Cr(VI) reduction by natural product Research Proposal

Cr(VI) reduction by natural product - Research Proposal Example A new strategy to reducing hexavalent chromium, which is safer and more efficient, is therefore necessary and this study seeks to investigate potential use of ascorbic acid as a better reducing agent for toxic hexavalent chromium. Experiments will be used to collect data on reduction kinetics. Different concentrations of ascorbic acid will be reacted with a controlled solution of hexavalent chromium, at room temperature and changes in hexavalent chromium concentration observed, for each concentration of ascorbic acid, over time. The modified diphenylcarbanize colorimeter method will be used determine concentration of the hexavalent chromium and the project will be completed by June 2015. Regional and national forums will be used for immediate dissemination of research findings while peer reviewed journals will be used for dissemination in the future. The proposed research will improve scientific understanding of hexavalent chromium reduction and reduce environmental effects of the ch emical element besides supporting other research interests at GGG CCC science

Why do we do school Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 2

Why do we do school - Essay Example oday, an individual does not necessarily require a degree to make money because the contemporary age is full of opportunities using which people can establish their own businesses and make much more money than what they can by becoming employed in other companies. However, doing business in the 21st century requires much more knowledge, and different kinds of talents and competencies that make it much more complex than what one needed to do business in the gone ages. Today, if a person has a lot of money granted to him by the parents but the person himself is not educated, it is quite likely that the person would be caught in the net of frauds laid by other smarter and more educated people. In the present age, it is even more important to have the skills to survive and thrive personally as well as as a businessman in a dynamic and increasingly multicultural society than to have money. Schools today serve the very purpose of inculcating these skills in the students in a whole range of ways e.g. by teaching them foreign languages, business administration and management, and advanced accounting techniques and softwares etcetera. Schools have proved their importance already by helping nations rise because of the quality of education imparted by them. â€Å"When the economies of Japan, Korea, Thailand, and other East Asian countries were growing at rates so fast that they were predicted to surpass the U.S. economy within short periods of time, the education system was often blamed for the nation’s seeming loss of competitive advantage† (Hanushek, n.d., p. 141). We do schools to grow intellectually as well as socially so that we can live a happy and prosperous life in the challenging environment of the contemporary age. In the highly competitive society of the present age, getting a degree from a school is only one of the factors that increase an individual’s chances of getting employed. There are thousands of people in the society who have the degrees and are still

Communication in Teaching | Reflection

Communication in Teaching | Reflection Given what you have experienced during the first 21 hours of this study unit, reflect on an experience which involved communication, listening, group building or teamwork or conflict management skills (or any other skills covered in this part of the course) which occurred either during your personal secondary schooling or during your school observations throughout this year. Analyse and reflect upon this experience as explained in your course information sheets. The Value of Interpersonal relationships Interpersonal skills are important for human relationships to initiate, maintain and terminate one`s relationships. According to Johnson Johnson as cited in Johnson (2006) emphasis is made on the fact that â€Å"relationships are the key to your humanness, psychological health, personal identity, social, cognitive, and moral development, ability to cope with stress and adversity, self-actualization, educational and career productivity, and physical health.† On the other hand Johnson (2006) states that â€Å"it is only within constructive relationships that you may improve your interpersonal effectiveness and self-actualization.† (p. 25) Experiences are the most effective situations in life that help the individual to mature, learn and develop his/her personality. Every experience serves as a guideline so as not to repeat the same wrong encounters or methodologies that happened in the past. We must therefore work hard to acquire strong interpersonal skills which enable us to communicate and interact well with each other. Concrete Experience I will be discussing my personal experience with my pupils during secondary school in form three. I used to make part of a group of students in a church school who used to participate and help the school to organise fund raising activities. In the beginning of form three I was encouraged by my friends to be nominated for the students` council elections. Elections for the Council used to be held at the beginning of every scholastic year. Each class was asked to elect one representative for a two-year term. These elections were class-based and overseen by the Class Tutor. I was elected as one of the student council representative. My main tasks included promoting a greater environmental awareness. I was also responsible for the publication of leaflets regarding topics of interest in the school community, organising activities such as casual dress day in aid of charity and Christmas class decoration competition. We also used to organise fund raising activities to complement the school`s main annual fund raising event. The Council used to meet regularly once every month and this helped us to feel part of the school environment. Being members of the school council, together with the school administration we had the opportunity to set up the exams timetable for the half Yearly and Annual examinations. The teacher that used to monitor the students` council was very caring, helpful, understanding and down to earth. She used to encourage us to organise different activities for the benefit of the school. I was one of ten students from the secondary area. Our relationship was friendly and team oriented. We worked hard to reach targets and our criticism towards each other was always of a constructive nature. In fact we could freely discuss work related matters and find solutions to the difficult situations that arose from time to time. We were all hard workers, responsible for our actions and were capable to work well without supervision. As a team, we used to give feedback to the teacher who was responsible who helped us finalise our ideas about any particular activity. Before implementing a school activity every representative from each class used to discuss the matter with her classmates so as to ensure fairness with everyone. Furthermore, working with such a great team and with an understanding teacher was of utmost pleasure and satisfaction. We organised many other activities such as hot dog day, yogurt day and car wash day where parents contributed by bringing their cars to school on a Saturday morning and the students had to was h the cars. These activities were very instrumental in raising funds for the school. We also organised a play for Prize Day and decorated the school hall for that particular occasion. I also had to give a helping hand in the layout of the invites. I remember, Prize Day was held in March and we were awarded a prize for loyalty, teamwork and sense of responsibility. This was the result of the hard work and sense of commitment. We provided a good overall performance in our team and we built a good rapport with our teachers, assistant heads and the head of school. The school theatre needed continuous maintenance to be more welcoming for the students and the staff. So we tried our best to organise lots of activities to gain funds for this purpose. Unfortunately, this came to an end when the teacher responsible for our students` council was pregnant and she had to go on maternity leave. She was replaced by another teacher but things began to change very rapidly. The group started to disagree about lots of things being discussed as the teacher responsible was not doing her utmost to help us work for the school. I tried my best to get on well with everyone, however, difficult people tend to pose more challenging situations. The new teacher had difficult methods and ideas and her approach towards the school administration and staff was also different. Scheduled meetings used to be cancelled by the teacher in charge on a regular basis, due to other commitments, making it more difficult for us to communicate with each other. The fact that the entire group was bothered and cooperation was lacked it made me feel uneager to work and participate. I tried to do my very best to adapt to the situation. I decided to take action about the situation because the group was split due to disagreements. So I discussed the issue with the group and we agreed to talk to the new teacher about the problem. She tried to understand our concerns and provide a solution to our dilemma but it seemed that her ineffective management skills showed poor results. The school theatre remained in the same state as the school did not have enough funds to cover the costs for refurbishment. Reflection My own experience within the teams I worked for tended to have both positive and difficult times. These may be the result of the diversity of characters as well as the different approaches which one implements in order to tackle the various situations. In everyday life one comes across all types of circumstances and this also applied to me nonetheless. Looking at a glance at the beginning of my experience, when I was elected as a student council representative, I can tell that working with students and the teacher was a remarkable experience. This was because I could deal openly with all of them. Moreover, I was trained how to work within a group and to share ideas all for one aim. Later on, I was asked to organise and help out with the play for Prize Day. This was indeed a challenge for me because I had never organised anything of the sort that was so important for the school. It was my first experience. However, everyone was helpful and reliable and I learnt a lot of skills from different tasks. This was not an easy job and since I had to deal with other students and the school administration, it was difficult at times to handle their needs. Being part of a students` council made me feel responsible for the other students and one has to try his/her best to meet others` request in the best possible way. One could understand certain complaints raised by students whenever an activity was not very well met by the others. At the end, our group together with the teacher who was responsible for the Council tried to adapt according to the needs and priorities of the school. But as Council representatives we all worked hard to gain trust from students and the school administration and this made it possible for us to work hand in hand with them. We managed to build a good relationship. It is worth mentioning that we had strict rules to follow especially with regards to finance and we were very careful to choose certain activities that were educational and appealed to the school. We used to deal with these delicate situations in a calm atmosphere and we often tried to find out a win-win situation. The time spent working together was an amazing experience and our mutual support gave us a strong sense of unity. This helped us create a tranquil environment making it possible to increase productivity. Our effort was noted by the school administration and we were shown gratitude by being awarded a prize during the prize day. The goals we achieved and the positive feedback made us feel beneficial to the school and this gave us a great sense of satisfaction. However, this attitude changed completely when the teacher responsible for the students` council had to resign due to pregnancy. Another teacher came to replace her and since then things changed for the worse. Our work became more difficult since the new teacher was unfamiliar to our routine and we had to start from scratch explaining the whole process to her. We were encountering various arguments and although I never took sides certain unwanted behaviour left a negative impact on me. I was not used to working in such an environment and I could not concentrate in carrying out my tasks due to certain conflicts. The new teacher was not taking the council seriously. We met for a very few times and planned fewer activities than before. She created a sense of lack of collaboration and indifference within the group and the students used to spend more time arguing rather than working. The team was changing and I was not feeling part of them. I am quite a hard worker and I wanted to do my u tmost to overcome such a de-motivating situation. I did not want to hinder my sense of commitment as if I knew that I was capable of offering a better service. Our teacher was authoritarian and she did not accept suggestions from members of the team. In fact I was very surprised when she tried to understand our queries and was trying to do her best. However, nothing happened and our plans to modernise the school theatre remained unchanged as the school did not have enough funds for that type of refurbishment. The group split up and everyone ended working alone without any agreement. Skills Needed and Skills Reflected Upon The above description shows my first experience when being part of an effective group which came to an end. We had outstanding communication skills both verbally and non-verbally. Besides, our first teacher used to listen to our views and suggestions and this encouraged the participation of all concerned whilst the second teacher was indifferent to our ideas and lacked responsibility. The school administration seemed to have a sense of leadership yet it was always open to our suggestions each time a difficulty arose. The group was created with the aim of working for a common goal and we all managed to develop a positive attitude towards each other. This was accomplished since our main objective was to give our utmost. Participation, determination and enthusiasm were the ingredients that made the group functioning well. Bearing in mind the content level, the procedural level and the socio-affective level as priorities of our agenda, helped us to keep strong. Every day was a new challe nge for us and we never took each other for granted. The latter fostered respect among us. At first it was an effective group since goals were clarified and changed for the best of the group and everyone worked in a cooperative way. Communication was two – way, open and accurate expression of both ideas and feelings were empathised. Self-actualisation, innovation and interpersonal effectiveness were encouraged. (Comparison of Effective and Ineffective Groups-Lecture notes.) The strong sense of leadership skills could be felt as we worked and participated together to reach one goal and lots of activities were accomplished. It was important for us to establish clear goals and discuss with our superiors the issues related to our tasks. The relationships between us, the teacher and the school administration were a positive one. We were always welcome to bring forward our opinions, and our suggestions were respected even though they were not always applied. Furthermore, we really felt part of a team since our synergy was used wisely to enhance the smooth running of our s tudent council group. Thinking back, I now realise that although we used to negotiate well with the school administration, it would have been very relevant if we were offered some training during PSD lessons. Such sessions could have been targeted to tackle assertiveness as this would have been very helpful in the future and also to know how to deal with problems and with various characters where assertiveness was the order of the day. Therefore the skill to take unpopular decisions when these were really needed in order to be fair with the rest of the group members was of utmost importance. Unlike the beginning of the first group, when the first teacher in charge resigned and another teacher took over, the group communication became one-way and ideas were only expressed; feelings were suppressed or ignored (lecture notes.) In other words, I consider the group as ineffective. First and foremost our teacher was not open for discussions and she rarely held any meetings. This was a result of lack of communication. Personally I think that I have adequate verbal and non-verbal communication skills, although I still believe that there is always room for improvement especially in stressful situations. However, it was very difficult to reach a compromise within this team. Assertiveness was far away from reality. Our teacher’s leadership skills were very unproductive. As a result the team members were either passive or aggressive. She needed to organise herself and integrate us within one group since her system was drifting us apart each and every day, and eventually the g roup was split in two. An effective leader should possess the skill to inspire. Our teacher needed to be the person who should have encouraged us by sharing with us her enthusiasm towards a positive attitude. Unfortunately, synergy failed since she adopted a two ways and two measures attitude with regards to managing her students. It was her responsibility to support every member and create an honest and trustworthy environment. This would have improved our relationship, which would have in turn been possible to exchange ideas in order to identify and reach goals. Hard to admit, this change de-motivated me. The entire group was frustrated and adopted a different approach. Before it was more challenging and satisfying and I tried to do my best to adapt to the new situation. I decided to act on the new situation because the group was split due to disagreements. So I discussed the issue with the group and we had agreed to talk to the new teacher about the problem. In spite of these difficulties and apathy among the members I still tried to take action to re-unite the group. With regards to the unproductive attitude which was adapted by the new teacher and which led to unwanted circumstances, I feel that I still need to improve my self confidence when facing an unfair situation. Furthermore, our supervisor did not have the right skills to manage a group and to acknowledge our problems. She lacked assertiveness and she was not capable of addressing individuals. She could not delegate the right tasks to the right members and maintain collaboration t o raise funds for the school. At this point she should have held a meeting every month instead of cancelling meetings every time. It was essential to discuss and work on the positive issues and to improve negative ones as well as finding possible solutions to reach a consensus. Active listening which includes a psychological level by listening attentively to both verbal and non verbal content of another speaker and physical level were lacking in the approach adopted by the new teacher towards us. The physical level entails the word ‘SOLER’ (lecturer notes) S- Face the person SQUARELY, O- Adopt an OPEN position, L- Remember that it is possible at times to LEAN toward the other person, E- Maintaining good EYE-CONTACT, R- Try to be relatively RELAXED while engaging in these behaviours. (Lecture notes – Listening and Non-verbal attending: SOLER). Despite all the encounters with many people who may have different opinions and characters, I believe that one should still do his/her best in order to create a positive approach. Every individual should feel the need of contributing towards the creation of an enjoyable life within a community. This helps us reveal our identity and makes it much more possible to integrate healthily. Last but not least, although one may come across difficult people in life who restrain cooperation s/he should also keep in mind that these people are a minority. Mandela (2012) states that â€Å"If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.† On the other hand Johnson (2006) emphasises that â€Å"to live is to communicate! All life communicates in some way. Communication is the foundation for all interpersonal relationships, and our daily lives are filled with one communication experience after another.† References Johnson, D. W. (2006). Reaching Out (ninth edition ed.). USA: Pearson International Edition. Sarah Bonello

Searching for Peace in Tulips Essays -- Tulips Essays

Searching for Peace in Tulips Throughout the poem â€Å"Tulips† by Sylvia Plath, the author seems desperately searching for peace and tranquility, and instead finds everything she despises, symbolized by the tulips she received as a get-well present.   The hospital setting, in which she is â€Å"nobody,† provides a place where she can â€Å"learn peacefulness, lying by myself quietly,† as Plath explains in lines 3-4.   She goes on to describe her room as very white and serene, and within the walls is a temporary escape from all the cares of the world outside, all the â€Å"baggage† she carries in relation to her family.   Then she receives the tulips, which contrast with the white so much that Plath says â€Å"they hurt me† in line 36.   The passage continues in this vein, relating that they â€Å"weigh her down† in line 40, in a similar fashion as her family does.   This is because the tulips make her â€Å"aware of my heart† in line 60, telling her that she is becoming healthy and will have to leave the hospital and again be weighed down by the obligations of the outside world.   The...

Are human naturally violent? Essay

We are surrounded by violence. Kids take it in with their first mouthful of cereals. They will see eighteen thousand (18,000) violent deaths on television by the time they graduate from high school. They will watch physical brutality in prime-time sports and learn that â€Å"bullets and bombs† make gridiron heroes. They will hear our respected political leaders tell us why we need to start a new war. They will be spanked by their parents and learn that violence and love go hand-in-hand. If it is not biologically innate, then violence must be something people teach (Kaufman, 2002). Violence is basically an act of aggression. There are many definitions of violence, one of which is that violence is the use of strength – overt or hidden – with the objective of obtaining from an individual or a group something they do not want to consent to freely (Bandura, 1961). Further, it must be noted that there are different kinds of violence. One must distinguish between direct and indirect or structural violence: Direct violence equates to physical violence while indirect or structural violence involves poverty, exploitation, social injustice, no democracy, and the like. In a situation of violence, the parties involved in the conflict see their economic and social rights being violated as well as their civil and political rights. The short-term and long-term consequences of a violent conflict in terms of human rights violations are devastating and leave deep scars in societies. (Baumesiter, et al. 2004). Many of ideas about society and how it should be organized are based on the idea that men are born with aggressive instincts; human nature is violent and that war is inevitable. Much of our political, social, religious and scientific thinking starts with the premise that human beings are born-killers. So much a part of our consciousness has this idea that we rarely question it. In essence it has become a truth—conventional wisdom that carries with it no requirement to examine the facts with a critical eye (Baumesiter, et al. 2004). The opposing side of the debate asserts that aggressive tendencies are innate. Freud (e. g. , 1930) is one of the most famous proponents of this view, and he contended that the aggressive drive or â€Å"Todestrieb† is one of the two main foundations of all human motivation. In his view, the drive to aggress is deeply rooted in the psyche and hence independent of circumstances. As a result, people have an innate and recurring need to inflict harm or damage, and this desire needs to be satisfied periodically, one way or another. He regarded self-control (as embodied in his concept of superego) as a form of aggression, insofar as one deprives oneself of other satisfactions by restraining oneself. To Freud, this was an effective but costly way to satisfy the aggressive drive, which otherwise would manifest itself by harming or killing others or smashing property. There are several problems with Freud’s theory of innate aggression. First, of course, it does not disconfirm the importance of learning just as the findings about learned aggression do not disconfirm the hypothesis of innate tendencies. Second, there is no evidence that aggression is a need, in the sense that people who fail to act aggressively will routinely suffer impairments of health or well-being. In that sense, it is possible to accept the view of aggression as having some innate basis without agreeing that the need to aggress arises independently of circumstances. Many people are convinced that human beings are naturally violent and that consequently we cannot avoid wars, conflicts and general violence in our lives and our societies. Other specialists in this field claim that we can avoid thinking, feeling and acting violently. The Seville Statement on Violence elaborated in 1986 by a group of scholars and scientists from many countries, North and South, East and West, confirms this by stating that: â€Å"scientifically incorrect when people say that war cannot be ended because it is part of human nature. Arguments about human nature cannot prove anything because our human culture gives us the ability to shape and change our nature from one generation to another. It is true that the genes that are transmitted in egg and sperm from parents to children influence the way we act. But it is also true that we are influenced by the culture in which we grow up and that we can take responsibility for our own actions. † It further includes another proposition stating that â€Å"It is scientifically incorrect when people say that war is caused by ‘instinct’. Most scientists do not use the term ‘instinct’ anymore because none of our behavior is so determined that it cannot be changed by learning. Of course, we have emotions and motivations like fear, anger, sex, and hunger, but we are each responsible for the way we express them. In modern war, the decisions and actions of generals and soldiers are not usually emotional. Instead, they are doing their jobs the way they have been trained. When soldiers are trained for war and when people are trained to support a war, they are taught to hate and fear an enemy (UNESCO, 1986). † Hence, â€Å"it is scientifically incorrect to say that we have inherited a tendency to make war from our animal ancestors. Warfare is a solely human phenomenon and does not occur in other animals†¦. ;† second, â€Å"there are cultures that have not engaged in war for centuries and there are cultures which have engaged in war frequently at some times and not at others†¦. ;† third, â€Å"it is scientifically incorrect to say that war or any other violent behavior is genetically programmed into our human nature†¦. ;† and lastly, that â€Å" it is scientifically incorrect to say that humans have a â€Å"violent brain†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ how we act is shaped by how we have been conditioned and socialized†¦ (UNESCO, 1986). † Humans are condemned to violence not because of our biology or human nature. For if humans are naturally violent, we would expect to find the most extreme and frequent expressions of violence in the cultures that are least socialized, most â€Å"primitive†. As a matter of fact, the opposite is true — those cultures that are most â€Å"civilized† and have the most complex social systems are the most violent. Further, while it is true that natural processes include death as well as life, it is very rare that one can find a case of what we could call real violence in any species other than human excluding involuntary biological reactions such as the need to eat, and cases of mothers protecting their young from harm, and you will find little remains other than occasional alpha male fights in wolves and primates. Therefore if humans are violent, it has less to do with nature than with nurture. There is really no evidence that people have an innate need to be aggressive periodically, in the sense that the need is independent of context (Baumeister and Bushman, 2004). If, as Freud proposed, the aggressive instinct comes from within and demands to be satisfied in one way or another, then failing to satisfy this need should be harmful, in the way that failing to eat or breathe or form social bonds is harmful to the person. But there is no sign that people who fail to perform violent acts suffer adverse consequences. Aggression is not a need, contrary to Freud, because a person could live a happy, healthy life without ever performing violent acts – provided, perhaps, that the person always got what he or she wanted. Aggression may likewise not even be a want. But it may be a response tendency. When one’s desire are thwarted, and other people stand in the way of one’s goal satisfactions, aggressive impulses arise as one way of trying to remove the thwarting and get what you want. ( Baumesiter & Bushman 2004) There are many strategies for influencing people, and these vary widely in how acceptable and how effective they are. Aggression is one strategy that does sometimes succeed (e. g. , Tedeschi & Felson, 1994). Violent activity, or even the credible threat of violence, is one way to get other people to do what you want. Ultimately, people can use aggression to further their innate goals of survival and reproduction, along with a host of other goals such as maintaining a sense of superiority over others, getting money, and intimidating others who might interfere with your desires. (Giberson). Aggression may be a last or near-last resort for most. Culture allows people many pathways to get what they want from other people. In today’s United States, the most favored way of getting what you want from other people is to pay them money. Cooperation, reciprocation, persuasion, even simple charm are often effective, and the culture approves of them much more than it approves of aggression. Still, when those fail and the person is faced with the prospect of not being able to satisfy his or her desires, aggression may present itself as a way of influencing others and obtaining satisfaction. Aggression thus helps the organism satisfy its biological needs, by way of operating on others. (Giberson). Humans are not â€Å"hard-wired† like insects or hawks, where a given stimulus results in a fixed response. Unlike most animals, we have a large cerebral cortex that allows for reasoning, consideration, creativity and culture. The instinct-controlling part of our brain is relatively insignificant in comparison to the cortex, and can be superseded by will and thought. It is this â€Å"flexible response† capability that enabled humans to survive and rise above the rest of the animal kingdom. Many anthropologists feel it was our ability to cooperate, not our ability to fight or compete, that was our evolutionary survival trait. Because of our ability to reflect and consciously choose the values we instill in our children, as a species we can be whatever we want to be. It can almost be said that there is no such thing as human nature, that almost all our traits and tendencies are culturally defined. This is not as obvious as it should be, because most of us are only exposed to one culture—a culture where everyone pretty much thinks and acts the same—and it is easy to get the impression that the way we are is the only way we can be. It is not instinct that drives us to commit atrocities, but our culture. Culture is a human creation. Our culture was molded by men who crave power and the domination of others. ( Tedeschi, & Felson 1994). In conclusion, most humans are conditioned to react aggressively and violently by our environments. We learn to think, feel and act aggressively and in some cases violently. Wherever we live, we are submitted to a social and cultural pressure that conditions us to read about violence, watch violence, and hear about violence almost constantly. Television programmes, advertisements, newspapers, video games and the movie and music industries contribute largely to this situation. Before reaching adolescence, a child has seen thousands of murders and violent acts just by watching television. If human nature is indeed violent and war is inevitable, then we need large strong states with central governments. We need powerful rulers with mighty armies and brutal security forces. We need repressive laws to protect us from each other. We need guidance from our churches on how to keep our destructive instincts under control. Of course, when we are constantly told that we are born to be killers, we have an excuse to act like killers. Violence becomes part of our culture, so we act violently. The fallacy perpetrates itself, and the irony comes full circle: our belief in the inevitability of human aggression, sold to us by the ruling elites, creates a world that makes ruling elites necessary. A person’s behavior is largely determined by his social environment such as the influence of the media, weapon availability, human relations, poverty, and the like. Individuals share the responsibility for their actions with the social forces around them. If a person is not exposed to negative social forces, he will not be prone to evil behavior. He â€Å"naturally† has â€Å"good† desires and therefore â€Å"good† behavior. To eliminate bad or evil behavior, one must focus on changing the social forces rather than on an individual’s actions. References Bandura, A. , Ross, R. , & Ross, S. (1961). Transmission of aggression through imitation of aggressive models. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 63, 575-582. Baumesiter, R. F.and Bushman, B. J. (2004) Human Nature and Aggressive Motivation: Why do Cultural Animals turn violent? RIPS / IRSP, 17 (2), 205-220, Presses Universitaires de Grenoble Baumeister, R. F. (1997). Evil: Inside human violence and cruelty. New York: W. H. Freeman. de Waal, F. B. M. (2001). The Ape and the Sushi Master. New York: Basic Books. Eisler, Riane. (1988). The Chalice and the Blade: Our History, Our Future. New York: Harper Collins. Giberson, K. Blessed Are the Peacemakers. Science and Spirit. Retrieved Nov. 10, 2006 http://www. science-spirit. org/matrix.html Kaufman, M. (2002) Men must abandon the notion they are violent by nature. Retrieved Nov. 10, 2006 at: < http://www. michaelkaufman. com/articles/menmust. html> Slife, Brent (March 1996). Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Controversial Psychological Issues. William C. Brown, 9th edition, Tedeschi, J. T. , & Felson, R. B. (1994). Violence, aggression, and coercive actions. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. UNESCO. (1986) The Seville Statement on Violence. Spain. Retrieved Nov. 10, 2006 at: .

Deception Point Page 62

Pickering seemed to consider this a long time, gently stroking his tie. â€Å"And yet taking into account the amount NASA has to gain from this discovery right now, the apparent signs of tampering with evidence, and your being attacked†¦ the first and only logical conclusion I can draw is that this meteorite is a well-executed fraud.† â€Å"Impossible!† Corky sounded angry now. â€Å"With all respect, sir, meteorites are not some Hollywood special effect that can be conjured up in a lab to fool a bunch of unsuspecting astrophysicists. They are chemically complex objects with unique crystalline structures and element ratios!† â€Å"I am not challenging you, Dr. Marlinson. I am simply following a logical chain of analysis. Considering someone wanted to kill you to keep you from revealing it was inserted under the ice, I'm inclined to entertain all kinds of wild scenarios here. What specifically makes you certain this rock is indeed a meteorite?† â€Å"Specifically?† Corky's voice cracked in the headphones. â€Å"A flawless fusion crust, the presence of chondrules, a nickel ratio unlike anything ever found on earth. If you're suggesting that someone tricked us by manufacturing this rock in a lab, then all I can say is that the lab was about 190 million years old.† Corky dug in his pocket and pulled out a stone shaped like a CD. He held it in front of the camera. â€Å"We chemically dated samples like this with numerous methods. Rubidium-strontium dating is not something you can fake!† Pickering looked surprised. â€Å"You have a sample?† Corky shrugged. â€Å"NASA had dozens of them floating around.† â€Å"You mean to tell me,† Pickering said, looking at Rachel now, â€Å"that NASA discovered a meteorite they think contains life, and they're letting people walk off with samples?† â€Å"The point,† Corky said, â€Å"is that the sample in my hands is genuine.† He held the rock close to the camera. â€Å"You could give this to any petrologist or geologist or astronomer on earth, they would run tests, and they would tell you two things: one, it is 190 million years old; and two, it is chemically dissimilar from the kind of rock we have here on earth.† Pickering leaned forward, studying the fossil embedded in the rock. He seemed momentarily transfixed. Finally, he sighed. â€Å"I am not a scientist. All I can say is that if that meteorite is genuine, which it appears it is, I would like to know why NASA didn't present it to the world at face value? Why has someone carefully placed it under the ice as if to persuade us of its authenticity?† At that moment, inside the White House, a security officer was dialing Marjorie Tench. The senior adviser answered on the first ring. â€Å"Yeah?† â€Å"Ms. Tench,† the officer said, â€Å"I have the information you requested earlier. The radiophone call that Rachel Sexton placed to you earlier this evening. We have the trace.† â€Å"Tell me.† â€Å"Secret Service ops says the signal originated aboard the naval submarine U.S.S. Charlotte.† â€Å"What!† â€Å"They don't have coordinates, ma'am, but they are certain of the vessel code.† â€Å"Oh, for Christ's sake!† Tench slammed down the receiver without another word. 72 The muted acoustics of the Charlotte's dead room were starting to make Rachel feel mildly nauseated. On-screen, William Pickering's troubled gaze moved now to Michael Tolland. â€Å"You're quiet, Mr. Tolland.† Tolland glanced up like a student who had been called on unexpectedly. â€Å"Sir?† â€Å"You just gave quite a convincing documentary on television,† Pickering said. â€Å"What's your take on the meteorite now?† â€Å"Well, sir,† Tolland said, his discomfort obvious, â€Å"I have to agree with Dr. Marlinson. I believe the fossils and meteorite are authentic. I'm fairly well versed in dating techniques, and the age of that stone was confirmed by multiple tests. The nickel content as well. These data cannot be forged. There exists no doubt the rock, formed 190 million years ago, exhibits nonterrestrial nickel ratios and contains dozens of confirmed fossils whose formation is also dated at 190 million years. I can think of no other possible explanation than that NASA has found an authentic meteorite.† Pickering fell silent now. His expression was one of quandary, a look Rachel had never before seen on William Pickering. â€Å"What should we do, sir?† Rachel asked. â€Å"Obviously we need to alert the President there are problems with the data.† Pickering frowned. â€Å"Let's hope the President doesn't already know.† Rachel felt a knot rise in her throat. Pickering's implication was clear. President Herney could be involved. Rachel strongly doubted it, and yet both the President and NASA had plenty to gain here. â€Å"Unfortunately,† Pickering said, â€Å"with the exception of this GPR printout revealing an insertion shaft, all of the scientific data points to a credible NASA discovery.† He paused, dire. â€Å"And this issue of your being attacked†¦ † He looked up at Rachel. â€Å"You mentioned special ops.† â€Å"Yes, sir.† She told him again about the Improvised Munitions and tactics. Pickering looked more and more unhappy by the moment. Rachel sensed her boss was contemplating the number of people who might have access to a small military kill force. Certainly the President had access. Probably Marjorie Tench too, as senior adviser. Quite possibly NASA administrator Lawrence Ekstrom with his ties to the Pentagon. Unfortunately, as Rachel considered the myriad of possibilities, she realized the controlling force behind the attack could have been almost anyone with high-level political clout and the right connections. â€Å"I could phone the President right now,† Pickering said, â€Å"but I don't think that's wise, at least until we know who's involved. My ability to protect you becomes limited once we involve the White House. In addition, I'm not sure what I would tell him. If the meteorite is real, which you all feel it is, then your allegation of an insertion shaft and attack doesn't make sense; the President would have every right to question the validity of my claim.† He paused as if calculating the options. â€Å"Regardless†¦ whatever the truth is or who the players are, some very powerful people will take hits if this information goes public. I suggest we get you to safety right away, before we start rocking any boats.† Get us to safety? The comment surprised Rachel. â€Å"I think we're fairly safe on a nuclear submarine, sir.† Pickering looked skeptical. â€Å"Your presence on that submarine won't stay secret long. I'm pulling you out immediately. Frankly, I'll feel better when the three of you are sitting in my office.† 73 Senator Sexton huddled alone on his couch feeling like a refugee. His Westbrooke Place apartment that had only an hour ago been filled with new friends and supporters now looked forsaken, scattered with the rubble of snifters and business cards, abandoned by men who had quite literally dashed out the door. Now Sexton crouched in solitude before his television, wanting more than anything to turn it off and yet being unable to pull himself from the endless media analyses. This was Washington, and it didn't take long for the analysts to rush through their pseudoscientific and philosophical hyperbole and lock in on the ugly stuff-the politics. Like torture masters rubbing acid in Sexton's wounds, the newscasters were stating and restating the obvious. â€Å"Hours ago, Sexton's campaign was soaring,† one analyst said. â€Å"Now, with NASA's discovery, the senator's campaign has crashed back to earth.† Sexton winced, reaching for the Courvoisier and taking a hit right out of the bottle. Tonight, he knew, would be the longest and loneliest night of his life. He despised Marjorie Tench for setting him up. He despised Gabrielle Ashe for ever mentioning NASA in the first place. He despised the President for being so goddamned lucky. And he despised the world for laughing at him.

Environmental Health and Safety

Environmental Health and Safety The need for waste management is essential in assessing the requirements for properly managed waste in a community. Needs assessment process would involve checking the existing waste management strategies, identifying the areas of importance, focusing on the critical needs, and identifying possible solutions. Waste management involves supervising the gathering, ferrying, processing, discarding and recycling of waste materials formed by human activity. Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Environmental Health and Safety specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More If this waste is not well managed, it can be a threat to humans and the environment in general. Thus, needs assessment for managing waste would be conducted by observing the methods that can be used to control the negative effects of waste. Waste is classified into four classes namely solid, liquid, gaseous, and radio active. Each of these four classes has its own methods o f discarding. To begin with, observation of how landfills are managed is essential in assessing the need for waste management. Landfill is whereby waste is collected and buried in an isolated piece of land that is relatively far from residential areas such as quarries. The waste is then compacted and covered in order to keep rodents away and keep the waste intact. This is the cheapest method of discarding waste but its effectiveness relies on how the dumping site is planned and run. There are several problems that are associated with landfills. Lemann (2008) argues that if the landfill is not planned well, it might attract rodents such as rats and mice and also debris from the dumpsite might be blown by wind into residential areas. Secondly, these dumping sites generate a gas that contains carbon dioxide and methane which is produced by decaying organic matter. This gas has a fowl odor and does not support plants life. This gas can be extracted using perforated pipes and then burnt to generate electricity. Thus, without proper management of landfills in a community, the community is deemed to be affected by waste. Another method of waste management that can be assessed is incineration. Incineration is the most appropriate method of discarding solid, liquid and gaseous waste. Its best suited for places where land is inadequate. In this method waste is discarded by burning or by exposing the waste matter to high temperatures referred to as thermal treatment. The waste is usually put in a furnace where it is burned to produce gas which is then used to produce electricity. Recycling involves collecting waste bins and ferrying them to a recycling center. Once they arrive at the recycling center, they are graded according to the materials that are used to manufacture them. This is to ensure that waste that is made from a common material can be remanufactured to make new goods. Good examples of products that can be reused are aluminum cans, plastic beverage containe rs, computers, glass jars, PVC and papers.Advertising Looking for essay on environmental studies? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Involving the Community in Needs Assessment Process Biological Reprocessing This is one of the methods that can be used to involve the community in needs assessment process. Organic waste for example food bits and pieces, plants and papers is reprocessed using biological absorption and composting to decay the organic waste which is then used as manure (organic fertilizer) in farms. This process is used to increase the process of decaying the organic matter. During this process methane is extracted and is thereby used in producing electricity. This method has been found to be more efficient than the other methods of discarding waste. Energy Retention The energy contained in waste material can be recaptured by converting them into other forms of fuel. This means that the waste material can be used in homes as fuel for cooking food and also the gas that is obtained from decaying matter can be used as fuel in boilers that produce electricity in turbines. The process of extracting this gas from organic waste is called gasification. The waste material is put into boilers that are tightly sealed to create high pressure. The boilers are then heated at very high temperatures which in return change the form of the waste from solid to liquid and lastly gas. The gas and the liquid are reprocessed to produce energy while the solid material is converted to active carbon. Methods of Avoiding Accumulation of Waste According to Vaughn (2009), there are several ways through which accumulation of waste can be avoided. The first one is by adopting the habit of continuous use of items that had been used previously. To add on to that all households and organizations should be encouraged to repair their broken items instead of replacing the item with a new one. By doing this, all dustbins will remain empty. Manufactures too can contribute to avoiding accumulation of waste by coming up with products that can be reused. For instance plastic shopping bags should be replaced by cotton bags because cotton can be reprocessed to make another shopping bag. Consumers can also participate in this campaign by not using disposable products such as plastic knives, plates, spoons and forks. Manufacturers should also use light materials in their products for instance in telecommunications industry lighter phones are more preferred than bulky ones because they are easy to carry around. Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Environmental Health and Safety specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More All companies that manufacture goods for local and external markets should be held accountable for the lifecycle of their goods from the time they are manufactured till they are fully exhausted. Individuals or organizations that will be found polluting the environment should be made to compensate for the damages they cause to the environment. In conclusion, the pollution of air and water by discarding toxic materials and also polluting the soil by deforestation and emitting toxic gases that damage the ozone layer contribute to global warming which poses a great threat to human lives and those of other living things on planet earth. References Lemann, M.F. (2008).Waste Management. Switzerland: Peter Lang AG, International Academic Publishers. Vaughn, J. (2009).Waste Management. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO, Inc.

The Applications of the Theory of Planned Behaviour

The Applications of the Theory of Planned Behaviour Introduction The focus of this paper is on research evidence supporting the applications of the theory of planned behaviour in several ways and in different circumstances. The theoretical and empirical evidence that supports the inclusion of six variables in the theory of planned behaviour is analysed. It is the aim of the paper to approach the model on the premises of two avenues, which are supported by the six variables.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Applications of the Theory of Planned Behaviour specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Theory selected The theory of planned behaviour initially emerged as the theory of reasoned behaviour with an aim of predicting a person’s intention to engage in a particular attitude at a specific place and time. The central component of this model is based on intent. It is important to note that intentions are influenced by the attitude on the probability that the particular attitude will have the anticipated results and the subjective assessment of the benefits and risks of that result. Essentially, the theory outlines how attitudes predict human attitudes (Dainton Zelley, 2010). Indeed, the theory explains that human behaviour is a product of three basic guidelines. The first one is people’s attitude towards the behaviour, which is whether individuals have a negative or positive perception of the particular behaviour. The second guideline regards people’s view of the attitudes and social pressure to act or not to act the behaviour. Finally, the third guideline encapsulates the individuals’ belief on how hard or easy it is to act or perform the behaviour. The model has been utilised successfully to forecast and explain a diverse range of certain health behaviours and intentions such as drinking, smoking, substance abuse, health services utilisation and many more (Feng, 2007). Research Questions Based on the above factors, this pa per attempts to clarify the following research questions whose solutions will help in discerning the true meaning and applicability of the theory of planned behavior: How accurately should prior/past behaviour be modelled in order to raise the predictive strength of the theory of planned behaviour? What roles do past behaviours play in modeling the framework of the theory of planned behaviour? Is the model supported by some strategies that are adopted in analysing data? Could some approaches used in processing data be extended to have features of the behavioural model? Evidence Gathered Numerous tests that have been carried out on the effectiveness of the behaviour platform have presented substantial evidence for the predictive validity of intentions. Numerous meta-analytic reviews such as the applicability of the theory in the context of social or health behaviour have highlighted this relationship.Advertising Looking for essay on psychology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Furthermore, several meta-analyses have confirmed the applicability of this theory in general, but the question still emerges on whether the demonstrated variations in behaviour are good enough since large percentages (72%) in variances remain unexplained. It would be essential to know the degree of impact of intentions on attitudes of people. Thus, what determines how accurately intentions influence behaviour? This could be approached using two considerable aspects. Firstly, the conditions that generally underlie the predictive power of the theory, and secondly, the concrete determinants of intentions and behaviour beyond the aspects of the standard model (Dainton Zelley, 2010). An example of the application of the theory of planned behaviour is a person harbouring a goal to sell, for example, $50,000 worth of products in one month over a given media platform. If such an individual believes that they can achieve that go al and bear a positive attitude and immense confidence in the effectiveness of the selected media outlet, then they will most likely succeed. If this person does not believe that they can succeed or if they bear a negative attitude on the goal at hand, then his or her behaviour is likely to reflect such perceptions and such individuals will most likely fail to achieve their targets. This differs substantially from the self-perception theory since the latter states that behaviour begets an attitude (Huang and Chuang, 2007). On the other hand, it has been noted that the theory of planned behavior explains that attitude causes the behavior. For example, a person could have negative perceptions towards a part of his or her job, but such a person may still desire to do well and perform their assigned tasks well so that they can keep their job (Feng, 2007). Analysis of the Information Gathered The information above highlights very important aspects with regard to the planned behaviour mod el. It is apparent that persons could be influenced to make decisions on the premises of two mental events. These are the events that are important in high level cognition and low level cognition (Nabi Kremar, 2006). It is important to note the differences between the two methods of processing mental information. These are heuristic and deliberate events. In addition, the results indicate that there could be a correlation between intentions and attitudes with regard past behaviours. It is worth noting that best predictions of behaviour can be made using intentions, which greatly differ among persons (Hartmann, 2012; Loewenstein Lerner, 2003).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Applications of the Theory of Planned Behaviour specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The model of planned behaviour is an improvement of the theory of reasoned action, which has generated a lot of consideration in the field of social psychology . The two approaches of behaviour have important applications in explaining the impact of motivation and past information on people. In addition, they imply that individuals make informed decisions based on the careful considerations that are determined by information. This can be presented diagrammatically as shown in appendix 1. How It Could Be Done Differently It appears necessary to present a clear distinction on the two concepts that have been explained above. The above research argues that the deliberative and the heuristic information processing models characterise the theory of planned behaviour. It would be important to include more research questions in future studies so that more data would be collected and analysed. In addition, future studies could be done differently by focusing on the impact of social norms and attitudes that vary among individuals. Conclusion It is apparent that the planned behavior model has important social implications that have diverse applicatio ns with regard to the study of human behaviour. In fact, the usefulness of the approach is supported by scientific data and results. The limitations that have been noted in the applicability of this theory suggest that there is room for more research on certain key areas such as moral norms, self-identity, belief salience, and affective beliefs. Although the model has diverse applications, it has been shown that it is best applied in situations that are characterised by high levels of opportunities and motivation. Thus, in situations where any of the parameters could be absent, there could be a high likelihood of behaviour being impacted by cognitive functions of individuals.Advertising Looking for essay on psychology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More References Dainton, M. Zelley, E. (2010) Applying Communication Theory for Professional Life: A Practical Introduction (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Feng, H (2007). An Application of the Theory of Planned Behavior to Support Provision Communication Behaviors across Cultures. Michigan, MI: Pro-Quest Hartmann, T (2012). Media Choice: A Theoretical and Empirical Overview. London, United Kingdom: Routledge Huang, E. and Chuang, M. (2007). Extending the theory of planned Behavior as a Model to explain post-merger employee behavior. Computers in Human Behavior, 23(4), 247-257. Loewenstein, G. Lerner, J. (2003). The role of effect in decision-making. Handbook of Affective Sciences, 621-642. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. Nabi, R. Kremar, M. (2006). Conceptualizing media enjoyment as attitude: Implications for mass media effects research. Communication Theory, 4(14), 294-308. Appendix A flow chart diagram representing the various aspects of the planned behavior mo del.

An Unending Battle That Brought Us Together

An Unending Battle That Brought Us Together My mother said, â€Å"I have been diagnosed with breast cancer,† with a frightened voice followed by a facial expression of fear. I replied after a moment of silence in an anxious tone, â€Å"Everything is going to be okay don’t worry† and went over to hug her. That night I went to bed thinking about how I hadn’t appreciated my mother enough as I should have, and I could lose her at any given moment. The next day, I made some research on what breast cancer was since I wasn’t very informed on this topic all I knew is that when I heard the word cancer the thought of death raced immediately into my mind. However, after the research I had done I found out it could be cured if detected at an early stage or could be found deadly since its tougher to treat cancer at an later stage. The next few days, were the hardest because my family and I were all trying to adapt to my mother diagnose of breast cancer. We would all keep reminding ourselves everything would turn out to be fine, but in reality we were worried about my mother’s health. The disease didn’t only affect my mother, it affected my entire family especially me. I was deeply affected by it since I was barely attending my first year of college. As a result, I fell into depression, my grades started dropping, and I constantly had the feeling of losing my mother. The thought of losing my mother didn’t make sense to me, therefore I wasn’t sure if I could handle it. This brought me memories about her visits to the doctor previously to the results, after the ultrasound and mammogram showing the tumors being abnormal, I didn’t think much about it and thought the tumors would turn out to be benign. It was until after her biopsy that she was detected with breast cancer stage two which meant her chances increased of surviving this deadly disease, and I learned to appreciate her more than I previously had. The next week, she had her first appointment with the oncologist Dr. Satish D Desai who said, â€Å" Mrs. Fernandez, surgery isn’t an option you need to go through chemotherapy first to shrink the tumors size then we will follow up with surgery†. I didn’t want my mother to get chemotherapy I was against it ,because chemotherapy is a very strong dangerous drug with a lot of side effects which can outweigh the benefits. Eventually, I gave up and accepted the fact that chemotherapy was the best option in order for her to get cured from breast cancer. The following appointment she got her first chemo session I remember after that she felt fatigue and was lying in bed the entire day, as well as her loss of appetite she refused to eat. The following weeks, my mother began to lose her hair due to chemotherapy and began to use beanies as well as wigs to hide her loss of hair that was when her illness really hit me. This was very hard for her to accept she felt insecure without her hair, I tried helping her gain some confidence back, and change her way of thinking by shaving my head so she would not feel alone. I began to help my mother with chores I would cook food for her occasionally when she was weak from the chemotherapies. I began to depend more on myself rather than my parents which was a great feeling. After her chemo sessions were over it was time for surgery I remember she was nervous since it was her first time dealing with anesthesia and I tried comforting her right before surgery by telling her â€Å"Mom, don’t worry you’re strong you will be fine†. The surgery went well, and she followed up by getting radiation therapy which weren’t as bad as chemo sessions. Although, she suffered some side effects like severe burns due to radiation, but it was all worth it because after everything she went through she was cancer free words couldn’t explain the happiness I felt that day. Unfortunately my happiness didn’t last long after a year of being cancer free, my mother noticed a mysterious hard lump under her armpit. She followed up by getting a mammogram and ultrasound which showed the lump to be abnormal once again that required a biopsy for more accurate results. After the biopsy, sadly the results showed it to be cancer once again I was frightened that this time the cancer would have spread to other areas like lungs, liver, and brain which meant it would be tougher to treat. Fortunately, it turned out the cancer hadn’t spread to other areas besides her armpit which meant this time chemotherapy and radiation therapy weren’t needed just surgery which was a relief. Now two years later, my mom is once again cancer free. All these past experiences brought us together more than we previously were and made me appreciate her more. Fortunately she is doing great, and because of that experience I am now the individual I am today I have grown both emotionally and mentally. This event taught me that life is short, and I need to be grateful and appreciate more the people around me.

Social Performance, Part 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Social Performance, Part 2 - Essay Example In this regards, Total Company has some similar code of ethics with other companies. For instance, among the common ethics in most of the companies in similar industry is code of conduct towards the shareholders and the owners. The shareholders and owners should look for a fair way of balancing between capital and work in a manner that employees bet a fair pay in commensurate with work done. It is the duty of the shareholders to design their company as one of the greatest instruments to generate wealth, make their irrefutable objecting of earning a profit in line with sustainable, sound environmentally and social development, and also ensure that all the activities are done responsively and in an ethical manner. In addition, the company shareholders have to define and uphold the values and mission of the company in accordance to its code of ethics (Marianna Sigala, 2012). As in the case of other companies, there have been loop holes when it comes to implementation of their code of et hics. For instance, there has been a conflict of interest between the owners of the company and the company itself. The owners of the company have been using company assets for their own gain therefore leading to lack of transparency. This has led to strained relationship between the shareholders and the management. ... In relation to company clients and suppliers, there has been a continuous strained relationship between the company and its suppliers. The suppliers are not paid in time as expected and have resulted in delays in supplies. The choice of suppliers has been another big problem since some of them could not uphold best business practices and respect human dignity. Good business ethics provides for the choice of suppliers who respects and upholds good business practices (Ladd, 2011). With the issue of competition, the other companies have been using their market position to intimidate companies whose market share is still small. Code of ethics should ensure that there is no abuse of weaker competitors in the market place. There has been also discrimination of employees basing on their nationality, sex and age. After criticizing the shortcomings of other organizations, Total Company has designed the following code of ethics: Prohibition of conflict of interest and bribery- activities of th e company should be conducted with the highest level of integrity. Both the employees and the external stakeholders are expected to reject corruption and bribery in all forms Labor rights- Total Company ensures that its employee operational policies and practices prevent and prohibit forced labour, child labor and discrimination and respect international labour standards Contributions to local development- the company offers employment to local people and also participates in education, economic health development programs and infrastructures. Security and Human rights- the company is committed to respecting the protection of Human rights and implements the generally acceptable

Chinese art from the 1920s to contemporary China Essay

Chinese art from the 1920s to contemporary China - Essay Example The first kind harmonized the goals of the government with those of the artists. The goal of the artists in this kind of art was to modernize their art but at the same time maintain some aspect of the Chinese culture. Artist Ong Schan Tchow who got his education in China and in France is an example of those who practiced this first kind of art. He subtly combined Western art elements especially realism and perspective with some aspects of traditional Chinese art such as calligraphy and minimal contrast using muted color tones. However, there was a larger band of artists that used a different approach during this period. They attempted to reject the aspects of old Chinese culture and they created a culture which emulated the West. This movement was referred to as the New Culture movement.2 Apart from visual art, the movement touched on other aspects of culture such as literature and the government. The movement’s proponents advocated for a government that was based on Western d emocracy ideals. The movement drastically attempted to differentiate itself from the old form of Chinese art. This was done through outright rejection of Chinese traditional culture and consciously copying ideas from Western art. An example was the introduction of low art forms such as cartoons and comic posters in their art works.3 The eruption of the Chinese war in 1949 abruptly ended the Republican Era. A new age of Chinese history in which the government played an even bigger role in the transformation of China’s art that the previous government came into being. All aspects of Chinese life including art came under government control. The communist leadership tried to distance itself from the previous era. Entirely new art forms were encouraged while at the same time clamping down on traditional practices in Chinese life. The art in this era was characterized by a lot of propaganda.4 Artists had to be extremely careful with their works lest they found themselves being bran ded as being counter revolutionary. The use of socialist realism was encouraged by the Chinese government. Art that had been developed by the Soviet Union during previous decades was promoted by the Chinese government as a model by which Chinese artists were to develop their art. In this era, art was seen as a tool which was to be produced in large volumes. Despite the stringent rules on art during this period, a few beautiful and original paintings were produced. These paintings were in forms that did not challenge the government either directly or indirectly. The paintings mainly depicted aspects of nature such as landscapes and still life.5 At the beginning of the 1980s’ another form of Chinese art developed. A new breed of Chinese artists also developed. At this time, China was increasingly growing restless. The government was gradually losing its grip of control on the Chinese population. The New wave of 1985 was a critical juncture for the development of contemporary Ch inese art. The wave referred to the vigorous modern art movement that was developing in China in the period around 1985. A new trend was launched after almost every few weeks. Artists began to draw greatly from various western modernism styles and schools. An exhibition held in 1985 entitled â€Å"progressing Chinese youth art exhibition† was among the most successful exhibitions during that

Project manament Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Project manament - Article Example Before the initiation of a project, a feasibility study is usually conducted in order to assess the viability of the project. The study helps organization understands the potential benefits of a project keeping in view company constraints. The study helps organizations understand the required capital resources for the project and the time it would take to complete the project. It helps them to plan the project more effectively in order to achieve desired results1. The study also helps understand where the project must be initiated, what measures must be taken, and what are the potential benefits of the project for company. Hence, it is very important to conduct a comprehensive feasibility study that helps an organization to achieve the desired goals of the project. Project evaluation is carried out after the completion of project in order to judge the effectiveness of the project. This process is carried out to understand whether the desired objective of the project has been achieved or not. Evaluation helps organizations to be aware of the corrective actions they need to take. There are two main kinds of evaluation 1) Ongoing evaluation and 2) Post project evaluation. Ongoing evaluation is carried out during the course of the project in order to assess whether deadlines are being met and whether interim objectives are achieved or not. On the other hand, post project evaluation assesses the success of project completed. It evaluates whether the laid down objectives before the project were achieved or not. Cash flows are the term used for the expected cash inflows and outflows during the completion of the project and post completion. Cash flows give a clue about the expected revenues and costs for project completion. Evaluating expected cash flows is one of the most important factors of accepting or rejecting a project. Like all other aspects of a project, risk

Yvain Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Yvain - Essay Example Yvain or the Knight with the Lion tells of Yvain, a knight in King Arthur’s court, whose adventures are initially kicked off by his desire to prove his bravery in the eyes of his fellow knights. Chivalry and courtly love are the two elements underpinning and moving the story, which is set in the medieval period of the famed fictional Arthurian era. Moreover, Chretien de Troyes’ tale highlights the importance of good reputation in the medieval period among knights and how reputation is equated to acts of chivalry and bravery especially for the benefit of the helpless like women. In Yvain or the Knight with the Lion, the reader is apprised of how a knight’s reputation is made, kept and lost. Apparently, reputation for chivalry, honor and bravery is the all-most important consideration by which each knight lives by. The story’s main character Yvain is a proud man who is impelled to rush and defend his honor from a disparaging remark, obviously made in jest and presumably after several bottles of wine, insinuating inability to make good his words. The challenge, to which he rises started when his cousin Calogrenant told a group of knights that he had been defeated by a knight after he had stirred a storm-brewing magical basin at the edge of a forest. This made Yvain censure his cousin for keeping this from him for so long and promptly vowed to avenge his shame by killing the knight himself. Kay, another knight, mocks Yvain’s pronouncement insinuating that he is merely heady with wine. Stung by the remark, Yvain secretly left for the place mentioned by Calogrenant even when King Arthur himself has scheduled a date to see the place himself (de Troyes Vv 1-746). It is evident from the initial events of the tale that reputation is very important to medieval knights. Yvain’s decision to scurry secretly even to the point of

High School Student Obesity and Fitnessgram Assessments Essay - 1

High School Student Obesity and Fitnessgram Assessments - Essay Example The surveyed students had an overall positive experience. Some teachers had positive experience while some had mixed opinions concerning the Fitnessgrams effectiveness of improving students’ BMI. Obesity is a serious problem that is becoming more prevalent among school aged children in America. The Centers for Disease Control revealed that approximately one in three American children and teenagers are obese or overweight (CDC Press Release, 2008). This is three times the number of obese children in America in the 1960s. Childhood obesity now surpasses smoking and drug use as the foremost concern of parents and the Georgia State Board of Education. The CDC suggested that the objective of all programs dealing with childhood obesity is to find ways of reducing the child’s weight while monitoring their lipid profile and blood pressure (CDC Press Release, 2008). The CDC also suggested that strong social support systems should be instituted to encourage a healthy weight among children. Parental involvement in programs created to check the development of obesity is one way this can be accomplished. According to the CDC and Krebs, Jacobson, and the American Academy of Pediatr ics Committee on Nutrition (2003), schools can also be part of the support system by providing only healthy meals for students during the day (CDC Press Release, 2008). According to the CDC, Georgia has the distinction of having the second highest rate of obesity among school aged children in America (CDC Press Release, 2008). This motivated the Georgia State Board of Education in 2011 to endorse programs like the Presidential Fitness Award to impact the obesity trends among children (Georgia Department of Education, 2011). However, according to Hirschmann and Zaphiropoulos (2012) there are still students who become obese in Georgia every month and 40% of Georgia’s school aged children are said to be obese. In 2008, Governor

Critical review on The Haemophilias Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Critical review on The Haemophilias - Essay Example mutations in the gene encoding blood coagulation factors VIII or IX respectively (Turgeon, 2004). The gene for factor VIII is situated near the tip of the long arm of X-chromosome (Xq 2.6 region). The gene for factor IX is close to that for factor VIII near the tip of long arm of the x-chromosome. Due to sex-linked pattern of inheritance, a carrier mother, carrying a gene for haemophilia on one of the two X chromosomes, transmits the gene for haemophilia to half of her female children and half of her male children. Males who inherit the gene for haemophilia manifest the disease. On the other hand females who inherit the gene for haemophilia from their mothers would not show the defect and would act as the carrier, transmitting the defective gene to their offspring. The inheritance and clinical features of Haemophilia B are identical to that of haemophilia A (Turgeon, 2004). Both types of Haemophilias would show similar results for various blood tests, involving the normal bleeding ti me, clot retraction time, platelet count, Prothrombin time and increased APTT (Activated Partial Thromboplastin Time) (Hoffbrand et al, 2006). ... The prevalence of Haemophilia A varies from 30-100 per million population (Hoffbrand et al, 2006). While Haemophilia A is a relatively more common disorder, the incidence of Christmas disease is one fifth of that of haemophilia A. Depending on the levels of coagulation factors in the body, the disease can be classified into severe, moderate and mild. When the coagulation factor deficiency is less than one-two percent of normal, the clinical manifestations of haemophilia are severe, with the symptoms being frequent spontaneous bleeding into the joints, muscles and internal organs from early life itself. Infants may suffer from profuse post-circumcision haemorrhage or develop recurrent joint and soft tissue bleeds and excessive bruising when they grow old and become active. Recurrent painful haemarthrosis and muscle haematomas may be predominant, resulting in joint deformity and crippling, especially if the disease is not adequately treated. Local pressure from haemophilic pseudo-tumours (encapsulated haematomas with progressive cystic swelling resulting from repeated haemorrhage) can cause entrapment neuropathy or ischaemic necrosis (Hoffbrand et al, 2006). If the coagulation factor activity is between 2-10 % o f the normal, the moderate manifestations of the disease are produced. Bleeding usually occurs after minor trauma, though occasionally spontaneous episodes of bleeding can occur too. Prolonged bleeding may occur after dental extractions. Spontaneous haematuria and gastro-intestinal haemorrhage, resulting from intramucosal bleeding can also occur (Hoffbrand et al, 2006). If the coagulation factor activity is greater than 10-30% of the normal,

High School Student Obesity and Fitnessgram Assessments Essay - 1

High School Student Obesity and Fitnessgram Assessments - Essay Example The surveyed students had an overall positive experience. Some teachers had positive experience while some had mixed opinions concerning the Fitnessgrams effectiveness of improving students’ BMI. Obesity is a serious problem that is becoming more prevalent among school aged children in America. The Centers for Disease Control revealed that approximately one in three American children and teenagers are obese or overweight (CDC Press Release, 2008). This is three times the number of obese children in America in the 1960s. Childhood obesity now surpasses smoking and drug use as the foremost concern of parents and the Georgia State Board of Education. The CDC suggested that the objective of all programs dealing with childhood obesity is to find ways of reducing the child’s weight while monitoring their lipid profile and blood pressure (CDC Press Release, 2008). The CDC also suggested that strong social support systems should be instituted to encourage a healthy weight among children. Parental involvement in programs created to check the development of obesity is one way this can be accomplished. According to the CDC and Krebs, Jacobson, and the American Academy of Pediatr ics Committee on Nutrition (2003), schools can also be part of the support system by providing only healthy meals for students during the day (CDC Press Release, 2008). According to the CDC, Georgia has the distinction of having the second highest rate of obesity among school aged children in America (CDC Press Release, 2008). This motivated the Georgia State Board of Education in 2011 to endorse programs like the Presidential Fitness Award to impact the obesity trends among children (Georgia Department of Education, 2011). However, according to Hirschmann and Zaphiropoulos (2012) there are still students who become obese in Georgia every month and 40% of Georgia’s school aged children are said to be obese. In 2008, Governor

Technology-HSBC Case Study Essay Example for Free

Technology-HSBC Case Study Essay How has the company chosen to improve its knowledge of customers and therefore its decision making? Analyze the management, organization, and technology dimensions of the solution. HSBC, as with other banks, took advantage of many poor consumers looking to own their own home. These consumers had low credit scores, are in default or have low income, which means there was a higher probability of them not paying back the loan. These banks took advantage by not explaining the entire process of how the amount will double and the interest rate will become adjustable after a couple years. This led to many subprime mortgage loan holders to not meet payments and eventually lose their home. Because of this HSBC was one of the first banks â€Å"announce a billion dollar write-off linked to its exposure to subprime mortgages. † (Modell) HSBC improved one way by advancing their technology. Data is collected and sent to one team of specialized individuals who make sure that all is correct for approval. HSBC also implemented a new process using Experian-Scorex decision support software. This new software will help HSBC with their decision making process. It â€Å"allows HSBC to identify the value of each customer and create tailored product packages. † (Finextra) George Lennox, a senior manager at HSBC, stated â€Å"Strategy Management will undoubtedly become an integral part of our business and we expect that it will make more than 50 billion customer decisions annually for us as we roll it out across our global business. (Finextra) They have also decided that customer satisfaction and building trust is more important than profit. Did HSBC choose the best solution? Explain your answer. HSBC chose a great solution. They allowed almost anyone to obtain a loan as long as they met some requirements. By using the new strategy management software they implemented, they will be able to make sure that each customer looking for services are eligible and able to keep the services. Explore HSBC . Does this Web site provide opportunities for HSBC to gather data about its customers? Describe the customer data collected at the Web site and explain how that data can be used to improve its business performance. Would you redesign the Web site to increase interactions with customers? I explored HSBCPremier, where they gave lots of information on how I can save money for my family, for example a college fund or saving for my child’s first car. HSBC requests lots of information mostly general such as name, date of birth, social security number and driver’s license number. But they also request other information such as any current loans or mortgages, and for instant funding you need to provide them with your current banking information. By collecting all this information, it gives HSBC the right tools to be able to assist customers with great satisfaction. HSBC has requirements linked to all their services. They want to service customers in the best way so they use the information collected to give customers the best service. I would not redesign the entire website. It seems pretty clear to me that not only do they give much information on each product and service they provide, but you are able to contact a representative who will clearly interpret anything you don’t understand. But one feature that I would add is in the â€Å"contact us† section, an option to chat with a live operator. This will allow customers to chat online with a representative about services without having to call on phone or go to a location. HSBC had decision making tools in place prior to the subprime meltdown. Why would you think they missed or ignored the potential catastrophic consequences that became reality? What added value would the new Experian-Scorex software provide? HSBC was looking to expand in the U. S. With the rise of consumers looking to become homeowners, as a business your first instinct is to get in the game and increase profits. I believe that HSBC only wanted to grow and help customers, but due to not being psychics and knowing that the market would crash and people would lose jobs and not be able to pay back loans, they lost in that game. When you have lenders not collecting the right information on consumers to help predict if they are able to pay the loan or not and not explaining the loan correctly to consumers, it causes conflicts. Consumers did not really understand the loans; they just knew they would become homeowners. Subprime loans are the worst, to me. Who wants to pay back 10 times what their home is actually worth? The new Experian-Scorex software will provide great value to HSBC’s strategy management. This new system will collect information and will help HSBC in their credit decisions. â€Å"George Lennox, Senior Manager, Group Credit and Risk at HSBC: As one of the worlds leading financial organizations, it is important to us that we make use of leading edge decision support technology. † (Experian) By implementing this new technology, HSBC will better assist their new and existing customers.

Performance of Equipment Maintenance Services in Healthcare

Performance of Equipment Maintenance Services in Healthcare Performance Monitoring in Equipment Maintenance Services checklist Title Abstract Method: Introduction Choosing And Using Key Performance Indicators Benchmarking In Clinical Engineering Audit Summary Discussion And Conclusion Abstract The objective of this literature review is to deliver results to the key performance indicators in monitoring the performance of equipment maintenance services. Method: Medical equipment management, health source and Medline were used and the search was conducted using different keywords such as key performance indicators, equipment maintenance services and performance monitoring equipment maintenance services. Introduction The medical equipment management approach defines the strategies for oversight and interaction of the medical equipment’s used in treatment, diagnosis and treatment of patients. All the related procedures and policies govern event from selection to acquisition, incoming inspection and the medical equipment management. The mission is ensuring that the medical equipment used in patient care is affordable, safe, accurate and available. The scope of this plan is clinical laboratories and different health systems. (McDermott 2009) Performance indicators should be chosen with care, if not individuals tend to respond by optimizing what is being estimated and hence lose focus of the quality. There are two important questions that should be asked concerning any performance indicator. First, can the performance indicator in question lead to perverse incentives and does it have the required potential to induce the desirable changes. Key performance indicators help a company measure progress towards their set objectives. (Kyan et al. 2004) Additionally, key performance indicators help an organization present of service delivery to come up with the course of action. Different key performance indicators differ depending with the exact nature of service delivery and the company’s approach. Choosing And Using Key Performance Indicators The right indicators vary depending on the reason why the management is choosing them. All key performance indicators contain numerous hidden assumptions. For instance, the company can quote is a known guaranteed downtime percentage with the inclusion of the time when the equipment will not be required. However, at times statistical measures can be very hard to interpret, while clinical users do not consider the actual time of action. (Willson et al.2008) On the other hand process indicators appear to change more often than those that have been made to support specific improvement, and monitor the key factors affecting to quality of output. Result measures are more bound to estimate the effectiveness of initiatives to boost the service. Reasons for the poor performance should be thoroughly investigated, for instance, a reduction of 15% in monthly number of the exact routine maintenance logged in by the workers could be caused by alternative external demands or slipping internal stand ards. The steps that need to be taken to improve the services include modifying procedures and services, modifying demand or delivering more services. If an indicator has been modified to make it more strong, then it will be very important to maintain comparison with the old for long enough, to find out whether the changes have had any positive impact. Process targets can be interpreted and set in regard to local circumstances, because the detailed practice commonly varies, on the other hand, outcome indicators are directly comparable between the services when similar definitions are used (McDermott et al. 2009) Cost measures are quite sensitive to what the service chosen omits and includes. Across a typical hospital, the annual maintenance cost per item included varies widely. Detailed research will give the right guidelines on where the reduction of cost will be more effective. At this point, a lifetime strategy to costing can greatly help avoid the situation where technicians spend endless hours repairing the same equipment because the clinical staff lucks the funds required replacing it. A great sense of perspective is required, for instance, so that the total amount of time required to find the right technician can be reduced, this will help theatres to avoid great loses associated with the breakdown of equipment. The clinical engineer will be responsible for balancing urgency and cost and justifying his/her actions to the clinical staff (Gruber et al. 2012) Key performance indicators are reported and monitored to the relevant safety committees in the hospital throughput the year to provide feedback to the efficiency of the medical equipment management plan, the following performance indicators can be quite helpful if well used in a clinic set up. Critical life support performance maintenance completion rate, with a 100% goal and a requirement rationale. Second, the overall performance maintenance completion rate, the goal is 90% and the best practice to report and monitor rationale. Third is the service requests caused by user errors or mishandling, with a 10% or less gal of all the service requests that had not been planned, in this regard, the exact number of chances may be synonymous without consideration of the overall volume of all the service requests received. Mishandling mistakes with the exact requirement will have to be evaluated to find out if the trends exist, with the overall ratio that has been tracked over time providing relevant information for risk reduction. Another performance indicator is the equipment failure rendering harm to staff or the parties, the goal is zero occurrences and the best practice to report and monitor rationale (Swan et al. 2004) The next performance indicator chosen is the hazardous investigations, the main reason for choosing this key indicator was getting the right information, the rationale of choosing the hazardous investigation KPI Is all SMDA recalls, reportable events and medical equipment accident investigations will be instantly reported to the relevant safety committees. The next performance indictor chosen was the performance improvement standards. First, clinical engineering is responsible for identifying performance improvement indicators, based on the priorities that have been identified by users of the medical equipment in question, the relevant department and the environment or safety care committee. The environment or safety committee has the sole responsibility of approving the thresholds and monitors on yearly basis. All performance maintenance indicators are reported after every three months to the safety committee. The information provided is then submitted to the governing body involved via the regular reporting channels. All the elements of performance indicators can be changed upon request based on the administrative input, the institutional experience and regulatory change (Willson et al. 2004) Benchmarking In Clinical Engineering Over the years, there has been a lot of benchmarking activity with the clinical engineering sector. Clinical staff and hospitals are continually finding that there are many issues that are pushing them towards benchmarking. In this sector, we shall look at different methods in which benchmarking in the hospitals in used and the most common measures that are available. These different measures fall into different categories depending with the service they are used to measure. The outlined derivation of benchmarking measures differ between different organizations, and checking into the differences is often vibrant than opting to do a direct comparison. This results into a debate when estimate the cost against other relevant performance measures. In addition, they help guide in making evidence based decisions which integrate the quality with the worth of money. (Willson et al. 2004) In Canada, standards for evaluation and measurement of the best clinical engineering services were introduced back in 1998. To put everything in order, the Canadian biological and medical society created a review to boost the sharing of concepts. Another alternative option is making the use of external consultants to measure the service and advice on the utilization of performance indicators and quality systems to enhance it. Audit This is very important to getting and maintaining the highest quality standards. In its simplest terms, the audit compares the current and the intended practice and immediately reports on the difference. For instance, many follow a person through the maintenance process whilst looking out for any deviation from the right procedures, checking out the records and terms to ensure they have been completed successfully. This strategy is relevant to the internal audits and has the capacity of identifying whether the procedure is working as expected, unfortunately, it does not capture the power of exactly what the audit can achieve. (Willson et al. 2004) As a result, an auditor requires some level of incidence without carrying the responsibility of the area being audited single handedly, this is something that is very hard to achieve in small organizations. If this is done successfully, external audits may bring sufficient benefits mainly if the auditing was conducted by an experienced audi tor from another company. In simpler terms, a simple audit process visits are made up of: Preparation and planning: The auditor agrees to the extent of the audit in advance. Opening meeting where the auditor meets with the management representative to discuss the importance of the audit. Audit: Includes visits to several areas, interviews with the organizations staff and examination of the databases. Closing meeting: The audit meets the management to explain and share their audit findings and confirm the queries, indicating how the issues will be resolved. Audit report: The audit writes a conclusive report clearing outline recommendations for improvement. Once both parties agree to the report, it is signed and passed to the relevant bodies. Follow up: The auditor follows up checks out the corrective actions to see whether they have been completed. Organization auditing can be used to measure how technical and scientific procedures are being followed and whether they will give the right results. This perfect type of audit may be conducted by experienced professional bodies under registered national schemes. For instance, thorough checks between radiotherapy determinants for quality assurance schemes and dose delivery. Basically, it looks at the product, so that they can test a complete system that is where it differs to outline quality control. (Willson et al. 2004) Summary In this report, we have identified many reasons why a company should monitor its performance; we have also discussed the importance of integrating monitoring in a top-notch management system. We have vividly described the design of key performance indicators and looked at how they can be implemented in medical equipment management. (We have also outlined the pitfalls associated with developing and interpreting performance indicators and considered their utilization in practice. We have also reviewed how benchmarking can assist organizations enhance their performance. Finally, we have considered how audits should be strategized, what happens during the audit and how different groups of organizations can combine efforts and assist each other with benchmarking and mutual audit activities. (Grubel et al.2008) Discussion And Conclusion One important thing to understand is the fact that key performance indicators are not performance targets. They are put in place as monitoring facilities with the idea of moving towards the direction of the successful implementation of the procedures, policies and process. Performance indicators are categorized into two distinct groups, namely, quantitate and qualitative. (McDermott et al. 2009)There are two things that must be identified in order to use KPIs effectively; these include the points in procedures or process through which the data is gathered to support the equipment monitoring. Secondly, the locations in service where the data gathered should be presented as important information for quality management. KPI’s are important because they enable facilities to have systems in place for better management of medical equipment and devices. A few of the reasons why key performance indicators are used include more complicated, enhanced technical preventative maintenance, regularly needs consistent quality assurance and specialized user training. (McDermott et al. 2009) References McDermott, R. (2009) Key Performance Indicators Medical Devices/ Equipment Management.’ A Case Studies Of Equipment Management. London: Routledge Willson, K., Tabakov, S., Ison, K., et al 2013, â€Å"Medical Equipment Management.† [Online] 1, (1) 274-280. Available from http://www.openbooke.com/ebook/medical-equipment-management.html> [accesed on 30th April 2015] Gruber, S (2012) Exploring Analytical Solutions For Healthcare Improvement [Online]. Healthcare Analytics, New York. Available at: http://healthcareanalytics.info/2012/02/is-it-a-metric-or-a-key-performance-indicator-kpi/#.VUJEvlFMK_I [Accessed on 30th April 2015]