Discipline Essay

Machiavelli has a theory that â€Å"ends justify the means† which means a person may do whatever they need to do as long as their outcome has some meaning. In sports some believe that taking steroids is the right thing to do. Then there is also the group that believes that taking steroids is morally wrong. From an ethical/moral standpoint, players who use steroids are cheating and living a lie, garnering success and prospering from illegal substances. Users who buy into Machiavelli’s theory go against society’s standards of rewarding hard work and discipline. When you take steroids you do not use hard work and discipline to reach your physical status. Taking steroids is a harm that reaches far beyond one’s body, but into one’s soul. It is morally wrong to cheat for a living. Those who oppose the illegality and immorality of performance-enhancing drugs maintain that professional athletes should have the right to use steroids because steroids are no different from any other technology or substance that enables athletes to compete at high levels. Although advances in technology in sports have been made that only allows the sports to become more competitive. One’s body is not a piece of equipment that can be used, abused, and replaced. Using enhancers such as, anabolic steroids, allows beings to become almost super human an act of immorality. In Steve Yuhas’ essay, â€Å"The Steroid Scandal in Baseball has been Overblown,† he explains a profound understanding that steroids cannot increase the abilities of an athlete. Overall steroids do not help the abilities taught to professional athletes or athletes in general. Yuhas states that â€Å"Yes, they can become stronger and their biceps may grow to the size of a normal person’s thigh, but that doesn’t make them able to hit a small ball with a thin bat and it certainly doesn’t make a football player throw more accurately or kick the ball through the uprights with more precision† (Yuhas 2). Abilities are taught and learned. Steroids do not help the ability of the athlete. He is a believer of Machiavelli’s theory; he believes that an athlete does not have to work hard to achieve a mentally and physically stronger body when they can just pop a pill to do the work for them. Yuhas’ argues, â€Å"There seems to be a [†¦] scale of morality involved in steroids that is absent from any other substance. Popping a pill to render a child more productive in school or to make a fat person thin is great; sucking the fat out of a woman’s behind or injecting a forehead with botox is simply cosmetic upkeep, but put something in your body that makes you more competitive in your livelihood and it is somehow morally corrupt† (Yuhas 2). Although Yuhas makes a substantial argument there is a thin line between what is morally wrong and what is right. Athletes use steroids to become stronger to earn more money and fame for themselves. Society looks upon steroid use as an immoral judgment. Steroid use for athletes is a selfish and greedy act. People may use botox to prevent â€Å"Father Time†, but that is not a reason for professional athletes, who are role models to so many, to use steroids. A human beings competitive livelihood is apparent to all. When someone wants to become the best they are willing to work hard for it and not cheat. When you use steroids you do not become the greatest athlete, but you do become the worst. Despite the recent problems with steroid use in professional sports, especially baseball, steroid restrictions have not been enforced hard enough on the athletes. Steroids used by one-person gives them an advantage over those who do not use performance enhancers. Due to steroid use, sports records held by elite athletes are being broken by false feats that are only achieved by using an enhancer, and enforcing steroid use in professional sports gives young athletes a better understanding of how dangerous enhancers actually are. Aside from personal harm to the user, steroid use is detrimental to fellow players as well as fans. Many things can be included as an immoral act but in today’s society steroid use is a main point on what is morally wrong. Baseball is an American pastime and ruining the game is a bad example to all Americans. Americans have a livelihood for competition, from clinching the World Series to who can belch the loudest. Our conscience urges competition to an extreme that makes the littlest of things very big. While performance-enhancing drugs enhance an athlete’s skill sets, they devalue and alter competition. When you go to a baseball game you only want to see a few things, which include that huge homerun by your favorite player and the win to your favorite team. Some would argue that using steroids will allow more homeruns to players and would make baseball games more entertaining. Well those few people may be right but then the game would not be competitive. If you go to a game and each team hits five to eight homeruns apiece the urge to see homeruns and watch the game would be ruined. Records are always broken, each decade a more outstanding athlete emerges and they begin at a record pace and break great athletic records. Records are something to glorify, Babe Ruth had the record homeruns in a season, then a few years later that was broken by another player, Roger Marris. As the game began to become more competitive in both aspects of pitching and hitting records were difficult to break. Hitters began to hit the long ball harder and further, the change in the athletes muscle mass was exponential but players and the MLB did not care. Baseball had many fans, as Mark McGwire had been his record-breaking homerun pace. His record was set by a lie as he attested to using steroids during that record breaking year and his lie caused much hurt to fans as it had embarrassed the franchise. Later Barry Bonds broke the record and broke the all time homeruns in a career passing Hank Aaron. Not long after that he was accused of using steroids and then again a franchise was embarrassed. The pressure on baseball players is indirect; it comes twice a month, on paydays. The big money goes to guys who hit thirty homers, not the ones who hit thirty doubles. It pays to be strong; it is almost like an animalistic behavior. Only the strongest survive. Are athletes the role models needed for American youth? Many young athletes have their favorite player in whichever sport they partake in. Seeing their idol admitting to using steroids could possibly corrupt their mind in believing that steroid use is the right thing to do to become a stronger and better athlete. Beyond any possible benefits of steroid use lies the dangerous issue of health. In many cases, athletes (especially young athletes) are so focused on success in a professional sport that they are ignoring the glaring consequences of steroid use. In actuality, the price of steroid use and abuse is high; much higher a price than any lucrative contract or marketing deal. â€Å"The National Institute on Drug Abuse reports that heart attacks, strokes, and live cancer are the more serious life-threatening effects of steroid abuse. Side effects for male users include acne, hair-loss, development of breasts, shrinking testicles, and impotence. † (qtd. In Fletcher D4). Yet another way in which steroids harm the user is through increased susceptibility to injuries. One theory is that players are overwhelming their bodies with rapid muscle growth. Players who use steroids to gain a competitive advantage over peers and opponents pressure others, including youth, to use performance-enhancing substances. If they too want to win and remain competitive, they must use steroids as well. In baseball, as with all professional sports, income, fame, and marketability depend on success and impressive feats of athleticism. The pressure and increased incentive to â€Å"bulk up† is evident. â€Å"The average size of a major-league player was a pretty standard 6-foot-1, 185 pounds for at least 30 years, until the early 1990s. Today, the average player is 6-foot-1, 200 pounds, and most teams have players who weigh in at 240 pounds or more. † (West 22). Bigger players hit more home runs and sign lucrative contracts and endorsement deals. Because of this, more players want to be bigger. As more and more players are tainted by steroids it begins to affect more and more of the youth that watches sports. Steroids have directly affected the biggest fans in baseball, America’s youth. Besides cheapening statistics and athletic accomplishments, the use of performance-enhancing drugs has tarnished the general image of baseball. Instead of a game that encourages healthy competition, it is one that resembles a pharmacological trade show, where the effects of steroids are put on display. Baseball is known as â€Å"America’s pastime†. It holds a special place in American society. The values of society are reflected in the values of its most popular and revered cultural pastimes. When the message is sent that it is acceptable to have a drug problem in sport, it is akin to saying that this staple of American culture is reflective of a drug problem in society. Some would argue that baseball is a reflection of a culture mired in drugs and a society that is lacking quality role models for its youth. One of the biggest blows to baseball’s image came in August 2005 when slugger Rafael Palmeiro, who has collected over 3,000 hits and has hit nearly 600 home runs during his career, tested positive for steroids. † (Fletcher D1). The former first baseman for the Baltimore Orioles was booed relentlessly and was told by the team after the season he would no longer be part of the team. Palmeiro is since retired; his hall-of-fame numbers are still in question. As we have seen, the use of performance-enhancing drugs in sport, specifically baseball, is an immoral practice. As seen steroid use does in fact directly affects fans and the teammates that the player plays with. Drug testing baseball players cannot be foolproof. In fact, all the testing does is keep players from using optimal dosages and encourage them to find ways to mask the drugs. The only infallible test for steroid use is a player’s moral compass. As soon as players identify not using steroids as a moral obligation, for both personal reasons and beyond, the game of baseball and its once-great warriors will return to the apex of the sporting world.

Critique of Kochavi’s Article Essay

Many of us used to read historical facts and data whether as a form of requirement of just a source of knowledge. As we read these texts, we are mould to understand certain parts of history that gives us greater perspective and learning of the past. According to Howell and Pervenier in their book â€Å"From Reliable Source: An Introduction to Historical Methods,† there is a process in obtaining historical data and evidences. This book serves as the basic steps in understanding the meaning and essence of history. As readers, we may be brought into historical places and scenarios because of many historians that give us several accounts on history, but we must also understand how history played a significant role to our growth and identity. This paper will discuss Noam Kochavi’s article entitled â€Å"Washington’s View of the Sino-Soviet Split, 1961-63: From Puzzled Prudence to Bold Experimentation† as it unravels a significant point of world history. In discussing the text, Howell and Prevenier will be taken into consideration to justify the arguments of the paper. Kochavi’s article discussed and described the trend and pattern of Sino-Soviet War. In the beginning of the article, the author discussed the path of the war as it involves the United States. In the middle of the text, Kochavi analyzed the different perspectives of the other historians as they give narration to the process of war through time between the concerned countries and the United States as part of the issue. Howell and Prevenier discussed the five keys to successful elaboration of historical accounts – a historian should know how to choose, he or she must know how to authenticate, to decode, to compare, and to interpret those sources that he or she has obtained. Based on the article, Kochavi has overflowing materials right through her hands. It was seen in her bibliography. They were used according to each topic. In the beginning of her article she discussed her main source, Gordon Chang’s â€Å"Friends and Enemies. † She discussed every sequence of Chang’s ideas and facts towards the World War and the perspectives of the United States within the issue of Sino-Soviet War. From all of these, it shows that Kochavi achieved the first key to obtain elaboration of the topic – by choosing the topic and idea. â€Å"Chang’s study has the single virtue of highlighting the considerable extent to which US officials during the 1950s and 1960s, Republican and Democrat alike, identified China as a growing danger to global and regional stability (Kochavi 51). † Kochavi’s article is a depiction of social reality and history into a complex situation. She is a product of modern historian that deals with the nature of facts and data in a sociological perspective rather than the technical acquisition of evidences. It can be said that this formation is a good attack to discuss the issues and relevant topics to make the article whole. Kochavi is also a basic definition of historian by Howell and Pervenier – having her own perspective that moulds the people into her own idea of the topic of the history. This point shows how the author authenticates the knowledge and evidences that she obtained throughout the process research and discussion of the text. â€Å"Another manifestation was the sense that the Communist Chinese soldier was capable of exhibiting inhuman resilience, partly because of the leadership’s alleged low regard for human life (53). † This part of the article showed the thoughts and arguments of Kochavi in regards with the context of the war. There are several points that she obtained throughout the text and all of these were discussed with certain evidences from different books, articles, discussions, and interviews. It was seen in the article that the author is making her assertions with points and justification to her main idea. As she discussed the inclusion of Washington to the war of China and Soviet Union, she is armed with different learning, ideas, composition, facts, evidences, and relevant materials to fulfill her goal for the text. That is why as the article went to its end, the readers would have greater knowledge towards the war and the ways on how Washington or the whole United States faced the issues and complications of the war. Kochavi decoded the facts and discussed it through her own senses and ideas to formulate better perspectives and identity to this part of history. â€Å"At the same time, prominent Foreign Service ‘Russian experts’, respected in the administration’s higher counsels, deemed Rostow’s prognosis too optimistic (62). † This part of the text discussed other relevant data and analysis to the topic. It is a form of comparison because Kochavi used to define and describe the capabilities, skills, knowledge, and identity of the Russian experts as they discuss the war. The author attempted not to become bias with her own thoughts and ideologies. That is why she recognized some ideas and analysis coming from other historians or experts in different countries especially to the concerned countries during the war to show their struggles, emotions, and own viewpoint of the battle. Therefore, Kochavi slowly obtained the fourth key to become a good historian for she already discussed the key aspects in tortuous case to make her readers understand well her input, subject, and point of view. On the other way around, as the article evolves and articulates its main thought, the author also narrates her simple ideas towards the scenario or the chosen topic that she faced. â€Å"In no small measure, Washington’s handling of the split was shaped by the policymaker’s preconceptions regarding China and the Soviet Union, as well as by perceived domestic factors. Yet, this article demonstrates that intelligence organs and intelligence products played a significant role (71). † The last part of the text, he discussed the main points that she wanted to convey. Through this, she has the willpower to learn and continue growing in the field of history that only few could acquire. She interpreted the sources that she has in greater sense of responsibility towards her readers. The attempts, attacks, symbolisms, and signs that Kochavi used to perform her duty as a historian and gives the readers the understanding of the content and rationale that shows the political, social, and economic aspects of war during 1960s. In conclusion to this, it can be said that Noam Kochavi did not only made a good effort to discuss the points and revelations of the Sino-Soviet War but she also made some input that moulds the readers on how they will perceive this certain part of history. It is true that historians give the idea of acquiring the facts of history as based on Howell and Pervenier. History is always in the hands of the historians because they give life to the past as we readers continue to nurture our minds in whatever facts, evidences, and information that we obtain through reading and acquiring knowledge. Work Cited Kochavi, Noam. 2000. Washington’s View of the Sino-Soviet Split, 1961-63: From Puzzled Prudence to Bold Experimentation. Intelligence and National Security 15, no. 1 (Spring): 50-79

Renewable energy law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Renewable energy law - Essay Example There are several reasons why the government should insist on the usage of renewable energy sources. Renewable energy sources are no likely to cause pollution in the air and on water bodies.However,there are some sources of renewable energy that can cause environmental degradation if not carefully used; such sources include large hydro and some kinds of biomass. Renewable energy is also seen as a perfect example in fighting global warming. These sources of energy do not emit carbon monoxide into the air thus affecting the ozone layer. Further, renewable sources of energy are sustainable; they can be used for several years without being depleted. Renewable sources of energy such as hydro, solar, geothermal, wind, tidal and wave power have got no fuel costs: their production does not depend on the presence of fuel for their production. Their usage can prevent the ever rising prices of energy.The UK and Canada have got the powers to declare an executive economic zone (EEZ).Such a resolu tion means that they are able to establish any organization that will be mandated and concerned with the production of renewable energy. They will also be able to produce renewable energy through the water, current and winds. The UK has got no intention to declare an EEZ, however, the government will consider the move once it receives royal assent from the United Nations. Precedent to this policy is witnessed in the country’s commissioning of an Executive Fishing Zone and another zone for the conservation of the marine environment. These two policies progress the UK’s ability in respect to specific rights, those that exist outside its territorial waters (Roggenkamp and Hammer, 2004). Privileges established in the primary legislation will assist in the creation of boundaries to the production of renewable energy which is expected to operate under the Orders in Council. Regulation for this can be found in the secondary regulation under section 1 (7) of the continental sh elf act 1967 which is concerned with the mapping of the UK’s continental shelf. The government projects that the renewable energy zone will also work in the same way as the UK continental shelf. There are also some limits to these regulations, it is evident that they will challenged by other regulations from other coastal states, for example, at the west coast of Scotland, the limit may extend to over 200 mile limit (Roggenkamp and Hammer, 2004). The UK government has got plans to allocate resources necessary for the development of renewable energy zones, especially in the Crown state. To ensure that the offshore renewable energy installations meet the standards of the UK government, policy makers in the sector will have follow the similar approach followed in the Petroleum Act 1998 (Roggenkamp and Hammer, 2004). This will be achieved through the use of Orders in Council to ensure strict application of the necessary law of England, Wales and Scotland to the approach towards r enewable energy investments and any acts or omissions committed with the range of 500 meters. Further, the government plans to use the protection enjoyed in the Submarine Telegraph act 1885 in the submarine cable responsible for the installation of renewable energy devices, either in the territorial sea or in its internal waters. To this far, the work of the legal team in the provision of regulations within the renewable energy sector will be put to practice by using relevant provisions of the legislation which are already being used in its territorial waters. The government also holds the view that offshore renewable energy and their relation with the integrated transmission network should honor the same quality and safety as the onshore installations. Policy makers therefore plan to extend the legality of the sections 29 and 30 of the electricity act to the renewable energy zone. Further, due to the potentiality of disaster that offshore renewable energy may pose to the airplanes, they plan to also use the civil aviation authority so as to

Love Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Love Assignment - Essay Example Furthermore, they focused on the company’s requirements, and have been honest throughout the process. In addition, they knew the software that they were working on, and out of all the other providers, their out of box fit was better than the rest. They worked as a team during the demo, which is a culture that is similar to Harley, and they showed some kind of cultural diversity, which is vital today. About their honesty, they admitted that some of the requirements could not fit the functionality and to counter that shortcoming, they came up with a solution to the problem (Austin, Cotteleer and Sole 21). It also shows that they focused more on the functionality of the product, which was the main idea. Overall, they scored the highest points, meaning that most of the criteria used was satisfactory and nearly matched all the requirements of the company. In this case, then the answer is yes. The provider with the highest matrix wins automatically because this shows that almost all the requirements of the software for the company were met, and the clients were satisfied. The reason that provider scored the highest marks and were the preferred providers for the software was that apart from the functionality, they considered the dynamics of the people who would use the software, ownership issues. One thing that also made them have the highest score is that they stood out in terms of experience in manufacturing and prior similar work. They knew exactly what they were doing right from the start, and they understood the requirements of the company. As stated before, they not only focused on the functionality of the software, their relationship with the organization was impressive, as they showed that they tried to fit in the shoes of the client company. They also showed diversity in their group as they addressed all the areas, both the functionality and the change of the management (Austin, Cotteleer and Sole 20). Therefore, high score

The Great Migrations of Africa Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

The Great Migrations of Africa - Essay Example Therefore, Mauch had a vision; he theorized that the Great Zimbabwe monuments had been actually made by Biblical characters visiting from the north. He stated: "I do not think that I am far wrong if I suppose that the ruin on the hill is a copy of Solomon's Temple on Mount Moriah and the building in the plain a copy of the palace where the Queen of Sheba lived during her visit to Solomon." Mauch further stated that a "civilized [read: white] nation must once have lived there." To us nowadays, this seems very far-fetched and the concept of the indigenous people actually building the monuments seems far more likely, but this was not true of most European assumptions during the late 1800s (Manu, 2004). The civilization actually existed around 1100-1450 AD, which was actually when the civilization was at the height of its power (Manu, 2004). There are still modern day settlers in the region, made up of mostly shone-speaking farmers. The civilization is located in south central Africa, which is considered current Zimbabwe, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. The actual site itself sits on a high plateau, over 1000 m (Manu, 2004). This civilization is important for a variety of reasons. First, this site, which includes the Great Enclosure wall, has its very impressive monuments which are only beaten out with impressiveness by the Egyptian pyramids (Manu, 2004). Furthermore, an extensive trading network formed through this region, and during the Medieval period, this was very important. The main focus of trade was on gold, copper, tin, cattle, and cowrie shells. This area was also important politically. For around 350 years, the civilization would be ruled by powerful rulers. The civilization was probably made up of around 18,000 inhabitants (Manu, 2004). In 350 AD Shona-speaking farmers settled in the region. They had migrated into the area to avoid the annoying tsetse flies, which can cause the deaths of not only people, but cattle as well through the disease known as sleeping sickness (Manu, 2004). The flies did not make appearances at such high altitudes, so the farmers were able to farm their cattle. At the end of the 11th century, the civilization began to develop (Manu, 2004). Intensified trading activities helped the civilization to expand. However, the civilization was not to last forever. It was abandoned around 1450 AD for reasons still unknown to historians today (Manu, 2004). There has been much speculation about this. It is known that the people left and started the northern kingdom of Monomotapa, as well as other states. Some historians have speculated that the fall could have been attributed to the population depleting land sources, over-farming, or perhaps a drastic weather change that could have hurt the trade marke t. Still, further research in this area is needed (Manu, 2004). Question Two The Bantu people began to migrate from the Congo or Niger Delta Basin. Their migration is so impressive because it is actually one of the largest ever seen in history. This incredible movement started at around 1000 AD and continued through 1800 AD (Nalubwama, 2009). However, historians are still unsure of why the movements happened in the first place. Therefore, there has been much speculation and theory for how and why this began. One theory given reflected on the concept that overpopulation may have inspired some groups of people to move into a different area, looking for areas and land to farm. Another

Ethics in the Engineering Profession Assignment

Ethics in the Engineering Profession - Assignment Example Thereafter, the consequences of the choices and decisions made in the situation are reviewed, and finally an analysis of the impact the code of ethics on the conduct of engineering professionals is discussed. A facility was needed to store water in a reservoir. The water to be stored was to be drawn from the reservoir by a separate system. The required system was expected to manage the level of water in the storage reservoir. The engineers in the situation used digital signals in which the PLC had two digital inputs, that is, empty reservoir and full reservoir. The digital output of the PLC is used to open and lock the inlet into the reservoir. When the two switches are off, the PLC opens the valve to let in more water. In the event that both switches are on, the PLC by design shuts the inlet to prevent overflow. Float switches were used to avert a situation in which any use of water opens the valve or activates, and subsequently deactivates the pump for a stint, making the system wear down quickly. The analog approach may use water and a valve, which can be adjusted. As for the PLC, a PID reaction loop could be used to regulate the opening of the valve. The engineers tasked with this duty were not getting on well and hence had challenges in communicating to one another; therefore, their ultimate goal lacked objectivity. The system they designed did not optimize the refill rates because one engineer failed to advise the counterpart that using both options of analog and digital system would be the best option to the problem. They ended up using the digital system. The two engineering professionals failed to effectively communicate; hence, performed the activity with dishonesty and without objectivity. The solution they offered the client will cause economic loss since the refill rates were not optimized even though it was possible for the two to ensure it happened. Clearly, the engineering code of ethics three was violated as objectivity and

Medical Law, Morality and Legal Duties Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Medical Law, Morality and Legal Duties - Essay Example The discussion seeks to answer the question: Does the law on abortion and euthanasia reflect moral obligations of society, or communal outlooks? Hart’s claims that legal duties must be effectively accepted as common public standards of official behaviour. Although a positivist, there are connotations of morality Hart’s theory, which requires that legal duties correspond to moral obligations in order to have legal effect. If reference is to be made to social norms which provide the basis of validity for legal duties, the proposition coincides rather well. Positivists do not deny a connection between law and morality; they argue that legal duties are not affected by moral obligations. However, heated public debate on abortion and euthanasia strongly suggest otherwise. Yet, it could be argued that despite the fact that many may disagree with it, the law in the UK prohibits euthanasia. Does this mean that the criminalisation of euthanasia would reflect moral obligations? It can be accurately stated that perhaps the most important moral obligation is to preserve the sanctity of life. In this respect, legal duties have been created by moral obligations. Yet the law on abortion permits what could be termed as the killing of a human being. How can the law allow acts which essentially obliterate the moral obligation to preserve life? The conflicting elements provided by this proposition highlight the complexity of the interplay between legal duties and moral obligations; not every situation is able to be dealt with similarly, despite the fact that it may essentially be based on the same moral or legal basis.9 It is not a simple application of moral obligations to legal duties or vice versa – there is a complex interconnection between conflicting rights and clashing elements. Yet the fact that some may not agree with legal duties in relation to these aspects does not necessarily reduce their validity as law per se. Indeed, Kelsen states that the scie nce of law does not prescribe that one ought to obey the commands of the creator,10 though Hart refers to notions of fairness in order to argue the importance of legal duties.11 If one applies this issue to the courtroom, the attention appears to turn to moral obligations as bases of legal duties. Presented with often vague legislative provisions of law, judges must apply such vague terms to complex, real-life situations. Therefore, a law which prohibits

Toxic waste-see information I sent Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Toxic waste-see information I sent - Essay Example the December 3, 1984 incident in Bhopal wherein 3,000 residents were immediately killed after an industrial accident and produced toxic wastes that continued to cause adverse effects to the residents of the said city. In the same manner, this paper would look into the actions of the government in trying to solve these problems and why they are always blamed for their inefficiency and apathy when it comes to environmental problems. On September 11, 2000, the environmental group, Greenpeace blamed the Indian government for its failure to protect the country from being a dumping ground for toxic wastes (Bbc.co.uk 1). According to the same group, industrialized nations such as Germany, the United States, Australia, United Kingdom, Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands and Norway all contribute in the exportation of their industrial wastes and hazardous materials to India. These include the following: (1) zinc ash; (2) lead waste; (3) used batteries; and finally, (4) metal scraps. BBC.co.uk (1) says that these toxic wastes continue to enter the country despite the ban implemented by the Indian Supreme Court back in 1997 due to the country’s lack of mechanism that could help in the enforcement of these laws. Aside from blaming the inefficiency of the government in dealing with environmental problems, Greenpeace, in BBC.co.uk (1) also blames the exporting country governments in taking advantage of the limitations of the India’s regulatory structure, thus continuing to export more toxic wastes to the country, Baynham (1) also recognized the inability of the Indian government to enforce laws to help in preventing the toxic wastes mentioned above from entering the country. In fact, India is a signatory of various international laws such as the Basel Convention which aims to curb the trade of toxic materials and the Stockholm Convention Persistent Organic Pollutants which says that landfills are not proper disposal sites of PCB wastes. The aforementioned is said to have

Fundamentals of Research Essay Example for Free

Fundamentals of Research Essay Research is a vital part of someone life because for the person to find information or wants to know anything he or she would need to conduct a research. People use other scientific approaches to conduct testing on data and research. The most common scientific approach people uses are scientific method because they can find the most reasonable solution to his or her testing. When working in the human services field research is one of the major tools used by case workers, managers, and counselors, and therapist. The scientific methods provide workers with enough information to make important decision on a regular base. Before human services professionals enter the field they conduct research or gathered information from his or her research so they could have information about his or her client. This type of research helps human service professional on his or her cases. The description, definition, and explanation of the scientific method on how human services professional uses research to conduct business will be present in this paper. The definition of quantitative, qualitative, and mixed method research will be presented and an example on when to apply mixed method research in human services works. The definition of the scientific method is a â€Å"general expression for the methodology of science, or systematic research approach or outlook emphasizing the use of empirical reasoning† (Rosnow, Rosenthal, 2008, pg. 1). Other books or dictionary defined scientific methods as the â€Å"principles and procedures for the systematic pursuit of knowledge involving the recognition and formulation of a problem, the collection of data through observation and experiment, and the formulation and testing of hypothesis† (Merriam-Webster Dictionary, n.d.). When people think of the word â€Å"scientific,† the first thing pop into people minds is the study of the human body, geography, chemistry, biology, or even natural sciences. In human services there is also some form of scientific method demonstrate by workers. Human services worker demonstrates social science when working with clients, organizations, business, and other professional working in the same field. Human services workers used scientific method to take survey, answer questions, and conduct assessments in human services work. The scientific method provides statistic on children and elderly abusive, domestic violence, and teenage pregnancy, just to name a few. The scientific method helps human services workers find statistic or information on why children and elderly are being neglect and abusive by family members and friends. There are so much homeless veterans on the street, or even why sex-offenders are released from prisons back into society where they could harm children again. The steps involved in the process of scientific inquiries are observation, research, testable hypothesis, experiment hypothesis, analyze results, and draw conclusions. The next few paragraphs will describe the steps in the scientific inquiry. Observation provides information base on the real-world. Human service workers use social science to work on cases in the real world. The real-world provides workers with the knowledge they need, when working in the field. The information taken from the real-world is passed on to the research stage. The research stage allows case works to understand the basic information being observed. Some case workers may end-up finding the same information other workers has found already. It is the responsibility of the case workers to continue researching the information the case worker found. This process still has unanswered questions, which makes it easier to continue the research process and investigate into the information from the observation process. The next stage becomes the most vital stage in the scientific inquiries. Next the testable hypothesis is basically the background information from the research work. In, this process case workers have an opportunity to explain the observation he or her has made and ensure accurate the testing is. Some time, the information from the research data case workers collected for the experiment might be off from the hypothesis. This type of demonstration allows case workers to gain some kind of knowledge about the areas they might need to investigate more. It does not mean the first experiment is not accurate but other testing needs to be conducted. This allows case workers to make knowledgeable experiments so he or she could find answers to the questions that were unanswered. This is how case workers conduct business in the real world-by working on finding reliable and accurate understanding of the world. The fourth stage consists of conducting an experiment to test the hypothesis. This stage allows case workers to test their hypothesis to discover if the data they collected from his or her observation, research, and testable hypothesis is accurate. The steps followed according to the formula of the data for the experiment. It is important to identify the structure of the testable hypothesis. The variable from the testable hypothesis might be off so it is important to retest the experiment. Case workers take notes to determine any finding or mistakes that might happen, it is best to document the experiment so there is no repeat of the same experiment. This process ensures the data case workers collected is reliable and consistent to his or her hypothesis. One mistake could cause the whole experiment to go wrong. If the hypothesis is not constant the conclusions case workers draw from the observations, the research collected for the experiment will not have any type of meaning to the hypothesis. The next two final stages are analyzing the data and draw the conclusions. In the analyzing stage case workers data are presented, the facts are organizes, relationships are built, and the information is calculated so it could be analyzed and interpreted. In this process case workers could take the information gathered and determine if the hypothesis could be approved, rejected, or revised. After this process human services worker could start preparing his or her report and summarizing each stage for discussion. If the report is good enough the conclusions will relates to the body of the research. The report should still have room to modify any new information needed. This opens up the door to unanswered questions and leave room for additional studies. Human Services workers use the scientific method to conduct assessment and survey on domestic violence on women and children in the community. The problem here is how to conduct the necessary assessment to determine the number of women or children who are victims of domestic violence. The hypothesis should be to use the number chart with W’s representing the number of women and C’s to determine the number of children in domestic violence. The experimentation is conducted within two facilities where women and children are held. There is four associated available to help out with the experiment. Each associated will have his or her data which will be used to answer the question. The hypothesis will be tested and if additional testing is needed it will be conducted. The case workers will have an opportunity to analyze the results of the assessment. Finally the conclusion could be executed in the proper way and everyone could agree on the findings. Qualitative research is the studies in which the raw data exist in a non-numerical form (Rosnow, Rosenthal, 2008, pg. 4). Qualitative research discusses the type of research human services workers used when working in the field on different type of psychology, social sciences, and sociology cases. Quantitative research is the studies in which the raw data exist in a numerical form (Rosnow, Rosenthal, 2008, pg. 4). Quantitative research discusses the type of assessment or survey case workers used to conduct experiment. The areas are Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics human services used to determine the hypothesis and draw conclusion using the natural science tools. Both could be used in the human services field for example, in the number of domestics’ violence cases among women and children on the number chart. Using the qualitative research the study would be the age of the women and children. Using quantitative research on the number chart is the study of children taken out of their homes. It depends on the situation or case being studies to determine, which research between the qualitative and quantitative to use. The mixed method research is defined as the procedures for collecting both quantitative and qualitative data in a single study, and for analyzing and reporting this data based on a priority and sequence of the information (Creswell, 2008, pg. 552). The mixed method research demonstrates more of a complete indication of the study to any problems compared to either the qualitative and quantitative method. Mixed method research provides answers to questions and analysis statistic where qualitative and quantitative method cannot provide. An example of the mixed method research is the study of quantitative measurement to determine the impact of the treatment base on the outcomes. The qualitative part exactly comes before the experiment. Researchers collect the data to qualitative to determine the used of the design for the treatment being conducted. The fundamental of research is to determine if the information gathered is accurate enough to advance to the next stage. This process in human services work is vital because case workers the information gathered must be observe, research, test the hypothesis, perform the experiment hypothesis, and analyze the results, and finally draw a conclusion. The research method is beneficial to any human services workers or facility. The accuracy of the experiment must be strong enough to stand on its own for human services organizations to offer this type of services. Once the scientifically area shows improvement services will advance and goals of the human services organization and workers will be accomplished. References Creswell, J. W. (2008). Educational research: Planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Merrill Prentice Hall. Merriam-Webster Dictionary. (n.d.). Retrieved December 23, 2012, from Scientific method: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scientific%20method Rosnow, R. L., Rosenthal, R. (2008). Beginning behavioral research: A conceptual primer (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall.

Study On The Changes Of The Nhs Nursing Essay

Study On The Changes Of The Nhs Nursing Essay In the last five years, United Kingdom has experienced a significant change in its national health services (NHS). This paper therefore focuses on that change. The first section is a detailed description and the main objective of the change. Using appropriate models and frame works, the second section identifies the key drivers to the change and how their interaction has affected the issues addressed by management. Drawing upon the examples of best management practices, the third section assesses the appropriateness of the approach taken by management in effecting the change and how effective management implemented the change strategy. The final section examines the extent to which the change has been successful in meeting its objective and assesses the need for any further related change. 2. Organisational change overview 2.1 The National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the public funded health care system in the United Kingdom (UK) that provides the majority of health care to the UK residents. Its areas of health care coverage are the primary health care, in-patient care, long term health care, ophthalmology and dentistry. The Department of Health (DOH) headed by the Secretary of State of Health is the UK government department that is responsible for the NHS (Department of Health 2007). 2.2 Major change in the NHS Since 2005, the United Kingdoms NHS (UK NHS) has been implementing an innovative technology that will help patients stay healthy and maintain their independence. This technology is targeted at terminally ill patients with long term health condition that require regular monitoring. It also covers elderly people suffering from dementia and individuals with Down syndrome who may be at risk of injury. Thus, with this new technology, patients emergency room visits as well as unnecessary nurse visits to patients homes are reduced. Furthermore, this technology increases clinical efficiency and reduces the mounting financial cost of institutional health care in the UK. The implementation is said to be the worlds biggest trial of remote monitoring of chronically ill patients in their homes. Patients in New Ham, East London and Hull Yorkshire have benefited from this programme. This programme, funded by the department of health is been implemented by Philips, the worlds leading electronic companies. Philips electronics is hoping to prove to the NHS that it can immensely reduce the financial burden of institutional health care by implementing ultra-modern diagnostic equipment that uses internet technology to link patients from their homes to care providers in the hospitals. Since over 14.5 Million people in Britain have long term health conditions, it is expected that they will require regular monitoring (Department of Health 2007). I am a trained Electrical Engineer and have been providing tele-health equipment installation consultancy for Philips UK since 2008. I am directly involved in the implementation going on presently in Hull and New Ham. Patients in New Ham and Hull are been monitored at Home using diagnostic equipments linked via broadband internet connected to local hospitals and clinics. These patients are able to use the diagnostic equipments to take their vital signs and blood sugar level. Subsequently, the information is wirelessly uploaded to patients TV for their own monitoring and electronically sent via broad band to staff at the primary health trust. Further implementation is underway in Cornwell and Kent and will gradually expand to all cities in the UK as the department of health targets technology efficiency that could save the NHS Millions of pounds. Although the technology enables people to live independently in their homes, it is not intended to replace hospitals and care homes but to make better use of recourses and reduce financial burden on the system. 3. Drivers for NHS change Force field analysis by Lewin (1951) is a diagnostic tool used in looking at the variables involved in determining whether organisational change will occur. Once change priority has been agreed, a force field analysis can be used to identify actions that will enhance or deter their successful implementation. Applying Lewins force field analysis as shown in figure 1 below, it can be seen that the NHS Tele health technological implementation has some internal and external driving and forces. 3.1 Internal Drivers Among the strongest internal driving forces as can be seen in figure 1 below are; strong leadership and the need for accurate and consistent patients information availability. Strong leadership and commitment of top management are often cited as the most important factor for implementing a successful change programme (Bashein et al, 1994). NHS leadership is effective, strong and was able to provide a clear vision of the change programme. Other internal driving forces are the fact that the technology will aid patients to be independent and free up nurses and doctors to concentrate on other important task. This motivated medical practitioners in looking forward for the change. 3.2 External Drivers The identified external driving forces as can be seen in figure 1 are Governments desire to reduce the cost of administering health care in the UK, New European Union legislation in support of tele-montoring and the recent economic recession. Since 2005 the UK government has been researching on ways of bringing down the cost of instructional health care. Limited resources availability as a result of the recent economic down turn and an increasing UK population has necessitated the need for a cost effective alternative as the status quo is unsustainable. Another external driver is the new European Union legislation in support of tele-monitoring. Figure 1: Lewins Force Field Analysis of health care change in the NHS DRIVING FORCES INTERNAL Strong leadership and shared goal across the NHS Accurate and consistent information availability Patients independency Free up nurses and doctors to concentrate on other important task. EXTERNAL Governments desire to reduce the cost of administering health care in the UK European Union legislation in support of tele-monitoring The recent economic down turn necessitating the need for fiscal responsibility Adapted from Lewin (1951 4. Main objectives in making the change 4.1 Reduce cost of administering health care in the UK As the case load in primary care in the UK is increasing in size and complexity and the number of people with multiple long term disease is also increasing, there is increasing financial burden of administering primary care in the UK. The tele-health technology will in the long run help to reduce the mounting financial burden of institutional care. 4.2 Reduce nurse visits to patients house. Prior to the implementation of the tele-health technology in the NHS, each patient with long term condition is assigned a care taker nurse whos duty includes regular house visit. The nurses are required to take patients vital signs, blood sugar level and other related data that are necessary in monitoring the patients health condition. Upon implementation of the tele-health technology, the required data are taken by patients and are automatically sent via the internet from patients house to the hospital through the diagnostic equipment. As a result, nurse visit to patients house is considerably reduced. 4.3 Maintain patients independent. The technology ensures that nurses only visits when it is necessary and as a result allows patients to leave more independently. From a medical point of view, it is usually helpful for patients to be independent as it can give them the agility they may need to remain healthy. 4.4 Reduce patients emergency room visits. As patients health situation is monitored on a daily base, doctors and nurses are able to know when a patients condition is deteriorating and therefore avoid emergency situation. In Hull and New Ham it has been noticed that emergency room visits by monitored patients is much reduced. 4.5 Increase in clinical efficiency The diagnostic equipment interacts with the patient through a user friendly interface. It provides reminders, collects vital data and asks questions that help assess the condition of the patients. It also gives warning when a patients condition is changing. This in general allows doctors and nurses to intervene more quickly and accurately and as a result increases the overall clinical efficiency. 6.0 How action required was planned Management tools for problem analysis are very crucial for success in change management. One of such tools is the Cause and Effect analysis. Cause and Effect analysis is also referred to as the Fishbone diagram because the diagram has a fish bone appearance. The technique was proposed by Ishikawa in the 1960s and as a result called the Ishikawa diagram. The diagram is used to determine the root cause of a problem and identify areas that changes can be made. (Ishikawa 1985) In applying the Cause and Effect analysis to the NHS in determining what change is required and what action is to be taken. The first step is to get a clarity and consensus on what the problem is. Among many others, the focused problem statement identified in the NHS is the mounting financial burden of institutional health care in the UK. The economic recession and increasing overseas debt is forcing the UK government to look for ways of cutting cost and saving money. This necessitated the need for fiscal accountability and cost cutting in the NHS (NHS Centre for Reviews and Dissemination 2008). In constructing the Fishbone diagram for the NHS, the problem statement forms the head of the fish bone alone with the fish backbone as illustrated in the figure 5 below. The next step is to brainstorm potential causes of the problem. The major causes are laid out as large bones connected to the backbone. In the NHS, the major causes identified as responsible for the increasing financial burden are staffs people, technology, procedures, and policy. The fish bone diagram is then developed based on the identified causes. The final step is to probe deeper into each cause. A question asking-technique included in Senge et al (1994) Five Ways model can be used. It involves asking repeated why does this happen until it is clear that the root cause have been found. The answers are then added as sub-bones to the cause as shown in figure 5 below. Fig. 5 Fishbone Diagram stage three Too many admin staffs Increased number of nurses Too many Doctors Increased ageing population More sick patients More hospital admissions Expensive bureaucracy Productivity failure Expensive medical equipment Increased drug prescriptions Pay increase by government Increasing fixed cost Inflation policy Staffs People Procedure Policy Equipments/Materials Mounting Financial Burden of Institutional Health Care. There is increased spending in the NHS as there are now more people been treated in the hospitals than ever before. This is the direct consequence of increase in population and immigration over the years. Increase in the number of sick people and the ageing population has also contributed to increase spending. These increases in people requiring attention have necessitated an increase in Nurses, GP consultations and a large increase in drugs prescriptions. (Slywotzky and Morrison 1997) Furthermore, pay increases offered by the government to medical practitioners were in many cases over generous. Economic inflation and increased cost of fix asses has in no little way affected NHS budget. The office of the national statistics (ONS) has shown that NHS productivity is falling as spending is increasing. As output has not kept pace with rise in spending it is important to implement an efficient and cost effective way of administering health care. As the tele-health technology will ensure that the increasing number of people requiring health care is efficiently covered with little resources, it will therefore provide an efficient and cost effective way of administering health care in the UK. Looking at it critically, it is important to know that cause and effective relationship may not be easily apparent and that an intervention in any part of a health care organisation will have outcomes in many others, not all of them anticipated, and not all of them desirable. Smith (1995a; 1995b) in his work on response to performance indicator highlighted that change can lead to unanticipated and indeed dysfunctional consequence. Additional technigues that was used. The NHS employed process modelling technique in order to gain understanding of how the current process works and provide a clear articulation of how the new process is to be different. The process modelling technique provided clarification of the expected process so that the NHS is able to plan the required action. Fig. 6 Current and expected process flow Current process flow Expected process flow Is he in the clinic? Doctor decides that a patient needs monitoring No Yes Specialist nurse visits patient for information and counselling Vital information register created for patient and care nurse assigned to patient Care nurse visits patient and takes vital readings Vital readings recorded in patients information register Doctor assesses patients register Necessary actions take for abnormal readings Process repeated daily Action suspended Is he in the clinic? Doctor decides that a patient needs monitoring No Yes Specialist nurse visits patient for information and counselling Tele-Monitoring equipment is install and doctors assesses patients information remotely Necessary actions take for abnormal readings The process flow in fig.6.0 above is a diagrammatical representation of all the staged involved in a patents monitoring task. It shows both the current and process and what the process is expected to be after the implementing the tele-health system. The current process requires 9 steps and would take between 12 to 24 hours to complete a cycle while the expected process will require 5 steps and would take 10 minutes to complete a cycle. With the process modelling technique, the NHS identified that in order to successfully implement the change; it must fundamentally re-think the way work is done and adequately prepare the organisation for change. How management implemented change Having understood the situation, knowing why change is needed in the NHS, who and what needed to change, it is important to examine how these insights and what framework can be used to deliver the results that are needed. The technique of Business Process Re-engineering (BPR) is employed in the NHS in order to implement the change that is needed. Davenport and Short (1990) defines BPR as a technique for redesigning the way work is done. They also stated that it enables organizations to rethink work process so as to improve customers satisfaction, reduce operation cost and become more competitive. In addition, Hammer and Champy (1993, p32) stated that BPR is the fundamental rethinking and redesigning of business process to achieve dramatic improvement in cost quality service and speed. In the health sector, Walston and Kimberley (1997) observes that over 60% of hospitals are involved in re-engineering initiatives. In the NHS, the re-engineering initiative of the tele-health system is focused on optimizing productive work time, automating process to increase productivity and quality and resource management. The steps that were employed to implement BPR in the NHS are show in the model below. Fig.6 Change process model Communication the need for change Effective communication is considered a major key to successful BPR change implementation (Jackson 1997). The NHS implementation process began with series of meetings between the NHS management and stake holders inside and outside the HNS that would be involved in the change process. The purpose is to communicate the need of the change and the technology that would be implemented to effect the change. The meeting also helped to ensure patience and understanding of the structural and cultural change that are needed. Cooper and Markus (1995) suggest that communication should be open, honest, clear and in both direction between those in charge of the change initiative and those affected by them. Effective communication continued in the NHS throughout the change process. This formed the base that prepared the entire organization for change. Preparing the organization for change Hammer and Champy (1993) stated that organizational culture is a major factor to consider in preparing for a successful BPR implementation. Organizational culture influences the organizations ability to adopt to change. In the NHS, management ensured that the organization can understand and can conform to the new values and management process that are created by the newly re-designed process. This is so that a culture which upholds the change is established. Benjamin and Levinson (1993) argue that preparing the organization to respond positively to BPR related change is critical to success. In preparing for change, the NHS ensured that adequate trainings were given to staff that are involved in the change process. The New Ham University in conjunction with tele-health engineers from Philips UK provided the required trainings to staff. This is in line with the suggestion made by Tower (1994) that training and education is an important component in preparing an organization for change. Bruss and Roos (1993) also state that IT skills and techniques are important dimension of training for BPR. Fundamentally rethinking the way work is done After identifying and analyzing core business process, the NHS was able to define key performance objectives and design new processes to achieve the objectives. Davenport and Short (1990) define a process as a set of logically related tasks that are performed to achieve a defined outcome. Patient monitoring involves process with a great number of intermediate steps. The objective of the NHS is to reduce the processes involved in to single process that takes part directly to the final outcome. The single process designed with the needs and wants of patients in mind will allow the NHS to gain important advantages in the following ways; It reduces process steps and the time it takes to accomplish task; Improving the accuracy of patients medical information; Eliminate human mistake inherent with complex and repetitive task; Improve NHS efficiency and effectiveness and drastically cut down the overall cost of health care Implementing new technology to achieve change In order to make changes, certain known elements are required Harrington (1991). These are elements that act as variables for processes to change. Thus, , adequate IT infrastructure is considered as a vital factor in successful BPR implementation Moad (1993). Also, identification of enabling technology for redesigning business process and proper installation of IT components contributes to building an effective infrastructure for business process Barrett (1994) . In the HNS, the IT based tele-health system aimed at people with long term condition is the enabler for achieving change. The equipment connected to users television allows user to measure their vital signs. The results are automatically sent over the internet to monitoring centre. The results are monitored daily by health care professionals who can take immediate and appropriate action if there is any abnormality in the result. The system is designed to be user friendly, clear and straight forward. After installation, the technician will go through the system with the user to explain how it works and how to use it. Users are also able to call the monitoring centre at any time should they have any issue with the system. Extent to which change was successful Despite the significant benefits gained from the successful implementation of BPR, it is noted that not all organization embarking on BPR projects achieve their intended result. Hammer and Champy (1993) estimate that as many as 70 percent do not achieve the dramatic result they seek. This in most cases is attributed to poor implementation of BPR rather than a problem with the concept itself. Implementation process is complex and needs to be checked against several factors to ensure successful implementation (Alter 1994). However, it is important to note that the process re-engineering change initiative in the NHS can be said to be successful as it has implemented a modern technology which can be the way of the future for in-home patient care in the UK. It has helped increase productivity through reduced process time and has also drastically reduced cost. It has also improved quality and greater patient satisfaction in the NHS. Comparing the periods before and after implementation of the tele-health technology in the NHS, there has been a reduction in GP and Nurse Visits to patient and also a reduction in hospital admission of patients with long term condition. General satisfaction with the tele-health technology and the use of the equipments is high for all groups of patients. Patients felt comfortable using the technology and did not find it difficult. They also felt it helped improved the awareness of their condition (Department of Health 2009). To the 1.75 Millions who now rely on the tele-health service in the UK, it offers peace of mind and the certainty that there is always someone to help them in times of difficulty. Resistant to change in the NHS Cultural Issue Johnson (1992) in his cultural web model shown in fig 6 below suggests that until the paradigm at the heart of culture is changed, there will be no lasting change. Based on Drennan (1992) definition that culture is how things are done around here it is a general believe that organizational culture is a very strong resistant to any change implementation program. Figure 6. Garry Johnson Cultural Web In the NHS, evaluation has shown that the central principles of BPR radical, revolutionary approach to change is fundamentally incompatible with the traditions, culture and politics of the NHS. This in no small measure is a major resistant to change in the NHS (Buchanan 1997). Threat to Status One of the resistant to change in the NHS is that many of its staff perceived the change as a threat to their personal position. This is in agreement with Hanner and Champy (1993) who argued that the fear of job loss by employees is a major resisting factor to the success of management change program. Dawe (1996) added that, change moves the whole organization as well as every single employee out of their comfort zone and as a result, there are always going to be some people who would try to resist the change process. This is true for the NHS as some of both its management and medical staff try to stop or ignore the process of change. This is because the management failed to make a compelling case for change to its staff. Some NHS employees believed that the change was initiated only for the sole aim of saving money and cutting cost, that there is nothing in it for them. As a result they were not motivated to support the change process. This is supported by Kotter (1998) when he suggests that failure to create a win over hearts and minds will reduce the impact of a change program. Privacy issue Another major resistant experience in the implementation of tele-health change program in the NHS is fact that some people for personal reasons do not like to be watched over. They did not welcome the idea of been monitored on a daily base as they felt it violate their privacy right. The NHS management was able to resolve some of this problem by identifying patients who has indicated such fears and assuring them that only authorized medical officials would have asses to their information and that monitoring was mainly for their own good. Patients who were still skeptical and would rather not want to be monitored were all together exempted from the program. Recommendation for future improvement The overall improvement in patient health condition and reduction in hospital admission observed after implementing the tele-health system in the NHS supports continuation and further improvement of the scheme. A recommendation for further improvement is that the NHS could develop an assessment and measurement system that would help to register the build-up of momentum and identify early victories. Success in management is of little value unless they are supported by best practices and hence Senge (2003) suggest that success depends on the application of best practice. Nelson et al (1998) argues that although measurement is essential if change are to be sustained, the measurement them self must be defined practically. In the light of this, the NHS could adopt outcome and cost measurement, qualitative and quantitative measurement and a balances set of process to build measurement into the daily work routine and display it so that it tell a story of where they are, where they should be and where they are going in the change process. Furthermore, the management of the NHS should be aware that resistant is part of the change program and that anticipation and planning for resistant is important in implementing a successful change program (Clemons 1995). It is observed that the NHS management communicated change information only to stakeholder that was directly involved in the change program. This was only able to disfranchise the other stakeholders and strengthened the resistant. It is important that communication with a wide range of stakeholders directly or not directly involved in the change program be made so that they become involved and motivated (Stanton et al. 1993). The major future challenge that the NHS may encounter is how to engender a culture of continuous change in which change is on-going, evolving and cumulative. It would require a major shift in assumptions made by the organization and its members. Many of the individuals and groups whose assumptions and behaviors must change if this cultural shift is to be achieved are perceived to be of high status and are used to the exercise of individual and professional autonomy. Conclusion As people are living longer and there are more and more people who are unwell, going into residential and nursing home and living with long term conditions, the NHS which is the public service most valued by the British people must be able to keep pace with these change in society. The Remote monitoring tele-health technology will enable the NHS to effectively cope these increases in demand for health care. It would also help to reduce the overall cost of administering institutional health care in the UK. Although there are still pockets of issues and resistant, the program is generally termed as successful as it is already yielding the desired objective of improving life and saving cost. This paper presented an analysis of the approach take by management to effect the change and how effective management implemented the change strategy. It also demonstrated the extent to which change was successful and made recommendations for future development.

The History Of The Cultural Artifact Theology Religion Essay

The History Of The Cultural Artifact Theology Religion Essay Cultural artifacts are unique symbols of any organization or culture that suggest their shared expectations or belief. People shape them from their natural recourses. It gives information about its culture and people belong to specific culture. These are found all over the world different from generation to generation. Artifacts of our own cultures surround us from art and music to architecture  and literature, from philosophy and religion to laws and economics. We are living  among cultural artifacts that have deep roots into specific culture. The Holy Bible is as  cultural artifact. It is not merely a religious book but it has historic and social book. It is direct reflection of its culture. It influences rationality, heroism, anarchy, technology, morality, languages, literature, science, true wealth, compassion, liberty, family and educational institute. It has formed various aspects of our culture. It allows the reconstruction of many socio-cultural elements. It is a guidel ine for moral behavior. For its significant impact on language, literature, art and politics it is considered more than a cultural artifact. The Bible as cultural artifact The Bible is the typical history of the collection of ancient texts held sacred by Moslems, Jews and Christians, The Bible is classic. It is not a smooth, apparent list of rules and regulations that we can depict impartially and apply independently to our lives. But it is holy accumulation of letters and equity, proverbs and poetry, philosophy and apocalypse, written over thousands of years in cultures and points differ from our own, and tell the complex story of Gods synergy with humanity. The Bible is not merely religious book but it is historic and social book. It can direct better conception of peoples motivation. This book is not set of belief in Judaism or Christianity. But it stresses its words themselves. Once Jesus said that his mission was not to extinguish law but to fulfill its requirement. And in this concern, fulfilling the law is to letting it go. It may serve as a little comfort to those who have suffered abuse at the hand of Bible-wielding scholars, but the disturbing laws of Deuteronomy lose their bit of their potency when God himself breaks them. A symbol is something that stands for something else. The Bible is a symbol of The Holy Ternary, Contrition towards god, Justification, Holiness, Divine Healing, and The Purge of the Holy Ghost and many more. It proclaims renovating of the mind, pardon, love, belief, patience, and in particular wisdom. It contains a lot of cultural data of these societies and data on their relation with God. Anthropology has a great deal of light on the cultural history of the Bible by using the text as an ethnographic resource. By using the tools of anthropology, a scholar may sought from the pages of the Bible the information which allows the reconstruction of many socio-cultural elements. The Bible leads the foundation of Jewish culture. It constitutes the discerning bookcase. . It is direct reflection of its culture. The Bible has formed western culture moreover any other book. Its strike is far-reaching and has extremely credit the history of art. Impact of the Bible on British culture has been lifted frequently in recent months. The Bible has impact on English language and literature. Melvyn Bragg has published a book called Book of Books: The Radical Impact of the King James Bible in which he dashes a liberator bent in the Bible which shows its role in changing society. It continues the movement to abolish slavery. He argues Bible is a clout for democracy. Nick also bucks that the Bible has influenced the British political history. It has impact on democracy, the rights and duties of kings, tolerance and balance. It has a positive impact on British civic life. Mangalwadi argues that the Bible provides the basics upon which western civilization as well as Indian democracy rests. It is related to the values and beliefs of western culture. Mangalwadi credit the influence of the Bible over rationality, heroism, anarchy, technology, morality, languages, literature, science, true wealth, compassion, liberty, family and educational institute. Bible has formed various aspects of our culture Bible is commented as a cultural icon because of his significant impact on language, literature, art and politics. For these reasons the Bible is considered more than a cultural artifact. It is a lasting power which discloses and draws us towards compelling truths about our lives as human beings. The Bible is a guideline for moral behavior. As its lessons are recognized that and effected by two thousand years old and some things that are timeless other things change. It falls on us to make up our own mind and choose that we want to take away from it. The bible is used for a victim for immaturity and irresponsible actions. About the Bible, people put too much stress on the words by themselves and not on actual words what they say. It is a Holy book that is able quote scripture at desire, and it is able to be internalize what we read and apply actually in our life. It is not static. Religious leaders change them for their own sake and it pass on to its next generation not as same. Conclusion The Bible is considered as typical cultural artifact. It leads the foundation of Jewish culture. It is considered as a cultural icon because of his significant impact on language, literature, art and politics.

Like Water For Chocolate as a Fantasy Love Story :: Like Water for Chocolate

Like Water For Chocolate   as a Fantasy   Love Story    Like Water For Chocolate is a fantasy-type love story. It teaches a lot about family life in Mexico, the country where it took place. The owner of the De la Garza ranch where the family lived was Mama Elena, who raised three daughters on her own because her husband had died. Tita, the youngest daughter and main character, was the youngest of the three and a wonderful cook. Tita was the narrator's great-aunt, so the story took place in the earlier part of the 20th century. Tita spent most of her life in the kitchen putting together amazing recipes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, with the help from Nacha, the cook.      One day, Tita fell in love with a young man named Pedro. Pedro and his father came to the ranch to ask Mama Elena if Pedro could ask for Tita's hand, but the rules in their family were that the youngest daughter could never get married. According to tradition, Tita would have to stay at home and take care of her mother until the day her mother died. This broke Tita and Pedro's hearts. Mama Elena told Pedro he could marry Tita's sister, Rosaura though, and he did just so he could be closer to Tita. He never felt any love for Rosaura.      Meanwhile, Tita stayed at home everyday, cooking and feeling depressed, and Mama Elena did not make things any better. She always yelled at Tita, and made Tita do everything for her. Tita could hardly even talk to Pedro either because Mama Elena was constantly watching, and would yell at them every time they talked. Later, Pedro moved away with Rosaura and her other sister, Gertrudis, had run away with some man, and later became a prostitute. Nacha died, leaving only Mama Elena, Tita, and Chencha, the servant, left on the ranch. One day, Tita went insane because of her overly-strict mother, so her mother sent her with Dr. Brown, so he could take her to a mental institution. He was so in love with Tita that he never took her there. He took care of her in his house and they later planned to get married. Then, when he was gone on a little trip, Tita and Pedro met up, and got back together. When Dr. Brown came back, Tita told him the news about her and Pedro, and he told her to decid e who she wanted.

Essay --

Iowa State University has a record breaking number of students enrolled for the 2013 school year. With such a boom in new students, ISU has to find a place to house these students. Housing development companies like Breckenridge Land Acquisition of Texas have taken on the daunting task of building new student housing in Ames. Breckenridge has run into several roadblocks that have delayed building. These delays mean that prospective students like George Johnson of Sioux City, IA are still being turned away due to housing constraints. â€Å"I was ecstatic when I was accepted into Iowa State, but when they said they couldn’t get my housing in order for the school year I had to find somewhere else to go,† Johnson said. ISU reached its fifth consecutive year of growth with 33,241 students attending. That’s a 2,201 student increase just from last year. A problem arises with this booming population of students. Iowa State University has too many students that it can’t house. ISU has utilized other housing developments around Ames, such as Legacy apartments in Campustown, and Maricopa apartments in West Ames, to help with the overflow. Even with all of the new acquired properties added in to ISU’s housing, there is still a need for student housing on and off campus. Companies like Breckenridge offer a solution to this problem. Breckenridge is a subdivision of Aspen Heights, a developer of duplex and Craftsmen style townhomes. Breckenridge representatives purchased 48 acres of property on what used to be the old Ames Middle School. The property sold at auction for $2.3 million last December. Their proposed plan for building on the land could house up to 900 students. Their plan has caused a great deal of controversy in the area... ...as steadily decreased since 2000. According to the Ames Chamber of Commerce, Ames High School enrollment has dropped from 1695 students in 2000 to 1495 in 2012. Former member of Ames School Board Patricia Brown said, â€Å"We want families to get kids into the school system so that we can support our Ames schools.† So what does this mean for Iowa State students? No new development can begin on the property until the lawsuit comes to a close. Also, without the proper zoning regulations amended, Breckenridge cannot develop any new land on the property. This means no new student housing on the land for the foreseeable future. This means that students like George Johnson may find that they have nowhere to go. â€Å"It was a major setback. I’m taking classes at DMACC at the moment, but hopefully I can get my housing situation figured out by next year,† said George Johnson.

Running Head: North Sea Oil and Gas

Every business or industry is prone to various risks which include floods, earthquake, terrorists which the industry should put mechanisms in place to avoid such. Effective contingency planning has been of importance to most industries that embrace the idea. North Sea oil and Gas has for a long time been prone to the problem of changing weather conditions which is especially experienced in the sea. The companies that exploit the North Sea oil and gas have put a lot of emphasis on risk management and most of the companies have set up risk management departments (Leslie and Michaels, 1997).Numerous deaths had occurred during the exploitation of North Sea oil and gas in the 1970s and 1980s and this called for effective contingency planning to reduce the losses incurred by loosing workforce and by spillage of oil and gas due to buckles. The companies that exploit the gas and oil have invested in the contingency planning as a way of way of managing the risks (Leslie and Michaels, 1997).No rth Sea oil and gas has been a source of wealth to the countries that exploit the resource. North Sea oil has been used to refer to the oil and natural gas exists beneath the North Sea. The countries that exploit the North Sea oil and gas include Netherlands, Norway, Germany, United Kingdom and Denmark. Most countries and especially companies that have been given license to exploit the resource have taken proactive measures of risk. Mining beneath the sea has led to many deaths of the people involved and this has called for heavy investment in risk management projects undertaken by the companies.The pipes that transfer the oil and natural gas from underground reservoirs to processing plants which are mainly located some distance from the sea must be strong to withstand the waves in the sea. Depending on weather changes, waves differ in their height and this call for contingency planning otherwise heavy losses are incurred by the particular company (Leslie and Michaels, 1997).In the 1970s, the North Sea oil a gas companies took proactive measures to avoid heavy losses that resulted when waves exceeded the height of 3 meters. The operators laid many pipes which assumed the shape of S to maintain smoothness between the large barge and the ocean floor. The operators used bow anchors to further buckles by raising and resetting the pipes at the barges. The operators had to be keen because improper lowering of pipes would result into a pipe buckle which presented a serious threat in laying the pipes.The excessive height of waves which exceeded the anticipated height resulted in further risk of pipe buckles due to uncontrolled lowering of pipes. The companies therefore had to purchase a large number of steel pipes to avoid delays incase of any pipe buckle and this methods was not cost effective as the company would have desired. Any proactive measure that is taken to manage risk should be cost effective, utility effective and must therefore be maximizing benefits for the company while minimizing cost (Leslie and Michaels, 1997).An effective contingency planning in managing risks in project requires good planning and coordination of all the stakeholders in the project to ensure maximum desirable result. Risk management involves taking measures in dealing with uncertainty. The North Sea and oil contingency planning that was adopted in 19790s involves dealing with uncertainty because in favorable weather conditions, there is less cost involved in dealing with risks since pipe buckles will be few and hence very few new pipes will be required to be laid. However, since it’s hard to predict the height of the waves in the sea which can cause heavy losses if unchecked, the companies that explore the oil and gas in the areas must take precautionary measures (Leslie and Michaels, 1997).Exploration of North Sea oil any natural gas involves making wealth for the companies that are undertaking the projects. The importance of contingency planning in th e exploration project is very essential in risk management because it’s used to assess the possibility of bad weather condition which is a threat to the project. The assessment is consequently used to reduce the possibility of underperformance that may be realized when no measures are undertaken to reduce or avoid the pipe buckles. The cost of replacing buckled pipes reduces the profit margin that is realized in the project and therefore effective contingency planning help to manage the risk.Effective contingency planning helps to capture the benefits of fair weather. Uncertainty about weather conditions is a threat that faces the North Sea offshore pipe laying. If effective contingency planning is observed, long periods of bad weather can be sustained because the project major should be able to recognize and deal with the bad condition threat which is inevitable. The project managers should ensure there is plenty supply of pipes during bad weather condition to avoid delays i n replacing the buckle pipes.The project managers should observe good contingency planning by ensuring that the oil and gas pipeline are complete before the bad weather sets in and this will assist in reducing the costs associated with contingency planning. Laying pipelines in time helps in avoiding major delays in the project which may result in heavy monetary losses.Contingency planning for reducing possible threats that are associated with North Sea and oil exploration could be a possible way of increasing income to the companies that are undertaking the project. American project management institute (PMI) argue that there is a possible opportunity associated with the risks that threaten the project in winter, bad weather conditions has been known to lead to gas shortage in most cities which due to law of demand, the prices increase.This could be an opportunity for those companies that are concerned with the project. Effective contingency planning in managing risk North Sea oil a nd gas has created an opportunity to the companies undertaking the project. This is attributed to the precautions taken by the companies in anticipation of bad weather threat. The project involves paying for delivery before the contract begins. Most companies that want to protect themselves from the deficient supply of the resources therefore buy the resources before the contract begins. The high demand has contributed to higher revenue derived from the project and this consequently results to higher profitability (Leslie and Michaels, 1997).Contingency planning which is mainly associated with managing risks should not only focus on the threats that hamper the success of the project but should also view threats as an opportunity to achieve the objectives of the project. Achievement of objectives means the project has succeeded. Therefore effective contingency planning in addressing risks should recognize the close relationship of threats and opportunities. The actions taken by the p roject manager in reducing the risks should seek to create an opportunity for excellence (Leslie and Michaels, 1997).Effective contingency planning should not focus on managing threats. Instead the project should seek to identify the different sources of risks and consequently how to manage the risks. Focus on risks draw emphasis on the anticipated failure. Therefore, assessing the various sources of uncertainty and how those uncertainties can be a threat to the project and consequently how to manage the uncertainties involves application of effective contingency planning.North Sea oil and gas exploration is associated with many uncertainties which present various threats to the project. Focus on the opportunities created by the uncertainties management can lead to profitability and success of the project. The project manager should identify the origins of uncertainties instead of managing risk first and this will assist in addressing the root of the problem. Most projects have fail ed to meet the set objectives due to their failure to address the root of the problems. Superficial problem solving has led undesirable results. Therefore identification of the source of uncertainties should be considered as the beginning of the risk management process in effective contingency planning (Leslie and Michaels, 1997).Uncertainty is present in every project and in all stages of the project life cycle (PLC). The uncertainty is contributed by various reasons which are inevitable. All projects success is based on various assumptions which are the main sources of uncertainties. Differences in the performance of project concerning cost, quality and duration that is required to complete the project bring a lot of uncertainties. In laying pipes in the ocean in a way that will avoid pipe buckles involved a lot of uncertainties. This is attributed to the changing weather conditions.Its hard to forecast the height of the waves in the ocean in a particular season and this present s ource of uncertainties since its hard to know with certainty the cost of dealing with the threat since its hard to tell the amount of pipes to be knocked down and therefore requiring replacement (Leslie and Michaels, 1997).Proactive risk management in the North Sea oil and gas project should be entrenched in both base plans and contingency plans. It’s argued that if a project focuses very much on being cost effective it’s bound to fail on risk management in some occasions. However, crisis management should only be used as principal management in some occasions. However, crisis management should only be used as principal management mode if the risk management fails completely (Leslie and Michaels, 1997).ReferencesLeslie, Keith, J. and Michaels, Max, P. â€Å"The Real Power of Real Options†. The McKinsey Quarterly 3 (1997):134-225.

Solving the Puzzle of Jack the Ripper

In August 1888, the dwellers of London’s East End arose from sleep to find their lives a little darker than before. Mary Ann Nichols, a prostitute, had been viciously murdered, nearly decapitated by two cuts to the throat, her abdomen displaying multiple cuts (Begg 46). Over the next three years, ten other women would be murdered in the Whitechapel area. While there is no definitive proof linking these murders to one killer, analysis reveals that six of them display similarly rare crime characteristics: mutilation of genitalia, prostitute victims, and posing of bodies (Keppel, et al. 8-9).Five are commonly attributed to Jack the Ripper (1-2). Though they may not have been well known in life, these women—Mary Ann Nichols, Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride, Catharine Eddowes, and Mary Jane Kelly—would be discussed for the next hundred years. What is it about these cases that have captured the curiosity of so many people for so long? Crime historian Donald Rumbelow an swers: â€Å"What fascinates people is not the murders themselves. It’s the puzzle. Who? Who did it? Why weren’t they caught? It’s that puzzle that teases everybody† (â€Å"Jack†). During the past century, more than two hundred suspects have been offered as solutions to the puzzle. These individuals come from various professions, ethnic races, social strata, and economic standings. In police correspondence, Chief Constable Sir Melville Macnaghten appears to list three suspects by name, M. J. Druitt, Kosminski, and Michael Ostrog, saying that any of them are â€Å"more likely than Cutbush to be the killer† (Ryder). After analyzing this memorandum, investigative journalist Paul Begg suggests that these names were arbitrarily selected just to show that Cutbush was not a likely suspect (171). This is simply one example of confusion surrounding the identity of the killer. The most likely suspects include Walter Richard Sickert, a Danish artist; Severin Klosowski (also known as George Chapman), a Polish immigrant; and Francis Tumblety, an American quack doctor. It has also been proposed that the speed with which the murders were committed combined with the subsequent evasion of police suggest that more than one person might have been involved. Forensic psychiatrist David Abrahamsen asserts that Prince Albert Victor Edward and James Kenneth Stephen committed the crimes together (104). Keppel’s study of serial killers reveals that the Ripper murders were committed by someone with a high need to exert control over his victims. This was displayed â€Å"through the use of a knife to penetrate the victims’ bodies and desecrate their sexual regions† (18) along with â€Å"posing and mutilation [of the bodies] †¦ leaving them on display in sexually degrading positions with the wounds exposed† (19). In light of this study, Jack the Ripper must exhibit the characteristics of a need to dominate, aggression towards women, and picquerism, which is defined as â€Å"gaining sexual satisfaction from stabbing or blood letting† (Schroeder). Walter Sickert is one suspect who fits this description. In a recent book, popular fiction crime novelist Patricia Cornwell makes a case for Walter Sickert as Jack the Ripper. He was an actor â€Å"gifted at disguise,† a painter, and a writer with a â€Å"penchant for changing his name† (3). Cornwell suggests that Sickert had some sort of abnormal formation of his genitalia, not only leaving him â€Å"incapable of an erection† but also rendering him without â€Å"enough of a penis left for penetration† (5). She claims that Sickert developed an egotistical self-concept and a meanness towards women, qualities which, combined with a seeming inability to feel, above average intelligence, and a penchant to manipulate others, make Sickert a likely suspect (50-2). Cornwell’s study of Sickert’s artwork reveals â€Å"morbidity, violence and a hatred of women† (12). She contends that some of the depictions are all too similar to actual Jack the Ripper murder scenes. Her analysis of letters Jack the Ripper supposedly sent to police and the media also lead her to the conclusion that Sickert is the likely killer. She states that â€Å"handwriting quirks and the position of the Ripper’s hand when he wrote his taunting, violent letters lurk in other Ripper writings that are disguised. These same quirks †¦ lurk in Sickert’s erratic handwriting as well† (14). She even asserts that there is physical evidence linking Sickert to the Jack the Ripper letters. DNA evidence found on the adhesive stamp of a Ripper letter match that on two letters known to be written by Walter Sickert and on items owned by Sickert (13). For Cornwell, this evidence was so conclusive that she had no choice but to write her book (9-10). A second theory points to Severin Klosowski, also known as George Chapman. Severin Klosowski was a polish immigrant and a carpenter by trade. Christopher Morley describes him as having dark hair and blue eyes with a long chin and mouth, characteristics consistent with descriptions of Jack the Ripper. Having immigrated to England in 1887, Klosowski was in London during the time of the murders. Morley also states that Klosowski had some training as a junior surgeon while in Poland. Morley recounts an incident involving Klosowski attempting to kill his wife, Lucy. Interrupted in the act by a customer, Lucy noticed â€Å"a handle protruding from under the pillow and discovered a sharp and formidable knife. † Klosowski was reported to have said to her later on â€Å"that he had intended to cut her head off. † Klosowski’s similarity in appearance to the Ripper, previous attempt to murder, and residence in Whitechapel convinced Chief Inspector Frederick George Aberline that he was Jack the Ripper. A third theory identifies Francis Tumblety, an Irish American quack doctor, as Jack the Ripper. Tumblety lived in London when the murders were committed (â€Å"Jack†). Morley states that he was a strong suspect and under police watch because a shirt covered with blood was found in his home. British author Stewart Evans recounts: â€Å"He was arrested after the Miller’s Court murder, at which time, of course, the murders ceased. He escaped from England in early December 1888 and got back to America and was never arrested by Scotland Yard, despite the fact that they sent a team of detectives to America to try and catch him† (â€Å"Jack†). Morley describes Tumblety as a homosexual whose â€Å"feelings towards women were remarkable and bitter in the extreme. According to Morley, Tumblety gave â€Å"an all male dinner party, lecturing his guests on the evils of women, and proudly displayed his extensive collection of female body parts, which he kept in glass jars. † Further adding to his qualifications as the killer, Evans asserts that â€Å"Tumblety used many aliases† (â€Å"Jack†), a quality suitable to a killer who would give himself a name. Like Evans, others have found it too coincidental for the murders to have ceased right after Tumblety’s arrest for homosexual acts and his subsequent escape to America. Abrahamsen offers a twist in considering the identity of Jack the Ripper by asking how one man can take enough time to strangle and mutilate a woman’s body without being spotted by anyone (94). He suggests that in the murder of Elizabeth Stride, the signature slashings were interrupted, necessitating an accomplice to warn the killer of approaching policemen (89). Abrahamsen also points out differences among witness descriptions of the suspected killer, which he interprets as evidence of not one but two killers (90). He suggests James Kenneth Stephen (J. K. ) and Prince Albert Victor Edward (Prince Eddy) as joint killers. Abrahamsen suggests that Prince Eddy’s absent, womanizing father combined with his overly involved mother created a situation in which he was emotionally stunted (142-4). Prince Eddy also displayed homosexual tendencies which were ripe for exploitation (152). Being â€Å"emotionally and sexually immature †¦ he would have been curious about sex, but could not transfer his feelings into normal sexual desire for a woman† (152). Abrahamsen suggests that J. K. , who was hired to be Prince Eddy’s tutor, assumed a dominant role in their homosexual love relationship (152). J. K is described by Abrahamsen as having all the qualities necessary to be Jack the Ripper: â€Å"rigid [and] inflexible† (113), physically fit (121), â€Å"emasculated by the rejection of his mother† (120), adept at the use of language (118), viewing â€Å"women as evil† (120), possessing â€Å"striking looks and intellectual brilliance† (124). Abrahamsen suggests that the killings began as a result of J. K. eeling that his sway over Prince Eddy was decreasing and thus creating a situation that would â€Å"link Eddy to him permanently† (170). After a century has passed, the evidence and facts of the Jack the Ripper murders are increasingly more difficult to piece together. Though modern investigative techniques, such as the DNA evidence from Cornwell and Keppel’s profiling, have offered new clues, questions remain. Perhaps the only statement that can be made with any certainty is that after one hundred years, the serial killer named Jack the Ripper is certainly in his own grave somewhere and unable to kill or terrorize ever again.