Saturday, August 31, 2019

Scholarly Article

Yak's Mason Scholarly Article Assignment In â€Å"Crime, Guilt, and Subjectivity in Film Nor, Winfred Flock argues that Film Noir â€Å"opens our eyes to the ‘true' state of American society† 1 by not masking true human emotion in a situation where survival is not certain. He implies that it shows the protagonist struggle with desire and selfishness in a light that had not been shown before in American cinema and is the root of why Film Noir transcends time and remains a popular genre.He adds that the popularity of genre is rooted partly due to the fact that it is the antithesis of the films mainstream Hollywood was putting out at the time; the sunny and cheery tones were in stark contrast with Film Noirs â€Å"dark† and â€Å"atmospheric†2 overtones. I agree with Flock but would add that the success and everlasting nature of Film Noir is also due to the fact that it allows the viewer to personify with a protagonist that has faults and shortcomings just li ke themselves and hat the selfishness the protagonist exhumes in times of scrutiny is relatable to the audience in opposed to the typical morally perfect hero of the time.I would add that Film Noir paved the way for TV and Holly. Wood's current obsession of providing a anti-hero who is morally flawed selfish in shows such as Breaking Bad, House of Cards, and movies such as Wolf of Wall Street. Overall, Film Noir remains popular and has a lasting appeal largely due to the depths and nuances of the main protagonist, as well as the difference teens the atmospheric tones against the cheery light-heartiness of conventional Holly. DOD. It is also necessary to observe how Film Noir paved the way for the medium and story telling as a whole for later generations.

Friday, August 30, 2019

Evaluating Truth And Validity Exercise Essay

The argument â€Å"a mature person is self-directing, so parents who make all their children’s for them are doing their offspring a disservice† has allot of validity to it, and in more ways than one is true. A child whose parents or guardians make all of his or her decisions for them, are in a way hindering the child because the child does not have the opportunity to think for himself. When that child grows up and needs to be able to make important decisions such as what college to go to, who to marry, or what kind of job to apply for, that child will more likely than not, not know how to properly decide based on the information or facts provided to him or her. For instance if a child grows up and is faced with what college to go to and that child has never had to make any important decision for himself, that child may end up in a college going after a degree program that is not truly what he or she wants to do with their life based on what his or her parent tell them t hey should go into. That child has then wasted four to five years of his or her life and has to start all over searching for the proper degree or job where he or she can thrive financially and be happy. There is a minute percent of children who will be able to overcome the mentality of not having to think on his or her own and be able to make the important decisions that need to be made, but at what price? How many times will that child have to make the wrong choice and suffer because they were not allowed to think on their own? The constant failure and rejection could possibly make matters worse for the child, and could lead to relinquishing all hope. The argument â€Å"the Bible can’t be relevant to today’s problems; it was written many centuries ago and is filled with archaic phrasing† is another argument with some validity and non-validity. There are people who claim since the Bible was written over 2,000 years ago that it does not apply to today’s standards, and there are people who say the teachings in the Bible  are meant for all people to follow as a general guideline. The argument can go either way, but if you look at what the Bible really is, it is a book with stories, such as a history book, about people who lived 2,000 plus years ago and the things they went through. If you were to say because it was written back a long time ago it does not apply to today’s standards, would be the same thing as saying because our history books teach about Abraham Lincoln and when he lived in the 1700’s, that those stories are irrelevant. The Bible is a book for Christian based people to read, and is intended as a guideline for these people on how to properly live their life. There are many stories in the Bible that may or may not apply to today’s standards, such as the Old Testament teachings, but that is not to say the entire Bible is not relevant to today’s problems. The Bible teaches not to kill and steal, and if 90 percent of people who are in prison followed these two teachings, they would not be in prison today. The other stories about the people who lived in the Bible days are interesting to some, and not to others, as are most history books ever written about the history of the world. Does this mean we need to stop teaching our children about the history of the world because the teachings in the history books occurred over three centuries ago? I think it just because the Bible represents a faith based book, and that is why it is so ridiculed. The argument â€Å"it’s ridiculous to think that there will be fewer deaths if we ban handguns. Handguns don’t kill people; people kill people† has no validity to it in that an actual handgun itself cannot do anything on its own, it is an inanimate object. A handgun or any other type of gun requires a person to physically pick it up, point, and shoot in order to make it operate; a handgun cannot just fire on its own. When people say that handguns kill people, it is the same as saying that a spoon made another person fat, or a car made another person steal it. These are objects that must have an operator or some sort of life force to operate these inanimate objects. Did handguns assist in the killing of a person is a more proper question to ask. If a person wants another person dead and there is not a handgun around, that person will be creative and come up with another means to kill that person. Take John Wayne Gacy for instance, he did not need the use of a handgun to murder hundreds of young boys, he used rope and scarfs  to strangle his victims. There are people who claim without handguns certain crimes would not take place, and that may be possible, but if the person wanting to perform the crime was adamant on doing it and did not have a gun, that person would use alternative measures to finish the crime.

Godfather Goodfellas Essay

The Godfather and Goodfellas are both considered â€Å"mafia movies. † Both of these films portray some form of organized crime committed by Italians. They mutually romanticize the mob lifestyle and depict it with pure clarity. Although both of these movies portray the lives of the same kind of people, they are more than just a simple characterization. Violence plays a major role in each of these films. The Godfather and Goodfellas are obviously very similar. However, they also have several aspects that differ from one another. In both The Godfather and Goodfellas, violence penetrates the daily lives of both Henry Hill and Michael Corleone.Although violence is a key factor of each of the movies, Goodfellas is more brutal in comparison to The Godfather. In the film Goodfellas, Henry Hill was exposed to the gangster lifestyle since he was very young. In the film Henry says, â€Å"As far back as I can remember, I wanted to be a gangster. † His out-of-control partner, Tommy is one of the most violent characters in the film. Blood shed is frequently joked about in this movie. In one of the scenes, Tommy was telling a story in a restaurant. After the story Henry laughs and tells Tommy that he is funny.Upon hearing this, Tommy gets defensive and loses his temper. For a moment Henry is nervous because he knows Tommy’s violent personality. However, he realizes that hw is joking and they all laugh about it. Tommy proceeds to wave his gun around and joke about killing Henry. This scene proves that murder is taken lightly in this movie. Another violent act is when Tommy brutally beats a mobster named Billy Batts to death. He kills Billy for insulting him about his younger years as a shoe shine boy. In this scene even Henry looks appalled. Tommy shows no remorse as they hide the evidence of Batts’ body.He continues to surprise the characters with his short temperedness and violence. Another shocking vicious act is when he kills Spider because he was disrespecting him. This scene leaves both the viewers the characters in the film appalled. There are many scenes in Goodfellas with a great deal of blood shed. Many of these murders happen spontaneously and are not organized. Some of these scenes are shocking, primeval, and appalling. These moments leave the viewers stunned and disoriented. Unlike Goodfellas, the violence in The Godfather occurs mysteriously and almost magically.The organized crimes and murders simply occur without any mistake in this film. One of the bloody scenes that portray this is the one where Woltz’ bed is covered in blood. This scene was very slick the way Tom Hagen slipped away without being noticed by anyone. Hagen’s visit was to intimidate Woltz by proving that if he had to kill him, he would be able to. Another very violent act was Sonny’s death. This plan was organized carefully by Don Emilio Varzini with the help of Carlo Rizzi, his brother-in-law. Earlier in the film Sonny had beaten Carlo after he heard Carlo was abusing his sister Connie.To get back at him, Carlo viciously beats Connie using his belt. When Sonny hears of this he speeds to Connie’s apartment. As he approaches, Barzini’s men surround Sonny and viciously shoot him to death. This act was also thought out very cautiously by masterminds. Towards the end of the movie, the planned killing of the five other mob leaders is revealed. Michael orders all of the head of the families to be killed so he can be the top Don. Although this scene is violent, it is masked by the ceremony of Michael becoming Connie’s son’s godfather.The mass murder was perfectly planned to take place at the right time and place. Every slaughter and violent act in The Godfather is carefully intentional and prearranged by their specific mastermind. Unlike The Godfather which portrays Mafia dons, Goodfellas shows the lives of the criminals who exist on a lower level. Both Henry Hill and Michael Corl eone face murders and beatings every day. Goodfellas is more upfront and brutal towards violence in comparison to The Godfather. The violent acts in Goodfellas are appalling and unpredictable.It perfectly portrays the ferociousness of the characters, specifically Tommy. Unlike Goodfellas’ obviously violent and vicious blood scenes, The Godfather is more sneaky and slick. The violence in this movie, while prevalent, is well masked and planned. Each murder was clearly thought out and intentional. Violence is one of the key components in a mobster’s life. The characters in both The Godfather and Goodfellas face murder in their mob lifestyles frequently. Although violence is dominant in both of these films, each film has a different way of portraying these bloody scenes.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Descartes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 3

Descartes - Essay Example because it is not possible to differentiate the experiences that we have while awake, and the experiences that we have while dreaming; for Descartes, it is possible that we are dreaming while thinking that we are awake. For this reason, therefore, the doubts that Descartes suggests in the dream argument are different and more extreme than the doubts that Descartes suggests in the senses argument; while in the sense argument Descartes argues that it is only some knowledge derived from the senses that can be doubted, in the dream argument Descartes argued and demonstrated that all sensory knowledge can be doubted. The evil demon argument is more extreme than either the sense or the dream argument. This is because, first, while the sense argument suggest that it is only some types of sensory knowledge that can be doubted, the evil demon argument suggest and demonstrate that all sensory knowledge can be doubted. Secondly, while the dream argument demonstrate that sensory knowledge can be doubted, it can reasonably be objected that some simple truths like the truths of mathematics and geometry cannot be doubted; on the other hand, the evil demon argument suggests that even the truths of mathematics and geometry can be doubted because these truths may be nothing but deceptions of an evil genius. While the evil demon argument can deceive Descartes in all his beliefs, the evil demon, however, cannot deceive Descartes into believing that he doesn’t exist. This is because for Descartes, existence is a pre-condition of doubting; according to Descartes, one should exist before doubting. For this reason, Descartes argued that, since he is able to doubt, this means that he exists. Descartes, therefore, concluded that the evil demon cannot deceive him into believing that he doesn’t exist. The main difficulty for Descartes’ philosophical project is accounting for how human body and human mind interact. In giving explanation to how human mind and human body interact,

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

MATHEMATICS REFLECTIVE PAPER Term Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

MATHEMATICS REFLECTIVE - Term Paper Example Especially in the realm of mathematics, a field perceived by a lot of people as exigent and demanding, it requires a lot of innovative and creative thinking on the part of educators to provide ways and means to make this subject a more rewarding course to teach in the elementary school setting. In this regard, the essay aims to proffer a reflection that synthesizes the major concepts addressed in this course. Likewise the following concerns would be addressed, to wit: (1) a summary of the major mathematical concepts of this course; (2) an explanation of how the concepts learned in this course are relevant to the characteristics of a professional mathematics teacher; and (3) a determination of how the course concepts have influenced one’s own ideas and philosophy of teaching. ... The topics on Algebraic Thinking and Problem Solving, Number Theory and Rational Numbers, as well as their applications are crucial in improving skills in applying critical analysis and developing structured patterns that assisted in enhancing problem solving skills. The final topic on Mathematical Connections were most stimulating and thought-provoking as it provided the opportunity to navigate various Web links to heighten one’s awareness on the vast amounts of information that teachers can access and avail on the topic of mathematical concepts and applications. Through this module, one was reminded that there are qualities and characteristics that must be observed and adhered to by teachers to be classified and categorized as belonging to the professional level. Link of the Concepts to the Development of a Professional Mathematics Teacher Consistent with the Mathematics Professional Development Brief published by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), the c ourse modules are required to achieve four critical goals that would assist in development of traits and characteristics needed by teachers to professionalize their field of endeavor. These goals focus on developing: â€Å"(1) teachers’ mathematical knowledge and capacity to connect it to practice; (2) teachers’ capacity to notice, analyze and respond to student thinking; (3) the beliefs and dispositions that foster teachers’ continued learning; and (4) collegial relationships and learning structures that can support and sustain teachers’ learning† (NCTM, 2011, par. 19). Further, and concurrently significant, the discourse emphasized that â€Å"three

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

History of Capitalism in Japan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

History of Capitalism in Japan - Essay Example An economic arrangement is the amalgamation of the many agencies, which make the economic hierarchy that defines the social world. Trade brings the agencies together. Since no single state has made it to where Japan is, Japan is controlled by capitalists elsewhere seen a country to be emulated. Three decades down the line, its war-shattered economy was a little bit higher compared to a third of Britain's (Ihara, 279). Presently the Japanese Gross National Product is much higher than that of Britain and France when added together, and the gap is expected to become wider in the coming years. The Japanese variation of capitalism cannot be easily or precisely emulated, since it has got its roots in a homogeneous, hierarchical society. A lot of history that translates to the present day Japan dominates capitalism in Japan. Civil war that started majorly because of a single leader owned nearly 25% of the land while the other part belonged to his relative. The King at the present was no mor e than a figurehead. Large populations of civilians were not opulent and did not pursue any form of work. Tokugawa Ieyasu Gains Power The era of the Edo started despite the authorized organization of the Tokugawa Shogunate in 1603 and concludes with the Meiji refurbishment. Tokugawa Ieyasu's success over daimyo at the struggle of Sekigahara in 1600 gave power over the largest part of Japan. He accumulated his power in Edo, which is now day Tokyo, shielding himself with honored vassals and introducing military campaigns to destroy those who were against him. Tokugawa allies in Osaka demolished the final important to the newly created Tokugawa Shogunate, which is Toyotomi clan, in 1615. The Tokugawa Shogunate created a firm friendship with the Emperor as well as the Imperial Court by assisting to reconstruct its castles and providing more land. Sealed Region Policies Tokugawa Ieyasu become uncomfortable with the foreigners and implemented firm measures to reduce their number and influ ence in Japan. Christianity was forced to abandon their faith and other groups were sending away from Japan. The Shimabara Rebellion in 1637-1638 was composed of mainly ordinary Christians who were irritated with greater than before taxes and harassment of Christians (Harootunian, 367). The Tokugawa Shogunate, through aid from the Dutch who availed gunpowder and cannons, destroyed the rebellion and beheaded about 37,000 opponents. The rebel leader, young Amakura Shiro, was beheaded and his head taken away to Nagasaki to be put on show. The state spearheaded bullying of Christians that went on up to the 1850 is making some to carry out their belief as a kakura kirishitan. The tightened alien policy measures did not end with hounding of believers. In 1635, the Closed Country Edict banned Japanese from exiting Japan and if somebody left, they would not be allowed to come back. Community position was hereditary and the feudalistic social chain of command from previous periods went on to the Edo period. Land was under the ownership of Imperial family, the Shogun, or local daimyo. Beneath this structure, the Shogun was to in a position to manage local daimyo from rising to power. Keeping kin class was of significant, both in public and lawfully. If a person was found culpable of a crime and released, their close relatives could turn out to

Monday, August 26, 2019

Procurement and Delivery Strategies Research Paper

Procurement and Delivery Strategies - Research Paper Example The growth of health services has seen a major rise in the Queensland region. There has been a significant increase in the number investments in the healthcare sector. The establishment of the Sunshine Coast University Hospital (SCUH) project is a shining example in this case. The proposed hospital is expected to start operating by the end of 2016 having bed capacity of 450. This would be gradually increased to 738 beds by the end of 2021. The total cost of the project has been pegged at $1.97 billion. The hospital is expected to provide a host of multi-specialty treatments to patients. Future plans of the project include providing specialized community based healthcare service to the local community, and setting up of an academic and research centre which would collaborate with the local universities for providing quality education and research opportunities for the potential health workforce of Queensland. The SCUH also plans to develop a private hospital on the campus located at K awana. The land procurement for this unit has started in 2010, and the unit is expected to be operational by the end of 2013, thereby, catering to the increasing healthcare requirements of the people of Kawana area (Queensland Government-a, 2010).http://www.buildinghealth.qld.gov.au/schospital/pdf/masterplan_es.pdf1.2Â  Background to Public-Private Partnerships (PPP)Public-Private Partnerships could be defined as an agreement or a contract between government and a private agency for funding a new venture.

Sunday, August 25, 2019

TOURETTE SYNDROME Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

TOURETTE SYNDROME - Essay Example The purpose of the paper is to identify and describe the most typical causes and symptoms of TS, explain how it affects a patient psychologically and describe current treatment methods and medication applied to patients with TS. Speech and language difficulties have also been implicated. Recent research has focused on linguistic aspects of vocal tics, suggesting that such tics do not occur randomly but are located according to the clausal boundaries or at points of low information within sentences. Other research indicates word finding and speech volume regulation difficulties. The incidence of TS appears to be unrelated to race or socioeconomic status, although individuals of Jewish or East European heritage may be more commonly affected. People with these origins may have a greater genetic predisposition toward TS, but it seems more likely that referral bias and other cultural factors affect the expression and tolerance of the symptoms. There is no apparent relation of TS to birth weight, birth order, parental age, medical history of individuals or families, or psychiatric history. TS is understood generically to be a complex tic disorder with a lifelong course. A triad of components is necessary to make the diagnosis; the presence of generalized tics and involuntary utterances that may be obscene or suggestive, onset in childhood, and a course that involves a fluctuation of signs throughout the life span but typically is not severely disabling (Heyman and Chowdhury, 2004). The factors that influence the continuity of tic disorders from childhood to adol escence to adulthood are not well understood. Researchers (Waltz, 2001) assume that there is probably an interaction between maturation of the central nervous system and emotional distress along the maturational course. Environmental factors (e.g., toxins and infections) and genetic factors have been cited as possible etiologic factors in this group of disorders. Also, â€Å"and physical exhaustion will

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Academic Honesty Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Academic Honesty - Research Paper Example The present paper has identified that teachers occupy the central position in determining the academic honesty of students because students visualize their teachers as role models for them. This also has a strong relationship with the contemporary business scenario. In an attempt to gain competitive advantage and maximize their profits, many businessmen have opened schools and employed them as a means of business without academic sense and knowledge of what tutors to hire to meet the needs of a particular educational level. In order to inculcate honesty in students, it is imperative that the teachers hired are first checked for the same through properly designed strategies and tests. Often, tutors hired have little emotional association with their profession apart from earning money. Many tutors work only for money and have no long-term plans of setting an ethical base for the prospective citizens of the society through their teaching and moral conduct. Such tutors tend to be forgetf ul of their duties. They tend to miss lectures, come to the class later than the start time, and leave the class earlier than the break-off time. Even if they are fulfilling their duties completely as expected of them, they tend to send a negative signal to many honest students who don’t cheat in the exam by not taking action against those who do cheat in the exam. Many tutors tend to knowingly overlook the act of cheaters for such reasons as lack of courage to stop them, fear of insult by the students and unwillingness to display harsh attitude. Such tutors serve as a potential source of discouragement.

Friday, August 23, 2019

Retake exam Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Retake exam - Essay Example However, increased activity leads to opening of air passages for more air. This leads to bronchodilation. 23. An infant born prior to 32 weeks gestation is likely to suffer from respiratory distress, a condition in which following the first breath the child is unable to re-inflate the lungs. What product is normally produced by the lungs to keep the lungs from collapsing upon themselves? 24. At about 34 weeks gestation specialized cells within the lungs begin to produce a lipid-rich detergent-like fluid that aids in maintaining inflation of the lungs. What cell are responsible for producing the fluids Compliance affects the expansion of the lung and hence only affects inspiration as reduced oxygen enters the lung. Expiration is not affected. Inspiration is only affected as the lung gets stiffer making it difficult for acquisition of oxygen. The law shows that indirect proportionality does not exist between gas and partial pressure. However, the law states that a gas that dissolves in any given liquid directly relates to the partial pressure. Breathing is a crucial process in human. In human, the action involves breathing in and out. This is accomplished due to the variation in pressure within the thorax as compared to the outside. The process also requires the use of muscles. The most essential muscles for the process are intercostals muscles located between the ribs (â€Å"Mechanism of Breathing 1†). Once human inhale the muscles and diaphragm contacts to expand the chest capacity. This causes the diaphragm to flatten. As a result, it moves downwards, and the intercostals muscles move the rib cage upwards and out. This significantly alters the air pressure. The increase in size leads to a reduction in the internal air pressure (â€Å"Mechanism of Breathing 1†). On the other hand, air from the outside moves into the lungs to equalize the pressures. In exhaling, the reverse takes place. The diaphragm together with the muscles relaxes

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 8

Report - Essay Example This paper aims at discussing how the city of Barcelona has attempted to use events to pursue wider objectives in tourism. Rationale The tourism strategy in Barcelona aims at developing a tourism model that will ensure that a balance is maintained between the local residents and tourist. It also aims at maintaining the identity values of this particular city. One of the values that the strategy fights to keep is the rich culture. It also maintains the values that make it attracting all sorts of tourist ranging from those who are interested in sport events, cultural festivals, religious events, and many others. Background The city of Barcelona has on many occasions had a boost to its tourism industry as a result of international events. These events include the visit by Benedict the XVI, the Barcelona marathon, Formula 1 Gran Prix of Barcelona, the Aphrodite – Les Folies Tour, Barcelona 1992 Summer Olympics, Barcelona Open, La Merce Festivity, and the champion league finals. Th ese events attracted thousands of visitors to the city of Barcelona and earned the city a lot of income. Benedict the XVI visit to Barcelona Pope Benedict XVI arrived in Barcelona on the 6th of November 2010. His mission to Barcelona was to preside over the consecration of Barcelona’s Cathedral La Sagrada Familia. During the visit, the Pope held a private meeting with the queen and king of Spain. The visit is believed to have generated a total income of about â‚ ¬ 39 million to the city of Barcelona as a result of the activities that took place during the visit. More than half of this income is believed to have come from the expenditures of the visitors whose main attraction to Barcelona was the Pope’s visit. The income came from business activities such as transport, accommodation, shopping, restaurants, and many others (Smith 2012, p. 201). This event also played a very important role in marketing Barcelona as a tourist destination. The visitors who came specifica lly for the pope’s visit must have noticed the very many tourist attractions in Barcelona. Barcelona Marathon The city of Barcelona hosted the Barcelona Marathon of 2013. The marathon took place on the 17th of March 2013. The competition involved athletes from all over the world. The Barcelona Marathon first took place in the year 1980, and its fame has grown gradually over the years. In the year 2012 16, 743 athletes were registered for the marathon. During this marathon, city always gets lots of visitors who either come to participate in the event or just witness the event. Apart from being a tourist attraction by itself, it also helps allot in creating global awareness of the other tourist attractions in the city of Barcelona. Formula 1 Gran Prix Barcelona 2013 The city of Barcelona hosted the fifth Formula 1 Grand Prix of the season. These events took place in between the 10th and 12th of May 2013. During this event, the city received a lot of visitors from all over the w orld. Most of them were people who came specifically to experience the formula 1 event (Chalip and McGuirty2004, p. 272). This can mean that it generally increased the number of visitors that the city hosted in that year. This would mean that they also had an extra income because of this event. Other businesses such as accommodation and restaurants also benefited from this event. Income was also earned through the sales of tickets. Kylie Minogue in Barcelona Kylie Minogue is an internationally known

Evaluating Different Sources of Information Essay Example for Free

Evaluating Different Sources of Information Essay 1. Introduction With vast access to various types of information nowadays; it’s important to be able to distinguish truth and accuracy. The aim of this report is to evaluate the reliability of three different sources; a policy document, academic paper and newspaper articles in regards to space, place and culture. The objectives are to compare the listed sources through highlighting the advantages and disadvantages of each source and to indicate when and how it might be appropriate to use them for a potential essay ‘The interaction between global and local processes in the creation of ‘places’. 2. What are Space, Place and Culture? Space and place can be seen as an absolute structure or as a social experience with meaning, these play key roles in our culture; this system of shared meaning based on everyday life is central to a sense of identity. 3. The Policy Document This policy document ‘Communities in control: Real people, real power’ is a government report based on policies or proposals of an issue. It discusses how local communities can be empowered through having more influence over local council policies and more access to information. 4.1. Advantages The policy document was written by academics and practitioners so the information is reliable; published by the Department for Communities and Local Government so we can assume that the information is accurate. Also, the document is clear, explicit and easy to understand which is important as it’s aimed at the general public. It was printed in July 2008 so it’s recent information. However, this indicates it’s from the previous government and changes have been made to policies due to recent budget cuts so may no longer be up to date but can still be significant when analysing the past. 4.2. Disadvantages However, the policy document may be politically biased because it’s a government document and also as stated on paragraph 58 page 12, ‘In developing the White Paper, we spoke to a wide range of stakeholders who fed their comments and suggestions into policy development.’ Therefore, it raises the question, who are these stakeholders and is their viewpoint biased? 4.3. How to use the source? In relation to the essay title, this policy document is useful when analysing a politically biased viewpoint and discussing the influence of political control on different groups of people. The Academic Paper Academic writing is writing done by scholars, devoted to topics and questions that are of interest to the academic community. This particular academic paper ‘A Global Sense of Place’ by Doreen Massey Taken from Space, Place and Gender (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1994) discusses how globalisation is such the norm that those who have control can flourish with it but many people are imprisoned by it due to capitalism or feel at lost for a sense of belonging or identity. 4.4. Advantages Academic papers are usually written by scholars who specialize in a particular field so information which usually consists of primary data can be considered to be accurate. In addition, its peer reviewed and scrutinized by other academics so is reliable. Massey makes reference to Marxist to support her argument and provides facts about different places in order to conceptualise the journal article. The intended audience is academics/students and is fairly easy to understand. 4.5. Disadvantages Journal articles take time to collect research; this was written in 1994 which can be disadvantageous in using for the essay as concepts may no longer be up to date. However, it can be significant when comparing historical information. It appears written as a personal journal entry for example when Massey states ‘a walk down Kilburn road, my local shopping centre.’ so it can seem biased. However, Massey explores different viewpoints in order to compare the ideas. Concepts can seem implicit as the reader needs to almost visualize their own perspective. 4.6. How to use the source? As journal articles are constructed on primary data and have been scrutinized by other academics it is the most reliable source. In relation to the essay title, it would be useful to use when building arguments of different perspectives and to compare with other theories. 4. Newspaper articles Guardian article, ‘Triumph of democracy’ by James Harkin, (2006) informs the public about how the residents of Dingle vote to keep the name of their town, emphasising being in favour of equality and universalism rather than ethnic identities. The other Guardian article, ‘Is Paddington the Big Society in action?’ by Saba Salman, (2011) informs of how Neil Johnston (PDT chief executive) and residents are helping fund and lead the regeneration of the area despite cut backs in government funds. With emphasis on how a strong community input is the back bone to surviving the cuts. 5.7. Advantages The Guardian newspaper is a reliable and popular newspaper; ‘triumph of democracy’ was written in 2006 and ‘Paddington the big society’ was written in 2011, so its current and as it’s aimed at the general public, the information is explicit and easy to understand. 5.8. Disadvantages Information is based on mainly secondary data so it’s not completely reliable, especially as journalists aren’t not required to cite sources so no evidence provided. These particular articles seem biased as it’s the journalist’s viewpoint and Neil Johnston’s viewpoint, and could also be based on newspaper owner’s political goal. 5.9. How to use the source? Newspaper articles are useful when signifying current affairs or comparing historical data. 5. Conclusion Overall, through evaluating the sources it can be suggested that the policy document is politically biased and currently invalid with the change in government. The newspaper articles can be scrutinised as data is second hand and it’s in a biased format. The academic paper has proved most reliable as it’s been peer reviewed and based on primary data, despite being written in 1994 the concepts are still relevant today. However, all sources provide  different concepts of ‘place’ and would be efficient to use to write the essay. 6. Bibliography Communities and Local Government Publications, (July 2008) ‘Communities in control: Real people, real power,’ Department for Communities and Local Government Harkin James, (2006) ‘Triumph of democracy,’ The Guardian Massey Doreen, (1994) ‘A Global sense of Place,’ Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, from Space, Place and Gender Salman Saba, (2011) ‘Is Paddington the big society in action?’ The Guardian

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

The virulence factors of staphylococcus aureus

The virulence factors of staphylococcus aureus Staphylococcus aureus is faculatively anaerobic, catalase-positive, coagulase-positive, gram-positive cocci. It is non sporulating, non motile and non capsulated bacteria. 30% of Staphylococcus aureus can be found in skin, mucous of membrane and nasal passages in a healthy person as normal flora. However, Staphylococcus aureus infections are capable of leading to meningitis, pneumonia, osteomyetilis, spectic arthritis and septicemia. It is also difficult to treat Staphylococcus aureus infections if it is a methicillin resistant strain as the only antibiotic, vancomycin, is able to inhibit methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus(MRSA). Virulence Factors Virulence factors from Staphylococcus aureus can be structural or secreted products that lead to pathogenesis. They are classified into catogeries such as surface proteins, secreting toxins and superantigen toxin. Surface proteins in Staphylococcus aureus provide attachments to host tissues which will colonize and lead to infections. Such proteins are protein A/B which binds to immunoglobulin G, clumping factor A and B to help adherence to bacterial cells. [Plata, Rosato et al. 2009] Alpha-heamolysin, beta-heamolysin, gamma-heamolysin and Panton Valentine Leucocidine (PVL) are examples of secreting toxins which form pores in the host membrane and lyses the cells while staphylococcus enterotoxins weaken the host immune system and toxic shock syndrome toxin 1 causes toxic shock by food poisoning. These virulence factors that are produced [Plata, Rosato et al. 2009] by Staphylococcus aureus and often cause life-threatening diseases. These factors overcome and disguise themselves from th e body immune system so that Staphylococcus aureus can colonize and bind to connective tissues which lead to infections. They are also responsible for the symptoms of the disease. The main diagnostic features can be detected by having coagulase agglutination tests and test for the production of thermostable nuclease which break down DNA. [Greenwood, Slack et al. 2007] Exotoxins (TSST1-toxic shock syndrome toxin 1) TSST1 are one of the virulence factors that cause a variety of diseases in humans. TSST1 has short N-terminal ÃŽ ± helix which lead to ÃŽ ² barrel structure also known as B domain or oligosaccharide binding. It is then connected to C-terminal wall of the ÃŽ ² strands (Domain A). This structure cause cysteine loop which result in emetic activity. If there is no loop, TSST1 will be superantigenic [Orwin, Fitzgerald et al. May 2003]. As Staphylococcus aureus invade the body, TSST1 is produced in the bacteria and release to host. It then inhibits host immune responses. It crosses mucosal surfaces and reactivates bacterial cell wall induced arthritis. [Diages, Orwin et al. Jan 2000] TSST1 also stimulate proliferation of T cells. These T cells will not only increase its concentration in the body, but they are also unable to recognize specific antigen in the bacterial cells. Subsequently, T cells cannot eradicate Staphylococcus aureus. Therefore, TSST1 is also known as superantigenicity, py rogenicity and boost the lethality of the toxins. Acquired heart disease in children is often associated with TSST1. Also, TSST1 is linked to women who use tampons regularly as it increases the exposure to Staphylococcus aureus infections. TSST1 helps to release massive amount of cytokines which results in fever, rash, low blood pressure, tissue damage and shock. [Dermnet.org] Exotoxins (Panton Valentine Leucocidin-PVL) Panton Valentine Leucidin (PVL) is usually found in community-acquired Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA). Tristan (2007) stated that it is categorized as bicomponent synergohymenotropic toxin which lyses host cell membrance and it targets on human polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN), monocytes and macrophages. Plasma membrane of myeloid cells form octamer pores and target leukocytes by Panton Valentine Leucidin [Kobayashi and Deleo 2009]. Inflammatory mediators such as leukotriene B4, IL-8 and histamine are released to the cell surrounding as PVL activates Ca2+ channels to open leading to calcium influx in PMN, monocytes and macrophages. As long as Ca2+ channels are opened and inflammatory mediators concentration is greatly rising, it is a fatal outcome. Thus, neutrophils, monocytes and macrophages lyses as pores form in their cell membranes and this usually results in toxic shock or refractory hypoxemia. Panton Valentine Leucidin plays a major role in severe necrotizing fasciitis, pne umonia, leukocyte destruction and tissue necrosis. [Libert, Batjom et al. Jan 2009] Staphylococcus enterotoxins-SE Staphylococcus enterotoxins are the common cause of food poisoning. As individual digests a large amount of Staphylococcus aureusthrough contaminated water or food, enterotoxins are produced. It has a major cross linking with major histocompability complex (MHC) class II antigen and T cell receptor (TCR) [Fraser and Proft 2008]. T cell receptor will recruit neutrophils and release a wide variety of inflammation mediators to the stomach and small intestine. Accumulation of inflammation mediators results in hyperemic mucosa and crypt extension develops in jejunum. The disruption of the lining of the small intestine influences the rate of absorption of substances. Thus, gastroenteritis forms and will bring about the systemic symptoms such as fever and hypotension.[ Diages, Orwin et al. Jan 2000]. Vomiting and diarrhea is also a common symptom in SE food poisoning. Food poisoning by Staphylococcus aureusis less severe than other infections by the same species. It is often self limiting a s well. [Diages, Orwin et al. Jan 2000] Protein A Protein A is characterized as a cell wall associated monomeric protein. [Gomez, Lee et al. 2004]. It has role in causing pneumonia by targeting polymorphonuclear (PMN) cell migration in the airway passages. Protein A binds to the Fc region of immunoglobulin G (IgG) and causes opsonization. [Greenwood, Slack et al. 2007]. It also phosphorylates mitogen activated protein kinases (MAPKs) as pro-inflammatory signaling. IL-8 is made and secreted out from epithelial cells. In addition, protein A also mimics TNF-ÃŽ ± (tumour necrosis factor ÃŽ ±) that will bind to TNFR1, which is distributed at airways (tumour necrosis factor receptor 1). This will recruit TRADD (TNFR1 associated death domain protein) and TRAF2 (TNF receptor associated factor 2). Both will be activated, protein A and TRAF2 with RIP1 will coimmunoprecipitate in the airways [Gomez, Lee et al. 2004]. Furthermore, protein A inhibits phagocytic engulfment. In the same paper, Gomez also stated that if Staphylococcus aureusis lacking in protein A or TNFR1, bacterial virulence will be lower and accumulation of PMN in the lung will be decrease as well. It is harmless to activate PMN as it is to protect the lung, however, when there is an increase in protein A binding to PMN, PMN is activated and enhancing the inflammatory mediators to be released in the airways. Therefore, an increase in protein A will generate a greater inflammatory response and subsequently pneumonia develops. Staphylokinase (SAK) Staphylokinase is an enzyme that produces by Staphylococcus aureus. When staphylokinase is released from Staphylococcus aureus and targeted to neutrophils, ÃŽ ±-defensins is produced and followed by neutralization of short peptides by Staphylococcus aureus. This results in inhibition of bactericidal effects of defensins by the activation of plasminogen and staphylokinase increases bacterial infection process. [Bergmann and Hammerschmidt 2007] Plasminogen is tightly regulated and it is a part of fibrinolysis mechanism which coagulates fibrin when a blood vessel is injured. Staphylococcus aureus changes plasminogen to fibrin with the help of fibrin as co-factor. Staphylokinase is encoded by the Sak gene and regulated by the agr gene. Its structure has a central ÃŽ ±-helix and 5 ÃŽ ² sheet strands. [Bokarewa, Jin et al. 2006]. Once neutophils is bound to the central ÃŽ ±-helix, it induces conformational changes. Consequently, plasminogen is converted to plasmin. Fibrin clots is then bro ken down by plasmin and kept the infection localized. Staphylokinase-plasminogen complexes also help Staphylococcus aureus to enter the host tissues. Furthermore, Maria stated that if 2 staphylokinase form a dimer due to the central ÃŽ ±-helical, it will reduce antigenicity. Several binding sites to neutrophils can be found in staphylokinase. This will induced in releasing of ÃŽ ±-defensins and affect the bactericidal properties as peptides are being neutralized. Staphylococcus aureusis then resistant to phagocytosis by neutrophils. [Bokarewa, Jin et al. 2006]. Staphylokinase infections are usually found in sepsis, immunocompromised and elderly patients as they are more prone to Staphylococcus aureus. Antibiotics are the usual therapy of these infections. Virulence Factors in Staphylococcus aureusare the main components that causing life threatening diseases. It is mostly the mediators released by the immune system gives the symptoms for the diseases. If there are any mutations in these virulence factors, it will be less virulent to the bacteria and the symptoms of disease will lessen as these virulence factors will not target neutrophils, macrophages and other immune system components. Therefore, inflammation mediators are not released in a great amount at once.

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Laminar Air-flow to Control Operating Room Infection

Laminar Air-flow to Control Operating Room Infection INTRODUCTION Surgical site infections (SSIs) are defined as infections occurring within 30 days after surgical operation or within one year if an implant is left in place and affecting either the incision or deep tissue at the operation site (Owens and Stoessel 2008). SSIs are reported as the major cause of high morbidity and mortality among post -operative patients (Weigelt et.al. 2010). According to UK National Joint Registry Report, during 2003 -2006 period infection was responsible for about 19 % failure of joint surgery resulting in revision procedures (Sandiford and skinner 2009). Micro-organisms in the air particles settle on the wound, dressings and surgical instruments and cause infections (Chow and Yang 2005). Whyte et.al (1982) identified that contamination from patients skin as the cause of infection in 2% cases and from theatre personnel in 98% cases. They also found that in 30% cases, contaminants reach the wound from theatre personnel via air and in 70% cases it is via hands. Generally air quality in the operating room is maintained ventilation system. Additional improvements can be achieved by laminar air-flow system or UV lights. Laminar air-flow system is expensive and require continues maintenance. Its installation increases building cost and the operational cost (Cacciariet.al., 2004: Hansen, 2005). Studies conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of laminar flow produced mixed results and there is no consensus on its role in infection control (Sandiford 2007). In this setting, this paper reviews the recent studies to examine the effectiveness of laminar air-flow in reducing SSIs. Studies for this review were found by searching on databases such as CINAHL, PubMed, Science Direct, Ovidsp, Science Citation Index (ISI) and Google scholar. Keywords used for this search are laminar air flow, surgical site infection, operating room air quality, airborne infections + operating theatre, LMA + infection control. As laminar air-flow is used mainly in orthopaedic theatres, majority of the studies are on joint surgery. OPERATING THEATRE AIR QUALITY AND INFECTION CONTROL Indoor air in an operating theatre contains dust which consists of substances released from disinfectant and sterilizers, respiratory droplets, insect parts smoke released from cautry. Dust particles act as a carrier for transporting microorganisms laden particles and can settle on surgical wound and there by cause infection (Neil 2005). Air particles are found to be responsible for about 80% 90% of microbial contamination (CDC 2005). Modern operating theatres are generally equipped with conventional ventilation system in which filters can remove airborne particles of size >5mm about 80-95% (Dharan 2002). The efficacy of operating room ventilation is measured by the colony forming units (CFU) of organisms present per cubic meter. The conventional ventilation (Plenum) with 20 air exchanges is considered efficient if it achieves the colony count of 35cfu/m3 or less (Bannister 2002). Ventilation system with laminar air-flow directs the air-flow in one direction and sweeps the air particle over the wound site to the exits (CDC 2003). Laminar air-flow with HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Arrestment) filters system has the capacity to remove air particles of size 0.3  µm up to 99.9 % and can produce 300 air exchanges per hour in ultraclean orthopaedic theatres. (Sandiford and skinner 2009). Laminar air-flow units are generally two types; ceiling-mounted (vertical flow) or wall-mounted (horizontal flow). There are inconveniences associated with both types. Generally the major problem associated with laminar air-flow is flow disruption. With vertical laminar flow, it is the heat generated by surgical lamps creates air turbulence while with horizontal laminar flow it is the surgical team that disrupt the air-flow (Dharan 2002). LAMINAR AIR FLOW IN INFECTION CONTROLL Laminar air-flow system is mainly used in implant surgeries where even a small number of microorganisms can cause infection. In joint replacement surgeries, one of the main causes of early (within 3 months) and delayed (within 18 months to 2 years) deep prosthetic infections was found colonisation during surgery (Knobben 2006). Laminar air flow is supposed to minimize contamination by mobilizing uniform and large volume of clean air to the surgical area and Contaminants are flushed out instantly (Chow and Yang, 2004). Some studies found that this method is effective in reducing infection but some others produced contradicting results (give some reference) A recent study conducted by Kakwani et.al. (2007) found that laminar air-flow system is effective in reducing the reoperation rate in Austin-Moore hemiarthroplasty. Their study compared the reoperation rate between theatres with laminar air-flow and theatres without laminar air-flow system. A cohort of 435 patients who had Austin-Moore hemiarthroplasties at Good Hope Hospital in Birmingham between August 2000 and July 2004 were selected for this study. Of those 435 patients, 212 had operation in laminar air-flow theatres and 223 had operation in non-laminar air-flow theatres. Data were collected by reviewing case notes and radiographs. For all cases antibiotics were administrated and water impervious surgical gowns and drapes were used. In the non-laminar air-flow group it was found that the re-operation rate for all indication in the first year after hemiarthroplasties was 5.8 % (13/223), while in the laminar air-flow group it was 1.4% (3/212). Analysis found that there were no stat istically significant relation between re-operation rate and water impervious gown and drapes (p=0.15), while use of laminar air-flow found a statistically significant drop (p=0.0285) in re-operation rate within the first year after hemiarthroplasties. They found that re-operation rate in no-laminar air-flow theatres were four times greater than that in laminar airflow theatres. Even though the aim of the study was clearly described there was no review of existing studies to identify the gap in the research. Study methods and details of statistical analysis were given elaborately. The sample size seems sufficient. Results were summarized and presented using graphs and charts. Discussion of results was short and seems not adequate to address the objectives of the study. There was no attempt to explain the casual relationship. For example researches were making statements such as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦the introduction of water-impervious drapes and gowns did not seem to make a statistically significant improvement in the resultà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. (p.823). Researchers failed to acknowledge any limitations of the study. Data for this study was collected by reviewing patients records. Patients records are considers as confidential and researchers didnt mention whether they received consent from the patients or ethical approval form institution to conduct the study. This ca n be considered as an ethical flaw of this study. There are studies which found that laminar air-flow system is not effective in reducing infection rate. In their study Brandt C et.al (2008) found that infection rate was substantially high in theatres with laminar air-flow system. This was a retrospective cohort-study based on routine surveillance data from German national nosocomial infections surveillance system (KISS). Hospitals which had performed at least 100 operations between the years 2000 and 2004 were selected for this study. Type of ventilation technology installed in operation rooms of selected hospitals were collected separately through questionnaire from infection control teams in the participating hospitals. Surgical departments were grouped into categories according to the type of ventilation system installed. Departments using artificial operating room (OR) ventilation with either turbulent or laminar airflow was included in this study. Total 63 surgical departments from 55 hospitals were included in this study. Analysis was performed to the data set created by merging the questionnaire data on OR ventilation and surveillance data from the KISS data base. The data set analysed contained 99230 operations with 1901 SSIs. Age and gender of the patient was found a significant risk factor of SSI in most procedures. Univariate analysis conducted found that rate of SSIs was high in departments with laminar air flow ventilation. Multivariate analysis also confirmed this finding. Authors argue that it may be due to the improper positioning theatre personnel in horizontal laminar flow room. Researches provided a well-researched literature review which clearly identified gap in current research. Objectives and design of the study was properly explained. Study was based on a large sample size. Results were discussed in detail and casual relations were well explained. Enough tables were used to present results. Limitations were properly discussed. Knobben et.al (2006) conducted an experimental study to evaluate how systemic changes together with behavioural changes can decreases intra-operative contamination. This study was conducted in the university Medical Centre Groningen, The Netherlands. A random sample of 207 surgical procedures which involved total knee or hip prosthesis from July 2001 to January 2004 was selected for this study. Two sequential series of behavioural and systemic changes were introduced to ascertain their role in reducing intra-operative contamination. The control group consisted 70 cases. Behavioural changes (correct use of plenum) were introduced to the first intervention group of 67 operations. Intense behavioural and systemic changes were introduced to second intervention group of 70 operations. The systemic changes introduced was the installation of new laminar flow with improved airflow from 2700m3/h to 8100m3/h. Two samples each were taken from used instruments, unused instruments and removed bon es. Control swabs were also collected to make sure that contamination was not occurred during transport and culturing. Early and late intra-operative contamination was also checked. All patients were monitored for any wound discharge while in hospital and followed-up for 18 months to check whether intra-operative contamination affects post-operative infection. Among the control group contamination was found 32.9% while in intervention group 1 it was 34.3% and in intervention group 2 it was 8.6%. Except in Group 1 (p=0.022) late phase contamination was not significantly higher than early phase contamination. During the control period wound discharge was found in 22.9% patients and 11.4% of them had wound infection later. Deep periprosthetic infection had been found in 7.1% of them in the follow-up period. Deep periprosthetic infection was found in 4.5% cases of first intervention group and in 1.4% of cases in second intervention group in the follow-up period. But none of these decreases were found statistically significant. Contamination, prolonged wound discharge and superficial surgical site infection were found decreased after both first and second intervention. But a statistically significant reduction was found only in second intervention (contamination p=0.001, wound discharge p=0.002 and superficial SSI p=0.004). This study concluded that behaviour modifications together with improved air flow system can reduce intra-operative contamination substantially. Purpose of the study was clearly defined and a good review of the current literature has given. Gap in current research was clearly presented and justification for the study had given. Sample size seems sufficient. It is reported that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.bacterial cultures were taken during 207 random operationsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (p. 176), but no details of the sampling method used were provided. Details of interventions were given elaborately and results were discussed in detail. But only one table and two charts used to present it. The readers would have been more benefited if more tables were used to present the results. Discussions of the results were concise and findings were specific and satisfying the objective. No information on whether they received informed consent from the patients and approval form the ethical committee of the institution was missing. This arise a serious question about the ethics of this study. It is found that laminar airflow is more effective when use in conjunction with occlusive clothing (Charnley, 1969 cited in Sandiford and Skinner 2009). While in their recent study Miner et.al (2007) compared the effectiveness of laminar airflow system and body exhaust suits found that body exhaust suits are more effective than laminar flow system in reducing infection. For their study Miner et.al (2007) selected 411 hospitals which have submitted the claim for total knee surgery (TKR) for the year 2000 from four US States were surveyed to collect the details of use of laminar air flow system and body exhaust suits. Those hospitals which were fulfilled three criteria were included in this study. The inclusion criteria were 1) returned the survey instrument, 2) using laminar air flow system or body exhaust suits for infection control and 3) was evidence of at least one Medicare claim for TKR for the study period. Total 8288 TKRs performed in 256 hospitals between 1st January and 30th August 2000 were selected. Data on patient outcomes after total knee replacement (TKR) were collected from Medicare claims. The patients who underwent bilateral TKR were not included in this study and for those who underwent a second TKR during a separate hospitalisation during the study period, only the first procedure was included. International Classification of Disea ses, Ninth Revision (ICDS-9) codes was used to identify post-operative deep infection that needed additional operation. Hospitals were grouped as users or non-users for both laminar airflow and body exhaust suits. Users were defined as those who use any of these methods in more than 75% procedures and non-users were those use any methods less than 75%. The over-all 90-day incidence of deep infection, subsequent operation was found required only in 28 cases (that is 0.34%). Analysis found that the risk ratio for laminar airflow system was higher (1.57, 95% confidence interval 0.75-3.31) than body exhaust suits (0.75, 95% confidence interval 0.34-1.62). Study found that there were no significant differences in infection between hospitals that use specific either protective measure. Other than mentioning few studies researchers failed to provide any background of the research problem. Methods used for this study were explained concisely. Even though the sample size was large, limited number of events (28) were there to be observed. Analysis was based on this small number of events; this may have affected the result. Not many variables were included in this study, and researchers didnt mention how they controlled some possible confounders. Researchers were successful in identifying the advantages and limitations of the study. Results were properly presented in tables. Instead of expensive laminar air-flow system, installation of well-designed ventilation system is found beneficial. Scaltriti et.al (2007) conducted a study in Italy to examine effectiveness of well-designed ventilation system on air quality in operation theatre. They selected operation theatres of a newly built 300 beds community hospital which have ventilation system designed to achieve 15 complete outdoor air changes per hour and are equipped with 0.3  µm, 99.97% HEPA filters. All these satisfy the condition for a clean room as per ISO 7 standard. Passive samples of microbiological air counts were collected using Tripticase Soy Agar 90 mm plates left open thorough out the duration of the procedure. Active samples were also collected using a single state slit-type impactor. Total 82 microbiological samples were collected of which 69 were passive plates and 13 were active. Air dust was counted with a light-scattering particle analyser. Details of the surgery, number of people in the room, door opening rate and estimated total use of the electrocautery unit were also collected. It was found that there were positive correlations between particle contamination, surgical technique (higher risk from general conventional surgery), electrocauterization and operation length. Door opening rate was found negatively associated. Researchers suggest that this may because when theatre door open a turbulent air flow blows out of the operating room which may result decrease in the dust particles. No association was found between particle contamination and number of people present at the time of incision. Researchers suggest that human movement rather than human presence is the factor that determines airborne microbial contamination. It was found that average particle concentration in the theatres did not exceed the European ISO 14 644 standard limits for ISO 7 clean room, and so concluded that well-designed ventilation system is effective in limiting particulate contamination. Uncultivable or unidentifiable organisms can also be a reason for surgical site infections. It may be difficult to identify such organisms through standard culture techniques (Tunney 1998). Clarke et.al (2004) conducted a quantitative study to examine the effectiveness of ultra-clean (vertical laminar flow) theatres in preventing infections by unidentifiable organisms. They used the molecular technique, Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), to detect bacteria presence. Their study compared the wound contamination during primary total hip replacement (THR) performed in standard and ultra clean operation theatres. 20 patients underwent primary THR from 1999 to 2001 were recruited for this study. Patients with previous incidents of joint surgery or infection were excluded. The standard operation theatres had 20 air changes per hour and CFU count was 50 CFU/m3, while ultra-modern theatres had 530 air changes per hour and CFU count was 3 CFU/m3. For all surgeries same infection control precautions were used. Two specimens each of pericapsular tissues were collected from posterior joint capsule both at the beginning and at the end of the surgery (total 80 samples). Patients were given antibiotic prophylaxis after taking the first specimen. All these samples were underwent Gram stain and culture to detect bacterial colonies and Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) to detect bacterial DNA. Among the 20 specimens taken form the standard operation theatres at the beginning of the surgery only 3 were found positive with PCR, while from the ultra-clean theatres only 2 were found positive. None from both theatres found positive with culture. Samples from the standard theatres taken at the end of the surgery, 2 found positive by culture and 9 found positive by PCR. The contamination rate in the standard theatre at the end of the surgery found significantly greater than the beginning (p=0.04). Samples taken from the ultra-clean theatres, none was positive by culture while only 6 were positive by PCR. Statistical analysis found that contamination rate at the end of the surgery is not statistically different than the start (p=0.1). It was found that there were no statistically significant difference in overall contamination rate (p=0.3) between standard and ultra clean theatres. (I will add critique of this study here) NURSES ROLE IN INFECTION CONTROL Understanding the source of contamination in operating theatre and knowing the relationship between bacterial virulence, patient immune status and wound environment will help in improving the infection rates (Byrne et al 2007). Nurses are responsible to take a proactive role in ensuring safety of their patients. To improve patient outcome, it is necessary for the nurses to take lead role in environmental control and identifying hazards through environmental surveillance (Neil 2005). Non-adherence to the principle of asepsis by surgical team is identified as a significant risk factor of infections. Hectic movement of surgical team members in the operating room and presence of one or more visitors were also found as major causes of SSI (Beldi G 2009). Nurses and managers should emphasise on controlling factors like the traffic in theatre, limiting the number of staff and reinforcement of strict aseptic technique (Allen 2010). Creedon (2005) argues that infections can reduce up to one third if staffs follow best practice principles. For better outcome staffs needs additional education and positive reinforcement. Nurses have a vital role in the development, reviewing and approving of patient care policies regarding infection control. Nurses are not only responsible for practicing the aseptic techniques but also responsible for monitoring other staff for their adherence to policies. They are responsible for developing training programmes for members of staff. Educating the environmental services personnel like technicians, cleaners will not only improve their knowledge in patient care but also provide a sense of commitment in patient outcomes (Neil 2005). Perioperative nurses can contribute in research regarding theatre ventilation system through organised data collection and documenting evidences. Nurses can contribute in giving optimum and safe delivery of care in areas where environmental issues can put the patient at risk. Knowledge is changing fast, so it is important that staff must keep themselves up to date. Continues quality improvement is needed and it should be based on evidence based research and on-going assessment of information (Hughes 2009). CONCLUSION Reviews of current research shows that still there is a lack consensus on the effectiveness of laminar airflow in infection control. Studies include in this review has used either clinical outcomes (infection or reoperation rate) or intermediate outcomes (particle count or bacterial count) to evaluate the effectiveness of laminar flow. Kakwani et.al (2007) found that re-operation rate was lower in laminar airflow theatres but Brandt et.al (2008) found SSI rate was high in hospitals with laminar flow. Clarke et.al (2004) found that contamination was not significantly different in ultra clean theatres compared to standard theatres equipped enhanced ventilation system. Supporting this finding Scaltriti et.al (2007) found well designed ventilation system is effective in reducing contamination. Study by Knobben et.al (2006) found that combination of systemic and behavioural changes are required to prevent intra-operative contamination. Miner et.al (2007) found that there were no significant differences in infection between hospitals that use laminar airflow and body exhaust suits. From these studies it can be concluded that use of laminar airflow alone can guarantee infection prevention. Behavioural and other systemic changes are necessary to enhance the benefits of laminar airflow. Evidence shows that conventional theatres equipped with enhanced ventilation system can prevent infection effectively, this can be consider as an alternative for expensive as laminar flow system.

Monday, August 19, 2019

American Airlines Essay -- essays research papers

American airlines is a corporation that exhibits all of the characteristics of a firm in an industry where good tactical management is the key to success. This company and its regional airline partner American eagle serve almost 250 cities around the world and operate more than 3600 daily flights. Its goal is to provide safe, dependable and friendly air transportation along with related services, making a great effort to transform any experience into a positive one. All of the services that this company has and the image that they are trying to keep in every day activities make each day an inevitable challenge for its employees. This company has 69 years in the industry. It is one of the airlines that have played an important part in the history of air transportation in the United States. Starting as a mail company called â€Å"Aviation Airways†, which carried bags of mail from Chicago to St Louis is how this company began to rise. In 1934 American airways became American Airlines, Inc. A few years later it became the nation’s number one domestic air carrier in terms of revenue passenger miles. At the end of the World War II series of new aircrafts filled the expand need of air transportation, these new acquisitions made AA the only airline in the US with a completely post war fleet of pressurized passenger airplanes. Eight years later AA pioneered non-stop transcontinental service in both directions across the US. Due to American Airlines incredible growth, they teamed up with I... American Airlines Essay -- essays research papers American airlines is a corporation that exhibits all of the characteristics of a firm in an industry where good tactical management is the key to success. This company and its regional airline partner American eagle serve almost 250 cities around the world and operate more than 3600 daily flights. Its goal is to provide safe, dependable and friendly air transportation along with related services, making a great effort to transform any experience into a positive one. All of the services that this company has and the image that they are trying to keep in every day activities make each day an inevitable challenge for its employees. This company has 69 years in the industry. It is one of the airlines that have played an important part in the history of air transportation in the United States. Starting as a mail company called â€Å"Aviation Airways†, which carried bags of mail from Chicago to St Louis is how this company began to rise. In 1934 American airways became American Airlines, Inc. A few years later it became the nation’s number one domestic air carrier in terms of revenue passenger miles. At the end of the World War II series of new aircrafts filled the expand need of air transportation, these new acquisitions made AA the only airline in the US with a completely post war fleet of pressurized passenger airplanes. Eight years later AA pioneered non-stop transcontinental service in both directions across the US. Due to American Airlines incredible growth, they teamed up with I...

Sunday, August 18, 2019

Flowers For Algernon :: essays research papers

Flowers for Algernon The main characters of the story are Charlie, who is a mentally retarded person involved in a remarkable experiment which increased his I.Q. Alice, a teacher at the Adult Basic Education Facility at Beekman College who taught Charlie how to read and write, the professors who operated on Charlie. Fay who appeared toward the end of the book , and last but not least Algernon. The novel is exciting and has an original idea. The moods That I felt in the story are ones of sorrow, anger, and guilt. In the story, Charlie, is the subject of an experiment which increases his intelligence. Charlie originally wants the operation to look intelligent and get friends. Unfortunately some of his hopes were not met. The main characters in the novel include Charlie, Alice, Algernon, and Fay, a character who did not make much of an appearance, but he thought that he played an important part in Charlie trying to sort out his past and figure out his present and future plans. Charlie is a mentally retarded person who has impressing people and gaining friends as one of his top priorities. He then hears of an experiment which could possibly make him smart. He makes himself a subject to this human experiment with the hopes of gaining knowledge in a sole purpose of gaining friends. As the book goes on, Charlie goes through dramatic changes mentally, and instead of making him gain friends he actually is looked on in the same way if not worse. For example, at Charlie's old work his "friends" made fun of him and enjoyed his company just because Charlie had amused them. Yet after the operation, Charlie finds out that he had not made his friends like him more, but had pushed them away. Charlie understood now what his friends did to him in the past, and starts to look down upon them. Alice, Charlie's teacher, is the person who gave Charlie to the idea to give the experiment a chance. She thinks that Charlie has the determination and will power to ma ke the experiment work. Then, later on in the book, she gets emotionally involved with Charlie and helps Charlie learn more about himself. Algernon, is a lab animal who also had the experiment done on him and as result makes him smarter than the average mouse. Algernon plays a very important part in the novel because he foreshadows what will happen to Charlie later on in the book.

Saturday, August 17, 2019

Problem of Maoist Insurgency

Maybe when this article is read,an innocent tribal or a compelled jawan is ‘unreportedly’ being killed on the fringes of national mainstream by a so-called ‘maoist’. â€Å"Naxalism:single biggest internal security threat† screamed The Economic Times on 14th April,2006. And the threat has just got bigger. Our Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram drew lots of flak for ‘Operation Green Hunt’. Recently,our President Pratibha Patilhas urged the naxalites to shun violence and resort to talks. But one Question that comes to mind is â€Å"what prompted the Maoist uprising? (even Derek O’Brien was confronted wid the question when he visited the IIM-C recently). The basis of the answer may lie with the ‘Green Revolution’. It brought fruits to farmers,but only in some pockets of India. The rest of India has witnessed some violent uprisings against the state. But the naxalite problem has deeper roots. Poverty,land alienation,lack o f access to basic forest resources,largescale unemployment and exclusion from national mainstream are the common grievances among the rural population in east and central India.Despite being the most mineral-rich states in India,Chhatisgarh,Jharkhand,Orissa and West Bengal count among the poorest. Area| India| Chhatisgarh| Jharkhand| Orissa| West Bengal| Per-Capita Income| `24,295| `16,740| `15,303| `16,149| `23,229| Table showing per-capita income of Chhatisgarh,Jharkhand,Orissa and West Bengal in comparision with India. It is these resources and the irrational attitude of Indian Federal System towards them that forms the core of dissent among people here.For instance,tribals in mineral-rich Bastar in Chhatisgarh do not get a fair share of the resources from miningin the forests that they inhabit. The ‘freight equalization policy’ of the government hampered these states from translating their natural resources’ advantage into industrial growth. ,and led to the C entral Govt. Pocketing the lion’s share of royalties from mining. The complete failure of instruments like the ‘Panchayat(Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act,1996 and the Forest(Conservation) Act,1980 in these areas have only aggravated the problem.So,for the adivasis,Sarkar is exploiter in the form of forest officials who deny them entry into the forest,the police who demanded bribes and state-sponsored contractors who paid less than the minimum wage. The exploitation by the landlords and mahajans ,and lack of basic amenities of human existence only flare up the problem. Ajit Buxla,maoist leader,correctly points out, â€Å"When you see death taking tolls on your near and dear ones and you know their life could have been saved had they been given proper and timely medication,you are forced to believe that the existence of state has nothing to do with tha life of poor & maginalized. ENTER THE MAOISTS. treading on the Marxism-Leninism theoretical lineage of ‘anni hilation of class enemies’,the naxalites strategically take Maoism lineage against the state. â€Å"The Communist Party of India-Maoist(CPI-Maoist)†,formed on September 21,2004,was quick to notice that the causes of dissent was different in different states,and cashing in on the emotions of the local people,they staged violent uprisings. Over 600 lives have been lost in the militia’s process of forming ‘the Red Corridor’ or ‘Compact Revolutionary Zone(CZR)’.Though the naxalites have been more or less ousted from Andhra Pradesh,the three-fold-layer strategy of the maoist insurgency has led to the rebels gaining control of more ares. The sources of funding of the naxalites are extortion of ransoms,cultivating opium in Malkangiri district,charging the traders and buisnessmen who pass through the ‘Red Corridor’,and producing and smuggling enormous quantity of marijuana. But slowly,this movement ‘for the people’ has turned ‘against the people’.The tribals are being victims of human rights’ violations,such as,murder of all kinds,tortures,outrages upon personal dignity,extortions,etc. moreover,the rebels have interfered,challenged and destroyed the age-old social taboos of the tribals which is leading to growing resentment among the locals against them. As it is clear,no one-size-fits-all solution can be applied for this intuiging problem. The very root of the problem has to be axed through,& that too in a sensible manner.Mere military engagement of the maoist insurgents wont solve the problem. It will only joepardise the locals even more. Creation of civilian militas like ‘Salwa Judum’ should be shunned as they expose civilians to unnecessary danger,and only translate into abdication of security responsibility by the state. The State should provide security guarantees against retribution by cadres of the naxalites and should use the knowhow of such cadres in informative strategies against the rebels.The civil society representatives such as eminent personalities,political leaders,NGO’s should step-in as mediators between the state and the maoists. But most importantly,the grievances that increase the appeal of the maoists should be mitigated. There should be direct effort for development in these areas. The locals should be given employment and conditional cash transfers that counter the widespread deprivation in the region,thus,reducing the ‘recruitment-pool’ of the maoists.Investments shoul be made in social-overheads which would allow the locals easy access to the urban marketswhere they can sell their dairy products and forest-related products like cashew,chironji,lac,etc which have high market-value. The tribals should be empowered through education and a self-sustaining economic scheme,funded largely by mining revenues of the state,can be implemented to provide skills,literacy,healthcare,and above all,dignity and social justice to the people. As D. Bandopadhyay. retired-IAS officer experienced in dealing with naxalites in West Bengal in the 70’s,puts it, â€Å"Naxalism has emerged as a result of deficit in planning;constant alienation has made people take up arms,and its time one understands the problem as not just a law & order problem,but one that’s foundations are socio-economic. † India cannot afford a â€Å"lost generation† in the insurgency-affected areas even as it takes rapid steps towards becoming a global economic power. Ending the maoist insurgency needs to be a national priority.Else till then the voice of Koteshwar Rao(nom de guerre Kishanji) would continue to ring alarm bells inside startled ministers & common folk. The authorities would not be making the rules†¦ he would.References:- (1) â€Å"35-yr old tribal killed by Maoists†, The Deccan Chronicle, 19th January 2008. (2) â€Å"Maoists slay three tribals in Chhatisgarhâ₠¬ , Thaindian News, 21st March,2008. Sources:- (1) â€Å"India Research Group. † (2) â€Å"Down To Earth. † (3) â€Å"Institute of South Asian Studies,Roundtable Session(ISAS)†,14th March,2007. (4) â€Å"International Relations and Security Network(ISN)†,ETH Zurich.

British Colonization to India

The first European power to arrive in India was the army of Alexander the Great in 327-326 BC. The satraps he established in the northwest quickly crumbled after he left. Later, commercial trade was carried between Indian states and the Roman Empire by Greco-Roman sailors that reached India by sailing on the Red and Arabian Seas. ?The Portuguese sailor, Vasco da Gama, was the first European to arrive in India solely by navigating the sea, at the end of the 15th century.Having arrived in Calicut, which by then was one of the major trading ports of the eastern world, he obtained permission by Manavikraman Raja to trade in the city from Saamoothiri Rajah. (http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/British_Empire). British empire has been in India since the early 1600's, when the East India Company started trading and British missionaries first began their efforts. A large number of Christian schools providing English education were set up trough out India by the early 1800's. The process of produc ing English-speaking natives in India began with the â€Å"Minute† of 1835, which officially endorsed T. B.Macaulay's goal of forming â€Å"a class who may be interpreters between us and the millions whom we govern – a class of persons, Indians in blood and colour, but English in taste, in opinion, in morals and in intellect† (quoted in Kachru 1983, p. 22). English became the official and academic language of India by the early twentieth century. Direct administration by the British, which began in 1858, effected a political and economic unification of the subcontinent. The rising of the nationalist movement in the 1920's brought some anti-English sentiment with it — even though the movement itself used English as its medium.Once independence was gained and the English were gone, the perception of English as having an alien power base changed; however, the controversy about English has continued to this day. Kachru notes that â€Å"English now has nation al and international functions that are both distinct and complementary. English has thus acquired a new power base and a new elitism† (Kachru 1986, p. 12). Only about three percent of India's population speak English, but they are the individuals who lead India's economic, industrial, professional, political, and social life.Even though English is primarily a second language for these persons, it is the medium in which a great number of the interactions in the above domains are carried out. Having such important information moving in English conduits is often not appreciated by Indians who do not speak it, but they are relatively powerless to change that. Its inertia is such that it cannot be easily given up. This is particularly true in South India, where English serves as a universal language in the way that Hindi does in the North. Despite being a three percent minority, the English speaking population in India is quite large.With India's massive population, that three per cent puts India among the top four countries in the world with the highest number of English speakers. English confers many advantages to the influential people who speak it — which has allowed it to retain its prominence despite the strong opposition to English which rises periodically. When British rule came to an end in 1947, the subcontinent was partitioned along religious lines into two separate countries—India, with a majority of Hindus, and Pakistan, with a majority of Muslims; the eastern portion of Pakistan later split off to form Bangladesh.Many British institutions stayed in place (such as the parliamentary system of government); English continued to be a widely used lingua franca; and India remained within the Commonwealth. Hindi became the official language (and a number of other local languages achieved official status), while a vibrant English-language intelligentsia thrived.

Friday, August 16, 2019

John dewey v rudolf steiner

A comparison on two theorists John Dewey – Rudolf Steiner There are many theories and philosophies that have come and gone some which are still widely used today. Each human being has a mind of their own and it is because of some individuals that we are able to learn progress and teach in so many different ways. Comparing different methods, teachings, theories and ideas allows our mind to reason and understand more than Just our own point of view. In child development there Is so much to learn, each child is unique and because of this uniqueness we an not only have one pattern of teaching for every child.Every child needs to have the opportunity to succeed and progress to the best of their personal ability. I would like to compare two very intellectual and profound individuals who have expanded the minds of many people. John Dewey, a believer In Pragmatism and progressivism. HIS view was that you would develop and learn by using the mind to think and to physically do. To prepa re and enter society well equipped, mentally and physically. † I see the aim of education as the development f the Individual to function as part of a society and to contribute to the on going formation of that society' John Dewey was born In Vermont USA In 1859.He was mainly known to people about his views and philosophies on the educational system. He however shared his views about many other topics such as ethics, social theories, metaphysics and more. At the end of the nineteenth century in the United States of America a new philosophical movement started which they called Pragmatism. This was to Join intellectuals who had views, opinions and philosophical theories. The professors who suggested theories needed sufficient credibility and practicality without this they would be rejected.John Dewey played a big role In this movement whilst also publishing his work in books and sharing his theories in many different places including universities. His thoughts on the educationa l system and child's development really began to excel once he founded the University Laboratory School which became the â€Å"Dewey School†. This is where he taught his students to have an active mind, to become educational thinkers. He believed strongly In the process of growth and high principles of mental activity. Little did he know that his theories would continue to this day.John Dewey did not believe in the rigid regimentation of the educational system which was in place and believed that each individual learner would exceed their personal best not by force but more by example, by experiencing and doing. Perfecting one self's growth and being part of a system that saw school as a social community. John Dewey believed that good' education should have a purpose In society and each Individual. John Dewey stresses the Idea that the quality as a member of society. â€Å"The belief that all genuine education comes about through experience does not mean that all experiences are genuinely or equally educative. Rudolf Steiner however did not see eye to eye with John Dewey on every level. They both had a deep passion for the wellbeing and development of human beings yet had different views on how to reach that successful stage in life. Rudolf Steiner, of Austrian origin was born in Croatia 1861. Being raised in a ‘natural' countryside environment allowed him from the early age of 8 to reason in his mind about the endless possibilities the human mind can have, reaching a level of spirituality from young.He is known today as the ‘Philosopher of Freedom' he wanted to educate himself and others more on spirituality and the freedom in learning and developing. Rudolf Steiner envisioned the spiritual world as being as real as the physical world we live in. He devoted his life in search of answers, he started his quest by studying Science and Philosophy in Vienna. After years of study and personal growth the answers became clear to him that he had fo und a spiritual path which was to be called Anthropology. He believed that this would lead the spiritual in the human being to the spiritual in the universe. There is nothing more important for life, even for material life, than the strong and sure realization of communion with the spiritual world. † Rudolf Steiner was a strong believer in the ‘Natural' and ‘Holistic' development in a child. Each phase of a child's development needed nurturing, enriching and supporting, therefore, he believed that there should be three essential takes in a child's development. Each stage lasting about 7 years, he put a lot of emphasis on the fact that not one stage should be shortened because of a set curricular expectation.He believed if each individual developed at their own pace gradually learning every important life skill they would become well educated adults. His method of teaching was never to reach statistical highs but to reach personal growth. Each child would be taught and treated as an individual, with different levels and development speeds. The three phases are 0-7 which is seen as the ‘early holding' phase, the second phase 7-14 which is the ‘heart of the childhood' and last but not least the 14-21 which would be the ‘adolescence' phase.Each phase needs specific teaching and Rudolf Steiner made sure that there was a strong harmony in his teaching methods. This would be through artistic expression, dance (rhythmic), singing, play and many other forms of creativity. His teaching methods were not for the minority, this was a method he believed would be great for all of mankind. The spiritual harmony and togetherness he encouraged within schools would be inefficiency to every child, regardless of academic ability, class, ethnicity or religion.We shouldn't ask â€Å"What does a person need to be able to do in order to fit into the existing social order today? † Instead we should ask â€Å"what lives in each human being and what can be developed in him or her? † ‘ As I said in the beginning, each individual has a mind of their own. The most beautiful conclusion for me is that philosophers have pushed their mental ability to find and explain questions and doubts a lot of us have but cannot answer. I have found some truth and sense in answer but we can strive to expand our knowledge.Both John Dewey and Rudolf Steiner made it their mission in life to educate themselves and educate us. I believe that each person can relate and understand both their theories to an extent, however, we have the freedom of choice. I personally prefer Rudolf Steiner, I attended his schools during all of my primary school years and his method of teaching I would never dispute. The personal, structured learning strategies Rudolf Steiner implemented are in my opinion the most natural way to educate a young person.

Thursday, August 15, 2019

Business Studies – Investigating three shops

The following assignment investigates people and work at three different stores. The first is Sainsbury's Savacentre, a hypermarket located in Beckton. Very wide ranges of items are sold here, not just groceries but clothes and technology too. I have also chosen two specialist shops, each selling a product available in the hypermarket. I have selected ‘The Card Shop' as one of my specialist shops. This is a store, local to my area, specialising in the sale of greetings cards, one of the products made available by the hypermarket. In addition to this, I have chosen Kashmir Store as a specialist shop. This small family run business specialises in the selling of halal meat and certain Asian foods. The Savacentre hypermarket has recently begun to sell some of these products in-store. The aim of this report is to address certain key ideas related to work and industry. This assignment hopes to demonstrate the key ideas in a work environment. The principal key ideas tackled in this project are listed below. 1) There is an important relationship between the level of technology and the nature of work. 2) Workers in different industries are interdependent and modern industry is characterised by specialisation. 3) The way in which industry is organised has an important effect on job satisfaction. Key idea number one suggests that certain types of work require higher levels of technology than other types of work. For example, I would expect office workers to use more technology in the way of photocopiers and computers than builders who use less technology such as cement mixers. Key idea number two suggests that workers from different industries are interdependent. That is to say, the computer manufacturing industry is dependent on the retail industry to sell its product. One cannot survive without the other. Furthermore, the key idea states that modern industry is characterised by specialisation. This means that industry today is specialised and specific or fills a niche. Overall, this key idea implies that because industries are very specific, they may be limited and therefore need to be interdependent. This is analogous to a newspaper and a newsagent. The production of a newspaper is a specialised industry as is the newsagent. Both however are interdependent as the paper cannot be sold without the newsagent and the newsagent will suffer financially without the newspaper. Finally, the third key idea suggests that job satisfaction is influenced by the way in which industry is organised. Job satisfaction is a term to describe how much a person enjoys their job and finds it fulfilling. Industry organisation can lead to poor or very good job satisfaction. This can affect workers quite drastically. For example, poor job satisfaction may lead to inefficient work and high employee turnover, which is not good for the company or industry. In order to find out if these hypotheses are true for the retail industry and more importantly, for the shops that I have chosen, I will carry out two methods of investigation, a questionnaire and general observation. By collecting data using a questionnaire, a large sample can be targeted and answers compared amongst respondents. Due to time restrictions and work place limitations, a structured interview will not be employed. Instead, a questionnaire will be used so that staff can respond in their own time. However, questionnaires are rather limited in the types of data they generate. Boredom in filling out the forms can also lead to falsified results. To combat this, I will directly observe workers. This technique allows for study of behaviour in the ‘natural setting'. The interaction between workers can be studied, as can the behaviour and attitude of individuals. In an ideal situation, I would use participant observation instead but as it is unrealistic to take up employment in order to join the workers, I will just observe as a customer. I will carry out direct observation by visiting the stores and making notes on employee behaviour. I will then obtain questionnaire information by ringing the stores in question for permission to carry out my research. Once this has been established, I will visit the shops and then distribute questionnaires amongst the staff. The research will be carried out in this order to prevent staff from changing their behaviour after filling in their questionnaires.

Wednesday, August 14, 2019

Assignment 3R: Workplace Skills Essay

Save this file in your course folder, and name it with Assignment, the assignment letter, the section number, and your first initial and last name. For example, Jessie Robinson’s assignment 1R for Section 1 would be named Assignment1RJRobinson. Type the answers to the assignment questions below. Use complete sentences unless the question says otherwise. You will have more than one day to complete an assignment. At the end of each day, be sure to save your progress. Review Lesson 4 of the Course Overview for instructions about turning in your assignments. Assignment Questions In Section 3, you learned about workplace skills. Now, you’ll apply what you learned. 1. Imagine that you are a manager judging the performance of your employees. Describe at least two ways that you could find evidence of an employee’s skills and attitude. (2-4 sentences. 2.0 points) I could watch how well they work together for getting along is a skill, I would also look at the outcome of whatever it is they are doing, to see what the finished product is. 2. Which aspect of professionalism do you feel that you are strongest at? Explain why you think so. (1-3 sentences. 2.0 points) I think behavior is, because in order to get the job done right you must  behave yourself and know how to control your attitude and thoughts. 3. Which aspect of professionalism do you feel that you are weakest at? Explain why you think so. Describe at least one thing you could do to improve at it. (1-3 sentences. 2.0 points) I personally think all of them are equally important. 4. Choose a company you know of that you think is good at innovation, and describe at least one innovative thing the company has done. (1-3 sentences. 2.0 points) Apple is good at innovation for they are always coming up with new technology, the iPhone is one of these things. 5. Describe two real or made up situations in the workplace when you would need to use speaking skills. (1-2 sentences. 2.0 points) During a presentation, or when you’re pitching an idea. 6. Describe two nonverbal signals used in the workplace that you or people you know use, and explain what you think those signals mean. (1-2 sentences. 2.0 points) Maintain good eye contact because it allows them to know you are paying attention and having good posture. 7. Describe two real or made up situations in the workplace when you would need writing skills. (1-2 sentences. 2.0 points) Preparing a presentation, or writing an important email. 8. Describe a real or made up situation that required negotiation. (1-3 sentences. 3.0 points) When one company has a similar idea or product that will possibly out do your product you would try to negotiate them. 9. If you were a manager, which management style do you think you would use most often? Explain why. (1-3 sentences. 3.0 points) I would use the participative approach for they involve their employees with decisions.