Treatment And Care For Older Adults Research Paper

Treatment And Care For Older Adults - Research Paper Example Participants that reside in rural areas are not likely to take part in physical activities as they don’t have the facilities. Epidemiological studies have shown a role for a healthy diet in the development and sequence of chronic illness globally. Unhealthy feeding and lack of physical exercises is a key factor in these situations (Graham et.al, 2014). The goal of this study is to evaluate a community-based fitness and healthy diet program for older adults with the intentions of improving their physical activities, healthy eating, and improve the entire health among all the participants of the study. The participants of this study were older adults of between 65 and 75 years who had a Body Mass Index (BMI) higher than 30. These participants were required to undergo a diet-induced plan with a combination of a strict exercise program; this activity would last for a period of 6 months. These participants were recruited from the bigger study that was evaluated for risk factors among the older individuals. The first stage of contact with the potential participants was conducted at falls risk analysis for their body mass index that took place in 11 community centers and retirement communities in a span of 4months. Volunteers were also asked to present themselves to be accessed if they were suitable for the study. The limitations of participants included aspects such as a BMI less than 30, individuals who have hearing disabilities, cognitive impairment, those that were not between the 65 to 70 to age bracket, limitation to mobility and other essential factors needed in the study. The design of the study was a randomized controlled trial whereby randomization would be carried out at individual patient stages. This trail entailed three assessments; pretest (T1), post-intervention that is carried out two months after the pretest (T2), and the final step of a 4-month follow-up.

Harriet Jacob’s “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl” Essay Example for Free

Harriet Jacob’s â€Å"Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl† Essay In this paper I argue that slavery is an essential part of life and, as such, should be cared for to ensure the continuation of the lives of the slaves so that they serve their purpose. Slavery is referred to as an â€Å"unhappy condition†, one that should be relieved and which can only be relieved by the enslaved. Harriet Jacob’s â€Å"Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl† reveals the story of a slave girl and her misfortunes through out her life. The writing is among the feminist literature narrating the humiliations and sufferings of black slave females. Slave Black women didn’t have any such protection to voice their rights against their white masters. They were considered as â€Å"property† of their masters. And those masters have full authority over their female slaves to rape them at any time for the gain of sexual desire, for having stock of more slave children and for keeping such slaves below standards and disdain them. Therefore, there wasn’t any law that would apply to Linda’s case. In that era, woman, in general, were subject to man’s superiority and specifically slave woman were the victim of their masters, even in the enactment of law she had no right to voice her opinions, likes, dislikes or to live her life according to her own wishes. She was subject to any type of violent and abusive behavior by her masters. Lack of protection to their rights by law enforcement gave much bravery and authority to white males over their female slaves. Such deficiencies in law at that time surrounded the female slaves with fetters and disabilities, her very basic and natural rights were unguarded, and her liberty was unacknowledged. She was not allowed to process her separate interest. Not realizing the existence of these slave women as an individual or their own, the law gave her no independent possession. Law being supportive for the supremacy of white masters, and black female slaves were the victim of sexual assault, abusive, violent and unjust attitude. It was the law of the strongest. Though, abusing slaves were not considered as good and there was a universal disdain regarding this issue, no one was willing to help those helpless females against their sexual assault. There was wide spread use of female slaves as sex without any prohibition. Everyone was afraid of helping such women because no one wanted to go against slaveholders who were very rich and held much authority at that time. Most of the blacks were dependent on these slaveholders, and majority of them were proprietors and nurturing most of the Black slaves’ family for labor. Other poor whites were dependent on agriculture and feared to loose their property if they would be of any help to Black female slaves. Therefore, no one dared to voice against such slave owners, even including the family members of the female slave would remain quiet. However, there was general opinion among white females that the abuse of Black slaves was acceptable and that males and white masters are the dominant gender. Most white women were also quiet because not only that they thought slavery was an acceptable thing but they were receiving a lot benefits like money, food and free labor. Daughters or wives were solely dependent on their fathers and husbands. To voice against them meant to deprive themselves of all those benefits they were receiving. To help slave women for their sexual and autonomic identity was to worsen the situation prevailing at that time. The story is essentially a moral code for the slave owners as to how to properly care for the slaves and their overseers. Initially the slaves are spoken of as though they are children who need to be watched over for their own safety and discipline. Slave’s behavior is seen as something unchangeably infantile, no amount of education on morals will change their behavior and they will always succumb to the temptations of thievery and malice toward their masters. It is not a function of the desire to be free, rather it is a function of their immature nature in the eyes of the masters and something to be controlled. These masters viewed themselves as benevolent, as though they were doing a service to the slaves in their charge by taking charge of their lives and keeping their souls out of the trouble to which they would be tempted. The care taken of the slaves is only so that they will be comfortable enough to continue to work and reproduce, not out of care for them as humans. To care for them as humans would require thinking of them as such, doing so would bring up the idea that as humans they deserve the freedom that the masters enjoyed. Masters of the slaves expect obedience and respect from their slaves. However, in return masters must also show their good attitude towards their slaves. They must be honest and truthful with their slaves. Slaves are after all humans who need to be cared off. The way masters will treat their slaves, the same they will get in return. Masters should show firmness and kindness towards their slaves to get their trust. And they must control their temper when dealing with them. In addition, slaves should be given their complete food and diet to keep them healthy and fulfill their needs of the daily work. It is clear, however, that the masters view their slaves as nothing higher than any farm animal. Something to be taken care of for its usefulness, to be cared for so that it will serve its purpose without trouble in the same category as a horse or a cow. Slavery is understood by the slaves to be an oppressive system inflicted by one group of humans upon another, and oppression of any type should not be tolerated. Freedom is a God-given right to all humans and to voluntarily submit to having that freedom taken away is an abomination against God, an enormous sin. Garnet, freed men and slaves believed that slavery set all the laws given by God aside and caused the slaves to make reverence to their masters before God and to submit themselves other than to Him, which is against the first commandment of their Christian belief. This made it necessary to revolt against slavery and endeavor for freedom in any way, even if it meant death because death itself was preferable to oppression. They were willing to sacrifice their lives rather than live as slaves, treated no better than animals rather than with the respect of men. What is most interesting about the story is that it is not an incitement to violence, rather it is an order for those enslaved to demand their freedom. If they were to recognize that their numbers made such a demand possible without violence there could be some resolution to slavery without bloodshed. There is clearly the awareness that a peaceful end to slavery would not be possible, but at least the idea was put forth that it should be considered first. Works Cited Jacobs, Harriet. Incidents in the life of a slave girl.

Factors Affecting Average Spending Power Marketing Essay

Factors Affecting Average Spending Power Marketing Essay Introduction: Krajewski Ritzman (1987) Operation management is the systematic direction and control of the process that transforms inputs into finished goods and services. Operations management involves the responsibility to ensure that business operations are efficient in terms of resource use as little as a necessary and effective in terms of customer requirements. At this current age, hospitality has grown up much bigger than even it was expected in last couple of decades. It is one of the most leading business sectors in the business world but in many different forms where efficient service is being offered to the clients using as little resources as possible to gain the client satisfaction. Throughout this report we will be finding how the hospitality operations management performs in the practical business market and necessary theoretical evident discussion will be done to emphasis the aspects of the topic. Part A Factors affecting average spending power (ASP) The average spending power is a compromise or could be called as a joint decision between equal partners in the pricing process such as between the hotel or restaurant and the customers. In the context of hospitality, the customers are usually offered with a wide range of food and beverage items of different price labels which actually brings about average spending power. Generally the average spending power is very much depended on the customer or guests whims or impulse. The spending power could be affected by the following factors Size of income Status Socio/cultural influences Economic situation Key Stages in Product and Service Development There are number of stages in product and service development process, the key stages are follows Market research, Market segmentation, Idea evaluation, Concept development Product development Advertising objectives Create Desire Create awareness Sell Increase market share Develop brand loyalty Customer awareness (http://churchill.ac/moodle/file.php/52/Stages_of_Product_Development.ppt) The features, contribute towards customers perception of product and service The features, contribute towards customers perception of product and service are follows Marketing Research The market research is a systematic way to meet, to store and to analyze of data in markets, competition, future tendencies and other factors affect the business operational process. It is done generally to be to more clients oriented and in other way to advance the efficiency and the effectiveness of the whole operational process. Market segmentation Market Segmentation could be defined as the identification of a subset of consumers, so that a combination of the marketing thinks up to satisfy specifically its demand. Advertising and Merchandising Advertising are generally a paid way of non-personal form of presentation and promoting the idea or ideas, goods or services by a particular company or sponsor intended to reach their desired set of customers. It is the leading marketing weapon in the market place. This process requires objectives like other marketing elements. Advertising Objectives The advertising objective varies for individual organisation depending on the time of advertising. Using this process advertiser expect short or long time benefits. Competition, consumer behaviour, revenue and profits will all influence the advertising objectives from time to time. Opportunities and Constraints Affecting Product and Service Development The following issues are affecting the product and service development Availability of resources; human, financial, and physical resources standardisation, style of service, space utilisation A range of Merchandising opportunities for Hospitality Products and Service The opportunities are Persuade customers to patronise the hotel or restaurant often. Create desire for product/service in the winds of potential customers Emphasise benefits and advantages of the products/ services (http://churchill.ac/moodle/mod/resource/view.php?id=665) Create an awareness of the product Increase the market share Improve revenue Influence the attitude of the public towards the product Improve brand loyalty Confirm in the minds of customers that they have made the correct choice Enhance the desired image of the hotel or restaurant (http://churchill.ac/moodle/mod/resource/view.php?id=665) Methods of Pricing and additional Pricing considerations Methods of Pricing Cost-oriented Cost-oriented pricing involves the determination of all fixed and variable costs associated with a product or service. After the total costs attributable to the product or service have been determined, managers add a desired profit margin to each unit. Cost-oriented pricing method could be summarized as Cost + Fixed profit percentage = Selling price Market-oriented Market-oriented pricing determines Pricing at the same level as the competition. The organization has to assess how its product relates to a competitive product and set its price at a comparable level to stay competitive in the market place.   Additional Pricing considerations Service Charge, Cover Charge, Minimum Charge A system. (http://churchill.ac/moodle/mod/resource/view.php?id=744) Factors in Hospitality Operations affect Revenue Generation and Profitability The following factors affect Revenue Generation and Profitability in Hospitality Operations Factors affecting revenue generation Sales mix It is a way of mixing the relative set of products together and setting up a comparatively lower price than the sum of individual products together as promotion to raise the organizational total sale, but it is actually less than the total amount it could be if it was sold as individual, therefore it affect the revenue generation at the end. Customer turnover Revenue generation depend on customer turnover, if the customer are not attracted by the product or satisfied with the service, they would not come back to organization again and therefore sales will be very badly affected and revenue generation at the same time. Average spending power (ASP) Average spending power is completely depend on the customers will; customers are free to decide whether to spend extra or not. If the average spending power of the customer or guests lower down, the sales will go down as well therefore the revenue will be affected as where there is no sales there is no revenue. Factors affecting profitability Labour intensity To produce goods or to delivered service large amounts of human effort is required specially the industry like hospitality where they are very much people oriented. The larger the human effort against the product or service the larger the amount would be paid and would lower the profitability. Shelf-life Self-life determines the length of time a product may be stored or preserved without deterioration; the length of time it remains usable. If the product or service is not suitable to use it will be left as waste and therefore it will affect the profitability very badly. Elasticity of demand If the availability against demand is not met properly the profitability will go down as sales will go down. The aspects of hospitality operations which are commonly appraised Structuring the discussion Building trust and rapport Objectivity Balancing praise and criticism Setting objectives Getting buy-in Making them motivational Career plans Follow up and action (http://churchill.ac/moodle/file.php/52/Appraisal_and_improved_performance.ppt) Two of the aspects of hospitality operations which are commonly appraised Structuring the discussion The organizations take decisions time to time to carry on developing their products or to improve the service they usually offer. This sort of decision should be taken based on their management and development strategy set by the organisation earlier. The set of decisions has to be structured or arranged in a sorted manner so that they can be used in the future to keep their standards of the product or services. Setting objectives In order to produce or offer a quality service the organisation must set the objectives targeting the goal which they are intended to achieve. The objectives could couple in numbers depending on the organisation and the label of their product and services. After setting up the objectives the organisation will follow the production or operation strategy to achieve the objectives for that particular stage. Reasons for Appraising To identify areas for improvement on operations. Identify areas where products and services are thriving as well as areas of failure. To improve on performances To identify constraints and capitalise on opportunities (http://churchill.ac/moodle/file.php/52/Appraisal_and_improved_performance.ppt) Definition and Description of Pricing Method adopted by a firm to set its  selling price. It usually depends on the  firms  average costs, and on the  customers  perceived value of the product in  comparison  to his or her perceived  value  of the competing  products. Different pricing  methods  place varying degree  of emphasis on  selection, estimation, and  evaluation  of costs,  comparative analysis, and  market  situation. See also  pricing strategy. (http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/pricing.html) In other word, Pricing is a fundamental aspect of financial modelling, and is one of the four Ps of the marketing mix. The other three aspects are product, promotion, and place. Price is the only revenue generating element amongst the four Ps. Pricing is the manual or automatic process of applying prices to purchase and sales orders. (http://churchill.ac/moodle/file.php/52/price_and_profitability.ppt) To develop the price for a new product the following strategy would be followed Developing marketing strategy perform marketing analysis, segmentation, targeting and positioning. Make marketing mix decision define the product, distribution, and promotional tactics. Estimate the demand curve understand how quantity demanded varies with price. Calculate Cost include fixed and variable costs associated with the products. Understand environmental factors evaluate likely competition actions, understanding legal constraints etc. Set Pricing Objective for example, profit maximization, revenue maximization, or price stabilization. Determine Pricing Using information collected in the above steps, select a pricing method, develop the pricing structure and define discounts (http://churchill.ac/moodle/file.php/52/price_and_profitability.ppt) Part B In this part of the report, I will be discussing the relevant practical issues required by the project and presenting some evidential information found throughout my individual research on TESCO PLC, Hancock Road, Broomly -By Bow, London E3 3DA. Background: Tesco  plc  is a British international grocery and general merchandising retail chain founded by  Jack Cohen  in 1919. The brand first appeared after Cohen bought a shipment of  tea  from  T.E. Stockwell  and he used those initials and added the first two letters of his own surname. The first Tesco store was opened in 1929 in  Burnt Oak,  Edgware, Middlesex. During the 1950s and the 1960s Tesco grew organically, and also through acquisitions, until it owned more than 800 stores. Originally specialising in food and drink, it has  diversified  into areas such as clothing, electronics,  financial services,  telecoms, home, health, car and dental  insurance, retailing and renting  DVDs, CDs,  music downloads,  Internet  services and  software. It is the largest British  retailer  by both global sales and domestic market share, with profits exceeding  £3 billion, and the third largest global retailer based on revenue, after  Wal-Mart  andà ‚  Carrefour  and second largest in profit behind Wal-Mart. (http://www.thefree4all.com) Figure and information extracted from (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tesco) Figure: The Current information about TESCO PLC Nature of the Product Tesco Broomly-By-Bow offers Food, Beverage, and quality services. They also offers non-food items including holiday accessories, travel insurance etc. The food range comprised with frozen, chilled, regular item. Fresh produce (Fruit, Vegetable) items are even offered there. Range of Product: Clothes, World Foods, Asian, Halal, Afro Caribbean, Greek, Polish Different Influences affecting Patterns of Demand There are number of influences affecting the patterns of demand External Factor Several National customers Several different expectation Religious aspects on foods Halal Food Competitive price offered by the competitor Range of product Current financial crisis etc. Internal Factor Product Packaging Competitive Price offered by Tesco Multi buy product mix offered Product design Value product to attract the customer with low spending budget Tescos backlog Policy Customer expectations and requirements The profile of the client could be defined as description of client that includes demographic, geographical, and characteristics of psychographic, buying guideline, the reliability, and the history of purchase. A complete survey been done to the TESCO Broom-By-Bow branch among the customer and the details are bellow Research Method Primary research (Field research, fresh data) Questionnaire survey (Close ended) Sampling (Selecting set of customer from a larger number of customers) Location: Broomly-By-Bow Secondary research (Existing data) Internet After surveying 100 customer of different age group the following result is been found Figure: Top chart describes the likings on different age group; Bottom Chart shows the overall product expectation to the TESCO Broomly-By-Bow.

A Character Sketch Of Joe Gargery :: essays research papers

A Character Sketch of Joe Gargery Joe Gargery might not be the smartest or wisest of Dickens' characters, but he is definitely one of the kindest and most humane. Although Miss Havisham gets much attention for being different, I think that you will soon be convinced that Joe, however simple he may be, is definitely a unique character. It is my opinion that Dickens made an effort to raise the readers respect for Joe by the sharp contrast between him and his wife. Three qualities belonging to Joe are his affectionate nature, pride, and his perseverance. When Joe asks Mrs. Gargery to marry him, he especially insists that she bring her young orphaned brother, Pip, to live with them. Joe never reminds Pip of this fact, except when telling Pip how much he thinks of him. Mrs. Gargery, on the other hand, is constantly reminding Pip to be thankful of her "raising him by hand". At one point, Pip decides he will teach Joe to read. Although Joe has no real aspiration for this, he humors Pip and lets the boy instruct him. As mentioned before, Mrs. Gargery is a very cruel person. One would think living with her would drive even a saint to kill. Even so, Joe never says a harsh word about his wife and treats her with the utmost respect. Pip's decision to go to London has a greater impact than most readers think. Not only was Joe losing a set of hands around the forge, but he was also saying farewell to a boy who must have been like a son to him. Joe knew that once Pip left they would never have the same relationship. It was clear to Joe that this was Pip's dream, so not once did he question the decision Pip had made. When Pip is asked to come to Miss Havisham's and "play", Mrs. Gargery and Pumblechook are driven crazy wondering what gift she will give Pip for his service. Joe, on the other hand, pays no attention to their high hopes. His pride is also evident when he turns down the money Jaggers offers him for Pip's indentures. It is not that Joe couldn't use the money, after all he is losing Pip's help in the forge and his wife is bedridden. Joe proves to be a man of great perseverance. He manages to run a smithy, be married to a wife with a temper that makes a rabid dog seem tame, and

After the Journey Essay

Steve Clark, who wrote â€Å"Travel Writing and Empire† believes that â€Å"the traveller is altered, sometimes changed utterly† when he or she journeys in an unfamiliar environment; some stories from real life do prove this statement.   There are also well-known fictional travellers who can show how significant and life-changing journeys can be, and this is where we focus.   However, before dealing with these characters, imagine travelling to foreign countries, immersing in other cultures, and either fighting against or indulging in the new experiences.   These experiences, negative or positive, become part of the traveller’s life, however little the effect may appear. Robinson Crusoe’s wanderlust has led him to an experience that he has never thought possible.   All he has longed for is a taste of adventure, but what he has to give in exchange for this adventure is practically his whole life.   Meanwhile, Lemuel Gulliver only wants to relate his travels to other people. He professes that â€Å"I rather chose to relate plain matter of fact in the simplest manner and style, because my principal design was to inform, and not to amuse thee.† (Swift, 1962)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   â€Å"Robinson Crusoe’s† plot begins with disobedience.     Both Robinson Crusoe’s parents have opposed his desire to go on a voyage. â€Å"He asked me what reasons, more than a mere wandering inclination, I had for leaving father’s house and my native country, where I might be well introduced, and had a prospect of raising my fortune by application and industry, with a life of ease and pleasure†. (Defoe)   Crusoe is reminded by his father that he does not need to seek his fortune or win honour of some kind.   His later wretched condition reminds him of his father’s warnings. â€Å"Robinson Crusoe† is believed to be based on the life of Alexander Selkirk who has run away to sea in 1704.   He has made a request to be left alone in an uninhabited island before being rescued after five years. (Bibliomania) Crusoe’s experience is of course more imaginative and more complex, as Daniel Defoe adds in more adventures for the castaway. Although Crusoe’s situation is not contrived like Selkirk’s, who has clearly requested to be left alone, his strong desire to continue setting out to sea even after a perilous first voyage has led him to a similar fate.   Surviving the first voyage, Robinson Crusoe has continued his adventures and has ended up living in an uninhabited island alone. Crusoe has started the voyage as an inexperienced young man who has lived in comfort; he cannot have gone through his voyages without being changed in some manner.   Crusoe’s love for travel is undeniable.   He has risked not only a secure livelihood in order to pursue the adventure, but also his life.   As a person, he already does not conform to what the society expects of him.   Nevertheless, the castaway experience is still extreme even to an adventurer. Crusoe has to do things that he wouldn’t normally do given his former comfortable lifestyle.   A man who has not been trained to practice a trade, he has learned to create necessary tools and gear ranging from clay containers and clothes, to even a canoe. He has become very self-sufficient and resourceful as needed by the situation.   His daily experiences also range from peaceful inventions to discovering cannibals, saving a native whom he has named â€Å"Friday† and has even earned himself a fortune.   These experiences themselves can affirm that Robinson Crusoe is not the same man who has left his home for the first time.   Robinson Crusoe, who has been expected to live comfortably and without much risk, has proven himself to be capable of seeking his fortune on his own.   He not only changes himself in the process, but he also changes the perceptions of what a person must or must not do in society. Through his example, people are able to see that it can be profitable, although difficult, to go outside of the box that people of Crusoe’s time seem to have locked themselves in.   Crusoe experiences changes in his attitude towards religion.   Even though there is no longer a physical church to attend a mass in, it is in his solitude and with a Bible in hand that he is able to commune with God and nature.    Some critics have noted this as a sign that â€Å"Robinson Crusoe† is a morality story which begins with disobedience and results to conversion. (The Development of the Novel)   What cannot be changed in Crusoe, however, is his humanity.   Humans still long for the company of other human beings.   He does meet and obtain the companionship of the native, Friday, but he is unused to the other man’s culture.   Crusoe later develops a more open-minded attitude towards other cultures because of his immersion into their worlds.   He even tries to understand the cannibalistic ways of the natives. Now, we look at â€Å"Gulliver’s Travels.†Ã‚   Gulliver’s adventures are more fantastical than Crusoe’s.   He encounters little people and giants, and other strange communities.   There must be a change in Gulliver after years of travelling to such places.   In fact, Gulliver has to adapt in each of the four places that he visits. Like Crusoe’s first voyage, Gulliver’s first venture is met with dangerous weather.   This results to his being shipwrecked in Lilliput, where he describes the people to be less than six inches tall. (Swift, 1962)   Gulliver has to convince the Lilliputians that he is harmless.   He later gains their trust and has become the community hero, having been able to help the little people against their rival, the Blefescudans. Gulliver no longer wants to comply with the Lilliputians’ further demands and has to flee to save his life.   After his stay in Lilliput, his numerous adventures include an encounter with giants who make him feel like a Lilliputian, and meeting horses who rule over Yahoos, who are uncivilized human beings. During the various encounters, Gulliver is introduced to different kinds of civilisations.   His understanding of what an empire is broadens, as he encounters the various kinds of kingdoms, with their unique beliefs and practices.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   â€Å"Gulliver’s Travels† is tagged as a satire; Critics believe in the need to study Jonathan Swift’s background in order to fully understand the historical context in which he is writing the novel.   Swift is reported to have prior political influence, when he was still supporting the Whig Party.   He shifts his alliance to the Tory Party upon hearing that the Whig Party is opposed to the Anglican Church.   When the Whig Party gains more influence, Swift loses his.   This is believed to have caused Swift’s hostility against the government in London. (Glasgow University Library)   The different characters within the various communities Gulliver encounters in the story are said to be based on real political figures. Lemuel Gulliver is altered by his many adventures.   He has learned that there is not just one type of community for which the others are based.   For each new place, he has to adapt in order to fit into the norm.   Each adaptation is a change in Gulliver.   In fact, his immersion into the world of Houyhnhnms, which are horse-like creatures, has even created a dislike for humans in him.   Gulliver has to re-accustom himself to life with ordinary people when he goes home. â€Å"My wife and family received me with great surprise and joy, because they concluded me certainly dead; but I must freely confess the sight of them filled me only with hatred, disgust, and contempt; and the more, by reflecting on the near alliance I had to them†. (Swift, 1962) This is proof enough that journeys can totally alter the traveller, as is with Gulliver who not only changes a bit but drastically. â€Å"It is easy for us who travel into remote countries, which are seldom visited by Englishmen or other Europeans, to form descriptions of wonderful animals both at sea and land. Whereas a traveller’s chief aim should be to make men wiser and better, and to improve their minds by the bad, as well as good, example of what they deliver concerning foreign places.† (Swift, 1962) The above declaration by Gulliver signifies his belief that the traveller can effect a change in how other people think.   Even in real societies, people who have experience living in, or visiting foreign places come back with new beliefs that either blend with or completely erase their old ones.   They may not be completely different people, because Robinson Crusoe still longs for the company of fellowmen, but there are definite changes.   Each experience in life leaves indelible marks in the person who goes through it. Moreover, Gulliver has to undergo an adjustment period after being almost chameleon-like in his adjustments in different civilisations.   Robinson Crusoe has to transition from his comfortable and secure life to a life that is at times spent in solitude and sometimes spent in danger.   He also becomes better in touch with his spiritual side, while becoming a person who can survive anywhere.   It can be then concluded that the two classic novels, â€Å"Gulliver’s Travels† and â€Å"Robinson Crusoe† support Steve Clark’s idea that journeying into unfamiliar territory will alter or change the traveller completely. References Bibliomania. (n.d.). Retrieved October 18, 2007, from Bibliomania: Free Online Literature and Study Guides: http://www.bibliomania.com/0/0/17/31/frameset.html Defoe, D. (n.d.). Robinson Crusoe. Retrieved October 17, 2007, from Dead Men Tell No Tales: http://www.deadmentellnotales.com/onlinetexts/robinson/crusoe.shtml Glasgow University Library. (n.d.). Special Collections Department. Retrieved October 18, 2007, from http://special.lib.gla.ac.uk/exhibns/month/jan2006.html Swift, J. (1962). Gulliver’s Travels and Other Writings. (M. K. Starkman, Ed.) New York: Bantam Books. The Development of the Novel. (n.d.). Retrieved October 18, 2007, from University of St. Andrews: http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/~cjmm/Crusoelec.html   

Assignment: Change and Innovation Essay

In today’s society companies are finding that it is more demanding that they make changes in certain departments or in the entire company. May managers are faced with the question, â€Å"How do I make successful changes? † Another issue company’s face is the resistance to changes by employees. How can a company reduce the resistance from employees? What role do human resources play in managing change? Change is a part of moving forward in the company and keeping the company successful in years to follow. To make successful changes managers, employees, and human resources need to work together in making those changes. In companies there are factors that create a need for change. Some changes are motivated from external forces, such as competition or updating technology. Other changes are motivated by internal forces, such as employee attitudes, new equipment, and redesigning of jobs. When implementing changes the person who implements those changes are called a change agent. A change agent can be a manager or a non-manager. Mangers make smaller, less drastic changes and are more cautious about the outcome. Non-managers tend to make larger, more drastic changes because they do not have to deal with the repercussion of the change (Robbins, DeCenzo, & Coulter, 2011). Once the manager or non-manager implements the changes or changes that need to take place they have to make sure that the plan is followed by employees to have the biggest chance of success. When implementing the change from regular medical record to electronic medical record the first thing that needs to happen is, the change agent needs to accept the change and communicate the importance to the employees. The electronic medical records will be more successful if the change agent recognizes the impact on staff and adopts an open policy if one is not already in place. Committing to an open environment will establish trust and open-door policies. Open-door policies allow feedback and allow for employees and change agents to give and receive feedback with less defensive approaches. Employees need to feel comfortable when change is being implemented, providing training and allowing them to be a part of the change process are ways to help them feel comfortable. Allowing employees to help with the change making decisions will help them to accept the change. Employees that work with the customer may also have better insight on how to better provide for the customers. Providing the employees with training on why and how the change to electronic medical records will be implemented and making sure they know what is going on will help keep the employee more comfortable about the process. Letting employees know that some failure is okay will help ease them when failure comes. Changing agents need to look at failure as a positive learning experience and encouraging them to think the same way. Taking these steps and recognizing the employees efforts along the way can have a huge effect on if the employee feels positive about the change or not. If these practices are not implemented then employees may resist the change (Richards, 2012). Some common reasons why employees resist change are because they are afraid of the uncertainty, they may fear that the change will not work, change interrupts habit, and they may lose personal benefits or have personal losses due to the change. If an employee is not trained or allowed to give feedback they may resist changes due to uncertainty. Employees need to be trained on the reasons for the changing to the electronic system as well as how to use the system. Training employees may ease them out of their habit of the old way and into accepting the change and creating a new habit around this change. When a change in implemented in a company the employees resist the change due to the fear of the loss of status, money, or benefits they were getting from the old system. Employees should be told what changes will affect them personally and be allowed to give feedback on ways to minimize loses. All changes should be expressed in positive ways to help employees deal with their fears. Open-door policies and encouraging feedback will help with minimizing employees’ fears and resistance to change. Being proactive and allowing the employees give ideas for the change, along with supporting employees during and after the change will help resistance of employees be minimized (Robbins, DeCenzo, & Coulter, 2011). Human Resources (HR’s) also play a role in managing change. HR’s can act as the change agent and overlook the whole change process. HR’s can be in charge of setting a strategy, facilitating, training, and monitoring employee engagement, input and feedback. If a company does not feel that they want HR’s be in charge of the whole change then they may ask them to play no role at all or to evaluate the change effort once the change is complete. HR’s may have a small role or a big role in the change process at a company. Many companies are starting to give HR’s bigger roles and allowing them to be part of the change (APQC, 2012). Human Resources, manager, and even non-managers can implement change in a company. It is up to the person who is implementing the change to communicate, train, and support employees so that they feel comfortable with the change. Allowing HR’s and employees to be a part of the change can help everyone feel more at ease with the change. Failure should always be a learning experience and if a change agent gives employees a positive outlook and support while making the change then resistance will be minimized.

Free Essays on What I Hate The Most

I was once told â€Å"some people think that holding on makes us strong but sometimes it is letting go.† I hate that I can’ let go of the past. There is always something throughout my day that brings back a memory from my past. I know it’s impossible to turn back time but sometimes I wish I could. It’s the little things that I hate like when I hear a certain song that reminds me of my ex boyfriend or when I look at pictures from sleep away camp and begin to cry because of the summers I’m missing with some of my best friends. I wish it was easy to let go of the past but it’s so hard to leave something behind that meant and still means so much to me. I hate that every time I hear a song, it somehow links my past to my present. I don’t want to forget the memories of my past but be able to let go of the impossible. I need to realize that I have to grow up and cannot keep on going to sleep away camp every summer forever. I have to accept the fact that it’s impossible to always get what I want. I know I have to take on the responsibility of a job and make money but I always wish I could turn back time to my summers back at Camp Poyntelle Lewis Village. They were the best five summers of my life. No one will ever understand my experience but going away for two months with no worries ever on my mind was the most amazing feeling in the world. I hate that every night, this being my first summer home, I thought about what my camp friends were doing in Pennsylvania while I was home in East Meadow. I will never forget the friends I made there but it’s just so hard to hear that they had the most amazing summer and I was n’t there. I hate that I missed every minute of my first summer as a counselor. I hate listening to their songs from the summer and having them talk about all of the other new counselors they met from all over the world. I hate the fact that I still think about sleep away camp knowing that I will never return. It’... Free Essays on What I Hate The Most Free Essays on What I Hate The Most I was once told â€Å"some people think that holding on makes us strong but sometimes it is letting go.† I hate that I can’ let go of the past. There is always something throughout my day that brings back a memory from my past. I know it’s impossible to turn back time but sometimes I wish I could. It’s the little things that I hate like when I hear a certain song that reminds me of my ex boyfriend or when I look at pictures from sleep away camp and begin to cry because of the summers I’m missing with some of my best friends. I wish it was easy to let go of the past but it’s so hard to leave something behind that meant and still means so much to me. I hate that every time I hear a song, it somehow links my past to my present. I don’t want to forget the memories of my past but be able to let go of the impossible. I need to realize that I have to grow up and cannot keep on going to sleep away camp every summer forever. I have to accept the fact that it’s impossible to always get what I want. I know I have to take on the responsibility of a job and make money but I always wish I could turn back time to my summers back at Camp Poyntelle Lewis Village. They were the best five summers of my life. No one will ever understand my experience but going away for two months with no worries ever on my mind was the most amazing feeling in the world. I hate that every night, this being my first summer home, I thought about what my camp friends were doing in Pennsylvania while I was home in East Meadow. I will never forget the friends I made there but it’s just so hard to hear that they had the most amazing summer and I was n’t there. I hate that I missed every minute of my first summer as a counselor. I hate listening to their songs from the summer and having them talk about all of the other new counselors they met from all over the world. I hate the fact that I still think about sleep away camp knowing that I will never return. It’...

Muselmann in Nazi Concentration Camps

Muselmann in Nazi Concentration Camps During the Holocaust, Muselmann, sometimes called â€Å"Moslem,† was a slang term that referred to a prisoner in a Nazi concentration camp that was in very poor physical condition and had given up the will to live. A Muselmann was seen as the â€Å"walking dead† or a â€Å"wandering corpse† whose remaining time on Earth was very short.   How a Prisoner Became a Muselmann It was not difficult for concentration camp prisoners to slip into this condition. Rations in even the harshest labor camps were very limited and clothing did not adequately protect prisoners from the elements. These poor conditions plus long hours of forced labor caused prisoners to burn essential calories just to regulate body temperature.  Weight loss occurred rapidly and the metabolic systems of many prisoners were not strong enough to sustain a body on such limited caloric intake.   Additionally, daily humiliations and torture transformed even the banalest tasks into difficult chores. Shaving had to be done with a piece of glass. Shoelaces broke and were not replaced. A lack of toilet paper, no winter clothes to wear in the snow, and no water to clean oneself were just a few of the everyday hygiene problems suffered by camp inmates. Just as important as these harsh conditions was the lack of hope. Concentration camp prisoners had no idea how long their ordeal would last. Since each day felt like a week, the years felt like decades. For many, the lack of hope destroyed their will to live. It was when a prisoner was ill, starving, and without hope that they would fall into the Muselmann state. This condition was both physical and psychological, making a Muselmann lose all desire to live.  Survivors speak of a strong desire to avoid slipping into this category, as chances of survival once one reached that point were almost non-existent.   Once one became a Muselmann, one simply died shortly thereafter. Sometimes they died during the daily routine or the prisoner might be placed in the camp hospital to silently expire. Since a Muselmann was lethargic and could no longer work, the Nazis found them unuseful. Thus, especially at some of the larger camps, a Muselmann would be chosen during a Selektion to be gassed, even if gassing was not part of the primary purpose of the camp establishment. Where the Muselmann Term Came From The term â€Å"Muselmann† is a frequently occurring word in Holocaust testimony, but it is one whose origins are highly unclear.  The German and Yiddish translations of the term â€Å"Muselmann† corresponds with the term â€Å"Muslim.† Several pieces of survivor literature, including that of Primo Levi, also relay this translation.   The word is also commonly misspelled as Musselman, Musselmann, or Muselman.  Some believe that the term originated from the crouched, almost prayer-like stance that individuals in this condition took on; thus bringing forth the image of a Muslim in prayer.   The term spread throughout the Nazi camp system and is found in survivor reflections of experiences in a large number of camps throughout occupied Europe. Although the use of the term was widespread, the largest numbers of known recollections that use the term include a stop in Auschwitz.  Since the Auschwitz complex often acted as a clearinghouse for laborers to other camps, it is not unthinkable that it the term originated there.   A Muselmann Song Muselmnner (the plural of â€Å"Muselmann†) were prisoners that were both pitied and avoided. In the dark humor of the camps, some prisoners even parodied them. For instance, in Sachsenhausen, the term inspired a song among Polish inmates, with credit for the composition going to a political prisoner named Aleksander Kulisiewicz.   Kulisiewicz is said to have created the song (and a subsequent dance) after his own experience with a Muselmann in his barracks in July 1940.  In 1943, finding a further audience in newly-arrived Italian prisoners, he added additional lyrics and gestures. In the song, Kulisiewicz sings about the horrible conditions within the camp. All of this takes its toll on a prisoner, singing, â€Å"I’m so light, so slight, so empty-headed†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Then the prisoner loses his grip on reality, contrasting a strange giddiness with his poor state of health, singing, â€Å"Yippee! Yahoo! Look, I’m dancing! / I’m retching warm blood.† The song ends with the Muselmann singing, â€Å"Mama, my mama, let me gently die.†

Abbott Costello - Whos on First

Abbott Costello Whos On First Abbott: Well Costello, Im going to New York with you. You know Bucky Harris, the Yanks manager, gave me a job as coach for as long as youre on the team. Costello: Look Abbott, if youre the coach, you must know all the players. Abbott: I certainly do. Costello: Well, you know Ive never met the guys. So youll have to tell me their names, and then Ill know whos playing on the team. Abbott: Oh, Ill Ill tell you their names, but you know, strange as it may seem, they give these ball players now-a-days very peculiar names. Costello: You mean funny names? Abbott: Strange names, pet names like Dizzy Dean. Costello: His brother Daffy. Abbott: Daffy Dean. Costello: And their French cousin. Abbott: French? Costello: Goofà ¨. Abbott: Goofà ¨ Dean! Oh, I see. Well, lets see, we have on the bags we have Whos on first, Whats on second, I Dont Know is on third. Costello: Thats what I want to find out. Abbott: I say Whos on first, Whats on second, I Dont Knows on third. Costello: Are you the manager? Abbott: Yes. Costello: You gonna be the coach too? Abbott: Yes. Costello: And you dont know the fellows names? Abbott: Well, I should. Costello: Well, then, whos on first? Abbott: Yes. Costello: I mean the fellows name. Abbott: Who. Costello: The guy on first. Abbott: Who. Costello: The first baseman. Abbott: Who! Costello: The guy playing Abbott: Who is on first! Costello: Im asking YOU whos on first. Abbott: Thats the mans name. Costello: Thats whos name? Abbott: Yes. Costello: Well go ahead and tell me. Abbott: Thats it. Costello: Thats who? Abbott: Yes. Costello: Look, you gotta first baseman? Abbott: Certainly. Costello: Whos playing first? Abbott: Thats right. Costello: When you pay off the first baseman every month, who gets the money? Abbott: Every dollar of it. Costello: All Im trying to find out is the fellows name on first base. Abbott: Who. Costello: The guy that gets the money. Abbott: Thats it. Costello: Who gets the money on first Abbott: He does, every dollar. Sometimes his wife comes down and collects it. Costello: Whose wife? Abbott: Yes. Abbott: Whats wrong with that? Costello: Look, all I wanna know is when you sign up the first baseman, how does he sign his name to the contract? Abbott: Who. Costello: The guy. Abbott: Who. Costello: How does he sign his Abbott: Thats how he signs it. Costello: Who? Abbott: Yes. Costello: All Im trying to find out is whats the guys name on first base? Abbott: No. What is on second base. Costello: Im not asking you whos on second. Abbott: Whos on first. Costello: One base at a time! Abbott: Well, dont change the players around. Costello: Im not changing nobody! Abbott: Take it easy, buddy. Costello: Im only asking you, whos the guy on first base? Abbott: Thats right. Costello: Ok. Abbott: All right. Costello: I mean whats the guys name on first base? Abbott: No, what is on second. Costello: Im not asking you whos on second. Abbott: Whos on first. Costello: I dont know. Abbott: Oh, hes on third. Were not talking about him. Costello: Now how did I get on third base? Abbott: Why you mentioned his name. Costello: If I mentioned the third basemans name, who did I say is playing third? Abbott: No. Whos playing first. Costello: Whats on first? Abbott: Whats on second. Costello: I dont know. Abbott: Hes on third. Costello: There I go, back on third again! Costello: Look, would you stay on third base and dont go off it. Abbott: All right, what do you want to know? Costello: Now whos playing third base? Abbott: Why do you insist on putting Who on third base? Costello: What am I putting on third? Abbott: No. What is on second. Costello: You dont want who on second? Abbott: Who is on first. Costello: I dont know. Abbott Costello: Third base!! Costello: Look, you gotta outfield? Abbott: Sure. Costello: The left fielders name? Abbott: Why. Costello: I just thought Id ask you. Abbott: Well, I just thought Id tell ya. Costello: Then tell me whos playing left field? Abbott: Who is playing first. Costello: Im not Stay out of the infield!! I wanna to know whats the guys name in left field? Abbott: No, What is on second. Costello: Im not asking you whos on second. Abbott: Whos on first! Costello: I dont know. Abbott Costello: Third base!! Costello: And the left fielders name?! Abbott: Why. Costello: Because! Abbott: Oh, hes centerfield. Costello: Look, look, look You gotta pitcher on the team? Abbott: Sure. Costello: The pitchers name? Abbott: Tomorrow. Costello: You dont want to tell me today? Abbott: Im telling you now. Costello: Then go ahead. Abbott: Tomorrow! Costello: What time? Abbott: What time what? Costello: What time tomorrow are you gonna tell me whos pitching? Abbott: Now listen. Who is not pitching! Who is Costello: Ill break your arm, you say whos on first! I want to know whats the pitchers name? Abbott: Whats on second. Costello: I dont know. Abbott Costello: Third base!! Costello: Gotta a catcher? Abbott: Certainly. Costello: The catchers name? Abbott: Today. Costello: Today, and tomorrows pitching. Abbott: Now youve got it. Costello: All we got is a couple of days on the team. Costello: You know Im a catcher too. Abbott: So they tell me. Costello: I get behind the plate, do some fancy catching, tomorrows pitching on my team and a heavy hitter gets up. Abbott: Yes? Costello: Now, the heavy hitter bunts the ball. When he bunts the ball, me, being a good catcher, Im gonna throw the guy out at first base. So I pick up the ball and throw it to who? Abbott: Now thats the first thing youve said right. Costello: I dont even know what Im talking about!! Abbott: Thats all you have to do. Costello: Is to throw the ball to first base. Abbott: Yes! Costello: Now whos got it? Abbott: Naturally. Costello: Look, if I throw the ball to first base, somebodys gotta get it. Now who has it? Abbott: Naturally. Costello: Who? Abbott: Naturally. Costello: Naturally? Abbott: Naturally. Costello: So I pick up the ball and I throw it to Naturally. Abbott: No you dont! You throw the ball to Who. Costello: Naturally. Abbott: Thats different. Costello: Thats what I said. Abbott: Youre not saying that. Costello: I throw the ball to Naturally. Abbott: You throw it to Who. Costello: Naturally. Abbott: Thats it. Costello: Thats what I said! Abbott: You ask me. Costello: I throw the ball to who? Abbott: Naturally. Costello: Now you ask me. Abbott: You throw the ball to Who? Costello: Naturally. Abbott: Thats it. Costello: Same as you! Abbott: Dont change it around. Costello: Same as you! Abbott: Go ahead now. Costello: I throw the ball to who. Whoever it is drops the ball and the guy runs to second. Abbott: Yes. Costello: Who picks up the ball and throws it to What. What throws it to I Dont Know. I Dont Know throws it back to Tomorrow triple play. Another guy gets up and hits a long fly ball to Because. Why? I dont know! Hes on third and I dont give a darn! Abbott: What? Costello: I said I dont give a darn! Abbott: Oh, thats our shortstop.

Should my profession get license Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Should my profession get license - Essay Example Hence, this is a high responsibility job. Therefore, should healthcare administration professionals get license? According to me, healthcare administration must be viewed as a managerial job equivalent to a managerial position in any other industry. Healthcare administration degree must be treated equivalent to a MBA degree. Yes, healthcare industry is dynamic and also sensitive due to its nature. But, healthcare administrators will not make an impact as that of a medical professional like a doctor or a nurse. Hence, a license must not be required to become a healthcare administration professional. A healthcare professional must have understanding of the law. Healthcare administrator with good understanding of the law will not only be able to protect himself but also their employers and even the patients (Gassiot et al., 2010). They must be tested to ensure that they are competent of doing the job and can handle the responsibility, But a license should not be mandatory to become a healthcare

Knowledge and Horizon of Ignorance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Knowledge and Horizon of Ignorance - Essay Example The similarity between the definition for knowledge and that of ignorance is that both involve the need to understand (or not) of a "subject" or "something". This writer believes there are two keys points that provide direction to this essay statement. The first point is that there must be a purpose for expanding the field of knowledge. Working towards understanding a purpose or subject can only reduce the lack of knowledge in that specific area, and, as a result, reduce the horizon of ignorance. Secondly, while field of knowledge is most commonly understood to encompass the compartmentalized areas of pursuits like mathematics, natural and human sciences, history, the arts, and ethics, it must also be noted that without the ability to justify the knowledge within these fields (often using self-awareness, intuition, faith, and logic, authority) and form a point of view, knowledge is useless and the horizon for ignorance increases. In this instance, the word horizon refers to the "boun dary where the sky seems to meet the ground or sea, where the higher the observer (or the more a person expands the field of knowledge without a purpose and justifiable claim), the lower and more distant is his visible horizon (the more a person's ignorance increases, or horizon of ignorance increases)." (Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary 2008) Essentially, the increase in the horizon of ignorance happens only if the expansion in the field of knowledge is not accompanied with a purpose that is justified with an achieved point of view. Therefore, this writer believes the essay statement to be untrue. While the opening argument for this essay uses another of Henry Miller's quotes to make a point, critics who are familiar with Miller's life work might also argue that the range of this man's work may not necessarily reflect a purpose in expanding his field of knowledge which is predominantly in writing. Miller was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1891, and died in 1980 in Los Angeles California. Between his birth and death, Miller lived in Paris so he could fuel his charismatic rebelliousness, albeit in destitute and depended on the charity of his friends. The French Surrealists and the Dadaism movement heavily influenced Miller, and this led him to write a number of novels, including Tropic of Cancer, Black Spring, and Tropic of Capricorn, which challenged American cultural values and moral attitudes through the discussion of sexual subjects (Miller, Henry). In his professional lifetime, Miller wrote novels that were banned in the United States on the grounds of obscenity, played the piano, painted, wrote plays and had a part in a film. While it is difficult to understand the motivation behind Miller's zest for the varied subjects of concentration, it should be noted that even with his rebellious background, his forward-looking attitude provided a purpose for pursuing each field and could justify each need as

Effectiveness of maggot therapy for chronic wounds Essay

Effectiveness of maggot therapy for chronic wounds - Essay Example Much has been written about this treatment method, however, the current knowledge of Maggot Debridement Therapy (MDT) should be based on clinical observations rather than theoretical assumptions. The aim of this research is to present the general overview of the current status of MDT, outline its effectiveness and highlight the need for further clinical research. Maggot therapy is widely implemented by many trusts in the UK as the cost effective wound healing management in the cases of ulcer debridement with successful results. The clinical results of MDT include efficient debridement, reduction in bacterial content and infection, and enhancement of granulation tissue formation in the wide range of pathologies. It is reported to be highly effective in the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers. Podiatry, in particular, aims to manage and treat the high-risk patients with chronic wounds in the lower limb. Just to mention, 80% of diabetic related amputations has suffered deteriorating ulcers with deep infections and gangrene. Podiatrists use Maggot Therapy for having effective antibacterial properties on the wounds, which failed to respond to convenient treatment at the early stage of treatment.

Critically Appraised Topic (CAT) Paper Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Critically Appraised Topic (CAT) Paper - Article Example The CEO was also accused of using $31 million to acquire a private jet. These and a host of other problems from the corporate world have been around for long and the result is the reduced employee performance because they do not trust their leaders. This is why leaders from non-profit organizations have the obligation of demonstrating that they are accountable, honest and respectful. Based on the research findings, it seems that only through ethical leadership can charitable organizations in America maintain the trust from the public. To understand the importance of ethical leadership, it is imperative to know how this type of leadership influences employees’ voice in non-profit organizations in America. c) Study Mechanisms: Comparative studies of any study mechanisms examining if leaders in different non-profit organizations in America behave in an ethical manner and their influence on employee freedom. On the left-hand side of the search results page, I selected the box next to the Scholarly (Peer Reviewed) journals limiter and updated my results. In some cases, I was able to find the journal articles. However, in some cases, I was not able to obtain the full text of the article. To obtain the full text of the article, I first clicked on the Find It tab button in the articles record. By doing this, I was directed to the Find It window that indicates that the full-text article was not available from any of the UMUC librarys databases. Nonetheless, it meant that I could use the Librarys DocumentExpress service to request a PDF. While I started synthesizing the evidences from the searches, I explored evidences based on Evidence-Based management’s suggestion (2014), which involves asking, acquiring, appraising, aggregating, applying, and assessing. I did this with the aim of enhancing the chance to support my research context and get the evidence that could answer my

The Pricing of Health Costs and its Effect on the Poor in the United Dissertation - 2

The Pricing of Health Costs and its Effect on the Poor in the United States - Dissertation Example It researches the relationship between socio-economic cause, conditions, and health. Financial Stress and Living Expenses Health costs have been on the rise for many years. In 2008 it crossed $2.3 trillion, three times higher than $714 billion in 1990, and eight times higher than what was spent in 1980, which was up to $253 billion. Controlling the health costs has been a primary policy preference of the US government. The speed of rising health costs added with the economic recession and increased federal deficit has stressed the government systems. A number of causes have been identified of rising health costs, which include: Technology and Prescription drugs Chronic disease Aging of the population The US has been o the top of all industrialized countries in the matter of individual spending on health care approximately $7,681, which reaches to 16.2% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Controlling the health care costs is very urgent in the country’s larger interests for economic stability and growth (Kimbuende et al., 2010). The ever-increasing health costs have become an alarming social, economic and political issue in the US. The government policy on health reforms so far has not helped in effectively chasing the cost because of wrong strategies. The US should learn from other countries; how they have been successful in reducing heath costs. Obama government has taken the initiative of approaching the issue by improving health outcomes among other strategies, as promised to control rising health costs in the 2008 presidential election (Marmor et al., 2009). In tax-favored â€Å"health reimbursement accounts (HRA),† funds of employees with added contributions by employers have affected the poor people with the cost-sharing arrangement by shifting costly insurance types to them. Tensions have risen on health care costs as employees wages are not increasing in proportion as health costs have been increasing. It becomes evident from the fact that since 1999 family premiums for employer supported health insurance has increased by 131 percent putting additional burden on low-salaried employees. It has affected the poor in the US shelling more from their pockets on high premiums. According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Office of the Actuary, National Health Statistics Group, only hospital care and physician services form more than half of the nation’s total health care spending. Any federal level health reform should give top priority to reducing health costs (Kimbuende et al., 2010). Some of the related questions include: 1. Do money and quality of life affect the cost of health? 2. What effect does income level on medical treatment have on the poor? 3. Do financial stress, out of pocket payment, and loss of income reduce hospital visits for the poor? What impact the increasing cost of healthcare is having on the poor people? Healthcare pricing is shrouded in mystery because provi ders don’t show transparency of payments received. Insurance companies also do not share the payments with the customers. â€Å"Sticker prices† pasted on care provider websites are generally more than paid by insurance companies. Some of the US states like New Hampshire, Maine, Oregon and Massachusetts provide

Effectiveness of maggot therapy for chronic wounds Essay

Effectiveness of maggot therapy for chronic wounds - Essay Example Much has been written about this treatment method, however, the current knowledge of Maggot Debridement Therapy (MDT) should be based on clinical observations rather than theoretical assumptions. The aim of this research is to present the general overview of the current status of MDT, outline its effectiveness and highlight the need for further clinical research. Maggot therapy is widely implemented by many trusts in the UK as the cost effective wound healing management in the cases of ulcer debridement with successful results. The clinical results of MDT include efficient debridement, reduction in bacterial content and infection, and enhancement of granulation tissue formation in the wide range of pathologies. It is reported to be highly effective in the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers. Podiatry, in particular, aims to manage and treat the high-risk patients with chronic wounds in the lower limb. Just to mention, 80% of diabetic related amputations has suffered deteriorating ulcers with deep infections and gangrene. Podiatrists use Maggot Therapy for having effective antibacterial properties on the wounds, which failed to respond to convenient treatment at the early stage of treatment.

The Pricing of Health Costs and its Effect on the Poor in the United Dissertation - 2

The Pricing of Health Costs and its Effect on the Poor in the United States - Dissertation Example It researches the relationship between socio-economic cause, conditions, and health. Financial Stress and Living Expenses Health costs have been on the rise for many years. In 2008 it crossed $2.3 trillion, three times higher than $714 billion in 1990, and eight times higher than what was spent in 1980, which was up to $253 billion. Controlling the health costs has been a primary policy preference of the US government. The speed of rising health costs added with the economic recession and increased federal deficit has stressed the government systems. A number of causes have been identified of rising health costs, which include: Technology and Prescription drugs Chronic disease Aging of the population The US has been o the top of all industrialized countries in the matter of individual spending on health care approximately $7,681, which reaches to 16.2% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Controlling the health care costs is very urgent in the country’s larger interests for economic stability and growth (Kimbuende et al., 2010). The ever-increasing health costs have become an alarming social, economic and political issue in the US. The government policy on health reforms so far has not helped in effectively chasing the cost because of wrong strategies. The US should learn from other countries; how they have been successful in reducing heath costs. Obama government has taken the initiative of approaching the issue by improving health outcomes among other strategies, as promised to control rising health costs in the 2008 presidential election (Marmor et al., 2009). In tax-favored â€Å"health reimbursement accounts (HRA),† funds of employees with added contributions by employers have affected the poor people with the cost-sharing arrangement by shifting costly insurance types to them. Tensions have risen on health care costs as employees wages are not increasing in proportion as health costs have been increasing. It becomes evident from the fact that since 1999 family premiums for employer supported health insurance has increased by 131 percent putting additional burden on low-salaried employees. It has affected the poor in the US shelling more from their pockets on high premiums. According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Office of the Actuary, National Health Statistics Group, only hospital care and physician services form more than half of the nation’s total health care spending. Any federal level health reform should give top priority to reducing health costs (Kimbuende et al., 2010). Some of the related questions include: 1. Do money and quality of life affect the cost of health? 2. What effect does income level on medical treatment have on the poor? 3. Do financial stress, out of pocket payment, and loss of income reduce hospital visits for the poor? What impact the increasing cost of healthcare is having on the poor people? Healthcare pricing is shrouded in mystery because provi ders don’t show transparency of payments received. Insurance companies also do not share the payments with the customers. â€Å"Sticker prices† pasted on care provider websites are generally more than paid by insurance companies. Some of the US states like New Hampshire, Maine, Oregon and Massachusetts provide

Request for Proposal Essay Example for Free

Request for Proposal Essay Introduction/General Overview of the RFP The Proposal will be aimed at inviting trainers to submit a proposal for the opportunity to train our staff on the use of Microsoft Office through a competitive and rigorous bidding process. Bidding has proved to be the best way to get the best vendors for this form of training since it will leverage the company’s purchasing power and negotiating ability with suppliers (Porter-Roth, 2001). Farmers Insurance Group is the company requesting the proposals. The company is looking for trainers to properly train new employees on the use of Microsoft office Applications proficiently which include Word, Excel, and Power Point Applications. The training will also require some basic training on software and the computers. Organizational Overview For more than eight decades, Farmers has been helping Americans get back where they belong after lifes unexpected events. Our story began with the simple goal of insuring the vehicles of rural farmers, but as the world changed, so did we. Our co-founder John C. Tyler once said, â€Å"The measure of our worth is not what we have done for ourselves, but what we have done for others.† Farmer’s agents, district managers and employees make up what we call the Farmers Family, and as a family we’re proud to give back to our communities. (Farmers.com) Course Description The course will include the basic training of employee’s and staff on the use of Microsoft office programs. Before training the employee’s will take training for the basics on computer software and hardware as well as the basics for computer operations such as hardware maintenance and software installation. Requirements for the Project The project is basically gong to involve the training of new consulting agents in the use of Microsoft Office Programs. The requirements for the course are divided in these units. Introduction to Computer Operations This section will introduce the general operations and concepts in order to make the staff proficient in the use of computers. It will also introduce the staff to general software and hardware. Microsoft Word Proficiency This part of the training will train on the concepts of word processing and finally get into Microsoft Word, which is efficient and effective word processing software. A tutorial may be needed for the students to follow before and after class. The tutorial will include practice exercises, remedial strategies, as well as revision questions. A clear voicing system will also be required for the students to properly communicate well with their instructors (Bott, 1996). Microsoft Excel Proficiency In this unit of training the students will learn the concepts of spreadsheet management with an emphasis on Microsoft Excel. It will also include the software for insurance sales management. There will be a number of assessment test and final examination at the end of the training. There will be a number of practical exercises to help with the mastery of the concepts in the package. Power Point Proficiency This unit of the course will help to equip the students with presentation skills with an emphasis on Microsoft Power Point. The training will include micro-projects for the students to take, which will be aimed at the various aspects of the software. These micro-projects will form the major part of the continuous assessment, with the final examination forming a much smaller percentage (Bott, 1996). Examination and Testing At the end of the training the students will be examined and tested on each course to establish their mastery of the program. Although the Power Point unit will require a digital projector for the final examination. Electronic Reference Library The library will serve as a reference after the training has been completed. The library will include a word search capability and hypertext. User Documentation This section will explain and provide information on use and maintenance, applications and programs, and installation. This will be for the maintenance and installation for the application package suite and the operating system. Proposal Submission Deadline All proposals should be received no later than August 1, 2012. Any proposal received after this date will not be considered. Submission Instructions The proposal should also include a technical section and a time cost section. The time cost section should include the vendor’s time table to have the project completed. The technical section should include information such as required staff, timelines, and schedules to have the project completed.

Importance of Ground Investigations in Site Investigations

Importance of Ground Investigations in Site Investigations Geotechnical report Ali Aleffar Contents Introduction: Site investigation procedure Stage 1 — desk study and reconnaissance survey Stage 2 – Ground investigation, analysis and laboratory test Phase 1 or intrusive (sampling) Photographs Phase 2 non-intrusive or Geophysical site exploration. Laboratory Testing Stage 3 — the site investigation report REPORT OUTLINE Subsurface Situations Design Recommendations Geotechnical failure example: Critical Analysis: Recommendations: Conclusion: References: Introduction: In order to specify the geotechnical and geoenvironmental issues in the context of the suggested end-use of the site, site investigation can be done for this purpose. A geotechnical site investigation is the process of collecting information and evaluating the conditions of the site for the purpose of designing and constructing the foundation for a structure, such as a building, plant or bridge, In addition to that this report contains the site investigation procedure and how the mistakes in site investigation process may lead to a disaster such as what the example below illustrates, collapsing of an important building after executing a subway tunnel under its area, the reasons behind that and how the poorly-done site investigation or following the standard without taming the procedure to proper the environment and circumstances of the project. Good planning for and management of a geotechnical site investigation is the key to obtaining sufficient and correct site information for des igning a structure in a timely manner and with minimum cost for the effort needed. Site investigation procedure To carry out the site investigation procedure there are 4 stages to do: Stage 1 — desk study and reconnaissance survey Stage 2 —ground investigation, analysis and laboratory test Stage 3 — report Stage 4 — design and materials recommendation. [[ONLINE] Available at: http://www.rsa-geotechnics.co.uk/pages.asp?fld_pages_ID=51. [Accessed 18 February 2015]] Stage 1 — Desk study and reconnaissance survey â€Å"Time spent in reconnaissance is never wasted†. The purpose of the desk study is to identify change in land use, via Ordinance Survey maps, Kellys Trade Directories and other historical publicly available records In addition to walkover survey. The history of the site and what it is used for and if whether if it has contaminated the soil and how deep it has effected it. Using satellite imaging, Geological maps, Topographic maps, Soil survey maps, Aerial photographs and existing site investigation reports. [GEOTECHNICAL SITE INVESTIGATION GUIDELINES FOR BUILDING FOUNDATIONS IN PERMAFROST. 2010.] Stage 2 – Ground investigation, analysis and laboratory test Ground investigation or site exploration can be classified into two phases: Phase 1 or intrusive (sampling) It is important that a geotechnical specialist or an engineer with knowledge and skills to document soil stratigraphy, their variations, and the existence of a specific circumstance to observe the progress of test holes advance. 1.5 m is the depth intervals that samples should be taken and sealed in plastic bags for transport to a laboratory for testing. Disturbed samples are derived from backhoe and air-track and auger drills. In addition, representative broken/disturbed samples should be collected to provide samples at 1.5 m depth intervals for laboratory testing in addition to get a well representative sample the following sampling-Disturbed samples undisturbed samples- some methods are used: Trial pits Hand excavated boreholes Cable percussion boring Rotary drilling Sonic drilling Photographs Photographs can document the site and the drill equipment in work progress. In addition, it must be taken of representative disturbed samples and all soil and rock cores. [Smiths elements of soil mechanics, 2014.] Phase 2 non-intrusive or Geophysical site exploration. Boring and test pits afford definitive subsurface exploration. They can, however, be both time consuming and costly. In addition, they give subsurface conditions only at boring or test pit locations, leaving massive areas in between for which conditions must be interpolated or appraised. Geophysical techniques, which are commonly used in highway work and in other applications, can be executed faster, less expensively and greater area can be covered more thoroughly, however, obtaining soil samples are still required from which precise determinations of soil properties can be made in order to verify and complement result obtained by geophysical methods. Two particular geophysical methods that are seismic refraction (Fig1) and electrical resistivity. Resistance of soil to movement of an electrical current is determined. Using values obtained therefrom, the depth and thickness of different soil strata can be interpreted by specialists and estimated, with the aid of additional borings, some of the engineering properties of the subsurface material. [SOILS AND FOUNDATIONS, 2001.] Fig.1 (seismic refraction) Laboratory Testing Laboratory tests to obtain key properties of the ground will be adequate in the majority of geotechnical site investigations. The index properties will be obtained by means of: Water content, particle size distribution, liquid, and plastic limit tests. Laboratory testing for engineering properties may be required for large buildings on complex circumstances of the ground stratigraphy. The types of engineering tests that may be conducted are consolidation, and less likely, creep strength and thermal properties tests. Stage 3 — the site investigation report The key issues that should be noted shall be: a) Project description restated; b) Characterize the site so that surrounding conditions that may influence the design and performance of the building footing are understood and designed for; c) The projected end of the building service life State the present and, climate and ground temperatures; d) Classify the soil strata according to recognized Euro code and BS, based on quantitative laboratory results; e) State the significance of the stratigraphy established by the test hole program, measured ground temperature and the impact of climate warming rate on the recommended building foundation design(s); f) Identify foundation options proper for the proposed service life of the building; and g) Provide guidance for the construction and construction scheduling of the foundation for the building. [GEOTECHNICAL SITE INVESTIGATION GUIDELINES FOR BUILDING FOUNDATIONS IN PERMAFROST. 2010.] REPORT OUTLINE The requested terms of the investigation are the main specifications that the content of the report depends on, the magnitude and difficulty of the structure, and the site condition. Hence, contents and detail of the reports may contrast. The outline provides general contents based on literature and the writer’s experience. Structure information/necessities and building engineering design that the architect/design engineer provide. Testing and classification of the soils should be based on internationally recognized criterions. Engineering properties and foundation design requirements to take into consideration the service life of the proposed structure and the potential impact of climate warming. In addition, should contains the following: Introduction It is suggested that the report is prepared to provide information to the property owner, architect/design engineer and the contractor. As such, the introduction should make sufficient reference to: The requested terms of reference of the investigation, and Scope of work provided in satisfying the requested terms of reference. Background The background provides the physical situation of the project and should include: Projected Structure Detail of the structure guides the extent and detail of investigation. Thus, the architect/engineer should provide the information. Technical detail of the proposed structure, for instance, single or multi-story, plan area, above ground, slab-on grade, or with basement. Service life of the planned structure; e.g., 20, 50 years or more. Geological Situation Overview of the site as provided by geomorphology and bedrock geology obtained from previous investigations and published information. Land Description of surface features of the immediate site that should include topography, vegetation and neighbouring structures. Hydrology and Immediate Surface Drainage Water existence and surface flow may affect the design of surface grading and effect the ground temperatures. Subsurface Situations Investigation Program Summary Includes a description of the method/s used to evaluate the ground situations, equipment that have to be used, test holes number, dates achieved, and laboratory tests conducted. Detailed description of these should be presented in the Appendix, prior to the field logs and laboratory testing. Design Recommendations The report should recommend the best foundation design suite the established ground conditions and the structure criteria [GEOTECHNICAL SITE INVESTIGATION GUIDELINES FOR BUILDING FOUNDATIONS IN PERMAFROST. 2010.] [Smiths elements of soil mechanics, 2014.] Geotechnical failure example: Collapsed archive and a neighbouring building, March 2009 On 3rd of March 2009 at 13:58, the archive building collapsed (The archive was Germanys largest municipal archive, and the only one to survive World War II intact). Two adjacent apartment buildings also collapsed, killing two residents. The Cologne Historical Archive, suddenly disappeared into a cloud of dust and a pile of rubble. After the sounds of buckling began, archive staff and visitors had enough time to escape the building, but its vast historical holdings did not prove as fortunate. Flooding into the building pit was noticed that water. The building workers rapidly warned the staff and visitors of the archive, who evacuated the building. Shortly subsequently, the archive building collapsed as a result of an underground landslide hooked on the subway tunnel.as shown in the picture below: Google map for the collapsed building location Two people were stuck under the debris and on person was thought to be missed. The disaster has left residents in the city, shaken and angry. A nearby school remains evacuated and apartments next to the archive were also sucked into the 28-meter sinkhole. Many locals were afraid of the next accident. The collapse also heavily damaged several surrounding apartment houses as well. The heaviest part of the tunnel construction was supposedly completed 1-year earlier, but the tunnel floor had not been finished. The tunnel and station has been a controversial project in Cologne, with problems occurring as early as 2004 when a church steeple began experiencing tilt of 77-cm, greater than 15 times what was predicted. [[Online]http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/cologne-archive-catastrophe-were-subway-builders-cautious-enough-a-612129.html][Accessed 15 February]] Critical Analysis: After the starting of new underground tunnel work many problems has been observed by residents and building workers such as an expansion joint in the concrete ceiling, in which a crack the size of a hand had formed, cracks in the flooring in the basement boiler room and that the tower of St. Johann Baptist Church leaned by 77 centimeters15 times greater than what had been previously calculated. From the aforementioned examples successive events in Cologne city, the main reason of collapsing of the city archive building can be obviously concluded, which is insufficient bearing capacity of the soil to carry the loading of archive city building and some surrounding apartments after constructing the new tunnel in addition to some side factors which caused loosening of the ground and cavity formations that was inevitable in some areas. Witnesses who were close to the investigation commented that the tragedy was likely caused by ground water seepage The whole thing points to an issue with the ground water, at the construction site may be related to rising levels of the Rhine River, which is situated very close to the collapsed building.The stability and deformations of tunnels can be affected by water by decreasing the effective stress hence reducing the resistance to shearing stresses, by producing seepage forces towards the excavations borders. Drawdown of the water level and to time-dependent subsidence can be caused by the seepage-flow may due to consolidation. Moreover, the seepage forces may act towards the opening may weaken its stability. The effects of groundwater in tunneling are ramified. Throughout tunnel excavation in a water-bearing ground, seepage stream in the direction of the opening occurs, because the pressure at the excavation boundary is, in general, equal to the atmospheric pressure and the tun nel acts consequently as a groundwater drain. Drawdown of the water level can be caused by seepage flow, to decrease in the discharge of walls, or to settlement and consolidation. Beyond these- in the broader sense- environmental influences such as rising levels of a River, which is situated close to the tunnel, large water inflows may have a severe impact on the serviceability throughout its operation phase or obstruct excavation works. And that’s what happened to the soil underneath the city of Cologne archive building where, the seepage which caused by rising levels of the Rhine river especially in that period of the year lead to weaken soil which is unable to carry the loads and that made the soil to fail and collapse the building to come down in a big whole,throughout collecting and analyzing the collected results, combined with the particular circumstances of the project, it can be summarized that the joint at the interface are of layered rock damage resulted from the g roundwater where it is the main internal cause of the tunnel failure. All of that can be resulted from poor-site investigation or it has not been done in the right way or misunderstanding for the data that collected from site investigation. Face instability Severe seepage in the underground tunnles Recommendations: The local tests of the soil around the city archive had only been conducted before the city made the tender offer and prior to the beginning of construction on the underground line. There were no subsequent soil tests once construction work had started. The city followed the standard procedure, so the first recommendation is the standard procedure should not be always followed but following the standard until specific limits depending on the project and other circumstances. In addition to sufficient reinforcing the potential weak soil spots during the tunnelling work For instance, during the construction of a tunnel, flash-hardening bentonite rings must be always directly put in its place. Moreover, never left a hollow that could pull in the adjacent ground. Most of accidents can be avoided if more care is taken and fully understanding for the data collected from a very good site investigation and what to do according to it. In addition to that, for the tunnel situation, the groundwater level should be monitored and using different methods to control the seepage and consolidation of water in the tunnels, which lead to distract the construction. [Tunnel stability and deformations in water-bearing ground. p1-6] Conclusion: To sum up, the ground investigation is a long process and takes a long time and it costs about (Buildings 0.05 – 0.2, Highways 0.2% – 1.5%, Dams1% – 3%) of the project cost and it saves up to 100% of the project and save human life and invaluable things such as the invaluable historical documents. Most of tunnels collapse accidents are resulted from the problems related with the ground water. 90% of collapsing accidents can be prevented by a good site investigation by an experienced team in this field. References: [RSA Geotechnics Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Site Investigation: What is Site Investigation?. 2015. RSA Geotechnics Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Site Investigation: What is Site Investigation?. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.rsa-geotechnics.co.uk/pages.asp?fld_pages_ID=51. [Accessed 18 February 2015 17:00]] [Smiths elements of soil mechanics, Ian smith, 9th edition, 2014, WILEY BLACKWELL.] [SOILS AND FOUNDATIONS, Cheng Liu Jack B. Evett, 5th edition, 2001, prentice-Hall] [Department of Public Works and Services and Government of the Northwest Territories (2010). GEOTECHNICAL SITE INVESTIGATION GUIDELINES FOR BUILDING FOUNDATIONS IN PERMAFROST. Northwest Territories. I. Holubec Consulting Incp3-8.] [[Online]http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/cologne-archive-catastrophe-were-subway-builders-cautious-enough-a-612129.html][accessed 15 February 12:00]] G Anagnostou (2006). Tunnel stability and deformations in water-bearing ground. Zurich, Switzerland: ETH, Swiss federal institute of technology. p1-6. Geotechnical and structural engineering centre (2014). Cause Analysis of soft and hard rock tunnel collapse and information management. Shandong, P.R China: Ministry of Land and resources, China. p1227-1232. California Department of conservation (2013). Guidelines for Preparing Geological Reports for Regional-Scale Environmental and Resource Management Planning. California, USA: Department of surveying. p1-7. R. F. Craig (2004). CRAIGS SOIL MECHANICS. 7th ed. London: Spon Press. p30-70, p373-394. 1

Colonialism in India Essay -- British Invasion, Massive Boycotts

The British invasion formed into a historical development of British colonialism in India. Despite India under the British rule, Mahatma Gandhi played an important role in gaining Independence. He not only changed India but also strongly fought for India's independence, using various strategies. The British Empire ruled as long as they could to reform India both politically and socially. India was the first major Asian civilizations to fall victim to European predatory activities (Duiker 31). With conquering India, the British had various purposes behind it. Their main purpose was to achieve a monopolistic trading position (The Economic and Social Impact of Colonial Rule in India). The second purpose was the control of India; this was a key element in the world power structure, in terms of geography, logistics and military manpower (The Economic and Social Impact of Colonial Rule in India). When the East India Company continued to trade under the British, huge armies were created, largely composed of Indian sepoys (Marshall). The armies were used to defend the Company’s territories protect the Indian states (Marshall). With major control over India, the British used a combination of firepower & guile to consolidate their power over the country by expanding from their base areas along the coast into the interior (Duiker 31). Some territories were also taken over the privately run East India Company, which at the time was given authority to administer Asian territories under British occupation, while others were ruled by local maharajas (Duiker 31). British governance brought order and stability to a society that had recently been wrecked by the wars from the different empires (Duiker 31). Since the British wanted to refo... ...tween the Hindus and Muslims, Jinnah felt that Muslims had no future in India (Overfield 216). With the end of British rule in 1947, not only did India gain its independence but also along with it was born an other country, Pakistan where Jinnah served as the first governor (Overfield 216). With the gain of India’s independence, Gandhi was shot the following year in 1948 by a Hindu zealot who resented his commitment to Hindu – Muslim harmony (Overfield 212). Despite numerous conflicts with the British and with the Muslims, India fought for its rights by doing what they felt was right. India under the British rule had some benefits as the new school system and outlawing sati but they did manage to trouble the Indians with taxation and other laws. Gandhi who was an outstanding, important figure in India’s way for independence who taught to fight with nonviolence.

Software Piracy Essay -- essays research papers fc

Software Piracy - Are We Doing Enough? Introduction Imagine that a person offered to break into a software store, turn off all the alarms, and hold the doors open, and allow you to take whatever you wanted from the store. This situation is faced by most computer owners everyday, not necessarily in this form, but in the form of software piracy. Software piracy is the unauthorised duplication and or distribution of copyrighted programs. There would only be select group who would not be tempted by the prospect of basically free software, most of those who are offered these kind of goods either accept them, or are unaware that they are not legitimate. No matter how this crime is being conducted, it has been estimated that this sort of crime is costing the world approximately 13 billion dollars annually. Beginnings Software piracy became popular through the use of Bulletin Boards, which allowed people to dial into other an â€Å"underground† archive of pirated software. Around this time, 31/2 Inch discs were also a popular medium for pirated software. Popularity The reason behind the widespread popularity of software piracy lies in the cost. Why pay $80 dollars for a piece of software, when you could get it for the price of a blank CD. Software piracy has boomed over recent years, which can most likely be attributed to the drop in price of CD Writers, which allow the user to copy from one CD to another in less than an hour. During the beginnings of software piracy, the floppy disc ...

Isobelle Carmody’s “The Gathering” Essay

The book â€Å"The Gathering† by Isobelle Carmody explored the theme of â€Å"Good VS Evil† in such an intricate manner that every aspect of the text, the characters, themes and her own message portrayal, all become involved. This means that the reader can understand the plot of the book, and will be able to clearly read the message being revealed by the three main aspects of it. Other minor things, such as the title of the book itself, contribute to the feelings of the reader, all of which are designed by Carmody to make the book exactly what it is. By using the characters to develop the readers understanding of â€Å"Good VS Evil†, the themes to allow the reader to grasp the message being sent by Carmody and her style of writing, and the purpose of Carmody’s presence in the text itself, â€Å"The Gathering† has proven to be one of the most fascinating book of its kind. The characters in the book â€Å"The Gathering† help us to grasp the message which is being sent by the author, that is, â€Å"Good VS Evil†. Nathanial (Nat) Delaney, who stars in the novel as the main character, depicts the image of the good character. One who has found his place, and has managed to establish himself as a crucial role in the development of his own life, and that of those around him. In the fight against the current Kraken, Nathanial, as a character in the text, has helped the reader understand who the people around him are fighting for, whether it is good or evil. His relation to the book outside the Chain would be very minimal, as most of the text’s relation to him is connected in some manner. His study on Anna Galway as a veteran of Cheshunt exposed the truth about her past, that is, that she was part of a previous Chain, one which failed to do its job. Carmody uses these â€Å"two separate† issues in Nathanial’s life to create a feeling of hope and understanding, but also confusion, as to why that Chain had failed. The characters around Nathanial, although star a very important role in the progression of the story, are not focused on in the same way as that of Nathanial, and therefore are only know through the Chain. They, being Nissa, Indian, Nathanial, Danny and Seth, all relate to the â€Å"Good† side of the story, and the true meaning of being â€Å"Good† is developed in a very intriguing way by Carmody. The use of making these main characters â€Å"Good† rather than â€Å"Evil† creates a connection between the reader and the text. When this connection is made, through a series of hardships and moments  which make the reader realize just what role they are playing in the plot, the reader then begins to feel the same things as are being described by Carmody, the emotions, the desire for everything to turn for the better. The â€Å"Evil† side of the book â€Å"The Gathering† is also shone through the characters, particularly those fighting against what the reader and the Chain desire. While there is â€Å"Evil† present in a physical way through characters like Mr. Karle and Buddha, â€Å"Then the Kraken stepped forward and slapped her across the face. A trickle of dark blood ran from the corner of her mouth†¦Ã¢â‚¬  , â€Å"The match landed on his tail and flames swept forward up over him.† , there is still an ever strong emotional, physiological evil. For example, when the final fight between â€Å"Good† and â€Å"Evil† was set up at the abattoir, Mr. Karle uses his advantage of knowing each of the members of the Chain’s mental weakness. By picking at their weaknesses, the reader feels the sympathy and sorrow felt amongst the characters. â€Å"(Nissa) No one could ever love such a creature except out of pity† , â€Å"(Indian) you would recognize the signs of concussive brain damage.† , â€Å"†¦ (Nathanial) her only begotten son is going the way of the father. So terribly sad. So ironic.† , â€Å"(Danny) I think you truly must have damaged your brain in that field. The dogs must have bitten into it† . This makes the reader fully understand how the â€Å"Good VS Evil† is present within the text, as they are fully taken in to the emotions of their own understanding as to what is being done by the Evil. The themes in the book â€Å"The Gathering†, namely love, friendship, suspense, and believability, allow the reader to grasp the concept of â€Å"Good VS Evil†. The theme of love is explored and expressed through the characters of Nathanial and Nissa. Nathanial, throughout the text, has started to develop a fond affection toward Nissa. Although Nathanial initially regarded her as â€Å"†¦a girl up the far side with odd spiky red hair sticking up in all directions.† ,as the story progressed, the Chain was re-created, and issue arose which (to lay to rest) depended on the support and encouragement of one another, Nathanial fell more and more in love with Nissa. This ploy by Isobelle Carmody is an attempt to create a relationship between both them as a couple, and the reader with them as a couple. The reader then feels more for the success of the side in which this couple is committed to. This  connection between reader and characters is then played on by Car mody as they face struggles, and almost an absolute failure as the Chain. Another theme in the text is friendship. This ever strong theme is present throughout the whole book, one which supports the structure and plot of the text. The friendship and trust which is needed to create and hold the Chain was immense, and was evident throughout; â€Å"†You’re not one of us† Nissa was saying to Seth.† â€Å"†Nissa, we’re the Chain,†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ â€Å"†The five of us make up the chain and he’s trying to break Seth away from us!†Ã¢â‚¬  . This shows that through hardship and times of struggle, friendship will bond one another together, and will prevail. Though not as clichà © as love, suspense plays the most important role in the story. Carmody uses suspense throughout the story, specifically when the text is nearing a rise in tension, a chapter conclusion, or a climax. This is so that when the reader has reached any of these points in the text, they do not want to put it down because there is a hook, te lling the reader that more information will be revealed, or leaving them on a â€Å"cliff-hanger†. Suspense is also used in the description of important scenes in the plotline. To do this, Carmody would, momentarily, leave the dialogue to give a description of the surroundings, or such, so that the reader can grasp the importance, or the feeling trying to be sent by her. â€Å"It was a grim joke, considering why I had come. She hummed to herself as she emptied the blackberries into a double boiler.† This shows us how something so irrelevant, as blackberries, can give an effect, and the effect in said situation was the fact that she was just an old woman, a genuine person. The last, but as important as all other themes, is believability. Carmody uses the technique of believability to connect the reader to the text, so that we feel what the characters are feeling, and we feel for them. She does this by making the reader understand the position they are in, and how each character depends on one another. Also, by influencing the reader to love the â€Å"Good† characters of the text, there is then a vile hatred for that that is evil, as with the characters. The contrast is then able to become more evident, between â€Å"Good VS Evil†. Throughout the book â€Å"The Gathering† by Isobelle Carmody has proven to explore the theme â€Å"Good VS Evil† in a very detailed manner, that is, by using things like the themes, characters, and Carmody’s own message, which seeps into the  text all through the story. This is the message of â€Å"Good VS Evil†, it is the message of the superior themes within the story, which help dictate everything from emotion to decisions. The text â€Å"The Gathering† by Isobelle Carmody has, in no doubt, managed to explore and enlighten the reader of the theme, â€Å"Good VS Evil†.