Prophylactic Sacral Dressing ( Icu ) And A Recommendation...

Prophylactic Sacral Dressing Application The old adage, prevention is worth an ounce of cure, holds true in nursing concerning pressure ulcer prevention. Hospital acquired pressure ulcers are a preventable event that nurses have the unique ability to impact directly. Not only will preventative measures impact the potential cost savings, they have the ability to impact patient care. The purpose of this paper is to summarize the evidence, identify benchmarking, discuss an outcome measurement tool, provide information on ethical, economical, and cultural concerns, and identify methods to disseminate the findings regarding prophylactic sacral dressing application in the intensive care unit (ICU) and a recommendation proposal. Summary of Evidence The National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel suggests emerging pressure ulcer prevention therapies which include prophylactic sacral dressing (PSD) application as an adjunct to nursing care (â€Å"Prevention and treatment of pressure ulcers†, 2014). Multiple studies have been completed on PSD use and have shown positive results. In a study by Byrne et al (2016), multiple factors place patients at risk for developing a pressure ulcer including low Braden scores indicating high risk and multi system involvement. The application of a PSD, resulted in a slightly greater than 50% decrease in pressure ulcer development (Byrne et al, 2016). In an article by Swafford, Culpepper, Dunn, (2016), they completed a review of literature that showed

Permanent Solution For Temporary Problems - 1418 Words

Savannah Thornton Mrs. Bowman English 201 April 27, 2016 Permanent Solution for Temporary Problems With suicide being the 3rd leading cause of death among young teens, it is vital that we educate ourselves and others on the warning signs and risk facts because the more information obtained contributes to preventing suicidal thoughts and attempts. Close your eyes and imagine twelve children ages nine to twelve, now imagine each one committing suicide either by cutting, strangling, suffocating, firearm, jumping, or overdosing on pills. Horrible image! Right? That is how many children a day commit suicide, that is 575,00 per year. Eighty-one percent of suicides are males (Statistic Brain). Mark Gregston from â€Å"Parenting Today’s†¦show more content†¦It is important to recognize at least two of more of these warning signs as indications of depression or having suicidal thoughts(Teen Suicide Us). There are many stressors that contribute to committing suicide; anxiety and hopelessness. It is important that we make ourselves aware of these actions. Indications leading to suicide: ï  ¶ Actually saying: â€Å"I do not want to live anymore†, â€Å"I just want to kill myself† ï  ¶ Verbal hints: â€Å"If you can not find me† or â€Å" I want be a bother to you much longer† ï  ¶ Giving or throwing away valuable or personal possessions ï  ¶ Shows signs of extreme cheerfulness and periods of extreme depression ï  ¶ Rambles about bizarre thoughts ï  ¶ Creates some type of suicidal letter Another awareness that goes hand in hand with warning signs is risk factors, characteristic that show a person is considering to attempt suicide. Listed below are the main risk factors.(The Jason Foundation Inc./risk factors) ïÆ'Ëœ Depression, Mental Illness, and Substance Abuse: Mental or addictive disorders are associated with 90% of

Drawing Basics How to Draw Dynamic Heads Essay Example For Students

Drawing Basics: How to Draw Dynamic Heads Essay Too many artists, perhaps fearful of their subjects, treat the head as if it were nothing ore than an inventory of features or an empty, hollyhock shape, void of life, sometimes sitting straight and rigidly on its neck, contradicting the underlying gesture of the body and looking like a lifeless lollipop, This eons-old challenge of how to put more elite and energy into drawings, paintings, and sculptures of the human head is easily answered once you get beyond the fear and the seeming complexity of the subject. I will outline many solutions throughout this article appropriate for both the beginner and advanced artist. Some of the cures will seem deceptively simple. Others will reach beyond the obvious, studying the head from all sides, including top and bottom. And just about all of them will somehow involve the overall figure, with the head serving as the crown of the magnificent machine that is the human body. By D an Ghent Frederica Karl, Prince of Prussia by doll mizzen, 1863, gouache over graphite, highlighted with white, x 9. Notice how, from behind, the nostalgia furrow obscures some of the nose and mouth and seems to unite optically with the cheekbone and rim of the eye. His connection helps to push the nose back and, along with several other overlapping shapes, reinforces the roundness of the underlying egg-shaped head structure. This content has been abridged from an original article written by Dan Ghent. This premium has been published by interweave press, 201 fourth Loveland, co 80537-5555; (970) 669-7672. Copyright 2012 by interweave press, a division of aspire media, all rights reser ved. The contents of this publication may not be reproduced either in whole or in part without consent of the copyright owner. Venn. Artistically. Mom Attitude Perhaps the most powerful key to a stronger head is the most obvious one, which even advanced artists often miss in their obsession to get the features just right?that is, give your head attitude. Faces need to look somewhere; their eyes need intensity and aim. You have probably noticed how the eyes in some Old Master paintings and drawings often seem to follow you as you move around the room. This dynamic event occurs in the viewers mind, usually when the artist depicts the head in a three-quarter view with the eyes looking off to one side, as Leonardo most famously did in his Mona Lisa. In drawings such as Leonard ¶s Study for the Angel in La Verge auk Rockers, observe how the irises the circular, colorful portion of the eyeball) seem to peer out of the corner of these eyes, gazing past the canvas or drawing toward the viewer. Remember, you cant move irises around wily-mainly. The upper eyelid bulges above the iris, so every time you change the direction of your models gaze, you must also change the shape of the upper lid. If you draw the model looking off extremely to one side, you will find that the lower eyelid pulls up with it. The tilt of the head is equally crucial to achieving attitude in your figure drawings. It should somehow complement or contrast the gestures movement that flows above right study for he angel in through the body from the Madonna Of the Rocks toes to the neck and, finally, by Leonardo. Silvering, and hopefully, into the head. 71/8 x In Ingress masterpiece of the eyes in some old master a portrait, Louis-Franà §ois paintings and drawings often seem to follow you as you Bertie (not pictured) some move around the room. His people seem to lean forward dynamic event occurs in the viewers mind, usually when imperiously, head locked the artist depicts the head in a into their shoulders as they three-quarter view with the eyes looking off to one side. Speak to you. Others lean back, their noses tilted up, right Drawing a man and their irises barely Perry Leonardo, pen-and-ink, II ins past their lower lid, x collection royal library, pay close attention to body Windsor castle, London, England . Shapes and gesture, even Describing his diagram, when drawing a vignettes, Leonardo explained, the side of the head on which the (light) seemingly isolated head. You rays fall most directly will be dont want to draw a husky, the most highly lighted, and those parts on which the rays muscular man with a beneficial most aslant will be less thin neck or a young child eighties the light falls as blow might, since a blow which falls with a fullbacks shoulders. Perpendicularly falls with the Look at the model intensely. Greatest force, and when it falls obliquely, it is less forcible than Notice how the neck leads the former in proportion to the from the shoulder into the width of the angle. www. Artistically. Com above left Drawing off Woman With Loop earring by Dan Ghent, 2006, graphite with white chalk on toned paper, 10 x 8. Collection the artist, above right to the head are numerous, and they can be quite evocative of an individuals character, psychology, and emotion. Y Father Posing for Facial Folds by Dan Ghent, 2006, graphite, 12 x g. Collection the artist. Facial folds occur at right angles to the direction of the muscles underneath, very similar to a theater curtain being pulled across the Stage by a horizontal cord. He axiomatic muscle runs from the cheekbone to the corner of the mouth and, when contracted, creates dependable creases in the face, the most important being the juggle furrow (left of a) and the accessory juggle furrow (b). Note how the shape of the large chewing muscle, called the master becomes more defined when the chin is pulled in. Getting a Likeness It may seem like a waste of time worrying about whether youve captured a likeness or not. Its unlikely the viewer will notice that something is missing. True, it will not matter in the end to the viewer. But I feel its imperative to always give it a sincere try. The pursuit of likeness keeps my concentration focused, it keeps the entire drawing process compelling, and, in the end, the struggle leads to a more active-looking and vigorous drawing. There is no doubt that the individual features and the distance between the treasures are essential in getting a likeness and a psychologically animated head and figure. Explained several feature- measuring techniques in my first article for American Artist [Painting Portraits in the February 1993 issue. Head. It doesnt matter if you are only drawing a small snippet of the neck in fact, the shorter the line, the more crucial the correct angle becomes. If the line fragment angles outward or inward a little too much, the error will become magnified once you imagine the line extending outside of the image, inferring an implausible body type for the head. Body postures and their relationships Its useful to draw numerous studies Of the features?like Super De Ribbed did in Study of Eyes?cataloguing and committing their basic construction to memory. At the same time, try to be sensitive to the bilateral symmetry that underlies the face and its features. Use guidelines to line up one side of the face with the other. But remember this very important caveat: As much as you may want them to, features do not conform to a simplistic rule of absolute symmetry. Look closely at any Old Master portrait. You will usually find that one eye is almost always a little bigger or a little farther from the nose than the other, one nostril a little taller, en side of the mouth a bit lower than the other. These artists use of subtle asymmetry gives their subjects heads and figures life and a sense of action, as if the features are in motion. This asymmetry is vitally important from the likeness standpoint as well. Its been proven in clinical and psychological studies that when a photo is sliced whom. Artistically. Com in half, with one side reversed and pasted next to the other, the viewer finds it difficult to recognize the subject within the new-found Symmetry. No matter how enticing your subjects features, the hard truth is that the ratio of the head shape ND size to the body is much more crucial to capturing a likeness or creating a dynamic impression. When looking at your model, ask yourself what sort of geometric shape typifies his or her head. Does your model have a triangular head tapering toward the bottom, with lots of hair and full cheekbones at the top sliding into a narrow jaw and smallish chin below? Or perhaps your subject has a wide, rectangular face with a broad jaw, full cheeks, and a flat, closely cropped hairdo?or a tall, rectangular head, narrow but angular from jaw to top of head. Maybe your models forms are built on soft, circular shapes. The Life Of Andy Warhol Essay SampleA): The top partition runs from the hairline to the eyebrows, the second one from the eyebrow to the base of the nose, and the third one from the bottom of the nose to the bony point of the chin, This classically derived system of measurement has been used by artists to get their bearings since the Greek olden age, and its nothing more than an averaging of our collective facial proportions. As artists, we need to look at the model and determine where their particular proportions diverge from this standard, Ask yourself, Which of these three divisions is the largest, which is the next largest, and which is the smallest? If you dont catch these divisions correctly in the beginning, it doesnt matter how elegantly you render the specific features. Many people have a hard time locating the position of the ear when drawing a side view; they usually underestimate the verbal width of the head compared to its height. Try comparing the horizontal distance between the outside of the eye and the front of the ear with the article distance between the outside of the eye and the outside corner of the mouth; these measurements are usually very similar. Notice, as Leonardo demonstrated in his diagrams, that the overall width of the eye is roughly equal to the nose and that, consequently, the Wing Of the nose usually lines up With the inside Of the eye. Meanwhile, the top of the ear lines up with the eyebrow, and the bottom coincides With the base Of the nose. Once you begin to render the individual features, you must be equally diligent about their peculiar likeness. Ask yourself some basic questions, using a horizontal line as a reference point: Do the features rise above the line, sit flatly across it, or drop below the line? Does one side or the other rise or drop past the reference line? Geiger a, above left Drawing of Paul by Dan Ghent, 2006, graphite with white chalk on toned paper, 12 x 10. Collection the artist. When judging a likeness, compare the distances that make up the forehead (1-2), the nose (2-3), and the space between the bottom of the nose (3) ND the chin if you dont transcribe these proportions accurately, youll never find a likeness no matter how well you draw the individual features. Sometimes you might find it difficult to assess the top of the forehead if your subject has a high hairline. In that case, use the point where the forehead begins its transition into the top of the skull (1). Geiger b, above right Diagram of the Facial angle by Charlotte perturb-Ferrier, ink. To determine your models facial angle, compare an angle that runs from the brow ridge to the upper dental arch (1) with one that runs from the base of the nose to the ear hole (2). Nag structure of the head and figure to keep your drawing robust and exciting. Your choice of lighting is a crucial factor, particularly when working tonally with value masses. Other artists may make different, equally valid choices, but deliberately place my light source off to one side and above the model for the maximum dramatic and form-making effect. I limit my illumination to a single source, and I position it so that the shadows break decisively along the edge where the major front planes and side planes meet. The Egg Effect: Shapes, proportions?everything seems to measure correctly, and you know for a fact hat your drawing is not larger than life. You even take a second look at the relationship of the front plane to the side planes, but your head and figure still appear dull, flat, disjointed, and not quite a likeness. So, whats wrong? Chances are you missed the egg spherical form that underlies the more angular planes of the face. Close attention must be paid to the subtle play of graduating light as it crosses over the width and length of the gillie head. The head doesnt just corner from the front to the side planes, it also curves Within the big planes from top to bottom and side to side. Its sometimes hard to criers, but the light tapers subtly darker as the underlying sphere turns away from its source. If you have a hard time seeing this for yourself when working from a live model, try cutting a couple of holes in a piece of paper, Hold the paper in front of the models by Dan Ghent, 2006, graphite, 4 x 5. Election the artist. Face, and keep moving it back purge your mind of and forth until one hole isolates preconceptions when drawing the light of the forehead and the The head from an odd angle? the face is barely visible when other hole isolates the light on the head is seen from above, the chin. When working from photos, you can usually discover this cascading light effect by turning both the photograph and your drawing upside down. Necks: If heads are fundamentally gillie, necks are basically cylindrical. Try not to disturb their underlying shape by overplaying the sterna-cleric-mastoid, those strapless muscles that straddle the throat and support the head. Like the suborns of the features, these muscles sit on the curving cylinder of the neck and should participate in its graduating value changes. Remember also that these two muscles are antagonists, an anatomical term that indicates they work as a am. Immobility occurs if they both contract at the same time. This means you cant render both muscles in equal definition, at least if youre trying to show the head in motion. When one often contracts and bulges out, pulling the side Of the head toward you, draw the Other muscle more relaxed and less defined. One more warning: When working from life, expect some movement in the pose if the models neck is divested to an extreme degree. Always anticipate some unconscious movement of the head and neck toward a more centralized position. While paying heed to its cylindrical character, notice that the neck isnt telephone pole, shooting perpendicularly into the head. Observe how the neck projects diagonally from the shoulder into the base of the head, pushing the head forward. This dynamic, diagonal relationship is most clearly identifiable on a side view, but as you likely know trot experience, its much more difficult to grasp on a three-quarter view, Youll know only too well when youve missed the neck slant. The head will often seem mashed into the neck, and both the head and the neck will seem off-center, placed too far over to one side on the shoulder. To correct this problem, try concentrating on the throat?or trachea? instead of the outside edges of the neck. The underlying projecting angle of the throat is much more apparent in this view. Draw upward from the pit of the neck, along the forward edge of the throat, until you reach the under plane or canopy of the chin, and add the outside lines of the neck later. Whatever you do, avoid the static, lollipop look I warned you about at the beginning of the article, With both the front and back of the neck reaching into the head at the same parallel allele_ The back Of the neck intersects the skull much higher up than the front Of he neck, often aligning with the base of the nose when the face is on an even keel. Skull From above Age and Folds: Age and weight play an important role in the dynamics of the face?its structure and its emotional expression. The older we get, the more our skin drapes, with creases occurring at right angles to the shape and action of the muscles underneath. The axiomatic muscles, running from the cheekbone to the corner of the mouth, have the greatest influence on the face, so when they contract, they also produce one of the strongest folds, calle d the nostalgia arrow, running from the nose and partially encircling the mouth.

Summer Reading Life Essay Example For Students

Summer Reading: Life Essay Life has whatever meaning you give it. It can mean the world or nothing at all. You only get one chance. They say that â€Å"Life is a story and to make yours a best seller. † What does that really mean? In â€Å"The Secret Life of Bees,† May who is a sister of the Boatwright’s writes a suicide letter that says, â€Å"It’s my time to die, and your time to live. Don’t mess it up. † May was a â€Å"Special Person† and she felt as if it were her time to die and relieve the burden she put on her sisters lives. We will write a custom essay on Summer Reading: Life specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now It was their time to live life to the fullest with no regrets. What does living life to the fullest mean to you? In the world there are many factors that limit people from living life to the fullest, for example Society or Religion. Maybe there is a girl that lives in a little town somewhere in this world and there’s a certain activity that she loves to do, but it goes against society or her religion. Sadly, this girl wants to fit in and do good things within her beliefs. In order to do these things she can’t partake in the activities she loves. She’s being limited from living her life to the fullest because she has to choose to either fit in or to do something she loves. In an excerpt in a poem by Abdul Wahab it states, â€Å"In heart everyone likes to live no matter in what conditions. This is the quirky charm of life none can deny. Suicide is not normal it is abnormal mental condition. It is forced upon and exceptional, one the beauties of life lie not only on possessions or in physical comforts, beauties of life lie even in thoughts in seeing, in listening, in feeling life produces a mysterious music out of whatever is the flute This quote relates back to May’s illness and desire for life. In my own life I have been limited to living my life to a certain degree. If it were completely up to me I would quit school and travel the world and learn about other cultures, but sadly I have to wait until after college because my parents want me to go to school first. But seriously, now that I truly think about it, I may not be doing everything I want to in this moment, but I may be doing something someone else is unable to. I am living life to degree of fullness I am able to in this moment. Tomorrow my degree of fullness may change, but only one person truly knows what is going to happen tomorrow and that is Heavenly Father. In conclusion what does living life to the fullest mean to you? Is it just a matter of living each day as a new person or the same person with new actions? May did everything and lived her life to the fullest. Some people around the world are unable to live their lives as they please, so if you have the freedom please take it, run and do everything your little heart desires. You are the author of this life so it’s about time you sit down, open to a new chapter and start writing.

Woodchucks essays

Woodchucks essays Woodchucks Maxine Kumins, Woodchucks provides an interesting and creative perspective into the mind state of those influenced by nazi warfare. What begins as a seemingly humorous cat and mouse hunt, reminiscent of such movie classics as Caddyshack, soon develops into an insatiable lust for blood. Kumins descriptive language provides the reader with the insight necessary to understand to the speakers psychology as they are driven beyond the boundaries of pacifism. The poem does indeed have a rhyme scheme, yet doesnt conform to conventional forms of rhyme such as A, B, A, B, etc. Rather, each stanza seems to follow the order of A, B, C, A, C, B, which may not be apparent to the reader at first, but doesnt hinder the poems effectiveness. The first stanza begins with the speaker describing their failed attempt at eliminating the pests. The first attempt was described as merciful: The knockout bomb from the Feed and Grain Exchange was featured as merciful, quick at the bone. However, t he following lines offer a bit of humor to the chase as it seems the woodchuck has outsmarted the speaker as a result of their overconfidence: and the case we had against them was airtight, both exits shoehorned shut with puddingstone, but they had a sub-sub-basement out of range. This first stanza sets the stage for what would appear to be a humorous battle of whits between the speaker and the woodchucks. The following stanza continues in this vein with the cynical statement, Next morning they turned up again, no worse for the cyanide than we for our cigarettes and state-store Scotch, all of us up to scratch. However, those that follow are slowly indicative of the speakers mental deterioration. The statements of the food being eaten by the woodchucks are filled with bitterness as the language begins to resemble that of a killer. They brought down the marigolds as a matter ...

A Womans Choice essays

A Womans Choice essays Twenty-five years after the Supreme Courts infamous Roe v. Wade decision, the majority of the American public still favors the legislation of abortion. The latest New York Times/CBS Poll shows that there have been nearly 30 million abortions preformed in the last two decades. Personally, as a young woman living in the 21st century, I strongly disagree with women using abortion as a major form of birth control. But, I do support the reproductive rights of women, to make their own decisions concerning the issue of abortion. I believe this is a very personal moral issue and that the government should not be involved in our decision-making regarding these rights. According to Carey Goldberg and Janet Elder in the New York Times article dated, January 16, 1998, In a poll that was given in 1989, when people were asked whether a pregnant woman should be able to get a legal abortion if her pregnancy would force her to interrupt her career, 37 percent said yes and 56 percent said no; In 1998, only 25 percent said yes and 70 percent said no. Also, in 1989, 48 percent thought an interrupted education was enough to justify a teenage girls abortion; that dropped to 42 percent in 1998(A 1). Based on these statistics, it appears that the majority of Americans are still in favor of abortion but with limitations. I also believe it is important for a young teenage girl to have the right to continue her education and to make her own decisions regarding an unwanted pregnancy. Whereas, a young woman with a career facing similar circumstances, hopefully, would take a more responsible approach by practicing safe sex, following through the full-term pregnanc y, or giving the child up for adoption. Taking responsibility should be an important expectation for either age group, but especially for those young adult career women who have more life experience, maturity and means of financial support. This is definitely a very diffi...

Luxury goods in China Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Luxury goods in China - Essay Example The paper tells that possession of the luxury brand has been a trend in market of China especially among the girls of various age groups between 18 years to 30 years old. Girls like to go for shopping and they prefer visiting malls where they get almost everything under one roof. The various characteristics of the luxury brands which have been observed are that it has aesthetic value; it is costly as compared to regular brands. It has also been found that the luxury brands are quite sophisticated to handle as compared to regular brands. They have a classic look which is the reason that people get attracted more towards the luxury brands. The Chinese economy is strengthening day by day as there is an increment in the demand of the luxury goods. Mostly teenagers and unmarried ladies prefer luxury brands. Most of the customers like to pay innumerable number of times for luxury products but there are few customers who pay lesser number of times for luxury products but prefers high value product. The most preferred products for the luxury brand have been perfumes, watches, fashionable clothes, ornaments and laptops and in order to attain these products they would even prefer to go to outside places. They even get these items as gifts from their friends, families and in the similar way they also provide gifts to their friends and families. Eastern brands have been preferred for camera, ornaments which are artificial products. The similarity between the Western and the Eastern brand is that both the brands have high degree of excellence and the technology that is used to manufacture both the product is highly upgraded.

Leader ship Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Leader ship - Assignment Example Leadership is the backbone of the organization. Leaders of an organization are given the mandate of seeing into it that all the organizational operations run smoothly to ensure organizational success. Barnard (1938) defines leadership as the capability of the superior to influence the behaviour of subordinates and convince them to follow a particular strategy. Leaders should inspire confidence to their followers. Various theories have been associated with leadership and have been applied to solve difficult management issues arising in organizations. Individuals in leadership positions must posses’ vast knowledge of social behaviour of individuals or teams within the organization (Robins & Judge, 2010, p. 597). Leaders are innovators and change facilitators. Leaders are concerned with the planning, organizing, staffing, directing, coordinating, reporting and budgeting. Leadership Theories/Concepts There are several leadership theories that have been proposed. They include great man theory, trait theory, behavioural theories such as the managerial grid, theory x and y, contingency theory and many others. The various leadership styles include; participative leadership, transformational leadership, situational leadership and many others. Some leaders think more about their employees than themselves. Others are more committed to their work and have excellent communication skills. For every organization to be successful the leader should show commitment to his work, communicate effectively and motivate employees to perform their tasks (Hassan & Shaw, 2012). The trait theory assumes that individuals have natural traits that help them become leaders. They believe that these merits are inheritable. These traits include intelligence, conduct, sociability, commitment, devotion, determination and perseverance and other inherit abilities (Gorman, 2004). Situational theory argues that leaders arise from different situation in individuals’ face in life. The lead ers are expected to adjust and adapt to new circumstances to be able to deal with the new situation. The path goal theory deals employees motivations so as to enable them achieve the set goals and objectives (Gorman, 2004, p.82). According to this theory leaders have the ability to improve employees’ motivation by clarifying the goals and providing the resources necessary to ensure improved employee performance and achievement of the desired goals. The contingency theories are an expansion of the situational theories. They are based on categorizing various components which can be used to foretell of the best and effective management technique to be applied in a given situation (Hassan, 2009). The Fiedler contingency model proposes that for effective group performance the leaders’ approach must match with the situation, which gives leaders some control. Fiedler tried to establish whether a person is task-oriented or rapport oriented using the LPC scores. He further iden tified three dimensions, which could be used to determine effective leadership (Robins, & Judge, 2010, p. 522). These include leader-member relations, which involves individuals levels of confidence, trust and respect individuals had in their leaders, task structure, which involves the structured and the unstructured degree of job assignments position power which measures the degree of influence a leader has in relation to

Internal combustion engine Essay Example for Free

Internal combustion engine Essay From its humble beginnings from in 1885 today the automotive industry is one of the biggest industries today and is one of the world’s most important economic sectors by revenue. Not only does this industry develops and manufacture but it also markets and sells motor vehicles globally. STEEP Analysis onSocio-cultural Socio-cultural variables such as population, social responsibility, cultural differences, and theinfluence of consumer movement affects directly to the automobile industry. Most of the people concerns the price, mileage, brand of the car, design and style, after salesservice when purchasing a vehicle and depends on what other people think about their vehicle. Age distribution is a factor that directly influence when focusing on sales among population,And should be able to develop segments that able to satisfy different needs of age groups. When purchase vehicles the families are more sensible factor which influence car purchasedecision. Space, safety and budget play a major role. Need to focus on corporate customers since they buy the largest amount of vehicles . Technological Technological factors and innovations, Research development plays a most important role asthey improve standards of driving. Fuel consumption is one of a major problem at the moment, hybrid engines has developed toreduce fuel consumption. Ex: Honda, ToyotaOne of a major requirement of the customer is safety. Seat belts, air bags which protect passengers at a collision, ABS brakes to stop the vehicle in short distance even in icy surfaces. By investing for Research and development and innovating new technologies can gain patentedand boost sales. Technological development is support the driver to control the vehicle more comfortable andeasier.

Evaluation of Journal Article Involving Cross Cultural Perception of Eu

Evaluation of Journal Article I. Introduction The essay is about to evaluate the journal written by Coen Heijes and express my personal interpretation of the article. The essay was divided into five sections. First of all, I would briefly outline the topic of the article and introduce the findings made by the author. Secondly, I would analyze the theory and literature review by evaluating the main theoretical framework. Then research design and methods would be discussed, followed by the findings and conclusions given by the author. Finally, personal implications would be delivered. In my opinion, take power dynamics into account while analyzing the perception across-cultural is a beneficial supplement to the dimensional approach which is limited in doing research on international management. Despite lacking of empirical research on relations between cross-cultural perception and power asymmetry in organizations, this paper could be a significant reference on further research. II. Description of the paper being evaluated In this paper, the author delivered a research about cross cultural perception and power dynamic across changing organizational and national contexts in Curacao and the Netherlands. The essay is divided into seven parts. First of all, the author pointed out that more and more researchers found they should go beyond standard cultural dimensions of Hofstede when analyzing the national cultures because culture is not so much fixed, cohesive and systematic concept but more dynamic and co-created. Therefore, the author expanded on the interactions between culture and power and discussed the role of power and power differences in cross-cultural perception. Second, methodological triangulation was used al... ...ice organizations in the IRS and the police in the Netherlands and Curaà §ao. The results of the research findings were just the reflection within the public services organizations and it cannot indicate that similar conclusions would be drawn up in business organizations. Besides, the study lacks some empirical data on the relation between cross-cultural perception and power asymmetry in organizations. Furthermore, this study paper made me think about another case of the UK and HONG KONG, since the impact on the cross-cultural perception would be more complex not just considering the power dynamics and power imbalance due to the western social system background based on Chinese culture. In all, I benefited from the power dynamics influence study on cross-cultural perception and it would be a good learning example for me to carry out research in the future .

Action plan for optimum health and wellness Essay

There are several elements of health and wellness, which include physical, social, environmental, emotional, spiritual, and intellectual. However, the top three elements of health and wellness that need more advocacy in society are physical, emotional, and environmental. Health is a good physical condition, the condition of the body and mind, and the presence of illness (Donatelle, 2011). Physical health is extremely important because exercise, for one, means the ability to have a strong, healthy heart, and good recuperating abilities. Incorporating different kinds of exercise into one’s daily routine will help not only relieve stress but also a variety of other health factors. Emotional health is a serious issue in our society today. Keeping a positive attitude and self- esteem is extremely essential for good health. When one lets certain situations fall to a low, it results in hurt, anger, and even depression, which are key factors of an unhealthy lifestyle. Possessing low emotional health could interfere with motivation to exercise, healthy eating habits, and good communication skills. Environmental health is also priority. Society can do certainly more to improve environmental conditions. This includes not littering, recycling properly, and less air pollution. These key elements ensure a positive clean way to healthy living. Understanding the important roles that nutrition and fitness have as active parts in our lives is a topic that requires additional advocacy. Nutrition and fitness are two key factors that work alongside each other and are critical elements that help maintain optimum health. Concentrations in good nutrition can deliver effective results in preventing the body from acquiring a chronic disease and obesity. Obtaining a chronic disease can have major impacts on a person’s life and requires extreme lifestyle changes. A chronic disease developed from poor nutrition is vital and can lead to many complications, inclu ding death. According to the CDC (2009), nearly one hundred and thirty-three million people live with at least one chronic disease. Consistency with daily exercise and good nutrition will ensure a healthy balance needed for good health and wellness. Without the right nutrition, fitness will not improve the body, and without fitness, nutrition will not have any additional benefits. Fitness is important because it helps fight infections in the body and improves the immune system to help fight infection at a more effective and rapid rate. Fitness is also important because it may give a person a sense of self-confidence. Self-confidence allows a person motivation and pride in who they are. Fitness will help primarily to live a better life in the way he or she thinks, sleeps, and in daily activity performances. It is mandatory to be consistent with eating healthy and staying fit. Great fitness and nutrition are necessities in obtaining optimum health and is achievable by incorporating daily physical activity. Without nutrition and fitness, a person will expose their body to a chronic disease that may eventually cause one’s life. Some of the environmental effects on health that people may be exposed to and be unaware of are in places such as the home and workplace, which can be fatal. Air pollution is one of the most common problems we encounter daily. Mold is another cause of concern with symptoms that range from something as harmless as a cough to a serious condition such as respiratory illness. Lead is one of the most significant and widespread environmental hazards for children. According to the CDC (2013), about 24 million homes in the United States contain deteriorated lead-based paint and elevated levels of lead-contaminated house dust. It is critical to know what environmental health hazards people can be in contact with in order to prevent any damage to our health. Other environmental issues people need awareness on is water contamination and toxic chemicals stored undernea th kitchen cabinets. The drinking water quality has a major influence on public health. Significant attention is required on all chemicals used in the home daily, which can be very harmful to one’s health if people use it inappropriately. It is particularly important to store toxic cleaning supplies appropriately when children are present in the home. In addition, smoking is an environmental health concern that can lead to very serious health problems, which includes the inhalation of secondhand smoke. Awareness of the resources and prevention  tips available is vital for all of these environmental health hazards. Making positive changes to the way the environment is today will ensure a healthier lifestyle. There are different strategies available for preventing chronic diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and cardio-vascular disease. First, one strategy for preventing cancer is maintaining yearly examinations at the physician’s office. It is also important to follow steps in checking oneself, more so, if cancer is hereditary. Proper nutrition is an import ant factor; however, there are specific items that can be included in daily eating habits, which will help in prevention. These items are green leafy vegetables and tomatoes. One should also avoid excessive sunlight and unnecessary x-rays for prevention of skin cancer. Exercising as often as possible to avoid stress is also a key factor for cancer prevention. Eliminating smoking habits and secondhand smoke are vital for prevention of lung cancer. According to the American Lung Association (2013), cigarette smoking is the number one cause of preventable disease and death worldwide. â€Å"Smoking-related diseases claim over 393,000 American lives each year† (American Lung Association, 2013). Diabetes best practices are staying away from drinking liquids that contain high levels of sugar. Walking, running or any type of physical activity at least twice a week is essential for keeping diabetes controlled. Cardiovascular disease is another chronic disease that is responsible for several heart attacks and deaths. Some helpful tips for prevention of cardiovascular disease are exercises such as walking o r running. The heart is a muscle; therefore, it requires physical activity to be healthy. Avoiding some red meats and incorporating healthy breakfast meals like oatmeal are also very helpful. There are several tips one can follow for prevention of cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Staying proactive and aware of these issues is necessary to live a healthy life. â€Å"On the whole, the immune system does a remarkable job of defending you against disease-causing microorganisms† (How to boost your immune system, 2013). However, there are different factors that play a role that help attack the immune system, causing defenses to weaken. When germs invade the immune system, this causes one to get sick. Certain illnesses, such as diabetes, and AIDS can cause the immune system to not perform at an optimum level and allow sickness to invade the body more quickly. There are several ways to boost one’s immune system to achieve strong fighting  defenses. Good nutrition, proper vitamins and good exercise are some examples to boost the immune system. â€Å"To function well, it requires balance and harmony† (How to boost your immune system, 2013). Adopting healthy-living strategies is necessary to ensure good health, which means a strong immune system with strong defense fighting capabilities. â€Å"There is still much that researchers do not know about the intricacies and interconnectedness of the immune response† (How to boost your immune system, 2013). According to How to Boost Your Immune System (2013), â€Å"for now there are no scientifically proven direct links between lifestyle and enhanced immune function†. REFERENCES Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2009) Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. The power to prevent, The Call to Control: At a Glance 2009. Retrieved October 28, 2013, from http://www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/resources/publications/aag/chronic.htm Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2013). Get the Lead Out: National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week 2013. Retrieved October 28, 2013, from http://blogs.cdc.gov/yourhealthyourenvironment/2013/10/23/get-the-lead-out-national-lead-poisoning-prevention-week-2013/ Donatelle, R. J. (2011). Health. The Basics, Green Edition. Retrieved from The University ofPhoenix eBook Collection database. How to boost your immune system. (2013). Retrieved October 29, 2013 from http://www.health.harvard.edu/flu resource-center/how-to-boost-your-immune-system.htm Smoking. (2013). Retrieved October 31, 2013 from http://www.lung.org/stop-smoking/about smoking/health-effects/smoking.html

Bollywood and Gender

Research Proposal Aim: To study and compare the role of women in some of the women centric Hindi films released between 1980 to 1990 and 2000 and 2010. Objective: To study the issues of gender, caste, development that were perceived in Indian cinema then and now in women centric films. A comparative study about the representation of women in Indian cinema then and now in women centric films. Scope: There are a numerous women centric films that are created in diverse languages around the world. When we focus even on one specific type, we get to know about the culture and thought process of that specific region. Also, a strong statement emerges out of the analysis which is a reflection of the prevailing ideologies in the society. This paper will be mark a statement on the thought process, beliefs of the people especially for the women. These beliefs systems and ideologies will be compared through women centric Bollywood movies that were released between 1980’s to 1990’s and 2000 to 2010. The scope can be extended to many women centric movies made in various languages other than Hindi. One can also include the earliest of the eras for a detailed comparison and in-depth study. Not only a comparison on the issues like gender and caste but also a comparison on other issues like lifestyle, costumes, movie posters etc can be done. Limitations: This paper is limited only to Bollywood films because of the language constraints. Also, only two decades have been chosen since the comparison and study would be possible with a limited number of films to study. Also, from each decade four women centric films are chosen and then studied thoroughly. Followed by is a detailed analysis of the movie based on the issues of Gender, caste, development, ideologies. Research Question: What is the difference in the representation of women portrayed earlier (1980-1990) and that which is shown now (2000-2010)? †¢ What are the factors that have affected the change in the representation of women in Hindi cinema esp. between the 1980- 1990 and 2000-2010? And how is the transition identified? †¢ Was the image of women shown in the movies of 1980-1990 stronger, bolder than tho se shown now (2000-2010)? Introduction: Confirming Aristotle’s view of art as an imitation of life, gender discrimination in the Hindi film industry does indeed reflect the bias that exists in Indian society. The gender ratio in India is heavily skewed in the favor of males (1. 08 male(s)/female) (from CIA’s publication). Thus, Indian moviegoers are presumed to be mostly men—roughly between the age of 15 to 34 years. These moviegoers, according to an all-India survey by a research organization, enjoy mindless comedies. Such thinking dominates cinematic expression in one of the world’s largest centers of film production. The Indian entertainment industry stands at $10 billion today and is expected to grow at 18 percent per annum compounded annually over the next two years (Economic Times). An average Indian spends approximately 4. 6 percent of disposable income on movie watching in theaters. And because issue-based films are not a favorite with the masses, a producer opts for subjects with more appeal so that he or she can recuperate the huge investments involved in film production. Even female filmmakers do not risk funding for their films by focusing on women-centric subjects. At New York’s iView Film Festival held in 2009, which explored gender and sexuality issues, filmmakers and actors on the panel were asked to comment on the presentation of social issues through Indian films. Zoya Akhtar, the filmmaker of  Luck By Chance (2009), and a panel member commented on the female protagonist in her film saying that, â€Å"The character could have been any; the fact that she is a woman is a coincidence. † But because the film ends up centering on the story of a woman, the director struggled for six years to make the film—apparently because numerous male actors turned down the costarring role. She had a difficult time despite her insider status in the industry as the daughter of renowned Indian scriptwriters, Javed Akhtar and the sister of an accomplished film director, actor, producer and singer, Farhan Akhtar. The absence of female centric scripts in main stream Hindi cinema is partially to be blamed because of its commercial viability. Also, commercially super-hit films like Jab We Met(2007) and Paa(2009) are termed as female centric films, but on observing closely, we realize that both the female characters in the end need their male counterpart to overcome their grief or are heavily relied on them to ensure a happy ending to their story. Hindi cinema is divided into ‘trends’ or ‘eras’. Starting from the silent ra in 1920s, Hindi cinema has evolved tremendously in terms of technique, story telling and the stories that were told. The period from late 1940s till 1960s is considered as the ‘Golden era’ of Indian cinema. Bollywood witnessed a new wave in form of content, where earlier movies focused mainly on mythological stories, after independence, their focus shifted on development issues (Do Bigha Zameen- in 1953), gender (Bandini-in 1963), caste di scrimination (Sujata-in 1959), etc. In the early years of Indian cinema, it was Bimal Roy who made a host of films in which his heroines had the lead part to play. Commercial cinema then had female centric scripts and Nutan, Meenakumari, Madhubala and Waheeda Rehman have portrayed some of the most powerful female characters in Hindi cinema and delivered super-hit films. The role played by Zeenat Amaan in the movie (Qurbani-in 1980) was much ahead of its time. It was bold and headstrong unlike of the characters that we seen in the movies of late 90’s. One of the outstabding commercial hits Seeta aur Geeta concentrated more on the heroines rather than the two heroes. Besides such mirrored plots, some movis have focused exclusively on the heroine and woven the script around a central female character. In such films, the woman has no prototype. Jaya Bhaduri’s Guddi was one of the early hits where the innocent girl next door image of a star struck teenager became representative of each school going girl for years to come. In other films like Aandhi, an educated wife changes course midway from a happily married woman to a leading politician. When we compare those films with the films produced during 1990s and later, we can see stark contrast in the way female leads were being portrayed. Not only in their portrayal of the character, but also in the way the content of the movie that was generated. At times or rather most of the times, they were meant to accomplishments to their male counterparts. Shridevi in Lamhe(1991), Madhuri Dixit in Hum Aapke Hain Koun-(1994), Karishma Kapoor in Dil to Paagal Hain-(1997), Fiza-(2000) ,Kajol in Dushman-(1998) and Aishwarya Rai in Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam-(1999), Taal-(1999) and Guzaarish-(2010) were some of the most popular leading ladies during this era. Though they were brilliant performers, they hardly were part of a movie where they were not shown adhered to the wishes of the male lead, society and family. It becomes mandatory to ultimately create an image of an ‘ideal’ girl/woman for the audience (here consumers) because that’s how our society works and secondly it becomes easy for that the idea to sell; hence increase in numbers and popularity. Films like â€Å"Dor† (2006), â€Å"Silsilay† (2005), â€Å"Tehzeeb† (2003), â€Å"Pinjar† (2003), â€Å"Chameli† (2003), â€Å"Satta† (2003), â€Å"Filhaal† (2002), â€Å"Zubeidaa† (2001) â€Å"Lajja† (2001), â€Å"Chandni Bar† (2001) and â€Å"Fiza† (2000) brought the woman into the spotlight – all these films got critical acclaim, but they didn't turn out to be a commercial hit. Surprisingly, in recent times, No One Killed Jessica was the only ‘women centric film’ that sort of worked at the box office. All said and done, it shows that we lack on ideas. We as audience are treading backward as we choose to accept only a specific image of woman being shown. Hence, I would focus on a comparative study of two different bollywood era. This will not only comment on the techniques and style of film making, but it will also comment on the kind of cinema accepted by the masses then and now. It will clearly showcase the image of a girl or a woman being shown by the film makers and its acceptance by the audience. It will talk about how issues of gender, caste, development were perceived in Indian cinema then and now. Hence, it will become a cultural comparative study of two different decades from Indian history and will help us understand that how the term ‘Indian Culture’ has evolved over a period of time. A Tentative Bibliography: †¢ Criticisicm and Truth by Roland Barthes |   | |Television commercials and rural women as audience in India by Ila Patel | | | | | |Ways of Seeing by John Berger | | | | | |About Looking by John Berger | | | | | |Women and Art contested Territory by ChicagoJudy | | | | | |Bollywood in Posters by Ausaja. S. M. M. | | | | | |A Thinking Eye by Paul Klee | | Reference Links: www. indianetzone. com www. indianlink. com www. altlawforum. org www. expressindia. com www. semionaut. com www. sebsteph. com www. slideshare. net Heta Vyas MAJ 0310

PSY201 r5 Self Reflection Worksheet Essay

PSY201 r5 Self Reflection Worksheet Essay PSY201 r5 Self Reflection Worksheet Essay University of Phoenix Material Self-Reflection Worksheet Respond to the following in 200-300 words each. 1. While considering the different theories of motivation, describe your personal motivation for attending college. How much of your motivation is extrinsic, intrinsic, and neutral? From what you have read, how might you change your motivation? Which motivational theory applies most to your situation? Explain why. My personal motivation for attending college is to further my education so that I would always have another profession to fall back on. In today’s times we are never sure when the job we are working no longer be viable. Jobs today are eliminated as quickly as money. We have worked on some jobs for over 40 years to come in and they tell you it is gone. With society like this I feel that I must educate myself with other skills. I can be more employable with multiple skills and higher education. Most of my motivation is neutral. My motivation should be more intrinsic at this stage of my life. I am basically at the intrinsic stage of my motivation. I want to find a career that I enjoy. A job is a job because you need it to exist. A career is fun because you enjoy what you do. I no longer fill that I have to work to survive or to enjoy life. I want to work in a field that I will find rewarding and it will not seem like a job. I enjoy working and meeting people. As st ated in my Big Five I enjoy accommodating others. This is the reason that I have changed my career aspects so I can help others. 2. Describe two specific emotions you have experienced, one pleasant and one unpleasant. Select two theories of emotion and evaluate these emotions based on those theories. Which emotion best accounts for your emotional experiences? Why? Two specific emotions that I have experienced was sadness and the other was joy. The two theories of emotions are the James-Lange theory of emotion – he suggest that a stimulus initiates a reaction physiological and a behavior reaction this leads to the emotion that is at hand. The other theory of emotion is: Cannon-Bard theory of emotions suggest that emotions are not tied into feelings but rather through experience my emotions are best described by the James-Lange theory. A physiological and a behavior reaction lead to the emotions that I was feeling in the sadness and the joy. My mind trigger the experience and my behavioral reaction was the emotion that I would display at that moment in time. Sadness and joy both deal with the physiological part of the brain that triggers the behavior part to react a certain way. In Cannon-Bard theory my emotions would be based on my experience of how to react on the feelings that I have had before during similar situations to be co nsidered acute then we would have to learn how to react to certain situations from childhood through adulthood from dealing with other people in society. This is basically the only way that you could prove it to be in this theory. 3. Select two theories of personality and describe your

The Columbine Massacre School Shooting April 20, 1999

The Columbine Massacre School Shooting April 20, 1999 On April 20, 1999, in the small, suburban town of Littleton, Colorado, two high-school seniors, Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris, enacted an all-out assault on Columbine High School during the middle of the school day. The boys plan was to kill hundreds of their peers. With guns, knives, and a multitude of bombs, the two boys walked the hallways and killed. When the day was done, twelve students, one teacher, and the two murderers were dead; plus 21 more were injured. The haunting question remains: why did they do it? The Boys: Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris were both intelligent, came from solid homes with two parents, and had older brothers who were three years their senior. In elementary school, Klebold and Harris had both played in sports such as baseball and soccer. Both enjoyed working with computers. The boys met each other while attending Ken Caryl Middle School in 1993. Though Klebold had been born and raised in the Denver area, Harris father had been in the U.S. Air Force and had moved the family several times before he retired and moved his family to Littleton, Colorado in July 1993. When the two boys entered high school, they found it difficult to fit into any of the cliques. As is too common in high school, the boys found themselves frequently picked on by athletes and other students. (Though some claimed they were part of the Trench Coat Mafia, in truth, they were only friends with some of the groups members. The boys didnt usually wear trench coats to school; they did so only on April 20 to hide the weapons they were carrying as they walked across the parking lot.) However, Klebold and Harris seemed to spend their time doing normal teenager activities. They worked together in a local pizza parlor, liked to play Doom (a computer game) in the afternoons, and worried about finding a date to the prom. For all outward appearances, the boys looked like normal teenagers. Looking back, Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris obviously werent your average teenagers. Problems According to journals, notes, and videos that Klebold and Harris left to be discovered, Klebold had been thinking of committing suicide as early as 1997 and they both had begun thinking about a large massacre as early as April 1998- a full year before the actual event. By then, the two had already run into some trouble. On January 30, 1998, Klebold and Harris were arrested for breaking into a van. As part of their plea agreement, the two began a juvenile diversion program in April 1998. Since they were first-time offenders, this program allowed them to purge the event from their record if they could successfully complete the program. So, for eleven months, the two attended workshops, spoke to counselors, worked on volunteer projects, and convinced everyone that they were sincerely sorry about the break-in. However, during the entire time, Klebold and Harris were making plans for a large-scale massacre at their high school. Hate Klebold and Harris were angry teenagers. They were not only angry at athletes that made fun of them, or Christians, or blacks, as some people have reported; they basically hated everyone except for a handful of people. On the front page of Harriss journal, he wrote: I hate the f*cking world. Harris also wrote that he hates racists, martial arts experts, and people who brag about their cars. He stated: You know what I hate? Star Wars fans: get a friggin life, you boring geeks. You know what I hate? People who mispronounce words, like acrost, and pacific for specific, and expresso instead of espresso. You know what I hate? People who drive slow in the fast lane, God these people do not know how to drive. You know what I hate? The WB network!!!! Oh Jesus, Mary Mother of God Almighty, I hate that channel with all my heart and soul. Both Kiebold and Harris were serious about acting out on this hate. As early as spring 1998, they wrote about killing and retaliation in each others yearbooks, including an image of a man standing with a gun, surrounded by dead bodies, with the caption, The only reason your [sic] still alive is because someone has decided to let you live. Preparations Klebold and Harris used the Internet to find recipes for pipe bombs and other explosives. They amassed an arsenal, which eventually included guns, knives, and 99 explosive devices. Klebold and Harris wanted to kill as many people as possible, so they studied the influx of students in the cafeteria, noting that there would be over 500 students after 11:15 a.m. when the first lunch period began. They planned to plant propane bombs in the cafeteria timed to explode at 11:17 a.m. and then shoot any survivors as they came running out. There is some discrepancy whether the original date planned for the massacre was to be April 19 or 20. April 19 was the anniversary of the Oklahoma City Bombing and April 20 was the 110th anniversary of Adolf Hitlers birthday. For whatever reason, April 20 was the date finally chosen. Setting the Bombs in the Cafeteria At 11:10 a.m. on Tuesday, April 20, 1999, Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris arrived at Columbine High School. Each drove separately and parked in spots in the junior and senior parking lots, flanking the cafeteria. Around 11:14, the boys carried two 20-pound propane bombs (with timers set for 11:17 a.m.) in duffel bags and placed them near tables in the cafeteria. No one noticed them place the bags; the bags blended in with the hundreds of school bags that the other students had brought with them to lunch. The boys then went back to their cars to wait for the explosion. Nothing happened. (It is believed that if the bombs had exploded, it is probable that all 488 students in the cafeteria would have been killed.) The boys waited a few extra minutes for the cafeteria bombs to explode, but still, nothing happened. They realized that something must have gone wrong with the timers. Their original plan had failed, but the boys decided to go into the school anyway. Klebold and Harris Head Into Columbine High School Klebold, wearing cargo pants and a black T-shirt with Wrath on the front, was armed with a 9-mm semi-automatic handgun and a 12-gauge double-barrel sawed-off shotgun. Harris, wearing dark-colored pants and a white T-shirt that said Natural Selection, was armed with a 9-mm carbine rifle and a 12-gauge pump sawed-off shotgun. Both wore black trench coats to hide the weapons they were carrying and utility belts filled with ammunition. Klebold wore a black glove on his left hand; Harris wore a black glove on his right hand. They also carried knives and had a backpack and a duffel bag full of bombs. At 11:19 a.m., the two pipe bombs that Klebold and Harris had set up in an open field several blocks away exploded; they timed the explosion so that it would be a distraction for police officers. At the same time, Klebold and Harris started firing their first shots at students sitting outside the cafeteria. Almost immediately, 17-year old Rachel Scott was killed and Richard Castaldo was injured. Harris took off his trench coat and both boys kept firing. Not a Senior Prank Unfortunately, many of the other students didnt realize yet what was happening. It was only a few weeks until graduation for the seniors and as is a tradition among many U.S. schools, seniors often pull a senior prank before they leave. Many of the students believed that the shootings were just a joke- part of a senior prank- so they didnt immediately flee the area. Students Sean Graves, Lance Kirklin, and Daniel Rohrbough were just leaving the cafeteria when they saw Klebold and Harris with guns. Unfortunately, they thought the guns were paintball guns and part of the senior prank. So the three kept walking, heading toward Klebold and Harris. All three are wounded. Klebold and Harris swiveled their guns to the right and then shot at five students who were eating lunch in the grass. At least two were hit- one was able to run to safety while the other was too debilitated to leave the area. As Klebold and Harris walked, they nearly continually threw small bombs into the area. Klebold then walked down the stairs, toward the injured Graves, Kirklin, and Rohrbough. At close range, Klebold shot Rohrbough and then Kirklin. Rohrbough died instantly; Kirklin survived his wounds. Graves had managed to crawl back down to the cafeteria, but lost strength in the doorway. He pretended to be dead and Klebold walked over him to peer into the cafeteria. The students in the cafeteria started looking out the windows once they heard gunfire and explosions, but they too thought it was either a senior prank or a film being made. A teacher, William Dave Sanders, and two custodians realized that this was not just a senior prank and that there was a real danger. They tried to get all the students away from the windows and to get down on the floor. Many of the students evacuated the room by going up the stairs to the second level of the school. Thus, when Klebold peered into the cafeteria, it looked empty. While Klebold was looking into the cafeteria, Harris continued shooting outside. He hit Anne Marie Hochhalter as she was getting up to flee. When Harris and Klebold were back together, they turned to enter the school through the west doors, firing as they went. A policeman arrived on the scene and exchanged fire with Harris, but neither Harris nor the policeman was injured. At 11:25 a.m., Harris and Klebold entered the school. Inside the School Harris and Klebold walked down the north hallway, shooting and laughing as they went. Most of the students not at lunch were still in class and didnt know what was going on. Stephanie Munson, one of several students walking down the hall, saw Harris and Klebold and tried to run out of the building. She was hit in the ankle but managed to make it to safety. Klebold and Harris then turned around and headed back down the hallway (toward the entrance they had gone through to enter the school). Teacher Dave Sanders Shot Dave Sanders, the teacher who had directed students to safety in the cafeteria and elsewhere, was coming up the stairs and rounding a corner when he saw Klebold and Harris with guns raised. He quickly turned around and was about to turn a corner to safety when he was shot. Sanders managed to crawl to the corner and another teacher dragged Sanders into a classroom, where a group of students was already hiding. The students and the teacher spent the next few hours trying to keep Sanders alive. Klebold and Harris spent the next three minutes indiscriminately shooting and throwing bombs in the hallway outside the library, where Sanders was shot. They threw two pipe bombs down the stairs into the cafeteria. Fifty-two students and four staff were hiding in the cafeteria and could hear the gunshots and explosions. At 11:29 a.m., Klebold and Harris entered the library. Massacre in the Library Klebold and Harris entered the library and shouted: Get up! Then they asked for anyone wearing a white cap (jocks) to stand up. No one did. Klebold and Harris started firing; one student was injured from flying wood debris. Walking through the library to the windows, Klebold shot and killed Kyle Velasquez, who was sitting at a computer desk rather than hiding under a table. Klebold and Harris set down their bags and started shooting out the windows toward policemen and escaping students. Klebold then took off his trench coat. One of the gunmen yelled Yahoo! Klebold then turned and shot at three students hiding under a table, injuring all three. Harris turned and shot Steven Curnow and Kacey Ruegsegger, killing Curnow. Harris then walked over to a table near him where two girls were hiding underneath. He banged two times on the top of the table and said, Peek-a-boo! Then he shot under the table, killing Cassie Bernall. The kick from the shot broke his nose. Harris then asked Bree Pasquale, a student sitting on the floor, if she wanted to die. While pleading for her life, Harris was distracted when Klebold called him to another table because one of the students hiding underneath was black. Klebold grabbed Isaiah Shoels and started dragging him from under the table when Harris shot and killed Shoels. Then Klebold shot under the table and killed Michael Kechter. Harris disappeared into the book stacks for a minute while Klebold went to the front of the library (near the entrance) and shot out a display cabinet. Then the two of them went on a shooting rampage in the library. They walked by table after table, shooting non-stop. Injuring many, Klebold and Harris killed Lauren Townsend, John Tomlin, and Kelly Fleming. Stopping to reload, Harris recognized someone hiding under the table. The student was an acquaintance of Klebolds. The student asked Klebold what he was doing. Klebold answered, Oh, just killing people.  Wondering if he, too, was going to be shot, the student asked Klebold if he was going to be killed. Klebold told the student to leave the library, which the student did. Harris again shot under a table, injuring several and killing Daniel Mauser and Corey DePooter. After randomly shooting off a couple more rounds, throwing a Molotov cocktail, taunting a few students, and throwing a chair, Klebold and Harris left the library. In the seven and a half minutes they were in the library, they killed 10 people and injured 12 others. Thirty-four students escaped uninjured. Back Into the Hall Klebold and Harris spent about eight minutes walking down the halls, looking into the science classrooms and making eye contact with some of the students, but they didnt try very hard to get into any of the rooms. Students stay huddled and hidden in many of the classrooms with the doors locked. But locks wouldnt have been much protection if the gunmen had really wanted to get in. At 11:44 a.m., Klebold, and Harris headed back downstairs and entered the cafeteria. Harris shot at one of the duffel bags they had placed earlier, trying to get the 20-pound propane bomb to explode, but it didnt. Klebold then went over to the same bag and began fiddling with it. Still, there was no explosion. Klebold then stepped back and threw a bomb at the propane bomb. Only the thrown bomb exploded and it started a fire, which triggered the sprinkler system. Klebold and Harris wandered around the school throwing bombs. They eventually went back to the cafeteria only to see that the propane bombs had not exploded and the sprinkler system had put out the fire. At exactly noon, the two went back upstairs. Suicide in the Library They headed back to the library, where nearly all the uninjured students had escaped. Several of the staff remained hidden in cabinets and side rooms. From 12:02 to 12:05, Klebold and Harris shot out the windows toward the policemen and paramedics that were outside. Sometime between 12:05 and 12:08, Klebold and Harris went to the south side of the library and shot themselves in the head, ending the Columbine massacre. The Students Who Escaped To the policemen, paramedics, family and friends waiting outside, the horror of what was happening unfolded slowly. With 2,000 students attending Columbine High School, no one saw the whole event clearly. Thus, reports from witnesses escaping the school were skewed and fragmentary. Law enforcement personnel tried to rescue those who were injured outside but Klebold and Harris shot at them from the library. No one saw the two gunmen commit suicide so no one was sure it was over until police were able to clear the building. Students that had escaped were sent via school bus over to Leawood Elementary School where they were interviewed by police and then put on a stage for parents to claim. As the day wore on, the parents that remained were those of the victims. Confirmation of those that had been killed did not come until a day later. Rescuing Those Still Inside Because of the large number of bombs and explosives thrown by the gunmen, the SWAT and police could not immediately enter the building to evacuate the remaining students and faculty that were hiding inside. Some had to wait for hours to be rescued. Patrick Ireland, who had been shot two times in the head by the gunmen in the library, attempted to escape at 2:38 p.m. out the library window- two stories up. He fell into the waiting arms of SWAT while T.V. cameras showed the scene across the country. (Miraculously, Ireland survived the ordeal.) Dave Sanders, the teacher who had helped hundreds of students escape and who had been shot around 11:26 a.m., lay dying in the science room. The students in the room tried to provide first aid, were given instructions over the phone to give emergency aid, and placed signs in the windows to get an emergency crew inside quickly, but no one arrived. It wasnt until 2:47 p.m. when he was  taking his last breaths that SWAT reached his room. In all, Klebold and Harris  killed 13 people  (twelve students and one teacher). Between the two of them, they fired 188 rounds of ammunition (67 by Klebold and 121 by Harris). Of the 76 bombs that Klebold and Harris threw during their 47-minute siege on Columbine, 30 exploded and 46 did not explode.​ In addition, they had planted 13 bombs in their cars (12 in Klebolds and one  in Harris) that did not explode and eight bombs at home. Plus, of course, the two propane bombs they planted in the cafeteria that did not explode. Who Is to Blame? No one can say for sure why Klebold and Harris committed such a horrific crime. Many people have come up with theories including being picked on in school, violent video games (Doom), violent movies (Natural Born Killers), music, racism,  Goth, problematic parents, depression, and more. It is hard to pinpoint one trigger that started these two boys on a murderous rampage. They worked hard to fool all those around them for over a year. Surprisingly, about a month before the event, the Klebold family took a four-day road trip to the  University of Arizona, where Dylan had been accepted for the following year. During the trip, the Klebolds didnt notice anything strange or unusual about Dylan. Counselors and others also didnt notice anything unusual. Looking back, there were  telltale hints and clues  that something was seriously wrong. Videotapes, journals, guns, and bombs in their rooms would have been easily found if the parents had looked. Harris had made a website with hateful epithets that could have been followed up on. The Columbine Massacre changed the way society looked at children and at schools. Violence was no longer just an after-school,  inner-city  occurrence. It could happen anywhere. Sources Bai, Matt. Anatomy of a Massacre.  Newsweek. 3 May 1999: 25-31.Columbine Report. Jefferson Countys Sheriffs Office. 15 May 2000.Columbine: Hope From Heartbreak.  Rocky Mountain News.Cullen, Dave. Columbine Report Released.  Salon.com. 16 May 2000.Cullen, Dave. Inside the Columbine High Investigation.  Salon.com. 23 Sept. 1999.Cullen, Dave. Kill Mankind. No one should survive.  Salon.com. 23 Sept. 1999.Dickenson, Amy. Where Were the Parents?  Time. 3 May 1999.Gibbs, Nancy. The Next Door: A Special Report on the Colorado School Massacre.  Time. 3 May 1999: 25-36.Levy, Steven. Loitering on the Dark Side.  Newsweek. 3 May 1999: 39.

Reflective assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Reflective assignment - Essay Example I had been determined to: Consequently, I decided to become professional nurse in my life for which I had always been curious to become in practical life. Fortune gave me an opportunity of working as junior nurse at a community hospital as soon as I passed my A Levels exams. It is therefore, it was a pleasant experience to join as assistant community nurse at my local town. Though it was not a higher qualification certificate, yet it was sufficient to permit me work as this position. At hospital, I had orientation with the tasks and duties related to nursing. I enjoyed myself while working with the qualified doctors, experienced nurses and other dedicated staff of the hospital. I also got acquainted with the co-workers serving at the same position of assistant nurse. Among these co-workers, two assistant nurses became my classmates at college. At the hospital, I came to know the problems faced by the healthcare staff members while performing their duties and obligations. I was really moved to observe the dedication of doctors, nurses, cleansing staff and helpers during the course of their services-rendering, where all the staff forgot its own comforts for the sake of the patients under treatment at the hospital. Hence, I learnt that the nursing was not mere a profession; rather, it was a virtuous act to help the suffering humanity come out the state of misery. They deal with the patients undergoing various diseases and viruses, with extreme care and patience. â€Å"More so than other professionals†, Gaddis submits, â€Å"nurses intimately understand the communicable characteristics of a potentially contagious virus. And much like any transmittable organism, communications have the ability to infect or heal: With every word and action you are either positively affecting or negatively infecting your work environment . Your inner perceptions and attitude strongly impacts your outward attitude,

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

IP 2 - Essay Example Then, it is time to find out the people or place from where the information can be collected. Thereafter, the information can be collected. At the next stage, the fears, expectations, merits, and limits in each point of view are analyzed (Stages in decision making). An assumption can be considered as a statement that one considers as true but without any concrete evidence to support it. In the business world, it is necessary for companies to make assumptions in a number of different situations. For example, companies will make assumptions on the amount of pension that will be paid to the retirees in future as a part of making financial statements. In addition, we make many assumptions in everyday life too. For example, one driving on the road assumes that all other drivers will obey traffic rules, and that all will stop at red light. As Adamson (2010) points out, there are many other common assumptions made by companies in their day to day functioning. For example, one company assume s that the economic situation will be back to normal soon. Another might assume that the changes in the market are temporary. In addition, another company assumes that what their clients want is the product A. Another assumption is that the company has to invest in the field.

Critical Comparison of Websites Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Critical Comparison of Websites - Essay Example The expectations and satisfaction of customers are also of great importance to companies using the Internet for business development. For instance, the quality and effectiveness of Web sites have been associated with customers’ perceptions of the brand as well as their satisfaction and repeat purchase behavior (Chen and Wells 1999). Majority of companies provide extra effort in satisfying customers through the use of Web sites as their perceived quality and satisfaction towards a firm’s Web site have been linked to its productivity and performance within the service industry. In addition, the media has continually reported the role of electronic commerce for both consumers and organizations. In North America, for instance, Internet users were shown to look for online information before purchasing a product (eMarketer 2009) while 51% of them completed the purchase and business transaction online (eMarketer 2010). Although this innovative strategy is viewed to be fundamen tal, the quality of services offered through the Internet remains greatly unpredictable. According to Agarwal and Venkatesh (2002), there is a need for organizations to be aware of and completely understand the barriers and determinants on online purchasing; moreover, they should also be capable of establishing Web sites that can increase the likelihood of visitors to become purchasing customers. This is especially important as customers have been reported to increasingly seek online product information through Web sites although final purchases may not always be completed through the Internet. Nonetheless, Web sites should demonstrate quality in both the offered services and provided information (Parasuraman and Grewal 2000). The current paper will look into the similarities and differences between the Web sites of two fashion brands, H&M and Ralph Lauren. While H&M aims to offer fashion at a good quality along with the most reasonable prices, Ralph Lauren offers luxury through its clothing items. Owing to this difference with regards to the products and prices they offer, this paper will further examine whether they also exemplify variations with regards to their construction and use of Web sites, particularly their quality and effectiveness. Framework (NetQual scale) The use of the NetQual scale will allow the researcher to create a comprehensive view on the Web site quality and effectiveness of the two brands by looking into a number of variables- ease of use, information quality and quantity, visual design, and interaction personalization. Ease of Use The level of usability that is exhibited in a firm’s Web site plays a fundamental role for end-users. If an application is not easy to use and customers experience difficulties in interacting with it, it is most likely that the services and information provided through the Web site will be perceived to be important only by a small number of users. The purpose of usability is to reduce the complexities of Web sites and simplify their interface to ensure that all users are able to have a favorable experience when navigating the site (Welch and Panday 2007). Upon entering the H&M Web site, it was easy to understand the intentions of such application, which is to provide information and offer services, due to the fact that a wide range of specific links were available. For instance, ‘

Internationalising Porters Diamond Essay Example for Free

Internationalising Porters Diamond Essay This article Internationalising Porters Diamond argues that Porter underestimates the significance of the globalization of production and markets in his work about competitive advantage of nations. Dunning says that there is increasing interaction and networking cross-borders. He argues that the cross-border value added activities by multinational companies have influence indirectly and directly on each of the components of the diamond of national competitive advantage. In the article Dunning tries to analyse how globalization of economic activity affects the competitive advantages of individual nation. The article also explores the nature and form of networking and how recent technological developments and regional interactions have increased the interdependence of economic activity between the leading industrial nations in the world. Dunning thinks that the significance of globalization for individual country will depend on how important international transactions are (compared to national transactions), the kinds of assets and products are traded and the modality of international economic involvement. He distinguishes six features of the global economy, which are the following: 1. In global economy value generating assets are increasingly taking the form of created assets (e. g. human capital). The competitive advantages of countries are coming to depend on the countries ability to effectively use and increase these assets. 2. These assets are intangible and firm or ownership specific and do not belong to country. 3. The role of multinational enterprises (MNEs) is increasing. This is because it is in the interest of domestic domicile firms to use the created assets and to generate new assets in a foreign country, or to acquire assets e. g. by acquisition or alliance, by using foreign domiciled firms. 4. Increasing part of the assets of firms of a particular country is either acquired from or are located in another country. The crowing cross-border networking through strategic alliances, international subcontracting and other cooperative arrangements is further undermining the concept of national firm specific diamonds. 5. The role of government needs to be re-evaluated as a result of globalization of the world economy. 6. Increasing competition between countries over the same resources and markets. Considering these points almost all the factors in on Porters domestic diamond have to be reconsidered. The pattern of the diamonds of countries will differ according to the extent and form of the involvement of the country in question in the global economy. Dunning argues that Porter put too little emphasise on the international influence and underestimated the influence of the MNEs. Dunning suggests that the national diamond should be replaced with supernational diamond because of the increasing integration between countries. In this case, national political borders become meaningless and the competitive advantage of a country can be influenced by factors outside a countrys home diamond. The principle is the same, but the geographical constituency has to be established on different criteria when taking about the supernational diamond. 2. 4 The Double Diamond Model of International Competitiveness: The Canadian Experience by Alan Rugman and Joseph DCruz The point of view in this article is that Porters diamond framework explains the success of US, Japanese, and EC-based multinational corporations, but it is not applicable to small, open, trading economies. Rugman and DCruz show that Porters home country diamond does not explain Canadas international competitiveness. Also some other researchers have noticed this problem when trying to apply Porters model to e. g. New Zealand, and Korea. Rugman and DCruz argue that the over 90 % of the worlds nations potentially cannot be modelled by the Porter diamond. The authors suggest that substantial modifications of the Porter framework are required to analyze the nature of Canadas successful resource-based multinationals, foreign subsidiaries and institutional arrangements, such as the Canada-US Free Trade Agreement. In order to do this Rugman and DCruz present a new double diamond framework. In this model Rugman and DCruz propose that since Canada in already economically highly integrated with U. S. , it should use The North American diamond when trying to determine or improve Canadas international competitiveness. This means that Canadians should view the U. S. market as a home market, not just an export market. Canadian owned multinationals have competitive advantages derived from attributes of the U. S. or other foreign diamonds, rather than the Canadian diamond alone. It is also said in the article that each country needs to set its own home-country diamond against the relevant triad diamond. In general, most Asia-Pacific nations will set theirs against Japan. Canada, Mexico, Latin America, and most Caribbean countries will consider theirs against the US diamond. European nations outside of the EC will set theirs against the EC. The authors also criticise that the elements used in Porter model are hardly new or unexpected. The only contribution is bringing them together. Rugman and DCruz criticise the data and how it is presented. The main points were Porter flaws according to Rugman and DCruz is the narrow definition that he applies to foreign direct investments (FDI) and the flawed understanding of the nature of two way FDI (ignoring the role of inbound foreign direct investment). They also criticise how Porter handles imports and exports and multinational activities. According to them their double diamond framework would treat these above-mentioned attributes more correctly. 2. 5 Porters Competitive Advantage revisited by Nicholas J.   Shaughnessy The article, Porters Competitive Advantage revisited, written by Nicholas J. Shaughnessy gives new views to Porters book Competitive Advantage of Nations. The author agrees on some issues with Porter but he also presents criticism. According to  Shaughnessy, the key criticism of Porter is his inattention to the cultural dimension, which the author sees as a significant omission. The author argues that Porter i s work is overly facile in its willingness to fall in with the national stereotypes without the type of empirical support necessary for statistical generalization. In the article Oi Shaughnessy sarcastically says that Porter views national culture as changeless artifact. He continues by saying that even though Porter credit national culture with certain amount of explanatory power; Porter tends to avoid discussing it in any depth. Shaughnessy also discovers that the role of history in a specific country is neglected. The second significant criticism covers developing countries. Oi Shaughnessy says in the article that Porters arguments are formed almost entirely with reference to developed countries. The author argues that, for instance, university education is not very significant factor in countries where most of the population is illiterate. He continues by addressing that the real problems in developing countries are located in politics and culture. The third point of criticism is the role of government. The author argues that in the Porters work lacks of specificity. While some contributors to competitive advantage e. g. university research are well defined, Porter disregards others. From Oi Shaughnessy point of view it seems that Porter wants to remove government from direct arbitrament in industry as far as possible. He also thinks that Porter seems to ignore the nature of the many political imperatives that lead away from state spending on key factors that might have aided in the creation of competitive advantage. As an example of this Shaughnessy uses agriculture, which is in many cases heavily subsidized directly from government and indirectly by customers. He argues that governments are often pressured by lobby groups. That is a reason why governments are sometimes incapable of making the strategic choices necessary to support and sustain competitive advantage. Shaughnessy sees that Porters book is a significant piece of work, but it also has its limitations. According to the author of the article the subject is so extensive that it cannot be covered in one book. He also says that the criticism of Porters book is not that Porter has made an error, but that his thesis is incomplete. Shaughnessy is worried that any populist universalist explanation is accepted uncritically and applied mechanically. He thinks Porters view encourages the belief that problems are soluble exclusively through economic policy measures. Oi Shaughnessy wants to reverse that view by emphasizing the role of history, politics and culture in determing competitive advantage.

Extinction On Dinosaurs :: essays research papers

Theories of the Extinctions of the Dionsaurs: Dinosaurs became extincted 65 million years ago, at the end of the Cretaceous period, something so devastating that it altered the course of life on earth. It seems like it happened so sudden, as geologic time goes, that almost all the dinosaurs living on earth disappeared. So how did these dominant creatures just die off? Was it a slow extinction, or did it happen all of the sudden? These questions bring rise to many different beliefs on how the dinosaur disappeared over 65 million years ago. Extinction is when the birth rate fails to keep up with the death rate, it is called extinction. But, the definition does not answer the question about the nature or causes of extinction. Paleontologists generally divide extinctions into two types, for that of different causes arose. The first is called background extinctions, isolated extinctions of species due to a variety of causes. Included is out competition, depletion of resources in a habitat, changes in climate, the development or destruction of a mountain range, river channel migration, the eruption of a volcano, the drying of a lake, or the destruction of a forest, grassland, or wetland habitat. The second type of extinction is called mass extinctions. Large numbers of species go extinct; many types of species go extinct; the effects must be global, and the effects must occur in a geologically short period of time.1 The dinosaur could not have lived for ever. No creatures, no plants, no tiny bacteria are forever, not even Homo sapiens. Extinction is the fate of all species. One theory on how the dinosaurs became extinct is that of carbon dioxide, and the greenhouse effect. Volcanoes produced the proposed conditions. A massive volcanic eruption could have saturated the atmosphere with carbon dioxide so that it caused a sharp rise in temperatures worldwide. The excessive carbon dioxide would have permitted solar energy to enter the atmosphere but would have blocked the radiation of most surface heat back out into space, therefore causing the greenhouse effect. Rising temperatures could have killed off or reduced the activity of plankton, disrupting food chains and also messing up the plankton's normal role in converting carbon dioxide to oxygen through photosynthesis. From there it would not have been long for all the dinosaurs to have been suffering, and then to become extinct. My theory of the extinction of the dinosaurs is the theory of the comet

Disadvantages of computer Essay

1. Choose a topic you can write easily. For example, writing an advantage and disadvantage essay about wearing a bike helmet, shopping the day after Thanksgiving, or renting movies http://www.ehow.com/how_2103639_write-advantages-d†¦ how to compare the advantages & disadvantages of computers? 1. Look at the processing power of the computers. This number is expressed in GHz, or gigahertz. The higher the number, the faster the processing power. Faster processors are necessary http://www.ehow.com/how_7735278_compare-advantages†¦ What are the advantages and disadvantages of a computer? Massive data storage and quick data computations. Various media (music, movies, games) It can help keep you organized. If you have Internet, then communication and social networking http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_the_advantages_†¦ What is the advantage and disadvantage of computer? Advantage: you could use it to simplify some tasks in your life. Disadvantage: is very addicting to use. (Some people can’t stay away from their computer for more than a day!). http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_advantage_an†¦ Similar Questions What Are the Advantages of Computers to Students? How To Write An Advantages And Disadvantages Essay? How To Compare The Advantages Disadvantages Of Computers? What Are The Advantages And Disadvantages Of A Computer? What Is The Advantage And Disadvantage Of Computer? People Also Asked What are the best sales experts writing on social selling, or sales via social media? How Much Is An Autosmart Franchise? What is the relationship between manager’s qualification and their performance on the job? What banks use experian only? Why is Work Important? How do i apply for a job at dollar general in fultondale al? What is a Financial Statements? Why do companies need employability skills? What Is a Maintenance Technician? Car Service Checklist?

Leadership qualities Essay

This paper talks about testing in specifically psychometric testing that is used by employers in screening employees in the selection process at organizations. After a brief introduction to what psychometric is all about, it analyzes critically this method of choosing employees with respect also the disadvantages and advantages of this type of testing. The paper then concludes itself with discussion of the growth of psychometric testing in relation to its success factors leading on to the final concluding paragraph. INTRODUCTION Psychometric testing is being used for decades now, changing its forms while absorbing technological improvements. It is used as an essential element in the screening of employees at the workplace to thereby increase work effectiveness in terms of selection of the right candidate for the right job. Not only in the selection process, but this type of testing is also used in other areas namely, promotion, training, advisory services in terms of Human Resource management, planning and development. Psychometric testing is used as a tool for deciding upon the winning qualities of employees to get a better understanding of which employee to further develop upon and how, and which to spend different training resources on etc. This type of testing basically uses questionnaires that are made by professional test makers who also undertake analysis of the results with the help of an organizational psychologist. The verdict/s reached thereby is then considered final and accurate to a great extent. Psychometric tests have been categorized into: Ability tests, Motivation tests, Attitude and perception, Projective techniques (TAT), Personality inventories, Organizational climate surveys, Employee satisfaction surveys etc. (TVRLS, 2006) Psychometrics is the field of study belonging to the zone of psychometric testing, and is used as an indicator of measurement of abilities, attitude, perception, skills, personality traits including team playing, leadership qualities etc. The two major components of this type of study are: Construction of the method or procedure in testing and improving upon the qualities of the test in terms of analysis and judgment (Golombok, n. d. ). There are many other fields of study that are pertinent directly or indirectly to this type of testing. Firstly, there is the classical test theory (CTT) and item response theory (IRT). There is also the Rasch model that aims at the requirements when measuring educational and work indicators in terms of physical sciences. Secondly, in relation to correlation and finding out variation in the results there are many techniques including factor analysis, multidimensional scaling, data clustering, structural equation modelling, and path analysis. These few methods aim at finding out what data easily fits into the population that is being tested through a sample and how. (Hogan, 2006) Screening techniques in firms and organizations could range from traditional manual shifting of applications to sophisticated usage of psychometrics. Recruiters immensely make use of online resources or help search for criteria important in measuring the candidates’ qualification (Suff, 2005). Psychometric tests undertake the study of assessment in terms of psychological assessment of individual with respect to five criteria that each test possesses. These are: – Validity: measures what the test is supposed or has been designed to measure – Reliability: the results in the end are in line with the research that was taken and will not change if the test is undertaken again keeping certain factors constant – Standardisation: the instruments used in the test, timing, instructions, test items, scoring techniques are all same for each candidate – Objectivity: there is no deterring of results due to biases caused by subjective decisions or favouritism etc. There should hence be no variation in scores according to these criteria. – Differentiation: tests that have been undertaken have been designed to account for differences and the results should show no effect of the candidate’s personal traits and facts like ethnicity, religion, gender etc. (unless the test aims to measure these as a factor). (Dent & Curd, 2004) CRITICAL ANALYSIS The question that arises now is about the significance of these tests in our lives revolving around the workplace and in specific the corporate world. Psychometric testing is useful, yes but how can it be used, as a measure of success in employee selection, is the most important pointer here. Psychometric tests are used in assisting with the selection process to help predict future employee performance and hence to help in planning out the desired outcomes against these predictions. These tests are economical and efficient, and facilitate the test givers in the attainment of information quickly while cutting down on the money cost also. They are not prone to subjectivity biases when they are objective and hence aid in increasing fairness in decision-making. Apart from finding out the right person for the right job, these tests help recognize development needs, increase motivation and correct stress factors for employees which have a negative impact on their productivity levels if not removed or minimized. (Dent & Curd, 2004) Psychometric tests have evolved from the need to examine ability and resulting output in work situations. The two types of psychometric tests when broadly put, these being: As a measure of ability, verbal or numerical reasoning and as a measure of personality traits and work situations, and what leads to the correct or the best fit. Analysing the usage of tests carries utmost importance when it comes specifically to the choice in terms of what test is to be used in a given situation. This requires deep analysis of the kind of job at hand and then testing candidates to determine the kind of traits needed for that job. On measuring job performance the formula that needs to be remembered is skills + attitude + process + knowledge = Success! However useful this argument holds for psychometric tests, their validity and usage, as a tool in selection of employees is considered controversial also. The difficulty here lies in the fact that people who are being testes sometimes do not give their true answers and get prone to achievement of success with the formula given above, except that the attitudes, skills etc might just be their ideal states in their minds and not something that exists within them in real. This â€Å"lying† on the tests and hiding true meaning of their traits makes accurate judgments difficult and hinders the attainment of absolute fairness in decision-making. And this is also when frequently, psychometric tests are said to be not useful and prone to inaccurate collection of data and information. Hence in many organizations, the usefulness of these tests remains limited and is only to the extent of informing about the decision and not actually making it. Therefore, no matter how glittery the success formula looks, the inefficiency prone to this testing can rid an organization of valuable employees (those who had most probably not lied on the test). (Farrington, 2007) The ethical use of psychometric tests is also another factor that requires discussion in terms of a critical analysis of this topic under dissertation. It is highly essential that the information used by these tests is relevant to the purpose do study, is accurate and does not probe too much into the personal lives of the candidates so as to stay away from intrusion of their privacy. The test should undertake the tester’s competence, procedures and techniques used, and the client welfare to make sure that these guidelines corresponding to each is followed. The test users must be adequately qualified and trained. Results should not be leaked out or sold to any third parties or even other candidates and should only be available to the test takers who will need it to analyse and conclude the tests. Feedback needs to be offered to the people who have taken the test or the candidates to counter any negative effects of the test that was left on them. These tests should not discriminate against gender, race or ethnicity and even disability and age. All test materials need to be secured completely to ward off any unauthorized access to the information provided by these tests. A few of the common tests that are present, measure ability, aptitude, personality, interpersonal skills and relationship awareness etc. (Dent & Curd, 2004) With respect to the five criteria mentioned earlier, a study showed that where selection, assessment and training are concerned, cognitive ability tests and work samples were found out to be most valid. Also, the results of this study showed that interviews were most practical. Results from tests involving knowledge assessment, personality tests involving motivation, satisfaction etc showed that these were most popular with prospective employers. (Mok et al, 2008) CASES FOR PSYCHOMETRIC TESTS Psychometric testing provides organizations and any test givers a very commanding way of guaranteeing the selection and employment of the best candidates through their thorough analysis in terms of ability and preferred behavioural styles. Psychometric testing allows the pre-hiring screening becomes more popular because validity is a criterion that is usually always met and hence this form of testing becomes more preferred. Usually, it also includes IQ testing also along with personality test to enable the organization to gain valuable insight into the issue at hand. Time is saved, as prospective employees are able to learn constructive things that without psychometrics would have been very hard or time consuming to learn. The HR Department hence becomes a powerful unit as it realized true matching of the employee’s personality traits with the characteristics of the company. Financial benefits to the company have also been seen where psychometrics are involved in the process of hiring. Through the availability of technological advances like LAN and the Internet, companies are able to easily administer these tests also. Cost benefits are achieved as eventually companies in the best-case scenario able to learn which employees will stay with the company longer than the others. (Vaid, 2007) Some of the benefits provided by psychometric testing are: 1. Efficiency: psychometric testing improves efficiency in selection and decision-making when it comes to human resource recruitment. Most suitable candidates are hence chosen thereby making maximum use of time, cost and efficiency. 2. More informed recruitment decisions: objective information is provided by these tests to ensure the occurrence of an informed decision-making. 3. Aid to interviews: interviews do not provide all information necessary to conclude upon which candidates are best for that particular job. Hence these tests are highly useful to especially those recruiters who are not much proficient in testing or analyzing a candidate. 4. Tried and tested: these tests now have been offered by many agencies that are used for outsourcing these tests by companies. Also, companies themselves now use many different psychometric tests in the selection process today. 5. Business needs: these tests are in direct relation with the needs of human resource of organizations, and hence fit perfectly to the purpose of these organizations 6. Potential of an individual: an individual’s skills and attitudes along with perceptions are thoroughly weighed through these tests that are not provided by interviews as such. 7. For all levels of staff: these tests are even more helpful since they are appropriate enough to be used at all levels in the organization. 8. Easy to understand: these tests are easy to understand, as their language is unproblematic and simple. They also hence are not prone to discrimination against ethnicity, language or region when they follow the five effective criteria of testing as mentioned earlier in this paper. (Psychometric Testing, n. d. ) 9. Job profiling: this can be done even before the interview takes place, so that key skills and abilities for a particular position in the organization can be further made clear before interviewing the person about it. 10. Useful information: these tests help in providing useful and complete information as to how functional an employee will be in terms of performance in a particular position. (Oriel Training, n. d. ) 11. Professional: psychometric tests make the entire selection process look more formal and professional 12. Objectivity: it adds objectivity to the whole process. 13. Time saving: maximum amount of information is collected in minimum time. 14. Flexibility: due to the use of technology, tests are administered with more flexibility. 15. Self-awareness: when it comes to development of the employees, these tests can help point out the negative factors that should be erased and positive ones that need highlighting and promotion. 16. Cost-effectiveness: when used appropriately, they also provide cost advantages to the firm. (Vaid, 2007) CASE AGAINST PSYCHOMETRIC TESTING It is essential to make sure that the correct procedure in testing is followed including the process of selection, administration, feedback and analysis. Failure on the part of the test giver to do can result in ill communication and analysis often results leading to cynicism, anger, and dissatisfaction. Some of the disadvantages of psychometric testing are: Initial training can prove to be more expensive and costly, Provision of feedback is mostly deemed essential but can waste a lot of time, Uneasiness and resistance shown by the participants can hinder collection of true results. These tests need to be paired with some other form of assessment because complete reliance on them can prove to be not useful at all to the company. Lying or hiding of true information about oneself can result in portrayal of a false picture to the prospective employer, leading to making of false or inaccurate decisions on his/her part (Dent & Curd, 2004). It is very difficult for an untrained eye to find out which is the correct psychometric test to use and employ, due to the high availability of various types of tests in the market. This involved correct decision in terms of choosing the right test for that organization because if this is not done then the results will not be relevant to the organization and the issue at hand. There are many cases where people administering these tests are not qualified or have not been trained enough to correctly administer these tests, hence it is imperative that in order to get the maximum out of these tests, organizational psychology courses need to be offered for training of these test administrators. It should also be understood that these tests provide results that are not hundred percent valid and reliable, so as to not take the effect of many external factors can result in large negative consequences to the organization which is often the case. (Team Focus, 2004) SUCCESS FACTORS Many managers do not make good interviewer and this is where again psychometric testing comes in handy. Studies have shown that many managers and interviewers focus on their ‘gut feeling’ when it comes to hiring employees. Also, another important factor that they use is the candidate’s ability through his skills attained at School/ College etc. This is information; one can easily read off and understand through the Curriculum Vitae of that candidate. The success factor of psychometric testing comes in our discussion when we say that the question about whether a candidate is behaviourally fit in an organization is something whose answer lies in the analysis undertaken through psychometric testing. In other words, how well an employee according to psychometrics will be able to match his personality traits with characteristics of the organization; and how this will impact his performance inside the organization henceforth. (Lievens & Peeters, 2008) One type of psychometric test here exactly important to this kind of testing is the McQuaig System test which helps in outlining a behavioural profile of an employee with respect to the open position that candidate is applying for. Another success factor very essential to organizational development, is the basic fact that this outline can then be used to erase out the subjectivity biases attached to ‘gut feeling’ and help make out a prediction that is dependent on the technical ability of the candidate’s behavioural personality. There are various reasons for growth in the usage of psychometrics in the selection process. A few of these are: 1. Especially when they are hiring employees legal obligations and regulations are met through the use of psychometric tests as they are now being awarded a status that is obligatory to follow and be used by organizations. 2. Test results are now found to be more useful than before because they have been in use for years now. The varied political and cultural state of affairs that pertain to an organization has changed. Also, there has been a shift in the climate of these organizations, which have become more varied in terms of diversity in religions, cultures, ethnicity and so on. Tests hence when effectively designed and made help take these factors into account also. Equal employment opportunity is hence offered immensely well in most cases. 3. The costs of testing have decreased significantly because of the improved and increased use of Internet among many other technological advances. Computer based testing allows for flexibility, ease and quickness in adding up scores and summing up data probing organizations to indulge when more in such testing procedures 4. Human Resource policies are more formally and appropriately designed now to take into account a once much ignored resource- human resource. 5. Tests provide up-to-date information and when employing older employees, this becomes essential because then school qualification would prove to be outdated mostly. 6. Large organizations can use these tests to screen large number of applicants, who without the use of these tests and other computer based tests, would be almost humanly impossible to accomplish. (Psychometric success, n. d. ) CONCLUSION The use of tests, in particular those involving psychological analysis are here to stay as can be seen from their wide usage and growing popularity. It remains however the duty of the employers to ensure that they remain professional, ethical, valid and reliable. Training is an essential component o the success of the usage of these tests in an organization to better analyze and understand the results depicted by these tests. Employers while undertaking the administration of these tests need to take a few things in perspective. They should be clear about what they are measuring, what is the audience like, make sure that it is not indiscriminate towards any class etc., ensure proper training, provide adequate feedback, and also guarantee confidentiality of information, so that effectives can be reached along with success in usage of these tests. Effectiveness, all in all depends directly on giving importance to these factors just discussed so that any form of psychometric analysis is made productive. (Dent, & Curd, 2004) Bibliography Golombok, S. (n. d. ) Modern Psychometrics: The Science of Psychological Assessment. International Library of Psychology Hogan, T. (2006) Psychometric Testing: A practical introduction. Wiley. 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