anxious and angry patients w hy their treatment is delayed (Crinson, 2009). Coalition Government and the NHS In 2010, the newly established Coalition Government published the NHS White Paper ‘Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS policy’, prepared by the Department of Health. This policy included important changes compared to those proposed by the previous Government, and reflected the aims of the Coalition’s five year plan. Some of the proposed changes include: i) responsibility for commissioning of NHS services shifted to GPs, as the Primary Care Trusts and Strategic Health Authorities were dissolved, and ii) Foundation Trust status granted to all hospitals, ensuring increased autonomy and decision-making power. These reforms were part of the Coalition’s broader goal to give more power to local communities and empower GPs. By way of estimation, it is expected that this cost to about 45% for the NHS management. Strengthening of the NHS Foundation Trusts in order for these Trusts to provide financial regulation for all NHS services was another objective of the reform. An independent NHS board was set up, with the aim to lead and oversee specialised care and GP commissioning respectively. The objectives behind the Coalition Government’s plans was to increase health spending in real terms for each year of Parliament, with full awareness that this would impact the spending in other areas. The Coalition Government still maintained Beverage idea that all health care should be free and available to everybody at the point of delivery, instead of based on the ability to pay. It was expected that this approach would improve standards, support professional responsibility, deliver better value for money and as such create a healthier nation. Although the Prime Minister rectified it in his speech, the Government failed to provide a clear account of the shortcomings of the NHS and its challenges. The preparation of the White Paper, which was to pass the coalition committees examination, saw more compromises. The elimination of PCTs was not foretold but the conservatives would make PCTs remain as the statutory commissioning authority responsible for public health despite their commitment to devolving real budgets to GPs. It was rumoured that the Liberal Democrats policy of elected representatives to PCTs appear weak. The compromise was to give greater responsibility for public health to local authorities and eliminate PCTs. This resulted in the formation of the GP commissioning consortia and the Health and Wellbeing Boards. Despite concerns raised by stakeholders, the proposals saw just a few changes. Maybe we can call it a missed chance in retrospect. Conclusion In conclusion, it can be argued that without the NHS coming to force when it did at such a dire time after the Second World War, the already high mortality rates would have continued to rise. The NHS was vital in changing peoples’ lives in England and Wales and around the world. The system was designed meet everyone needs, regardless of financial abilities and without discrimination. Many changes have taken place since the birth of the NHS in 1948. Four different Governments adapted the NHS with their policies and legislation. However, throughout its evolution, the NHS still provides healthcare free of charge, as was intended from its conception. References Alcock, (2008). Social Policy in Britain. 3rd ed.Basingstoke: Palgrace Macmillan Alexion Pharma (2010). Politics and Policy [Online] www. [emailprotected] Available From: pnh-alliance.org.uk/politics-and-policy/the-department-of-health-publishes-equity-and-excellence-liberating-the-nhs. [Accessed on: 06 Nov. 12] Blakemore, K (2003). Social Policy an introduction. 2nd ed. United Kingdom: Open University Press. Blakemore, K, Griggs, E. (2003). Social Policy an introduction. 3nd ed.England: Open University Press. Bochel, H., Bochel, C., Page, R., Sykes, R. (2009). Social Policy Themes, Issues and Debates. 2nd ed. England: Pearson Education Limited. Crinson, I. (2009) Health Policy a critical perspective. London: Sage Publication Ltd. Glennerster, H. (2007). British Social Policy. 3rd ed. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing. Danis, M.Z., Karatas, K., Sahin, M.C. (2008). Reflections of neoliberal policies on healthcare field and social work practices. World Applied Sciences Journal, 5(2), 224-235. Ezeonu, I. (2008). Crimes of globalization: health care, HIV and the poverty of neoliberalism in Sub-Saharan Africa. International Journal of Social Inquiry, 1(2), 113-134. Hospital Stories from Hell: National Health Videos (1998) [DVD] London: Channel 4. Recorded off –air 19/03/1998 Macara, S. ( 1998). Nursing Studies. BBC News: True to its principles [Online]. Available from: NHS Choices. Moonie N. (2003). Health and Social Care. Series ed. Oxford: Heine Educational Publisher. Navarro, V. (2007). Neoliberalism as a class ideology; or, the political causes of the growth of inequalities. Int J Health Serv, 37(1), 47-62. NHS. ( 2012). Nursing Studies. About the NHS: NHS core principles [Online]. Available from: NHS Choices. Oliver, Adam. Further progress towards reducing waiting times. Health Policy Monitor, April 2006. Available at hpm.org/survey/uk/a7/1 . [Accessed on: 14 Nov. 12] Pennies from Bevan: National Health Videos (1998) [DVD] London: Chanel 4. Recorded off –air 14/06/1998 Rivett, G (2012). Nursing Studies, National Health Service History. [Online]. Available from: NHS history.net [Accessed 06 March 2012). Socialist Health (2010). Coalition Health Policy 2010 [Online] sochealth.co.uk. Available From: sochealth.co.uk/campaigns/health-and-social-care-bill-2012/coalition-health-policy-2010/. [Accessed on: 06 Nov.12] Viveash, B, Senior, M. (1998). Health and Illness. London: Macmillan Press.

Falling by Anne Povoost essays

Falling by Anne Povoost essays My feet are tangled up in something, but I dont know what Lucas complains. By the end of the novel do you think he knows? In the novel Falling by Anne Povoost Lucas Beigne, the grandson of a Felix who helped the nazis in the war, gets caught up in the neo-nazism that has struck his small town of Montourin in Belgium. These neo-nazis headed by the persuasive and cunning Benoit persuade Lucas into their beliefs and before he knows it he became entrapped deeper and deeper throughout the novel. His naive mind blinds him from this and it is not until towards the end of the novel that he begins to relise exactly what his feet have become tangled in. It all started when Lucas decided to go out and purchase a gun, the start of his immature plight that lead to him to being tangled up in all sorts of trouble. Enter Benoit, a wealthy son with a quick mouth and an opinion on everything followed with praise. For the young Lucas he was a dream come true to fill his boring holidays and the complements like such a sense of responsibility went straight to Lucas head. Benoit certainly had a talent for persuading weaker people and Lucas in particular because of his grandfather was a prime target for Benoit who knew exactly how to exploit his naivety and use him to keep himself out of trouble. As Lucas continued seeing Benoit more throughout his holidays and his presence and his very engaging opinions drew Lucas closer towards neo-nazism, his feet became tangled further. The whole time at the back of Lucas mind he always new what Benoit was up to was wrong and although he questioned it dont you think violence is going too far he never strayed or left Benoits side until it was too late. Lucas was too feeble to make a decision himself, and the more he stayed in Benoits company the more Benoit made him do so that he was so far in he couldnt get out, but he managed ...

How to Present Your Content

How to Present Your Content How to Present Your Content How to Present Your Content By Mark Nichol During a drive yesterday, I noticed again two ways that, in casual contexts, people are careless about their communication. For the first time, however, I realized that unfortunately, there’s a close analogy between the way many amateur writers present information and the way some well-meaning professionals (or other serious writers) do it. First, I noticed handwritten signs posted along roadsides: advertisements for yard sales and the like. You’ve likely noticed too how poorly many of these signs are executed: The sign maker begins to scrawl some information and runs out of space, compressing a phone number or other key information so that it is barely legible. Or perhaps the penmanship is poor, and the details are illegible. Or perhaps the print is too small or too wordy (or both) to be read by someone driving by at thirty or forty or fifty miles an hour or, worse, the message is styled in cursive writing. Occasionally, a sign exhibits a combination of some or all of these problems. Second, I passed between two small groups of people wielding signs at the crossroads of a small town. There were about a dozen protestors altogether, and though I had slowed to twenty miles per hour to negotiate the narrow road, I couldn’t focus on more than a couple of words on two or three signs before I had passed them. My passenger, who was at more leisure to read the messages, learned little more than I had: The people were on strike, but where they were employed and what they were striking for remained a mystery even though each of us had a few seconds to scan the signs, because, again, the print was sloppily written or too small or both, and the message was too wordy for motorists to take in during the brief opportunity. Unfortunately, handwritten signs aren’t the only form of communication in which communication fails because of poor planning and execution. We’ve all seen professionally prepared billboards with print too small to read, newspaper and magazine advertisements dense with tightly packed wording, and websites and blogs with poor design. The takeaway is the same, whether you’re selling knickknacks at a garage sale or widgets on a website: Don’t make your readers work hard to acquire your message. Produce the content carefully: Think about how readers will engage with the content at work, at home, on public transportation, in a passing vehicle? and design it accordingly. Plan your approach, trying several layouts and deciding which one works best for the purpose. Prioritize the information: What do you want readers to see first, second, third, and so on? Write the message, adapting the tone and the appearance to the readers’ circumstances and, if space is limited, trimming the content to the essentials. Ask for critiques, and return to the product later with a fresh set of eyes, then revise according to others’ suggestions and your own realizations. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Business Writing category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Fly, Flew, (has) FlownFlied?On Behalf Of vs. In Behalf OfEnglish Grammar 101: Prepositions

Week DQ 3 1-D Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Week DQ 3 1-D - Essay Example While ratio have the benefit of being the pinnacle level of measurement, they cannot be used in every situation; for example, to contrast temperatures. This is because a 0Â °C is actually 32Â °F and not non-existent. The value of a zero is very important in ratio measurement, as it is the only major factor that distinguishes ratio from interval measurements (Marr, 2010, p. 78). It is because of this value of zero that enables the formation of a fraction based comparison amongst two values of a variable. The most common use of this is the analysis of the growth of a company as witnessed in various news channels, such as the growth of sales on a year on year basis or other fundamental analysis factors such as return on investments are measured through ratios (for example, the revenues in 2011 are twice as much as what they were in 2010). Thus, ratio measurements require a set of continuous data within which the disparity could be based on, time, demographics, or any other factor. But their should be no disparity in the type of variable. Most common forms of data that can be measured through ratios are annual results of a company (as discussed), statistical disparities amongst variables, census data, market research, fundamental analysis of companies, progress of scientific experiments, etc. Variables such as weight, speed, and distance could be measured through the use of

Alternative Energy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Alternative Energy - Essay Example United States 1,650,020 5.61 (9) 2. China (mainland) 1,366,554 1.05 (92) 3. Russian Federation 415,951 2.89 (28) 4. India 366,301 0.34 (129) 5. Japan 343,117 2.69 (33) 6. Germany 220596 2.67 (36) 7. Canada 174,401 5.46 (10) 8. United Kingdom 160,179 2.67 (37) 9.  Republic of  Korea 127,007 2.64 (39) 10. Italy (including San Marino) 122,726 2.12 (50) 11. Mexico 119,473 1.14 (84) 12. South Africa 119,203 2.68 (34) 13. Iran 118,259 1.76 (63) 14. Indonesia 103,170 0.47 (121) 15. France (including Monaco) 101,927 1.64 (66) 16. Brazil 90,499 0.50 (118) 17. Spain 90,145 2.08 (52) 18. Ukraine 90,020 1.90 (56) 19. Australia 89,125 4.41 (13) 20. Saudi Arabia 84,116 3.71 (18) (Each Country’s Share of CO2 Emission) The developed countries are believed to contribute the biggest towards global Warming, it is very important to understand about the balance which the Earth needs to maintain, the consequences of disturbing the balance are going to be extreme. It is very important to take pr eventive measures to deal with the same; this especially applies to the twenty countries mentioned in the table. Weather Risks Posed by Global Warming Global warming is posing a very big threat to all the businesses across the globe. Global warming will trigger off a series of chain reactions. For instance, it will certainly give rise to the possibilities of volatile weather conditions and in that case all the major businesses will suffer and post annual losses instead of posting profits. The insurance market will be majorly impacted and in addition to this many other sectors will get adversely affected because of global warming. The question is that are the business... The research paper describes the issue of creating an alternative energy resources due to the increasing effects of global warming, air and water contamination and other factors harming the environment. The developed countries are believed to contribute the biggest towards global Warming, it is very important to understand about the balance which the Earth needs to maintain, the consequences of disturbing the balance are going to be extreme. It is very important to take preventive measures to deal with the same. Global warming is posing a very big threat to all the businesses across the globe. Global warming will trigger off a series of chain reactions. Several countries have experienced a rapid economic growth and as a result of which they are the ones who have consumed a lot of oil and will continue to do so. Some of the Asian countries have been consuming a lot of oil, and this consumption is only going to increase in the coming days. If the demand of oil increases and of the supp ly remains the same, the price of oil increases. The US is excessively dependent upon other countries for oil; this dependence can prove to be very costly for the US. There are other alternatives that can be considered, the best way to eliminate this dependence is to use solar energy. Solar energy is renewable and the best part is that it does not harm the atmosphere. The US government should make significant changes; all the automobile makers should make automobiles that would run on solar energy.

Why do Marian sites become pilgrim shrines Essay

Why do Marian sites become pilgrim shrines - Essay Example is that Marian sites, those places where it is held or believed that a Holy Christian supernatural presence, that of Mary, Mother of Jesus, has revealed itself, soon become sites to where an influx of people travel on a regular basis satisfy their need for a religious experience. They are, too, sites that take on a significance in the iconology and doctrine of the Catholic Church; and this document will attempt to explore the reasons why Marian sites become pilgrim shrines for the various groups and individuals who make pilgrimages to those places. Considering for a moment one of the modern day sites, Medjugorje, a place where, in June, 1981, six young teenagers reported to villagers and local church authorities their shared experience taking place atop a hill located near their village. The experience the children reported was that of having seen the vision of the Mother of Jesus, the Holy Mother of the Catholic Church, Mary, atop the hill where, dressed in a veil, she â€Å"hovered† initially advising the children to pray for â€Å"personal and world peace, payer, faith, conversion Christianity, fasting, penance, and the necessity of praying the rosary to avert world disaster.†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢.1 A simple enough message, â€Å"pray for peace,† which, in June, 1981, could be interpreted to apply to any number of current world events, but at the time, at the forefront of international concern, in 1981, was the subject HIV/AIDS, the disease that has yet to be cured today, and that since that time spread and devastat ed populations around the world regardless of the socio-economic status of those populations.2 1981 marked the year that Lady Diana Spencer would wed England’s Prince Charles, subsequently becoming the Princess of Wales and, after that, one of the most influential and controversial figures in the royal family.3 And while there was no shortage of events about which to be concerned or that would call for prayers of peace in 1981, there would come to be, some 10

Human Resource Management in Global Economy Essay

Human Resource Management in Global Economy - Essay Example Moreover, they should be more adaptable, resilient, agile, and customer-focused to succeed. And within this change in environment, the Human Resource managers have to change in order to become a strategic partner, an employee sponsor or advocate, and a change mentor within the organisation. In order to succeed, Human Resource Management must be a business-driven function with a clear understanding of the organisation's ultimate goals and be able to influence essential decisions and policies of the organisation. Generally, the emphasis of modern day Human Resource manager is on strategic personnel preservation and skills advancement. Human Resource professionals will be coaches, counselors, mentors, and succession planners to help motivate organisation's members and their loyalty. The Human Resource manager will also promote and fight for values, ethics, beliefs, and spirituality within their organisations, especially in the management of workplace diversity (Chan, 2004). Business organisations today have a clear and accelerating tendency toward downsizing that is the slow and methodical dismantling of an area - its redefinition and decentralization in the direction of the other areas of the company. Human Resource Management is not an exception on this trend. ... y, decentralising decision-making, debureaucratisation, deregulation, separation into strategic business units, continuous quality improvement programs, reengineering, and other trends in contemporary administration are accompanied by equivalent changes in people management (Chiavenato, 2001). HRM departments are on their way out The Human resource management department is on its way out. The concept of "human resource management" is being replaced by a new term that is garnering greater reception, namely 'people management.' 'Managing people is progressively more becoming the accountability of the middle management. Employees are now considered as human beings, not simply organisational resources or assets. Their activities and individual differences are being understood and respected, because they are gifted with unique personalities and intelligence, and differentiated aptitudes, knowledge and abilities. To the extreme, some more advanced organisations do not even talk about managing people, because this concept could imply that people are simply passive agents who depend on decisions from higher levels, rather Human Resource managers talk about managing with people, making employees more of business partners than alien entity separate from the organisation. This whole new concept means that workers from all levels of the organisation are considered responsible for, as well as involved in the organisation's business (Chiavenato, 2001). Computerisation of HRM functionsIn order to reduce the manual workload of Human Resource Department's repetitive administrative activities, organisations began to electronically automate many of these processes by introducing innovative HRMS (Human Resource Management Systems/HCM

Arrticle #2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Arrticle #2 - Essay Example that disparities in hiring can be addressed through collaborative efforts between college graduates and employers on matters of knowledge, skills, and qualification. The concerns highlighted by Goldfarb are relevant to any given individual seeking employment after graduating from college. Meeting employment requirements is a significant challenge for new labor market entrants. Most employers build qualification on the number of years of experience, thereby disregarding new graduates on the basis that they need more experience to secure an employment position. Experience comes after working and applying one’s knowledge and skills. Without experience, then new college graduates are likely to remain unemployed. Personally, graduate training could address this hiring paradox. The article, Benefits of College Degree in Recession Are Outlined, by Pà ©rez-Peà ±a (2013) presents a recession scenario that seemed to favor people with college degrees. The hardships associated with the 2007-2009 recession were less felt by people with college degrees compared to people with high school diploma and associate’s degrees. Holders of college degrees observed a slight change in their percentage wage drop, while holders of high school diploma and associate’s degrees saw their wages drop by at least double the college graduates’ percentage. The recession was a good measure of the positions held by various education levels in the labor market. On the same note, the recession tested job security concerns that holders of certificates, diploma, and degrees have in relation to their respective level of education. Personally, the recession outlined that advanced education level are better and relatively stable in time of economic hardships. The labor market is increasingly shifting its demand towards advanced knowledge, skills, experience, and individual competitiveness. The article, The Go-Nowhere Generation, by Buchholz and Victoria (2012) is an account of a growing behavior

Social desirability effect Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Social desirability effect - Essay Example Field study is one of the methods employed by researchers in studying human behavior. Field studies are undertaken in a natural setting rather in a structured environment (Kitayama & Cohen, 2010, p. 220). It involves a naturalistic observation wherein researchers discreetly observe behaviors that occur in a natural setting. Field study also entails observation of individual’s reactions to stimuli or events designed by researchers in the natural setting (Kitayama & Cohen, 2010, p. 220). This particular method of study is interesting as it offers an in-depth detail of a social phenomenon. However, the results derived from these studies fail to provide objectivity as it relies on the researcher’s judgment. The means to improve such method become an interesting area of study. Field study can serve as an insightful means of defining group behaviors. Wimmer and Dominick (2010) stressed that field studies possess an advantage of being nonreactive. Reactivity refers to the effe cts of the subject’s awareness of being observed or measured on her or his behavior. The objectivity of studies often suffers from subject’s awareness of being observed (p. 225). Sevilla, Ochave, Punsalan, Regala, and Uriarte (1992) reiterated that there are variables in social psychology that cannot be explored through experimentation (p. 154). Thus, field study offers insights into these phenomena. It presents a great breadth and depth of understanding unattainable by quantitative researches (Shepard, 2004, p. 50). Shepard (2004) stressed that findings in a particular situation may not be applicable to other situations. In addition, most field studies fail to employ standardized measuring devices. Researchers rely on subjective interpretation and judgment. The researcher’s judgment is vulnerable to biases and blind spots (p. 50).

Arrticle #2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Arrticle #2 - Essay Example that disparities in hiring can be addressed through collaborative efforts between college graduates and employers on matters of knowledge, skills, and qualification. The concerns highlighted by Goldfarb are relevant to any given individual seeking employment after graduating from college. Meeting employment requirements is a significant challenge for new labor market entrants. Most employers build qualification on the number of years of experience, thereby disregarding new graduates on the basis that they need more experience to secure an employment position. Experience comes after working and applying one’s knowledge and skills. Without experience, then new college graduates are likely to remain unemployed. Personally, graduate training could address this hiring paradox. The article, Benefits of College Degree in Recession Are Outlined, by Pà ©rez-Peà ±a (2013) presents a recession scenario that seemed to favor people with college degrees. The hardships associated with the 2007-2009 recession were less felt by people with college degrees compared to people with high school diploma and associate’s degrees. Holders of college degrees observed a slight change in their percentage wage drop, while holders of high school diploma and associate’s degrees saw their wages drop by at least double the college graduates’ percentage. The recession was a good measure of the positions held by various education levels in the labor market. On the same note, the recession tested job security concerns that holders of certificates, diploma, and degrees have in relation to their respective level of education. Personally, the recession outlined that advanced education level are better and relatively stable in time of economic hardships. The labor market is increasingly shifting its demand towards advanced knowledge, skills, experience, and individual competitiveness. The article, The Go-Nowhere Generation, by Buchholz and Victoria (2012) is an account of a growing behavior

Aspects of Project Planning Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Aspects of Project Planning - Assignment Example The paper tells that critical activity are those, which when delayed will affect the overall project duration, and therefore determine the shortest time required to complete the project. All other activities are non-critical. The critical activities for this project are "Obtaining passport" and "Obtaining visas". Though the project manager should primarily focus on the critical activities, she should also monitor activities with low slack as these have the potential of becoming critical. The manager would benchmark the planned time with other similar projects completed. In case historical data is not available, the project manager would evaluate the probabilities associated with each activity duration to arrive at the "Most Likely", "Optimistic", and "Pessimistic" project durations. The manager would benchmark the planned time with other similar projects completed. In case historical data is not available, the project manager would evaluate the probabilities associated with each acti vity duration to arrive at the "Most Likely", "Optimistic", and "Pessimistic" project durations. The advantage of a network is that the interdependencies between various activities are captured effectively. CPA allows the project manager to focus on the critical activities and allocate resources efficiently, and helps to decide which activities to "crash". Its disadvantage is that it is complex, and unlike other planning tools like Gantt chart is not easily interpreted by everybody. A work package is a subset of a project that can be assigned to a specific party for execution. Such work packages are identified as sub-levels of the WBS. For example, Colin can entrust the Level 1 activity of obtaining the bank loan to a family member, who can execute this work package a separate sub-project. The analysis is important as it allows the project manager to plan, monitor and control the project. It also forms an important Management Information System (MIS) tool for the senior management.

Ethics in Nursing Essay Example for Free

Ethics in Nursing Essay Nurses are to provide compassionate, competent, and ethical care, and follow the moral principles and guidelines set out by the College of Nurses and the Canadian Nurse’s Association’s code of ethics. The nursing profession is a self-sacrificing one, and nurses take on the Nightingale Pledge, to elevate the standard of their practice and dedicate themselves to those committed in their care (Keatings Smith, 2010, p. 64) However unfavourable working conditions, inadequate patient to nurse ratios, and intensive job-related stress can lead to poor performance of daily routines, and adversely patient safety (Ozata et al. , 2013). In the situation regarding Mr. Gurt who suffers from Parkinson’s disease, it is vital for the nurse to weigh him at the beginning of each month. This is her obligation under her employing institution’s standards of care, as well under the autonomy of her practise in which any deviation from this could result in exposure to liability (Austin 2006, p. 62). In order for the nurse to properly care for Mr. Gurt, assessing his accurate weight is essential in providing a care plan that will focus on his overall wellness and healing. Because Mr. Gurt is frail, and has stage one pressure ulcers on both heels and his coccyx, it is imperative that he has every opportunity to build up his skin integrity and prevent future disruption of his skin surface. Complications that may arise because of the nurse’s neglect in failing to weigh him, may contribute to other underlying problems. General health concerns Mr. Gurt would be facing on top of his current co- morbidities would include a decline his general appearance, gastrointestinal, neurologic, integumentary, and musculoskeletal systems (Holloway, 2004, p. 80). By recording a weight of 70kg with a height of 170cm, the nurse calculated Mr. Gurt’s Body Mass Index (BMI) at 24.2 which is borderline overweight, when in fact it was 14.5, with 18.5 being the baseline for being underweight ( http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/guidelines/ obesity/ BMI/bmicalc.htm., n.d.). According to this value, it would be likely that Mr. Gurt would suffer from imbalanced nutrition, less than his body requirements leading to other complications and failing to thrive. Nanda defines failure to thrive as the progressive functional deterioration of a physical and cognitive nature. The individual’s ability to live with multisystem diseases, cope with  ensuing problems, and manage his care are remarkably diminished (Ackley Ladwig, 2011, p. 350). To add on to potential problems, drug doses are given based on factors such as age, gender, and the weight of a patient (Raman-Wilms, 2013). Since Mr. Gurt is elderly and suffering from the effects of Parkinson’s with an imbalance of neurotransmitter activity between dopamine and acetylcholine, there may be fewer receptors and a decrease in neurotransmitters to take up his drugs (Raman-Wilms, 2013). Levadopa a dopaminergic medication which treats the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease should be reviewed with b ody weight changes (Raman-Wilms, 2013). A study looking into the factors of weight loss in Parkinson’s looked at the effects of dopaminergic treatment which suggested that the drug had a lipolytic effect and body mass fat was decreased with the advancement of Parkinson’s symptoms (Lorefalt, 2004, p.186). The potential magnitude and likelihood of harm occurring in this case is significant as drug tolerances, adverse effects, and toxic effects are high, making the liver and kidneys susceptible to disease (Urquhart, 2014), as Mr. Gurt’s body mass index indicates he is underweight and a higher risk for drug overdoses. Effectiveness of this drug will diminish over time in which the adverse effects may become severe and may include palpitations, abdominal movement, dizziness, and confusion (Raman-Wilms, 2013, p. 331). Incorrect doses of his medication could lead to physical and psychological issues based on the nurses documented weight and his actual weight. Failing to weigh Mr. Gurt will have a great impact on his nutritional needs, but will also affect his ability to heal his pressure ulcers on his heels and coccyx. Mr. Gurt is emaciated which may be in part to dysphasia, tremors, still muscles, and slow movements among other symptoms of Parkinson’s (Wilk Newmaster, 2013, p. 288). As well, Mr. Gurt’s weight is evidence that he is not receiving the nutritional intake his body’s immune system requires to create the proteins and blood cells (macrophages the body’s first line of defence), needed to attack and repair his wounds, and prevent the risk for infection (Raman-Wilms, 2013). The nurse’s blatant disregard to weigh Mr. Gurt puts him at greater risk for infection and is a form of negligence. Negligence in nursing can be unintentional, however it is important to understand the effects this has on health professionals practicing in Ontario. A registered nurse is responsible to follow the standard of care when performing nursing  acts under autonomy within their scope of practise (College of Nurses, 2004) (CNO, 2004). Standard of Care is the legal benchmark against which a person’s conduct is measured to determine whether a person has been negligent and whether the person’s conduct or actions in a given situation have met those expected of a competent health care professional (Keatings Smith, 2010). The College of Nurses is the governing body for registered nurses that protect the public through regulating the nursing profession (CNO, 2014). A practising nurse is obliged to follow the standards of care and ethical guidelines set out by this governing body (CNO, 2014). The College of Nurses lists seven ethical values which are all important, but recognizes that client well-being is a primary value (CNO, 2014). The College of Nurses connotation of client well-being is to promote the patients health, while preventing or removing harm (CNO, 2014). In the case regarding Mr. Gurt, where the nurse is required to weigh him monthly and record the data, she is morally responsible for the patient’s well-being and for any adverse outcomes regarding his health for failing to provide safe care. The nurse’s complacency in failing to weigh Mr. Gurt, a simple act, would be of concern in investigating her moral responsibility in providing ethical care in her work environment. The nurses ethical duty is to advocate for her patients and provide safe, effective, and ethical care (CNO, 2014). Possible outcomes that could arise for the nurse in failing to provide ethical care include: her co-worker filing a complaint to the College of Nurses, a discipline hearing with the College of nurses, and possibly a lawsuit (CNO, 2014). Potter Perry note the criteria nurses can be found liable for negligenc e as summarized; the nurse owed the duty to the patient; to whom that duty was not carried out; and the patient was injured for failing to carry out that duty (Potter Perry 2013, p. 96). A common negligent act is failing to monitor a patient’s condition adequately (Potter et al., 2013, p. 97). For a nurse to be sued, and in the case with Mr. Gurt, the nurse had carelessly not performed a duty which was vital to his ongoing care. While the ability to predict harm is evaluated is this case, the nurse had committed a wrong doing to Mr. Gurt and could be tried as an unintentional tort. (Potter et al., 2013, p. 97-98). According to the Criminal Code, 1985, if Mr. Gurt was to pass away as a result of improper care or toxic levels of medication being given due  to the nurse failing to weigh him, the nurse could also face criminal liability if the nurse was proven to have a reckless disregard for her patient (Potter et al., 2013, p. 99-100). The best way for nurses to avoid being negligent is to follow the standards of care; be self aware and to reflect on their nursing practise; to follow the ethical framework established by the College of Nurses; and to continuall y educate themselves on best practices, assessments, and evaluations within their nursing abilities (Potter et al., 2013, p.98). With that in mind, one final thing I would suggest is to have professional liability and legal assistance protection insurance coverage. References BIBLIOGRAPHY \l 4105 Ackley, J. A., Ladwig, G. B. (2011). Nursing Diagnosis Handbook (9th ed.). St. Louis: Mosby/Elsevier Canada. Austin, S. (2006). Ladies gentlemen of the jury, I present the nursing documentation. Nursing, 56-64 Calculate Your Body Mass Index. (n.d.).Calculate Your BMI. Retrieved June 4, 2014, from http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/guidelines/obesity/BMI/bmicalc.htm.(n.d.). College of Nurses of Ontario/Ordre des Infirmià ¨res et Infirmiers de lOntario. (2014). College of Nurses of Ontario. Retrieved June 15, 2014, from http://www.cno.org/ Holloway, N. (1999). Medical-Surgical Care Planning. Orinda: Springhouse Corporation. Keatings, M. (2010). Ethical Legal Issues in Canadian Nursing (3rd ed.). Toronto:Mosby/Elsevier Canada. Lorefalt, B., Ganowiak, W., Palhagen, S., Toss, G., Unosson, M., Granerus, A.K,.(2004). Factors of Importance for Weight Loss in Elderly Patients with Parkinsons disease. Acta Neurologica Scandinavica, 180-187. Ozata, O., Ozturk, Y.E., Cihangiroglu, N., Altunkan, H. (2013). The Development of a Scale of Malpractice Trend in Nursing and Validity and Reliabilty Analysis. International Journal of Academic Research, 57-65. Potter, P. A., Perry, A. G., Kerr, J. C., Wood, M. J. (2009). Canadian Fundamentals of Nursing (4th ed.). Toronto: Mosby/Elsevier Canada. Raman-Wilms, L. (2013). Guide to Drugs in Canada (4th ed.). Toronto: Dorling Kindersley. Urquhart, B. (2014). Exploring how kidney failure impacts the bodys systems. Western News. Wilk, M. J., Newmaster, R. (2013). Canadian Textbook for the Support Worker.Toronto: Mosby/ Elsevier Canada.

Strategic Recommendations for Red Bull

Strategic Recommendations for Red Bull Keeping the Red Bull Flying - Strategic Recommendations to Build  the Brand and Drive Revenue Growth Since its launch in 1995 in Austria, Red Bull has, in essence, created the hip and fashionable category of â€Å"functional energy drinks†. Its marketing program has been the epitome of â€Å"buzz† marketing in which pull strategies are utilized to expand product distribution methodically on a global scale. The promotion of Red Bull has been pure and focused on the elements of the product: the distinctive silver and blue 250mL can, the singular marketplace offering, the unique logo and underlying mantra â€Å"Energy Drink† followed by a campaign of selective introduction to the particularly â€Å"cool† consumers via sampling and endorsement by personalities synonymous with the brand personality of the product. Judging by results alone, the remarkably consistent (albeit with the notable inconsistency of the United Kingdom product introduction) marketing plan has been a tremendous success as evidenced by the entrance of so many â€Å"me-too† products. Despite the entry of the â€Å"big dogs† (i.e., Coca-Cola, Pepsi, et al), Red Bull had managed to achieve sales of near $1billion by the end of 2001. The success of the bran is also evident by the exorbitant price premium that consumer are willing to pay ($1.99 $3.00) for just 8.3 fluid ounces of product that was until recently, only available in a single serving (initial offering of 4- packs retained the pricing per ounce of the single serving size). The targeted audience for this product is, â€Å"anyone†¦ who is fatigued [mentally or physically].† Despite this shotgun approach, penetration is far deeper in younger demographics, especially the 14-19 groups (65% in Austria, 28% in the UK). A large part of the product’s continuing success is the uniform consistency of the brand image as it is positioned in each market. Competing on the basis of a premium product consumable by anyone with the universal need to reduce fatigue, the product has taken first-mover advantage and remained on top by the maintenance of a premium product that fulfills a ‘commoditized-niche’ need of the consumer. In terms of the Red Bull’s competitive position, the emergence of the category and the success of Red Bull has created a highly competitive field of me-too and novel products. Despite this competition, Red Bull remains a large but niche product that has become a powerful â€Å"original† brand. Threats to their market position include the wake of new and existing products from companies with deep pockets, extensive distribution networks and substantial marketing prowess – some of the 75% (in the UK) market share will be lost (Choeke 2005, p.3; Clark 2005; Euromonitor 2005, p. 3). The opportunities that Red Bull has are a direct result of their weaknesses: a single product made in a single location. This is the epitome of the clichà © that warns against putting all one’s eggs into a single basket. As a consequence, Red Bull places a strong emphasis on conservative inventory strategies by having 45 – 60 days of products at distribution centers (in the US) (Modern Materials Handling 2005), p. 11). While the emphasis on being at the shelf is admirable, this represents a significant (up to almost 17%) of ones annual volume sitting around – 17% of one’s annual revenue tied up in accounts receivables. To continue to build upon this success, it is recommended that Red Bull consider a two-fold strategy. First, there is considerable equity in the brand and the beverage that can be leveraged significantly in a brand extension of a product such as an ‘energy bar’. The key risk of this strategy is that the pure, singular product offering of today will be diluted. Despite this risk, the extension of what Red Bull actually represents does not necessarily dilute but can likely reinforce the idea that the brand of Red Bull represents, â€Å"what you consume [not just drink] when you are fatigued† versus the more restricted â€Å"drink† cateogory. By redefining the frame-of-reference, the category can be effectively extended and a like-branded product such as â€Å"Red Bull Solid Fuel† can effectively capture money left on the table while presenting minimal risks for damaging the current substantial brand equity of the beverage product alone. This brand exte nsion is compatible with the spirit of the current product, a key factor in the likelihood of consumers accepting and even embracing an additional product (Yeung Wyer 2005, p. 495). An alternative to â€Å"SolidFuel† is an additional beverage such as a sports drink. While this is a legitimate possibility, the risk of brand dilution is greater as both products are beverages though intended for different consumers. SolidFuel is a different but related category that seeks to gain a larger share of wallet though not necessarily expanding the existing customer base. This product will complement rather than potentially compete with the original Red Bull product and utilize the paradigm of a â€Å"branded house† rather than a house of [potentially competing] brands (Aaker Joachimsthaler 2000, p. 9), In addition to efforts to grow revenues through brand extensions, an additional recommendation alluded to earlier, it that Red Bull should expand production from solely Austrailia to a site in Europe and North America. By having a single facility to product product for a globe, unnecessary costs are being built into the supply chain. In addition to being forced to produce, manage, move and store massive quantities of material, there is the presence of a great deal of risk if something should happen. With but a few additional sites, risk can be virtually eliminated and distribution and holding costs significantly reduced. To address the concern of the fact that Red Bull is perceived to be a niche’ product, it is recommended that a action be taken to build brand awareness and specifically to penetrate both deeper and in additional demographic segments, it is recommended that Red Bull develop mass media advertisements such as television spots. These clips should feature a key â€Å"fatigue driver†. By this, it is meant that activities besides extreme physical exertion should be utilized such as: A long road-trip – This should feature a middle-aged, yet well-groomed commercial truck driver that focuses on a route map. This map should prominently feature a long line which traverses several states. Further, this individual should eschew coffee, instead, he should be shown enthusiastically consuming a Red Bull . A series of ‘relentless’ meetings – This clip should show a clock indicating an early hour and a business meeting ‘in progress’ that, according to the clock, keeps going. Similar to the above example, the shot should demonstrate that Red Bull is an attractive alternive or substitute for coffee and could also play upon the feature s of consistent quality of Red Bull (versus the variance of a secretary’s coffee making skill). A grueling school assignment – The obvious shot would include a study group at a late hour†¦ just beginning to study for a major test of solve a lengthy problem. Of course, Red Bull is there. Each of the above scenarios are representative of mental or physical fatigue and the â€Å"break-through† that can be attained by the key benefits and attribute of the Red Bull product. These also particularly lend themselves both to brand extension and extensions of the current ‘most likely to use’ demographic segment. In summary, Red Bull has seen seemingly indefatigable success of a single product. By taking steps to simultaneously launch â€Å"SolidFuel†, the result will be the success that is achieved simply by meeting the already expressed needs and desires of the marketing with a product that is positioned to leverage the current awareness, recognition, and image of the current product. As this strategy entails the creation of a category-extension, there is minimal risk of the dilution of the powerful core brand value and the image that is currently held. Further, to maintain and even build the markets for these products, Red Bull should move away from the successful cartoon-type advertisements and focus on the â€Å"next thing† for a fickle consumer mass. This advertising should be of an experiential nature that focuses on situation in which Red Bull [products] can be utilized for a key benefit while each advertisement â€Å"closes† with a central brand reinforcing image such as the Red Bull logo. Works Consulted Aaker, D., and Joachimsthaler, E. (2000, Summer). â€Å"The Brand Relationship Spectrum: The Key to the Brand Architecture Challenge†. California Management Review, (42)4, pp. 8-23. Choeke, M. (2005, October 11). â€Å"Coke Eyes Red Bull with Launch of Still Energy Drink†. Marketing Week. October 11, 2005 edition. Clark, N. (2005, December). â€Å"Coca-Cola adds Taurine to Product†. Marketing, December 14, 2005 edition. Euromonitor. (2005, December). â€Å"UK Market for Functional Drinks†. Euromonitor – Market Research Monitor. Accessed online March 9, 2006. Modern Materials Handling. (2005, December). â€Å"How Red Bull Puts a Charge in It’s Supply Chain†. Modern Materials Handling, p. 11. Yeung, C., and Wyers, R. (2005, November). â€Å"Does Loving a Product Mean Loving Its Products? The Role of Brand-Elicited Affect in Brand Extension Evaluations†. Journal of Marketing Research (42), pp. 495-506.

The Happiness of Others :: Happiness Essays

Written by Dr. Sam Vaknin Is there any necessary connection between our actions and the happiness of others? Disregarding for a moment the murkiness of the definitions of "actions" in philosophical literature - two types of answers were hitherto provided. Sentient Beings (referred to, in this essay, as "Humans" or "persons") seem either to limit each other - or to enhance each other's actions. Mutual limitation is, for instance, evident in game theory. It deals with decision outcomes when all the rational "players" are fully aware of both the outcomes of their actions and of what they prefer these outcomes to be. They are also fully informed about the other players: they know that they are rational, too, for instance. This, of course, is a very farfetched idealization. A state of unbounded information is nowhere and never to be found. Still, in most cases, the players settle down to one of the Nash equilibria solutions. Their actions are constrained by the existence of the others. The "Hidden Hand" of Adam Smith (which, among other things, benignly and optimally regulates the market and the price mechanisms) - is also a "mutually limiting" model. Numerous single participants strive to maximize their (economic and financial) outcomes - and end up merely optimizing them. The reason lies in the existence of others within the "market". Again, they are constrained by other people’s motivations, priorities ands, above all, actions. All the consequentialist theories of ethics deal with mutual enhancement. This is especially true of the Utilitarian variety. Acts (whether judged individually or in conformity to a set of rules) are moral, if their outcome increases utility (also known as happiness or pleasure). They are morally obligatory if they maximize utility and no alternative course of action can do so. Other versions talk about an "increase" in utility rather than its maximization. Still, the principle is simple: for an act to be judged "moral, ethical, virtuous, or good" - it must influence others in a way which will "enhance" and increase their happiness. The flaws in all the above answers are evident and have been explored at length in the literature. The assumptions are dubious (fully informed participants, rationality in decision making and in prioritizing the outcomes, etc.). All the answers are instrumental and quantitative: they strive to offer a moral measuring rod. An "increase" entails the measurement of two states: before and after the act. Moreover, it demands full knowledge of the world and a type of knowledge so intimate, so private - that it is not even sure that the players themselves have conscious access to it.

My Cultural Identity

Defining my own cultural identity by Stefanie A–ttl Culture is one of the most difficult concepts in the human social sciences and there are many different ways of defining it. It is often argued that culture is a learned behaviour pattern shared by a specific group of people. Culture is about shared meanings, and language is the privileged medium in which meaning is produced and exchanged. People sharing one culture interpret the world in roughly the same way. Defining my own cultural identity seems to me quite difficult. I actually have to admit that I am not quite sure which culture I belong to.I was born in Austria but my father comes from South Tyrol, the northern part of Italy, where Italian and German are spoken. Therefore I have Italian nationality but I have only some basic knowledge concerning the language. Although I live in Austria, there are still some traditions and cultural aspects in my family that are not Austrian. Not only is there some Italian influence, but also Canadian due to the fact that my motheraâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s stepmother is British but emigrated to Canada. I havenaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t got Canadian nationality, but I was brought up bilingually (German/English).Furthermore I spent half a year living in Chile and therefore I was influenced by the Chilean way of life. Understandably I sometimes get quite confused about which culture I really belong to. There are several parameters for defining oneaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s culture, such as nationality, language, the country you live in, gender, social class, occupation, interests, educational levelaâ‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦. But the question is, which of these parameters is to be considered the most important. I have Italian nationality, but due to the fact that I donaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t really know the language I donaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t really feel Italian or aâ‚ ¬? Southern Tyrolianaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢.And although I am not Canadian by citizenship I sometimes feel more at home there because of the language. Still, con cerning some traditional aspects, I am more familiar with the aâ‚ ¬? South Tyrolianaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ ones but I donaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t really feel that I belong there because I donaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t know Italian nor do I really speak German with a aâ‚ ¬? South Tyrolianaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ accent. I believe that not knowing the language could be seen as a barrier keeping me from really experiencing Italian culture. I strongly believe that one can somehow adopt a culture by learning specific behaviour patterns, values, moralities or more precisely, a certain way of life.I experienced this while living in Chile and I can say for sure that it was far more difficult to adjust to a new way of living and learn how to react in certain situations than learning the foreign language. Despite all these influences of different cultures, I still feel very Austrian due to the fact of actually living in this country. The parameters which I believe to be very important in order to define your culture are first of all the is the country you live in because your culture depends very much on what is happening around you.The second important aspect is language through which thoughts, ideas and feelings of a certain culture are represented. The least important thing in my opinion is the nationality because I believe this to be a very official way of defining your culture. But, as I already mentioned, I sometimes donaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t really know which culture I really belong to. I believe I am a mixture of all of them. Understanding home by Michael Pelitz â€Å"the night is your friend, your only friend the center stage, a moonscape as you walk. alk your head is a thread; your head’s a thread the eye of the needle becomes indistinct we’re just a sadder song away we’re just a sadder song away the mountaintops, the rainbow drops the fires from the temples and palaises. hurray the hierarchy that swallows me the pavement emptied out by night we’re just a sadder son g away we’re just a sadder song away we’re off to understanding home we’re off to understanding home we’re off to understanding home we’re just a sadder song away†Just as I reached Radetzkyplatz, passing by the Hotel Garni Lind, aâ‚ ¬? Understanding Homeaâ‚ ¬? ept rotating in my disc player. aâ‚ ¬? aâ‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦The center stage, a moonscape as you walkaâ‚ ¬?. The display warns: aâ‚ ¬? BATTERY LOWaâ‚ ¬? , but Alexaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ apartment is right across the square, so I decided not to worry about it. I suddenly remembered a letter I read on the internet, written by an Austrian social worker after his return from his social service year at the Holocaust Memorial Center in Detroit: aâ‚ ¬? When being abroadaâ‚ ¬? , he wrote, aâ‚ ¬? you become a true patriotaâ‚ ¬?! He stayed in the U. S. during the international crusade against the Austrian government in 2001.I started to remember all these artists who cancelled their concerts in Austria, and every single e-mail I had to send to my American friends, explaining aâ‚ ¬? the situationaâ‚ ¬?. And I had to think about all these desperate and aggressive anti-Moslem e-mails my mum received from a friend of hers who lives in Virginia, fearing that her son might not return from Iraq safely. I glanced over my shoulder to check on the traffic lights. Red. Suddenly I was confused, even a bit aggressive. I felt terribly blank despite the music, or maybe, because of the music. The whole world (including me) seems to be talking about sending, I thought!Sending e-mails, sending troops, sending messages, sending money, sending support, sending social workers. Mobility is the keyword of our times. Nobody seems to be talking about the sense of belonging. aâ‚ ¬? You become a true patriotaâ‚ ¬? , returns to my mind. I thought of how much I detest the concept of patriotism. To me, patriotism leads to flag-waving, flag-waving gives beautiful pictures, beaut iful picture are very likely to be shown in the news, satellites enable worldwide broadcasts within milliseconds, and the media have an incredible manipulating impact.I know the concept underlying the word aâ‚ ¬? patriotismaâ‚ ¬? is not that easy, but I am sure that patriotism is a great source of misunderstandings. The next moment I pictured myself at the soccer stadium singing the national anthem. Again, it leaves me confused. I felt exhausted. It has been a long day. An estimated 750 metres, the way from the U4-metrostation LandstraAYer HauptstraAYe to here, lay behind me. Another two and a half miles to the 23 rd district, where Iaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve parked my car, 102 kilometres to MA? zzuschlag, my hometown, an additional 87 kilometres to Graz, the city where I live, and yet another 8944 km to Portland/Oregon, the place where I spent the most wonderful year imaginable, describe my route. I think about my travels, the times I was sent, the times I mobilized. The batteries ra n out on the final lines of the song.I would have loved to listen to the outro and the repetition of the chorus. I pushed the doorbell and heard the buzzing of reality. Maybe all of this is not as contradictory as I thought. Maybe the understanding of our cultural identity needs to aâ‚ ¬? travel lightaâ‚ ¬? in order to find its way back home. And in its backpack it carries all the concepts we fear, detest or treasures so much. aâ‚ ¬? Weaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢re off to understanding homeaâ‚ ¬? , I repeated, as suddenly the front door opened and I entered the building. Cultural Identity by Ana Flac A couple of years ago I found myself wandering between cultures, customs and different traditions. At the beginning of this â€Å"cultural voyage† I was torn between contradictions which forced me to ask myself: Who am I? What makes me a Croatian? Six years ago a specific incident happened in Osijek which triggered off these thoughts .Morete mi reci da ide vlak za Cakovec? (Could you tell me when the next train goes to Cakovec? ), I asked a railway man as I was on my way home, after I had taken my entrance exam at Osijek University in 1998. The friendly man smiled and begged my pardon. He did not quite understand me. At this point I realized that I was no longer in my home town in Medjimurje and that all the competence I had in speaking my dialect which I’m so proud of could constitute a burden rather than a merit. This was the first time I perceived myself as being different from other people in Croatia.Some of my fellow students in Osijek rejected their dialect but I was proud of it and it made me somehow stand out from the crowd so I could be easily identified by it. I realized that my Medjimurian dialect was a part of my cultural identity. As time passed by I got to know many different people from the Slavonic region, their customs and their way of living. Since this region was greatly affected by the war, a very critical attitude towards Serbs h ad developed there. Most of the inhabitants often expressed their fury mostly against Serbs and emphasized Pan-Croatian nationalism.I noticed I wasn’t prepared to emphasize a Pan-Croatian position and I didn’t want to perceive the whole Serbian nation so destructively. I just couldn’t identify myself with all this Pan-Croatian nationalism and I mainly disagreed with people who had this kind of attitude. I kept my distance and withdrew into my regional cultural frames. After having spent two years in Osijek, I continued my studies in a completely different country, in Austria. I was very much excited about the new faces and new culture I was about to meet. And then one day I encountered a girl on the campus and we started talking.I found the conversation quite neat. Apart from other things, she wanted to know where I come from so I told her I was from Croatia. Ah, aus Kroatien.. those were the next words she said. They sounded strange, as if she got the whole pic ture of me when she found out about my origin. At this moment I realized there was not only no place left for my Medjimurian identity, which I am extremely proud of, but there was also hardly even any left for my Croatian identity. I was differentiated from other students by labels such as another ex-Yugoslavian or inhabitant of the Balkans.For the first time in my life I felt ashamed of my nationality. And from that moment on I was somehow torn between my Medjimurian pride and the feeling of shame for who I was in Austria. I was trapped in some generalized prejudices about myself that I did not want to have anything to do with. My identity was on the verge of being formed by some stereotypic views which I could not accept. But inspite of all these confrontations and contradictions I had to face and which scared me and disoriented me at first, they were also the one that gave me strength and motivated me to figure out who I really am.My Cultural Identity by Camilla Leimisch If someo ne asked me if I was proud to be Austrian or Finnish, I would not answer aâ‚ ¬? Yesaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ right away. Iaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve always felt that proud was not the appropriate word to describe my feelings towards the country where I was born or the country where I grew up, because I find it hard to be proud of something that I did not decide or that I did not achieve on my own. But I do not want to be misunderstood: I am proud of my parents to whom I owe my bilingualism and who introduced me to both cultures right from the start (Finnish from my mother and Austrian from my father).I am also happy to have kept this bilingualism and I consider myself lucky to have two native countries. Although I was born in Finland and I was only two years old when my family moved to Austria, I have never considered Finland to be my second home country, in the sense of second best. This is because I have a family there, too, and I spend every summer in Finland. This is also because my mother took care that I did not forget my Finnish roots in Austria, so I could develop feelings of the same value for both of the countries, as well as an understanding of cultural awareness that is closely connected to the feeling of home.As I see it, not only my nationality is an important part of my cultural identity, but also what I have done and what I am doing in my country and in its society. Austria is the country where I live and study. As my main subject is music, and Austria is a country of great musicians, music has become a big part not only of my personal but also of my cultural identity. I also appreciate Austrian folk music which I consider a very relevant and unique cultural tradition in the country. With Finland, itaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s different. Iaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢d rather identify myself with Finnish people than with Austrian people.It is not easy to explain why. All I can say is that Finnish people are very attached to nature, and that I often share their moments of melancholy wh ich are even more intense when they are far away from their own country. Iaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve already said that I am happy about my bilingualism. In fact, language is an important parameter for defining my cultural identity, because other people also define or identify you by the way you speak. Certainly you become most aware of your language when you find yourself in a foreign country where no-one speaks your language.What Iaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve noticed is that if you are among people who do not only speak differently, but also behave differently and look different from you, you suddenly distinguish yourself culturally from the others, and your cultural identity becomes much more evident. The frequently asked question about whether I feel more Austrian or more Finnish is not easy to answer. I am not 100% Austrian and not 100% Finnish. But I think that this diversity which has shaped my personality is also the key to my cultural identity.