Master of Health Management Systems Program

My background in health care made me choose an education that would assist me in my long term career plan of the expansion of my family owned rehabilitation center. I have a BS degree in Respiratory Care from Shenandoah University, in VA and my curriculum here has laid the basic foundation for my career in the healthcare setting. I am not employed at present but I am currently a graduate student at NYU majoring in Occupational Therapy. So far in my one year experience at NYU as a graduate student, I have realized that this course would help me become a therapist but I would not be able to manage health care institutions .I can shine better as a leader and a team head rather than a therapist. I have organizing capabilities and good interactive skills that would find a better outlet in a manager’s position†¦ The greater percentage of the population in Saudi Arabia is under the age of thirty and this offers very great career prospects. I wish to make a mark in my own rehabilitation center in my home country. As I already have a family owned center I only need to refine certain systems and bring in innovative techniques. I would be a leader who is dedicated to make changes and contribute to our health care system in Saudi Arabia The health care industry in Saudi Arabia is growing rapidly and would provide excellent and challenging opportunities for providers My short term goal is to work in the ministry of health in Saudi Arabia and move up the ladder to assure better health care delivery. My long term goal is to work for the world health organization in the Middle East sector. My family has a rehabilitation center in Saudi Arabia .Ultimately I would be in a position to manage this also. I would make it a different one which is able to offer the best care possible .I have visions of expansion and opening branches. I need to survey the potential prospects in the places where I would like to branch out and run efficient organizations. I wish to bring in some innovative techniques, equipments and offer this to the patients in a cost effective manner. As an efficient manager and a healthcare provider I must be in a position to demonstrate quality outcomes, fiscal responsibility, and efficient and effective practices. To do this, I would have to collect and analyze data, incorporate innovative management techniques, and utilize new technologies to provide the best health care. This is a field that is constantly evolving. And unless I have a high quality education and the proper accompanying training, I would not be able to be a trendsetter in this field. The health professional is trained to acquire a unique blend of skills in health sciences, management and systems. As a graduate from this school, I would be prepared to understand trends and provide solutions in the evolving healthcare market. So far, my exposure has been fairly limited and though I have grand plans I do not know the integration of technology and management in this field of healthcare. This is what I would need in any healthcare organization and also in my own rehabilitation center. My ultimate aim is to improve the quality of life of physically impaired people in my residential city in Saudi Arabia and I am convinced that this Master of Health Management Systems Program would equip me with the necessary skills to fulfill my obligations to society.

Hegemony and Modern Culture

Hegemony and modern culture (TV documentary script) [Shots of banks, shops, people walking down shopping streets Grafton Street, the Mall in Tralee, Oliver Plunket Street in Cork as voice over speaks] â€Å"Not since the time of Antonio Gramsci has the notion of hegemony been so relevant in Ireland today. But what is hegemony? [Image of Gramsci] Hegemony is the phrase adopted by Antonio Gramsci from Marx to explain how social structures evolve. [Scenes of Regina Cali prison] Antonio Gramsci was born in Italy in 1891. After university, in deference to the fascist Mussolini ruling government he became involved in left wing activity.As a result of this he was arrested in 1928. While in the Regina Cali prison he studied the whole idea of hegemony. He wanted to find out why the weaker forces do not fight back, why do they bow down to their oppressors. He adapted the meaning of hegemony. He realized that it is not just concerned with how the ruling classes operate (as Marx had proposed). Gramsci felt that â€Å"what was missing was an understanding of the subtle but pervasive forms of ideological control and manipulation that seemed to perpetrate all repressive structures†1.He also found that the weaker group had their part in it by accepting the ruling class’s authority. This is the kernel that we are concerned with. This is the theory that we are going to apply to modern culture in Ireland today. Not just why modern culture is imposed but what are the subtle manipulations of this culture and also what is our part in acquiescing to them. [Cut to images of Irish legends Cuchulainn, Fionn mac Cumhaill, Deirdre of the sorrows] We used to have a culture rich in language, dance, storytelling, education, generosity and a love of the simpler things in life.It had evolved from years of myths and legends passed down from generation to generation. We lived by a code of traditions and values. Later we became colonised by England we were robbed of our language an d as a result the stories that made up our culture. Nevertheless we fought back until we gained our independence but already serious changes had occurred in our culture- the culture of money had crept in . Yeats commented on it in September 1913 What need you, being come to sense, But fumble in a greasy till And add the halfpence to the pence And prayer to shivering prayer, untilYou have dried the marrow from the bone; For men were born to pray and save; Romantic Ireland's dead and gone, It's with O'Leary in the grave. 3 [Images of cash tills and money] Consumerism has been growing steadily ever since, but its more than consumerism it’s a greed, an insatiable desire, an endless hunger for the next shiny object. The care for our fellow human beings has been replaced by this self propulsion . Recently we have been woken from a glut of consumerism, obsessed by the price of property and handbags and plunged into an abyss of recession. Now is the time to question what happened?Wha t is our culture? Who are the forces that change it and what is our part in adopting this culture as our own? Firstly what is our culture? Culture is anything that engages us socially. It is the media, television, newspapers, magazines, books, internet, art, music and dance. It is all of these and it is more. It is the way we think, the way we live and the things we believe in. Today in Ireland what is most prevalent is the culture of consumerism. Buoyed by the economic boom that was known as the Celtic tiger consumerism grew and grew. Borrowing increased as sales increased on luxury cars.Items such as handbags became known as must haves, the prices of houses escalated at an astonishing rate. Consumer spending increased by 36% in the period 1999 to 20042. As a nation we became gripped with a greed for goods. Where did this come from? Everyday we are bombarded with images of products and goods. The average person sees over a hundred ads a day. The media is littered with advertising. Most fashion magazines and television stations are run by the revenue generated by advertising. So we can observe how Gramsci’s theory is working, we are being governed by the media to buy these products.But what about the other side, why do we comply so easily. Is it because as a colonised state we are easily duped and behave like sheep. There is clearly proof for this . Because consumerism is our new God, we work all hours to acquire more money. Modern life is riddled with apathy. People don’t revolt any more and this is an essential part of Gramsci’s model. In order for a social structure to grow it needs to revolt. We did in the 1920’s when we gained our political freedom so why not again? Because people today are too busy being distracted by the media.Throughout the media we are shown the perfect way to live, what we need to purchase it, to attain that lifestyle and most importantly what we should be thinking. Open the supplement to The Sunday Times newspaper, not only will it tell you what artists are cool and current it will also give you a meter to what’s hot and not. There is usually a spread on a designer or artist with a photo shoot of their house. The following page has a guide as to where you can purchase items that are similar. We are filling our lives and our homes with products in the hope that they will give us an identity, a look a brand.But it goes further than this. Behind this cult of consumerism is a need for something stronger, the constant seeking that can never be found. In order for it to fill us it would have to be spiritual. We have made a false God of the media. Looking to it to sustain us, to give us direction and it can’t because it’s not based on spiritual principals. Our increasing lack of faith in Catholism had edged us more towards our readiness to believe in something else, something that makes us feel good, safe, and important. All the things the media claims to do.Social net working sites convince us we are important, that people are interested in what we say and want to see photos of us. The whole thing is ego based revolving around the church of me. As individuals become more obsessed with themselves, encouraged by the media (‘because we’re worth it’) to buy more products, watch more programmes that reiterate the ideology of Me and read more papers that tell you what to buy, community spirit is wasting away to nothing. In order for us to get any way out of this mess we need to look to Gramsci once again. We need to revolt.We need to stop consuming for the wrong reasons. We need to think about our purchasing. We need to become consciously aware of what we are doing. We need to start asking questions? Where is my money going? Is it helping communities or causing farmers to lose their farms? Why do they sell Riverock a Coca-cola product instead of Kerry Spring in the college canteen? Because that’s the reality; every time you p urchase something you set a chain of events into motion . Now we’re aware of our power there is no going back. We need to start a revolution.Some trailblazers have already started with Fair-Trade leading the way with putting a conscience into consumerism. In the field of fashion people like Kellie Dalton are paving the way forward for fashion with a conscience. Her work and the work of others at Redress. ie are helping make fashion more ethical. Hopefully with this growth in conscience a sense of community can once return to our shores and this will replace the endless seeking of self in the wrong places. [cue Titles Accompanied with Rage against the Machine â€Å"Take the Power Back†]Sources 1 http://www. nternationalgramscisociety. org 2 HYPERLINK â€Å"http://www. davy. ie/content/pubarticles/wmc20070730. pdf† http://www. davy. ie/content/pubarticles/wmc20070730. pdf 3 â€Å"September 1913† WB Yeats HYPERLINK â€Å"http://www. re-dress. ie/† htt p://www. re-dress. ie/ Irish Times Magazine, (Saturday Oct 31, 2009) The Sunday Times Style Supplement (Sunday Oct 25th, 2009) Cultural Theory, An Introduction, Philip Smith and Alexander Riley (Blackwell Publishing) pgs 35 – 37 HYPERLINK â€Å"http://www. victoryiscertain. com/gramsci† http://www. victoryiscertain. com/gramsci http://links. org. au/node/1260

Characteristics of Language Development

Characteristics of Language Development By J. L. Frost|S. C. Wortham|S. Reifel How early does language development begin? It begins in the womb when the fetus hears her mother’s voice and language in the environment. Babies who are 4 days old can distinguish between languages. Newborns show their preference for the language that is familiar by sucking more vigorously on a nipple when they hear it as compared to an unfamiliar language (Cowley, 1997). Like cognitive development, acquisition of language during the first 2 years is an impressive achievement.Between birth and 2 years, infants and toddlers learn enough about their language to speak and develop a vocabulary ranging from 50 to 200 words (Berk, 2002). Children of every culture and country learn the language of their community. Italian babies, for example, understand names of different kinds of pasta quite early in life (Trawick-Smith, 2006). Children from bilingual families learn words from both languages before 18 mon ths. Theories of Language Development How do theorists explain language development?Three major theories have informed our understanding of how language develops. B. F. Skinner (1957) initiated the behaviorist theory of language development. Skinner proposed that language is acquired through operant conditioning; that is, parents reinforce the baby’s efforts at language. Subsequently, they reinforce the most correct forms of efforts to say words. Behaviorists also propose that the child learns language through imitation. The adult conditions the child to use correct language forms by rewarding efforts to imitate adult language.Noam Chomsky (1957) understood that even very young children take charge of learning language. His theory was labeled as nativist because he believed that children have an innate ability to acquire language. He proposed that all children have a biologically based innate system for learning language that he called a language acquisition device (LAD). Cho msky believed that the LAD contains a set of rules common to all languages that children use to understand the rules of their language. Also read  Driver’s Ed Module Reflection JournalA more recent theoretical approach, termed interactionist, is based on the fact that language is not acquired without socialization. Language cannot be acquired without a social context. Infants and toddlers have an innate capability to learn language facilitated by adult caregivers (Berger, 2000; Berk, 2002). Vygotsky (1984) proposed that language is learned in a social context. Language is centered in the sociocultural history of a population. The child as a member of the group learns the language to communicate in his community.Sequence of Language Development All children learn language in the same sequence. Although the timing may vary for different languages, the developmental sequence is the same. From the moment of birth, the neonate uses cries and facial expressions to express his needs. He can distinguish his mother’s voice from other voices and can discriminate among many different speech sounds (Berger, 2000) . Thereafter, steps toward speech and the use of language develop at regular intervals. http://www. education. com/reference/article/characteristics-language-development/

Physical Activity and Childhood Obesity

As people age the knowledge and experiences they gain in life may help shape their daily decisions. Adults are often more conscientious of the benefits physical activity has on their bodies and their health. With the growing popularity of video games, the distraction of television and the fast paced lifestyles many people are now living, children are being greatly affected. The result of children being more sedentary in current times has led to a greater prevalence of child obesity in society.In order to combat this issue it is imperative that children partake in physical activity. Children learn by example and the involvement the schools, communities and parents have with the child helps shape their outcomes in life. There are several factors that may contribute to childhood obesity. In an article on Children’s Physical Activity and Obesity it states that; â€Å"[†¦] the effects of parenting, the home environment, and developmental and psychological factors on diet, obe sity, and physical activity have received significant attention† (Luisa Franzini, PhD, 2oo9).From this attention, new research and developments are achieved. The number of children who experience overweight is growing at an alarming rate in recent times. According to an article on overweight and obesity, 1 out of 3 children are considered overweight or obese (Kids Health, 2009). Research has shown that overweight and obesity leads to health issues, some of which can be fatal. Moreover, the CDC states; â€Å"Obese youth are more likely to have risk factors for cardiovascular disease, such as high cholesterol or high blood pressure.In a population-based sample of 5- to 17-year-olds, 70% of obese youth had at least one risk factor for cardiovascular disease† (Healthy Youth, 2010). Further, experiencing overweight in childhood presents a greater possibility of experiencing overweight in adulthood. According to the CDC, obese youth are more likely to become overweight adults , and therefore more at risk for associated adult health problems, including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke, several types of cancer, and osteoarthritis (Healthy Youth, 2010).A positive outlook on afore mentioned statistics is that these health issues can be prevented by adapting a proper diet and engaging in physical activity. There are a number of ways to prevent childhood obesity. According to an article on Disease Prevention Programs Targeting Obesity in Children, a majority of programs developed and tested to treat childhood obesity have included dietary modification, increased physical activity, and/or reduced sedentary behavior (Adrienne R. Hughes, 2008).With the growing popularity of video games and number of television channels, more children are engaging in sedentary behavior. However, reducing sedentary activities among children can help prevent obesity. In fact, Hughes states; â€Å" Encouraging obese children to increase their physical activity will help to red uce adiposity and improve cardiovascular, metabolic, and psychosocial health (Adrienne R. Hughes, 2008). The amount of time spent being physically active is also important in preventing child obesity.In fact, in an article on Tackling Overweight and Obesity in Children it states; â€Å"Children should take part in at least one hour of moderately intense activity per day; this should make breathing heavier than usual, but talking should still be possible† (Crocker, 2007). It is important to gradually increase physical activity in order to avoid injury or over exertion. Further, as a school, a community and as parents it is important to set good examples for children. Through proper physical activity and diet the prevalence of child obesity can be diminished.

Analyzing The Outsider An Metamorphosis English Literature Essay

Analyzing The Outsider An Metamorphosis English Literature Essay In The Outsider by Albert Camus and The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka, both authors utilize the protagonist’s distinct characteristic and central theme to evoke sympathy in the readers for Gregor Samsa and Meursault, which will be explored in a deeper context in the essay. Both protagonists have their own characters which defines them as a person. Readers will be replete with sympathy knowing that the protagonists’ misfortunes were a result of their characters. Themes are used to express ideas and are employed by authors as a literary device to bring forth basic elements in any story. The main theme in both books bring into light the more significant context of what the story focuses on, hence drawing the readers closer to presiding events which affects the protagonist, and ultimately brings forth the sympathy we feel. When Meursault kills an Arab he is adjudicated not for his murder, but for â€Å"burying his mother like a heartless criminal† (p93) after discove ring he was enjoying and having fun on the day after his mother’s death. As it is common for people to mourn for the loss of a loved one, the lack of concern he has towards his mother’s death differ from the social norms. Meursault was punished for his insensitivity as the Prosecutor talked about Meursault’s attitude towards his mother â€Å"much longer† (p98) than â€Å"about his crime† (p98). He was tried for not expressing regrets or showing emotions during the trial simply because he did not feel any of it, staying truthful throughout even if it affected his fate. Therefore, this elicits sympathy in readers as he in incapable of relating to others, conveying how his nonchalance led to his downfall as the trial placed a sole focus on his character instead of the crime he committed. In The Metamorphosis, Gregor’s altruistic character is illustrated from the very beginning of the novella, portraying how he hates his â€Å"grueling job† (p3) as a travelling salesman, experiencing the â€Å"torture of travelling, worrying about changing trains, eating miserable food at all hours† (p4) when he actually desired to quit a long time ago. Yet, Gregor only has his job in mind as he has no intention of letting his family down. More notably, despite his sufferings he sacrifices his time and freedom of choice profusely by continuing with his job which he loathes so much just to provide his family with â€Å"such a life in so nice an apartment† (p21) and to pay off his parents’ debt. Sadly, when he transforms into a vermin, his family repays his devotion by neglecting him, and â€Å"swallow their disgust and endure him† (p38). His family feels the need put up with the revolting sight of Gregor and bear with his vermin form, thus exposing their ungratefulness. Gregor is no longer of any use â€Å"since his transformation forces him to stay in his room†Ã‚   [ 1 ]   He eventually dies from the guilt of burdening his family because of his inability to provide for them and also because he lost his final link to his family- Grete, his sister and closest family member-when she agrees Gregor is burdensome. Hence, we sympathize for him as Gregor is neither thanked nor appreciated for his selfless acts, but instead shunned by his family- his natural source of love and support.

Abstract Health Care

MIS 6324 Business Intelligence Dr. Syam Menon Term Project SUBMITTED BY : Group 6 Swetha, Priya, Ram, Vishal, Madan Business Intelligence in Health Care Management The  health  care system is more complex than most people know. Its business model is different from most  businesses  in that its consumers dont usually come willingly. That, plus not getting paid what they bill, hurts cash flow makes health care a shaky business. With uncertain revenue, costs not entirely within their control, and regulatory issues, health care management problems arent always easy to fix. Forward-thinking healthcare organizations realize that data and, thus, business intelligence (BI) is at the center of informed and precise decision-making that will improve patient and service outcomes in addition to ensuring their organizations’ future. This paper gives an insight into which business intelligence tools are currently being used in healthcare and their effectiveness in terms of sustaining the businesses of those organizations that use these tools. The paper also deals with common problems faced while implementing these techniques to patients’ data and ways to overcome problems. Outdated information management strategies and invalid statistics cause serious problems in investigating health outcomes and negotiating reimbursements. Predictive modeling, however, goes beyond standard regression techniques, expanding advanced analytical options for better, faster decision making. Predictive models use a variety of tools to deliver more accurate, long-range views of treatments and costs. Also there are many new reporting technologies designed to improve the productivity of business analysts and preserve information consistency throughout an organization. These analytical tools, the advantages vs. problems during implementation and their ability to shape the future of healthcare industry are focus of this paper.

Prevention of HIV among black African men under 30s in UK Essay

Prevention of HIV among black African men under 30s in UK - Essay Example This has made this category of individuals to be considered a high risk group. This campaign will address all the ways in which HIV/ AIDS is transmitted. For this reason, a HIV support group is calling out for all men in this category to take part in the HIV support activities. These activities are geared towards helping men in ages between 30 and 34 improve their health styles especially in the enhancement of their immunity. The information is available on the televisions, social media, and in offices of the National Health Service. The campaign focuses on a number of interventions. To mention but a few is the use of condoms in the prevention of HIV/AIDS transmission. In this respect, the campaign involves, a number of timely interventions that would help avoid further infection. The campaign is also geared towards teaching the target group the importance of knowing their HIV/AIDS status. First one should develop a feeling that he would avoid a negative condition of health. Then, one develops positive expectations that through following a recommended action, he would be avoiding a certain negative condition of health. Next, one unde rstands that he can take a recommended action of health successfully. Additionally, the participants would also be taught how to check for HIV symptoms. This would be done through checking whether one has a common attack of the opportunistic diseases, or loss of weight. All the activities of the campaign would help men of this group to improve their HIV health styles. If men of ages between 30 to 34 practise the recommended interventions, they will protect their own health together with that of their beloved ones. No member of this group should miss the campaign activities since different HIV supporting activities would be offered. Your participation will considerably be

Discuss the relationship between love and aggressivity in Freud's Essay

Discuss the relationship between love and aggressivity in Freud's Civilization and Its Discontents - Essay Example Finally, Freud deploys his concepts of love and aggression to show that civilized societies are bound to fail: they place restrictions on our natural sentiments of love and aggressiveness which are in many cases insupportable - in particular, he criticises societies founded on the Christian principle of love, and those founded on communist ideas. Freud's discussion of the origins of our aggressiveness show how strongly it is related to love, as he conceives it. The initial aggressive sentiment is directed inwards, at the child's own ego, Freud claims, due to a frustration of the desires of the child's ego. This 'introjected' aggressive impulse results in the formation of the super-ego, and so the initiation of feelings of guilt. For example, when a child is forbade by a parent to do something which is desired by his ego, he initially feels aggressiveness towards that parent as a result of the frustration of his desires. However, since aggressiveness cannot be directed towards the parent, it is directed at the ego, the source of the frustrated desire. Why can aggressiveness not be directed at a parent (or another figure of authority) Here, Freud shows how essential he believes the concept of love to be to the formation of aggressive impulses: the child directs aggressiveness towards his own ego rather than towards the figure of authority because of a "fear of loss of love" (p. 757). Thus, the need for love is instrumental in the formation of the super-ego, which results in aggressive impulses directed at the ego: self-hating feelings of guilt. In situations where aggressiveness is in fact directed towards the figure of authority, and not introjected, love is still essential to the changes in the individual's psychological make-up. Freud claims that this would only happen in situations involving the Oedipus complex: that is, when sons kill their fathers. This supposedly was a more common occurrence in earlier societies which were less bound by 'civilizing' restrictions. Here, the actual aggression involved in killing the father results in a feeling of remorse at the action: this is because of the love that the son naturally has for his father. Hence, for Freud, the origins of feelings of aggression are always bound up with feelings of love. However, it is not obvious that non-repressed aggression need always be followed by feelings of remorse. As stated above, Freud believes that the only cases of actual aggression by a child will be from a son to his father, and, since this relationship necessarily involves some love, rem orse is a necessary consequence. However, it is not clear that son-to-father aggression would be the only case of actual aggression from a child to a figure of authority - a child may show aggression towards a teacher or minder, for example - and if aggression is directed at others, there may not be a necessary bond of love from the child to these people, so remorse may not be a necessary consequence. Freud's assumption is that a child's initial authoritative influence will be from his father, so it is towards the father that initial aggression (suppressed or not) will be directed. Whilst this assumption

Business to Business marketing and supply chain management Essay

Business to Business marketing and supply chain management - Essay Example A supply chain is an inter network for facilities and distribution solutions that does the functions for procuring the materials, transforming these raw materials into usable intermediate and finished goods, and finally distributing these finished goods to the customers (Hugos, 2006, p.3). It consists of all the stages that are related in completing a customer request. The goal of SCM should be to link the marketplace, the distribution network, the manufacturing process and the procurement (or purchasing) activity in such a way that customers are serviced at higher levels and yet at a lower cost (Business-to-business marketing and supply chain management, 2008, p.4). Business-to-business (B2B) describes the commercial transactions between businesses that can be between manufacturers and wholesalers or in between wholesalers and retailers. Relation between SCM and B2B For any supply chain management to sustain in a B2B environment, the focus must lie on providing the customers with th e best in quality of services. The B2B customers usually have very particular demands (Withey & lancaster, 2012, p.258), and the best solution in these situations is to have a consumer friendly supply network chain which would operate in a real-time, would be data driven and would be able to supply the products on demand. The key features of B2B marketing such as placing demands, the buying process need to be incorporated in the SCM of a company to boost sales (Business marketing and supply chain management, 2008, p.19). Relationship marketing in B2B communications Effective business to business (B2B) relationships in the context of supply chain management are mostly important for the organizations to strengthen their ability in order to be more competitive and leader in the marketplace (Clement, 2009, p.3). There has to be certain limitations between the supplier and the purchaser so as to maintain a healthy relationship. The relationships also need to focus on the pricing issues t hat are determined by the market forces. Apart from this, there must be continuous initiatives to strengthen the partnerships in the B2B marketing scenarios. Aim of the paper The paper is based on a case study what will try to highlight the importance of relationship management in SCM and in a B2B marketing. It will be based on the conditions of the chemical industry as presented in the case study and draw insights from it regarding the issues of supply chain management, B2B marketing, key account management and how they are related with each other. The case study – Chemco and the chemical industry Chemco is a company operating at the global level in the chemical sector. Its products include chemical additives designed to enhance a base chemical’s properties. These products are used by blenders/manufacturers to create branded products for the global market, including the oil and petroleum sectors. Chemco was once regarded as the highest owner in market share and the te chnical leader. This had been achieved through their investment in R&D and a widespread geographical coverage of the local agents by offering close customer liaison. Towards the end of the decade, the condition in the chemical industry was deteriorating because of which the demand was cut down. This forced the manufacturers to cut down on their costs. Chemco's

Drug Dealing and Money Laundering Forensic Accountant Admissibility Essay - 8

Drug Dealing and Money Laundering Forensic Accountant Admissibility - Essay Example The case R v Ferguson; R v Sadler, R v Cox of the three police officers Cox, Sadler, and Ferguson is one such case. Being in the drug squad, have made it easy for these officers to illegally sell drugs through street dealers who they have caught on the pretext that they were carrying out strategic investigations. In reality, the squad members were benefitting from the drug dealers through cash income, and the only way to justify their benefits was to check on their accounts. This was why the expertise of a forensic accountant, Curtin was necessary. Although evidence of assumed expert opinions is not admissible in a court of law, in this case, the Court made an exception to accountant Curtins opinions based on the logic that if a person's financial statements were to be produced in court then an expert in the area must be produced to analyze it. However, the expert, the forensic accountant, should merely explain the evidence (which the jury could have interpreted themselves had they the training to do so) but should not influence the jury of its contents. This was why the accountant's evidence became admissible. The court of appeal also allowed the evidence admissible if Curtin explained the process of arriving at the conclusions. Curtin has used standard accountants methodology as set by the Statement of Forensic Accounting Standards - APS 11. This Standard provides clear guidelines to its members how to seek and utilize financial data and present it incomprehensible manner. Two of the important requirements is that the accountant can only make assumptions about the past or future events or amounts in the absence of the amount. His assumptions should be reasonable under circumstances, and they were suitably qualified and disclosed.

Proposal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Proposal - Essay Example Problem Statement The ‘We Are Automobile’ company deals with trade of spare parts products to the motor industry and its representatives are often going at potential customers’ premises to sell their products. Currently, the company does not have an Information Technology department and there is no IT system implemented. Therefore, the company processes the customers’ request manually and stores all the information on relative registers. The company is facing many problems due to manually working and inconvenience for storing and accessing information from the premises of the customer. Keeping in view the problem, the company has decided to implement Information Technology solution. There are two possible IT solutions for solving the problems of the company including implementation of traditional Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and the Cloud Computing. The document also discusses advantages and disadvantages of the both solutions along with recommendatio ns for the company to implementation of one of the two technologies. Keeping in view the company’s background and analysis of both solutions, the document reveals that the Cloud Computing has more advantages over the traditional ERP. Further, the document presents a technical approach and project management to implement the proposed solution (Alley, 2010). Information Technology Solutions As mentioned above, there are two IT solutions to solve the problems of the company, the ERP implementation and the Cloud Computing. â€Å"A system designed to support and automate the business processes of medium and large businesses. It provides an enterprise wide solution for all business activities with a single application and single data repository† (Mutt, 2010). A comprehensive Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution may be developed to solve the problems and fulfil the requirements of the company. Usually, the modules of ERP include Finance & Accounting, Customer Relations hip Management, Human Resources Management, Payroll, Inventory & Procurement, Sales and Project Management. The ERP is a complete solution that can provide services to the company and make the company ICT enabled (Ingthorsson, 2012). The second possible IT solution is Cloud Computing that provides hosted services over the Internet. There are mainly three categories of these services including: Software as a Service (SaaS), Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), and Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS). Furthermore, the cloud services can be differentiated to the traditional hosting through many features/characteristics; however, the main three diverse features include: the consumer/customer just need to pay all the maintenance/services are managed by the service provider, customer can take services according to requirement (little or full), and the services are provided on demand by hours, days, weeks, etc. (Rouse, 2010). Cloud Computing - Software as a Service, BScaler Comparison of Tradition al System Vs Cloud Computing A comparison of both Information Technology solutions the traditional system and Cloud Computing has been given below (Metal Center News, 2011): S. # Traditional System Cloud Computing 1. On-site or traditional ERP systems have constraints in managing particular Supply Chain tasks that include: inventory accessibility, readability, and order information synchronization at customers’ place. ERP based on cloud computing does not have such constraint as the application can be accessed from

All forms of tobacco should be made illegal Essay

All forms of tobacco should be made illegal - Essay Example In light of this, the discussion on whether to legalize all forms of tobacco or not is critical in ascertaining the best course of action. Additionally, it is indispensable to focus on both the advantages and disadvantages of legalizing them. With this in mind, it is arguably correct to assert that the current findings of the effects of tobacco can form the basis for the argument. Therefore, as Gottfried (21) noted, legalizing all forms of tobacco would be creating more problems in the society than the perceived gains accrued to them. Drugs in general have been linked with the increased cases of crime in many states. For instance, a study on the effects of marijuana by Morgan (12) found out that although there are unconfirmed facts of the medicinal advantage of the use of marijuana, it is yet to be scientifically confirmed that this can help in curing different disease. Therefore, the most obvious consequences outline the reasons why marijuana should not be legalized. For example, when people engage in drugs, they tend to neglect most of their duties and responsibilities due to the addictive nature. Cigarette has been found to have very addictive nature to the smokers. Since many people start smoking in childhood, their behavior changes and most of them engage in different anti-social behavior. To a broader sense, smoking has been viewed as an activity of people that have reached maturity, and this has always brought problems in the society. For example, youths and older children smoke cigarette as a sign or proo f to their peers that they have also reached the maturity age. In the event, some of them engage in different forms of crime especially fighting as a way of proving their maturity. Since marijuana is form of a tobacco, it is clear that all negative effects associated with it would be increased by deciding to legalize it. For example, marijuana has been associated with mental

Freud and Levi-Strauss' explanations of the roles and positions of Essay

Freud and Levi-Strauss' explanations of the roles and positions of women in kinship structures - Essay Example You must discuss TWO or THREE texts and make clear what parts of Freud and Levi-Strauss' theories you are using. Introduction Oedipus the King and The Hours have different stories that unlock the mysteries of traditional flaws. The two stories are considered as the best novels of Sophocles for Oedipus the King and Michael Cunningham for the Hours. The two stories will be tackled in this paper as their contextual framework base on the roles of women will be explored. With such purpose, the present paper will be significant in terms of using the psychological and socio-cultural basis of the two famous contemporaries (Freud for the latter and Levi-Strauss for the former) whose disciplines and theoretical concepts will be used to reflect for the ageless literature of Sophocles and modern literature in the advancement of the 21st century of Michael Cunningham. Jocasta’s role in Oedipus the King Jocasta has been troubled with fate that brought her family and the whole land into nuis ance. Jocasta became the wife of his own son, Oedipus. Jocasta could not bear the truth and felt shame based on what happened to her situation. She killed herself after knowing the truth (Johnston 2007, 63). She felt being humiliated by faith. Women’s Roles and Relationships in â€Å"The Hours† The movie has three main characters whose lives are interestingly similar with their life experiences and struggles in life. The three women only differed in the set of time and separated with the span of decade (McCarthy 2002, 39). Woolf, who is primarily emphasized in the novel, wrote the Mrs. Dalloway novel in London in the early 20th century. Therefore, the story of the Hours contributes in covering Woolf’s â€Å"Mrs. Dalloway† novel (Spohrer 2005, 113). This would mean that Cunningham (2008) has reviewed and evolved the novel of Woolf by generating two characters (Laura Brown and Clarissa Vaughn that overwhelms the personality of Mrs. Dalloway and the author i tself. The role of Virginia Woolf in the story illustrates her psychological illness of depression which results to her suicidal tendency situation (Holden 2002). She was a writer who inspired the other two protagonists (Brown and Vaughn) in the Hours story with the life of Clarissa Dalloway. The protagonist in the novel of Woolf has been found to fell in love with a woman who may have experienced identity confusion. The confusion of Clarissa Dalloway resulted to her inability to express herself and freedom which may have influence her to cut off her life. Mrs. Dalloway is a representation of Woolf to herself as she was confused and worried not to live a healthy, normal life. She has been anxious by thinking how his husband’s life could be ruined with her illness. Hence, she was afraid that her role as a wife whose succumbing for the pain of mental illness will also make his husband suffer, which made her to illogically tabulate herself to death like Mrs. Dalloway. Laura Brow n, the other main character of Cunningham’

Constructions of cultural memory Research Paper

Constructions of cultural memory - Research Paper Example My research questions are: How is the cultural memory of Tiananmen Square Protests represented in the chosen resources and what are the changes that these memories seem to anticipate and argue for? How does the event continue to make history? Witty and Calhoun both represent the event’s cultural memory by describing some of the most critical turning points of the Tiananmen Square protests, although Witty emphasizes rebellion against autocracy through the Tank Man’s photo, while Calhoun analyzes the actions and thoughts of people who were in the midst of shaping democratic ideals in their own terms. Figure 1: Widener’s Photo of the Tank Man Source: Widener (1989 in Witty) In the article, â€Å"Behind the Scenes: Tank Man of Tiananmen,† Witty uses four photos of the Tank Man to represent different perspectives of the Tiananmen Square Protests, where these images try to underline that this man symbolizes the struggles of all ordinary people against government repression and corruption, but because of lack of violence of some photos, it somehow hides the gruesome effects of the government’s crackdown on the protesters. ... The cultural memory focuses on four tanks that are ready to crush all those who oppose and criticize the state and one man who will not be crushed at all. The light post represents urban space through manifesting technology and modernity. The action of the man against the tanks and the cropped lamp post together signify that non-violent action is light in the darkness because rationality meets irrationality. Standing tall like the lamp post, the Tank Man symbolizes democracy and hope for the people. The photo further shows that the tanks are approaching and one man with his shopping bags stand before them. Like others before him, the Tank Man stands in front of the state’s military tools, a memory which argues that he, as well as other ordinary people like him, will fight for democracy anytime and he will not even need tanks to do it. He only needs his resolve and principles, which hundreds to thousands others already offered when they died the night of the Chinese governmentà ¢â‚¬â„¢s crackdown. The photo argues that the state does not have absolute power because the people have power to fight for what is absolutely right for them- the right to oppose and to replace a corrupt and oppressive government. Furthermore, from Witty’s article, the Tiananmen Square protests continue to make history because it portrays an ordinary man’s greatest act of courage and integrity against symbols of oppression. The photo shows that the Tank Man seems to be an office employee with his white shirt and black pants. He is an ordinary man with two white shopping bags, the image of an urban dweller that the state wants to control. The photo argues that he is one man against the state’s violence, and yet because he has had enough, he will stand for his principles of

Unit 5 discussion Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Unit 5 discussion - Research Paper Example In the case of Bedford Mountain parenting program one could debate that there might have been preconceived thoughts about the program’s success. In Maritza’s case, it is important for the funding agency to understand the purpose of the program. The findings in this case should be presented and explained clearly to the founder. According to Royse et al. (2010) this evaluation’s findings are intended for knowledge development. They are exempted from scrutiny by IRB (p.49). Despite this; it is good for the evaluator to share her plans with the nearest IRB for guidance. It is also crucial for the evaluator to review how others addressed this problem and apply ethical principles to the situation. Maritza should consult with her supervisor on the evaluation and objectively discuss the way forward as the program collides with politics of funding and the need to be addressed. Maritza should not compromise on the findings but should present her findings in such a way that they capture the pros and cons of the program and give recommendations for it. This type of data ought to be shared with the funding agency and her immediate supervisor. Evaluators are urged not to be complacent even in the midst of political, financial or personal interest but maintain neutrality and exercise their ability to report accurate

Organizational Behavior - What Is A Learning Organization Assignment

Organizational Behavior - What Is A Learning Organization - Assignment Example As the paper stresses organizations try to involve them in single-loop learning. After having detected the mistakes, the rectification procedure depends upon past routines as well as present policies. However, the learning organization generally makes use of the double-loop learning. In this case, the errors that are detected are corrected by means of adjustment of the goals of the organization, its strategies and the standard schedules. From the report it is clear that there are five main features of a learning organization. The members of the organization have shared vision which is mutually agreed among them. People often do not follow their old ways of thinking and make use of the standard routines in order to resolve the problems or perform their task. It has been observed that the employees of the organization consider the organizational processes, interaction with the environment, activities as well as functions to be significant components of scheme of inter-relationships. It is often believed that people of the organization try to communicate openly with all the members of the organization without fear of criticism or punishment. People reduce their personal interests as well as portioned departmental interests to work together and attain the shared visions of the organization. Advocates of the learning organization envisage such organization as a remedy for three basic problems intrinsic in traditional orga nizations, such as fragmentations, competitions as well as reactions.

China And The Keynesian Theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

China And The Keynesian Theory - Essay Example For purposes of regulating their markets, the majority of states were able to adopt the principles contained in the Keynesian theory. This principle advocate for the intervention of the government, in the economic system of the state. China is one of the countries that advocated for the use of the concepts of the Keynesian theory, for purposes of controlling its national economy. This is until 1978, with the market reforms of Deng Xiaoping, in China. This is because of the failures of the Keynesian theory to protect the market economies of the majority of the developed states. This includes the United States. These countries were only able to experience economic growth, during the 1950s, to the 1960s. However, after the 1960s, the economies of these countries began to collapse, experiencing an increase in unemployment, and stagflation. This made economic experts, and policy formulators to demand a new economic system. Neo-liberalism was a preferable theoretical framework, and it advo cates for a minimum intervention by the government, in the economic affairs of the state. Deng Xiaoping supported neo-liberalism, and he led this movement in China, and this is through the market reforms that he had begun in the country. Furthermore, his visit to the United States in 1979 was in a bid to understand the manner in which a neo-liberal state was able to function. The United States was one of the leading neo-liberal states, and its economy was improving because of the adoption of the principles of neo-liberalism.

The invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq Personal Statement

The invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq - Personal Statement Example Each of the wars had a level of analysis. These levels were individual state, and system. The levels of war analysis form a hierarchy. The responsibilities of the hierarchy rely on the scale and nature of the operation. The individual level of analysis in war includes a basic idea of how human traits cause many of the social outcomes in historical instances, including war and peace. There are variations of this idea as listed in a paper written by Wade L. Huntley, Ph.D. titled Causes of War and Paths to Peace written in May of 2004. Those variations include: basic human nature, varying features of human nature and both perception and misperception. His considerations behind this would include that in factoring basic human nature, people are basically aggressive, loving, greedy and fearful and so forth. People would be of all sorts of types, some aggressive, others peaceful, greedy or generous. Perception and misperception can result as bad decisions are made, especially in times of stress, which continually exemplifies the limits of human understanding of more than just human nature. Now, the question is, why does this series of considerations explain how war can manage coming about' According to t he text written by Wade L. Huntley, Ph.D. ... Wars or conflicts that would figure into this particular style of analysis would include, the Kurds, Bosnia, and Afghanistan in the grand scheme of war analysis because it would be individual conflicts of interest and security involved. The state level of war analysis includes a basic idea that the key factor is not necessarily based on human factors, but governmental ones in organization and such. The constraints that are created as a result of the basic infrastructure of the country can become a root cause of war. There are two variations to this idea. One is the state's nature; because each state wants certain things just because they would happen to be states and things like security and unity or nationalism would be inclusive within that. Also, included within this perspective is, like individuals, every state would be different. There would be differences that include purposeful, ideological and structural differences to consider. Much like the man vs. man consideration, this would be, in order revolutionary vs. status quo, capitalism vs. communism and democracy vs. totalitarianism. So, how can we understand such things, well we examine one of the wars on a state level. This would be, in essence, the Vietnam C onflict in which half the country believed strongly in democratic process and the other half would believe strongly in the communist construct. The same could be said for the Korean War. Understanding the underlying reasons would hardly gain knowledge as to how the individual level of war interpretations would inevitably cause war. Nor, would this actually explain the impetus of war in the fact that uncertainty of the human condition exists. In the State level of war, you have states that control the military, so

Can JavaScript be used in server-side validation Essay

Can JavaScript be used in server-side validation - Essay Example Furthermore, simplifying the process of consuming XML can also be looked forward to. However, from the standpoint of security, it is important to say that not all users will have JavaScript enabled. This means that server side validation is important for both compatibility and security reason. In today’s advancing digital world, everyone wants to be protected against the malicious user. JavaScript however can easily be bypassed by this user and allow him to turn in detrimental input to the server (Hall, Brown and Chaikin, 2007). In this regard, although JavaScript is possible in server-side validation, it is also important that upon its implementation, a remarkable connection to the user will have to be initiated first. Unfortunately, not all users will have their JavaScript enabled. One should respond correctly to the client who is sending HTTP, which must literally include the concept of validation. This makes sense especially in the context of the entire validation process for security purposes. Thus, it also makes sense to explore further JavaScript and its potential usage in the server-side

Greenhouse Gas Emission Scenario Research Paper

Greenhouse Gas Emission Scenario - Research Paper Example The causes or factors that amount to the emergence of Greenhouse Gas effect in different countries can be enumerated as follows. It is observed that human activities tend to be significantly contributed in the large scale emission of greenhouse gases in developed countries like United States. In United States, the activities are related to the generation of electricity, logistics and transportation activities, real estate activities pertaining to residential and commercial, agricultural activities and also the clearing of forests for generation of arable land (Sedorovich, 2008). Generation of electricity from a large amount of fossil fuels like burning of coal and natural gas and also conducting of transportation activities through use of fossil fuel and petroleum resources tend to contribute to the growth of greenhouse emissions. Production, manufacturing, residential and commercial and also the rearing of livestock, account for the generation of greenhouse gasses in United States. The percentage contribution of each of the above factors to the greenhouse emissions in United States is reflected as follows. Trend analysis of the greenhouse emission levels reflect that from 1990 the rise in the emission levels of greenhouse gases is observed to rise by around 5 percent at the end of the 2012 period. The rise in the emission levels of greenhouse gases is observed to gain a little reduction during the 2012 periods compared to that of the 2011 periods owing to change in practices.

Hofede in China Essay Example for Free

Hofede in China Essay School of Business, Saint Marys University, Halifax, Canada Shen Cheng, Business School, Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, Wuhan, China Abstract Questionnaires were completed by 554 respondents in cities in east-central China and in eastern Canada to compare the levels of Hofstedes five cultural dimensions in the two countries and to examine the effects of gender and age on these levels. Country differences were found with four of the five dimensions. Differences in the evels of power-distance, masculinity, and individualism were observed across classes of gender and age. Introduction Hofstedes (1980) dimensions of culture have become the most widely used model for explaining various effects across cultures (Yoo and Donthu, 1998). Stedham and Yamamura (2004) describe culture as stable and enduring but also somewhat changeable due to external forces. Hofstedes five dimensions include the following. a. Power Distance. The power distance dimension has to do with inequality in a society. In a high power distance environment there would be greater tolerance for, nd expectation of, inequality in prestige, wealth and power. b. Uncertainty Avoidance. Hofstede focuses on uncertainty at the organizational level looking at the use of rules and strategies to reduce exposure to an unsure future. c. Individualism and Collectivism. This dimension has to do with the relationship the individual has with the group and more generally with society. Hofstede points out that the nature of this relationship determines not only how people think about themselves and their immediate group but the structure and functioning of many institutions aside from the family (p210) . Masculinity and Femininity. There seem to be two elements to this dimension. One deals with the values held and the other with role expectations. Hofstede (1980) notes that in a work setting, males value advancement, earnings, training, up-to- dateness while females value friendly atmosphere, position security, physical conditions and manager cooperation (p281). The second aspect of this dimension culture, sex roles would be differentiated while in a feminine culture sex roles would be more similar. e. Long Term Orientation (L TO). This is a recent addition to the Hofstede model, dded as a new dimension to the model in the second edition (2001). It is based on the philosophy of Confucius and has to do with persistence, thrift, personal stability and respect for tradition (p351). It describes a longer term, higher level view of life. China was not included in the Hofstedes original study (1980) as the sample for that study was from the offices of IBM and, in the 1970s, there was none in mainland China. Its scores were not reported in the second edition Hofstede (2001) either. There have, however, been some efforts to study the Chinese using Hofstedes dimensions. Pheng and Yuquan (2002) studied the Chinese in the Wuhan area of China, comparing construction employees there to those in Singapore. Taking a workplace focus similar to that of Hofstede, they found that, compared to Singaporeans, Chinese had lower levels of power distance and individualism, and higher levels of uncertainty avoidance and masculinity, but their scores are different from those of Hofstede and therefore are of limited use in predicting how the Chinese scores will compare to those of other countries. Culture has been observed to vary within Chinese areas. Huo and Randall (1991), for xample, used the framework to examine the differences among Chinese in Taiwan, Beijing, Hong Kong and Wuhan and found sub cultural differences. Just as there are differences seen in the dimensions between countries, it could be expected that there would be differences expected between groups of individuals within countries. Differences between attitudes and behaviors of males and females are extensively studied and well documented in Western culture. Similarly, individuals have been observed to change in their attitudes and behavior as they age. Variations in Hofstedes cultural dimensions across age and gender have been tudied by some researchers. Stedham and Yamamura (2004), for example, examined the cultural differences between Americans and Japanese with a focus on sex and age differences. They found no differences due to age and differences between males and females on the power distance dimension in Japan (mf), individualism (mf) in both countries. In the current paper, differences in the levels of the four dimensions of Hofstedes model are examined between Canada and central China. As well, differences in the levels of the five dimensions across age groups and sex category as well as nteraction among these three variables are studied. Hypotheses Main Effects was settled by Chinese several centuries ago and was the target of an influx of several million more Chinese around 1950. It seems likely that the culture of Taiwan would be similar to that of mainland China. As none of Hofstedes scores were available for China, perhaps those of Taiwan would be useful for the purpose of hypothesis formulation. A large difference on the individualism score is apparent where Taiwan was one of the lowest of all the countries studied while Canada tended to be toward the top of the individualism scale.

Comparing Poems Essay Example for Free

Comparing Poems Essay Identity is different for every person, it is what separates us all and makes us unique. Identity can be split into many categories. In the poem Nothings Changed, segregation is used to show us the poets feelings whereas Half-Caste is mainly focused on racial equality.  Each of the poets structure their poems in ways that express their feelings and ideas about identity; the differences in each vary. Half-Caste consists of 4 stanzas, written with a lack of punctuation and in patois dialect that allows the reader the freedom to express the poem in a way that they wish. Also, the haphazard, informal way that the poem is written suggests it should be read aloud. This reflects John Agards strive for freedom. The phrase, Explain yuself/wha yu mean/when yu say half-caste, is a refrain. This refrain is repeated throughout the poem to question the reader. It is an aggressive confrontation between the reader and the poet that elicits an answer from the reader. Nothings Changed is written formally so that the poet can express a controlled anger. Segregation is used to show the separate identities of blacks and whites. It is set out in 7 stanzas. The formal punctuation and structure is very organised which makes the poem seem like a story. Language is used to a dramatic effect in both poems, it reveals the poets ideas about identity. Firstly, in Half-Caste there is a pun of the half-caste weather, yu mean when light an shadow/mix in de sky/is a half-caste weather/, this play on words mocks the phrase half-caste which emphasises the poets feelings about a half-caste identity. In Nothings Changed, throughout the first stanza there is a series of onomatopoeias that give the reader the image of a man walking in a baron place. The mood of the poet is very much reflected in the language of Half-Caste and portrays the image of anger, confusion and annoyance. An example of this language is: Ah listening to yu wid de keen/half of mih earwhy I offer yu half-a-hand. This gives the reader the representation of a ridiculous happening, which is disrespectful to the opposing person. Nothings Changed also shares a similar mood of anger and frustration. The poet writes:  and the skin about my bones/and  the soft labouring of my lungs,  /and the hot, white, inwards  turning/anger of my eyes.  This includes within it repetition, powerful, angry words and references to body parts that identify the persons feeling of a painful anger. The poets use language to reveal their feelings about identity in both similar and different ways. They both project anger and confusion about the attitude of todays society knowing that equality is not present. In Nothings Changed the poet writes:  Hands burn/for a stone, a bomb,  /to shiver down the glass. /  Nothings Changed.  This begins with a metaphor; Hands burn which shows the person is feeling angry. The words a bomb,/to shiver down the glass. Are extremely effective as the glass acts as a symbolic barrier between colours and to shiver down this glass would be to break the differences/barriers between people of different colours. The poem ends with Nothings Changed, which basically sums the whole theory up: there always has been and always will be inequality within the world. This is similar to Half-Caste because throughout this poem John Agard is saying that people have no respect for each other and never will. He hopes though by saying but yu must come back tomorrowde other half/of my story that one day the prejudice might be put aside and people will come back with a better attitude towards each other. The identities that both poets show to reveal their feelings are similar because they both feel as though they have been victimized. The similarity is that in Half-Caste the man emphasises his thoughts by expanding things out of proportion to prove a point: Ah listening to yu wid de keen/half of mih earwhy I offer yu half-a-hand, and in Nothings Changed the person also takes things and changes them into something worse. An example of this is when it says whites only inn/No sign says it is:/but we know where we belong. This is saying that the restaurant is only for rich, white people even though he knows there isnt a sign saying so (He knows that if he goes in he will be laughed at). Both poems are similar also because they are based on black people being discriminated against by white. Both of these poems were very interesting and presented me with a question, which was how could I break down the barriers people have to make them better people? The poem I favoured was Nothings Changed because it was easier to picture as a story and I feel that the majority of people have felt like an outsider at least once in their life. Half-Caste did bring a strong point across but I believe that it was brought across in a bizarre and confusing way whereas Nothings Changed was easier to relate to from a past event.

Night of the Scorpion Essay Example for Free

Night of the Scorpion Essay Throughout Vultures there is also a dark mood, you are told about the ugly vultures and are given lots of gory imagery: Yesterday they picked the eyes of a swollen corpse in a water-logged trench and ate the things in its bowel. This violent imagery reinforces the sense of evil you get about the vultures. This imagery is also similar to the imagery in Night of the Scorpion mainly because this is about suffering, death and dying. In Vultures, however, the person is already dead, whereas in the other poem the mother is dying and suffering. At the end of Vultures, the perpetuity of evil is mentioned, this is quite pessimistic and shows that evil is never going to go away. At the end of Night of the Scorpion however, the mother is cured: After twenty hours it lost its sting. She survives and is now free of suffering and pain, without even any regrets that she was the one who was bitten.

Hybrid or alternative-Fueled Vehicles Essay Example for Free

Hybrid or alternative-Fueled Vehicles Essay

The Electronic Electrical Engineering Engineering Essay

The Electronic Electrical Engineering Engineering Essay Electronic electrical engineering incorporated with mechanical system has a big impact in a variety of field, such as biomedical, underwater vehicle, safety and security, space and etc. Before we actually start discussing the benefits and advantages that electronic and electrical engineering gives us in our everyday life, lets have some insights of the history of electronic engineering. Electronic engineering as a profession sprang from technological improvements in the  telegraph  industry in the late 1800s and the  radio  and the  telephone  industries in the early 1900s. People were attracted to radio by the technical fascination it inspired, first in receiving and then in transmitting. Many who went into broadcasting in the 1920s were only amateurs in the period before  World War I. The modern discipline of electronic engineering was to a large extent born out of telephone, radio, and  television  equipment development and the large amount of electronic systems development during  World War II  of  radar,  sonar, communication systems, and advanced munitions and weapon systems. In the interwar years, the subject was known as  radio engineering  and it was only in the late 1950s that the term  electronic engineering  started to emerge. In underwater, electronic and electrical engineering is doing a paramount job in the development of underwater vehicle technology, such as submarine, remotely operated underwater vehicle, and more significantly, automated underwater vehicle. An Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) is a robotic device that is driven through the water by a propulsion system, controlled and piloted by an onboard computer, and maneuverable in three dimensions. This level of control, under most environmental conditions, permits the vehicle to follow precise preprogrammed trajectories wherever and whenever required. Sensors on board the AUV sample the ocean as the AUV moves through it, providing the ability to make both spatial and time series measurements. Sensor data collected by an AUV is automatically geospatially and temporally referenced and normally of superior quality. Multiple vehicle surveys increase productivity, can insure adequate temporal and spatial sampling, and provide a means of investigat ing the coherence of the ocean in time and space. The fact that an AUV is normally moving does not prevent it from also serving as a Lagrangian, or quasi Eulerian, platform. This mode of operation may be achieved by programming the vehicle to stop thrusting and float passively at a specific depth or density layer in the sea, or to actively loiter near a desired location. AUVs may also be programmed to swim at a constant pressure or altitude or to vary their depth and/or heading as they move through the water, so that undulating sea saw survey patterns covering both vertical and/or horizontal swaths may be formed. AUVs are also well suited to perform long linear transects, sea sawing through the water as they go, or traveling at a constant pressure. They also provide a highly productive means of performing seafloor surveys using acoustic or optical imaging systems. When compared to other Lagrangian platforms, AUVs become the tools of choice as the need for control and sensor power increases. The AUVs advantage in this area is achieved at the expense of endurance, which for an AUV is typically on the order of 8- 50 hours. Most vehicles can vary their velocity between 0.5 and 2.5 m/s. The optimum speed and the corresponding greatest range of the vehicle occur when its hotel load (all required power except propulsion) is twice the propulsive load. For most vehicles, this occurs at a velocity near 1.5 m/s. The degree of autonomy of the robot presents an interesting dichotomy. Total autonomy does not provide the user with any feedback on the vehicles progress or health, nor does it provide a means of controlling or redirecting the vehicle during a mission. It does, however, free the user to perform other tasks, thereby greatly reducing operational costs, as long as the vehicle and the operator meet at their duly appointed times at the end of the mission. For some missions, total autonomy may be the only choice; in other cases when the vehicle is performing a routine mission, it may be the preferable mode of operation. Bidirectional acoustic, radio frequency, and satellite based communications systems offer the capability to monitor and redirect AUV missions worldwide from a ship or from land. For this reason, semi-autonomous operations offer distinct advantages over fully autonomous operations. In the outset of development of AUV, AUVs have been used for a limited number of tasks dictated by the technology available. With the development of more advanced processing capabilities and high yield power supplies, AUVs are now being used for more and more tasks with roles and missions constantly evolving. Its application covers a variety of field, such as in commercial, military, research, as well as hobby. In the commercial side, the oil and gas industry employs AUVs to sketch out detailed maps of the seafloor before they start building subsea infrastructure; pipelines and subsea completions can be installed in the most cost effective manner with minimum disruption to the environment. The AUV allows survey companies to conduct precise surveys or areas where traditional bathymetric surveys would be less effective or too costly. Also, post-lay pipe surveys are now possible. Whereas in the military field, AUV does play an important role as a typical military mission for an AUV is t o map an area to determine if there are any mines, or to monitor a protected area (such as a harbor) for new unidentified objects. AUVs are also employed in anti-submarine warfare, to aid in the detection of manned submarines. Apart from that, scientists use AUVs to study lakes, the ocean, and the ocean floor. A variety of sensors can be affixed to AUVs to measure the concentration of various elements or compounds, the absorption or reflection of light, and the presence of microscopic life. Sensors, the primarily oceanographic tools, AUVs carry sensors to navigate autonomously and map features of the ocean. Typical sensors used by AUV include  compasses, depth sensor, side scan and other sonar, magnetometers,  thermistors  and conductivity probes.  One of the most conspicuous contributions of electrical and electronic engineering incorporated with mechanical system is the navigation of AUV. AUVs can navigate using an  underwater acoustic positioning system. An  Underwater Acoustic Positioning System  is a system for the tracking and navigation of underwater vehicles or divers by means of acoustic distance and/or direction measurements, and subsequent position triangulation. Underwater Acoustic Positioning Systems are commonly used in a wide variety of underwater work, including oil and gas exploration,  ocean sciences, salvage operations,  marine archeology, law enforcement and military activities. Basically, there are three broad types or classes that can be categorized in underwater acoustic positioning system. The first one is Long Baseline (LBL) Systems:  Long baseline systems, use a sea-floor baseline transponder network. The transponders are typically mounted in the corners of the operations site. LBL systems yield very high accuracy of generally better than 1 m and sometimes as good as 0.01m along with very robust positions. This is due to the fact that the transponders are installed in the reference frame of the work site itself (i.e. on the sea floor), the wide transponder spacing results in an ideal geometry for position computations, and the LBL system operates without an acoustic path to the (potentially distant) sea surface. Acoustic positioning systems measure positions relative to a framework of  baseline stations, which must be deployed prior to operations. In the case of a  long baseline (LBL)  system, a set of three or more baseline transponders are de ployed on the sea floor. The location of the baseline transponders either  relative to each other  or in global  must then be measured precisely. Some systems assist this task with an automated  acoustic self-survey, and in other cases  GPS  is used to establish the position of each baseline transponder as it is deployed or after deployment. When a surface reference such as a support ship is available,  ultra-short baseline  (USBL) or  short-baseline (SBL)  positioning is used to calculate where the subsea vehicle is relative to the known (GPS) position of the surface craft by means of acoustic range and bearing measurements. USBL systems and the related super short baseline (SSBL) systems rely on a small (ex. 230  mm across), tightly which is installed either on the side or in some cases on the bottom of a surface vessel. Unlike LBL and SBL systems, which determine position by measuring multiple distances, the USBL transducer array is used to measure the target  distance  from the transducer pole by using signal run time, and the target  direction  by measuring the  phase shift  of the reply signal as seen by the individual elements of the transducer array. The combination of distance and direction fixes the position of the tracked target relative to the surface vessel. Additional sensors including GPS, a gyro or electronic compass and a vertical reference unit are then used to compensate for the changing position and orientation (pitch, roll, and bearing) of the surface vessel and its transducer pole. USBL systems offer the advantage of not requiring a sea floor transponder array. The disadvantage is that positioning accuracy and robustness is not as good as for LBL systems. The reason is that the fixed angle resolved by a USBL system translates to a larger position error at greater distance. Also, the multiple sensors needed for the USBL transducer pole position and orientation compensation each introduce additional errors. Finally, the non-uniformity of the underwater acoustic environment cause signal refractions and reflections that have a greater impact on USBL positioning than is the case for the LBL geometry integrated transducer array that is typically mounted on the bottom end of a strong, rigid transducer pole. In the other hand short baseline systems use a baseline consisting of three or more individual sonar transducers that are connected by wire to a central control box. Accuracy depends on transducer spacing and mounting method. When a wider spacing is employed as when working from a large working barge or when operating from a dock or other fixed platform, the performance can be similar to LBL systems. When operating from a small boat where transducer spacing is tight, accuracy is reduced. Like USBL systems, SBL systems are frequently mounted on boats and ships, but specialized modes of deployment are common too. For example, the  Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution  uses a SBL system to position the  Jason  deep-ocean ROV relative to its associated MEDEA depressor weight with a reported accuracy of 9  cm. Besides, GPS Intelligent Buoys (GIB) is also employed in AUV navigation; the systems are inverted LBL devices where the transducers are replaced by floating buoys, self-po sitioned by GPS. The tracked position is calculated in real time at the surface from the Time-Of-Arrival (TOAs) of the acoustic signals sent by the underwater device, and acquired by the buoys. Such configuration allows fast, calibration-free deployment with accuracy similar to LBL systems. At the opposite of LBL, SBL or USBL systems, GIB systems use one-way acoustic signals from the emitter to the buoys, making it less sensible to surface or wall reflections. GIB systems are used to track AUVs, torpedoes, or divers, may be used to localize airplanes black-boxes, and may be used to determine the impact coordinates of inert or live weapons for weapon testing and training purposes. In recent years, several trends in underwater acoustic positioning have emerged. One is the introduction of compound systems such the combination of LBL and USBL in a so-called LUSBL configuration to enhance performance. These systems are generally used in the offshore oil gas sector and other high-end applications. Another trend is the introduction of compact, task optimized systems for a variety of specialized purposes. For example the California Department of Fish and Game  commissioned a system, which continually measures the opening area and geometry of a fish sampling net during a trawl. That information helps the department improve the accuracy of their fish stock assessments in the  Sacramento River Delta. Hundreds of different AUVs have been designed over the past 50 or so years, but only a few companies sell vehicles in any significant numbers. Vehicles range in size from man portable lightweight AUVs to large diameter vehicles of over 10 meters length. Once popular amongst the military and commercial sectors, the smaller vehicles are now losing popularity. It has been widely accepted by commercial organizations that to achieve the ranges and endurances required to optimize the efficiencies of operating AUVs a larger vehicle is required. However, smaller, lightweight and less expensive AUVs are still common as a budget option for universities. Some manufacturers have benefited from domestic government sponsorship including Bluefin and Kongsberg. The market is effectively split into three areas: scientific (including universities and research agencies), commercial offshore (oil and gas etc.) and military application (mine countermeasures, battle space preparation). The majority of these roles utilizes a similar design and operates in a cruise mode. They collect data while following a preplanned route at speeds between 1 and 4 knots. Commercially available AUVs include various designs such as the small REMUS 100 AUV developed by  Wood Holes Oceanographic Institution in the US. Most AUVs follow the traditional torpedo shape as this is seen as the best compromise between size, usable volume, hydrodynamic efficiency and ease of handling. There are some vehicles that make use of a modular design, enabling components to be changed easily by the operators.   The market is evolving and designs are now following commercial requirements rather than being purely developmental. The next stage is likely to be a hybrid AUV/ROV that is capable of surveys and light intervention tasks. This requires more control and the ability to hover. Again, the market will be driven by financial requirements and the aim to save money and expensive ship time. Today, while most AUVs are capable of unsupervised missions most operators remain within range of acoustic telemetry systems in order to maintain a close watch on their investment. This is not always possible. For example, Canada has recently taken delivery of two AUVs (ISE Explorers) to survey the sea floor underneath the Arctic ice in support of their claim under Article 76 of the United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea. Also, ultra-low-power, long-range variants such as  underwater gliders  are becoming capable of operating unattended for weeks or months in littoral and open ocean areas, per iodically relaying data by satellite to shore, before returning to be picked up.

Understanding Change Management In Nursing Leaders Nursing Essay

Understanding Change Management In Nursing Leaders Nursing Essay Leadership is defined as influencing people to achieve a purpose or set of goals, but differentiating it from management causes confusion in many instances (Tappen, Weiss and Whitehead, 2004; Senior and Fleming, 2006; Robbins, Judge and Sanghi, 2009). Leaders can be managers but not all managers can be effective leaders, making leadership an important aspect of effective management (Tappen, Weiss and Whitehead, 2004). Several attempts have been made over the years to explain the characteristics of an effective leader. Trait, behavioural/style, situational-contingency and transformational theories are some of the theories that have been proposed to explain these characteristics (Yoder-Wise, 2003; Tappen, Weiss and Whitehead, 2004; Senior and Fleming, 2006). Goleman (2000) also used competencies of emotional intelligence (self-awareness, self-management, social awareness and social skills) to explain these characteristics. Nevertheless, none of these theories seem to adequately explain the characteristics that make an individual an effective leader. Yoder-Wise (2003) recognises followership as attitudes exhibited by individuals that the leader comes into contact with and explains that followers collaborate and act with the leader. Mahoney (2001) states that all nurses must acquire leadership skills since nursing leadership ranges from the staff nurse caring for a patient to a nurse in charge of a hospital. Nurses in clinical leadership positions collaborate with other leaders in the healthcare system to promote positive change (Touati et al., 2006). However, Antrobus and Kitson (1999) criticise nursing leadership for its lack of external focus (socio-political impact on health policies). They recommend that, in addition to the knowledge on issues related to nursing practice, potential leaders of nursing should familiarise themselves with social and health policies, management and research. Sutherland and Dodd (2008) identify that a lot of changes are occurring within the healthcare system, driving the need for leadership development. As a clinical leader in the making, a sound understanding of strategies for change management would prepare me as an effective leader. This is a reflective essay on how I set up a personal development plan to gain much insight on strategies for change management. The reflection is guided by Gibbss reflective cycle (1988 cited by Jasper, 2003). Although Cotton (2001) sees reflective practice in nursing as a problem, Durgahee (1996) identifies that nurses are able to perfect their actions when they examine their experiences through reflection and, consequently, become conscious of how different elements of care inform total professional nursing practice. The essay begins with a brief introduction of my background, and a description of issues that led me to focus on change management strategies in my personal development plan. It, then, follows with a reflection on strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats that I have and how these would influence my career in the future. The plan is presented, beginning with my learning objective and actions that I hope to take to meet my learning objective. The literature is then reviewed, followed by an appraisal of my organisation and how I plan to implement change. The last section describes my progress. Professional Background I graduated with a BSc. Nursing degree from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Ghana in 2008. I practised at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), also in Ghana, as a general nurse for one year before enrolling at the University of Nottingham for MSc. Advanced Nursing. My responsibilities, as stated by the Ghana Health Service (2005), are to: Assess care needs of patients, develop and implement plans of nursing care accordingly Formulate, initiate and revise patient care as condition warrants Participate in ward rounds Allocate tasks based on skill of staff Supervise staff and students in the ward Evaluate nursing care and ensure continuity of care In the third year of my undergraduate course, I was one of three students selected for a twelve-week exchange programme in the United States of America. The goal was for us to experience healthcare system and nursing practice in the USA and effect positive changes in nursing and healthcare at KATH. Generally, students who participate in such programs develop themselves, learn differences between cultures, and are able to compare healthcare systems and nursing in the respective countries (Scholes and Moore, 2000; Button, Green, Tengnah et al, 2005). Judging from the exposure I had in the USA, I felt I could make a major impact on my colleagues upon my return. Exchange students, whether short-term (1 4 weeks) or long-term (more than 4 weeks), expect to have a positive influence upon their return to their home countries (Button et al, 2005; Carty et al, 2002). I developed myself, to an extent, as a result of participating in the exchange programme. This was confirmed by some of my colleagues. I, also, learnt some of the similarities and differences in culture, nursing practice and healthcare between the USA and Ghana. Notwithstanding, the overall purpose of having positive impact on my colleagues was not realised. I believe that lack of a strategy to effect the proposed changes as well as failure to collaborate with the other exchange students were the major reasons for the failure. I expect to develop a teaching package to delay the progression of chronic kidney disease among patients with diabetes as my Advanced Nursing Practice module project and implement it at KATH. I, also, hope to gain new ideas on patient care while I am in the United Kingdom. Upon my return to Ghana, I aspire to assume a nurse-educator role. This job would give me some influence over the training of nurses at KNUST and KATH. All these have led me to focus on change management in my personal development plan so as to make positive changes in nursing at KATH. I should be able to reflect on my strengths, weaknesses, any opportunities and threats that may influence my aspiration to effect some changes at KATH and Pearce (2007) suggests that using SWOT framework is a good way to do this. Therefore, using the SWOT analysis framework, I identified the following: Strengths I am committed to what I do I am good at motivating others I have good interpersonal skills I have good presentation skills Weaknesses I attempt to please everybody I am too lenient Opportunities I am studying with colleagues from different parts of the world I have other experience from abroad I am likely to become a nurse-educator at KNUST Threat Majority of the staff may see me as young and inexperienced to lead them Pearce (2007) suggests that once threats have been identified, there should be a way to handle them. By confidently demonstrating the experience gained, developing good interpersonal relationships and clearly presenting shared visions, majority of the staff are likely to collaborate with me (Martin, 2006). THE PLAN Learning Objective Needs assessment assists individuals to set clear learning objectives for their personal development plan (Holloway, 2000). Reflection on the exchange program reveals that I lack ideas on strategies and skills required to lead change within an organisation. Therefore, it is my primary objective to use this personal development plan to learn and develop strategies to lead change in the institution that I work in. Actions to Meet the Objective The Management Standards Centre (2004a) suggests that leaders must possess three kinds of knowledge and understanding to be able to lead change successfully. These are general knowledge and understanding (example is knowledge on models and methods for leading organisational change, their strengths as well as their weaknesses), sector-specific knowledge and understanding (example is knowledge on emerging developments in the health sector) and context-specific knowledge and understanding (example is knowledge on areas within the organisation that need change, with reasons and priorities). To lead change successfully, leaders must, also, be able to describe the change process within the organisation and how it affects the people within (Mott, 1996). Considering these, actions that I consider as appropriate for me to meet my objective are as follows; Review literature on change management within organisations; Perform an appraisal of the organisation that I work in; and Plan the implementation of the change. Main resources that are needed to undertake these actions are time and literature on leadership and change management within organisations. I should be able to achieve my objective within seven months and the outcome measure for me would be my ability to identify change management strategies that would best fit my organisational context. LITERATURE REVIEW Change Management within Organisations Change in organisations is inevitable (reactive) and desirable but, usually, complex and difficult to bring about (Sturdy and Grey, 2003; Bellman, 2003; Boshoff, 2005; Dzik-Jurasz, 2006). Yet, there are many a time when change is proactive (planned) organisations make changes due to opportunities that they have to improve the workplace or their output (Dzik-Jurasz, 2006), and is also described as innovation. Change is very vital for healthcare institutions that seek to deliver quality and patient-centred care to its clientele, and nursing leadership is regarded as a linchpin for such changes to be successful (Dzik-Jurasz, 2006; Sutherland and Dodd, 2008). As a nurse aspiring to be a clinical leader, understanding the processes of change is, therefore, indispensable. Pettigrew, McKee and Ferlie (1988) state that leaders of change should focus on the content, the process, the context of the change as well as the successful regulation of the relationship between the three. They explain content as the specific areas where the change is expected to occur, and processes as the activities, expected reactions and interactions between the groups that seek to bring about the change. Context, as they explain, refer to internal and external factors that have influence over activities within the organisation. Lewin (1951 cited by Senior and Fleming, 2006) identifies three stages; unfreezing, moving and refreezing. At the stage of unfreezing, problems, needs or opportunities for change are identified, and the stage where new strategies or ideas are implemented causes individuals within the organisation to experience the change (moving). Finally, the stage of refreezing is reached when the change has been well integrated into the organisation (Yoder-Wise, 2003; Boshoff, 2005). Tappen, Weiss and Whitehead (2004), also, identify that change process is in four phases; description of the change, planning the implementation of the change, implementing the change, and integrating the change. Change starts when awareness of the need for it is created and ends when a complete evaluation of its expected effects has been done after the implementation (ibid). Lewin (1951 cited by Baulcomb, 2003) states that change is associated with certain forces that either facilitate or resist it; success would result when the forces facilitating the change exceed those that are resisting it within the context. Personnel within the organisation may be one of such forces. People resist change on the grounds of their psychosocial needs, the appropriateness of the change and, also, how the change affects their position and power (Tappen, Weiss and Whitehead, 2004). Therefore, they should be taken into consideration and be actively involved in the change process (Boshoff, 2005). Bennis et al. (1985 cited by Bellman, 2003) identify three strategies of change and these are rational-empirical, power-coercive and normative-re-educative strategies. Rational-empirical and power-coercive strategies both use top-down approaches while normative-re-educative approach employs a bottom-up approach. Top-down approach involves senior management generating the idea, planning and directly implementing the change while the bottom-up approach directly indulges the employees in the change process (Ryan, 2008). However, Ryan (2008) adds that top-down strategy alone is not effective for managing change at all times although it is very common under transformational leadership. Other strategies are education and communication; participation and involvement; facilitation and support; negotiation and agreement; and manipulation, cooptation, and coercion; and, dependent on the situation, these strategies may be used alone or in combination (Kotter and Schlesinger, 1979 cited by Yoder -Wise, 2003). It appears that the kind of strategy used would influence how the content of the change would be communicated to the parties involved. Action research is another change strategy and the process is said to begin when change is considered necessary (Bellman, 2003). Relevant data is collected systematically and reported to individuals who must act on it, after which plans are collaboratively formulated and the necessary actions undertaken research and action combined (Senior and Fleming, 2006). The process is in five stages (diagnosis, analysis, feedback, action and evaluation) and is described as problem-focussed, and able to reduce staff resistance because of their active involvement in the process (Robbins, Judge and Sanghi, 2009). Organisational Appraisal Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) is the second largest teaching hospital in Ghana, training many doctors, nurses and other paramedics in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. It is an autonomous service delivery agent under the Ministry of Health of Ghana (MOH, 2009a). In addition to training many of the health personnel in the Ashanti Region, many people within and outside the Ashanti Region seek healthcare there. As a result, provision of quality healthcare has always been the focus. An organisation that recognises the need for change, weighs costs and benefits, and plans for the change when the benefits outweigh the costs is ready for a change (Dalton and Gottlieb, 2003). KATH is, therefore, ready for change because some of its employees are sent overseas or to other parts of the country, whenever there is the need for a new skill or knowledge to be gained, to bring about a positive change within the hospital. This may be a factor that would facilitate my agenda to implement lead chan ge within the institution upon my return. However, Ghana, as a country is underdeveloped (CIA, 2008). Therefore, financial support, many a time, becomes a difficulty. Another challenge may be the fewer nursing staff. The Ministry of Health (2009b) estimates that there was a nurse-to-population ratio of 1:2024 in Ashanti Region and 1:1451 for the entire country in year 2007. Planning the Implementation of the Change This is the second stage of the change process, as was identified by Tappen, Weiss and Whitehead (2004), and it involves identifying possible resistant forces to the proposed change and identifying strategies to prevent or overcome them. The change strategies to adopt as well as how to communicate the need for change are considered at this stage (Management Standards Centre, 2004b). Bellman (2003) suggests that the normative-re-educative (bottom-up) strategy is suitable for changing practice within nursing. As it appears in my case, the need for change would be driven from bottom (an employee) to top (management) and is likely to be supported by the nurses since it is coming from their colleague. Nevertheless, others may resist the change because they might not see the need for it (Baulcomb, 2003). But Martin (2006) suggests that a clear presentation of the vision and need for change may cause a majority of the staff to support it. Flower and Guillaume (2002) suggest that unfreezing stakeholders of healthcare is a necessity to unfreezing the institution. Stakeholders at KATH for my project include the Director of Nursing Services (DNS), the Deputy Director of Nursing Services (DDNS) for the medical directorate, and the head of the diabetic clinic. When these key people are made to recognise the need for a change, then hospital management is likely to support the proposed change. In times like these when evidence-based practice is being advocated for (McEwen, 2007), I should be able to use evidence to justify the need for a change. I, therefore, plan to undertake a study that would compare the teaching package that I hope to introduce with the current approach used at KATH. If the new teaching package proves to be relatively successful, then majority of the staff are likely to appreciate the need for it. Progress Reflecting on the exchange program, I realise that the idea of bringing about change in practice was not clearly communicated. None of the processes of change, as has been identified now, were known at that time neither was there a strategy or a plan for the change. Some changes are unsuccessful because they are not clearly defined (Tappen, Weiss and Whitehead, 2004) and that is exactly what happened. Although I am still working on developing the teaching package that may be different from what is already present at KATH, I now realise that its purpose and effectiveness should be well communicated to other colleagues and management before the idea would be supported. I have discussed my ideas with the Director of Nursing Service of KATH and the Deputy Director of Nursing Services for the medical directorate and both of them seem excited about my idea. However, I have come to understand that all kinds of change are likely to face some form of resistance from the people (Baulcomb, 2003; Tappen, Weiss and Whitehead, 2004). I therefore, hope to apply the normative-re-educative (bottom-up) strategy because it has been identified as suitable for changing practice within nursing (Bellman2003). I also believe that such a strategy would let my colleagues feel actively involved in the change process and, hence, support it. Moreover, I hope to gain new insights from my visits to some hospitals and my interactions with some specialist nurses while developing the project. I, therefore, hope to modify my plans and strategies, when the need arises, in order to become an effective change agent within my organisation. Conclusion Personal development plans assist individuals to focus on specific needs and steps to take to achieve their objectives (Floodgate and Nixon, 1994). This essay has assisted me to reflect on my practice and roles as a leader. Whenever there is reflection, there must be a change in perspective (Atkins and Murphy, 1993). Development of change management strategies was identified as my learning objective. Actions to meet this objective were identified and pursued. Gibbss reflective cycle (1988) was used as a guide. Consequently, I have become familiar with different strategies that could be employed to effect and lead change successfully, and plans to implement these in my institution have been proposed, although they are subject to change when new insights are gained.