Compare the Effects of the Use of Different Narrative Voice in Miramar and Devil on the Cross Essay

In both Ngugi’s â€Å"Devil on the Cross† and Naguib’s â€Å"Miramar† we see a distinctive use of polyphony to convey both the political stances and social viewpoints of the authors. Although, the use of this literary technique differs between the two novels, the authors both have the same intention of persuading the reader to agree with their personal stand-point. Ngugi’s use of this literary narrative technique consists of describing the argument that he is attempting to put across to the reader, from the perspective of all of the characters to portray it in a light that leaves no room for reasonable doubt, where upon in â€Å"Miramar† Naguib manipulation of the narrative is more subtle at commenting upon the social class divides and barriers in the Egyptian society of the era in which it was written. To consider now, how this use of polyphony affects the readers of â€Å"Miramar† the aim of Naguib must first be questioned. Upon interpretation the character Zohra can be seen as a crucial part of the novel despite not having a section to narrate her side of the story. The reason for this could be that Naguib wanted to use Zohra as a symbol for his notion of an ideal, modern Egyptian. Being a religious Egyptian himself, there are evident influences of his native culture, in the representation of this ideal Egyptian, Zohra. However, this concept of Zohra being a semiotic for Egypt is not the only point to consider whilst interpreting the narrative structure’s impact; rather, it is the interaction between Zohra and the different narrators in the novel, that is crucial to analyse . This is especially important, as the different narrators are all from different backgrounds and can be clearly discerned as representations of the different Egyptian social classes. The intention of Naguib could most definitely be, to help the reader understand the varying lives of people from the different social classes in Egypt and the problems that arise because of these divides. An interpretation as to the reason why Zohra doesn’t have her own section to narrate could be because of the fact that, as stated previously, she is the symbol of Egypt, and quite simply she represents the struggle Egypt faces when fairly telling its own story. Instead of being given the chance to speak freely the novel is only told by people who have been influenced by the â€Å"Wafd† or â€Å"the revolution† or even the colonists, and therefore they are tainted, and no longer considered pure of mind. There is an unmistakable feeling of Naguib’s resentment towards the way â€Å"times have changed. This bitterness is especially impressed upon the reader regarding the new beliefs that people should be separated into social class groups and is present throughout the narrative of each character. Especially in Amer Wagdi’s narration, as the reader can almost imagine Naguib speaking in place of Amer when describing that they are foolish â€Å"obstacles† that separates Zohra from her love, Sarhan, because although â€Å"times have changed,† â€Å"young men haven’t changed†. In a similar style to Naguib, Ngugi also uses a female character to symbolise his country. In â€Å"Devil on the Cross† Wariinga is clearly intended to be interpreted by Ngugi as a symbol of Kenya and Ngugi has also, like Naguib, used the narrative to help enhance the symbolic interpretation of the interaction between Wariinga and the characters around her. However, Ngugi’s use of autobiographical narrative is highly differentiated from Naguib’s in the sense that Ngugi merges the narrative voice unnoticeably into the tone of the character in which he is focusing on. Ngugi does this especially in the â€Å"Matatu† chapter of the novel. This is a highly symbolic scene, used to portray the perspectives of each character, and these perspectives are particularly important as each character is an exemplary representation of the different social classes and backgrounds in Kenya. As this autobiographical narrative is used, it makes the reader empathise more and become more emotionally attached to the characters because they can relate personally, where as attempting to relate to the masses of people that these characters are representation would depersonalise the interaction Ngugi is trying to achieve between the reader and the story. Wangari, a character who is easily recognised as a symbol for the â€Å"Old Kenya† and the â€Å"Old Haraambe† is a clear example of this shift into an autobiographical narrative as her thoughts are written to the reader, revealing a greater insight into there character than is otherwise normal, this is particularly important as her saga tells the story of the Kenya before the colonists. It is through her history that the audience is able to discern the passionate feelings Ngugi holds of resentment towards the capitalist society that Kenya has become. Focusing more on this conviction of scorn held by Ngugi, the â€Å"Matatu† is also a vastly important chapter of â€Å"Devil on the Cross† because of its use of Socratic dialogue. Likewise to Naguib, Ngugi uses a character of his plot as a medium to express his feelings towards what his country has evolved to. Considering now Wangari, the poor, woman who, â€Å"wore no shoes† and â€Å"fought for [the] country’s independence† is definitely the mouthpiece for Ngugi as he himself has fought and is still fighting, even with this novel, for the independence of Kenya. Moreover, the juxtaposition of this Socratic dialogue is even more effective as it is placed in direct opposition to the materialistic, and greedy views of Mwaura, the foreign minded matatu driver who measures â€Å"Independence not [by the] tales about the past but the sound of money in one’s pocket†; a parallel with this character can clearly be drawn between him and one of the people in â€Å"Western suits,† who â€Å"took the devil off the cross. † Contrastingly, unlike Devil on the Cross, Miramar’s revolutionists, are not fighting the same cause, and are in fact met with the same praise as Wangari was by the rest of the Kenyan’s in the matatu. The revolutions of Miramar are, although quite central to the plot, often talked about but yet never given a voice of their own. These revolutionists goal in Miramar isn’t as simple as encouraging the revolution, however, they are in fact symbolic of the greater problems in Egypt, because the characters never verbally oppose the revolution (the problems in Egypt since the colonial occupation) as they are afraid of the outcome, however, in their hearts they know it will never work. Another crucial point in assessing the novel is the way in which Naguib manipulates the narrative is through the language used by each character helps to shift the tone of the narrative. It is crucial in understanding the feelings Naguib has towards this social class. For example, minor sentences showed in the free indirect discourse in the opening of Hosny Allam’s account helps to create a good impression to the reader of what this character’s temperament will be. The â€Å"progeny of whores† who â€Å"push you noses in the mud† described right in the opening paragraph is more than enough to nderstand that Hosny Allam is a bitter character. To interpret this further, the reader can also question accordingly, the social class in which Hosny Allam the â€Å"gentleman of property† represents and uses the portrayal of his character to interpret the feelings held by Naguib towards this social class. As Naguib has deliberately used mainly pejorative vocabulary in the syntax of Hosny’s it is clear that he wants the readers to dislike this character and therefore have negative feelings towards people of his class. In conclusion, after a close analysis of the literary techniques coinciding with the narrative structures and styles used by both Naguib and Ngugi, it is more than plausible to say that these two novels are both highly critical and greatly detailed in not only their poetic language used but the significant features of their intricately structured narrative and they more than achieve their aims of informing the world of their political stance against corruption.

One Shell Plaza

Dear Mr. Jones: Greetings! This letter of request comes from the External Affairs Department of our office, Strayer Foundation, a non-profit organization which commits itself in providing free basic education to underprivileged children, out-of-school youth, orphans and also to housewives and local cooperatives in the state of Virginia. We at the foundation would like to request for a thousand copies of handbooks which are part of your company’s â€Å"Come to Shell for Answers† campaign. Strayer Foundation believes that Shell Oil Company’s particular advertisement campaign could also be well utilized by the foundation as educational materials which in turn would be used in our outreach programs and educational missions throughout the state of Virginia. We at the foundation first got hold of your handbook during the National Plain English Conference held at the United States Department of Commerce in Washington, D.C. last month wherein Shell’s corporate advertising manager, Joseph C. Jones, Jr., handed one of Strayer Foundation’s representatives with a copy of the handbook which was specifically about Energy Consumption which we found very useful and informative. The foundation particularly lauds Shell Oil Company’s primary use of plain simple words in the campaign and its strong approach in conveying the message and providing useful information to the general public which could also be very useful in the fulfillment of the objectives of the foundation as well. In return for the request, the foundation could provide Shell Oil Company the following benefits: Provide favorable publicity for Shell Oil Company Increase in consumer awareness Help your firm in further enhancing reputation for responsive behavior Contribute to Shell’s credibility as a whole Differentiate Shell from the other oil companies in the industry We at Strayer Foundation believe that Shell Oil Company could approve this humble request in the pursuit of both our organizations’ objectives. We are hoping for your favorable response. Sincerely yours, Anjanee S. Balkissoon External Affairs Department Head Strayer Foundation

Expert systems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Expert systems - Essay Example Data on an organization's external operating environment, as well as internal operational information, is included and an interactive interface allows managers to retrieve and manipulate data. Modeling techniques are used to examine the results of alternative courses of action† (Decision Support System. 2007). Later on, DSS contributed to several domains, one of them is the healthcare sector. The Armed Forces Longitudinal Technology Application (AHLTA) is an internationally recognized medical and dental information management system that provides a safe and secure online accessibility to the military health systems (MHS) reports of beneficiary. Medical clinicians, who are deployed in various medical treatment facilities worldwide, access the system (DHIMS, 2011). They are provisioned with complete and appropriate health data in order to take informed decisions regardless of location and time. Moreover, AHLTA also facilitates central storage of electronic health records (EHR) da ta used to retrieve patients overall history of injuries and diseases (, JMIS). Expert Systems provide aid to the organization at the strategic level, as it takes input from internal and external aggregated data. Likewise, processing is carried out via graphics, simulations and outputs are transmitted via projectors and response to different queries. Expert systems are accessible to senior management that strategically oversees improvements in organizational processes to achieve business goals. AHLTA Functionality The information flow and sharing of information on various levels of the AHLTA system are illustrated below (How data travels through AHLTA, n.d): The flow of information does not cover all aspects of the system and only prioritize on nontechnical aspects. As there are four primary components of the system including: Client Workstations: The workstations that will be used by the clinical staff Local Cache Database: The local cache database stores all the retrieved informat ion, in order to provide information much faster as compared to a normal request of patient information from the system. Clinical Data Repository: The clinical data repository hosts the primary database and includes all the patient and clinical data connected to all the military treatment facilities worldwide. CHCS: Composite Health Care System is a legacy system that is performing the task of maintaining information and information retrieval related to results, appointments and vice versa. Moreover, the AHLTA system operates on two modes i.e. the normal mode and the Failover mode. The normal mode provides provision of all the available information related to patient’s history. The CHCS retrieves and demonstrates demographics, appointment information and results from the clinical data repository that displays all the information to the computer of the client (, How Data Travels through AHLTA, n.d). The fail over mode also operates on the same four components excluding the cli nical database repository. In this scenario, the clinical team can have access to document encounters related to patients. Nevertheless, they cannot access the complete record of the patients and historical records i.e. they cannot access CDR. If CDR is not accessible, CHCS sends all the information related to patient appointments, demographics along with all the relevant

Qualities of a good theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Qualities of a good theory - Essay Example A good theory is mostly valid in different situations and is persuasive and helps people to sort out issues by consulting the theory. There are many popular theories that are used to understand and evaluate various problems and conflicts in life. However, these theories are not always valid. A theory is valid in a specific situation. According to Prit (2008), Crime is a very complex social issue and so are its theories. Conflict criminology is of much more importance and can be used as example of such a theory that is popular but not always valid. Conflict criminology as described by Bernard in â€Å"Vold’s Theoretical Criminology† (2009) is a theory in which, it is explained that conflicts exist between groups on the basis of interests and criminological acts by criminals are a result of conflicts existing between subordinate groups and dominant groups. The subordinate groups act against the dominant groups due to which, crime is created (Bernard, et al, 2009). The the ory of conflict criminology discusses the issue of conflict behind any criminal act and forms an opinion that crimes are a result of conflict arising between groups on issues that are conflicting (Hagan. 2010).

Article review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 6

Article review - Essay Example 1). A Mouse Resource Browser (MSR) was presented, â€Å"a database of mouse databases that indexes 217 publicly available mouse resources under 22 categories and uses a standardised database description framework (the CASIMIR DDF) to provide information on their controlled vocabularies (ontologies and minimum information standards), and technical information on programmatic access and data availability† (Zouberakis, et.al., 2010, par. 1). The discourse briefly introduced the need to achieve the authors’ identified objective and progressed by proffering the design, implementation and accessibility of the proposed database. The MRB which was the focus of the article was described as â€Å"the front-end of a relational, fully normalized PostgreSQL database, and is a typical Java EE application that follows the MVC architectural pattern, generating three transparent layers: the Enterprise JavaBeans (EJB) layer, the intermediate Session layer and the interface/web layer† (Zouberakis, et.al., 2010, par. 5). The general content of the article was explained in greater detail in terms of management, delivery and structure. Likewise, an online questionnaire was designed for curatorial purposes. Several illustrations and graphical representations were provided to diagram the MRB architecture and to depict the online responses, curatorial information, ontologies, and accessibility, among others. Finally, a discussion of the proposed MRB’s beneficial contributions to scientists and professionals in the fields of genetics and biomedical sciences was clearly expounded; and the source of funding was appropriately acknowledged. The authors were effective in attaining their objective to â€Å"provide useful information to both bench scientists, who can easily navigate and find all mouse related resources in one place, and bioinformaticians, who will be provided with interoperable resources containing data which can be mined and integrated† (Zouberakis,

What role did colonial trade play in the development of London Essay

What role did colonial trade play in the development of London - Essay Example Britain is known to have colonized some of the world’s biggest economies and nations including America, Australia and most parts of Africa. Out of this, Britain gained total economic and political control over most countries who served as British colonies. By and large, these countries invested heavily into the entire development of Britain – particular London. This essay is thus dedicated to scrutinizing some of the major means by which London’s development was affected: positively and negatively by the colonial trade. How the early profits from the slave trade developed the industrial revolution It has remained common knowledge and taught throughout British schools that â€Å"during the 1800s the Industrial Revolution spread throughout Britain.† ... unskilled slaves were not on regular salary taken by unskilled British, they were also made to work overtime in most of the times that they were called to duty. The second way that the slaves were used by the industries is that they were given rapid training to take up ‘semi-skilled’ tasks. These semi-skilled tasks were not typically bookish but had to do with supervision over unskilled labourers. As discussed earlier, these slaves were not taking normal salary and as such saved the industries a lot of expenditure. Again, the slaves were made to work far beyond normal working hours and thus improved productivity. The improvement in productivity that was recorded in most industries saw London and Britain record major industrial growth. This eventually brought about what came to be known as industrial revolution, which was a major turning point in London’s development. East and West India Company, their business dealings and profits The East and West India Company w ere seen as the backbone of London’s development in the colonial days. Surprisingly, the company still plays very vital role in the economy of London and the world at large. As noted by The East India Company (2011), â€Å"without The Company our world would not be as it is today.† This is not a mere publicity talk when discussion is being made of companies, whose dealings and profits indeed were visible in the transformation of London’s economy and entire development. As a company that received the recognition of the Queen of England through the Royal Charter, much was expected from the company right from the unset. Hopefully and true to expectation, the company’s dealings and general business structure ensured that the company recorded major trade gains and initiations such as the establishment of

Company Policy on Acceptable Use of Email and Text Messaging Assignment

Company Policy on Acceptable Use of Email and Text Messaging - Assignment Example Always recall that the policy’s provision that the company monitors messages that employees communicate while they are within the company’s premise. This affects both communication to persons inside the company and people outside the company. Take heed of the fact that this policy intertwines with the policy on responsible communication. In addition, you are reminded that this policy directs all employees to be responsible for the content that they include in the messages they send to people both inside and outside the company. Use of company equipment to send harassing messages is highly discouraged and this warrants disciplinary measures as stipulated in the company’s disciplinary policy. Remember that the policy on responsible use of company equipment directs that personal messages sent using company equipment are monitored and should not disclose proprietary and confidential company information. Complete the form providing your name, address, telephone number and your signature. Although we have this information in our database, we need them in this form for the sake of reconfirmation of commitment to comply with this policy. Return your completed form to the reception by the 20th April 2014.  

Organisational Effectiveness Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Organisational Effectiveness - Essay Example It can be said that effectiveness translates into productivity where its absence can be projected in failure like, employee absenteeism and turnover, conflicts, performance instability and communication breakdown (Kaplan & Norton, 1996). Organizations that enjoy the benefits of effective organization for instance display features such as maximized output, lowered costs and advancement and excellence in technology. There are several methods of assessment techniques that can be adopted to determine the level of effectiveness that an organization is operating at. The varied methods can be as many as there are researchers in this field. Used at different times of necessity, the approaches target a different point of view on the organization (Cameron & Whetten, 1983). A few of these approaches are discussed in the paragraph below. When goal approach is adopted, the management attaches critical importance to the output or results that are achieved at the end of operational timeline (NCCI, 2007). The achieved output level is a measure of effectiveness in a proportionate relationship. Assessment could also be done using internal process approach where favourable results are deemed to emanate from the vital processes that are used to make transformations on input to achieve goals. Features of management such as coordination as well as employee welfare are given the centre stage in this approach. Ideally, output is the result of management and organization that is used to transform input towards achievement of goals. Alternatively, the system resource approach puts much emphasis on the acquisition capability of raw materials and other important resources from the environment that the organization has (NCCI, 2007). Effectiveness is attached to the efficiency of the first stage of operation which involves input. Con stituency approach is the other

Recommendations For Diagnosis, Treatment, And Management Of Asthma Essay

Recommendations For Diagnosis, Treatment, And Management Of Asthma - Essay Example Shortness of breath, as well as an individual’s experiencing either wheezing and coughing, are the major symptoms of asthma that are known. An asthmatic attack may get dangerous if it lasts for more than 12 hours without any intervention and if the airway is obstructed (Kaufman, 2012). Symptoms like the bluish coloration of the lips and rapid pulse are dangerous signs of severe attack. In diagnosis, spirometry measures the total volume of oxygen that is inspired against that which is expired by the lungs. In the assessment of the status of the airwave, children with asthma who are of seven years or more should have spirometry performed on them in order to measure how severe the airway is obstructed (NHS, 2012). Triggers of Asthma and the Risk Factors Among the triggers of asthma are food preservatives that are found in foods that are either processed or prepared by various food manufacturing companies. An example of such a food preservative is sodium metabisulfite which is in the group of sulfite additives; it triggers asthma in those who are sensitive (Toole, 2013). There are certain risk factors that have been identified to trigger or contribute to the occurrence of asthma and are important in the easy identification of those individuals who are most at risk to develop asthma and those prevention strategies that are effective in managing the condition. These include smoking by the parent, especially when the child is still an infant, or the smoking by the mother when the child has not been born yet. The family history of asthma and exposure early in life makes a child more predisposed to suffer from asthma (Zahran, Person, Bailey & Moorman, 2012). Management of Asthma Arterial blood gas and lung function test will help in the diagnosis of this condition.

Grammar school Essay Example for Free

Grammar school Essay As I entered the trading post in a small border reservation community I passed two Navajo youth leaning against the wall, one leg propped behind them for support. They wore black tee-shirts, one declaring â€Å"Indian Pride on the Rise,† the other showing a heavy metal rock group â€Å"Twisted Sister. † Both wore high topped basketball shoes and hair free flowing to their shoulders. One spoke to me. â€Å"Hey, are you the lady who is talking to dropouts? You should talk to me. Im a professional dropout. † I did. And to many others. Their stories spoke of racial discrimination and rejection by teachers. â€Å"The way I see it seems like the whites  dont want to get involved with the Indians. They think were bad. We drink. Our families drink. Dirty. Ugly. And the teachers dont want to help us. They say, Oh, no, there is Another Indian asking a question because they dont understand. So we stopped asking questions. † Their stories spoke of the importance and power of families and the Navajo culture. â€Å"I go crazy worrying about my parents. They need me so us Navajo stick together. I feel kinda proud to be a Navajo. † And their stories spoke of academic and social marginalization in their classes and schools. â€Å"It was just like they wanted to put us aside, us Indians. They didnt tell us nothing about careers or things to do after high school. They didnt encourage us to go to college. They just took care of the White students. They just wanted to get rid of the Indians. † This article is about these Navajo and Ute youth who leave high school. In mainstream research the phenomenon of â€Å"dropping out† is commonly defined as an issue of individual failure (see Note 2). Youth â€Å"fail,† either academically or socially, to make it through school. The problem exists not because of deficiencies in the schools but rather because of deficiencies in individuals and families. Youth who leave school are described as deviant, dysfunctional, or deficient because of individual, family, or community characteristics. Solutions reside on remediating or changing youth and families to better â€Å"fit in. † After all, most youth do succeed in school, suggesting evidence of the school as an effective institution. This body of research ignores the barriers institutions themselves create for youth. Another line of research on dropouts has turned a critical eye towards the role the school and structural barriers play in creating the problem (see Note 3). The research reported  in this article follows this line of inquiry. A critical examination of the â€Å"place† of Navajo and Ute youth in their school and community reveals other reasons than just individual failure for â€Å"dropping out. † Structural factors restricting opportunities, in effect, â€Å"fail† youth. The decision to leave school can then be seen, in part, as a rational response to irrelevant schooling, racism, restricted political, social and economic opportunities, and the desire to maintain a culturally distinct identity. There are many similarities between Indian and other kinds of dropouts. In most  cases, the reasons for leaving school are alike. For example, nearly all dropouts say school is boring, teachers dont care, and school will not help them with what they want to do in life (LeCompte, 1987). Many come from substance abusing families. There are, however, differences between other dropouts and these Navajo and Ute school leavers that only become clear when examining the cultural context surrounding these youth. Cultural and structural factors that might be easy to overlook if only examining â€Å"student characteristics† are important in understanding why many Navajo and Ute youth leave school. Specific to this cultural framework are 1) racial and economic relations in the community and school, 2) home child-rearing patterns of non-interference and early adulthood and, 3) cultural integrity and resistance. The Data Base: Master Student List, Questionnaires and Ethnography In the fall of 1984 1 started an ethnographic study of a border reservation community. I looked at interactions, understandings, and strategies related to education, schooling, success, and failure both in and out of school, among and between three culturally distinct groups of adolescents—Anglo, Navajo, and Ute. Presented here is only one part of this ethnography, focused on school leavers. Throughout this article I use the tribal names, Navajo and Ute, in recognition of the distinctness of these two cultures. I use the term â€Å"Indian† in situations which include both Navajo and Ute for simplicity, not for stereotyping. In addition, fictitious names are used for both communities and schools. These results were produced from four data sets: 1) a master data base from school records; 2) ethnographic field notes and collected documents; 3) interviews with a  convenience sample of school leavers, and; 4) a questionnaire. In trying to determine an accurate picture of the attrition rates in this district, a data base was established to track all of the Navajo and Ute students by name who had attended Border High School (BHS) and Navajo High School (NHS) from 1980-81 to the 1988-89 school year. This master list contained attendance data, grade point averages, standardized test scores, dropout and graduation rates, community locations, current employment situations, post high school training, and type of diploma received for 1,489 youth. This list has been verified by official district records, local Navajo and Ute community members, school officials, and the youth themselves. The graduation and dropout rate in this community was determined by following â€Å"cohorts† of youth throughout their school careers. A total of 629 students forming six different cohorts, from the class of 1984 to the class of 1989, from each of the two high schools are represented with complete four year high school records. Students who took either additional years and/or completed alternative high school degrees are included in the total graduation figures.

Clinical Decision Support Systems in Healthcare

Clinical Decision Support Systems in Healthcare Melchor Abejon One pressing public health problem and a threat to patient safety are medical errors. Written articles about such incidents have highlighted cases and the amount of money spent. According to the United States (US) News and World Report (2013), medical error is the third leading cause of death in the US after heart disease and cancer with an estimate number of 250,000 deaths annually. Clinical decision making in healthcare is a very crucial process. Though this process will always be flawed, for sure there are ways to make it better. With the advent of the Electronic Health Record (EHR) meaningful use incentive program and the development of Clinical Decision Support (CDS) tools, healthcare organizations along with clinicians are mandated to integrate CDS into their federally certified EHR systems. As the director of clinical decision support at a healthcare delivery system, the purpose of this paper is to: Describe the different approaches to be used that will ensure all aspects of patient care are considered in the development of a CDS system. Identify how the efforts of the CDS team would be prioritized in the development of CDS in the organizations focus areas. Approaches to Developing a CDS System Like in the implementation of any other health information systems, the development and implementation of a CDS system entails an equivalent complexity and hard work. It is an endeavor that requires significant planning and preparation.ÂÂ   Once implemented, it is essential to evaluate and measure its value as an additional asset of the organization. According to Nelson and Staggers (2014), the CDS as a valuable tool can prevent many clinical errors especially when coupled with a computerized information system that enables process improvement measures. Though it is mentioned in the given scenario that the organization has existing CDS, my plan is to re-evaluate the existing systems and processes, and I want to make sure that I would not be missing a single essential step in my project, and have everything taken into consideration as I create a new plan.ÂÂ   Health IT provides a systematic strategic plan for the implementation of CDS which I will adopt for the organization. The strategic plan is composed of five steps as listed and described below: Commence the project with a strong foundation. This initial step includes assessing the readiness of the organization to adopt a CDS intervention; assessing the interest of stakeholders in using CDS to improve outcomes, and as well as assessing the overall capacity of the organization to adapt to the change. My key steps to establishing a strong project foundation are: To identify the essential stakeholders who can contribute to a discussion about using CDS to improve the quality and safety goals of the organization. To establish goals for the CDS by collaborating with the stakeholders to highlight the benefits and barriers to implementation. To determine the readiness of the organization for a CDS initiative. This is a critical process. A key aspect of readiness is understanding how well the organization can adapt to the change. To develop a plan on how to proceed with the implementation. It includes identifying the core members of the implementation team, outlining and refining achievable quality goals, identifying strategic next steps toward achieving the goals, building a shared vision among the stakeholders, and identifying champions of the project. Assemble a CDS implementation team.ÂÂ   My key steps to assembling the implementation team are: To stress the roles of the stakeholders that are required for the success of the project. To seek a clinical champion who possesses the desired characteristics for the role. To collaborate with an outside source who may be able to assist and fill the gaps in expertise in the implementation of CDS. To call for the implementation team to start planning by holding a kick-off meeting. Plan for successful development of CDS, design and deployment. The following are my key steps to assist the organization achieve the capacity for CDS interventions: To select a clinical goal that suits best to the goals and needs of the organization. The end users should agree with the chosen goal. To consult Electronic Medical Record (EMR) vendors and designers about ways on how CDS can help improve the clinical goals and objectives of the organization. It is important to discuss with them and determine the ability of a given CDS intervention to be customized to support the needs of the end-users. To select a CDS intervention that can help achieve the clinical goals and objectives of the organization. Considerations are ease of implementation, effect on clinical quality reporting, implementation of financial incentives, and workflow. To develop clinical objectives and baseline measures for the goals to help measure improvements. Example of this is through the utilization of metrics to measure baseline performance and assess the effect of the intervention. To map out existing workflows and clinical processes affected by the interventions. To develop a system for keeping interventions and CDS clinical knowledge current. This includes identifying people and processes that are involved in the interventions update. To ensure the usability of the CDS intervention by understanding its limits of functionality and possibly request for customization if needed. To test for the CDS interventions usability and effect on workflows. Roll out effective CDS interventions. My key steps are: To create a roll out plan. This includes defining the clinical goals and having the selected interventions assessed and tested. Also, to determine how to implement the interventions in the best way. To communicate the roll out plan to the end-users and stakeholders. This can be accomplished by describing and disseminating to the stakeholders the expected changes to the organizations workflow and processes. To develop a training plan to train users with the new intervention. To ensure that support structures such as people and other resources are in place to provide support during and after deployment of the intervention. Measure the effects of the intervention. This pertains to measuring the impact of the intervention post-implementation and to ensure it is improving the organizations processes and outcomes, and that clinical goals and objectives are being met. My key steps are: To conduct an ongoing assessment of the CDS systems usability. This includes capturing feedback and assessing how well is the intervention being received by the end-users. To collect and report the performance of the intervention against the clinical goals and objectives. To use feedback and measurement results to continually improve the performance of the intervention. To have the end-users get involved in the refinement of the intervention by communicating back to them the changes and by showing them continued support. Bates et al. (2003) published the Ten Commandments for effective Clinical Decision Support Systems (CDSS). This is another important collective approach and consideration in developing and implementing a CDSS for the organization. Listed below are the ten commandments for CDSS: Speed is everything. Speed is what end-users value most and is a top priority. Anticipate needs and deliver in real time. Information should be delivered when needed. Fit into the users workflow. Suggestions are integrated with clinical practice. Little things can make a big difference. In order to do the right things, usability of the intervention should be improved. Recognize that physicians will strongly resist stopping. Rather than insist on stopping, alternatives should be offered. Changing direction is easier than stopping. Example is changing dose defaults; route or medication frequency can change behavior. Simple interventions work best. Guidelines can be simplified by reducing to a single computer screen. Additional information can be asked when you really need it. A guideline will less likely be implemented when more data elements are requested. Monitor impact, get feedback and respond. If some reminders are not followed, either readjust or completely remove the reminder. Maintain and manage the knowledge -bases system. Information and currency of information should be monitored. CDSS Team Efforts and Areas of Focus Payment rates tied to quality measures. A primary consideration when developing and implementing a CDSS is the cost savings for the total system. With the existing reimbursement scheme, the financial commitment to implement a CDSS has become one major consideration to many health care organizations. Insufficient documentation of patients diagnosis has always been the difficulty in maximizing and meeting compliance with reimbursement and external quality agencies. As the director of the clinical decision support, I will summon and coordinate with the team to create a CDS intervention that can improve compliance with billing directives by ensuring systems work harmoniously to capture the correct diagnosis. Having such efficient CDSS in harmonious work with the organizations information systems can ensure delivered care, coded care, and documented care to become the same, thus meeting the meaningful use criteria and aligning with the nations health outcome policy priorities. CDS interventions that meet meaningful use. The stage 2 of the EHR meaningful use requires hospitals and healthcare professionals to implement five CDS interventions that are directly linked to four or more of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) quality measures. As the leader of the team, I will suggest and work with the team on the implementation of support measures that will monitor health conditions that are of high priority such as stroke, hypertension, cancer and diabetes. Also, the team will aim to develop a CDS intervention that will alert clinicians when a patient is a candidate for colorectal screening. This intervention directly corresponds with the NQF-0034 colorectal cancer screening clinical quality measure. Also, the team will ensure that the CDSS will meet meaningful use by considering the five rights of CDS which are (a) the right information, (b) to the right person, (c) in the right format of intervention, (d) through the right channel, (e) at the r ight time in workflow (Campbell, R., 2016). CDSS in appropriate care services such as congestive heart failure. The team will consider developing a CDS intervention that will assist providers adhere to medical care, practice guidelines and prescribing guidelines. The administration of B-blockers has been demonstrated effective in improving the chance of survival for heart failure patients. The deployment of electronic reminder interventions for the prescription of drugs and appropriate dosing can additionally improve the care and survival for congestive heart failure patients and also in the management of chronic diseases. Other areas for clinical improvement. CDSS has also been proven effective in preventive service processes. As the leader of the team, I will work with the team to implement computer-generated reminders for providers to improve the standard of care in preventive services such as hypertension and smoking cessation counseling, eye and diabetic foot examinations, measurement of lipid levels, and glycosylated hemoglobin and proteinuria testing for diabetic patients. Conclusion The CDSS when coupled with the organizations existing systems such as the EHR and Computerized Provider Order Entry (CPOE) can work harmoniously to provide an effective clinical decision support to improve the quality of care in a healthcare organization. Though challenges may seem formidable, coming up with an effective approach in the development and implementation of such systems can assure positive return in investment overtime. References Bates, D. W. et. al (2003). Ten commandments for effective clinical decision support: Making the practice of evidence-based medicine a reality. Retrieved January 29, 2017 from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC264429/ Campbell, R. (2016). The five rights of clinical decision support. CDS tools helpful for meaningful use. Retrieved January 29, 2017 from http://bok.ahima.org/doc?oid=300027#.WJC59_krLIV Gross, P.A., Bates, D.W. (2007). A pragmatic approach to implementing best practices for clinical decision support systems in computerized provider order entry systems. Retrieved January 29, 2017 from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2215068/#bib13 HealthIT.gov (n.d.). How-to guides for clinical decision support implementation. Retrieved January 29, 2017 from https://www.healthit.gov/policy-researchers-implementers/cds-implementation Murphy, E.V. (2014). Clinical decision support: Effectiveness in improving quality processes and clinical outcomes and factors that may influence success. Retrieved January 29, 2017 from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4031792/ Nelson, R., Staggers, N. (2014). Health informatics: An interprofessional approach. (1st Ed.). St. Louis, MO; Elsevier Mosby United States News and World Report (2016). Medical errors are third leading cause of death in the U.S. Retrieved January 29, 2017 from http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2016-05-03/medical-errors-are-third-leading-cause-of-death-in-the-us

A Bintel Brief :: essays research papers

The Eastern European Jews had many troubles before immigrating to America. Jews are well known for overcoming hardships that are thrown at them. In A Bintel Brief, they weren’t exactly overcoming genocide, but they were having many hardships that would be tough for anyone including love, missing family members, poverty, and different religious problems. Many Jews had nothing but the clothes on their backs when they arrived in America. Few had money to bring along with them, all though some did have money. The majority of the people or families that came to America had to start with nothing, and work from the ground up. Some of the people were working for a measly two dollars a week. The Eastern European Jews at that time weren’t working for themselves most of the time. Most of the time they had whole families to feed, or they had prior obligations they had to fulfill. Many of the Jewish people’s wages were put towards a ship fare, to get their family out of Easte rn Europe and into the free America. The majority of the Jews were working in shops all over. Many of the Jews were persecuted. They weren’t allowed to have certain jobs. One instance in the book a mother wrote in for her son, who desperately wanted to be a chemist. The mother was outraged, because many people were saying that they wouldn’t hire a Jewish chemist. A lot of the immigrated Jews were finding partners that weren’t of the same religion. The book mentions Gentile and Jewish relationships a countless number of times. Many of the submitters found their relationship with a gentile was not working, that they started out in love, but the other is teaching the wrong things to their children. On the other hand, many Jews were becoming freethinkers.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The â€Å"Bintel Brief† itself gave an amazing amount of aid in the adjustment for Jews. All people need is hope, and when there’s hope you can do anything. These people poured their hearts out into their letters, and confided in the â€Å"Bintel Brief† for answers. The â€Å"Bintel Brief† in return would give sound advice, and would give hope that everything would turn out alright. Because there were few Jewish newspapers, they had nothing else to look forward too, or read. Many of them, just coming from Europe, still did not know English. These people could only read the Yiddish articles.

The BU Biolab Essay -- Disaster Management

The rapid pace of vaccine development convinces people that they are safe from the infectious diseases. Unfortunately, the anthrax outbreak in 2001, having killed five people, reveals the vulnerability of the public health, suggesting that further research on contagious epidemics should be developed abruptly. In response to this issue, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) granted Boston University a $128 million funding for the construction of a new leading facility known as the National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratory (NEIDL or BU Biolab), which would be sited on the Boston University Medical Campus, to battle against contagious ailments. Besides conducting research on infectious diseases, the BU Biolab will also perform research to prepare for bioterrorism (Le Duc). According to the Center for Disease Control, there are four levels of increasing of containment for research on infections ranging from Biosafety Levels 1 through 4 (BSL-1 to BSL-4) . While much of the research on epidemics is done in laboratories with BSL-2 to BSL-3, the BU Biolab, with the highest level of precaution, BSL-4, will conduct research on rare contagious epidemics including anthrax, ebola, and plague, which are usually life threatening. Even though the construction of the BU Biolab was completed in 2008, no research is being conducted since the legal approval from the local community is required for the BU Biolab to fully operate at the BSL-4 research. One of the reasons that keeps local residents from approving is the concern regarding security and safety. As the study of dangerous infections with unknown cure will be taking place at the BU Biolab, the fear of deadly pathogens leaking rises among the public. The ... ...ing millions of lives around the world. Think of the bioterrorism attack using anthrax in 2001 and how it jeopardized the safety and security of the community. What would protect the community from this disastrous attack in the future? Works Cited Cataneo, Emily. â€Å"Tensions High at BU BioLab Meeting.† NEIDL 6 Oct. 2010. Web. 25 Feb. 2012. Hernandez, Gabrielle. â€Å"BU Biosafety Lab Ignites Critiques.† Tufts Daily. 20 Oct. 2009. Web. 25 Feb. 2012. Keith, Jean Hennelly. â€Å"Leading Lab for Biosafety.† Bostonia Winter 2003-2004: 22-25. Web. 25 Feb. 2012. Landry, Lauren. â€Å"Mayor Menino Approves the BU Biolab: Ebola and the Plague Head to the South End.† Web. 25 Feb. 2012 Le Duc, James W., et al. â€Å"Framework for Leadership and Training of Biosafety Level 4 Laboratory Workers.† Emerging Infectious Diseases 14.11 (2008): 1685-1688. Web. 25 Feb. 2012.

The Impact of Invasive Species on Ecosystems Essay examples -- Environ

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Influence on ecosystems range from human causes like the bulldozing of a forest to natural causes like a fire or a flood.   In recent times, the introduction and spread of invasive species has transformed native communities rapidly and, in some cases, created irreversible damages.   In the Earth’s history, changes have often occurred in the ecosystems.   For example, glaciers and the retreat of glaciers cause wide-spread changes.   However, although change is a constant in ecosystems, animals and habitats often cannot adapt to the rapid alterations of non-natural stresses.   Harm to the environment from the introduction of invasive species occurs through changes in the habitat and declines in the native species.   Invasive species can make changes in a habitat’s physical structure, hydrology and salinity, productivity, energy flow, and fire cycle.   Declines in biodiversity occur through competition, disruption of the food web, and genetic hybridization.   These habitat and species modifications could create an irreversible shift in the ecosystem, creating an altered, stable state.   While invasive species cause damage in many ways, one of an invasive specie’s most devastating effects is habitat modification.   Once a habitat is physically altered, even if the invader is removed, it becomes difficult or impossible to reverse the effects.   In Life Out of Bounds, author Chris Bright describes the cycle of degradation (1998).   As local creatures disappear, the loss weakens the strength of their ecosystem.   An artificially simplified community is more likely to break down and the effects of disturbances, such as fire or flood, are likely to be more intense, leaving the area open to more invasions.   According to Bright, as ... ... on natural ecosystems.   Washington, D.C.:   Island Press. Devine, R.   (1998).   Alien invasion: America's battle with non-native animals and plants.   Washington, D.C.:   National Geographic Society. Federal Interagency Committee for the Management of Noxious and Exotic Weeds.   (2002).   [Online].   Available:  Ã‚   http://ficmnew.fws.gov/index.html   [2002, October 14]. Office of Technology Assessment.   United States.   Congress.   (1993, September).   Harmful non-indigenous species in the United States.   Washington, D.C.:   U.S. Government Printing Office.   (OTA-F-565)   (Y 3.T 22/2:2 H 22/993) Soulà ©, M., & Orians, G. (Eds.)   (2001).   Conservation biology:   Research priorities for the next decade.   Washington, D.C.: Island Press. Van Driesche, J., & Van Driesche R.   (2000).   Nature out of place:   Biological invasions on the global age.   Washington, D.C.: Island Press.

Edward de Bono’s Six Thinking Hats Essay

Thinking Hats Edward de Bono was born in Malta in 1933. He attended St Edward’s College, Malta, during World War II and then the University of Malta where he qualified in medicine. He proceeded, as a Rhodes Scholar, to Christ Church, Oxford, where he gained an honours degree in psychology and physiology and then a D. Phil in medicine. He also holds a Ph. D from Cambridge and an MD from the University of Malta. He has held appointments at the universities of Oxford, London, Cambridge and Harvard. Dr Edward de Bono is one of the very few people in history who can be said to have had a major impact on the way we think. In many ways he could be said to be the best known thinker internationally. Six Thinking Hats â€Å"Six Thinking Hats† is a powerful technique that helps you look at important decisions from a number of different perspectives. It helps you make better decisions by pushing you to move outside your habitual ways of thinking. As such, it helps you understand the full complexity of a decision, and spot issues and opportunities which you might otherwise not notice. Each â€Å"Thinking Hat† is a different style of thinking. These are explained below: * White Hat: With this thinking hat, you focus on the data available. Look at the information you have, and see what you can learn from it. Look for gaps in your knowledge, and either try to fill them or take account of them. This is where you analyze past trends, and try to extrapolate from historical data. * Red Hat: Wearing the red hat, you look at the decision using intuition, gut reaction, and emotion. Also try to think how other people will react emotionally, and try to understand the intuitive responses of people who do not fully know your reasoning. Black Hat: When using black hat thinking, look at things pessimistically, cautiously and defensively. Try to see why ideas and approaches might not work. This is important because it highlights the weak points in a plan or course of action. It allows you to eliminate them, alter your approach, or prepare contingency plans to counter problems that arise. Black Hat thinking helps to make your plans tougher and more resilient. It can also help yo u to spot fatal flaws and risks before you embark on a course of action. Black Hat thinking is one of the real benefits of this technique, as many successful people get so used to thinking positively that often they cannot see problems in advance, leaving them under-prepared for difficulties. * Yellow Hat: The yellow hat helps you to think positively. It is the optimistic viewpoint that helps you to see all the benefits of the decision and the value in it, and spot the opportunities that arise from it. Yellow Hat thinking helps you to keep going when everything looks gloomy and difficult. * Green Hat: The Green Hat stands for creativity. This is where you can develop creative solutions to a problem. It is a freewheeling way of thinking, in which there is little criticism of ideas. A whole range of creativity tools can help you here. * Blue Hat: The Blue Hat stands for process control. This is the hat worn by people chairing meetings. When running into difficulties because ideas are running dry, they may direct activity into Green Hat thinking. When contingency plans are needed, they will ask for Black Hat thinking, and so on.

Understanding Rhetorical Structures as They Pertain to Audience

Understanding Rhetorical Structures as they pertain to audience, purpose, and context Understanding Rhetorical Structure Colton Kiefer EN1420 This paper is about the understanding of the Rhetorical Structures as they pertain to audience, purpose, and context and how they affect the argument of whether taxes should be raised on higher income brackets in order to fund social programs for at-risk and underserved, low income children. I will discuss the relationship between the audience, purpose, and context to the context of the argument. Understanding Rhetorical StructuresHow do audience, purpose, and context affect the argument of whether taxes should be raised on higher income brackets in order to fund social programs for at-risk and underserved, low income children. I will discuss the relationship between the audience, purpose, and context to the context of the argument. Discussion The goal of this discussion is to see the relationship between audience, purpose, and context of shoul d Taxes be raised for higher income brackets in order to fund social programs for at-risk, underserved, and low income children.The first audience for this group are wealth fortune 500 CEO’s. They are considered the in the higher income bracket in my opinion. They need to be educated on the understanding that even though most lower income families struggle, it is not because they are not trying. The economy has taken its toll on a lot of jobs here in the US over the past couple of years and even though they are working a full time job and sometimes two full time jobs, they cannot afford any kind of social program for their children.The present economy conditions are hurting the lower income families to the point that they struggle to make ends meet and can sometimes barley afford to put food on the table for their children. The higher income bracket would need to see just how little the additional taxes would take from them and what the benefits of those taxes could do for a low income family struggling to make ends meet. They still could possibly not be receptive to the idea, but giving them examples of the cost and benefits of such programs I think they would start to understand.The second audience for this group is the low income families of at-risk, and underserved, low income children. They need to be educated on the benefits that could come from the higher taxes. In my opinion, the higher income bracket can afford the higher taxes to fund some of these programs. The cost of living, food, gas, and housing all affect the income of many families in the US. If they understood what could come from the taxes, they could get some reissuance as to vote on such a bill if it came up to vote for the public.Education on the subject of the current tax laws would be a good example of what the different taxes brackets that are used today in the US. Lower income families would jump on the idea of being able to send their children to a soccer camp, or baseball cam p. According to an article on â€Å"Taxing the rich is good for the economy†, raising taxes on the higher income bracket would reduce the taxes on low and middle income families. This would also allow for those families to keep more of their income to use towards these programs. All in all I think it would be a beneficial idea to entertain.The context of the economy, food, and taxes all play an important role in this argument. The higher income bracket would be resistant to the idea until they were presented with facts on the cost and the minimal decrease in income for them. The lower income families would be blessed with some relief with their children’s social experience and the ability to provide more learning resources to them. References Taxing the rich is good for the economy Retrieved from http://www. marketplace. org/topics/economy/commentary/taxing-rich-good-economy By Robert Reich Marketplace for Wednesday, April 18, 2012 Marketplace. org

Leadership Characteristics

Leadership Characteristics Executive summary: Since early beginning of the last century, the leadership has emerged as an important issue in the business regard of the dramatic transformation in the world economy. Thus far, the following report represents an attempt to shed the light on the leadership issue. In order to provide a hint of the leadership meaning, the report will demonstrate brief idea about some of the leadership theories which perceive the leadership skills form different view.The report then will identify certain characteristics that should be attained in the personality of the leader which ensure his successful. The requisite of the contemporary leadership skills has appeared at the latter part of twentieth century, regard of the globalisation phenomenon as well the rapid development in technology; which resulted in the increase of the competition. As the knowledge does not stop, leaders require training and development, thus, the report will also investigate the pr ocess of leadership development. 1Chapter One: Introduction: Throughout the last century and insofar the 21st century, the mankind has undergone dramatic transformation in the whole domains, and the individuals needs and requirements significantly expended, however, many people managed to maintain successfully their life and obtained the benefit of this change, while others could not cope with this change, which resulted with dissatisfaction and pessimistic view of the life.Significant amount of researches and investigations have been done in order to identify such a pattern or a process that can raise the performance of human beings, thus the concept of leadership appeared as a critical requisite for any entity, including an individuals, family, organisations or even countries. In the early part of 20th century, ‘Freud (1927) in his famous book theCivilisation and It Discontents, he approached the leadership issue when he said that groups of individuals need leaders to provid e them with an identity and sense of purpose’ (Higgs, 2003) With the rapid transformation in the world, the competition has become more aggrieve, and organisations urged to deal with this rapid change and the continue development has become an urgent need for the company prosper and survive. Hence, Leadership issue was put under the limelight as an important process for the company sustainability.Although there have been momentous efforts devoted to investigate the leadership issue including theories, definitions and identification for its characteristics, till now there is no complete agreement about the notion of leadership, since these different suggestions and concepts approached the leadership from different perspectives. The following report embodies an attempt to shed the light on the leadership issues, throughout quick review of the leadership theories, and examine the leadership characterises in both the 20th and the 21st century, before dissect the reflection of the personal-experience on the leadership characteristics Chapter Two: Leadership Theories: Due to the importance of the leadership issue, many theories have been emerged throughout the time, each theory tackles with the leadership from different perspectives and aspects, and one can not determine whether this theory right and others are wrong; however the main theories of the leadership are: †¢Trait Theory: this theory defines specific characteristics which are existed in the successful leadership such as attitudes, personality, intelligence and decisiveness, regardless of any consideration of other assisted factors such as team work and the internal and external work environment.However, there are two criticisms for this theory. â€Å"The first, it doesn’t specify what the most important leadership characteristics are, and the second, it ignores the contribution of the others. † (Dessler, 1976) †¢Behavioural Theory: it approaches the leadership from another pe rspectives, it dissects the achievement of leaders and the outcomes of their contributions within the organisations. The remarkable differences between the trait and behavioural theory are that the last one emphasises on oth the accomplishment of the task as the main indications for the leader success, and employees’ satisfaction, †¢Situational leadership: According to this theory, the effectiveness of the leader is significantly correlated with situational factors which restrict the performance of the leader positively or negatively. In other words, â€Å"the efficiency of leader’s skills or traits are determined by the situation in which leaders exercise leadership† (Dessler,1976), These factors are: -Follower’s contributions. The availability and the utilization of the resources. However, creating the harmonisation and the collaboration between the situational factors and the leader are essential to determine leader’s effectiveness. †¢ Contingency Theories: basically, the assumption of this theory, that the behaviour of the leader can not be standardised, instead, the leader should consider situational factors. The success of the leader in this theory is measured by the ability of leader to adopt such a style to achieve certain task with a consideration to the followers.This theory was the beginning of new view of leadership; based on this assumption other contingency theories were emerged such as, Fiedler’s concept of situational favourability (1967), which defined position power, task structure and leader-member relation, as the main factors that determine the effectiveness of the leader’s style. Path-goal is another theory (House and Mitchell 1974) which assumes that the leader has a significant contribution on the follower to enable them to achieve their objectives. Horner, 1997) †¢Transactional theories: it assumes that since the task and responsibilities have been identified, the leader ha s a full right to do whatever it requires to achieve this task. This theory depends on praise and rewards as motivation system for followers, meanwhile, punishment is used to ensure the abidance by the roles and the request of the task. However, this theory is criticised as it assumes the behaviour of a human being is predictable without any consideration of the reflection of the environment. Transformational theories: this theory depends on the development of the vision and convinces the follower, in other words, the leader adopts the visions and does whatever it requires to encourage followers. In this case the leader will become an inspiration for followers and they create their relationship with them depending on trust. As it is clearly perceived, those theories tackle with the leadership from different perspectives. Since there is no enough room, the report will investigate the transformational theory. Transformational Theory: This theory was generated under assumption of peopl e follow a person who has vision and passion.He or she will inspire them to achieve the goal. Transformational leadership is the modern view of leadership that seems to match with the style of business leader in 21st century since the business competition; turbulence, unforeseen contingencies, and rapid change in technologies create such a momentous stress. Under this stress, the need for transformational leaders who are proactive is emerged as an important requisite to help follower to cope with the dramatic change. (Bass, 1997) The characteristic of transformational leaders is mainly embodied by their charisma; they inspire followers by their innovation and ability to create change.However, the success of charismatic leader is through a belief in themselves rather than others, while transformational leaders concern with other around them such as colleagues and employees. They are not narcissistic as charismatic. This style of leader will create an important transformation to both organisation and employees. Moreover, it may impact the strategy and the structure of the organisation. The power of transformational leader is not derived by the reward system or rules and regulation, yet it is obtained from an intangible value such as their visions and the relationship among others. Draft, 2002) According to Tichy and Devanna (Lussier, 1996), there are three main activities for transformational leadership. Recognition for the need of revitalisation: leaders should understand the urgent need of the organisation for transformation, in order to create such a sustainable resource of competitive advantage to maintain the company success in such a competitive environment. Creating a new vision: by having visualise in innovation and organisation changed, leader will be able to inspire and motivate others to reach the objectives.Institutionalising change: it is essential for transformational leaders to put an effort to convince others. Leaders need to advise and create tr ust among employees in the organisation in order to let them understand the idea of vision and reach the goal. The style of transformational leadership tends to match with the business world today since it is flexible and innovator. In addition, there are many business articles mentioned that workforce is the most important resource for organisation. Thus, this type of leadership takes into consideration of both business activity and relationship within organisation.These two factors pave the passage of the company success. There are several distinctions between those theories; nevertheless, they agree that there are certain characteristics should be attained in the leader to ensure the efficiency of his contribution. 3Chapter Three: Leadership Characteristics: 3. 1Leadership Definition: As there are many theories approached the leadership, there are also many definitions have been suggested for the leadership, some authors identify the leadership as a process to achieve groups/ org anisations goals, others see the notion of leadership as trait, transformation or even as management.However, the definition of leadership by Rost (1993) can be used to dissect this notion (8). He defines the leadership as an influence relationship among leader and followers who intend real changes that reflect their mutual purposes. According to Rost, leadership is: †¢Influence Relationship: the influence will be in both directions top-bottom and bottom-top. †¢Intend real changes: it means leadership includes substantial development in both leaders and followers. †¢Mutual purposes: both leader and followers agree about certain purposes which can be considered as missions or statements. . 2Leadership Characteristics: There is a view argues that leaders are born and other say it is a science can be taught, both of those views did not describe leadership accurately, â€Å"leadership is an art to be studied, practised, developed and lived. † (Scott, 1996) There ar e certain characteristics that determine the effectiveness of leadership and shape the performance of leaders: 1. Communicative: the importance of this skill, that it provides the leader with an ability to deliver precisely the ideas, visions and objectives required to be achieved.However, it is crucial to understand that the communications include the flow of data and information in two sides, top-bottom and bottom-top. Leaders have to consider sharing the ideas and unleash the contribution of employees, since occasionally, employees come up with innovative suggestions that might enhance or develop certain objectives. 2. Rewards and recognizes achievement: express the appreciation for others efforts, has a vital role as a motivation. Leaders could achieve that by financial rewards or even by praise the follower.Sometime simple gestures such as approving nod, thumbs- up or even quick comment like ‘great job’, ‘you are doing well’ is enough to encourage foll owers to improve their performance and productivity. 3. Genuine interest in others: it is undeniable fact that financial rewards have a significant influence on followers; meanwhile, there are other motivations that should be attained. The leader should recognise the emotional support for followers since it creates loyalty.Genuine interest does not require a lot of efforts; it might be expressed by asking about the personal health or family. For instance, in the company that I used to work, the owner asks employees about their general life before he asked about any other thing related to the work, this simple action was enough to motivate employees to work as they own the company. 4. Team orientation: the successful leader takes into account the importance of team-work; he gathers the followers and discusses with them the task or the missions.The leader listens to their opinion, stimulates their innovation, and finally creates the harmony required to achieve the task. This gives emp loyees more responsibility to improve their performance and productivity since they have significant role as decision- makers. 5. Visionary and idea-oriented: the long-term objectives are vital issue in the successful leadership agenda; he always seeks for new ideas and creativity. They consider the available competitive advantages and establish the stream of substantial competitive advantages.When Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum (Dubai’s ruler) unveiled the growth strategy of 2015, it was unsurprising for many economists that the city had met its 2010 GDP target two years ago. Many people argue that Dubai is only a bubble and it would diminish after it consumes its oil. However, this completely untrue, nowadays, 74% of emirits GDP derives from real-estate, tourism and retail sectors (Kerr, 2007). The rapid strides of the development of Dubai is referred to the log-term successful visions of it rulers, and his ability to create new competitive advantages for the country instead of the oil.Similar to that in the business world, â€Å"Henry Ford by his long term vision as well as rational risk calculated he managed to predict the market and customer trend and made Ford on of the most successful organisation. † (Grint, 2000) 6. Decisiveness, responsibility and Integrity: although, it has been mentioned that followers should be involved in decision-making process, the leader is still the ultimate decision-maker depending on the ability to consider the right decision in the proper time.Since a decision has been made, the leader is completely responsible for the consequences of any possible risk, even if the leader is involved directly in the execution. Integrity is also very important, â€Å"leaders do not use followers as means to achieve their purpose in satisfying the shareholder; instead, they understand that their contribution should consider the whole stakeholders. † (Bowie et al, 2000) 7. Competence: the word of competence derives from innovation, training and development, accumulated experience, and the ability of the leader to learn.Since the leadership is an art, leaders have to consider the importance of shaping and the development of their skills; this should be attained by substantial willing for knowledge and self-development. Those characteristics are very important to be attained by the leaders because they have crucial impact on the effectiveness of leadership, moreover, the effective leaders manage to create synergy between their followers, and loyalty required for achieving certain objectives and tasks. 4Chapter Four: Leadership in the 21st Century:Since the latter part of twentieth century the world has witnessed dramatic change in the whole domains, â€Å"due to the rapid strides of technologies development, the spread of the globalisation phenomenon, demographic shifts, migration and the rapid degradation of social and natural capital – are creating opposing tensions. † (Connor et al, 2003, P. 59). Taking into account those challenges, the demand of leadership has been increased noticeably with an urgent requisite of organisations for framework that tates the new criteria of leadership. Some of these are an expansion for the previous characteristics of leadership and others are new, however, those could be summarised as: †¢Understanding the Culture Diversity: although the geographical barriers have been eliminated, the cultural barriers are still an enormous challenge for businesses. Leaders should be aware that doing business is different from nation to nation, and it is completely restricted by the national traditions and habits.For instant: In the USA, Innovations and achievements are considered as individual effort, hence, the influence of the individual recognition will be obvious in Human Resource Management of the American firms, individual reward system, appraisal and even in the job designed. While in China the individual efforts and innovation s are referred to the founder of the firm. In Chinese tradition the achievement are always referred to the collective units such as families, organisations, and the country. (Tsang, 2007) The misunderstanding in the communication is another consequence of the lack of culture appreciation.Many conflicts were occurred, contracts were rejected and negotiations failed at the last stage because of the lack of communication with other culture. Thus far, the comprehensive understanding for influence of the culture on business is vital, because the world has become more united under the umbrella of globalisation. †¢Strategic thinking: An organisation can not be considered as an individual entity, instead it is influenced by external factors, such as competitors, suppliers, customers, critical financers and fluctuation in the market demand.From this view the needs of substantial change in the corporate strategy emerges as an important requisite to enable the company to cope with change of the business environment. However, â€Å"the ways-of-thinking of the leader have continues impact on corporate reorientation. † (Hendry et al,1993). However, it is important to understand that strategic thinking is different from the strategic planning, â€Å"Mintzberg argues that strategic planning derives from strategic thinking† (Bonn, 2001, P63). The first aspect of the strategic thinking is observation and company knowledge.The leader observes the company daily life with its complexity and understands the drivers of the organisation performance and the influence of the external factors on this performance. The second aspect of the strategic thinking is creativity; it is the core of strategic thinking. The leader seeks the substantial development for his organisation; he identifies solutions for the company problems and creates vision which will determine the future of firm. Thereafter, the strategic thinking of the leader establishes the implementation required to achieve the company vision.Sharing vision with others is another significant element for the strategic thinking successful, since it generates loyalty and encourage them because they participate in decision-making process. Jeffery Bezos the founder of Amazon is considered as an important example of a successful leader, in such a high competitive business sector like the online, where other companies struggle to cope with the rapid stride of technology, Amazon imposes itself as the leader of the online industries and especially the e- retailers, there is no doubt that the strategic thinking of Bezos is an ultimate key of the Amazon success.Bezos always has one eye on the future, in order to build the company long term objectives, however, his strategic thinking embodies by creating the Amazon vision and establishing the strategy needed to achieve the company objectives. Innovation is one of most important aspect of Bezos strategic thinking, since Amazon invests huge amount of mon ey to provide the world with amazing technologies such as Elastic Compute Cloud (ECC) to ensure that the company is still the leader of the dot-com race. Hof, 2006) Whenever the world doubts, if Amazon can fulfil its promise to revolutionise retailing, Bezos wonders the people with such an innovative idea to reinforce Amazon position as being the e-retailer leader. With his strategic thinking as well as his creative working-team, Amazon never stops building its substantial competitive advantages. Humanistic awareness: as workforce constitutes the most value asset of the firm, the leader has significant responsibility to ensure their satisfaction; considerable motivation system, training and development, praise, empowerment, participation in decision-making process are samples to obtain employees satisfaction. Since they have impact on employees’ productivity and innovation. However, employees’ retention reflects the level of their satisfaction, and appreciation for com pany leader. Learning and self-awareness: the leader has to have a profound knowledge about his organisation to be able to recognise its capability in order to create the vision and framework and means needed to achieve this vision, moreover, the successful leader is knowledge seeker to cope with rapid change in the business world. Self-awareness is another issue that leaders should take into consideration; they distinguish their weaknesses and strengths, and use the last one to eliminate the weaknesses to improve the effectiveness of their leadership.Hence, leaders empower their ability to inspire and unite employees around themselves to maintain the company performance. 5Chapter Five: Leadership Development: The increase of the competition in the business world urges organisations to search more for competitive advantages in order to be able to survive and conquer their competitors in such a hostile business environment. Nowadays organisations eventually start to concern about lea dership development and devote tangible efforts to improve efficiencies of its individuals.However, the leadership development program should be prepared comprehensively in order to attain its purpose. The 360 degree appraisal system is an important step to initiate this program, since it provides feedback about the employee performance from different resources which helps to determine the improvement required regard to his strengths and weaknesses. (Ladyshewsky, 2007). Thereafter, the priority of the leadership development will be for the higher level managers, regard to their expected contribution on their subordinates, yet the improvement of the subordinate should be in the leadership development agenda.The leadership development program should cover the weakness of the employees that has listed in the 360 degree appraisal; meanwhile, it should depend on modern techniques and case studies from other companies, rather than depending on the literatures and theories only. The final step in the leadership development program is the evaluation which derived from many criteria, such as the feedback of the program, the examination of the participant’s understanding, and the tangible outcomes that the company will acquire which is the decisive for the program evaluation. Leskiw et al, 2007) However, there is another view should be deemed in the issue of leadership development, individuals perseverance is ultimate criteria for development, leader should have enough credibility to admit there weaknesses and finds the appropriate strategy to mitigate the impact of this weakness, moreover, the leader should be knowledge seeker to obtain the benefit of the others experience. 6Chapter Eight: Conclusion: The leadership an old requisite in the human beings life, nevertheless, it has become a considerable obsession for the organisations, regard to the substantial transformation in the world business.Although the theories of the leadership are different, they agree th at there are several characteristic that should be attain by a person in order to be such a successful leader. Most of the leadership theories concern about the characteristic needed to reinforce two main things, creating competitive advantages and the workforce. As the workforce is the most important asset for the firm, the leader should consider employee alignment around the company objectives throughout the leader humanistic consideration as followers need inspiration, different kind of motivation in order to enhance their performance.Meanwhile, the leader should eventually find the resource of the competitive advantages. Due to the dissemination of the globalisation phenomenon as well as the rapid development in technology, organisations require new leadership characteristic to cope with change in the business environment. However, the new leadership characteristics have emerged from the need for crossing the culture barriers, since it is an enormous obstacle for organisation. C reating the long-term planning depends on the strategic thinking of the leader to identify new vision for the company.The increase in the world competition is accomplished with raise of the leadership demand, thus far organisations should invest considerably in improving their leadership capability, since the world development will never stop. References Bass, B. M. , (1998), Stress and Transactional-Transformational Leadership, Transformational Leadership: Industrial, Military, and Educational Impact, London: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Bonn, I. , (2001) Developing Strategic Thinking as a Core Competency, Management Decision, Vol. 39, No. , pp. 63-71 Bowie, N and Elmer, L. , (2000), Kantian Theory of Leadership, Leadership & organisation Development Journal, Vol. 21 No. 4, pp. 185-193 Connor, R. and Mackenzie-Smith, P. (2003), The Leadership Jigsaw -finding the Missing Piece, Business Strategy Review, Vol. 14, Issue 1, pp 59-66 Dessler, G. , (1976) Leadership and Supervision, Organ isation and Management: Contingency Approach, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall Publication. Draft, R. L. , (2002), Management, 6th Ed. Mason, OH: South-Western Publication. Grint, K. (2000), Henry Ford: The Blind Business Visionary, The Arts of Leadership, Oxford: Oxford University Press Hendry, J (ed) and Johnson, G (ed) with Newton, J (1993), Strategic Thinking: Leadership and the Management of Change, England: John Wiley Publication Higgs, M. , (2003) How can we make sense of leadership in the 21st century? , Leadership & organisation Development Journal, Vol. 24 No. 5, pp. 273-284 Hof, R. D. , (13/10/2006), Jeff Bezos' Risky Bet, Business week magazine [Online]. Available from Business week: http://www. businessweek. com/magazine/content/06_46/b4009001. tm Accessed (20/04/2007)) Horner, M. , (1997) Leadership Theory: Past, Present and Future, Team Performance Management, Vol. 3 No. 4, pp. 270-287 Kerr, S. , (24/07/2007), Emirate Sets its Sights on Trebled GDP by 2015, The Financial Tim es. Economy, pp. 2 Ladyshewsky, K. R, () A Strategic Approach for Integrating Theory to Practice in Leadership Development, Leadership & Organisation Development Journal, Vol. 28, No. 5, pp. 426-443 Leskiw, S and Singh, P. , (2007), Leadedrship Development: Learning from Best Practices, Leadership & Organisation Development Journal, Vol. 8, No. 5, pp. 444-464 Lussier, R. N. , (1996), Human relations in organizations: A skill-building approach. 2nd Ed. Chicago, IL: Irwin, Inc Rost, J. C, (1993), Leadership definition, Leadership for the Twenty-First Century, London: Praeger Publication. Scott , E. D. and Kleiner, B. H, (1996), Good? Leadership, Management Development Review, Vol. 9, No. 5, pp. 30-33 Tsang, D. , (2007), Leadership, National Culture and Performance Management in The Chinese Software Industry, International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, Vol. 56, No. 4, pp. 270-284

Mental health Essay

â€Å"Research suggests that burnout and low job satisfaction are significant problems among mental health workers and may be especially so among those working with clients with serious mental illness.†(Purdue) Many people suffer from mental illness and addiction, and many of these people end up in a community health center where social workers/case managers help them to cope with their issues and be the problem solvers for them. The ratio of patient to case worker is extremely off balanced and many case workers become overwhelmed and experience burn out. â€Å"Burnout is a state of emotional, mental, and physical exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress. It occurs when you feel overwhelmed and unable to meet constant demands. As the stress continues, you begin to lose the interest or motivation that led you to take on a certain role in the first place.†(helpguide) When a case worker experiences burnout they put their patients at risk because they are supposed to be the solid ground for the patient to stand on and if the case manager is not motivated to help anymore they will do the patient no good in helping them move forward. Burnout is a dangerous state of mind for a case worker to have since they are supposed to be responsible, motivated and in a positive state of mind to help others. When burnout is present there is a greater chance of a case being mishandled and that can cause many different problems, not just for the person being helped, but for the case worker and their facility. The signs of burnout come in many different forms, such as physical, emotional and behavioral. Physical signs of burnout are feeling tired and drained most of the time, headaches and muscle aches and feeling sick all of the time. Emotional signs of burnout are loss of motivation, sense of failure, feeling helpless, trapped and defeated, always having a negative attitude; feeling detached from the world and decreased sense of accomplishment. Behavioral signs of burnout are withdrawing from responsibilities, using food, drugs or alcohol to cope, isolating yourself from others, taking out frustrations on others, procrastinating getting things done, skipping work and neglecting other responsibilities. The signs of burnout are a very serious matter, especially to a caseworker who should be in a positive state of mind when helping others. If a caseworker is not working to the best of their abilities the outcome of an individual’s case may not turn out positively and they may suffer even more to have to go through the process more than once. It also makes the client not trust others, making it harder for the next person who may be the case manager who may be dedicated to the case, but be ‘punished’ for the mistakes made by a previous case worker. The client has to trust their caseworker in order for them to work together and successfully work through their problems, a case manager must be able to provide their full support and attention. In order to prevent burn out an individual needs a positive support system whenever they feel burned out or have an overload of stress that can cause an eventual burnout. An individual should always know their limits and know when enough is enough and not push themselves over the edge. There should be a shared responsibility amongst caregivers/case managers and the load of work should be rationed evenly, as not to overwhelm any particular person. Caregivers should be able to ask for help when they are in need, because they are always helping other people and can possibly forget to take care of themselves. It is important to know that in order to help others, you must first help yourself and take care of your mental and physical wellness to be at your best for other people. There are caregiver support groups available also, which can help emotionally because everyone is sharing their experiences and it can show you that there are others out there who feel the same way you do and are going through the same things. Support groups can also help individuals share their ‘tricks’ they’ve learned with coping with stress and maybe give information for other helpful outputs that are beneficial to use as a caregiver. Caregivers are the most important people in the community; they are selfless and help those in need, oftentimes putting themselves last. Unfortunately burn out is a common trend in the caregiver service because of all the effort put into each individual case, it can become extremely overwhelming to deal with. The turnover rate among social workers, caregivers and case managers is very high because of burn out. These jobs are very demanding and it takes a special kind of person to be able to cope with these duties and continue to help others without ‘losing themselves’ and suffering a burn out.

Will money disappear and what will replace it Research Paper

Will money disappear and what will replace it - Research Paper Example The first debate of the possible disappearance of money was started when plastic money in the form of credit cards began taking rook. Now, there are expectations that hard cash will disappear and be replaced by plastic money (Bkatayama Para 1). The debate has now changed and now it is speculated that both plastic money and hard cash will be replaced by other forms of cash. Mobile cash Smart phones are becoming a big part of people’s lives every day. In many economies, SIM cards in mobiles phones have been linked to owner’s bank account which means that the owners of these phones can access their money in the bank directly to carry out everyday payments such as in shopping malls, paying utility bills and other payments. This is something that has spread even in the underdeveloped countries such as in Africa. In east Africa for instance, Kenya was one of the first countries in the world to use mobile banking offered by a cell phone network operator called Safaricom. This mobile phone money transfer allows users to deposit money, withdraw and most importantly pay directly from the phone. The phones don’t have to be smart phones since what is necessary is the SIM card which is registered in the name of the owner and then linked through a mobile network to the bank. This service, although originally offered as a standalone service without the involvement of banks, has now been linked with banks and users can now have a direct link to their bank accounts. This kind of money transfer continues to grace many economies around the world and users like the advantages of mobile money. The main advantage of mobile money is that a person does not have to carry hard cash with them or numerous credit card and debit cards. Due to increasing popularity of mobile money, it has been speculated that by the year 2020, hard cash and plastic money will have been replaced by mobile money (The Week). There are however those who dispute this argument and postulate th at it will be difficult to replace hard currency and plastic money. Some of these reasons include; Huge investment in cash and plastic money The argument is that that are too many organisations that have invested too much money in the system for hard cash and plastic money and they will not allow this form of cash to disappear because its disappearance would mean that they would lose their investment. Apart from this, the most formidable argument that has been given for the impossibility of hard cash and plastic money disappearing is the fact that most people will remain paranoid of new forms of payment and will prefer to pay using the traditional means. For instance according to (Fratianni, Salvatore, and Savona 515), the central bank can prevent the disappearance by setting high reserve rates and also stabilising its monetary policy. Advantages of hard cash Although hard cash has its advantages, it also has its advantages. A major good thing is that it is anonymous. One problem wi th digital money such as mobile money is that it always leaves a â€Å"paper trail† and therefore, some people may find it intrusive in terms of their privacy. More than fearing for their privacy, the other main concern that most people will continue to have is the issue of security of their money. Most people fear that digital money may not be very secure because sometimes it may only take a few clicks or a just a swipe for a thief to take all of a person’s savings. Although security has been tightened around virtual money systems, previous instances of people’s accounts being cleaned by hackers remain a big challenge in convincing people to use virtual money. Some have also argued that just in the same way that notes did not replace coins and plastic money

Why is it important to get tested for HIV every 6 months Essay

Why is it important to get tested for HIV every 6 months - Essay Example The decisions will be important in determining one’s sexual health and the future. Studies have shown that realizing one’s HIV status helps take actions that will protect their health, as well as their partners and relatives. With respect to Sherman, a respected scholar on health issues, it is only through testing that one may realize as being positive, in such a situation the victim will seek medical intervention in time. People live healthy, long, and fulfilling lives upon getting the HIV test. It is important to safeguard your health once you get the HIV test regardless of whether you test negative or positive. According to the cdc website, knowing your HIV status makes one stronger than before. You also need to seek medical attention immediately you get or feel unwell. Many people do not realize the HIV virus is within them because they feel fine with no complications. HIV, however, will attack the T-cells or CD4 cells that defend the body against attacks. The attack of the cells leads to a weak immune system. If one gets the virus and does not seek medical treatment, it destroys many CD4 cells to the extent that body becomes weak and cannot fight even the slightest infections. In such a situation, the HIV virus graduates to AIDS. Go for the HIV test as often as possible. For those who get positive results, am sorry but you should seek medical treatment immediately. Cdc further stresses that, although there is no cure, proper medical care can control the virus. Please go for the HIV tests to avoid the saying of â€Å"I wish I knew.† It is important to maintain every part of our bod y in the right state of health. According to Womenhealth.org, getting an HIV test will prevent health complications that may exceed your financial abilities in future. It will make you honest to your own feelings. The virus spreads even in unthinkable ways. HIV spreads through some simple means which people may tend to neglect or

Making Ethical Decisions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Making Ethical Decisions - Essay Example What is the problem? The problem faced by the manager is to determine if it is indeed the best option to fire the employee based on absenteeism and customer complaints versus the employee’s possession of personal virtues of honesty and not stealing. 2. What are your alternatives? The alternative courses of action are: (1) fire the employee; (2) give the employee a warning or reprimand depending on the number of absences and customer complaints; (3) consult the company’s code of discipline that should guide the decision-maker on appropriate courses of action depending on violations of company policies; (4) do nothing. 3. What are the effects of each alternative? Firing the employee without just cause will subject the manager under legal complaints for violating labor laws, especially if the employee is a permanent employee. Giving the employee a warning or reprimand, depending on the number of absences or customer complaints would make the employee aware that management does not tolerate his inefficiency in his working behavior. This would also give the employee a chance to improve his performance. Consulting the company’s code of discipline would ensure that the employee knows the penalties for his absences and the manager would implement the option depending on what company policies state. Finally, by doing nothing, the employee would not have the chance to improve on his working performance. 4.