Origin of the Saying Beware of Greeks Bearing Gifts

Embedded Journalism - 2007 Words

EMBEDDED JOURNALISM 1. In the realm of media-military relations, Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) has become synonymous with the concept of ‘embedding’. The Pentagon defines ‘embed’ â€Å"as a media representative remaining with a unit on an extended basis†[i] and OIF represents the single greatest instance of embedding. The Pentagon offered 920 embed spots, and, from 775 acceptances, eventually managed about 600 positions from more than 250 national and international media agencies[ii]. The British Ministry of Defence (MOD) also authorized 128 embeds from British media outlets. Thus, a â€Å"global army of reporters, photographers, and television and radio crews† deployed to a conflict that would â€Å"be the most covered war in history†. Correspondents†¦show more content†¦5. Since OIF, analysts have postulated how embedded coverage might have unfolded if the coalition had combated a sophisticated, potent adversary that halted the campaign and infli cted massive casualties. During the ground phase, the U.S. Army V Corps Commander, LT-GEN Wallace, said the â€Å"enemy we’re fighting is a bit different than the one we war gamed against†. Newsreaders and retired generals ruminated upon this statement when criticizing U.S. strategy, and President Bush reverted to â€Å"attack mode† and alternated from a hands-off tactic, to assuming â€Å"personal control of the message machine for the war†. Nonetheless, LT-GEN Wallace, â€Å"was just voicing the frustration and anxiety that he was feeling at the time† observed the embed who had interviewed him. The ‘fallout’ over a minor remark though raised concerns about what might have eventuated if the coalition had experienced a debacle. How would embeds report their country’s calamitous battle losses over a prolonged period? 6. If journalists do not fully comprehend an event’s background and complexity, they may revert to sensationalism to elicit audience understanding. Similarly, embeds who encounter dire military results might resort to swift criticism — â€Å"gotcha journalism† and cataclysmic predictions — if they fail to comprehend operations andShow MoreRelatedEmbedded Journalism and War Reporting2282 Words   |  10 PagesEmbedded Journalism and War Reporting Dion E Jones University of Phoenix COMM 220 Maureen, Duffy M.A. May 13, 2012 Embedded Journalism and War Reporting Journalism covers the principles of reporting in different circumstances such as the time-based news as in press conferences or untimely news of crisis, disasters and conflicts. Even though the reporting objectivesRead MoreThe Role Of New Media On The Way Of News Production2937 Words   |  12 Pages‘nationally specific’. However, just as embedded journalist and citizen journalists are situated and more overtly subjective, traditional news media â€Å"veils its bias† of national ‘situatedness’ through professionalism (Blaagaard, 2013, p.187). â€Å"Journalism is not simply investigative reporting for the sake of finding truth; it is a capitalist enterprise with a market and consumers to which it must cater† (Tuosto, 2008 p.22). Shapiro (2014) discusses how journalism is still seen as inherently objectiveRead MoreThe Basic Tasks Of Journalism898 Words   |  4 Pagesâ€Å"the basic tasks of journalism in a democracy under three main headings: 1. The task of observing and informing, primarily as a service to the public 2. The task of participating in public life as an independent actor by way of critical comment, advice, advocacy and expression of opinion 3. The task of providing a channel, forum, or platform for extramedia voices or sources to reach a self-chosen public† (pp. 116). This â€Å"tasks† could be developed and performed by journalism in four types of outletsRead MoreThe War Of The Battlefield1183 Words   |  5 Pagesis, what is going on, and who wins last may catch curiosity of public. Therefore, journalism on battlefield is definitely important for both people who care about the war and military who want to build their images in society. In this essay, it will mainly focus on war news in modern times, and this would give a simple definition about what is embedded journalism, which will include general description of embedded journalists, such as what courses should they get, and how they collect informationRead MoreThe Media And Mass Communication Essay1713 Words   |  7 Pagesimperative that the whole perspective of journalism b defined first. The principle of journalism is founded on the US constitution; that the people reserve the right to individual opinion and expression. In this regard, we may, hence deduce that this fundamental ri ght essentially establishes the premise for the existence of the media. Journalism can be defined as the investigation and consequent reporting of events. To a great degree, the principle of journalism is perceived by many as the direct linkRead MoreEthics And Trends : Native Advertising3381 Words   |  14 PagesEthics and Trends Native Advertising Staying afloat: How native advertising poses a threat to traditional journalism By: Jesse Flickinger It’s never been harder to be a newspaper than in today’s current climate. The state of journalism, and how to fund it, are in a heavy storm of uncertainty. No one has quite figured out the answer yet on how to keep the current model alive. Papers are going under and the traditional revenue streams, which once brought them into fruition, are shrinkingRead More National Culture and Its Relation to Media Essay2770 Words   |  12 Pagessystem can be plastic in altering the presentation and meaning of content elements; media create an artificial environment which we live inside and, this is ubiquitous. The characters of media system mentioned above make the information of media embedded in each aspect of individuals’ life thoroughly, beyond the region. Referring to the neutral of media in the dissemination, a tremendous body of research has been devoted to debunking that â€Å"even where journalists may be sincerely committed to a professionalRead MoreFrontline Essay1191 Words   |  5 Pagesinto everyone s living room killed (Johnson s) presidency . Hence it can be argued that media censorship has been introduced to protect the welfare of people in power. US Media Blues suggest that through the careful selection of images and embedded journalism, what is filmed and reported can be controlled which in turn alters the responder s reception of the truth.Read MoreObjectivity And Journalism1528 Words   |  7 Pagessituations with the BBC, Sky News, and newspapers such as The Sun and the Daily Mail. In truth, pretty much every news outlet on the planet shows a certain degree of bias and non-objectivity. Objectivity is the main ethos of journalism, being one of the first things a journalism student is taught. It gives journalists a set of rules to report news accurately and without bias in favour of a particular party. Though certain aspects of this can differ should you be a columnist or feature writer, thisRead MoreThe Role Of Journalism And Democracy And What Is The Most Powerful Current Threat That Role?2113 Words   |  9 PagesTHE ROLE OF JOURNALISM IN DEMOCRACY AND WHAT IS THE MOST POWERFUL CURRENT THREAT TO THAT ROLE? Journalism and democracy are arguably inextricably intertwined concepts, each having a vital role in the effective function of the other. Democracy as a term and an inherent notion finds it origins from Ancient Greece with the term being derived from the Ancient Greek words ‘demos’ – people and ‘kratia’ – power (The Daily Miracle: An Intriduction to JOuranlism p. 45). Traditionally, journalism has been considered

“The Other Side of Eden” by Brody Free Essays

â€Å"The Other Side of Eden is directly based in Brody’s experience when he lived and leaned from Aboriginal Elders. Actually the book touches the question of American Aboriginal cultures and provides new anthropological perspectives to them. The author discusses the Canadian Aboriginal cultures such as Gitxsan, Dunne-za and Inuit. We will write a custom essay sample on â€Å"The Other Side of Eden† by Brody or any similar topic only for you Order Now Brody challenges general anthropological assumptions concerning hunter-gathers societies. The book is divided into six chapters headed: language, creation, time, words, gods, and mind. The author tries to counter the idea that Aboriginal hunter-gatherers are not nomadic and provides evidence of their being agricultural culture. It is interesting to notice that Brody’s style of writing is highly figurative and has strong relation to his previous works on the same topic. The book is written from legal transcripts, from field notes and from the memory of the past years. The book is written for academy to honor the memory of lives shared by Brody. (Brody 2000) It is necessary to mention that in his book the author employs new approach aimed at deconstructing the â€Å"hunter-gatherer trope†. Therefore the author collected and revisited field notes as well as historical documents. The legal transcripts are brought from the ethnographical link. It is known that Brody conducted original researches to find more evidence for the book. Brody calls for recognition respect of â€Å"hunter-gatherer societies† in his book as they preserve their land compared with the â€Å"agriculturalist transformations†. (Brody 2000) While many authors tend to limit the political associations suggested by ancestors of Aboriginal cultures in USA and to maintain the ecological integrity, Brody makes an attempt to overcome those limits. It is apparent that he is not interested in natural ecology, because he strongly deconstructs the myth tat â€Å"indigenous systems that existed before contact were maladaptive to their various environments†. He provides the evidence that those Aboriginal cultures are unable to successfully adapt to economic development as well as natural resource development – they wouldn’t understand why and how to use oil and gas, for example. Nevertheless, the book has some negative moments. For example, Brody appeared to be unsuccessful in explaining nomadic and sedentary economic systems. Therefore it is possible to suggest that the author demonstrate a certain limit in his researching and writing from â€Å"outside one’s own culture†. (Brody 2000) The author prefers to use the first person in his telling as if he is sitting nearby and leads the original conversation. However, the author is invisible hand in the book and his narrative moves readers further. It is noted that â€Å"the Other Side of Eden† is likely to be work-narrative or travel-narrative of his life and of interfaces with Aboriginal Elders. The author definitely challenges modern ideas and provides evidence that Aboriginal peoples weren’t historically wasters, because according to author â€Å"nothing is wasted†. The author convincingly demonstrates that problems of modern environment don’t result from actions of sedentary â€Å"hunter-gatherers societies†. The reason of those problems is globalization of agriculturalism which is considered nomadic and destructs environmental processes. (Brody 2000) In conclusion it is necessary to provide personal evaluation of the book. It is necessary to note that â€Å"The Other Side of Eden† is a real challenge to anthropological classification of so-called â€Å"hunter-gatherer†. The writing of the author seems authoritative, though Brody is respected by academics. In principle the book is worth for scholars and critics as well as for students and artists. Brody’s evidence provided in the book has strong and weak point. The strength of the boo is that author is not afraid of implementing new assumptions and ideas and he is ready to counter existed stereotypes, whereas the weak moment is that author appears to be unable to provide proper explanation of some economic systems. Therefore the book undergoes both approval and critique. (Brody 2000) References Brody, H. (2000). The Other Side of Eden: Hunters, Farmers, and the Shaping of the World. Vancouver: Douglas McIntyre. How to cite â€Å"The Other Side of Eden† by Brody, Papers

Operational Improvement for Costa Coffee Shop Essay Example For Students

Operational Improvement for Costa Coffee Shop Essay Operational Improvement for Costa Coffee Shop | | Operational Improvement for Costa Coffee Shop Introduction Small businesses are mighty minnows, reflecting the competitive spirit that a market economy needs for efficiency; they provide an outlet for entrepreneurial talents, a wider range of consumer goods and services, a check to monopoly inefficiency a source of innovation, and a seedbed for new industries; they allow an economy to be more adaptable to structural change through continuous initiatives embodying new technologies, skills, processes, or products (Ibielski 1997, p. ). In this context, it is important to analyze the role of quality practices that can enable Costa Coffee Shop to pursue competitive priorities, such as flexibility and quality of services and goods. Andreichuk (1992) stated, Its a common misconception that big firms with extensive human and financial resources can do a better job of educating and motivating their workers to make quality improvements. The truth is that smaller companies can be even more successful at soliciting employee support and involvement because there are fewer management layers to permeate and fewer people to convince of the benefits (p. 29). Higgins (1994) suggests that there are specific transactions or activities that are involved in managing operations in small businesses. The process of managing a business consists of four major functions occurring in an overlapping cycle and directed toward achieving the particular organizations objectives. These functions are planning, organizing, leading and controlling. Planning entails setting objectives; organizing encompasses preparation of resources necessary for placing the plans into effect; leading is the function of channeling employees and other individuals behavior to accomplish objectives; and controlling is evaluating whether the objectives have been met and devising alternatives for improving the chances of achieving those objectives. From this framework, three research questions can be framed to guide this essay on the issue of devising an operational management strategies for Costa Coffee Shop: (1) what are the improvements that can be suggested on the operations management at Costa Coffee Shop? ; (2) what are the operations management common in the coffee shop industry particularly those who have succeeded? And; (3) taking into consideration the resources and location of Costa Coffee Shop, what is the most appropriate operational management strategy? Gaskill, Van Auken, and Kims (1994) research on small business success has suggested that the development of management strategies contributed to firm continuance and growth. Because key components of strategic management as applied to the family business remain difficult to identify the purpose of this essay is to identify the operation management problems and issues faced by Costa Coffee Shop and identify possible strategies to address these issues. Furthermore, improvements on the operations of Costa Coffee Shop shall also be propose operational strategies to solve the problems and increase efficiency and profit. The recommendations shall take into consideration the socio-cultural dynamics within the community where Costa is located. Research Method This article conducted interviews on the customers and some of the staff of Costa Coffee Shop, a survey of the location of the shop and frequented the store to take note of the operations, the quality of services and goods offered at the shop. Furthermore, my observations were confirmed by conducting an interview with the management and some of its loyal customers (or as they claim to be). Consequently, some of the people within the area who does not frequent the store were also asked on the reasons why they do not patronize the shop. From this take off point, a survey of literature was conducted. Analysis There are several approaches that can be taken in planning effective operational strategies, but practitioners suggest a comprehensive approach that deals with cost, industry structure, market preferences, and internal capabilities(Mcleod, Miller, and Oh, 2001). Internal capabilities involve aspects of the management process such as the organizational configuration and environment and managerial characteristics. Merz and Sauber (1995) uggest that there has been a tendency to limit the study of business management to the broad functions of planning, organizing, staffing, and controlling. Efficient and effective processes require integrated tasks from product/service design to post-sale customer service. Quality has historically taken a process-focus at the front end, with programs like quality function deployment which turns the interfacing of customers and product design into a manageable system (Goodale, Hornsb y, and Kuratko, 2001). Censorship and the Internet: EssayDescribes or references the process(es), including roles, responsibilities, and authorities of management and staff for: Ensuring that work is performed according to approved planning. The identification of operations needing procedures, preparation, review, approval, revision, and withdrawl of these procedures; and policy for use. Controlling and documenting products and services. Assessment and Response. Describes or references the process(es) including roles, responsibilities, and authorities of management and staff for: Assesses the adequacy of the quality system at least annually. Plans, implements, and documents assessments and reporting assessment results to management including how to select an assessment tool, the expected frequency of their application to customer service programs and the roles and responsibilities of the staff on the customers. Determines the level of competence, experience, and training necessary to ensure that personnel conducting assessments are technically knowledgeable, have no real or perceived conflict of interest, and have no direct involvement or responsibility for the work being assessed. Ensures that personnel conducting assessments have sufficient access to programs, manager, documents, and records. Managements review and response to assessment. Identifies how and when corrective actions are to be taken in response to the findings of the assessment, ensuring corrective actions are made promptly, confirming the implementation and effectiveness of any corrective action, and documenting such actions. Addresses any disputes encountered as a result of assessments Quality Improvement. Identify who (organizationally) is responsible for dentifying, planning, implementing, and evaluating the effectiveness of quality improvement activities and describes the process to ensure continuous quality improvement, including the roles and responsibilities of management and staff. Ensures that conditions adverse to quality are: Prevented Identified promptly including a determination of the nature and extent of the problem. Corrected as soon as practical, including implementing appropri ate corrective actions and actions to prevent reoccurrence. Documenting all corrective actions. Tracking such actions to closure. Encourages staff at all levels to establish communications between customers and suppliers, identify process improvement opportunities, and identify and offer solutions to problems. Conclusion Based on the findings of this exploratory investigation, there are a number of interesting observations and implications about operation management and flexibility at Costa Coffee Shop. Systematic collection of business performance information (sales, costs, and net income), measurement of customer satisfaction, and training programs for quality can be used to improve the operations of Costa Coffee Shop. Accordingly, these practices provide direction when employees are under shared management and require ambiguity absorption. This facilitates management of systemic flexibility (Covin and Slevin 1991) and therefore supports the attainment of the quality and flexibility we have earlier espoused. In summary, the results of this essay provide a reflection of quality management practices at Costa Coffee Shop and the operational management practices in small firms participating in dynamic markets. Furthermore, this article proposes that Costa Coffee Shop can best attain quality of service and product and flexibility in its operation if it shall perform some changes in its operations specifically targeting human resource and process flexibility and improvements in quality of service and goods. Recommendation It is important to note that there are limitations to this exploratory study. Although there was an attempt to be as nearly comprehensive as possible in specifying quality strategies and tools for Costa Coffee Shop to consider, he instrument can never achieve complete specificity. Future research in this area should focus on at least three questions. First, what impact do the various quality practices have on business success criteria such as sales growth, productivity, and profitability? Second, are there demographic differences such as geographic location, size, industry type, and age of the small business in the implementation of quality practices? Finally, what impact a re larger client organizations having on smaller firms and their strategic focus relating to quality?

Training Essays - Physical Exercise, Bodybuilding,

Training Program Development For the past year I have been hitting the gym five days a week, while taking the weekend off. I started training in the gym sophomore year of high school, but I quickly realized that my personal training routine was not a very good one. After searching through many magazines and talking to people around the gym I realized that there is no perfect routine, nothing is carved in stone when it comes to lifting. The key to lifting I have found is doing what feels best. That means that your personal routine should make you feel comfortable about training and it should make you want to keep training. The article I have read emphasizes this has a very important part of training, but the two most important factors that it talks about are that any program should be performed consistently and progressively. The article states three things that help contribute to a program that maintains consistency and progression. These three things are frequency, volume, and intensity. Recovering from a work out is the single most important thing, because it determines how far and long you are capable of lifting. Frequency has a lot to due with this. For a person in high school or in college, the article says to work out three times per week. However many people in the gym are out of school, they have real jobs and real responsibilities. For them the article recommends two workouts per week. Weight training two to three times a week will give your body the physical time it needs in order to recover from lifting. The article states very clearly that the goal of training is to stimulate the body and not to torture the body. This article brings a very good point up about how much training that a person should do. Volume has this is called is based on the number of exercises you do, the number of sets, and the amount of rest time in between sets. Time is a very important issue when it comes to volume. Its really all about keeping a good pace during a workout, with a 4-5 minutes between live sets. In all a good workout should take about 1 hour, this includes aerobic exercise also. The article also states what kind of exercises that a person should do. For the upper body it says (bench press, overhead press, dip), a pulling movement (row, pulldown, high pull), and crunches for the abs. For the legs the article says (squat, deadlift, leg press). Many people go into the gym and try to almost kill themselves. This is where the question of how much intensity should be used in a training program comes in. The author of this article has a clear opinion on this touchy subject. He suggests that a person should train until they may have one last rep in them. This way he feels you will not completely burn out the muscle, ruining the rest of your program. This really is true because the goal of lifting is to lift more each time not to go till failure. I really feel that this article can help a lot of people who are trying to get started in a training program. I fell that to many people just jump right into lifting blindly. By this I mean that they really have only one goal in mind, and that is just to get big. When really they should have quite a few such as how often do they want to lift, how much do they want to lift, and how hard are they willing to train for what they want.

Suicide Among African Americans Today Essays

Suicide Among African Americans Today Essays Suicide Among African Americans Today Essay Suicide Among African Americans Today Essay Suicide Among African Americans Today I ask myself, â€Å"What is something that has an effect on African Americans today? † After days of much thought and coming up with nothing I said, â€Å"Well, I’m an African American†¦ What’s something that has been effecting my life? † SUICIDE†¦ Whether it be committed or attempted, suicide is something that I see to be a growing issue among the African American culture. I believe this to be brought on by either 1. Depression 2. Fear or 3. Mental Illness Suicide a hidden crisis that is taking the lives of more African Americans today than ever. Nearly a million people worldwide commit suicide each year, with anywhere from 10 to 20 million suicide attempts annually. About 30,000 people reportedly kill themselves each year in the united States. Suicide is the eighth leading cause of death in males and the 6th leading cause of death in females. It is the third leading cause of death for people 10 to 24 years of age. Suicide is a taboo subject among many cultures, but the denial of mental health disorders runs rampant among African Americans. Between 1980 and 1995, the suicide rate of black males doubled to about eight deaths per 100,000 people. The authors of a new book are uncovering an unspoken crisis in the African American community. Amy Alexander, author of Lay My Burden Down was just a teenager when her brother Carl took his own life. Still reeling from the tragedy, Amy teamed up with renowned Harvard psychiatrist Alvin Poussaint to dispel the myths of suicide among the black community. It is very much a misperception that black people dont commit suicide and that comes in part from a need the very real and legitimate need for black people for many years to be very strong, says Alexander. They see mental disorder and depression as a sign of personal weakness or moral failure, says psychiatrist Alvin Poussaint, M. D. of the Harvard Medical School. The suicide rate among black men has doubled since 1980 making suicide the third leading cause of death for black men between the ages 15 and 24. Poussaint calls his own brothers death from heroin abuse a slow form of suicide. Psychologists and psychiatrists have to pay atten tion to those types of behaviors and look at them in a context in the same way they would look at someone who, in fact, was depressed or maybe suicidal, says Poussaint. Like others, African Americans may display depression through physical symptoms like headaches and stomachaches and may complain of an aching misery. There must be an increased awareness about the unique aspects of mental health in black Americans. Doctor Poussaint says one reason African-Americans may not seek out professional help is because only about 2. 3% of all psychiatrists in the United States are African American. Amy feels its important that culturally sensitive training become a part of the standard mental healthcare education process. She emphasizes mental health problems are often physically related and can be treated through talk therapy or through medication. Between 1980 and 1995, the suicide rate among black men doubled to nearly 8 deaths per 100,000 people. Suicide is now the third leading cause of death among black men between the ages of 15 and 24. Despite this increase in numbers, the topic of suicide is still considered taboo. While this is true nationwide among all groups, Alvin Poussaint, M. D. , a Harvard psychiatrist, says the stigma is even stronger in the black community. One problem, he says, is the stigma associated with depression itself. More than 60 percent of black individuals dont see depression as a mental illness, which makes it unlikely they will seek help for it. Dr. Poussaint says it goes back to the days when blues music was invented as a way to sing about pain and distress. He says blacks just consider it part of life. He also says blacks pride themselves on being strong after surviving 250 years of slavery and years of segregation and discrimination. Depression, then, is seen as a sign of weakness. Dr. Poussaint says the first step to help is public awareness. He says, You cant prevent illness or suicide if you dont talk about it and gain some knowledge about it. Along with this, he says education about the warning signs of suicide is needed. These signs include: irritability, changes in appetite, changes in sleep habits, headaches, stomach aches, pain all over, sadness that continues for up to a month, spontaneous crying, social withdrawal , a loss of interest in activities and things once considered enjoyable. Dr. Poussaint also talks about what he calls slow suicide. This is other self- destructive behavior that can accompany depression. This includes drug addiction, alcohol addiction, gang involvement, and other high-risk behaviors. The effects of suicidal behavior or completed suicide on friends and family members are often devastating. Individuals who lose a loved one from suicide are more at risk for becoming preoccupied with the reason for the suicide while wanting to deny or hide the cause of death, wondering if they could have prevented it, feeling blamed for the problems that preceded the suicide, feeling rejected by their loved one, and stigmatized by others. Survivors may experience a great range of conflicting emotions about the deceased, feeling everything from intense sadness about the loss, helpless to prevent it, longing for the person they lost, anger at the deceased for taking their own life if the suicide took place after years of physical or mental illness in their loved one. This is quite understandable given that the person they are grieving is at the same time the victim and the perpetrator of the fatal act. The effects of suicidal behavior or completed suicide on friends and family members are often devastating. Individuals who lose a loved one from suicide (suicide survivors) are more at risk for becoming preoccupied with the reason for the suicide while wanting to deny or hide the cause of death, wondering if they could have prevented it, feeling blamed for the problems that preceded the suicide, feeling rejected by their loved one, and stigmatized by others. Survivors may experience a great range of conflicting emotions about the deceased, feeling everything from intense sadness about the loss, helpless to prevent it, longing for the person they lost, anger at the deceased for taking their own life to relief if the suicide took place after years of physical or mental illness in their loved one. This is quite understandable given that the person they are grieving is at the same time the victim and the perpetrator of the fatal act. Individuals left behind by the suicide of a loved one tend to experience complicated grief in reaction to that loss. Symptoms of grief that may be experienced by suicide survivors include intense emotion and longings for the deceased, severely intrusive thoughts about the lost loved one, extreme feelings of isolation and emptiness, avoiding doing things that bring back memories of the departed, new or worsened sleeping problems, and having no interest in activities that the sufferer used to enjoy. Life circumstances that may immediately precede someone committing suicide include the time period of at least a week after discharge from a psychiatric hospital or a sudden change in how the person appears to feel (for example, much worse or much better). An example of a possible trigger (precipitant) for suicide is a real or imagined loss, like the breakup of a romantic relationship, moving, loss (especially if by suicide) of a friend, loss of freedom, or loss of other privileges. Firearms are by far the most common means by which people take their life, accounting for nearly 60% of suicide deaths per year. Older people are more likely to kill themselves using a firearm compared to younger people. Some individuals commit suicide by threatening police officers, sometimes even with an unloaded gun or a fake weapon. That is commonly referred to as suicide by cop. Although firearms are the most common way people complete suicide, trying to overdose on medication is the most common way people attempt to kill themselves. What are the risk factors and protective factors for suicide? Ethnically, the highest suicide rates in the United States occur in non-Hispanic whites and in Native Americans. The lowest rates are in non-Hispanic blacks, Asians, Pacific Islanders, and Hispanics. Former Eastern bloc countries currently have the highest suicide rates worldwide, while South America has the lowest. Geographical patterns of suicides are such that individuals who live in a rural area versus urban area and the western United States versus the eastern United States are at higher risk for killing themselves. The majority of suicide completions take place during the spring. In most countries, women continue to attempt suicide more often, but men tend to complete suicide more often. Although the frequency of suicides for young adults has been increasing in recent years, elderly Caucasian males continue to have the highest suicide rate. Other risk factors for taking ones life include single marital status, unemployment, low income, mental illness, a history of being physically or sexually abused, a personal history of suicidal thoughts, threats or behaviors, or a family history of attempting suicide. Data regarding mental illnesses as risk factors indicate that depression, manic depression, schizophrenia, substance abuse, eating disorders, and severe anxiety increase the probability of suicide attempts and completions. Nine out of 10 people who commit suicide have a diagnosable mental illness and up to three out of four individuals who take their own life had a physical illness when they committed suicide. Behaviors that tend to be linked with suicide attempts and completions include violence against others and self-mutilation, like slitting ones wrists or other body parts, or burning oneself. Generally, the absence of mental illness, including substance abuse, as well as the presence of a strong social support system, decrease the likelihood that a person will kill him- or herself. Having children who are younger than 18 years of age also tends to be a protective factor against mothers committing suicide. Warning signs that an individual is imminently planning to kill themselves may include the person making a will, getting his or her affairs in order, suddenly visiting friends or family members (one last time), buying instruments of suicide like a gun, hose, rope or medications, a sudden and significant decline or improvement in mood, or writing a suicide note. Contrary to popular belief, many people who complete suicide do not tell any mental-health professional they plan to kill themselves in the months before they do so. If they communicate their plan to anyone, it is more likely to be someone with whom they are personally close, like a friend or family member. Individuals who take their lives tend to suffer from severe anxiety, symptoms of which may include moderate alcohol abuse, insomnia, severe agitation, loss of interest in activities they used to enjoy (anhedonia), hopelessness, and persistent thoughts about the possibility of something bad happening. Since suicidal behaviors are often quite impulsive, removing firearms, medications, knives, and other instruments people often use to kill themselves can allow the individual time to think more clearly and perhaps choose a more rational way of coping with their pain. The assessment for suicidal thoughts and behaviors performed by mental-health professionals often involves an evaluation of the presence, severity, and duration of suicidal thoughts in the individuals they treat as part of a comprehensive evaluation of the persons mental health. Therefore, in addition to asking questions about family mental-health history and about the symptoms of a variety of emotional problems (for example, anxiety, depression, mood swings, bizarre thoughts, substance abuse, eating disorders, and any history of being traumatized), practitioners frequently ask the people they evaluate about any past or present suicidal thoughts, intent, and plans. If the individual has ever attempted suicide, the circumstances surrounding the attempt, as well as the level of dangerousness of the method and the outcome of the attempt, may be explored. Any other history of violent behavior might be evaluated. The persons current circumstances, like recent stressors (for example, end of a relationship, family problems), sources of support, and accessibility of weapons are often probed. What treatment the person may be receiving and how he or she has responded to treatment recently and in the past, are other issues mental-health professionals tend to explore during an evaluation. Sometimes professionals assess suicide risk by using an assessment scale. One such scale is called the SAD PERSONS Scale, which identifies risk factors for suicide as follows: Sex (male) Age younger than 19 or older than 45 years of age Depression (severe enough to be considered clinically significant) Previous suicide attempt or received mental-health services of any kind Excessive alcohol or drug use Rational thinking lost Separated, divorced, or widowed (or other ending of significant relationship) Organized suicide plan or serious attempt No or little social support Sickness or chronic medical illness Those who treat people who attempt suicide tend to adapt immediate treatment to the persons individual needs. Those who have a responsive and intact family, good friendships, generally good social supports, and who are hopeful and have a desire to resolve conflicts may need only a brief crisis-oriented intervention. However, those who have made previous attempts, have shown a high degree of intent to kill themselves, seem to be suffering from either severe depression or other mental illness, are abusing alcohol or other drugs, have trouble controlling their impulses, or have families who are unwilling to commit to counseling are at higher risk and may need psychiatric hospitalization and long-term mental-health services. Suicide prevention measures that are put in place following a psychiatric hospitalization usually involve mental-health professionals trying to implement a comprehensive outpatient treatment plan prior to the individual being discharged. This is all the more important since many people fail to comply with outpatient therapy after leaving the hospital. It is often recommended that all firearms be removed from the home, because the individual may still find access to guns stored in their home, even if locked. It is further often recommended that potentially lethal medication be locked up as a result of the attempt. Vigorous treatment of the underlying psychiatric disorder is important in decreasing short-term and long-term risk. Contracting with the person against suicide has not been shown to be especially effective in preventing suicidal behavior, but the technique may still be helpful in assessing risk since refusal to agree to refrain from harming oneself or to fail to agree to tell a specified person may indicate an intent to harm oneself. Talk therapy that focuses on helping the person understand how their thoughts and behaviors affect each other (cognitive behavioral therapy) has been found to be an effective treatment for many people who struggle with thoughts of harming themselves. School intervention programs in which teens are given support and educated about the risk factors, symptoms, and ways to manage suicidal thoughts in themselves and how to engage adults when they or a peer expresses suicidal thinking have been found to decrease the number of times teens report attempting suicide. Although concerns have been raised about the possibility that antidepressant medications increase the frequency of suicide attempts, mental-health professionals try to put those concerns in the context of the need to treat the severe emotional problems that are usually associated with attempting suicide and the fact that the number of suicides that are completed by mentally ill individuals seems to decrease with treatment. The effectiveness of medication treatment for depression in teens is supported by the research, particularly when medication is combined with psychotherapy. In fact, concern has been expressed that the reduction of antidepressant prescribing since the Food and Drug Administration required warning labels be placed on these medications may be related to the 18. 2% increase in U. S. youth suicides from 2003 to 2004 after a decade of steady decrease. Mood-stabilizing medications like lithium (Lithobid), as well as medications that address bizarre thinking and/or severe anxiety, like clozapine (Clozaril), have also been found to decrease the likelihood of individuals killing themselves. Suggestions for helping people survive suicidal thinking include engaging the help of a doctor or other health professional, a spiritual advisor, or by immediately going to the closest emergency room or mental-health crisis center. In order to prevent acting on thoughts of self-harm, it is often suggested that individuals who have experienced suicidal thinking keep a written or mental list of people to call in the event that suicidal thoughts come back. Other strategies include having someone hold all medications to prevent overdose, removing knives, guns and other weapons from the home, scheduling stress-relieving activities every day, getting together with others to prevent isolation, writing down feelings, including positive ones, and avoiding the use of alcohol or other drugs. Grief that is associated with the suicide of a loved one presents intense and unique challenges. In addition to the already significant pain endured by anyone that loses a loved one, suicide survivors may feel guilty about having not been able to prevent their loved one from killing themselves and the myriad of conflicting emotions already discussed. Friends and family may be more likely to experience regret about whatever conflicts or other problems they had in their relationship with the deceased, and they may even feel guilty about living while their loved one is not. Therefore, individuals who lose a loved one from suicide are more at risk for becoming preoccupied with the reason for the suicide while wanting to deny or hide the cause of death, wondering if they could have prevented it, feeling blamed for the problems that preceded the suicide, feeling rejected by their loved one and stigmatized by others. Some self-help techniques for coping with the suicide of a loved one include avoiding isolation by staying involved with others, sharing the experience by joining a support group or keeping a journal, thinking of ways to handle it when other life experiences trigger painful memories about the loss, understanding that getting better involves feeling better some days and worse on other days, resisting pressure to get over the loss, and the suicide survivors doing what is right for them in their efforts to recover. Generally, coping tips for grieving a death through suicide are nearly as different and numerous as there are bereaved individuals. The bereaved individuals caring for him- or herself through continuing nutritious and regular eating habits and getting extra rest can help strengthen their ability to endure this very difficult event. Quite valuable tips for journaling as an effective way of managing bereavement rather than just stirring up painful feelings are provided by the Center for Journal Therapy. While encouraging those who choose to write a journal to apply no strict rules to the process, some of the ideas encouraged include limiting the time journaling to 15 minutes per day or less to decrease the likelihood of worsening grief, writing how one imagines his or her life will be a year from the date of the suicide, and clearly identifying feelings to allow for easier tracking of the individuals grief process. To help children and adolescents cope emotionally with the suicide of a friend or family member, it is important to ensure they receive consistent caretaking and frequent interaction with supportive adults. All children and teens can benefit from being reassured they did not cause their loved one to kill themselves, going a long way toward lessening the developmentally appropriate tendency children and adolescents have for blaming themselves and any angry feelings they may have harbored against their lost loved one for the suicide. For school-aged and older children, appropriate participation in school, social, and extracurricular activities is necessary to a successful resolution of grief. For adolescents, maintaining positive relationships with peers becomes important in helping teens figure out how to deal with a loved ones taking their own life. Depending on the adolescent, they even may find interactions with peers and family more helpful than formal sources of support like their school counselor. How to best assess the risk of someone committing suicide continues to be an elusive challenge for health professionals, so its an appropriate goal for future research. The best way to achieve the balance between using psychiatric medication to treat any underlying conditions that may result in suicidal thoughts and the potential side effects of those medications is an ongoing issue in suicide prevention. Techniques for coping with the suicide of a loved one include nutritious eating, getting extra rest, talking to others about the experience, thinking of ways to handle painful memories, understanding their state of mind will vary, resisting pressure to grieve by any one elses time table, and survivors doing what is right for them. To help children and adolescents cope with the suicide of a loved one it is important to ensure they receive consistent caretaking, frequent interaction with supportive adults, and understanding of their feelings as they relate to their age.

Bribery and Corruption in China's Construction Industry Essay

Bribery and Corruption in China's Construction Industry - Essay Example In the end, the approach proposed in this paper may hopefully provide a new understanding of bribery and corruption in the Chinese construction industry. The contemporary world’s experience of globalisation is a unique phenomenon known only in the last fifty years (Soros, 2002). Globalisation has opened the doors of the global market, which has paved the way for countries across the globe to redefine their national and international trading relations. In this regard, China’s response to the demands and challenges of globalisation has stirred worldwide interest as China’s economic growth in the past twenty years have been considered as remarkable and even to some â€Å"miraculous† (Sachs & Woo 1993). Studies have shown that the fast phase economic growth of China in the past twenty years can be attributed to the coming together of multi-factors that creates the proper ambiance and environment for economic progress and development (Haddad, 2007). However, it is undeniable that China’s economic policy of opening its door to international trade is appreciated as one the strongest and clearly perceptible decisive impetus that drives and hastens China’s economic growth. (Yao 2006; Chen & Feng 2000; Fukasaka ,Soligna, & Lecomte 1996; Liu et al 2002). And in the context of China’s rapid economic progress, the contribution of one industry is undeniable – the construction industry. China’s construction industry plays a pivotal role in the China’s economic progress. The construction industry in China is worth US $ 93 billion, it employs nearly 24 million people (more than 5%of the total labour force); it accounts for more than 6% of the GDP, and has been growing at an average rate of nearly 10%since 1979 (Daud & Zong, 2005). Being such, the high performance of China’s construction industry makes the industry one of the most successful and lucrative

School Nurse Roles Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

School Nurse Roles - Research Paper Example In fact, only 93 (22.63%) respondents out of 411 were not nurses yet they were in one way or another in the allied health profession. Some were still working on their certification in nursing or have an undergraduate degree in allied health sciences . Also, the survey appears to have drawn a bigger participation rate in smaller districts with 1-4 schools in the district (47.32 %). The questions were sent through IASN list serv which reached over 625 people. Upon analyzing the data , it was surprising to learn that out of 409, respondents only 52.81% of the schools in the district have a Registered Nurse. This is quite disturbing since some schools in the district have enrollment rates as big as 40,000 students. As previously mentioned, the schools in the smaller districts were even more staffed with RN than those schools belonging to larger districts. Also, most of the school nurses are also responsible for other schools in the same district. Moreover, most of the schools have only 1 RN with no health aide (CNA) to support the nurse. Although some have CNAs to assist them, others have only secretaries or clerks to support the medical staff . Unfortunately, even the assistants work on a part-time basis and perform different roles in the school too The survey also revealed that smaller districts have even more nurses than those of schools in larger districts.

Effects of Bullying on Student Attendance Dissertation

Effects of Bullying on Student Attendance - Dissertation Example Written permission from each student’s parent or guardian is required prior to the student participating in the study. The parents will be provided with the following background information: â€Å"Bullying is a serious problem in our schools that requires more study and attention. The incidence of bullying has been linked to poor school attendance. The purpose of this study is to determine whether there is indeed an association between bullying and poor attendance at school. In order to conduct this study, we are asking for permission to interview your student to determine whether he or she has issues with bullying. Fifty to one hundred students in grades four to six will be interviewed. If our study shows a relationship between bullying and attendance, we hope that more resources will be allocated towards working to resolve the problem of bullying in the schools.† Interview questions with the students will not involve asking them directly if they believe they are bullied. Rather, the interviewee will ask specific questions regarding whether the student has had certain feelings and experiences. Many times the student does not realize that he or she is a victim of bullying, especially if it is a combination of seemingly minor incidents and it is non-physical. The questions will be asked in a conversational way, so the children do not feel threatened by the procedure. Through a supportive conversation, the following information would be asked of them:

Time and Cost Performance in Construction

Time and Cost Performance in Construction One of the most essential problems confronting the water and sanitation sector in the northern region of Ghana is performance of cost and time. In most cases time overruns occur in the donor-funded projects and in the extreme cases cost overruns. Time and cost overruns occur in almost all related water and sanitation construction projects in the northern region of Ghana. It is therefore essential to define the actual performance difficulties in order to make light of and avoid the delays and increasing cost in any donor-funded water and sanitation project. In the ESAs funded water and sanitation projects, the aim of project control is to ensure the projects finish on time, within budget and achieving other project objectives. It is a complex task undertaken by project managers in practice, which involves constantly measuring progress; evaluating plans; and taking corrective actions when required (Kerzner, 2003). During the last few decades, numerous project control methods, such as G antt Bar Chart, Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) and Critical Path Method (CPM), have been developed (Nicholas, 2001) (Lester, 2000). A variety of software packages have become available to support the application of these project control methods, for example Microsoft Project, Asta Power Project, Primavera, etc. Despite the wide use of these methods and software packages in practice, many of these donor-funded projects in the north still suffer time and cost overruns. This chapter reviews literature concerning the major issues of and cost and time performance in order to recognize the related information regarding those issues. Definition of Time and Cost Performance Time Performance Time performance is defined as meeting the duration baseline in the initial planning process of the project. Time overruns occurs when there is an extension of time beyond planned completion dates traceable to the major stakeholders (Kaming et al., 1997). Delays are incidents that impact a projects progress and postpone project activities; delay causing incidents may include unavailability of resources, communication problems, slowness in decision making, design delays, etc. In general, project delays occur as a result of project activities that have both external and internal cause and effect relationship (Vidalis and Najafi, 2002). (Choudhury and Phatak, 2004) and (Chan-Albert, 2001) defined the time overruns as the differentiation between the actual completion time and the estimated completion time. Project delays are those that cause the project completion date to be delayed (Al-Gahtani and Mohan, 2007). Cost Performance Cost performance is defined as the zero difference between the budgeted/original cost estimate of the project and in some cases spending below the estimated cost of the project. Cost variance occurs when there is an excess of actual cost over budget or below budget. Cost variance in construction projects often result in an overrun which is also occasionally called cost escalation, cost increase, or budget overrun. (Zhu and Lin, 2004). Cost overrun is defined as the change in contract amount divided by the original contract award amount .This calculation can be converted to a percentage for ease of comparison (Jackson, 1999). (Choudhury and Phatak, 2004), defined the cost overruns as the differentiation amid the original cost estimate of project and actual cost on completion of works of a commercial sector construction project. Cost is among the major consideration throughout the project management life cycle and can be regarded as one of the most important parameters of a project and the driving force of project success (Azhar et al., 2008, p. 7). (Gido and Clement, 2003), mentioned that cost performance is an effective technique in project management effort expended and it is widely accepted in the literature and industry. Earned Value Analysis (EVA) is used to evaluate cost performance of different types of projects. Cost control, cost estimating, and cost budgeting are three cost related processes that interact among each other and with other scopes of construction projects. Time variance for water and sanitation projects Time variance (Tv) is the time between the scheduled contract time and the completion time in undertaking the projects. Bromilows Time-Cost Model Bromilow was the first to develop an empirical model for the prediction of construction time using the project cost. The model known as Bromilows time-cost (BTC) model, developed and published in Australia in 1969, was developed for giving a fast and construction schedule estimate using project cost. The model provides a forecast of construction schedule using the estimated final cost of the project. Bromilows model disclosed that the construction duration was highly correlated with the project cost (Bromilow, 1969). The model was developed by the use of a linear regression model. (Hoffman et al, 2007), confirmed that, Bromilow was triumphant in providing a point estimate as well as upper and lower quartile limits of construction duration using past project data. (Ameyaw et al, 2012). The correlation was re-tested by (Bromilow, 1988) collaborated with the Australian Institute of Quantity Surveyors (AIQS) in two transcribe contract time performance studies, in 1976 and 1988. (Bromilow, 1988), investigated 408 projects built between 1970 and 1976 and establish that despite indication of superior disparity between the time performance of projects of comparable value, the correlation between construction duration and project cost revealed in the 1960s is pertinent. Even though project time is influenced by many other factors including cost, some success has been chalked in an attempt to model project time. The model as first developed by (Bromilow, 1969) is expressed as T = KCB. T represents project duration, C actual cost of the project including fluctuations and variations, K is a constant showing the level of time performance for a unit of C, and B is a constant describing how the time performance was affected by project size as measured by the cost. (Long et al, 2 009), argued that the application of Bromilows time-cost model in estimating and benchmarking the project duration has been vigorous while some studies have suggested that the application of this model is unsuitable. More importantly, (Mensah, 2010), adopted the Bromilows time cost model to estimate project duration on donor funded feeder roads in Ghana and found it applicable. Auxiliary analysis showed the original Bromilow time-cost model is not the best fit regression form, and alternative models were proposed. All the researchers identified cost was a poor forecaster of time performance, and further proposed an alternative model to that proposed by Bromilow (1969). (Kaka and Price, 1991), used the time-cost model for both civil and building projects and indicated that the original model, as introduced by (Bromilow, 1969), remained unchanged but the coefficient of the equation changed with the project type. (Al-Momani, 2000), stated that the owner satisfaction for performance can be defined as the gap between what the owner expects and the level of performance they believe is being delivered by the contractors. (Lehtonen, 2001), stated that performance measurement is a basis for progressive improvement and monitoring of company productivity. (Chan and Kumaraswamy, 2002) remarked that project performance measurement include time, budget, safety, quality and overall client satisfaction. (Thomas et al., 2002), defined performance measurement as monitoring and controlling of projects according to regular basis. (Kuprenas, 2003), stated that project performance measurement means an improvement of cost, schedule, and quality for design and construction stages. (Long et al, 2004), stated that a project performance measurement is related to many indicators such as time, budget, quality, specifications and stakeholders satisfaction. (Navon, 2005), defined performance measurement as a comparison between the desired and the actual performances. Problem of Performance in Construction Industry The failure of any construction project is mainly related to the problems and failure in performance. Moreover, there are many reasons and factors which attribute to such problem. (Ogunlana et al., 1996), stated that the construction industry performance problems in developing economies can be classified in three layers: inadequacies in industry infrastructure (resources supply), clients and consultants caused problems and contractor incompetence/inadequacies. (Okuwoga, 1998), identified that the performance problem is related to poor budgetary and time control. (Long et al, 2004), remarked that performance problems arise in large construction projects due to many reasons such as: incompetent designers/contractors, poor estimation and change management, social and technological issues, site related issues and improper techniques and tools. (Navon, 2005), stated that the main performance problem can be divided into two groups: (a) unrealistic target setting (i.e., planning) or (b) cau ses originating from the actual construction (in many cases the causes for deviation originate from both sources). (Samson and Lema, 2002), found that the traditional performance measurement systems have problems because of large and complex amount of information with absence of approaches to assist decision maker understand, organize and use such information to manage organizational performance. (Navon, 2005), remarked that traditional project performance control is usually generic (e.g., cost control techniques). It relies on manual data collection, which means that it is done at low frequency (normally once a month) and quite some time after the controlled event occurred (i.e., not in real-time). Moreover, manual data collection normally gives low quality data. (Ling et al., 2007), remarked that architectural, engineering and construction (AEC) firms may encounter challenges managing construction projects performance in China because of unfamiliarity with this new operating environment. (Kim et al., 2008), stated that international construction projects performance is affected by more complex and dynamic factors than domestic projects; frequently being exposed to serious external uncertainties such as political, economical, social, and cultural risks, as well as internal risks from within the project. Project Management and Performance There is a strong relation between project management and project performance. Management in construction industry is considered as one of the most important factors affecting performance of works. (Brown and Adams, 2000) studied a new approach to the measurement of the effect of Building Project Management (BPM) on time, cost and quality outputs using 15 `cases derived from UK data. The evaluation undertaken demonstrates that BPM as it is presently implemented in the UK fails to perform as expected in relation to the three predominant performance evaluation criteria; time, cost and quality. (Lehtonen, 2001), obtained a model for performance measurement which assist both firms top management and operational managers for continuous feedback on operational activities. (Thomas et al., 2002), stated that documenting and archiving performance data could be useful for future reference, such as for settling disputes on claims, and in maintenance and repair works. (Kuprenas, 2003), remarked that quantification of the impacts of the project management processes are identified through three steps of analysis: comparison of summary statistics of design performance, proof of statistical significance of any differences and calculation of a least squares regression line of a plot of design performance measurement versus amount/application of project management as a means to quantify management influence to design phase cost performance. (Cheung et al., 2004), studied the project performance related to project managers and remarked that development of a Web-based construction Project Performance Monitoring System (PPMS) can assist project managers in exercising construction project performance indicators and can help senior project management practitioners, etc., in monitoring and assessing project performance. (Pheng and Chaun, 2006), stated that while project management is only one of the many criteria upon which project performance is contingent, it is also arguably the most significant as people formulating the processes and systems who deliver the projects. (Ugwu and Haupt, 2007), stated that an adequate understanding and knowledge of performance are desirable for archiving managerial goals such as improvement of institutional transformations, and efficient decision making in design, specification and construction, at various project-level interfaces, using appropriate decision-support tools. (Ling et al., 2007) , investigated Project Management (PM) practices adopted by Singaporean construction firms and dogged the level of performance of their projects in China; they identified PM practices that led to better performance; and recommended key PM practices that could be adopted by overseas construction firms in China to improve project performance. Water and Sanitation Projects and Performance Success of projects depends mainly on success of performance. Many previous researches had studied performance of construction projects. (Dissanayaka and Kumaraswamy, 1999), remarked that one of the principal reasons for the construction industrys poor performance has been attributed to the inappropriateness of the chosen procurement system. (Reichelt and Lyneis, 1999), remarked three important structures underlying the dynamic of a project performance which are: the work accomplishment structure, feedback effects on productivity and work quality and effects from upstream phases to downstream phases. (Thomas et al., 2002), identified the main performance criteria of construction projects as financial stability, progress of work, standard of quality, health and safety, resources, relationship with clients, relationship with consultants, management capabilities, claim and contractual disputes, relationship with subcontractors, reputation and amount of subcontracting. (Chan and Kumarasw amy, 2002), stated that construction time is increasingly important because it often serves as a crucial benchmarking for assessing the performance of a project and the efficiency of the project organization. (Cheung et al., 2004), identified project performance categories such as people, cost, time, quality, safety and health, environment, client satisfaction, and communication. It was obtained by (Navon, 2005), that a control system is an important element to identify factors affecting construction project effort. For each of the project goals, one or more Project Performance Indicators (PPI) is needed. (Pheng and Chaun, 2006), obtained that human factors played an important role in determining the performance of a project. (Ugwu and Haupt, 2007) remarked that both early contractor involvement (ECI) and early supplier involvement (ESI) would minimize constructability-related performance problems including costs associated with delays, claims, wastages and rework, etc. (Ling et al., 2007), obtained that the most important of practices relating to scope management are controlling the quality of the contract document, excellence of reaction to perceived variations and extent of changes to the contract. It was recommended for foreign firms to adopt some of the project management practices highlighted to help them to achieve better project performance in China. Information Technology and Water and Sanitation Projects Performance Information technology technique is very important in the entire world. Information technology (IT) opens new visions in the businesses and industries performance of the world. The construction industry is considered as one of the industries using IT technique such as software management systems, database and communications. For many years, many processes, functions, operations were done difficulty because of absence of IT field. In addition, most of the work was done manually which lead to more cost, time and poor performance. Furthermore, IT usage in the construction industry leads to many changes, innovations and developing in many aspects which lead finally to good and strong performance. There are many benefits and relations of using IT in the construction projects such as: greater use of IT correlates with better project performance, owners and contractors realize meaningful benefits, IT affects schedule compression beneficially, and overall project cost savings which lead to a success performance of project (Schwegler et al., 2001). (Nitithamyong et al., 2004), remarked that information Technology (IT) is now routinely used in the construction industry as a tool to reduce some of the problems generated by fragmentation. The use of IT improves coordination and collaboration between firms participating in a construction project, leading to better communication practices and so good performance. Its benefits include an increase in the quality of documents and the speed of the work, better financial control and communications, and simpler and faster access to common data as well as a decrease in documentation errors. (Thomas et al., 2002), proposed contractor Performance Appraisal and Reporting (PAR) system for reviewing contractor performance at an organizational level. Advancements in World Wide Web techniques provide enhanced capacities to collect compile and disseminate performance-related information to various construction stakeholders in a timely and cost-effective manner. (Becerik, 2004), stated that the rapid advances of web-based project management and collaboration technology offer new opportunities to improve existing construction project performance. (Cheung et al., 2004) obtained framework software to measure project performance based on project performance measurement system (PPMS). The system contains four stages which are data entry, database, reporting and action. This system has eight categories to measure performance which are people, cost, time, quality, safety and health, environment, client satisfaction, and communication. (Goh, 2005), remarked that information technology m anagement leads to performance improvement in the construction industries. For instance, in Singapore 2003, general administration, design, project management and site management were enhanced by using of IT. In addition, there were more advantages as quick working, good quality of work and fast access of information. Factors Affecting Performance of Managers (Ogunlana et al., 1996), recommended the need for focused effort by economy managers and construction industry associations to provide the infrastructure needed for efficient project management and performance. (Dissanayaka and Kumaraswamy, 1999), stated that the knowledge that would influence potential performance enables project managers to pay special attention to control performance more effectively. (Chan and Kumaraswamy, 2002), remarked that effective communication and fast information transfer between managers and participants help to accelerate the building construction process and performance. (Kuprenas, 2003), studied the impact of the use of a project management based organizational structure, project manager training, frequency of design meetings, and frequency of design reports on design phase cost performance. The process of a design team meeting frequency and the process of written reporting of design phase progress were found to be statistically significant in reducin g design phase costs. (Navon, 2005), stated that data are collected and used for construction managers as a basis to evaluate the Project Performance Indicators (PPI) actual value to compare it with the planned value and forecast its future value based on past performance. (Pheng and Chaun, 2006), identified the importance of the working environment variables for the performance of a project manager in the private and public sectors according to three main groups which are job condition, project characteristic and organizational related categories. The result revealed that working hours, physical condition of project site, complexity of project, material and supplies, project size, duration of project and time availability were viewed differently in terms of importance by the contractors and consultants groups. Team relationship was ranked as the most important variable affecting the performance of a project manager. It is obtained that project managers experiences do not have much effect on how they perc eive their working environment. Time Impact Analysis Time is an essential part of every plan organisations develop for performing contract work. There is a relationship between the schedule, the scope of work, and the project conditions. According to (Anabari, 2003), Time Impact Analysis is typically associated with the modeling of the effects of a single delay. It requires a CPM schedule that is able to show the pure CPM calculation differences between a schedule that does not include a delay and one that does include an activity modeling a delay. The difference for project completion between the non-impacted schedule and that of the schedule with the impact is considered to be the impact of the delay for time duration considerations. Project Cost Time Relationship Total project costs include both direct costs and indirect costs of performing the activities of the project. Direct costs for the project include the costs of doing work related to some specific activities of the project. Indirect costs, on the other hand, are the necessary costs of doing work which cannot be related to a particular activity, and in some cases cannot be related to a specific project (Davison, 2003),. If each activity was scheduled for the duration that resulted in the minimum direct cost in this way, the time to complete the entire project might be too long and substantial penalties associated with the late project completion might be incurred (Dlakwa and Culpin, 1990). Thus, planners perform what is called time-cost trade-off analysis to shorten the project duration. This can be done by selecting some activities on the critical path to shorten their duration. As the direct cost for the project equals the sum of the direct costs of its activities, then the project direct cost will increase by decreasing its duration. On the other hand, the indirect cost will decrease by decreasing the project duration, as the indirect cost are almost a linear function with the project duration (Al-Khalil and AL-Ghafly, 1999). Factors Affecting Cost and Time Performance (Chan and Kumaraswamy, 2002), remarked that studies in various countries appear to have contributed significantly to the body of knowledge relating to time performance in construction projects over the past three decades, while (Iyer and Jha, 2005), remarked that project performance in term of cost is studied since 1960s. These studies range from theoretical work based on experience of researcher on one end to structured research work on the other end. Moreover, (Pheng and Chaun, 2006), stated that there have been many past studies on project performance according to cost and time factors. (Chan and Kumaraswamy, 1996) stated that a number of unexpected problems and changes from original design arise during the construction phase, leading to problems in cost and time performance. It is found that poor site management, unforeseen ground conditions and low speed of decision making involving all project teams are the three most significant factors causing delays and problems of time performance in local building works. (Okuwoga, 1998), stated that cost and time performance has been identified as general problems in the construction industry worldwide. (Dissanayaka and Kumaraswamy, 1999), remarked that project complexity, client type, experience of team and communication are highly correlated with the time performance; whilst project complexity, client characteristics and contractor characteristics are highly correlated with the cost performance. (Reichelt and Lyneis, 1999), obtained that project schedule and budget performance are controlled by the dynamic feedback process . Those processes include the rework cycle, feedback loops creating changes in productivity and quality, and effects between work phases. (Chan-Albert, 2001), identified that the best predictor of average construction time performance of public sector projects in Malaysia is T = 269 C 0.32. This relationship can serve as a convenient tool for both project managers and clients to predict the average time required for delivery of a construction project. (Kuprenas, 2003), stated that process of a design team meeting frequency and the process of written reporting of design phase progress were found to be statistically significant in reducing design phase costs. Otherwise, the use of project manager training and a project management based organizational structure were found to be processes that do not create a statistically significant in reducing design phase costs. (Iyer and Jha, 2005), remarked that the factors affecting cost performance are: the competence of project managers; support of top management; coordinating and leadership skills of project managers; monitoring and feedback by the participants; decision making; coordination among project participants; owners competence; social condition, economical condition and climatic condition. Coordination among the various participants of the project was as the most considerable of all the factors having utmost influence on cost performance of projects. (Love et al., 2005), studied project time-cost performance relationships by using project scope factors for 161 construction projects that were completed in various Australian States. It was noticed that gross floor area and the number of floors in a building are key determinants of time performance in projects. Besides, the findings indicate that cost is a pitiable forecaster of time performance. (Chan and Kumaraswamy, 2002), proposed specific technological and managerial strategies to increase speed of construction and so to upgrade the construction time performance. It is remarked that effective communication, fast information transfer between project participants, the better selection and training of managers, and detailed construction programs with advanced available software can help to accelerate the performance. (Jouini et al., 2004): stated that managing speed in engineering, procurement and construction projects is a key factor in the competition between innovative firms. It is found that customers can consider time as a resource and, in that case, they will encourage the contractor to improve the time performance. Identifying factors that influence cost performance Previous research has attempted to establish reasons for the difference between the tender sum and the final account. This segment identifies the factors that influence cost performance. Four factors were identified from the obtainable research findings, (Morris, 1990), (Kaming et al., 1997) and (Chimwaso, 2001). These are; design changes, inadequate planning, irregular weather conditions; and fluctuations in the cost of building materials. To expand the research it was decided to synchronize the above list of factors with other factors gleaned from the final account reports. These were compared with the factors from the existing research findings, and a final list of 18 factors was prepared. These were then separated into two groups of seven significant factors and nine other factors, which are usually ignored, but perceived to be of equal significance (Chimwaso, 2001). Measurement of Project Performance (Karim and Marosszeky, 1999), stated that performance measurement systems have been one of the primary tools used by the manufacturing sector for business process re-engineering in order to monitor the outcomes and effectiveness of implementation. (Brown and Adams, 2000), obtained an evaluation framework to measure the efficiency of building project management (BPM) by using conventional economic analysis tools such as time, cost and quality. (Lehtonen, 2001), stated that performance measurement systems are imminent in the construction firms. (Samson and Lema, 2002), stated that effective and efficient management of contractors organizational performance requires commitment to effective performance measurement in order to evaluate, control, and improve performance today and in the future. (Tangen, 2004), obtained that performance measurement is a complex issue that normally incorporates at least three different disciplines: economics, management and accounting. Measurement of performance has garnered significant interest recently among both academics and practitioners. (Tangen, 2004), remarked the choice of a suitable measurement technique depends on a number of factors, including the purpose of the measurement; the level of detail required; the time available for the measurement; the existence of available predetermined data; and the cost of measurement. (Navon, 2005), defined performance measurement as a comparison between the desired and the actual performances. For example, when a deviation is detected, the construction management analyzes the reasons for it. The reasons for deviation can be schematically divided into two groups: (a) unrealistic target setting (i.e., planning) or (b) causes originating from the actual construction (in many cases the causes for deviation originate from both sources). (Navon, 2005), stated that performance measurement is needed not only to control current projects but also to update the historic database. Such updates enable better planning of future projects in terms of costs, schedules, labor allocation, etc. (Pheng and Chaun, 2006), stated that the measurement of project performance can no longer be restricted to the traditional criteria, which consist of time, cost and quality. There are other measurement criteria such as project management and products. (Cheung et al., 2004), stated that New South Wales Public Works Department in Australia launched a Project Performance Evaluation (PPE) framework, which covers an extensive array of performance parameters. PPE parameters are communication, time, cost, quality, safety, claims and issues resolution, environment, contract relations. PPEs purpose is to broaden project performance procedures to envelop soft parameters also, such as communication and resolution of dispute. In the UK, a performance measurement tool for project referred to as the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) was developed by the KPI working group under the UK Construction Industry Best Practice Programme to include time, cost, quality, client satisfaction, change orders, business performance, health and safety. The implementation steps of KPIs are as follows: Decide what to measure, Collect data and calculate the KPIs. That notwithstanding, both the PPE and KPIs are valuable tools for measuring performance of a project over a period of time. Anyway, it is obtained from previous study that both methods PPE and KPIs can be used for measuring of performance as the indicators are similar in two methods. In this study KPIs method will be used to measure performance. (Iyer and Jha, 2005), stated that measuring the performance of any construction project is a very complex process because modern construction projects are generally multidisciplinary in nature and they involve participation of designers, contractors, subcontractors, specialists, construction managers, and consultants. With the increasing size of the project, number of participants in the project also increases. The objectives or goals of all participants need not be same even in a given project. Hence to measure performance of a project witho

Frank Lloyd Wright :: essays research papers

" The greatest artist this country has ever produced seems to at last be coming into his own. America’s other great artists—our painters, sculptors, composers—don’t really rank with the tops of all time. They’re not Rembrandt or Michelangelo or Beethoven. Wright alone has that standing." (Robert Campbell) One of America’s most influential and imaginative architects was Frank Lloyd Wright. Throughout his 70 year career, Wright has not only designed nearly a thousand structures, but he has explored the ideas of living space, landscape, and the relationship between architecture and community. Frank Lloyd Wright left behind a legacy of beautiful houses and buildings, an American style of architecture, and an example of what it means to live life based on the way things should be, not the way they are. He created some of the most monumental and intimate spaces in America. He designed everything: banks and resorts, office buildings and churches, a filling station and a synagogue, a beer garden and an art museum. Frank Lloyd Wright’s life truly was a work of art. Wright was born on June 8, 1867, in Richland Center, Wisconsin. His early influences include his clergyman father's playing of Bach and Beethoven and his mother's gift of geometric blocks. Growing up, Wright spent much of his summers at a farm owned by his uncles; here, his favorite pastime was building forts out of hay and mud. In 1882, at the age of 15, he entered the University of Wisconsin as a special student, studying engineering because the school had no course in architecture. Wright left Madison in 1887 to work as a draftsman in Chicago. Wright worked for several architectural offices until he finally found a job with the most skillful architect of the Mid-West, Louis Sullivan, soon becoming Sullivan's chief assistant. Wright was assigned most of the firm's designing of houses, and to pay his many debts he designed for private clients in his spare time. Sullivan disapproved, and Wright set up his own office, which was located in Oak Park. Just before his twenty-second bi rthday, in 1889, Wright married Catherine Lee Tobin, the daughter of a wealthy businessman, and together with Sullivan as his former employer, she gave him the cultural background he lacked; she gave him social polish as well. Now, as an independent architect, Wright became the leader of a style known as the Prairie School, which is described as houses with low-pitched roofs and extended lines that blend into the landscape.

Classical Music and Jazz Music Essay

Music has always been an important element for the humanity. Exist many different kinds of music. For purpose of this paper I’m going to compare classical music with jazz music. This two types of music belong to the category of complex art music. A comparison of classical and jazz music yield some similarities and different and could also lead to an appreciation of this two important category of music. The music called classical, was found in stores and performed regularly by symphonies around the world, in the time of 1600 up to the present. Unlike jazz was found in the early 1900 as some dance band leaders in the southern U.S. began playing this type of music that combined ragtime and blues. Most of the major composer of the classical music until the 20th century were Europeans and the jazz was exposed first by two musicians. Both type of music were know on different parts of Europe. In classical music, both large orchestras and small ensemble are used. The largest part of the orchestra consist of the string section consisting of violins, violas, cellos, string basses and wind instruments. On the other hand jazz music can be played by small group of people. In jazz they use different instruments like clarinet, tuba, cornet, baritone, drums and piano. Similarly to classical music, jazz used some wind instruments. In addition we have a different of audience of this two kind of music. The jazz music attracts an really cultural and hip audience. This is because jazz concerts usually are in opens spaces around the world and in night clubs and you don’t need to pay a ticket to go and appreciate the music. Unlike classical music attracts more elite and rich people. This is because the concerts of classical music are on different amphitheaters and closed spaces and you need to pay for a expensive ticket. To conclude, we can say that this to types of music have their unique style, but both of them represents two approaches to Art Music. This two types of music are important and carry a great and special history. Also this to type of music, allow people to relax while hearing this music. If I need to pick between this two types of music, I prefer the jazz music because is more accessibly for us and it’s transmit more emotions.

Free sample - The Power Corruption Cycle. translation missing

The Power Corruption Cycle. The Power Corruption CycleCorruption is a social evil, which not only hinders the growth of organizations but also strains the relationship between management and subordinate employees in the workplace. There is therefore a need for all skillful managers to remain within the bounds of ethics in resolving all organizational and workplace problems and in devising innovative strategies that ensure the firm’s continued growth. Research carried out by Transparency International identifies that corruption is propagated by managers through acceptance of bribes by those in power so as to facilitate services against company policy. Bribes may be received as monetary rewards or indirect gifts that are bound to influence the manager inappropriately. This is not only considered illegal but it also hurts economic development and eventually leads to lower product quality and standards. This therefore implies that inferior products and services are introduced in the market at the expense of consumers. Further, the managers end up making poor decisions and hold a poor perspective of employees which destroys the relationship between seniors and subordinates. The case against corruption and the misuse of power can in no way be better illustrated than by the ongoing global financial meltdown whose onset is solely attributed to the mortgage meltdown. Chief Executive Officers of renowned banks such as those on the Wall Street ignored all core ethics in their lending to customers. In fact, little or no collateral was required and minimal investigation was carried out as to the client’s repayment capacity as far as the clients ‘convinced’ those in power that they could meet the demands of the agreement. This has consequently resulted in the world’s worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. (Lahart, 2007) Like all other societal problems, corruption, due to the misuse of power by those in authority, can be stamped out. Various measures such as installing a vigilance system to monitor the relationship between managers and their clients have been proposed. Further proposals are in support of a system that evaluates the manager’s economic standing and compares it to the status and living standards enjoyed. However, the easiest way to stamp out corruption is by appealing to the manager’s moral institution and ethics in combating this detrimental vice. In today’s world, a vital tool in combating leadership problems in any workplace environment is emotional intelligence. It has been defined as the ability of an individual, in this case, the manager, to influence emotions by managing and assessing them in oneself as well as in other people such as employees so as attain the set goals of the organization. Therefore, the inherent relationship between leadership and emotional intelligence cannot be ignored. First, emotional intelligence is crucial in creating self-awareness in the leaders. They ably recognize feelings as they happen, perform accurate assessments and therefore attain self-confidence. Secondly, it ensures managers acquire self-regulation such that they can aptly keep disruptive emotions and impulses at bay, thereby gaining self-control, honesty and integrity. Thirdly, it ensures managers remain motivated, which is the driving force towards attainment of goals. This enables the manager to have a healthy achievement drive, commitment towards the organization’s vision, optimism in the face of obstacles and initiative by acting on available opportunities. Fourthly, emotional intelligence goes a long way in creating empathy whereby the manager is aware of employees’ needs, concerns, feelings and their fears. Finally, it imparts social skills whereby the manager can successfully induce favorable responses in the workforce through effective diplomacy, open communication and listening ability, inspiration, bonding, collaboration and co-operation so as to create group synergy towards achieving the set goals. (Goleman, 1995) Therefore, training managers as to the essence of emotional intelligence shall be more successful than any monitoring tactics installed. This is widely supported by studies as that done by Sosik and Megerian (1999) in which they evaluated the change brought about by emotional intelligence. Findings showed that the managers had radically transformed in their leadership behavior and performance outcomes while their employees felt that their superiors were more receptive, transparent and encouraging (Sosik, 1999). Transparency and accountability go a long way in ensuring that ethics are upheld in an organization therefore leading to a healthy working environment. This serves to illustrate that there is no other greater weapon against power induced corruption than emotional intelligence. References Goleman, D. (1995). Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ. New York: Bantam Books. Lahart, J. (2007). Egg Cracks Differ In Housing, Finance Shells . Wall Street Journal , 12. Sosik, J. J. (1999). Understanding Leader Emotional Intelligence and Performance. In Group Oraganization Management (pp. 367-390).

French Expressions Using Soir and Soirée

French Expressions Using Soir and Soirà ©e The French words un soir and une soirà ©e both mean evening (we explain the difference here) and are also used in many expressions. Many of the expressions including soir  and soirà ©e  are idioms - phrases with meanings that cant be derived from a direct translation of the words they use. With this list of expressions using soir  and  soirà ©e,  you can learn how to say frequently used sayings like an  evening meal, a night owl, formal wear and more. Common French Expressions With Soir prendre matin midi et soirto be taken three times a dayau soir de sa vieto be in the evening of his lifeles cours du soirnight classesà ªtre du soirto be a night owlIl est arrivà © un beau soir.He turned up one evening.le repas du soirevening mealune robe du soirevening gownle soir descend / tombeevening is closing inla veille au soirthe previous eveningVoulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir  ?Do you want to sleep with me tonight? Common French Expressions Using Soire bonne soirà ©ehave a nice eveningune soirà ©eparty, evening performanceune soirà ©e dansantedance​la tenue de soirà ©eformal wear, evening dressla tenue de soirà ©e de rigueurblack tie

Journal Article about biology Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Journal Article about biology - Assignment Example Seals are moving from their habitats and migrating to other regions for comfort. Experts conclude that there would be the significant extinction of animal and plant species by the year 2100. Temperatures are rising by 3Â °C, it leads to melting of the ice caps which in turn results in the rise of the sea levels. Polar bears and emperor penguins are facing an extinction if the Arctic and Antarctic continue having a temperature rise (UNEP 3). The waters of the Arctic take longer to form ice again after it melts. The waters of the bays in the arctic take three weeks longer to be stable again than it was thirty years ago. The action affects the polar bears that prefer to hunt for their prey under the Ice Sea. The rising temperatures are having a noticeable impact on birds and butterflies. The butterflies and birds are moving and shifting their ranges by more than 200km northwards. Plants lag behind in their growth because of the rise in temperatures (UNEP 5). Plants and animals are suffering due to climatic changes, and others are risking extinction due to the climatic changes. There is no positive outcome of climatic changes to

Should i buy or should i rent Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Should i buy or should i rent - Essay Example Therefore, the main objective of monetary theory analysis is to understand how to analyze and communicate findings of various investment projects. Consequently, this essay discusses the process project evaluation, techniques of evaluation, theory of interest rate, real situation of mortgage business in United Kingdom specifically the interest rates and other important figures. In the end I attempt to answer a question on whether to buy a home or rent a house. I use the conventional methods of evaluating new ventures to arrive at a decision of buying a house. Capital investments involve spending money on assets that are used to make the business operational. These monies go into meeting the demands of the project. Such demands include wages, utilities costs, land, rent and equipment. This often require colossal amount of startup capital which may be borrowed, raised through equity or saved from earnings. Since money is an important limited resource, the decision to invest on a project must be backed by evidence of profitability and cost benefit analysis. It is important to note that most capital investment are long term and good choice of project is critical. Besides, other factors like amount of capital which eventually determines the type of project must also be considered. Attention should also be given to risk associated with the business and the payback time, whether long term or short term. It is important to note that the question about best investment choices has no straight forward answer. In other words there is no guarantee that the best investment analyst will advise precisely on the future prospect of the project. It all depends on both macro and micro economic factors prevailing at the moment. Therefore, it the duty of the investor to evaluate the cost and benefits associated with the project. Although it is not easy to pinpoint a specific way to deal with this challenge, various methods of determining project viability are available. The two most commonly used techniques are net present value (NPV) and internal rate of return (IRR). These techniques involves finding out the projected cash flows and costs. Nevertheless, the net present value is considered superior to internal rate of return because in some instances a high yield rate does not mean the business is profitable. Internal return rate is based on already determined discount rate which may be not be accurate (Gaylon and Philip 2003). The net present value indicates the value of the business today. It takes into consideration all cash flows and the duration values. These include the initial startup capital and future incomes. The inflows are assigned positive values while outflows are given negative values. For instance if the initial outlay is ? 100,000, this will be considered negative when computing net cash inflow. This because this money has been used to finance the project operation and is not part of income earned from the project. When all these values are co mbined, the result gives the net value of the project. In cases where the investor can establish the amount of money flowing in or out at specific fixed time, the money is treated as rate of cash flow. For instance, a landlord who collect ? 3,000 from rents, has a rate of cash inflow rather than cash inflow. The net cash flow ct at specific time = cash inflows at time t – cash outflows at time t The net rate of cash flows in unit time = net